I'll Be Seeing You
Chapter One
"I'll be seeing you
In all the old familiar places
That this heart of mine embraces
All day through"
Billie Holliday
Meredith's POV. –
I see Derek every day, and it hurts how he doesn't seem to be the man that I feel in love with. He asked me to marry him, I said I wasn't ready, and then he said he'd wait. I don't see him waiting for me. I keep seeing him in dates with women all the times, and I just don't understand why. If he really loves me, and if he really is waiting for me, why does he keep seeing other women even after I asked him not to? It hurts me more than I can even describe, but if he thinks that he needs that, so just go for it. I am here, living, working, studying, and trying to be a better person every single day. I am trying to be better, this time not for him, but for me. I need this.
"Hi, Kathleen! Did Derek see you already?" - Richard asked the tall woman with the dark curly hair, blue eyes, who resembled her brother so much.
"Not yet Richard. I thought I'd speak to you first and we'd arrange the terms of my research here in Seattle Grace." – Kathleen answered
"Ok then. Let's see. You are having sessions with patients that came from almost death experiences right? Their consequences, how their lives where before and after?" – Richard asked her.
"Exactly"
"I see. I have exactly what you need here. Have you ever heard about the ferry disaster that happened in Seattle Bay a few months ago?" – Richard asked
"Yeah, it was all over the news. I think Derek mentioned it to mom" – Kathleen said
"Well, we had an intern that was working in the area, and ended up involved in the accident. She fell in the water and almost died. She was in cardio arrest for hours. It was a miracle that she came back alive and with no brain damage. She still works here and now she's a second year resident. I don't know if you ever heard about the legend of the general surgery, Ellis Grey. This girl is her daughter." – Richard mentioned
"Wow…" – Kathleen's eyes were shining. Meredith's case was just what she was needing to finish her book about the subject. – "Can you, maybe, introduce me to her Richard?"
"If you want to have sessions with Meredith, maybe I should talk to her first. Trust me on this. She's very resistant on this kind of things and she's not on a very good phase right now" – Richard said remembering what Meredith was being through with Derek.
"Ok then. When can I come back and talk to you about it?" – asked an anxious Kathleen
"I'll talk to Meredith tonight. Tomorrow you can come by"
"Ok. Now I'm gonna go find Derek. He's going to be so scared when he sees me in here…" – Kathleen said and prepared to leave Richard's office.
"Kathleen, just so we're clear, let me ask you something: you're just going to see what kind of damage the almost death experience caused, or if the experience changed their lives for bad, for good right? Or is it just some kind of a therapy? I am asking you this because I promised this girls mother right before she died, that I'd always take care of her, and the last thing she needs right now is another problem in her head." – Richard asked in a very serious tone of voice.
"Richard, I've been all over America with this research and I saw the improvement in people's lives when we talk about their problems, previous and after their accidents. I would never do anything that would cause any kind of harm to a patient. I am a doctor to. Don't worry about her, if she wants to work with me, I really think that she'll be a lot better." – Kathleen reassured Chief Webber
"Ok then. Now go find your brother. You know that now he and Mark are best friends again don't you?"
"Seriously? I've gotta see that…" – Kathleen said and went out of Richard's office.
Kathleen saw Mark in a Nurse's station talking to a tall and beautiful blonde. He was obviously flirting with her, so she came by really quietly and waited until the blonde left to talk to him.
"Ok. Dr. Sloan, so first thing tomorrow morning prep the patient for the surgery. I'll make sure everything gets in order." – Izzie said and left, leaving Mark speechless with her confidence and also beauty. He sensed someone coming from behind him, so he looked back, and he would never believe who was.
"Kathleen!!! What are you doing here?" – Mark asked
"I'm doing a research, well, actually I'm still waiting for Richard's approval, so I may stay here for a while" - Kathleen answered – "So, tell me who the Blondie was, new girlfriend?"
"Noooo! She's a second year resident and she'll be assisting me tomorrow in a surgery. But isn't she a beauty? I wonder why she didn't try modeling…." – Mark wondered
Kathleen busted in laugh, when Derek appeared after being paged by one of the nurses.
"I can't believe you are here!!!! Promise me you'll be nicer than Nancy! You were always a better and nicer sister than Nancy! God! Is good to see a familiar face after so much time away!!! How's everything at home? How's mom? How's Cecil? How're the kids?" – Derek shot Kathleen with a lot of questions.
"Calm down little brother. I'll tell you everything. But first show me a hotel I can put my stuff. It's all over Richard's office and I really don't wanna bother him"
"Okay, so my shift is over in fifteen minutes. Why don't you stay in the lobby, wait for me and the three of us go to the hotel Mark is staying and you check in there? We can have dinner in the same place and then we can talk. How does it sound to you?"
"Perfect. I'll wait for you both downstairs" – Kathleen said and hushed them to finish their days so she could go to a place and talk with the both of them, and also take some rest. She was so excited, but also exhausted with this research for her new book.
While waiting for Mark and Derek, Kathleen saw a bunch of doctors that were probably finishing their shifts going home and others just arriving for the night shifts.
One group caught her attention. They were talking loud between each other and making fun of themselves. There were 6 of them, the blond that sooner was talking to Mark was side by side with a male doctor, shorter than her, right behind them, there was an Asian female doctor that was almost barking at the other doctors at her side. One of them was a red haired with green eyes and the other one was a kind of Hispanic, with huge eyes and really dark hair. There was another male doctor behind them that seemed to be waiting for another person. And he really was, because just a few seconds later he yelled:
"Lexie, lets go! We're leaving to Joe's" - Alex yelled as Kathleen observed them from the distance.
"I'm coming!" - Lexie joined them, and in seconds they passed from the front door of Seattle Grace to their destiny.
Kathleen was still looking to the door, when Derek and Mark arrived. They saw Meredith, Cristina, Izzie, Alex, George, Callie and Lexie leave to Joe's, but tonight they would just take Kathleen to the hotel and then, maybe another night they would introduce them to her.
"Those are second year residents and two of them are interns. We'll introduce them to you another day. We really need to get you into a hotel and talk" - Derek said to his sister and Mark agreed.
"Ok then, let's just go. But I am dying to meet these people; they seemed just so fun to hang out." - Kathleen said with second intentions, knowing that Meredith, her probably future patient was in the middle of that group.
Richard dialed Meredith cell phone's and she picked it up really fast.
"Hello, this is Meredith speaking"
"Hi Meredith! This is Chief Webber here. I was wondering where you were right now, because I really need to talk to you".
"Hum, I am really close Chief; I am only at Joe's. I can be there in five minutes".
"Okay, just come to my office, I'll be waiting for you. And don't you worry, It won't take long and it's nothing serious".
"Okay, I'll be right there Sir" – With this, Meredith hung up the phone and looked and the faces of her friends. They all were looking for answers.
"I don't know what he wants from me! I swear! I will go find out and then I come back" – She picked up her purse and coat and motioned to leave. They were still curious, but Meredith said she'd be back and would tell them later, with that she left Joe's Bar and her friends behind.
On the way to the hospital, Meredith saw Derek, Mark and a woman with luggage coming in her way. She didn't have how to escape that, she was going to have to talk to them now. Especially to Derek.
"Good night Mark, Derek" - Meredith greeted them.
They all stopped to greet each other, and Kathleen noticed how uncomfortable both the girl and her brother started to be around each other. Mark also noticed the same thing, so he broke the ice…
"Kathleen, this is Meredith Grey, second year resident here at Seattle Grace, daughter of one of the legends in general surgical, Ellis Grey. Meredith, this is Derek's sister Kathleen, the nice one". - Mark said and made both of them smile. They shook hands and exchanged smiles.
"Very nice to meet you" - Meredith said – "Derek wouldn't speak much about his family, and when I met one of your his sisters, I think that she wasn't very pleased with me…"
"Oh, don't worry, Nancy only likes Addison. That's her problem! But wait a minute! You're the intern Derek was dating??? Are you two not together anymore???" - Kathleen asked
"Well, that's a long and complicated story right, Mer?" - Derek said and smiled at her. – "We've gotta go now. We've gotta check Kathleen in a hotel and then go to dinner"
"Ok then. Nice to meet you, Kathleen. I hope I can see you soon" - Meredith spoke to her and smiled. Right after, she turned her back and ran to the hospital feeling tears coming to her eyes. Derek didn't need to bring "the long and complicated story" to his sister…
Meredith ran into the hospital sat in a chair for a second and calmed down. She didn't want to walk into the chief's office like that. So, she took a few minutes and climbed the stairs to Richard Webber's Office.
"Hey, Chief. Wanted to see me?" – Meredith asked
"Hum, Hi Meredith!. Come in, please"
"I'll be straight to the point ok?" – The chief said
"Ok…"
"Well, ever since the ferry accident, I've wondering how you have been. It was the same time your mother died, and just a few months before you and Derek broke up and Cristina, who's your best friend, got left at the altar. So, it's a lot of bad things happening, to a person that I know didn't have an easy childhood" – Richard was trying to get to the point – "So, just a few days before, Derek's sister Kathleen Shepard Parker, who's one of the best psychiatrist in America, called me to help her in one of her research for her latest book, which theme is: "patients that came from almost death experiences, their consequences, how their lives where before and after". The time she said it, the person that came to my head was you. How good it would be for you, how much it would make you grow up and realize your problems. I told her I had someone in mind, but I had to talk with this person before, I needed her approval, so that's why I am talking to you now. As a friend, I really think you should consider this. This would be under total secret, Derek would never know the patient his sister is seeing is you and neither the theme of her research, this Kathleen assured me. You'd have sessions two times a week and the hospital would be fully responsible for them. It's completely up to you."
Meredith became silent for what seemed like a century. She didn't know what to do. That was a change in her life, she knew she needed that, but in another way, she was scarred as hell. To be a patient with Derek´s sister??? She seemed to be nice in their first encounter downstairs, but who knew? Meredith decided to follow her heart, and decided to do what she thought was the best for her. Besides, she knew the Chief would never do something to do any harm to her. He was always there to protect her, he promised this to her mother.
"I will not put too much thought about it Sir. I want to do this. I've been needing to talk to someone for a long time, about so much, and since this someone appeared now, I'll grab it. I need to heal myself. If Derek didn't wait for me, I'll do this for myself. You can talk to Kathleen. I only have one condition: confidentiality, full confidentiality in everything we talk, about everyone. If she can handle me talking about her brother, because he'll be part of it, and not tell him later, I'm in." – Meredith said sounding really confident, what made Richard happy that his favorite resident was so close to happiness, finally.
End of the chapter.
