Hi there, welcome! I hope you like my story. If you do, please leave a comment - I'd love to hear your thoughts! I'm planning on updating about once a week, or more if the demand is high. This story will transition every other chapter between Meredith's POV in 2008 and Derek's in 2014. I hope you enjoy it :)

Summary: Two stories divided: one follows Meredith at 16 years old in 2008 and the other follows Derek at 25 years old in 2014. One story follows first love and the other follows the aftermath of this love falling apart. One story is hopeful, the other desperate. In the end, the worlds collide and the stories fold together.

*I do not own Grey's Anatomy or these characters.*


2008, Meredith

I moved in on the hottest day of the entire summer so far. Dad and Susan were adamant about getting as much from the moving vans as possible before the sun went down, but I really wanted to just laze in the river that ran along our new property. Dad had told me there was a river, but he failed to mention that it was tucked away beneath a cool canopy of trees and moved freely with a bubbling chorus that cut through the sound of lawnmowers, fussing children, and car engines. I was instantly drawn to the river.

But Dad had his mind set, so I lifted boxes, carried them into our new house, and wiped sweat from my brow with the bottom of my tank top. The house was nice. Really nice, if I were being honest. But I already missed Seattle. California was so freaking sunny and I just wanted a bit of cloud cover or rain to match my mood. It was about to be my junior year of high school and I was ripped from my friends, driven almost 750 miles south, and left in a hot town to start anew.

My little sister Lexie wasn't too happy about the move either. She was 13 and permanently surly. She wanted nothing to do with California or her new school or her mom's new job. I didn't really mind that we had to move because Susan was taking a better job at the local community center. Dad was getting a good job too at a university two towns over. I was happy they were getting the jobs they wanted, but it didn't mean I was ready or willing to completely uproot. I tried to put on a brave face; I was too old to be pouting like Lexie, but that didn't mean I wasn't fully prepared to pout in the safety of my new bedroom.

The house had four bedrooms and just as many bathrooms. We had a lot of land and a nice long driveway. There was a porch that wrapped around the entire front of the house and most of the back, ending just below one of the bathroom windows. Susan and Dad were taking the biggest room on the right side of the house and Lexie's and my room were on the left with a shared bathroom in the middle. Lexie didn't put up too much of a fight when I asked for the room that overlooks the river. The fourth room was going to be Dad's office, which was located right off the foyer. The house was big and pretty, but it looked like a lot of the houses on the block. I was used to our beautifully appointed, and original, house on Queen Anne Hill. This cookie-cutter McMansion would take some getting used to.

After we unloaded one full U-Haul, Dad drove it to the local dispatch center, leaving Susan, Lexie, and I to begin unpacking. Susan was in the kitchen, clearly debating the best location for plates. She turned as I entered and smiled. Dad had married Susan not long after my Mom died when I was two. Mom was a brilliant surgeon, but had a heart condition that went undiagnosed until she fell dead during surgery. Dad said he and Mom were still in love when she died, but I don't believe him. He married Susan so quickly, I knew my parents were probably separated when Mom died. Sometimes I wondered what it would be like to have my biological mother and father still together, but then I remembered how good Susan was to me and I dismissed the thought.

"Hey there," she greeted and set down a stack of plates. "What do you think—plates to the left of the sink or the right?"

I glanced at each of the glass-fronted cabinets. "To the left. Put the glasses in the right, which is closer to the refrigerator. The plates will be closer to the food."

Susan grinned and patted my cheek. "Such a smart girl." She turned and began stacking the plates carefully. "What are you up to for the rest of the day?"

Her question gave me an out. Dad would have just mentioned something about sorting my room, but Susan was allowing me to decide. I had all summer to sort my room and go through my things, plus I was still sticky from sweating. "I was thinking about going to the river for awhile. I'll be back before dinner," I promised quickly.

"Would you bring your sister?"

Normally I would've said no, but I'm sure Susan was tired of watching Lexie skulk around the house. I decided my desire to float in the river trumped my desire to not spend any time with my sister. "Yes."

Susan grinned at me. "Thank you Meredith. Now head along before your dad gets back."

I knew exactly where my swimsuit was kept, so I pulled open the flaps on the box and changed quickly from my sweaty clothes to my favorite red bikini with little poppy flowers. I pulled on a white dress and a pair of black flip-flops and walked through the bathroom and into Lexie's room. Lexie was sitting on the floor next to her unmade bed blaring music from her iPod and staring at her phone. During the drive down, she kept staring at her phone and I knew she was waiting for her friends to call. Clearly, it hadn't happened yet.

I walked up to Lexie and pinched her arm with my toes. She pulled back violently and screeched at me. "Meredith!" She pounded her two fists to my thigh and I jumped back before I received any other bodily harm. "What the hell is your problem?"

"Language," I teased. She was glaring at me, but I knew she wasn't mad at me. "Come to the river with me."

"Ew, no. There are probably leeches." Lexie had been going through a "classic" movie phase and was making her way through 80s films. She'd watched Pretty in Pink at a slumber party in the spring, so she followed it up with The Breakfast Club, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Weird Science, and most recently Stand By Me. She was traumatized from the leech scene.

I pulled open one of her boxes labeled CLOTHES and looked for her bathing suit. "There aren't leeches. Come swimming or Mom and Dad will make you unpack things and move furniture."

Lexie was up in a flash, unpacking one of the boxes across the room. She pulled out her dark blue one piece and eyed the door. "Leave so I can change."

"Yes ma'am," I laughed and walked from her room, downstairs, and out the front door.

Our front yard was really well taken care of with flower beds, pretty flowering trees, and rocks placed precisely to make them look like they naturally formed there. Across the street was a house that looked just like ours, expect it was painted green instead of pale gray like ours. We also had neighbors to the right and left, but they were pretty far away—further than our neighbors at the old house. The people to the left had a jungle gym and swing set out back, so they probably had little kids.

Lexie barely took a minute to change and she went barreling past me towards the river. "Come on!" she shouted as she disappeared behind the house and ran through the backyard. I chased after Lexie and kicked off my shoes somewhere between the house and the tree line. As soon as I ducked beneath the dark canopy, I felt the cool air hit my face. It was at least 15-20 degrees cooler there. Lexie was already climbing down the rocks towards the bubbling water.

"Be careful, Lex," I called after her and made my way down, too.

I pulled off my dress and laid it on the rocks. Lexie was stepping into the water and gasped when her toes touched. "It's freezing."

"Of course it is. This water never sees the sun."

I stepped in beside Lexie and she was right. The water was really, really freaking cold, but it felt so nice. My skin erupted in goosebumps, but I ignored them and the shiver that ran through my body. I stepped in a little further. The riverbed was slimy beneath my toes, so I squished my feet through the mud and muck. Lexie wasn't far behind. The river must've been only 10-15 feet across, but it moved quickly. I reached out for her hand, but she shook her head. "No way."

Before we moved, Lexie was a sweet kid. She was helpful to Susan and Dad, offering to do the dishes, rake the lawn, or wash their cars every now and again. Lexie kept her room tidy and always did her homework. She was busy in a million clubs and sports, and had seemingly dozens of friends. But the day our parents sat us down to break the news, Lexie completely changed. She ended all her club and sports commitments, she stopped talking to most of her friends, and she stopped helping. Her room turned into a dark dungeon and she listened to a lot of emo music. I'd gone through the same phase when I was her age, so Susan asked me to keep an eye on her. I was trying my best.

I walked to the middle of the river and dipped low enough so my butt was in the water. "Shit," I gasped and stood up. When I turned back to Lexie, I noticed two guys walking from one of the lawns and into the forest. They were young, probably still in high school, and were laughing. The one pushed the other, who rushed back at him. They were both dressed in tee shirts and swim trunks, no shoes on their feet.

As soon as they cleared the tree line, the taller one noticed Lexie and me. His face broke into a large, wolfish grin that I didn't particularly like. "Hi there."

The other one looked at us, too and I suddenly felt really naked.

Lexie smiled. "Hi."

"What's your name?" The wolf asked.

"Lexie."

"Hi Lexie, I'm Mark." His voice was in a perpetual state of flirting and I didn't like it. He was at least 18 and he was flirting with my 13 year old sister.

I stepped forward and grabbed Lexie's hand. She squirmed against me and tugged herself away. "Get off, Meredith," she glared at me and held her hand against her chest. "Chill."

The wolf named Mark raised his hands in surrender. "Hey, I'm just saying hi, no need to get all grabby," he teased, but I didn't care for it. He gave me the once over and all I wanted was my white dress, which was now dangerously close to falling right into the river if the other guy so much as took a step forward.

The second guy said something quietly to the first and I needed to get out of there. But as I took a step forward, my foot caught on something and after a second, I fell backwards beneath the water. I tried to tug my foot out, but it was seriously caught. I tried to sit up in the water, but it was moving too quickly. I began to panic. I couldn't see her, but Lexie was alone with two strangers and I was drowning. I was supposed to take care of her and now I'd left her to be hurt. I cried out under the water, still struggling, still panicking, when two very strong hands lifted me by the shoulders and I gasped for fresh air.

I looked down towards my foot and Mark was pulling at the rocks. I moaned in pain and he said, "Sorry, hold on." I looked up and the other guy above me was watching his friend seriously. Lexie was up on the riverbank staring right at me.

I winced again and the guy above me said, "Be gentle, Mark."

He nodded. "I'm trying."

I felt a pinch and then a rush of relief as my foot released from its hold and my legs swung out, pulling down the river. The guy above me held me close, wrapping his arm around my shoulders and dragging me to stand next to him. "Are you okay? How's your foot?"

I set my foot down on the riverbed and it barely hurt. "It's okay."

He smiled and his face transformed from someone average to someone extraordinary. He was so good looking, I was shocked I hadn't noticed it before. His lips pulled back to show perfectly straight, white teeth. His skin was lightly tanned and freckled and his eyes were the most surreal blue I'd ever seen. His hair was practically black and it was sticking every which way, which made me want to run my fingertips through it. Suddenly I barely thought about my hurt foot because all I could feel was his arms around me. I released a breath I didn't realize I'd been holding.

"Come on," he said and he helped me from the river and up onto the bank.

Lexie rushed to me and crouched next to my seated position. "Are you okay?"

I nodded slowly, keeping my eyes on the stranger. "Yeah, I'm good." I looked up at Mark and he was panting from rescuing my foot. "Thanks," I said to him.

Mark sunk down on the forest floor beside me. "You're welcome. I wasn't trying to be a creep when I showed up," he explained. "I was just teasing you guys. I'm sorry if I scared you." I didn't know this Mark guy at all, but something in me screamed that he wasn't one to apologize.

"It's okay. I'd work on your approach, though."

He laughed and so did his friend. I looked up at him again. "I'm Derek Shepherd, your rescuer." He smiled again and it made me feel…strange.

"I'm Meredith Grey." I nodded to Lexie. "Lexie's my little sister. We just moved in."

Mark and Derek looked back towards the house I pointed at. "The old Miller place," Mark said and nodded. "Well, you made a pretty good entrance." I realized that Mark wasn't a bad guy at all. He was a tease, a flirt, and he was probably harmless. "I live up the road and Derek's actually your neighbor."

I glanced up at Derek and his blue eyes were on me. He pointed to the white house next door with the jungle gym and swing set in the back. "That's me."

"Do you have little siblings?" I asked curiously.

"No, my parents just never took the set down. I do have a little sister, Amelia, but she's probably Lexie's age. Too old for swing sets." He grinned at my sister and I could tell by the way she rolled her shoulders back, she felt more mature near Derek. "I guess I don't need to warn you, but you should watch out for the river. It's actually pretty intense."

I looked down at my soaking wet bathing suit and felt the cold hair against my neck. "Yeah, I'll be more careful next time."

"Meredith! Alexandra!" Dad bellowed from the house.

Lexie turned her attention. "Uh oh."

I sighed and struggled to pull myself up, afraid I would hurt my ankle. Derek wrapped his hands around my wrists and helped pull me until I was standing. "Want me to help you back to the house?"

"No, I'm good," I said as I tested my ankle.

Derek dropped his hands from my wrists. "Okay."

"Do you need help moving in?" Mark offered and I watched his eyes cut to Derek's.

Lexie was nodding. "Yes, please! Our dad keeps barking orders at us and keeps making us carry all the heavy furniture with him."

"Lexie, we don't need help. Plus, Mark and Derek don't want to spend the rest of their afternoon lugging your boxes of toys up the stairs."

"I don't have toys," Lexie practically shouted. She looked between Mark and Derek, pausing on Derek. "I don't."

Derek nodded very seriously. "I know that."

Mark held his hand out to pull Lexie up, which she willingly took. "We're happy to help."

I was about to try to fight them off again, but they began walking towards the house. Dad had disappeared inside, probably sure his message had been heard. I glanced at Lexie and she shrugged. "They can carry the heavy stuff. Plus they're cute."

I rolled my eyes. "You're too young for them."

Lexie smiled knowingly. "Yeah, but you're not."

She walked ahead of me towards the house, leaving me while I gathered my white dress and pulled it up over my head. I needed a towel, but I didn't think to bring one. I stepped out from beneath the trees and the sun beat down on me. I found my shoes in the middle of the yard and slid them on. Derek and Mark had disappeared around the house and Lexie practically skipped inside.

For a minute I stood in the backyard, looking between my new house and Derek's family's house that looked well-lived in and pretty. He was cute, Lexie was right. I decided right then and there, California might not be so bad. Someone whistled from the house and I saw Derek waving from the driveway. "Your dad wants you," he yelled through his cupped hands.

I want you, I heard and smiled to myself.

Derek returned the smile and I don't know what was happening, but I felt my insides flutter and my head begin to spin.


Thank you for reading. -Anna