Dedicated to Lucey, for her birthday.

Spoilers all over the place, up to S4 Finale ('Freedom'). Prompts taken from 100mood (LJ community)

Sorry about the continuity error in 004. Annoyed. I only started watching the show by the end of S2, so I'm fuzzy about the beginning of it. Many thanks to starvingstudent for pointing it out. :) I'll try to think of some way to go around it.

PICKING AT THE EDGES
02/20
by Leni

006. Apathetic. (S2)

She could see them over Cristina's shoulder. Standing so close together, obviously focused only on each other's words. They both carried patient files, but Meredith doubted they were consulting on a case. How many pregnant women or newborns needed brain surgery?

"Are you even listening?" Cristina sounded ticked off.

Meredith blinked. "Burke. Stubborn. Bad Burke," she recited. Lately, Cristina's problems boiled down to one.

Cristina nodded, satisfied. "I told him I won't care about his tantrums anymore."

A last smile and each went their own way. "Right. Not caring." Derek didn't once look in her direction. "Not caring is good."

007. Aroused. (S4)

Rose smiled at him as they crossed ways, fresh-faced and obviously well-rested from a good night's sleep - at her own place.

"So, nursey there still immune to the Shepherd charm?"

Derek ignored Mark's comment.

"That's a yes," his not-quite-friend noted. "Unless there's something wrong with you instead?" Mark's eyebrow shot up at something in Derek's expression. "There isn't, is there?"

"Of course not." Except there was. Because he'd only smiled back at Rose, not one twinge of arousal in his reaction. But an hour ago the sight of a bedraggled Meredith at the clinic, bloodshot eyes and hair in a messy ponytail after a night shift, had near paralyzed him. "Nothing's wrong." Experience told him that denial never went far where Meredith was concerned. It didn't stop him from trying. "Nothing at all." And before Mark could voice his disbelief, Derek called Dr. Webber over and effectively ended their conversation.

008. Awake. (post S4)

Something poked her shoulder, drawing her from the warm cocoon of her dreams. She opened her eyes under protest, and frowned when Alex's face greeted her. "Uh?" was her intelligent remark. She was fairly sure she'd done nothing last night that warranted Alex's presence in her bedroom first thing in the morning.

"Meredith. Wake up, now!"

Izzie's voice calmed her, and she felt no compunction about furrowing back into her covers. "It's my free day. Go'way."

"Yeah. Tell that to Shepherd," Alex sounded annoyed. "Seriously, do tell him. Booty calls at four in the morning? Please."

"Four?" That rang a bell… far down the valley of her consciousness. Something about a walk through the woods… seeing the changes spring brought… being too happy to deny him anything…. That was when the covers were pulled off her. Someone else picked her by the armpits and sat her up on the bed. When she opened her eyes again, it was to find Izzie's pinched expression.

The blonde was wringing one of her sheets between her hands. "He's been knocking and knocking and knocking," she said tiredly, "and if you don't go downstairs and do whatever you told him you'd do, I will do it for you."

Meredith frowned. Behind her, hands still holding her up, Alex snickered. "Cranky Izzie," he laughed. "I like that." And he winked at her.

Izzie rolled her eyes, but didn't protest further.

Meredith looked between them. It was too early for underlying sexual tension. "Ew." She shook her head and stood to her feet. Then yawned. She was supposed to enjoy this? Derek couldn't possible know her this little. "Beauty of nature my ass." She yawned again, even more widely, and forced herself to look for the coat she'd thrown onto a chair last night. "I'm going!" she yelled as the knocking started again, draping the coat over her shoulders. "What's the rush, anyway?"

"He's been there for - " Alex glanced at the clock at her bedside. "twenty minutes."

"Would it kill him to wait for another second?" she wondered aloud as the noise escalated, pulling up her pants.

Izzie had decided that there was no need for her to remain awake and laid on the nearest bed. "Yes, kill'm." She spread Meredith's covers over herself and snuggled into the mattress. "Now lemme sleep," she mumbled as she covered her head. Alex lifted a corner of his lips at the sight, glancing at the empty side of the bed with a speculative look.

Meredith raised her eyebrow. "Don't." She finished tying her shoes and met his glare with one of her own. Alex opened his mouth.… "Really. Don't." Alex shrugged gamely and started for the door. Meredith followed him, hiding another yawn behind her hand.

She'd been dragged out of her bed at four o'clock (well, almost), unwillingly sat first row to her housemates' mating rituals and now was expected to walk for miles to admire the spring.

Spring better have something worthwhile to offer in return.

009. Blank. (S2)

"Her condition didn't develop for so long that we thought…. We were hoping for a miracle, I guess. And then she fainted."

Mrs. Julia Millar had been his patient five years ago, when they'd discovered an inoperable tumor nudged against the frontal lobe. Half an hour ago Michael Millar had walked up to him, announcing that they'd decided to transfer his wife to Seattle Grace. "Because you're still the best in your field," he'd said.

Derek wished that they had called him in for consult from New York. A change of atmosphere would be perfect. No Meredith avoiding him while her friends formed a wall around her. No Addison seeking him out at every chance, bringing memories from what he'd believed to be a successful marriage.

"So what do you think, Dr. Shepherd?"

His patient's husband had been talking for a good while, Derek realized, while he'd been musing on his own situation. "I…." Just then, Meredith passed by, chatting with O'Malley and pointedly not turning around and looking through his window like she'd have done not three days ago.

"Dr. Shepherd?"

Derek looked at the man on the other side of his desk, mind at a blank. Mr. Millar was looking at him expectantly. "You did the best under the circumstances. Julia knows that." A common enough platitude.

Mr. Millar nodded. "I just wish…" he started tiredly.

"I know." Derek's voice was just as despondent. And he did know. Because if wishes were horses, Meredith would have turned around.

010. Bored. (S4)

"See?" George's grin was a little too eager. "This is just what the three of us needed."

Izzie nodded. Again, she seemed too happy for someone who was behind in the Monopoly game.

Meredith gave them a smile, feeling that she was mostly humoring them, and cast her dice. An ace and a five would have taken her wagon into jail. She advanced seven places instead and landed safely on Third Street.

Not one protest. Meredith forced out another cheery smile and excused herself to go for a drink - she needed it. As she'd suspected, the only reason George and Izzie had pulled her into their board games evening, was to have an excuse not to test the chemistry - or lack thereof - between them. She pulled out her cell phone, and two minutes later passed beer cans to her thankful housemates. They looked like they needed it.

Twenty minutes later, a confused Derek rang the door. Meredith practically leapt across the board to answer the door. "Are you okay?" he asked, checking her for any visible injury.

She nodded, but didn't answer verbally. Instead, "Oh, Derek. Do you really need me to go with you?" she said as loudly as she could.

He frowned, even deeper when she put a finger against his lips to stop his questions.

"Okay, then," she continued, then poked her head back into the house and shrugged at the couple. "Sorry, guys. Derek needs a last minute date."

"No!"

Izzie looked up at George's raised voice. But more than surprised she looked panicky at the prospect of staying on their own.

"I mean…." George's expression betrayed his nervousness. "Why doesn't your boyfriend join us? We can have teams!"

"Yay, teams!" Izzie enthused, giving her an almost imploring look.

Meredith was kept from answering when familiar arms wrapped around her. "Maybe another time," Derek told the couple in her living room, giving them an apologetic smile and pulling her towards the door - or, as Meredith preferred to think of it at the moment, towards salvation.

"My hero," she grinned when they were in his car. "I love them, I do. But they are driving me crazy."

"That's what they get for mixing friends and lovers," Derek said as he turned to the right to take the highway. "Promise you'll never be friendly to me, Mer."

"Not that it worked when we tried," she laughed.

"Exactly."

As they parked before his trailer, Meredith stopped him before he opened his door. "Thanks for coming to my rescue."

He opened the glove compartment and took out his cell phone. Flipping it open, he showed her the last message he'd received. AT HOME. SAVE ME "How could I not?"

I have 22 of these at my LJ. I'm just VERY bad about remembering to post at ff . net. See you soon! and remember, Feedback is love!