"Cristina!" Meredith called, running out of the locker room to catch her friend's arm. Cristina glared at her and stumbled with her into the room. Meredith closed the door, and then tossed her hair out of her face. "What do you think he's planning?"
Cristina's eyes widened, and she turned towards the door. "Meredith, I don't know. Go home and wait for McDreamy to let you know what he's planning and then you can tell me, all right?"
Meredith sighed and plopped down on the bench next to where she had tossed down her scrubs. "Fine…. It's just, he's being so secretive, and I don't like that. It's been almost six months and things are going really well, I don't want anything to change."
Cristina turned away from the door and sat down on the bench next to Meredith. "All right, look, I will say this: you and Shepard are sickeningly cute, and you seem to be doing okay. I don't think any of his crazy schemes are going to rock the boat any time soon, okay?"
Meredith nodded. "Yeah, okay. You're right." She smiled, wringing her scrub top around her hands. "I guess I'm just being ridiculous. Thanks Cristina. You should go before Bailey eats you alive."
"Three more weeks of Bailey," Cristina said, with a smile, seeming to relish the thought.
"Uh, Cristina…"
"Yang, what are you doing? I told you to get down to the pit ten minutes ago and I find you here, blackening my good name?"
Cristina turned to face Miranda Bailey, who was standing with her arms crossed in the locker room doorway, her eyebrow raised.
Before Cristina had to cover, Meredith stood up, stepping just in front of her friend. "Sorry, Dr. Bailey, it was my fault. I kidnapped Cristina. Had to ask her something, but we're done now."
"Dr. Grey, I'm so glad that you've decided that I can have my other intern back. Please remember that even three weeks from now, I will be your authority."
"Right. Got it, Dr. Bailey. Dully noted. I'm just going to go now…" Meredith thrust her scrubs into her locker, and then grabbed her purse. She walked past Cristina to the door, gave Bailey a forced smile, which was met with Bailey's classic cold stare, and then dashed into the hallway to the elevator.
When the doors closed in front of her, she leaned against the wall, letting herself relax, just a little. It was not that she was worried, not really. It was that she hated surprises, and Derek had waltzed into the locker room announcing that he had a surprise for her; that he would pick her up at six; and, while he thought she looked gorgeous in anything, she might want to dress up. He had a strange look on his face when he said it too, one that made her worry.
It had been six months, six months of fairly smooth sailing, and she knew what he must be thinking. She had been thinking it too, but she wasn't sure that she was ready for it. If he asked, though, she thought as she walked ot her car, if Derek asked her to marry her, what would she say? It wasn't really a question. She would say yes, of course. And that scared her.
The drive was familiar, and she did not have to focus much as she drove it. Izzie and George had both had the day off, so they were home when she got there. She tossed her purse onto the hall table and called out for Izzie.
"In the kitchen!" Izzie called back, and Meredith realized that she smelled something baking. Meredith followed the smell, Izzie was decked out in her apron and oven mitts, and George was sitting on the counter, hovering over a rack of cooling cookies. "What's up, Mer?" Izzie asked, as Meredith sank into a chair.
She examined her fingernails for a second, and then looked up, "I think that Derek is going to propose tonight," she announced. There was a clatter as Izzie dropped the cookie sheet she was holding. Meredith looked up in time to see a look pass between Izzie and George.
"You guys know something! You know. He's proposing, isn't he?"
"Er… want a cookie?" George asked, thrusting a plate at her.
"No! I want to know what's going on! I want to know why my boyfriend is apparently telling everyone else in my life what he is planning and not me!"
"Meredith, seriously, chill," Izzie said, putting one oven-mitted hand on her hip.
Meredith's jaw dropped. "I will not chill. I want to know--."
Izzie rolled her eyes and pulled off her oven mitts, tossing them to George, who caught them awkwardly and slid off of the counter. "Okay, know what? You and I are going to go upstairs, and we're going to go make you look pretty and you are going to relax, okay?"
She advanced on Meredith, and Meredith stared at her numbly. The next thing she knew, Izzie's hands were on her shoulders and she was being propelled towards the stairs. "You will shower, I will straighten your hair and put on your make-up and pick out your dress like we are in a freaking sorority house waiting for your date, and you will relax about this, because it is Derek and you love him, okay?"
Meredith did not answer, she couldn't answer, she just let Izzie push her into the bathroom, and began to undress on autopilot. As she slid her underwear to the floor she suddenly lost her energy. In just a few hours she could be engaged. Her legs felt weak, and she sat down on the lid of the toilet, resting her forehead on her hand. It was all just a little bit too much. Her year of internship would be over in three weeks, she would be a second-year resident. That would be a lot of stress, stress that might put a strain on any relationship, even hers and Derek's and—
"I don't here water running!" Izzie called, from the hall, and Meredith was snapped out of her reverie. She got into the shower, and let the water wash over her. She attempted to forget about her worries, to think about Derek, who she loved and who, if she was willing to admit it to herself, she did want to spend her entire life with him. It was that thought that carried her through her shower, and allowed her to put up with Izzie's flitting around her with a straightener, and make-up.
"Okay, dress time," Izzie announced, gaily, and Meredith wished that she had her enthusiasm. "I took the liberty of going through your closet, and I found one that I think will be perfect. I've never seen you wear it before, either."
She went into Meredith's room, and returned with a knee length black dress. "I wore that to my med school graduation," Meredith said. "I'd forgotten about it."
"Well, it looks gorgeous," Izzie said, as she helped Meredith slip it on and then zipped it up.
Meredith looked at herself in the mirror, and found that a smile was creeping onto her lips. "Thanks, Izz," she said. "It is nice."
"It's perfect," Izzie said, giving Meredith a quick hug. "You're going to be great. Now go squirrel yourself away in your room, and I'll call you when McDreamy gets here."
"My, we are being traditional today, aren't we?" Meredith teased, with a laugh. Still, she obeyed Izzie and went into her room, perching on the edge of her bed. She glanced at the clock. Five fifty-five.
She took a deep breath and smoothed her dress, waiting. Her mind darted from place to place. She was so nervous, she felt as if it were a first date or something, not like she was nearly thirty years old and simply waiting for her boyfriend to pick her up. Her boyfriend who was possibly proposing. She started to fidget, pushing her watch up and down her arm, and glancing at the clock radio. Six-ten. That was strange. Derek was usually maddeningly on time. He didn't know the meaning of the term fashionably late.
At six-fifteen Meredith stood up and began pacing, looking around her room to find something to keep her busy. She located a medical journal that had lodged itself under her bed. It wasn't hers; Derek must have left it there, because she rarely even managed to remember to bring the journals upstairs. She started to leaf through it, but none of the articles could catch her attention for more than a second. She tossed the journal to the ground.
He would not stand her up. He was Derek; he didn't do things like that. He did things like not telling her when he was upset, or deciding to propose with out asking her.
Suddenly, there was a knock on her door, and she jumped up to open it, smoothing her dress, but it was just George.
"Hey," he said, "You okay?"
"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine."
"Okay," he said, awkwardly, reaching back and rubbing his neck. "Um, Izzie and I are going to watch a movie, if you want to come down."
"Huh? Oh. No. I'll wait. I'm sure there's something… I'll just wait."
"Okay," George said, and then he turned and went down the stairs. Meredith lingered in the doorway for a minute, and the retreated back into her room, sinking back onto the bed.
After debating for a second, she reached for the phone and dialed Derek's cellphone number.
"Hi, you've reached Dr. Derek Shepard. I'm not available at the moment, so please leave a message."
Meredith pushed her hair nervously behind her ear, even though there was no one to see her. "Hey, um… it's me. Listen, I just wanted to see if something was up or… you said six, right? Because it's six-forty five and… well, I'm sure you're on your way or… something. Okay. I love you."
She hung up, feeling stupid. She tried being annoyed at him for not being there, but all she could be was worried. He called. He always called. It was not right for him to not call. He was Derek. Derek called.
She was going to think about something else. Her residency was starting in three weeks; that was exciting. Her main focus was going to be neuro, and it had taken a while to convince the chief that she had not chosen that just because of Derek. No, not thinking about Derek.
Her mother was doing well. She was finally, finally past Richard in her remembrances, and she usually saw Meredith as a child. It really was not so bad to go back to the times when her mother was still Mommy, but Meredith worried about what would happen if her mother progressed far enough forward in the past (that was paradoxical) to remember Meredith's teenage years. Derek had gone to visit her a couple of times with Meredith, and it seemed to be better during those times.
Dammit, not thinking about Dererk!
Maybe he was stuck in traffic or— Suddenly the phone rang. Meredith dove for it, almost knocking it off of her bedside table.
"Hello? Derek?" she said, breathlessly, trying not to sound as desperate and pathetic as she obviously was.
"Meredith."
"Cristina? What are you doing, aren't you on—"
"Shut up, and listen. Are you sitting down?"
"Yeah… Cristina what's going on?" Meredith asked, feeling panic rise up in her chest.
"Okay, I have to tell you something and you are not allowed to panic, got that?"
"Cristina, for God's sake, what the hell are you talking about?" Meredith heard Cristina draw a deep breath, and in that instant she knew. "Oh God."
"Mer, there's been an accident. A car accident. Shepard's in the ER, he's badly injured and you should probably come down here, all right?" Is someone there who can drive you?"
Meredith felt herself go numb. Her grip on the phone tightened so that she would not drop it, and she swallowed convulsively.
"Meredith? Answer me."
"Yeah. Izzie and George. They will. One of them. Two people can't drive a car at the same time. What am I saying? Yeah. I'm coming."
"Meredith—"
Meredith did not respond. She couldn't. She hung up the phone and went down the stairs, the words 'accident' and 'Derek' repeating themselves over and over in her brain.
When she got to the living room she cleared her throat. Izzie and George were sitting on the couch. Well, actually, George was sitting, and Izzie was lying with her head in George's lap, but Meredith did not have time to think about that right now.
"Hi. Um… that was Cristina. Derek was in a car accident and so I need one o you to drive to the hospital because I can't drive myself and think about the fact that he was going to propose and now he is in the ER at the same time," Meredith rambled, feeling the panic beginning to take over.
They both jumped up, Izzie went to Meredith, wrapping her arms around her friend's shoulders. "We'll take you, Mer. Don't worry." George went into the foyer and got Meredith's purse and her coat. Izzie wrapped the coat around Meredith and then eld her down the steps and to the car.
"Thanks," Meredith said quietly.
"You be strong for Shepard," George said, getting into the driver's seat. "We'll be strong for you."
Izzie nodded, helping Meredith into the passenger's seat, and getting into the back herself.
"Did Cristina say anything else, like how badly--?"
"No." Meredith said curtly, wishing that he would just focus on driving.
"It'll be all right, Mer," Izzie said, reaching up to put a hand on Meredith's shoulder. Meredith leaned away from her, resting her head on the window. Izzie meant well, but she couldn't know that. Maybe things were going too well. Maybe this was what they got.
A/N Yay! New fic! Review please!
Missed you guys and missed writing this!!
