Characters/ Pairing: Meredith, Derek, Addison, cameos by others

Rating: M

Spoilers: There's no telling. Pretty sure none for upcoming episodes.

Disclaimer: Grey's Anatomy is not mine. But, oh, if it were...the possibilities! Damn you, Shonda!

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Derek Shepherd rounded the corner on the way to his office. Back-to-back surgeries, one of which had not ended well, and it was only ten-thirty in the morning. He had hoped he could hide out in his office, drink his hot cocoa, and close his eyes. Even if it was only for a few minutes.

He entered his office, hot cocoa in hand, and flopped onto the small sofa near the window. He took a long sip and closed his eyes, relishing the momentary peace. He heard his door open, then close, and a few seconds later, he felt the sensation of soft lips on his.

"Wake up Dr. Shepherd," she purred, nuzzling his neck.

"Not yet," Derek said. "You're gonna have to convince me."

"My pleasure."

After a few minutes of making out on Derek's sofa, Meredith reluctantly pulled away. "You know, I'm risking a lot sneaking up here. Bailey's pissed at Cristina and she's on the warpath. If I get caught," she warned, "you're gonna owe me big."

"Ooh, make me pay, baby!" Derek grinned. "You do realize that I outrank Dr. Bailey, and Nazi or not--" He trailed off when Meredith's pager sounded, followed by Derek's.

"It's Bailey," she announced. She turned as she reached the door, leaning against the frame. "Joe's tonight?"

"Yeah. And Meredith? I always pay my debts."

Meredith headed towards the ER with a giant smile on her face.

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"Alright, what do we have?" Derek asked, as a nurse handed him a chart.

"Tanya McAllister, twenty-eight. She came in with the rest of the car crash victims," the nurse told Derek. "Temporary LOC and she's complaining of abdominal pain. I was about to call Dr. Torres to check out her leg."

Derek began to examine the patient. As he did, she began to wince. "Ms. McAllister? I'm Dr. Shepherd. Looks like you've got a nasty bump on your head." He produced a pen light from his lab coat pocket. "I need you to follow the light with your eyes. Can you tell me what happened?"

"Ow!" she cried, as a nurse drew blood from her arm. "I-I'm not sure. I was driving and I started to get dizzy, then--I don't really know what happened next. Oh, God, this hurts!" The patient clutched at her side. "Do all these people have to be here?"

Meredith had wandered over to see if Derek needed any help with his patient. She patted Tanya's arm, trying to reassure her. "They're almost done. We're just gonna run some labs then I promise we'll leave you alone." Another nurse handed Meredith a wand so that she could perform the ultrasound.

"Okay, Tanya, Dr. Grey is going to take you to CT for a scan, then we'll know better what caused you to lose consciousness." He turned toward Meredith. "When you're done, I need scans of her head and neck. I want to---" He stopped as the patient began to convulse, her arms flailing about. "Damn it, she's seizing!"

"Get her other arm!" Meredith ordered.

Derek and the nurses held down Tanya's appendages until her body stilled. Meredith turned up the sound on the machine.

"Dr. Shepherd?"

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh. Derek wrote some orders on the chart and the two nurses left to attend other patients. Tanya was about five weeks pregnant and very likely epileptic. Derek knew that she'd need to see Addison early and often if she were to have a successful pregnancy. "Okay, scratch that," he said. "She needs an MRI."

Meredith pulled a pad from her coat pocket to jot down Derek's instructions while Derek looked around for his ex-wife. Addison usually headed down to the ER when there was a disaster. She always wanted to be on hand in case her expertise was needed. He quickly scanned the room searching for the neonatologist's red hair. "Where the hell is Addison?"

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Addison stepped from her white rental car onto the smooth paved driveway. She grabbed her purse from the passenger's side, then a large tan pullman from the trunk. Locking the doors, she absently pulled a set of keys from the pocket of her black trench coat. She hurried to the front door, her high heels click-clacking against the pavement all the way up to the porch.

She dumped her suitcase and handbag in the foyer when she entered the house. It had been so long since her last time there, but she barely took the time to look around. The house was quiet, save for Addison's frenzied footsteps. She hurried up the stairs and stopped at the last door in the hallway. She took a deep breath before knocking softly.

She peeked inside to find her mother sitting in a rocking chair, staring out of the large bay window. Addison crossed the room and knelt at her mother's side. Caroline Montgomery did nothing to acknowledge her daughter's arrival.

"Oh, Mom," Addison said, taking her mother's hand. "What happened?"

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Meredith pulled up the sides of the patient's bed and began to rehang the IV's for transport to the basement. Derek turned in the direction of the phone on the triage desk. "I'm gonna page Addison," he said, picking up the phone, "and have her examine Tanya when you're done in radiology."

"You mean Walters. Addison won't be back until next week."

"What are you talking about?"

"She was only supposed to be gone for a few days, but the Chief is making her stay longer."

Derek's blank look told Meredith that he was clueless. "Back from what? Where is she?"

"You haven't heard?" Meredith asked. "She's in Chicago. Her father died last night."