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S2. Meredith asks Derek why he chose Addison.

BECAUSE YOU BEGGED ME.

Derek and Meredith have a talk about why he picked Addison. Season 2. One shot.

"Just tell me why, Derek? Why did you pick her? Why her and not me?"

She couldn't believe that she was asking him this and she had to admit that if she was completely sober, she wouldn't have done it. At all.

He sighs, looking at her sadly.

"Meredith, don't do this. The choice was made, just… let it go."

"Derek, it's the least I deserve. You pursued me. You lied to me. I get to know why you chose her."

"She's my wife."

Meredith glares at him angrily.

"She cheated on you."
"Yes. She did."
"Why did you choose her?"

He sighs, turning away from her for a few seconds before looking back at her pleading face.

"You really want to know?"

"I need to know."

He sighs, looking her straight in the eye.

"Okay. Fine. You want the truth about why I chose Addison? It was you. You made me choose her."

"I made you choose her?"
He nods simply, a shadow of a smile forming on his lips.

"You asked me… to pick you. Choose you. Love you."

"Yeah?"

"Addison would never do that."
"That's why you picked her? Because she wouldn't ask you to?"

He nods, leaning his head against the wall of the elevator.

"Because Addison loves me enough to let me go if she thinks that would make me happy. Which is the same reason why I left. I loved her enough to let her go when I thought that someone else made her happy. Happier than I could. You wanted me, Meredith. You were… are… I don't know, in love with the idea of me. Addison loves me for who I am, she always has. And she loves me in the most amazing, unselfish way… Like I love her."

Meredith turns away from him, tears forming in her eyes.

"So if I was… if I told you to choose her, you would have picked me? Is that what you're saying?"

"No… if you told me to choose her, I still wouldn't know what to do. Only when you begged me to pick you, I realised that… the feelings I have for you and the love I have for my wife… it's different. Just different."
"She cheated on you. I would never cheat on you!"

He sighs, his eyes sad and his brow furrowed.

"Meredith, that's not the point. She made a mistake. So did I. But we can get past that. We have to get past that."

"Because you love each other oh-so-much?"

"Because we love each other oh-so-much."

The elevator stops and Meredith gets off, shooting him a last sad look. He sighs deeply before getting off as well, unable to stop a small smile when he notices his wife leaning against a counter, talking to O'Malley and Karev – both of whom are struggling to concentrate on her words, seeing as they're too obviously admiring her appearance. He saunters over to them, placing a soft kiss on his wife's lips and smirking when he notices the shock in her eyes. He hasn't kissed her in a while and he suddenly regrets that, deciding to deepen the kiss – right there, in front of half the hospital, in front of O'Malley's stunned eyes and in front of Karev's lustful eyes and then he's kissing her with tongue and holding onto her waist and she's kissing him back and she's his wife and he realises how much he missed her. He abruptly pulls away after a while, running his fingers through her red locks and smiling slightly.

"I'll see you later, gorgeous. I have the night off and I know you do too, so… what do you say you get dressed in a fabulous but small little dress and I take you out to dinner?"

She can only nod silently, still stunned about this sudden change in him and he grins, kissing her again.

"I love you, Addie. And I want to make you happy."

He walks off, laughing to himself as he notices her desperately trying to keep her composure in front of the two interns.

Later that night, when they're sitting at a reserved table he takes her hands in his, looking at her seriously.

"I was absent. I was indifferent. I'm sorry."

"I shouldn't have slept with Mark. I'm sorry about that. I really am, Derek…"
"I'm sorry I ran."

"Why did you?"

He smiles sadly, running his thumb over her palm gently.

"I thought he could make you happier than I could."

"No one can make me happier than you, Derek. I… I love you."

"I love you too."
They stare at each other for a long time and he squeezes her hands before leaning over to place a chaste kiss on her lips.

"We're far from okay again. But we will be. I know that."

"Why did you pick me, Derek? I know… I should be glad that you did, I'm just… I don't want you to pick me out of obligation."

"I love you. And… you love me enough to… you were willing to let me go. That's how much you love me, how much I love you and… I just reckoned that a love like that… we shouldn't throw that away."

"It would be really wrong, wouldn't it?"

He nods, smiling at her.

"It would be."
"So… we're going to make this work?"

"It's all in the vows… 'til death."

"'Til death."