Disclaimer: I don't own Grey's Anatomy. If I did, Derek Shepherd would be here by known as the naked doctor, as he'd be naked all the time. Well not naked, you don't want little Derek hanging out all over patients, he can wear underwear.

And I am so sorry for the lack of recent updates. I've suffered from unexplainable writer's block this week, and every time I tried to write it came out sounding like crap. It's been an off week, I guess. So I slacked, and I'm sorry.

On another note, I think I'm finishing this one up quicker than I planned, because I've started brainstorming for another fanfic, and I really want to get going on it. Hehehe.

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Meredith's POV:

My heart thudded in my ears as I reminded myself to put one foot in front of the other. I heard the buzz of people around me, but even that was dimmed by the roaring of my ears. My stomach did a flip as I reached I walked past a familiar room, my eyes straight ahead, meeting no one. Just trying to get through this. I walked through the hall trying to get my life started again.

"Dr. Shepherd to OR 1," a voice came over the intercom.

Good, I thought to myself, Derek was going to be distracted; I can talk to Burke in peace.

"Burke?" I asked as I entered the room, gently knocking on the door.

"Meredith, good to see you," Burke looked up from his new desk with a smile.

"Should I call you Chief now?" I asked. Burke had been a friend, now he was a future potential boss.

"Burke's fine. Preston is even better."

"Okay, Preston." The name sounds awkward on my tongue. I notice a picture of Cristina and him sitting on the desk, and wonder how awkward that makes her feel. And then my eye is drawn to another picture, one with a familiar dark head, his arm around Burke, who is holding a fish by the tail.

He sees where I'm looking. "Derek finally got me out fishing," he says with a laugh. "The guy was lonely, I felt sorry for him."

I feel a pain in my heart. I was right to run, I had every reason to run, but Derek being lonely always makes me feel bad. I had run and taken his family with me.

"So, Derek tells me you want to come home." Burke says, breaking the silence.

I feel my mouth widen into a smile. "I do."

"Well, I've taken the liberty of calling your hospital in Detroit and speaking to them about the possibility of transferring back home. I explained it was for family reasons. They're sad to lose you, but have forwarded the paper work to me, if you'd like to sign it."

Relief. The hospital in Detroit had never felt like home or family, but it was where I had spent the last five years. I had friends. Ties. My bosses liked me. The lower residents respected me. I had dreaded telling them it was over. "Sounds good," I say taking the papers he's offered me.

"Meredith," he holds them back for a second.

"Yes." I'm confused.

"As the chief, I'm thrilled to have you back, you're a great surgeon and the hospital could use you. However, as a friend, are you sure you're doing the right thing? Moving back here? Coming back to Derek?"

"Yes. No. Not really. But it's the right thing. For Emily. She needs to know him." I hate how everyone seems to know I'm terrified.

"Fair enough." He hands me the papers. I sign them and feel the relief rush through me. I was sure, this was the right thing to do. For me.

"Welcome back, Dr. Grey," Burke says, standing up to shake my hand.

I'm home.

I went as far as I could, I tried to find a new face

There isn't one of these lines that I would erase

I lived a million miles of memories on that road

With every step I take I know that I'm not alone

You take the home from the boy but not the boy from his home

These are my streets, the only life I've ever known

Who says you can't go home

Derek's POV:

Blonde catches my eye as it rushes out the door. I contemplate chasing her, asking her something about Emily just to see her smile. She always smiles when it's about Emily. But today was hard for her, coming to see Burke and getting her place back. Officially committing to Seattle. To a job here. To a life her. To trying something again with me.

"Stop staring," I hear a cynical voice from behind my shoulder.

"I wasn't," I rush to defend myself. I was staring. "I was just looking out the door."

"No, you weren't. You were looking at a certain person who just walked out that door."

"Dr. Bailey . . ." I began turning around to meet her short frame.

"Don't start that crap on me. You're not my boss anymore. So don't think it's going to work."

"It didn't work when I was your boss."

Bailey gave me a short laugh, as she turns to walk away.

"Dr. Bailey, how did you even know she was there?"

"I'm no fool, Dr. Shepherd. I have eyes. I saw her. And I saw that stupid look on your face."

"What look?" I think I know the answer.

"That one all the interns call the McDreamy look. Haven't seen it in a while, suddenly made a reappearance, I put two and two together and got four."

"I wasn't looking at her." I know I was, but I don't want Bailey to know it.

"No. No, no, no, no. There is no way this is happening again."

"What happening again?"

"Derek Shepherd, for a brain surgeon you're the stupidest man I've ever met. And I've met a lot of stupid men."

"Miranda," I know she hates when I call her that, "what are you talking about?"

"You. Meredith. You and Meredith," she says waving her hands around and gesturing. "The looks, and the denial. It kills her, Derek, literally kills her. She ran last time. You can't do it again."

"Bailey," I start, wanting to explain everything.

"Derek," Bailey cuts me off, "She had a child."

"It's my child."

"That's not the point. The point is she has a child. Another little person that depends on her for happiness and love. Another person that needs for her to be whole."

"I know . . ."

Bailey cuts me off again. "No you don't. You think you know, but you just walk around looking lost, confused, scared and a little love sick. Meredith doesn't need lovesick right now. She needs love and strength."

"I don't plan on . . . "

"Plan on what? Hurting her again? Making her run away? Because your stupid ass didn't plan on that the first time either."

"Bailey, I want . . ."

"Derek, this time it's not about what you want. It's about what that little girl of yours wants. And what Meredith wants."

I step back and hold my tongue unsure of what to say. I know I was wrong in the past, I know I hurt her and was stupid and everything Bailey is accusing me of. But besides Meredith, know one has ever called me on it before, and it hurts. It hurts more than it should. "She seems . . ."

"She's doing the best she can with what she has. But she only needs strong people right now Derek. And as good of surgeon as you may be, and even if you are charming in the overly moused sort of way, in the past you haven't been the strongest when it comes to Meredith Grey."

Bailey turns to walk away again, leaving me feeling crest fallen. I know she's right, Meredith needs people who can help her with her life. She acts like everything is okay, but being a resident with a young child can't be easy. She doesn't need a man who can't be what she needs.

I want to be that man. But can I? I have messed up so much in the past, as Bailey so eloquently pointed out. The hope I have felt since that night spent on the couch wooshes out of me.

"Dr. Shepherd," Bailey interrupts my thoughts. "I like Grey. And I like you. And you're both pretty damn miserable without each other. I'm rooting for you. I want you to be the strong one, Shep, I really do."

I smile, it feels like it fails somewhere along the edges. But it's a smile.

"Just don't go hurting my intern again."

Okay, there it is.

First, I hope I didn't kill Burke. I hate writing the man. I feel like I understand the other characters, like I know them, so writing them is fun and challenging. Burke however, I can't really wrap my mind around. I love him and respect him, but don't fully understand and get him. But I needed someway to show he became Chief, and my next fanfic is going to be everyone, so I needed some practice. So let me know how it turned out!

Also … Bailey. It was completely an unplanned scene. Just kind of happened when I started writing. But I love them together, really really do. They have this amazing friendship and respect for each other, that they keep hidden through fighting and criticizing. Besides Bailey always seems to have the ability to confuse Der, make him pause and think. And I found that Derek was getting maybe a little to cocky in his likelihood of winning Mer back, so someone had to ground him. Bailey was the best person to do it. So in short, I hope the Bailey/Derek scene worked …that it felt like them and all that stuff.

On another note . . .CTV announced that it's showing Grey's at 8 on Thursdays. ABC shows it at 9. Which means I'll be watching it back to back every Thursday night! YAY! Gotta love being a Canuck.

So yeah . . .read, love, review.

I write so much in post author notes, I feel like I'm writing a blog for it. Explaining why everything happened. Seriously, Shonda should hire me, I'm made for the show.