Hello!

I honestly meant to get this to you guys sooner but school got a little busy and I got a job :D
Anyway! Here it is!
On with the date!

Enjoy!

Chapter 12

The small candle flickered delicately in the center of the table. The dim light of the restaurant created an intimate feel that both parties appreciated.

Peeking over the top of his menu, Derek stole a glance in Meredith's direction. He couldn't hold back the small chuckle at the sight of her intently scrutinizing the menu. Something in the way she was pouring over the menu reminded him of the way she would analyze a tricky set of MRI results.

The light of the candle added a soft glow to her features that he didn't mind taking the time to appreciate either.

Sensing his eyes on her, Meredith shifted her attention away from the list of entrees. "What?"

"Nothing," Derek replied quickly with a secret smile.

Before she could insist any further, the waitress came over with their previously ordered wine as well as Meredith's soup and Derek's salad. The young woman quickly took their orders for the main course and then scurried away to deliver them to the kitchen.

Taking a sip of her wine, Meredith suddenly felt ridiculously nervous. There weren't menus or waitresses to distract them anymore and she had no idea how to begin to fill the silence.

Crap.

Maybe Cristina was right. Maybe she had forgotten how to go on a date.

Not that there was a chance in hell Meredith was going to admit that to her. She could already picture Cristina's smug little face and hear the week's worth of teasing.

Nope. She and Derek could be silent the entire night and avoid each other at all costs back at Seattle Grace as a result, but Cristina would never be allowed to find out any of the reasons why.

"This is weird, isn't it?" Derek's voice snapped Meredith out of her inner rambling.

"What?"

"It's a little awkward," he admitted with a light shrug, drizzling the vinaigrette over his salad before looking back up to study her face.

He certainly didn't look like he felt awkward to her.

In fact, this was probably the most relaxed she'd ever seen him. His head was tilted thoughtfully to the side as his body leaned comfortably into his chair. Meredith found herself momentarily transfixed as she watched his long fingers toy with the stem of his wine glass.

"No," Meredith insisted. "Not awkward, just…I'm suddenly very aware that I'm having dinner with my boss."

"I'm not your boss right now. I'm just Derek." An easy smile settled on his face causing Meredith to return a shy grin.

"Just Derek?"

"Mhmm." He shifted his weight forward, inching closer to her with his forearms resting on the smooth table cloth.

"So what is 'just Derek' like on a first date?" she questioned, resting her elbows on the table as well and leaning her chin on her hands.

"Oh, very suave," Derek joked. "All the women swoon."

Meredith laughed out loud at the sarcastic expression he was making, relaxing more by the second. She picked up her spoon and tentatively brought the steaming liquid to her lips, allowing the delicious flavors of the soup to invade her mouth.

"No," he amended, stilling grinning from his own joke and picking up his salad fork. "In all seriousness, I really never dated much, to be honest. Addison and I met during our second year of med school and we've been together ever since. Well, up until a few weeks ago, of course. But even before her, I had very few first dates. I've always been much more interested in long term relationships." Without realizing it, Derek shifted even closer towards his date, drawn in by the captivating green eyes across from him. "I've never been a fan of 'new', I suppose. I like to know a person. What makes them moan," he purred in a lower voice only she could hear.

"Is that so?" How Meredith had managed to speak with him looking at her like that, she didn't have a clue. "What does that mean for us then? I'm guessing that dating your resident would be classified as 'new'."

"True, but luckily I had already figured out a few ways to make you moan our first night together after Joe's so I'd say we're on the right track. Ahead of schedule even."

"That's good. I am an over achiever after all," she flirted right back.

He couldn't tell if it was the wine, the company, or a combination of the two, but Derek couldn't remember the last time he had felt this at ease. It excited him even more to watch Meredith begin to unwind and enjoy herself with him. The easy banter and flirtation was a new level of interaction he was sure he would never want to end.

"What about you?" he countered, watching as she reached for the basket of bread between them.

"What about me?"

"Any first date moves I should be on the look out for?"

Before she could come up with a witty retort, the waitress came back to the table to take away their barely eaten first course and give them their entrees.

Derek couldn't hold back his amused laugh at the sight of Meredith's eyes lighting up when her stuffed chicken marsala was placed in front of her.

Conversation halted momentarily while the two started into their meals.

"I take it you like your chicken?" Seeing as half her plate was already gone, the answer was pretty clear.

"Don't tease me," she scolded unconvincingly, pointing her knife in his direction. "I barely ate lunch because my sandwich smelled like hospital and who wants to eat that? Plus, this is probably the best chicken marsala I've ever had. How's your shrimp?"

"Excellent. Would you like to try some?" He held out his fork without waiting for her response and she gladly leaned in to take the offered shrimp.

"So, you never told me. What are you like on a first date?"

"I'm afraid I'm not any more exciting than you are in that area."

"Ouch," Derek feigned offence. "Perhaps it's because you insult the poor guys in the middle of dinner?"

"Shut up," she laughed. "I'm just saying I didn't date much either. I was very focused on my studies. How could I not be with Ellis Grey as my mother? There were a few relationships over the years that never went anywhere and I met Alex on my first day of residency. Half way through my intern year we started dating and you know the rest," she trailed off.

"He hasn't been bothering you at all anymore, right?"

"Do you really want to talk about my ex on our first date?" she countered.

"No," Derek shook his head after taking no more than a second to contemplate it.

Alex was really the last thing she wanted to think about at the moment. She had managed to avoid him as much as possible and only interacting when their jobs demanded it. But as soon as she could feel the topic begin switch to something not medical related, she made sure to make herself scarce.

She knew eventually she would have to talk to Alex. The avoiding was exhausting and if the last two weeks had shown her anything, it was that she had no desire to go back to him and their relationship. Any trust they had was gone and there was no way she'd be able to pull herself away from whatever it is she and Derek had started.

Changing the subject quickly, Derek began asking her random questions in an amusing way to get to know her. Everything as simple as her favorite color (purple) to where she wanted to be professionally in the next few years (she begrudgingly admitted that she had begun to lean towards declaring neurosurgery as her specialty in a few weeks).

The conversation flowed effortlessly for the rest of the evening and the two were left completely satisfied after declining dessert and paying the bill for dinner.

As they walked back out to Derek's car, Meredith's mind was reeling. She didn't want the night to end just yet, but there was no way she was about to invite him back to her house knowing that her parents were there. The fact that she had done just that their first night together she blamed completely on the tequila and the porny thoughts it had caused.

Just thinking about the night they had spent together cause her cheeks to flush and she quickly looked out the passenger side window so Derek wouldn't notice. Maybe she'd had more wine than she'd realized.

On second thought, perhaps being alone with Derek in close proximity to a bedroom wasn't the smartest idea at the moment.

"Not that you have to," Derek began once they had pulled out of the parking lot, "But if you'd like to come back to my place for a drink, you're very welcome to." He stole a glance at the woman beside him before looking back at the road.

"Uhmm…It's not that I don't want to, because I would love to. Keep tonight going, I mean. But I have an early shift tomorrow that starts in six hours and to be perfectly honest, I'm not sure how I feel about going back to the house you shared with your sort of ex-wife."

"She is my ex-wife," he immediately corrected. "And I haven't lived at that house since the night at Joe's. I have a few acres of land across the bay and a trailer. At the moment, a family of raccoons has decided that they prefer my luggage compartment to a tree in the woods so, for now, I'm staying at a hotel near the hospital."

"Oh…" As ineloquent as it was, it was all Meredith could come up with while she digested all this new information.

"But I completely understand. You should get some sleep. Wouldn't want you to be yawning into anyone's brain tomorrow," he winked in her direction.

"Next time," she promised softly.

The dashboard lights allowed Meredith to see the brilliant smile her words had caused to slide across Derek's face. A promise of a second date was all he had needed to make their night perfect and she had just given it to him.

"Next time."

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