A/N: Hello, readers, it's me! I'm still alive! I've had a busy couple of weeks since I moved from New York to Minnesota and I'm still trying to settle in. This summer has been a busy one and I apologize for not updating sooner. I know summer is a good time for everybody to read, but I always seem to have a million things going on every summer.

Now, onto the story...not much to say, aside from ENJOY!

Chapter 22

Meredith decides that she should keep dating Derek if only for the morning-after breakfast.

She's eating a feast at six-thirty in the morning, and he doesn't even look bothered by that. Derek is making her pancakes from scratch, and they're divine. Anything this man whips up is divine, and she is definitely adding this quality to the plus column in his favor for dating.

There are a lot of points in favor so far, and the ready-made pancake mix in a ketchup bottle in his fridge is not even the highest on the list.

Of course, her pager interrupts the moment of bliss, sending her to work prematurely, but not before a long, passionate kiss from Derek.

She's flustered all the way to Seattle Grace.

Being in the ER and dealing with her emergency page though grounds her again, and by the time lunch rolls around, she's ready to sit down in her office and take a nap.

Except, when she swings open the office door, she sees a mop of curly, dark hair sitting in the guest chair.

"There you are. That surgery was endless!"

Meredith smiles at Maggie, dropping on her own chair. "Tell me about it. That guy really, really wanted to die."

"What happened?"

"Fell from the second story of his building, most likely suicide. He's still alive, even though he has a long way before a full recovery."

"Seems like it was quite the surgery, you look dead on your feet."

"Yeah," Meredith says, hoping she's not blushing. Half of the tiredness is definitely not due to the surgery. That night before has stretched for quite long, not that she's complaining.

"Uh oh, Meri. Who kept you up last night?" Maggie teases, clearly reading straight through her.

"Just a case," Meredith says, hoping she can sound nonchalant enough. From the way Maggie is smirking, she has failed spectacularly.

"Does that case have piercing blue eyes and incredible hair? Maybe a son named David?"

Meredith can't help the smile. "Maybe."

"Oh, my God! Are you two a couple now?"

"I...I honestly don't know. We kind of had a date last night, but we didn't call it a date. We just celebrated him becoming a resident."

"Yeah, of course," Maggie shrugs, her teasing smile the clear sign she doesn't believe a word Meredith is saying.

"It's not that simple, Mags. He has a son."

"You like the kid. I don't see the problem there." Maggie shrugs, and Meredith tries not to roll her eyes for too long. She wishes it were that simple. "What, are you already in love?"

"Of course not!" Meredith blurts, but it sounds bitter in her mouth.

Could she love Derek already? They only had sex twice, a kind of non-date, and shared a few kisses. It can't be love, can it?

"If you say so," Maggie smirks.

It is time for Meredith to hide her feelings better, then, before she spills the beans to Derek prematurely. And she has to come to terms with the fact that she's in love first – if she even is in love in the first place – before she even says anything to him. She has to.

"Look, I'm not good at love, and you know it. Not after Finn, surely not after what happened. It will end tragically," Meredith says, not sure who is she trying to convince of that.

Maggie only gives her a look. "What if you try it out, then? If it ends, it ends. But maybe it won't. You deserve happiness, Meredith."

"Don't know if I do," she mutters to herself, but by the way Maggie glares at her, she definitely heard.

Her pager buzzes and Meredith is glad it gives her an out, even though it cuts her rest time really short. Today is bound to be a very, very long day.

"You look happy," Mark says as soon as Derek enters the elevator.

His morning was blissful and he feels bad he's bouncing into work when people are sick and dying. Yet, his day is perfect so far. He's a resident, he had a very successful date with Meredith...his life is going the best it could go. He's coming in to work only to change his locker, get a new badge and scrubs, and then he's leaving, ready to spend the rest of his day with David, and enjoy every second with him.

Derek chuckles, glad to see his friend first thing in the morning. "I'm a resident, now."

"A resident who got laid last night?" Mark wiggles his eyebrows as if they were in high school.

"Who says I got laid?" Derek smirks, trying to keep the cards close to his chest for a second longer.

"Your...everything. And the hint of a hickey under your shirt."

"What?" Derek's eyes widen. "She didn't even –"

"Gotcha!" Derek rolls his eyes as Mark pats him on the back. "I knew you were getting some last night when I saw Mom and she had David."

"Speaks the one who has breakfast at Addie's place because he's a lazy cook. I know some of your secrets too, you know?"

Mark laughs. "Is she pretty?"

"Mark, you know her. Stop pretending. You know it's Meredith."

"She's giving in?" Mark's eyes widen.

"Slowly, but yes. I'm convincing her dating is a great idea."

"Good luck with that!" Mark laughs.

"Mark, she's amazing. She might look tough, but she's gentle and kind and she makes me laugh."

"Oh boy, you're in love!"

"I'm not! Not yet."

"Oh, jeez, I'm not equipped to deal with this. I need to page Addison." Derek chuckles at his friend's reaction.

"Mark, I'm not gonna go all mushy on you but I'm telling you, I can see a future there with her. A very long, very happy future."

Mark smiles. "I'm happy for you, man. Just...plan the midgets better next time when you have more, okay? I don't want any newborns on my doorstep."

Derek laughs, happiness filling him. Loving Meredith makes everything brighter, even if she doesn't know. Even if it's too early for her to know.

He can't wait to see her face when he tells her, though, even if it will have to wait a while. He's ready for any kind of baby steps with her. He's not in any rush. There is a time for everything, even for a forever with Meredith Grey.

Meredith's already long morning turns into another twenty-four more hours of hell. It dawns on her how long she's been locked up in the hospital only when she sees Derek, and she remembers he was supposed to have a day off and then start his residency.

Derek promptly knocks at her door at seven-thirty in the morning sharp, after his rounds, just like the perfect resident she wishes she could always have. Meredith hates that she's less than enthusiastic to welcome him in.

"'Morning," she mumbles as a greeting, too tired to even lift up her gaze for more than a second to acknowledge Derek.

Part of her is afraid to look into his eyes and feel the love there, see all her weaknesses; she knows she's not equipped to deal with that at the moment, not as tired as she is.

"Um...I checked on Mr. Travis and he's doing okay. His ICP is down and he was still a little groggy from the anesthesia, but he passed all the other tests. I sent Ms. Walker for a repeat MRI to check on the developments of her occipital bleed as per your request. Mrs. Hutchinson's blood pressure is elevated and her leg was bothering her, so I called up a Cardio and Ortho consults, they'll page us with the results. What else? Jeez, you had a lot of patients yesterday." Derek chuckles, and she finally feels a smile come to her lips.

"Tell me about it." Of course, Derek doesn't miss her eye roll, and she knows he will be concerned.

"Can we become Meredith and Derek for a second?"

Meredith sighs. Part of her wants to keep the boundaries, but mostly she just wants to fall into his arms and sleep for the next two days straight. Her weak instinct prevails and she nods. She can't keep her guard up when she's this tired. "Yeah."

"Are you okay, Mere?" Derek murmurs, moving closer to her, almost as if he were trying to examine her better.

She wants to lie, but she knows her face is speaking for her, together with her whole body. She shakes her head. "I'm so tired, and I still have at least five more hours of shift."

"You've been here for more than thirty hours, you deserve a nap."

"Can't nap when people keep dying on the side of the road," she sighs deeply, finally lifting up her gaze.

When Meredith meets Derek's eyes, she melts. The concern there for her is so great she wants to burst into tears.

"Nelson could take some of the load off your shoulders." Derek frowns. She smiles bitterly. It shows he hasn't been here long.

"Nelson can't do half of the procedures I do. Or well, he can, but his success rate is not nearly half as successful as mine. He's good at the paperwork and the basic procedures."

"Yet he's running the department."

Meredith shrugs. "True. But sometimes I don't like all the paperwork that comes with responsibilities, I'm glad he's the one doing that and I can just do surgeries."

"You could ask the Chief for a promotion."

"Ellis will never give it a go. Most likely because I'm her daughter and people would cry of favoritism."

"You could try other hospitals."

Meredith shakes her head. "I can't. I'm not Department Head material. I don't have the patience to deal with people's problems. I have enough of my own."

It's Derek's turn to sigh. "We'll go over this another time, not during a thirty-six-hour shift, but I truly believe you could run a hospital, not just a department."

"That I cannot see. Not until my mother croaks."

Derek smiles as he moves closer. "You are an incredible person Meredith. I believe you can do anything."

Meredith feels herself blushing as she tries to shake off the flattery. Yet, Derek doesn't relent. He's still smiling brightly at her, making her feel gooey and lovey, in spite of all the tiredness.

"I don't need to be the head of anything, I just need five seconds when I'm not tired to the bone, when my shift is over, and when people don't purposely try to make my life harder."

"I can give you five seconds," Derek says, now looking smug. A soft smile appears on her face as well as he lifts her on her feet. "Okay, close your eyes."

"What? Why? I will fall asleep right here."

Derek laughs, and the twinkle in his eyes says to trust him. So she does. she closes her eyes and takes a deep breath.

First, she feels his lips on her left cheek, soft and prickly from his stubble, his nose warm against her skin. "One," he says, and she can feel his smile.

When he says "Two," his lips move to her other cheek, and she can feel his hands locking onto her arms to keep her still.

She was expecting him to say "Three" and keep counting, but not his lips on her neck. He tickles her in the most delicious way, especially when he sounds out "Four."

"Five" seals the deal, when she feels his lips on hers for the quickest of kisses, then she opens her eyes, and she can't help the wide smile on her lips.

"How was that?"

"Almost perfect," she admits, reveling in the sparkle of his eyes.

"Page me if you need five more almost-perfect seconds, then." He gives her another quick kiss before he steps away.

"I will," she says, grinning like a fool. How could only five seconds rejuvenate her is a mystery, but Derek himself is a mystery so she stopped dwelling on everything surrounding him long ago.

"Alright, back to business?"

"Back to business," she echoes, eager to see Derek at work on his first day as a resident.

Maybe dating is not the worst idea after all, especially if it comes with random five almost-perfect seconds.

A/N: The last scene is familiar, right? I always loved how sweet that was, and I felt like it needed to happen in this IWBY universe. Hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. Fingers crossed for an update soonish!