"Hey, Mer," Andrew smiled as he knocked on the doorframe to her classroom. "You ready to go?"
"Yeah," Meredith smiled, sliding into her coat. "How was your day?"
"Crazy," he rolled his eyes. "Apparently Valentine's Day is just another excuse for kids to eat as much sugar as they possibly can."
Meredith laughed as she moved to stand in front of him. "Pretty much every holiday is an excuse for sugar," she laughed.
"Right," Andrew nodded, reaching out to push some hair behind her hair. "Happy Valentine's Day."
Meredith smiled as she leaned forward to press her lips against his. "You too," she whispered.
"You ready to get out of here?"
"Definitely," she smiled.
"Good," he said, reaching out to take her hand.
"So where are we going?" Meredith asked as he led her out of the school.
"That's for me to know and you to find out," Andrew laughed, opening the passenger door to his car for her.
"I got it," she said as she slid into the seat, pulling the door closed before he could. Derek knew she hated that. He never opened her door.
"So you've really never celebrated Valentine's Day before?" Andrew asked as they pulled out of the parking lot.
"Never been dating anyone on Valentine's," Meredith shrugged. "It's not a big deal."
"Well, I'll make sure your first Valentine's Day is amazing," Andrew promised as he reached for her hand.
"It's much appreciated," she smiled as he pulled up in front of her house. "We're at my house," she observed.
"We are," Andrew nodded.
"Why...why are we here?" Meredith frowned.
"Go in and see," he laughed.
"Fine," Meredith sighed as she moved into the house, meeting Lexie and Izzie in the living room. "Do you know what's going on?"
"That new boyfriend of yours barged in here earlier," Lexie said. "We're not allowed into your room."
Meredith frowned as she turned to the stairs, running up to her room, here breath catching in her throat as she looked at the beautiful red dress that hung from the back of the bathroom door. An envelope rested on the bed, and she reached for it with shaking hands.
"What do you think?" Andrew's voice asked from the door.
"I...a spa?" Meredith frowned. "And the dress is beautiful, but..."
"I thought you might like a massage, maybe a facial," Andrew smiled as he stepped closer to her. "To put you in the mood for our date tonight."
"Date," Meredith stated.
Andrew smiled as he reached for the dress on the back of the door. "Go to the spa, relax," he said, handing her the dress. "Then put this on. I'll pick you up there at seven, okay?"
"Okay," Meredith said, hesitantly reaching for the dress.
"Good," Andrew smiled. "I'll see you in a couple hours."
"Right," Meredith said, looking down at the dress in her hands. Valentine's Day. It was Valentine's Day, and she was spending it with the man that she was quickly falling for. But as much as she could feel herself falling for Andrew, there was still that annoying voice in the back of her head that told her she should be with Derek today.
XXXXX
"This is amazing," she breathed a few hours later, her muscles relaxed and her face pampered as she sat on the top of a ferryboat in the harbor later that night.
"I figure I'd go all out for your first Valentine's," Andrew smiled as he held his wine glass out to hers.
"It's perfect," she smiled, looking down at the neatly set table in front of her. "I can't believe you did this."
"Well, it may have something to do with my desire to win you over," Andrew confessed as he leaned closer to her. "How am I doing?"
Meredith giggled as she took his hand. "You're doing very well," she nodded.
"Good," he nodded.
"Although you're setting a pretty high bar for yourself," Meredith sighed. "I don't know how you'll top this."
"You'd be surprised," Andrew smiled.
"Well, I can't wait to see that," Meredith smiled.
Andrew laughed, then looked at her carefully as he sobered. "Meredith," he said softly. "I know we've been seeing each other for a couple weeks now."
"Yeah, it's been fun," Meredith said.
"That what I think too," he nodded. "And I just...I don't want to pressure you into anything. But I think that I could really see myself settling down with you."
"Oh," Meredith breathed, reaching for her wine and downing it quickly.
"I'm not trying to freak you out," Andrew murmured.
"You're not," Meredith shook her head, reaching to pour more wine with shaking hands.
"I am," he said, reaching for her hand before she could grab her wine. "I'm sorry. I just...I really like you, Meredith. And I think you should know that."
"I like you too," she whispered. "Can't we...can this just be fun for now? I just got out of a relationship, and I'm not ready for the big stuff yet."
"Okay," Andrew nodded. "I can do fun."
"Good," Meredith nodded, reaching for her wine and downing it in one sip.
"You might want to slow down on the wine," Andrew frowned.
Meredith shook her head as she reached for the bottle again. "Believe me, I need it," she sighed.
Andrew frowned. "Are you okay?" he asked.
"I'm fine," she nodded. "Fine."
"Okay," Andrew said carefully.
"You know you're really great," Meredith sighed, "But before we start this, I mean really start this, you need to promise me something."
"Anything," Andrew nodded.
"You'll never ever meet my mother," Meredith said. "And never ever take money from her."
Andrew frowned. "Of course," he nodded.
"Are you sure you promise?" Meredith asked. "Really promise, and not say that you promise and then I'll find a check in your pocket?"
"I really promise," Andrew nodded. "What's going on, Meredith?"
She sighed as she sat back in her seat. "It's nothing," she said. "I just need to take it slow. I've been hurt a lot, so it's a big deal that I'm even letting you do this."
"I get it," Andrew said, reaching for her hand. "We'll just have fun."
"I like fun," Meredith smiled, leaning forward to kiss him. "Andrew?"
"Yeah?"
"I think I might be able to love you," she whispered. "When I know I can trust you."
Andrew smiled softly. "Well, I'll just have to prove that you can trust me, won't I then?" he asked.
"You will," she smiled back at him. "I know you will."
XXXXX
Derek shoved his hands in his pocket as he moved down to the docks, somehow finding himself here after deciding he needed a walk to clear his head of all things Valentine's Day. He'd had plans for today, plans that involved romantic inns in wine country with Meredith, and nothing but a weekend of wine and sex and...her. But now he was alone, and he was finding himself near the ferryboats, at her favorite place to watch the sunrise. She'd dragged him out of bed before the sun was up multiple times when they'd been dating, and he'd always loved to watch the way the morning sunlight shone over his face as she watched the soft light spread over the ferryboats.
Now, he needed to be here, to cling to the one place that he and Meredith could share. It was her favorite place in the world, and it was quickly replacing the cliff as his favorite, for the sheer hope that Meredith would sometime be there at the same time as him so they could talk about everything that had happened.
His head snapped up when a familiar giggle met his ears, and he looked up to see his Meredith, the woman he loved more than anything in the world, wrapped in another man's arms. She looked beautiful, he could see that even from the dock, several feet below them. But she was wearing a beautiful red dress that accented her curves in all the right places, and her hair was falling around her face as she smiled widely.
She looked happy.
It was in that moment that Derek knew.
He knew that she was never going to come back, that she was really moving on and nothing would ever be the same again. He had always promised himself that he would give her whatever she needed to make her happy, so that's what he had to do. He had to let go of her, for good this time so that he could really move on and she could be happy.
With a sigh, he turned away from the docks, walking quickly as if the faster he moved, the easier it would be for him to place her in his past. He stopped in front of a bar, wanting to go in and continue to drown his sorrows, but he stopped himself, knowing that he was bordering on becoming dangerous. So instead, he moved towards his car, getting in and quickly moving towards the familiar street where he had grown up, throwing it into park and bursting into the kitchen.
"Derek," his mother exclaimed, looking up from the candlelit dinner on the kitchen table, her hand tightly in her husband's. "What on earth is wrong?"
"I...I'm sorry," Derek sighed. "It's Valentine's Day, I'm sorry, I forgot, and I just...I'll leave."
"Derek, you come before Valentine's Day," Michael said as he pulled his son to sit down beside him. "What's wrong?"
"I don't know what to do," Derek whispered, resting his head in his hands. "I don't know how to let go of her."
Michael exchanged a glance with Emma for a moment before he stood and said, "Come with me."
Derek frowned as he followed his father out to the garage. "Where are we going?" he asked.
"Fishing," Michael replied.
"It's February," Derek frowned. "And nine o' clock at night."
"If you're my son, Derek, all your best thinking will be done on the water," Michael laughed as he handed Derek the poles. "But we can get the process started on the way out there."
Derek sighed as he climbed into the passenger side of his father's truck. "She's happy," he said softly. "And I'm glad she's happy, I really am. That's all I've ever wanted for her. I just wish she could be happy with me."
"You saw her," Michael stated more than asked.
"Yeah," Derek sighed. "Is it...I want to move on, Dad, I really do. I don't want to spend the rest of my life pining over her when she's happy with someone else. But I honestly have no idea how to move on without her."
"Well, you're doing a hell of a lot better than you were a couple weeks ago," Michael pointed out. "Your mom and I got married young, I never really experienced heartbreak like this."
"I can't imagine having what you and Mom have with anyone besides Meredith," Derek admitted quietly.
Michael sighed as he turned to look at his son. "I'm no experts on break ups," he sighed. "But maybe this is something you need to take one day at a time. See where that takes you."
Derek nodded slowly, testing the idea out in his head. "One day at a time," he repeated. "One step at a time."
XXXXX
"Well, you look a million times better than I've seen in awhile," Mark noticed as Derek walked into the kitchen the next morning. "Still ugly as hell, but...at least you washed your hair."
"I'm taking things one step at a time," Derek nodded. "I have to get over Meredith."
"Dude, it's been months," Mark pointed out. "Months."
"I know," Derek sighed, reaching for the coffee pot. "I'm getting there."
"Whatever," Mark shrugged. "I've gotta go, I've got a study date."
"It's eight in the morning," Derek frowned.
"Yeah, we're actually going to study," Mark smirked. "Or at least, that's what I told her."
"You're sick," Derek rolled his eyes as he grabbed his books off of the counter and slid them into his bag, grabbing his jacket as he moved down the stairs. He was concentrating on buttoning his coat as he bumped into a solid figure on the sidewalk. "Sorry," he murmured automatically, breathing in deeply when he set eyes on a beautiful woman, about his age.
"It's okay," she smiled. "Probably my fault."
"Well, then you should be the one apologizing," Derek said as he flashed her a smile.
"Of course," she laughed. "I'm late, not paying attention to where I'm going."
"Yeah, it's looking like I'm going to miss my first class," Derek sighed as he looked down at his watch. "Nothing like sleeping late, huh?"
"You're in school?" she asked as they fell into step together.
"Yeah, Columbia," Derek sighed. "Fourth year med student."
"Me too!" she exclaimed. "Are you getting ready for the boards?"
"Not as ready as I should be," Derek sighed. "But I'll start soon."
"We could study together," she offered. "You know, a support system or a study group or whatever."
"Does anything ever get done at your study groups?" Derek laughed. "Because in my experience...they're fun but not very educational."
"I guess you have a point," she smiled. "So I guess that's a bad idea."
Derek was silent for a moment as they walked. One step at a time. But maybe he was ready for this step.
"We could hang out sometime anyways," he said cautiously. "You know, grab a coffee or something. Take a break from the boards."
She smiled up at him. "I think I'd like that," she said.
"Good," he smiled, holding out his hand. "I'm Derek Shepherd."
"Oh," she smiled, shifting her books to her other arm so she could shake his hand. "Sorry. I'm Addison Montgomery."