A/N: So this is based partially on a love story from one of my top 5 favorite TV shows. Feel free to guess as we go, not all of you watch it, I bet, but it's awesome. It's not solely based on the love story but for one major event I got the idea from that particular show.

If you haven't liked my stuff in the past, try this. I've really been working on my writing and this will be a fun story.

It's going to start off plain old cute and fluffy for a while but it won't stay that way forever and hopefully, when it changes, it will break your heart.

I might also try a little more M rated stuff in this fic... I'll try. I found out my fellow virgin friend has written it so, I'm feeling a little better about it and less blushy (yes, that's an adjective in my mind).

WARNING: This includes time jumps. But they'll be clear as day.

Inspired by the song Talk You Down by (the best band ever) The Script
I can feel the color running
As it's fading from my face
Try to speak but nothings coming
Nothing I could say to make you stay
Grabbed your suitcase called a taxi
It's 3am now where you gonna go?
Gonna stay with friends in London
And that's all I get to know

Just a cigarette gone
No you couldn't' be that far
So I'm driving my car to where I hope you are
Maybe I can talk you down
Maybe I can talk you down

We're standing on a tiny ledge
Before this goes over the edge
Gonna use my heart and not my head
and try to open up your eyes
This is relationship suicide

Cos if you go, I go...
Taking shortcuts through the alleys
While your racing through my mind
Cops can chase but they wont catch me
Not before I get to speak my mind
If there's still time

Just a cigarette gone
No you couldn't be that far
So I'm driving in my car where I hope you are
Maybe I can talk you down
Maybe I can talk you down

We're standing on a tiny ledge
Before this goes over the edge
Gonna use my heart and not my head
and try to open up your eyes
This is Relationship suicide

Cos if you go, I go...
Cos if you go, I go...
Cos if you go, I go...
Cos if you go, I go...

We're standing on a tiny ledge
Before this goes over the edge
Gonna use my heart and not my head

Just a cigarette gone
No you couldn't be that far
So I'm driving in my car where I hope you are
Maybe I can talk you down
Maybe I can turn around

We're standing on a tiny ledge
Before this goes over the edge
Gonna use my heart and not my head
and try to open up your eyes
This is Relationship suicide

XXX

September 17, 1985

Meredith bottom lip quivered violently as she picked herself up off the hard, wooden floor of the foyer. Salty tears started to stream down her face, an anguished sob escaping her lips. Her tiny hand cradled her arm gently against her chest as she made her way towards the front door of the large house. Butterflies the size of pterodactyls fluttered in her stomach; she was scared. Her warm skin closed around the cool, metal handle of the doorknob and pulled the door open. With swift little feet she cut across the moist green lawn to the noticeably smaller house next door. Dulled, autumn sunlight lit her face, seeping into her eyes. She blinked more tears out of her eyes and made a small sniffling noise.

Treading to the front door of the green house she moved her hand away from her pain filled arm, rang the doorbell, and waited for someone to answer. An older, plump woman with dark brown hair opened the door and looked down at the little girl. Her motherly eyes scanned over the girl, taking in her long blonde hair, which fell in front of her face, soaking in front from the lines of wetness falling down her cheeks.

"Meredith, come in," the woman said kindly, gently leading the crying girl into the entryway. The house smelled of fresh baked cookies; it was a homey scent that Ellis Grey's antiseptic and cleaning product smelling house lacked. "What happened to your arm?" the woman asked kindly, her eyes glancing to the arm the small girl was obviously favoring.

"I fell down some stairs," sobbed Meredith softly. "It hurts real bad."

"Oh dear. Where is your mommy?" she questioned, kneeling beside the girl.

"At the hosbible. She's surgeoning people."

"Of course," said Carolyn, trying to hide her distaste for the girl's mother. The woman was cold and could be cruel when she wanted. They'd been neighbors for years and the only words she'd heard come out of the woman towards anyone were ones of annoyance and anger. "Where's your baby sitter, sweetheart? Isn't she supposed to be here when your mom isn't?"

"Lia had to go away to graduate school and my mommy hasn't had time to find a new Lia," she sniffled. "So she said I was a big girl and I gotta takes care of myself for a few hours."

Carolyn couldn't believe Dr. Grey would be stupid enough to leave a six year old alone in a big house like theirs but, she was that uncaring about her daughter's safety. "Can I take a look at your arm, sweetie? I'm a nurse."

"My mommy said nurses are stupid."

"Well, I promise you, I'm not stupid," she assured the little girl firmly, with a smile, holding back further distain for the pompous, ego driven, woman.

Meredith nodded, presenting her arm to the woman who looked over the swelling limb carefully. "It looks broken," she said softly. "Why don't I take you to the doctors so they can fix it up for you? It'll make it feel all better. Make sure you don't move it until the doctor fixes it."

"I'm scared," sobbed Meredith, her body shaking like a earthquake in fear.

"It'll be okay. While I get my car keys and some ice for your arm, why don't you start picking out what color cast you want." Meredith smiled slightly. "Do you mind if Derek comes with us? His big sisters and his father aren't here to stay with him."

"Okay," she replied meekly, indifferent to the presence of the boy from her class. Using her good arm she wiped away clear snot as it dripped from her nose.

Carolyn ran a soothing, supportive hand over Meredith's soft golden locks, staring down pitifully at the little girl. "Derek!" she called up to her son. "Can you please come down here?" Moments later the pitter-patter of small feet echoed over them and moved to the staircase. The dark haired boy appeared, his little legs clambering down the stairs. He wore a T-shirt with a dinosaur on it and a pair of blue jeans; his raven curls bounced on top of his small head.

"Get your shoes on," Carolyn instructed her son. "Meredith hurt her arm and we've got to take her to the hospital." Derek's innocent green eyes scanned his classmate quickly before he nodded and ran off to grab his shoes. "Just hang on one minute, Meredith, and we'll get your arm all fixed up." Meredith stood awkwardly in the entryway while Carolyn rushed into the kitchen to get ice and her keys.

"Okay." Derek came racing back in, black strappy sneakers with Disney characters on them. He stared at Meredith momentarily. Though they were classmates, he never talked to her. Girls had cooties; his friend Andrew said so. Boys weren't supposed to be friends with them until they got old and they had to get married. Derek assumed the cooties went away by then. He wasn't even sure what cooties were but, he knew they were bad. Meredith didn't look like she had cooties though; she looked nice, besides the crying.

"Let's go." Carolyn walked back into the room and led the two children towards the bulky, blue minivan that rested in the driveway. After helping Meredith settle into the bucket seat in the back next to Derek, she slid in the driver's seat and pulled out of the driveway. Meredith gave a little sniff as she rested her head against the gray seat. Her arm throbbed in pain, her eyes stung from the salty tears that continued to fall out of her green eyes. "Did you pick out what color cast you want?" questioned Carolyn, trying to distract the girl.

"Pink."

"That's a pretty choice, Meredith."

"Pink sucks," grumbled Derek.

"Derek, that's not a nice word," scolded his mother.

"Sorry."

"I think pink is a beautiful choice."

"Blue is better."

Meredith peeked out from under her tear soaked eyelashes to look at Derek. "Pink is pretty. Blue is nice too but pink is the bestist."

"You're such a girl."

"I am a girl," she said indignantly.

The rest of the car ride was blanked in near silence; the only sound heard were the quieted sobs and sniffles of Meredith as she pressed her forehead against the cool glass of the window. Minutes ticked by slowly until the car pulled up to the hauntingly large, cold-looking hospital building. Meredith's eyes bulged in fear as she stared at the stone building. "This is where my mommy works," said Meredith nervously through her tears, which intensified into full out sobbing. "She can't know I'm here. She'll be so mad and say I wasn't bein' careful on the stairs. I was! I just slipped!"

"It's alright, dear. I know you were being careful even if your mother doesn't believe it."

"Okay."

"Now, why don't you and Derek go stand by the wall? I'll park the car and come back for you."

Derek nodded and slid out of his seat slowly, his feet taking time to hit the gray, carpeted floor of the car. Meredith carefully reached to press the red tab, unbuckling her seat belt with a quick snap. Cautiously, she reached with her uninjured arm to pull the door. Then she sat on the floor to slide out of the van. Derek appeared at her side and he shut the door for her.

"Stand in the corner and hold hands!" Carolyn called out to them. Meredith slid her hand in Derek's and they walked into the corner.

"Does it hurt?" questioned Derek meekly and he turned to look at Meredith. She looked down at her arm and nodded softly. "Sorry."

"Why'd you say sorry?" she whimpered.

"I dunno. That's what your s'posed to say when peoples are hurt."

"Oh."

They stood silently, Meredith's nose and eyes still dripping, her mouth occasionally leaking a sob of pain. Carolyn rushed up to the two children, guiding them into the hospital. She sat them in two of the plastic waiting room chairs as she signed Meredith in. The hospital was cold and smelled heavily of antiseptic. White walls surrounded them, giving the whole room a sterile feel; sterile, cold, and unwelcoming. At the nurses' station, along with using her pull among her fellow nurses, Carolyn mentioned to the nurses that the little girl with her belonged to Ellis Grey. Every nurse's eyes burst open in fear and intimidation.

Turning her head slightly, she saw Meredith still sobbing quietly in her chair, sitting perfectly still. Her heart broke for the small girl; her nose was dripping heavily and her eyes were puffy and red from her tears. Next to her, Derek slouched in his seat, kicking his feet back and forth wildly as his eyes stared at the white, tiled floor. His mother walked up beside him, running her hand over his dark curls before kissing the top of his head. "Thank you for being such a good boy, Derek," she smiled.

"You're welcome, mommy."

Within moments a doctor approached them. "I'm Martha Jones, the head of Peds," she introduced herself, her British accent infused voice as bubbly as a soda. She had shoulder length, straight black hair and creamy mocha skin. "I hear we have Meredith Grey here with a broken arm." Her dark brown eyes moved to the little girl, immediately noticing the resemblance between her and Ellis. "Well, why don't you three follow me in and we'll set that arm for you right away."

Carolyn ushered the kids towards the cold, plain, sterile exam room like a sheep wrangling cattle. Dr. Jones helped Meredith on to the teal exam table. The white, thin paper, covering the teal surface, crinkled noisily as she scooted backwards on the table.

"Okay, Meredith," said Dr. Jones sweetly as she collected all her materials from a metal cart in the corner of the room. Sterile packages sat in the crease of her arm as she turned back. "I'm going to have to give you a little needle in your arm so when I fix your other arm, it won't hurt much. Okay?" Eyes wide with fear, she looked towards Mrs. Shepherd who volunteered her hand for Meredith to hold. "I promise it won't hurt that much." After securing the white, standard issue latex gloves on her hand she pulled out the needle, tied the truncate around Meredith's arm tightly, found a vein, and looked up at Meredith with a smile. "Ready? One, two…small prick."

Meredith winced and let out a short sob as the needle pierced through her pale, milky skin. Her soft, tiny hand squeezed Carolyn's larger one. "Good job," grinned Dr. Jones. "Now, I just have to set up the x-ray equipment. Would you and your son mind going outside just for a minute?" Carolyn nodded and pulled Derek out of the room. Meredith's eyes followed after them nervously as the door shut. "This won't hurt a bit, Meredith. Then they can come back. Did you decide what color cast you want? We have a lot of options," said Dr. Jones happily.

"Pink," she replied definitively.

"Pink Good choice. Okay, this is just going to be like taking a picture, Meredith. But, the picture is going to be of your bone."

She nodded in understanding, watching intently at what the doctor was doing. Dr. Jones quickly took the x-rays, beckoned the Shepherds back into the room, and walked out to get the results.

"How is your arm feeling?" questioned Carolyn.

"Better. The medicine helps."

"That's good."

Meredith's eyelids dipped, the medicine coupled with the excitement of the day exhausted her. She held Carolyn's hand for comfort as she tried to force her eyelids open. Minutes later, having put a rush on the x-rays, Dr. Jones strode in and began setting Meredith's arm.

"Meredith Grey!" said an intimidating, booming voice as the door of the room swung open moments later. Ellis Grey strode in, her confidence radiating out of every pore. Short blonde curls were pulled back under a dark blue scrub cap. "You broke your arm? What'd you do?"

"I tripped down the stairs."

"You were playing. You weren't being careful. Meredith, I trusted you to stay alone for a few hours. I thought you could be a big girl but you were just a big disappointment."

"I really did fall, mommy," she cried.

"And you put Mrs. Shepherd out, making her bring you here."

"It was no trouble, Dr. Grey," assured her Carolyn.

"Thank you for saying that."

"Dr. Grey, if you'd like Meredith could come home with Derek after school and stay until you get home," she suggested.

"But mom she's a girl," huffed Derek, crossing his arms across his slim chest.

"And you can have girls who are friends, Derek Shepherd. Don't be rude. I taught you better," she scolded.

"I don't want her to be an imposition," said Ellis definitively.

"It's no imposition. I already have had 4 girls, what's one more? She can play with Derek, he doesn't have many friends."

"Mom," Derek whined. Carolyn shot him an angry look and he shut his mouth, staring down to the floor.

"That would work fine. Now, I have a surgery. I'll see you later tonight, Meredith. And don't think we're done talking about your recklessness." Ellis threw one more irritated look at her daughter before storming out of the room. Her tiny body began to shake as tears and sobs escaped.

"Oh, dear, don't cry. It'll be okay," said Carolyn and she wrapped an arm around Meredith's shoulders. "We'll get your arm fixed up and then you can come home with me and you, Derek, and I will get ice cream for being such good sports. How is that?"

Meredith nodded but continued crying softly as Dr. Jones put several layers of soft cotton are wrapped around her arm before starting the fiberglass layer. Derek stayed in the corner, sitting in his chair, his feet thrashing like he were kicking at something in front of him. Boredom overshadowed his usually sunny disposition and a frown creased his lips.

Finally, a while later, Meredith's arm was covered in the pink protective case and resting in a blue sling. Carolyn thanked Dr. Jones and led the kids out of the sterile, cold, daunting hospital building and into the cool, refreshing, night, air.

Oh, and everybody knows this is the part
Of breaking down in anybody's arms
I'm reaching down and hoping this one's ours

XXX

A/N: What'd you think? I'd really love to hear. And reviews encourage me to update *wink* *wink* *nudge* *nudge*.

PS: I'll love you forever if you caught a reference from another TV show in there.