That night Meredith visited Finn at his apartment. As she walked in, the smells of home cooked lasagna and garlic bread greeted her, along with a smiling Finn.
"It's good to see you, how was your day?" he asked as he gave her a kiss on the cheek.
Meredith gave him a broad smile and dropped her purse onto a chair near the door.
"It was alright. Just another day of charts, rectal exams, enemas, and maybe a bit of surgery. But it's the rectal exams that just stay with you," she replied with a sarcastic grin as she made her way over to the counter to pour herself a glass of wine.
"Mmm, I can emphasize. Try sticking a thermometer up a bull terrier's ass. They tend to be a bit touchy about things like that."
Meredith laughed, their banter was light and fun, and he always made her laugh. For a man who had been through so much, he really had a great sense of humor. Maybe with all the pain that he had to go through, he chose the path that made the best sense. Life doesn't make sense, might as well laugh at its expense once in awhile. And who couldn't laugh at the irony of the fact that to make people, and animals, healthy that every once in a while you had to stick things in uncomfortable places?
Finn walked over to the stove and dished up two plates of lasagna and salad and put the garlic bread on the table. There were no candles lit, the lights weren't dimmed, and there was no romantic music playing in the background. It was simple, with no indication that this man's sole purpose was to seduce her and get her into bed. Meredith was ok with this, enjoyed it even, she had space to think, to get her head leveled after all the drama of the last several months, and she was able to do this with a man who put no pressure on her. She felt something for him, maybe not love, not yet, but she could see herself in a relationship like this.
Finn noticed the faraway look on her face and asked her about it, and she was caught off guard a little. However, she didn't want to comment on what she was really thinking. Instead, she brought up Derek.
"I scrubbed into a surgery today with Derek. He told me some things. He divorced Addison."
"Did he admit he was still in love with you?" Finn asked rather bluntly.
"Gee, you get straight to the point don't you?"
"It's what I do best. Other than cooking, sex, poker, and those famous rectal exams, of course. Now, you avoided the question."
"I think he was going to say that, but I stopped him before he said it. I don't know. I rather he not have explained it. I'm through with this, I've washed him right out of my hair," she said, hoping to put the issue behind her.
"I bet he's still in love with you."
"Finn, can we just move on? I don't want to talk about this," Meredith pleaded.
Finn grinned. "That's fine with me. This is an issue for you to think on. I like you, I really do, but it's clear that you were once in love with him; it's not uncommon to be a little … confused right now. Just be honest with me. And you do have a tendency to work yourself up into a tizzy, so just relax. Eat the food and we'll watch a movie later. I guarantee the food is good, at least I think it is."
Meredith laughed. "Yeah, it's good. It's been awhile since I've had any home cooked food other than the brownies and cupcakes that Izzie stuffs into me. And thanks. Really. By the way, it's your turn to choose the movie for tonight."
"Oh thank god, finally I get to watch something other than some chick flick."
