Chapter 32: Surprises at Seattle Grace

Derek heard his pager sound off and muttered to himself as he was hoping to slip into Meredith's surgery anyway. It was harder to fight a person off when you're supposed to stay sterilized. He, however, had to go down to the ER instead.

"You paged me?" He asked a passing ER nurse.

"Oh." She mumbled "They weren't supposed to page you yet. Your trauma isn't here yet."

"How is it that you know I'm supposed to be here at all?" He scoffed "What neurosurgeon on board assed the patient having a head injury?"

"The paramedic that said his head went through the windshield doctor."

Derek nodded but still wore his frown. He heard a ruckus of noise coming from one of the curtains. Someone was throwing a fit and shrieking as they tossed bed pans and emesis basins onto the floor. He turned to ask the nurse what was going on, but she'd already vanished. He walked over to the curtain just as a plastic pitcher got tossed through the curtain opening and over his head as he ducked. He felt irritated already, this wasn't how you acted in a hospital! He ripped the curtain open and was a little caught off guard to see such a little person kneeling on the bed.

"Hi." Derek said.

"Are you another stupid moron who works here!" she demanded. Derek frowned as he tilted his head to look her over. She had long waist length blonde curls that were tossed around in a messy manner and she was stick and bones skinny. She glared at him through her long lashes "Answer me!"

"Wow." Derek scoffed "You're a little angry to be so young."

"I'm nine." She muttered "I'm not young."

"Yeah, well I'm 29 and I'm not old." He retorted. Her eyes widened a little "What, I'm not."

"It's not old." She nodded "It's ancient."

"Hey." He scoffed as he folded his arms in front of him, there was something about her that he liked already, she had spitfire "I'm not pushing a walker yet."

"At least you have your looks going for you." She rolled her eyes dramatically.

Derek felt offended, and from a nine-year-old, which felt even more offensive "So what brings you here to the ER? Are you hurt or lost?"

"Neither." She muttered "I'm here looking for my stupid mother."

"Your mother is a patient?"

"No." she glared "My real parents died last week."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"It's their fault, my dad drives like a maniac."

"So they died in a car accident?"

"Genius!" she scoffed, Derek frowned as he suddenly got hit with a feeling of de-ja-vue "So, this social worker thought of the great idea of tracking my birth mother down and seeing if she miraculously would want me again before throwing me into the system."

"You're adopted?" he raised his brow and felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up.

"Duh!"

"So, where is this social worker now?" he asked, looking around and noticing that she was all alone.

"He followed a nurse off somewhere." She rolled her eyes "And I don't think he was looking for directions."

"Ah." Derek nodded, "So what is your mother supposed to be doing here?"

"She works here." She scoffed "Probably a janitor or candy striper or something. Can you point me to where the broom closet is?"

"I can't do that."

"Oh so everyone here is stupid then."

"I am a brain surgeon thank you very much."

"And people let you operate?" she scoffed "They should really get to know you first."

Derek found himself chuckling, he leaned over, placing his hands on his thighs for support as he looked her in the eyes. Her bright greenish blue eyes that were incredibly familiar to him, eyes that he loved waking up to every morning.

"I'll take you to your mother."

"You don't even know who she is!"

"Oh." He smirked "I'll bet you a hundred dollars I know exactly who she is."

Her eyes nearly popped out of their sockets as she gasped "Like on Benjamin Franklin?"

"Or two Ulysses S. Grants." He smirked. She grinned wide and stuck her hand out to him.

"Deal!"