Andrew anxiously drove his girlfriend's SUV through the city of Seattle with her best friend in the seat next to him.

There were very few words exchanged on the drive from the airport to the jail, and when they entered the building Cristina had marched right on up to the desk, leaving Shane and Andrew watching from the sidelines. Andrew had offered to help post bail, but Cristina was having none of it. Apparently this was something that Meredith and Cristina had discussed hypothetically for years.

As they stood waiting for Meredith, Alex, and Richard, Andrew noticed he was fidgeting quite a bit. The last time he saw Meredith she had told him she loved him through a glass wall, then turned herself in to let him out of this same jail. He knew he'd heard those words, but he wouldn't allow himself to fully believe them until she was back in his arms.

Meredith was the first to emerge when the door finally opened. Andrew took a few steps forward, but was beaten out by Cristina, who held Meredith for what felt like an eternity. It seemed oddly out of character for Meredith to be crying and squealing, but it calmed him to see how excited she was.

When Meredith finally left Cristina and made her way back to Andrew, he pulled her into his arms, silenced her, and kissed her with as much love as he could in the public space. Once they parted Meredith simply rested her head on Andrew's shoulder and he held her close. This whole situation sucked, but he was still so incredibly in awe of the wonder woman that was somehow still his.

Andrew was pulled from his thoughts when Meredith lifted her head back up and turned to the rest of their group.

"You all go ahead. We'll meet you at the car." she told them.

Cristina gave Meredith a look, then moved her gaze to DeLuca.

"Keys." she stated, extending her hand.

DeLuca smiled and pulled Meredith's keys from his pocket. The couple waited quietly until the door had closed behind Dr. Ross, then shared another deep kiss.

"I love you, Meredith." Andrew spoke softly, leaving one of his hands on the back of Meredith's head.

Meredith took a deep breath, during which Andrew let his thoughts start to roam again. Maybe she hadn't really meant it. Maybe she'd only told him she loved him because she didn't know how long it would be until she'd see him again.

"I love you too, Andrew." she finally reassured him.

Andrew's face broke out into the most stupid grin as he pulled the woman he loved back into his arms for one more kiss.

"We should get going." he told Meredith. "Ma quando finalmente ti metterò da solo, voglio mostrarti quanto mi rendi felice."

Meredith blushed a little at the implication, plus it was no secret to either of them that she found him even sexier when he spoke in Italian. She took Andrew's hand and walked with him out to her car, where Cristina, Shane, Alex, and Richard were waiting.

"We're back at the old house." Meredith told Cristina after climbing into the middle seat with Andrew.

Andrew was curious about what other house there was, but he didn't ask. He knew that Meredith would give him more details about her life as their relationship progressed.

As they drove, Richard and Cristina chatted away in the front seats about their work while Alex updated Shane on all the Grey Sloan social gossip in the back.

Andrew mostly tuned them out. He hadn't gotten much sleep the last few days and it was all he could do to keep his eyes open. Andrew hadn't even been in jail for a few hours before Meredith had arrived to take his place. He was upset enough with her, but shocked to discover that Alex and Richard had decided to follow suit and turn themselves in. They had a long night ahead of them, so Andrew took advantage of the somewhat relaxed atmosphere of the SUV. He grabbed Meredith's hand and squeezed it gently. Meredith responded by resting her head on Andrew's shoulder. If he hadn't slept he couldn't even imagine what Meredith's night had been like.

Once they arrived back at the house, Cristina swung into full-gear as if it were her own home. It was fascinating for Andrew to watch the unfamiliar woman unlock the door and head straight for the tequila.

"Where are my kids?" Meredith asked, heading towards the stairs.

"I left them with Amelia, so they must be out somewhere." Andrew responded.

Cristina came back with a tray of glasses, each about half full of the golden liquid, and a glass of water for Richard.

"Sit." she commanded.

Andrew scanned the room to see that Richard and Meredith obeyed without question while a somewhat scared expression crossed Alex Karev's face before he took the final spot on the couch.

Andrew took his glass of tequila and slowly shifted over towards the kitchen near Shane, who seemed to feel equally out of place.

"Would you like something other than tequila, Dr. Ross?" Andrew offered.

Shane offered Andrew a smile. "That would be great. Thank you, Dr. DeLuca."

Andrew took his and Shane's glasses into the kitchen and grabbed a couple of beers from the fridge. He had a feeling that Alex would have liked one too, but he felt safer keeping his distance from Cristina Yang.

"So you're Dr. Yang's fellow?" he asked curiously.

"In the same sense that you're Dr. Grey's resident." Shane supplied, confirming Andrew's suspicions. "Well, maybe not exactly the same. It's a rather casual situation. You seem to be a past that."

Andrew chuckled as he popped open his beer and took a long swig. "You could say that."

The two men could hear Meredith raising her voice and Andrew invited Shane out onto the porch.

"I love her, but I've learned that sometimes the best thing to do is give her some space."

Shane laughed and settled into a chair. "I could have told you that."

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Thank you for the follows/favs/reviews! This chapter was just a quick bit of fluff to show you where DeLuca's head is at. The next chapter will really dive in and take off with what's happening inside. I'm planning to switch around between various perspectives, so be sure to let me know if there's someone you'd like to see featured!

xx Lissa