Chapter 3
Disclaimer: Don't own Grey's Anatomy. Shonda does.
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Meredith drove home after her breakfast with Mark. To say that she loved spending time with Mark was an understatement, ever since they met several years ago she loved being with Mark. It didn't matter if they were watching movies, eating something, watching a movie, going to their bar, talking on the cell phone, or anything. She loved spending her time with her best friend. Mark had been there for Meredith through everything - her bad days, her good days, her very bad hair days. He had been there for her.
Meredith arrived at her apartment complex. She grabbed her briefcase and got out of the car. She looked up at the sky, the blue color of it making her heart race. She turned her head back down to the ground. Why did the color of the sky make her heart race? If Meredith was being completely honest with herself, she knew the reason. The reason was her patient, who had a wife. Meredith remembered the sincerity in his voice when he told her that if she knew what really happened with his wife, she would understand. His voice was filled with pain and anguish, but at the same time it was filled with hope. Maybe, he really wished that it worked out with his wife. Maybe, the hope was something else.
Meredith walked through the doors of her apartment complex, smiling softly at the lady at the front desk. She was pretty sure that the front desk lady was new, because Meredith had a habit of knowing everyone's name that she dealt with on a daily basis. Meredith was not always like this, but for some reason the career she was in now, changed her. Meredith walked over to the front desk.
"Hi. I'm Meredith Grey." She politely said.
"Hi." The blonde girl said back. "Can I help you with something?" She said rudely, filing her nails as she rested in the black chair.
"No…nevermind." Meredith said, turning away from the desk and walking over to the elevator.
Meredith wasn't this girl. Meredith was definitely not bright and shiny. However, this job changed her. It really must have changed her. Meredith took a breath in when the doors of the elevator opened. She stepped inside and noticing the few passengers inside. The doors closed behind her and she turned towards the front. That was when she saw the bright blue eyes looking back at her, his eyes intense.
Meredith took a deep breath in. No…this couldn't be happening. He did not live in her apartment complex. No. She calmed her appearance down, but her mind and inside of her body were shaking. She wasn't scared, she shouldn't be, but she was nervous. He didn't live in her apartment complex, did he? When did he move in? Why did he move in? The elevators in front of Meredith opened and people pushed passed her walking out of the elevator – leaving Meredith and the blue eyed wonder alone.
She didn't say anything, she just stared ahead. Which was probably a bad idea considering that he was staring at her reflection in the mirror. He smiled at her and she closed her eyes, taking a deep breath before she opened her eyes and smiled back at him. He took a step towards her.
"Hi." He said softly, like others would be listening. However, they were the only ones in the elevator.
"Hi." She responded back just as softly.
"You live here?" He asked, still looking at her reflection.
"Yes. Do you?" She asked, wanting the answer to the question that had been going through her mind ever since she noticed him in the elevator with him.
"Just moved in today actually." He smiled at her. That was when Meredith noticed his attire. He was wearing a pair of dark blue jeans along with a white t-shirt. His hair was pushed back out of his face. If it was possible, he looked better now than he did that morning when she saw him in his black pants, light blue shirt and blue tie. Meredith was a woman for suits, however, Derek and his clothing was slowly changing that.
"Really?" She asked, wanting to continue the conversation, but not completely sure at what to say.
"Yep." He smiled at her.
Meredith couldn't handle the looking through the mirror anymore. She needed to turn around and look at him. It probably wasn't the best idea because she lost her breath looking at the real version of him. He looked even better than his reflection, and Meredith knew that was crazy because reflections looked just like the person.
"Well that's interesting."
"Oh really?" Derek smirked at her. Stupid, stupid smirk that makes me weak in the knees, thought Meredith
"How is that interesting?" Derek smirked at her again.
"Um…" Meredith bit her bottom lip as she thought of a reason. She knew that Derek knew that he was sexy, handsome, amazingly hot, pretty god looking. She knew that he knew that. She also knew that she liked looking as his body. His body was such a fun sight to look at.
Meredith stopped herself from biting her lip and just shrugged her shoulders. She couldn't let her patient get to her. "I don't know…it just is." She said turning back around, closing her eyes and taking another deep breath, bringing her hand up to her chest, feeling her heart rate. Meredith was pretty sure she was going to have a heart attack in the next few days because of this man.
Meredith heard Derek's laughter and that when she remembered that there was a mirror in front of her. Her cheeks turned a deep scarlet color.
"Why is this elevator taking so long today?" She muttered under her breath. Just then the elevator door opened and it was her floor. She walked out and was about to say goodbye to Derek when she noticed that he was getting off the elevator. What was he doing? Following her?
It seemed that Derek was able to read her facial expression, and he placed his hand up to his chest, grabbing the top of his shirt. "I guess we live on the same floor." He shrugged and smiled at her.
"What? No. You can't live on my floor. I can't live on the same floor as you." Meredith said, her eyes widening while her mind was going wild.
"Why not?" Derek laughed softly.
"Because I can't live on the same floor as my patient." She said, walking away from him, her suitcase swinging in the wind as she walked quickly to her room.
"Why not?" He asked again not seeing the problem. Actually, he liked the idea of living on the same floor as her.
Because I like looking at you and the more that you are away, the less I don't see you…the less I have to worry about embarrassing myself in front of you. "Because…just because." She said, grabbing her keys and looking at him before she walked into her apartment, closing the door.
Her apartment was one of her havens, one of the places she could go when she needed escape from the world or blue eyes that were really making her want to do things, things she had never done before.
Meredith looked around her apartment and over to her couch, and she was about to sit down when she heard someone knock on her door. She looked between the door and the couch. The couch looked a lot more inviting than opening the door did right now, so she sat down on her couch hearing someone knock on the door again. She guessed that it was Derek. She had nothing against Derek; she really didn't but she afraid of what she would do when she saw him. She had the nagging feeling that she would do the most embarrassing thing or she would jump into his arms and kiss him. No she couldn't do that. He was a patient, trying to save his marriage. Or at least he was in her marriage counseling sessions with his wife. She couldn't disrupt them in their progress…well if they were going to make progress.
The knocking on her door had stopped and she smiled as she rested her head against the back of the couch and controlled herself and her thoughts.
Her cell phone started ringing and she knew that it was number she didn't know because it was the most common ringtone: the sound of an actual phone. Her friends had songs that either conveyed their personalities or their friendship. Meredith reached into the pocket of her suit pocket and sighed as she answered the phone.
"Hello…this is Meredith Grey." She said in a professional tone.
"Do you know how rude it is to not answer your door?" The man on the phone laughed.
Meredith growled as she got up off her couch and walked over to the door. She looked through the peep-hole and noticed that Derek was standing there.
"Do you know why I didn't answer my door?" She said, in a plain tone.
"Because you couldn't hear it?" He laughed. "But you heard your cell phone. So I don't know." He laughed again. His laughter put a smile on Meredith's face although she was pretty annoyed with Derek Shepherd at the moment.
"Please do not tell me that you are going to be one of those neighbors that I have to put a restraining order on." She said in a playful tone.
"No…I was just wanting to ask you a question, then I was going to leave you to whatever you had to do."
"So…if I answer the door you will leave me alone?" She smiled at his expression in the peep-hole. It was a little hurt, but he still had a smile on his face.
"You know I haven't done this in a while. So I'm just going to ask, okay?" He asked, waiting for her response.
"What? You haven't talked on a cell phone for a while?" She teased him, because it was the only thing she could do, because she had a nerving idea that he was about to ask her out. But Meredith shook her head, he wouldn't ask her out right now would he? They just met?
"Will you go out with me?" He sounded nervous, hell he looked nervous too.
Meredith was silent on her side of the line. She had the feeling that he was about to ask her, but that was just her hoping. She wasn't actually expecting him to do it. She wanted to, there was no doubt in that, but she was scared and she couldn't. She couldn't go out with her clients.
"Derek…" She said, hoping that he knew what she meant.
And he did. "Just say yes. Pretend like I'm just Derek and you are just Meredith."
"But you are still married…"
"Not for long. I'm getting a divorce as soon as possible."
"Then why are you coming to sessions?" She asked him. If they were so set on getting a divorce, why did they even bother coming to a session.
"Nancy and Addison are best friends and Nancy is my sister. She basically drug me there. Not that I regret going after I saw you, but I really didn't want to go. It's a waste of my time, of your time, and of Addison's time. Although, I no longer care about Addison. When she cheated on me…well…I don't care about her anymore." He said, looking at her door.
"Derek…I don't know."
"Meredith…please. Just say yes."
Meredith's automatic thought was yes, but then she thought about her career and maybe that he was going to use her as a rebound. Her first date would not be a rebound. No…her first kiss would not be a rebound kiss. She wanted all the real passion of love.
"I can't. I won't be your rebound." Meredith said, a little bitterness in her tone, but not at him. The bitterness was towards her. She should have realized that she would have been his rebound girl.
"You wouldn't be a rebound Meredith." He said, more firmly. And Meredith knew that he was telling her the truth. Those few simple words wouldn't have meant anything if they came from another person, Meredith wouldn't have believed it. However, Meredith could tell that he was telling he the truth. From the few moments that he had talked to him, she knew him. At least, she knew parts of him. She knew what he smelled like. She knew that he looked better in casual clothing, than suits. She knew that he raked his hands through his hair when he was stressed. She knew that he was kind and truthful. And all those reasons were why she opened the door and smiled at him giving him his answer. Her answer was yes.
