"Meredith–" Tears sprang to his eyes as he spoke. "I love you. I want you. Only you." He pushed her against the door and cupped her face with both hands. "Can't you give me another chance?"

Before she could speak he leaned down and crushed his mouth against hers.

"I won't lose you again."

"What does that mean?" She asked, pulling away from him and shaking her head lightly. "You love me, want me but what does that mean, Derek? What has changed from the last time we were together?"

He blinked, confused as to what she meant. Hadn't he said the words that she'd longed for him to say? Hadn't he made it clear the last time he'd made love to her?

"Well, for starters, I'm divorced now." He said softly. "And I want to be with you. I'd say that everything has changed, wouldn't you?"

She walked over to the ugly plastic orange chair that sat in front of the window and sat down. She pulled her knees to her chest and hugged them. "Are you sure about this?"

She asked. "Because I don't think I go through this again if you change your mind."

He crossed over to her and knelt down in front of her. "Meredith, what do you want?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean—" He rubbed her leg gently. " I mean that I've beared my entire soul to you twice in the last two days and you still question me—you still don't believe me—not that I blame you for it, but you just seem standoffish and even when I tell you that you love me I wonder if this is what you really want."

"I'm scared of you." She admitted, tears welling up in her eyes. "My heart has been broken for so long and I"m scared of what will happen."

"Give it to me." He said gently. " I'll take good care of it this time." He held up his right hand and smiled. "Scouts honor."

She grinned. "You were never a scout."

"No." He agreed. "But I did get you to smile."

He turned serious again. "Mer. I love you. I want to be with you and I'll wait as long as it takes and when you're ready I want you to move into the trailer with me again—but this time I want you to be with me forever."

"Why?"

"Why? Do you want me to list all of the reasons why?"

"It would help."

"Okay." He sat back on the floor and crossed his legs Indian style and clasped his hands together in front of him. "I want you to be with me forever because every day for the past year I haven't been half the man I was when I was with you. I want you because sometimes it hurts to breathe when I see you pass by me and not look at me like you did before. I want you because every time I made love to my wife I had to pretend it was you—"

"That was too much information, thanks."

"It was true."

"I don't particularly like the idea of you sleeping with another woman—even if it was your wife." She muttered. "You're ruining it!"

"I wasn't finished." He defended lightly. "It's more than that—more than all of the heartache and torment that I put both of us through just because I thought I was doing the right thing—I want you to be with me forever because I can't stand the thought of going through the rest of my life a broken man." He looked up at her. "Because without you, Meredith Grey, I am hopelessly broken."

Two tears broke lose and made their descent down her cheeks but she made no move to wipe them away. It didn't matter. He loved her. He really did love her and she finally understood how much they needed each other.

"Will that do?" He joked. "Or should I add that I want our children to have a mother and father who actually want to be together?"

"I love you." She whispered. "I really love you, Derek."

"I love you too."

He reached up to her and she got off the chair and sank to her knees beside him as they embraced tightly—both knowing that no matter where they went from here on, even if the road was bumpy, they would be together.

And neither one of them realized how bumpy the road was about to get...