A/N: I hope you enjoy this update. For those who are worried I'm going to drag out the proposal, I promise it will happen soon; I won't be dragging it out that much longer!

Chapter 6

In this moment, Derek hated Ellis Grey, he really did. Well, he was never really fond of the world renowned surgeon to begin with; he respected her immensely, but disliked the way she treated Meredith. He had spent time with Ellis several times when he had gone to visit Meredith at home over the years. Each time, Ellis was civil to him, and was decent to Meredith most of the time, but she always managed to throw condescending comments in Meredith's direction. And Derek had a feeling that Ellis was going to ruin the night he planned for Meredith. This was supposed to be the night he asked her to marry him, and now their perfect evening was slipping away from him.

Meredith had, as she always did when Ellis was around, stayed far away from Derek. Meredith hated PDA, she always had, but whenever they were around his family, they acted like a couple; she acted like his girlfriend. But with Ellis, it was if he and Meredith were barely acquaintances. That probably had something to do with the way that Ellis was looking at Meredith right now; as if she was a disappointment, not as though her daughter just graduated with honors and would be attending one of the best medical schools in the country.

"Hello Dr. Grey, how are you?" Derek greeted one of the best surgeons in the country.

"I'm well Derek, how are you?" Ellis responded coldly, her gaze flickering between him and her daughter.

"I'm fine thanks," Derek replied, turning to look at Meredith. She looked shocked; neither one of them had expected Ellis to come, or at least Meredith told him that she would not be joining them.

"What are you doing here Mom?" Meredith finally seemed to have found her voice.

"Really, Meredith? Did you really think that I wouldn't attend my daughter's graduation?" Ellis said, looking at her with disdain.

"Well, you didn't seem all that interested when I told you about it," Meredith shot back.

Ellis ignored that comment. "So, where are we going for dinner?"

"What?" Meredith asked.

"We?" Derek said at the same time.

"I came down here for my daughter's college graduation. I believe that I have to take you out to dinner. I assume that Derek already made a reservation somewhere, so we can just go there." Ellis said matter-of-factly.

"Meredith and I were going to go to Mer's favorite restaurant," Derek began, trying to find a way to tell Ellis she couldn't come, that she would be ruining his proposal, but he couldn't come up with a good enough excuse. "Would you like me to call and change our reservation to three people?"

"Well, I could just have dinner with Meredith by myself, but I feel as though she wouldn't like that very much," Ellis said, rolling her eyes in a very Meredith like fashion.

Derek looked at Meredith, leaning in to whisper in her ear. "You want her to come with us, right?"

Meredith nodded, her eyes apologetic as if Derek was going to be mad at her. Derek couldn't be mad at her for this; Ellis was another story.

Ellis had driven into the city, so she drove the three of them to the restaurant while Derek called the restaurant. The ride was virtually silent; Meredith was sitting in the front with her mother, and she watched her become more and more tense with each passing minute. He still couldn't believe how his plans had gone so wrong, and now had to figure out another way to propose.

"So Derek," Ellis said after the waiter had taken their orders. "How is your residency going? What year are you again."

"It's going well Dr. Grey," Derek replied. He found it a little strange that he still referred to Meredith's mother as Dr. Grey. He supposed part of the reason was that she was a living legend; he couldn't imagine himself calling one of the most famous female surgeons by her first name. It probably also had to do with Ellis' attitude. She was always polite to Derek, but was never kind to him, never asked him to call her Ellis like his mother had to Meredith. "I'm approaching the end of my fourth year of residency."

"Derek's in the race for Chief Resident Mom," Meredith piped in, and Derek squeezed her hand under the table. He knew that, no matter how many times she said she didn't care about her mother, there was still a part of Meredith that sought her mother's approval, a part of her that wanted to be able to talk to her, relate to her, and to know her. So, whenever they talked about work, Meredith always tried to find something to say about the hospital she worked at or a surgery she heard about as a way to connect with the mother that kept her an arm's length away at all times.

"Chief Resident?" Ellis asked, the tone of surprise making Derek annoyed. "Really? When will you find out?"

"They post the position in the beginning of July, two weeks before the new interns start," Derek replied. "I think I have a good shot at getting it."

"But will you be able to handle it?" Ellis asked. "It's a lot of scheduling and paperwork. Do you think you can do all that, plus be a good surgeon, and be there for Meredith?"

Derek couldn't believe what he was hearing. Was Ellis Grey actually concerned about her daughter? She was worried that he might neglect her? Derek turned to look at Meredith, who seemed just as surprised as he. "I believe I can. I'm very good at managing my time, and I will be sure to be there for Meredith."

"How do you plan on doing that when she's four hours away?" Ellis asked crisply. "Regardless of how good you are at managing your time, it will take you at least July and August to adjust. How do you expect to maintain a relationship while she is in Boston and you are here, controlling all of the residents? Perhaps it would be best if you rethink your relationship with my daughter."

"Mom!" Meredith said quietly but pointedly, clearly upset but not wanting to make a scene in the restaurant.

"Meredith," Ellis looked at her. "Do you love Derek? Because from what both you and he have told me, he has a very promising future ahead of him. Do you want to stand in the way of that? Do you want to be a distraction for him? Because if he fails, if he devotes all of his time to you and not to his job, it will be your fault. Do you think you can live with that Meredith?"

"Dr. Grey," Derek interrupted, unable to handle the ridiculous words, or watch Meredith become more and more depressed and guilt ridden. "I am not breaking up with Meredith. I'm…" proposing he thought, but he couldn't say that. "We're…" going to get married, he tried again. Taking a deep breath, Derek formed his words carefully. "Dr. Grey, I appreciate your concern about my career. But I love your daughter, and I am staying with her. If I fail, if I cannot be both the Chief Resident and a good-" fiancé, husband, he thought, pausing before continuing. "If I can't be a good boyfriend, if I can't do both, then so be it. I will step down from Chief Resident before hurting Meredith. But honestly, I don't think that this will be an issue. We were able to make this work with our schedules when we lived apart, I'm sure we can make it work when we are living together."

"Excuse me?" Dr. Grey said. "You two plan on living together?"

Derek turned to Meredith, confused. "You didn't tell her?"

Meredith shook her head, looking very guilty. "Uh, no. It never really came up, but I meant to."

"Well, when is this move supposedly taking place?" Ellis asked, her voice only slightly disapproving.

"Next week," Meredith said softly. "The school is giving the seniors who live in apartments an extra week to clean out their stuff, so I guess then."

"No, that's not happening," Ellis said firmly.

"But Mom," Meredith started. "I'm going to be going to Med School down here, so I'll need a place to live anyway, and it'll be cheaper to live with Derek. Plus, I'm keeping that job Derek got me at the hospital last summer, so I need to stay down here to work."

"Meredith, will you stop rambling?" Ellis demanded coolly. "I did not mean that you couldn't move in with him. But, I have an event at the Mass Gen in two weeks, and you must be present for it. They're giving me an award and they want a picture of you and me. So, you have to be home next week."

"But-" Meredith began to protest.

"That's fine," Derek answered Ellis, interrupting Meredith. Turning to his girlfriend, he began to speak. "It'll be fine. You'll move in in two weeks. If you spend a week at home, it'll give you time to pack up your ridiculous amount of stuff. I'll even come up to move you out." He offered her his best smile, and watched as the tension left her face.

"Okay," she agreed, before turning back to her mother. "But you're going to let me move in with Derek on June first, right? That's after your dinner or whatever?"

"Yes Meredith. You are an adult, it doesn't matter what you do. I'm paying for your schooling, who you choose to live with is not my concern," Ellis said dismissively before changing the subject back to surgery.

Ellis requesting that Meredith go home for a week gave Derek an idea. He could propose once she got back. And he knew the perfect way to do it.

XXXXXX

Ellis drove them back to Meredith's apartment, giving her daughter a formal goodbye and telling her that she would see her next week. Derek couldn't wait to be alone with Meredith; he had things to tell her, and planning to do and it just couldn't wait.

"Hey," Meredith said softly as her mother pulled away. "Are you alright?"

Derek smiled down at her. "I'm perfect Mer."

"Okay," Meredith nodded. "I'm sorry she ruined your plans. And that I have to go home for a week."

"She didn't ruin anything. Okay, maybe she did, but it's fine, don't worry about it. And you needed to go home and pack up all your stuff anyway," Derek said as they made their way to her apartment. "I'll come up for the last couple of days to help you pack up. God knows you have too much stuff just to fit in your jeep."

"Hey!" she said, slapping his chest lightly. "Not funny."

"I'm kidding," he said, smiling down at her. "But I have an idea. Since you're coming back on June first, maybe that's when we can have your graduation party and my birthday party. We can hold it at our favorite restaurant, and there's enough time so everyone should be able to come."

"Derek, I'm supposed to be doing this for you," Meredith sighed.

"Mer, it's a combined party. It'll be at your favorite restaurant, and you'll be there, and that's all that matters to me. How about you send out the invitations and I'll book the function hall? We'll be splitting responsibilities."

"That sounds great," Meredith said, leaning up to kiss him. "Now you have to go. I told Cristina and Izzie I would celebrate with them. And you have to get up really early. So I'll see you tomorrow night."

"I'll see you tomorrow night," Derek repeated, kissing her again. "Congratulations again. I love you, see you soon."

"Bye Derek," Meredith responded as she stepped into her apartment. When she was gone, Derek couldn't help but smile. He had a plan.