I've been working on this update for the last couple of days and I really hope you liked it as much as I enjoyed writing it. The flashbacks are written in italics.

Thank you for all the nice comments!

Soft rays of sunlight filtered through the translucent curtains to land in a golden halo around the solitary figure as she stood in the corner, quietly observing the bustling activity outside. The loud noise was a complete contrast to the calmness of the room she was occupying as she continued to watch, her mind caught up on what had become of her life.

She was stirred from her thoughts by a soft rap on the door.

"Come in," her voice was hoarse, her throat dry.

It took a few seconds before the door opened and Cristina slipped inside, the worry lines clearly etched on her face.

"I know we've talked about this before, but I have to ask again —"

"Cristina," Meredith interrupted with an exasperated sigh. She knew what her friend was going to say. She knew that she was going to try to talk her out of going forward with her plan, but she'd made up her mind long ago and nothing was going to stop her. Even if she did want to back out, it was too late. Far too late.

"Are you ready?"

"Can…can I have a few minutes to myself?" She asked, her voice slightly shaken.

"Yeah, of course," Cristina said before she quietly slipped out of the room.

She waited until the door closed before she returned her gaze to the window. She couldn't believe that nine months had passed since had woken up in a stranger's hotel room to discover that not only had she had the best sexual experience of her life, but that she had married the man responsible for said experience in a cloudy, reckless, drunken haze. She had never expected to see him again when she stormed out of his life, leaving nothing but a cryptic note behind. Fate; however, had other plans and four weeks after that disastrous incident, she had unwittingly walked into a room and had her life turned upside down when it was revealed that her husband was none other than her new boss.

From that day, he chased, she avoided, they argued, had amazing sex, argued some more, threatened divorce, had more sex, reconciled, and somehow in the midst of all the craziness had fallen madly and deeply in love.

People didn't think they would last – namely her and Cristina – and despite all that, they boarded a plane and headed home to meet his family. Nothing screamed commitment more than someone who was a self-proclaimed commitment-phobe to take the ultimate leap and do the unthinkable. She took a leap of faith that day and now here she stands alone, six months later, reflecting on her life.

"Meredith! What happened, dear? Why are you crying?" Kate Shepherd rushed to her side when she saw a distraught Meredith ascend the stairs and rushed into her bedroom.

"I…I need…I can't…," Meredith hiccupped, gasping to get air into her lungs. She let out a heavy sigh as she frantically wiped away the tears that were streaming down her face. "I need to leave."

"Leave?" Kate asked, concern etched on her face. "You just got here. What do you mean you need to leave? Where's Derek?"

"He…Addison…she…they…," Meredith struggled to get the words out, a fresh wave of tears threatening to fall at the memory of what she saw.

"Calm down, dear." Kate soothed. "Here," she wrapped her arms around Meredith's trembling frame and guided her over to the ottoman where they both sat down. She carefully removed her arm from Meredith's shoulder and placed a comforting hand over Meredith's shaking ones, giving it a light squeeze. "Tell me what happened. What did my son do to make you so upset?"

The memories of that day came rushing back while she continued to stare out the window. The images still vivid in her mind as she recalled the reaction of Derek's family – or rather, one person in particular – when he introduced her as his wife. There had been an audible collective gasp from his parents and siblings, but their reaction paled in comparison to the outburst that came from Derek's eldest sister.

"Why is she here?" Nancy asked with bitter disdain as she tossed Meredith an unwelcoming glare. "She doesn't belong here."

"Be careful, Nance," Derek warned. "This is my wife you're talking about and I will not have you disrespecting her like that."

"You two may be married, but she doesn't know anything about you and you don't know anything about her."

"I know that I love her and she loves me and that's all that matters."

If she thought that hearing Nancy's opinion – albeit premature and unfounded – were a blow to her already fragile state of mind, she was sadly mistaken. The big bruising blow came in the form of a stunning redhead when it was revealed that Derek's ex-wife, Addison, was also in attendance at the party.

A shiver ran up the length of her spine, similar to the one that struck her that day when Addison, in all her glory, walked up to her and introduced herself as Derek's wife. The argument that ensued, between brother and sister, still rang loud and clear in her head. Meredith recalled the awkwardness that washed over her as she was forced to stand amongst strangers while they argued in private. The problem with yelling was that it could be heard through heavy library walls and that was what had happened.

"Addison loves you. What this girl feels for you is not love. She's infatuated with you and your financial status, that's all," Nancy argued. "Addison knows you and loves you for who you are. How could you give up on a seven year marriage for a fling?"

"You don't know what you're talking about."

"I do, little brother. You got too busy with your career and too lazy to work at your marriage. Addison was there for you every step of the way. She supported you and loved you unconditionally."

"She loved me unconditionally?! Really?!!" he hissed, his anger barely contained. "Was her love unconditional when she decided to fuck my best friend in my bed? Was it unconditional when she carried on with the affair for months behind my back? Was it unconditional when she divorced me to be with him? Was it?!!"

Silence.

"Tell me, Nance, because I'd really like to know!" he yelled.

"She told me you left —"

"Shut up! I'm sick of your shit. You have been nothing but rude to Meredith ever since she arrived and she has done nothing to you. You insult me and mom and dad by bringing Addison here and I will not stand here and allow you to insult my wife. I do not have to explain to you or anyone my relationship with Meredith. The bottom line is that she loves me and makes me happy, which is something I haven't felt in years!"

Needless to say that Addison was no longer welcomed after that admission of the truth, but that didn't stop her from trying to do what she came to do. Meredith laughed bitterly to herself as she recalled the irony of it all.

At Meredith's insistence, Derek helped carry Addison's luggage to her waiting car. He had resisted when, much to the surprise of everyone in the room, Meredith made the suggestion. Everyone had expected her to be upset and to some degree, she had been, but what purpose would it have served to further humiliate Addison by offering no help when she clearly needed it.

By the time Addison was ready to leave, everyone had gone about their separate ways to prepare for the party that evening. Nancy had apologized profusely and offered to help Meredith get settled into their room. Unpacking their things didn't take long since they had only planned for two days and after thanking Nancy for her kindness, Meredith descended the steps on her way to the kitchen to grab herself something to drink. She didn't make it further than the family room when what she saw outside the window, stopped her dead in her tracks.

Six months. Six months had passed and remnants of the feelings of betrayal, anger and loss she felt that day still sent a chill coursing up her spine.

"You bastard!"

"Please, listen to me." Derek begged, his hand reaching for her to keep her from running away. "Please let me explain."

"Explain what?" Meredith yelled, her chest heaving with anger. "Every time I turn my head, I see you kissing another woman! First it was Dani and now Addison?"

"Mer?"

Meredith turned her head to see Cristina standing there. She had been so lost in her thoughts; she didn't hear anyone come in.

"If you're going to do this, we really need to get going."

"Yeah…okay," she whispered as she gathered her stuff and followed Cristina out the door.

"I did NOT kiss Addison," he denied. "She kissed ME! She caught me by surprise. I swear to you, I did not kiss her. I love YOU, don't you see that? I know I hurt you when I kissed Dani and seeing you in pain nearly killed me and I swore I would never do it again. I'd die before I ever let that happen. Please believe me."

"I don't know if I can," she whispered, ignoring the stream of tears that ran down her cheeks as she turned and ran into the house and up the stairs.

Meredith couldn't control the rush of tears that streamed down her cheeks as they walked towards their destination. She vowed she wasn't going to cry, today of all days, but remembering the pains of the past as well as the emotions of the present became too much for her to endure.

"We can still stop this," Cristina whispered when she saw the tears.

"No we can't and we won't." Meredith whispered back. "I'm doing this and I need you to support me."

"Okay, but don't say that I didn't try."

"I know and thank you. Now let go of my arm," she softly commanded of her friend.

The lights were blinding as she stood, staring into a sea of blue. Her nerves were teetering and her legs wanted to give out, but the hands that held onto hers provided all the warmth and comfort she needed to keep her feeling safe, protected and loved.

"You look beautiful," he whispered softly in her ear as they turned towards their future.

"We are gathered here today to re-join this man and this woman in holy matrimony…"

THE END

This is the second story that I stuck with from beginning to end (with the exception of the two oneshots), and as hard as it was for me to write the end, I felt as though this was the perfect place to end it. I know many of you would've liked to see Meredith's interaction with Derek's family and maybe a glimpse into their life as a married couple, but I didn't want to draw out their story longer than was necessary to get them to a place of happiness.

With this update, I tried a different method today, which was to incorporate the past and present together and I hope that it left you intrigued and ultimately happy at the end.

I hadn't planned on the update being as intense as it was and it just sort of fell into that mode as I continued to write and incorporate the flashbacks, which I think you will all agree was rather painful to read. It was hard to write, so I can imagine it must've been a little hard to read.

The end may have been a little cheesy, but I'm a HUGE sucker for Mer/Der happiness, so naturally I want to end on a happy note.

For those interested in reading my other fics that are not posted here, please email me and I will send you the link to the Grey's McBoard Fanfic site.

Breathless – This is a fic that I'm co-writing with the wonderfully talented Lolo (Dark N Twisty Lorena).

My Sweet Addiction – A Dempeo fic.

Perfect Strangers – A Halloween oneshot.

Thank you for your love and support

Suzie