Meredith pushed past Derek into the bedroom of the trailer. Rummaging through her bag, she pulled out her phone.
"Hello?"
"Where the hell are you?" Cristina's voice rang out from the phone. Wincing, Meredith pulled the phone away from her ear and rubbed her head.
"I'm at Derek's trailer."
"What?" Complete shock was evident in Cristina's voice. "Why are you over there?"
"I went to Joe's last night, and apparently Derek brought me back here after."
"Apparently?"
"Apparently," Meredith confirmed, slightly embarrassed.
"You don't know?" When no reply came from Meredith's end, Cristina asked incredulously, "You were drinking a week after you were released from the hospital for dehydration?"
Meredith sank onto the bed and sighed. "Don't start."
"Fine. Anyway, the reason I called was because it's nine o'clock and Bailey's flipping out. Wants to know where you are."
Meredith sat up straight in the bed. "It's nine o'clock?"
On her end, Cristina glanced at her watch. "Actually, it's nine fifteen. You should get over here, because no one knows where you are. We're lucky that Izzie isn't here because she probably would have called the police by now."
Meredith reached under the bed and started looking for her shoes. "Alex knows where I am," she said defensively.
Cristina paused, momentarily confused. "How does Alex know where you are?"
"I think he was at the bar last night."
"Then why didn't he bring you home?" Cristina demanded, anger beginning to grow in her voice.
"I don't know Cristina, why don't you ask him?" Although she appreciated her friends' concern, she was able to take care of herself, and the incessant hovering and constant questions about how she was feeling had begun to annoy her.
"Just get here, fast. Bailey's threatening to go to the chief. She thinks you've overexerting yourself lately, and that's why you're not here."
Meredith swore as her fingers closed around one of her shoes under the bed. "How am I supposed to get to work?"
"Fly," Cristina said sarcastically, her tone suggesting that she thought this was a stupid question.
"I don't have my car with me. I think it's at Joe's."
"And we're back to 'I think.' Exactly how drunk were you last night?"
"Does it really matter?" Meredith asked, frustrated. "The point is I don't have any way to get to work."
"Ask McDreamy to drive you. You let him take you back to his place last night, you can let him drive you back today."
"I didn't let him," Meredith stopped, waiting for a response. "Hello?" She pulled the phone away from her ear and looked down at the screen. Cristina had hung up. Meredith looked up and realized that Derek was standing in the doorway of the bedroom. "Can you give me a ride to work?"
He leaned against the doorframe, blocking any escape route. "You never answered my question," he reminded her.
"Well, I'm going to get fired if I don't go in right now!" Meredith's hair fell forward as she shoved on her shoes. "Bailey's going to go to the chief if I don't show up soon. She thinks I'm 'overexerting' myself."
"So do I."
"You're not my doctor," she snapped. She looked up. He appeared completely unruffled by her rudeness. "So you'd let me get fired?" She asked, the question bordering near hysteria.
"They wouldn't fire you. They'd probably just make you take a few weeks off."
"I don't have time for this. Will you give me a ride, or am I walking?"
Derek sighed and jerked his head toward the front door. "Let's go."
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Meredith snuck a glance at Derek as they pulled into the hospital parking lot, but quickly looked away when his eyes met hers. He pulled up in front of the hospital entrance, and caught her arm as she reached for the car door.
"So what do you think about Friday night?"
Meredith sighed to herself as she met his gaze. Do I enjoy self-torture? she asked herself silently. "Friday night, we're having a movie night."
"Who's we?" Derek asked, carefully keeping his expression blank.
"Me, Cristina, Burke, George, Callie, Izzie, and Alex. You can come if you want," she said grudgingly, wanting to take back the words the moment they were out of her mouth.
"What time?"
"Seven."
"I'll be there," he said, letting go of her arm. "Have a good day at work." She glared at him and got out of the car. At the hospital entrance, she turned and looked back at the car, then quickly opened the door and went inside. When she was gone, Derek's face split into a grin as he thought of Friday night. It's a start.
Meredith stepped into the hospital lobby and glanced out the window, just in time to see Derek smile before he drove off. Lost in her own thoughts, she headed for the elevators and didn't see the person that stepped into her path until she was right in front of her.
"Meredith."
She looked up. "Addison!" Surprise flew across her face. "Where did you come from? I didn't see you."
"I've been standing here since you came in." She glanced at her watch. "Aren't you late?"
"Yeah, I am." She jerked her head towards the elevators and Addison fell into step beside her. "I'm really late."
"I would've thought that Izzie and George would wake you." She reconsidered. "Well, not Izzie, but George still works here."
They stepped onto the empty elevator. "Yeah, well, I didn't sleep at home last night."
Addison put the pieces together – after all, she had seen Derek dropping Meredith off. "So, have the two of you reconciled?"
"What?" Meredith asked, still distracted.
"You and Derek. I saw him dropping you off."
"Not really… sort of. He just took me back to his place last night after I saw him at Joe's."
Understanding dawned on Addison's face as Meredith blushed. "Trying to drink away your problems again?" Meredith shrugged as Addison shook her head. "So last night you were drunk and he took you back to the trailer?"
"He wanted to talk," Meredith said glumly. "And then he wanted to go out Friday night, so I said he could come by for a movie night with everyone else." Her face brightened as she had an idea. "Do you and Mark want to come?"
Laughing, Addison shook her head. "Thanks, but I've given Derek all the help he's going to get from me, and now I think I'm just going to stay out of it."
Meredith's faced turned an embarrassed red. "It's not a date. I mean, everyone else is going to be there, so you two wouldn't be intruding or anything."
Addison nodded knowingly. "So it's a group date. You can pretend you're back in high school."
"No… It's just a movie night. Anyway," she said as the elevator doors opened. "You two are welcome to come. Seven o'clock." She stepped out of the elevator. "See you later."
"Bye." The doors closed as Addison shook her head slightly, an amused expression on her face.
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"Cristina!" Meredith called, rushing to catch up with her friend.
"What?"
"Can you and Burke come to my house on Friday night?"
"Why?" Cristina asked suspiciously.
"Derek wanted to go out on Friday night, so I told him we were all having a movie night and he could come. If he wanted."
"You told him what?" Cristina asked in disbelief. Meredith stared back at her pleadingly. "Meredith… I thought this was over."
Meredith shrugged helplessly. "I just… I wanted to say no, but I couldn't!"
"So you lied and invited him to a 'movie night'? Who's supposed to be there?"
Meredith looked away. "All of us, and Callie, and Burke, and maybe…"
"Maybe who?"
"Maybe Addison and Mark."
"Do you enjoy torturing yourself, Meredith?" Cristina asked exasperatedly.
Meredith gave her a wan smile. "I ask myself that every day. Can you guys come?"
"I guess," Cristina said grudgingly. "I have to check with Burke and make sure he wants to go." They started walking down the hallway. "Did you ask the others yet?"
"No. I mean, George and Izzie'll probably be home Friday anyway…"
"And you think Izzie wants to watch you and McDreamy acting like two love struck teenagers three months after her fiancé died?"
"We're not going to…" Meredith struggled with what she was trying to say. "It's not a date! Everyone keeps saying it's a date, but it's not!"
Cristina looked pointedly down the hall, where two nurses had stopped and were staring at them. "Mind your own business," she snapped. She grabbed Meredith's arm and steered her towards the back hallway. Finding an empty gurney she pushed Meredith onto it and sat down next to her. "Does he know it's not a date?"
"It's not a date!" Meredith said, her voice rising.
Cristina just rolled her eyes. "It's not?"
Meredith's voice was quivering. "I just don't think I can do this anymore. Derek is always around, and I just… I can't."
"You can't what?" Cristina prompted patiently.
"I can't be around him. I can't date him. I don't… I don't trust him anymore."
Cristina shifted uncomfortably as she tried to think of a reply. "I don't think he has any more wives coming out of the woodwork, Mer."
It was the wrong thing to say. Meredith burst into tears, her narrow shoulders shaking. Cristina stared at her friend, shocked. She tentatively reached out a hand towards her shoulder. As Meredith trembled, it became clear she was murmuring something to herself.
"What is it?" Cristina asked.
"What am I doing? What am I doing, Cristina?"
Cristina let her hand fall away from her friend. She smiled slightly at Meredith's naiveté. "I always thought that you were still in love with him."
"I'm not!" Meredith denied hotly.
Cristina raised an eyebrow at her. "You're not?" Meredith just looked away. "We should be so lucky," Cristina muttered to herself.
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Friday Night
Derek ran the doorbell and shifted impatiently from one foot to the other. After a few minutes, George opened the door, eying Derek with barely concealed dislike.
"Come in."
Derek stepped into the house and followed George to the living room, looking around for Meredith.
"She's upstairs," George said, reading Derek's thoughts. "I think she's coming down in a few minutes."
Derek nodded, but couldn't stop the nervous thoughts running through his head. Is she really coming down?
Upstairs, Meredith was just as anxious as he was downstairs. She ran her fingers over the front of her lavender sweater, trying to calm her nerves. As she looked in the mirror, she remembered the last time she had worn this sweater – the night of the party that Izzie had thrown for her boyfriend. Will he remember?
Derek did indeed remember. As Meredith stood in the doorway to the living room, he spotted the familiar sweater and couldn't suppress his smile as memories flooded his mind. "You look nice," he said, a slight smirk playing around the edges of his mouth.
Meredith stepped into the room. "Thank you. So do you."
An awkward silence prevailed. The ringing of the doorbell made them both jump.
Meredith inclined her head towards the door. "I'm gonna go get… yeah. Wait here."
Meredith opened the door to reveal Cristina and Burke. "Hi."
"Is he here?" Cristina asked, wasting no time on pleasantries.
"Yes," Meredith admitted. "He just got here."
Taking in Meredith's flushed face and Cristina's glare, Burke asked, "It is okay if we come in?"
Meredith seized the rescue gratefully. "Of course! Come in," she said, moving to the side of the door.
As they entered the living room, Derek rose to his feet and shook hands with Burke while Cristina glared at him.
Cristina announced, "We're going to get some stuff from the kitchen." She pulled Meredith to the kitchen. "How's it going?"
"Oh, just great. Can't you tell?" Meredith asked sarcastically.
"So tell me again what he's dong here?"
"I don't know. I think maybe we could go back to being friends."
"I'm sorry, when was were you two friends? Was it when he was yelling at you in a stairwell, or having sex with you in exam rooms, is that when you guys were friends?"
"It doesn't mean we can't be friends now, does it?"
Cristina shrugged. "It's your decision."
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In the living room, Burke and Derek had sat down on the couch.
"Cristina's pretty angry with you," Burke announced.
"Yeah, I noticed."
"She wants to know what you and Meredith are doing."
"You can assure her that my intentions are honorable," Derek said dryly. "I would like for us to be dating, but for now she avoids me while I try to get her to go to dinner."
Burke laughed slightly at Derek's plight. "So what's tonight?"
"Tonight is… Apparently it's not a date, as Meredith announced to the entire 3rd floor when she was talking to Cristina. It's a… hopefully it's a breakthrough."
Just then, Meredith and Cristina came back into the room. They placed some chips on the coffee table, and Cristina took a seat on the couch next to Burke. Meredith looked around, trying to decide where to sit, and the doorbell rang again. Meredith went to go answer it, as Cristina muttered, "Saved by the bell."
She came back with Alex and Callie in tow, and George and Izzie quickly came downstairs. Meredith reluctantly took the only seat left, next to Derek, as they settled in to watch the movie.
Several hours later, Derek woke up just as the movie was ending. He looked down to see Meredith, fast asleep against him. Scattered around the room, everyone else was fast asleep, all the couples together. George and Callie, Cristina and Burke, Izzie and Alex. Are Alex and Izzie a couple? He didn't know.
Meredith shifted in her sleep, apparently awakened his movements. He gently smoothed his hand over her hair. "Go back to sleep, Mer." She moved and lay further against him, trusting him in sleep, if not in reality. Derek pulled her further against him, content for the first time in months, and fell back asleep.
As usual, reviews always appreciated, and thank you to everyone who reviewed Chapter 11! I know I said I wouldn't be updating often (to me, under two weeks is often), but it was very important to me to update by the season premiere of Grey's Anatomy, which, to everyone who's been living under a rock, is tomorrow, September 21st! I also wanted to update by my birthday, which is today! Yay! I still cannot update or view my hits on the Mac, but I haven't found anyone who can fix it, so I'll be using my school's computers to update. Enjoy the season premiere tomorrow, and hopefully I will update soon!