Chapter 3: Everything Changes

Meredith woke up the next afternoon thankful to have the day off. She decided to clean house and relax in quiet while no one was home. After she finished the lundry, she decided to go to the liquor store. When she came home, Meredith went straight upstairs and put the bottles of tequila she brought throughtout her room. She was about to start drinking her first bottle when the doorbell rang. Meredith let out a frustrated sigh as she walked down the stairs. She opened the door and rolled her eyes and she asked "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Meredith, I heard you had the day off so I wanted to see how you were doing." Derek explained sincerely.

Meredith responded coldy before walking toward the living room "Well Dr. Shepherd, as you can tell I am fine and trying to relax since no one is here."

"Meredith, I know you are angry with me but I still care for you." Derek stated as he shut the door behind him.

Meredith laughed bitterly "That's funny because if I remember you were done with us so that mean you don't have to care anymore. Does your girfriend know you're here?"

"Rose isn't my girlfriend. We are just beginning to date." Derek objected quickly.

Meredith eyes flashed angrily as she turned toward Derek "You of all people don't go around kissing people in scrub rooms for nothing so don't downplay your feelings on my account."

"Meredith." Derek began but was interrupted as Meredith yelled "Just leave me alone and move on!"

Meredith walked up the stairs and locked herself in her room. She heard the front door slam shut and Derek start his car. Meredith grabbed the tequila bottle and began to drink. The next couple hours Meredith drank herself into an alcohol induced sleep. Cristina, Izzie, and Alex walked into the house and realized that Meredith had cleaned while they were gone. Izzie looked at Cristina with concern.

"Well, atleast we know she has been up and out of her room." Cristina stated as she shrugged. Izzie watched as Cristina walked up the stairs. She tried to open Meredith's bedroom door but realized it was locked. Cristina frowned as she remembered the key Derek had made for the time she locked him out of the room. Cristina ran into the bathroom and pulled the key out of the hiding place. When Cristina opened the door she frowned as she saw Meredith passed out on the bed with and empty bottle of tequila. Cristina sighed as she moved the bottle out of the bed and threw it in the garabe. She got ready for bed and knew she would corner Meredith tomorrow.

The next morning the alarm began to blare and Meredith groaned as she reached up to turn her alarm off. She stood up and shuffled her way to the bathroom. She grabbed some asprin and jumped in the shower. When she got out of the shower, Cristina was sitting on the bed waiting for her.

Meredith looked at her person and asked "When did you make it home last night?"

"We got home around nine. So, when did you pass out last night." Cristina stated accusingly.

Meredith rolled her eyes as she lied "I fell asleep early and I didn't pass out."

"Really?" Cristina growled as she walked toward the trash can "Well, this empty bottle of tequila would tell me otherwise."

Meredith glared at her friend as she put her boots on "Whatever! I am fine."

"Meredith, you are anything but fine. Ever since the other day, all you do is get completely drunk and don't talk to anyone." Cristina snapped as she stood up.

Meredith stubborningly said " I am fine Cristina. I just want to go to work."

Cristina let out a frustrated sigh as she followed Meredith out the door.

When Meredith got to the hospital, Sydney had assigned her to Derek's service, which made her even more upset. Before she could find Derek, Mark pulled her into a supply closet.

"Seriously Sloan! This isn't going to help keep rumors down about me." Meredith hissed as she tried to leave.

Mark stood in her way and just stared at her "What is your problem?" Meredith snapped as she leaned against a wall.

Mark leaned against the door as she slid to sit on the floor. "You need to lay off the alochol Grey. You look like crap."

"Thanks, but you don't need to look out for me. I can handle myself." Meredith retorted as she stood up straight.

Mark let out a sarcastic laugh "Grey, when was the last time you ate or even drank something other than tequila?"

"That's none of your business! Now let me go find Dr. Shepherd." Meredith yelled as she walked toward Mark.

Mark stood up and crossed his arms "I am not just looking out for you Grey. If something happen to you – Shep would never recover."

"I think he would be fine with his nurse. He isn't mine to worry about me anymore. Now let me do my job." Meredith stated as she pulled Mark away from the door.

Meredith finally found Derek at the nurses station flirting with Rose. Meredith shook her head as she cleared her throat. Derek turned around and the smile he been wearing while talking to Rose shifted into a frown "Dr. Grey, you are late."

"Well if you could tell Dr. Sloan to leave me the hell alone I would have been here on time." Meredith retorted as she stared at Derek.

Derek crossed his arms over his chest "That is no excuse Dr. Grey. I am going to have to write you up."

"Fine! Whatever! Do you actually need me or can I find someone else to work with?" Meredith stated with a glare.

Derek's eyes narrowed as he heard Rose clear her throat "Dr. Shepherd, I need to go prep your OR, so I'll see you later."

Derek nodded without taking his eyes away from Meredith. "Why don't you send me one of you interns and you can do work in the clinic."

Meredith nodded as she walked away. The rest of her day was pretty uneventful.

Thank you for reading! Please review?

Kelley