Irene's A/N: Thank you for not killing us! We were expecting pitchforks and rotten fruit after the way we ended our last chapter, really. This new chapter picks up exactly where we left off.

Now, brush up on your Greek mythology before you read on! (No, I'm kidding, but you'll figure out why I said that later.)


Chapter 28


Derek stalls outside of his front door, taking long, deep breaths on the porch, propping himself against their table, trying to stay upright and not fall apart.

He's so tired, his brain just wants to shut off, and now he has nowhere to go. He planned on falling asleep next to Meredith, and now she's seething inside, washing the dishes and putting the kids to bed. He wanted to do that tonight with her, he really did.

His head is a mess.

Descending the couple of steps that separate him from the grassy path towards their backyard takes him a full minute. He feels the biting cold hit his cheeks, a different kind of cold that the one he had felt in DC. It's more humid, it permeates his bones, it fills his lungs. He shivers, though maybe some of it is not from the cold.

He pinches his nose, then takes a deep breath. He has no idea where he's going next, the only thing he knows is that his feet move him away from the house, towards the patch of woods that always calm him down. It's too dark to take a proper walk, but just going back and forth near the edge feels like enough. He paces and paces and paces, bypassing Doc's grave three, four times, his soles now muddy, his hands losing sensibility no matter how deep in his pockets he stuffs them.

Numbness is exactly what he needs. If he's not numb, he'll break.

Deep down, he knows Meredith is not cheating on him, especially with Alex, though his brain won't shut up about it. He feels so vulnerable and helpless, and he hates it. He's hating every second of it.

This time he walked out because, as of late, he has yelled at a lot of people, usually with a fistfight following suit, and the last thing he wants is to spring all his anger and frustrations on Meredith. She doesn't deserve them. She doesn't deserve a husband like him. He wants them to be back to what they used to have, but it seems so far away it's a chimera at this point.

He missed all four members of his family like he would miss oxygen, and yet he's wandering around his four acres of land aimlessly, trying to find a way to apologize, to keep his anger at bay, to be the husband and father they need him to be.

Derek has no clue where to start from.

All of a sudden, he hears his name being called, sounding far away, startling him. He turns around towards the house, noticing for the first time that the lights in Owen's trailer are on, and that Owen himself is standing in front of his door, studying him.

"Derek, is that you?" he calls out even more loudly.

He sighs. "Hey, Owen!" he calls back.

"Didn't know you were back! Come, grab a beer!"

Derek can see his smile, even in the dark, and he sighs loudly. As much as he hates the idea of ending his wallowing in the woods, he knows he should at least greet Owen. Maybe even tell him he needs a job.

He can't imagine how pissed Meredith will be when she finds out why he has been fired. She won't be happy at all.

"I wasn't sure it was you with that beard," Owen teases as Derek reaches the first step of the trailer's makeshift porch. "Very axe-murderer style."

Derek forces out a smile, sighing loudly.

"Come on inside, it's freezing out there," Owen says, keeping the door open for Derek.

Memories swarm in his head. Of course, the trailer is completely different from the days he used to live in it, and he would never trade his house for this again, though it seemed perfect when it was just him and Meredith. It gave them an excuse to be close, to be within hand's reach every moment they spent between its steely confines, to be in each other's space. Now he feels like they have changed their polarity and they are just two uncoordinated magnets, spinning in circles, unable to get closer before one of them springs away.

"How was DC?" Owen asks, handing him a Budweiser. His smile is friendly, curious, maybe a little stunned. He can't blame him for being puzzled.

Derek picks up the bottle opener and listens to the gas fizzle out. He watches as Owen stealthily hides away a lacy bra draped over the back of the table bench, then invites him to sit down. He follows his command like a loyal pet, clinking the beer on the table, joined by his cap and Owen's bottle.

"DC was lonely," Derek admits honestly. He's done lying to himself and the people around him. Also, he considers Owen a friend, he can say things to him. He doesn't have many friends, and he really needs some help figuring out this mess he has been thrown into. "I see that you haven't been lonely," he teases, trying to divert his attention away from his issues and focusing instead on the bra now dangling from the end of Owen's bed.

Owen chuckles nervously, blushing a little. "It's nothing...just a girl I picked up in a bar, one night and then nothing."

Derek sighs. "Sounds familiar."

Owen grins. "Speaking of Meredith, I hear congratulations are in order. Or well, good luck is more like it," he chuckles.

"Uh?" Derek sighs, then clues in. "Oh, the baby!" His smile appears even if he didn't want to. It's small and timid, but it's there. "I'm thrilled. Meredith is worried."

"Understandable." Owen nods. "I'm sorry if I upset her before, I really thought she was either on antidepressants or having a nervous breakdown."

Derek's eyes widen, and the words he wanted to say get stuck in his throat.

"Mood swings are in full force. She yelled at me and at a nurse before she left this afternoon," Owen grins, recalling the memory.

"Thank you for having her back and hovering, even if she yelled at you," Derek says in a whisper, almost ashamed of his previous thoughts. "Thank you for keeping an eye on her when I couldn't."

"Duty as a Chief, and as a friend. Plus, you kept an eye on Cristina for me after the shooting, I'm happy to return the favor."

Derek nods, swinging back his beer, letting the silence wash down his throat like the bittersweet liquid.

"Derek, why are you here and not at home with Meredith and the kids?" Owen's eyes are full of questions and concern, and make Derek feel almost sick. It can't be the beer, he can feel it settle in his stomach with the pancakes, it's his own guilty conscience for sure.

He shakes his head. "I needed to clear my head. Things aren't exactly smooth sailing between us at the moment," he downplays, because if he admits how bad he feels things are going, he'll want to curl up in a ball and never leave Owen's trailer. He needs to go back home at some point.

"I'm sure arguing when hormones are involved must not be pleasant."

"I screwed up. I always screw up." He mumbles the last part to himself, but Owen probably has good hearing, because his eyes widen.

"What did you do?"

"I'm jealous she spent the night at Alex, she assumed I think she's cheating on me and told me I should just go back to DC," he sums up, every word feeling like a stab wound.

"So you left?"

"I walked out before I said something else I would regret. Or destroyed a couple of plates," he admits honestly. "I snap like a twig these days, she doesn't need that on top of me being an asshole."

Owen lets the silence drag for a couple of beer swigs, Derek's eyes welling up with tears.

"Are you going back to DC, then?" Owen asks, his face serious, concerned.

"God, no. I wouldn't go back now even if I could. I need to figure out Beth Monroe's tumor first, then fix my marriage."

"I heard Amelia talking about it, that sounds like a mess of a case."

"I owe it to Beth and Meredith to try. I need to save her," he admits.

"I can give you surgical privileges, that's not a problem, if you can work out something with the President or whoever you take orders from."

Derek laughs bitterly at that. "I'm free as a bird right now, Hunt." He drains the beer before he admits "They fired me. I was a liability to their project, apparently."

"What? You're brilliant, I never had a problem with you, not once. You were probably the surgeon that gave me the least problems in my entire career as Chief!"

"Well, I wasn't punching guys when I was under your watch, was I? Or showing up late and hungover to board meetings."

The truth hurts, and Derek would really like something stronger to drain now. He needs to be even more numb, to go back to his wandering and wallowing. Owen is persistent, though, his scrutiny intense.

"What the hell happened in those couple of months, Derek?"

"I don't know. I don't know who I am anymore," he admits. "I just want to fix things now, and I have no clue where to start from."

Owen looks determined. "I can hire you back without a problem, though I can't give you back the Head of Neurosurgery."

"I don't want it back. I want to focus on my family and my research and my marriage. I don't have time to be the Head of anything at the moment."

Owen nods solemnly. "Oh, and as far as I know, Meredith would never cheat on you, if it makes you feel better."

Derek shakes his head. He has tried to convince himself of that for the past hour, maybe days, and it still doesn't look one hundred percent trustworthy in his messed up head.

"Derek, you're like Odysseus and Penelope, she was going to keep weaving and unraveling her cloth until you came back," Owen smiles knowingly, something that makes Derek's chest feel less tight, though the weight is still there, pressing down on his sternum.

"I just...I know it, deep down in my heart, but my head is a mess."

Owen nods. "Do you want to go back home?"

"I can't, not like this."

"What, you need a razor?"

Derek finally chuckles, "The beard is the least of our problems right now."

"What about you go to the hospital? I'm sure Amelia is still there. You can say hi to her, look up Beth's case, discuss the course of action, clear your head..."

"Yeah, maybe I should do that," Derek admits, finding Owen's idea pretty on point. The hospital will make him feel better. In and out, then home.

He thanks Owen and promises him a beer before he makes his way to his car, ready to drive to the hospital.


The nine o'clock night shift is still fifteen minutes from starting when Derek arrives at Grey Sloan Memorial. Meaning, the day shift nurses all have bags around their eyes, their exhaustion clearly evident. A bunch of them are huddled around their nurses' station, chatting in not-so whispers.

They don't seem to notice him, so he stands at the end of the hall, listening to them. Derek learned a long time ago that the nurses' station is best place inside the hospital to catch up on the latest hospital news, even if the gossip mill isn't always entirely accurate. He's been absent for so long, though. He needs to be caught up to speed, so he listens.

"Alaina said she heard her shouting at Chief Hunt earlier today," one of the nurses muses. He doesn't recognize her, but she's young and has fair skin. Either she's new or he's never worked with her personally.

"Tamara and Jen saw her and Karev at Joe's last night. Apparently she told Karev she's pregnant with his baby," another nurse adds. Derek's heart starts to thud vigorously in his chest as it becomes apparent that these nurses are talking about his wife.

"That's not what Alaina said," the fair-faced nurse shakes her head. "She said that Dr. Grey was very adamant about the baby being Shepherd's. She said she's not sleeping with anyone else." Phew. Derek feels a little tension release from his muscles. After everything they've been through - Zola's little tale not easing the situation - he feels relieved to hear that.

"Of course she said that," a redhead giggles. "Who in their right mind admits to cheating? Honestly, it wouldn't surprise me if Chief Hunt's the father. Doesn't he live on their land? He's awfully lonely without Dr. Yang. They could use each other as comfort. And! And I'm almost positive heard him in an on-call room the other day."

"I did hear that the reason Yang and Hunt got divorced was because he wanted kids and she didn't," admits a fourth nurse.

Derek's heart clenches, a lingering sickness prevailing in his gut. He remembers the bra he'd seen wrapped around Owen's bedpost. He knows the ins and outs of all Meredith's bras, though, and he's fairly certain she doesn't have one that looks like that one.

However, as much as it makes him want to vomit, the nurses do have valid points. Everything they're saying is true. Meredith wouldn't admit to cheating, if she were. Addison never admitted to it when he'd suspected she might be seeing someone else. In fact, she'd lied straight to his face on two different occasions. He'd been stupid enough to believe her word. It took catching her in the throes with his best friend for her to own up to her affair, when she no longer had a choice.

And he doesn't doubt that, if Meredith were seeing someone else, she'd more likely sleep with Owen than with Alex, since they basically live across the yard from each other. Owen is without Cristina. Meredith has been without him. They're both lonely. Of course they could use each other for comfort. The thought hadn't even crossed his mind until these stupid nurses had to say it.

Hunt is definitely seeing someone, and judging by the nervousness in his response when Derek asked him about the bra on his bed, Derek's pretty certain that it's more serious than the one night stand he claims it is. Still, he can't see Meredith and Owen together. No way.

And why would Owen have been so insistent about them being Penelope and Odysseus otherwise? He'd sounded pretty serious when he told Derek that Meredith would never cheat on him. Owen has issues, but as far as Derek knows, he wouldn't lie like that to his face. This is the man that, according to Meredith, had openly confessed to cheating on Cristina when confronted. Owen isn't the type of guy to hold on to a guilty conscience.

"Well, why would she tell Karev it's his if it's Hunt's, then?" asks the nurse who'd claimed some nurses had overheard Meredith telling Alex the baby is his.

Derek's heart clenches, sickness lingering in his hut.

"Dunno," shrugs the redhead. "I'm still going with she's lying about having an affair."

Derek cringes. He can't take any more of this. Now he remembers why he usually stays away from the nurses' station. Gossip is the root of all evil.

He turns around and opts to take an alternate route to his office so he doesn't have to pass the nasty gossiping nurses.

The nurses have to be wrong. Hospital gossip transfers like a game of telephone. Words get twisted and turned around, and eventually, the entire message transposes into something completely ambiguous. Perhaps the nurses who were listening to Alex and Meredith at Joe's last night had misheard something. That has to be it.

When he comes upon his office, he's surprised to see the door is already swung wide open.


Amelia has gradually transformed Derek's office into her own. She figures she might as well put the space to good use now that she has a key to it, and Derek is in DC. There was no sense in allowing such a nice office to go to waste. Owen told her it was okay, since she is the current Head of Neuro, after all.

He'd given her permission to use the office as her boss, not as her boyfriend. Boyfriend. She shudders. Owen Hunt is not her boyfriend, she reminds herself. He's just a fuck buddy. It's been years since she's slept with someone who wasn't her boyfriend. The last person who comes to mind is Mark Sloan.

She can't fall for Owen, Amelia has already decided. She won't allow herself to fall for him. The sex is great. In fact, she'd forgotten how great no-strings-attached sex could actually be. It was nice knowing that there were no expectations involved. They could have a few amazing rounds of orgasms, and then go on with their daily lives without having expectations.

In a way, she's glad Meredith knows about her and Owen. Sneaking around was exhausting. There were plenty of nights that she was at Owen's trailer - practically in Meredith's back yard - and she didn't go home. She feels bad about that, knowing all those nights Meredith was alone with the kids. Then, there were the nights she'd sneak in at two or three in the morning just to get a change of clothing, hoping not to wake Meredith or the kids, then sneak back to Owen's for endless sexcapades - in his bed, on the couch, in the shower. They've done it in every corner of that trailer, basically.

And, thanks to Meredith, she now has the visual of Derek - her big brother - and Meredith doing it in all the same places that she and Owen have done it. It's a disgusting image that won't stop soiling her thoughts, and it's completely out of her control. It's not like she wants to have the image of her brother and his wife having sex locked in her mind. Damnit, Meredith Grey.

It's a small trailer. Owen has suggested they sneak into her room at the dreamhouse on multiple occasions, but she's persistently said no. Derek may be in DC, but Meredith is still there, and she wasn't ready to explain. After all, Cristina was Meredith's best friend, and she didn't know how Meredith would react to her being her best friend's ex-husband's fuck buddy. It does sound pretty screwed up in Amelia's head, after all.

Admittedly, she was a little surprised by Meredith's reaction. It was almost too calm. Had Meredith been Addison, and Addison had found out she was sleeping with her best friend's ex-husband, Amelia knows she would have gotten an earful. Had anyone in Los Angeles found out, she would have gotten at least five lectures about how she was setting herself up for trouble. She loves Meredith more and more every day. Amelia really does love Seattle. Clearly, she was not made for sunny Los Angeles. She's too dark and twisty. That's why rainy, dreary Seattle is the perfect fit for Amelia.

She should have known that Meredith would figure it out. Callie figured it out the day after they first kissed. She's the only other person in the hospital who knows, as far as Amelia knows, and she swore that she'd keep her lips zipped.

Amelia's thoughts are clouded. She stares at her phone, tempted to call Owen and tell him to come in for a booty call. Maybe then she'll be able to focus. She needs focus. She needs to figure out how in the world she's going to save Beth Monroe, especially if Derek can't make it back to Seattle in time.

Think, Amelia, she tells herself. If it were any other patient, she wouldn't even bother asking Derek for help. She shouldn't need his help. Amelia knows that she's every bit of competent of surgeon as he is, and she wants Derek to see that. She would give anything to be seen as an adequate surgeon in Derek's eyes, because she knows, deep down, he still sees her as the five-year-old he needed to hold back as their father was being shot. She'll always be that five-year-old in his eyes.

Amelia hasn't told Owen that Meredith knows about them yet, which she'll have to do when she sees him. She heaves a deep inward sigh as she checks her phone, noticing that she has a new text message. Apparently, she'd accidentally put her phone on silent.

It's from Owen. Hey, what are you up to?

Her heart pounds fervently in her chest, butterflies fluttering in her stomach. No, she's not supposed to feel like this when he texts her. It's just sex. Owen is probably texting her because he wants a booty call, and she's itching for one too.

Code 609, she texts back. It's their secret "I want a booty call" code in case someone unsuspecting reads through their texts. When she wants sex, she texts 609. When Owen wants sex, he texts 906. Then they don't have to worry about unsuspecting others reading their texts. During surgery, everyone leaves their phones on the side, and they're monitored by OR nurses who tell them when they have a message. It's a precaution that's necessary to keep their relationship under wraps.

Have you talked to Derek? reads her next text from Owen. It's definitely not the response she had expected. Why would she have talked to Derek? She hasn't spoken to him since yesterday afternoon, when she'd practically begged him to come back. Amelia honestly feels humiliated about that. She shouldn't have to beg him to come back. She should be able to fix Beth's tumor all by herself.

Amelia knows that if Beth were any other patient, and if she were any other doctor, Beth would be given a death sentence. Beth has a tumor that most surgeons would deem inoperable and would leave it at that.

But this is not the first time Beth has had an inoperable tumor. Somehow, against all odds, Derek and Meredith managed to save Beth. Against all odds,. she is alive today. Amelia can't shake this feeling that they can do it again.

No, why? she texts back, and as soon as she looks up, she sees her answer in the flesh. Her phone drops out of her hand, landing on the wooden desk, when she sees the figure of her older brother standing in the doorway of his office.

Amelia is instantly plagued with the feeling that something isn't right. Her brother's bleak eyes tell it all. Derek always did talk with his eyes. His eyes tell a story all on their own. She remembers being five years old and Derek's eyes telling her that she would never see her father again, long before the words were spoken out loud. Also, Derek is incapable of lying to her; his eyes speak loud and clear when he's telling a lie.

"What's wrong, Derek?" are the first words to slip out of her mouth.

He looks a little stunned; she's not sure if it's the question that has stunned him or if it's simply her presence that has him taken off guard. Maybe it's a little of both.

"What? Nothing's wrong. Why would you think something's wrong?" He's lying and she knows it. "I'm here to work on Beth's case with you. I'm assuming that's why you're in my office. You're looking over her files, right? Where did you get the key to my office, anyway?"

Amelia exhales. "O-Chief Hunt said I could use your office while you're gone. No sense in letting this space go to waste." She swallows thickly, feeling Derek's somber blue eyes studying her, reading her every expression. She waits for him to yell at her.

"Oh. I guess that's okay, then," he replies quietly, stepping closer to her, his eyes on the files in front of her. "Are those Beth's charts?"

They are. "Yes," she replies, sighing raspily. "I wish you would have called to say you were coming. I admitted Beth earlier, and I had to tell her parents last night that we don't have a lot of options right now. Had I known you were coming, at least I could have given them some hope."

His eyebrows furrow. "What makes you think that I can do something you can't? You've looked over my notes, probably just as many times as I have. You've seen Beth. I haven't. If you think we've run out of options, maybe we have." His voice is glum and filled with uncertainty.

"I just…" she heaves a helpless sigh. "I think the answer lies in the formula. We can't use the same formula, because it's likely she'd be immune to the previous virus. I don't feel comfortable altering the virus myself. I looked at your notes, Derek, and you lost twelve patients before Beth. She was the thirteenth. I don't have twelve test dummies to play with before I get it right."

"Neither do I," Derek responds dryly. "It's a needle in a haystack regardless of who alters the virus, regardless of who inserts the needles. If we choose to insert the live virus into her brain again, then the same risks that were present originally are still there today."

"But we have to try. You have to try," Amelia protests. "You didn't give up on her all those years ago, you can't give up on her now. Meredith told me that she had to convince you to operate on her, that you didn't want to do the surgery."

Derek flinches at the mention of Meredith's name. "Mhm."

Amelia bites her lip. "Does Meredith know you're back? Have you seen her and the kids?"

He refuses to make eye contact with her. Amelia has a hunch of what might be the source of her brother's glumness. There's only one person she knows who's capable of altering his happiness like this.

"Okay, what happened between you and Meredith? I know she's stubborn, but I have a hard time believing she wasn't happy to see you. She's been walking around this hospital with the sad eyes you have right now for three weeks, so I know she had to be happy to see you. That means you did something stupid to piss her off. What'd you do?"

"Amy-"

"Don't Amy me!" Amelia interjects.

"Amelia," Derek relents, shaking his head soberly. "It's none of your business. My life with Meredith is my private life. I don't have to explain anything to you. You never told me why you left your fiancé...James, right?"

"Okay, now that's none of your business!" she snaps, and she realizes Derek has a point. She can't talk to Derek about her past - or current - relationships. Meredith was the first person she told that she wanted to stay in Seattle, she was the only person she talked to about James when their relationship was crumbling. "Look, I like Meredith, and if you hurt her or drive her away, I'll never forgive you. I don't want to lose another sister-in-law."

Derek frowns, taking a seat on the couch. He inhales sharply. "For what it's worth," he mumbles, "she told me to back to DC."

"Which means you said or did something boneheaded. The last place Meredith wants you is DC, so she wouldn't say that unless you gave her a good reason to say it." Amelia is confident in her statement, knowing that even if Meredith thinks Derek is better off chasing his dreams in DC, she's not going to send him back to DC the minute he shows up in Seattle unless he did or say something to aggravate her.

"Amelia," Derek sighs.

"Oh, come on, what did you do?" Amelia presses.

"It's really stupid," he admits.

"Well, I think all of your and Meredith's fights are pretty stupid and childish," Amelia retorts. She can't count the number of their arguments that have woken her in the middle of the night, their fights usually winding up in a circular endless pattern, revolting Amelia's brain. They almost always end with Meredith storming out of the house, too. So she's surprised it's Derek here and not Meredith, because she can't recall a time that Derek was the one to leave. Now she has DC as leverage, though.

He rests his head in his palms, and she can't recall she's seen Derek this upset over a girl. His tenth grade homecoming date stood him up, and he was pretty bent out of shape about it, but he was over it the next day. Heck, even with Addison, Derek didn't seem to have a problem flying across the country and sleeping with another woman after walking in on her and Mark. Amelia can tell that it's going to take Derek much longer than a day to get past what he and Meredith are going through, and he would never fly back to DC and pick up a random woman in a bar to relieve his pain, even if only temporarily.

Derek is a complete wreck, and Amelia wants to help him, if he'll let her.

"I just…" Derek finally sighs. "I'll never be good enough for her."

Amelia frowns. "I thought we went over this a few months ago, before you went back to DC. You have to live with the choices you make, we all do. You said you want to give her everything, but not if that interferes with you having everything you want."

"You don't get it," Derek scoffs. "She is my everything, but I'm not hers. She would rather be with Alex than me." He pauses for a second. "Or Owen."

"Owen?" Amelia tries to hide the fact that her heart has just started beating a million miles an hour at the mention of his name. "Uh, why Owen?"

"Never mind," he shakes his head. "It's stupid. I heard some nurses talking, and I really shouldn't let them get to me. I know the gossip mill around here is poisonous, yet I listen and I let it eat me alive."

Amelia laughs suddenly, not expecting to, but she can't stop herself. "Seriously, you shouldn't listen to the gossip mill. I heard a rumor going around that DC neutered you. I have a feeling that's not true, since Mom told me she heard you guys having sex while she was here."

Derek's cheeks redden. "I figured she heard us, but she told you? That's...embarrassing."

"No more embarrassing than your wife telling me about the bendy thing you did in...the shower!" The trailer's shower. Amelia gnaws at the tip of her tongue. Derek would surely want to know what she knew about the trailer's shower had she mentioned it. Luckily, she caught herself in time.

Derek's eyebrows raise. "She told you about that?"

"Unfortunately. Definitely not a picture I asked for," Amelia winks sarcastically.

"I didn't realize that our sex lives were on the top on her list for conversation," Derek says, a tiny smirk on his face.

"I'm pretty sure it's the only thing on her mind most of the time," Amelia insists, nervously pushing a strand of her hair behind her ear.

"I can't believe I let all of this get to me. I know Meredith would never cheat on me. It's just...hearing that Owen is lonely, and Meredith is lonely...it made sense in my head at the time. And Zola talking about Meredith and Alex sleeping together...I lost it."

"Please tell me you did not accuse her of cheating on you," Amelia begs, ready to smack him if he did.

"I left before I could," Derek confesses. "And I think she took that as me accusing her, but really I wanted to leave before I said something stupid I was going to regret. She's under so much stress already. I didn't want to start another fight."

"I see," Amelia inhales shakily. "Well, first off? Meredith and Owen? That's laughable. Meredith isn't the type of girl to sleep with her best friend's ex. Secondly, Alex and Meredith? That's an age-old rumor that's been going around the hospital since you left for DC. It's false, and those nurses have kids too who go to daycare with Zola, so of course that's where she heard it."

Derek breathes a sigh of relief, his neck bent back and his eyes aimed at the ceiling. "Thank God."

Amelia stands up and walks toward the doorway.

"Where are you going?" Derek demands.

"Preventing myself from losing another sister-in-law," Amelia replies bluntly, rolling her eyes. "I'm going to talk to your wife to explain that my brother is an ass who would never actually think she's a cheater."

His eyes dim. "I thought we were going to work on Beth's case?"

"No, you're going to work on Beth's case," Amelia corrects, quickly adding, "Page me when you know our next step." And she exits the office, leaving Derek to be Derek. As much as she wants to save Beth on her own, she knows she needs Derek's help on this case.

The halls are deserted, seeing as the night shift has just started. Amelia changes into her street clothes and then heads toward the main entrance.

She stops right in front of the sliding doors, frozen in her steps, when she sees him walking toward her. Her heart pulsates much faster than it's supposed to, but she can't control it. His shark blue eyes captivate her, sending butterflies to swarm her stomach. She's not supposed to feel like this. He's not supposed to do this to her.

Her breaths stagger, a small smile breaks his lips when they meet eyes. "Dr. Shepherd," he says in a gentle voice. They both look around, a couple nurses are standing at the main desk.

"Uh-hem," she swallows thickly. "Chief Hunt."

"I was hoping I would run into you," he says, his voice strong and professional. "Could I have a word with you in my office?"

"Of course," Amelia replies, trying to sound as professional as she can, despite how awkward she feels right now. She walks behind Hunt, unable to avoid studying every inch of his body. His reddish blond hair is a mess. He's wearing his dark green leather jacket and a pair of faded blue jeans. She wonders if he had planned on coming in tonight, or if he came because of her text message.

He leads her into his office. They've never actually done it in his office. It's too risky.

Owen locks the door and closes the blinds. Once the blinds are tightly shut, he smiles, coming at her. There's an awkward pause before he leans forward and kisses her. It's a tender and passionate kiss that takes her breath away. He gently pushes her dark brown hair behind her ear and strokes her cheek, a rush of euphoria gushes through her entire body. Amelia wants to melt into him and never let go.

But she has to pull away. She catches her breath, still gazing into his heartwarming eyes. Her heart pounds harder than it's ever pounded. Amelia blames Meredith for planting these horrible thoughts in her head. It's supposed to be fun. No strings attached. Nothing more. She's not supposed to be thinking these thoughts about him.

Why is she picturing how handsome Owen would look in a tuxedo, waiting for her at the end of the aisle? No! her conscience screams. She's nowhere near ready to even begin thinking about a wedding. It hasn't even been a year since she left James. She shouldn't be thinking these thoughts. And Owen isn't over Cristina yet. It's way too soon.

She breathes deeply through her nose, mouthing, "Derek is back."

He smirks, his hands moving down to her waist, and he pecks her lips again. "Yeah, I know. He saw your bra when he came over."

"He what?!" Amelia gasps, mortified, pulling away from Owen. She rolls her eyes. "Well, he must have thought it was Meredith's. That explains why he thought you and Meredith were sleeping together. And I was wondering where I left that…"

"He what?!" Owen echoes, clearly befuddled. "Why would he think I'm sleeping with Meredith?"

"Apparently it's what the nurses are saying now. You'd think they'd find something better to do than talk about my brother and sister-in-law's sex lives. I've heard plenty from Meredith, and it's actually rather boring. The nurses make it out to be like some nighttime soap on network television. Like that one medical show where all the doctors are sleeping with everyone. What's its name again?"

"Not sure, but isn't that the point of gossip? To make something out of nothing," Owen laughs, and he kisses her forehead.

"It's just, Meredith doesn't deserve this," Amelia admits. "I kind of feel bad for her. Oh...and she knows."

"Knows what?"

"About you and me," Amelia answers.

"You told her?" Owen looks a little stunned. Not angry, just surprised.

"She guessed. I guess we made it too obvious in the OR. I don't think we have to worry about her telling people. She's not the type to gossip, plus she has her own issues to worry about."

"Speaking of which, you knew about the baby and didn't say anything," Owen points out.

"She told you about the baby?" It's Amelia's turn to be surprised. In the scrub room, Meredith had asked her to not to tell him, then she'd gone and told him herself? Then Amelia remembers that Derek was apparently at Owen's trailer earlier. Had Derek told him?

"More or less," Owen sighs. "She sort of yelled it at me after I asked if she was taking antidepressants."

Amelia rolls her eyes. "Is it a full moon? Because I swear all the men in my life have turned into idiots."

"Believe me, I felt pretty stupid," Owen admits.

"You should," Amelia quips, turning toward the door to leave.

"Amelia," Owen stops her. She turns back, their eyes locking again, and somehow all the anger she feels toward him manages to evaporate. She can't be mad at him. Why can't she be mad at him?

"Yes?" she says, her voice hoarse.

"We should tell Derek. About us," Owen insists, and just like that, she shuts back down.

"Why?" she shoots. "Owen, we don't have to do this. I thought we agreed not to do this. We don't have to share each other's secrets. We don't have to come out to my family or your family. You don't introduce your sex friends to your family." You only introduce your boyfriends to your family.

"It's just, Meredith knows…"

"So? She and Derek can barely stand to be in a room for more than five minutes without fighting. I doubt she's going to tell him," quips Amelia. Owen frowns. Is that heartbreak in his eyes? Amelia sighs, "Owen, I have to go. I told Derek I'd talk to Meredith. I really don't want to lose another sister-in-law today."

He nods, a slight hint of understanding present in his eyes. "Okay."

She barges out of his office. Three nurses are standing outside whispering. At this point, Amelia doesn't care if she becomes the center of the gossip mill. She'll gladly take the spotlight off her sister-in-law.

"Caught me. I'm the one banging the chief!" she exclaims loudly, not oblivious to the nurses' widening eyes or a dumbfounded Owen standing behind her.

Amelia storms past them, on a mission to talk to Meredith.


Nicole's A/N: Many of you have asked about the person(s) that were in the bar when Meredith and Alex left. We didn't intend for that to be a specific person, per se. It was just the gossipy nurses. Sorry if you were expecting it to be someone more important. :)

Additionally, I know Amelia would never ask Derek for help on the show (cough). Though I would like to think that if it were Beth, she wouldn't be as stubborn. I think she would understand how important Beth is to her brother. Also, how cool is it that Owen/Amelia kissed shortly after we revealed they were together in this fic? Their relationship is obviously very different here than on the show, since we plotted this fic before 11x6 aired!