A/N: Here is the next instalment, guys! I know I made you wait a while for this one, but here it is. Thank you to all of you for the constant support, all reviews have been answered at the bottom.

Derek Shepherd walked down the hallway of Providence Hospice in Seattle in his customary dark blue scrubs, with a tray of food in his hands. A smile was plastered on his face as he walked towards the room of Tim – his favourite patient. Well, Derek knew that he should not play favourites, and honestly, he loved all the patients of the hospice in the same way, but Tim was definitely his favourite patient.

Tim or Timothy was a 65 year old man, suffering from Stage III Chronic Lymphocytic Leukaemia. He was a retired professor of English Literature, and he had been admitted to the hospice a year ago, when the doctors had finally announced that his prognosis was dim. Since then, Tim was a patient of Providence Hospice.

It had been a year since Derek had started working in the hospice too. Derek still remembered his first day at work vividly. His first patient had been Tim, and as soon as Derek had entered Tim's room, he had been greeted with a smile from the retired professor. Tim had commented on how Derek was not his usual guy, and Derek had timidly replied that he was new at work. After that, Tim had asked Derek to read out a short story to him, since Tim himself could not read any more due to poor vision. Since that first meeting on Derek's first day, Derek had grown increasingly attached to the old professor. From small talks about general topics, Derek and Tim's conversations had gradually escalated to talks about their personal lives. Slowly, Tim had turned into a close friend of Derek and Derek had taken to calling Tim as his 'favourite old man.'

Derek had started working in the hospice as a care worker only a year ago, and working there brought an inexplicable sense of peace to his heart and soul. But his reason for working there went way deeper. Derek's mother – Carolyn Shepherd had died of leukaemia when Derek had been eight years old. Derek had been very close to his mother, so naturally, his mother's death had affected him deeply. But, with Carolyn's death, Derek had not lost only one parent – he and his only sister, Amelia had lost both their parents. Derek's father, Michael Shepherd had been so traumatized by his wife's death that he had withdrawn himself from everyone, including his children. People had thought that it was just a part of the mourning process and that it'd be over soon. But, they had been wrong. As time passed by, Michael grew more and more aloof from his family members, his friends and his two small children. Michael immersed himself into work and business, leaving eight-year old Derek to look after his five year old sister. Thus, Derek became the man of the house at the tender age of eight, and he started fending for himself and his sister from then on. And nothing about that had changed till date. Derek Shepherd, at the age of 25, was still the man of the Shepherd household, and Michael Shepherd was still as busy with his work as before.

Derek, who had shouldered his sister emotionally from the age of eight, had never really had time for romance in his life. Being responsible for his sister's and his own well-being, he had never found the time to fall in love. No, he was not an innocent virginal man at the age of 25, but he was not a man who had fallen in love either. He had dated a few girls back in college, but none of those relationships had been serious. Those few relationships had only been flings and had lasted for two or three months at most. To be honest, Derek had never allowed himself to fall in love with any girl. He had always kept in mind that he had to fend for himself and his sister, and in the process of doing that, romance had automatically taken a backseat his life. Until now.

Not that things were very much different now. No, Derek Shepherd was single and he was not planning to settle down anytime soon. He had no intentions of falling in love or getting married yet. Heck, he wasn't even ready for a serious relationship – something more than just a casual fling. The only thing that was different in Derek Shepherd's life now was his Library Girl.

Library Girl – as his sister, Amy had so easily named her. The enigmatic blonde girl who sat behind the Library Assistant's desk in Seattle Public Library. The girl Derek Shepherd had developed a stupid, useless, hopeless crush on since the day his eyes had first landed on her. The girl who he talked with on a daily basis now, but whose name he had yet to ask. Library Girl.

It had all started out as an innocuous book recommendation, and it had snowballed into a strong crush that Derek had no idea how to get rid of. Every time he visited the library, he found his Library Girl sitting behind her desk with a book in her hands. As usual, she would be buried in her book when he would enter the library, and Derek would find his heart thudding wildly in his ribcage for some weird reason. His head would be buzzing like electrons as he would check her out from his spot in the doorway. She was a tiny thing, with long dark-blonde hair that she left loose on some days and tied up into a messy ponytail on others, and sharp grey-green eyes that seemed to be so full of life. She never wore any makeup, and she was always dressed up casually in jeans and a sweater. He hadn't seen her wearing a dress or even a skirt on any of the days he visited the library, and he had finally come to the conclusion that Library Girl liked comfy clothing.

Her face would light up with a smile by the time he would finally move from his spot and approach her desk. Derek could never make up his mind about which was the best thing about his Library Girl – her smile or her eyes. Her eyes were so beautiful – bright and full of life, capable of pulling anyone in and so expressive too. But her smile – that was another story. Her smile could light up the entire room in a heartbeat, and it could make his heart skip several beats, not just one. Her eyes could convey all her emotions to him without actual conversation, but her soft smile could make him forget all about his day's woes.

After approaching her desk, Derek would engage in a long, heart-to-heart conversation with her about books. Most of their conversations revolved around books and they never really talked about any personal topics. They would talk about what books they had read thus far, and then, he would playfully ask her for a book recommendation. It was a thing they did – they exchanged book recommendations. She would smile that beautiful smile of hers and then bite her bottom lip gently as she would rack her brains for a good book. And while she thought about what book to recommend, he would drink in her beautiful facial features. He had noticed so many things about Library Girl over time – one, she tended to ramble a lot and then blushed when she realized that she was rambling; two, she always bit her plump bottom lip whenever she was thinking about something, and Derek's breath would catch in his throat every time she did that; three, she blushed a lot when he flirted with her, which he tended to do a lot too; four, whenever he told her something funny, she would giggle in the most adorable way possible, and her giggle was so different from any other giggle he had ever heard. Her giggle was not an affected, overly girlish giggle. It was light and airy like a wisp of cloud, and it was feminine and enchanting like an enchantress. It was like a carefully wrought melody, a beautifully composed symphony and it felt like ethereal music to Derek's ears. And all these little things about Library Girl endeared her more and more to him.

Another habit that Library Girl had was twirling a strand of her gorgeous honey-blonde tresses around her index finger while reading. She always did that – always. Even when her hair was tied up into a ponytail, some stray strands of hair would always escape from the ponytail and she would wrap one of them around her finger. Whenever Derek would look up from his own book to look at her, he'd find her wrapping a lock of her blonde hair around and around her index finger as she read her book, and then, she would unravel the lock to start twirling it around her finger all over again. And Derek would watch her, completely mesmerized by every graceful movement she made, every adorable and light giggle she let out, every entrancing smile she sent his way. He was completely and totally captivated by her in a way that he had never been captivated by any other girl in his entire life.

Shaking his head of his thoughts about his Library Girl, Derek entered Tim's room with a wide grin on his face.

"Hey, how are you, my favourite old man?" Derek asked as he set the tray down on Tim's bedside table and deposited himself in the chair by Tim's bed.

Tim averted his eyes from the window and looked at Derek, a smile immediately creeping up on his face. "Derek, here you are. I was wondering why you were taking so long today," Tim said as he shifted the blankets covering his body so that he could sit up properly.

Derek stood up immediately to help Tim, but Tim held out his hand to Derek, indicating that he wanted to do it on his own. Derek backed away and sat down in his chair again as Tim finally brought himself to a seating position and looked at Derek with twinkling eyes.

"So, what's for dinner today?" Tim asked in a light-hearted tone. "I was so sick of that crap that they fed me in the hospital; I'm glad I'm back here."

Derek smiled as he rejoined, "Steak and key lime pie. Your favourite."

Tim had been admitted to the hospital two weeks ago when his condition had taken a turn for the worse all of a sudden. Derek, who was emotionally attached to Tim, had accompanied Tim to the hospital and stayed there with Tim till the doctors had discharged him after stabilization.

"Oh, that makes my stomach rumble with anticipation," Tim said, licking his lips like a small child, causing Derek to laugh. "But, our thing first. So, what're ya going to read to me today?"

Derek grinned. It was a thing that he and Tim had been doing since their first meeting. Derek read out short stories, poetry or parts of full-length novels to Tim before lunch and dinner. It was like their sacred ritual.

"Hmm...How about a poem today? We did a story yesterday," Derek said, taking out an anthology of poetry from his own bag.

"Ok, poem it is. But, read a good one," Tim said in a mock stern voice.

Derek chuckled. "Have I ever read one that is not good?"

Tim shook his head as the duo laughed. Derek opened the book and flipped the pages quickly, skimming the title of the poem on each page. After a few minutes, he finally stopped at one page.

"Hmmm...I'll read this one out. 'One Art' by Elizabeth Bishop," Derek read out loud as Tim nodded his head in approval.

"The art of losing isn't hard to master/ So many things seem filled with the intent/ to be lost that their loss is no disaster," Derek started to read the poem.

"It's such a beautiful poem," Tim remarked. "So profound and meaningful..."

Derek nodded his head as he continued reading, "Lose something every day/ Accept the fluster/ of lost door keys, the hour badly spent/ The art of losing isn't hard to master."

Derek read the next few stanzas of the poem and snapped the book shut as he read the final line of the poem.

Tim smiled at him and said, "So, Derek, tell me. What does this poem tell us?"

Derek let out a heavy breath, his head filled with so many thoughts. He had lost so many things in his life too – his mom, his dad, his childhood, and recently – his diary. And even after losing so much, he still hadn't mastered the art of losing. He was still scared of losing Amy, of losing Tim – and now, for some strange reason, he was scared of losing Library Girl. Damn, what was he thinking? He didn't even know the name of Library Girl.

"It...It's about losing someone close to you...It's about losing a loved one, and it tells that when we lose a loved one, all those other losses that felt so great to us at some point, they seem so insubstantial," Derek whispered, his eyes trained on a spot on the wall in front of him.

"You're going to make a very good writer one day," Tim remarked, causing Derek to look up at him.

"Thanks, old man," Derek said with a grin, bringing back some humour into their grave conversation. "Now, enough of poetry. Your steak is waiting for you."

Tim nodded as Derek stood up and brought over the food tray to Tim. As Derek tied the bib around Tim's neck, Tim asked, "So, how's your Library Girl?"

Derek smiled at Tim as he sat back down in his chair and Tim started his dinner. Tim and Amy were the only two people who knew about Library Girl and his crush on her. "She's good. Still as enigmatic and captivating as ever," Derek replied fondly.

"You're so enamoured with her; it's extremely adorable," Tim said as he cut up his steak. "Did ya grow a pair and ask her name yet?"

Derek shook his head. "No...I – I haven't had the opportunity to."

"Derek, if you don't ask her name soon, I'm going to ban you from my room. You've given such a vivid description of her over the last two weeks – I'm going to die out of anticipation if I don't get to know the name of that lovely girl soon," Tim said sternly. "Besides, who knows? I may die tomorrow for all I know and then I'll never get to know the name of your Library Girl," Tim said seriously.

Derek's smile disappeared from his face. "Tim, don't you dare talk like that. Your old ass is going to be stuck here, with me at least for two more years."

Tim laughed. "How do you know that? Are you a fortune teller?"

"I just know," Derek said, "And...I'll ask her name soon, I promise."

"I'm gonna hold you to that promise then," Tim replied through a mouthful of steak, and then coughed slightly.

Derek immediately got up and picking up the glass of water from Tim's tray, he held it to Tim's lips. "Don't talk so much while eating," Derek admonished in a gruff voice.

Tim's coughs subsided and he smiled. "Don't you worry about your old man, Derek. I'm fine. I'm not going anytime anywhere soon," he said in a reassuring voice.

"Who said I'm worrying? I don't worry about you," Derek joked as he took his seat and Tim resumed eating his dinner, and a companionable silence fell over them.

Derek sat down on his bed and leaned back against the pillows kept against the headrest. He had arrived in his apartment an hour ago after finishing his shift at the hospice, and now he was preparing to go to bed.

Leaning against the headrest, Derek grabbed his bag from the night table and took out the little black notebook that had been lying untouched in his bag for the last two weeks. Two weeks ago, when Derek had gone to Seattle Grace Hospital for Tim's treatment, he had ended up losing his diary during the fire in the West Wing of the hospital. And later, when he had gone to the Lost and Found to ask about his diary, the woman at the desk had handed him a little black notebook that looked exactly like his diary. But, upon returning home, he had discovered that the diary was not his diary. It was someone else's diary – someone whose name began with an 'M,' because a capital letter 'M' was scribed boldly in one corner of the front page of the diary. Derek had gone back to the Lost and Found the next day to ask about it, but the woman who had handed him the diary had not been there. Someone else had been sitting behind the desk at Lost and Found, and Derek had returned home disappointed. Since then, the diary had been lying in his bag like an unnecessary object. Derek hadn't touched it, let alone read it.

Derek would be fibbing if he said that the thought of reading the diary hadn't crossed his mind once or twice. But, every time, he had held himself back thinking about the person who the diary belonged to. He didn't want to intrude in that stranger's privacy. But tonight, after two whole weeks, Derek found himself opening the diary up and flipping through it. He might as well read the diary now; he was probably never going to find the diary's real owner.

Turning the first two pages of the diary, Derek looked at the page where the diary's owner had started writing. He took in the messy chicken scrawl that filled the page, and somehow, the scrawl seemed awfully appealing to him. Most people would deem the scrawl as untidy, but something about that handwriting put Derek at ease almost instantly. The handwriting felt homely and endearing, and Derek had a feeling that the person who the handwriting belonged to was equally endearing and homely.

Letting out a soft sigh, Derek subdued his feelings of guilt that were plaguing him for reading someone else's personal diary, and started reading the very first diary entry.

17th May, 1993

9:30 p.m.

Okay, so this is my first diary entry ever, and hence I've no idea how to start it. I guess I'll just start by writing a bit about myself. I'm just a simple 9-year old girl with a not-so-simple life. But, I'll get into the details of that later on. I live in Seattle, Washington. I'm in the third grade and I attend Gatewood Elementary School in Seattle. My parents – well, that's where the complicated part comes in. My mother is a surgeon – a great one, and my Dad owns an advertising agency. He's pretty great at what he does too. But, problem is that, my parents are not together anymore. My mother cheated on my Dad with a co-worker when I was four, and so, my Mom and Dad got a divorce. My mother didn't want my custody; she didn't want to be a part of my life in any way, so she handed over my full custody to my Dad. Yes, that's right – my own biological mother didn't want anything to do with me because I'd be an obligation to her - a huge burden and responsibility and I would be a hindrance in the progression of her great surgical career. So, she gave up all her rights on me and moved to Boston to pursue her career. I started living with my Dad and since then, I haven't met my birth mother even once. She keeps no contact with me, none whatsoever. At first, I felt aggrieved and unwanted because my own mother didn't want me, but now I've learnt to live with it.

My Dad remarried when soon after divorcing my mother and a new person entered my life – my stepmom. I'm not gonna lie, my stepmom is nothing like the evil, wicked witch in 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.' She's a sweet person and she never maltreats me, but I can tell that she doesn't particularly like me either. She barely says two words to me all day; it's like she remains oblivious to my presence in her home. And that's fine with me; I mean, how could my stepmom love and want me when my own biological mother didn't? Anyway, when I was five years old, my stepmom and my Dad had a little baby girl – my baby sister, Lex. Lex is four years old now, and to this date, Lex is my best and most trusted friend. She's a lot younger than me, but the age gap between us was never a hindrance to our friendship. She's not only my baby sister, but she's also my confidante, my backbone, my strength. I know that it may sound a little weird to other people, but between us sisters, that's the nature of our relationship.

My Dad is a very good Dad, but I and Lex don't really see him much. His ad agency keeps him very very busy, and he can hardly spare time for me and my sis. So, I don't have a mother, and in essence, I don't have a Dad either. At least Lex has her Mom to take care of her. Gosh, this is starting to sound more like a sob story than a diary entry.

I don't have any pets at the moment, but I used to have a pet goldfish when I was five. I called him Goldie, but he died within a month because I overfed him. Since that incident, my Dad refuses to buy any pets for me, because I don't know how to care for them yet. But, once I grow up, I'd really like to have a dog as my pet. I love dogs.

I also love reading. Yes, I'm one of those nerdy bookworms who always have their noses glued to books. I've loved reading for as long as I can remember, and it's my favourite hobby. My favourite author keeps changing, depending on what book I'm reading. As of now, my favourite author is Mark Twain, because I'm currently reading his book 'Oliver Twist.'

Apart from reading, I also like to listen to music and write. My favourite bands are Duran Duran, The Go Go's and The Eurythmics. I love to write, whether it's a school essay or an original short story. My ambition is to become a famous writer one day.

My favourite colour is lavender, and green is a close second. My favourite cuisine is Italian, and I like to eat all other types of food except Chinese. I hate Chinese, period. I love all sorts of junk food, be it cheeseburgers, fries or chips. My Dad calls me a mini junk food junkie. My favourite ice-cream is strawberry ice-cream, and my favourite drink is a strawberry milkshake from McDonald's. I like Pepsi more than Coke. My favourite candy is Rocky Road Candy Bar. Even though I'm a bit grown up now, I like to watch 'Barney and Friends' a lot. My favourite part is when Barney concludes the show with his song 'I love you.'

I dislike gossiping, and I hate clowns. I don't know why I hate clowns, but it's a relatively harmless fear. I also hate it when people make fun of others. That is why Gina is my worst enemy in school, because she loves to make fun of other people, especially me. She calls me a freak of nature because I'm a little shy and reserved. I hate her. So what if I talk less and read more? That's me, and I wouldn't change a thing about me, unless it'd be to win my mother's love. I still don't understand why my mother didn't want me. Was it because I am really a freak? I don't know – I never talk to anyone about it, but it has always silently bothered me. Gina says that I'm hard to love – maybe that's true. Maybe, I'm hard to love.

Anyways, enough rambling about myself. There goes my first diary entry, where I introduced myself a bit. A saying goes that paper is better than people, and I sincerely believe in that saying. I conclude my first diary entry today with the hope that this diary will become one of my best friends in the near future. Goodnight, Dear Diary.

Derek finished reading the first diary entry and slammed the notebook shut. Sighing, he kept the notebook aside and mulled over what he had just read. One thing that he had learnt by reading the diary was that the owner was a girl – a girl who was probably in her early twenties now. Derek didn't know why, but he immediately felt a connection to this girl by reading her diary. He felt sympathetic towards the girl because she had been so insecure about herself at the tender age of nine. Her mother hadn't wanted her, and her classmates had made fun of her due to her introverted nature, and Derek could relate to it himself. After all, he had lost his mother when he had been eight too, his father had grown distant ever since his mother's death and he had been a nerdy bookworm in his childhood – well, he was still a nerdy bookworm, but no one made fun of him anymore because of his good looks. But his school days – they had been horrible. He had been the skinny nerd with lots of acne and an afro, and his classmates used to make fun of him in every way possible. He still remembered his high school days vividly, and boy was he glad to have left those terrible days behind. High school had been no less than a nightmare for him.

This girl – this Diary Girl was a lot like him. They had so much in common, except the fact that she loved junk food and he was a health nut, inside out. She definitely had some serious abandonment issues like him, and she loved reading and writing. Hell, she even wanted to become a writer like he did. Derek didn't know why, but he felt so connected to this Diary Girl. It was like after 25 years, he had finally found his perfect match. Shaking his head, he smiled slightly as he dimmed the lights and pulled the covers over himself. He would definitely like to meet this Diary Girl one day – he had a feeling that they'd have a lot of stories to swap if they ever got the chance to meet.

Little did Derek Shepherd know that he had already met Diary Girl in real life.

A/N: There you go, an entire chapter from our Library Guy's perspective. This chapter revealed a lot about both Derek's and Meredith's lives. I sincerely hope you enjoyed this chapter, because I sure enjoyed writing it. And do tell me what you think about my original character, Tim. I took the inspiration for his character from a movie character, and if anyone can guess which movie character it is, I'll love him/her forever!

I don't want to come across as a whining biatch, but reviews were a little down on last chapter. So, I urge all my readers to leave me a review if you're reading this. If you like this, then please leave a review, and if you dislike this, then leave a review too, telling me why you dislike my story. :)

Please review and let me know what you think and when to update again!

A reply to the reviews –

mariemarie22 – Thank you! I'm glad that you love it! Hope you enjoyed this chapter!

RhizOneill – Thanks a lot! I'm so happy that you love it! Hope you liked this chapter!

msnovelist – Thanks so much for reading and reviewing! I'm glad that you think so. I definitely plan to keep writing if people keep reading! :)

bhavyam1998 – Thank you for your kind words! I think you got a little thing wrong – the chicken scrawl is Meredith's handwriting. But, that's okay. Susan is definitely not a character that you can like instantly. And books...Well, that's what the story is about, isn't it? Thanks for the review!

xtiannax – Thank you! Glad you think so! More is on the way!

MsHGolightly – Thanks so much for your sweet words! I'm glad you like the story so far! AUs are definitely my favourites too. Meredith's past will be revealed slowly in this fic, but it'll be fun, I promise! And Slexie – I liked them a lot, so I brought them back in my fic! Thanks!

MathiMth - Thank you for your lovely review! It made my day! Glad you love this and enjoy my writing! More is on the way!

Patsy – Thanks a lot! MerDer will get together...eventually ;) Susan is a character hard to like, I guess. But, I made her that way, so...Hope you liked this chapter, as it was entirely a dose of McDreamy, right from start to the end! And thank you, I did enjoy my vacation!

snv3 – Thank you! Glad you're loving their interaction, because I'm surely enjoying writing it! Hope you liked this chapter!

Gina – Thank you! Glad you think so! More is on the way!

Alexandra Caroline Sloan – Thanks a lot! Glad you love it! Happily Ever After will be there eventually! Hope you liked this chapter!

Susan – Thank you! Glad you love this Meredith, and believe me, there will be lots of interaction between her and Library Guy. Hope you liked this chapter! More is on the way!

Chloe – Thank you so much! More is on the way!

Candace – Thank you! More is on the way! Glad you think so!

Arlene – Thanks a lot! Hope you liked chapter 4! I'm gratified that you think so!

ashmo2000 – Thanks a lot for reading and reviewing! Glad you loved it! You're right, Meredith is quite shy, but Library Guy can probably get her to open up a bit. Now, Lexie's story is different. She thinks that sex is all Mark wants, so she is willing to give him that without questioning, just because she wants to be with him. And Mark was the first one to suggest that they stay at home and make out instead of going out. So, it's only natural for Lexie to assume that the kissing is eventually going to lead to sex. Don't worry, we'll see Mark's side of the story quite soon. Thank you!

Sara – Thank you so much for the review! I'll keep writing if people keep reading. More is on the way!

Guest #1 – Thank you! Glad you think so. More is on the way!

Charlotte – Thank you for the review! Glad you think so about my story! I wasn't able to update because I was on a vacation. Also, reviews are a big deal to me, because they're the only way I get to know whether my readers are enjoying this. Hope you understand. And do let me know what you think about this chapter!

Popcornkitten1 – Thanks a lot for the lovely review! It brightened up my day! I'm extremely happy to hear that you love this story so much! And don't be scared to ask me questions – I'm always happy to interact with my readers. To answer your first question – no, I'm not British, but I'm a huge Anglophile and I did spend quite a few years of my childhood in London. So, I like writing in British English :) Your second question – thank you for pointing it out. I don't make my writing formal intentionally, it just happens. I've been told before that my writing is too formal, and believe me, I'm trying to rectify that. If you could point out a few specific instances where my writing has tended to become too formal, then I'd be forever grateful to you! I seriously need to work on it, and I'll be glad if you helped me out a bit. Thank you so much!

Carla – Thank you for reading and reviewing! I hope you liked this chapter! Now you know what Derek's occupation is, and what his ambition is! :)

Guest #2 – Thanks for the review! I posted chapter 4 last night, but I came back in the morning to see that for some reason, chapter 4 was not posted. So I edited it and am reposting it now, hope it works this time! Crossing my fingers! Thank you for reading and reviewing!

Gina – Thanks for reading and reviewing! Yes, chapter 4 didn't post for some weird reason, but I'm reposting it with the hope that it'll work this time! Thanks!

Guest #3 – Thank you for reading and reviewing! I did post chapter 4, I swear. But, it didn't show up, probably due to some site problems. I'm reposting it now; hope it works and you enjoy reading it! Thank you!