(Your comments are greatly appreciated!)
Izzie perched on the edge of the coffee table, trying to be patient but aware she was running out of time. She and Alex had to leave for Seattle Grace shortly. She stared at the body of Dr. Derek Shepard, face down on their couch, softly snoring.
Izzie reached for her coffee mug, careful not to knock over the other full mug. Glancing at the clock again. Oh, screw it. She pushed against his shoulder.
"Derek, wake up!"
"Hmmpf." Derek shifted away from Izzie.
Izzie tried again, louder and harder. "Derek!"
A startled Derek sat upright, wildly looking around. "Meredith! What? Huh?"
Izzie shoved the coffee mug in his face. "Morning!"
The blank, bleary-eyed look on Derek's made Izzie chuckle. As did his bed head. She carefully waved the mug under his nose. "It's coffee."
"What are you doing Dr. Stevens?"
"The question is Derek, what are you doing?"
"It's too early for me to interpret girl flip out attitude." Derek sipped from the mug. "Why are you doing this?"
"Because I need to know why in the hell you're cheating on Meredith. After all the crap you put her through, why?"
Coming down the stairs, Alex felt better after talking with Meredith. He had been really afraid Derek's behavior last night would bring back her thing – drunken sex with inappropriate men. But she was handling it much better than he expected. Hearing the murmur of voices, Alex paused at the bottom of the stairs. It can be only be Izzie and Shepard. Setting the coffee mugs on the hallway table, Alex walked across to the doorway. He paused outside it.
"I didn't cheat on Meredith. I would never do that to her."
"We saw you Derek. Hell, the whole bar saw you."
"There was nothing to see."
"You were smiling and leaning."
"Leaning?"
"Yeah, the McDreamy lean."
Alex chuckled. Sad to say, he knew what Izzie was talking about. And he'd never admit to it.
"Dr. Stevens, this is between Meredith and…"
Izzie cut him off. "No, this is between all of us. What you do to Meredith affects all of us."
Alex nodded in agreement. You tell him, Iz.
"You know she loves you. Yet you were sitting in Mer's bar with some bar stool babe and looking like you were enjoying it." Izzie drew a deep breath. "Why do you guys, when you know a woman cares about you, run off and screw with another woman?"
Screw another woman? Did Shepard do that? Alex clenched his fists, ready to rush into the living room to pummel the good doctor's face in.
"What are you talking about? I wasn't that drunk. And no one screwed."
"You were that drunk. And being with the bar stool babe was practically the same thing."
Derek's head fell backward against the couch cushion. It was too damn early for this.
"Bar stool babes, nurses. Same thing." Izzie grumbled.
Nurses. Oh shit. Alex grimaced, flashing back to an on call room, Olivia and Izzie opening the door.
Nurses? Derek was confused. "Dr. Stevens…"
Izzie mentally kicked herself hard for mentioning nurses. She jumped up. "It's time for me to go. Bye!"
She hurried through the doorway, surprised into stillness to see Alex standing there. He looked at her, a touch of regret in his eyes.
"Izzie."
Izzie brushed passed him. "Let's go."
Derek finished the coffee. Did he really do that? Look like he was cheating? God, even if he drank Joe's dry, he couldn't do that. He knew he couldn't. Not to the woman he's been in love with…forever. Meredith. Just thinking of her twisted his lips into a small grin. Picturing her upstairs in bed, burrowed under the bedding, soft, warm and lavender scented. Derek shifted as he felt a familiar tightening of his body.
Setting the mug on the coffee table, Derek stood up and stretched. Padding barefoot, he made his way up to Meredith's room. Slowly opening the door, Derek stood in the doorway and took in the sight of sleeping Meredith. On her side, under the comforter, in his favorite t-shirt, her hair loose and spread over the pillow. Derek stepped inside, quietly closing the door behind him. Trying not to wake her, Derek slid into the bed behind Meredith. Spooning her, Derek slipped his arm around her waist, nestling against her back. With a deep, heartfelt sigh Derek let sleep overtake him as he felt Meredith's hand intertwine with his.