A/N: Chapter 8 is up. Thank you so much for all the reviews.

I don't own Grey's Anatomy, or its characters. Please review.

Meredith was so occupied with her research that she lost track of time. It was already late evening when Mark entered the library and found her engrossed in work.

"Hey, you're still here… we're meeting Addison and Derek for dinner, remember?"

"Shoot! I completely forgot about it." Meredith said, panicking slightly. She hadn't even taken a shower yet and had no formal clothes.

"Calm down. Go take a shower. I brought some clothes for you." Mark said, handing her the duffel bag he brought with him. He knew that she would have lost track of time. Meredith tended to do that while concentrating hard on something.

"You're the best. You go ahead. I'll meet you there." meredit told him, pecking his cheek and rushing to the locker room.

Meredith hurried towards the intern locker room. Thankfully, the shower was empty so she could proceed. She was glad to have Mark, who understood her to do T. She checked her watch to find that she had fifteen minutes to get ready. Much to Meredith's relief, they were going to Joe's. Addison wanted to have an informal setting in case things went south and they were close to the hospital, in case of an emergency.

Once Meredith stepped into the hot shower, her body relaxed. So much so, that she seemed to not care about her fifteen minute deadline. By the time she was ready, she found out that she was late. She hurriedly texted Mark that she was on her way, while she was still brushing her hair and left for Joe's.

"Hey, where is Meredith?" Addison asked when she saw that Mark entered alone.

"She is running late. She lost track of time while working." He said, sitting across from Derek and Addison. They started talking about light topics, not wanting to ruin the dinner with anything that could lead into a conflict. After ten minutes, Mark's phone beeped telling him he received a message.

"Mer just texted. She is on her way." Mark told the couple in front of him after reading the text.

"Was she on call?" Addison asked.

"No, I have no idea what she was doing today. Did she have a case with you?" Mark asked Derek.

"None. I had Karev assisting me today." Derek said.

"Hey, sorry I'm late." Meredith said as she slid onto the seat next to Mark. All four of them ordered their dinner and got comfortable.

From the bar Cristina, Alex, Izzie and George watched the scene unfold curiously. They weren't able to see Meredith as she was facing the other side.

"How awkward is that for Mer." Alex exclaimed.

"I know. She was completely freaked out when Addison asked her." Cristian informed her friends.

"This is so unfair. She is having dinner with the heads of three departments." Izzie said, not understanding how the others could not have a problem with it.

"Okay, you need to relax about it. You've been after her life regarding this since you found out Mer and Shepherd were dating." Cristina half-shouted, having enough of Izzie's whining.

"It's not done. Even we have worked hard to get where we are. She just gets all the benefits due to her last name and her alliances with attendings." Izzie retorted, stuck to her beliefs.

"No. She gets them because she is good. If it were anyone else, yeah I would agree wit you. But Meredith works hard. She hasn't got anything that she hasn't worked for." Cristina defended her best friend. She understood Meredith's situation and was ready to support her. "And it's not as if she asks for them to give her surgeries or anything."

"I agree with Yang. Mer had never asked either Shepherd or Sloan for surgeries. She gets them because she is good and deserves them." Alex reiterated.

"I can't believe you're supporting her on this." Izzie exclaimed. She was really annoyed with what was happening. It was like they all had deduced their calling and were heading towards them. She was irritated. For Meredith, it seemed that since day one she was a permanent fixture on Shepherd's service. "Shepherd always wants Meredith on his surgeries. He..."

"But he teaches us, as well. Whenever we are on his service, he makes it a point to involve us, and Mer is actually good at neuro." George said.

"Drop it Barbie. You're coming off as a jealous bitch right now." Cristina remarked bluntly.

On the other side of the bar, the four surgeons were having dinner, talking about fun topics such as childhood and college. The dinner was going surprisingly smoothly. They were almost done when Meredith interrupted the jovial conversation. "Derek, I need to talk to you about something, work related."

"Of course, what is it?" Derek asked, suddenly in his work voice.

"I think I found a way to save people who have the same kind of tumour that Mr. Robinson has. And I need your help." Meredith said confidently. She just needed some more time to arrange her findings.

"Okay. I'll check it out, see if it has the potential of a clinical trial and then I'll contact the FDA." Derek said.

"No...Wait.. I mean..." Meredith knew this was going to happen. She did not know how to tell him what she really wanted.

"Meredith, words." Mark encouraged. He saw the doubt and uncertainty in her and wanted her to speak her mind.

"Umm, I just want you to oversee the process. Be in the OR, tell me if I'm wrong, things like that. This is my baby." Meredith blurted all at once. She did not want to see his reaction, as she was afraid she jumped some steps and was going way beyond her limits.

"Ah, alright. You're following your mother's footsteps, huh? Clinical trial during residency...?" Derek asked her with a glint in his eyes. He was proud, as a mentor and a friend.

"Maybe." Meredith replied softly.

"I'll tell you what, tomorrow morning, you show me what you have. If I'm satisfied, we will talk to Richard." Derek told her. He was looking forward to seeing what see had. It would be a major break through if she actually had something substantial. It was times like this when Meredith felt blessed to have a personal relationship with her bosses. She wouldn't have been able to be so frank about what she wanted, had it been some other attending.

"You coming home?" Mark asked Meredith, as they got up to leave. He knew the answer to his question, but just wanted to be sure.

"No. I have work here. I need to finish with reading and make the research presentable."

"Okay, but please don't exert yourself too much. You were on call last night as well." mark pleaded, wanting her to put her health first.

"Yeah.. yeah.. don't worry." Meredith dismissed him, rushing towards to hospital.

"But I worry." Mark told to no one as she was no longer there. Mark knew that no one could stop Meredith now. She could work for days with minimal sleep and food, if she got sucked into something.

"When are you telling her how you actually feel?" Derek asked from behind him.

"I don't know what you mean." Mark said, not wanting to have the conversation.

"Sure you don't" Derek sarcastically said.

"I don't want to push her away."

"You won't, be honest with her. I wasn't, that was a huge mistake on my part."

"Yeah. It was." Mark strictly told. "You gonna support the trial?" Mark asked, changing the subject.

"Uh, if I see something worth, then yes. Even if she isn't successful, it will provide her with a lot of experience for the future."

"She really has a knack for neuro, doesn't she?" Addison asked her husband. When she first came to Seattle, she thought that it was just because of her relationship with Derek that Meredith was one of the most demanded interns. But, she soon saw that she was wrong.

"Yes, she does. Genuine interest and raw talent." Derek said. "Mark, this may very well not be successful, be prepared for her to feel lost and disappointed. I hope that's not the case, but still..."

"Yeah. I get it." Mark agreed. "By the way, Addie, the skin graft you needed, for the baby... it should be ready by tomorrow."

"That's great, Mark. Hopefully, she will survive the surgery." Se said. "Look at us, being professional. You talking to Meredith in front of me, me and Mark talking in front of you.."

"We're growing up." Derek said, smiling at his wife. "We'll see you tomorrow." He directed at Mark. There was still a long time before things got back to completely normal for the two gentlemen, but they were friendly enough for a few conversations, especially in a group.

"Bye."

"Alright, Dr. Grey. Let's see what you've got." Derek said, entering the library the next morning.

"Here. I've compiled all my research for you to go through. I basically want to inject a live virus into the tumour; the hope is that this will reduce the tumour from within." Meredith said, as she passed the stack of folders to him

"Alright..." Derek started glancing through the material.

"This has never been done on humans, and it's rare..." Meredith started, unsure of her work and clearly nervous.

"Meredith, that's the point of a clinical trial. Calm down. I'll go over it and get back to you." Derek told her.

"Addison... wait up." Mark called for his friend.

"Yeah.." Addison asked turning around and facing him.

"I need your advice." Mark told her nervously.

"Shoot."

"I want to.. no.. need to tell Meredith how I really feel. I don't know how..." Mark was stammering. addison had never seem him like this. Mark was one of the most confident people she knew.

"Then tell her-"

"What if she doesnt feel the same way." Mark asked. Him and Addison were unaware that Cristina was able to hear the entire conversation.

"She feels the exact same way." Cristina said, interrupting them. "She too likes you, more than a friend and is scared that you don't reciprocate. Stupids, both of you." She told him shaking her head.

"She told you that?" mark asked, with a glimmer of hope.

"Not in so many words. Also, she didn't need to. I've never seen her like that, not even with McDreamy... sorry." Cristina answered, directing the last part to Addison when she realised that there were three of them there.

"I know my husband and Meredith dated. You don't need to apologise." She told the young doctor.

Just then, they saw Meredith and Derek leaving the Chief's office. Meredith looked like she wanted to jump, she was so excited.

"Your expressions say that the chief agreed." Addison remarked when the joined the group.

"Yes, he did." Meredith replied giddily.

"Dr. Grey did excellent work. But, the hard part starts now... you ready?" Derek asked the resident.

"You bet I am. I also have a list of potential patients." Meredith replied, looking forward to the trial.

"All approvals received?" Mark asked. He was really proud of his best friend. He knew since he first met her at Dartmouth that she would be an excellent surgeon.

"I have contacted the FDA, but it shouldn't be an issue." Derek said.

"What approval... what's going on?" Cristina asked Meredith.

"Oh. I haven't told you about it. I forgot. Come on." Meredith said, pulling Cristina with her.

"Wow. You found all that by yourself?" Cristina was shocked to say the least. They were sitting on the gurney in the basement, Meredith telling Yang about it all.

"Yup." Meredith said, smiling.

"And Shepherd will let you take charge?" That didn't happen often. Experienced surgeons had egos that were huge, so to allow a resident to take charge was a big change.

"Yes." Meredith proceeded to tell Cristina all about her conversation with Derek the previous night and how scared she was at first. She honoured that they trusted her enough. Derek, Mark and the chief.

"Man! Be happy I'm married to cardio, I would have fought damn hard to get into this with you otherwise." Cristina was happy for her, albeit a bit jealous too.

"I know that. I didn't expect him to allow me, you know. I was scared."

"But he agreed, right?"

"Oh yes. But he acknowledged that this was my research and I should take charge. He will oversee the entire thing, but the research is solely mine. I cannot tell you how happy I am." Meredith exclaimed, unable to hold her excitement.

"God, I wish I have an idea like that as well. By the way, this totally what you Greys do right? Your mother and now you.."

"Why does everybody keep saying that?"

"Cause it's true."

"Okay.. whatever. Please don't tell anyone about this. I don't want everyone to make a big deal and then get my hopes up."

"Of course." She knew that many people would not be happy with a resident getting such an opportunity. Izzie would again get something to add to the list of things see holds against Meredith, however good a doctor she might be. Cristina did not understand her friend, nor did she agree with her.

"Now I'm going off to sleep. I haven't slept in two days." Meredith said, half sleep walking towards the parking lot.

"Hey, how are you?" Mark asked Meredith when he saw her stirring on the bed. She was asleep when he came in late afternoon, and thought it was best to let her sleep.

"Good, I needed that rest." Meredith said, rubbing her eyes.

"You did. You want to go out for dinner?" Mark asked. Cristina's words had been permanently planted in his brain and he wanted to finally tell the women in front, what she meant to him.

"Okay, how nice... the place?" Meredith clarified. She needed to know how well to dress up.

"Uh, formal enough." He had gone all out. He had reserved a place in one the finest hotels, and outdoor setting, overlooking the city. He just hoped she liked it. "I also have a dress for you in the living room."

"Really? What's the occasion?" Meredith asked inquisitively.

"Do I need an occasion to spoil my best friend?" Mark retorted. Meredith knew something was up, she couldn't put her finger on what though. She went to the living room and opened the dress bag. She came across one of the mos bautiful dresses she had ever seen. It was a knee length dress, Light burgundy in colour and had black embroidery on te neck and chest.

"Wow! Mark, this is..." She had no words, the dress was so pretty. She absolutely loved it.

"I'm glad you like it, Mer." He had provided Addison with a entire pamphlet of choices. She had also called Yang to help her out, as she didn't know Meredith that well. Together, they decided on this one. It was a bit expensive, but price was never a concern for Mark, he was one of the top plastic surgeons in the country, for God's sake. It had all been worth it when he saw Meredith's expressions, he would any amount of money to see that.

Half an hour later, Mark was sitting in the living room, all dressed up in a black suit. As Meredith entered the room in the dress, with light make-up on, Mark felt as if time had stopped. She was truly the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.

"You're gonna kill me, Grey." Mark said, putting his hand on his heart for a more dramatic effect.

"That's plan, Sloan." Meredith winked. Holding his hand, the both of them left the apartment for a date that would change their lives forever.