Chapter 12:

January 13, 2007- New York City, New York

Meredith walked into her apartment as she saw Jacob leaving. She looked up at him in confusion. "Where are you going?"

Jacob kissed her cheek quickly, "I have the late shift. I'll be home later tonight. Don't wait up for me though."

Meredith watched him leave and then walked into her small, empty apartment. She took a shower, knowing it was the only thing that was going to help her relax. She tried to wash away the feeling of Derek's hands all over her body, but she couldn't. After an hour-long shower, she decided it was a lost cause and got out of the shower. She dried her hair a little and then put on a pair of sweat pants and her Dartmouth tee shirt. She looked in the mirror and her suspicions were proven true: She looked like crap. She put her hair up in a loose ponytail and then left her bedroom.

She grabbed some ice cream and sat on the couch, noticing that this was becoming a habit for her. She turned on the television and The Notebook was on. "Sappy love movies and Ice cream. The perfect cure for anything," she thought to herself, hoping that that statement was truer than it seemed.

By the time the rain scene came along and Noah finally kissed Allie again, Meredith's ice cream was gone and she was half asleep on the couch. In New York it was raining too and Meredith began to think that it was very reflective of her current emotional state. She heard the front door open and the noise of the pouring rain became more distinct. She figured it was just Cristina coming back from where ever she went, but as the wet figure displayed themselves in front of Meredith, she knew she was all too wrong.

Meredith sat up fast, both shocked and scared. She looked at him for a moment, "What are you doing here?"

A puddle of water was beginning to form beneath the figure. The front door was still open; pouring water into the front hall of Meredith's apartment, but neither one of them seemed to notice that or the fierce claps of thunder and the bright shocks of lightning. He stood there for a moment trying to gather his words before responding to Meredith, "I can't let you go."

"Derek, if I remember correctly, you walked away. You stayed with your wife. You told me this was over that day in the stairwell. I've never ended this. You've always ended it," Meredith said obviously angry with Derek.

Derek ran his fingers through his dripping wet hair and continued to look at Meredith who seemed to becoming increasingly uncomfortable. He was at a loss for words and he knew no matter how many words he did come up with, they wouldn't change anything. Words were only words. They weren't much to Meredith. Derek began to walk across Meredith's living room towards her, leaving water everywhere in the process. Before Meredith had time to react, he grabbed her again and pulled her into a passionate kiss. At first it seemed to be full of hatred towards each other and themselves, but then ended up being full of love and desire.

Meredith's body was soaked after only a few minutes of being close to Derek, but she never felt a drop of water. All she could feel was Derek. She began to take off his dripping jacket and it fell back behind him. Meredith's hair fell down naturally and Derek entangled his fingers in it as he supported her body. She began to walk backwards and around the couch. Derek followed, almost without noticing the movement. They were both so involved in their kisses that they didn't really notice what else was going on.

Derek stopped Meredith from moving any farther as he began to take off the shirt he loved so much. Meredith instinctively removed the sweater he was wearing, making their bare skin meet. Meredith began moving backwards again as she unzipped his pants. By the time they reached her bedroom, they both were stripped of their clothing. Meredith fell back upon her bed and Derek pulled away from her for the first time. He looked into her beautiful eyes and took the whole moment in before saying anything. "I love you."

Meredith smiled and kissed him gently on the lips, "I love you too," she said as Derek pushed his body back down on the bed and they both forgot everything else in the world: except each other.