"Hey, I'm just gonna leave now so-" She paused when she entered the room.

Damn.

You idiot.

You stupid idiot.

You stupid, stupid, stupid (loveable) idiot.

"Derek-"

He looked up to find his girlfriend stood in the doorway. He knew what she was going to say, so replied before she could get there, "I'm okay. I can go to work."

"Derek, no. Go back to bed." She instructed with a sigh. She was expecting to kiss a half-asleep boyfriend goodbye and tell him about the soup cans she'd prepared for him, but she was instead greeted with him fully clothed, finishing off getting ready. "You're sick."

"I need to go into work today."

"You have a cold, and you're not even supposed to be working- there is no way I'm letting you go."

"I have a patient." He protested.

"Someone else can deal with them."

"No, they can't."

"Are you telling the truth or are you being stubborn?" She asked as she sat down on the bed, facing him. "Be honest with me about what this is about and I'll let you go without another word if it's the former."

"I have a friend. Every few years, I resect her tumour. She's going away in January and I don't want to do it on Christmas day or Christmas Eve so...I'm doing it today. I have to do it today." He explained. "And I'm feeling a lot better."

She sighed. "Okay. Fine. But you're doing this one thing and nothing else, okay? No being dragged into traumas or taking on new cases? Promise me you're not going to overwork yourself."

He smiled, just a little. "I promise."

"Derek."

"There she is." He said with a grin as he entered the room. "How was your flight?"

"They didn't feed me, which I don't understand."

He looked to George. "Dr O'Malley, this is Dr Crawford."

"We used to work together here before I moved to New York, and I was the only one who never had a crush on him."

He grinned a little. Her being here reminded him of his post-accident life, and that kind of made him smile. On the other hand, it was extremely bittersweet. Despite his emotions, he returned her joke in a happy tone, "Oh, I don't buy that."

She grinned, but didn't reply. They weren't here got a catchup.

"What do we know, O'Mally?"

"Dr Crawford has a pariphaleseum meningioma along the superior saginal sinus. You and previously Dr Silva have operated three times, but it keeps coming back."

He nodded. "It's in dangerous territory; we leave a bit of the tumour each time and go back every couple of years and tune it back up."

"But this is the last time."

He didn't- couldn't speak for a second. "I'm sorry?"

"This is it, Derek." She explained. "I'm done after this."

"Helen-" He sighed.

"The recovery takes forever and it's not like when Jake was around. I go through this by myself now."

"Don't throw in the towel." He begged.

"I'm looking at the situation as it is. I am going to celebrate Christmas now, do this in January, and then I am going to spend the next two years of my life lying on the beach, in the sun." She continued. "The decision is made."

He swallowed, but he didn't know what else to say. He couldn't force her; stab her with anaesthetic once every two years and drag her to an OR.

This was her choice. The wrong choice, but the choice she had made, and one that he couldn't change.

"Hello?"

She smiled at the sound of his voice, even if it didn't quite sound like him due the combination her poor quality phone, and his rough throat. "Hello. How are you feeling?"

"I'm feeling okay. Not amazing, but fine."

"I was talking to George, and he said you'd gone home. I got really worried. Are you sure you're okay?" She said as she settled in their on-call room, alone, in his regular spot.

"Oh, I went home because of the patient- situations...they changed."

"God, don't tell me they changed for the worse. I've had two patients today and lost them both. Please don't tell there's more death around here."

He swallowed. Well, she'd have a few years, but Helen now did have a significantly shortened life, and that was certainly bad news.

"Derek?"

"Oh, sorry- um- we did the scans and sent her home. Every few years she has a little resected, but apparently I removed it all last time because she's tumour-free now. So...yeah, came home because I've got nothing to do there."

She grinned for him. "Wow. That's some pretty incredible news. I'm sure you're so happy."

"Yeah..." He muttered quietly. He would be, if he was telling the truth.

"Anyway, I better leave you to go and rest, make that soup I put on the counter and try and have a bit of a nap, okay?"

"Okay." He agreed half-heartedly.

"Derek, are you sure you're okay? You don't sound very happy."

"No, no. I'm very happy. Just...I think I sound funny because of the cold, you know?"

"Oh, right." She sighed. "Of course. Makes sense."

"Bye, Mer. Try and enjoy the rest of your day."

"I'll do my best." She agreed. "And don't forget that soup!"

"Oh, god-" He sighed the second she entered. "Meredith."

"Last guy-" She sniffled. She'd managed to contain her tears at work and while driving for a safe journey home, but that was it. "He was getting Christmas lights out of the attic for his kids- three kids. He hit his head and-"

"Come here- don't worry about your shoes-"

She would have loved to be polite and express concern for his carpet, but she was far too upset. She fell into the sofa beside him, and the next second his arms were holding onto her.

He rubbed her back slowly. "I know it's horrible. I'm so sorry. But I've got you."

She wiped her nose with her sleeve. "I'm getting tear and nose juice everywhere...I'm sorry." She apologised through her sobs.

He smiled, just a little. "It's okay, I've done the same, getting cold germs everywhere over the house so I really can't judge."

She giggled a little in his arms. He never failed to make her laugh. "Note to self, clean nose juice off of Derek's sofa."

He kissed her. "Sounds like a good idea to me."

"At least your friend is doing okay. At least today went okay for someone."

He pulled her closer. For her, this was for a tighter, more comforting hold. For him, it was to hide his expression, the face he made when he was lying. "Yeah. At least today was a little bit okay for some people. You're right."

She kissed him this time.

"You're gonna get my cold if we keep kissing."

She shrugged. "I missed kissing you too much. I'd take tuberculosis to kiss you, even just once."

"It's pretty."

"I'd love to say thanks for the compliment, but I didn't do it." Meredith said as she joined him in examining her house. It was covered in lights. Too many lights, to be precise.

He smiled as she looked back to him. "I love you."

She smiled back, and sat forwards before leaning a little over the middle of the car, and kissing him. "I love you too."

"So...eight o'clock, yeah?"

She sighed. "Twenty-six hours with no boyfriend."

"You can survive that long without me, Mer."

"Mmm. I'm not convinced. But that's what I'll be doing."

"Minus the calls and texts every hour. At least you kind of have a reason now, seeing as I know you're so worried about me still being a little sick. Otherwise, I'd think you were just mad."

"I thought you got me and my crazy brain?"

"I do. But...I'm glad for your sake. It makes me think your overprotective-girlfriend disease isn't as serious as I thought, you know?"

She smiled. "Derek-"

"Yeah?" He asked, a little surprised by the out-of-blue naming.

"Merry Christmas."

He grinned. "Merry Christmas to you too Mer."