THANKS FOR THE REVIEWS. If every person who reads this leaves a review, I'll update in less than 24hrs;)

[]

"I'm going to ask Derek to marry me."

Much like two years before, when she had revealed Derek had a wife, Cristina choked on her beer.

Reaching across the table, Meredith smiled and handed Cristina a napkin. Thankfully Joe's wasn't crowded that night.

"Did you get shot in the brain too?" Cristina asked as she wiped the drops of alcohol from her chin. "What happened to oh, woe is me, I have daddy issues and I'm scared of commitment?"

Meredith smiled. "I guess I got over it."

Cristina shook her head. "No. You don't just get over it. Something happened."

Tracing the rim of her glass with her finger, Meredith sighed wistfully. "He made me breakfast this morning. He knew I liked my eggs sunny side up."

"Wow, you might as well put a ring on it!" Cristina scoffed sarcastically.

Meredith glared at her. "Hey. You squeezed into a wedding dress and married Burke 5 months pregnant."

"You're not pregnant," Cristina pointed out.

Meredith clamped her jaw shut and angled her gaze downward. "I got a pamphlet."

"You got a… ?" Cristina trailed. Meredith stared at her pointedly and her eyes widened in realization. "Oh. You got a pamphlet."

Nodding, Meredith stirred her drink idly. "We talked about names this morning." she looked up. "He likes Gwendelyn."

Cristina shook her head vehemently. "Absolutely not."

"Right?" Meredith agreed, grinning. She straightened in her chair. "So, I'm going to propose. I have to be the one to do it, because Derek never will. It's not that he doesn't want to. He just thinks he's going to scare me away."

"Let me get this straight. Not only are you assuming that Derek WANTS to propose, but you're also assuming he's too hesitant."

"Yes."

Cristina nodded thoughtfully. "He seems like a big romantic gesture kind of guy."

Meredith made a face. "Over my dead body."

"Come on. Even Burke wrote me a poem."

Meredith snorted. "A poem?"

"Yes. Except he pronounces it poe-em, two syllables. It almost made me say no." Cristina fidgeted with her cocktail umbrella. "Is Derek a poem guy?"

"I... don't know," Meredith said. She felt a panic gripping her as she realized she had no idea what he would expect from a proposal. "He likes ferry boats. And brain tumors."

"Propose on the ferry," Cristina suggested.

Meredith shook her head. "No. Too many people. I don't want.. Applause."

"Ok." Cristina nodded. "So, brain tumors." Suddenly she slapped her palm down onto the hardwood with triumph. "Do it while you two are having eye sex over an open skull flap. He asks for sutures, and you have the scrub nurse hand him a ring."

Meredith's eyes widened. "I need a ring?"

Cristina slumped back into her chair, frowning. "God. You're hopeless."

Snorting, Meredith downed the rest of her drink and handed the glass to Joe for a refill. "Tell me about it."

[]

Later that night, after the cab had dumped her at the end of the driveway, Meredith stumbled into the kitchen and grabbed the phone off the wall. She was slightly drunk - perhaps making this call a rash decision - but so be it. Something had to give.

Derek's old landline was burned into her brain. Meredith dialed it without thinking, and someone answered at the third ring.

"Hello."

"Izzie. Just the girl I was looking for," Meredith mumbled, staring down at the tile.

"Meredith?"

"Yeah. Its me." she cleared her throat. "I have a hypothetical question."

"Ok, shoot."

"What would your ideal proposal be?" Meredith asked. "Hypothetically."

[]

Ok, so I am thinking the next chapter will be the last. There will be a sequel following Meredith's journey to have a child and her relationship with Derek

Please review! The faster you review the faster I post;)