A/N: I know it's been what? a year since I updated this fic...I know some of you out there are really mad at me, some of you have dismissed this as one of the abandoned stories on the site and some of you are still hoping for a new update. Well, UPDATE's here! Sorry, my dear readers, sorry for leaving you hanging for so long, but at least I didn't leave you hanging on a mean cliffie ;) I have no excuses for the delay except – real life, priorities, etc. etc. Without stalling you further, here's the next instalment of Y&M...

Make You Feel My Love

When the rain is blowing in your face

And the whole world is on your case

I could offer you a warm embrace

To make you feel my love

Meredith was feeling snappy. Simple as that. She was feeling snappy, and angry, and really really frustrated with herself, and something else that she couldn't quite describe in words. She just knew that even though it was a bright, sunny morning in Cape May, her mood was anything but that. There was this feeling deep inside her – this feeling of complete and utter...She couldn't rack her brains for the perfect word. But, whatever this feeling was, it was an incredibly unpleasant one. It was grating on her nerves, and she hated herself at the moment. She hated herself for a lot of things at the moment. But, she hated herself most for feeling the way she was that day. She hated the fact that she couldn't just flip on a switch and change her mood. It was out of her control. And that was the worst and most infuriating part of the feeling.

She bustled around her bedroom, not really doing anything important, but just fiddling with things here and there to keep herself busy. Maybe, if she kept herself busy, the feeling would go away and she would be back to the happy self that she had been the previous night at Sunset Beach. The happy self she had been when she had gone to bed with her husband the previous night. The stress free, worry free, carefree, truly happy Meredith Grey. Maybe she would be able to magically transform into that Meredith, that too before her husband woke up. Because, the last thing she wanted was her husband to see her in such a dark, brooding mood and worry about her.

Things had been good between her and Derek the past couple of days. Really good. But, if she interacted with Derek in her current mood, things would tense up again. Words would be thrown, words that both of them would regret later on, and that wouldn't be nice at all. That would mean that all the progress they had made after coming to Cape May would go to waste. And Meredith didn't want that. She dreaded that.

So, she was waiting for her light, happy mood to come back as she moved around the cottage, shifting knick-knacks and dusting tabletops with a small cloth, even though there was really no dust to clean. Cleaning could change her mood. Couldn't it?

Several things were on her mind as she tried to concentrate on rubbing a small spot off the top of the dresser. Several, very distracting thoughts. And thoughts that didn't bode well at all. As hard as she tried not to think about those things, she couldn't help it. They were circulating in her mind like pesky, nagging little pests. She wished the scientists had invented some sort of pesticides to off mind pests, because those were the worst kind of pests. Even worse than the crop pests. Because crop pests destroyed farms, but mind pests ate away at your mind.

Disgruntled! Yes, she had finally found a perfect word to describe her mood. She was feeling disgruntled. Finally. At least that made her feel a little less bad about herself. She could at least describe her own moods now. She was not completely useless and worthless. She wiped the flower vase with a tiny smile playing on her lips. Yes, that felt like some sort of triumph – some sort of success. Naming your own moods.

When the evening shadows and the stars appear

And there is no one there to dry your tears

I could hold you for a million years

To make you feel my love

As Meredith put the fresh flowers that she and Derek had bought the previous night back in the flower vase, a pair of strong arms wrapped around her mid-section from behind, causing her to jump up and squeak in alarm.

"What the –" Meredith spun around as the arms tightened around her, and found herself pressed up against her husband's warm, strong body.

"Good morning," Derek said in a chipper voice, leaning in to press a lingering kiss to her cheek. Meredith pulled away from him and pushed him away abruptly.

"Derek! You cannot sneak up on me and scare me like that!" she exclaimed rather loudly.

"But, it's fun to see you get all worked up like that! Even when you know that we are the only two people residing in this house," he said with a smirk that made Meredith's temper tick up. He had no idea that he was hammering the last nail in his coffin at the moment.

"Firstly, a serial killer or axe murderer or psychopath could break into the house," she said, glaring at her husband. "And secondly, do not smirk like that when you have obviously crossed a line and broken one of our rules here. You're making me angry."

The smirk plastered on Derek's face fell off when he heard the irritation in his wife's voice. "Mer...I –"

"And third, do NOT call me Mer! My name is Meredith, so if you have to call me, call me by my real name. Not by some pesky little pet name you've come up with overnight. I'm not your pet, so don't call me pet names," Meredith browbeat, before storming away into the bedroom, leaving a completely horrified Derek in her wake.

Derek stood in his spot like a zombie for a few minutes, trying to understand exactly what had transpired between him and his wife. What exactly had he done wrong? He had just gone and hugged his wife to wish her a good morning. And she had gone off at him like a volcano. What was his fault again?

Getting over the initial shock of his wife's demeanour, Derek walked inside the bedroom, having decided that he had done absolutely nothing wrong. Well, not that he knew of. He hadn't deserved to be browbeaten like that for no reason at all. He had to stand up for himself. Meredith was being unreasonable.

"Meredith," he said calmly as he entered the bedroom and found her sitting in front of the mirror, brushing her hair, "I call you Mer all the time! It's not a pet name, and it's definitely not a pet name I came up with overnight. I have called you Mer for as long as I can remember. Why are you so angry at me for using it?"

"Because," Meredith said, locking eyes with him in the mirror, fury glimmering in her grey-green irides, "I don't want to be called Mer right now. It's as simple as that. And besides, you don't get to call me Mer after you have broken one of our rules."

"What rule have I broken? I didn't even do anything," he replied, totally perplexed.

"Yes, you did. You came up and embraced me from behind all of a sudden. I wasn't ready for it. I didn't give you permission for it."

"Permission?!" Derek said amidst a soft, sarcastic chuckle. "Since when do I need permission to hug my own wife?"

"Since you decided to play tongue hockey with your labrat. Didn't think you'd need permission from your wife for that either, huh?" Meredith bit back, not bothering to be any less vicious in her attack.

"You – how – Wha – Meredith! Where is this coming from?" he managed to sputter, completely taken aback by his wife's words. They hadn't talked about this topic in a long time. Derek had finally thought that she was getting over it – that she was forgetting it. But, every single time he thought that, his wife proved him wrong.

"I don't know. Maybe it's coming from the fact that you broke one of our rules," Meredith said with a nonchalant shrug, least bothered by what she had just said.

"Which rule have I broken, for God's sake?!"

"The rule about intimacy. There is only a certain level of intimacy that exists between us right now. Limited intimacy, thanks to you. And what you did out there in the hall? Not acceptable. Not acceptable at all," she said, shaking her head.

"What rule about intimacy? I didn't know there was a rule about intimacy," he said, bewilderment mingling with slight anger.

"Well, I just made one up," Meredith threw back in a stern voice, "So...Hark, for future use."

"You can't just make up a rule like that, whenever you feel like, without even consulting me. And even if there was such a rule, I most certainly didn't break it. Hugging is like the primary level of intimacy. It doesn't even fall in the category of intimacy. Besides, we hug each other all the time now. Since when did it become a problem again?"

"I don't know!" she yelled. "Maybe, I just didn't feel like being hugged by you today. Will you stop catechizing me now?"

"How the hell am I supposed to know when you want to be hugged by me and when you don't? You expect me to read your mind now? Sorry, Meredith, I'm not a psychic," Derek yelled back.

"You – You are not a psychic. You're an asshole. You're an asshole of the first degree," Meredith said through gritted teeth.

"Meredith, do –"

"Can we just end this conversation here?" Meredith asked testily, throwing her hands up in the air. "Just...Please, please, let's stop talking right now. Go to the next room. Just go. Otherwise, we'll end up yelling a lot of bad things at each other."

Derek wanted to yell some more at his wife for acting like such a bitch so early in the morning and for being so unreasonable, but he controlled himself and decided that Meredith's idea of ending the conversation was rational. At this point, he was only this much away from calling her a bitch to her face. Only this much. So, it would be better to talk to her later, after both of them had had the time to cool down.

And so, he ran a hand through his messy curls, let out a frustrated sigh and made his way out of the room.

Derek sat at the edge of the bed in the adjacent bedroom, his eyes closed. He was still thinking about his earlier altercation with Meredith. The Cape May charm seemed to be gone, and Meredith had gone back to being bitchy Meredith of Seattle. God, would this journey ever end? Would he and Meredith ever be able to go back to being happy? He had thought that they were making their way to that place after arriving in Cape May. But boy had he been wrong. Every single time he thought they had climbed up the ladder, Meredith brought them down, right back to the place where they had started. He admitted that he had made a mistake – a huge one, but Meredith had decided to forgive him. She had decided to forgive him, but she didn't look like she was trying at all. He had kissed Renee, but it had been one damn kiss! Just one damn kiss. Was a single kiss, a single moment of weakness enough to wreck years of love and trust? It couldn't be. There had to be some other way. There must be something they were doing wrong.

"You still mad at me?" He didn't have to open his eyes to know that she had entered the room. He had immediately smelt the whiff of lavender in the air, even before she had spoken.

Opening his eyes, but not looking up at her, he said, "I don't know. You tell me. You still feeling angry?" with a sigh.

"I am," she replied, crouching down in front of him and placing her hands tentatively on his knees. His first instinct was to push her hands away, but he didn't. She was his wife, and she was going through a phase right now. A phase that he had forced on her. He couldn't give her all the blame. And besides, placing the blame was not going to help their situation. "But, I'm not feeling angry at you," she continued, "I'm...I'm feeling angrier at myself."

"Angrier?" Derek asked, finally looking up to meet her grey-green eyes that expressed every emotion she was feeling so vividly. "You mean, you were feeling angry at yourself before?"

She nodded, and looked down. Derek expelled another sigh before covering her hands with his own. No words were spoken between the two for a few minutes as they just sat there, holding each other's hands.

"I'm sorry," she finally murmured, "I'm sorry for being so bitchy and unreasonable. It's just that...Never mind. I'm really sorry for spoiling your morning."

"I'm sorry too," Derek said, squeezing her hands tightly.

"For what?" she said with a small laugh. "You didn't even yell at me. Or maybe you did. But only once."

"I'm sorry for wanting to yell at you, and...And for wanting to call you a bitch. That's wrong. I shouldn't be wanting that," he rejoined, shaking his head.

"Okay," she said, looking up at him through her eyelashes with puppy dog eyes, "So apology accepted on both sides?"

Derek's lips curled up in a small smile. It was next to impossible to stay mad at his wife for long. She was just...It was just the very essence of Meredith Grey. "Apology accepted on both sides," he said.

"Good. I'd hug you right now, but remember how I told you that I didn't feel like being hugged by you today? Well, that feeling is still there," she said, biting her lower lip and giving him an apologetic smile.

Derek intertwined his fingers with hers and said, "Do you want to talk about that feeling? About why you're mad at yourself?"

"I don't know..." Meredith trailed off uncertainly. "I guess I don't want to, as I am me, but I'd be breaking one of our rules if I didn't, and talking definitely helps, so...Maybe. Yeah," she thought out loud, looking to her husband.

"Come, sit beside me. I'll walk you through the process of talking about how you're feeling," Derek said, untangling his fingers from hers and patting the spot next to him. Meredith stood up with a loud sigh and plopped down on the bed beside him. Derek immediately took her right hand in his and started stroking her palm with the pad of his thumb. "So...Why are you feeling so angry this morning?"

"I...um...I've been brooding a lot, and brooding leads to anger. So, yeah," she said, keeping her eyes fixed on their joined hands.

"But, you were so happy last night! You were rambling and talking incessantly, and you were so carefree and happy and bubbly! We spent yesterday together, and you definitely didn't brood yesterday. You were so happy to spot the dolphins and watch the Flag Ceremony at Sunset Beach. You bought flowers on our way home. You were happy, Meredith. We were happy," Derek pointed out.

"I was," she said with a nod, smiling slightly at the wonderful memories of the previous day. "I was truly happy, Derek, up until the time we went to bed. And I guess that's what led to the brooding."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, after we went to bed last night, you went straight to sleep. But, I couldn't sleep. As I lay in bed, awake, I started thinking, naturally. At first, I was thinking about how great the day had been and how lovely everything had been. But, then, as things happen in thoughts, one thought led to another and suddenly I found myself thinking... We are happy. We are crazy happy here in Cape May. And it rings a bell. Because we used to be this happy once upon a time. This happiness is not new to us. We were this happy at some point in our marriage. We were. But then, what happened? What went wrong that resulted in us fighting all the time and then you walking away from me? What happened between us that sent you to D.C. and made us so emotionally distant that you had to kiss another woman to realize that you wanted me in your life and not someone else? And I just kept thinking, you know. I kept trying to figure out what went wrong, which puzzle piece is missing, but I failed to do so. I couldn't pinpoint the reason, nor the time when we stopped being happy. It was like, we were happy one moment, and then suddenly, the next moment, our marriage is on the rocks and you have kissed another woman. I couldn't figure out when we made the transition from happy to marriage-on-the-rocks. And as I tried harder and harder to figure it out – the cause of it all, and failed again and again, the angrier I became. I wanted to – no, I still want to know the exact reason and time when we stopped being happy, but I can't figure it out. I want to know what exactly was missing from our relationship, our marriage, that made us unhappy, that made us resent each other and that sent you running to find comfort in the arms of another woman. I want to know what was missing from the essence of...us, that made you feel attracted to another woman, after so many years of marriage. I mean, it has never happened to us before, and we've had our fair share of ups and downs. I want to figure it out, but I can't. And that makes me snappy, irritable, angry, frustrated, disgruntled...and a ton of other things," Meredith finished her monologue, a single tear rolling down her cheek as she kept her gaze on their hands.

"Oh, Mer..." Derek raised his unoccupied hand and cupping her cheek with his palm, he pressed a soft, tender kiss to her temple.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry for snapping at you for no reason at all, I truly am. But, Derek, please, please tell me why...Why did we end up like this? What happened between us that caused things to change so drastically? What? Please tell me, Derek. I feel like we'll never be able to move past this roadblock if we never find the answer to this question." Meredith choked back a sob.

"I wish I could give you an answer, Mer. I really wish I could. But, I don't know...I don't know..." he whispered into her hair.

"But, how can you not know? How can neither of us know? We are the ones in this marriage, Derek. We have to know when things went wrong and we stopped being happy. And I...I..." Meredith let out a full blown sob before saying, "I can't be more intimate with you. I can't make love to my own husband. I can't do that, because I'm too scared that we'll make love, and you'll say Renee's name."

"Meredith –"Derek protested in a strong voice.

"But, I know you won't. I know you won't do that because you love me, not her. Half of my heart knows that. But, the other half? It's just too scared of things that are never going to happen in real life. You know, back in Seattle, sometimes, I just watched you sleep and wondered if you'd say "Renee" or "I love you, Renee" or something like that in your sleep. I know that is never going to happen, but sometimes, when I feel too damn insecure and threatened by Renee, these kinds of thoughts creep in. And that is exactly why we need to figure out the cause of the downfall of our marriage. I feel like if I have an answer to why our marriage is on the rocks, why you kissed Renee, what situation between us led you to kiss Renee, then I won't be as insecure anymore. But, I just can't figure out why," Meredith finished on another sob, fisting her hand and bringing it down on the mattress in frustration.

"Mer..." Derek whispered, wrapping both his arms around his wife and pulling her into a soothing, affectionate embrace. He didn't have any words of comfort to offer to her. But, sometimes, gestures work better than words.

"I know I don't have an answer to your questions at the moment," he murmured, still holding her tightly in his arms, "But, I promise you, I'll think about it. I'll try to figure it out. We'll both try to figure it out. And by the time we leave, we'll be a happier couple. I promise you."

"Okay..." Meredith said shakily. "Okay..."

"Don't cry, Mer," he said, pressing a kiss to her hair. "No power in this world can stop us from being happy, even without the answers. We'll be happy. I'll make you happy, just like I made you yesterday."

"I don't think that's gonna happen. I'm having one of my really bad days today, Derek," she whispered into his shoulder.

"You just wait and watch, Meredith Grey. Just wait and watch how I turn your really bad day into a really good day," he said, still enveloping his wife in a tight hug and stroking her hair gently.

I know you haven't made up your mind yet

But I would never do you wrong

I've known it from the moment that we met

No doubt in my mind where you belong

An hour later, Meredith and Derek found themselves seated in the front row of a jolly red and green coloured trolley.

"Derek, I'm not really in the mood for a trolley tour," Meredith mumbled as their tour guide, Jane, introduced herself to them.

"Mer, I've heard that these trolley tours are great. They will take us to different portions of Cape May, and tell us entertaining stuff," Derek replied, taking Meredith's hand in his and giving it a soft squeeze. "I promise you'll feel better by tonight," he assuaged, kissing her knuckles gently.

"I hope so," Meredith said, looking out the open window of the trolley.

The first stop on the tour was George Allen House. It was an elegant Italianate villa that stood on 720 Washington Street. "Samuel Hall designed the frame, central hall plan and the Italianate villa. It was constructed in 1863. This house is called one of the State's most impressive 19th century seaside structures," Jane explained to the passengers. Derek sneaked a glance at his wife, only to find her staring at the house out the window with a deadpan expression on her face.

Next came the Atlantic Terrace Houses located on Jackson Street. The architect of these houses was Stephen Decatur Button and the builder was William Cassedy. They consisted of seven essentially identical balloon frame houses built on the site of the Atlantic Hotel. Each house was three storeys in height, with a one storey porch and a bay window with an ogee roof at the second storey. The houses faced an off-street courtyard.

By the time the trolley reached the Baltimore Hotel on Hughes Street, Derek noticed that a tiny smile had crept up on Meredith's lips at some point as she stared out the window. Smiling triumphantly to himself, Derek laced his fingers with hers and concentrated on what Jane was saying.

As the trolley passed the Cape Island Presbyterian Church, the Cape May City Firehouse and the Cape May High School that was now used as City Hall, Derek found Meredith staring out the window in great awe. She had taken out her phone, and was taking snaps of the different places they were stopping at.

Carroll Villa was an eclectic Victorian style villa with Italianate motifs. Next was Chalfonte Hotel which was Cape May's oldest and most ornate large hotel. Then, the trolley stopped at Horatio Church House, and as Jane talked about the shingled walls and gable and turned porch posts of the house, Meredith snapped a photo of it on her phone.

"Enjoying the tour so far?" Derek asked, placing his hand on her knee.

"I am loving this tour, Derek!" Meredith rejoined, not taking her eyes off the house. "This city is full of Victorian architecture, and I love it. Those times were so beautiful...I saw a lot of Victorian architecture in Europe too."

"I'm happy that you're enjoying this tour. These buildings really are spectacular," Derek said, smiling as Meredith snapped another photo.

"You wanna know a secret?" Meredith asked, turning to him with a childlike smile on her face. All the tension and stress that had plagued her beautiful face in the morning was now gone. There was no trace of it, and Derek was happy there wasn't.

"Of course, I do. Spill," he said.

"Well, when I was in Europe, road tripping with Sadie, I had absolutely no idea what I wanted to do in life. I was fresh out of college, and I knew I didn't want to become a surgeon like my mother. As I and Sadie toured Europe, the idea of becoming an architect embedded itself in my mind. It just wouldn't leave my head! I wanted to be an architect so bad back then, even though I didn't know a thing about architecture," she replied with a chuckle.

"You wanted to be an architect? You? Really?"

"Finding it hard to believe, right?" Meredith said with a laugh.

"Extremely," Derek answered.

"Thinking about it retrospectively, I find it so hard to believe too! Now I know that I was always cut out to be a surgeon, not an architect. It'd have been so out of character, so unlike me if I had been anything other than a surgeon. I simply wouldn't have been happy with my job and my life. I know this sounds terrible, but if my mom hadn't got Alzheimer's, I'd have never decided to be a surgeon. And that would have sucked. So, I guess, I have to thank my mom's disease for the life I am leading now."

"Hmm...I'm glad that things turned out the way they did, and you became a surgeon. Not that I wouldn't have loved you if you weren't a surgeon and were an architect, but you know what I mean..." Derek said.

"How do you know we'd have even met each other if I had been an architect? Our entire love story revolves around the fact that we are both surgeons and work in the same hospital," Meredith said, giggling.

"I know we'd have met somehow. If not this way, then that way. Soulmates always end up with each other," Derek replied in a confident voice.

Meredith's eyes widened a bit and a smile instantly tugged at the corner of her lips. She looked into her husband's loving blue eyes, captivated, hypnotized, mesmerized by them. All those unpleasant feelings from the morning were non-existent now, thanks to him. He always knew how to buck her up when she was low. Always. Even if that meant he had to dance it out with her. And she loved him for that. For being so uniquely...him. In that moment, all Meredith could feel was love and care. She felt like she was enclosed in a little bubble of love and happiness, created by her amazing husband. Soulmates, indeed. They stared at each other for what felt like an eternity, blue clashing with grey-green, lost in their own little world, before Jane's voice brought them back to reality. Breaking their transfixed gaze, Meredith tucked a piece of stray hair behind her ear and covered Derek's hand that was resting on her knee with her own. Looking to her husband with smiling eyes, she said, "You're right. Soulmates always find each other in the end."

"Are you scared?"

"No," Derek said with a chuckle. "You?"

"Not a jot," Meredith replied with a shake of her head. "Don't you think this is ironical? We're supposed to be scared. We are on a 'ghost' tour, after all."

"Well, the tour hasn't begun yet."

"But still...We are seated in a dark and shadowy trolley lit with lanterns and occupied by few passengers. The trolley is standing in the middle of a dimly lit, desolate street. It's 9 p.m. – the perfect time for the Cape May ghosts to come out. We should be scared, Derek."

Derek shook his head as he gave her a sarcastic smile. "You're mocking me for bringing you on this ghost tour, aren't you?" he asked with a grimace.

"Hell yes!" Meredith said with a full-blown laugh. "I mean, this is so ridiculous! There are not any ghosts in Cape May...There are not any ghosts anywhere. Period."

"So, you don't believe in ghosts?"

"No, I don't," Meredith said firmly. "Don't tell me you do...You don't, right?"

"I don't know," Derek said with a shrug. "I don't believe in "ghosts." But, I believe in souls...Spirits...Bodiless beings..."

"What?!" Meredith's mouth fell open. "You believe in spirits?!"

Derek nodded solemnly.

"How can you believe in spirits, Derek? You're a surgeon, for God's sake! You can't possibly believe in spirits!"

"Why not?" Derek asked with a quizzical expression.

"Really? Really? You are asking me that? Science doesn't believe in spirits, Derek," Meredith said defiantly.

"Well, science hasn't been able to account for the life and death of any creature yet. Think about it. We are surgeons. We fix people. But we can fix people only while they are alive. Why can't we fix them once they are dead?" Derek queried.

"Because their heart stops functioning?" Meredith said, silently asking "so?"

"Exactly! Now, we carry out heart transplants all the time. Once a person's heart stops functioning, why can't we do a heart transplant on that person and bring that person back from the dead? Why is it that a heart transplant works only when a person is alive?" Derek pointed out.

Meredith bit her lower lip for a moment, before saying, "It doesn't matter. It definitely doesn't happen because the person's soul leaves his or her body!"

"Oh, but I think it does," Derek said with a nod.

"Wow! I never knew my husband believed in souls and spirits. It's like, I'm discovering a whole new side of you here in Cape May," she said, shaking her head disbelievingly.

"Well, maybe Cape May brings out another side in us," Derek said with a smile, "Or maybe, we just never took the time to know these little things about each other."

Meredith looked to him, the meaning of his seemingly simple statement clear as day to her. Her lips curled up in a tiny, lopsided, regretful smile as their tour guide boarded the trolley and started talking.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen! I'm Louisa, and I'm going to be your tour guide on this ghost tour of Cape May," the tour guide, a short, dark-haired woman said.

"Let me tell you a little bit about our first stop on this tour," Louisa said, "Our starting point will be Beach Avenue and Ocean Street. As we cross Beach Ave, we stop across from the Inn of Cape May. This is one of my favourite haunts in town. The fourth and fifth floors are particularly active. If you're lucky, and stay here a few nights, you may encounter the "Lady in Blue." She is a former housekeeper who still checks on the rooms. She has been seen as a ghost wearing a luminous blue dress, hence the name. If you're extra lucky, you may encounter the two dead children who have haunted the hotel since they both drowned almost 100 years ago. They are heard running up and down the hallways late at night, calling each other's names. Maybe they'll call yours." Louisa finished speaking in a soft whisper as the trolley came to a stop.

Meredith stared out the window at the inn with wide eyes. It was a large, white Victorian style inn with dozens of glass windows, wooden balconies, turrets and signature purple awnings. It did look a little like those haunted houses, but it was improbable since the inn was still in use and people were living in it every day. There weren't any ghosts there. Were they? Unconsciously, she reached for Derek's hand.

"Whoa, feeling scared, are we?" her husband whispered in her ear.

Meredith turned around and glared at him. "I'm not scared. Why would I be? You think a small ghostly tale is enough to frighten Meredith Grey?"

"It's okay if you're scared and want to hold my hand. I'm here to protect you," Derek said with a smirk. "Cosy up," he said, draping his arm around his wife's shoulder and pulling her closer.

"Ugh!" Meredith said, annoyed, as she shook his arm off. "I'm not scared, Derek. I just wanted to hold your hand. Can't I want to hold my husband's hand? Fine, I won't hold your hand. I am not scared!"

"Okay," Derek said with a smile as the trolley moved on. "Did you like those purple awnings at the inn? Maybe we should have them in our house."

"I liked them, but I think our house looks better without them. One person would be really really happy if we got purple awnings though," Meredith said with a fond smile. "Zola."

"Yeah...She loves anything purple..."

"She'd have loved the inn just because of those purple awnings. I wish she were here with us." Meredith let out an audible sigh.

"We'll positively bring her and Bailey here. Maybe as early as next year." He squeezed his wife's hand, both of them feeling their children's absence greatly at the moment.

Louisa continued her spiel in a spooky whisper. "Our next stop is the Hotel Macomber, formerly known as the Stockton Villa. The spooky activities begin in the lower level of the hotel where Diane's Boo-Tique is located and include radios suddenly going on or abruptly shutting off, or turning the dial to Country Western music. Upstairs right off the lobby is the dining room at Union Park Restaurant which has also been the scene of many a sighting. There are tales of a woman walking through the dining room and kitchen wearing a shabby waitress uniform. Tales of table cloths lifting up from tables and the chef's knives being moved from one spot to another are frequently heard. But, the most eerie story at Macomber comes from Room #10. An older woman whose children treated her to a stay at the Stockton Villa in the 1940s – the summer after her husband died, came back summer after summer throughout the decade with her steamer trunk, and always stayed in Room #10. According to experts, she is still coming back. Heavy furniture or possibly a trunk can be heard moving across the room throughout the night whenever the lady is back in town, which is usually about three or four times a summer."

Meredith looked up into the window of Room #10 from her seat, craning her neck, trying to ascertain if there were really any ghosts inhabiting the place. However, gazing at the Hotel Macomber in all its glory at twilight, she instantly developed a liking for the place. It was another fine example of Victorian architecture, and even though she had little belief in the ghost stories being told by their tour guide, she thought it was a wonderful opportunity for them to see more of the town.

The next stop was the town's oldest, and arguably the most beautiful street – Jackson Street. Louisa told them about Harriett's B&B, where guests had reported seeing a lady in her dressing gown, standing in front of a mirror and brushing her hair in the servant's quarter. She was transparent, as Louisa told them, except for part of her face.

"Harriett's reminds me of a B&B I stayed at in Paris," Meredith said to him as her eyes raked over the building. "Sadie and I stayed there for a weekend. The bed and breakfast was lovely – so warm and inviting. And the host was very cordial too."

"You had a great time in Europe, didn't you?"

"One of the best times of my life," she said with a fond smile.

"Maybe we can go to Europe sometime," Derek murmured.

"Maybe...Once the kids are older," she said with a nod.

As the trolley moved through the dark, winding streets and alleys of Cape May, Meredith couldn't help the smile that crossed her face as she leaned her head against her husband's shoulder and listened to the various ghostly tales of the town.

I'd go hungry, I'd go black and blue

I'd go crawling down the avenue

No, there's nothing that I wouldn't do

To make you feel my love

"That ghost tour was fun. It was fun listening to all those ghost stories, even though I didn't believe in them. Plus, we got to see some more of Cape May and its historic buildings. Interesting. You have to admit though, Mary was the funniest ghost on the tour. I was trying to suppress my laughter instead of quivering with fear," Meredith said as she and Derek walked inside their cottage late at night.

"Which one was that again?" Derek asked as he shucked his jacket.

"You forgot? The one who was addicted to giving blow jobs in the early 1900s. 'It is said that whoever stays in her residence wakes up with a sore throat more often than not,'" she mimicked Louisa's grave voice and then burst into laughter. "Louisa was trying so hard to make the story sound as frightening as she could, but I could see that she herself wanted to laugh at it."

Derek chortled as he sat down on the bed and took off his shoes. "Yeah, that one was hilarious. I had to cover your mouth to keep you from laughing. The other passengers were giving us a weird look."

"Well, you are one to talk. I thought you were going to come running to me like a scared little boy or worse, pee in your pants with fear," Meredith said with another laugh as she plopped down beside him.

"Why would you think that?" Derek asked, shocked and embarrassed.

"You did say prior to the tour that you believe in ghosts," Meredith pointed out.

"I said I believe in spirits and souls, not ghosts. And the ghost stories they told us on the tour – they were just lame."

"So you finally admit it that the ghost tour was lame," Meredith said with a roll of her eyes.

"I didn't say that. I said the stories were lame. Not the tour itself. As you said, the tour allowed us to see Cape May in a different light. Plus, it made you laugh your face off, and that's the biggest gift for me."

Meredith looked up in her husband's eyes and held his gaze. He was doing it again. Saying and doing all the right things that made him McDreamy in the first place. Things that made her...made her want to kiss him senseless. Things that made her want to jump his bones.

"Seeing me laugh is your biggest gift?" she asked, biting her bottom lip as she lowered her gaze to his lips. It had been way too long since she had kissed him. Way too long.

"Yes. Your laughter is music for my ears," he said, wanting to kiss her just as much but not pushing his limits. He wanted her to make the first move. Especially after the way she had been in the morning.

Meredith looked back into his eyes again and gave him a simper. She moved slightly on the bed so that she was sitting closer to her husband, their arms lightly brushing. She stared into her husband's eyes a moment longer, seeing the desire and hope glimmering in his eyes. She was sure that he wanted it as much as she did. Deciding to bite the bullet, Meredith closed her eyes partly and leaned closer to him.

Derek didn't dare move. He feared that if he moved, the spell would be broken and Meredith would pull away. So, he stayed where he was and closed his eyes in anticipation.

Their lips were mere centimetres apart, and Derek could feel her breath fanning his cheek. As he finally moved his head a little, their lips almost brushed together. Almost.

They both jumped up and pulled away from each other when they heard someone's phone going off.

"Uh...um...It's me," Derek said, reaching into the back pocket of his pants and pulling out his phone. "Amy," he said in an irritated murmur. His sister had such impeccable timing. He and Meredith were this close...this close to sharing their first kiss in months, and his sister had to choose that time to call him.

"Oh, um...Say hi to her on my behalf," Meredith mumbled, feeling awkward. "I'll...I'll go and change," she said, getting up from the bed and walking inside the bathroom with a sigh.

The storms are raging on the rolling sea

And on the highway of regret

The winds of change are blowing wild and free

You ain't seen nothing like me yet

"Hello, Amy," Derek said into the phone.

"Hi, Derek. How are you? How is Meredith? Everything alright?" Amelia said on the other end.

Everything was going to be alright, until you came and butted, Derek said inwardly. "I'm good. Meredith is good as well. We had a little fight this morning, but now her dark and twisty mood is gone."

"Oh...You had a fight? Who picked it up this time?"

"Meredith did. But, it's all fine now. Actually, you just interrupted a moment between me and her," he said with a groan.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" Amelia said in an apologetic voice. "You guys hadn't called yet, so I thought I'd call to check up on you. Sorry."

"It's fine," Derek said, even though it was not. They were this close. But, every single time..."How are the kids?"

"The kids are great. They are having the time of their life with their grandma and me...So, how is Cape May treating you? You keeping my sister happy?"

"Cape May has been lovely so far. And of course I'm keeping her happy. That was the point of bringing her here."

"Good. She really needed this vacation, Derek, and I was gonna suggest it to you if you hadn't talked her into it before. She was so stressed and tensed and worried here in Seattle, what with work, the kids, and the tension between you two, and you going back to D.C...I got so scared for her when she had the panic attack. I thought she was sinking into depression and needed therapy –"Amelia didn't get the chance to finish her sentence.

"Wait a sec. What panic attack?!" Derek asked, confused.

"The one she had when you were back in D.C...Boy, you forget things so easily..."

"Meredith had a panic attack when I was in D.C.?" Derek asked, his jaw slack.

"Oh my God! She didn't tell you about it? Shit..." Amelia murmured.

"Hey, you still talking to Amy? Gimme the phone, I wanna talk to her too," Meredith said, coming out of the bathroom in her nightshirt and sweatpants, her hair up in a messy bun.

Derek spun around, the phone still pressed to his ear. "You had a panic attack when I was in D.C.?" he asked.

Meredith's eyes widened. She locked eyes with him, only to find anger and bewilderment staring back at her. She gulped, not knowing what to say to him to pacify him.

"What, you didn't feel the need to tell me about it?" He gave a bitter laugh. "Of course. I'm not your husband. I'm your next door neighbour. Why would you tell me about it? Why would you tell me anything?"

"Derek, I – "Meredith started to say in a feeble voice, but Derek raised his hand, gesturing her to stop.

"No need to explain yourself. I've got all the explanation I need. I thought you had changed – that you were trying, but no...You'll never change. You're unchangeable. You just don't feel the need to put in your share of efforts. Clearly, our marriage means nothing to you," he said, slinging his phone on the bed and brushing past Meredith. Meredith tried to move, but she couldn't. Her legs just wouldn't budge. She stood rooted in her spot as she heard Derek walk across the living room, followed by a bang of the front door minutes later.

I could make you happy, make your dreams come true

Nothing that I wouldn't do

Go the ends of the Earth for you

To make you feel my love

To make you feel my love...

A/N: I did promise you some angst in this chapter, didn't I? Meredith did a big mistake by not telling Derek about her panic attack. Now, what's next for our duo? Buckle in, because this is going to be one hell of a ride!

Let me know if you guys are still out there, reading this little story. I sincerely hope you haven't abandoned me, but I wouldn't blame you if you did.

Song Lyrics from "Make You Feel My Love" by Adele

~ooOOoo~

Thank you for all the wonderful reviews on last chapter! Love them...Live for them :)