Thirty-Five

That was two. Two events he had missed. Goddammit. It was completely unfair. Meredith, who had not even been involved in the beginning, got to see everything. She saw them at Cristina's apartment together, and while Derek could not think of one sane reason for him to visit Cristina at her apartment, it was the principle of the matter that was important. Who had blocked all of his and Preston's attempts? That's right; it was Meredith. Yet despite her righteous, protective best friend crap, she got to see the kiss on the cheek too. It was not just her either. The entire goddamn hospital saw that kiss on the cheek except him.

God must hate him.

Meredith had laughed it all off, saying he was insane and paranoid. Derek was not insane. There was a conspiracy against him. Its sole goal was to stop him from viewing his accomplishment. Were they judging him for his motives? Okay, so he had started out just wanting to get the two of them back together so he could win Meredith, but he had helped Preston. He had talked to Cristina. His efforts had earned Preston his place in Cristina's arms.

To thwart the almighty powers set against him, Derek started to follow Preston and Cristina. Whenever he got out of surgery, he would find one of them and tail them around the hospital. After he got out of work, he would wait outside until one of them left. Yes, he was quite aware stalking was illegal, but he was not stalking them per se. He was recording the events of his triumph and to do so he had to witness said events. The secondhand stories he heard from Meredith or Preston would not satisfy his need.

For over a week, Derek relentlessly pursued Cristina and Burke, individually, together whatever. He had come up with absolutely nothing. Sure, there had been handholds and kisses on the cheek, but someone had already seen that. Those were not the firsts. They were the I'm already comfortable with this seconds, thirds, and who knows how many. Every spare moment of his time, he followed them, but they were so tame where he could follow them. With the new weather, Preston had somehow coaxed Cristina to the park where they would study, but of course before Derek they would be disgustingly chaste.

Today he was following Cristina. She had left for lunch, presumably to meet Preston or so Derek hoped. Most of her friends were in surgery or stuck in the clinic, and she must have had extra time. Derek buttoned down his coat and followed about fifty feet behind her. The crowds must have been enough to block him from view because she did not seem suspicious at all. Perfect, it was all coming together now.

Cristina walked into the doorway of a building. That was strange. It was an apartment building, but certainly not Preston's or hers. What if she was meeting another man? Was this his punishment for stalking people? Derek hurried forward, pushing his way through the crowd. Hopefully, she had not already walked in. Then Derek saw her talking on her cell. She must have ducked in to escape the noise of the pedestrians. Maybe Meredith was right. He was becoming paranoid. See this is what being absent during the development of the relationship did to him.

Derek tried to slow down. His stalking plan would be ruined if Cristina spotted him. There was probably something in the Stalker's Handbook that frowned on that. Unfortunately, the pull of the crowd was too much and he was propelled forward. She looked up, and he knew she had spotted him. Shit. Cristina did not look happy, and he, after all this time, was still a little afraid of Cristina. He bet that she could take him if she wanted too. Her eyes narrowed. Oh, he was so screwed now.

He ducked into the doorway to meet his fate. "Hello Cristina! Funny to see you here. How are you?" His voice was bright and cheery.

And she saw through it. "Were you following me?"

"Of course not. We just happened to be taking the same path through Seattle. You know what they say about great minds thinking alike."

"Okay." He breathed a sigh of relief. "So where were you going?"

He scanned the area. "There's that Starbucks right there. I just wanted some coffee."

"We have coffee at the hospital." Good point.

"I was craving Starbucks?"

"So you were following me. Don't you usually stalk Meredith? If you're starting on me I'd appreciate you letting me know, so I can stop using the elevators."

"I wasn't following you." He tried to sound adamant.

"Right and that wasn't you last night or Monday morning either." He thought he had been sneaky. Damn.

"Er…um I have an evil twin who was still blessed with wonderful hair?"

"Says the man with four sisters."

"Fine. I give."

"Wise choice. Stop following me and Burke. I don't think he's figured out that it's you yet and I think Mere— he would be upset if he gave you a trumpet case to the face."

Derek stood there sputtering for a moment. Cristina took that as his assent and walked back into the crowd. Within a minute, she had disappeared in the lunch rush. Wait, she had said Mere. She had not caught herself in time. God, he had been so obsessed with getting Preston and Cristina together; he had completely forgotten about him and Meredith. Hope for Preston and Cristina gave him and Meredith a chance. Still, he should follow through. This was the third time he was chasing Meredith, and she would be much harder to crack. It would probably take Preston and Cristina at the altar before he could have Meredith back.