Author's note- I kinda took a wrong turn towards a different motel..
Sorry for the soppy last line .
THE ELVISmeetsCO- ALWAYS ON MY MIND CHALLENGE
Heart Break Hotel
Meredith had never thought to ask either of her parents what her name would have been, had she been a boy.
Thatcher hadn't been around and her mother would have scoffed at such a frivolous and pointless question.
She had a hunch though, that she knew.
Something told her, and recently that voice had become stronger, that her name would have been Norman.
She hadn't always thought that. Before, she'd mostly been alone. Living with a mother who was never there, so really, alone.
Med Shool had been a universe unto itself, with no time to wonder about alter egos.
Since starting her residency at SGH though, things had changed. She'd really become aware of her inner Norman, that inner-child.
First had come George and Izzie, taking up room, unpacking video's, exiling her mother's absence into the background. From where that mother still controlled her life with her needs, her secret, her disease.
Then followed Karev, Callie fluttered in and out, Lexie came by somewhere, Sadie crashed and Derek moved in.
She had clung to her coffee mug and watched them all mill around her. Living and talking, eating and laughing, until it overwhelmed her. These trusting, shiny happy souls, that walked around in their underwear and dared to shower without locking the bathroom door.
She guessed that in a Disney production, this would have been the part where she'd finally feel part of a family. Loved Izzie like a sister, bake things together. George could be the baby brother, although considering what had happened between him and Mer, and him and Izzie, that would be a whole different kind of creepy right there.
But she didn't feel like family, she had not even tried. The truth was that she'd kept her little bubble intact, the noise and muffins around her, only making it clearer to her, that she was different.
They were good people, she didn't hate them or anything. Karev wasn't too bad, Derek gave her sex and even Izzie had managed to make her live with a cheque for eight million dollars stuck to the fridge. She could appreciate the unique experience.
But they could never be family.
She was alone, with the memory of her mother, that would never allow any one else in. Well, there was Cristina, but she had her own place, safer that way maybe.
The day she lost her Norman feeling, was the same day she knew for sure she was psycho.
Not a psycho-killer, but a psycho person.
It was the day that she found out Izzie was probably going to die. She was not surprised, but a little disturbed to feel the distance she'd maintained from her "room mates" disappear. They had entered Hell, her territory.
And finally they were real to her.
She knew it was sick and twisted, and not fair to those that were lucky enough to have a nice life. It was just that now, when she came home, there was a harmony there. An understanding.
No longer was she required to chat and be gay. There was silence, now, at her house.
Some kind of comforting silence, that was soothing and made her feel… ,at home.
Nowadays, she could walk in to find George, or Alex, back from staying with Izzie. Having a beer, or dinner. And she could sit and watch television in silence, steal some food of their plate, and feel closer to either one of them than she'd ever felt before.
Derek would be there, and that made her happy. The things he said in the elevator meant a lot to her, and she was happy he was here to stay. But the strangest thing of all, might just be the other house guest that had become a regular in this heart break hotel.
The man that had tried to strangle her Person; Dr. Owen Hunt.
**
The first time she had seen the bruises on Cristina's neck, she'd wanted to reach for the nearest pair of scissors and make him bleed. She'd never been so scared in her life. She could have lost Cristina, her indestructible, rubber ball of a person. She could have lost her that night, to this unknown pirate with the red beard. He'd snuck in under the radar and she couldn't believe she'd neglected her duty so badly. Determined to make up for that with a vengeance, she decided to never let him get near Cristina again.
That plan had lasted about 24 hours. Until the moment she'd seen Cristina's face when she told her she'd broken up with the pirate. Then she'd realised tat it was too late for a containment policy, Cristina was already in enemy hands.
She hadn't stayed with her long that night. There was little to say about the heartbreak that was written in every line of her friend's face. Nor was there anything that could be done by either one of them to help, so she'd thought. She'd left Cristina asleep, and had gone home to her fiancé.
**
When she'd come home, she found her kitchen had been entered. Neither of the two men had heard her come in. She knew Derek wasn't expecting her after she called him from Cristina's place earlier.
She leaned against the doorpost, trying to decide what to do, what to say. When her attention was drawn by what they were saying. They were talking about the sleep clinic, discussing various test Owen might take. "This is all good, and I will do it", came Owen's voice, "But they won't be able to test for all situations". "even with the VA, I couldn't be there for more than a few weeks, and I'd sleep alone". He sighed heavily, "That's not enough, that's not safe enough".
That was the moment that she realised that there was something she could do. Something she could do for Cristina.
Cristina wanted this man, wanted him and his forty years. So she was going to have him, and all the years he had left!
And what needed to be done was make sure, 1000% sure, that he was safe.
She needed to be all over this guy. She needed to get to know him.
***
When she stepped into the kitchen, a guilty looking Owen jumped up, almost upsetting the table. Derek rose as well, wanting to intervene if necessary. To the total bewilderment of the two men however, she gave Owen a dazzling smile, grabbed a beer from the counter, kissed Derek and joined them around the table.
She took a large swig from her bottle, "Last chance to change my mind".
But she put the bottle down to the table with her eyes fixed on Owen's face. "You should move in, it's crowded, but you still could find some room".
That's when Derek sprayed beer through his nostrils and very nearly fell off his chair.
***
There had been some talk, and a lot more beer after that. Meredith had convinced them both that this household would be the perfect test for him. Lots of people around, unexpected noises at varying hours of the day and night. "We'll get you a room, but you could try the couch when you feel ready".
Owen had laughed unbelievingly, "You'd let your fiancé, your friends, run the gauntlet with the crazy man in the dark living room?".
"Would you even dare to open your own front door, knowing that I was sleeping there?".
She'd looked him dead in the eye. "Better us than Cristina".
And somehow it had been agreed, that on the nights that he wasn't at the clinic, he'd stay there, with them.
***
There was more to it than just the sleeping, there was also the company, he needed that.
She knew a few nights on her couch wouldn't heal him, but she got to know him better. And she liked him, a lot. She liked listening to him and Derek talk, and his silences fitted the house to perfection. She saw how hard he worked, how much he struggled, and her respect for him grew.
Finally she started taking Cristina home with her, when she knew Owen'd be there too
The first time she'd done that, she knew it had been the right thing to do. It also made her feel that now, she had become Norman's mother, raving jealous to see her only person so utterly devoted to this man.
After that first time Cristina came over regularly. They had dinner with Meredith or Derek, watched a game or just sat on the porch. Holding hands.
Between all the other wounded people, they could slowly find there way back together again And the heart break hotel became the half –way house of their love.
End.