A/N: One of you asked how Meredith and Derek had been avoiding each other at the hospital. The answer to that is that Meredith simply hasn't began her internship yet. Also, to suit my story purposes Derek moved to Seattle at the same time Meredith did because it doesn't make any sense to me that Webber managed to avoid for Derek for six weeks. So to suit the story, they have both just moved.

Derek hadn't told her much about the people they would be eating with that evening, merely that the man had been his mentor during his time in school. That just made Meredith wonder what exactly it was that Derek did again. She didn't ask though, deciding that she would probably find out at some time during the evening. It was odd to her, to be walking into this elaborate restaurant in a formal dress, on the arm of a really hot guy. Especially one she knew so little about. They were early, so the maitre 'd showed them to their table and gave them a wine list to look over. What was even more odd to Meredith was that Derek's hand rested comfortably on her thigh and she didn't mind.

They made small talk until Derek looked up and nodded at the couple approaching them. Meredith froze as she looked over at the man and his wife. It was Richard Webber. Oh dear god, she was having dinner with Dr. Webber and his wife? That meant if she was having dinner with them...suddenly she didn't have any questions about what Derek did as a profession. It made all suddenly made sense. The strange hours, the fact that he had to leave whenever his pager went off, how he ended up at Joe's which was directly across from freaking Seattle Grace.

She was snapped back to reality as Derek rose to greet them. She hesitated just for a moment before doing the same. Maybe he wouldn't recognize her. It had been years since he had seen her and Meredith liked to think she had changed appearance wise.

" Richard, Adele , " Derek stated politely.

" Derek , " Richard returned warmly.

Richard was watching her closely and she suddenly felt claustrophobic. Did he recognize who she was? She felt Derek's hand squeeze hers reassuring as he spoke.

" This is Meredith , " Derek introduced them.

Richard blanched and Meredith waited for the fallout.

" Meredith Grey , " Richard looked at her disbelieving.

" That'd be me , " Meredith smiled weakly.

" You two know one another , " Derek's voice sounded surprised.

" I used to work with her mother. You may have heard of her. Ellis Grey , "

Meredith noticed how Adele's face changed expression just the slightest at the mention of her mother. She wondered what that was about.

" Your mother is Ellis Grey , " Derek asked, disbelieving.

Putting on a brave face , Meredith answered with a lot more courage than she felt.

" Guilty as charged . How do you two know each other , " She asked, even though she already knew the answer to that.

" Derek's my new head of neurology over at Seattle Grace , " Richard said meaningfully.

Meredith swallowed hard. She knew what that meant. Only she could hook up with some random guy in a bar and him turn out to be her boss.

" I met Meredith almost a week ago and we hit it off. She's been kind enough to let me rent a room from her until I get on my feet , " Derek smiled as they all sat down at the table.

Suddenly, Meredith morbidly wished the floor would open up and swallow her whole.

Derek watched Meredith out of the corner of his eye, noticing how uncomfortable she seemed. He wanted to ask her about it, but this clearly wasn't the time. She'd been quiet all evening, only speaking when spoken too and she almost refused to meet his eyes. To be honest, she looked like she was ready to bolt, but he had kept his hand reassuringly on her thigh, effectively holding her in place.

Adele had been shooting daggers at her with her eyes for reasons Derek had no clue over. Adele and Addison were friends, but he wasn't the one who cheated, so he really couldn't figure out her problem with Meredith, other than the fact that she simply wasn't Addison. That was thankfully a topic that had been avoided all evening. He was really starting to like this woman and the last thing he wanted was for someone to bring up his soon to be ex-wife. No, he'd tell her in his own time.

Without warning, Meredith pushed her chair back from the table and stood up. Derek got halfway out of his seat before she waved him back down, explaining she needed to go to the ladies room. He nodded and watched her worriedly as she scurried away like she had hellhounds snapping at her feet.

" Well, Shep, I've gotta hand it to you. You sure do know how to complicate situations , "

Derek stabbed at a piece of lettuce with his fork, shooting Richard a dirty look.

" What on earth are you talking about , " He asked him, irritation creeping into his voice.

" You're an attending, Derek. You know it's against the rules , " Richard replied sternly.

" Dating a beautiful woman is against the rules? Since when , " Derek tossed back, only slightly amused.

" Since when? Since in two weeks that girl will be your intern , " Richard barked across the table at him, clearly annoyed at Derek for making light of the situation.

He froze. Richard looked at him, realization dawning on him slowly.

" She didn't tell you."

" To be honest, we hadn't really talked about it. I'm sure had I asked she would have told me. "

Richard's eyes darted over his shoulder to see Meredith returning to the table. Both of them wisely dropped the subject as she took her seat once again.

Meredith didn't say a word the entire ride back to the house and Derek didn't speak either. He wasn't exactly sure what to say. This evening had been full of surprises and now he understood Meredith's earlier discomfort. She must have figured out what he did for a living the minute she saw Richard. Adele had offered to let Derek stay with them while he found a place, but he had said no probably a little more harshly than necessary. He had told Richard in private that for the moment, Meredith wasn't a staff member of Seattle Grace so technically they weren't breaking any rules. When she started her internship, they'd deal with the situation then.

What a situation it was too. Part of Derek knew it was wrong and it was breaking every rule he could think of, but he simply couldn't bring himself to care. This woman made him laugh, Meredith was like a breath of fresh air after living in a smog ridden city for years. More importantly, she made him feel. He felt wanted and more than that he felt comfortable, like this was where he was supposed to be.

He followed her into the house and frowned as she headed straight for the kitchen and the bottle of tequila that was in the top cabinet. Deciding to leave her alone for a few minutes, he headed upstairs to change. He had taken the room across the hall from Meredith's, wanting to be as close as possible to her. Of course, since moving in here he hadn't slept in his room one night yet. He had a feeling though that tonight would be his first night sleeping in his own bed.

When he joined her back downstairs, she was halfway through the bottle and he was once again reminded of the alcohol tolerance this tiny woman possessed. He crossed the room to stand beside her. She ignored him and he sighed.

" Meredith , " He said her name softly.

No response. He tried again and she turned to him, eyes blazing. They were the most marvelous shade of gray. He'd never seen eyes like that before.

" Can we talk about this , " He asked calmly.

" Talk about what? The fact that I'm screwing my boss or the fact that the man who practically raised me as a child knows I'm screwing my boss , " Meredith answered his question with one of her own.

" Can I just point out that technically, I'm not your boss yet , " Derek tried to lighten the mood.

" This is funny to you isn't it? It's all a big game now huh? "

" Meredith, what on earth are you talking about? "

She stared at him in disbelief before slamming the bottle down on the counter and storming up the stairs.

Derek scrubbed his hands over his face and sighed.