Author's Note: Well, we've reached the end of the story.

This was an interesting experiment in a darker fic and it's helped a lot. I now know what works with my muse and that's always helpful.

I ask that you all continue to read my work and send me some suggestions for more Grey's fiction.

Thank you all for reading.

Disclaimer: "Honestly, it's not mine!"

"You're the Sith Lord!" Anakin Skywalker said from the TV.

"That's right, now run him through, damn it!" Addison barked.

"Come on, he's the freakin' bad guy! You have didn't have a problem with killing the bad guy earlier!" Meredith added.

"Get him, don't talk to him! He's going to make you kill everybody!" Izzie urged.

Derek chuckled as he watched the girls yell at the movie while it played.

"Ugh, idiot!" they exclaimed after the scene, throwing handfuls of popcorn at the screen in disgust.

"If you three think that then why don't you just turn it off?"

His answer came in the form of three icy glares and he put up his hands in surrender.

He retreated back into the kitchen with the guys and grabbed a beer.

"Revenge of the Sith, right?" Mark asked ruefully.

"Yep. When are they going to realize that the characters can't hear them?" George grumbled as he went to sit with his girlfriend.

This happened every time they put in a Star Wars movie. The girls gathered around and went to war with the characters, picking their actions apart like hens. Their commentary could range from hilarious to insightful; it depended on which hour it was in. And without fail, at least one ended up crying. Derek didn't mind the last one because he got to hold Meredith.

"Oh, let them have their fun. We do the same thing with football." Derek reminded them sagely.

"True. Remember when you put your foot through the dorm TV after that Giants game?" Mark chortled.

"That was your fault! You made me lose $150!"

"That's what you get for listening to me!"

Derek sighed and let it go. He'd been doing that a lot, lately. The letting things go, that is. He had let go his hatred after Mark's betrayal and eventually, they had reconciled. Meredith and Addison's surprisingly close friendship had seen to that.

Their motto: This will only be awkward if we make it awkward.

It ended up being for the best, anyway.

He had his "person" back and a better life.

//////////

"Mark and Addison gone?"

"Yeah, so are George and Izzie."

"Are you coming to bed?"

"In a minute, Derek."

He kissed her cheek and exited her home office, leaving her to her thoughts.

Her house had emptied out after the intern year ended. Now, she shared it with Derek as they built on his land. They'd move there eventually, leaving the house to the hospital. The Chief would take of it. It was the least he could do considering everything.

He had been the "Richard", Ellis always spoke about. He had been the man to break her mother. He had been the one to make her mother so cold and so very lonely. Ellis had tried to assuage the hurt with her work but it didn't work. All she had to show for it was Alzheimer's and her name in a few old medical journals. She didn't really have a daughter, anymore either. It reinforced a valuable lesson: Surgery was good but it couldn't grow old with you or hold you when times got rough.

…Thank god I realized that before it was too late…

Her thoughts settled on her former friend. After Burke's infidelity, Christina had thrown herself even further into her work and had been even more caustic to others. Of course, the board hadn't been able to do anything about her. At least until one Spinelli Davis had come in. Christina's hand had slipped due to overwork and she had killed her on the table. Unfortunately, Spinelli had been the daughter of a high profile attorney. In an effort to save face, Christina Yang had been dropped from the surgical program and "transferred" to Anchorage, Alaska to work in pediatrics, a fate worse than death to the ambitious woman.

Meredith had felt bad for her but also vindicated.

Karma had a wonderful sense of irony when she saw fit to show it.

Standing, she turned out the light and made her way to their bedroom.

Derek was already asleep, sprawled flat on his back. She crawled into bed and curled up against him, snuggling for warmth and comfort.

He was what she was most grateful for and whom she loved most of all.

If someone asked if she would do it all again, go through the pain and drama all over again, she'd give them a resounding yes.