Chapter 2- Oh no you didn't!
He couldn't believe he did that. He could not believe that he had actually done that.
All this time taking baby steps, slowly building her trust, solidifying their relationship.
And he had gone and put it all to naught, laid down an ultimatum.
An Ultimatum.
Part of him couldn't believe it, another was immensely satisfied, but mostly; he was scared to death. He told her that she needed to quit fooling around and that he'd be back to hear her answer in an hour.
Even as he was driving away from the house he had known this was going to blow up in his face. But what was done was done and he decided against going back in.
When he returned he was nervous, he went up to the door, knocked, but no one answered, that's when he realised that could be it. This could be her answer. Because the house was empty.
Of course the house was empty. He'd driven up to his trailer, vague hopes of candlelight houses playing in his mind against his better judgement. He waited more than an hour before giving up and returning to the house; still deserted.
Next stop; Joe's, where he was greeted with a look from the owner that told him he was in a world of trouble and heard Cris and Meredith had just left.
So he went to Cris's and inadvertently woke up Callie who didn't know anything, and he decided to try the house again. After waiting there for half an hour he started to worry, surely they must have been home by now? He'd asked Callie to send him a message if the girls crashed at Yang's, but he hadn't heard from her and he was beginning to get a bad feeling.
The hospital seemed the right place to look, at least the drive would keep him from thinking.
He really screwed this up.
Twenty minutes later, he was leaving SGH feeling numb, he had little hope now for a happy ending, but he needed to hear her say it. He needed this to be over tonight, this nightmarish evening had to end, he needed an answer.
When he made it back to his car he saw that he had locked his keys inside. That was too much, and he started cursing like he hadn't done in a very, very long time.
"Problems?" came a voice from behind.
He turned around to see Dr. Hunt standing close by, looking at him slightly wearily.
He felt his anger and frustration leave him, shoulders sagging. And starting laughing, but not in a happy way.
"Yeah, I guess you could say that." , he hesitated but decided to go one. Hunt could be trusted and he really didn't have much left to lose or screw up.
He looked the other man in the eyes and told him "I told Meredith she had one hour to decide if she wanted to marry e or not".
Surprise registered on Owen's face and he gave a soft low whistle. Derek allowed himself a little snort, "that was 5 hours ago, she's off with Cristina, I can't find her and I just locked my house- and car keys inside my car".
Hunt stared at him for a moment and then clapped him on the shoulder, "My car's right over there, let's go", and he started of without waiting for Derek's reaction.
Once they had left the parking lot Owen followed Derek's directions to Mer's house. Parking on the other side of the street a while later, it was obvious at once that the house was empty.
Owen turned of the engine and the silence settled. "Can you get in?". Derek turned in his seat to look at Hunt with a sigh. "No, not sure I want to, to tell you the truth".
He rubbed the palms of his hands over his legs nervously, "I think there might be a spare key under a flowerpot somewhere". And then, with a little start, "Along with some beer left over from a bbq we had some time ago". "You want to go see if we can find it?".
Owen considered for a second, Shepard was alright and he could use some company, if Meredith Grey wasn't home yet when he finished his beer he'd offer Derek a ride back to the city centre. He nodded and Derek smiled and opened the car door.
They crossed the street and went up to the porch, where Owen sat down on the swing and Derek went off to scout out the beer. Somewhere out of the dark came a triumphant cry and he emerged holding his spoils.
He handed Hunt one and sat down next to him. Sitting there drinking in the dark he felt himself come to rest for the first time in a very long while.
It was good to be here and not in LA, it was good to know, now more then ever, this was his home. He just prayed to god he hadn't ruined it all.
The past few weeks had been…chaotic. All of a sudden a lot of long-sleeping problems had become acute.
Mark's constantly breaking his word and shaming his trust…, he had told Addie! Of all people he told Addie when he had already told the chief, Hunt, and god knows how many others.
Before he'd even had a chance to ask Meredith, the entire hospital already seemed to know.
Archer almost dying, Addie asking him to be a God, friends that desperately tried to cling to the past, not for themselves, no. They wanted to move on but he wasn't allowed that, they wanted him and Addie back together so they could feel all nostalgic.
They didn't want to see the person he was now, they didn't want to let him breathe.
He was with Meredith now and because he hadn't been able to focus on her, he may just have lost her.
The thought almost made him groan, but he remembered on the last moment that he wasn't alone.
He glanced at Hunt, not knowing what to talk about, he didn't seem the type for small talk. And they really didn't know each other well enough to be talking love and marriage.
"You tried". "
"I'm sorry, what?. Owen cleared his throat and spoke up a bit, "you tried, may not seem perfect now, but at least you asked. Good for you".
It was short and to the point but Derek could appreciate the comfort Hunt was trying to give.
"Yeah, at least I asked."
They sat there and drank their beers in a comfortable silence looking out into the night.
Some time had gone by when they heard the sound of high heeled footsteps coming towards the house.
The next moment Meredith and Cristina rounded the corner and walked into the garden.
Owen made to stand, wanting to get out of there before having to witness the scene that was bound to ensue.. But he realised that Shepard was he guy waiting for The Answer here and he should let him take the lead.
So he stayed put while Derek got up squared his shoulders, taking a deep breath before making his way over to the steps of the porch.
The girls hadn't noticed them yet and Derek opened his mouth to get their attention when Meredith's' voice came, light and clear, carrying far through the night.
And what she was saying stopped Derek dead in his tracks and let the words die in his mouth.
"……".
On the swing Owen heard as well and flinched inwardly. "I shouldn't be here, this isn't right" this was so obviously not meant for his ears and he felt like some sad eavesdropper. "Probably because that's what you're doing" he told himself.
From the way Shepard had frozen to the spot he could tell that her mother's suicide attempt was news for him too, and that just made the whole situation even worse.
Very careful to be as silent as humanly possible he stood up and willed Shepard to look at him so he could get a cue for an exit attempt from him. They shouldn't stay here and listen.
But Derek was completely focused on Meredith and what she was saying. The pain of this wound cutting through him, how many more did she have?! How many deep, ragged gashes did she hide? What more had that woman done to her?
Seeing Derek had all but forgotten about him, Owen realised if he wanted out, it was on him to make it happen.
But there was no way out except to pass the women and he didn't want Dr. Grey to know that he had heard her talk about such a devastatingly private part of her life. A part she had apparently not even shared with the man that wanted to spend his life with her.
He cast a look around for another way out, off this porch., but it couldn't be done, not silently. So he sat back down and resigned himself to making the best of the situation.
This was bad.