The next evening, Sunday night, Meg walked into the kitchen laden down with groceries. She was holding four plastic bags that were overflowing, and as she finally got them all on the island, Andy walked into the kitchen from the hall.
"Hey. You should have called out."
"I didn't want to disturb you. You're supposed to be upstairs attending to the bills."
"I finished ages ago."
"And we've got enough money?"
She said it smirkingly, completely aware that they were overflowing with money.
"I think between what I earn at the hospital, and your million dollar contract with Addidas, we're good."
Not many in Seattle were aware of it, but Meg was somewhat of a celebrity athlete. On the East Coast, where ice skating was most prominent, many people had heard of her or watched her on ESPN's ice skating competitions. To make spending money while she was still underage (and unable to sign with anyone professionally) she had done some modeling, and been extremely lucky to be part of a major GAP billboard campaign at the age of sixteen. From there, she had done a series of ads for JCrew and American Eagle that featured in magazines, on bags, and on billboards. While people didn't know her name as much, her face was pretty well recognized by the teenage age group most likely to shop in those stores. In Russia and Switzerland, she was like a goddess. Since she had spent a long time in both places and entered every competition and exhibition that they held, she was known nationally throughout the countries. Addidas invested in the most promising athletes, and since she marketed well (especially internationally), was known on the sports scene, and was drop dead gorgeous, they had signed her to several endorsement contracts. She promoted shoes and an athletic bag, and her agent had hinted that after she placed at nationals and progressed to the World Championships, she might be offered a deal with Revlon. While she didn't think of herself as a model, it was easy money, and didn't take up much time. Ice skating was an incredibly expensive sport, and while Derek made a lot of money (and didn't do a lot with it), for Meg to live somewhat independently, she had wanted her own income.
She'd been sixteen when she started. Derek had hardly noticed.
It was only when the checking account he'd opened for her showed no transactions and he was notified, that he really understood. Even then it had only really been an afterthought that she'd gotten a job. Good for her.
Shaking the thoughts, she turned to put the groceries away, and Andy sat on the counter and watched her. Long ago he'd learned that when she wanted help in the kitchen, she'd ask for it.
"So. How'd it go?"
"Fine. I'm sore."
"That's good."
"So I've heard."
She quickly packed the fridge back up, and went to stand in front of him. He spread his legs a little, and she walked right up to the counter, leaning her head onto his chest.
"Wanna soak and watch a movie?"
"That sounds heavenly."
"I'll go run the bath."
Meg moved aside so he could jump off and go upstairs to run her a bath. She went to the fridge to get out some white wine, and poured herself a glass to sip on. Just as she put the bottle back in the fridge, her cell phone rang, and she grabbed it.
"Hello?"
"…Meg…"
She felt her heart dip a little as she heard her fathers voice, and immediately walked over to the couch in the living room.
"Hi."
On the other end, Derek sighed, and tried to imagine what his daughter was doing at that moment. He could almost see her twirling a lock of hair around her finger again and again, trying to pick her words carefully.
"How have you been?"
"I've been great."
"That's good. Been keeping busy."
"Yes."
"I'm sorry I haven't called since we had breakfast. I had to get some stuff sorted out."
He waited for her to say something, but she just remained silent.
"Addison and I talked…we're getting a divorce."
She waited a beat.
"I'm sorry. That must be hard."
"Well, it's for the best. We gave it a go. We tried. But we're just not meant to be together anymore."
"Right."
Derek paused again, and wished for the umpteenth time that he was a better person. That he hadn't made a mess of every aspect of his life save his professional career. Everything about the situation he was in made him upset and angry and he was farther from his daughter than he'd ever been. Until he rectified the situation with Meg, he wouldn't be able to have a true relationship with Meredith, and any relationship with Meredith without Meg involved wouldn't be what his heart yearned for anyway. In short, he couldn't have one woman (or girl) without the other. They were both his family, along with the rest of the interns. Even Karev.
"Listen, Meg, I know I seem to be continually apologizing, but I am sorry. And I'm trying to fix things. Hopefully, we can have a better relationship without Addison."
"She wasn't the reason, Dad."
"No. But she was a roadblock for you. The reason was that I was absent. And that's nobody's fault but my own. Whatever it was that brought you to Seattle, I'm happy, because it allows me to try and redeem myself. To mend this."
"What about…Meredith…?"
"Meredith is important to me. I love her. But you're my daughter-"
"I don't need the spiel about how you'll always love me. You're my father. I know that. Where are you with Meredith?"
"We're taking things slow."
"Yeah?"
Though she couldn't see him, he nodded. Derek had left Meredith at her house, content in the knowledge that they were going to try again, and they were going to do it right. Understandably, she had needed time to think, and Derek was surprised to find himself alright with taking it slow. Relishing every moment had it's positive angels as well.
"Yeah. So. Have lunch with me this week?"
"I'm on a tight schedule this week. But next week should be better."
"Lots of training?"
"Yeah. Scarlet's flying out."
Scarlet Fillmore was one of Meg's technical coaches. Pavel supervised her general progression, but Scarlet was specifically brought in to work on every technicality. She only worked with Meg in intervals, giving her time to progress and polish what they worked on each time. She had won the World Championships and taken second at the Olympics in Lillehammer, and was considered to be one of the best technical coaches in the US. She divided her time between Meg and Shandi Davidson, the other US hopeful and a good friend of Meg's.
"You concentrate then. Training going alright?"
"Of course. Just tiring."
"Alright. You do sound tired. Good luck this week."
"Thanks."
"And call me about lunch?"
"I will."
"Alright."
"Bye."
"Meg?"
She had been about to hang up, and paused.
"I love you, sweetheart."
"I love you too, Dad."
They both hung up, and she went upstairs to find Andy, who had run the tub and was getting everything ready. She leaned against the doorjamb and smiled as she watched him light the three candles that were set on the bathtub's thick rim. He had taken off the shirt, and as she looked at him with something in her eyes, he put the lighter down on the counter and walked to her, pulling her into his arms, and then pulling off her shirt…
----
The next day, Derek joined the rest of the interns for lunch in the hospital courtyard. Everyone had already been appraised of the situation, and apart from some "I'll kill him if he hurts you"'s from George and Alex, they supported the new relationship. Even Cristina had turned out to be surprisingly supportive, and had given Meredith a tight smile and then embraced her- quickly- but it had happened.
"So. Eileen Mattherson. My patient in 312. she's having seizures. No apparent cause."
Meredith and Cristina looked at each other slyly, remembering their first case together.
"Could it be an aneurism?"
Derek laughed and shook his head.
"That was the first thing I checked when I hit a roadblock, but no such luck."
He continued to eat his sandwich and discuss the possibilities with George and Alex, who were quite happy to be cozying up to the attending again. Since the night of the prom, both men had formed a rather strong friendship- especially as they were outnumbered by Meredith, Izzy and Callie in the house.
They all talked about the general guide of the day, until Meredith looked up to see Andy buying a salad from the cart. He walked by them on his way back in, but Meredith stopped him by putting a hand up to latch onto his arm.
"Hey."
He smiled and nodded at the group in general."
"Hi."
"Come and have lunch with us."
He gave an apologetic smile.
"Can't. Lab's been backed up all day, and I've finally got a spot in. But thanks. Enjoy the weather."
He went back inside and made his way towards the lab. Both Meredith and Izzy stared after him, confused by his actions. The lab hadn't been that backed up, and he always ate lunch with them.
"So what's the deal with Carmichael? I've only had him on two of my cases, and both times they were partnered up."
Izzy immediately launched into a verbal repertoire of Andy's praises.
"He's absolutely amazing. I mean, he's so unusual. Completely emotionally stable and reliable and he seems to be totally comfortable with who he is. For being twenty-four, that isn't bad at all."
Alex rolled his eyes.
"Blah, blah, blah. He walks on water, we know."
He leaned in closer as if to talk to Derek privately.
"These two have been gaga ever since the Baby and his girlfriend walked into our humble lives. M-Dawg I get, I mean, she's gorgeous, but why date a doctor when you're fabulous on your own?"
The entire spiel was sarcastic and both women pelted him with bits of celery and carrot.
"He seems like a good doctor. Webber was particularly happy with his decision to join Seattle Grace."
Cristina snorted and rolled her eyes.
"A Brookings Academy grad? No duh."
"Does he ever talk about it?"
Meredith looked up from her pasta salad.
"About Brookings? Yeah. It sounds like a monstrosity of a place. I mean, when you think about it, there might not be as many students, but they're so spread out and so specialized, he says it was almost hard to meet people. Because everyone's so driven. Meeting other students outside your specialization was pretty much impossible."
"It is huge."
Hearing the words from Meredith's lips made Derek consider how little the odds were that Andy had ever even met Meg. With her traveling, and his being in medical school, plus the six year difference, they would never have had time to meet. That Meg had always been so devoted to her skating made the chances even slimmer. She wasn't the type to attend school events or stay out late with friends- everything about her was dedicated and concentrated.
What Derek didn't know was that on one particularly beautiful afternoon, Meg's best friend Shannon had dragged her along to see Shannon's brother compete in the school crew match.
He didn't know that the one day of relaxation and fun in the sun had changed his daughter's (and his) life forever.
---
Skating Complex: 2pm the next day
"Again, Meg. You aren't getting the lift. Your left foot needs to curl in a bit more."
"I don't know how to get the air and the curl in if I'm taking the jump like that."
Meg stood in the middle of the ice arena, frustrated and uncomfortable. She was wearing a deep blue skating outfit, and it made her both irritated and angry. With Scarlet, she always wore traditional- yet extremely simple- skating costumes, so that Scarlet could better see and critique her body. The slave driver herself was wearing black sweatpants (rather form fitting, actually) and a red turtleneck. She was the ideal picture, ironically enough, of Miss Scarlet from the game Clue. Her jet black hair was pulled into a French braid, and though she wore skates as well, Meg saw no reason for them since Scarlet hardly ever demonstrated during preliminary sessions.
"It's a difficult mount, Meg. That's why we're doing it."
"I'm aware of that. Thank you."
"Take the jump again."
She began her circling, and tried to do the footwork into the jump, lifting off to get the three wrap arounds. Unfortunately, she never quite got the air, and fell before she even completed her first spin. Sitting on her but on the ice, she quelled the urge to scream like a three year old and throw a temper tantrum. Ice skating required more patience than most people would have thought Meg possible of.
"Come on, Margaret. Do it again. You've gotten lazy."
"I'm not lazy. I just haven't been this intense in a month."
She got up, and took the jump again.
And fell.
Again.
Six more times later, she was still falling. But her leg was curling under a bit more, so monumental progress had been made. Ice skating was an excruciating sport. Each minute movement took hundreds and thousands of tries to accomplish, making it hard to really pinpoint progress as it happens.
"Get some water. Keep hydrated."
They skated to the side, and Meg opened her bottle to slowly drink. She was always careful to take small sips of the cold water she kept waiting for her, because her over active body tended to get the intensive muscle cramps when she took in drinks that cold. Scarlett had her own bottle, and they enjoyed the sunshine streaming into the complex.
"So. How's Shandi?"
"She's doing well. Real well."
Meg liked to think that ice skating was an extremely classy sport. Because it was such an expensive past time and there were only so many top notch coaches and technical staffers to go around, everybody knew everybody else's business. The girls who got to the very top tended to see each other at every competition, and trade off coaches and staff alike. Consequently, most of them became rather friendly. Shandi Davidson had always been with Meg. She had trained with Pavel when she was younger, and also attended Brookings at his urging. The two girls had lived together in Sweeden, and lived across the hall from each other in Moscow. They were extremely close friends, and Meg missed the constant friendship they had shared.
"That's great. The knee isn't giving her much trouble?"
"No. But you know her. She's careful."
"She wouldn't be in such good shape now if she wasn't."
Scarlet turned to face her a bit more.
"I did see Catalina when I was in New York."
Catalina Morrison was Meg's biggest rival. She was just under a year younger than Meg, but the two girls had gone head to head countless times over the years. She trained with Cristiano Kharov, one of the toughest coaches in the sport. He drove her harder on a good day than most coaches would dare to push their skaters on their hardest day, and because of it, Catalina had become well known for her bitchy attitude. Unfortunately, Catalina was also one of the best. She did nothing but skate and train, and it showed.
On the other hand, Leanne Fernandes, a busty redhead from L.A. could give Catalina, and everyone else a run for their money. The 'party girl', as she was known, could go out drinking the night before, and easily sweep the short competition in the morning. She had an infectious laughter, and was as well liked on the circuit as Meg or Shandi.
Everyone in the world of skating was gearing up for the upcoming season, because the four girls were at their peak, and considered to be the very best in American skating.
"I imagine she was condescending and nosy."
Scarlet shrugged.
"Catalina was ruined early on. Cristiano is a hard man. But even you have to admit. This move comes completely out of the blue. Everyone back east is talking about it. Seattle? They're saying you ran after your boyfriend and the training is lacking. Obviously they're wrong about the training, but what are you doing?"
Meg just tossed her head and had some more water.
"Let them talk. This is where I train…I wanted out. I wanted out, and I needed out. And Seattle was the answer."
Sighing deeply, the older woman moved a little closer to Meg, even though there was nobody else in the warehouse.
"Have you talked about it with Andy?"
She knew immediately what the former champion was talking about. Avoiding her eye, she locked her jaw and stared angrily at the sun streaming windows.
"I've gained the weight back, haven't I?"
At Scarlet's accusing look, Meg shook her head.
"No. We haven't talked about it. But he plies me with food, demands we eat together as often as humanly possible, and practically force feeds me when he has to."
"It's a dangerous pattern to fall into."
"You think I don't know that?"
She turned to skate away, but Scarlet grabbed her arm and yanked her back. Over the years, Scarlet had become a friend and mentor, helping to prepare both of her pupils (Meg as well as Shandi) for the rigors of competition skating. Her knee injury just after Lillehammer had prevented her from ever considering international competition again, but she had been in the inner circle for long enough to remember just what it was like. With the media and the cut throat international competition these days, the pressure had only increased.
"Listen to me. I know the temptations. The lure of skipping a meal. Maybe two. Leaving a portion uneaten-"
"I'm not stupid-"
"Shut up, I'm not finished. Running that extra, extra mile and needing to get that extra half inch of air on a triple toe loop than everybody else-"
"I know, the dangers Scarlet-"
"Laura Carpenter hurt her ankle last week in practice. Hairline fracture. She's off the ice for two weeks. Melanie Sanderson sprained her wrist in a fall yesterday. She's off for a month. You have four months till nationals. International is looking harder than it ever has before. Francesca Gerardi just landed her quad into a toe loop. She's made Italy feel pretty comfortable. Clair Frankunbaur took the German pre-nationals with ease, and you know damn well that Russia and France are sitting smug on Katya and Dominique. Everybody has lined up their ducks, and they're all ready for the championships. Nationals aren't the issue. They're all waiting for us. American nationals are going to decide the championships, and the Olympics. It isn't chance anymore. You have the entire world waiting to see who takes nationals. It's equal chance for the four of you, but you've got more behind you than Shandi, and LeAnne's having trouble with her sit-spin. It's going to come down to who can take nationals, and then take the championships. Laura and Melanie are good, but they can't do it, you know that. So between you and Shandi and Catalina and LeAnne, someone's going to have to go out on the limb against the rest of the world."
Meg knew what Scarlet was talking about. The top three skaters at nationals in an Olympic year automatically advanced to the qualifying rounds of the Olympics. However, if a skater won the World Championships in an Olympic year, she was guaranteed a spot for her country at the games, outside of the three reserved spots. That meant that one country would send four skaters, while everybody else could only enter three. The girl who placed fourth at nationals would be moved up while the person who won the championships was granted immunity. For the past two games, Russia had sent four skaters, and the US only three. With four girls who could potentially win a gold medal at the Olympics, the US wanted to win the championships.
"I get it."
"So now isn't the time to be competing in an unhealthy race with the rest of the skating diva's. You're right. You're secluded here. And Shandi's fighting the pressure that the Russian Katya is putting on everybody else."
"How much did she lose?"
Scarlet sighed again.
"That's not the point, Meg. It doesn't matter. The entire Russian team has lost enough weight between them to kill a whole skater. You can't sink into these patterns again."
"Well, I'm out of Russia now."
"Meg, you were losing weight before you even met Andrew. Don't make the mistake of ignoring a problem to hope it goes away."
"I was surrounded by it. That's partly why we left New York, even if Andy won't confront it directly. I never let the problem get too much, and I'm not about to let it escalate now."
"The problem has a name, Maggie."
Meg had skated out a few feet after her last statement, but turned and looked at Scarlet with a fierce look in her eyes.
"You think it's anorexia? You really think that's what it is, Scarlet? It's more than that now. It isn't a disease available to the public at large. It's a freaking game. It's what the sport has turned into behind closed doors. You think Katya Petrofski started it? She started dropping kilo's after Francesca from Italy wore a backless dress to the European MTV awards. It's an international competition to see who can get more air on a jump."
"It's a slower form of Russian Roulette."
"So what are we complaining about? I'm normal again? You can weigh me."
At that, Scarlet threw the water bottle over the side and skated to Meg.
"How often do you weigh yourself, Meg? Once a day? Twice?"
"Once a week."
They held eye contact for a long moment, before Scarlet acquiesced and stepped back a little.
"See that it stays that way…Now do the jump again."
----
I took a lot of liberty with how the skating circuit runs, just for the purpose of this story. And I didn't mean to just load it down at the end, but it's important to see the undercurrents and dynamics in Andy and Meg's relationship!
Please review!