Disclaimer: I still don't own it...
"Meredith Anne Grey, I know you're in there! Open this damn door or I'm going to bust it down."
The voice coming through the door startled her as she jumped up quickly, disturbing her sleeping daughter who was laying on the couch next to her. She had been in the office for the past two hours, hiding from everyone and signing the appropriate papers. But now as the voice of her very angry best friend reached her ears, she realized she probably should have met with everyone first. When Lilly started to squirm more, she hurried over to the door and unlocked it before pulling it open.
"Shh, before you wake up Lilly."
"Who the hell is Lilly? And why are you hiding in the Chief's office?"
"Lilly is my daughter and I'm not hiding. I'm signing the papers to transfer back to Seattle Grace, is that a problem with you?"
"You have a daughter?" The excited voice of Izzie Stevens came through the door before she came flying in, her eyes immediately searching for the child mentioned. "Oh my god, Mer, she's beautiful! George! Alex, get in here! Come look."
The other two immediately obliged, Meredith simply smiling as she watched her friends hover over her child. She knew that they would all have questions and that she owed it to them to give them answers but she figured she should deal with Cristina first, alone. "Iz, do you mind taking Lilly for a few so I can talk to Cristina?"
"Really? You don't mind?"
"No. And if you have to get back to work, just find Richa- Chief and he'll watch her."
No more encouragement needed Izzie scooped the small girl up into her arms, cradling her gently to her chest as she started for the door.
"Great, now she's going to be gushy and smiley all the time. Way to go, Mer, popping out a ball of mush." Alex rolled his eyes before following Izzie and George, who was just as enthralled with the baby, out of the room.
Meredith frowned, her eyes following her friends out of the door before she propped her hand on her hip. "Did he just call my daughter a ball of mush?"
"She is a ball of mush. A pink, squirmy ball of mush." Cristina rolled her eyes before turning serious, advancing on the other woman. "Where did she come from? Where have you been?"
"Cristina," Meredith sighed as she made her way back over to the couch. "Do we really need to discuss how you make a baby?"
"Oh, come off of it! You know what I mean. Who is the father? Why are we just now learning about her? Why the hell did you leave Seattle?" The questions were fired one after another as the woman started pacing.
"I left Seattle because I was pregnant." That seemed the easiest to answer, she knew harder questions were coming.
"And you couldn't stay here, why?"
"Seattle Grace's gossip mill had enough ammo on me, my daughter was not becoming a part of it."
"Well, she is now." Cristina muttered as she slowed her pacing. "Who is the father?"
Meredith looked towards the open door, frowning slightly as she jumped up and crossed the room to close it. This was not something she needed circling the gossip mill, not immediately anyway. Clearing her throat, she kept her back to her friend as she stared at her feet. "Mark Sloan."
"What!" The word echoed in the room, washing over her like a violent storm. "You slept with McSteamy and didn't tell me? What the hell, Mer?"
"It was a one time thing, Cristina!" She turned now, staring at the other woman as she wrung her hands together. "He was there at the bar after I went to see my dad and I was upset an-and.. It's what I did! Slept with inappropriate guys while drunk off my ass."
"Does he know?"
"No," the answer was immediate, tinged with a bit of regret.
"Are you going to tell him?"
"I don't know," she admitted. "Maybe."
"You do know he's working here, right?"
The dirty blond nodded as she crossed back over to the couch, perching herself on the edge of it cautiously.
"Addie told me."
"Addie?" Cristina's eyes bulged in her head as she threw her hands up in the air. "You went off and made friends with Satan?"
"She's not Satan!" Meredith frowned, realizing how that sounded now. "She helped a lot after Lilly was born, even though she knew who the dad was."
"This definitely explains why he was looking for you when he came back," Cristina mumbled to herself as she leaned against the wall. "Alex thought he was just trying to piss Derek off."
"Richard called when he came back and started asking questions," Meredith admitted. "I wasn't ready to come back then. Lilly had just been born and I was on maternity leave, it was hell."
"I'm not a baby person. I don't do babies. They're sticky and needy and they stink.." She shook her head before her face turned serious, softening slightly. "But we would have helped. We all would have helped."
"I needed to do it for myself."
Cristina made a face before pushing off of the wall, heading over to the couch and plopping herself down beside her friend. Nudging her shoulder she grinned, "I get to be there when you tell Izzie about McDaddy."
"Oh god," Meredith buried her face in her hands as Cristina's pager started to go off.
"Got to go! We'll finish this later," she gave her a look that said she wouldn't be getting out of it before running out of the room.
"I should have stayed in LA," Mer mumbled to the empty room before throwing herself back on the couch. She just knew this was going to be a long, long week.