Wow, thank you all so much for the great reviews! I know I haven't really said much outside of posting the story, so I feel like now would be a good time. I love GA and I love the concept of Meredith and Derek. Lets just say I can relate to her character's pain. That being said, I'm not going to make this some cheesy "I love you." "No, I love you." Sort of thing. That, to me, isn't very realistic. And yes, I realize I'm writing fanfiction, but I still like to keep things "real" lol. Let me know what you think!

Against All Odds

Chapter 3: Tonight I Wanna Cry

Meredith sat in shock on her barstool, her mouth slightly agape and her lips tingling from his kiss. Slowly she turned her stool towards the bar, only to find Joe standing there, a satisfied smile on his face. "Still think you're just the 'other woman'?" She rolled her eyes. "Joe, he can say anything he wants. But notice he didn't say anything about leaving her or getting a divorce." She pointed out. Joe sighed heavily. "You're right kid. All I can tell you to do is give it time." He told her.

"You're actually suggesting that I wait for him!" She asked incredulously.

"Look, I wouldn't tell you to wait unless I believed there was something worth waiting for." He said, wiping the bar down. "That's a huge risk Joe. To wait for someone who's married.. Might as well wait for the moon to fall out of the sky." She replied, taking another swallow of her beer. She sat there for another hour, nursing one last beer before she worked up the motivation to get up and go.

"Have faith. I know it's not easy right now and you want to hate him. And I don't blame you for that. But, I know that not everyone gets to experience what you guys had. It was the real think Mere. Keep that in mind. Don't be so quick to dismiss it." Joe cautioned. She smiled wryly at him as she gathered her coat and purse up and paid her tab. "Joe, no offense, but I think I stand a better chance of having the moon fall on my car than I do of Derek coming back." She responded softly. "Stranger things have happened." Was all she got from Joe as she left the bar. She strode to her car, wrapping her coat closely around her, fighting back the winter air.

He was dreading going home. He'd been driving around for the last half hour. The trailer was the last place he wanted to be. Addison was there. She'd want to know where he'd been, who he'd been with, etc. He just didn't feel like answering any questions right now. Especially considering all he wanted was to hold Meredith, to kiss her, to make all this pain go away. His head was telling him to go home to his wife, she'd be worried. But his heart said something entirely different. His heart told him to turn around and go back to the woman he loved. "It's not supposed to be this hard!" He yelled, banging his fist on the steering wheel, angry at himself for screwing up Meredith's life and his own. Their life. Their life. That sounds incredible. He liked thinking it of as their life. It meant there might be something to go back to. He hung a quick u-turn. If there was anything to go back to, anything worth going back to, he had to know.

She was 3 steps from her car when she heard someone behind her. "Is there really something to go back to?" Him. He was leaning against a wall, waiting for her it seemed. "Have you been standing there since you left?" She asked, walking up to him. He shook his head. "No, I got half way home and came back." He told her, shrugging out of his coat and putting it around her. It was a natural gesture, yet she hadn't felt his touch as often as she was used to, so she craved and savored every touch. His hand had grazed her neck when he settled the coat around her and she'd felt sparks of electricity zing through her.

"Why did you come back?" She asked, inhaling the smell of his coat, it smelled like his cologne, it smelled like he did when he'd curl up to her in the middle of the night when he slept over. "Is there something to go back to?" He asked, as they now stood at her car. She leaned back against the driver's door and sighed, trying to steady her breathing and hold back the tears threatening her eyelids. He stood less than a foot in front of her. "Why Derek? Why do you want to know? Do you enjoy hurting me? Do you like seeing me cry!" She asked, half yelling, half sobbing.

For the first time since this all began, he allowed himself to let go. He allowed himself to cry, something he'd fought tooth and nail since this all began. "No… I hate this. I hate not seeing you everyday and kissing you hello. I hate not going home with you. I hate not eating dinner with you and cuddling with you on the couch. I hate not getting ready for bed with you. I hate not feeling your body next to mine in the middle of the night. But what I hate most of all is that I did this to you… I hurt you… I make you cry. I want to do whatever it takes… Whatever it takes to stop you from crying." He whispered, the tears brimming in his deep blue eyes.

He reached over and brushed away a tear running down her cheek. She drew an unsteady breath. "Derek. You lied. You hurt me. You can't undo that. You can't expect that a few romantic words will make that all better. I've earned the right to a few tears. Thanks to you." She told him as she pulled his hand down from her face and placed it back at his side. She turned to get in her car. "Wait." He said, his voice choked with emotion. Do not turn back around. NO. You cannot turn back around. This is not your fault. He did this to you. You turn around and everything you've worked to forget and get over will disappear…

Meredith, please turn around. If you love me, you'll turn around…. She exhaled slowly and took a step to turn. Then another. And the last one… She was facing him once more. She looked at him, waiting for him to tell her why he asked her to wait. "You didn't answer my question." He whispered, barely audible. "What was it?" She asked, her voice tired and small. "Is there something worth going back to?" He repeated softly.

He waited tensely for her reaction. All he could hear was her unsteady intake of breath. After several long agonizing moments, she looked up. Her eyes met his. She exhaled.

I do not want to answer this… Why are you asking me? "I…..I….Don't…"

HOPE YOU'RE ENJOYING IT! R&R!

OK P.S. Is anyone else kind of mad at the way this "thing" with Addison is going? (OK I know they are married but I'm really not comfortable acknowledging that….) I'm really beginning to wonder if she's ever going to go away…. And what was with the little conversation at the end between Addison and Derek? He said he wanted her to wait it out… Ech.

Previews for next week are juicy. Anyone care to take bets on how much longer he'll wait before he cheats on Addison with Meredith? (I know that he was technically cheating before, but they were "separated") I'm saying before the season is out.

Sorry it was so short, but I needed a good spot to end. I promise next chapter will be longer!