Meredith awakes the next morning to the sound of her alarm going off. She rolls over and looks at the clock. It reads 4:30. She has to be at the hospital in an hour. She doesn't feel well either. Her throat is scratchy and her nose is congested. "Just great" she thinks as she throws her feet over the side of the bed. She goes and takes a shower and gets dressed. She goes downstairs to meet her roommates, sneezing often. Her voice is also scratchy all day. Izzie looks at her as she walks through the door.
Izzie: Hey.
Meredith: Hey.
Izzie: Are you okay?
Meredith: Coffee.
Izzie: What?
Meredith: I need coffee.
Izzie: Mer, you really shouldn't be drinking coffee.
Meredith (angrily): Fine.
She starts coughing after this outburst. She grabs her bag and walks out the door, leaving Izzie standing there staring after her. Meredith heads to work, leaving Izzie and George to ride together. She is frustrated and angry.
Meredith (mumbling to herself): I can take care of myself.
Meredith pulls into the hospital parking lot 30 minutes before her shift is due to start. She gets out of her vehicle, still angry, mostly because of the hormones. She goes to the passenger side of her vehicle to get her bag and turn around and almost runs into someone. Derek grabs her shoulders to prevent the collision. He notices that she looks disheveled and angry.
Meredith: Sorry.
He notices the hoarseness of her voice and then she starts sneezing.
Derek: Are you okay?
Meredith gets angry at this question. She is tired of people asking her that question.
Meredith (in a harsh tone): I'm fine. Okay?? Freaking great.
She starts to walk quickly towards the hospital. Derek stands there stunned for a moment. He thought things between them were great. Obviously something else is going on. He starts running towards her, attempting to catch her before she goes into the locker room. She goes into the hospital and goes straight to the coffee cart. Derek notices her at the coffee cart and walks towards her.
Meredith: I would like a venti mocha latte with an extra shot.
Meredith pays for her coffee and waits. She feels someone come and stand next to her. She looks over and sighs out of frustration. The guy hands her the coffee and she starts to walk away.
Derek: Meredith?
He puts his hand on her shoulder, she turns around to face him with a scowl on her face.
Meredith: What?
Derek: Tell me what's bothering you.
Derek watches her as she takes a gulp of her latte. He decides now is not the time to bug her about drinking coffee. She notices that he is watching her and that just frustrates her more.
Meredith: This, this is bothering me. People hovering and telling me what to drink and what not to drink, acting like I'm going to break any minute. I am an adult. I can take care of myself. I don't need people smothering me. Seriously!
Derek: Mer…
Meredith: No, don't. I don't want to hear it right now. I know you are all happy because you are going to be a dad but I'm the one having to make all the sacrifices. You get to go on with your life like nothing has changed and I can't even control my own body anymore. So, I don't want to hear it.
Meredith runs off towards the locker room. Derek just stands there, mouth agape. People are standing around and heard everything. Up until that point, no one knew that he was the father of Meredith's child. They suspected, but they didn't know. He didn't care if everyone knew, but he knew that Meredith would care. He realizes that the pregnancy must be hard on Meredith and he just wants to be there for her. He starts walking towards the locker room to try to talk to Meredith again when his pager goes off.
Derek: Damn!
He sighs and starts walking away. He sees Bailey at the coffee cart and makes a decision. He walks over to her.
Derek: Dr. Bailey.
Bailey: Dr. Shepherd.
Derek: I want Dr. Grey to be my intern for today.
Bailey looks his up and down and notices a concerned look on his face. She glares at him.
Bailey: Fine, but only because you are my boss.
Derek: Thank you, Dr. Bailey.
Bailey: Whatever.
Derek walks to answer his page and Bailey walks towards the locker room to hand out the assignments.
Meanwhile, Meredith runs back to the locker room and collapses on the bench. She is crying.
Meredith: Stupid hormones.
Izzie and George walk in followed by Cristina. They all look at her and Izzie is about to speak.
Meredith: Don't. I don't want to talk about it.
They all nod and continue to get ready for rounds. Bailey arrives five minutes later to hand out assignments. She looks at Meredith and notices that she looks disheveled and her eyes are red and swollen.
Bailey: Okay, suck-ups, here are the assignments for today: Karev-Montgomery, Yang-Burke, Stevens-Pit,, O'Malley-Scut, Grey-Shepherd.
Meredith sighs.
Bailey: What are you all standing there for? Go save some lives! Now!!
All of the interns rush to their assignments. Bailey grabs Meredith's arm as she is walking out of the locker room.
Bailey: You okay?
Meredith nods.
Bailey: Okay then, but I'm watching you.
Meredith nods and walks off to meet Derek, latte still in hand.
Meredith goes to find Derek and sees him standing at the nurses' station. She sighs. She begins walking over towards him. He is reading a chart. She stops for a moment to watch him. She loves the way he looks when he is concentrating. She breaks out of this reverie and walks to the nurses' station. She sets her latte on the counter and stands next to him. She can feel the heat radiating from his body, but she is still pissed. He smells her hair and knows that she is standing next to him. He looks over and sees her looking straight ahead.
Derek: Hey.
Meredith: Hey.
Meredith starts sneezing.
Meredith: Damn it!
Derek: Are you okay?
Meredith: I am fine. I am your intern for today.
Derek: Okay then. Let's go.
Meredith: Where are we going?
Derek: To check on my patients.
Meredith grabs her latte off of the counter and Derek watches her as she take a big drink. Meredith notices that he is watching her.
Meredith: What?
Derek: Nothing.
Meredith: That's what I thought.
Meredith follows Derek into the first patient's room. Derek smiles at the patient as he enters.
Derek: Good Morning, Mrs. Jones. How are you feeling today?
Mrs. Jones is an older woman in her sixties and is surrounded by a large family. Mrs. Jones smiles at Derek and at Meredith.
Mrs. Jones: I am fine dear.
Derek hands Meredith the chart and goes to check Mrs. Jones' vitals. Mrs. Jones looks at Meredith again and notices that she is pregnant.
Mrs. Jones: Congratulations.
Meredith doesn't know what she's talking about.
Mrs. Jones: How far along are you?
Realization dawns on her face and she smiles. Derek looks up and smiles at Meredith.
Meredith: Almost 19 weeks.
Mrs. Jones: Do you know the sex?
Meredith (smiling widely now): It's a girl.
Mrs. Jones: Well, that's great. I bet you and your husband are very excited.
Meredith begins to look uncomfortable and Derek stops his exam and looks at Meredith.
Meredith: Actually, ummm…I'm not married.
Mrs. Jones: Oh, well I'm sure the father is very excited.
Meredith doesn't know what to say. She stands there awkwardly and looks at Derek. He chuckles and she glares at him.
Derek: He is very excited, Mrs. Jones. Couldn't be happier, in fact.
Mrs. Jones glances between Meredith and Derek and draws the connection.
Mrs. Jones: Well, Dr. Shepherd, congratulations to you as well.
Derek: Thank you.
Derek walks over and stands next to Meredith, a smile plastered on his face.
Mrs. Jones: You two make a cute couple. I'm sure your daughter will be beautiful.
Meredith: Actually..
Derek: Dr. Grey is going to run these labs and we will be back as soon as we get the results.
Mrs. Jones: Thank you.
Derek nods and walks out of the room, Meredith following close behind him. Meredith is angry.
Meredith: What was that about?
Derek turns around to face her.
Derek: What?
Meredith: You tell a patient that you're the father of my baby and then let her believe that we are a couple.
Derek: Well, I didn't know that it was a secret that I was the father of your baby and I didn't think it would matter is she thought we are a couple or not…
Meredith glares at him. He forces himself to suppress a smile. She sees that he is about to laugh at her and this just pisses her off more.
Meredith: You…you are such an ASS!
With that she turns around and starts to walk away, Derek quickly following on her heels.
Derek: Meredith..
Meredith: Not now, Dr. Shepherd.
He stops as she walks into the women's bathroom, a little hurt by her tone and the formality she used when addressing him. He shakes his head. He doesn't know what to do. Everything was great last night. Maybe it is the hormones, maybe it was the hormones last night. He doesn't know. His pager goes off and he walks away from the bathrooms.
Once in the bathroom, Meredith runs to the toilet and vomits. Being sick sucks. She gets up from the floor and goes to the sink and rinses out her mouth. She takes a deep breath. She knows that she should take it easy on Derek, but her emotions were going crazy and she didn't really understand why. She walks out the bathroom door and runs into someone.
Meredith: Sorry.
Bailey: Grey, you better watch where you are going.
Meredith: Yes, Dr. Bailey.
Bailey: Now, get back to work.
Meredith just nods and walks to the nurses' station to get Mrs. Jones' chart. She glances at the chart and sees that the lab results are back. She goes to find Derek. She sees him standing in front of the elevator texting on his blackberry.
Meredith: Dr. Shepherd?
Derek is startled by her voice and turns to face her.
Derek: Yes, Dr. Grey?
Meredith: Mrs. Jones' test results are back.
She hands Derek the results and his brow furrows.
Derek: This is not good. Let's go. We need to get her into an OR now.
They rush Mrs. Jones into the OR to perform emergency surgery. Meredith stands towards the back of the room, watching from a distance. Derek notices her distance and decides to do something about it.
Derek: Dr. Grey?
Meredith: Yes, Dr. Shepherd?
Derek: Why don't you come over here so that you are able to observe better.
Meredith smiles and moves to stand next to Derek. He can smell the scent of her hair and she can smell the scent of his cologne. Derek spots the problem and points it out to Meredith.
Derek: See? There is it. We caught it just in time.
Meredith leans over to see and her arm brushes Derek's, sending chills up both of their spines.
Meredith: I see it. It's huge.
Derek: Yeah. She should be fine.
After finishing the surgery, Meredith is sitting in a chair outside the OR. She is tired, hungry, and full of adrenaline. Derek walks out of the OR and sees her sitting there. He goes and sits in the seat next to her.
Derek: Hey.
Meredith: Hey.
There is a pause. Meredith sighs.
Meredith: That was…amazing.
Derek looks at her and smiles. He then tilts his head and nods.
Meredith: It just never fails to amaze me…I…you were amazing.
Derek: Thank you.
Meredith: Yeah, well I should go. I'm starving.
They both laugh at this comment. Derek nods and they stand up.
Derek: I need to go inform the family, but I will see you later.
Meredith nods and walks off to the cafeteria and sits with her other interns.
Meredith: Hey.
Everyone: Hey.
They all eat in silence. No one is in a very good mood. Meredith notices Derek walk into the cafeteria. They lock eyes for a moment before he sits down at a table. All of the sudden Meredith feels nauseous. She gets up and runs towards the bathroom, leaving everyone staring after her. Derek notices this as well and wonders if she is okay.
Cristina: Dude, what the hell?
Everyone just shrugs. Meredith runs into the bathroom and vomits again. "Damn, being sick and pregnant sucks." She gets up and rinses out her mouth and decides to go do some research for a surgery she is watching later. She doesn't notice the figure leaning on the door frame until he speaks.
Derek: Hey.
Meredith: Hey.
Derek: You okay?
Meredith: Yup. I'm fine. I really wish people would stop asking me that.
Derek just sighs. Meredith looks up from the computer screen after she hears him sigh. He decides to change the subject.
Derek: So, any plans tonight?
Meredith: I'm on call. You?
Derek: I'm on call as well.
Just then Meredith gets paged to the pit.
Meredith: Gotta go.
She jumps up and takes off running down the hall, leaving Derek watching her back disappear.
Derek(quietly): See ya.