I edited of few things in this chapter. Thanks AmyInJapan for pointing it out.

Thanks for all the reviews. We really appreciate them. Oh and mcrebound is changing her name to mcscrubs.


Together, Hand in Hand


Chapter 2:
Explanations

Meredith looked around, looking extremely confused. Who was Sarah? Was Addison in on this? Derek was in much the same state as Meredith, utterly bewildered, and if Addison was, she had a good way of hiding it.

Derek opened his mouth, about to say something, and then shut it again. Then opened it again, it remained open for a few seconds before his voice penetrated the silent room.

"Err...Well, isn't this...delightful?" he said a little sarcastically. "Well, Meredith, this is my niece, Sarah, Sarah, this is Meredith, my girlfriend, and I have absolutely no idea why you are here. Do you care to explain, Sarah?" Derek asked.

Sarah raised her eyebrows at the mention of Meredith's name; it appeared that she had heard a lot about her, even if she didn't live in the same vicinity. So this is Meredith Grey, Sarah thought. She then turned her head and looked at Addison. "Wait! I want to know why Addison is here first!" she said, also confused with Addison's appearance.

Addison decided it was her time to say something, after staying quiet since their awkward meeting. "Well... err... I've decided to come back to Seattle Grace. That's of course, if Richard let's me, and if all of you will accept me back."

At last, Meredith spoke. "That's great!" she attempted to sound excited for her, but it was only half-hearted. Once before, Addison Montgomery had returned to Seattle, she tried to steal Derek and she succeeded too, for a while. But just as it's meant to be, fate takes its course, and this is where it has led them.

Addison smiled, seeming not to notice Meredith's half-heartedness. "Yeah, thanks. I'm glad you guys are supportive of me" she beamed at them.

"We wouldn't have it any other way!" Derek added.

"Ok," Addison continued, "now we get to hear why Sarah is here." She was about to hear as well when she glanced at her expensive gold watch and noticed the time. "Oh, sorry guys but I have to go. I need to find the Chief and talk to him before his shift ends." As Addison left, each of them said their farewells.

"Yeah, I better get going too," Sarah stated.

"You're not going anywhere until you've told me why you're here!" Derek said a little sternly.

"Well!" Sarah began, sounding very pleased with herself, "I have been accepted into one of the best universities in America! Hopefully I'll be able to go to med school when I finish university because I want to become a surgeon and when I'm done I want to do my residency here at Seattle Grace! Isn't it exciting?" She drew a long breath after this, as if she had just run a fifty meter sprint.

Derek looked impressed, so did Meredith.

"Where are you staying?" Derek asked, a little concerned she had traveled all the way to Seattle with nowhere to stay.

"Well, thanks to a bit of help from Mum and Dad, I've invested in my own apartment about five blocks from here," she said excitedly, "and I'm not doing anything tomorrow so I could hang out here if that's ok, plus I want to catch up with Uncle Mark. I haven't spoken to him in ages."

"Yeah, sure." Derek assured her.

Sarah leant over and gave her uncle a big hug. She was about to give Meredith a hug too but thought that it would be a little awkward since they just met. She settled for a nice, warm smile instead. "Bye, Meredith, it was nice meeting you!"

Meredith smiled back. "Nice meeting you too!"

"Ok, thanks Uncle Derek, see you all tomorrow then."

They watched her leave the hospital before they decided to move. Derek grabbed Meredith's hand and gave her his McDreamy smile.

"That was a big surprise." He laughed a little nervously.

"Yeah it was," Meredith giggled, "Sarah seems nice though. I finally met someone from your family who actually likes me."

"You have nothing to worry about. She's not like Nancy." Derek checked his watch and sighed. "I guess there's no point in going on our date anymore; we've already missed our reservation time."

"Let's just go home and relax. It's been a long day," Meredith said a little wearily. Although Meredith had been looking forward to the date all day when she could be alone with Derek again, she wasn't disappointed to go home instead, either way she was still with Derek. They walked out of the hospital, hand in hand, pondering the events that had just happened.

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"Dr. Montgomery, it's so nice to see you back again!" Chimed the Chief's secretary, Patricia.

"It's nice to see you too, Patricia," Addison said cheerfully, "is Richard in his office?"

"Yes he is, go in anytime, he's not busy at the moment."

Addison entered his office and saw that he was finishing his paperwork with a determined look on his face. He looked up and a wide smile spread across his face when he saw her standing there.

"Addison, what brings you back to Seattle? I knew you would be back in due time!" Still smiling broadly, Richard stood up and walked around his desk to give Addison a welcome back hug.

"Actually, I hate to be abrupt, but I was wondering if I could possibly return to Seattle Grace? L.A was great and it was really good for me but I guess I miss working in a hospital that's larger, has more patients, surgeries, and more people to work with. I just ... I don't think I'm finished at Seattle Grace yet." Addison explained.

"Then it's a good thing I kept your job open. It's great to have you back Addi!" Richard beamed at her, very pleased to have such an experienced doctor back within the walls of Seattle Grace Hospital.

"Thank you so much, I knew you would understand! Any particular day you would like me to start?" Addison asked appreciatively.

"Oh! Start as soon as you want, we'd be glad to have you back among us!" With that, Addison thanked the Chief once more before departing his office.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"I'm so sorry we couldn't go on our date," Derek apologized as he crawled into bed with Meredith. He wrapped his arm around her and smelt her lavender scented hair. He would never get sick of it.

Meredith looked up at him and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "It's ok!"

"Tell you what. How about I take you on another date? You're off from work on Friday, right?" Meredith nodded, a smile creeping upon her lips. "Good, I'll think of something nice and romantic," Derek told her, mainly to get her excited for the coming date, this time he would not let her down again.

Meredith smiled, she felt so lucky to be with Derek again.

"I love you." She said smugly.

"I love you too." Derek said.

They talked for a while longer, discussing incidents at work, before falling asleep. They were happy, in love and most importantly together.

A/N: Next chapter there will be a lot of gossip and… a hot dog eating competition! Please review.