Chapter 45: Spilling the Beans
Derek glanced furtively at the nurses station where all his friends stopped by on their way to or from their shift and hoped to limp around the lobby unnoticed. Meredith drove him off to the hospital and although he nursed an ice pack between his legs all the time and as a result the pain subsided significantly, it unfortunately still prevented him from walking normally. But he didn't care. Meredith told him she loved him and that was worth the throbbing in his balls. If only he could avoid awkward questions from his colleagues…
"Shep, what happened to you?" Mark shouted over.
Shit, Derek bit his lip and turned bravely, trying to appear completely normal walking up. It turned unsuccessful as every step brought a wince on his features.
"Ah, the secret insatiable girlfriend," Mark lowered his voice when Derek reached him, but every word was clearly heard in the curious silence that followed Derek's painful arrival.
"Mark," he hissed. "Thanks for telling everyone I know; I thought I could trust you."
"Of course, you can trust me," frowned Mark.
"You have a girlfriend?" asked Izzie interestingly. "Who is she? Do we know her?"
"It's… no one you know," Derek assumed it was more convincing than an outright denial.
"Probably not," smiled Izzie. "You wouldn't be able to keep it quiet if she worked here."
"No, he wouldn't," added Miranda with a smirk.
"That's why you haven't been to Joe's in weeks," smiled Izzie. "You should bring her over so we can meet her!"
"Uhm, Iz, I think he wants to keep her, not scare her away," chuckled Cristina. "And he was visibly too busy…"
"I would really appreciate if you discussed my private life behind my back like you should, not straight to my face," said Derek dryly.
"Dr. Shepherd," a nurse addressed him. "There are some pages missing from Mrs. Connor's documentation-"
"I know," Derek quickly cut in. "Her medical history, I took it home by mistake yesterday."
"Oh, he's so head over heels in love," cooed Izzie.
Derek rolled his eyes and balanced his briefcase on his knee but the new position brought new amount of pain. He stumbled and the documents poured on the floor.
Mark bent down to help him and fished a little piece of paper.
"Derek Shepherd, indecent exposure, 600 bucks!" he boomed loudly.
Derek went all red as the lobby erupted in laughter.
"What did you do, Shep?" inquired Mark while Derek yanked the fine from his hands hiding it into his briefcase.
"Nothing!" came Derek's muffled response.
"Public exposure doesn't sound like nothing but if you have nothing to show off," smirked Mark provoking another gale of laughter.
"You have nothing to show off, Dr. Shepherd?" Slightly breathless Meredith appeared out of nowhere putting her briefcase on the counter and untangling a scarf from her neck.
Derek sent her a deathly glare silently promising to get back at her.
"We're just wondering what he did to earn a punishment for public exposure?" chuckled Izzie.
"I think you're giving him too much credit. I bet he just peed over a tree in a park," quipped Cristina.
Meredith burst out laughing with others until she almost had tears in her eyes.
Red all over his face, Derek grabbed his briefcase violently and limped away.
"I need a consult," he said while passing Owen Hunt. "Like… now."
"Okay," the major nodded arching his eyebrows.
"This better be quick," muttered Derek leading his colleague into an exam room with distress painting on his face.