She couldn't let him get close. If he gets too close, he's going to leave as everyone else did. This normally wouldn't be a problem since Dr. Shepherd has only been in town for two weeks. But for the past week, he has been unbearably annoying. He brought her coffee on Tuesday. And Wednesday. He tried to on Thursday but she avoided him by ducking into an on-call room. Each time he brought her coffee, he welcomed his charismatic smile and a genuine greeting along with endless attempts to strike a conversation. She said "good morning" back to him. Her responses were 1 to 2 words, enough to answer the questions but not enough to satisfy his curiosity.

Meredith was filling patient records that Friday morning. She sensed Dr. Shepherd's presence lingering on the surgical floor. God was this man intolerable. She was obviously trying to ignore him. But he doesn't get it does he? Men. She shakes her head.

"I didn't have time to get coffee today."

"What?"

"Coffee. I didn't bring you coffee." He leaned against the desk.

"It's okay, Dr. Shepherd. I wasn't expecting coffee… from you." She focused more intensely on her writing. Be nice, Meredith, be nice.

"Oh. Well, how about a coffee date?"

"What?" Now he was pushing his luck.

"C'mon, tomorrow morning. You and me. It'd be nice. To have someone to enjoy breakfast with."

"Enjoy it by yourself then."

"C'mon, I'm not that bad," he pleaded.

"Has it ever occurred to you that I don't want to get to know you?"

He frowned. She'll admit, he is cute. "You shouldn't ignore me."

"Why is that?"

"Because I'm someone you need to get to know to love."

"You really like yourself, huh?"

"Just hiding my pain." He replied blatantly but she sensed his discomfort.

Me too, Dr. Shepherd. We all have shit going on.

He tries again.

"Remember that jacket I gave you?"

"Yes, I do, Dr. Shepherd!" She was irritated. He was insufferable! "Do you want it back or something?"

His eyes widened. "You still have it?" Judging by her unamused expression, she wasn't having it. "No, I-" He looked taken aback. "I don't want it back. It was meant for you to keep."

"So what am I? Some charity case for you to pull the 'I'm a nice guy' on?"

"No, I-" he protests.

"Why the hell do you keep following me? We have a job to do."

…

He was in the elevator alone on route to the eighth floor. There was a kid in Pediatrics that needed a head CT. The enclosed space stops on the second floor. The door slid open and it was none other than Dr. Grey.

She walks in and stands a good distance from him.

"So we meet again, Dr. Grey?"

Unfortunately.

"Where are you going?"

"Fifth floor." She was unamused.

He thinks for a moment. "ICU?"

"Mm-hmm."

"Yes!" He made a celebratory fist. "I'm getting used to this place."

Congratulations.

"The rain is pretty heavy today."

How observant. If only you could realize I don't want to talk to you! "Typical Seattle weather."

"Not typical Boston weather though." He chuckles at his own joke.

"Haha. Very funny," she paused, "listen, I-"

The small enclosure went dark and the sudden halt made them both stumble.

"What the hell?!" she exclaimed.

"The power went out."

Very observant, Dr. Shepherd. She rolled her eyes. The darkness of the enclosure hid her action.

…

"Hang in there, Grey, Shepherd. The fire department is working on fixing the cables. Sit tight." Dr. Webber reassures two of his best surgeons.

She sighs. It's been… 20 minutes. He was rather silent. They were sitting on opposite sides of the elevator.

A few minutes later, he fills the silence. "You know. I was married before I came here."

Oh. Why did she care? About him, being sad. Not the marriage thing. Because why should she care about that? Her face feels hot by the thought of that.

"It was a rainy day. I had just gotten home from work. I had a gut feeling I knew what I was walking into but I didn't want to believe it. And then I found her screwing my best friend on my marriage bed. I tried to stay in New York. I tried to work things out. But I couldn't do it. I had to get the hell out of there. He was my best friend. And she and I were married for 11 years. I got a call from Richard-he was my mentor in med school- asking if I was interested in the job. And it was my way out."

"I'm sorry, Derek." He is a good guy, a really good guy. He didn't deserve that after 11 years.

"Yeah. So what's your story?"

"There's not much to tell."

They both remained quiet.

…

There was a bang. And the door was forced open by heavy tools.

"This is Captain Matthew Wellsley from the Seattle Fire Department. Is everyone alright in here?"

Meredith stands immediately. "Yes, we are both fine."

"Thank you, ma'am. Please step back for a second as we budge this door open."

"Wait Meredith," he grabs her arm, "before we get out, I want to say that it's impossible to not follow you… because we work together. But I keep following you because- I like you."

I like you.

"What?" She stares blankly at him. "No, you shouldn't like me." She shakes her head and twists her arm to escape his grasp. He let her arm drop.

"Why not? You're a great surgeon. You're smart and beautiful. I don't see why I shouldn't like you."

She takes a step back to distance her frustration. "Listen. You push, I fall back. You pull, I don't grab on. You don't want me."

"Mer..."

"We should get out of here."

a/n: She can't quite open up yet. But inside the shell she's hiding in, there's the hopeful little girl that dreamt of being extraordinary. Anyway, here's something to start off your weekend!