Disclaimer: I do not own Grey's Anatomy.
Author's Note:
Well, friends, it's good to be back. It's been a crazy amount of time since I've posted anything. Mainly because life has been crazy and I got stuck trying to force myself to finish stories I had already started. That simply resulted in nothing; no update or fun side stories. So, I'm back, kind of. These past few weeks, I've been writing A LOT and I've decided to share some stuff because, well, I made this account for a reason and that reason was NOT for it to just exist without contributing anything. Everything I post will be tentatively called a one-shot with the potential for future updates. I'm taking a different angle this time around and just kind of writing what I want and when I want. So far this tactic has resulted in a wide variety of snippets, so here's one ;)
(Post 1x09)
Read. Enjoy. Review if you'd like!
Meredith jogged toward the elevator, slipping in just before the doors closed. A sigh of relief left her mouth, but as quickly replaced with a groan as she came face to face with the only person she'd been hoping to avoid. In hopes of doing just that, she rolled her eyes and whipped around, facing the elevator doors and crossing her arms.
"I called you last night," Derek's voice echoed throughout the small space. His shoes scuffed the floor and his jacket crinkled as he stepped closer, "More than once in fact. I'm glad to see that you're alive, I was worried about you," he teased.
"Don't worry about me," she stated simply, "Worry about your wife."
"Meredith," he groaned, shuffling back and forth on his feet, "Just let me explain, please," Derek pleaded, reaching out to place a hand on her shoulder. Meredith shuddered, moving away from him. A look of distress crossed his face as he shoved his hands back into his lab coat.
"Don't," she croaked, her eyes filling with tears and anger, "Stop it."
"Stop what, Meredith?" Derek questioned with a rough sigh.
Meredith sniffed and reached up to wipe a tear from her cheek forcefully, "All of it," she spat, "You have a wife and she's really great," her breath hitched and she dropped her head toward the floor, "She's nice and smart and funny and she looks like a freaking supermodel. You have a real, living, breathing wife that you loved enough to marry and I can't compete with that so stop pretending I can, please," she pleaded, struggling to compose herself as the elevator reached her floor.
"Meredith, I…"
"Just don't, Derek," she pleaded with him, moving closer to the doors as the elevator neared her floor.
Just before the 'ding' would have been heard followed by the doors opening, Derek reached past her and pulled the emergency stop.
The elevator lurched to a halt and Meredith whipped around, "What the hell are you doing?"
"Trying to talk to you," Derek said sternly, guarding the button with his life.
The small blonde shook her head and glared at him, "You don't get to..."
"Stop it!" Derek interjected, "Just stop and listen to me. Please," he finished softly.
Taking in a deep, shaky breath, Meredith rolled her eyes, "Fine, but I'm not looking at you or I'll start crying again," she turned around facing the doors and willing them to open.
"Fine," he conceded, sighing heavily, his body sagging against the wall to her right, "I should have told you sooner,"
"No shit."
"Meredith," he groaned, rubbing his hands over his face.
Meredith sighed, "I'm listening."
"Meredith, I should have told you sooner and I'm sorry. Addison and I have been separated for a while and our marriage was bad long before then. Meredith, she slept with my best friend. That's why I came to Seattle. I'm so sorry I didn't tell you, but I promise you; this was what I wanted to talk to you about last night. I swear to God, it was just the worst timing in the world," he pleaded, eyes prickling with tears.
He watched as Meredith took a deep breath and saw her face crumple in the slightest, "That doesn't," her breath got caught in her throat and she shook her head, "For two months, we slept together and worked together. You practically lived in my house for almost two weeks," she said, whipping around to face him again, angry tears running down her face, "You had every opportunity to tell me... and you chose not to. You chose to keep that from me. I asked you, Derek," she cried, "almost begged you to tell me more."
"I know," his voice cracked and a tear traced his nose, "I know you did, but Meredith," he said, reaching out for her arm.
"Don't," she snapped, ripping it away and taking a couple steps back.
"Meredith, I'm so sorry."
"What was I to you?" she asked sharply, "Just the girl you screwed to get over being screwed?"
His forehead wrinkled in distress, "No," he said strongly, "Meredith, you,"
"I can't, Derek, I can't do this," she told him, wiping the tears from her face and sniffling, "I need to go. I need some space. Just let me go," she said sadly.
Slowly and shakily, Derek reached over and pushed the stop button back in, the elevator rumbled to life, "Mer," he croaked.
The elevator 'dinged', the doors opened, and in a moment, she was gone. The doors closed again. Derek ran his hands over his face and through his hair, smacking his hands against the side of the metal box, "Dammit!" he muttered helplessly.
"Well there you are, I was beginning to think you'd run off to the other side of the country again," a voice came from Derek's side as he completed a chart at the nurse's station.
"I have obligations here, Addison," he replied coldly, "I wouldn't up and leave people I care about."
Addison rolled her eyes, "Like the intern, what was her name? Mary?" she asked, moving closer to him.
Derek closed the chart and placed his pen back in his pocket, "Don't talk about her, that's none of your business," he told her icily, walking away.
"I'm your wife, Derek, I think I deserve to know who you're screwing," she argued, her heels clicking behind him.
"You're not my wife," Derek spat, putting the chart away before turning to her, "and I don't think you have any room to talk about screwing. You lost that right when you screwed my best friend."
"Oh come one Derek," Addison complained.
He checked his phone with a deep sigh and shook his head and scoffed in disbelief, "Do you have divorce papers for me to sign?" he asked, glancing up at her.
"No, I don't," she said simply, "and I'm not giving you any. We can work this out, Derek, I,"
"Addison, I'm done," he told her, "and I don't want to hear from you again until I have the papers," Derek replied tiredly as his pager went off, "Good luck with your patient. Have a nice flight," he told her coolly, with a strained smile before walking in the opposite direction.
'We can work this out' my ass. Should have thought about that before screwing my best friend.
"Talked to McDreamy about McWife yet?" Cristina asked, biting into an apple.
Meredith pushed some food around on her plate, "He cornered me in an elevator," she said, rolling her eyes.
Cristina raised her eyebrows, "And… Did he apologize? Did he cry and grovel? Did he explain? Did you punch him?" she badgered then gasped, "Did you do him in an elevator?"
"Cristina, I did not do him in an elevator," Meredith retorted, "and I really don't want to talk about this here."
The curly-haired doctor shrugged, "It's not like everyone doesn't already know," she said dryly.
It's true. From the second I stepped out of my car this morning people have been staring holes into my back. Everyone knows I'm the intern who was stupid enough to sleep with the married attending.
"Thank you, so much," Meredith replied sarcastically, "This conversation is making me feel so much better," she glared, taking a bite of her food.
"Talk to Shep, yet?" Alex asked, letting his tray drop onto their table with force, "He and the redhead were chewing each other out at the nurse's station."
"Yes! I did!" Meredith snapped.
God, what happened to personal space?
"Hey, guys!" Izzie piped in, swinging by their table, a bit out of breath, "Dr. Shepherd's taking Joe into surgery. He's doing a standstill," she reported excitedly, plopping down in a chair and stealing a fry from Alex's tray.
"Back off, Barbie," he told her, slapping her hand away.
Izzie glared at Alex, "I'm gonna go grab some seats in the gallery, who's in?"
"I have patients to check on," Meredith sighed, shoving her chair away from the table.
"Way to go, Dr. Blonde," Cristina rolled her eyes.
"Oh come on," Izzie groaned, "It's not my fault she decided to screw an attending."
"You're right, it's not," Meredith told her harshly, "Which means this is none of your business," she told them all before walking away.
It was late when Meredith heard a knock at the door. She pulled herself off the couch and moved toward the door tentatively. When she rounded the corner, she found herself staring through the glass at the one person she'd wanted to avoid.
Derek shifted on his feet outside the door, smiling sadly at her.
"What are you doing here?" Meredith asked him tiredly, pulling the door open.
"I'm here for you," he told her.
"Derek, I need space. This isn't space," she snapped, gesturing between them.
He swallowed thickly and shoved his hands in his pockets, "I wanted to tell you… what I wanted to say was… I'll wait. Meredith, I'll wait," he tilted his head and smiled softly.
"How long?"
"As long as it takes."
He looks tired... and sad.
She didn't know what to say, but leaned against the door and sighed.
"Meredith, you and I," his eyes watered as his voice cracked, "It wasn't a fling. I fell in love with you," he smiled again, "I am… in love with you and I'll do whatever it takes to prove that to you," he finished, his chin crumpling as tears threatened to spill.
"You'll wait?" Meredith asked, her voice cracking as her throat became tight and she looked him in the eye.
"I'll wait," he nodded, "Goodnight, Meredith," he said, throwing her one last watery smile, one she could barely see through the tears in her eyes. He turned around and began walking away.
"Derek," she called after him, her breath hitching.
He turned and in a moment, her arms were wrapped around his neck tightly. Derek drew in a breath, taking in the scent of lavender that lingered in her hair as he nuzzled his nose into it.
Almost as quickly as she ran up to him, she pulled away, "Goodnight, Derek," she choked out before turning and going back inside.
Derek walked away, his cheeks wet, but his heart the smallest bit lighter.
"I love you too," Meredith whispered, leaning against the wall just inside the door.
Stupid brain man and his stupid hair with his stupid sparkly eye thing.
"Stevens, you're on Cardio with Burke, O'Malley you're with Webber, Yang: Shepherd, Karev you're in the pit, and Grey, Dr. Montgomery-Shepherd has requested you on her service," Bailey rattled off from her place in front of her group of interns.
"Have fun with McWife," Karev cackled, walking past Meredith and Cristina.
Meredith forced a smile, "Have fun doing sutures."
Asshole.
He grunted and rolled his eyes before strolling away.
"Want me to kick his ass?" Cristina asked, sitting on the bench of the intern's locker room tying her shoes.
"Whose? Alex's?
"No McDouchebag's."
"Don't call him that," Meredith told her seriously, pulling her arms into her lab coat and adjusting her hair tie.
"Seriously?" she asked, raising her eyebrows, "You're gonna defend him now?"
"No," Meredith shut her locker, "He was wrong to keep his marriage from me, but he doesn't deserve to be called a douchebag."
Cristina scoffed, "Whatever," she muttered.
"Cristina, I'm serious," the blonde stressed as they made their way to the nurse's station, "It's more complicated than you think it is. He came over last night."
"To your house?" she asked incredulously.
"Yes to my house," Meredith stated in annoyance, "And he knows that he was wrong. He was going to tell me the night she showed up and," she sighed.
"Oh of course he was."
"Cristina," Meredith said forcefully, "Do not give him a hard time today. Be professional," she snapped as they reached the nurse's station.
Do not walk over here. Turn around. Go left. Avoid Cristina.
"Good morning, Dr. Grey," Derek's too-cheerful voice came up behind Cristina, "Dr. Yang," he nodded.
He has no idea what he's in for. Warn him.
No, don't warn him. He deserves this, Meredith. He deserves to feel a little pain.
But his wife cheated on him. He was crying on your porch last night. He is in pain. Ok so warn him.
"Meredith?" Derek's amused voice interrupted her thoughts.
"Hi. Yes. Sorry," she stuttered, shaking her head.
A smirk made its way to his face and he raised his eyebrows, "You ok?"
Meredith nodded, "I'm good," she forced a smile, her eyes darting between Derek and Cristina.
"Ok," he said slowly, clearly unconvinced, "Maybe this will help," he said, placing a to-go cup on the counter next to her elbow.
"You got me coffee?" she said, a ghost of a smile playing on her lips, and a bit of hesitation in her voice.
What does this mean?
Is coffee a euphemism for something?
"You got her coffee?" Cristina echoed, unimpressed.
"Yang you're on my service today," Derek cleared his throat, "Would you go prep Mr. James for surgery please?"
"Oh of course," Cristina exaggerated, grabbing the chart from his hand and walking off, shooting Meredith a look.
"I'm sorry… about Cristina. She's just…" Meredith trailed off.
"Protective. I get it," Derek nodded with a sigh, "That's good," he said with a sad smile, "Well, I should go..."
"Why the coffee?"
"What?"
"I asked for space and so far you've shown up at my house and brought me coffee."
"You know why I showed up last night."
"I do, but Derek..."
"Look, Meredith," he sighed, "This is me… trying to make it up to you. As a friend. I'm not asking you to forgive me right away. I'm not trying to hover. I'm trying to give you space but show you that I'm here; that I care."
"So…" she nodded, glancing at the to-go cup, "no strings attached coffee?" she raised her eyebrows at him.
Derek snorted what could have been a laugh, "No strings attached coffee. You can take it. You can give it to a nurse. You can dump it," he shrugged.
Meredith looked at him as if he'd shaved his head, "No one dumps perfectly decent coffee, Derek."
"Then don't," he laughed, glancing at the pager on his waist as he heard a beeping noise.
"It's mine," Meredith offered, "And it's your wife," she raised her eyebrows, "I'm on her service, I have to take this."
"She's not my wife," Derek stated definitively, "Look I'm sorry about that, I can talk to Bailey…"
"That's hover-y. Get back into NSA coffee territory."
"NSA Coffee?"
"No strings attached," she said with a hint of 'duh' in her voice.
What'd Bailey call him?
A brainless brain surgeon.
Right.
Well, she's not wrong.
"Fine," Derek conceded, "You should go then, she doesn't like slow responders."
"Thank you. See, that's NSA territory."
"Ok," he chuckled as they went their separate ways.
She paged you. You're on her service. You have to talk to her. You, Dr. Meredith Grey, are contractually obligated to talk to her.
"Dr. Montgomery-Shepherd, you paged?" Meredith asked, attempting to mask her nervousness as she walked up to Derek's wife.
"Indeed, I did, Dr. Grey," she smiled, "I'm working on a TTTS case and I've heard good things about you. I'd like you to be on this case. According to my sources, you're the best."
"Well, I would be… happy to be on the case," Meredith said slowly.
You and I both know why you requested me and that is not it.
"I'm glad to hear it," Addison told her with a strained smile.
Addison turned toward the intern, "Are you familiar with TTS?"
"Twin to Twin Transfusion; occurs in identical twins; one baby receives greater blood flow than the other, causing the other to delay in growth."
"Survival rate?"
"10-15 % if untreated."
"Most successful treatment option?" she grilled.
"Fetoscopic Laser Photocoagulation; a laser fiber is inserted and laser energy is used to stop the blood flow between the twins. The separation in blood flow acts as a separation of the placenta and allows each baby to develop independently of the other," Meredith rattled off.
Addison raised her eyebrows, "Well, then it seems to me there's no reason to keep you off the case. Here's the chart. Memorize it. Meet me in the room in an hour," she told Meredith, shoving the chart into her hands.
"Right," Meredith said with a deep sigh before turning on her heel and walking away.
"She's good," Addison sighed, walking up to Derek as he stood waiting for an elevator, checking emails on his phone.
Derek turned slightly and raised his eyebrows, "Who?"
"Your intern. Meredith. She's good," Addison crossed her arms, "I wanted her to fail so I would feel better, but she's one of the best interns I've worked with."
He nodded, shoving his phone into the pocket of his lab coat, "Meredith works hard. She fights for what she wants."
Addison nodded, "You never looked at me the way you look at her."
"I'm sorry?" Derek asked, a confused look appearing on his face.
"At the nurse's station," she said dryly, "I've never seen you like that before."
"I've never felt like that before," he told her honestly, shifting on his feet, "Addison, I'm sorry, but our marriage is over. It has been for a long time."
Sighing, the redhead reached into her bag and held out a packet of papers, "I'm not going to fight for a man who doesn't want me."
Derek grabbed the papers, "Thank you," he said, taking out a pen as an elevator opened to the left and Addison moved toward it, "Wait," he called, signing his name and double checking the pages before shoving them toward her.
"You don't want any time to think?"
"I've had plenty of time Addison," he smiled sadly, moving out of the elevator and walking away.
"Right," she sighed, the doors closing as she watched him walk away.
He used to think I was the love of his life. I used to think he was mine. Where does Mark fit into that?
"McDreamy told you he loves you."
"Yes."
"He cried bitch baby tears."
"Cristina!"
"He told you he'd wait."
"Ok, can you stop repeating everything I just told you?" Meredith asked, rolling her eyes as she shelled another nut.
"Can you stop moping?" she snorted.
"I am not moping," Meredith responded sternly.
Cristina scoffed a laugh, "Yes you are."
"I am not!"
"Meredith the man told you the truth. He bared his soul to you. He brought you coffee. He's groveling. What more do you want?"
Meredith looked her up and down skeptically and scrunched her nose, "What's wrong with you?"
"Nothing's wrong with me, you're the one sitting over there pining for a man who wants you," Cristina snorted, taking a sip of her water.
"This morning you wanted to kick his ass," Meredith sighed, "and now you want me to run into his arms," she said dramatically, "What is your problem?"
"I'm pregnant," she stated simply, her facial expression unchanging as she looked Meredith in the eye.
"Woah," Meredith breathed, "You and Burke?"
"Not happening. Look, I don't want it," she said, "and I don't need options. I have an appointment at a clinic. They said that I need to have someone with me. I need you to be my person."
"Ok," Meredith said.
Cristina shifted in her seat, "Ok," she repeated.
Thanks for reading!
If there are any stories you'd like to see pop up, let me know and I'll see if I can write something up! I'm always open to new story ideas :)
-A