Derek reached the Chief's office and stood outside the door, nervously adjusting his coat before he held his hand up and firmly knocked on the door. The knock was met with silence as he stood waiting a few more seconds before knocking again. This time, he heard a loud bump followed by an even louder "ouch" and sharp expletive. He cringed for he knew the Chief's disposition was probably made worse by whatever it was that caused him to scream pain. He was about to turn and leave when the door was yanked open to reveal the Chief standing there with a growl on his face and one of hand rubbing a spot on the back of his head.
"Is this a bad time?" asked Derek, hoping it was so he could make his escape.
"No. Come in," replied the Chief as he stepped aside to allow Derek to walk past him. Derek scanned the room and saw the top filing cabinet sitting open behind the Chief's desk and suspected that he probably hit his head on it. Turning back to look at the Chief, he asked "Are you okay?"
"Of course I'm not okay!" snapped the Chief as he moved to sit in his chair. "I hit my head on the damn filing cabinet. I thought I locked it. I always keep it locked, but the damn drawer slid open and I bumped my head. I need to tell Marge to stop oiling the tracks so much."
Derek didn't know how to respond to the Chief's rant so he leaned back in his chair and waited patiently for him to finish. Most people get intimidated by the Chief. Derek; however, find him amusing and knows that his bark is always bigger than his bite. Richard is a kind, understanding and reasonable man. Those qualities will definitely be put to the test today thought Derek to himself.
"We both know why I called you here, so let's get down to it," said the Chief as he leaned back in his chair, lacing his fingers together to lay rested on his lap.
"There's no excuse for what I did. It was irresponsible and unethical of me as a doctor. Before you say anything, I want to make it clear that it was all my doing and no one else's."
"Nice try, but I know Meredith is as much involved in this as you are. She may not have been the one throwing punches, but she was involved nonetheless."
"Richard. Leave her out of this. She's young and has great potential as a surgeon. If this goes on her record, it's going to ruin her career. If you want to punish someone, punish me. I take full responsibility."
"Who said anything about punishing? I'm tough, but I'm not heartless. I know Meredith has great potential. It's in her genes. I called you here to try and understand what happened to provoke you into hitting a man. The board is going to want an explanation as well as the attorney for the hospital. I want to make sure I have the facts so if and when we're slapped with a lawsuit, we'll be prepared."
"I'm sorry, Richard. I never meant for any of this to happen."
"Yes, but it did happen, so explain it to me make me understand"
Derek took a deep breath and began to tell the story, starting in Vegas. After twenty minutes, the Chief leaned back in his chair and let out a deep breath as he struggled to absorb everything Derek had just told him.
"So you two met and got married in Vegas?"
"Yes."
"You met before you came here and already knew each other when I first introduced you?"
"Yes."
"You wanted to give the marriage a try, but she felt pressured so you gave her an ultimatum?"
"Yes,"
"That was stupid, by the way"
"Thanks."
"She saw you with Dr. Perkins and thought you were having an affair?"
"Yes."
"You and Dr. Perkins were once engaged?"
"Yes."
"But that was before you married Addison?"
"Yes."
"Geez, man! Who do you think you are? Ross?"
"I don't know what's scarier…you watching 'Friends' or me knowing exactly what you were talking about."
"Er…let's move on."
"Fine."
"So she thinks you're having an affair and seeks a divorce?"
"Yes."
"This divorce lawyer makes a move on Meredith, then shows up and calls you an ass and a moron?"
"Yes."
"And that's when you punched him?"
"Yes."
Letting out a deep breath, the Chief leaned forward in his chair and looked at Derek solemnly. "Well, there's only one thing left to say."
Derek held his breath as he waited for the Chief to speak. After a long pause, he got antsy and asked "Well?"
"Did you put your weight behind it?"
Derek's face broke out into a big grin and he replied "Sure did."
"Okay," said the Chief as he stood up to walk around his desk. "I have all the information I need. Thank you."
"Wait a minute," Derek said, looking up at him in confusion. "Aren't you going to fire me?"
"Fire you? Why would I do something stupid like that?"
"Not to dig a hole in my own grave, but I beat up a man in full view of the hospital staff and sick patients."
"Well, now that you put it that way."
"Let me—"
"Relax Derek. You are the best neurosurgeon there is. What you did was wrong, but you did it to defend your marriage and that is honorable. I will talk to the Board and explain."
Getting up from the chair, the Chief walked Derek to the door and said "So where do you and Meredith stand with this marriage?"
"We're going to give it a try," he replied, smiling as he remembered the way she kissed his hand earlier.
"I'm happy to hear that. I guess congratulations are in order," he said, giving Derek a firm pat on the back.
"Thanks Richard. Thanks for everything."
"Don't thank me too soon," replied the Chief, giving him another pat. "There may come a day when I will need to call on you for a favor."
The last comment worried Derek a little, but he shrugged it off, grateful that he still had a job and he could be close to Meredith. When they reached the door, he turned to smile at the Chief before reaching for the handle.
"Derek!" the Chief called to him, causing him to turn around. "The next time you and Meredith get into an argument, make sure you keep it outside. I don't want to have any more brawls in my hospital. Got it?" He smiled and turned away, rubbing his head.
Meredith was sitting at a corner table on the outdoor patio, absently playing with her fruit bowl when Cristina and Izzie walked up, dropping their trays onto the table with a loud thud.
"Ugh…I'm so tired, I don't think I have the energy to eat," complained Izzie as she collapsed onto the chair.
"At least you can eat," replied Cristina, giving her food a distasteful look before shoving her tray away. "Bailey's got me digging through shit for stupid Monopoly pieces. I'm a surgeon! Surgeons don't stick their hands in shit!" She jabbed her fork into Meredith's fruit bowl and shoved a piece of watermelon into her mouth. Waving the fork at Izzie, she continued with her rant "It would've been easier to cut him open and take it all out at once. That way, I'd still get to be in surgery."
"You're sick," said Izzie, frowning at Cristina. "We're here to help everyone."
"Whatever, Barbie. Go take your bright and shiny rays somewhere else," she snapped. "You got to help on the TTTS case with Dr. McKissy so don't preach to me."
"You're just jealous!" replied Izzie, sticking her tongue out at Cristina.
"So?"
"So you're a mean bitch when you're jealous."
"I'm a mean bitch all the time. What's your point?"
"Whatever. I'm too tired to argue with you." Turning to Meredith, Izzie asked "Did you do anything interesting today? I've been stuck in Peds all morning."
"Yes Mer, did you do anything interesting today?" asked Cristina.
"No…nothing…interesting," she said, averting her eyes to pretend to pick at a seed on a melon.
"Hmm…well I heard something interesting," said Cristina, stealing a glance in Meredith's direction "It seems McDreamy got into a scuffle with a patient in the ER."
Meredith's cheeks turned a deep crimson red as she slightly lowered her head, letting her hair fall forward to cover her face. For the second time, she wished the ground would open up and swallow her.
"Oh no, he didn't!" shrieked Izzie, her eyes nearly bulging out of her head.
"Oh yes, he did" replied Cristina calmly.
"What happened?" Izzie whispered excitedly as she moved to scoot her chair closer to the group.
"I don't know," Cristina answered, shrugging her shoulders. "Maybe Mer can tell us."
Meredith snapped her head up and glared at Cristina "Me? Why me? I—I don't know anything." She lied, nervously tugging at the band of her watch. "Why are you asking me?" she continued defensively. "Just because it involved Derek, you assume I know?" She knew she had to bite the bullet and tell them eventually. But at the moment, she was too preoccupied thinking about Derek and his meeting with the Chief.
"Well…yeah" replied Cristina and Izzie in unison.
"That and also the fact that you were assigned to SCUT today," said Cristina.
"Well I wouldn't know. Bailey took me off SCUT and assigned me to the Katie Bryce case."
"Hmm… Was that before or after you told half the hospital you two are married?" asked Cristina casually as she took a bite into a melon and looked at Meredith with a raised brow. Izzie gasped so hard, she almost choked on her sandwich.
"You told everyone you and Derek are married?" Izzie yelled once she recovered.
"Not everyone, but thanks to your outburst, I'm sure everyone knows now," she snapped before turning to address Cristina. "If you knew, how come you didn't just come out and say it?"
"I wanted to see you squirm a little," she replied, smiling smugly. "Now tell me what the hell happened."
She sat back and told them everything that happened from when Derek told her he loved her, to them being interrupted by Ryan, to her being paged by Bailey and leaving the two men alone together.
"What are you going to do?" asked Cristina.
"I don't know. He got called into the Chief's office and I'm a nervous wreck."
"I meant what are you going to do about the divorce?"
"I don't know," she said, looking down at her hands. "I can't stop thinking about that kiss. I want to forget it, but whenever I close my eyes that's all I see." Wringing her hands together in her angst, she continued "As much as he hurt me and as badly as my heart is hurting right now…it hurts a hundred times more when I'm not with him. I'm pathetic."
"You're not pathetic, Mer. You're in love and that's okay," consoled Izzie.
"Th—" she stopped when she heard her pager go off. Fumbling to reach for the pager with nerveless fingers, she silently prayed it was Derek. She looked at the display, then to her friends curiously before shoving it back into the clip and rushed off with a quick "I talk to you later."