Chapter 37 – Just a scare
Meredith managed to stay focused throughout the surgery she had scrubbed in with Derek. She was so focused that she didn't even notice that Rose had been one of the scrub nurses.
Nurse Rose didn't do anything to draw attention over her either.
The other people in the OR, same as those from the gallery, looked for something special to happen between the dirty nurse and the cheated intern. Derek saw Rose as he stepped into the OR and just then he shot a quick glance at her. Meredith looked calm; she either hadn't seen her or she was ignoring her; either way, Derek was satisfied that he could do his work in proper condition.
Time flew by and the surgery ended flawlessly. He asked another intern to close up the patient as he wanted to give Meredith further indication about their patient's treatment.
They were scrubbing out and Derek had just gave her the last indication when he looked up at her, waiting for her approval, and found her staring through the glass, inside the OR. So she hadn't seen Rose, he understood then.
"Meredith," he called out her name, asking her attention.
Meredith stirred and looked at Derek, nodding her head. "I understood."
Derek grabbed a towel and looked around them to see how much privacy they had. He leaned against the sink, wiping his hands, and told softly asked Meredith, "Are you alright?"
"I am fine," she replied simply, although not sounding very convincing.
"Mer," he begged for attention a little bit more.
Meredith was not willing to give him more attention as she knew what he wanted to talk about. "Everything is fine, Derek. I have to go and write Mr. Carlson's chart." Without any other word she walked out the scrub room, leaving Derek disappointed.
Meredith had acted in different ways that morning, especially since she found out it was Rose who kissed him, and Derek had trouble understanding her now. 'At least she knows how to be professional,' he said himself as comfort.
Meredith had found an empty conference room to sit and write Mr. Carlson's chart. She was just writing down the last notes when the door opened and Cristina walked in with her chart, apparently also looking for a quiet place to sit and write.
"Something good?" Cristina asked, looking at Meredith's chart, as she sat down across from Meredith.
Meredith didn't pay attention to what Cristina had looked at, so she misunderstood her question. She put the pen down, shut the chart and sighed, saying, "I don't know."
"Didn't you just write it?"
"What?" Just then, when Cristina glanced again at Meredith's chart, she understood. "Oh. A craniotomy. He has a good prognosis."
Cristina nodded, not so interesting in Meredith's patient anymore. She lay back in her chair and flipped her chart open. She started scrambling slowly in it.
Meredith noticed Cristina's absence in her work. Normally, despite her mood, she would have asked her and talked to her about what was bothering each other. This time, she didn't seem interested in a conversation like this.
"Cristina? What's your primal instinct?"
"My primal instinct?" Cristina asked, surprised with the unusual question.
"Yes. What do you feel like doing when something or someone pisses you off to the limits?"
Cristina took a moment to think about this. "You know me pretty well. What's your primal instinct?"
"I wouldn't have asked you if I knew," Meredith groaned. "Your first impulse is to attack people."
"That's not true," Cristina contradicted.
"You attacked that guy when we were in Boston," Meredith pointed out.
"That was one time. I usually give sharp replies. I am good at it."
Meredith thought about that and it was true indeed. When someone was pissing Cristina off she was fighting back with sharp replies, almost making the other people cry. Could that be considered a primal instinct too? It didn't suit Meredith anyway.
While Meredith was meditating over this, Cristina had gone back to her writing. Meredith noticed the absence in her presence again.
"What's going?" she asked her.
Cristina paused briefly to look up at Meredith. "I am writing."
"No. What's going on with you? How's Burke?" she asked, somehow suspecting he could have something to do with Cristina's mood.
Cristina glared at her chart as Meredith put that question and Meredith knew she was right.
"Cristina?"
Cristina looked determined to ignore her.
"Cristina!" Meredith insisted.
"We broke up!" Cristina snapped.
Meredith was taken by surprise with this answer. "Why? You two fought?"
"We didn't fight. I fought with him and I broke up with him."
"Why?"
"Does it matter?"
"It matters because it doesn't look to me like you were the one breaking up with him."
"It was me. He decided to leave to another hospital and I decided to let him go," Cristina replied dryly.
Meredith was staring at her, dumbfounded. "You broke up with him because he doesn't work in the same hospital with you anymore?" Cristina didn't answer to that. "Cristina, did you actually sleep with him because he was the head of cardiology here at Seattle Grace? Did you use him?"
Cristina groaned, rolling her eyes. "Let's dramatize now. What's so shocking in this? What? Are you going to tell me now that you and McDreamy are in love with each other?"
"We are," Meredith snapped, offended by her friend's presumption.
"Seriously," Cristina laughed sarcastically. "I played along with you because you seemed to enjoy this game, but I see that you're dreaming now. Ask yourself again if you really are in love with Shepherd and think carefully about the answer."
"I don't have to ask myself anything," Meredith retorted, already pissed with Cristina's attitude.
"Sure. You accept to live in a place where the address is 'Middle of Nowhere', number 'Right after the third tree on the left' because you're in love with this guy."
"Do you know me at all?" Meredith asked in disbelief. "When our immunology teacher was hitting on my in College in Boston, I turned him down several times though he was young and very attractive. The grades I received that year, I received them because of my knowledge. I deserved them. Each surgery I scrub in here, I deserve it. It wasn't just once that Derek left me out of the surgery because I misdiagnosed the patient. You already know all these."
Cristina wasn't writing anymore but her eyes were fixed on the chart. Meredith waited for her to admit she had been wrong. She knew Cristina wasn't the person to say 'I'm sorry' and therefore, she wasn't waiting for an apology. She was waiting to say at least 'I know'.
Cristina didn't seem like she was going to say anything any time soon as she started writing again and Meredith felt like she was standing in front of a stranger. She could not be more disappointed than this. She stood up from table and waited another moment. As Cristina didn't show any change in her attitude, Meredith picked up her chart and stormed out the room.
---
George and Izzie were sitting at the same table with Meredith and both were watching her how she stabbed the salad each time she directed the fork in it. It was plastic fork, but it still looked dangerous in Meredith's hand.
They ate in silence until Izzie couldn't stand it anymore and wanted to be helpful. She firmly grabbed Meredith's wrist and when Meredith shot her a glare she gently put it down, holding it against the table. "Meredith, he loves you and anyone can see it. You have no reason to be jealous over an insignificant kiss."
"She's right, Mer. He loves you and respects you without a doubt," George reassured her also.
Meredith sighed and let the fork drop from her hand. Just then Izzie released her wrist. "I know."
"Derek is a gentleman," Izzie said. "You said he grew up with his mother and his sisters, so he knows how to respect women."
"I know that too," Meredith answered. "I am having a bad day."
"We all have bad days from time to time," George stated, thoughtful.
Just as she glanced up, Meredith's eyes locked on someone and her look turned into a glare. "I am double pissed now," she muttered. "Izzie?" she asked without letting Rose out of her sight. She watched her buying herself a coffee and chatting with another nurse. "What's your primal instinct?"
"My what?"
"What you feel like doing when someone pisses you off?"
"That depends on how pissed I am," Izzie answered. "Usually I tend to physically attack that person. I am not aggressive, but if that person deserves a punch then I offering it. Why are you asking me all these?"
George paid more attention to Meredith than Izzie and he followed her glare, guessing what was about as he spotted Nurse Rose. "Don't give her any idea, Izzie."
"That's what I feel like doing too," Meredith muttered.
"Do you want to beat Rose?" George asked.
"Please announce the whole cafeteria, George," Meredith rolled her eyes.
"Meredith, you will get into serious trouble," George warned her.
"I think she deserves a scare," Izzie took Meredith's side.
"That's right," Meredith nodded. "I don't want to beat the crap out of her, but I have to make understand that I won't just stay and see how she continues to hit on my husband."
Meredith saw the way Izzie was grinning at her. "What?"
"You're so passionate of each other. I honestly envy you," her friend stated.
"Do you really believe this?" Meredith questioned.
"I do and anyone can see," Izzie stated, looking at George for his approval.
"That's right," he nodded his head.
"Because there are still people who believe that I am staying with him to get favors at work," Meredith grumbled, remembering Cristina's words. Though she knew she didn't really believe that, but she couldn't forgive her for saying it.
"Whoever thinks that must be jealous," Izzie reassured.
And Meredith had no doubt that Cristina was just a little bit jealous of her. Cristina was very competitive and focused on her career, willing of sacrifice anything to get to the top. Cristina was that type of person of which Meredith considered she shouldn't have a baby.
"I will help you," Izzie offered to help Meredith scare Rose. "When do you want to do it?"
Meredith watched Rose leaving the cafeteria alone. "As soon as possible. I need something to cheer me up a little."
"Let's go then," Izzie stood up, determined to help Meredith.
"You can't be serious," George looked at them, dumbfounded, when he saw them stand up.
"Don't piss me off too, George," Meredith warned him jokingly.
Meredith and Izzie went upstairs on the surgical floor, where Meredith got in a supply closet and Izzie stayed on the hall, waiting for Rose to pass by. They had to wait for a little while and Meredith was getting impatient inside the supply closet. She even started considering if it was right what she was doing or not.
"Hey!" Before she could take a decision, the door opened and Rose was pushed inside.
Now, being face to face with Rose, Meredith took her decision.
"Dr. Grey," Rose said, surprised, and that was all she could say because in the next second, Meredith pushed her against the wall.
"I am tired of you. I am tired of seeing after my husband all the time. Look at me very careful; I might be shorter than you, but I am a jealous wife and a jealous wife can be very unpredictable and dangerous. I won't hurt you. At least not within the walls of this hospital, but I will do it outside if it's necessary. Take this as a threat because I mean it."
Rose's eyes were huge with fear and her voice was shaking when she tried to say something. She couldn't say more than an "I…"
"If you are going to report this to the Chief I will let everyone know what a slut you are and by this I mean I will lie and make you look even more ridiculous than you look now after the scene you made with Derek. And listen to me; none likes to work with filthy people." She shook her one more time against the wall and let her go of her.
"I am sorry," Rose begged quickly, her voice trembling. "I was drunk and… I swear I am not after you husband."
"Allow me not to believe you. Since the first day he came into this hospital you spotted him," she replied and Rose had to remember the time when she and Meredith shared their passion for the hot doctor, Derek Shepherd, without knowing back then that Meredith was his wife.
"I am sorry," Rose apologized and by her trembling voice she sounded sincere. "I was going to apologize for what happened last night. I tend to do stupid things when I am drunk."
Meredith felt a little sympathy for Rose in that moment. Maybe she was honest when she said it was a mistake and she was sorry. She had done some stupid things while she was drunk too, though some of those stupid things proved to be the best thing in her life. Meredith decided to calm down. She was ready to forgive her but not forget.
She took two steps back to give Rose space to leave the small room.
Rose, still shaking, smoothed her scrubs and walked to the door, stopping before opening it. "I am sorry," she apologized quietly. Meredith nodded once and waited for her to leave, but Rose opened the door just a little and then shut it back. "She won't hurt me, will she?" she asked, afraid of Izzie.
"She won't," Meredith reassured her and hid her amusement.
Rose stormed out the room then and hurried past Izzie. Izzie walked in, curious. "What happened? She's not bald. I didn't see any bruised eye or lip. You didn't even yell at her."
Meredith realized just then that she hadn't yelled at Rose as she had wanted too. Instead, her voice was threatening enough to scare her.
"We're in a hospital, Izzie," Meredith giggled, cheered now. "Handcuffs can be very uncomfortable."
Izzie laughed. "Do you think she wet her pants?"
"I hope so," Meredith laughed.
---
Meredith was in the locker room at the end of that evening, ready to leave, when Derek walked in. He looked around, pleased to see that Meredith was alone. It was also a late hour and most of the interns had left or were doing their night rounds.
"Hi," he smiled.
"Hi," she smiled back. She stood up, put the bag on her shoulder and walked up to him, taking his hand. "Let's go home. It was a long day," she sighed, resting her head against his shoulder.
"It was," he welcomed her into his arms and walked together from the locker room. "Are you better now?" he asked her, obviously referring at the Rose subject.
Meredith smiled at him and answered, "It was just a scare."
"Not a big scare though," he wanted to reassure her that she had no reason to scare.
"Minor," she smiled. "Derek? What's your primal instinct?"
"My primal what?" he asked her, amused.
"Why is everyone finding this question unusual?" Meredith rolled her eyes.
"Because you don't hear it very often. Or ever."
"Ok, but what's your primal instinct?"
Derek looked at her, confused with her curiosity, but as Meredith seemed to insist in receiving an answer, he thought about it. "Because we're some sort of animals too, I guess… defense and attack when we feel danger. And sex."
"Sex?" Meredith giggled.
"Yes. Sex can be considered a primal instinct too. It comes by nature since the beginning of the world."
"Hmm," Meredith found interesting his answer.
"Why? Do you have other primal instincts?" he laughed.
"No," Meredith giggled.
"I thought so too," he laughed, wrapping his arm around her waist. "Let's hurry home because one of my primal instincts might start shouting at me soon, asking for a repeat of the past night."