I'm sorry it took so long. Please don't hate me. School started and life is crazy and all that fun stuff. My life no longer belongs to me.
Jess
Chapter 7: For Every Action…
If there was ever something that Meredith had learned growing up it was one of two things. The first was: life goes on.
She had learned that one at a young age as she watched her father leave. The next day she had gotten up and gone to school like any other day. Her mother had been at work and her nanny had picked her up.
The only difference that day was that she had gotten ice cream as a snack and that her teacher had asked her if she was okay repetitively. Everyone had looked at her with sympathy. Except for three people.
Greg had showed up that day with Lisa and Jimmy in tow, and had entertained her. Never once had he asked her how she felt or what she had heard when Ellis and Thatcher were arguing. For that she was grateful.
The second thing that she had learned was for every action there was a reaction. Newton's Law even.
It didn't matter what she did. When Stacey signed Greg up for surgery that he had told her he didn't want they had broken up. When Jimmy's wives had found out about his affairs they had gotten divorced.
For every action there was an equally reaction, no matter how good or bad the action was.
That was what she was thinking as she stood in the middle of the hospital. And that she was so going to kill House later.
She could hear Cristina practically sputtering behind her, and could feel Derek's eyes boring into her back. She could feel the hurt in his gaze.
It broke her heart, but she could still remember House's words from five years ago after his infraction. She had been berating him about his treatment of Stacey.
No matter what the woman had done, he either needed to forgive her. (Which she never would have let him do) or break-up with her. (Which she had been pushing him to do from the start.)
Greg had looked at her and raised an eyebrow.
Payback's a bitch Meri.
And it was. It didn't mean that it didn't hurt no matter who you were. It was the way life was and the way that it probably always would be as long as one Gregory House was her Uncle.
Someone cleared their throat behind her and she turned to see Dr. Webber standing there.
"Why doesn't everyone move into the conference room?"
They start moving that way, Meredith grabbing Jimmy's hand. Behind her she could hear it starting.
"So good to see you Dick, meet any nice women lately?"
Yep. It was going to be a long day,
"Okay people." House surveyed the interns, residents and attending that were all crammed into a conference room.
Richard had introduced House and disappeared immediately. Richard and House were like oil and water, and House loved to provoke Richard.
Ever since the one day that Meredith had gotten home early and had found the two of them in a position that went beyond awkward on the couch. House had not been too pleased when he had picked up the eight year old girl.
It was the only time she had ever seen Greg scream at Ellis. She should have been with Meredith, not having sex with Richard on the couch. If there was a person that Greg disliked more then Richard it was Thatcher.
She was jolted out of her thoughts by a sharp jab in the ribs by Cristina and Houses' voice.
"I don't know why all of you are here. I don't like people. I don't work with five hundred people standing watching me. Neither do my ducklings. We don't perform medical miracles on command. So, all interns except Dr. Bailey's get the hell out of here. Residents, all except the Nazi-Woman. Dr. Burke, you can stay. Everyone else – get the hell out."
The interns fled immediately, terrified of House's glare. Residents left with a grumble, at a slower pace, but Addison, Derek and Mark stayed where they were.
"Dr. House-" Derek began flashing a smile at the older man.
"Are you an idiot?" House cut him off as he began to write symptoms on a white board that had been provided for them. He gestured for Foreman to keep reading them to him.
"Excuse me?" Derek asked startled.
"I. Told. You. To. Get. Out." Each word was drawn out slowly and he turned to face Derek.
"Now, once upon a time I thought surgeons were smart. Of course, I learned better but I thought that maybe they had some common sense. So, you just proved me wrong. Dr. Sloan, on second thought you can stay. Shepard's, bye-bye."
House waved and Addison and Derek walked out, knowing that they would not get to stay.
House turned back to his team and the eight stunned people in the room. It was really seven, but Meredith was stunned about what he had just done to the Shepard's, not that he had let them stay to watch a differential.
"Who can tell me what's wrong with our patient?"
"Meredith!" She cursed quietly and then turned to greet the man glowering at her.
"Yes Dr. Shepard?" Meredith hoped that her voice didn't reflect the inner turmoil and pain she was going through.
"I didn't know that you had a boyfriend."
"I didn't know that you had a wife either. Call it even?" There she had said it. Greg would be proud. Her snarky side was coming back.
"That's-"
"What?" She cut him off. "Were you going to say different? Was pretending you didn't have a wife better? Because I wasn't dating Jimmy when we met. We were taking a break while I did my internship and then we were going to check back, see how life was. Because no matter what the two of us are friends first. Always. And he knew that I met someone, he was the first one I told because he's one of my best friends. He warned me to be careful actually. He met someone too. Obviously it didn't work out for either of us."
"Meredith, I never meant to hurt you. I just-"
"Just what? Was afraid of what would happen if I found out that you were married? Seriously? Grow some balls Derek."
Meredith knew exactly what had caused the words she had thought so many times to come flying out of her mouth, and it scared her. Greg had always had some sort of effect on her actions because he always egged her on – but his appearance after a while always seemed to make her snark great enough to rival his own.
"Ouch." House was grinning. "You got served man."
Meredith shot him a look. "Jimmy told me to invite you to Joe's tonight for drinks, we'll all be there."
"And I can interrogate." House finished.
The one thing that he absolutely loved, adored, - worshipped about his niece was her ability to have a conversation with him in front of other people where they answered questions without asking anything and swapped ideas with their eyes.
"Sure, because you haven't already." Meredith sighed.
"But I haven't made a decision."
"Nope." Meredith rolled her eyes. "Not yet. Maybe after tonight."
"I'll talk to you later Dr. Grey."
She nodded and fled. Greg was always good at interrupting conversations she didn't want to have. "See you later Dr. House."
"Spill." The interns were sitting in the basement – hiding as they took a break.
"What?" Meredith looked between her friends.
"What? Seriously Meredith? Seriously?" Izzie was practically shrieking. "You kissed some guy in the middle of the hospital, Dr. House let us stay and observe differential diagnosis, McDreamy is practically purple, and something is going on between you and Dr. House."
"She kissed Dr. Wilson actually." George pointed out.
"Thanks George, I was having trouble remembering who it was."
"I think I should be insulted Mag-Pie." Wilson's voice came from the elevators and Meredith banged her head against the concrete wall.
"Why me?" Wilson didn't answer, just hummed the first bar of a song that Meri had learned from House.
Nobody likes me, everybody hates me…
"Shut up Jimmy."
"So you're Meredith's boyfriend?" Alex asked the older man.
Meredith stared at Jimmy who stared back at her. "I have a hundred riding on that you'll crack now, Greg says tomorrow, and Lisa says that you'll hold out until we diagnose that patient."
"Halfsies?" She asked him calmly.
"Yeah. Halfsies. I do have to say that you don't normally spill so easy Meri. Spilling for a hundred? We're losing our effect on you."
"Nah, did I forget to mention that you're buying drinks tonight?"
Wilson laughed and shook his head. "I really have to stop saying things like that, don't I?"
"Mm-hmmm. But I learned from the best. You should have by now, but you there's no accounting for smarts."
"I give her the smarts, but she still lets you win the bet? That's not fair."
"Life's not fair."
House snorted and the interns looked between Meredith, Wilson and House.
"I can't believe I'm doing this."
"Why not? And why do you think that I'm going to give you a hundred?" House sank onto an empty bed and grinned at Meredith.
"Because you love me."
"Sure I do."
"You do. Otherwise you wouldn't be here, because you hate Richard."
"Cuddles would've made me."
"Probably. But then you would've just kicked everyone out of differential. Thanks for letting us stay."
"Well, I have an excuse now that you're dating Jimmy, don't I?"
"Do you ever need an excuse? It doesn't matter who I am or aren't dating, you would've somehow made us stay."
"But I'm House. I can do that."
"Cocky son of a bitch, that's what you are. And no sexual comments. I'm not above stealing your cane until you stop."
Izzie, George, Alex and Cristina were staring at Meredith as if she had grown two heads. They had never seen her act like that, and with Greg House of all people?
"But Mo-om-"
"Don't Mom me, Mom Jimmy."
House grinned at Meredith and turned to the other man. "Mo-om-"
"Is anyone going to tell us how you two really know each other?" Alex finally interrupted.
House surveyed him for a minute, and Alex tried to keep Houses gaze. When he looked down finally House nodded and bounced his cane on the floor.
"He's my Uncle."
For all my House readers hopefully I'll have La Vita... up soon, We Are Family disappeared off of microsoftr word and I don't know how to get it back. I had almost a full chapter written, so umm yeah.
Review!
Jess
