"Mer, I'm making some sandwiches, you want some?" Lexie yelled up the stairs the next afternoon.

"No, I'm going out with Derek," Meredith yelled back. "He'll be here soon."

She turned back to the mirror, wondering if she was dressed okay. It was a rare sunny day in Seattle, and she'd dressed in jeans and a lavender sweater that dipped low enough to reveal just enough cleavage. Derek hadn't told her where he was taking her, but she figured this was appropriate enough for most all afternoon dates.

The doorbell pierced into her thoughts, and she ran a brush through her hand one last time before she grabbed her bag and headed down the stairs.

"Hi," she said as she opened the door and let Derek inside. "Come on in."

"Thanks," Derek said, flashing her a smile. "You look…amazing."

"Thanks," Meredith blushed slightly, taking in his jeans and sweater, the bottom of his white button down hanging from the end of his sweater. "You do too. Look good."

Derek smiled as he reached out to grab her hand. "Are you ready to go?" he asked.

"Yeah, I just have to grab my coat," Meredith said, reaching for the coat that had been thrown over the banister when she'd come home the day before. "Where are we going?"

"You'll see," Derek laughed, reaching out to help her adjust her collar. "Ready?"

"Yeah," she nodded, following him out the door. "Do I even get a hint?"

"There's food," Derek offered as they settled into his car.

"That's not a hint," she argued. "I knew there would be food yesterday when you told me not to eat lunch."

"Well, that's all you're getting from me," Derek nodded.

Meredith sighed as she turned to look out the window. "Seriously, Derek, I've never even seen this part of Seattle before," she said.

"It's nothing bad," he laughed.

"You're not like…an ax murderer or something, right?" Meredith asked. "Not that you'd tell me if you were, but…you're not just taking me into the woods or something where no one can hear me scream?"

"Well, I'm not an ax murderer," Derek laughed, reaching over the gear shift to lace their fingers together. "But…I can't promise not to make you scream."

Meredith swallowed hard as she felt a rush of heat wash over her body. She had a sudden flash of Derek lying on top of her, his dark curls falling over his forehead as he moved into her and felt a shock of heat spread through her entire body. She closed her eyes tightly as she tried to calm down, turning to Derek with a smirk.

"You're presuming a lot, Derek," she laughed. "What makes you think I'm going to sleep with you?"

"Hmmm," Derek breathed, glancing at her quickly and offering her a wink. "I think you'll break eventually."

Meredith shrugged, smiling coyly at him. "Think what you want," she said softly.

Derek took a deep breath as he slowed the car down and parked it in the middle of an open area of grass. "This is it," he said. "Come on."

"Where are we?" Meredith frowned.

"This land has the best view of Seattle," Derek smiled, getting out of the car and reaching for a cooler in the backseat. "My dad and I go fishing here."

"It's…amazing," Meredith breathed, looking at the open grass area, surrounded by trees.

"Are you okay with walking a little?" he asked. "Because I want to show you something incredible."

"Let's walk," Meredith smiled, moving closer to him as they fell into step together. They walked in silence for a few moments before Meredith hesitantly reached out to take his free hand in hers, lacing their fingers together.

Derek glanced at her as he gave her hand a gentle squeeze, glad that she seemed to be accepting him with everything she had in her. He stopped as they reached the edge of the cliff, looking out over the lake and the view of the city before them.

"Wow," Meredith breathed, squeezing his hand tightly. "It's amazing, Der."

He smiled as he squeezed her hand back. Somehow, in all of his twenty five years of life, no one had ever shortened his name to just one syllable, but he liked the way she said it in one breath. "I know," he nodded.

"So not to bring down the mood or anything," Meredith giggled. "But I was promised food.

"And your date will deliver," Derek nodded, setting the cooler on the ground, reaching into the top half to pull a blanket out. Meredith watched as he spread the blanket on the ground and sat down, reaching for the cooler and unzipping it. "Come on down here," he laughed as she stared down at him.

"You…a picnic?" Meredith asked as she sat down beside him.

"What's wrong with a picnic?" Derek frowned as he popped a bottle of wine open.

"Nothing," Meredith shrugged as she took the offered glass. "If you're completely corny."

"Did you just call me corny?" Derek frowned.

"Maybe," she giggled, holding her glass up. "Cheers."

Derek rolled his eyes. "I am not drinking to that," he said. "And if you don't want to eat a corny picnic, then I'll just enjoy it myself."

"Well….I didn't say corny was a bad thing," Meredith said as she reached for a sandwich. She took a large bite as she looked at him carefully for a moment. When she swallowed, she took a deep breath and whispered, "Derek?"

"Hmmm?" he replied.

"I'm not….I don't really date," she said. "Which might sound totally and completely lame because I'm twenty five, but I've only dated one guy and that was more like a natural disaster than a relationship. I just thought you should know that because we're starting something or whatever, so if this freaks you out…It's okay. I'm giving you an out."

"An out?" Derek frowned.

"Yeah," Meredith nodded. "Because I've really done this before, and I have no idea what I'm doing here. So if you don't want to be in a relationship with someone who's completely dark and twisty…it's okay. I won't hold it against you."

Derek shook his head as he reached out to take her hand. "Meredith," he sighed. "It's okay if you've never done this before. I want to teach you. I just want you, Mer, even if you do call yourself all dark and twisty. I don't need an out."

"Really?" Meredith whispered.

Derek laughed as he tugged on her hand to pull her into his arms. "Really," he said. "I want you to be my girlfriend, Meredith Grey."

"Girlfriend," Meredith nodded. "Okay."

"Okay," Derek smiled, leaning down to kiss her gently.

"So it's okay if I don't know what I'm doing?" Meredith whispered.

"It's more than okay," Derek said softly. "And you know what else…if you ask me what to do, I'll help you."

Meredith giggled as she rested her head on his shoulder. "Are you going to mold me into some perfect girlfriend?" she asked.

"I think I've already got the perfect girlfriend," he smiled. "I just need to get a little confidence into her."

Meredith was silent for a moment as she looked down at their hands as they linked their fingers together. "They fit," she whispered.

"Hmm?" Derek asked.

"Our hands," Meredith said. "They fit well together."

"They do," Derek smiled, squeezing her tightly.

"So since we're like…dating or whatever now," Meredith began. "It's okay if I kiss you?"

"It's more than okay if you kiss me," Derek smiled, bringing his lips closer to hers. "More kissing, I say."

Meredith smiled as she tilted her face up, their lips meeting in a gentle kiss. She turned in his arms to run a hand through his hair, pushing him onto his back as she laid her body on top of his, kissing him passionately.

Derek ran his hands up and down her back, eagerly accepting her kisses as she moved her hips gently over his. He could feel his pants start to tighten against her, and she suddenly tensed over him, freezing for a moment before she pulled back and slid off of him.

"Derek," she said softly. "I'm sorry if I just led you on or went too far or whatever, but can we…wait? For sex? I just can't do it yet."

Derek sighed as he sat up as well, reaching out to take her into his arms again. "Of course we can wait," he said softly. "I'm not pressuring you into anything. Whenever you're ready, but until then…dates. Dates and whatever you're comfortable with."

"Thank you," she whispered.

"No problem," Derek sighed. "So now that we've got this whole thing understood…tell me about you."

"Oh," Meredith sighed as she pulled away as she reached for her wine. "What do you want to know?"

"Well…I want to know everything," Derek laughed. "But you're obviously not comfortable telling me everything yet. So just tell me whatever you're comfortable with. The rest will come."

"Okay," Meredith sighed. "Well, um…I lived here til I was five, then moved to Boston. My mom still lives there. I know you probably hate Boston because of the whole New York Boston hatred thing, but…it's a really great city. And I moved back here because I just…needed a change. My mom's a little overbearing sometimes and so I decided to come out here."

"Hmmm," Derek nodded. "And when you came out here…you met Lexie?"

"Yeah," Meredith sighed. "My dad walked out when I was five and I never talked to him again. But then when I moved back out here, I went to see him one night, just to find out why he abandoned me, and she answered the door. I didn't even know she existed, and she didn't know about me. I pretty much avoided her for months, but then I ran into her at the grocery store after a really bad day, and we just…clicked. She moved in with me when she decided she didn't want to live at home anymore but didn't want to go near those sketchy dorms at University of Washington."

Derek laughed. "I'm glad you got to know her," he said. "She seems really nice."

"She is," Meredith nodded. "She has a sister too. Molly, but she's still in high school."

"Hmmm," Derek nodded. "What else?"

Meredith shrugged. "I don't know," she said. "I'm not really the most interesting person."

"Well, there I beg to differ," he said, squeezing her hand. "You can tell me things, Mer. Whatever you want me to know, you can tell me. I'll still want to be with you, that won't change."

"Thanks," Meredith whispered, settling against his chest again as she looked out over Seattle. This was perfection.

XXXXXX

"So thanks for lunch," Meredith said as Derek walked her to her door later that night. "And dinner."

"It was my pleasure," Derek said with a smile as he squeezed her hand. "You, Meredith Grey, are an excellent date."

"Oh, well, I try," Meredith giggled. "And you're not so bad yourself."

"That's good to know," Derek nodded.

Meredith looked up at him for a moment before she asked, "Do you want to come in for coffee?"

"I'd love that," Derek smiled, following her inside.

"Good," Meredith smiled, turning towards the door and rolling her eyes when she saw Izzie and Lexie run towards the living room. "Excuse my roommates," she said. "They seem to think it's okay to live vicariously through my life."

Derek laughed as he pressed a kiss to the back of her head. "I think it's cute," he said.

They stepped into the house and stopped in the door to the living room where her sister and friend were concentrating on the muted TV. "Hi," she said.

"Oh, Mer," Izzie exclaimed, turning to look at her. "We didn't hear you come in."

Derek bit back a laugh and Meredith rolled her eyes. "Right, you can't hear anything over the muted TV," she said. "We're going to make some coffee."

"We'll stay clear of the kitchen," Lexie nodded.

"Thank you," Meredith said as she grabbed Derek's hand and dragged him towards the kitchen.

"So coffee?" Derek asked.

"Hmmm," Meredith nodded, looking up at him for a moment. Derek stared down at her with questions in his eyes, and before he knew what was happening, she had her arms wrapped tightly around his neck and was kissing him passionately.

"Mer," he groaned, his hands instinctively moving to her hips and clutching them tightly. "Oh…."

Meredith giggled slightly as she pulled back. "I like that I can kiss you," she said, running her hands over his hair.

"I like that too," he whispered, pressing his forehead against hers.

"So what happens next?" Meredith asked softly as she moved towards the coffee maker. "With us, I mean."

"Well, tomorrow I have to spend the entire day in the library," Derek sighed. "Because unlike some of us, I'm still in school."

Meredith giggled. "At least I'm earning my own living," she said. "You're still living off of your parents."

"I am not," Derek frowned. "I put myself through college. And med school."

"Oh," Meredith said with a nod. "Right, sorry."

"It's okay, Mer," Derek said, reaching out to rub her shoulder. "We'll find these things out about each other."

"Right," Meredith smiled, leaning up against the counter and smiling up at him. "So… you need to study and I work on Monday, so what next?"

"We'll figure something out," Derek shrugged. "And in the meantime, we'll talk on the phone. Every night."

"Every night?" Meredith raised her eyebrows.

"Yes," Derek nodded. "I need to know that my niece is behaving in school. That's very important to me."

"Oh," Meredith nodded, moving forward and wrapping her arms around his neck. "You know, I'm not supposed to talk about my students to people other than parents," she whispered.

"Oh, well, we'll have to find something else to talk about then," Derek murmured.

"Like all your classes?" Meredith giggled.

"I have a feeling," Derek whispered, pressing his lips against hers. "That I'll be a little distracted in class this week."

"Well," Meredith whispered against his lips. "You know, I am a teacher. And my mom's a doctor, I grew up in a hospital. So if you need some help, I could….tutor you. If you want."

"Hmmm," Derek smiled, wrapping his arms around her waist. "I do need a little extra help in….anatomy."

Meredith giggled as she pulled away from him, turning back to the coffee machine. "Patience, Mr. Shepherd," she laughed. "First lesson….patience."

"Mean," Derek frowned as he took the offered coffee, unable to stop the smile that had spread across his face. Today had been the perfect day, and he couldn't wait to have more perfect days with her.