The Scientist – Chapter I

"Oh take me back to the start."

Dr Derek Sheppard leaned back in the fake leather upholstered seat in the dark corner of the Emerald City Bar. Staring voyeuristically into the crowd in front of him he ran his finger around the rim of his glass as he nestled protectively his single malt scotch. He didn't know why he was here. After he met with Webber at the hospital he walked passed this place, wondering if it was the doctor's after-work haven. That night he put on his favourite red shirt and combed his hair in the mirror but he did not know why. It was almost as though he had no control of his actions, or had no thought of them. After New York, after Addison, he had been in autopilot.

So now here he was, wearing his attractive red shirt, looking through the crowd. Derek didn't know what he was planning to do, just that he was free. No wife, no family. He could do anything.

But that's not he wanted to do. He didn't need to go out on the town and hook up with anyone but for some reason he was there anyway.

Sitting up in the seat he took a sip of his scotch with a slight grimace then sighed as he ran his hands through his perfectly combed hair.

What was he doing?
Someone moved in front of him and stood at the other end of the table. Derek looked up to see a woman wearing classic blue jeans and a light pink blouse. Her strawberry-blonde hair was tied up in a messy knot and she carried a strangely green cocktail in her hand. She smiled as Derek looked up.

"Anyone sitting here?"

Derek quickly swigged the last of his scotch then moved down the seat, making space for the woman as she sat down next to him.

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Meredith looked around outside in vain. She needed tequila. Lots of it. Thousands of bottles of tequila filled with those frozen little worms so she can knock herself out as quickly as possible. She had just been to the pre-torture cocktail party and already she was regretting becoming an intern. Maybe her mum was right; she couldn't handle being a surgeon.

But seriously, what the hell made her choose Seattle Grace of all hospitals? Talk about digging up the past.

Meredith's thoughts vanished as she heard footsteps behind her. The other interns had left with her and were all making there way home. A youngish looking guy saw her and headed towards her, breaking off from the crowd. She quickly turned around and tried to avoid him by continuing to look around for somewhere that sells alcohol. Suddenly her eyes caught a small green neon sign, blinking across the road from the hospital. Heaven.

"Hey, you need a lift home or something?" Came a slightly nervous voice of the guy behind her.

Meredith turned around to face him and smiled quickly. "It's fine, I think I'll just wander round for a while. Thanks."

"No worries." The guy said, putting his hands in his pockets. "I'll see you tomorrow then…"

Suddenly Meredith's phone began to ring. The guy looked down at her handbag, expecting her to get it. Meredith didn't want to answer the phone. There is only one thing it could be at this time of night and that thing was the one thing she didn't need right now. She would have never answered her phone if the guy in front of her was not looking at her curiously, waiting patiently for her to pick it up.

Letting out an agitated sigh Meredith opened her handbag and got out her phone.

"Hey." She answered dully. She nodded at the young looking guy who smiled and waved goodbye, joining the group of interns hailing cabs.

"Miss Grey? I'm sorry to bother you at this time of night but I'm afraid there's been a situation with your mother."

Meredith let out a deep breath and rubbed her forehead. "What is it this time?"

"She seems to be reliving her surgical days and has stolen all the knives. You can understand that we were worried what she might do with them so we put her on some sedatives to bring her down while she experiences this episode. I know it may be too hard to ask but it wouldn't be possible to come over and see her tonight, would it? A familiar face would help a lot."

"I don't think I'm a familiar face to her." Meredith sat down on the bench, looking wistfully at the small neon light.

"It would help to comfort her. She is sedated and she is scared."

"Look, I start my new job tomorrow. I'd like to but I really can't."

"You could only be there for an hour. Please."

Meredith sighed and closed her eyes. This is the last time her mum will do this to her.

"Fine."

Quickly she hung up her mobile and put it in her handbag. Standing up from the bench she looked once more at the bar she would have been in right now and sighed. Turning around she walked to the street corner and hailed a cab.

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NB: This is a strange thing. A couple of days ago I thought of a hypothetical and now I can't seem to get it out of my head.

But what would happen if Derek and Meredith never met at Joes? Would it be the same? There relationship began with sex so to start it off with a formal: "This is Dr Derek Sheppard, a neurosurgeon and your new boss" – as they did Burke and everyone else – would give them a whole new base.

So I don't know, this is more a personal experiment than anything else. I'll probably use some of the old plot lines outside the Mer/Der plot in this story but yeah. Hope you're as intrigued as I am with this. But then again a lot of things intrigue me, which do not others. Oh well. Wouldn't be able to give a poor suffering fanfic writer a review? We live off them, as you should know.