The Ga on call room

He Finally Called

Lachlan had called. Lachlan had called, which meant that Meredith could finally relax, so with her mind at ease she decided to meet Cristina at Joe's for a drink, the next day.

Truth be told, Meredith had felt kind of guilty for neglecting her person since she had come back to Seattle, nearly three weeks ago. She had been busy helping Izzie, catching up with Lexie, and then the drama with Lachlan, she hadn't really taken the time to see Cristina. Meredith didn't want to admit it, but over the last four years, and the last three weeks, it had become apparent to her that she and Cristina were not as close as they had been. For some reason, it was Izzie that Meredith had formed a stronger friendship with, but that didn't mean that she wasn't hurt over the disconnection between her and Cristina. So that was why she was so determined to spend some time with her, even if it wouldn't have be liked it used too.

However, as Meredith looked at her watch, from her position on Joe's barstool, she began to wonder if Cristina was going to even show up. It was nine o'clock already, and they were supposed to meet at eight thirty so Meredith just assumed that Cristina had been caught up in a surgery.

As she reached for her tequila, Meredith felt someone slip into the barstool next to her, as she turned to look; she realized that it was Derek. They caught each other's eye and Meredith felt her breath stop. Over the last couple of days, Meredith hadn't found herself thinking about Derek too much, which was unusual since arriving back in Seattle. She had just been so worried and guilty about Lachlan that she hadn't had time to think about the dreamy surgeon. However, that was about to change.

Derek was the first one to speak.

"Hey Mer, how are you doing?'' he asked softly.

"Much better." Meredith smiled.

"So you finally heard from Lachlan?" Derek asked, deciding to pretend Mark hadn't told him anything.

"Yeah. He just got caught up with some stuff, and his friend who died... his mother needed Lachlan for a little while."

"It's good that he still keeps in touch with her." Derek said.

"Oh, well, he'll keep in touch with her forever, Becca was practically a second mother to him." Meredith replied. "Lachlan would never forget about her."

" He sounds like a good guy Mer. I'm glad that you found someone like that." Derek told her. It was partially the truth, he was glad she was happy, but he really wished that it was with him.

"When he wants to be.'' Meredith joked. "You know, you'll get to meet him, he's coming out for the wedding."

Crap. Derek had completely forgotten about that. He hadn't even thought about Lachlan coming out for the wedding. Well, he thought, it's only fair that I have to see her with Lachlan, she's put up with Rose for this long.

And the triangle becomes a square.

"I look forward to seeing the man that's made you so happy." Derek lied.

Meredith raised her eyebrows questioningly, " I don't know if I really believe you, but thanks anyway." Meredith laughed.

"You know me too well." Derek smiled. "No, actually a part of me does mean it. You deserve to be happy, especially after what I put you through."

They shared a few minutes of peaceful silence, and relished the comfortable vibe between them.

"Do you ever think that what we had wasn't as big as we thought it was?" Meredith suddenly asked, looking up from her drink. "I mean, if we were truly the loves of each other's lives wouldn't we have worked it out. Sometimes I get scared that we mistook lust for love."

Derek looked on in shock. He knew that there was no real truth to her words, not that he believed anyway, he had no idea why she had thought that all of a sudden.

"No I don't believe that Meredith." Derek told her frankly. "You...we may not ever be together again, but...you...you'll always be the one that got away, the love of my life, that will never change.

At her alarmed look, Derek continued. "I don't expect anything to come out of what I just said Mer. You've moved on and I ...I don't intend to ruin that for you, but I don't want you thinking that we were something cheap. Everything I said to you when we were together was one hundred percent true. I may not have backed up my words, but I meant them. Can I ask what caused you to suddenly come up with these doubts?"

"I don't know, I've just been thinking about things these last few days...last few months actually..." Meredith muttered. " I guess being back here got me thinking about the past, thinking about if we had tried harder..."

Derek didn't need Meredith to continue, he knew exactly what had got her thinking about their relationship, it was what had been going on with Lachlan. The situation was now reversed. Meredith now knew how Derek had felt when she refused to communicate and let him in. However, Meredith hadn't run away like Derek had. Perhaps if Derek hadn't walked away, they would still be together. If Meredith hadn't ignored him when she needed him most, they would have got through things and would have had a future.

"Just because we didn't work out, does not mean that we didn't love each other. Do you remember what you told me that night you came back? We both made mistakes Meredith. We both were too stubborn to try and fix them. Maybe, our timing just wasn't right, maybe if we had met at different stages in our lives, things would have been different." Derek didn't really believe everything he was saying, because he knew that it wouldn't have mattered when he met Meredith, he still would have loved her, still would have wanted her forever

"I'm just so sorry that I couldn't give you what you wanted." Meredith whispered.

"I'm sorry that I never told you that it was just you that I wanted. I let the materialistic things get in the way." Derek told her.

Meredith needed Derek to understand that she was sorry. She now knew what it felt like to be on the outside looking in. The last few days of Lachlan's avoidance had reminded her of that. No one deserved to watch someone they loved to not want their love. She wanted to tell Derek about Lachlan, but she just couldn't. She didn't want Lachlan to find out that she had been talking to her ex-boyfriend about their personal life. She could only imagine his reaction. Plus, she was cared to let Derek in. If she did that, things would change between them.

Meredith sighed as she looked at Derek, while he just tilted his head to the side and studied her face.

" Maybe we're just star-crossed lovers, we've had every dramatic thing possible happen to us, maybe we're one for the books." Meredith told him.

"Never assume that we've had every dramatic thing happen to us, because the minute you assume, you're proven wrong." Derek replied.

Meredith smiled softly, "I guess you're right."

"Of course I am."

"There goes that ego again."

Just as Derek was about to respond, a voice interrupted.

"Well isn't this cozy?''