"Okay now, people," Bailey eyed them up all together and individually. "I know hormone levels ride high in this group but I'd appreciate no catfights for a day and by appreciate I mean I will make your life living hell if you screw up my schedule! Is that clear?"

They gave out little grunts and nods of agreement and followed her to see their first patient.

Meredith frowned in wonder when he came into view. She didn't think she knew him but he looked vaguely familiar. That square jaw, short blond hair…

"Karev, present," ordered Bailey.

Alex opened one of the charts and recited, "Timothy Stewart, 30, admitted this morning with severe abdominal pains-"

"That can't be him," something pushed Meredith to say. Something started to flicker in her memory.

"Of course, I'm not him!" the blond guy protested with a smile. "I'm not even a patient. And I'm not yet 30, just twenty-nine," he flashed them a full grin.

"I'm sorry, sir," said Bailey and glared at them. "Who the hell mixed up the charts?"

Meredith walked up to Alex and checked the name tags on the files. "Ha!" she smiled in satisfaction, she knew he looked familiar. "Dwight Parker, 29… liver donor," she read with surprise.

"Come again?" Derek gritted through his teeth. This was some sick joke, wasn't it?

"That's right," nodded Dwight. "Looks like the women do all the thinking in this place."

"I don't even know what's going on with this place," Bailey shook her head taking the chart from Meredith. "You and your father were supposed to be admitted tomorrow?"

"He's getting worse by the day," sighed Dwight. "We were told not to wait any longer."

"I'm terribly sorry for the miscommunication somewhere on the line," she apologized. "We'll rectify that right away. We'll need to run all the tests one time again. One of the doctors will take care of you-"

"I want her," he pointed at Meredith who stifled a smile. "She seems to know what she's doing."

"She usually does," nodded Bailey. "Dr. Grey, he's your responsibility from now on."

"Dr. Grey?" Dwight squinted to read her hospital ID card. "Meredith Grey? The Meredith Grey?" he stared at her face attentively.

"The very same," she grinned and chanced a look at Derek. His face expressed an odd mixture of anger, pure horror and disbelief.

"I can't believe that!" chuckled Dwight. "Wow! I mean, wow!"

"You know each other?" asked Bailey.

"From high school! She broke my penis and drove me out of school," laughed Dwight as though it all meant nothing to him.

"Bad romance?" asked Alex, unaware of the glare Derek was sending him.

"Nah, she wouldn't look at me that way," he shook his head regretfully and sized her up. "It was revenge. She had that little sidekick always running with her and I just pushed him a little too hard one time. Next thing I knew was the splitting pain between my legs. And then she made a total fool out of me in front of the whole school."

"Sorry," she chuckled lightly.

"Actually, I'm grateful," he smiled. "I changed schools and I was noticed by a talent hunter while playing for the new team. So it was for the better after all."

"That's good to hear," she smiled.

"Wait, you're the same Parker who was caught with the ladies' clothes in the locker?" Sloan finally cottoned on.

"Who are you?"

"Mark Sloan, I was on the reserve bench in my freshman year."

"Mark Sloan… Mark Sloan, I think I can remember!" smiled Dwight turning to Meredith. "Damn, the world is small. Tell me you have your sidekick around and I'm gonna die!"

"Actually, the sidekick is here, too!" Mark provided helpfully slapping Derek on his shoulder.

"No way, no freaking way!" exclaimed Dwight and even sat up scrutinizing Derek. "No way it's Shepherd kid!"

Cristina, Alex and Bailey watched the school reunion with unhidden interest and hilarity while Derek folded his arms over his chest challengingly, a scowl painting on his face.

"I'll be damned," gasped Dwight. "You've changed much, Grey, the hair, the black for white… but him… God, it's like Extreme Makeover!"

Meredith burst out laughing covering her mouth. Derek was pissed, she could see it clearly. Somehow she already saw herself as the person he was going to take it on but for a moment she didn't care. At all.

"We… heard something about acne and braces? Is that true?" Cristina joined the conversation.

"Uh, this is enough!" Bailey interrupted the stream of recollections. Shepherd looked as though he was going to break his Hippocratic oath. "Grey, you'll do the tests and prep him. The rest - the rounds continue."

"Dr. Bailey." She turned to see fuming Shepherd right behind her. "Does it have to be her?"

"Why wouldn't it be her?" she asked with a stoic expression on her face. "Do you think she's incapable of taking care of a patient?"

"No!"

"Then I don't see why you're wasting my time," she shrugged.

"This guy is a total douche-"

"She doesn't mind. I see no problem," Bailey cut him across pointing back inside the room with her head.

Derek's blood boiled as he saw his fiancée laugh at something Dwight Parker said. The world was off its axis… He was to stride back in but his resident's sharp voice stopped him in place.

"Shepherd, either you'll carry yourself to the next patient or I'll send you on scut. Is that clear?"

He whirled past her without another word and she shook her head. She was just waiting for the apocalypse with this two. She was wary when she first learnt that two of her interns were in a romantic relationship. But they seemed a steady serious couple and their work was flawless. Unfortunately, now they resembled a snippy-snappy couple on the eve of divorce.

T H E G E E K A N D T H E R E B E L

"You're really okay with me?" Meredith asked curiously when she was back with the blood tests results.

"The past is in the past," he shrugged. "And it really turned out better than fine."

"You seem to be doing pretty good too," he added with a smile. "A doctor… and a ring! You're getting hitched with the sidekick?"

"It's Derek," she corrected him gently. "And… I guess I am."

"You guess?" he lifted one eyebrow. "That didn't sound too convincing… Trouble in paradise?"

"Okay, this is a little surreal," she grinned completing his chart. "Talking with… you about relationships…"

"Fine, I was a dick in high school," he shrugged. "People change."

"They do," sighed Meredith.

"You should have kept the hair," he grinned. "Pink was hot."

She gave him an amused berating look. "Are you hitting on me? I don't recommend that. The sidekick, as you call him, threw himself with his fists at the last guy that made some obnoxious comments."

"Really?" Dwight's face was all surprise. "Man, that kid really got some testosterone. A few years back you were the one to cover his ass."

"I was also the one to kick your ass," she quipped but her expression sobered up. "And you're here to save your father."

"It's my dad," he replied simply. "I wouldn't be anywhere else."

"That's… really big," she sighed, biting her lip. "I… am sorry for the cross-dressing thing."

He laughed wholeheartedly. "Sorry for crashing your sidekick's nose. "

"Mer?" Cristina peeked in from the corridor. "Lunch?"

"Yeah, in a sec. Next time I'm back I'm gonna prep you for surgery," she gave him a reassuring smile and followed her friend.

"So, experiencing the magic of revisiting school memories?" asked Cristina.

"You know, that guy was a bully, a total tool," she sighed in wonder.

"And?"

"And now he's giving a portion of his liver to save his father's life!"

"He's matured, grown up, whatever," shrugged Cristina. "People do that sometimes."

"Do you think it's wrong I'm comparing him to Derek?" Meredith asked quietly.

"What, you don't think Shepherd would refuse you his liver, do you?"

Meredith rolled her eyes. "My mind is just reeling that Dwight Parker turned into a nice guy whereas…"

"Derek turned into an ass," provided helpfully Cristina.

"This is sick," said bitterly Meredith.

"He's a hot ass though," Cristina looked for the bright sides.

"Honestly? I preferred the nerd."

"Seriously?" Cristina looked at her with disgusted disbelief.

"He was cute," shrugged Meredith resumed their walk, "even if he didn't know what to do with his… hands, I meant his hands."

"Yeah, you sure did," snorted Cristina.

T H E G E E K A N D T H E R E B E L

FLASHBACK

This was heaven. And it was hell.

Last week he was finally freed from his braces. That was such a relief. He had straight a set of teeth, that was good to be sure. But the real gain of the situation was that the risk of injuring Meredith while kissing ceased to exist. That, in turn, resulted in the overall increase in kissing time. He never complained before but now… wow, just wow. The kisses got more heated too, as they could enjoy them without any hindrance. Well, almost…

That was where the problems started for Derek. Meredith was still unaware of his little predicament. It would just happen at most inopportune moments, recently almost always when they were making out or even just touching. He was a guy after all… and he couldn't get a full control of his… nether regions, so to speak. The first time IT happened with Meredith, he jumped in panic away from her but fortunately, she didn't notice his… prominent problem. And even though, in his mind's eye, he was always so unremarkable, the bulge in his pants seemed ridiculously huge.

It was a miracle Meredith didn't catch on that yet. If she did, it would be damn embarrassing. He didn't want her to think he just tried to get off with her. He felt for her in the big way that was both wonderful and scary.

His body was a big traitor though. It was revealing, practically to the whole world, that he found her attractive also in the physical sense. She was beautiful and the way she acted around him... She treated him like a real girlfriend would treat his boyfriend and sometimes Derek still couldn't quite comprehend it. He was… just himself. He tried not to think about it very often but sometimes he couldn't help it.

Like now. They were in the middle of their summer holidays and they were on their first actual date. Sure, they spent almost every waking moment together but it was the first time they called it a date. They went out for a movie and they were later going to eat out. And it hit Derek how much inadequate he looked beside Meredith. He received quite a few curious stares. It was soothing to enter the dark theater where he could just sink into his seat next to his girlfriend and enjoy the movie.

However, he was surely proven wrong if he thought they came here just to see a film. Shortly after the lights went out completely and the screen sprang to life, Meredith started to act "like a real girlfriend", like a girlfriend of all these guys from the team would. He felt her leaning towards him and turn his head to her. Her lips descended onto his with a rush. Her tongue claimed his mouth imperiously. Her fingers intertwined in his hair steering his head for a better position for the kiss. He moaned into her mouth feeling her breasts crash against his chest.

Meredith was just about to slip from her seat into his lap when he felt his jeans tightening painfully over his crotch. There was no way Meredith would miss it if she sat over his legs. He broke away from her breathing hard.

"What's wrong?" He heard her rugged whisper.

"I… I…a…" he stammered inhaling deeply and willing is unruly loins to calm the hell down. "We… might get caught…"

"We might get caught…" she repeated dryly and the skeptical tone of her voice told him she realized something else was off. "Is that all? You're afraid of being caught and thrown out?"

"Yeah…" he muttered. "I don't want Ma to hear we were caught in public-"

"Liar!" she hissed. "Mom has walked on us herself more times than I can count. It's old news for her! Do you think I haven't noticed you scattering away every time we're making out? What the hell is wrong with you? Don't you enjoy it?"

"Of… of course I do!" he assured her quickly. More than he should.

"Really? I don't have a bad breath and I don't smell so what the hell is your problem?"

He felt her eyes trying to make out his face in the darkness.

"I…" he nervously searched for excuses. "Why are you with me?"

"What?" she asked, her voice clearly indicating her incomprehension.

"Why are you with me?" he repeated. "You could be with anyone, you really could. What are you doing with someone like me?"

For a brief moment she stayed listless, only to let out a short indignant gasp. "Ass!" she shrieked and stood up, her little shoulder bag whacking him over the head.

"Mer!" he called after her but she was already squeezing her way out between narrow rows of seats and stepping on peoples' feet in the process.

Great, just great, he sighed flopping back to his seat. His erection was gone, for certain. But Meredith running away from him in fury was not what he intended.

T H E G E E K A N D T H E R E B E L

"Derek?" Carolyn turned around in surprise to see her son walking alone into the kitchen. "Where's Meri?" The two were always joined at the hip. To see one without the other was a miracle. Even at night, though she tried to put an end to the nightly trips. They were young, they had time for this kind of intimacy.

"I don't know. Her house probably," he shrugged looking into the fridge for something cold to drink.

"Okay," Carolyn acknowledged slowly. "Weren't you supposed to be on a date?"

"The date is over…" he muttered and made to walk out.

"Derek Christopher Shepherd," Carolyn put her hand son her hips dangerously. "What happened? Sit down and tell me everything. This instant!"

He retreated and obeyed her request with a sigh. "We've had a fight."

"A fight? Don't you have fights at least once a day? Yet I've never seen you two split up."

Derek tried to stop the blush from appearing on his cheeks. The whole thing got just blow out of proportions… And now his mother was personally interested, too close for his comfort.

"She… called me an asshole. And a liar. And left."

"Get used to it, every man gets to be called that at least once in his life. Knowing from my personal experience, usually a whole lot more often," she remarked briskly.

"Just great," he rolled his eyes.

"Did you lie to her?" she asked shrewdly omitting the object of the actual lie in her question.

"Not… quite…"

"But you didn't tell her the whole truth either?" stated Carolyn knowingly.

He bit his lip confirming her assumption.

"Didn't I teach you not to tell lies?" she asked gently sitting down next to him. "While lying is condemnable in general, lying to a person you love is despicable and lying to the woman you love is just plain stupid."

"Lo- Love?" he stammered frowning.

"Because the woman you love will call you on that lie nine times out of ten."

"I… I couldn't just tell her…" stuttered avoiding her eyes.

"Why? Because you felt embarrassed for some reason? Because you didn't want to lose your face in front of her? I assure you, Sweetie, if Meredith had stayed five more minutes, she would have called you a male chauvinist too."

"Gee, thanks Mom," he said humorlessly.

"I'm not saying you are," she chuckled. "I believe I've raised you better than that. I'm just warning you not to act like one. You know what you're supposed to do now, don't you?"

"Apologize…?" he sighed. "What if she doesn't want to see me? What if she wants to kill me? She is capable of it you know?" he said remembering her diabolical plan that made Dwight Parker change schools last year.

"Well, then, that's where telling the truth comes in handy," she admonished.

T H E G E E K A N D T H E R E B E L

Meredith opened the door to see Derek with a repentant expression on his face and three red roses in his hand. She glared at him, scoffed at the flowers and made to shut the door.

"Mer, please! I'm sorry!" he called after her.

"Shut up!" she ordered looking nervously back into the house. "You want all neighborhood to hear? What do you want?"

"I want to talk to-"

"You've got five seconds to give me a valid reason. Thrill me."

"I-"

"Your time is up. Goodbye!"

"Mer, I'm sorry," he said quickly. "I… acted like an asshole…"

"Yes, you did," she folded her arms on her chest. "Why are you with me? You could be with anyone? Seriously? Seriously? I'm not a whore!"

"Meredith?" a cold voice sounded from the house. "Is someone at the door?"

"And that's just perfect," muttered Meredith and grabbed the three flowers from Derek's hand to throw it in the bushes.

"Is that your mom…?" frowned Derek.

"Meredith!" A woman with a strict face appeared behind her, her eyes moving quickly between her daughter and her guest. "Who is that?"

"Derek Shepherd, my boyfriend," stated Meredith immediately regretting her words. She wanted to see Derek sweat and there was no one more fear-inducing than her mother. But it was a cardinal mistake she just made, one that would be very costly to pay.

"Your boyfriend?" Ellis snorted disbelievingly sizing Derek up from head to toes, making him squirm in the process. "That's a good one. Derek Shepherd… you're her lab partner, aren't you? Well, it looks like finally you've decided to do something worthwhile, Meredith. It's vacation but that's not the reason to stop working. I'm just going to the hospital in the next ten minutes so you'll have a silent house to study."

They pretended to be engrossed in books until Ellis was gone. As soon as the door shut behind her, Meredith sighed. "I'm sorry for her. I guess… I can understand what you meant. But hell, those are other people. This is me!" she looked at him sincerely. "I thought you knew I like you just the way you are."

"You do?" he said quietly, his heart beating faster.

"Of course, I do, you dork," she sighed and stood up to lead him from the table to the sofa. "So," she smiled hooking her arms around his neck and leaning up for a kiss, "don't you ever feel inferior. You're not."

Their lips met, slowly at first, teasing. Soon enough, it turned heated and breathless. Hands started to wander everywhere. Derek's mind began to get blissfully clouded at the feel of her curves pressed tightly to him. Her lean waist, her wider hips, her soft breasts… And IT happened again of course.

He yanked away from her and quickly sat down on the sofa, fidgeting with a cushion over his lap.

"What now?" Meredith asked impatiently, her hands falling to her sides with resignation.

He looked at her. She was so beautiful… Her pink hair disheveled from their recent activities, her lips pinkish and swollen, her chest heaving to catch air… His penis would never go down with her being close, looking like that… Truth, it was moment for the truth.

"Mer, I'm… I'm sorry, okay?" he breathed out, incredibly flushed.

"For what?" she frowned.

"I… like you, okay?"

"I kinda figured that out already," she said slowly as though he had suddenly lost his mind.

"It's just that I like you a lot…" he went on. "And it's not really my fault…" he took the cushion off his groin dramatically.

She was dumbfounded for a minute, thinking that he had gone insane altogether until her eyes slid down…

"Oh!" her eyes went wide open and her teeth bit in her lower lip. "Wow!"

"Yeah, I'm sorry-"

"Wait, wait!" she stopped him raising a hand and trying to look at his face though her eyes still wandered off south. "Did you… did you seriously apologized for a hard-on?"

"Well, yeah," he muttered. "I don't want you to think I'm an insensitive jerk".

"Only you, Der," she chuckled breathlessly, her eyes fixed on the fly of his pants again. "Has it ever… occurred to you that I might take it as a compliment?"

"A compliment?" he arched his eyebrow skeptically.

"Yeah. You know, it feels good to know that you like me… this much," she quipped slowly sitting beside him. "That you find me... attractive."

"You are…" he gasped and squirmed uncomfortably. "Sorry… this is… not very comfortable…"

"I'm sure it isn't," she uttered, mesmerized. It looked… big… Who would have thought Derek would be so… well, to be honest, hung off… He was always too jumpy to let her touch him this way even though she wanted to. But it was clearly worth the wait… The mother nature probably was of the opinion that she had to compensate Derek for his other shortcomings.

She put her hand on his thigh innocently. It jerked up at the touch.

"What… what are you doing?" he swallowed hard, his pulse quickening.

"You said you were uncomfortable," she shrugged with a smile.

"I am," he gulped. "And this… is not helping…"

"Derek, why are you embarrassed of your own physicality?" she inquired gently, keeping her hand immobile on his thigh. He was so cute and innocent. Like a deer in headlights.

"Because… it's not very good in general," he rolled his eyes.

"This…" she pointed at his lap. "This… is very good. Trust me."

"Huh?"

"Der, you realize we're going to have sex one day, right?" she asked coyly, a smirk on her lips.

"I… yeah, I do," he said.

Something in his voice make her squint at him shrewdly.

"Perhaps… you've dreamt about it…"

"No," he answered quickly looking down.

"Liar," she said with singsong voice. "Do you trust me?"

He nodded.

"Then relax," she said soothingly. "I want to make you feel good. Just relax, okay?"

He sank back against the couch as her hand moved slowly up his thigh. She scooted closer to him and pressed a kiss to his lips and then to his neck. Her light fingers wandered onto his abdomen on the level of his navel and started to descend. His breathing became more rugged. She could see his muscles tensing up and she felt proud she was able to work him up to such a state.

Her palm moved down past the belt buckle.

"Meredith…" he moaned in a warning.

She planted another kiss onto his throat and whispered, "Relax…"

She finally found her destination. Her palm gently passed over his jean clad erection. She pressed it a little harder…

"Mer, no!" he muttered in panic.

"Derek, really-"

She didn't' finish as his body suddenly seemed to go rigid, his head went back.

"Oops," she bit her lip as a strangled moan escaped his throat and he sank lifelessly onto the couch. For a couple of minutes when he struggled to catch a breath his face was relaxed in utter bliss. Until he opened his eyes and realized she was watching him intently.

"Derek, don't be embarrassed," she pleaded as she recognized the horror in his eyes. She kissed his lips gently. "You're beautiful."

He blinked at her madly but he finally understood that she had only acceptance for him.

"It's so unfair you know," she huffed and thrown herself against the couch next to him. "Why men can have a screaming orgasm just like that and women don't?"

"But women don't have a penis that can stand up in most unexpected moments…" he grumbled.

"Hmm."

"So… I… uhm… thank you?"

"You're welcome," she grinned.

"I… Can you point me to the bathroom…?"

"Sure. It's upstairs," she smirked as he limped across the room uncomfortably.

END OF FLASHBACK

T H E G E E K A N D T H E R E B E L

"So you finally left the asshole's bedside?" Meredith heard Derek's angry voice behind her as the vending machine projected her packet of crisps .

"I know you don't like him but I was his surgeon," stated Meredith calmly.

"Really? That was why you smiled at him? Laughed at his jokes?" he asked sarcastically. "Because he's your patient?"

"No," she turned to him with challenge. "Because I thought he was being funny."

"Unbelievable," he shook his head. "You're socializing with one of the people that made my life hell?"

"He changed, he's not the same idiot he was back then. If you came to see him, he would even apologize."

Derek let out a snort, "People don't change that much."

"You'd be surprised," she remarked quietly. "So you think people don't change. What about Mark? He used to ignore you big time and now you're what, best buddies ever? He cares only about his own ass, his own comfort. Don't kid yourself! "

"What about Yang? She'd throw you to the sharks for a surgery!" he reiterated.

"This is an argument of a five year old!" she scoffed. "But I'll let you know that Mark won't be even as half as loyal to you as she is to me."

"I don't give a damn about Cristina Yang. What I want is you to stay away from that Dwight guy," he gritted through his teeth.

"Are you even listening to yourself?" she snorted. "You want me to stay away? Excuse me? A. He's my patient. B. I'm not your possession. And you know what?" she turned to him one last time. "You, you are the one who changed the most of all people I know. I look at you and I don't see Derek Shepherd, neither does Mom or girls."

"I haven't changed all that much," he shrugged. "Well, maybe if you expected me to stay the awkward kid all my life?"

"You know what, Derek?" she let her rams fall to her sides in resignation. "Maybe you haven't changed that much. That's why you're trying so hard to be someone you're not .Maybe that awkward kid is still inside you."

"Right," he snorted.

"I hope he is," she said seriously and walked away.

T H E G E E K A N D T H E R E B E L

"Say what?" Cristina choked on her water while Izzie looked at her with consternation

Meredith stood before them with a determined expression. "You heard me."

"But… Mer…" sighed Izzie with a pleading expression.

"No buts," Meredith shook her head decidedly. "If you can't help me, I'll do it myself. I used to do it with good results."

"Isn't it… like selling your soul to the devil or something?" asked Cristina.

"If that would bring my Derek back, I would trek the hell to sell it," declared Meredith with fire in her eyes. "He thinks people can't change. Maybe that will show him how much they do."

Izzie looked at Cristina helplessly, but she only shrugged and nodded.

"Derek is the luckiest guy on earth. I've never seen a woman so determined and so in love," she said with admiration.

"Or a lapdog…" sighed Cristina.

"Just do it," ordered Meredith pushing the scissors and a hair dye into Izzie's hands.

T H E G E E K A N D T H E R E B E L

A/N As always, thank you for your lovely comments and please, keep them coming. That's really what keeps my motivation and makes me update faster!

Yours,

Em