Summary: After her disastrous fling with Deluca, Meredith never expected to meet Cormac Hayes. The two of them reignited feelings in each other that they haven't felt since their spouses passed away.

Chapter 1: The Beginning of Something

Meredith has been through more loss than most people would deem fair, but thankfully, her life turned around. It took a few years, and a couple of first-time relationships after Derek's death but she finally found the one for her after the failed fling with Andrew Deluca. She thought she was in love with him, but she was more in love with the idea of love before she met the second greatest man in her world.

But there was something she had yet to tell Cormac about the end of her and Deluca, but she was afraid of what he might do. You see, Andrew got very violent when she had told him he was just like his father regarding denying his illness. She had bruises for weeks all over her torso, and handprints around her neck. He may have been a fling but she couldn't believe he had beat her. The was the real reason they had broken up. She wasn't sorry that they ended, and she had cared a great deal about Deluca, but there was nothing he could say that could have justified his actions towards her.

Meredith was greatful she had met the man who reignited passion and feelings she hasn't felt since Derek. It felt amazing. She didn't think she would find that again. She hadn't wanted to because it felt like she had been cheating on Derek. But she couldn't deny how she felt about Cormac, and she didn't want to. He was everything. He was almost too good to be true but, like Derek always said, she needed to take the rest on faith.

Cormac Hayes, the Cheif of Pediatric Surgery turned her world on its head. It's been six years since Derek's death, and three since Cormac's wife, Abigail's death. Meredith and Cormac had been hanging out for months since the failed fling with Andrew, and then, she had the Coronavirus and slipped into a coma for three weeks. It was hell, but at least she got to say goodbye to her deceased loved ones, and with Derek's blessing, Meredith felt she could finally move on with her life.

She was pretty sure they now knew about the bruises and the abuse she suffered during the last weeks of the fling with Deluca. She was dreading waking up and answering the endless questions about what had happened, but she would be honest. Everyone in the hospital was her family, and they deserved the truth.

It may sound bad, but Meredith was glad Deluca could no longer hurt her. Granted, when she saw him on the beach while she was in the coma, she knew he was dead. She was sorry he was gone but she was relieved that she wouldn't have to live with seeing him again, wondering when he was going to hurt her again. Thankfully, Meredith no longer had anything to worry about.

Anyway, Meredith had also met Abigail, and she told Meredith to love Cormac. That he needed her. That he loved her but he was scared that Meredith would die before they could become something more. That gave Meredith the strength to fight for her life, because she wasn't done living her life, and loving her children, and she wasn't done loving Cormac. It took her a while to admit that she loved him. The last thing Abigail requested of her was for Meredith to love Liam and Austin like they were her own.

Meredith already knew she loved those boys. The few time that Cormac and she hung out, they were with their children most of the time. They got along well. Hell, Zola and Bailey wanted to bring the boys to their school for Show and Tell. Cormac and Meredith laughed and smiled so much when they heard that, but the boys agreed.

Anyway, after she had awoken from the coma, Cormac's face was the first one she saw, she told him that she loved him. He was stunned at first before he smiled this truly beautiful smile, and kissed her, not caring that she wasn't given the all-clear yet.

After she was well enough to go home, Meredith told him everything she experienced while in the coma, and thankfully, he didn't think she was crazy when she told him she saw their deceased spouses. If anything, he concluded that Derek and Abigail brought them together. Meredith couldn't help but love him, even more, when he said that. She agreed. They connected on a level that only very few people could relate to.

It was amazing to feel like this again. They never thought they would feel like this again, but they loved it. And when they told their kids that they were officially dating, Cormac and Meredith sat there stunned when they were told it was about time. They didn't think their kids would have taken their relationship so calmly, but they were relieved. They did make sure that the kids knew that they weren't trying to take the place of their father or mother.

It turned out they had nothing to worry about. Their children were wonderful and told them that just because they were happy with someone else, doesn't mean that they were taking away from Derek or Abigail's memory. They knew Cormac and Meredith loved each other, but they also knew that they didn't love their father or mother any less.

Since they told their kids about them, they have gone out quite a bit but they haven't gone any further because they were nervous, and they kept getting paged to the hospital before they had the chance to go to the second base. They weren't in a hurry to make love, but they wanted to show each other how they felt, physically. They were nervous but ready.

It was wonderful to feel this way again. It felt like they were flying. They no longer felt like they were cheating on their deceased spouses. Meredith and Cormac knew they could lose each other any moment, at any time, so they took it day by day and enjoyed being together.