Disclaimer; If we owned Grey's Anatomy, we could hang out with Patrick Dempsey in his trailer, going over "lines". But since we don't, we're here with an update instead.

The sun was shining brightly when I woke the next morning, Meredith still in my arms. I had just gotten the best night of sleep I had ever had, and I was still very much in awe of the beautiful creature sleeping in my arms. I never wanted to let her go, ever. I could spend the rest of my life in bed with her, holding her, sleeping with her, making love to her. She made my life incredible.

She let out a small adorable snort as she shifted in my arms, coming awake slowly. Her beautiful eyes met mine and we just looked at each other, taking each other in. She looked so beautiful in the morning, so alive and awake. She made me feel alive and awake. I just looked at her. I couldn't remember the last time waking up had felt this good. I was done, she was it. I was entirely completely done.

"Morning," she murmured as she stretched her body, closing her green eyes before opening them, and then cuddled closer into my chest.

"Morning," I echoed, holding her close and quickly kissing her lips. "Sleep well?"

"Wonderful," she grinned. "You?"

"Best sleep I've ever had," I told her, smiling at her smile. "I like waking up beside you."

"You're not so bad yourself," she replied, kissing me quickly. "Though, you do have some stubble you should probably take care of."

"So the lady has complaints," I told her laughing, my hands running up and down her back. God, she was perfect.

"I'm just saying," she giggled. "You're so warm."

"Feel free to cuddle right in," I told her laughing as she did just that.

We laid there for a few minutes, not saying a word. I played with her hair, twirling it around my fingers as she dozed against my chest. This was incredibly perfect. Incredibly wonderful. She was amazing. "What are you doing today?" she murmured.

"Hmmm, day off. You?" I responded, running my nose over her hair, taking in the floral smell. I had to remember to ask her what it was.

She shrugged. "Nothing until later. I have a thing. Later."

"I can make us breakfast if you want," I offered. Honestly I didn't want to move from this spot all day. I wanted to lay here, holding my Meredith and basking in the glow of last night. But a good boyfriend cooked breakfast the morning after.

"Would we actually get to eat it?" she giggled. "Because everytime you cook, we end up in bed together. And I'm actually really hungry."

"We can eat it," I told her, brushing my lips over hers. "As long as we can end up in bed after breakfast."

She deepened the kiss for a moment and then pulled away. "Definitely," she murmured into my mouth.

"Hmmm..." I moaned pulling her close again. "I do love having you in my bed."

"I love being in your bed," she kissed me again. "But I do want coffee. I'm not human until I've had coffee."

"You'll get your coffee," I told her laughing and kissing her quickly as I finally sat up. I looked at her, her hair spiraling around her head, her face more relaxed than ever before. She looked perfect, beautiful. She looked like she was mine. "Meredith..." I whispered quietly, staring down at her softly.

"Yeah?" she whispered back as she cuddled further into bed, the sheets somehow managing to outline her figure perfectly.

It was too soon, far too soon. This was our first date, she wasn't even my official girlfriend yet. I couldn't say it, not yet. But god, I felt it. And part of me needed to say it, even if it was soonish. I needed to say it. "I love you," I finally whispered gently.

"What?" her eyes flew open and she sat up, almost too quickly. "What did you say?"

The panic had returned to her eyes, the panic that had disappeared last night. I regretted my words. It was too soon. But I couldn't take them back, I couldn't pretend to not be madly in love with the tiny woman in my bed. "I love you," I said again, my voice louder, more confident.

"No," she shook her head, getting out of the bed, holding the sheet close to her body as she began gathering her clothes. "You can't love me. You don't know me. You don't know anything about me and Derek, Derek, no. You don't love me. You can't love me. And no." She pulled her clothes on quickly, her hands shaking. "This isn't happening. You don't love me. You can't. No. No. I have to go."

"Meredith," I said reaching out and trying to grab for her. "Mer, don't go. I'm sorry, I know it's to soon. I'm sorry. Just don't go," I tried to stop her. I wanted to reassure her, pull her into my arms and letting her know that I loved her, and that I did know her. But for some reason, I knew that wasn't going to work.

"No," she said as she started towards the door. "Derek, we can't do this. I'm sorry. I am so sorry. But we can't. You can't fall in love with me. I'm sorry." She opened the door and ran out towards her car before I could stop her.

What was she talking about? We couldn't do this? We had to do this, not doing this was just not an option. I loved her, she was it for me. I was stupid for saying anything, being in love with her was one thing. I didn't need to say it. And now she had ran, again. After the greatest night of my life, she had ran away. I didn't know what it was, I still didn't know what it was that kept her running.

I went into the kitchen area of my trailer and stared at empty coffee machine in front of me. How had this happened? The night had been perfect. The morning had been perfect. Why had I opened my mouth? Why hadn't I just left it alone? Was I reading more into this relationship than Meredith? She was right, I didn't know her, but in so many ways, I did. And those ways made up for my lack of knowledge in the other areas.

I paced around the trailer. The pacing thing drove my entire family nuts, the pacing and the shuffling. I was trying to break the habit, I was, but sometimes I just couldn't help myself. Now was definitely one of those times. Meredith had ran, completely ran, because I hadn't bothered to keep my mouth shut. I should have waited, waited till I knew more, waited till she had really opened up to me.

I ran my fingers through my hair, breathing deeply as I continued pacing. I had really fucked up. Badly. And all I could think was I should have known better. And I should have. She had been hurt. She wanted us to take this slow and I had just told her I loved her after our first time having sex. What the hell was the matter with me? I had just lost the woman who was it for me.

I couldn't loose her, I just couldn't. I knew if I lost her that I'd be alone for the rest of my life. There was no after Meredith, not for me. She might have ran now, but I had to run after her. There was no other option. I could...I didn't know where she lived. I knew where she worked but going there to chase her seemed wrong. I could talk to Cristina but she...she'd never say a thing to me.

And then suddenly, my eye caught something sitting on the floor, next to the chair Meredith had sat in the night before. Her purse. She had forgotten her purse. Which meant I could look at her driver's license, I could see where she lived. I opened it and immediately saw her license. I grabbed a piece of paper and a pen and jotted down the address before getting dressed. It was time to get my Meredith back.

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Her house was exactly what I had expected, large but nothing overdone. Warm and welcoming. It was exactly what I had imagined. A little kids bike sat near the front of the driveway, must be one of the neighbours. I slowly approached the door, her purse in my hand, terrified that she'd see me and not answer. Or that she'd grab the purse and slam the door in my face.

I rang the doorbell and waited for a moment, peering in through the glass, wondering if she was even home. Suddenly, a blonde-haired little boy covered in paint came running to the door, a huge smile on his face. He looked vaguely familiar, but I couldn't place why. He stared at me for a second and then opened the door. "Hi!" he exclaimed.

"Hi," I said warmly, kneeling down to the little guy's height. He was adorable. I had no idea who he was but I warmed to him immediately. He smiled shyly at me. "What's your name?" I asked him.

"Dillon," he replied. "What's yours?"

"I'm Derek," I said, sticking out my hand for him to shake.

He looked at my hand for a second, and then looked up at me. "Are you a bad guy?" he asked, his voice deathly serious. "Because I'm not supposed to talk to bad guys."

"I'm not a bad guy," I said, laughing quietly at Dillon's innocence. "But I'm not sure your mommy would want you talking to me anyway."

"Why not?" he asked innocently.

"You don't know me," I told him, seriously. I had no idea whose child he was and what exactly he was doing at the house that was apparently Meredith's, but I'm used to being an uncle. And I knew if one of my young nephews and nieces were talking to a strange man, I'd be less than pleased.

"Yeah, I do," he nodded. "You're Derek!"

"And that's all you know, bud. That's not knowing me," I said laughing. I felt the urge to pull him into my arms and take him fishing.

"Do you want to come in and paint with me?" he asked. "Then I'll know you. You can be my friend. I'm sure my mommy will say it's okay. She'll make you waffles too!"

"Before I come in I should talk to your mom, to make sure it's okay," I told him. Whoever his mom was she could probably tell me where to find Meredith. And that's all I needed to know, even though painting with the little guy could be fun.

"Okay," he nodded and then turned. "Mommy! Can my friend Derek come in and paint with us?"

A woman came up behind him, looking at him sternly. I knew my sisters well enough to know she wasn't pleased with Dillon. I looked up to meet her face. Meredith. My Meredith. Wearing an old ratty pair of sweatpants and a tshirt, her hair pulled into a messy ponytail and paint splattered over the face and clothes. She had never looked more adorable.

"Dillon, what did Mommy say about answering the door for strangers?" she scolded him.

"Meredith," I greeted her, stretching up to my full length, resting my hand on Dillon's head.

And then she looked up at me, and her eyes widened in absolute panic. "D-Derek," she stammered. "What, what are you...I can explain...this. I'm sorry."

"Sorry?" I asked her teasingly. "Sorry for running out on my this morning?"

Dillon looked back and forth, from me to Meredith, a confused look on his face. "Do you know him, Mommy?" he suddenly asked.

"Your mom is a friend of mine," I answered for her, terrified that her answer would be the last thing I wanted to hear.

"Dillon, honey," she turned to her son, "why don't you go upstairs? Mommy needs to talk to Derek."

Dillon looked at me, confusion masking his face but I nodded my head encouragingly and he turned and skipped up the steps, full of energy. I met Meredith face, she looked more terrified than ever before. I wanted to pull her into my arms and tell her it was okay, but knew she would just pull away. "You forgot your purse earlier," I told her, handing the purse to her.

"Oh," she breathed, taking it and holding it close to her chest, not saying anything else.

"Why didn't you tell me, Mer?" I asked gently, smiling at her.

She looked at me, her eyes filling with tears and panic. "Because men don't want baggage," she said quietly. "And they don't want to raise another man's child. Which I know sounds really ridiculous because it's not like you know, we've been dating for years and we're going to get married, but, I was afraid. The last guy I dated hated Dillon. Well, not hated. But didn't like him."

"Mer," I said gently, stepping into the house. "I love kids. You could have told me."

She shook her head. "I couldn't," she sighed. "Don't you get it? I have a kid. And he takes up all of my time and I didn't know if you'd be okay with him. And I didn't know if you'd want to be around him. I mean, you love kids that are related to you. But I didn't know if you'd love Dillon. And I didn't want him hurt. I didn't want him attached to Mommy's boyfriend only for you to hurt him."

"I get it, I do," I said nodding gently. "Is this why you kept running? Why you were so scared?"

She nodded desperately. "I couldn't be close to you. For you, it's fun and games. It's dating. For me, what I want doesn't matter."

Fun and games? Meredith thought that it was fun and games for me. Maybe when I had met her that night that had been the plan, but since the first date this hadn't been fun and games. "Meredith, this isn't fun and games for me. You aren't just another girl. And I want you, I want you and I want to know all of you. Baggage, children and all. Everything, Mer."

She giggled a little bit. "There's only one."

"Good to know," I told her laughing. "He's adorable, by the way."

She looked at me for a moment, sizing me up and then she started walking towards the back of the house. "Thank you."

"Thank you for what?" I asked, kicking off my shoes and starting to follow her, assuming that her thank you was invitation enough into her home. And really, into her life.

"For accepting him," she sighed as she stepped into a messy kitchen. "And for saying he's adorable. He's a handful."

"I'm sure he is," I laughed. "And Mer, he's part of your life. I have no choice but to accept him. I'm not going to repeat what I said earlier, but it still stands," I told her, walking towards her and pulling her into my arms.

"I just love you for all the things you couldn't change though you've tried."