RINGS

'Life is too short to wake up in the morning with regrets. So love the people who treat you right, forget about the ones who don't and believe that everything happens for a reason. If you get a chance, take it. If it changes your life, let it. Nobody said that it'd be easy, they just promised it would be worth it.'
- Anon.

- Monday -

Derek smiled as Meredith nodded her final approval at the wedding rings they had picked out together. He had opted for a simple platinum band, and Meredith had surprised him when she had done the same. Although in retrospect, he shouldn't have been surprised. She wouldn't want any excessive bling on her finger for the rest of her life. He could remember Addison trying to convince him to go with a male braid or some other design to match hers. But Meredith had been quite content with matching simple bands. It was perfect for them. And they were just now in the store to make sure they would be sized correctly.

The store owner smile appreciatively; Derek had spent hours with the man when he had chosen Meredith's engagement ring and he had been pleased when Derek had returned with Meredith in tow for wedding rings. "Did you want an engraving?"

"An engraving?" Meredith asked.

He nodded. "Many couples request a phrase or a date to be engraved under the band."

She nodded, accepting his answer. "Does it have to be the same on both?"

"Not at all, it can be whatever you want it to be."

Meredith smirked, turning to him, her eyes dancing. "We could have 'always right' engraved on mine and 'never right' engraved on yours."

Derek rolled his eyes in good nature."Or we could go with something else..."

She laughed, her hand falling against his chest as she leaned in for a quick kiss. He never tired of the new, light hearted Meredith. She seemed so free and happy; just what she deserved to be. "So, what do you want to go with?"

"You're a lucky man," the owner stated. "A fiancée who lets you make decisions. A rare thing indeed."

Derek laughed as he hooked an arm around her waist. "Trust me; I know how lucky I am." He pressed his lips against her temple.

Meredith giggled. "So, any ideas?"

Derek pursed his lips and contemplated.

"Some couples like to match their wedding bands quotes to the engagement ring," the store owner offered. "What I'm here for, if I remember correctly."

Derek nodded, impressed. "Good memory; you must do a ton of engravings."

"And every one is unique and memorable."

"Wait, you had that engraved on my ring?" Meredith spoke up, wrenching it off her finger to hold up to the light.

Derek laughed and shook his head. "How can you just be realizing that now?"

She glared at him before returning to squinting at the inner band. "You never told me. How was I supposed to know?"

He laughed. "It's been two months, Meredith. And you seriously haven't looked?"

She scoffed. "I didn't know I was supposed to look at the inside of the ring..."

000

Silence.

The worst kind of silence.

Derek swallowed, squeezing Meredith's hand, hoping to reassure her not to freak out. They had discussed this. It was possible. Now they had to get his family on board. But they weren't exactly speaking up with excitement and enthusiasm.

"Saturday?" Natalie finally asked. "Saturday, as in five days from now?"

Derek nodded.

"How do you expect to pull this off?"

"Very carefully."

She rolled her eyes.

Derek sighed. "Look, it's the only time we can all be together for a while. And we don't want to wait. We can have the ceremony here, and then a reception here or inside somewhere if we can book anything. We already have a dress and rings in Seattle, which our friends from there can pick up and bring with them."

"That is, if they can get time off work," Nancy added.

"That shouldn't be a problem. Richard owes me."

"For what?"

"He just does."

"I can get my team here for photos," Spencer spoke. "We don't have anything booked." Spencer owned a photo and camera shop, and his team often did weddings and other large get-togethers.

"Thank-you," Derek told him, grateful to have someone on his side. One down; nine more left to convince.

"How would we book a hall or find a caterer this late?" Carol questioned.

Derek shrugged. "I don't know, but the reception is less important right now."

"A reception is very important, Derek. It's the celebration."

"We can do our own food if we have to. There won't be that many people." Less than fifty. They could cook enough food in his mother's kitchen if they had to.

"It's important, Derek."

He nodded. "I know."

"How many people are you planning on inviting?" Anna asked. "If it's few enough, we could probably book a restaurant."

He nodded gratefully to his little sister. Two on board. "Well, the twenty-four of you people. Any other family we can get a hold of who can get here." He smiled when she rolled her eyes, and turned to Meredith. "And at least four from Seattle?"

Meredith nodded.

"Only four?"

Meredith sighed. "We really don't know anyone outside of the hospital," she shrugged. "It's sad, but we just don't have any spare time."

"So, the four are...?"

"My friends. We started out together."

"Meredith," Carol prompted carefully. "Don't you have any family out there? I thought your father..."

Meredith quickly shook her head. "No. My friends are my family."

"Okay," she accepted Meredith's answer. "And no one else from the hospital?"

"Well, there are a few other people, but whether we can get them here..."

"Who else?" Mark asked.

"Bailey, and...Lexie, I think..." She glanced to Derek. "And maybe the Chief."

Derek scowled slightly. "I guess we'd have to invite him, if he let's everyone else come."

Meredith met his eyes and they shared an understanding. "He didn't mean to..." She trailed off.

He nodded. "I know."

"What about clothes for the wedding party?" Natalie asked. "Do you have all that in Seattle?"

"Well, I think we have bridesmaid dresses for Izzy and Cristina..." Derek glanced at Meredith, who nodded.

"What about for Mark?" It was assumed he would be best man again. "Hell, Derek, what about you? Do you have a tux?"

He shook his head. "Not yet. But that's easy to get."

"But to get it matched to the dress..." Nancy shook her head. "Without the dress here until the end of the week... That's nearly impossible." She paused. "And then it'll need to be sized..."

Meredith scrunched her face. "The tux needs to match?"

Derek couldn't help but laugh at her confusion, especially when Nancy and Natalie were staring at her like she was out of her mind. He kissed her temple. It was one of the many reason he loved her. "It's common to match the style."

"Okay..."

"And the cummerbund should be your theme colour." Natalie added.

Meredith looked confused again. "We need a theme colour?"

Derek bit back another laugh. "We don't need one, but it's common."

"Okay." She nodded. "We can have a theme colour. What do you-"

"And how do you expect to get decent flowers ordered at such short notice?" Carol cut in. "That's something we need to see about today. Along with booking something for the reception."

"And getting a marriage license," Kathleen added.

"We can probably do that tomorrow," Simon told her, glancing to the rest of the table. "It's either a twenty-four or forty-eight hour waiting period. I can't remember which, but I know it's no more than that."

"Okay," Derek spoke up. "So, flowers and reception today. Marriage license tomorrow. And tuxes," he motioned to Mark and himself.

"Meredith, when was the last time you were fitted for your dress?"

"Uh..." Her eyes closed as she thought back. "February, I think..."

"Same as your bridesmaids?"

She nodded.

"We'll have to get the three of you to a dress shop when your friends get here, and make sure they still fit." Carol told her.

"Okay..."

"There's an excellent shop in town," Natalie added. "It's where I got my dress. I'm sure the owner would do it; she was wonderful."

"Does she have flower girl dresses?" Derek asked.

Natalie nodded. "For who?"

Derek turned to his oldest sister. "We were hoping Megan and Steph could do it, seeing as they were the inspiration for this."

Kathleen beamed. "I'm sure they'd love it, Derek. They've never had the chance before."

Meredith glanced at the rest of the room. "We'd love to have them all...but nine flower girls would be a lot..."

Carol laughed. "There'd be more than the entire rest of the wedding party." She smiled and shook her head. "What about a ring bearer?"

Derek turned to his youngest sister. "We were going to ask Spencer, if you think he'd be up to it."

"I'd be honoured," Spencer senior cut in. "But I think I'm a little old..."

Derek rolled his eyes.

Anna expertly ignored her husband. "I think he'd love it, Derek."

000

Derek closed the door to his bedroom for privacy and sat in the chair in the corner by the door, reluctantly picking up his cell phone. He and Meredith had managed to get his family on board; not that he hadn't expected to be able to with some effort. Her mother and sisters had taken Meredith out in search of a flower store and finding a reception hall. And they were all excited and confident they could do this. The next part would be harder. Meredith needed her family with her. And that was up to him.

He scrolled through his contacts list until he found the number he was looking for and waited as it rang. It was early afternoon in New York, so Derek was hoping Richard would be out of his morning surgery.

"Chief Webber's office, Patricia speaking, how can I help you?"

"Hi, Patricia, it's Derek."

"Dr. Shepherd?"

"Yes." He paused. "I need to speak to Richard."

"I'm not sure if he's available..."

"Is he in his office?"

"Well, yes..."

"Tell him it's important."

"Of course, Dr. Shepherd." Derek sighed, his hand coming to rest along the bridge of his nose. He was already on edge. He didn't need to be taking it out on Patricia. She came back on the line. "He says he'll talk to you. I'll just transfer the call..."

"Thank-you."

The phone line went silent and then rang twice.

"Derek." Richard greeted, his voice a mixture of surprise and curiosity. Derek had not initiated contact with him for some time. In fact, Derek had barely spoken to the older man at all for two months.

"Richard." Derek removed his hand and sat upright, preparing himself for the conversation.

"What can I do for you?" His voice was worried following Derek's continued silence.

Derek sighed. "I need a favour. I need you to find a way to get some time off for Yang, Stevens, O'Malley and Karev."

"Derek, what is this about?"

"Meredith and I are getting married."

"I know that, Derek..."

"We're getting married this weekend."

Silence.

And for a moment, Derek felt sorry for the man. "We just decided. And we need for Mer's friends to be here. At least the four of them."

"That's awfully short notice, Derek."

"They're her family. They need to be here."

Richard sighed heavily. "This really isn't fair to everyone else..."

"That's bull, and you know it."

"Derek-"

"No. We have worked every holiday, been called in on our days off, been kept far past the maximum eighty hours numerous times without complaints. You've gotten other people off at short notice before. And it's the end of the year, the interns are almost residents. They can be assigned to someone else for a few days. You won't miss a few second year residents and an intern."

"Derek-"

"You owe me."

He was silent again.

"And if you can, we'd really like to invite Bailey and Lexie Grey as well."

Richard sighed. "Derek, I am sorry about what happened. I was out of line."

"Yeah, you were."

"I am sorry, Derek, do you realize that?"

Derek paused. "Sometimes."

"I never meant to hurt you."

"But you did." He felt his anger rising. "I love that woman more than anything else in the world. And that you would think that I could..." He trailed off. "I respected you, Richard, for a long time. And I never realized how you felt about me."

"I overreacted, Derek. It wasn't a measure on how much I respect you."

"No. If that were true, it would never have happened."

"Derek-"

"No." He was done discussing this. "This isn't what I called to talk about. I love her, Richard, and I need for her to be happy. And she needs her family with her this weekend. You owe me. And you owe her." He was partially the reason she had a surrogate family and not a biological one.

"I'll see what I can do, Derek," he said quietly. "O'Malley, Yang, Stevens, Karev, Bailey, the other Grey... Is that all? Torres, maybe?"

"We thought it would be too awkward with George there..." And there were a number of people they would have invited for a wedding in Seattle, but were not close enough to warrant an invite all the way to New York.

"Of course." He sighed, his heavy exhale resounding through the phone line. There was a long pause.

Derek knew what he was waiting for. Meredith had left it up to him whether or not to invite the chief. And right now Derek couldn't bring himself to do it.

"Alright, Derek, I'll get back to you first thing tomorrow morning."

He hesitated. "Richard... I... Thank-you."

"Goodbye, Derek."

The phone line went dead in Derek's hand and he slowly flipped shut his cell and tossed it across the room to land on the bed, and watched as it bounced across the mattress before coming to rest near the center.

It had been an abnormally sunny day in Seattle. The temperature was as high as it got in March. The roads were clear and dry, leaving the ER relatively free. It had been an easy work day; no unstable patients, no emergency surgeries, no last minute complications.

"Dude, I'm still telling you, the ump was blind."

Derek rolled his eyes at Mark's insistence. "You're just a sore loser."

"He was totally calling unfairly against Los Angeles." They were returning to the hospital after an afternoon baseball game; Seattle Mariners vs. Los Angeles Angels. Mark was an Angels fan. He had done most of his residency in Los Angeles before transferring to New York.

"That makes him prejudice, not blind," Derek shot back.

Mark shook his head. "Be nice to me, or you'll find yourself walking home. Mark had driven this time, and Derek needed to pick his car up from the hospital.

Derek laughed. "You wouldn't dare."

Before Mark could respond, Derek jumped as the cell phone in his pocket vibrated. He had turned off the ringer for the game. He didn't recognize the number.

"Hello?"

"Hello," A very proper voice greeted him. "I have a collect call from a Meredith, will you accept the charges?"

Derek scrunched his forehead. "Yes." Why would she be calling collect?

There was a beep as the operator connected the call.

"Mer?" He prompted, only to be greeted with the violent hiss of jerky breathing at the other end of the line. "Meredith, are you there?" He swallowed hard, nervousness suddenly clamping onto his heart like a vice.

Mark silently reached to turn off the radio.

Derek heard a small whimper as she gasped for breath. And he felt his heart jump into his throat. "Meredith, you're scaring me. Are you okay? Please say something..."

"Derek..." She whispered. "I..."

"Are you okay?"

A pause. "No."

"Oh, god," he hissed. "I...What happened? Are you hurt?"

There was a painful hiss of static as she struggled for a breath, but he didn't dare pull the phone away. "Derek..." Her voice cracked, and he felt his eyes well with tears. He didn't know what was wrong. He didn't know what had happened. He didn't even know where she was. "Can you come and get me?" She pleaded; her voice barely a whisper.

"Absolutely. Where are you?" He demanded.

"I...don't know... I ran..."

He forced a breath of oxygen into his lungs, willing himself to stay calm. "Are you safe?" Mark pulled the car over.

"I...yeah."

"Are you sure? Do you need me to call nine-one-one?"

"No." She said frantically. "No, Derek, please, don't go..."

His heart broke at her pleas. "I won't go anywhere. I can get Mark to call from his phone."

"No. Don't... I'm safe."

"You're absolutely sure?"

"Yeah."

He breathed a small sigh of relief. "Okay, now where are you?"

"I'm at a phone booth...beside a park..." She sobbed suddenly. "I...I don't know where...I just...ran."

"Are there streets signs? Or maybe an address in the phone booth?"

There was a scrambling noise as she turned and looked. "Yeah," she said quickly, her voice full of relief. "Yeah, there's an address on the phone." She quickly read it off, and Derek passed it along to Mark, who was already setting up his car's GPS system.

"Okay, Mer, we're on the way," he tried to reassure her as Mark got them back on the road, travelling much more quickly than before.

"Please don't hang up." She pleaded.

"I won't. I promise."

She sucked in another violent breath, and he was overwhelmed with the need to be there with her. "I'm coming, Meredith. I'm coming as fast as I can. Are you still okay?" He needed to keep her talking, needed to know that she knew he was there.

"Yeah."

"I love you, Meredith. I love you more than anything else in the world. You know that, right?"

"Mmm-hmm." She was crying, but her breathing seemed to have become less violent.

"Good." He covered the microphone with his free hand. "Can you go any faster?"

"Going as fast as I can," Mark answered calmly, but true to Derek's request, his foot fell a little heavier on the peddle. "We're not too far away."

Derek removed his hand. "We're almost there, Meredith. I'm almost there. Just hold on."

The tires squealed as Mark pressed harshly on the break when a curve in the road came up sooner than expected. The car staggered half way into the oncoming lane before it righted itself. Derek barely had a chance to be grateful there weren't any cars coming towards them. "We're pretty much there," Marks said tersely, motioning to the GPS screen.

Derek continued whispering comforting phrases through the phone, keeping her connected to him while he glanced frantically around. A row of houses sat along the left side of the road, set back. To the right was a small park. He swallowed. She had mentioned a park. He caught sight of a phone booth and motioned to Mark to pull over. "We're there, Meredith," he spoke into the phone.

He was out of the car before it stopped moving, racing towards the phone booth. Meredith stepped out as he approached, uncharacteristically hunched, her arms wrapped tightly around her torso. She was dressed in jeans and a simple top. No jacket.

"Meredith," he breathed, skidding to a stop in front of her. "Are you okay?" He cupped her face with his hands, but she hissed and pulled away. "Oh...god..." he gently ran his fingers around the darkening bruise on her right jaw and cheek. "What happened?"

Her beautiful grey-green eyes filled with tears and he felt his own breathing hitch. "Please tell me you're okay..."

She offered him a small nod. "I want to go home."

He pressed his lips together, his hand traveling down her neck and shoulders to her arms. She wasn't just clutching at her torso, her left arm was supporting her right. "Can I see?" He asked softly.

She released her wrist into his care, but repeated her earlier statement. "I want to go home."

It was swollen. "Meredith, I'm so sorry, but you need to go to the hospital." The bruise looked suspiciously like a hand; long, dark fingers wrapped around her forearm.

She shook her head. "No. Derek, please... I just want to go home."

Tears fell from his eyes. "Your arm is broken. You need to go to the hospital."

"Derek..."

He wrapped her in his arms, careful of any other injuries. "Mer, what happened?"

She shook her head against his chest.

He sighed and kissed the top of her head. "I love you, Meredith. I love you so freaking much."

"I want to go home."

"Me too. But I can't take you home, Mer. I need to take you to the hospital. You need to get checked out."

Her breathing hitched and she whimpered in pain as she pulled away, her good hand wrapping around her torso.

He very carefully placed his hands along the sides of her ribs. "Please, let me take you to the hospital..." He pleaded.

She squeezed her eyes shut. "I can't... I can't be a patient again. I can't have everyone know...again. I can't stand the thought of everyone staring...of everyone knowing..."

He nodded, his heart going out to her. "We don't have to go to the ER." He told her. "How about the clinic? Then we can be more discreet."

She stared into his eyes and nodded reluctantly. "Okay."

"Thank-you." He kissed her forehead. "Thank-you, Meredith."

She nodded as a shiver ran through her body, and he was pulling off his coat before he realized it.

"Here," he carefully wrapped it around her shoulders. "Come on; let's get you in the car."

She stayed silent while he led her towards the car. Mark was leaning against the hood, arms crossed as he glanced suspiciously around the street, as if waiting for something to happen. "You okay, Grey?" He asked quietly, his eyes still shifting.

She nodded as Derek led her past.

"Can you get us to Grace?" Derek asked.

Mark nodded. "As fast as I can." And with one last glance around the street, he stepped into the driver's seat while Derek settled himself next to Meredith in backseat, terrified of what might be wrong with her, but relieved she was no longer by herself, far away from him.

"It's going to be okay," he whispered into her hair, pressing his lips against her temple, hoping her wasn't lying to her. "I'm here."

"You promise?" She whispered.

He closed his eyes. "I promise. I'm not going anywhere. I won't leave your side."

Mark had heard their conversation at the phone booth and he reached the hospital he pulled up to the entrance of the clinic without any instructions.

"We're here," Derek whispered. Meredith had grown silent and passive on the drive to the hospital. She was leaning against him, still clutching to her torso, her eyes squeezed shut.

She nodded enough to show she had heard him, but made no move to get out of the car.

Derek sighed, stroking his fingers through her hair. "Mer?"

"Can we come back tomorrow?" She asked quietly, her voice scratchy from unshed tears. "If you just take me home, I'll come back tomorrow. I promise."

"I'd love to just take you home," he started softly. "But you need to get checked out. If your ribs are fractured you could have internal injuries..."

She shook her head and raised her eyes to his. "I don't. I know I don't."

"I want to believe you, but we need to make sure."

She swallowed hard and her eyes filled with tears.

"It's late," he offered. "It'll be much busier if we come back tomorrow."

She hesitated. "Will you stay with me?"

"The entire time," he promised.

"Okay," she conceded.

Derek got out of the car and quickly made his way to Meredith's side, opening the door and helping her stand up. She glanced nervously around, her eyes searching for curious onlookers that would recognize them, but there was no one about at this time of night.

"Come on," he prompted gently, placing his hand on her lower back and leading her in the front doors of the clinic as she hunched under the protection of his coat. The clinic was quiet at this time of night, only a few patients left. The rows of beds to their right were empty, and he led her to the end.

"Excuse me," a familiar voice called from behind them. "You need to be checked in first..." Miranda Bailey trailed off when Derek turned his head and motioned for her to follow. She hurried to catch up, and quickly pulled the curtain shut behind them as Derek helped Meredith sit on the bed. "What the hell happened?"

"I don't know," Derek shook his head. "She called me..."

Bailey looked speechless as she leaned down to Meredith's level. "Meredith, what happened?"

Meredith averted her eyes and looked down, clutching her right arm in her left, both tucked carefully against her ribs.

"Where are you hurt?"

"I just need an x-ray of my ribs," she said quietly. "Derek won't take me home until he knows I don't have any internal injuries." Her voice was flat and robotic. She still wasn't making eye contact.

"Do you think they're broken?"

Meredith reluctantly nodded. "Maybe."

"Can I see?" Bailey reached for the hem of her shirt.

Meredith didn't respond, and didn't move her arms to allow the contact.

"I think her arm is broken too," Derek offered, carefully reaching for her joined arms.

She didn't say anything, but let Derek pull the sleeve back on her right forearm. In the light of the hospital, it was even darker, the bruising even more pronounced. Derek shook his head, his temper rising. Whoever did this was going to pay...

Miranda clicked her tongue and carefully pulled Meredith's shirt up, exposing her stomach and ribs. Her right side was beginning to bruise, from the hemline of her shirt down to her waist band. The left side boasted two already darkened bruises, high on her rib cage. It made Derek sick to know they were toe prints.

The curtain opened behind them, revealing a shocked intern.

"Dr. Smith!" Bailey reprimanded, dropping Meredith's shirt back down.

"I'm sorry, Dr. Bailey," she stuttered. "I thought this bed was empty..."

"Go get me new paperwork, so I can start a chart."

Dr. Smith nodded and quickly disappeared.

"I'm sorry, Meredith," Bailey told her. "I'll be right back." She stepped outside the curtain, and Derek could hear her speaking to the intern in hushed tones.

"Book an x-ray, Dr. Smith. And do not tell anyone about this. We need to keep some form of privacy."

"But, Dr. Bailey-"

"Dr. Grey deserves her privacy. Now go."

She re-entered through the curtain, passing Derek a clipboard. "I need you to fill this out, Derek." She turned to Meredith. "We'll get you to x-ray as soon as we can."

Meredith finally looked up, her eyes glistening. "I don't need it. Please. Please, Dr. Bailey. Tell Derek he can take me home. Please. I need to go home," She begged.

The older resident reached for Meredith's good hand and squeezed reassuringly. "You know I can't do that, Meredith. Derek made the right decision to bring you here. But we'll get you home as soon as we can."

Meredith squeezed her eyes shut and nodded.

Derek sat beside her, his arm wrapping supportively around her back as he kissed the side of her head. She leaned into him, tears falling down her cheeks. Bailey met his eyes sadly and he shook his head.

"Now, Meredith, does anything else hurt?"

"No." Her voice was flat, but she was answering.

"Just your ribs and your arm?"

"Yes."

"What about your head?" Bailey obviously hadn't missed the still darkening bruise on her cheek.

Meredith sighed. "A little."

"What, it hurts a little?"

"Yeah."

"How did you get the bruise? Were you hit? Or did you fall?"

Meredith squeezed her eyes shut and leaned more against him. Derek dropped his pen and rested his free hand on her knee, not knowing where else to put it to avoid hurting her any further.

"Meredith, I'm sorry, but you know we need to know..." Bailey prompted, making Derek infinitely glad he didn't have to do it. There was no way he would be able to push her when she was crying and broken in front of him. It was one time he didn't mind simply being the family member when she was the patient.

"I...was hit," she admitted. "But I..."

"You what?"

"I fell too... I think I hit it when I fell..."

"Where?"

She lifted her good hand to the right side of her head, above her ear.

Bailey gently pressed her fingers against it and Meredith flinched. "Okay, we're going to need to do a CT."

"No... Please, I'm okay. Please..."

"Meredith, we need to know you're okay."

"I just want to go home."

"I know." Bailey sighed and glanced at Derek. "I'll go and call up to radiology, see how soon we can get in." She stepped out of the room.

"You hanging in there?" Derek asked quietly.

"Mmm-hmm."

His kissed the side of her head. "I'm here."

"I know."

"Good. Do you want to lie down?"

"No."

"Okay." He removed his hand from her knee and went back to completing her paperwork, easily filing in her full name, address and medical history. She remained silent, her eyes closed, still leaning against his shoulder.

After several silent minutes, Bailey joined them again. "Okay, x-ray has an opening in about fifteen minutes." She turned to Derek, her eyes apologetic. "Derek, can you step out for a few minutes?"

He nodded and went to stand, but Meredith clutched onto him with her good hand. "No."

"Meredith," Bailey placated. "I just need to talk to you alone for a few minutes."

"No," she repeated firmly. "Please don't make him go."

"Hey," Derek murmured as he brushed the hair off of her forehead. "I won't go far."

She met his eyes, hers frantic. "You promised. You promised you would stay with me." She looked terrified of the thought of him leaving her alone; so much so that she had made him promise before she had allowed him to get her out of the car,

Derek hesitated, glancing between her and Miranda, his heart breaking at Meredith's pleading eyes. "I know I promised. But how about I just stand by the desk. I won't be far."

"No." She clutched onto his hand tighter and turned to Bailey. "Please don't make him go. Whatever you need to talk about, just say it. I don't care if he hears."

Bailey hesitated. "Really, Grey, I need to ask you a few questions that you should be alone for..."

"You can ask me anything. I promise I'll tell you the truth. I promise, just don't make him leave."

"Meredith..."

"He'll find out anyway. I'll tell him anyway." She was still clutching him tightly with good arm.

Bailey sighed and relented. "Okay, if you're sure."

Meredith sniffed, her hand loosening its grip on his in relief that he would stay without her holding him there. "I am." She leaned into him again as sat back down beside her.

Miranda sighed and pulled up the visitor chair, sitting heavily. "I need to know what happened."

"I can't." Meredith shook her head. "It doesn't matter."

"Meredith, it's obvious someone did this to you. You should file a report..."

She shook her head. "No. I can't deal with that. Not today. Tomorrow. Right now I just want to go home."

"Okay. It doesn't have to be today. But Meredith, I need to know if..." She trailed off, glancing uncertainly at Derek.

"What?" Meredith asked quietly.

Miranda avoided Derek's gaze and met Meredith's evenly, her voice becoming more professional as she distanced herself. "I need to know if I need to do a pelvic exam."

Derek's breath caught as he understood why Miranda had wanted him out of the area. It wasn't a question he was sure he could stand the answer to.

"A... No." Meredith said quickly. She glanced frantically between the two of them. "No," she repeated, meeting Derek's eyes, as if it were the most important thing that he believe it.

"Hey," he said softly. "Whatever happened was not your fault, Meredith. We'll deal with it together. I promise." He shook his head. "There is absolutely nothing that could make me walk away from you."

Meredith shook her head. "I don't need a pelvic exam."

"Are you sure?"

She nodded. "I promise. It wasn't..." She glanced at Bailey and then back at him. He understood. She was telling the truth. And she didn't want to tell the story in front of her boss.

"Okay," Miranda said. "If that's the case, then let's get you up to radiology."

0

They had returned to the peacefulness of the clinic without having received any excessive staring through the hospital. Meredith had walked to her tests, to avoid the suspiciousness inherent in using a wheel chair. She was currently lying on the clinic bed, calmer than she had been since he had received the phone call he now feared he would remember for the rest of his life.

Mark had met them as they returned to the clinic. He had parked his car and wasn't planning on leaving until he knew Meredith was okay, and was currently helping out in the clinic with the rest of the patients to ensure Bailey could focus on Meredith.

Derek had momentarily left Meredith's side to join Bailey beside the bed to stare at the films posted on the wall lights. Her forearm was definitely broken. A jagged break though her radius; a classic sign of twisting.

"We should probably get Torres in to look at that," Bailey remarked quietly.

Derek nodded and turned to offer Meredith a small smile, his heart fluttering when she returned it. She still wasn't talking about what had happened, but she was less passive then she had been, and had stopped demanding she be taken home. And most importantly, she knew he was there for her. He turned back to the wall.

Her right side only showed one minor fracture on a rib, probably a result of the fall she had alluded to. Her left side, however, had three breaks. Three ribs. She had been kicked. Hard. His only relief was that they weren't subluxed, meaning they weren't doing damage to anything internally. And her head CT had been clear; he had evaluated it himself.

"I'll go page Torres," Bailey told him, stepping outside the curtain.

Derek sat in the chair beside the bed. Meredith was mostly on her right side, her knees drawn up part way to her chest. Her broken arm was resting on the bed beside her, wrapped with an icepack. She lifted her good hand away from her ribs and reached for him. He smiled and weaved his fingers though hers.

"How are you doing?" She had been given a pain killer, so she should be relatively okay physically.

"Okay."

"You sure?"

"You're here," she said simply.

He smiled. "I am."

She opened her mouth to say something, but they were cut off by the sounds of an argument erupting outside the curtain.

"Chief, what are you doing here?" Bailey's voice called. Several pairs of footsteps came to a stop right outside the curtains.

"Dr. Bailey." He sounded angry. "I'm disappointed in you."

"Excuse me?"

"What's going on?" Mark had joined the discussion.

Richard scoffed. "It figures you're part of this too."

"I don't know what you're talking about..."

There was a scuffle and the curtains rustled, but didn't open.

"Chief!" Bailey again. "You can't go in there. She deserves privacy."

"She deserves protection!"

"What are you talking about... No, Chief!" But Richard had gotten past them and flung the curtain open.

Derek was up in a flash, meeting Richard at the foot of the bed, trying to maintain some boundaries. "Chief," he said as calmly as he could. "Dr. Bailey is right. Meredith deserves privacy. She has a right to privacy." He knew Richard held a sense of protectiveness over Meredith, and had made that infamous promise to Ellis, but he tended to go overboard. And what Meredith needed right now was privacy.

However, he was unprepared for the way Richard's eyes flashed at him. "She has a right to safety."

"What the hell are you trying to imply?"

Richard glared at him. "I trusted you with her."

Derek gaped. "You think I did this? Are you fucking kidding me?" He went to return to Meredith's side, but Richard grabbed onto his wrist. "What the hell are you doing?"

"If you don't leave on your own, I will have security escort you."

Derek struggled to get away. Meredith was crying, reaching towards him, but he couldn't get to her. Two uniformed security guards came through the curtains and had him restrained immediately. "Let me go," he shouted. "Let me go. I didn't do this. I would never do this..."

Meredith was struggling to get out of bed, but Richard pushed her back down. She was yelling his name. Mark stepped forward, trying to force the security guards to release their grips, but it was no use. A third appeared, and Derek had no chance against the three of them. "Stay with her," he yelled to Mark as his best friend stepped forward to try and help him. "I promised her I wouldn't leave. You need to stay."

000

Meredith bit her lower lip as her eyes took in the sights around her, making her feel more than a little overwhelmed. An array of bright colours jumped out from all directions; solid colours, combinations, arrangements. This was not something she had ever had any experience with. And yet she was expected to be able to look around and decide exactly how to combine these things into something beautiful. She swallowed hard, wishing Derek had come with them; at least then she wouldn't be lost by herself. Although, she reasoned, he probably wouldn't have a problem with the task.

"What kind of arrangements are you thinking of?" Rita, the florist, asked.

Meredith blinked and shook her head. "Uh, I'm not really sure."

"I'm sorry, did you want more time to browse?"

She bit back a laugh. "I don't think that would help. I'm not exactly..." She trailed off. "I've never really done this before, so I don't really know about flowers and stuff..."

Rita offered her a supportive smile, her hand landing on Meredith's forearm. "That's fine, dear, I'll walk you through it."

"Thanks." Meredith breathed a sigh of relief as she felt a swell of gratitude for the older woman for not leaving her on her own, and not making her feel incapable for needing help. Carol and all four sisters had taken her out to make plans for the reception and order flowers. After a few stops, they had found a golf and country club with a kitchen staff who were more than willing to do a small reception on Saturday. And the best part was that they had a full array of large tents and outdoor equipment for large events they hosted on their own land. They were going to show up at the Shepherd house on Friday afternoon to set up, and then come back on Saturday to cater and serve the dinner. It even meant they would have shelter for the ceremony if it happened to be raining. Carol, Kathleen and Nancy had stayed at the golf club to sort out the number of tents and equipment and place settings and dance floor and a host of other things Meredith was glad they could handle, because she had no idea. And her guilt of sticking them with the decision was vastly outweighed by the fact that they all seemed genuinely excited.

She, Anna and Natalie had taken the other car to the flower store. And Anna and Natalie were keeping out of the way, trying to allow Meredith her own space to make her decision. Apparently flowers were a big thing.

"First things first, are you looking for something traditional, like roses, or more colourful and modern?"

"More colourful and modern," Meredith answered easily. "We're not all that traditional."

Rita smiled warmly at her. "And do you have a theme colour to work around?"

"I think so; like a purple?"

"Is that a question?" She asked with a laughing smile.

"I guess not. I'm just not really sure of that's good or not..."

"If it's what you and your fiancé want then it will be perfect."

"Okay, then purple," she stated with more confidence.

"Hmm, purple is an excellent choice, not used as commonly, but one of my favourites. A darker purple is tied to royalty and ceremony; perfect for a wedding. And a lighter purple represents grace and elegance; very sacred. I would definitely recommend it for your bouquet...maybe a combination of lavender and some purple tulips and something white to offset them." She hummer to herself as she glanced around her shop. "Maybe lilies...maybe white roses...maybe hydrangea..." She moved easily around the store, picking out the flowers she had named, and artfully arranging them into a small bouquet. She held it up to Meredith when she was finished, and nodded approvingly. "I definitely like something like this for you. You have very delicate features; something simple and elegant suits you." Rita held the bouquet out, and Meredith gingerly wrapped her fingers around it. She glanced down at the arrangement of flowers and cautiously bent her head to sniff them, her lips curling upwards at the familiar smell of lavender; Derek would be pleased.

"I like it," she said quietly, turning to her soon to be sisters-in-law for their approval.

"Oh, I love it," Natalie stated, stepping forward for a closer inspection.

"Very pretty," Anna added.

"Wonderful," Rita added with a smile. "And do you want something similar for your bridesmaids?"

Meredith nodded. "Yeah, but maybe with a little more white? Their dresses are purple..."

"Sounds perfect." She took the small bouquet from Meredith and proceeded to make some notes on a pad of paper on the front desk before returning. "Alright, now centerpieces for the tables. Do you want something similar again, or more colourful?"

"Uh...more colourful," Meredith said carefully, her eyes on Anna and Natalie for their reaction.

Rita clicked her tongue. "Don't be looking for their approval. This is your wedding, dear. You need to be happy."

Meredith smiled sheepishly. "Sorry." She laughed as she met Anna's eyes. Anna was also laughing at her.

"Yeah, Mer," she added. "You're on your own. I already had to do the flower thing once."

"So," Rita prompted. "More colours?"

Meredith nodded.

"Hmm..." She began wandering once again, pulling out a few single purple flowers, of differing shades, heights and shapes. "I've also added some lilacs," she motioned to a particular flower. "They represent sincere love. Now, what else..." She reached for a dark blue flower. "Blue is good; very peaceful. These are irises...very light, but add to the look. And maybe some delphinium..." She reached for a long stem of small flowers. "That will give some shape." She clicked her tongue a few times and strode towards another corner of the store. "We'll need a touch of pink," she remarked, reached for another flower. "Pink is also very graceful, and represents happiness. Oh...and yellow." She reached for another flower. "Yellow is very important. It signifies friendship. I always demand my wedding bouquets have a touch of yellow. Alstroemeria are wonderful with anything..."

000

The sun was just beginning to dip below the horizon when Natalie, Anna and Meredith pulled up at the Shepherd house. The car Carol and her other two daughters had gone out in was already back. Meredith was tired. "Planning a wedding is exhausting," she commented as she stepped out of the car.

Natalie laughed. "And you only have to put up with it for a few days. It took Phil and I over a year to do this."

Meredith shook her head. "I can't even imagine."

"Well he has about a million family members, so it took a long time." Phil was the middle child of seven, all of whom were also married with children of their own. His father had over thirty grandchildren.

Meredith laughed. "Something else I can't imagine."

"Hey," Anna stated, "You won't have to imagine soon. By the end of the week you'll have your own huge family."

The comment was meant to be light and joking, but Meredith felt tears well in her eyes. She had never had a family before. "Yeah..." She choked out, trying to sound nonchalant.

Anna sighed, slinging her arm around Meredith comfortingly. "Hey, I didn't mean to make you cry..."

"I'm not." Meredith sniffed.

Anna laughed. "Like hell you're not."

"I'm sorry. I just..." She trailed off.

"You have nothing to be sorry for."

"It's just..." Meredith tried again. "Right now my family includes Derek and four friends I work with." She shook her head. "I've never really known anything else except an overbearing, ignorant mother."

"Well, pretty soon you'll know an over involved, nosey mother. And three very similar sisters and-" Natalie was cut off by her sister.

"Three sisters?" Anna prompted.

Natalie nodded. "Of course. I'm not lumping myself in that category..."

Anna rolled her eyes and Meredith laughed.

"If that's the case, tell her she's getting two nosey sisters, and two perfect ones," Anna said.

Natalie nodded again. "You're right, Kathleen doesn't deserve to be in that category either..."

Anna huffed and turned to Meredith. "You know what? Maybe you were lucky not to have siblings."

Meredith offered a small, watery smile. "Seriously, you guys don't know how lucky you were."

"Ah," Anna said quietly, pulling Meredith into a quick hug. "We do know. And we know how lucky we are to be getting another wonderful sister."

Meredith squeezed her eyes tightly shut as she struggled not to cry. "Thanks," she said quietly.

Anna smiled at her, but Natalie was suddenly observing her through narrowed eyes.

"What?" She asked, suddenly self conscious.

Natalie hesitated. "I just...I mean...Are you..." She trailed off and Meredith exchanged a puzzled look with Anna.

"We don't have all day, Nat," Anna prompted.

Natalie ignored her and met Meredith eyes, searching for something. "Are you pregnant?" She finally asked.

Meredith blinked and quickly shook her head. "No. Why?"

"Well, you're a little emotional..."

"The woman's getting married in five days," Anna reminded.

Natalie nodded. "Exactly. You're emotional and you two suddenly decided to get married right away..."

Anna looked about to say something, but paused, a thoughtful expression on her face. "She does have a point."

They both turned expectantly to Meredith. "If you are, we won't tell anyone," Natalie said, her eyes sparkling.

Meredith shook her head. "I'm not pregnant."

Anna smiled, and Meredith rolled her eyes. "I'm not," she reiterated.

Natalie surveyed her for a long moment before nodding. "Okay," she said, but her voice betrayed her belief. She led them to the front door and they quickly bumped into Derek in the living room, dressed comfortably, with a glass of beer in his hand. He smiled at them before exchanging a long, confused look with his older sister.

"What was that all about?" He asked Meredith as Natalie collapsed onto the couch, still in earshot.

"Oh," Meredith told him as he lifted his glass to his mouth. "You sister thinks I'm pregnant."

Derek coughed as he almost choked on drink. "She what? Why?" He glanced at his sister and back to Meredith.

She couldn't help the smile on her face at his expression. "Because I'm apparently overly emotional and because we decided to get married so quickly."

Anna sat beside her sister. "There is supportive evidence there, big brother." Natalie nodded.

Derek stared at them before turning back to Meredith, an eyebrow raised. "But you're not, right?"

Meredith rolled her eyes and reached for his beer. She pulled it out of his grasp and quickly brought it to her mouth. After swallowing several gulps she gave it back to him. "There. Does that answer your question?"

He laughed and pressed his lips against her forehead. "Either that or you're a very bad doctor..."

She laughed and leaned into his warmth.

"Crap," Natalie muttered. "I was all excited for nothing..."

"What do you mean for nothing?" Derek asked. "There's still a wedding to be excited for."

"It's not the same..."

He scoffed. "Well, I think it's pretty exciting."

"Me too," Meredith murmured with a smile as he dipped his head down to capture her lips.