Title: Pretending to Date
Summary: Meredith and Derek are best friends he is an attending and she is an intern. They never slept together but became best friends instead. Derek is going to visit his family for two weeks. He and Addison tried to work it out but they couldn't. He lied to his family saying he is seeing someone and they want to meet her to make sure he is finally moving on.
Disclaimer: I don't own Grey's Anatomy. I don't own anything or anyone…so sad.
Author Note: I was writing a short story for school and got inspired for the next update. This story is better and more fun to write so I stopped doing school work. It is a snow day so I shouldn't have to do homework. I don't have school tomorrow again. God I love snow so much. I know I was a horrible updater until today so I put off doing a lot of things to write another update.
Let the games begin
Derek Shepherd packed as much clothes as he possible could in the short amount of time he had before picking up Meredith and heading to the airport. He knew it was a safety precaution to be at the airport three hours early and have their luggage inspected but he was tired he was in surgery for the last five hours and had to pack really fast. The surgery had complications and ran long. He didn't get to leave the hospital until 11:30 and had to make it back to the trailer quickly they had to be at the airport at six o'clock. He still needed to pick up Meredith and make the 45 minute drive to the airport. Derek finished packing and had the trailer locked up by 1:17. He loaded his car with his three bags. On his way to Meredith's house he picked up subs at Quiznos for everyone knowing the airplane food would be horrible.
Derek, who was always welcome at Meredith's house, walks right in the front door. He hears Izzie, Cristina, and Meredith having a conversion in the kitchen. Alex, Burke, and George are in the family room watching a hockey game.
"I got food." Derek said getting the attention of everyone in the house.
"Thank God I knew Meredith was friends with you for a reason." Cristina said sarcastically. "They have no food in this house. I came here to say good bye to Meredith she is supposed to feed guests."
"It's good to see you Dr. Shepherd." Izzie said eyes glued to the bag in his hand like she hasn't seen food in ages.
"How many times do I have to tell you to call me Derek?" He says playfully with Izzie walking into the kitchen on his way in the kitchen he almost falls over Meredith's luggage. "Mer, how many bags are you bringing. My mother does have a state of the art laundry machine." He says jokingly before entering the kitchen.
"Cristina packed for me I just watched." Meredith shrugged and took the bag right out of Derek's hands. "Oh, you bought subs my favorite." By now George, Alex, and Burke join the girls and Derek in the kitchen to eat.
"I think I will miss Derek more than you Mer." Izzie said and Meredith has a fake angry face on. "Whenever he comes over he brings food you never have any food here."
"Hey you and George live here to." Meredith said setting the table for them to eat along with Derek. They always did things together. One time they were food shopping and an elder couple said they were the cutest young couple they have ever seen food shopping together.
As they are eating the fall into an easy conversion as usual for them. They all got along so well which was unusual for two attendings and five interns. When Derek was trying with Addison he would go over to Meredith's house and hang out with the group alone. No matter whom they were dating or married to it was only the seven of them when they hung out it just worked better.
"So Derek our great friends here and half the hospital are taking bets on us sleeping together." Meredith and Derek both laugh uneasily both wanting to but keeping up the friends' charade.
"So how much money is on this bet." Derek asked everyone just stared at something but Derek or Meredith not wanting to admit how much money was on the line. "That much huh. Well I hope one of you bet that we are not going to sleep together. We might be pretending to be a couple but we aren't one." The guilty looks on his friends' faces let him know they all thought they would sleep together and Derek knew in his gut they might too.
"You say that now Derek, but you will be alone with Meredith for two weeks a lot can change." Cristina said watching as Meredith couldn't meet Derek's eyes knowing it was just a matter of time before they slept together. "You are lucky I gave you till Wednesday Evil Spawn thinks you will be joining the mile high club today." Meredith and Derek both blushed pretending to be suddenly interested in the subs they were eating.
"First of all we will hardly be alone. My parents, four sister, their husbands, ten nieces, and five nephews will be there. And you think Meredith and I would jump each other in an airplane bathroom."
They finished up lunch and went to the family room to talk and hang out before Meredith and Derek would have to leave around 4 o'clock. They could laugh and jock about where they thought Meredith and Derek's relationship was going but they all knew deep down that they were made for each other. The few boyfriends Meredith had since they met her weren't exactly the best some were boring like Finn and then others were just weird or not very social. When they met Addison they knew that Derek and she weren't very happy or very compatible. Truth be told the friends didn't like either of their partners even before they met them they all just thought Meredith and Derek should be together.
They loaded up Derek's BMW's trunk and ran out of room for Meredith's entire luggage so they had to put some in the back seat. They all laughed at the amount of luggage Meredith would need for two weeks. Once they arrived at the airport at 5:37 they unloaded their bags and went to check in.
"This is pointless Derek what are we supposed to do for three hours. I hate these new flying restrictions." Meredith pouted Derek couldn't help but think she looked adorable.
"Well at least you know we will be safe." Derek said trying to look on the bright side of being stuck in an airport for so long.
"Yeah and the whole airport staff knows what I am going to be wearing for two weeks."
"Well it could have been worse. You could have brought things you would be embarrassed to be seen with.' Derek said this and Meredith blushed slightly.
"Yeah it could have been worse." Meredith said uncertainly thinking about the lingerie Cristina made her pack.
"So what are we going to do on the flight? Unless you want Alex to win the bet I don't think you want to have sex." Derek joked around with her. "I mean Cristina would probably kill you with the amount of money riding on the bet." Meredith just glared at him.
"I brought my knitting."
"Oh you're back to that again." Derek smirked and just shook his head.
"I never left it. Finn was nice and all but not really my type." Meredith just shrugged it off. "If you are good maybe you can get the sweater I am making."
"Thanks I will stick to store bought clothing."
"You're mean. I am a good knitter Izzie said so herself she always takes it and inspects it."
"Oh fine make me a sweater."
"Thank you I will."
"Now boarding flight 2742 to Denver, Colorado." The monotone of the announcer's voice stated.
"Well that is us. Come on Mer." Meredith gets up but can barely carry her carry on bag and is limping to the one side.
"What did you pack in there?" Derek asks her as he grabs the bag off her shoulder. "It feels like you took your whole bedroom in there." Derek just laughs while Meredith glares at him.
"Maybe I did. Cristina said I needed lots of stuff to do on the plane. I think she wants to win the bet and knows if we have alcohol she will lose." They arrive at the gate to the terminal and Derek hands over there carry-ons for the airport security to inspect before getting on the plane. They stop Derek before boarding.
"Excuse me sir." Said a tall plump man in his early thirties. "You cannot carry needles and drugs on a plane this is illegal." Meredith silently laughs at Derek but doesn't dare look at the man for fear he might hurt her if she did.
"I am a doctor. Actually we both are. I am Dr. Derek Shepherd head of Neurology at Seattle Grace Hospital and this is one of the doctors studying under me Dr. Meredith Grey who is practicing neurology. You see we are going to a medical conference and our Chief of Surgery always likes to have us prepared in case of emergency. So I brought my medical bag in case there is a slight medical emergency on the plane and we cannot land right away. I don't want the patient to have to be conscious if I have to crack their chest or something of that sort. There is also morphine in there so they won't have pain if any complex medical procedure is needed. I could show you my I.D. badge if you don't believe me." Derek said looking at the now bored security guard.
"I didn't need you life history you could have just said you are doctors attending a conference." The security guard let them board the plane.
They step on to the plane and walk to their seats that Derek's parents got them in first class. They are seated and virtually no one is on the flight. They start their usually flirty behavior and wait for the flight to begin.
"So Dr. Grey are you excited about going to a medical conference on why we should treat more neurological disorders with medicine instead of surgery." Derek smiled when he saw the look on Meredith's face.
"Is that how you got the chief to let us go last minute?"
"Maybe. He was going to make some poor resident go and sit through this conference. Chief was more than delighted when I volunteered us. He would have had to break the news to Dr. Peltries later that day. Some one has to represent Seattle Grace so they know we aren't just surgical hungry."
"What surgeon is going to want to go sit through a conference about not giving a patient surgery?" Meredith said thinking it was the dumbest idea of a conference she has every heard of. "If I was a patient I would want the surgery to fix the problem permantily not just a temporary fix with medication."
"I don't know. So I was thinking that we don't go to the conference more than a day. I don't think Webber thinks we will stay very long."
They sit silently on the plane for half an hour. Meredith is trying to knit but not making any progress and cannot figure out why. Derek is trying to do the cross word from the previous Sunday that he never got to but keeps cheating when he doesn't think Meredith is looking. She just smirks and goes back to knitting or in her case moving around the yarn. Meredith is trying to come up with a way to bring up the amount of affection they will show towards one another. She is getting nervous but is never going to admit that to anyone especially Cristina who right now would probably tell her to do McDreamy by Wednesday. Meredith starts playing around with the knitting needles and fidgeting Derek who is watching her out of the corner of his eye notices and grabs her hand.
"They are going to love you. Just relax and don't stress about it. It they loved Addison even after she cheated on me with Mark they definitely will love you. Mer you are something special don't ever second guess yourself. You are a wonderful person and if they don't love you that is there fault. You are already a great surgeon and you are going to be even better than you mom. When we operate on patients together it is always perfect even if there is complications we get through it together. I think we can become a surgery team together eventually and be some of the best." Derek said looking right into Meredith's eyes as he said this. They had formed a special connection some where along the line it went from friends who cared for one another to love he just couldn't place when. Maybe it was back when he thought he would lose her.
Flashback:
Meredith's patient was an escaped convict. No one knew it at the time though. He was beaten up and bruised needing a spinal surgery. You couldn't see the face of the victim to make out characteristics of the patient. He said he fell off of a bike but Meredith didn't by it. Derek left Meredith alone with the patient when he got paged to the ER for an incoming 911. He had an uneasy feeling the patient just striked him as scary and dangerous. Meredith was checking the patient for other injuries and noticed a tattoo that was sent out in the report for an escaped convict. Her face must have given that she knew because the patient jumped out of the bed and lunged at her. He locked the door to the exam room and ripped the phone off the hook. He pulled a knife out of his pocket. He had just arrived and hadn't changed into a hospital gown when Derek was called off to a more important surgery. He had the knife up against Meredith's neck. This wasn't the first time she had a near death experience the last time happened nearly two months prior when her hand was on a bomb but this time it was more real she had a knife touching her neck. Meredith was beyond scared but she didn't feel like she was going to die so she tried to stay calm. She once was watching a crime show with Izzie on TV and the show stated to talk to the attacker to see you as a human being and not just who they want to hurt in some way.
"I am Meredith. What is your name? I think we can skip last names since your arm is currently around my waist and you have a knife to my throat."
"Ah a funny one are we. You wouldn't make it very far in prison. Someone would beat the crap out of you the first day."
"You know you are going to get in a lot of trouble if you hurt me." Meredith said trying to scare him into letting her go but his stone cold stare didn't change. His grip on her body increased.
"I am in the worst kind of trouble I am in prison for life. Now that I escaped I will probably be in solitary confinement, because of a bitch like you." The perpetrator's voice stayed the same solid deafly scary tone.
"Oh but hurting me wont change the fact you are in jail." Meredith said praying for Derek to come back or a nurse to check up on the patient.
"So it is fun. I cannot get in any more trouble." Meredith than realized this guy was a stone cold murder and she had no chance of talking him out of hurting her. He was going to do whatever he wanted. Meredith tried to wiggle out of his grasp but he held on tighter. He took the knife off of her neck and slashed her arm slightly.
"If you don't shut the hell up I will do that to your throat and you won't be around to feel the pain." Meredith stilled in his arm. She could feel the tightness of his arms around her waist and knew she would have a bruise on her waist if she ever got out of his grasp. He threw Meredith to the bed in the room and went to the door to lock it. When he was preoccupied Meredith paged Derek 911 to the exam room. Walter, the criminal, slapped Meredith across the face when he saw her reach for something. "Don't even try to scream I will kill you faster than anyone can get here."
Derek ran up three flights of stairs trying to get to the exam room. He had a feeling that the victim would be Meredith not the guy he left in the bed before being paged to the ER. In the pit of his stomach he knew Meredith was in trouble. He was scared more than a friend or coworker would be. He felt like if she died he would die at the same moment. He had to help her now like she helped him so many nights.
Meredith was hit in the stomach and in the jaw. Walter had the knife pointed at her stomach. He lightly cut down her stomach vertically. Meredith bit her lip till she felt blood to keep from screaming. He was going to hurt her. Kill her even unless Derek got to him before he got to her. She knew Derek would save her. Even though he was married he was her knight in shining whatever. She laid patiently as Walter told her what he was going to do to her.
She heard the knob on the door jingle. Then she heard Derek's voice.
"Are you okay in there Dr. Grey? I need you to open the door so I can see that you are safe."
"Tell him you are fine and to go away you can handle the patient." Walter whispered to Meredith she knew she needed to give him a clue without actually giving him a clue. 'It better sound convincing."
"Meredith if you don't answer me this door is going to come down." Derek said his worries evident in his voice. By now a crowd had gathered outside the exam room. People stopped and stared as they waited for an answer from Meredith. She knew how scared he was when he called her Meredith and noticed his voice struggling to stay the same tone almost as if he was going to start crying. In that moment she knew she felt something for him that she didn't feel for Finn or any of her boyfriends before.
"Um…I am just checking out the patient's injuries Der…Dr. Shepherd." She decided to use there I am having a bad day or relationship code words. "You know the sky looks like hail and thunderstorms.' Meaning they were in trouble in a situation or relationship and they needed help fast. They always used it when the needed to be rescued for one reason or another.
"Really I didn't notice." And then it clicked in Derek's head she was in danger. He didn't even wait for security he knocked the door down with his foot. Derek went behind Walter grabbing his wrists forcing him to drop the knife that he had on Meredith's lower left arm. Derek pinned the patient against the wall. He stood there for about three minutes until security got there.
Derek ran over to Meredith as soon as security had Walter in hand cuffs. He hugged her and then took her to another exam room to stitch her up and make sure she was safe.
"How did you know I would know you were in danger by using are phrase?"
"I just knew. I knew I wouldn't die today and then you saved me."
End of Flashback
"So you are probably wondering how much affection we are going to show one another?" Derek asked Meredith and she looked back at him with disbelief in her eyes.
"I saved your life don't ask me how I know something I just do." Meredith just nodded her head. "I guess we can hold hands that isn't to hard but my family thinks it is this sign of a great relationship. We must likely wont have to worry about sleeping my mother has this rule if there is no rock on the finger to stare at there is know bed in the room to share. So we are good there. We can kiss on a couple of occasions I guess. Just pretend I am someone else."
"I don't have to do that you are my best friend, but don't tell Cristina." Derek and Meredith share a special smile they only show each other.
"We can have a clue word if you or I think it is a good time to kiss." Meredith nods her head and Derek tries to think of something. "How about lavender."
"Okay that can work." The smile and go back to there previous activities.
The rest of the plane ride goes smoothly and before they realize it the captain is giving them the weather and forecast for Denver. The uneasiness in Meredith's stomach goes away as they gently touch the ground.
Authors Note: Maybe more tomorrow I have to do some school work and maybe update another story. I am some what happy with this update. I started writing it and then I guess the flashback wrote itself. No school tomorrow so there could be an update.
