SHEPHERD'S ANATOMY

By Marcela Costa

Chapter One – Before the Beginning

"I'm Dr. Carlson and I will be your anatomy teacher." All the avid Med Students gathered around tables with corpses, staring at the teacher with eager eyes. Addison looked around. There was no one there that she knew from Pre-Med. She still needed a roommate.

"Hey." The guy next to her whispered. "What's your name?"

Addison looked at him. "Do you really think this is appropriate?" She whispered back, looking at him and at the teacher.

"If we're gonna be sharing a corpse, we might as well get to know each other!" He whispered, looking around to make sure he wasn't disturbing the class.

"Addison." She said.

"Mark." He answered, shaking her hand and hearing a loud noise his latex glove was making from rubbing against Addison's.

"So, I can see we are all very nervous," the teacher kept on talking "so, I'd like to do a little something to break the ice." He pointed at the black haired guy in the table next to Addison's. "You, come up here."

He walked up to the teacher and looked at the class, smiling. He suddenly caught Addison's attention.

"So, what am I gonna call you in a few years? Dr. Smith? Dr. Hudson? Dr.-"

"Shepherd. Dr. Derek Shepherd." His young smile lit up like the fourth of July. Addison couldn't stop staring at him. What was it about that first-year medical student's face that caught her eye like that?

"Okay, Mr. Shepherd. It's mister, but, only for now, huh?" All the class laughed, but Addison couldn't even listen to what the teacher was saying. Everything was blurred. The teacher told Derek to turn around. He pointed at his head. "The brain. The center of all knowledge and hard-work, you'll be using a lot of it here today. Also, you will meet many people around here, many of them even will start your serotonin secretions, but, don't let anything take your mind off the study."

"Can't promise that." Addison thought.

"Right here, the heart." He pointed at Derek's chest. "I've seen students get tachycardia during tests, but, this is something that we should all avoid. Just try to be calm and things will come naturally. Study very much and you will get good marks."

Derek winked at the class, as if saying "Nice tip!" Addison shivered. She was completely bewitched.

"And more importantly," the teacher continued "the penis." A wave of laughter took over the class. "I'm serious! If you don't use it responsibly, not only will you no longer be a doctor, but you will need a doctor yourself." Addison bit her lower lip. "So, there you have it, ladies and gentlemen! This is Shepherd's Anatomy!" Every single student in that classroom clapped their hands. It was only the start of a beautiful journey.

Cafeteria, 4 hours later.

"Vegetarian, huh?" Mark went behind Addison in the University restaurant's line and commented on her tray full of vegetables.

"Can't really eat meat after dissecting corpses."

"Tell me about it! Hey, do you think we'll ever get used to it?"

"I hope so. I wanna be a surgeon."

"Yeah, me too! But, I mean, those people are alive, you know? With blood and a working heart! Speaking of heart, I see you like my roommate." Mark gave a malicious smile.

"I don't even know your roommate."

"Yes, you do. Derek Shepherd." Addison turned around abruptly.

"Derek Shepherd is your roommate?" Mark burst in laughter.

"Look at how much you blush! You look like a goddamn tomato, Addison!"

"He is… very lovely."

"I'll introduce you to him."

"Really? You'd do that?"

"Of course! I know you'll introduce me to your hot roommate too! And, between me and you," Mark got really close to Addison's ear and whispered. "Derek needs to get laid."

Addison laughed. But inside, she thought: "Oh, so do I."

LUNCH TABLE

"How's the new model for anatomy class?" Mark came in, sitting in front of Derek.

"Shut up, Mark." He said, laughing.

"Meet Addison. She shared a body with me today. And that is NOT a sexual thing."

"I know it it's not, Mark. She looks way too refined to have sex with you." Derek smiled and winked at Addison. "I'm Derek Shepherd"

"Addison Montgomery." She shook Derek's hand, smiling. Their eyes met for a split second and Derek noticed Addison's eyes had shades of blue and green mixing together in a different way every time the sun struck them.

Addison sat down, in silence. It wasn't long before she saw a dark haired girl walking by and noticed she looked familiar. "Where do I know that girl from?" She thought aloud. "Oh, yeah, the Red Cross!"

"You worked for the Red Cross?" Derek asked, curious.

"Well, kinda. They have this program called Youth Brigade*, where Med and Pre-Med students go to places afflicted by war, or genocide or even natural disasters to help out, both medically and psychologically. And the good thing about having students do it is we get to learn and it counts as both volunteer hours and work experience hours for our resumé."

"That's awesome! Where did you go?"

"Iraq. I helped with the Gulf War wounds. That's when I got familiar with GSWs, lung problems following gas attacks and deep burn protocols."

"Wow! I wanna go to that program! But I'm afraid I won't be able to afford it." Derek looked down.

"Oh, don't worry! You can ask the Red Cross to be relieved from your travel expenses."

"That's amazing! I always wanted to do something like that."

Addison picked up a piece of paper and a pen from her purse. She wrote something down and passed the paper on to Derek. "Why don't you call me? I'll find out details and tell you all about it."

"Was your family worried about you?"

"Oh, my mom isn't exactly Mother Theresa, and my dad was always too busy to think about volunteer work." Addison said. "Too busy fucking nurses." She completed silence.

"What do you mean?" Mark spoke for the first time.

"They never knew."

"They never knew?" Derek was incredulous.

"I told my mom I was in France. She loves Paris. I was saving lives and she probably thought I was shopping for shoes."

"Oh. Wow." Derek was speechless. He'd been talking to Addison for a few minutes and already thought she was one of the most interesting women he'd ever met. The bell rang.

"Hey, it's our time, huh?" Addison smiled and stood up from the table, picking up her tray. Mark followed her closely.

"Did you really work for the Red Cross?"

Addison giggled. "Yes, I did! Why would I invent something like that?"

"To give him your phone number. And by the way, nice job with that." He whispered. Addison looked back and saw Derek sitting on the table, still waiting. He waved to her discreetly, with a flawless smile.

"Let's see if it'll work." Addison smiled, walking ahead of him.

"That's my girl!" Mark said, walking faster to catch her. "Woman of action."

LATER THAT DAY.

"Open up, Addie, it's me!" Mark banged on Addison's door. She let him in. "I've brought you champagne."

"C'mon now, Sloan, I am way too refined to have sex with you." Addison laughed.

"Jesus, woman! It's champagne, not a condom!" A nice-looking woman, sitting at the far right of the dorm, started laughing and caught Mark's attention. "Well, hello there." He said, smiling and shaking her hand. "I'm Mark Sloan."

"Naomi."

"Forget about it, cowboy." Addison took the bottle of champagne from Mark's hands. "She's got a boyfriend."

"No kidding."

"Yeah, they go way back from Pre-Med."

"Too bad. I'm sorry then, for being, you know? Gross."

Naomi giggled. "It's okay."

"It's good that you're here, Mark. 'Cause I don't know what to do."

"What's your dilemma?"

"I wanna ask Derek out on a date."

"And why won't you?"

"Are you kidding? The girl doesn't ask the guy out on a date in the day they met, it's creepy! But, again, I did see some girls talking to him today, and I'm afraid they might ask him soon!"

"Whatever you do, do it fast, 'cause you're getting a call from him right now." Mark picked up her phone, that was vibrating in her desk.

"Oh, crap! What do I say? I can't do this! I can't do this!" But, before Addison could do anything else, Mark pressed the green button and shoved the phone into Addison's face. "Oh, hey Derek!"

"Hey, Addison!" He said, on the other side of the line.

"So, I'm assuming you're calling about the Youth Program at the Red Cross?"

"Actually, I was hoping we could discuss it over dinner."

"One second!" Addison took the phone away from her ear and pressed it against her chest, in astonishment. "He did it!" She whispered.

"He did what?" Mark and Naomi whispered back, in unison.

"He asked me out!" Addison whispered, right before putting the phone back in contact with her ear. "Yes, Derek, I would love to go to dinner with you."

"Great! For a second there, I thought you were gonna say no." He giggled, embarrassedly. Addison couldn't help but fall a little bit more every second for that shy, endearing personality.

"I'm actually looking forward to it."

"Look, there's a new Italian canteen in town, it's right around the corner from campus."

"Sounds great!"

"What do you say I pick you up Friday at eight? At your dorm room?"

"Absolutely."

"Alright! I'll see you tomorrow then."

"See ya. Oh, and Derek,"

"Yes."

"I really enjoyed meeting you today."

"Thanks. You too." Addison could feel the charm in his voice.

"Good night, Derek."

"Good night, Addison."

Addison hung up the phone and looked at Naomi and Mark.

"So? How did I do?"

"Are you kidding? It was perfect! Mind me, I feel like throwing you in bed right now."

"Why hasn't Derek thrown me in bed?" Addison laughed.

"Oh, my sweet little Addison. I hate to tell you this, but: I know, Naomi knows, even Naomi's boyfriend knows the sad truth: Derek is gay." Addison burst out laughing and took a sip of champagne. It was gonna be a long night.

* The Red Cross Youth Brigade Program is obviously fake. But, between you and me, we all wish it was real, don't we?