Where You Belong

28

Back at the dance, everything seemed the same. Derek had cautiously re-approached the swarms of happy, dressed-up, dancing people after Meredith had been called from the exam room, leaving him alone. What had happened with Izzy, he didn't know, but he knew his girlfriend was needed. It felt surreal to be back in the midst of all the hospital staff so soon after his experience in the exam room. That had definitely never happened between them before. He had barely been able to make out shapes of people as he and Meredith had rushed from the dance floor to a more private place. But, luckily for them, they seemed to have flown under the radar, as he couldn't detect any accusing glances.

Still able to smell the lavender of her conditioner on himself, Derek strode across the room to get a drink. He nodded a friendly hello to a few nurses and doctors as he passed them, but found himself disconcerted that after eight months of working at Seattle Grace, the only people he felt comfortable stopping to actually talk with in this type of situation were five interns, one resident, his ex-wife, Preston Burke and the Chief. All five interns were in disposed, dealing with whatever crisis had now befallen Izzy Stevens. Bailey was nowhere to be seen. Preston was lying in a hospital bed upstairs, recovering from the operation Derek had performed the night before. And the Chief had slept with Meredith's mother twenty years ago.

Derek grimaced as he swallowed a sip of the punch he had already deemed 'terrible.' It hadn't gotten any better in the past hour. He caught sight of Addison cautiously making her way towards him and offered her a reassuring smile. The humour was not lost on him that, although he was surrounded with people he worked with every day, his ex-wife was the only one he could begin to talk with. It also wasn't lost on him that he could still feel Meredith's body against his own, could still smell her, could still taste her. And it almost gave him joy that it was all so innocent, that Addison would come over and speak to him and never know.

Things had been better between them over the past couple months. They had worked together on a few cases without any problems, and had even become more than just civil when passing in the halls. Derek would even go so far as to say their interactions were approaching friendly. They weren't friends, and Derek wasn't sure how close they would ever get to being so, but progress was being made.

"Hey," she greeted evenly as she reached for her own cup of punch.

"Hey," he replied. "I wouldn't do that if I were you."

Addison paused, her plastic glass inches from her lips. "What?"

"The punch." He lifted his glass to emphasize his point and shook his head. "Not worth it."

"It can't be that bad."

He shrugged. "Your call; just thought I'd warn you."

She took a small sip and made a face. "Ugh, that's terrible."

Derek nodded. "Told you." He laughed as she tossed her cup into the trash. "You just get here?"

She sighed. "Not exactly. I wasted as much time as I could checking on my patients before making my way down here. I went to prom when I was eighteen. I never expected to be going again twenty years later."

He laughed. "Yeah, it's interesting, that's for sure." He had definitely never expected to attend a prom. But, he mused, if he had to, Meredith was definitely the one he wanted to be there with. He had been on his way to the ferry when he had passed the flower shop that afternoon. And before he had even realised what he was doing, he had turned his car around and steered into the parking lot to order a corsage. He had already known that he wanted to pick her up and do the whole 'prom' thing right, but the corsage had been a last minute idea. From what he had heard about her childhood so far, he knew she had been far too disillusioned by the time she had finished high school to care about prom. She deserved the memory, even if it was ten years late for her. And, truth be told, he wanted the memory too. The look on her face when he had presented her with the small purple flower had made his day. She had never been made to feel special before. She had never expected anything from other people. But she deserved to feel special. And he made a mental note to do more things for her. She wasn't materialistic, and he knew it would upset her for him to start buying her extravagant gifts, but he would find smaller things for her, like the flower.