Chapter 8: Unhappy Meeting
Making love to Meredith was never a problem for Derek. Everything about kissing her and touching her came natural for him. The way their bodies fit together, the way his hands could make her moan and tremble in satisfaction. It was like a dance he had memorized. He knew by heart the spot slightly above her collarbone, that if he kissed just right, would cause her tension to ease. There was a spot just below her navel, that if he teased correctly, rendered her completely vulnerable. He knew these spots, and others, like the back of his hand. He knew how to thrust at the right tempo as she was climaxing, to cause her to call out in pleasure just a tad louder.
No, making love to Meredith was never difficult. It was the other stuff. The talking, the communicating, the sharing, the trusting. He couldn't seem to get that part right. As he led her out of the hospital and drove her home. Neither wanted to ruin the perfectness of the moment. They both chose to remain quiet until the bedroom door was closed and locked securely behind. He pushed her towards the bed with more desire and determination than he felt in a long time. The anger, sorrow, grief, and frustration from the last week were evident in his forceful kiss and her aggressive hands as she pulled him closer to her, desperately needing him inside her.
They did that dance that Derek knew so well. Naked bodies becoming one, unspoken needs being satisfied. After reaching his peak of pleasure shortly after Meredith's, he collapsed next to her, both out of breath, both heart's racing frantically. They stared up at the ceiling, small smiles hidden on both faces.
A few minutes passed and their worlds slowly started crashing back down to reality. Derek knew things should be said. He should apologize more; make sure she had really forgiven him. Make sure things between them were right.
"Mer?"
"No. Not now. Don't ruin this." Meredith spoke between breaths. Still coming down from her orgasmic high.
"Okay." Derek nodded and wrapped her in his arms, content to let what they had just shared, speak for itself.
Meredith reached over and turned the alarm off without opening her eyes. She felt different. Somehow lighter, happier. A smile spread across her face when she recalled the events from the night before. The priceless look on Dr. Zeta's face. The amazing sex she had with Derek. Falling asleep in his arms just felt so right. She hadn't realized just how much she had missed it for the last week. Maybe they were fine. Maybe things would work out with him being chief. She could be patient. He was worth it.
She opened her eyes and found the spot next to her empty. Meredith rubbed her eyes and reluctantly got out of bed to head for the shower. Her shift started in an hour, she still needed to get Carwyn up and ready too.
A small, torn piece of paper caught her eye as she headed to the bathroom. It sat on her dresser under her discarded pager from the night before. She recognized Derek's sloppy doctor handwriting immediately.
Meri
Lunch in my office?
I love you! ~ Derek
Meredith know the note meant he wanted to meet her for lunch. They hadn't talked last night. They really didn't needed words for what they did, but she knew the air needed clearing. She couldn't help but think it would be nice to have lunch with her boyfriend. Meredith's smile remained on her face as she showered and got dressed.
Meredith was apprehensive walking into Seattle Grace. She knew Dr. Zeta wasn't the type to back down so easily and worried what the day might have in store for her. She was relieved when Cristina informed her that Dr. Zeta had relieved her of her services, and she'd get to work with Cristina on her cases for the day.
She'd raised her brow at Meredith's obvious relief but didn't inquire any further because of the lack of privacy. They found a moment alone in the scrub room, after performing a minor procedure Cristina let Meredith scrub in on.
"So, what's with the sudden bright n' shiny? You're all smiley and happy. I thought you were going to hug me when I told you that you were off Neuro." Cristina stared her friend down skeptically, curious to the sudden mood change.
"The Neuro Queen apparently has a thing for the Chief of Surgery and …" Meredith let her voice trail off, knowing she didn't need to explain any further.
"Ahhhh. So that's why she kept requesting you." Cristina nodded knowingly. "So, what happened? Why didn't she request you today?"
"The Chief of Surgery happened to be working late as well last night and… lets just say… he put the Queen in her place." Meredith repeated as best she could word for word what Derek had said in the hallway the night before.
"Seriously?!" Cristina couldn't help but laugh. She personally decided she didn't like Dr. Zeta the second she met her, but this only solidified things.
The two women finished scrubbing out and headed towards the nurses station.
"Do you wanna grab lunch? Or are you still against eating with your boss?" Cristina asked sarcastically and grinned smugly, still loving to rub in the fact that she was Meredith's boss.
Meredith rolled her eyes and shook her head. "As tempting as that sounds, I'm supposed to meet Derek. Page me if you need me." Meredith replied cheerfully, earning a scoff from Cristina.
"Just try to keep the screaming down." Cristina chuckled to herself as she headed in the opposite direction.
"Cristina! We're only having lunch." Meredith called back.
"Whatever!" Cristina threw over her shoulder before turning a corner.
Meredith giggled and hurried to the locker room, wanting to put a fresh scrub top on before finding Derek.
Meredith hurried out of the small bathroom after freshening up and loaded up her pockets with her usual garb: pager, cell phone, pad of paper, black book of pharmaceutical terms. She checked her reflection once more in the tiny mirror on the inside of her locker door, before raising her hand to slam it shut. Just as she was about to close it, another small white paper caught her attention. She furrowed her brows and looked around her. She was sure it hadn't been there earlier; she would have seen it when she was exchanging tops. She smiled slowly, thinking it must have been Derek, leaving her another note about lunch, and didn't think much into it as she retrieved the paper and carefully unfolded it.
Meredith's heart lurched and beads of sweat sprung to her forehead as her eyes raced across the neat, perfectly spaced letters.
Roses are Red, Violets are Blue.
It's only a matter of time until I come for you.
She crumpled the small paper in her hand and slammed the locker shut with the other. She reached for the garbage can, but stopped herself just as she was about to add the note to its contents. Even though she kept repeating in her mind, It's just a dumb joke, It was probably placed in the wrong locker, a fear returned inside of her. The same fear the last note had evoked and the same fear that crawled across her skin when Mr. Luckabee had bid her farewell at Joe's over a week ago. She brushed that incident off, as well as seeing him watch Derek and her drive away, as the effect of her alcohol consumption. But now she couldn't shake her uneasy feeling. Maybe she should tell Derek. He'd know what to do. Meredith stuck the crumpled piece of paper in her pocket and hurried out, now even more eager to find her boyfriend.
"Excuse me? Is Dr. Shepherd in his office?" Meredith asked the new secretary, seeing as it would look peculiar for the intern to barge right in the Chief of Surgery's office.
"No, I'm sorry he's not. Do you have an appointment?" The secretary answered, furrowing her brows as she searched the schedule in front of her.
Meredith frowned, not sure how to answer. "Um, no… not really… I just… need to talk to him…" Meredith let her voice trail off as an older woman with grey hair approached. Meredith noticed her blue eyes were familiar and struggled to place her.
"Dr. Shepherd please." The older woman demanded authoratively.
"I'm sorry Mam, Dr. Shepherd's in a meeting upstairs. Can I take a message for you both?" The secretary asked overwhelmed.
The grey-haired woman didn't give Meredith a second glance before going on annoyed. "I don't know about her, but it's imperative that I see him as soon as possible."
Meredith studied her carefully before gasping in shock when she recognized the woman from photo, she had seen a while back in Derek's trailer. The woman turned to Meredith and looked her up and down oddly, waiting for the surprised woman to explain her sudden shock.
"Oh, I'm sorry! I almost didn't recognize you from the old photos. I mean... it's not that you're old… um I mean…. It's just the photos were faded and small….. Sorry." Meredith cursed herself for rambling on. She took a breath and braced herself for what might come next. "Hi, I'm Meredith. Meredith Grey."
She waited for understanding to register in the woman's cool blue eyes, but they remained blank, staring impatiently back at her.
"Oh… um, you have no idea who I am, do you?" Meredith's face reddened part on humiliation, the other pure anger.
"No." She said bluntly. The woman turned back to talk to the secretary again, but Meredith didn't wait around to hear. She was fuming. Her heart pounded to a fast rhythmic beat as she hurried down the hall and towards the elevators. She needed to get out of there. She couldn't believe what just happened. How could a brain surgeon be so stupid? Meredith wasn't so sure she'd be able to forgive Derek this time.