A/N: This was written for my 31 Days of Shipping prompt, Your Newest Ship. I finally caught the Grey's Anatomy bug and I'm in love with MerDer. This is the first time I've written them, so I apologize for any OOC-ness you may feel.

Beta work was done by Grammarly. The only thing I own in this little tale is the plot.

Be sure to let me know what you think!

Love always,
~starr

"He's an ass," Cristina muttered, throwing her scrubs into her locker as she slammed the door shut. She rested her forehead against the locker and took a few deep breaths. Kicking her foot against the baseboard, Cristina turned around and leaned her head back against the locker. "It was my idea to tell Shepherd to look for a bleed. Meredith only insisted that her fall could have led to the bleed."

"It's one surgery," Izzie replied, shrugging her shoulders. "Besides, I thought you weren't interested in neuro?"

"I'm not," Cristina huffed, shrugging her shoulders. "Cardio is my one true love, but that's a once-in-a-lifetime surgery, and Meredith didn't earn it. The aneurysm was my idea, so I should be the one scrubbing in on it."

"So go say something to Shepherd or Meredith," Alex chimed in, rolling his eyes. "At least one of them might care about your whining."

"Shut it, Evil Spawn," Cristina growled, pushing away from her locker. She made her way to the door. Even though she hated to admit it, Evil Spawn had a point; at least she could try to win back her surgery by talking to one of them. Maybe she could guilt-trip Meredith into giving it up. The thought brought a smirk to Cristina's face as she walked out of the intern lounge and began her search for Meredith.

. . . . . . . .

Meredith stood outside Katie Bryce's room, watching Derek as he carefully shaved her head. She nervously chewed on her lower lip as she mustered up the courage to walk in and say something to him. If he allowed her to scrub in because she slept with him last night, she needed to convince him to give Cristina the surgery. It was bad enough being known around the hospital as Ellis Grey's daughter. She didn't want to add 'the intern who slept with the attending to get the best surgeries' to her list of names that people referred to her as behind her back.

Taking a deep breath, Meredith stepped into Katie's room and slid the door shut behind her. She winced when Derek looked up at her and flashed his smile, the smile that made her weak in the knees, but she couldn't let him know that. Offering up a smile of her own, Meredith took a few steps closer to him and glanced down at Katie as Derek commented about what he was doing to her hair.

"I promised I'd make her look cool," Derek laughed, shaking his head as he continued to shave her head. "Apparently, being a bald beauty queen is the worst thing that can happen in the world."

Meredith snickered as she crossed her arms over her chest as she watched him for a few more moments. After a few moments of silence, she finally mustered up the courage to ask him the questions that had been lingering in the back of her mind. "Did you choose me for the surgery because I slept with you?" Meredith asked, her voice timid as she stared at him, intently waiting for his answer. It felt like her heart was about to pound right out of her chest, and no matter how many deep breaths she took, she wouldn't be able to calm her nerves until she knew the truth.

"Yes," Derek replied, looking up at her as he slid the stool around to the other side of Katie's head. The casualness of his response caught Meredith off guard, and she opened her mouth to reply, only to have him interject before she could say anything else. "I'm kidding," he replied, shaking his head in disbelief of her accusation.

"I'm not going to scrub in for surgery," Meredith replied, her eyes focused on his face. She wanted to hate him for the lackadaisical way he played off her question, but something in her heart wouldn't let her be mad. "You should ask Cristina. She really wants it."

Derek fought the nerve he felt to roll his eyes at Meredith's defense of Cristina and her desire to pass off an important surgery to her friend. He rested his hands on his thighs as he looked up at her, studying her face as he spoke. "You're Katie's doctor, and on your first day with very little training, you helped save her life. You earn the right to follow her case through to the finish. You shouldn't let the fact that we had sex stand in the way of you taking your shot."

Meredith was taken aback by his words, and she thought about what he said for a few minutes before turning and walking back out of Katie's room. She needed to get ready for surgery. Derek was right; she shouldn't be giving up her shot for some guy or because she felt like she needed to stand down for Cristina.

. . . . . . . .

"Meredith," Cristina called as she rounded the corner and noticed Meredith making her way towards the elevator. "We need to talk."

Meredith took a deep breath as she stopped mid-stride to turn and face Cristina. She crossed her arms over her chest and looked down at her feet as she waited for Cristina to approach. "What's up?"

"Katie Bryce's surgery," Cristina said, crossing her arms over her chest as she squared up to Meredith. "It was my idea to check for a bleed. I should be the one to scrub in."

"Shepherd picked me," Meredith replied, straightening her stance as she inhaled sharply. "She's my patient. I did the initial workup in the ER, so I'm scrubbing in."

"That's not fair," Cristina huffed, furrowing her brow. "The bleed was my idea."

"And Shepherd picked me," Meredith insisted, shaking her head. "I'm not giving up this surgery, Cristina. You can have the next one."

Meredith turned on her heel and made her way toward the elevator, refusing to look back. She knew Cristina would be upset with her, but eventually, the anger would fade. Cristina knew this surgery belonged to Meredith; she just needed a chance to realize it on her own.

She walked onto the elevator and let out a sigh as the door started to close. Meredith closed her eyes for a moment as she prepared for the elevator to start its ascent when she heard the door open once more. Slowly opening her eyes, Meredith noticed Derek standing on the other side of the door with a smile on his face as he stepped inside.

Meredith sighed, taking a step back to lean against the back wall of the elevator. "Dr. Shepherd."

"Dr. Grey," Derek replied, stepping up to her and resting his hand against the wall as the elevator door closed behind him.

"Is there a problem?" Meredith asked, batting her lashes as she looked up at him, a smirk pulling at the corners of her lips.

"Yes," he admitted, looking down at her and smiling as he watched her bite her lower lip. "The problem is," he whispered, leaning in close, "I'd like to kiss you. But I'm afraid if I kiss you, I won't be able to stop."

Meredith's heart began to race as she fought her body's desire to lean into him and press her lips against his. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. As she opened her mouth to say something, the elevator door pinged, and Derek stepped to the side, leaning up against the wall. He kept a steady eye on her for the rest of the ride.

This surgery was going to define her first intern year, which made her nervous. Meredith closed her eyes and rested her head against the wall. "Don't mess this up, Grey. You don't need to make things any more complicated than they already are."