Derek lay awake in bed with Meredith curled up next to him. Her head was on his chest; her light breathing tickled him slightly. She sighed a little and snuggled closer, so he pulled the blanket up around her shoulders and put his arms around her a little more tightly. The morning was rainy and cool. Typical Seattle. Meredith opened her eyes a little, but Derek didn't see. Feigning sleep, Meredith tried to be as still as possible.

Not knowing that Meredith was awake, Derek was careful in getting out of bed. He put his pillow under her and kissed her gently. After pulling on a sweatshirt, Derek stood in front of the bathroom mirror to shave and brush his teeth. I want to do something for Meredith. She's been so strong through all of this. I wonder what I could do for her… Maybe Addison would have some ideas... He finished brushing then pulled on a pair of boots and a rain jacket. The cool, wet air felt good on his face. Some bushes behind the trailer rustled slightly. A few minutes later, they rustled again. Curious, Derek went to see what was behind his trailer. Trees dripped cold droplets onto his shoulders, and the wind made everything feel a little cooler. Cautiously, he spread the bushes apart to see what was making the rustling sounds. He was greeted by a small dog with a bleeding leg.

"Hey, there," he spoke softly, not wanting to frighten the injured animal.

The dog glanced at him warily, and he decided not to move closer for the time being. Instead, he sat down on the wet ground a few feet away from the dog and began talking softly. Soon, the reddish colored dog edged a little closer. Derek offered her the rest of the bacon sandwich he'd been eating, and she took it hungrily.

"I have some more inside, little girl. Would you like that?" he was still speaking softly, but this time she nudged his hand and pawed at his leg.

He stood and headed toward the trailer for more bacon. When he returned, the dog was still sitting in the same spot. She eagerly ate the rest of the bacon from Derek's hand and tried to climb into his lap.

"Can I look at your leg? Do you think that would be okay?" he was still almost whispering to the dog, who looked from her injured leg back to Derek as if she understood.

Another rustling sound caused Derek to startle. He looked toward the trailer to find Meredith standing a few feet away. She had pulled one of his sweatshirts over her blue camisole and tucked her pink striped pajama bottoms into a pair of his rain boots. His fishing hat was covering most of her messy ponytail.

"Good morning, Beautiful."

"Who's that?"

"Thanks a lot, Mer."

"Morning, Sweetie. What happened to his paw?"

"I'm not sure. It needs some sutures though. Could you get my first aid kit from the truck? By the way, he is actually a she."

"Oh. Okay. Yeah. I'll be right back."

She returned a few minutes later with his first aid kit. After pulling on some gloves, Derek began work on the dog's paw. She was surprisingly still while he worked, and he finished quickly. The pair decided it would be best to take the little dog to the animal shelter just in case she had an owner.

"Hello. May I help you?"

"Well, we found her," he indicated the dog in Meredith's arms, "In our yard, bleeding. I sutured her leg and fed her, but I thought she might have a home. She's wearing a collar."

"I believe she was reported missing a few days ago," the clerk began working at the computer and quickly pulled up a file on the missing dog. "Thank-you for bringing her in. We'll make sure she gets back to her owner."

"It was no problem," Derek squeezed Meredith's hand as they left the animal shelter.

As they walked toward Derek's truck, Meredith sighed deeply. She looked back toward the animal shelter wistfully. She misses Doc. He opened the door for her before jumping in the other side.

"How about some nice, greasy food?" Derek suggested.

"McDonald's?"

"Sure!" He turned toward the nearest McDonald's.

After enjoying Quarter Pounders, fries, and milkshakes, Derek told Meredith he had to make a quick trip to the hospital. He drove toward the hospital, dialing Addison's phone number as he drove.

"Hello?"

"Addison, I need to talk to you. Are you at the hospital?"

"Yes."

"I'll be there in about ten minutes."

The door to Addison's office was slightly ajar when Derek arrived. He knocked as he entered, and Addison stood to greet him.

"What's going on?"

"I want to talk to you about Meredith."

"Derek, she's getting so much better. You don't have to treat her like she's a porcelain doll."

"That's not what I want to talk about."

"Oh."

"I want to do something for her, buy her a present or something."

"Girls like purses and shoes. And jewelry," she answered with a smile.

"Addie! Today we found a dog in the bushes. When we took the dog to the animal shelter, she seemed really sad to let her go. Do you think she would be okay with another dog so soon after Doc?"

"Umm. I think so. Yeah. She really loved Doc, but if she looked sad to let the other dog go, then she's probably ready for a new pet."

"What kind should I get her?"

"I don't know. That kind of depends on her."

"You don't think it would upset her?"

"Not at all. She'd probably love it."

"Will you come with me puppy shopping?"

"Sure. I'm done here at six."

"I'll pick you up."

At precisely six o'clock, Derek was sitting outside the back entrance to Addison's office. She appeared a few minutes later with her briefcase, purse, two pairs of shoes, and some charts. There were also travel mugs and a lumpy object Derek couldn't identify.

"Need some help?"

"I've got it," she replied, tossing the stuff in the back of her car before climbing into the truck.

On Addison's suggestion, they stopped by a farm that breeds dogs and two kennels in lieu of a pet shop. At the third place, Derek found something he thought Meredith might like. The breeder raised golden retrievers and labs. He looked into each cage at pups in various stages of growth. Some were nearly ready to leave their mom while another litter was barely opening its eyes. The last kennel in the row caught Derek's attention. A puppy that was just a little larger than all the rest was alone in the kennel. It immediately jumped up when Derek bent down.

"How old is he or she?" he pointed to the lone pup in the kennel.

"The vet assumed that one is about four months old. She's a rescue dog. Someone found her near their home, nearly starved to death. The vet said that she's a purebred. No one claimed her, so we took her. I don't really have enough room for another retriever, but I couldn't leave her in the shelter," the breeder watched the pup lovingly.

"I think I'd like to have her."

"I'll take her for a check-up and get her ready first thing in the morning. You can come back tomorrow afternoon to pick up your new friend."

"Okay. Thanks."

He gave the woman his phone number, and they set off toward the hospital so that Addison could get her car. When they were out of sight of the kennel and back onto a main road, Derek decided to probe Addison. Her unusual silence that evening bothered him. I could be opening up a can of worms. Or I could help her if she needs to talk. Maybe she just feels awkward…What the hell.

"Ads? You okay over there? You've been quiet all evening," he spoke, but she continued to stare out the window. "Addison? Psst! Paging Dr. Sh-Montgomery."

"Hmm?"

"Addie, are you okay?"

"Oh, yeah. I'm fine."

"Addison, I don't believe you. You're not a quiet person. Talk."

"I don't really want to," she mumbled, fingering a fray on her lab coat.

"Will you talk to someone?"

"No," her voice was almost inaudible, and he pulled over to the side of the road.

"I'm not moving until you tell me what's wrong with you," he tilted her head to face him.

"Derek, please."

"Addison, I don't want you to…Well, I mean…"

"Fine. I did something sort of stupid, and I might be regretting it a little bit."

"What did you do?"

"Nothing."

"Did you sleep with Karev?"

"What? Why would you…?"

"I see the way he looks at you. He really likes you."

"You think so?" she blushed.

"I know so. He gets so angry whenever he sees anyone else flirting with you," she opened her mouth, but he stopped her. "Yes, people do flirt with you, especially Alex."

"He…he does?"

"Addison!"

"Okay. It's just that I really like him, too. And now I wish I hadn't slept with him because I don't want to ruin what we've got. I'm finally beginning to feel happy."

"Good. I want you to be happy, but Ads? You need to talk to Alex. He needs to know how you're feeling. He didn't…uh…"

"No. It was all me. I really wanted to…at first. Then, I didn't. I think I love him, Derek. I don't want to hurt him," she paused. "But I don't want to get hurt either."

"Talk to him soon, Addie. It's not fair to either one of you."

"Okay. I'll call him as soon as I get home. Can we go now?"

"Of course. You're not still…"

"No. Not right at this moment. Right now I'm just confused."

"Okay," he wasn't sure if he could believe her, but signaled and pulled back onto the road anyway.

GAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGA

Do you really want to do this? It was rough last time, but it was worth it in every way. No one ever said it would be easy. Not then, and certainly not now. I do want this. Derek was driving, and the golden retriever puppy kept trying to lick him. Lick, lick. Slurp. Bark. Reaching over the seat, he tousled the little girl's ears. In return, she nuzzled his hand. And licked him, of course. Woof. To occupy her, he gave her a Milk-bone. She was instantly fascinated and left him alone to drive and think for a few minutes. Meredith is going to be so excited when she sees her new pup. I'm already too attached to her, and she's only been sitting next to me for about five minutes. Continuing along the way, lost in thought, Derek decided the best way would be to do it quickly, before he lost his nerve.

"Meredith?"

"Huh?"

"Sweetie, I have a present for you."

"Present? Ooh! Is that my present?" she appeared in the living area of the small trailer, pointing to the puppy.

"Yes. She is your present."

Carefully, he handed Meredith the little retriever and watched her coo and ahh over her delicate, silky ears and soft tummy. She petted the puppy from every angle, but still didn't notice the thing Derek most wanted her to notice. Soon, she put her down to let her explore the trailer.

"I think I'll call her 'Nurse'. Come here, Nurse. Here, girl," she clucked her tongue, but the puppy didn't look her way until she opened a bag of treats. "There's Mommy's good girl! Come here. Hey…what's that on your collar?"

When Meredith looked where the license was supposed to be on the puppy's collar, she noticed that there wasn't a license after all. It was shiny, but definitely not a license. Derek smiled to himself as she examined the collar.

"Derek? What's this?" she was now holding the mysterious object in her hand.

"Well, what do you think it is?"

"It's a diamond ring. But, what's it for?"

"It's for you, us. A symbol of our future. Almost losing you made me realize that I can't look into my own future without seeing you there. Would you do me the honor of being there for my future and marry me?"

Stunned, she looked from the ring to Derek to Nurse and back to the ring again. Tears came to her eyes but didn't fall. It took her a moment to find her voice, then she looked at the puppy again.

"Did you put your Daddy up to this? If you did…you're a very good girl," she smiled and turned to Derek. "Yes, I'll marry you."

Nurse seemed to understand that something good was going on, as she began to bark and wiggle excitedly. Derek and Meredith joined her in the floor in a heap of arms, legs, a tail, and one big, slobbery tongue. I'm finally going to have a happy little family.

AN: Sorry it took so long to update. I'm suffering from a bad case of writer's block on this one. Encourage me and maybe I'll be able to think a little better.