Here we go...the new story I've promised you...and once again, it's totally AU. I have to admit, while I enjoy Grey's, I'm a big fan of a crime dramas (especially NCIS, CSI, and Criminal Minds) so it came to me one night while I was watching one of them, that what if I used that kind of setting for a MerDer fic? It's different, I know, and I'm a little nervous about posting it! But along with the drama, there will be the usual romance between our favorite couple...eventually... I just hope I do the genre justice, and I hope you enjoy the story along the way!
Big thanks to dakotalady for her input on the title of this fic, and for her support in previewing some of this! I appreciate it!
Story Premise: There's a killer on the loose in Seattle, preying on young women. Detective Meredith Grey has just returned to Seattle after a two year absence, and on the first night back, called out to the crime scene, she is confronted with the man she left behind. Detective Derek Shepherd is still around, still damn sexy and now she will have to deal with working with him again. Along with the attraction that still simmers between them, they have to track down the killer before he strikes again...
Usual Discliamer: Don't own Grey's or the characters...they belong to Shonda...this is just a work of fiction to entertain the fans, and keep me busy!
Under a Dark Moon
Chapter One
Meredith parked the Jeep, easing it in behind the other vehicles clogging the darkened side street. She sighed and squinted at her reflection in the visor mirror, trying to rake her hair into some semblance of order. If it wasn't midnight. maybe she could look more put together, however, being yanked out of a tequila induced slumber to come to your first Seattle crime scene in two years wasn't her idea of dressing to impress. It would have to do for now.
She unlocked the glove compartment and retrieved her gun, snapping it into the holster beneath her jacket, then fishing in her purse for the new laminated ID tag she'd just picked up that evening. Taking a deep breath, she stepped out of the Jeep, into the damp Seattle night. Mist curled around the buildings, shrouding everything in silence. Even the various voices of the already assembled technicians and officers, and the blue and red flashing lights seemed muted. Wrapping her jacket more securely around her, Meredith picked her way along to where a young uniformed office guarded the perimeter. He held up one hand to stop her, but she flashed him the ID badge, earning a smile and a wave through as he lifted the yellow crime scene tape. "Sorry, ma'am…didn't realize you were with us."
Meredith rolled her eyes. "God, don't call me ma'am...is the Captain here?"
"Sorry, ma'am…erm…I mean, Detective. He's over there…" He pointed to the small group clustered around the victim. Meredith's gaze tracked along the group - Captain Webber was there all right; standing right next to the man she had hoped not to run into so soon.
Meredith steeled herself to keep walking. She glued her eyes on the bulk of the Captain, managing to keep focused. Damnit, but the man next to Richard still looked too good, too well put together for the late hour. Under the streetlight, she could tell his body was still workout lean, topped by jet black hair that was just tousled enough, and a pair of eyes whose glare was piercing blue. He was dressed in charcoal slacks and cashmere sweater beneath a supple leather trench coat. His hand clutched his habitual cup of coffee, as he surveyed the scene, somehow managing to exude an air of detached boredom. But she knew it was just a facade – he was so aware of everything around him as always.
Not for the first time tonight, she wondered why she had agreed to come back to Seattle. Derek Shepherd was still here, still deadly. And of course, they were going to have to work together. Fucking great…
Derek shoved one hand into his coat pocket, wondering why these things always seemed to happen in the dead of night. Even the moon was dark, hiding behind the clouds. The victim was sprawled out on the cement behind the dumpster, blood seeping out of her skull, and puddling beneath her. Her purse was abandoned several feet away, contents scattered. There was no wallet, so the identification was going to be tough, but maybe they could piece her shattered cell phone together and get something from it. He sipped from the steaming cup of coffee warming his other hand, watching carefully as the medical examiner began her survey of the injuries.
"Poor child, to die alone like this," Miranda Bailey clucked. "Such a waste."
"Anything pointing to a cause?" Captain Webber asked. "This is the second one like this in the last week. Looks bad." He scowled at the body, as if it could give him the answers he was seeking. He shoved his hands in the pockets of his voluminous coat, the collar turned up against the damp chill.
Derek shrugged. "No gunshots, so obviously the blow to the head would be my guess. But I'm not the expert," he conceded, giving Bailey a nod. Then he looked around, keeping an eye on the few onlookers loitering around the edge of the crime scene tape. He swallowed another sip of coffee, before catching sight of the officer waving a slim woman through. "Damn, why is he letting her…" He stopped, his body tensing as he recognized the delicate features in the flashing lights. He turned back to the Webber, narrowing his blue eyes in anger. "She's here…why the hell didn't you tell me she was coming here?"
"Suck it up, Shep. What difference would it make if I told you, anyway? You're both adults," Richard growled. "I don't want any whining – keep it professional."
Derek cooled his emotions, keeping his thoughts neutral. "Sure. You got it…professional is my middle name." His jaw clenched, though, as the woman neared them. It had been two years since he had last seen her, two years of silence and regret. What was he going to say to her now?
She looked good to him, despite the late hour. Her hair was pulled back from her face, emphasizing her cheekbones, and intelligent gray green eyes. A little thinner than he remembered, dressed in slim, worn jeans and a plain white t-shirt under her fitted leather jacket. He still remembered the feel of her body against his, of her hair tickling his belly when she…
He snapped out of his reveries, as she brushed by him without a word, the familiar scent of her lavender conditioner tickling his nostrils. His gut twisted – this wasn't going to be easy.
"Boss," she nodded to the Captain. "Why am I here at this hour? I don't officially start till tomorrow."
"It is tomorrow," he replied wryly. "And we're short staffed. Sloan is off with the flu, so you're up. Welcome back to Seattle, Grey."
Meredith groaned inwardly. "Fine. What happened here?"
"Maybe random, but it's too similar to another murder two days ago."
"Hello Miranda," Meredith murmured, dropping down beside the other woman. She pulled out a pair of disposable gloves from her jacket pocket, grimacing at just how prepared she'd been.
"Hey, girl – glad to have you back with us. Too much testosterone floating around here usually," she smirked.
"Yeah, I can tell," Meredith agreed, with a little smirk of her own.
"Sorry about your Mom. Ellis is always happy to help if I need anything – kind of miss her around the hospital these days."
"Yeah. What killed this one?" Meredith brushed aside the reference to her mother, not willing to discuss the details right now. The details that had brought her back to Seattle, after vowing never to return. Never say never, isn't that how the saying goes?
"I'll have more answers after the autopsy, but this is likely from the head trauma." She carefully pushed the girl's hair from a nasty crack on the back of her skull.
"Any sign of rape?"
"No, looks like robbery gone bad. But she didn't fight back – I see no sign of skin under her nails, nor are any of them broken..."
"As if she knew her attacker," Meredith murmured, inspecting the girl's hand. "Not entirely a robbery either, her watch is still here..."
"Just like the other one," Derek observed, leaning closer, over Meredith's shoulder. Meredith caught a whiff of his aftershave, and the familiar scent of Hugo Boss made her jerk away. Reminded too forcibly of mornings they had spent getting ready for work, of easy intimacy that she had taken for granted. "Not going to say hello, Meredith?' he asked softly.
"Any leads on that one?" she asked, ignoring his question. She edged away, her eyes falling on an object tucked along the edge of the dead girl's body. "What's this? Can we move her and look?"
Miranda nodded. "I've done all I can here. Let's see…" She helped Meredith roll the body over, plucking a small white card from the ground and placing it in a small evidence bag. "Hmm…the letter "A"…?"
"Odd…" Meredith inspected it through the cellophane.
"May I?" Derek asked, taking it from her, his fingers brushing hers.
Meredith nodded. "Any cards at the other scene?"
"We'll check when we get back to the precinct."
"There was," Richard remembered, backing away. "I'm going home now. You two work on this one. I want to clear this up fast before the news gets this blown out of proportion." He levelled a cool look at them both. "Nice to have you back, Grey."
"I still don't know how long I'm staying…" she protested.
"As long you want."
Richard walked away, leaving them alone for a moment. A painful silence descended as she tried to think of something to say. "Um, look, Derek… I didn't expect to see you like this…"
"What, running into your ex-fiancé wasn't in your plans tonight, Mer?" he asked, his fingers squeezing the Styrofoam cup tightly. "You left me, remember honey?"
"Oh, yes I remember," Meredith agreed tightly, rubbing her temples. The tequila was still leaving its after-effect on her brain. Trading barbs with Derek was too difficult to handle right now.
"You okay?" he asked, noting the dark circles under her eyes then. "Sleeping okay? I know how much trouble you had sometimes..."
"Just dandy," she huffed. "And don't call me honey anymore…" She turned on her heel, ready to escape back to her Jeep, when he caught her arm. She gave him a pointed look, and pulled away. "I'm going to head to the precinct now. Just keep out of my personal space, and we'll be fine. Looks like we're stuck together, so we'll have to make the best of it."
"Well, as soon as Sloan recovers we won't have to be stuck together," Derek commented, matching her frosty tone. "The Captain can find you someone else to work with."
"Fine." Meredith stalked away, her heart thudding in her chest. Damn him to hell - he could still have this effect on her, despite the fact it had been two long years apart.
"Well, she was sure impressed with your charm, Shep," Bailey observed, packing up her examiners bag. The ambulance attendants proceeded to place the body into the black bag for transportation to the morgue, while she watched carefully. "You gonna go after her?"
Derek shook his head. "She's too mad at me right now, Miranda. I don't need to get yelled at tonight. Bad enough she's going to be waiting for me at the precinct." He crumpled the coffee cup and tossed it into the dumpster.
"I always thought you two were the golden couple - able to combine work and personal life," she said as they followed the technicians to the edge of the perimeter.
"Shit, Bailey, you know cops can't have the happily ever after," Derek sighed. "It was bound to happen."
"Mmhmm...I do know that. But she's back in Seattle now, this might be your only chance to get her back." They stopped beside Derek's car, the black paint shining under the streetlights.
"What makes you think I want to get her back?" he asked, unlocking the door. "Maybe I've moved on."
"You're a fool if you don't, Shep," Miranda laughed, before heading to her own department issued vehicle. Unlike Derek, she preferred to use the company car. He shook his head at her as she walked away.
"I may be a fool for letting her get away the first time," he said softly to himself, folding his lean body into the compact sports car. "But I don't think she's ready for any kind of reconciliation yet."