Hidden Truths
Summary: A woman from Mark's past shows up at Seattle Grace. She isn't happy to see Mark, but, why exactly is that?
Disclaimer: I still don't own Grey's… *sigh* But Ethan and Nina are mine! *heart*
Reviews:
Leah Tatyana Nicole: Yes this chapter is gonna be funny!
TheSilverWolff: You'll have to keep reading to find out if Mark is Michael's father or not ;)
be-true-2-you: I'm glad to say I've changed your mind on OCs. Enjoy chapter 12!
Guest: Meredith will be giving Derek her support soon. Right now, he is trying to bring himself together after losing control like he did. So he has turned to Nina, who is just his FRIEND. Enjoy chapter 12!
h: Yes, the story Nina told was sad. There's so much you guys don't know about her and I'm trying to work it all in so you have an idea of who Nina is at her core. And Derek and Nina are only friends. She's meant for Mark and he's meant for Meredith. :)
Spencee98: Welcome! And why Carly hates Nina so much will be revealed, at some point. Haven't decided when. Most likely when I do a Carly based chapter. And Michael will most likely not be Mark's son, he'll be Luke's. I'll play around some more with the idea before I officially decide. ;) Enjoy!
~x~
Chapter 12: Elevator Love Letter
~x~
Nina was standing in her kitchen, making some breakfast. She was finishing up some bacon and French toast. Since Derek had decided to stay with Nina while he recovered from his patient's death, she had been supporting him while he used her couch. At the moment, Derek was in the bathroom shaving and cleaning up in the shower.
Ethan appeared from inside his bedroom, rubbing his eye. He was dressed in jeans, a red t-shirt and his favorite Iron Man shoes. "Mommy, when is Derek going home?" He asked, walking over to sit on the stool by the counters.
Nina smiled gently as she passed Ethan his breakfast and orange juice, "When he's ready to go home, sweetie."
Ethan pouted. He watched his mother, before he began to eat. He didn't like this Derek fellow. Was he like, his new daddy? Ethan liked his daddy anyway, why did his mommy feel the need to replace Mark? It was confusing to him.
"Derek, hurry up! I have an early surgery!" Nina shouted. A few minutes later, Derek appeared fresh and ready for work. Nina passed him breakfast and then she slipped away to finish getting ready.
Ethan glared at Derek who sat beside him. "So what grade are you in?" He asked curiously, also adding 'in the fall' because it was still the summer time, "In the fall."
Ethan scowled. "Grade three," He said frowning. His mother would have a fit if she knew he was being rude to their guest.
Derek looked bewildered by the tune the small seven-year-old was using.
~x~
Nina and Derek were walking side by side, talking about Derek's first case back as a surgeon. Izzie Stevens, Nina had never liked the blonde. She was too perky and reminded her too much of Carly. Derek sighed as he walked along side Nina. "I don't know if I can do it, what if I end up killing her? Meredith would never forgive me." Derek said with a heavy heart.
She looked at her friend. "Hey now, you know Meredith loves you. And she knows the surgery is risky. At least Izzie is going to try," Nina pointed out.
Derek nodded and let out a small sigh. "I still don't know if I'm going to be able to do it. What if I kill her?"
Nina swallowed. "You should go talk to Meredith,"
"I'm talking to you about it, Nina." Derek sighed. "I can't talk to Meredith right now. She expects me to be this sort of god in the OR and in life. She expects me to be this put together guy, this 'McDreamy'. She isn't interested in seeing me not being so bright and shiny."
She crossed her arms. "Come on, I'll let you scrub in on one of my surgeries. IF you promise to talk to Meredith!"
"Fine, I promise," Derek let out a small sigh but a smile was spreading across his face.
Nina bumped his shoulder. "So they call you McDreamy eh?"
"Oh shut up!"
~x~
"Should I be worried?"
Cristina and Meredith were enjoying lunch with Izzie, in Izzie's assigned room. Cristina looked over in confusion. "Worried about what?" she asked.
Izzie was knitting as she listened to her friends gossip about people. "Should I be worried about Derek? He's staying at Nina Knight's place! Why isn't he staying with me?"
"Didn't you reject him this morning when he showed up and purposed?" Cristina pointed out.
"That isn't the point!" Meredith sighed loudly. "I didn't want us to get engaged like that. And why is he staying with her anyway? She has Mark Sloan's kid! I thought he hated Mark!"
Izzie spoke up, "Mark and Derek are friends again, aren't they?"
"Again, that is beside the point!" Meredith sighed loudly once more, turning to give her blonde friend a slight look. "Mark slept with Addison!"
"I think you're jealous," Cristina said, stuffing her face with a fry. "McDreamy and Nina are just friends. They are too different. And to add to the matter, Nina is totally interested in McSteamy."
"Are we talking about McSpicy?" George asked.
The three girls turned and found George entering the room, going over and sitting beside Meredith. Alex also entered and went to kiss Izzie on the forehead. "Her name is totally McFeisty. She looks like she'd be great in bed," Alex mused.
Izzie shot him a look. "Should I be worried?"
"Nah," Alex reassured her. "I'm only interested in you, remember?"
Meredith let out a frustrated sigh, "Guys! We were talking about my issue, remember? Should I be worried that Derek is spending time with Nina- McSpicy- whatever her name is?"
The group laughed. "Mere, McDreamy is head over heels in love with you," Cristina laughed.
Meredith pouted because the whole group was laughing at her.
~x~
It was as Nina was putting up her name on the OR board with Derek's, who was visiting Izzie about treatment. She was humming to herself quietly; some country song that she had been listening to while she showered. It was actually 'When You Say Nothing at All' even though she had no idea who sang it.
"Wow, an Arrhythmia Treatment surgery. I haven't seen one of those since I was a resident."
Nina turned and found a middle-aged man with soft blonde hair, gentle curls and pale skin. His eyes were a shade of gray. He was tall, firm and lean. She swallowed, her eyes zeroing in on his name-tag.
Dr. L. O'Connor, Trauma.
Nina was face-to-face with Carly's husband. "Lucas O'Connor, Trauma," Luke held out his hand. "All my friends call me Luke though."
"Nina Knight, Cardio," She shook his hand. "You're married to Carly aren't you?"
"Is it that obvious?" Luke laughed gently before pocketing his hand again. Nina did the same. "Carly makes friends easier than me. She likes to jump right into it,"
Nina didn't want to burst this guy's bubble about his wife, because the way his eyes shone talking about her made Nina feel envious. Carly had such an amazing husband! It confused Nina on why she was interested in trying to steal Nina's…
"Well, I've gotta go. I have to make sure my resident is prepping my patient, answer questions and grab Derek before heading into surgery." Nina explained, looking at the man.
Luke nodded, "Alright. Nice meeting you, Doctor Knight."
"Nice meeting you too, Doctor O'Connor," She replied awkwardly before walking away.
~x~
Ethan was mad. Not only was his mommy not letting him spend time with his daddy, but she had brought home a strange new man. Was he his new daddy? Ethan didn't want or need a new daddy. He had Mark. He liked Mark.
He sat sulking in his snack chair, glaring down at the food in front of him. Usually Ethan would be a good boy but he wasn't in a very good mood right now. Did his mommy like this stranger better than she liked him?
"You've gotta eat your cheese, crackers and grapes Ethan. Or else we can't play!" Tuck stressed.
Ethan looked over at Tuck. "I don't wanna eat," He pouted. "I want my daddy!"
An idea came to him. Why couldn't he go tell his daddy to fight for his mommy? His daddy told him all kinds of stories back before he was born. His parents had been together, happy and so in love. Why couldn't they be in love again? Ethan could see the way his mom looked so torn between hating his dad and loving him. Ethan looked at Tuck. "You've gotta distracted the caretakers."
"What? Why?" Tucker asked.
"I need to sneak away," Ethan stated. "I've gotta tell my daddy to fight for my mommy or else I'm gonna be forced to have a new daddy!"
~x~
Mark was upset and confused. After spotting Nina bringing Derek inside of the hospital, at first he was thrilled. Derek was back at work. But upon seeing how close the two of them were becoming, he couldn't help but feel stupid. Was Derek moving in on his woman? So he was in a bad mood.
And to add to it, Nina didn't have time to let Mark properly spend time with Ethan. Mark was busy all the time with his burn unit and patients. Nina was busy with her own work and both couldn't match up times to spend time together.
As Mark wrote in his charts, making notes for the staff while caring for his patients, that he heard a small voice. "Daddy!" he turned and found Ethan standing there, arms crossed and his eyes threatening to fill with tears.
"Ethan? What are you doing out of daycare?" Mark asked confused as Ethan ran to hug his dad.
Ethan threw his small arms around his dad's neck and Mark picked the boy up, letting him cuddle his way into Mark's shoulder. "I had to run away from daycare, I needed to see you." Ethan explained. "I think mommy is trying to give me a new daddy! You've gotta fight for her, daddy! Please! I don't want a new daddy!"
"What? Who could she possibly try to replace me with?"
Ethan looked up at his dad. "Derek," His name was said with a vial tone. The boy's face was filled with disgust.
~x~
Meredith knew it was wrong the way Derek went to Nina Knight with his problems. And yes, he had popped the question when he had visited her this morning and she had said no, but who could blame her? She wanted to be wooed and to be asked all special like. Every girl did, even Cristina if Meredith knew her person well enough.
She was walking down the hall when she spotted Derek looking over notes and charts; she figured it was Izzie's papers if her gut told her anything. She walked over towards him and frowned, crossing her arms over her chest. "Should I be worried?" She asked, her tone dripping with annoyance and slight fear.
Derek turned to look at her. He thought she was talking about Izzie's surgery. "I'm doing my best, Meredith."
"By showing interest in another woman?" she asked, appalled by his words. "Derek, this morning you were asking me to marry you and now you're spending all your time with Nina Knight?! What the hell?"
He swallowed, surprise appearing on his face. "I…I thought you were talking about me botching up Izzie's surgery."
"Oh you'll do fine with Izzie's surgery! You're Derek Shepherd!" Meredith pointed out, like he was some sort of Neuro surgeon god. "So what is it about her? Is it because she's older and closer to your age? Is it because she's an Attending? Is it because she's all bright and shiny? Because she has a kid and is perfect wife material?"
Derek was utterly shocked by how insecure Meredith sounded. "Mere, Nina and I are just friends."
"Yeah, 'just friends'," She said air quoting him. Her voice became shaky, "I became all whole for you Derek. I worked through all my mommy and daddy issues so that I could be ready for you! And now you're living with another woman? What happened to you living with me?"
He shifted. "I'm staying with her so I can get back onto my feet. She understands what I've been through and she's supporting me. We are just friends, seriously." Derek tried to make her understand. "I love you Meredith, and I want to be with you; only you. Nina isn't interested in me."
"Are you trying to get back at Sloan for sleeping with Addison?" Meredith asked quietly, her heart racing and her face drooping with sadness.
He actually laughed. "I don't care that Mark slept with Addie. Mark is my friend," He chuckled, not realizing how upset Meredith was because he was staying with Nina. "And so is Addie. Why would I put Mark through the same stuff I went through?"
"I don't know," Meredith sniffled.
As Derek wrapped his arms around her, holding her close to him to try and calm her down, Mark Sloan was walking towards them. Ethan was holding onto Mark's hand, looking slightly pleased with himself. Derek turned when he heard Mark bellow his name. "Hey Mark," Derek said.
Mark stood before Derek, his eyes hard. "Stay away from my woman and my kid." And then, Mark punched Derek….in the face.
~x~
Nina had just scrubbed out of a surgery, telling Cristina to look after the patient when she was paged to the Chief's office. Confusion filled her. Why exactly would the Chief want to see her?
They had spoken about James Walker already. And Carly had already caused havoc on Nina for losing a patient that she literally had no control over. She pushed the thought away and went to the Chief's office. She found Mark, Derek, Meredith, Richard and Ethan in the office, waiting for her.
"Ah, Doctor Knight, so glad you could join us." Richard's voice was dripping with sarcasm. "Have a seat."
Nina walked over to Ethan, wondering what was going on. "Why is Ethan here?" She asked.
Ethan looked down in shame. She sat down. "Mr. Knight here snuck away from daycare," Richard spoke when nobody else offered any information. "And told Doctor Sloan that, and I quote, 'you were replacing him with a new daddy'." Richard did not look amused.
Nina looked at her son, shocked. Mark frowned, "Chief-"
Ethan whimpered as his mother gave him a hard look.
"And then," Richard said ignoring Mark, "Doctor Sloan went to Doctor Shepherd and punched him, telling him, and I quote again, 'stay away from my woman and my kid'. Should there be something I should be aware of?"
"Chief I…" Nina ran a hand through her brown locks, "I'm speechless."
"And so am I! My Head of Plastics punching my Head of Neuro? I thought we were past this!" Richard frowned, looking between both men.
"I thought Derek was moving in on my woman," Mark tried to defend himself.
"Your woman?" Nina asked as she turned to look at Mark, "Last time I checked I wasn't anyone's woman!"
"You were my wife, Nina!" Mark pointed out.
"Yes, I was! But now I'm not!" Nina scowled.
"People!" shouted Richard, causing the Attendings to bow their heads and look ashamed. "Control yourselves! We need to come to an agreement or else I'm going to suspend you all! And I don't think Doctor Stevens needs that right now."
Nina sighed and looked down at Ethan. "Ethan, Mark," She said causing both to look at her. "Apologize to Derek. Right. Now."
"Sorry Mr. Derek," Ethan said gruffly.
"I'm sorry," Mark said equally as gruffly.
Derek shrugged his shoulders, holding a bag of ice to his face. "If this is because I'm staying at your place, it isn't worth it." Derek laughed weakly, wincing at the pain.
Meredith jumped in, "You could always stay with me again."
He smiled at her, "I'd really like that."
Ethan shifted in his chair. Nina turned to her son. "And you, Mr, are grounded."
"Aw mama!" he whined.
"No whining, Ethan." Nina said firmly. "You caused Derek to get punched in the face."
Ethan pouted. "Now that we have this settled, return your son to daycare. And get back to your jobs." Richard said, letting out a frustrated sigh.
"Yes sir," All four surgeons said before getting up. Ethan nodded to Richard and followed his mother to daycare, hanging his head as he went. Richard was left in his office alone.
~x~
Meredith was ready to head home, jacket in hand and standing in front of the elevator. She pushed the button and stood back, waiting for the elevator to reach her. After the long draining day of worrying over nothing, she was ready to crawl into bed and be with Derek.
He had explained that he'd head to Nina's, grab his stuff and go home to her place.
As the elevator opened, Meredith went to step forward. Nina spotted her and rushed over, stopping her from getting on. "Don't take it!" She said, causing Meredith to look at her strangely.
"Why?" She asked.
"Because I said don't take it," Nina said shifting. Mark was supposed to be picking up Ethan from daycare while Nina stood guard at the elevators for Derek. He seriously owed her.
"I will take the elevator I want to take," Meredith replied, giving the woman a dirty look. Nina was not on the best of grounds with Meredith.
Nina stopped Meredith from walking onto the elevator. The elevator doors closed and Meredith had to repress the button, Nina standing guard for the now closed doors. The other doors opened. Meredith eyed her warily, waiting for Nina to stop her. "Well, go on," Nina said nodding to Meredith.
When the doors opened, Derek stood on the other side. Brain scans and papers lathered the walls of the elevator. "Hey, come on in," Derek said smiling his McDreamy smile. Meredith walked in and looked shocked by the scans. "This is a scan of Katie Brace." Derek stated, pointing to the correct one.
Meredith smiled. "I remember,"
He pointed out each scan and explained why they were there. There was the one where Meredith held the clamp and didn't flinch; Beth where she made the trail possible; and the one where Bailey kicked her out of the OR because she had caught them in Derek's car.
"This one is from today," Derek said pointing to one, "This one is the post-opt scan of Izzie Stevens, and right there…tumor free. Because of you," he smiled. Her smile was growing. "You got me into that OR. If there's a crisis, you don't freeze. You move forward. You get the rest of us to move forward…because you've seen worse. You've survived worse. And you knew that we'll survive too. You say you'll all dark and twisty, but that isn't a flaw. It's a strength." Derek said smiling at her. "It makes you who you are."
She couldn't stop the smile that was on her face.
"I'm not gonna get down on one knee," He stated. "I'm not gonna ask a question. I love you Meredith Grey. And I want to spend the rest of my life…with you."
"And I want to spend the rest of my life with you," Meredith replied, her heart racing as she stared into his eyes.
He smiled and leaned in. She leaned forward and their lips connected. It was a passionate kiss. Derek offered her the ring and she slipped it onto her finger.
Up Next: Sweet Surrender: Mark and Nina are back to square one. Carly goes to speak with Izzie about Chemo and Carly makes her first real friend at Seattle Grace. She helps Izzie plan Meredith and Derek's wedding.
Next chapter will be a Carly based chapter. Just a fair warning! ;) And what did you all think of this chapter? I stayed up past my bedtime to finish this. Lol I have something to do tomorrow and I've gotta get up early HA! The last scene I took directly from the show so all you MereDer fans would be happy. ARE YOU HAPPY? Meredith and Derek are engaged. What did you think of the scene with Mere and her friends? It was fun writing. And the scene with Richard was fun too xD
Anyway, I'm logging off. I hope you enjoyed chapter 12!
Nerdy~
Please review!