A.N: First, I just wanted to thank those who did review the first two chapters of the story. Please, do review this so I know if I should continue to write or just stop.

I'm just gonna keep my notes and the disclaimer on every chapter... just to be safe. So, this fanfic takes place right after "As We Know It," so Mark never came into the picture and so forth.

Also, I know that Dr. Bailey is on maternity leave, etc. but for the purpose of my story... she was never pregnant.

Also, while I do say that all characters are involved, the are merely there because the story would be weird without them there. So, the story mainly focuses on Derek and Meredith.

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Grey's Anatomy.

Chapter 3: Under the Weather

I managed to escape the hospital without running into anyone. George and Izzie were probably wondering where I was, but I just couldn't wait around for them. I had to get out of the hospital before my world collided with Derek's again. Now, as I laid in my bed with the lights off and my door closed, staring at the ceiling, I couldn't help but wonder what he was doing. Were he and Addison laughing? Did she even make him smile? I sighed, realizing that over a month had passed since he chose her, and here I was still agonizing over him.

The front door slammed downstairs, and I could hear George and Izzie whispering. I couldn't make out what they were saying, but I knew that they were talking about me. Their steps pounded loudly on the stairs, and I waited for the inevitable knock on the door.

"Meredith?" Izzie knocked on the door.

"I'm okay."

"Can I come in?"

"Yeah."

Izzie opened the door and laid down next to me in my bed, "He's a jerk."

"How'd you know this was about him?"

"I can tell." She smiled at me, "I have people skills, remember?"

"Oh, that's right." I laughed. It felt good to laugh. I hadn't laughed in a long time.

"Mer, I am saying this as your friend," she took a deep breath before she finished her sentence, and I knew what was coming, "you've got to get over him. It's tearing you apart."

"Izzie, I know, but I just can't." When the words came out of my mouth they sounded harsher than I intended. I winced at the sound of my own voice because I didn't like who I was becoming. I was becoming that bitter girl, scorned by her ex-lover.

"Meredith, it's time... time to let go. If he was going to leave her, he would have already."

"I know. I just... why can't I hate him?" I slammed the bed with my fist, frustrated at my own inability to just say goodbye.

"Because... because he's McDreamy," she laughed, "because he was the one that got hurt and ran away...and you know he did the right thing with Addison."

"Yeah," I mumbled, "it just sucks."

Izzie opened her mouth to respond when another knock resounded on the wood of the door, "Uh, guys?"

"Yeah, George." Izzie and I said at the same time.

"Um, someone's at the door... again... for you Meredith." George said, and I could hear the sound of resentment in his voice. I hadn't even heard the doorbell ring.

"Tell him to go away, George." I said firmly, "tell him... I'm too busy trying to hate him."

"Okay." George mumbled as he walked away.

Even though it wasn't funny, Izzie and I started to laugh, and before I knew it tears were streaming down my face. I didn't know exactly why I was crying, but the tears just started and then wouldn't stop. Izzie didn't know what to do, and I don't blame her, I had never broken down in front of her before. Downstairs, I could hear Derek fighting with George on whether or not he could come in.

Izzie got out of bed and started to make her way out of the room, "I'll go help George."

Through the closed door, Izzie's footsteps were hard on the stairs, and I heard her start telling Derek that I needed to be alone; that he couldn't do anything for me. Their voices started to get louder, and I put a pillow over my head to try and drown out the sound. It wasn't until I heard the door creek open that I realized someone was in my room with me. The sounds of fighting had stopped, and I knew who was standing in the doorway.

"You can't ignore me, it doesn't work like that." His voice was full of sadness, and I couldn't bring myself to take the pillow off my head.

I heard Izzie and George hurry up the stairs after him, "We're sorry, Meredith... we tried."

"It's okay, guys." my voice was muffled by the pillow, "I'll be fine."

I heard their footsteps make their way to their own rooms; they knew that Derek and I needed our privacy, that we needed to work this out for ourselves. "Can't you just respect the fact that I don't want to talk to you right now?"

"No." He said smugly as he walked over towards my bed to sit down on the side next to my head.

"Why?"

"Because Meredith, you don't seem to understand that I am still in love with you." He took the pillow off of my head as he said this, and I knew he could see the stains of tears on my cheeks.

"You can't be. I have to start hating you."

He laughed, "Why is that?"

"So I can get over you."

"What if I don't want you to get over me?"

"That isn't your choice anymore. You made your choice." As I said this, I kept chanting to myself, stand your ground. I didn't want to back down.

"What if I regret my choice?" He asked and I felt my resolve begin to crumble.

"You can't. I can't go back."

"I don't want Addison." He whispered as he leaned forward. His lips were so close to mine that I closed my eyes.

"But you chose her."

"I love you." As he said those words that I'd been longing for him to say, he brought his lips down to mine. When our lips touched, I remembered every kiss we'd shared in this room; I remembered how soft his lips were, and just how good of a kisser he was. He leaned forward more, to deepen the kiss, and I struggled to maintain my control.

"Stop." I whispered into his mouth.

He didn't answer me, he just kept kissing me and I kept kissing him back. My head wanted him to stop, but my heart kept telling me to just go for it. I kept trying to reason with myself that he was the one who started it. It wasn't until he brought his hand up my side that I realized how wrong this was.

"Stop." I said again, and when he didn't I pulled away from him, and I used my hands to push him away from me. "You have to stop."

He looked like a hurt puppy when he opened his eyes to meet mine, and I just shook my head, "We can't do this."