Meredith felt immensely guilty for the way she'd blown off Derek earlier that day. She realized that he just wanted to know what was wrong but he was the one person she couldn't tell. Walking up to the nurse's station, she passed a patient's chart back to the charge nurse, flashing her a polite smile before turning away. As she turned, she almost ran right into a thin brunette. "Erin!" she exclaimed, surprised. Erin stood in front of her, her designer dress hugging her slender body; her perfectly straightened, silky brown hair fell over her shoulders.

"Hi Meredith," Erin smiled tightly. "Have you seen Derek? I can't find him anywhere." She crossed her arms over her chest, the silver, diamond set, band sparkling in the light as her arm moved.

"Derek? No. Haven't seen him."

"Oh," she frowned. "Well, if you see him. Tell him I'm looking for him."

"Sure."

"Hey," said Derek, surprised, as he approached Erin. He leaned in and kissed her cheek gently. "What are you doing here?"

"I thought I'd meet you for lunch."

"I actually have some time," he said. "Want to join us, Mer?"

"Join you? No. I… can't. I have… surgeries. Lots and lots of surgeries."

"You're not on the board," he informed her.

"Umm… emergency," she nodded quickly. "I'm… I've got to go. I'll see you later."

"Come for drinks at Joe's tonight," he suggested. "I know you get off at eight."

"I'm tired," said Meredith. "I really just want to go home and sleep."

"Just one drink?" he pleaded, desperation gleaming in his eyes. "I need to ask you something anyways."

Meredith sighed, he was extremely hard to say no to. "One drink." With that she started to jog away.

XXX

Meredith walked into the dimly lit bar, chimes sounding as the door opened. The scent of cigarette smoke and alcohol tickled her nose as she walked further into the bar. Light cascaded down her golden curls and the dull lights illuminated her soft skin. A tight, green sweater hugged her curves perfectly, earning her the stares of a few lone men in the bar. Noticing her, Derek waved her over to his and Erin's table. She nodded softly, going to the bar first to get a tequila shot "Hey Joe," she greeted the bartender.

"Hey Mer," he smiled, resting his hands on the counter in front of him. "What can I get you?"

She sighed. "One tequila shot and a beer."

"Only one tequila shot? You going soft on me."

"No. I'm supposed to be here with a… friend. An uncomfortable gathering. I need a shot of the hard stuff to just get me started."

Joe nodded in understanding, reaching for the tequila and pouring the shot. "Here you go," he smiled, sliding the shot glass across the bar counter.

Meredith took the glass gratefully, the amber liquid sloshing as she raised it to Joe as a cheer before tipping her head back and downing the whole thing. "Thanks, Joe," she sighed, accepting the beer he'd placed next to her, gratefully, before walking back to Erin and Derek.

"Hey," Derek smiled.

"Hi."

"Hello Meredith," said Erin politely, stroking Derek's forearm.

"Hi."

"What's new, Mer? I haven't really talked to you in a long time," he questioned.

"Nothing is new; nothing new at all. Just…work. A lot of work."

"That's how Derek is," Erin cut in. "Always working, this one. Well, of course we're also planning our wedding."

"Yeah, of course," nodded Meredith uncomfortably.

"I need to ask you something," said Derek seriously, turning towards his best friend.

"Sure."

"Will you be my best man?"

She let out a laugh. "Best man? Derek, if you haven't noticed, I'm a girl."

"I know," he said, rolling his eyes playfully. "You're my best friend. I wouldn't want anyone else standing next to me."

"I…um…"

"Come on. You have to say yes." He gave her a dazzling, 'McDreamy' smile. "I'm getting married."

"Um… sure. I'll do it."

"Great," Erin exclaimed, unenthusiastically, trying to smile. "Now, we've got the bridal party and the groom's party so, we can start looking at dresses and tuxes. Oh Meredith, I thought it'd just be darling if you wore a woman's tux. You know, kind of a little joke with you being Derek's best man and all."

Meredith stared at her with a blank expression. A tux? "That sounds…" like an awful idea. "…Cute."

"I'll be right back," said Erin. "I need to use the ladies room." She stood up gracefully, tugging at her pencil skirt, and made her way to the back of the bar.

"What would you say to a movie or something tomorrow?" Derek asked immediately after Erin was out of earshot. "I need a break from all this wedding planning. Just you and me, like old times."

She paused before answering; "Sure," Meredith smiled softly, taking a swig of her beer. "That sounds fun."

"Great."

XXX

An hour later, Meredith watched as Derek and Erin walked out of the bar, her hand tucked snuggly in the crook of his elbow. Sighing she walked up to the bar and sat at a stool. "Hit me, Joe," she said sadly. He neared her and poured the amber liquid into a shot glass. It hit the table with a thump, the liquid slopped in the small glass. Her hand closed around the glass and put it to her head, downing the liquid in one gulp.

"Do you want to talk about it?" questioned Joe. "It is half a bartender's job to lend a sympathetic ear."

"No thanks, Joe. Tonight I just want to drink."

"Hey," she heard a husky male voice say from behind her. Turning her head, she saw a burly man walking to sit beside her. His leather coat stretched against his broad, t-shirt covered chest; his tight jeans disappeared into a pair of short, black boots. His Cheshire cat grin sparkled dully in the dim bar lights and his previously blonde hair was darker with specks of gray.

"Hey," she smiled lazily at him. In college, she'd slept with Mark Sloan once, a drunken one-night stand the next morning, doing the walk of shame, she met Derek in his kitchen. Since, Mark had been the one she leaned on when she couldn't lean on Derek.

"What happened now?" he questioned, waving to Joe for a beer.

"Derek asked me to be his best man."

"You? You can't be his best man!" asked Mark, surprised. Meredith glared at him, doing another shot. "Sorry, not the point. Why is that bad?"

"Why is it bad to be the best man at the guy I'm-in-love-with's wedding?"

"Touché. It won't be that bad. And if it is, I'll be there with booze after the ceremony to make it all better."

"Why do you put up with me?" she smiled.

"Well you're a good lay," he teased, earning a punch in the arm. "And, that's what friends do. Anyways, if I wasn't, I'd loose my wing-woman."

"Yeah you would."

"Speaking of that…hot blonde at two o'clock." Meredith looked to the side discretely to see a blonde haired woman with a large chest standing with some friends. Meredith nodded at him, standing up uneasily and walking towards the woman. She tapped her lightly on the shoulder, flashing her a bright smile.

"Have you met Mark?" she questioned sweetly, patting Mark's shoulder. He swooped in, thanking her silently as he moved in on his prey. Being Mark's wing-woman wasn't her favorite thing in the world but, he took good care of her, listening to her problems, making sure she always made it home without doing something stupid; being his wing-woman was her way of repaying him.

I'll be there and I'll cover you