I think I'll be able to get one more update posted before I leave. In the mean time, please read and enjoy Chapter 9 and hit that review button a lot.

Dsiclaimer: I still don't own these characters. That didn't change in twenty minutes.

Chapter 9

A knock resounded from the front door as Meredith stepped into the foyer. Not seeing any maids coming, Meredith strode to the door and pulled the large oak door open, to reveal Mark Sloan standing on her doorstep, wringing his hands. He looked up and smiled at her, as a bewildered smile also spread over Meredith's face.

"Mark, what are you doing here?" she asked, as she ushered him in.

"I think the more important question is why are you answering the door? Have you suddenly become a maid without telling me?"

"Yes, Father's business went sour, so I'm now a maid in my own home."

"How does it pay?" Mark asked, smiling at her.

"Not very well, but I get food to eat and a place to sleep," Meredith replied, playing along with his joke.

"Well, that's always a perk," Mark said, laughing

"So, back to my original question. What brings you here today?" Meredith asked, as she brought him into the parlor. She gestured to a chair and he sat down, while she sat across from him.

"Can't a friend visit a friend?" he asked, his eyes dancing.

"Well, of course, but friends usually don't come so early. We weren't expecting visitors for another few hours."

"Well, I came at the request of your father," Mark said, avoiding her eyes, obviously uncomfortable.

"What? Why did he want you to come?" Meredith asked, the hairs standing on the back on her neck. This wasn't going to be good.

"He… um. Meredith, there's no easy way for me to say this, what with everything that I know about you," Mark said, as he looked down at his hands.

"What's going on, Mark?" Meredith asked, her voice betraying her concern.

"He wanted me to ask you something."

"Yes?"

"Will you be my wife?" Mark asked timidly, as he looked up into her eyes. Meredith's jaw dropped slightly, as the question sunk in. She turned her head, as her stomach turned. After a few moments and a few deep breaths, she turned back to him, a gentle smile on her face.

"I guess I have to give you the only answer I can," Meredith said, as she watched Mark's face drop. "And that is yes."

Mark looked back up at her, as a huge smile lit up his face. Meredith smiled down at him and wrapped her arms around him in a awkward hug.

"Are you sure about this?" Mark asked. "I mean, with Derek and all."

"I don't really have a choice, do I?" Meredith asked, a slight amount of bitterness evident in her voice.

"No, I guess you don't," Mark said, his brow furrowing. He turned his head back to the floor once again. Meredith cupped his chin in her hand and turned his head back up towards her, so she could look into his steel blue eyes.

"But don't think for a second, Mark Sloan, that I will regret this marriage. It is not my ideal marriage, but I will never get my ideal marriage. So know that I will be your wife and I, we, will grow to love each other. Alright?"

"Yes, yes of course," Mark said, as he kissed her gently on the cheek.

"Why me?" Meredith asked, as she pulled away from him. "Why did you ask me?"

"It wasn't me, it was your father and my father. My father threatened to disown me if I didn't marry and your father was worried about you not getting married, so they hatched a plan and here we are."

"Here we are," Meredith said quietly. He gently squeezed her hand.

"When do you want the wedding to be?" he asked.

"I don't want to rush into it. With spring coming upon us, I would really prefer to wait until next spring. A spring wedding just sounds beautiful to me. It's what I've always dreamed of."

"Than a spring wedding is what you will have. You will have everything that you desire."

"You can't give me what I really want," Meredith thought to herself, as she smiled lightly at Mark.

Mark pulled his pocket watch from his jacket and flipped it open. The corners of his mouth turned down.

"I'm so sorry, Meredith, but I really must go. My new career awaits," Mark said as he stood.

"Your new career?" Meredith asked as she looked up at him.

"Yes, since I'm getting married, I need a career to support my new family."

"You started working for me?" Meredith asked, as she got to her feet and walked to Mark.

"I didn't think of it like that, but I guess I did."

"You are going to be a wonderful husband," Meredith said, as she gave him a light kiss on the cheek.

"I certainly hope so," Mark said, as he smiled down at her. They walked to the door and Meredith opened it.

"Good day, Mark," she said.

"Good day, Meredith," he replied, as he stepped out the door. Meredith closed it behind him and leaned against the cool wood, completely and utterly shocked.

Thatcher Grey proudly announced the engagement of his daughter, Meredith, to the dashing Mark Sloan today. No date has been set yet, but be sure that it will be quite the extravagant ceremony. It may even outshine the impending wedding of Derek Sheperd and Addison Montgomery. We will all just have to wait and see.

Derek's hands shook as he read and reread the newspaper article, his anger rising each time. The words seemed to glare up at him and he fought the urge to rip the paper to shreds. How could she do this to him? How could she betray him so? And Mark, his mind couldn't even form the words to show how he felt about Mark. He had never felt so miserable in his whole life and that just fueled his anger more. He paced, he threw his glass, he did everything he could think of, but nothing could calm him. Nothing would, with the exception of talking to her and figuring out what exactly was going on. He threw on his coat, clutched the paper in his hand, and walked out the door into the dark night. He was going to find out what was going on, even if it meant going to her. As he walked, his anger continued to gnaw at him and he fumed even more, clutching the paper tighter and tighter in his hand. He finally reached the Grey house and climbed up the trellis that he had begun to know so well. He pushed on the window, hoping it would be unlocked like every time before, but to his surprise, it wasn't. He rapped his knuckles on the window and a few moments later, Meredith opened the window.

"What are you doing?" she whispered, as she backed away from the window, allowing Derek in. As he stepped in, he handed her the paper. As she read, the corners of her mouth turned into a frown and her eyes fell.

"Derek, I'm so sorry. I wanted to tell you, so you wouldn't have to find out like this, but-"

"But you couldn't find the time to tell the man you love that you're engaged , so that he wouldn't have to find out by reading the newspaper," he hissed at her, his anger darkening his eyes.

"How am I the one at fault in this situation?" Meredith hissed back. "You're getting married, too. You can't expect my life not to continue on as it would have before just because I'm with you, Derek."

"But that's different," Derek stated.

"How so? Tell me, Derek, how this is so different from what you did to me."

"What I did to you? You came into this knowing full well that I was going to be married. My engagement didn't happen after we were together."

"So that makes us being together before not as bad, because you weren't the one being hurt, because you weren't the one having to watch the person you loved be with someone else and know that you could never be with them. That made us being together before not as bad because you could just have the pleasure and none of the guilt. I understand, Derek. This whole situation was alright as long as you got what you wanted and didn't get hurt in the process."

"So why are you still with me, if it was so hard for you to bear?" Derek sneered at her.

"Because I love you. And that love overpowered every other thing that was standing in the way of my being with you. But if you're not willing to do the same for me, I don't think this can continue."

Derek stared at her, as he felt all air leave his body. It felt as if he had been run down by a train.

"How can you even say that?" he asked, his voice cracking slightly.

"Because, Derek, I have put so much on the line for you, but you don't seem willing to do the same for me. I can't give you my heart if you're not willing to give me yours."

"Meredith, my heart is in your hands. How can you not understand that?"

"If that's true, then why did you come here to yell at me about my engagement," Meredith said, eyeing him coldly.

"Because I don't want you with any other man, especially Mark."

"Couldn't I say the exact same thing to you?"

Derek stopped short, as he received another sharp blow. His stupidity suddenly became real to him.

"I…" he struggled to find the right words to make this all go away. She looked away from him, not letting him see the tears he had caused to form in her eyes.

"Good night, Derek," she said in a quivering voice, as she continued to refuse to look at him. His shoulders slumped, as he started to walk to the window. He cursed himself for letting his anger get the best of him, cursed himself for saying the things he did. He glanced over at her and his heart tore. He couldn't stand the fact that he had hurt her. In that moment, he hated himself more than he ever had before.

"Meredith…" he started.

"Good night," Meredith said strongly. But that was far from how she felt. It felt as if her world had been pulled out from under her feet. All in one day she became engaged, fought with the man she loved, and found out she was pregnant. The stress became too much to bear and her stomach turned violently several times, making her feel like she was going to be sick at any moment. She clutched the bed frame as the room started spinning and Derek's back became blurry. Black began to outline her field of vision, as she felt her knees become weaker and weaker.

"Derek," she faintly whispered, as her knees finally gave way. Derek turned and grabbed her, just before she crashed to the floor.