Derek sighed as he walked into his apartment, his head hanging dejectedly as he threw his keys onto the table next to the door. The display on the answering machine glowed with a zero, indicating that Meredith hadn't called. He wasn't sure exactly what had happened a couple hours before at her house, but after drowning his sorrows at the bar down the road, he'd decided that he just wanted to go home and pray that this was all just a terrible dream.

"You look like shit," Mark announced as he walked into the kitchen.

"Feel like it too," Derek sighed.

"What happened?" Mark frowned.

"I think Meredith broke up with me," Derek sighed, reaching for another beer from the fridge.

"What?" Mark asked. "What happened?"

"I don't want to talk about it," Derek shook his head as he made knocked back nearly half of his beer at once.

A knock on the door prevented Mark from asking any more questions, and Derek sighed as he moved towards the door. "Mer," he breathed as he saw her standing before him. "I…you're here."

"I just wanted to make sure that we both know where we are," she said softly.

"Mer, I didn't…I don't want to break up with you," he said desperately.

"Look, I don't want to do this again," she said. "I just…needed a little more closure, so…here."

Derek frowned as she picked a box up off the ground beside her and handed it to him. "What is this?" he asked, taking the box hesitantly.

"It's your stuff," she said, swallowing hard. "I didn't…there were a lot of reminders of you all over my room, so please, just take it back."

"Meredith," he whispered, dropping the box to the side and pulling on her hand. "Please, let's talk about this. Let's not do this, I need you."

"I can't," she whispered. "Derek, you promised that you would never hurt me."

"I didn't mean to," he said. "Please just don't do this. We can figure this out."

"I can't," Meredith whispered. "Derek, don't make this harder than it is."

"I'm not letting you go this easily," Derek shook his head. "Meredith, I can't imagine my life without you."

"You should have thought about that before you went back on all the promises you ever made me," she said. "So…this is it."

"This can't be it," Derek pleaded, his hands moving to grasp hers tightly. "Meredith, please."

"Derek," she whispered, tears filling her eyes as she pried her hands out of his. "It's over, there's nothing you can do to change it."

"There has to be something," he whispered, tears spilling over his eyes. "This can't just be it, Meredith, I'm supposed to spend the rest of my life with you."

"No," she shook her head. "I can't, Derek, you've completely destroyed all the trust I had in you."

"But I love you," he said. "Meredith, I love you, I'll do anything to make this up to you. Just name it, and it's done."

"I just need to move on," Meredith breathed. "I tried to make things work with you, but it didn't work. Let it go."

"I won't let it go," Derek shook his head. "Meredith, if you're not ready for this, I'll wait for you. But I'll never let this go, it's too precious."

Meredith turned away, hoping to hide her tears from him. "I have to go," she said softly. "I don't…just keep anything I left here. Because it's too hard, and I think it's just best if we didn't see each other again. So…good-bye, Derek."

"Meredith, please," Derek pleaded, following her to the door.

"Derek," she said. "No."

With those two simple words, she was gone, out of his apartment and out of his life, just as quickly as she'd come into it. Derek stood in the middle of his apartment, tears filling his eyes as he realized that she was really gone, that his life really had been destroyed in one moment.

"Shit, Shep," Mark said from behind him. "I'm sorry."

Derek didn't reply as he moved towards the box that he'd tossed aside, sinking onto the couch as he pulled the lid off the top of it. He first pulled out his Bowdoin T-shirt, the one that Meredith had loved to sleep in ever since the first night he'd spent at her house. He held it up to his face, inhaling the soft smell of lavender that he loved so much, the smell that was uniquely Meredith as he tried to hold his tears back. He wasn't sure he was strong enough to do this right now, but he couldn't seem to bring himself to stop going through the things that Meredith had left for him.

Next he pulled out a framed picture that had rested on her side of the bed. The two of them in the park a couple weeks ago, when he'd dragged her out to get a Christmas tree. His arms were wrapped around her shoulders, and she was smiling widely as her head turned to meet his, her eyes sparkling widely. They hadn't been dating long enough to really get a lot of pictures, but this one had been his favorite. He'd brought it home to her in a frame one night, and she'd rolled her eyes but placed it proudly beside her side of the bed where it would be the first thing she saw every morning.

His eyes filled with tears as he dug through various other items that he'd left at her house. His razor, a coffee mug, some pajama pants and medical journals. He frowned as he pulled an envelope out of the bottom of the box, feeling his stomach clench as he opened the envelope, pulling out the tickets to Europe he'd given her for Christmas.

He threw them back into the box and collapsed against the couch, pushing his fists into his eyes in a weak attempt to help stop the tears from coming. Meredith was gone, she had completely erased him from her life, and he hated the thought of forgetting everything they'd had.

He knew he should never have taken the check, he wasn't even sure how it had ended up in his pocket. But now all he could do try to figure out a way to live without Meredith Grey, without her quiet strength helping him to be a better person. The thought killed him, but she wanted to end things, and he'd promised he'd do anything he could to make her happy. It was the last thing in the world he wanted, but if that's what she wanted to make herself happy, he'd do it. Because he loved her that much.

XXXXX

"What happened?" Lexie asked as Meredith slid into the passenger side of her car.

"It's over," Meredith said flatly. "Can we just…I just want to go home."

Lexie sighed as she put the car into park, maneuvering the way back towards their house. Meredith sat quietly in the passenger seat, an occasional sob wracking through her body as she thought about all that she had just given up.

"You know, I don't think Derek's ever going to move on from this," Lexie said. "I don't know him that well, but…he's crazy about you."

"Lexie," Meredith breathed. "Don't. Please, just don't."

"Fine," Lexie sighed as she pulled into the driveway of their house. "We're home."

Meredith was silent as she slammed the car door shut, moving towards the house as she tried to ignore the tears that were streaming down her face. She was single again. Not that she ever really minded being single, but after Derek…she wasn't sure that she would ever be able to move on again.

She curled into herself as she wrapped herself under the blankets of her bed, the blankets that still smelled of Derek. A combination of his cologne and the musky scent of…him made her want to cry for the rest of her life.

Derek was gone. She'd made sure to erase every part of him from her life, but there was no way that she would ever be able to forget him. She hated that he'd done this to her, and she wasn't sure how he had managed to fool her into thinking that he was different. But she'd hoped that he really was different, that he really did love her for her, not her mother's money.

But now she had to explain why she shouldn't be fired, why she should maintain her job because she was good at what she did. And what would be harder than that would be the way she'd have to forget the way she'd ever felt for Derek.

It was probably the hardest thing she'd ever have to do. But she'd do it. Because now that she knew what real happiness was, she knew that she could get there eventually. She just had to figure out a way to get there without Derek.

XXXXX

"Miss Grey," her principle nodded to her as she entered his office the next morning.

"Mrs. Miller," she nodded softly.

"We're just waiting on Mr. Potter," Mrs. Miller said, referring to the superintendent.

"Alright," Meredith whispered softly.

"Meredith," Mrs. Miller sighed, moving around her desk to sit down in the chair beside her. "You know I hate that to do this."

"I know, Ava," she said softly. "But it's okay. I understand."

"Meredith?" Ava frowned. "Are you okay?"

"No…yes," Meredith sighed, trying to ignore the exhaustion she felt at the long sleepless night she'd endured the night before, missing the feeling of Derek beside her. "I'll be fine."

Ava frowned for a moment, but looked up when there was a knock at the door. "Mr. Potter, come in," she said as she stood and made her way back to her desk.

"Mrs. Miller," Mr. Potter smiled politely. "Miss Grey."

"Mr. Potter," Meredith murmured.

"You know that this is hard to do," Mr. Potter said as he sat down beside her. "But we received a call yesterday afternoon that concerned us somewhat."

"From my mother," Meredith sighed.

"Yes," Mr. Potter nodded. "I'm aware that this is a particularly uncomfortable conversation to have, but she informed us that you are maintaining a sexual relationship with the uncle of one of your students."

Tears pricked Meredith's eyes, and she looked down at her hands, willing herself not to cry. Not now. "That's no longer a problem, sir," she said softly.

Mr. Potter raised his eyebrows in surprise, but continued to speak. "You're one of the most popular teachers at this school, Meredith," he said softly. "It's only your second year, but parents are already raving about you and requesting their kindergarteners be placed in your class."

Meredith couldn't help but smile at the thought that she was at least loved by her students. "I'm very grateful for everything this school has done for me," she said. "I love my job, I really do."

"Meredith," Ava interrupted, leaning across her desk. "We're not going to fire you. It's not against the rules, but…we have to ensure that none of your students are getting any attention different than the rest of the class."

"I've been careful not to let that happen," Meredith nodded. "But like I said, there's no longer an issue."

Ava eyed Meredith closely, recognizing the dull ache in the younger woman's eyes. She had very obviously just broken up with her boyfriend. "Your personal life is your business," she said softly. "But you also have to make sure not to ignore any students with whose family you've had difficulty with."

"I won't," Meredith said. "Meg's one of the smartest students in my class, she deserves the best education she can get. And I won't let my…personal flaws get in the way of that."

"Alright then," Mr. Potter nodded. "I'm glad that we were able to come to a conclusion. Miss Grey, I may be popping in to monitor your class throughout the remainder of the school year, but your job is safe."

"Thank you," Meredith whispered.

Mr. Potter nodded to the woman as he stood and walked quickly out of the room. Meredith stood and moved to leave as well, but Ava was quick to take her hand. "Meredith," she breathed. "Are you really okay?"

"Fine," Meredith said automatically.

"You broke up with him," Ava stated.

"It's complicated," Meredith whispered. "But yes, it's over."

"You're still in love with him," Ava said. "I can see it in your eyes."

"I…look, no offense, but this is really none of your business," Meredith whispered. "I'm fine."

"Alright," Ava sighed. "Look, I know how hard it can be to deal with things like this. If you need anything, please let me know."

"Thank you," Meredith whispered. "I'll…I need to get to my classroom before students start arriving."

"Of course," Ava nodded. "I'm sorry, Meredith."

"Thank you," Meredith repeated before she turned and walked out of the office, back to her classroom.

"Miss Grey!" Madeline giggled as she led the line into the classroom only moments after she'd arrived herself.

"Good morning, Madeline," Meredith managed to smile as she looked down at the girl in front of her. "Great job being line leader."

"Thanks Miss Grey," Madeline giggled.

Meredith sighed as she collapsed into her seat, watching her students file in before them, trying to hold back the tears that filled her eyes as she laid eyes on Meg, the spitting image of her uncle. From her curly black hair to her bright blue eyes and flashing smile, Meg Scott could easily be mistaken for Derek's daughter. Meredith swallowed hard as she realized how much she may have underestimated the pain of seeing Derek's look alike every day at school. As much as it pained her to have a constant reminded of the raw wound that he had caused in her heart, she knew she had to make sure that she didn't treat Meg any differently. Her job depended on it.

XXXXX

"Okay, Shep, it's been a week," Mark frowned as he walked into Derek's room, kicking beer cans to the side as he yanked the covers off of his best friend. "You've got to stop wallowing."

"I'm not wallowing," Derek rolled his eyes, reaching for the nearest beer can and taking a long swig.

"Look, I get that you're all upset about Grey," Mark said. "But if you're going to get drunk all day, let's at least do it at a strip club."

"I don't want to go to a strip club," Derek murmured.

"Well I do," Mark said. "And you have to come with me. You remember what happened last time I was drunk at a strip club."

"Just stay off the stage, you'll be fine," Derek replied, flopping onto his side, his back to Mark.

Mark sighed as he stared down at his friend. "I've never seen you this miserable," he said.

"Probably because I've never felt this miserable."

Mark was silent for a moment before he sat down on the end of the bed, looking down at Derek. "Look, Shep," he sighed. "I know you really liked this chick, but you've been pouting in bed for over a week. We go back to school the day after tomorrow. You've got to pull yourself together."

"I know that," Derek snapped. "Right now, I'm just trying to figure out how to breathe without Meredith."

Mark sighed as he looked down at his best friend. "Do you want to call her?" he asked.

"Tried," Derek sighed. "Lexie says she refuses to talk to me."

"You want me to try?" Mark grinned. "You know the ladies can't resist Mark Sloan."

Derek sighed as he rolled onto his back, looking up at his best friend. "I just need to get used to the pain," he said.

"Pain?" Mark frowned.

"It won't stop hurting," Derek shook his head. "She's not coming back."