Author's Note: For my football fans out there, I'm extremely disappointed in the game tonight. I could go on, for probably, twenty four hours about it, but I wont bore y'all with the details. I should really just start a blog. Well, anyway, sorry for the delay. Life keeps getting in the way. Thank you again for all your kind words xx Chris

Derek was mesmerized by his new girlfriend. Damn, he liked the sound of that. He loved her laugh. The way she tossed her hair back when she was going to going to explain something. He loved how she ordered a steak, rather than a dainty salad. "Derek?"

"Sorry," He shook his head from his thoughts. "Do you like the food?"

"It's amazing," She nodded. "This place is incredible."

"I'm glad you like it."

Meredith couldn't help but smile at him. She opened her mouth to say something, but was cut off by her cell phone. "It's Westcott. I have to take this. I'm sorry, Derek."

"Don't be, sweetie."

Meredith excused herself, before walking outside. Derek took this time to walk towards the bar, close by. "Greg."

"What's up all star?"

He laughed, shaking his friend from high school's hand. "I can' believe you're running this place now."

"Yeah," He nodded. "It was bound to happen at some point. Oh!" He reached under the bar, handing him a medium sized bag. "Just what the quarterback ordered."

"I really appreciate it. After the seasons open, I'm sure we'll be back for at least a month. We'll catch up."

"I'm holding you to that, Shep."

"You got it," Derek sat back down, placing his secret bag next to him. A few minutes passed before Meredith sat back down. The look on her face made him worry. "What's wrong?"

"It's…" Meredith paused. "It's not career ending, but…" She trailed off. Neither of them wanted this 'weekend' to be about work. Unfortunately, during the season, working never had a vacation.

"What did Mark do?" Derek frowned.

"He has something called Os Trigomun syndrome," She sighed, Derek's confused look made her continue. "So, basically, he has an extra bone in the heel of his foot. He decided to not tell me, or anyone else, that he sprained his ankle during last week's game. That's what caused this."

"So, what exactly does that mean?"

"He was given a cortisone shot to alleviate some of the pain. I'm going to need to see him, and his scans, to figure out the best option."

"Meredith, he's my guy. What's the worst possibility?"

"Without surgery three weeks. If I have to remove the bone, It'll be eight weeks," She frowned. "I'm sorry."

"Well, it could be much worse, right?" He leaned forward. "He really has an extra bone in his foot? Please let me use this against him."

Meredith could help but laugh, "Its nickname is nutcracker injury. It's very common in ballerinas."

He paused, before he burst out laughing. "No."

"I wouldn't lie to you," She giggled. "Aren't you worried about him?"

"Of course, but this is just golden," He chuckled, grabbing her hand across the table. "He's going to be okay, right?"

"Worst case, He'll go under, I'll make a very small slit in his heel, and pull the unneeded bone out. It's probably a forty-five-minute procedure. He'll be just fine. I assure you."

"Have I told you I love when you talk doctor to me, because… I love when you talk doctor to me."

"Once or twice," She blushed. "What's that?" Meredith look towards the bag at Derek's feet.

"My super secret bag."

"At least you're honest," She shook her head.

"I'll show you if you leave with me," Derek gave her a smirk. He stood up, and held his hand out. Meredith took his hand in hers as he led her out of the restaurant. She felt like she was giggling like a damn schoolgirl. Before she knew it, they had reached the end of the boardwalk. "You should probably ditch the heels."

"You should probably help me," Meredith put her first foot up, against the railing across from her. Derek couldn't help but run his fingers from the top of her thigh all the way down her leg to the latch on her heel. The same process occurred with her other leg and shoe.

When they got to the beach, Derek laid a blanket down. He sat, pulling her down next to him. "I was expecting more in the super secret bag." Derek smirked, pulling out a bottle of champagne and two flute glasses. "I stand corrected."

"And," Derek pulled out a small box. "Dessert. I hope you like chocolate covered strawberries."

"Uh, love is the better word," Meredith immediately took one between her lips and biting into it. Derek popped the cork from the bottle and poured two glasses for both of them. "Wow. This is amazing."

Derek leaned on one arm, pulling her as close as possible. "You're amazing," He leaned down and captured her lips, slowly. He danced his tongue against hers, before pulling back and resting his forehead against hers.

Meredith blushed. As they both finished their glasses, Derek laid back with Meredith close as possible. "You're really good at planning dates, aren't you?"

He chuckled, "I'm kind of a romantic."

"I like it," She murmured against his chest, looking up at the stars.

They stayed like that for awhile. Getting away from the world was something that neither of them was going to take for granted. They chatted about nothing in particular, cuddled against the sand, and were just happy to be here. "What's going on over here?" A flashlight shining towards them made Derek let out a sigh, climbing towards his feet. "What's your name?"

"Derek Shepherd."

"Very funny. What's your-" The police officer's hard expression turned into a smile. "Shep?"

"Hey, Cameron. I can't believe they gave you a badge." He smiled. "I just brought my girlfriend out to dinner and wanted to show her the beach."

"They sure did," He smiled proudly. "We've been having issues with high school kids coming down here late at night."

"Well, we're headed out. Sorry for any trouble."

"Never any trouble, Shep." He shook his head. "Try to come by the tavern next time your in town. It's still the local waterhole."

"Still?" He shook his head. "We'll be back after the season, hopefully. I'll make sure to stop by."

"Have a great night."

Derek took a few steps over, starting to clean up everything he had set up. "Well, I tried, right?"

She smiled, leaning up to kiss him. "You did much better than try. Thank you for an amazing night."

"My pleasure."