Meredith called Derek and asked him to come over when he could so they could finish their conversation from the other night. She told him she'd be home around five, and he could come when he was done at the hospital. Derek showed up around eight and Meredith welcomed him inside.

Meredith sat with her legs crisscrossed on the couch, with a pillow on her lap. "So I've been thinking about what you said the other night; like a lot. I like you."

"I like you too." Derek smiled. So far he was liking what he was hearing.

"But..." Meredith wasn't sure what she was trying to say. "The thing is, I have some concerns. You're a doctor. I know how doctor's work; my mother was one, is one. They're rarely around and live at the hospital. You can't really make plans because plans will cancel if you get paged. I'd want the person I'm with around; I don't want to wake up in the morning finding him gone because I have abandonment issues." Meredith admitted. "Because my dad left, and my mom was always at the hospital."

"What are you saying then?"

"I don't know what I'm saying, that's the thing. I'm willing to give us a shot, but I don't want to get hurt. The last relationship I was in was a bad one; it ended bad, so I told myself I'd focus on my business. But now I'm ready to be in one, it's just..."

"To make you feel better, mine ended bad too." Derek tried to be a little funny by saying that, but Meredith didn't find it much amusing. "Listen, Meredith. We can take things slow. Go on dates, and get to know each other better than we already do. We don't-"

"Taking things slow sounds nice." She smiled. "But it means no sex any time soon. You think you can handle that?"

"I think I can." Derek chuckled.

"Okay."


Meredith and Derek began going on dates. The first official date they went on was a dinner date. Derek took Meredith to a nice restaurant, where they ordered wine and even shared a desert at the very end. It felt weird at first for the both of them, and awkward, because they were friends and now they're becoming more romantically involved with each other. But most first dates are awkward, and you just have to power through them, and that's exactly what the two of them did.

"So I want you to tell me things I don't know about you." Meredith said. "I want to know who Derek Shepherd really is."

"Okay, well what do you want to know?"

"Anything; everything. Like are you a secret serial killer and being a doctor is your cover?" She joked.

Derek laughed. "Okay, well I have four sisters; uh, nine nieces, five nephews. I like coffee ice cream; single malt scotch; occasional good cigar if I can find one." He took a sip of his drink. "I, uh, I cheat when I do the Sunday's crossword puzzle, and I never dance in public. Favorite band, The Clash. Favorite novel, the Sun Also Rises. And my favorite color is blue; I don't like light blue; indigo blue."

"Wait, so you're the only brother out of four sisters?" Meredith asked.

"Is that all you got from everything I said?" Derek chuckled.

"No. And between them all, you have nine nieces and five nephews? Do twins run in your family?"

"They do, actually."

"You said you never dance in public? I might have a problem with that." Meredith smiled. "I love to dance, so I think we'll need to get you out of your shell."

Derek shook his head, grinning. "I'm an awful dancer; you don't want to see me dance."

"I have to see to believe it."

"You don't want to see it, believe me."

"If we're going to do this dating thing, I have to." Meredith smirked.

The awkwardness and weirdness of it all quickly went away as they continued to do more dates and acted more like a couple. Meredith would sometimes come to the hospital and have lunch with Derek in the hospital cafeteria, and other times Meredith would try to cook for Derek. She would also invite him to stay the night with her, though sex is still not on the table. Since they're not having sex yet, Meredith was able to convince Derek to show her his dance move. She wasn't sure what was worse, his moves or his facial expressions he was making. Either way, Meredith couldn't stop laughing and soon agreed with Derek he couldn't dance.

"This is great, really." Derek said as they lay in bed. It's been a month since they've been dating, and the only physical aspect of their relationship they're doing, is kissing, hugging, and cuddling. "Doing crossword puzzles in bed; current events. When does the knitting start?"

"Shut up." Meredith laughed, kicking him. "Good things come to those who wait."

"Uh-huh. And so does sex." Derek dropped the newspaper and pulled Meredith down to him, getting on top of her. He started to kiss her neck.

"There's going to be no sex." She laughed. "Stop it. I promise it's going to be worth waiting; more fun, and we need fun."

Derek's pager went off, and he sighed getting off his girlfriend. He reached for it and glanced down at it; 911.

"I have to go." He gave Meredith a kiss and climbed out of her bed. "But I'm expecting sex when I get back."

"Don't count on it."

Meredith tried waiting up for Derek to come back, but when the clock hit midnight and he still wasn't, Meredith went to sleep. She just hoped she'll wake up with him next to her. But that didn't happen either. Meredith figured Derek was pulled into a surgery and he spent the night at the hospital to monitor his patient.

Meredith got up and got ready to go into her cafe today. She hasn't been going in lately and kind of misses it. Like she told Derek, The Village Cafe is her baby. She misses her baby.

"Next in line." Meredith waved over. "Hi, what can I get you?"

"Uh, a double shot expresso." The man said. "And a date with me."

Meredith smiled and reached for a cup and marker. "I'm flattered, but I have a boyfriend. What's your name?"

"Mark."

"Mark." Meredith scribbled onto the cup. "Okay, it'll be $4.50."

Mark handed Meredith his credit card and she slid it, handing it back to him. "Well if it doesn't work out with your boyfriend, come find me. Or find me anyways. I got a new job at the hospital down the street."


Meredith decided to go to the hospital and have lunch with Derek. She waited in the lobby since he was just scrubbing out of surgery.

"I didn't think you'd find me this quick." Meredith looked up and saw Mark. "Did you break up with your boyfriend?"

"Actually I'm here to see him."

"You move fast. I like that. What do you say we get out of here and-" Before he could finish his thought, Mark got a fist to his face.

"What the hell was that?" Meredith exclaimed.

"Ah. Ah." Derek shook his hand trying to ease the pain. "That's Mark; the person who slept with my wife."

"Funny how you see me sleep with your wife, and all you do is walk out. You see me talking to a cute girl, and you punch me."

"You know what?" Meredith got up. "I'll see you tonight."

"You count on it." Mark called after her.

"She was talking to me." Derek said. "She's my girlfriend."

"Didn't think young was your type."

"What the hell are you doing here?"

"I came to win back my best friend." Mark said. "And I work here now too."

"This is just great." Derek said sarcastically as he walked away to ice his hand. "Just great."

One of my favorite scenes in Grey's is in season 5 when Derek tries to dance it out with Meredith when she and Cristina were fighting. I always laugh when I watch that scene, so for those who remember that scene, lets just say that's exactly how Derek danced in this chapter :p

For the second half, I thought it'd be fun if Mark came into the story and hit on Meredith at her cafe. Then he sees her at the hospital and thinks she's there to see him, but in reality she's there to see her boyfriend, aka his ex-best friend.

I hope you liked this chapter! Thanks for reading :D