Chapter 24:

July 1, 2006- New York City, New York

Dear Love I miss you much
I miss your smile and I miss your touch
But I found a place where I can erase my past
Maybe someday when you're old and gray
And your hair falls out and your tattoos fade
You might see me standing
Hat in hand

Meredith was wrapped in a sheet on her new bed in her new apartment. She didn't like it. It was small and lonely. She was used to her house with George and Izzie. But now all she had was a small kitchen, a living room, a bedroom, and one bathroom. She thought back to Derek. She didn't want to, but she couldn't help it. Everything reminded her of him. She knew he wouldn't understand her leaving. Even though he had done it to his own wife not that long ago. He would never understand.

I have to go away
I've got no reason to stay here
You said someday you'll change
But even a fool will tell you
Someday never comes

She had tried to believe him. She tried more than once to believe that he was going to divorce her, she really did. The only thing was that she knew he would never do it. He couldn't admit to failure. Being divorced meant that he had failed at his marriage. He just couldn't get past that. Meredith groaned slightly as memories began to fill her head.

You built your rooms
You built your walls
You kept me outside of it all
I got tired of you
What's a girl to do
Maybe someday if we stay this way
And you see my face in a different place
You'll remember when
You're going to thank me then

She had known that this had been her only option. It was her only chance to be happy. She couldn't be happy in Seattle without Derek. At least here not everything reminded her of him so easily. She usually could find some connection between everything and him, but at least she didn't have memories attached. She was really beginning to hate memories.

I have to go away
I've got no reason to stay here
You said someday you'll change
But even a fool will tell you
Someday never comes

Meredith sighed and rolled over. She faced the wall and tried to forget what she had just done. Repeated her past. She could smell the man's cologne as her eyes fell to the floor and looked at his shirt lying next to her pants. She began to be cluttered with even more memories. She decided that this was the best thing. Someday her memories would go away. Someday.

January 18, 2007- Seattle, Washington

"I can't believe she's back," George said as he walked down the hall with Izzie.

"Can we not talk about Meredith? Just for once? We talked about her enough when she wasn't here. Why do we have to now that she's back?" Izzie asked obviously annoyed.

"I want to talk to her," George said ignoring the harshness in Izzie's tone.

"I already did. You're the one that slammed the door in her face."

"Don't remind me," George said as Izzie turned away from him to go to Burke's office.

Meredith walked into Derek's office and planted herself on the couch without acknowledging the fact that he was sitting at his desk. He looked over at her and could tell that she wasn't very happy. He could easily tell that it was her friends or her lack thereof that was getting to her. He got up from his desk and sat down on the couch next to her and pulled her closer to him. She sat on his lap, placing her head comfortably on his chest as he ran his fingers gently through her golden hair.

She looked miserable and he didn't know what to do to fix it. Derek sighed and kissed her lightly on her forehead as he saw a tear roll down her cheek. He looked at her questioningly and she looked back up at him, "How much did it hurt?"

"Did what hurt?" Derek asked getting a little confused.

"When I left? Did I really hurt everyone?" Meredith asked feeling guilty.

"Honestly Meredith? I've never seen this hospital so gloomy. It hurt like hell," Derek said. He knew it wasn't exactly what Meredith wanted to hear, but she knew it was the truth. She knew that she mattered to people here and that she let them down. She abandoned them.

"I'm just like my father."

"No you aren't," Derek said definitely.

"I just left. I left without a note or an explanation and I didn't talk to anyone. It's exactly like my father. I'm just like him," Meredith said obviously not happy about the family resemblance.

"No, you are different. You came back."

"Maybe we should tell her," George said as Izzie sat down for lunch with him.

"Once again can we get off the topic of Meredith? God, I swear you are obsessed with her!" Izzie said.

"I am not. I'm just wondering. Should we tell her?" George asked.

"Who cares? Would it change anything? Probably not."

"You never know. Meredith might want to know," George said.

Izzie rolled her eyes, "If she really cared than she wouldn't of left!"

July 7, 2006- Seattle, Washington

"You're Dr. O'Malley, right? One of Meredith's friends?" an old man said, stopping George in a hospital hallway.

George almost shuddered just hearing her name. It was too soon to talk about her. She had just left a few days ago. They had just put the house on the market. But it seems as though he was going to be forced, "Yes. I'm Dr. O'Malley. How can I help you?" George said to the familiar face. He just couldn't decide why it was so familiar.

"I'm Thatcher Grey," the man said. George knew exactly why he was so familiar.

"Meredith's father?"

"Yes. Meredith's father. Do you know where she is by any chance?" Thatcher asked George with a hopeful look on his face.

"I wish I did," he answered back honestly. He really did wish he had any clue where she went. The Chief had come to the house to pick up her boxes. He had been given her address and phone number, but he was told to keep it to himself.

"Is she working or at home?" Thatcher asked, craving information.

"I'm sorry Mr. Grey, but Meredith doesn't work here anymore. She doesn't live here anymore," George said, still having a head time making her name come out of her mouth.

"She moved?" he asked. George could she the disappointment in his eyes. He'd seen the same look more than once in Meredith's identical eyes.

"I'm sorry. She left a few days ago."

Thatcher looked down at his fidgeting hands, searching for words, "If you talk to her. Can you tell her that I wanted to see her? She came to see me and I didn't really talk to her. I need to talk to her. She's my daughter."

"I will, but I'm pretty sure she's decided to forget her entire past," George said. She had. She forgot her family, her friends, and the love of her life.

"Just tell her," Thatcher said before walking away.

"I have to tell her," George said coming back from his dreamlike state.

"Why?" Izzie asked still sounding annoyed.

"Because I said I would. I promised him that I would tell her," George said.

"Than why are you talking to me? Just go tell her for all I care," Izzie said.