Disclaimer: I don't own Grey's Anatomy, or any character, event, etc. associated with it. Still wished I owned Alex and McDreamy. Then again, who doesn't?

A/N: I'm so, so, so sorry for the lack of updates. I've been really busy and then my computer was being difficult. Hopefully I'll be able to get another chapter up soon. I'm workin on it, I promise!

Chapter 4: Stuck!

Alex looked at Mer. Mer looked at Alex, then slid her sinewy figure down the length of the wall. Another elevator incident. In the very same elevator where she had kissed McDreamy, flirted with and yelled at McDreamy, missed McDreamy and confessed to it, no less. But this was definitely not McDreamy. No, this was McArrogant, McCocky, McBastard, Mc—wait a minute, since when was Alex Mc anything? Mc was reserved for special occasions, and being stuck in an elevator with one of her fellow interns was not that. Mer tried to ignore the nagging voice in her head that something was off if she was thinking of Alex as Mc anything, even if it was McArrogant. But he had his moments where he wasn't (or not entirely) so bad, and deep down, she knew that beneath the surface was a man worth knowing. And caring about.

But, at that moment Meredith Grey would not allow herself to think in those directions, so she turned to Alex and shrugged. "Guess there's nothing to do but wait."

He looked at her, opened the phone box, and hit 9. "Hello. This is Dr. Karev. I'm stuck on the elev-what? I can't hear you. Hello? Damn it, I lost him."

"Oh, c'mon. There are worst things than being stuck with me in an elevator. I could be George."

"True," conceded Alex as he sat down across from her. "You know, we could always…"

"Shut up!" she replied, giggling.

"Would it really be that bad? I mean, from what I've heard, you seem to have a thing for elevators…"

"And you can't seem to perform in elevators, so that takes care of that, doesn't it?" Meredith regretted the cruel words as soon as they left her mouth. Harkening back to Alex's freezing up in the elevator was the last thing she had meant to do. But recently she seemed to be pretty good at doing exactly the opposite of what she wanted. Like hurting George. And McDre-no, Derek, with her confession. "Alex, I'm so, so sorry. I shouldn't have said that."

"No worries, Grey, if you tell me what's bothering you. You can trust me."

Meredith looked back at one of the few people she was ever completely honest with and sighed. Not looking at him, she began. "I had this dream last night. About McDreamy. I mean Derek."

Alex nodded encouragingly, knowing how hard it was for the woman sitting across from him. "I was in water, I think. Being held back, held down by these people I knew, but couldn't really see or recognize. I was trying to escape when I saw him. In his good-looking red shirt that he wore the night we met. I called for him and looked me right in the eye. But his eyes were so cold, like glaciers, not like my McDreamy. Then he takes someone's hand and I see Addison and they walk away, even though I keep screaming and crying and pleading for him to save me. I don't know what happens after that; luckily I woke up. But it was him walking away all over again. It was like reliving it, compressed and almost worse than reality. But at least I got to wake up from this."

Without a word, Alex stood up and walked over to her and put his strong arms around Meredith. He gathered her up and whispered, "It sux. It sux more than anything when the one you love walks away. But I promise you, Meredith Grey, there'll be a guy out there who won't, who can't walk away."

"Thank you, Alex," she said in a hush, leaning her head against his welcoming shoulder. "Thank you." So for a while they simply sat like that: two sad, lonely interns with only the other to understand the loneliness and emptiness that comes from being abandoned by one you love. In that elevator, though, both became a little less alone than they had been previously. Neither of them wanted to leave. Of course, neither of them said that. But who would want to leave the safety of a good friend?

The two were so wrapped in their thoughts-and the other's- that they didn't really even notice the gradual movement of the elevator. Thus it came as a slight shock when all of the sudden Bailey, the male Dr. Shepherd, Izzie, and Chief Webber appeared in front of them. Alex and Meredith hadn't moved, and so her head was still resting on his chest, her legs curled up and one arm around his front, the other tucked against the wall. As for him, his arms were both wrapped securely around Meredith, one snaked around her slender waist and the other in front, pulling her closer. It was to that unusual sight that the doors opened, leaving all viewing the scene (including Nurse Debbie, a notorious gossip) wondering.

The two interns got up quickly, Alex helping Meredith to her feet, dusting themselves off and avoiding the curious gazes of the outsiders. Instead, they looked at each other, Mer offering a weak smile as she walked out.

"You two okay, then?" inquired Bailey. For all her hardness, underneath it all she did give a damn about her interns, and knew these two were fighting something fierce.

"We're fine," replied Alex.

"Good, get to work then."

Izzie looked at them both, giving Meredith a long, disapproving glance. "Seriously," the blonde bit out, and headed toward the nurses' station.

Meredith and Alex began to walk toward their patient's room, when Meredith halted, spun around, and headed over toward where Izzie was filling out charts. Alex attempted to grab her, but she brushed him off. "Mer…"

But she ignored him, and instead went over to the tall blonde.