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Derek honestly didn't know what he should do. He felt like such an idiot now. He had let Meredith go so many times – he had made so many mistakes that forced her to want to leave.
He wasn't really trying to move on with Rose. She was basically just a distraction so that Meredith wasn't the only thing on his mind all the time. Now that he was thinking about it, it sounded really awful in his head. He was using her – being unfair to both of them. Since when did he become this guy, he asked himself. He had always been the courteous one, the one with the good manners, the kind one, even when he had a big ego. Then he fell in love with Meredith. He started being an asshole to all the women in his life - treating them unfairly and giving them chances when deep down he knew he should be with Meredith no matter what. He was certain he was in love with Meredith; she was the love of his life.
Then why was he with Rose? Why was he just standing here when he should be chasing her so that she would never leave again?
Derek took a deep breath – in and out. He knew what he had to do. Derek made his way to the fourth floor and walked quickly to the nurse's station. He hoped she was there. He couldn't waste anymore time when the love of his life could be getting on a plane for the opportunity to leave him forever. He really hoped she was there…yes.
"Rose, I need to talk to you."
She replied with some flirty remark. The stupid banter which they called the way to express their feelings for each other. He really had ignored it until now. It didn't matter – unless it was coming from Meredith.
Derek pulled Rose into an empty office. He looked at the clock. Every second that ticked by could be representing a lost chance if he didn't hurry.
"I'm just going to be totally and completely honest with you. And in advance, I'm sorry if I hurt you, but I just need to tell you the truth. I'm still in love with Meredith Grey. I'll be in love with her forever. Things are never going to work out between us. I'm really sorry."
Rose just stood there and smiled for a second. She had seen this coming from day one. She was going to try to take the high road, but that didn't make it hurt any less.
"Ok."
"Ok?"
"Yeah. I knew this was going to happen sooner or later. And because of the hospital gossip, I heard that Meredith had the chief's secretary check her in for her flight online. I'm pretty sure they said it was at eleven."
"Thank you. Bye, Rose."
"Goodbye Derek."
Derek knew the chief was pissed off at him. He left the hospital when he had a surgery. An extremely important surgery that could make him a medical legend. But it didn't matter to him anymore. Running after Meredith mattered. Becoming her boyfriend again, and later a husband, and maybe even the father of her children was way more important to him than becoming someone who med students would read about in their textbooks.
He was driving down a highway, towards the airport. He really didn't have a lot of time left if Rose was telling the truth. He really wasn't sure if she was or not. She could have done it out of anger. But he had to believe that she was being the bigger person – taking the high road. He really hoped she was.
Once he got to the airport, Derek pulled into the closest parking spot that he could get to a terminal. Then, he started sprinting through the pouring rain to no particular destination. He had no idea where he was going. He just was holding on to that piece of hope that he could maybe catch a glimpse of the love of his life so he could make things better.
Derek waited in a short line in his soaking wet scrubs – he had no time to change at work – and finally purchased a ticket to Boston.
"Sir, you should probably hurry. The flight begins to board in about twenty minutes."
Ok, he could do this. It was a big airport, but he could find his way. It couldn't be any more confusing than the airports in New York, right?
Just as if he had jinxed himself, he got lost right after he made it through security. There was no way he had time to get to the plane. It was way too late. He thought he would just buy a coffee and go back to work, maybe even reschedule his surgery. She would come back though, wouldn't she? He had to hope even through all of his disappointment. Derek just stood in the middle of the airport and waited to think of his next move.
"Excuse me!"
Someone had almost just run into him. Probably just late for a flight. He couldn't blame them; he would be running into all these people too if he actually knew where he was going. But that voice had sounded really familiar. With the last bit of hope he had, Derek turned his head to see Meredith running to make her flight. It had to be her – her blonde hair was unmistakable and she was wearing that lavender sweater that she looked so good in.
Derek ran – sprinted as fast as he could after her. Knowing Mer, she was probably lost too, and he would venture to say that he would be the luckiest man alive if she missed her flight and they had to stay in the airport together. Maybe that would be enough time to convince her to take him back.
"Meredith!"
He caught her right before she was about to walk through the door to get on the plane. She turned around in shock and had almost dropped all of the clutter she was trying to hold onto.
Meredith saw him – Derek. This couldn't be happening…why was this happening?
"What are you doing here? And why are you soaking wet?"
Derek really hadn't believed that he was actually going to catch her. He didn't know what to say. He was so stupid. Had he made it all this way to just stare at her and watch her get on the plane to Boston?
"I ran through the rain because I need to talk to you." Stupid, he thought, you couldn't come up with anything better than that?
"I'm a little busy right now," she replied sarcastically. Why was he here?
"Meredith. I came here to tell you that I'm in love with you. I always have been in love with you. And you were in love with me too. You still might be, I think that you are. But I was really stupid and broke you trust when I didn't tell you about Addison. And then we got back together and I told you that I couldn't breathe for you. Then I betrayed you again by dating Rose when I told you that I would wait for you. But the thing is, I want to breathe for you. Every day of your life. Every day of our life together. And I don't even care about marriage or kids as long as I have you. Please don't leave because I want to spend the rest of my life with you, Meredith Grey. I love you. I'll love you forever."
"Derek…"
"Please don't go."
"That's the thing. I really don't want to go now. You come here and say all these wonderful things to me, and I want to believe you. I really do. But you always say stuff so I'll come back to you, and then you never want to follow up on those promises. And I do love you, Derek, I really do. But one week, you're telling me that you'll wait for me. The next, you tell me that you want to build a house, get married, and have kids, but you weren't sure if you could wait any longer. And now, you're telling me that all you need is me. I'm not sure what to believe. It messes with my head."
"Miss, you really need to board, the plane needs to get on the runway in five minutes," the man at the ticket counter said politely.
Meredith turned around to walk on the plane.
Derek was about to break down. Was this really happening?
"Meredith, please."
Meredith looked at him with tears in her eyes. She wanted this. Her sessions with Dr. Wyatt had gotten her ready, and now, looking into Derek's eyes, she wanted him to be her husband; she was wondering what their beautiful babies would look like. The ones with Derek's hair and her eyes. She had to stop thinking like that though. It was time to work. At least that's what the voice in her head was telling her.
"Derek," she looked into those deep, ocean blue eyes that were so uniquely his, "Mass Gen offered me a job, and I'm going to look. I need to get on this plane."
She turned her back completely to him and didn't look back as she walked on the plane. Meredith couldn't look back, or she might change her mind.
Hope you guys liked it...hopefully, I'll have the next chapter up by the weekend :)
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