Disclaimer: I do not own Grey's Anatomy

A/N: Here's my new story "The Way I Am," the sequel to "All I Need." You don't necessarily have to read "All I Need" to get what's going on, but it might help. It takes place a little less than three years after the epilogue, Meredith is ending her senior year at NYU and Derek is a fourth year resident. Based on the outline I have so far, it'll probably be longer than All I Need, so I hope you all will stick around! Unfortuantely, this week is crazy busy for me, so I'm posting today, and I might post the second chapter tomorrow, but after that, don't expect any updates until at least Friday. I hope you guys enjoy the story, please review and let me know what you think!

The Way I Am

Chapter 1

"Derek Christopher Shepherd, I know you're here!" Meredith yelled as she opened the front door, barging into the hallway.

"Meredith dear, how are you?" Carolyn Shepherd emerged from the kitchen, moving to greet her. "Derek didn't tell me you were coming to dinner; he said you had finals coming up."

"Hi Carolyn," Meredith said as the older woman hugged her. "I'm doing alright. My finals start on Wednesday, and I was studying with my friends. But, Derek said something before he left, something big, and I needed to come talk to him about it. I hope I'm not interrupting family time or anything."

"Meredith please," Carolyn shook her head. "You know that you aren't interrupting family time. You come to almost every family dinner; you're practically a part of the family already. Now, what idiotic thing did my son do this time?"

"Apparently we're moving in together after I graduate in three weeks," Meredith rolled her eyes. "Not that I don't want to, but it's a big deal, and he kind of just said it. He didn't even ask, it was more of an 'I can't wait until you move in' then he left, kind of thing. And we need to talk about it, like now, because I won't be able to study until we do."

"I understand," Carolyn laughed, quite used to Meredith's ramblings. "I believe Derek is in the backyard playing with his nephews."

"Thank you," Meredith smiled at Carolyn before heading to the back door. In the over three and a half years she had been dating Derek, his family had basically become her family, and she was just as comfortable in his mother's house as Derek and his sisters were.

Reaching the yard, she was just in time to watch Derek get tackled by five of his nieces and nephews. Nancy and Kathleen kept popping out kids right and left it seemed, making family dinners a lot more entertaining. Meredith smiled as she watched Derek with the kids; he would make an excellent father someday, if they ever got to that point. She had never really wanted kids before, but watching Derek help his sisters with their kids, and the way the kids seemed to really like her, Meredith was slowly adjusting to the idea that she could be a mother someday. But only with Derek, she wouldn't want kids with anyone else. Or really anything with anyone else. She was perfectly happy with Derek and his family, and would never give that up.

After rolling around for a few minutes, Meredith watched Derek stand up, dusting off his jeans. They made eye contact as he looked around the yard, and he smiled brightly at her. The smiled flickered a little when he realized she wasn't smiling back, but it didn't completely leave his face. He walked over to her, placing his hands on her hips, pulling him towards her slightly.

"Hey, this is a surprise," he said has he kissed her. Meredith didn't understand it, but after almost four years, she sometimes forgot her thoughts when Derek kissed her. She responded eagerly to his kiss for a minute before finally remembering why she was here, and broke away from him gently.

"Hey," she said, a little breathless. "We need to talk."

Derek nodded. "Alright, do you want to go for a walk?"

"Can we just sit out front?" Meredith asked, pulling him away from the stares of his sisters and brother-in-laws, who were staring at the two of them curiously.

"Yeah, sure." They made their way to the front of the house, and Derek sat down on the porch swing. Meredith sat down facing him, propping her feet on his lap. She took a deep breath before speaking.

"So, I'm moving in with you when I graduate?" she asked. The question caught Derek off guard, apparently not what he had been expecting.

"Why wouldn't you?" Derek asked, confused.

"Why would you think I would? We never talked about it?" Meredith countered. She didn't want to fight with him, and she wasn't going to let this be a fight, but it was still something they needed to really discuss.

Realization dawned on Derek's face as he took in her words. "Oh, I'm sorry Mer. I just kind of assumed. I was just trying to make you feel better."

"And how exactly is springing this on me supposed to make me feel better?" Meredith laughed, trying to show Derek she wasn't really mad at him.

Derek smiled sheepishly at her. "I don't know. You freaking out about finals, and graduation, and about how you weren't sure how you were going to get all that stuff out of your dorm, so I thought it would calm you down to know that at least you wouldn't have to move it very far."

"See, now those sound like pretty good reasons not to say something like that, especially since you know that I'm prone to freak out every once in a while. I'm nervous about passing my finals, and about graduating. Then, my two best friends are moving across the country, and I have to start med school all alone. Do you see how I might already be freaking out a little, and how the 'move in with me' comment was not really helpful?"

"I'm sorry Mer, I wasn't thinking. I thought you had assumed you were moving in. I mean, you're still going to be a student, so I didn't know whether you would be able to get an apartment or something on your own. Plus, I didn't even think that you might want to go home for the summer, because you have that job at the hospital. You obviously don't have to move in with me if you don't want to, I can help you find a place to live." Derek looked a little sad as he said that, and she knew he had been really excited for them to live together. He was twenty-nine, and was ready to take a step in their relationship, especially having been so patient with her while she was at NYU.

"Derek, why don't you ask me if I'll move in with you, rather than just tell me or assuming," Meredith said encouragingly, hoping Derek would get the hint.

Meeting her hopeful eyes, Derek cleared his throat before smiling. "Meredith, would you like to live with me?"

Meredith pulled herself closer to him so that she was pressed against his side. "I would love to," she whispered as she kissed him.

XXXXXX

Carolyn had insisted that Meredith stay for dinner, and honestly, she couldn't resist the desire for a real home cooked meal. Derek promised that they would only stay for a little while, because Meredith still needed to study, and dinner was now winding down. Derek had just mentioned the fact that Meredith had exams on Wednesday, signaling that they needed to leave.

"Meredith, I forgot to ask," Nancy said as Meredith and Derek stood up. "What day is your graduation? We want to make sure that we take the day off."

"Oh," Meredith said, surprised that one of Derek's sisters planned on coming to watch her graduate. "It's May 20th, but don't worry about it. You guys don't have to come; I don't expect you to be there."

"Don't be ridiculous," Kathleen rolled her eyes. "Of course we're coming. We can't wait!"

"Plus," Liz added. "You come to all of our family things. You came to my Med School graduation two years ago, and Amelia's college graduation last May, so we're obviously going to want to see you."

Meredith smiled at the group around the table. "Thank you, it means a lot to me." After hugging Carolyn and the rest of Derek's sisters goodbye, she and Derek left. They had obviously taken separate cars, and Derek walked her to her old blue jeep, opening the door for her as she stepped inside.

"Now, do you really want to study? Or do you want a distraction?" Derek joked as he leaned into her.

"As much as I would love a distraction, I really need to study," Meredith sighed as she kissed him.

"Fine," Derek huffed, feigning disappointment. "I'll see you tomorrow okay? Will you call me to let me know you got back safe?"

"Yes, you'll see me tomorrow, and yes I'll call you when I get back," Meredith rolled her eyes at the last comment.

"Good," Derek replied, kissing her again. "I love you."

"Love you too. Bye Derek," Meredith said as she shut the door.

"Bye," Derek waved as he got into his own car.