Hi! This is an idea I've had for a little while now, and is one that I personally think would have been awesome in season two, which is where it's set. I am a huge Mer/Der fan and am absolutely disgusted at the amount of time we see them together in season three, although I've just watched the new episode – 'Walk on Water' – and am absolutely flabbergasted! I swear I had tears in my eyes when Meredith… well… I won't spoil it for anyone who hasn't seen it, but let me just say that I cannot believe it ended there! Shonda Rhimes, I hate you right now!

Anyways, back to this. This is something I can very much imagine happening, although it gets a little 'pornier' than would be allowed to be shown on TV. But hey, it's my imagination, it's my story and I will write what I like! (About characters that I've borrowed, of course!) Oh, and in case you're wondering, I did the cheesy thing and the title is a song by The Clash, which we all know is Derek's favourite band. Because I split the story into two parts, I felt it was apt to give each part a title and so they, too, are songs by The Clash. I think that's about it as far as cheesiness goes!

It was supposed to be a one shot, but by the time I'd finished writing it, it was huge, so I've split it into two. I hope you like it, and please review – reviews make it all worthwhile.

And if you're a reader of my other story, please don't be mad! I've been ill all week and working and generally just busy so I haven't had chance to write more. Besides, I have a bit of a block with that story at the minute and I want it to be really good, so I promise to work on it and update in the next week – I have no excuse, I'm on holiday for a week now. How much do I ramble?!?!

Part One: Remote Control

It had been a long day. In fact, it had been one of those days. Meredith Grey sighed as she left the OR and proceeded to wash her hands. Reaching for a paper towel, she began drying her hands as her colleague and best friend, Cristina Yang, left the same OR, followed by their resident, Dr Miranda Bailey. 'Such a shame,' she began as she reached for the soap, 'he had his whole life ahead of him.'

She was talking about the patient, of course. The young boy they'd left on the table in the OR – the young boy who'd arrived in the ER with almost irreparable injuries as the result of a horrific car accident, and who'd died just moments earlier. Meredith didn't respond to her resident's comment, and instead, threw her paper towel in the bin and left the room. She pulled off her scrub cap and let a mass of blonde hair tumble free as she allowed the door to slam shut behind her. Cristina finished washing her hands and followed the path of her friend, also declining to comment on her resident's heartfelt statement.

Meredith walked down the corridor from the OR in a daze, letting fatigue wash over her. She had, after all, been at the hospital for almost thirty hours now. The young boy's surgery had been her last for this shift, but Meredith felt like she'd be cheating if she left now, seeing as she'd only been in the OR for a couple of hours, and had the boy not died, they could have been in there half the night trying to repair the damage. Arriving at the nurses' station, Meredith asked for the chart of another of her patients and began flicking through it. A familiar voice came from behind her, requesting a chart for a patient, as Meredith had done a minute ago. Looking up, Meredith saw her antithesis – a tall, beautiful woman with striking red hair and sparkling blue eyes that were filled with kindness and compassion.

Upon noticing the young intern, Addison Montgomery-Shepherd smiled slightly and greeted her cordially before leaving with a chart that a nurse had just handed to her, the clicking of her designer heels fading as she headed towards the elevators. Slightly stunned, Meredith returned to her chart before grabbing a pen, making a note on one of the pages and closing it harshly. Before she had chance to turn towards her patient's room, she was stopped by the arrival of her best friend.

'What did she want?' Cristina almost spat.

Slightly taken aback, Meredith frowned at her friend. 'Nothing,' she declared. 'She was just saying hello.'

'Smug is what she is, if you ask me,' Cristina retorted. 'You spend your days moping around this hospital like a lost puppy, which she clearly revels in, and she chooses a day when you most look like crap to acknowledge you. Seriously, Mer, what does he see in her?'

'I didn't ask for your opinion, did I?' Meredith replied, trying to sound angry, but failing miserably and sounding more anxious than anything. She left her chuckling friend to find her patient, and realising that she needed to go upstairs to first retrieve lab results, Meredith headed towards the elevators. She pushed the button to call the elevator and it responded almost immediately, the shiny doors flying open to reveal only one other passenger.

Great, she thought. Just great. Meredith stared up at the handsome doctor vacantly before stepping into the elevator and turning around, so she was standing with her back to him. She chose the floor she wanted and the doors slid shut, isolating them. Meredith closed her eyes in a vain attempt to speed up the awkward journey. She could hear his shallow breathing and felt him watching her, longing for her. She inhaled deeply, choking back the lump that had now appeared in her throat and opened her eyes slowly. Her shoulders tensed and her head fell to one side as she felt him against her neck, painfully aware of the fact that he was breathing in her scent. Meredith felt his warmth radiating towards her, even though he wasn't actually touching her and a tear found its way into the corner of her eye as she realised just how much she actually missed him.

'Derek… don't…' she whispered, 'please…'

'I can't,' he murmured simply, as the elevator chimed and the doors flung open. Meredith stepped out of the elevator into reality and walked off, leaving him alone, once again.

- - - - -

After what had seemed like another thirty hours but was actually only two, Meredith was finally able to leave the hospital. Slamming her locker door shut, she pulled her hair out from underneath her coat, hoisted her bag onto her shoulder and exited the locker room. Walking out of the hospital, Meredith pulled out her car keys and checked her watch, reading 8:15. She decided that she couldn't go home just yet. George was on-call, which meant that if she went home she would either be alone in her room, or she would have to face Izzie – a chirpy personality that her miserable mood could not handle at that moment in time. Instead, Meredith returned the keys to her bag and headed across the street towards an array of neon lights, a strong desire for tequila taking over her need to sleep.

Entering Joe's bar, she made her way through the crowds and sat on an empty stool in front of her favourite bartender. 'The usual, please Joe,' she said lightly.

Joe smiled and poured her a shot of tequila. 'Drinking alone?' he asked, sliding the small glass across to her. Meredith grimaced as the alcohol burned its way down her throat.

'Nope,' she muttered, the glass hitting the surface of the bar with a thud. 'It's me and José tonight, so keep 'em coming.' Joe smiled and poured her another shot before turning to serve another customer.

Meredith didn't look up when a familiar figure sat down beside her, but instead continued her attempt to make a pyramid from her ever-growing pile of shot glasses. 'You're not seriously going to drive home, are you?' came the voice of the familiar figure. Meredith looked up to see Alex, who was no longer looking at her but instead ordering himself a beer. Taking a swig, he turned to Meredith for his reply, which he could see that in her drunken stupor, she was still figuring out.

Finally she returned his gaze. 'So what if I am?' she questioned. 'So what if I drink myself stupid, get into my car and drive home? Got nothing waiting for me there, anyways.'

Alex rolled his eyes and indicated to Joe that Meredith was to have no more to drink. He let her sit there for a while, ignoring the occasional incoherent mumbling, and he smirked to himself as she finally succumbed to the combination of alcohol and tiredness and fell asleep on the bar. He finished his beer and looked up at Joe, who was laughing at the tiny blonde woman who was snoring gently amidst the noise of the bar. 'Someone is going to be sorry in the morning,' he said.

'Tell me about it,' replied Alex, 'I'd better take her home,' and with that, he settled her bill, lifted Meredith into his arms and exited the bar.

- - - - -

'Oh my god,' cried Izzie when Alex appeared on the doorstep, carrying a still-sleeping Meredith. 'What the hell happened?'

'Tequila is what happened,' he replied bluntly, walking past Izzie into the house and placing Meredith on the couch. Alex stood up and saw that Izzie was standing in the doorway. 'She drank a lot,' he said, stating the obvious. 'You might want to put a bowl there or something,' he added, before heading towards the front door.

As he opened it, Izzie appeared behind him. 'Thanks Alex,' she said quietly. 'For bringing her home, I mean.'

Alex's face softened and he turned to face her. 'No problem,' he said, 'she's still hung up on McDreamy isn't she, and so I guess she earned the right to drink herself stupid once in a while.'

With that, Alex left. It was moments like that when Izzie realised that Alex was a good person and she remembered why she had fallen for him before. It wasn't the same now, not after what happened with Olivia, but she was pleased to know that Alex was still kind, and she appreciated that he had made sure Meredith had gotten home safely. Walking back into the living room, Izzie looked over at the sleeping form that was Meredith. She smiled as she thought of Meredith asleep in the bar, and empathised with everything that she was dealing with. Having to see Derek everyday at work was no treat for her, and having to see his wife – his perfect, leggy wife – everyday, too, only made matters worse.

- - - - -

Meredith groaned as she awoke, raising a hand to her throbbing head. Groggily, she tuned to look at her surroundings, realising that she was no longer at Joe's, neither was she in her bed. Looking up, she saw the two faces of her roommates staring back at her, somewhat unsympathetic smiles adorning their faces. 'Morning, sunshine!' exclaimed Izzie, 'how's your head?'

'Please…' began Meredith, sitting up. 'No shouting,' she said, placing her hands over her ears. 'Can I just get some coffee?'

'Of course,' replied Izzie, jumping up and making her way towards the kitchen. Meredith looked at George who smiled supportively. His smile faded quickly as her face dropped and her eyes widened. He grabbed the bucket that Izzie had placed next to the couch just in time, as Meredith threw up.

'It's ok, Mer,' he said tentatively, as she sat back up, pushing strands of stray hair behind her ears. Meredith smiled appreciatively at him and looked up to see Izzie returning with a steaming mug of coffee. She handed the mug to Meredith, who took a sip, inhaling the rich smell.

She sighed heavily, and realising how much of a mess she must look, she stood up and headed towards the stairs, without speaking, leaving her roommates rather surprised. Walking into the bathroom, Meredith stared into the mirror. I look like death, she thought as she pored over her puffy eyes, still caked in last night's mascara and her unruly hair. She undressed and stepped into the shower, relieved at the comforting warmth of the water.

- - - - -

Sitting in her car in the hospital parking lot, Meredith once again returned to the mirror. Commenting to herself that her appearance was slightly improved since she'd showered, Meredith pulled her hair back into a ponytail, grabbed her bag and jumped out of the car. Making her way towards the entrance of the hospital, Meredith saw him in the lobby, waiting for the elevator. Knowing that if she tried to stall and waited till he'd gone, she'd be late, Meredith exhaled loudly and carried on walking, heading towards the stairs and hoping he wouldn't notice her.

'Meredith,' came his voice.

'Crap,' she muttered under her breath, stopping mid-step and turning around to see him standing before her. 'Hi,' she said, a small smile gracing her face.

'Hi,' he replied, mirroring her smile, only his was far wider. Derek hadn't thought about what he was going to say to Meredith and it was almost instinct for him to greet her as she'd walked past him. An awkward silence ensued, and Meredith was about to leave when Derek spoke the first words that came into his head. 'How are you?'

'I'm late,' Meredith replied flatly, and with that she continued up the stairs, once again leaving Derek standing alone. Sighing softly, Derek returned to the elevator and pressed the button again to call it.

- - - - -

'You made it, then?' Alex asked as Meredith hurried into the locker room and began to change quickly.

'Shut up, Alex,' she replied, assuming that either Izzie or George had put Alex in the picture about her drunken night, once again making her the top choice for locker room gossip. Cristina laughed sardonically at her best friends evident hangover.

'Shut up?' he retorted, laughing as he feigned offence, 'I take you home after you drink half your body weight in tequila and all I get is shut up?'

Meredith turned to look at Izzie, who nodded. Already in a bad mood because of her encounter with Derek and the monstrous ache between her temples, Meredith pretended that she knew Alex had bought her home and instead of apologising, she simply scowled at him and continued to change.

She was just tying the lace on her right sneaker as Dr Bailey walked into the room. Standing up, Meredith joined the rest of her fellow interns in a group in front of their resident, waiting for their daily tasks to be assigned. 'Karev, Stevens; pit, O'Malley; cardio with Dr Burke, Yang; scut and Dr Grey,' she said wryly, 'you have been specially requested by Dr Shepherd.'

The interns left the locker room for their assigned tasks and as she walked past her resident, Meredith could see the disapproving look on Dr Bailey's face. Ignoring it, she walked towards the stairs up to neuro, wandering what the hell Derek thought he was doing by requesting her.

- - - - -

'Ah, Dr Grey,' Derek said, smiling as Meredith approached him. He handed her a file, which she took with a slight snatch.

'What do you think you're doing?' she hissed as they walked down the corridor towards their patient's room.

Derek stopped. 'Meredith, you show real progress in Neurosurgery and you shouldn't let our history get in the way of advancing your career.'

'I don't,' she replied sternly. 'But when you request me to my resident, how do you think that makes me look? You can't do that, Derek,' she said, softening as he smiled at her apologetically. 'You just can't.'

'Ok,' he agreed, nodding ruefully, before they continued walking. Breaking the silence that had assembled between them, Derek changed the subject back to the case they were to be working on, trying his best to act normally around the woman he so desperately desired.

- - - - -

'So how's it going with McDreamy, then?' Cristina questioned as Meredith joined her fellow interns for lunch.

'Fine,' she replied inertly, picking up her fork and prodding her limp salad. All eyes were on Meredith, who was still staring at her salad, waiting for her inevitable outburst.

They didn't have to wait long. 'I mean, who does he think he is?' she started, throwing her fork down and ignoring her lunch. Izzie and Cristina stifled giggles as George glared at them, before giving Meredith a reassuring smile. 'He's using his position as an attending to control me, and not only that, I now have Bailey riding me because she thinks something's going on between us.'

'She probably doesn't, Mer,' Cristina said. 'She knows what an ass Shepherd is, and how much he hurt you – she's probably just being off with you to warn you not to be all Meredith-like and fall back into his trap.' Meredith scowled at this, which caused Cristina and Izzie to grin.

'And besides,' Alex added, 'they don't call her the Nazi for nothing. She wouldn't be Bailey if she didn't have an opinion on the attending who requested the services of his slutty intern, even if she is his ex-slutty intern.' Meredith frowned derisively at Alex, who responded with a shrug, but she couldn't help but smile at his frank opinion.

With that, normal conversation ensued and as Meredith got up to leave the table, they all agreed to meet in Joe's that evening, her eyes rolling as the predictable comments about Meredith's drinking habits began.

- - - - -

Sitting alone, Derek took a sip of coffee while examining the screen in front of him, which had just bought up the CT image of his patient's brain. He frowned and replaced his cup on the desk in front of him, looking up as Meredith entered the room and stood beside him. Derek smiled at her, which obtained no response, and instead he moved aside so she could get a better view of the screen.

'There's damage to occipital region,' he told her, pointing to the relevant part of the image, 'which explains what?' he asked. He knew he was the last person she wanted to be with and although he didn't regret requesting her, as he'd got to spend the day with her, he did feel bad because it was clear she was uncomfortable in his presence.

'It explains why he's been hallucinating and has experienced a loss in vision,' she answered professionally.

'Good,' Derek said, 'schedule the operation for tomorrow,' and he got up to leave, stopping before he reached the doorway. 'And Meredith?'

Meredith turned, waiting for his reply. 'Yeah,' she sighed.

'You don't have to scrub in if you don't want to. I know it's been weird for you working with me today.'

'He's my patient, too,' she said, relaxing her shoulders and standing to face Derek. 'I'm not going to miss out on a surgery because of our history,' she added, using his own words against him.

Meredith turned back to the screen and Derek smiled as he left the room, knowing that she'd firmly put him in his place.