Notes: Hello everybody! I'm back! Lol. And here's a new chapter. I really hope you'll like this one.

Thank you very much for the reviews! They really make me happy and inspire me a lot.

Now, on with chapter 4.

Meredith was met with the curious and widened gaze of the secretary, Diane Chandler. Apparently, the walls of the private office are not thick enough to shut out the sound of their raised voices. Meredith strained to appear composed despite her fight with Derek as she walked to Diane's desk.

"Put aside whatever you're doing, Diane," she ordered, trying to ignore the Diane's curious look. "I want you to type a letter of resignation – for me. You know the standard form of these things. Just keep it simple and direct. Effective immediately."

"Right away, Mrs. Shepherd," Diane murmured, immediately turning to her computer.

The office door was pulled open and Meredith glanced over her shoulder to see Derek walk through. She could tell that he himself was trying to keep his emotions in check. Derek looked at her and walked towards her. She didn't want to talk to him anymore but she stood there motionless as he walked to her, the force of his gaze vibrating all over her body.

"Meredith, I – " Derek didn't get the rest of his sentence out.

"Oh, I see you're on your way," Michael suddenly appeared from the corridor. "I was just coming to see how much longer you'd be." His gazed switched its attention to Meredith and became troubled at the sight of the lines of stress in her face.

"Yes, I'm on my way," Derek agreed crisply, and looked back at Meredith. "I want you to attend the meeting, Meredith." He stated.

Meredith's brows furrowed, there was something in his gaze, it was almost like he was pleading for her to agree. But her pride has gotten the best of her. "No. It's better for everyone to realize that you're in charge now. My being there might confuse them." She saw his featured harden at her response.

"Let's go," Derek turned abruptly, addressing Michael and in a silent storm, he walked out of the room. Meredith stood there feeling drained and colorless; a mixture of emotions washing over her. Her nerves felt like it might snap at the slightest pressure. When the letter of resignation was printed out, her hand trembled as she affixed her signature to it.

"Please put it on Mr. Shepherd's desk," she said, handing the letter to Diane.

"It was nice working for you, Mrs. Shepherd," the young secretary sincerely offered as Meredith turned to go.

"Thank you, Diane," Meredith gave a small smile, and then hurried from the room.

Leaving the building, she walked to her car. She didn't want to go home. She knew there was no way she could handle listening to Caroline Shepherd's happy conversation about Derek's return. With the top down on the white sports car, she drove with no destination in mind. She drove around the city but half the time, she was too blinded by tears to know where she was. She drove around and through the back streets, the main streets and the side streets, the wind whipping at her hair, glittering in the morning air.

Meredith instinctively glanced at the dashboard and found the gasoline gauge hovering at the empty mark. She forced all her thoughts aside as she parked in a gas station and waited in the building while her tank was being filled. Then they returned with a pounding force. Meredith relentlessly searched her purse for her cell phone and dialed the number of the one person who she leaned on in the past three and a half years.

"Hey," Michael's familiar voice came through the phone.

"Michael, it's me," she rushed.

"Yeah, um…what's the matter?" he sounded uncertain and guarded.

"Are you alone?"

"No." Which meant that Derek must be with him. Meredith wasn't sure how she knew it was Derek and not someone else, but she was pretty sure of it.

"Michael, I have to talk to you…I need to talk," she pleaded. Glancing at her watch, she didn't give him a chance to reply, "Can you meet me for lunch?"

She heard the deep breath he took before he answered, "I'm sorry, I've already made plans for lunch."

"I have to see you," she repeated. "What about later?"

"Why don't we get together for a drink? Around 6?"

"Okay," she agreed. It was a long wait but she realized it was the best he could offer. "I'll meet you at Joe's."

"I'll meet you there," Michael promised.

"And, Michael," Meredith hesitated, "please don't tell Derek. He wouldn't understand."

There was a long pause before he finally said, "No, I won't. See you then."

Meredith hung up and walked back to her car. Turning the key in the ignition, she started the car and drove away, wondering what she was going to do for the rest of the day.

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"No, I won't. See you then." Michael said and then hung up. He let out a long sigh as he set his phone down.

"That was Meredith." Derek, who was seated in front of him stated. It wasn't a question. He knew. His features hardened. Michael could tell that he was trying very hard to contain himself.

"Yes." Michael said. Standing up and stuffing his hands into his pockets. He looked out of the window, thought for a few seconds before tuning to his friend. "Look Derek, I know you don't like me very much right now. But I'm your friend and you have to listen to me. I know you had a tough time in the jungle. God only knows how much you've been through. But have you thought of what Meredith has been through?" Derek just looked away, and he continued. "She was a wreck Derek, that time when you were missing and more so when they finally said that there were no survivors. But she had to be strong, for your mother and the company. When I asked her to marry me…" Derek's head immediately turned to face him.

Michael held his palm towards him, urging him to listen. "When I asked her to marry me, she didn't say yes immediately. And then when she finally did, she wasn't sure if she did the right thing. And that was because of you, Derek. She loves you and even if she thought you were gone she still felt like she was betraying you. You've changed Derek, and that's understandable. But you're still Derek, the old you is still there somewhere. And maybe, just for Meredith, you could bring him back."

Derek just sat there, staring back at his friend. Then the telephone rang.

"Yes?" Michael said, answering the phone, "yes, ok. I'll be right there."

Michael sighed as he hung up and looked back at Derek. "So, I'm going to call her later and tell her that I won't be able to make it to Joe's. But you should go. You need to talk to her. Spend some time together."

Derek looked away and gave a small nod. Michael opened the door of his office. He was about to walk out when Derek called him, "Michael, tell her to just go home. I'll talk to her at home."

"Okay." Michael agreed and left.

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Meredith sat at the part of the bar where she had a total view of the entrance door. A drink was in front of her, untouched, the ice melting. She glanced at her watch, five more minutes, and Michael would be there.

She had called Caroline an hour earlier to tell her that she would be late without explaining why or where she was. Derek would surely be angry. But she would think about the consequences of her meeting with Michael later.

A long time has passed and Michael still hasn't arrived. Meredith frowned as she once again glanced at her watch. It was already 6:30. Michael was never late. And then her phone rang, it was Michael.

"Hello? Where are you?" Meredith asked in a confused tone.

"Meredith, I'm sorry, I meant to call earlier." Michael said sincerely. "I'm sorry but I won't be able to meet you today. I'm still in a meeting with some of our executives. And it's running long, so….I'm sorry." Michael finished.

"That's okay," Meredith replied in a defeated tone.

"We'll meet up some other time. You should go home, take some rest. It'll be okay." Michael offered.

"Okay. Thanks, Michael. Bye." She said, smiling lightly before hanging up. She eyed the drink in front of her. She didn't want to go home just yet. She just wanted shut out everything for a while. And she knew exactly how to do it.

"Joe," she called the bartender, who was an old friend, "give me a shot of tequila."

"Tequila?" Joe raised an eyebrow. "Something bad happened?"

"Yeah,' was Meredith's only reply, and Joe knew that she didn't want to talk about it. But he amusedly smiled to himself because he would eventually know what was wrong. But not until the third shot of tequila.

"Here 'ya go," he said pouring tequila to a shot glass.

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Meredith looked around the bar, her head pounding. The tequila was already taking effect on her. She glanced back at the table and counted the shot glasses in front of her. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. That was about the number when she would normally be really drunk.

"Joe, I think you need to call a cab." She said, her speech a little slurry. Her vision was already blurry, she was in no shape to drive back home, she knew that much. She rested her head on her hand and looked ahead as she waited for her cab to arrive.

After a few moments, the door was opened. Meredith glanced to the door, and the figure that entered the lounge paralyzed her lungs. If it was even possible, her heart stopped beating, before it skyrocketed in alarm.

Just inside the bar, Derek paused, scanning the area. There was no way Meredith could escape without catching his attention. And she was too drunk. She tried to make herself small, hoping he wouldn't see her in this dim corner of the bar. Meredith felt rather than saw his gaze lock on her seconds before his strides carried him to her part of the bar.

When he stopped beside her, Meredith couldn't look up. Her hands curled into fists on the table. Derek took the seat beside her, not tearing his gaze away from her. He didn't speak, waiting for Meredith to acknowledge him first.

"Imagine meeting you here," she offered in a bitter tone, not letting her gaze lift from the shot glasses in front of her.

"It's not a coincidence," he replied, eyeing the six shot glasses in front of her. And he already knew that she was drunk. He couldn't help but smile amusedly at her. She was beautiful even when she was drunk. Her cheeks were flushed, her hair was is an attractive disarray.

"Why are you smiling?" she frowned. "And how did you know I was here?" she demanded.

"Michael told me." Derek answered, still smiling.

"He promised he wouldn't tell you!" she groaned, burying her face in her hands. Then she looked back at him, "why did he tell you?"

"He said we needed to talk and spend some time together." He answered truthfully, moving closer to her and tucking her hair behind her ear. "I waited for you at home, but you didn't come, so I decided to come here."

Meredith searched his face. It was as if the Derek had gone back to his old self. His blue eyes were soft and he had that dreamy smile on his face. Perhaps she was just too drunk, and she was imagining things, she told herself. Her brows furrowed in confusion. "Why are you –" She suddenly stopped mid-sentence, her hand shot up to cover her mouth.

Derek immediately stood up and moved beside her, one hand on the small of her back. "Meredith?" he asked, concerned.

"I'm okay. Just a false alarm." She supplied.

"Okay," Derek gently wrapped an arm around her small waist, "we have to get you home." He helped her stand up. Meredith didn't argue. She reached for her bag and let Derek help her stand up. With his free hand, Derek took a money clip from his pocket and peeled of a bill tossing it to the table. Then he held her and guided her out of the bar.

Meredith had fallen asleep sometime during the drive home. When they arrived, Derek carried her to their bedroom. He gently laid her down on the bed and then slowly removed her coat and shoes. Then he walked towards the door when he heard her call his name. Meredith stirred and slowly sat up. "Derek?"

"Hey," Derek walked back to her, sitting at the side of the bed.

"I…." Meredith started but realized she didn't know what she wanted to say. She sat there staring at him.

Derek sighed, shaking his head. "I had a lot of time to think while I was trying to fight my way out of that tropical hell. I kept remembering all our quarrels that started over the damnest things. I kept telling myself that if I ever made it back, they were going to a thing in the past. Yet within hours after I saw you, we were at each other's throats." He finished, smiling bitterly.

"I know," She nodded.

Derek captured her chin and kissed her cheek then he slowly took possession of her mouth. The kiss was like a slow-burning flame that kept growing hotter. Its heat melted Meredith against his chest. Her throbbing pulse sounded loudly in her ears as the flames coursed through her body.

Before she surrendered completely to the weakness of her physical desire, she twisted away from his mouth and gently pushed against his chest. "Derek, I…."

"Okay." He said and Meredith looked back at him surprised. He set her away from him, as if removing himself from temptation. "I'll wait," he conceded. He ran his fingers through his hair as he stood up. "Go to sleep, Mer," he said with a hint of weariness, "I have some calls to make."

Meredith set her palms on the mattress and pressed on it. "I had Mary order a new mattress for you, and it looks like she put it in here. This bed is like sleeping on granite. I'll…..I'll sleep in the guest room."

Meredith was moving to get out of the bed but Derek stopped her. He crouched down, his both hands settled on her waist, giving it a light squeeze. "Am I asking too much to want my wife to sleep beside me?" he looked into her eyes, smiling ruefully.

Averting her head, she closed her eyes to murmur a soft, "No. it isn't too much."

The next sound she heard was the opening of the door. Meredith got up and changed for bed. After a few minutes she crawled beneath the covers, the bed barely giving a inch under her full weight. Thank goodness she was drunk, because if not, she would be hours away from sleep with this bed.

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A hand was making rubbing strokes along her upper arm, pleasantly soothing caresses, Then fingers tightened to shake her gently. "Come on, Mer, wake up!" a voice ordered.

"Mmmm." The negative sound vibrated from her throat as she snuggled deeper into her pillow.

Only it wasn't a pillow. There was a steady thud beneath her head and the pillow that wasn't a pillow moved up and down in regular rhythm. It definitely wasn't a pillow. She was nestled in the crook of Derek's arm, her hear resting on his chest. She had forsaken the hardness of the mattress some time in the night and cuddled up to the warm hardness of his body.

Her eyelids snapped open. Meredith would have moved away from him, but an arm around her tightened to hold her there for a few more seconds. Then a finger tipped her chin upward, forcing her to look at him. And her heart skipped a beat at the lazy warmth in his dreamy face.

"I'd miss what it was like to sleep with you." Derek murmured. "Arms and legs all over the place!" he chuckled.

Meredith turned red and rolled out of his arms. The movement immediately caused a wince of pain. Every bone and fiber in her body hurt caused by the night she spent on the rock-hard bed.

"How can you stand to sleep in this bed?" She groaned. "It's awful!"

"You'll get used to it." There was a laughing glint in his eyes as he spoke.

"What time is it?" Meredith questioned.

"Seven," he answered absently, rubbing the stubbles on his chin as he got out of the bed.

She started to rise gingerly. Then she remembered she no longer had any reason to go to the office and sank back to the mattress, her head throbbed from her hang-over, and irritation swept over her.

"Why did you wake me up?" She frowned.

"You'd be late for work," was Derek's even response.

"Have you forgotten?" Bitterness was in her voice. "I've been replaced. I'm a lady of leisure now."

"Are you?" He raised his brows then smiled, "your boss doesn't think so."

Did he just smile? Meredith was confused. "Why are you being so nice? And what boss? You? You're my husband not my boss."

"Does that mean you're tuning it down?" he asked, ignoring her first question.

"What? Will you stop talking in riddles?"

"Maybe if you hadn't been so proud and stubborn yesterday morning and attended the meeting like I asked you to, you'd know what I'm taking about."

She pressed a hand against her forehead, tension and the after effects of the tequila pounding in her head. "I didn't attend the meeting, so could you explain?"

"We're starting a whole new advertising campaign to enhance the image of the Empire Hotel chain," he explained. "And you're going to be in charge of the campaign."

"What?" Derek's announcement brought her upright, wary disbelief and skepticism in the look she gave him. "Are you joking?"

"Hardly." He said plainly then he walked around the bed to where she stood. "I put the proposal for the campaign to the rest of the staff yesterday, along with the recommendation that you handle it." He informed her, his face turning serious.

"What are you up to?" She couldn't accept that there wasn't as ulterior motive behind the offer. Just yesterday in the office he looked like he wanted to pounce on her, and now he was acting like it they never had that argument and to top it all off, he was suddenly acting like his old self.

Almost immediately, Meredith mentally hit herself on the head, this is what she wanted. "Why didn't you tell me this last night?" she frowned. "Your decision had already been made early yesterday. Why did you wait until now to tell me?"

Derek studied her thoughtfully. "I was going to tell you last night when you came home, but circumstances changed my mind and I decided to wait."

"Oh," was her only reply.

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At the breakfast table, their conversation was frigidly civil.

"Please pass the juice."

"May I have the marmalade?"

That fragile mood of shy affection they had woken up to that morning was gone. Meredith frowned in confusion. What was her husband up to?

When they finished breakfast, Derek set his cup down. "We'll ride to the office together since your car is still at the bar's parking lot." He announced. Meredith didn't protest and nodded her agreement.

Meredith dreaded the whole ride to the office. They didn't utter a single word toward each other. Derek glanced at her a couple of times looking like he wanted to tell her something but that was it.

"I'll show you your office." Derek spoke to her in a professional manner as they entered the building.

The office room was not as big as the private office that she had gotten used to. But it was decent enough.

"Alright, I'll have every material you need for the campaign brought here in a few minutes." Derek said as she set her bag on the table. Then he turned and left her alone in her new office.

Meredith had kept herself busy the whole day. Michael had visited her a couple of times and informed her that he will be working with her on the campaign. But for the most part of the day, she busied herself browsing through the materials Derek had sent over.

Bent over her desk, Meredith was concentrating on the proposals from the selected advertising agencies that had arrived late in the afternoon. Absently she stroked the eraser tip of her pencil through her hair. She was so intent on the papers that she didn't hear the footsteps in the hallway or notice that a figure was standing in her open doorway.

"Are you planning to work late?" The sound of Derek's voice jerked her head up.

He stood there, leaning on the door frame, looking a bit tired and yet so magnetically attractive. The darkness of his tan seemed to have faded a little, but it still accented the while long sleeves he wore under his black cotton blazer. Through half-closed lids, he looked at her, creating the impression of lazy and friendly interest.

As always, when he caught her unaware, her pulse accelerated. An odd tightness gripped her throat, leaving her breathless and for a second, the room seemed to spin crazily. It was moments like these that Meredith wanted to just let the powerful attraction she felt simply carry away. But that was too easy and too dangerous. It wouldn't solve any of the differences that had grown in the years they were apart.

His question registered in a delayed reaction. She managed to tear her gaze away from his to glance at her watch, surprise to see it was a few minutes before six o'clock. The she notices the silence in the rest of the building. The muffled voices from the hallway and the clacking of the keyboards can no longer be heard. Nearly everyone had left for the day, except herself and Derek.

"I didn't realize it was so late," she offered to answer his question. "I just have to clear these things away."

As she stacked the proposals one on top of the other, Derek wandered in to the room. He suddenly seemed to fill every square inch of it. Within herself, Meredith was conscious of the intense disturbance his presence caused.

"How is the campaign doing?" he inquired, his gaze flicked to the papers in her hand and the continued, "How are you and Michael getting along?"

Meredith search for the antagonism in his voice and features, but it wasn't there. He was simply asking. "Good." She answered.

"Good." He reciprocated in response. And Meredith looked up to match his gaze.

"Hand me my sweater, please." Frigid politeness laced her voice.

Glancing around, Derek slipped it off the chair and held it out to her as she walked around the desk to the front. Silence has fallen over them as he helped her into her sweater. Derek reached for her wrist to fix the sleeve of the sweater to place.

"I have a selfish reason for wanting Michael to work with you on this project." He suddenly admitted, answering her unspoken question. His fingers were lightly stoking the inside of her wrist, a caressing motion that was disturbing.

A tingling warmth spread up her arm, her nerves fluttering in awareness of how close she stood to him. "What is it?" There was breathlessness to her voice as she spoke. Looking into his eyes, she was nearly overcome by the feeling that she could willingly drown in the dark pools.

"Because I know that eventually this project is going to involve a good deal of traveling and I wanted to make sure it wasn't my wife who went on these trips."

"I see." She couldn't think of anything else to say.

With a degree of reluctance, she withdrew from his touch, turning to the desk to pick up her handbag. "I'm ready to leave now," she said aware of the conflicting currents between them, alternately pulling and repelling. Derek didn't make a move to leave. He just stood there looking at her, making her feel more uncomfortable and unsure of her own needs and wants.

"When are you doing to make a decision, Meredith?" he asked her.

"Decision about what?" she turned to him confused.

"Whether you still want me as your husband." The was a hint of bitterness in his voice that made her feel guilty.

"Soon." She answered softly.

"Why are you waiting? What's holding you back?" he questioned. "It isn't Michael anymore, so what's left?"

"I don't know." Meredith shook her head uncertainly.

Needing to move, she started towards the door. However, with that animal silence, Derek came up behind her, his hands sliding over her shoulders. The mere touch of him stopped her in her tracks.

"Decide now," Derek ordered in a low murmur.

The dirty gold length of her hair was secured in a bun low on the back of her head. She felt the warm stirring of his breath on the exposed skin of her neck, sensitive and vulnerable. The affective pressure of his lips exploring that special pleasure point sent a tremor through her. His hands slid down to her forearms, crossing them in front of her as her molded her shoulders, waist and hips to the hard contours of his length.

Meredith struggled out of the emotional upheaval going on inside of her to protest, "Derek, I can't!"

"You want to." His mouth moved to her ear, his teeth nibbling at its lobe. "You know you do."

"I don't know anything," she breathed raggedly.

"Then feel," Derek instructed.

That was the problem. She felt too much it blocked out her thinking process. She didn't want to want to make a decision in the heat of an embrace.

"Derek, no!" She swallowed and pushed his hands from around her waist. She took a step away from his tempting embrace and stopped, shaking and weak with desire. Her head was lowered, her chin tucked into her throat. She felt his gaze boring into her shoulders.

Derek ran his fingers through his hair, letting out a frustrated sigh. His whole body stiff in his struggle to contain his irritation that she kept rejecting him even when they both knew what she really wanted. Then he slipped a hand under her elbow. Her first though was that he intended to ignore her uncertainties and kiss her into submission, something that would not be too difficult to do. Instead his pushed her forward. "Let's go," he muttered.

His long strides made it impossible for Meredith to keep up with him without half-running. The rigid set of his jaw kept her from drawing attention to herself or her plight. He didn't slow down until he reached the parking lot, where she struggled to catch her breath as they walked to the car.

Without looking directly at her, Derek unlocked the car and held the passenger door open for her, slamming it shut when she was safely inside. Walking around the car, he opened his own door and slid behind the wheel. He put the key in the ignition, but didn't start the car.

Resting his hands on the steering wheel, he stared straight ahead for several long seconds making Meredith grow increasingly uneasy at the silence. Then he finally, his gaze swung to her, his expression grim.

"The first day I was back, you claimed we needed time to get to know each other again," Derek said.

"You remember," she remarked.

"Believe me, I remember everything you've said," he returned with weariness, his attention shifting to the windshield in front of him. Meredith shifted uncomfortably in her seat, but remained silent.

"The point is, Meredith, that we aren't getting to know each other again. We're not talking. The only place we spend any time together alone id in the bedroom. And we both know there isn't any communication taking place there, physical or otherwise."

"So what are you suggesting?" Meredith questioned stiffly.

"That we spend more time together, like you wanted."

"That's a bit difficult with both of us working."

"Neither of us work during weekend," Derek reminded her. When she didn't answer, he continued, "I've decided we'll spend the weekend at the Block Island so we can have the time alone together – no friends, no family, just you and me."

"Block Island," Meredith repeated the name of the resort island located roughly fourteen miles off the Rhode Island coast.

"That's what I said," he turned his head to look at her. Then he reached to put his hand on hers. "Mer, please," he said almost pleading, "It'll be fun." He supplied with a light smile, his head tilting to the side trying to convince her.

Meredith looked back at him for a moment, trying to figure out why she was even thinking twice about it. It was, after all, a good idea and what she wanted. "Okay." She finally said turning her head down to look at their hands on her lap.

"Okay." Derek repeated softly. Withdrawing his had, he started the car and drove away.

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Okay, there goes chapter 4. What do you think of it?

I really tried hard to have Derek go back to his old self. And figured that Michael, being his best, should be the one to make him realize that he should try, if not only for Meredith.

The next chapter will be all about their time together in Block Island.

But before that, what are your thoughts? Was it good? Bad? wince Please let me know. Review please!