It was the night before Christmas Eve, and she had been sat on the couch in her mother's brownstone in New York for almost two hours now. Her only saving grace had been the wine her mother had poured her as soon as she stepped in the door. It wasn't tequila but it did the job. She hadn't heard from Derek yet, so she assumed he was still in the surgery he had been pulled into an hour before her plane had left Seattle.

"Have you thought anymore on where you're going to do your fellowship?" Her mother asked, sat on the couch opposite Meredith, beside Richard.

"I've been looking into Boston Children's or Seattle Children's," she said with a shrug, taking a sip of her wine.

"Hm, the Boston programme is run by Dr Fuller, yes?" Her mother asked, but Meredith was pretty sure she already knew the answer.

"Yeah, it is," she nodded, "it's definitely the better of the two options."

She also had the added thought that, even though she didn't want to base her decision on where Derek would be next year, he also hadn't decided on where he was going to do his fellowship. In fact, he'd barely spoken to her about it.

"Are you sure you want to stay in the hotel, Meredith?" Ellis asked her, a slight frown on her face.

Stay in her old room in the same house as Ellis and Richard who haven't seen each other in over a month, or go to a nice hotel room, where she could get Derek to come and stay with her who she hadn't seen in almost three months? It was a no-brainer really.

"I'm sure, Mom, I'll be fine at the hotel," she said with a smile against the glass as she finished off the last sip of her wine, placing the empty wine glass down on the coffee table, "I really should get going now."

"Okay, do you want a ride? We can take you," her mother offered. She was acting very weird and it was freaking Meredith out a bit.

"Mom, I'll get a cab, I'll be fine," Meredith said with a soft laugh as she stood up and put her coat on, "I'll be back for lunch tomorrow."

A car horn sounded from outside as though it was right outside the front door, and Meredith's confusion with her mother's behaviour grew when she looked as though she was expecting someone to arrive. "Okay, at least let me see you out then," Ellis said, standing up from her seat and following Meredith out into the hall.

"Alright," Meredith said warily, as she picked up her bag and rolled her suitcase into the hall with her mother close behind her.

Just before she could open the front door, Ellis placed both her hands on Meredith's shoulders, "Meredith, just… it's okay, and bring him over with you tomorrow." Before Meredith could say anything or make sense of the words, her mother had opened the front door and was ushering her outside into the cold, "I'll see you tomorrow."

Meredith just shook her head in slight disbelief when Ellis closed the door and was just about to lift her suitcase down the steps when she heard a familiar voice from the street.

We were both young when I first saw you
I close my eyes and the flashback starts
I'm standin' there
On a balcony in summer air
See the lights, see the party, the ball gowns
See you make your way through the crowd
And say, "Hello"
Little did I know

"Meredith?" She looked up to see Derek leaning against a car with his usual charming smile that she loved so much.

"Derek?" She breathed out, not trusting what she was seeing right now, "What are you doing here, outside my mother's house?!"

He chuckled softly as he climbed the steps to join her, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her close as her arms slid around his neck, hugging him close to her as he held her close, murmuring softly against her ear, "Don't worry about that. God, I missed you so much."

"I missed you too," she returned, and pulled her face back a little to press her lips to his, despite the fact she was still standing on her mother's front step.

That you were Romeo, you were throwin' pebbles
And my daddy said, "Stay away from Juliet"
And I was cryin' on the staircase
Beggin' you, "Please don't go, " and I said

He returned her kiss a moment before pulling his lips back to grin at her softly, "Come on, it's cold."

She nodded and reluctantly released him, picking up her bag as he grabbed her suitcase and took it down to the car, putting it in the trunk as she climbed in the passenger side. He joined her in the car and leaned over to kiss her again, and she felt the same need for the connection, sliding her fingers into his hair with a gentle grip as his hand cupped her cheek.

"Let's get going," he said with a grin, pressing another kiss to her lips before releasing her and starting the engine.

"Get going where exactly?" Meredith asked, sitting back in her seat, and putting her seatbelt on as Derek started driving.

"It's a surprise, you'll see," he said with a smirk as he glanced over at her, seeing her fiddling with the media player in the car.

"What are you doing?" he asked with an amused laugh.

"You can listen to The Clash when I'm back in Seattle," she murmured softly as she linked her phone to play her usual playlist, while he just laughed softly.

"I really have missed you," he said, a grin on his face as he looked over at her when he stopped at a red light.

"I really missed you too, Derek," she grinned back at him, noticing the light turning green while he was still looking at her, and she gently nudged his shoulder, "Eyes on the road."

"Yes, Ma'am," he said with a chuckle as he looked back out the windscreen and continued driving to wherever he was taking her.

When he pulled up in a street, she eyed him carefully, "Seriously, where are you taking me?"

"You're very impatient, has anyone ever told you that?" He asked as he turned to look at her with a raised eyebrow, a grin plastered on his face.

"Only you," she grinned back at him with a shrug as she unclipped her seatbelt, "I take it we're getting out here then?"

"Yes," he said with another laugh as he climbed out the car and met her on her side as she climbed out too. His arm slid around her waist and pulled her close to him while he used his other hand to close the car door behind her.

"This is much better than video calling, don't you think?" He said in a soft murmur as he pressed his lips against hers softly.

She smiled against his lips, feeling small, cold flakes of snow melting on her face as her head tilted upward to kiss him back, "Hm, I can't wait to get you back to my hotel room."

"You think I'm going to let you stay in a hotel room, now?" He asked with an amused grin, still holding her close.

"Where else would I stay? Ellis already booked me a room," she said, deadly serious with her question, having not considered any other possible situation.

"Meredith, you don't really think I'd have you staying in a hotel room when I can just have you in my bed?" He murmured softly as he pressed soft kisses against her neck that almost had her melting.

"Your bed?" She questioned, "Aren't your parents at home?"

"My parents are probably home, Meredith, yes, but I was thinking more in my apartment than my childhood bedroom," he moved to start walking now with his arm still around her waist.

"Wait, your apartment?" She asked, genuinely unaware that he had his own place.

"Where did you think I lived?" He looked to her curiously.

"Well, for all I knew you were still staying in the hotel where we first met, or failing that I figured you just lived with your parents," she said with a shrug, leaning into him slightly as they walked and she started to recognise where they were, "Times Square?"

"How I would love an insight into your mind, Meredith. Yes, we're going to Times Square. Because it's Christmas, and it's decorated, and I thought we could get hot chocolate and it would be nice," he said, pressing a kiss to the side of her head, "It's even started to snow."

Romeo, save me, I've been feeling so alone
I keep waiting for you, but you never come
Is this in my head? I don't know what to think

"That's very romantic of you, Derek," she said to him with a soft grin.

"I do try," he said with a smile and peck to her lips just as they entered the vicinity of Times Square. They found a vendor nearby who was selling hot chocolate and he bought them both a cup, not once letting his arm drop from around Meredith as they walked, talking about nothing and everything.

"So, what was the boldness of showing up at my mother's front door about?" She asked as they sat huddled together on one of the benches.

"Boldness? I wouldn't call it that," he said with a soft chuckle taking a sip of his drink.

"Wait, when she said… she knows, doesn't she? How does she know? And she knows I'm staying with you tonight?" She narrowed her eyes at him accusingly, "I thought we weren't telling her until at least your residency had finished."

"Yes, well, things… changed," he said with a slight shrug, taking another sip of his drink.

"Are you going to enlighten me?" She said with raised eyebrows.

"Meredith, it's fine. She doesn't hate the idea, not anymore," he grinned softly at her, "She's happy for you."

"The 'not anymore' doesn't fill me with much confidence," she frowned a little as she finished off her drink.

"You can have some of my confidence then," he said, pressing his lips to hers in a soft kiss for a moment, "Better?"

"This is weird for me, you know," she said, pressing another kiss to his lips.

"Weird how?" He asked, caressing his fingertips over her cheek before resting his hand against her neck.

"The idea of not having to sneak around," she said with an amused grin, "and I really want to know what happened, how she found out."

"Fine," he relented, playfully rolling his eyes, "I just told her. I told her that we were in a relationship, and I have your best interests in heart, I wasn't going to get in the way of your career, and most importantly, that I love you. Which I do, by the way, I'm so insanely in love with you, Meredith Grey," his voice turning into almost a whisper as his lips moved closer to hers.

"Derek," she breathed out softly, frozen to the spot by his words, and his lips pressed against hers in soft, slow movements. She returned his kiss almost immediately, her hand sliding into his hair as he pulled her closer by the waist.

"I'm insanely in love with you too," she murmured against his lips.

The snow had started to come down a little heavier by now, and Derek pulled his lips back to look at Meredith with a wide grin, their foreheads still touching.

"I was going to do this tomorrow, but I just can't help myself," he said with a slight smirk on his lips as she looked at him, confused.

"Do what?" She asked, laughing a little out of nervousness as he pulled her to her feet.

"I didn't just go speak to your mother to declare my love for you and risk the remainder of my residency," he said, taking her hands in his, looking straight into her eyes, "Meredith, I don't want to be without you. I know we're still living on opposite sides of the country from each other, and we don't know where we'll be next year, but I want to spend the rest of my life with you."

"Derek… you…" she whispered, her eyes starting to water a little as she started to find herself overwhelmed with emotion.

"Let me finish," he said, brushing her hair back as his hand cupped her cheek, a warm smile on his face despite the cold weather, "I love you. And I want to marry you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I'm not asking for you to marry me tomorrow, I want to make this promise to you. You're it for me. You're my everything."

"You asked her permission to marry me?" Meredith managed to choke out, a grin taking over her face as she realised the extent that he'd gone to.

"Yes," he said with a nod, "I did."

He knelt to the ground and pulled out a ring
And said, "Marry me, Juliet
You'll never have to be alone
I love you and that's all I really know
I talked to your dad, go pick out a white dress
It's a love story, baby, just say, "Yes"

"Chief Grey, do you have a moment?" Derek asked, after knocking on the door to her office and being ushered inside.

"Dr Shepherd, what can I do for you?" The woman responded, not looking up from the paperwork on her desk, "Come in and close the door."

"It's more of a personal matter, really," he said, feeling the nerves more in his stomach now as he stepped inside and closed the door behind him. There was no going back now.

"Oh? Is everything okay with your father?" She asked, looking up at him now as he stood in the room.

"My father is doing well, it's not… it's about Meredith," he stated, looking her straight in the eye. He needed to have confidence about this, otherwise she'd chew him up and spit him out in seconds.

"What about Meredith?" Ellis asked, intrigued even more now as to why her daughter was being brought into the conversation, and she set her pen down, giving Derek her full attention.

"I know Meredith's father hasn't been around since she was young, and doesn't deserve for me to hunt him down and has no right… I'm saying this wrong. Dr Grey, I love your daughter. I'm in love with Meredith. I want to ask for your blessing to marry her. You've raised an extraordinary young woman, and I don't think I could live another day without her in my life. I understand, and I respect, her career comes first. I want her to succeed and I want to support her in that, not distract her or take it away from her. We weren't going to be open about our relationship until after residency had finished, but I want to ask her to marry me, at Christmas, and I come here out of my respect for you to ask permission to do so," a silence filled the room once he had finished talking, Ellis showing no sign of shock or surprise on her face. In fact, her expression had softened at his words.

She stood up from her desk and walked over to the window, her hands joined behind her back as she looked out at the city.

"I already knew. I knew that something was going on, for a long time now. At first, I didn't want it to happen. Two surgeons, in the same field… a very competitive field at that. But, then I saw how you looked at her. I saw how she looked at you. I know a lot more than Meredith thinks I know. I care for Meredith a lot more than I show her, and being with Richard again has made me see things differently," she turned to look back at him now, "Meredith knows what she wants, and so I can't answer for her. If she wants the same, you have my every blessing to ask her to marry you."

"I want to spend the rest of my life with you too," she said resolutely, grinning still at him as their lips pressed together firmly, his hand sliding into her hair as her hands gripped the front of his jacket.

His arms slid around her and pulled her close, lifting her in a small spin as they laughed together, still laughing as he set her back down and he pressed a kiss to her forehead, "You've made me the happiest man alive."

They lay in bed together that night, Derek's arms around her and holding her close against his side, his lips pressing against her hair as they caught their breath, and he murmured softly, "What do you think of my elusive apartment?"

"I really like the bed," she said with a soft laugh, sliding her fingers to lock with his.

He lifted her hand to his with a soft kiss against her knuckles, "Hmm, I like it a lot better with you in it."

"I wish I didn't ever have to leave," she murmured softly, burying her face against his chest as she snuggled closer to him.

"I know, baby," he spoke softly, running his fingers through her hair as he held her close.

"Hm," she hummed softly at the feel of his fingers in her hair, closing her eyes as she spoke, "Ellis wants you to come over for lunch tomorrow."

"Do you want me to go?" He asked, still playing with strands of her hair between his fingers.

"As long as you're comfortable," she said with a slight yawn escaping her lips.

"She's not that scary, you know," he said with a soft laugh.

"Don't let her hear you say that," she returned his laughter.

"Well, I think my Mom wants me to go over in the evening and probably stay over. All the nieces and nephews are there for Christmas morning, slightly chaotic," he explained, lifting Meredith's chin to press a kiss against her lips, "I want you to come with me, as long as you're comfortable, that is."

"I think, maybe, I don't know what Ellis has planned, we never usually do Christmas," she said with a slight furrow of her eyebrow, "I'm not sure what's changed."

"Maybe this is a good thing, don't read too much into it, baby," he spoke softly pressing another kiss to her lips, "We should probably get some sleep, now."

"We could…" she murmured against his lips, still kissing him softly as she moved so she was on top of him, her legs straddling his waist, "but I've really, really missed you."

"I'm not even going to argue with you on this one," he murmured back with a soft groan, feeling her hips pressing down against his as his hands slid down to hold her waist.

Her lips lowered against his in a gentle, but firm kiss as she mumbled, "You shouldn't argue with me anyway."

We were both young when I first saw you.

Love Story - Taylor Swift