Title: Sound And Fury

Authors: Sara And Lizzie

Rating: T for language, mild sex

Disclaimer: we don't own grey's anatomy, or any anatomies but our own at that.

Author's Note: Ok.. Set after Derek picks Addison and Meredith sleeps with George. Review. No matter how you feel about it, review. Chapters will get longer. We tried to step it up with our grammar, but we still suck. REVIEW, PLEASE. Check out 'A Little Something Called Forever' and 'The Best Laid Plans'. We need reviews to function, so help us out.

Okay, so the reviews for the Meredith/ Addison confrontation were mixed, but we wanted to show that Meredith is just as screwed as Addison. This chapter picks up right where the last left off. It's short, but the next one will be longer.

Don't breath too deep, don't think all day
dive into work, or drive the other way,
that drip of hurt, that pint of shame,
it goes away, just play the game.-Rent

Derek held the letter in his shaking hands. He walked through the trailer towards Addison. "When did she give this to you?" His voice wasn't about above a whisper.

"An hour ago. Maybe two." He looked at his watch, and without another word to his wife, sprinted out the door. He drove to her house as fast as his car would take him. He jumped out, slammed the door, and ran up the porch.

He pounded on the door. "Meredith!" he shouted. The porch light flicked open and George opened the door. He took a long look at Derek and shook his head.

"I'm too late." Derek said, not a question or an answer, just a statement. George nodded.

"She left about an hour ago."

"Where?"

"Dr. Shepherd, I can't."

Derek nodded slowly. "I know you can't." Izzie appeared at the door, her face tear stained, and Cristina was close behind her.

"Dr. Shepherd." Cristina said tightly, nodding in a way that showed she was angry. "You're a few months too late."

"I know."

"No, Derek, you don't know." She spit out angrily. With that she slammed the door in his face. Derek slunk off the porch, to his car, climbed in slowly, and dropped his head into his hands.

Inside, George turned to Cristina. "Cristina…" he said.

"What?" she shouted.

"Don't yell at me, okay? And don't yell at him. There's nothing we can do."

"There is though." Izzie piped up. "We could tell her. That he came looking for her. It might make a difference."

Cristina shook her head. "No. Absolutely not. We're not helping Derek."

"What if we were helping Meredith?" George asked.

Cristina shook her head adamantly. "No one says a word. She needs time."

Derek trudged into Joe's and sat at the bar.

"Dr. Shepherd." Joe said amicably. "Scotch?"

He shook his head. "Make it tequila." Joe raised his eyebrow, but filled a shot glass anyway. "Keep 'em coming." Derek instructed. He wanted to drink her drink tonight. He wanted to feel numb, and this was how she did it.

He downed the shot, and motioned for another one.

"You going to tell me what's going on, Doc?" Joe asked.

Derek shrugged and poured more bitter liquid down his throat.

"Yea, Meredith didn't say anything either." Derek's head snapped up.

"She was here?"

Joe nodded. "Came here after she went to see Addison. To say goodbye."

Derek didn't need to ask for another shot. Joe saw the look on his face, and poured one for him wordlessly. He sat in silence, downing shots, and allowing his sub conscience to become fully absorbed in everything he could remember from the next few weeks.

Every whisper, every touch, everything that was burned into his brain played in his mind's eye. A body slid into the seat next to him. "You don't look so good buddy."

He turned and made eye contact with Mark, not bothering to point out that they weren't buddies. Derek just raised his eyebrows and downed the rest of his shot.

"Derek, stop okay?"

"Why bother? She's gone."

"And your wife is at home. I'll drive you."

Derek decided not to argue, since he didn't want contact with anyone who wasn't Meredith Grey. He just slid off the bar stool and followed Mark to his car. "You can pick yours up tomorrow." Mark said. Derek shrugged. It just didn't matter.

Mark dropped him off, and idled in the driveway when Derek got out of the car. He walked into the trailed and slammed the door as hard as he could, wanting something loud to break the silence.

He saw Addison, standing, holding a bag in each hand. "What the hell, Addie?" he mumbled incoherently.

"I know you're drunk. And I know this is all happening so fast…"

"Addison, what is going on?"

"Derek?" she said, her voice wavering but sounding sure. "I want a divorce."

It was morning when Meredith got to San Fransico. Dawn was breaking, lifting the fog from the bridge, and showing the city. She got out of her car, and sat on the hood, drawing her legs to her chest. She was sure she looked crazy, but she didn't care. Her eyes were swollen from crying. She was a coward. She was weak.

She couldn't face it, she couldn't handle it, she couldn't risk it. The fear of getting hurt, the fear of losing everything, again, it was overwhelming. So she had bolted. Gotten in her car, and driven the opposite direction. She wondered what Derek was doing. She turned over the last few weeks in her mind, trying to wrap her mind around the fact that he hadn't chosen her when she asked him to, but she had chosed to save her life. She tried to understand why they had done this to themselves, to Addison, to each other, but she couldn't grasp it.

It was larger than life.