Chapter 6: Ferry for your thoughts

~*~

Derek awoke sluggishly to the icy cold touch of granite on his skin. Shivering, he shifted slowly, easing the kinks out of aching limbs. Taking a slow and measured breathe, he caught the faint trail of a woman's perfume tickling his nose.

What… in the hell… happened? Oh.. Meredith! Mer….

He opened one eye, then the other slowly. The sunlight teased his sore eyes, and he began to focus his hazy vision on the concerned face hovering just about his own. Meredith held him easily like a newborn baby, cradling him in her strong, petite arms. Meredith, his beautiful angel of the damned. His mysterious on and off again lover…

The woman I've come to care for… is actually a vampire. This goes against everything… I've ever believed.

"Bout time you woke up, sleepyhead." Meredith said, making Derek sit up slowly, feeling his back and shoulders for any signs of injury. "Took quite a spill, good thing I caught you."

"Wait… I was half way across the forest… you couldn't have—"

Derek stopped, pausing and reconsidered his next choice of words. He laughed darkly, running a hand over his face.

"Wait.. you of all people would be able to catch me. The speed thing… right?"

"Yup. Its part of the package deal. The strength, the speed, the good looks, the—" Meredith began, and Derek smiled.

"You know, I would have loved you even if you weren't a… weren't a vampire." He sounded surprised at how easily he could acknowledge this fact. Meredith blew air out of her cheeks, looking at him with those dark eyes.

" Are you ok with this….? I mean, really ok with this?"

"Well, I'm sure it'll take me a hell of a long time to process all of this… but… yeah… I mean… I guess I am ok with this." Derek said, almost feeling giddy.

" I'm sure you must have questions. You've got to have questions." Meredith said in a stubborn tone, only her eyes betraying disbelief.

"Well… where would I even begin…?" Derek said, when his stomach twisted with hunger pains. He coughed weakly, staring at the ground. Meredith checked her watch in the early morning light.

"Lets drive back to the city and get you something to eat."

"What about you…? Oh… never mind." Derek said, floundering for a better choice of words. Meredith stood, offering her hand to him, which Derek took gladly.

"Nope, I'm cool. I don't eat in fact… ever. I'm sure you found that out by now."

"I was curious as to how you kept up your figure." Derek joked, stuffing his hands into his pockets. He looked over at her, startled.

"Are we… going to do that… running thing?"

"Naw, I'll walk for your benefit this time." Meredith said, following easily into his much slower walk. "When we get back… want to take the ferry across the river?"

"Sure."

~*~

The ferry plowed sluggishly through the water, the sun setting in the distance, basking the city in a lukewarm orange glow. Derek pulled his coat tighter around himself, and blew into his hands. The air was a telltale sign that it would be getting colder soon. The crisp tartness of the pre winter months turned his thoughts to the approaching holiday season. From the corner of his eye, he saw Meredith leaning over the rail, watching the frothy white wave slap against the sides of the boat as it cut clean through the water.

"So….. where are we going after we land?" Derek said, approaching her casually, laying a hand on her shoulder, giving it an affectionate squeeze. In the waning light, Meredith's pale skin seemed to take a normal human flush.

"Just a restaurant I used to visit when I was still human… a long, long time ago. I went there when I was a little girl… it had just opened. Everything was sparkling new, the food delicious…."

Meredith's face took a wistful look, and Derek looked at her thoughtfully, rubbing her shoulder, and giving her a peck on the cheek.

"I'm sure we'll love it." He remarked tenderly. Meredith laughed crisply, gazing down at the water again.

"I haven't tasted food in over one hundred years. I don't need to. I don't need to eat, or sleep, or breathe, or…" she paused. "F- for a while… I wasn't sure if I should even feel love."

"Ah," Derek began, glancing up at the few stars appearing in the sky. "H- how did… it… happen…? I mean… can I…?" he fumbled for permission. Meredith turned form the rail, facing him, looking at him steadily, unflinchingly.

"You mean, how I became a vampire? Simple, I was bitten by one."

"Ha ha… I mean… can you remember your life.. before that?"

"Hmm… for the most part, yeah. I was born in 1867, right here in Seattle actually. My father served for the Union in the civil war, while my mother… she was the stay at home type… but she hated it. Hated it… they fought a lot… my mother… she was always looking for something… I never knew what it was. I had a good childhood, went to the best schools out there. We had a lot of money, because my father was a lawyer before the broke out. I was twenty-nine when my father came down with tuberculosis, and he passed away in Arizona at one of the treatment clinics there. My mother… she had a breakdown… I admitted her to a hospital shortly afterwards."

Derek could see the tears sparkling behind Meredith's eyes, and he touched her cheek tenderly. Meredith placed her hand over his, rubbing it softly.

"Don't worry Derek, I'm… incapable of crying….. literally… its… not possible for me anymore."

Derek held in a breath. "So… never… ever…?"

"Nope. Its one emotion… I miss the most… anyways…. One day… shortly after my thirty-second birthday… I was walking home from the hospital…. The mental ward…. And… he attacked me. At the time, I couldn't beat him… and the pain… " Meredith's face turned bitter. "I never, ever want you to feel that pain. The humiliation of being… sexually violated." Meredith sucked in a breath, and forged ahead anyways.

"I… I was.. .found by…. Carisle…. C- Cullen… and no he won't mind if I tell or not!" Meredith said, "it would have came out anyways…"

"Woah… Dr. Carlisle Cullen is a v- vampire too?" Derek said, with wide eyes. "I knew he was good looking, and his wife was goergous…are… they… ?"

"Yes, to make explanations less of hassle the Cullen's are all vampires. Carlisle, at different points in their lives changed them. His sons, Edward, Emmet, Jasper, and his daughters Alice and Rosalie. They're not really his kids, but you know… oh and his wife Esme."

"Really…. And…. Wow… uh…." He floundered, anxiously waiting for her to continue. Meredith looked out at the city. "I was changed shortly before his son Jasper…. But I wasn't the only one…."

Meredith gripped the rails tighter, eyes focusing ahead. Derek looked at Meredith's serious face, and began speaking slowly.

"Y- your friends… Izzy… George…Alex…. Christina…? Are they…?"

"Yes, Derek. They're all vampires too. Of the five of us, George was first… he's… about twenty years older than I am… then Alex, Izzy, and Christina was the last of us. We stayed with the Cullen's on and off over the next hundred years or so. We've held various jobs over the years, and now… we want to focus on the next century or so helping humans."

"Let me get this straight.. Dr. Cullen and his family are all vampires… you, O'Malley, Yang, Stevens, and Karev are also vampires? I must admit… that would put a lot of my weird hunches to rest." Derek laughed, in an accepting tone.

"Wait… such as…?" Meredith pressed.

"Well.. I never see any of you eat, or sleep… well, I did notice the dark circles under your eyes sometimes…."

"That's because… we… haven't fed. The dark circles mean we haven't had animal blood yet. If we drank human blood, our eyes would be red. We all wear contacts, but normally our eyes are golden hued."

"Soo.. black or dark is.. thirsty? Red means you had… human blood… gold is… animal blood." Derek surmised, stumbling when the boat jerked to a stop in the dock. One question tugged at the back of his mind…

"Have you… ever…?" he ventured.

"Drank human blood? One time…. And I swore to never do it again." Meredith said firmly.

"I see… just wanted… to clear that up." Derek said slowly.

"I'm over one hundred years old, I've gotten better control over myself. But you're different….to me… you're a drug…its…. Disturbing to me."

"Wait.. I'm a drug…? Me?"

"Yes, you. You. Your blood is like a drug to me. Unlike other humans or certain animals. I'm… in effect, addicted to you."

"See?" Derek teased. "I knew we had a connection."

"Ha ha ha…." Meredith said pertly, heading towards the gangway, when her cellphone went off. Derek didn't even see the phone go to her ear.

"Yes…?" Meredith began, then her face grew even paler. "Oh god! How's… Edward? Where are…? Ok… I'll hurry back.. took ferry…I'll run… see ya."

"What's going on?" Derek inquired worriedly.

"Remember I said Dr. Cullen had a son named Edward? Well… he has a girlfriend… named Bella… she's.. accident prone…."

"Is she ok?" Derek said, fearing the worst.

"Not exactly… that was Alex… we've got to get back to Seattle Grace as soon as possible."

"Alright… how?"

"Running."

"What…? Oh no….."

Meredith smiled, and Derek swore under his breath.