Here's the second part. Don't forget this is after 'Six Days: Part 1' and anything in part 2 (particularly Derek's rather casual and I think cruel mention of surgery) needs to be ignored.
Derek rubbed his eyes as he scribbled down some notes on a chart. His last surgery had been tough and had left him feeling drained. A cup of coffee was what he needed. Perhaps he'd find Meredith and see if she had time to join him.
"Where is she?"
Derek blinked and turned to find Bailey standing behind him. Her hands were fisted on her hips and her glare was enough to melt ice. He frowned, he was pretty sure he hadn't done anything to piss her off recently. "Excuse me?"
"My intern, what have you done with her?"
"I don't know what... O'Malley's with me today," he reminded her, confused.
She shook her head. "I'm talking about Grey. You know my intern that you have a habit of screwing with?"
His frown deepened. "Meredith? I haven't seen her since rounds this morning."
"Well no one's seen her for more than half an hour. When she goes missing, it normally has something to do with you."
He held his hands up, palms out in surrender. "I can assure you it wasn't me. I was just about to find her, actually."
She didn't look convinced. "Well if you do see her, would you remind her that this is a hospital and she has a job to do?"
He nodded. "Of course."
She gave him a curt nod and turned on her heel, marching off in the opposite direction. Derek rubbed his chin and wondered about his girlfriend. It wasn't like her to disappear in the middle of a shift. She had looked tired this morning, perhaps she was grabbing a nap somewhere.
He checked the on-call rooms first, before he started asking nurses. On his third enquiry, he was directed to one of the exam rooms. Curious, he headed to the room and pushed open the door. The scene that greeted him made his heart stop. Meredith was lying on the bed, while Mark sat next to her, a hand on her arm.
"What the hell...?"
Two faces snapped around to look at him. Meredith quickly turned away, but not so fast that he didn't see the tears streaking her face. "Meredith?" he questioned.
Mark sighed and slipped off the side of the bed. "I'm just gonna go check your films and labs, okay?"
Meredith nodded, her head still turned away. Mark nodded to Derek on his way out, but didn't say anything.
"Mer?" Derek asked again, walking closer to the bed. His gut felt tight, the words 'films' and 'labs' reverberating in his brain. Why would Mark be running labs on Meredith, unless... "Meredith, look at me," he told her. "What's going on? Why is Mark running labs? Did you find a lump in your breast? Do you think you have--?"
Her eyes widened. "What? No! No lump, no cancer," she assured him.
He felt himself deflate in relief. "Then what's going on?" he asked. He sat himself on the bed, where Mark had just vacated, and took her hand. "Why have you got Mark running labs?"
She shook her head. "I should go, I've been off the floor way too long."
"What?" he asked, shocked at the evasion. "Are you kidding me? You can't just..." He took a deep breath. "I want you to tell me what's going on."
She sighed and looked away. "I asked Mark to fix my snoring."
He was absolutely stunned. "You what? I mean, seriously? It's not even his area of expertise. Besides, you don't need--"
She cut him off. "I want Mark to perform an uvulopalatopharyngoplasty."
He felt like a fish out of water, his mouth opening and closing. "You can't be serious! You want to have surgery voluntarily?"
"It's no big deal. He'd just go in and remove some excess tissue from the back of my throat and--"
"I know what it is!" he snapped. "I just can't believe you would be so stupid as to let him do that to you."
Her eyes flashed in anger, but Derek could see the pain there. "Well I can't believe you would rather sleep on the couch than with me," she retorted. "So I guess that makes us even." She all but leapt from the bed, easily evading his grab for her and storming out of the room.
Derek ran a hand over his face and through his hair. He couldn't believe it. He could not believe that she had asked Mark Sloan to help her stop her snoring. Why hadn't she said something to him? He would have helped her go through her options, found someone - anyone other than Mark - to help her, if that was what she wanted. He had to admit he would love to find something to stop her snoring, but there had to be something less extreme than going under the knife.
He shook his head. He knew a guy back in New York, he'd give him a call and ask him his opinion. He was one of the best ear, nose and throat specialists in the country. He'd certainly know more than Sloan did.
He headed out of the exam room and immediately spotted the source of his anger standing at the nurse's station. "No way!" Derek growled, as he neared Mark. "There is absolutely no way she is having surgery."
Mark glanced up from the chart, but his face didn't change as he looked at Derek. "Don't you think that's up to her?" he asked.
"I'm not letting you cut her open just to get back at me."
Mark's face darkened and he stepped forward. "You think this is about you?" he asked, a note of incredulity in his voice. "You really are an egotistic bastard, Derek. This is about my friend--"
"She's not your friend!" Derek snapped.
"-- my friend," Mark repeated, "coming to me and asking me for help. It's about her being scared to death of losing her boyfriend because he can't handle her snoring."
Derek felt like he'd been punched in the gut. "What? I would never... how could she think... it hasn't even been that bad over the last week," he finally finished.
"That's because she's hardly slept this last week. She's so worried that you'll get out of bed and leave her alone that she's been making herself stay awake. She's been grabbing catnaps in the on-call rooms every chance she gets." He shook his head. "She's a mess, Derek, and if I can help her, I will."
"God," Derek ran a frustrated hand over his face. "How in the hell did it get to the point that she thinks she has to have surgery?"
Mark shrugged. "The same as it is for a lot of my patients. They think that fixing a physical flaw will be enough to change an emotional problem."
"You think this is my fault," Derek accused.
"I think it's obvious that you devastated her when you left her for Addison and she's not yet convinced that you won't leave her again." He shook his head. "I mean, seriously, Derek, I know you're a light sleeper, but you can't wear ear plugs and stay in bed with her?"
Derek felt his jaw clench. "God, I have the urge to hit you right now," he muttered.
Mark smirked. "The chief might have a problem with that, not to mention Meredith would probably kick your ass."
The image that provoked brought a smile to his lips. "Well, she'd try anyway." He sobered. "This isn't your area, Mark. I don't want her having surgery, not when there are other options. I want John Hawkins in on this."
Mark nodded. "So do I, which is why I've already put a call in to him." He patted Derek on the shoulder. "She's in good hands, Derek. I know I was at least partially responsible for you and Addi ending. That's always going to be there now. But I can do something to help you and Meredith."
Every other time Mark had mentioned their friendship and the affair, Derek had felt an immediate and all-consuming bitterness. Though it was still there, it was tempered this time, as he realized just how much he missed his friend. "You're on a strange road to redemption," Derek pointed out.
"I'll do what ever it takes," Mark assured him, no trace of humor.
Derek didn't rebuke him. "Let me know when you talk to Hawkins," he said instead.
"Will do, Buddy."
TBC
I hope you enjoyed this part and would appreciate reviews.
