Ok. As a little bit of a prologue, this is set right after Derek and Finn are having their little testosterone-fueled battle over Meredith and she gets mad at them (and takes the ice cream, lol), an Alex/Meredith bonding time fanfic.

Alex heard Meredith storm in. He had heard vestiges of her conversation. Apparently she was trying to do dating. Ha, thought Alex, Dating…Mer…that's…well they don't really go together. At least the official dating where you do the waiting… Alex laughed to himself remembering how exactly Meredith and Derek had met. She had done better with Finn though. As far as he knew she hadn't slept with the vet.

"Hey," Alex looked around to find Meredith in the doorway.

"You look great…" He said frankly. She laughed and came to sit next to him on the couch.

"Thanks," It was true, she had done some make-up and worked on her dirty-blonde hair, "What are we doing?"

"Nothing." Came his reply. It was true. He had just been sitting there and now Meredith was sitting there with him.

"You okay?" Came her small question, that was so loaded if you thought about it. Who the hell is okay in this world, he thought, then answered his own question. Babies…the only ones of us that aren't damaged in some way. And even they have the happy future of becoming damaged. Look at all of us for example, Izzie's a wreck, baking and lying on the bathroom floor for days, Burke got shot, you, yourself, are only just back on your feet… and O'Malley, who the hell knows what is wrong with O'Malley. Yang's all messed up over Burke, Shephard is trying to get in your pants, the other Shephard is putting them up on the board for everyone to see. Yeah we are all GREAT! So, yeah, in the face of all that okayness, I am just GREAT!

"Yeah, everything good."

They sat in silence for a while. Alex was thinking back to his childhood, everything had supposedly been good back then too. With his drunk, abusive dad and his battered, depressed mother. He knew that O'Malley had grown-up with a loving, if somewhat annoying family. That Yang had grown-up with a loving, if not claustrophobia-inducing mother. That Izzie, despite having a mom that was obsessed about psycics, and growing up in a trailer park, had been loved by her mom. But Meredith? Meredith was like him…just another little kid forced to grow-up way too fast. That's why he felt like he was closest to her. That he could tell her anything. After all, she was the first one I told about my boards, the first one that helped me study. And he knew that if Derek Shephard chose to break her heart again, like he did when he went back to his wife; Alex would love the chance to beat the crap out of him.

"You okay, Mer?" He asked. She played with a stray curl, wrapping it around her finger, winding and unwinding.

"I'm fine." She smiled at him. Alex laughed.

"You say that so much, I never believe you when I hear it. Come on, different answer…" He teased, "What was the deal with you yelling at Shephard and the vet. They both take you out and make it a threesome?"

"ALEX! Did NOT need that visual in my head!!!" Alex chuckled, causing Meredith to start giggling and before they knew it they were rolling around on the couch, both helpless with laughter. Once they had calmed down and caught their breath, Meredith explained, "Nah, just neither of them know how to put decent date…and yes, I HAVE been on one of those!" Alex cracked up remembering his thoughts a couple minutes before, "Jackasses…" She muttered. Alex looked offended, "Not YOU, idiot! Them!" Now it was Meredith's turn to crack-up a little bit, "No but seriously, they act like it's an all-important competition between them, which I guess you could say it is…," Alex snorted, "But I mean, SERIOUSLY, if all they're gonna do is put all their focus on beating each other, then I should dump them both and send them off on a date!" She ranted.

"What happened?" This is another reason why I keep Meredith around, just when you think life is getting boring, she adds the little bit of spice, Alex thought to himself, chuckling.

"Derek was seeing me to the door, and guess what? Finn shows up with a freakin' tub of strawberry icecream. And he KNOWS that I LOVE strawberry icecream!" She indicted the tub of icecream sitting on the table before them, "And said it was from a patient," She continued, "Anyway, they both ended up being jackasses talking to each other, and I ended up with the icecream in here with you. Speaking of which, why aren't you out? Christina and George took Izzie with them to Joe's, why aren't you with them?"

"I dunno. I guess I just didn't feel like waking up with a hangover tommorrow."

Meredith looked at him for a long moment, so long that Alex wondered what she was seeing on his face.

"Do you…wanna finish this whole damn thing with me and wreck our blood sugars?" She finally asked holding up the icecream tantilizingly. Alex laughed.

"Sure." She smiled and got up off the couch, then held out her hand. She looks so tiny that all that will probably do is pull her down in my lap, he thought, but he took it and she heaved him off of the couch. Damn, she stronger than she looks… he mused. She led the way into the kitchen, pulled out a drawer and two spoons and walked back to the table. Alex plopped down in an unlittered seat and looked around. The vestiges of Izzie's baking were still apparent and mess and clutter were everywhere. Meredith and Alex sat there, silently spooning icecream into their mouths. Then the doorbell rang.

Little bit of a cliffhanger…sorry! I'll try to post the second chapter really soon. Read and Review, Please!