AN: Just so you're not confused, this is a couple weeks into the future. Derek and Meredith are now together, going along with the show's plotline. The reason I skipped ahead is because we all know how they started out. Sorry it's been so long!!! Enjoy-
"I need to see her," he all but begged into the receiver, hundreds of miles away, "You can't just keep her away from me forever, Addie."
He pictured her light blonde hair and sea-green eyes. Eyes that had him falling since he first saw her.
"Funny; Mark asked the same thing today."
"You're still seeing Mark?"
He heard a sigh and he could almost hear her cringe at her mistake.
"Not exactly. I just…run into him at work occasionally."
"Right," he said, sarcasm giving his voice an edge.
"Derek, it was nothing. Can't we just work this out? I miss you."
"Addie…"
"I know, I know. My fault. But can we at least come and visit you?"
"You, Mark and Hannah?" He asked incredulously, shaking away the image of a perfect, care-free family.
A family that didn't include him.
"No. Just Hannah and I. I know you miss her, and you won't even have to talk to me."
"I need to see her," he repeated, "But I have a life here, Addie. I met someone and…"
"The intern?"
"Her name's Meredith. But yes, the intern. I just… don't want to wreck this, you know?"
Another sigh, almost inaudible. Her voice was shaky when it came through his ear, breathy, like she was struggling against tears.
"So what am I supposed to do? Ship her off on a plane across the country by herself?"
"She's nine, Addie. She'll be fine."
"I-I know. It's just…she's…she's my daughter, and I don't want to just throw her into a new life just because we're separated."
"We have to, Addie," he paused, "Unless you want a custody battle, that is."
Silence threaded through the phone line, and he waited anxiously as she considered. She was biting her lip, he could feel it, eyes closed in thought. After twelve years of marriage, he could almost see her.
"Okay," she said finally, "I'll send her."
--
They had gotten Hannah when she was an infant through an adoption agency on the west coast, mainly because Addison had pushed for it after their marriage had started to drift. Derek hadn't liked the idea of getting a child to fix them, but as soon as he'd seen her, he'd known. Something about her-the golden hair, the green eyes- had drawn him in from the start. Something about her fingers latching onto his thumb stubbornly, unwilling to let him go.
He'd wanted that; needed that.
Later, when she was growing up, they grew more attached. She'd follow him to work on the days when he was avoiding Addison and she'd shift through the papers on his desk, sorting them into even piles that, in less than a week, would fall back into the organized chaos they'd been in originally.
She became a part of his life, a part that he wasn't willing to give up just because his marriage was over.
"Hey."
Her voice jolted him from the pile of medical forms splayed out in front of him in organized chaos. He sighed, entangling his fingers in his hair and glancing up to meet her eyes. She looked like Hannah, he realized, but maybe it was just the eyes and the hair. He shivered inwardly, wondering if the only reason he was interested in Meredith was because she reminded him of Hannah. He doubted it.
"Hey."
"When does your shift end?"
He flipped his wrist, looking at the hands on the watch that Addison had bought him for their fourth anniversary.
"Fifteen minutes ago. Want to get something to eat?"
Her eyebrows raised suggestively.
"I was thinking we could…skip dinner."
"Really?"
She nodded slowly, stepping closer and resting her palms on his desk.
"Yeah. We could do…other things…"
He grinned, exhaustion replaced with anticipation. His mind flicked quickly through a myriad of images, each one convincing him of exactly why he was dating her.
"Such as?"
Within seconds her mood changed. Her posture lengthened, and she lifted her hands from his desk, settling back into the chair across from him.
"Oh, you know. T.V. Reading. Shopping."
He grinned wider, the corners of his mouth threatening to trespass through his cheeks.
"Funny."
"I thought so."
"Seriously, though. Dinner?"
"Mhhmmm…" she pretended to think, tilting her head back, "depends. Fancy or Casual?"
"Up to you."
"Ooh, good! I love picking out the restaurant."
She flipped back her hair, smiling coyly and perching herself somewhat-unstably on the edge of his desk. She looked down at the papers, feigning interest while he stared at her, amused.
"Don't you have scut work to do?" he asked playfully, snatching the papers she was flipping through out of her grasp.
"Bailey's sleeping and I should've left hours ago. What's your excuse?"
"I'm a workaholic."
"Doesn't every doctor have to be?" she tilted her head downward, investigating his papers more thoroughly, "Can I organize these for you? Seriously, this is insane."
"No!" He blurted reflexively, before stammering to correct his tone, "I mean…the system works. For me. It looks stressful, but cleaning it up would just get me more confused."
She narrowed her eyes into slits, curious at his refusal.
"Ex girlfriend?" she guessed.
"Close," he mumbled, wrapping an arm loosely around her waist and shifting her so she was off his desk, "I'll meet you at the entrance, okay?"
"You'll tell me later though, right?" she called as he gently shut the door in her face, her neck craned hopefully towards the plaque on the door. Sighing, she shook her head lightly and started towards downstairs to change.
I don't really like this chapter. I did it quickly, like in two hours, because you guys have waited so patiently and it's been like a week since I updated. So yeah. It's not as good as I would have liked. Let me know what you think.