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Happy Wednesday!

The last place in the world I want to be is in Washington DC attending the National Convention; but I practically begged Matt to let me go before the wedding and I can't back out now. It's helpful that Matt's father—Colombia Medical's Chief of Surgery—used the company plane to fly us to DC; it makes the airport and flight experience much more bearable—maybe even tolerable.

Nancy is chatty. She's been married for a month and the sun still rises and sets with Matt, which makes her happy and chatty. Matt receives most of the brunt of Nancy's incessant chatter, but Kathy also puts up with her sister's babble. I listen to my iPod and pretend to sleep.

The general conference is one of the biggest in the world. It's well marketed and all the big names plan to attend. I sign up for three talks the first day, one being with Dr. Ellis Grey—which is set for this afternoon at three. We're all attending that one. The other two, earlier in the day, I'll be attending alone and I've decided to skip the four o'clock with Dr. Ian Shane, the founder of Lives in Our Hands charity. I'd rather hide in my hotel room until dinner—which will be joined by Dr. Matthew Krasner Sr.—Matt's dad.

We ride right to the conference center, leaving our things in the limousine.

Medical conferences are nothing but a chance for geeks who usually wear scrubs to dress up and boast about how proficient they are in their respected fields. Cardio surgeons claim to be gods while brain surgeons claim to be bigger than the universe. It's really just a back scratching event—trying to make yourself look better to everyone else. Because I'm nowhere near even being a doctor, I'm pretty much ignored.

The first two speakers do well and I'm easily engaged. As I sit down for Dr. Grey's talk, I feel myself growing weary. I hope the room fills up enough so she doesn't see me.

The room fills in five minutes and everyone else has to stand. It seems like every single person who attended the conference is making a stop to see Dr. Grey.

She takes the podium and looks just a sober as she had when I saw her before.

Everyone claps.

"Thank you, thank you." She's much more pleasant than she was when I berated her on her front lawn. "I am honored and humbled to have been invited to speak to you all today. It's been too long since I've had the chance to practice medicine and I'm excited to begin rebuilding my career."

A round of applause.

Dr. Grey raises her hand to halt the applause. She smiles. "Just about ten years ago, I had finished my research on the Grey Method and was putting into practice a new way to perform most general surgeries. The Method, which took nearly ten years to perfect, came at a big cost to myself and those I worked with. We paid the price though, and the Method is now practiced in every hospital across the United States and beyond."

Everyone claps and a few people whistle.

"Five years ago, I was working on my second Method. This one would be used to perfect bowel obstructions. My research was halted and for the last five years, all I could think about was returning to medicine. Today, I'm happy to announce I have received a position as the General Attending at Mount Sinai in New York, effective August 1st."

After another round of applause, Dr. Grey begins a slideshow, "I'm now going to explain how this method will help not just General, but all fields of surgery. Slide one, please."

I sit through the next thirty minutes of Dr. Grey explaining her game-changing method and I notice every single person in the room is hanging onto her every word. I'm hanging onto her every word. She's enthralling and engaging. Her work and her method are inspiring and just listening her speak about returning to medicine makes me realize how difficult it must have been when she left. The room feels electric with energy and if not for a disturbance directly to my left, I wouldn't have turned my attention from Ellis Grey.

The girl retreating from the room is familiar. It's not just her hair or profile, but the way she walks—the way she moves.

Meredith.

I hastily jump up from my chair, causing it to fall backwards, and quickly move to turn it right side up. The entire room is silent. My sisters and brother-in-law are staring at me. I look up at Ellis Grey and her eyes are on me. For the first time in as long as I can remember, I blush. I leave the conference room exactly where Meredith left and hope Dr. Grey didn't recognize me.

The rest of the conference center is littered with people visiting stands and booths. Everyone carries packets under their arms with news on the latest science in modern medicine and drag bags over their arms with diagrams, samples, and free pharmaceutical pens. But I can't see Meredith. She's lost among the crowd. That's if I even saw her.

I walk through the crowd of people and along a row of booths, but even with the fascinating outlying information, I focus my attention on the people around me. Any petit blond woman to walk past me holds my attention for much too long. I find myself following a woman for three rows before I realize she's about forty years old. I walk through a group of younger women and make eye contact with each one, but none of them are her. I even return to the hall Dr. Grey is speaking in, but if Meredith was here, she's long gone.

There's a row of benches outside the convention center. I sit down to wait out the rest of Dr. Grey's talk because I know my sisters and Matt will have a million questions for me. I decide to lie and say I'm sick; it'll explain why I don't want to go out to dinner later and I'll be free to just lie in bed until tomorrow. Maybe I could drag this through tomorrow as well and remain "sick" until our flight in two days.

A man sits down on the bench next to mine. I glance at him, and then close my eyes and lean back against the window.

"You're Derek," he says matter-of-factly.

I open my eyes and appraise him. He must be around my age.

"I'm Alex," he holds out his hand to me. "Alex Karev."

All of a sudden my conversation with Meredith from a month ago comes crashing back down. Alex Karev is Meredith's friend from home. He's her "non-boyfriend" friend and the guy she's traveling with. And Alex is sitting in front of me holding out his hand.

"Alright, not into handshakes," he shrugs and his hand falls onto his lap. "So, I take it you saw Meredith."

"How do you know that?"

Alex smiles, "Because she saw you."

I laugh, but it sounds more like a cough. "Yeah, well, that makes sense. Where did she go?"

"She didn't want her mother to see her, so she booked it."

"How will you find her?"

"Oh, I have a tracker on her. She can't get far." He laughs, but I can only stare at him. "Dude, I'm joking." He shakes his head. "We have a meet up spot if we're separated. I'll meet her there later."

"How long will she wait there?"

Alex shrugs, "For as long as it takes, I guess, but I'm sure she's not going there right away. She needs to cool down. She hasn't seen her mom in months, so it was probably a shock."

"How did she know her mom was here?"

"Meredith doesn't like to admit it, but she's been keeping tabs on her mom since she left. There wasn't much to report in the beginning, besides Ellis asking for help finding Meredith, but after a while she started finding articles about her mom linked to this conference. It's primarily why we were headed down here. She didn't believe that her mom was sober, so she wanted to see for herself." Alex is much more forthcoming than Meredith. "What about you? How did you end up here?"

"My brother-in-law and sisters are doctors. They have connections."

"So you didn't just come here to hear the great Ellis Grey talk about how amazing she is?"

"To be honest, I think that's why everyone is here."

Alex laughs, "True. Plus, everyone wants to know why she stopped practicing for four years. They want the truth."

"What did she tell the medical community?"

"Nothing, as far as I know. After Mer's dad died, Ellis went kind of comatose. She went to work, but she wasn't anything like the doctor everyone knew her to be. Meredith thinks Ellis was asked to leave by the board of directors. I wouldn't be surprised. There are a lot of theories that she botched some surgeries, but I'm not sure if that's true. I think she just gave up on everything."

"It doesn't make sense. This is Ellis Grey we're talking about. She's badass."

"She might be a rock star in the hospital, but Ellis isn't really that person. And I think her husband's death reminded her of her reality—she has a daughter and a house that need taking care of, and she wasn't equipped to take care of either. Meredith has a lot of theories about her mom and I'm sure with some coaxing, she'd fill you in."

"I don't know about that."

Alex relaxes back against the bench and stretches his arms along the top of the seat. "Yeah, she told me about your phone call."

I turn away and stare up at the cloudless sky.

"She's over it now."

"Really?"

"She didn't want to tell you about me because she figured you wouldn't help her. It's survival of the fittest out there and to be honest, Meredith is kind of small; she's not really meant to be on the road."

"Then why didn't you meet up with her sooner?"

"I got in trouble and it was mandatory that I stay. If I didn't, they weren't going to allow me to graduate. I told Meredith she could stay with me, but she didn't want to get me into any more trouble. I figured she'd be okay for a little while. I had no idea that she would bolt from home in March. I had no idea what was going on. That she was almost raped, twice."

I remember the Facebook messages. Alex is telling the truth. Meredith didn't send him a message until she'd been staying with me for nearly a week.

"Everything you did for her…" Alex shakes his head. "Not a lot of people would have done that for her. Most people would have let her get raped and maybe even killed. But not you. I wanted to thank you. Meredith's my family and what you did for her… I could never repay you."

The gratitude Alex extends makes everything I did for Meredith that much more powerful. I hold out my hand to him, "Thanks man. I just couldn't stand her getting hurt."

He smiles and shakes my hand, "Meredith has that effect on people."

"Will you tell me more about her? What was she like before she ran away?"

"I won't but I think it's important for Meredith to tell you the rest of her story. I'm going to head off and try to find her. Want to come?"

I look back to the conference center before nodding. "Yeah, definitely. Let me just tell my sister." I shoot a quick text to Kathleen and follow Alex along the parking lot and onto the sidewalk. I'm glad I found Meredith and was able to help her, but I'm even happier that she's traveling with a guy who truly cares for her and will protect her if the situation arises.

Alex and I sit at the Lincoln Memorial with our legs stretched out in front of us eating ice cream cones. I hadn't planned on liking Alex, let alone buying us both ice cream, but the day is too hot to sit in the blistering sun without a refresher and Alex is actually a funny guy. He has too many stories about his shitty family for me to count. He entertains me with stories about bad family Christmases where no gifts were purchased and Thanksgivings where his father decided to deep fry the turkey, but wound up exploding the backyard instead—this happened four times. I don't share my family Christmases and Thanksgiving stories, because for the most part, they were all good. We always fight like crazy, but we always have a good meal and plenty of gifts to go around.

Kathy texts me back twenty minutes after Dr. Grey's talk was to end and berates me for leaving so rudely. She demands to know where I am. I ignore her text. I don't know when I'll be back and I've already told her I'll most likely miss dinner. There's no sign of Meredith, but Alex doesn't seem to be worried. He leans back and watches girls in short-shorts visit the monument.

"What are your plans after DC?" I ask, mostly to find out where Meredith will be next.

"I turn eighteen next week, so we can pretty much go anywhere."

"But Meredith will still be only seventeen."

"Yeah, but it won't look as weird for the two of us to be traveling together. I have some money, so we'll be fine until October."

"And then what?"

Alex shrugs, "Meredith's free."

"Doesn't it bother you not having a real plan?"

"I do have a real plan," Alex counters. "Meredith turns eighteen in October. Her trust fund opens then. We're going to live off that money. She'll finish school and I'll go onto college. She'll join me a year later. We'll get jobs and just become normal, regular people."

I glance at Mark. "So your idea of a plan is living off Meredith's money? What happens if Ellis changes the stipulation on the money until Meredith's twenty-one, or god forbid, twenty-five? Then what?"

"She wouldn't."

"I might not know much about Dr. Grey, but she's kind of brilliant. I'd bet my life that she's changed the fund. Plus, how were you thinking you'd access the money? Does Meredith have a debit card or bank slips?"

Alex shrugs, "I don't know. Probably. Fuck man, we'll figure it all out."

I shake my head. "Look, I'm not trying to freak you out, but I care about Meredith's well-being, and it sounds like to me that neither of you have any plan at all. You're planning on a whim."

"You don't know our situation at all. We have it figured out."

"You don't, though. You're putting your faith in money that will never come. And you're dragging Meredith down with you. Does she know about your master plan?"

"She offered the money up for both of us. Fuck. Her inheritance is in the millions. She has money to spare."

"She doesn't have money to spare if the fund doesn't open until she's thirty. This doesn't sound right, Alex. I have a bad feeling that you're both going to get screwed."

Alex tosses a bit of his cone to pigeon, effectively glaring away from me. "What would your plan be, then? Are you going to adopt both of us?" he laughs snidely.

"I have a place for you guys to stay, for now. You can work, save up some money. In the fall Meredith could go to school in the city. It's not ideal, but it's something."

"And what happens when you grow tired of us?"

"I wouldn't. But if that did happen, you'd have advanced warning. I'm not just going to kick you guys out because I'm sick of you. I'd help you find somewhere better. My apartment isn't that big and having three people in there might drive us all insane."

"You're not going to pin me down like that. If Meredith wants to stay with you, that's her own prerogative. The point of all this isn't just to get away from our shitty lives, but also to see the world. To experience things. I've experienced New York. I've seen it. Your offer is generous, but I think I'd rather just hoof it. I might be broke and I might have no idea where I'm going, but at least I'm gone from where I was."

I nod. "I respect that, but don't hold Meredith back. She might be too afraid to stray from you because then she'll be alone, but let her know she has other options."

"Who has other options?" she asks from behind us.

I turn slowly and meet her gray eyes; I can't help but smile.

"I'll leave you two lovebirds alone," Alex laughs and heads down the steps.

I stand.

"Hi."

Meredith smiles, "Hey."

I want to hug her.

I want to kiss her.

Meredith moves first and stands on the step two up from mine; we're close but not touching. She's nearly as tall as me from this vantage point. Without a moment's pause, she reaches out and wraps her arms around my waist. I carelessly throw my arms around her shoulders and pull her closer. It's been six weeks and I've missed her. Her skin smells of flowers and sunlight and she's warm in my arms. Meredith sighs and runs her hands up and down my back. Even after our fight, it seems the relief of seeing one another again is greater than our anger—or, should I say, her anger.

"I can't believe you're here," I say to her.

She pulls away from me and it takes all my strength to let her go. I run my hand along her hair before breaking all contact. "I'm just as surprised to see you, believe me. When I saw you before, I almost had a heart attack. You also very slyly knocked over a chair. Thanks for that," she grins.

I laugh and find myself coloring again. "It was a stupid move, that's for sure. I hope your mom didn't see me."

"Or me!" she shakes her head. "I don't know what she'd do if she knew I was in DC." Meredith pauses and looks across the monument. "She's sober. You were right."

"Do you know any details?"

"No, only that she's sober. The medical world didn't really know she was a drunk, so she's not publicly announcing her sobriety. I saw an interview with her from May and she looked good then. I think she's probably been sober since the end of March or early April—right after I left."

I smile encouragingly, "That's good, though."

"I have a feeling she did it more for the media than me. She knew she'd be front and center with me gone, so she had to clean up. You can't be passed out among fifty vodka bottles if you're supposed to be looking for your runaway daughter."

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

I can't do anything but agree with her, because I can't do anything but stare at her. She looks good—almost as good as she did in New York. She's still too thin, but the weight loss doesn't make her look sickly anymore. Her eyes are bright with life and she's happy. I can't turn away from her. She smiles and looks away. I'm embarrassing her, but I don't care.

"Should we go somewhere?" I suggest. Meredith's eyes grow wide. "Dinner? Do you want dinner?"

"Are you asking me on a date?" she asks coyly.

"Would you say yes?"

"Yes, but I'm still mad at you for not believing me."

"I know. I'm so sorry, Meredith."

"It's okay, but you'll have to make it up to me."

"I'll start with dinner, okay?"

Meredith smiles wide, "Okay."

We sit across from each other at a pizza place just far enough from the mess of people walking along Pennsylvania Avenue. I didn't know any place to take Meredith, but she wanted pizza, so the choice was easily made. DC pizza pales in comparison to NYC pizza.

"How many times should I apologize for our phone call?" I ask. "Just a ballpark figure," I add with a smirk.

Meredith smiles at me and I swear not a day has passed since she left. "Three times. But you have to mean it."

"Does the first one count?" She thinks for a minute and then nods. "Okay, well then, Meredith, I am so very sorry for what I said to you on the phone. I allowed your mom get to me. I should have just trusted you enough to ask you what had happened. I acted like an idiot." Meredith smiles at me and forgives me. "And, because I'm a fan of blatant honesty, I have to admit that I read your Facebook messages with Alex, which is how I knew about him."

"I know."

"You do? How?"

"I figured it out. You knew all about Alex, but there was no way you could know. My mom didn't even know about Alex and the only communication I had with him—or anyone who knows him—was through Facebook. Also, my friend Izzie always puts up stupid statuses on Facebook for me because I never remember to log out. I figured I forgot on your computer too."

"I'm sorry for that. It was really immature."

Meredith shrugs, "If all of a sudden, I thought you had lied to me and the pieces were lining up to confirm that, I'd be pissed too. I'd probably try to figure out anyway to uncover the truth."

"Why are you being so forgiving?"

"Would you rather I not be?"

"Of course not. I just didn't expect it."

Meredith straightens and leans back against the booth. "I don't have a lot of people in my life who care about me. After my dad died, it seemed like everyone I knew who gave a shit about me died with him. I'm not in the position to turn away those who care." She meets my eye. "I suspect you care or you wouldn't have said those things to me. Maybe I'm wrong, but—"

"You're not wrong," I interrupt. "I care."

"And that's why I'm able to forgive you. Because you do care."

I stare across the table at Meredith and I realize I care much more than I ever thought possible. Just two months ago, I didn't even know her, and now she seems like the greatest connection I have to myself. It seems impossible to not have her in my life and not be able to know where she is at any given moment. I can't fathom allowing her to walk away again. Even if I have to board two teenage runaways, I'll do it if it ensures Meredith will remain safe.

Our waiter delivers our pizza, effectively pulling my stare away from hers. Meredith smiles at the proffered pizza. "God, I'm starving."

I hand her the pie server. "Take as much as you want."

And she does. We both do, actually. Meredith and I manage to finish off the entire pie—both of us eating four slices. I'm so full when the waiter finally takes the pizza tray away; I can barely keep my eyes open as I slip into a food coma.

"I haven't eaten that much since the barbecue we had on the beach with Mark."

I laugh, remembering Mark eating more hamburgers and hotdogs than a small army. Meredith wasn't far behind him.

"How is Mark?"

I immediately remember the fight we had on the side of the highway, and then how he helped me after I thought I learned the "truth" about Meredith. "He's good. Just the same as always."

Meredith nods, knowing Mark well enough to realize he's probably boozing and seducing women.

"Alex seems like a good guy."

"Is this the part when you ask me all the details about Alex?"

Meredith is too smart, which I seemed to forget during her six weeks away. I nod, "Yes. Will you tell me anything?"

"Let's go for a walk because the smell of pizza is making me nauseous. Maybe I'll tell you some things."

We walk along Pennsylvania Avenue and past the White House. I take a picture of Meredith on my phone. It's the first picture I have of her.

"I always hinted I wanted to leave my mom's house. More than hinted—I said it time and time again. Izzie and Cristina wrote it off. Alex knew what I wanted. So while Izzie and Cristina were busy planning their senior year and the following fall at college, Alex and I were figuring out how we could runaway for six months or more without getting caught or dying from exposure or hunger. He had promised to meet me in May when school ended for him, but my mom hit me and I couldn't wait.

"When I left, Alex was a mess. He was so worried for me. He's good like that—playing the older brother card. I had my cell phone back then and he used to text and call every day. But then, I lost my phone and Alex thought I was dead. I called him when I made it to New York, just a few hours before I met you." She smiles slowly. "Even when Alex wasn't here, he was trying to protect me. He's a good guy, Derek. You don't need to worry."

"So what's your plan after DC? Where will you go?"

Meredith shrugs, "I'm not sure. Alex is figuring all that out."

My stomach drops imagining Meredith and Alex blowing through her inheritance. "Alex mentioned something about you two going back to school in the fall?"

"Yeah, maybe. I'll definitely go. I need to finish my degree."

"How would that work? I mean, financially."

"I have money."

I nod, wanting to ask her about her money, knowing the answers. But hedging around the question won't do her any good and I don't know how much time I have before she's gone again. "Alex mentioned your trust fund. The money you'll be using to survive. I'm not sure if you'll actually gain access at eighteen. Your mom could have changed the clause."

"I know."

"You do?"

"I've thought about it. My mom's a brilliant person; it's near impossible that she didn't change the clause."

"Then why are you going through this if the money might not come through?"

"Alex," she shrugs. "What else am I supposed to do?"

I turn and face Meredith, stopping her in her tracks. "Stay with me. Both you and Alex. We'll have you registered at a school in the city, Alex can go to college, and you'll be safe."

"And when I turn eighteen? What happens then? I can't just live with you for the rest of my life Derek."

"Until you get on your feet. You can stay with me and if the money does come through, you leave. If not, you stay."

"That's crazy, Derek."

I shake my head and take hold of her upper arms. "It might have been crazy when I first met you, but I know you now. Just consider it a friend taking care of another friend."

"Friend?" Meredith asks quietly.

"Well, I'm not sure what other definition I have right now."

Meredith reaches up and wraps her fingers around my forearm. Her hand is warm against my skin. All day I've been trying to ignore the thought of her mouth on mine, but it comes rushing back to me now. I remember how desperate we had both been that day and how it had to happen. I needed to kiss her—if only the one time. But now, it seems inevitable that it'll happen again. Our story didn't end on that rooftop; it had just begun.

"Hey!" a voice calls and Meredith steps away.

Alex approaches with his hand waving through the air. "I've been looking for you for hours." Alex smiles at Meredith. "Hey man," he nods at me. "Where have you guys been?"

"We were just catching up." Meredith peeks up at me.

"You wanna hang out a little while longer or—" Alex begins.

"We should go," Meredith nods. She smiles at me.

"Where are you staying?" I ask before they can disappear.

Alex motions behind him, "We set up camp in a park just outside of town. It hasn't been monitored the last few nights, but you have to get in there before dark or they lock the gate."

The sun is just hitting the horizon now.

"You can stay with me," I offer. "I'm staying at the W."

"Whoa big spender!" Alex claps me on the back. "Thanks, but we're good."

"Can I see you tomorrow?" I ask of Meredith more than Alex. "I'm leaving the day after tomorrow and I just want to make sure I see you before I go."

Meredith looks to Alex, who has turned away to give us some privacy, and says, "Yes. Of course."

"How about we meet at the Washington Monument at noon? I'll take you both out to lunch."

"Oh, you don't have to—"

"Sounds good, man," Alex interrupts. "Meredith, we really have to go."

Meredith smiles at me. "We'll see you tomorrow."

"Goodnight, Meredith. See you, Alex."

They both wave their goodbyes and I watch as Meredith retreats to another night spent beneath the stars.