Meredith pressed the gas petal down with her foot as she accelerated out of her driveway. Derek had told her to pick him up at Erin's apartment at twelve. Driving out of Queen Anne, she headed towards downtown Seattle. The music playing from the radio cut through the silence in the car like a machete. Humming softly to herself, she forced her mind to stay focused on driving instead of letting it stray to the many things troubling it.

She drove down Second Avenue, her finish line in reach. Nearing Erin's apartment, she stopped at a light, carefully reaching over the middle consul to grab her cell phone out of her purse. She pressed speed dial two, calling Derek to tell him to go downstairs (she was not in the mood to make polite, awkward conversation with Erin). When the light turned green, she pressed her foot on the petal, accelerating down the last few streets of her journey.

As she pulled up to the sidewalk, she noticed Derek leaning against the building, clad in a blue sweater and a pair of jeans. He smiled upon noticing her, pushing himself off the building and he began to walk towards the car.

"Hey," he grinned, sliding into the passenger's seat.

"Hi."

"What movie are we going to see?" he questioned.

"I don't know. I thought we could just get some lunch then head over to the theater and see what's playing."

"Good plan."

They sat quietly as Meredith drove through Seattle. She parked near Pike Place Market where they quickly got out of the car. She quickly tugged at her tight, pale green sweater, trying to force it a little further down her slender hips. Not looking where she was going, Meredith accidentally tripped over the sidewalk. "Ah!" she cried, falling forward. Derek quickly stepped in, catching her in his stable arms.

"Careful," he chided lightly with a smile. She smiled slightly, regaining her balance and stepping out of his arms, trying to calm her rapidly beating heart. They continued side-by-side until they decided on a lunch spot. Sitting down at a table for two, they were handed menus.

"Is Erin okay with you missing a full day where you could be wedding planning to hang out with me?" she asked, trying to contain her sarcasm.

"The whole wedding planning thing is her thing," sighed Derek running his fingers through his raven locks. "She's pretty much told me my only jobs are to handle the financing, pick my grooms men-if they get pre-approved by her-and show up in good health."

"So you're not involved in planning your own wedding at all?" questioned Meredith.

He shook his head. "Nope. Not really. You know me. I don't care about all the flowers and crap. I'd be happy to just get married at city hall."

"Yeah," she exhaled, placing the menu on the white cloth-covered table. She actively tried to push the thoughts that Derek's position on marriage were the same as hers out of her head. He's with Erin, she thought. He's with Erin. He's with Erin. There was an awkward pause, the silence falling on the table like a ton of bricks. Their eyes met momentarily before darting in opposite directions.

"So…" Derek breathed, attempting to break the silence.

"So…" she echoed, twisting the light metal watch that rested on her wrist.

"You avoided me for months," he accused softly, trying to meet her eyes.

"I did not."

"Meredith."

"Derek," she countered.

"I know what you're like when you avoid people. You've been my best friend for over ten years. I could tell you were avoiding me. Just…talk to me," pleaded Derek.

"I…you won't understand but, you're the one person I can't talk about this with. Please just, respect that. Maybe one day I'll be able to tell you but for now, can you just drop it?"

He sighed, resting his hand over hers. "Okay," he nodded. "Okay."

"Thank you," she whispered, getting momentarily lost in his blue orbs.

"What can I get you?" the waiter asked softly, approaching the table. They quickly ordered their lunches, handing the plastic covered menus back to the waiter.

"So, we haven't just talked, the two of us, in a long time," he said pleasantly, not meaning to accuse her of avoiding him again. "What's been happening in the life of Meredith Grey?"

"Really nothing…I've just been working."

"Any good cases?"

"Derek, you're my department head," she laughed. "You'd know if I got a good case."

"Right," said Derek, laughing uncomfortably. Meredith turned her head down, fiddling with the cool metal enclosing her wrist. He was her best friend. They weren't supposed to be so awkward. "Oh!" he exclaimed having thought of a new topic to pull out of the awkward silence. "Didn't you have a date last week with some guy?"

"Oh…yeah."

"Didn't go well?" he assumed by the tone of her voice.

"I…I'm…no."

"What? It sounded like you were going to say something…"

"No," she shook her head quickly. "It just didn't work out."

"Oh. I'm sorry."

"It's okay…it wasn't right or whatever…"

"You deserve to be happy," he grinned, laying his hand over hers. Derek stroked the back of her hand with his thumb and smiled at her reassuringly. Their steaming food was placed in front of them and they ate quickly, making slightly awkward conversation before leaving for the movie.

XXX

"Are you kidding?" she giggled, walking out of the darkened theater, her upper arm bumping lightly against Derek's. "It was hilarious!"

"It was funny… I just didn't think it was that amazing," shrugged Derek. "It made no sense! I mean, they go on a date and suddenly people are chasing them, trying to kill them? That never happens."

"Oh come on Derek," groaned Meredith playfully. "You're ruining it! The point isn't that it could happen…"

"Sorry."

"You're pretty so, I forgive you," she teased.

"So being pretty gets me out of things?"

"It seems to, doesn't it?"

"I have no clue what you're talking about," he said loftily.

"Professor Spears," stated Meredith.

"That so doesn't count. She came on to me!"

"And then she also changed the grade on your paper from an A- to an A?"

Derek rolled his eyes. "Shut up. It's not like you've never done the same thing."

"I have never done that!" she insisted.

"Oh yeah? Professor Binns," he accused.

Meredith opened her mouth to protest but instead sighed in defeat, knowing not to even try. "Yeah… you got me there."

"Ha."

They exited the building, stepping out into the breezy fresh air and beginning to walk through the concrete jungle towards Meredith's Jeep. A comfortable silence engulfed them as they walked, wrapping around them like a snuggly blanket.

"Let me drive," he suggested as they approached the Jeep.

"No. My car, I drive," insisted Meredith.

"Come on," pouted Derek, approaching the driver's seat door. He leaned against the door, crossing his arms across his chest.

"No."

"Please?"

"No…why do you want to drive anyways?" she questioned.

"No reason."

"Seriously. Tell me!"

"I just like driving."

"Lie," accused Meredith.

"Not."

"Come on. Just tell me."

"I just like to drive."

"Control freak," she accused lightly.

"I am not!"

"Oh come off it, Derek." He glared at her playfully. "I'm driving," she insisted, shoving him lightly out of her way. "Let's go." He groaned buoyantly, walking around to the passenger side of the car. Meredith shoved the key in the ignition, turned it and put the car in reverse. She drove out of the parking lot and out towards Derek's apartment.

"This was fun," smiled Derek.

"Yeah, it really was," she agreed whole-heartedly. For the first time since he'd confessed that he asked Erin to marry him, she felt like they were simply best friends for an afternoon.

"We should go back to our weekly thing," he suggested.

"What weekly thing?"

"You know, back in college and med school; on Sundays. We used to go to that little bakery, get coffee and cheesecake. I'd tell you that it was weird…"

"To eat cheesecake at ten in the morning," she finished for him, grinning.

"And you'd say that it was calcium so, it was okay." Meredith turned her head towards him slightly, laughing at the memory.

"It'd be fun to start that again," she agreed.

"So, it's a deal? Sundays at ten?"

She turned her head to smile at him briefly as the street light turned red. "Sundays at ten." Meredith drove forwards as a light flashed green, only getting a few feet before hearing the crunching of metal. They were quickly engulfed by the suffocating blackness, forcing them out of consciousness.

You're my best friend
Ooo, you make me live
I've been wandering round
But I still come back to you
In rain or shine

XXX

A/N: So? What did you think? It's going to be a bit of a wild ride from here on out. You ready? Hold on tight! Oh, and yeah, comment? It'll convince me to update faster 'cause I have no confidence :)