Disclaimer : I own nothing

Author's note : Here is the new chapter. I said it would be done Tuesday and I'm sorry for being late. It took me longer than expected. Next chapter will be online by Friday afternoon, promise!

I just want to state that in regards to abusive relationships, I'm just an outsider looking in. I've never been in one so I'm trying my best to be as accurate as possible and I hope I'm not offending anybody. I truly appreciate every review, they motivate me to write better so thank you. Enjoy and don't forget to review!

Meredith was impatiently waiting for the elevator's doors to open.

6h32, she noticed, as she glanced at her watch.

She was exhausted from a hard day of work and had been slightly distracted. The short time she had spent talking to that stranger yesterday on the bench had almost made her forget about her patient's death and her troubles at home. While she was supposed to be filling yet another chart this morning, her mind was still captivated by the brightness of that man's eyes and here she was, ready to go home and he was still taking over her thoughts.

I wonder what his name is. Meredith suddenly felt a wave of guilt wash over her.

Why I am thinking about this man when I don't even know him? Finn is my boyfriend and he's been good to me. All I've been doing for the past few days is making him mad. Get it together Mer!

She had a dinner planned at her brother's house with Finn. She did not want to be late, as she knew how her boyfriend would react : violently. She was tired and did not want to deal with her his anger again.

Finn. I wonder how's his mood today. I hope its not bad cause if he's stressed, he might take it out on me again. I don't know long I can avoid all the questions about the bruises. I can't be late again. I just can't.

Finally, the fourteenth floor's empty elevator opened and she stepped inside.

The doors opened again at the twelfth floor, revealing a very familiar face and a pair of clear blue eyes.

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It took two hours for Derek to finish filling out some paperwork. It usually took him a lot less time than that. However, today was nothing usual. Ever since he had seen her for the first time yesterday, her sad green eyes was all he could think about.

A pretty girl like her, why would she be so sad?

A knock on the door brought his mind back to his office.

"Come in", he said.

Rose opened the door and walked into her fiancé's office.

"Hey honey!", she said with the usual enthusiasm in her voice, " I was just wondering if you were done here?"

"No, I still have some paperwork left". He lied. He was already done but he just wanted a few minutes to himself. Rose had been annoyingly hinting at him all day that she wanted him to buy her another engagement ring because, apparently, 4 carats were not fancy enough.

"Ok, well, it's 6h15 now and I'm done here so I'll head home to change and I'll see you there?", she suggested.

"Yeah, see you at home" he replied, not really paying attention to what she was saying.

She closed the door and left.

Minutes later, Derek was locking his office and walking until he was standing in front of the twelfth floor elevator. He had dinner plans with Mark and Addie this evening and was looking forward to fun time with his two best friends. Ever since they had met in college, the three of them had been inseparable. He knew they didn't like the fact that Rose was tagging along tonight but was sure they would try to be as civil as possible. The doors opened after a short moment and what he saw behind them brought an instant smile to his face and butterflies to his stomach.

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"Hey!", exclaimed Derek with a hint of surprise in his tone. He was definately not expecting this.

He stepped into the elevator and placed himself so they were standing side by side.

"Hi!", Meredith said with an enthusiam that shocked her. She didn't how happy she was to see him again until she did.

The doors closed.

"I'm Derek Sheperd, by the way", he said trying to sound casual, "you know, in case you were wondering."

She giggled at his funny attempt to introduce himself. She turned her body towards him when she replied.

"Meredith Grey". She extented her hand for him to shake. He took her small hand in his. They were now face to face. Electricity and energy traveled back and forth between the two bodies leaving Derek and Meredith looking intensly into each other eyes. She was the first to break eye contact.

He quickly let go of her hand, realizing he had holding on to it a bit longer than he should have. It made her smile.

"What do you practice?"

"I'm a neurosurgeon. You?"

"I'm an oncology resident", she answered.

"That's probably why we never met. We work on different floors", Derek observed.

"Yeah."

Silence took over the small space for a few moments.

Come, Derek! Say something to her! Don't just just stand there like an idiot. Oh my god, she probably thinks I'm an idiot!

"By the way, thanks for the sweets, they really cheered me up", he said. It felt weird for Derek to be tongue-tied. Usually, he knew what to say to women and was very confident. But this one, she wasn't just any woman. He didn't know what exactly he felt for her, but it was miles away from what he had with Rose. Miles away.

"You're welcome", she replied with a small smile, "they're my favorites too."

"It's like the best of both worlds, dark chocolate and almonds together.", he stated

"Exactly!", she responded, as if it was the most logical thing she had ever heard. "Almonds are good but when they're covered in chocolate, it's ....magical."

"Yeah.", he replied, amazed that somebody else shared his philosophy.

"I can't believe I've met somebody who likes them as much as I do. My boyfriend hates them." Right when she said boyfriend, Meredith could've sworn she saw a bit of disappointment in Derek's eyes.

Why would he be disappointed that I have a boyfriend? Maybe he likes me? Why would he like you, Mer? He doesn't even know you! I should not be thinking about him that way. I love Finn and that's all that matters.

Talking to her is so simple, he thought. He had conversations with Rose, but nowhere near as efforthless and easy as talking to Meredith, even for a few minutes, seemed to be.

The elevator stopped at the first floor to let its passengers out. Meredith got out first, followed by Derek.

"Goodnight, ", she said very professionnally.

"Goodnight, Dr. Grey", he responded with a low tone and an intensity in his voice and his eyes that send shivers to her body.

I can't let her walk away like this!

She started walking away but stopped when she heard :

"Dr. Grey!"

She turned around to face Derek.

"Yes, Dr. Sheperd", she replied, curious to what he wanted to say.

"We could be friends if you want. Since, you know, we share the same passion for chocolate covered almonds."

" We barely know each other and you want us to be friends?" she questioned with a amused tone and smile on her face.

" I mean, yeah, if you want. Cause, ermm, I like talking to you. It's easy", Derek said, his eyes looking at the freshly polished florr. He was now regretting he proposed such a foolish idea.

She seemed to be thinking about it for a few seconds.

I can have a new friend. He seems nice and funny in an awkward kind of way. Besides, Finn doesn't even have to know.

"Fine. let's be friends, Derek" she finally answered with a bright smile that multiplied the number of butteflies in his stomach.

"Okay then, Meredith", he smiled, relieved that she didn't think he was weird or crazy.

They both went in opposite directions, still thinking about their peculiar encounter.

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"Sorry I'm late", Meredith said, as she walked the front door to her brother's house. Izzie, who had opened the door for her, greeting her with a hug.

"Don't be ridiculous, it's just 10 minutes.", laughed Izzie," Come and sit, dinner's ready."

She followed her blond friend to the dinning room where Finn and Alex were already seated, in front of each other. The men stood up to greet her as well. Meredith gave a hug to her brother and went on the other side of the table to do the same to her boyfriend. She could see the anger in his eyes as she approchaed him.

While they were hugging, he harshly whispered in her ear.

"You're late". With his arms around her waist, he purposely increased the pressure, his body crushing the bruise on her stomach. She did her best to not scream in pain.

He released his girlfirend from his embrace and pull out her chair, so she could sit. She muttered a thank you.

"Alex, why did not pull out my chair like Finn?", scolded Izzie

"Oh, come on Iz, just because I don't do this chivalry crap doesn't mean I don't love you!"

"Whatever", she muttered.

Finn chuckled.

"You know what, guys?, Alex started, "I can't believe it's been two years that you've been together!"

"You've been with with Izzie for way longer. Compared to your six years, our relationship is still young.", Meredith said, which earned her an intense but subtile glare from Finn.

"I know Mer, but it feels good to know that my sister is with one of my good friends. Someone who treats you right."

Finn gave his girlfriend a kiss on the cheek.

They continued to chat throughout the dinner but Meredith wasn't concentrating on the conversation. She was thinking about the new friend she had made earlier.

I wonder what he's doing tonight....

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All four were sitting at the table, waiting for their orders and they were talking about the patients they had treated earlier today.

"I still don't get how she got out of that fire alive!", Mark stated

"I know!", Derek said,"It was a huge fire, and all she has is a couple of burns on her arms and her hands!"

"And her baby is doing really well", Addison added, "it's a miracle".

"Oh, I rememer that woman! She was wearing that nice diamond bracelet. Very exquisite. You could totally tell she was loaded!", Rose exclaimed,"I wonder if she still needs it, you know, with her hands all burnt and all"

All eyes at the table turned to the dark-haired woman, shocked by what she had just said.

"Relax, I'm not gonna steal it!", she replied, not understanding what was the big deal.

"Of course not! Where would we get that crazy idea?", sarcastically muttered Mark.

At that moment, Rose's ringtone was heard.

She took out her cell phone from her purse and looked at the caller I.D. She excused herself from the table and quickly went outside to take the call. When Rose was out of sight, Addison said what was on her mind.

"Derek, this cannot go on like this! You can't marry that woman!"

"Oh enough! You've been saying this for the last four months! When are you gonna stop?", he replied, tired of hearing them complaining about his fiancée.

"Oh, let's talk about that! Don't you think it's a little crazy to be engaged to someone you've known for only four months?", she questionned

"Yeah, Addie's right. When Rose looks at you, she doesn't see this". He pointed his finger at Derek's face.

"All she sees when she looks at you is the new house you're gonna buy and the new designer clothes she'll get with your credit card and the new car she's gonna be driving. Dude, she's a gold digger. A hardcore one."

"There's no point in trying to change my mind. I know she loves me and we are getting married" he proclaimed.

"Look, I know it was hard when Katie left you, Addison said emphatically, her eyes full of tenderness for her best friend,"but you jumped into a relationship too soon. She's just a rebound. It's just not sane, Derek. It's not sane."

Derek knew his best friends only wanted what was best for him.

"I know you have good intentions, but please stop. When Katie left me, I was devastated and depressed. Rose came into my life and made me smile. She listened when I was sad and and she let me take care of her. I needed someone to take care of and she was there. So I'm gonna marry because of how good she's been to me.", he firmly stated, leaving no place for objections.

Rose came back to the table, having not heard what Derek had said.

Derek had tried to convince his friends how right this was but more importantly, he was trying to convince himself. Ever since he had seen Meredith for the first time, he had been wanting more. More than just short conversations and elevator encounters. He wanted more.

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When they arrived home, Finn took Meredith's arm and dragged her to the bedroom.

"Why were you late again?!", he shouted. Finn was still holding her but the pressure on her arm had increased.

"I'm sorry, the elevator took too long.", she replied

"Are you lying to me?" he asked, his tone getting louder. Meredith let out a small cry, as the pressure increased once again.

"I'm not! I would never lie to you. Please let me go, you're hurting me!", she pleaded.

He let go of her arm.

"Take off your clothes", he barked

Oh no! Not this, I can't. I can't.

"Not tonight. I'm really tired and I have to wake up early tommorow.", she said, hoping he would drop it.

"You owe me this, at least. You made me mad, once again and because of you, my evening was ruined. So you owe me."

Reluctanctly, she started unbuttoning her shirt. She had a hard time doing it, as tears where starting to form in her eyes, blurring her vision.

It's okay, everything will be fine, she thought, as she was taking off her pants. He'll leave me alone in a few minutes. It'll be over soon.