I'll Hold My Breath

Chapter 6

 Meredith Grey didn't do dates. She wasn't the kind of girl that looked at a guy and imagined a future with him. She was more the sleep-with-a-guy-and-leave-before-the-sun-rose kind of girl. She could tell Derek wasn't that kind of guy, considering their first interaction had been him dropping an engagement ring. He was the kind of guy that wanted a future and a house and kids, so a date with Derek wasn't just a date.

She had knots in her stomach when he asked if she'd go on a date with him. The whole reason she'd agreed in the first place was because she figured he wouldn't remember by the time their trial ended but he had and now she was screwed. She couldn't say no since she had technically agreed to the date months ago but she found it hard to say yes. When she finally did she immediately began wracking her brain trying to figure out a way to get out of going on a date with Derek Shepherd. She was going to tell him later that week she couldn't do it, she wasn't the dating kind of girl. He lit up every time she was around and it made her almost excited for the date.

A part of her was excited. She'd never been on a real date, not even with Finn. They'd mostly gone to bars or she would go to his place but they'd only ever went out once and she ended up leaving early because she had a surgery. Meredith was going on a date with a nice, smart, charming guy, a guy that genuinely liked her and would most certainly treat her how she should be treated and yet she couldn't help but feel sick at the idea.

Derek was nervous for the date. Excited, but nervous. He liked this girl, he really liked this girl. Smart, funny, beautiful, the whole package. He knew she wasn't too thrilled about the date but he hoped he'd be able to change her mind. He was willing to take this at her pace, however slow that might be. A date was a good start. He felt like an idiot, he changed his shirt 3 times before finally settling on a dress shirt he'd bought his first day in Seattle. It was a light blue that made his eyes pop more than usual. He put a black suit jacket over top to match his black dress pants and shoes. He took one final look in the mirror before heading to the hospital to pick up Meredith.

Meredith felt absolutely ridiculous. She waited outside the hospital in a long, slim fitting black dress, her hair laying on her shoulders in their natural curls and no make up aside from red lipstick. She took out her phone and pretended to look busy hoping no one from the hospital would recognize her, and if they did they wouldn't bother her.

"Excuse me, ma'am?" She looked up from her phone annoyed.

"Oh...hi." She smiled as she looked at Derek. Damn, he looked good.

"You look...wow, you look amazing." Derek told her. Truthfully he could not find any words to tell her how beautiful she looked to him, not just tonight but all the time.

"Oh, thanks." Meredith said, nervously tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. "You look good too."

"You ready to go?"

"Sure."

The car ride to the restaurant was quiet and awkward. Meredith refused to look at him so he kept his eyes on the road pretending not to notice. It's one date don't get attatched, You're Meredith Grey, you don't do relationships, Derek Shepherd does relationships, Meredith told herself. She'd been telling herself that since he'd shown up and she felt butterflies in the pit of her stomach.