Chapter Six

Driving home is not a fun task for Derek. His hand makes turning the wheel more difficult than it used to. Hearing the cooing from the backseat, he glances in the rearview mirror to find Zola tucked in her car seat with her toes grasped in her fingers. Derek smiles and turns his eyes on the road.

As Derek pulls up in the driveway, he catches sight of Meredith's car. She's supposed to be at the grocery store, he thinks. He wanted to surprise her by being home before her, but this works too. He parks the car and delicately takes Zola from her car seat. Juggling Zola, Derek fumbles with his keys to unlock the front door. As he begins to place the key in the lock, he notices that the door is unlocked. Disconcerted about the unlocked door, he quickens his pace to find the TV on in the living room. He spots a broken table lamp resting on the living room floor. He places Zola in the playpen next to the TV and switches on a light. Immediately, the living room is flooded with light. He sees Meredith's purse toppled on the floor next to the broken lamp. A lump rises in his throat as panic sets it. "Meredith!" he screams glancing at Zola before racing upstairs. He doesn't hear a response and frantically searches upstairs for his wife. But when he reaches the master bathroom, he stops in his tracks. He spots a tiny pool of blood by the bathtub. His heart races and, suddenly, his mind goes blank until he hears Zola scream. He never stopped to think about that fact that whoever was here could still be here. Quickly gathering his thoughts he races for the playpen. "Zola!" he screams. When he is in view of the playpen, he relaxes slightly as he sees her standing in her playpen, holding onto the edge, crying. Ignoring her for the moment, he picks up his phone and calls Meredith.

No answer.

His next call is to Scott Pierce and Terry Powers.

As he awaits the arrival of the detectives, Derek paces with Zola in his arms. He refuses to put her down. When the doorbell rings, he runs to the door. Immediately, he starts to explain fast. "I came home and Meredith wasn't here. She's supposed to be here. There's blood in the upstairs bathroom. I think he has her. He has to have her."

"Slow down, Sir," Terry soothes. "Now what about the blood?" He leads Scott into the house.

Derek moves to the playpen to place a sleeping Zola in it. He points upstairs. "There's a pool of blood upstairs." Without a word, he leads the detectives upstairs. He waits at the doorway while the detectives examine the pool of blood. His arms are crossed over his chest.

Scott's eyes widen in fear. He turns around to face Derek. "What happened, please?" Scott begins, leaving Terry to deal with the blood.

Derek pauses. "She was supposed to go to the grocery store after she left the hospital, but I guess she didn't because when I got home, her car was already here. I was only about twenty minutes behind her." He pauses to think. He looks at the ground before darting his eyes up at Scott. "Oh god," he breathes. "If I left with her none of this would have happened."

Scott smiles. He seems uninterested in Derek's pain.

Terry comes up behind Scott and sighs. "This is not your fault," he says. "We should have taken this more seriously than we did. She might have gone somewhere willingly with a friend or co-worker."

Derek shakes his head vigorously. "No," he says matter-of-factly.

"Well," Terry begins, "I've called it in. Forensics should be here soon. We'll get to the bottom of this."

Scott places a hand on Derek's shoulder. He looks in his eyes and says, "I once worked a case where a woman disappeared. Her husband was frantic. Turned out she left him for another man."

Derek just stands in the doorway for a second. He is 110% that Meredith did not leave him. He knows that something happened to her. His worry level is through the roof. Tears begin the sting the back of this eyes but he forces them back. He can't lose it yet. Meredith is out there somewhere and she needs him.

xoxo

He drives along the road, panicking. He never meant to take Meredith. He slams his fist on the steering wheel in frustration. He is angry at himself because he took her. But Meredith was sitting on the couch, looking beautiful as usual. He just couldn't resist being with her. But now that he has her, he has no plan. He does not know what to do.

He is ripped away from his thoughts when his phone rings. After talking for a minute on the phone, he throws the phone onto the passenger seat. He stops the car and repeatedly slams his hands on the steering wheel, screaming. He just found out that he has to be at work ASAP. His anxiety goes through the roof as he scrambles his brain for a plan. He has to think of somewhere to stash Meredith for a few hours. He will have to think of something a little bit more permanent later. He begins to drive and pulls up alongside a house.

He steps out of the car and makes his way to the trunk. He opens it and stares at Meredith. Her hands are bound and it looks like she has been crying. He interprets her crying as happiness for being with him. He lifts Meredith out of the trunk and kisses her on the lips. She resists. He'll deal with that later. He leads her to the house and stashes her in the basement.

He'll come back for her later.