A/N:

My first Grey's Anatomy fic/oneshot! It picks up after the big cliffhanger (thanks shonda) in the season 15 fall finale with Meredith and Andrew in the elevator.

FYI:

I will always love Derek and Meredith, but eventually all good things (even McDreamy) must come to an end. Just like Meredith, we have to move on.

Meredith and DeLuca are growing on me. (Plus, I'd rather her be with him instead of Linc ..just sayin)

I'd love to know what you think! Leave a review and tell me: Linc or DeLuca?

ELS

The elevator shuttered as it came to a sudden and rough halt. Meredith fell back and reached for the silver railing that wrapped around the interior of the elevator. For a brief second, the movement of the elevator reminded her of the plane as it crashed. She tightened her grip on the railing and placed her hand across her chest. She could feel her heart pounding against the inside of her chest.

"Dr. Gr— Meredith, are you okay?" DeLuca asked as he noticed her nervousness.

It's just the elevator, she thought, it's not a plane.

"I—I'm fine. Just shaken up a bit that's all," she replied.

"Meredith, do you have a fear of elevators or something?"

"No, no. It's not that. It just— the way it stopped reminded me of the plane crash."

Andrew slid down the wall of the metal box and sat on the floor. He patted his hand against the cold floor beside him. Meredith made her way to the floor, and he scooted closer.

"Talk," DeLuca said disregarding his previous statement of standing back and not talking.

"What?"

"Tell me about it? The plane crash, I mean."

"Andrew, I don't want to bore you with my crappy, dark and twisty life."

"I wanna hear about it, and it's good to talk about things and get them off of your chest. So tell me about it. We're stuck in an elevator. We've got the time."

"It was cold. It was me, Derek, Arizona, Christina, Mark and Lexi, and Jerry, the pilot."

"Mark and Lexi?" Andrew asked. He had heard their names before in Arizona's version of the crash, but he didn't know who they were.

"Mark was Derek's best friend and Lexi was my sister," Meredith looked down and fiddled with her fingers. He wrapped his arm around her and pulled her closer.

"I'm sorry, Mere." He gently rubbed her arm and kissing the top of her head.

"We were out there for days. Christina, Mark, and I went to look for Derek and Lexi. They had been sucked out along with the back of the plane, and they had gotten separated. Lexi was trapped under a piece of the plane and had been banging on it with a rock. I had to go look for Derek, but I couldn't find him. When I got back, Lexi— she was gone." Meredith wiped at tear from her eye, and DeLuca pulled her small body closer to him.

"Christina and I finally found Derek. We had to use a safety pin to keep the wound on his hand closed. I remember it was freezing, especially once our fire went out. We had one tiny box of matches and a stick of gum. Christina and I split it. The first day all Arizona did was scream from being in shock. We could hear the animals all around us. Mark died in the hospital about a month later from injuries. Derek had surgery after surgery. Arizona lost her leg. Jerry never walked again. Christina had severe PTSD that lasted months. It was worse than her PTSD from the shooting."

"What shooting?" Andrew asked shocked.

"Back in 2010, I think. A man came in looking for Derek, and he couldn't find him. He shot an Reed, an intern and Alex came around the corner and he shot him too. Then I guess Alex made into the elevator. Kepner found Reed. They were interns together then. The hospital went on lock down, but Christina and I didn't really think anything was wrong. Derek saw us walking round and told us to hide in the closet. That's when we saw him, and he shot Derek. Christina and I got him to an OR after the shooter had left. When Owen and I went into the OR, Gary, the shooter, had his gun to Christina's head and told Jackson to quit operating or he'd shoot her. Owen tried to take him, but he shot him too. So I had to work on Owen while Christina worked on Derek and while I was having a miscarriage."

"God, Meredith. I honestly don't know what to say."

"That's Seattle Grace Mercy Death for you. Christina called the hospital that after the crash. That's not even the half of it either. I held a bomb in a chest cavity, and it exploded in the hallway outside the ORs. George was an intern with me, Alex, and Christina under Bailey. He left the hospital to join the army and on his way back, he was hit by a bus. I had a C-section in the dark. I drowned and almost died. My husband died. I was attacked by a patient and was in the hospital for weeks."

"That is definitely a lot to take in."

"Yeah. I told you— dark and twisty. It's not what you thought, was it?"

"Definitely not, but," he moved his hand over her thigh on which her hand gently rested. He hesitated before grabbing her hand and interlocking their fingers. "I do know that you are the bravest human being there is Meredith. I'm serious. You're beautiful; you're brilliant, and you're brave.

Meredith rested her head on his shoulder. They had not been this close or touchy feely since he drunkenly kissed her at the wedding. Her heart was pounding. His heart was pounding. They both had that middle school crush feeling; except it wasn't a middle school crush. It was bigger. She hadn't felt this was since Derek; he hadn't felt this way since Sam.

"Can I be honest with you?" Meredith said. He looked to the woman whose head rested on his shoulder. Their eyes locked.

"With what?"

"I'm terrified." Her eyes shifted down to their hands. "If we choose move forward with this, I'm scared I'll loose you. Not in the we fight, we break up way. I've already lost so many people I care about, and I don't want to have to add you to that list too."

"Then don't."

"Andrew, you can't guarantee that. The odds are never in my favor."

"You're right, I can't, but, Meredith, no one can. We're surgeons; you know that."

"Yeah."

"Look, if it makes you feel any better, I'll wrap myself in bubble wrap every day for you."

Meredith smiled.

"Andrew, you don't ha-," he cut her off.

"Oh but I would. If it means, I get to be with you then I would. I don't want to spend another minute not being with you. I really care about you, Meredith Grey, a lot, and I don't want to be just an option anymore."

"Okay."

"Okay?"

"I care about you too, Andrew. I haven't felt this way about anyone since Derek. So, screw the odds. I know I'm ready to move on, and I want to move on with you."

"Then go out with me," DeLuca said grinning.

"I would love to." Meredith let out is small giggle. "So, where do we start?"

"Like this."

Once again, he kissed her. This time, it was different. He wasn't drunk. It was real. It was passionate.

This time, she kissed him back.

This time, it was them against all odds.