A/N: Sorry it's taken me so long to put up another chapter. I had LASIK last week, and it has limited the number of hours I could spend in front of my computer screen. I've also been frantically getting ready to go back to school today (I'm a teacher), so I just haven't had as much time as I would have liked. Then I started having technical difficulties with the site this weekend and couldn't post what I had finished. Ugh!!! Things should settle down soon, though. Hopefully this chapter makes up for the wait! Enjoy!

As the hospital's elevator doors opened, Meredith noticed that only one person was on the elevator – Derek Shepherd. His eyes met hers, and he quickly lit up, causing the blue in his eyes to sparkle a little as he smiled at her. The sight of him simultaneously took her breath away and caused her to hesitate a little. She had experienced this phenomenon so many times before, and by now she understood that the elevator could be a dangerous place for their current status. Eventually Meredith's mental calculations decided that the risk of having him make a move on her in the elevator was pretty small, and she didn't want to appear to be actively avoiding him, so she boarded. She was careful, however, to make sure that she limited her eye contact with him, and subsequently she turned away from him on the elevator so that both were facing the direction of the elevator door.

But she could still smell him.

The subtle scent of his aftershave was amazing – the kind of scent that she could get lost in and completely let down her guard to. It was as if the elevator had been gassed with a magic elixir that wiped out all memory and common sense for Meredith. And it was a scent that she couldn't stop inhaling.

Derek stepped forward a little, trying to catch his own whiff of the lavender conditioner Meredith always used. He had been thinking a lot about her since his conversation with Mark the night before, and he had decided that he would try to convince her to spend some time with him so that they could talk. But knowing how prone Meredith tended to be about running and dodging these kinds of situations, particularly with him, he would need to be crafty about getting her to agree.

"Tomorrow is Friday…" Derek started.

Meredith smiled, happy to hear his voice. "I agree," she interrupted.

"How much do you have to work this weekend?" he asked, trying to sound casual – like he was making the kind of small talk friends often made.

"My schedule is pretty good, actually, in part because I've already put in so many hours this week. I'll be off sometime after lunch tomorrow and I have all day Saturday off," Meredith responded.

"Wow, you get a Saturday off?" Derek asked, sounding genuinely surprised. It wasn't often that first or second years had time off on weekends.

"Pretty amazing, isn't it?" Meredith acknowledged.

"Well, I'm glad to hear that. It just so happens that I was given tickets to a John Mayer concert for tomorrow night at the Gorge. Would you like to join me?" Derek asked, innocently. It was a half-truth. In reality, Derek had purchased the tickets months ago in what he had planned to be a surprise for Meredith. He certainly hadn't expected their relationship to be placed on hiatus before the concert date arrived, and he certainly hadn't expected the need to try to lobby her to go the day before. He had been prepared to let the tickets go to someone else, but after talking with Mark, this seemed like just the kind of good will gesture he could use to get a conversation rolling.

"You just so happen to have John Mayer tickets?" Meredith asked skeptically. She really wanted to go, but she was going to make him work on getting her to agree to it.

"Yeah, someone I know gave them to me because he couldn't use them, and you were the first person I thought of to ask to go with me. I know you like his stuff," Derek continued, still lying a little. Not a large, malicious lie, but a small white one that was in Meredith's best interest. In both of their best interests.

"And it's at the Gorge?" Meredith asked, arching an eyebrow at him.

The Gorge was a beautiful amphitheater about three hours away from Seattle, and he had planned a big camping trip to go along with the concert. In fact, Meredith's time off for the weekend was a result of his request. But now that their relationship was more complicated, he didn't think he could pull off the camping trip too.

"Yeah. I could pick you up around four and we could still make it in time. We have real seats not lawn seats," Derek responded, trying to read her body language to see if she was going to give in. He wasn't sure yet.

"Look, Mere. There are no strings attached. I got these tickets and as your friend, I would like to share them with you. If you can't go, or you don't want to, I can try to get Mark to go with me, but to be honest, I don't really want to babysit him in a crowd of screaming fourteen-year-olds that look like they're twenty-something."

Meredith smiled at that image. She had seen a John Mayer concert before and she definitely had been surprised to discover that the average age demographic was far lower than what she had expected. Mark would have a field day scoping out girls at a place like that.

"Just friends?" Meredith asked for good measure.

"Of course," Derek reassured.

"Okay, I guess we could do that," she agreed.

"Great!" Derek responded enthusiastically. "I'll pick you up around four."

"Sounds good," Meredith replied. The elevator came to a stop, and as she stepped off, she wondered if she had just made a mistake in agreeing to go. Leave it to Derek to exploit my weakness, she thought, unable to help the smile that was spreading across her face.

"You look unusually happy today," Cristina mentioned. She seemed distracted despite her best efforts to be a supportive friend. Her hair was unusually messy, and her body language made her look more diminutive than confident.

"Not unusually happy. Just looking forward to the weekend," Meredith responded as casually as she could. She was certain that her excitement about a not-date with Derek was plastered across her face, but she wasn't particularly interested in having the moment shattered by a Cristina lecture about dealing with McDreamy.

"Burke is fucking me over on the apartment," Cristina quickly confessed. She knew something was still going on with Meredith, but she no longer had the capacity to keep her own problems at bay. She needed to divulge the latest development in the wreckage that was her almost marriage.

"What's going on?" Meredith asked, concern registering across her face as her forehead wrinkled a little. She wiped a few wisps of hair out of her face so that she could focus completely on her friend.

"I called his lawyer who is apparently my only means of communicating with Burke…"

"He has a lawyer?"

"It's Burke. Either I talk to a lawyer or I talk to Momma Burke, and that's not happening…"

"Agreed. And?" Meredith sighed, still being supportive.

"And I said that I was going to move out and find my own apartment, and the lawyer said that the moving truck will arrive on Saturday to take all of Burke's stuff that I leave. Mere, he wants me out by Saturday. How in the world am I pulling that off?" Cristina slouched even further and started kneading her hands together. She seemed deep in thought, but quickly realized how distraught she must appear. She straightened a little and began pacing instead, pausing only to run a hand through her hair.

"That makes no sense. Have you tried asking for an extension?" Meredith asked.

"Yeah, but who knows what the lawyer is saying to Burke. I haven't been able to get a response at all," she replied.

"Well, we'll pack up your stuff tonight, and you'll stay with me until you find an apartment of your own," Meredith assured. Certainly not an ideal solution, but one that would have to work. "And first thing Saturday morning, we'll find you a new place that you'll love – one with plenty of counter space for the cappuccino maker."

Cristina smiled. She suspected that Meredith would suggest that, but actually hearing the words went a long way toward reassuring her that things would be okay.

"Are you sure you can handle having me move into your place – into your room – and taking over your space?" Cristina asked.

"You're my person, it's the least I can do for you." And besides, having you stay with me is a tremendous insurance policy that I don't mistakenly bring Derek home to my bed any time soon. You can be the ultimate cock-block, Meredith thought.

"I promise it will be short, Mere."

"I know. Don't worry. Take as long as you need," Meredith urged.

"Thanks," Cristina responded genuinely before moving on through the hall. She didn't say goodbye or make any definite plans for after work but just returned to her business, happy to be done with the distraction of conversation about her personal life.

When Meredith arrived at Cristina's apartment, she barely recognized the place that had once been occupied by Preston and Cristina. Dirty clothes littered the floors and furniture. Dishes lined the countertops and glasses filled with a liquid coated in surface scum sat untouched in random places throughout the room. Meredith couldn't believe that mold could grow so quickly, and she was beginning to wonder if Cristina was doing some sort of medical research or trying to make penicillin from the various specimens. Suddenly the prospect of having Cristina Yang as a roommate seemed like a bigger sacrifice than Meredith was prepared for.

"Cristina, what happened in here?" Meredith asked, disbelieving how quickly the apartment had been transformed.

"The maid service was cancelled and I've been…busy," Cristina replied slowly. If she was truly embarrassed by her mess, she certainly didn't show it.

"You did all of this in less than a week?" Meredith continued, her voice a mix of bewilderment and awe.

"I got a few boxes from the store on my way home. They're over there," Cristina stated coolly, pointing to an area next to the dining room table. "No need to sort anything, just start loading it up."

Meredith worked her way throughout the room, trying to make some sense of how to pack Cristina's things. Objects seemed to be everywhere, and eventually Meredith resigned herself to gathering various kitchen items and washing the dishes. Even if Cristina had no intention of keeping everything, Meredith felt a little guilty about leaving the apartment in total disarray. Meredith grabbed a handful of cups and made her way to the kitchen sink.

"You know, Izzie will flip out if you do this at our house," Meredith cautioned. I'll flip out if you do this at our house, too, was the subtle message she was trying to send to her friend, but she packaged it instead in the neatly wrapped thought of blaming Izzie. Izzie wouldn't mind.

"Mere, I won't be at your place for very long. You don't need to worry about my mess-making capabilities," Cristina retorted, clearly defensive.

"I know, I'm just saying…" Meredith's mind began to wander as she ran her hands under a steady stream of hot water. The sink was beginning to fill with suds from the green apple scented dish soap she had dumped in, and for a moment, the sights and sounds transported her to a time when she and Derek sat amidst their own swath of bubbles. At the time, they had only recently reunited, and they were trying to develop a relationship based off something besides sex. She couldn't remember which one of them had suggested taking a bubble bath together, but it was clearly a bad idea for abating sexual tension. The sensation of his naked body wrapped around her and slipping against her under the steamy blanket of bubbles nearly destroyed any resistance she could muster. He nuzzled her neck and nipped gently at her ears, sending sensations all throughout her body. She could feel the length of him growing harder behind her, pressing into her lower back, and the realization of how much he wanted her made her unwittingly squirm a little against him. She kneaded his legs beneath the water, slowly working her massage further up his thighs until she got to a place too dangerous to continue without taking him all the way. He countered by slowly and deliberately grazing a sponge over each of her nipples, making them harden even under the water. Occasionally he'd work his hands lower, trying to separate her inner thighs, but somehow she resisted. It was the only time that she saw the need to follow up a bath with a cold shower.

"You are the reason there's a water shortage in some parts of the country," Cristina commented, turning off the running water in the sink.

"What?" Meredith asked, dazed. She bit her lower lip, trying to savor any remnants of her memory. Slowly it dawned on her that she had left the water running the whole time and hadn't done a single dish yet.

"God, is it sex? You were totally thinking about sex, weren't you?" Cristina blurted, trying to figure out what could possibly distract Meredith so much.

Meredith blushed, wishing she could improve her skills at lying, especially with Cristina.

"Details?" Cristina urged.

"It's nothing, really." Meredith replied, embarrassed.

"Obviously…" Cristina rolled her eyes at her friend's attempt at a cover-up. "What's going on with you? You were all googly-eyed happy earlier and now you're practically drooling in my kitchen sink."

"I'm going out with Derek tomorrow night," Meredith confessed.

"Is that another part of your plan to be temporarily over?"

"We're just going as friends. He had concert tickets and he invited me along." Now Meredith felt defensive. She picked up a dish that had some mystery substance caked on it and began scrubbing away, taking out her frustrations on the plate.

"Friends." Cristina's skepticism radiated not only from her voice, but from the expression on her face.

"Yes, friends. Friends go to concerts together."

"Just like friends cuddle and fantasize about each other naked. Do we have that kind of friendship?" Cristina mocked.

"It's different. It's…Derek."

"I know. That's why I'm worried."

"Well, don't be. I can resist him and we're still over. I'm not ready to get back into a relationship with him. We're just friends." Meredith responded, sounding like she was trying to convince herself as much as she was convincing Cristina.

"Whatever you say, Mere. Do you think I should keep these latte mugs? They're good for cereal, too." Cristina sputtered, digging through cupboards.

Meredith nodded, moving onto the bigger task of scrubbing pans and wondering when her friend would have possibly cooked anything. As far as she was concerned, she had no qualms about Cristina pillaging Burke's apartment after the way he left her at the wedding and was now kicking her out.

"I don't really like this blender, but maybe Izzie would like it…" Cristina continued to mumble, suddenly enjoying the opportunity to take as many items as possible from Burke's apartment. Even in the aftermath of their break up, the passive-aggressiveness that characterized their relationship continued.