Disclaimer: Desperately wishing I owned McDreamy and Alex at the moment, but I don't. None of GA is mine. Yeah, I made the medical stuff up. Sorry if it's not good; that's not so much my strong suit, or point.

Chapter 9: Surprising Interlude

As Meredith Grey walked through the halls of Seattle Grace Hospital to pick up the labs for Mr. Jackson, she couldn't help but smile. And to think about everything which had gone on recently. The scene in the bar passed through her head, then his flirtations, his smile, and his gentleness in the elevator. Oh, and of course, Mr. Jackson's rather keen observation. Alex's smile, again. For the first time in quite literally months, there was a genuine contentment about Meredith Grey, one which radiated off of her.Some may even label it serenity, as if she had finally let go of some burden which had held her down. Which, for the record, she had. Or at least had progressed enough in doing so that it was no longer foremost in her mind. Instead, her concern for her friend had become front and center. But somewhere in the back of her mind, she knew Alex could and would do as much good for her as she for him. Fair relationship. Balanced, something her relationship with McDreamy hadn't been, probably couldn't have been, given the differences in age and position. With Alex, she was on level ground, coming from the same place, in more ways than one.

"Labs for Dr. Shepherd, please. Patient is Mr. Jackson," said Meredith to the lab technician, returning from her ruminations. The bald man behind the counter turned away briefly, snatching a stack of papers from behind him.

"Here you go," he said, handing her the results.

"Thank you," and with that, she smiled and began walking away. She started reading over them, her inquisitive blue-grey eyes scanning the papers, the numbers, the words for the information she needed. Absorbed in the results, she didn't notice the person heading towards her, or hear the sounds of clicking heels.

"Dr. Grey."

"Dr. Shepherd," she replied politely. "Sorry, I was a little absorbed," Meredith explained, realizing that she had bumped into her ex-boyfriend's wife.

"No worries. I know how that can happen. Interesting case?" replied the red-head.

"Yeah. The labs are a little different from what I would have expected, though. It's for Mr. Jackson, Der-, Dr. Shepherd's spinal tumor patient."

"It's okay, Meredith, you can call him Derek. What's so odd about the labs?"

Meredith half-smiled, then replied, showing the labs, "Well, if you look at these counts, and then this analysis, it doesn't really match up. And it definitely doesn't make sense compared with the scans, which indicated a malignant, growing mass. The patient also displays some of the symptoms which would be more in conjunction with a tabicular amphystosis in the spine. So none of it quite lines up. "

"Hmm," replied the older woman, thoughtfully. "You've made some good observations there, Grey. I'm sure Derek will appreciate them, and I have no doubt you'll figure it out soon. Nice work,"

"Thank you, Dr. Shepherd." With that, Dr. Grey nodded at the attending, then headed to find not the male Dr. Shepherd, but rather Alex, to share what she had found. Well, she had to find both of them, really. But if she found Alex first, then, well, she did.

Meanwhile, a number of people observed the scene with some interest. After all, this was the dirty ex-mistress conversing civilly with the wife who had taken the former's place. But for once, it didn't really seem to be an issue for either. In fact, the conversation hadn't bothered Meredith in the least; she was simply discussing discrepancies in a case with an attending, nothing more. Well maybe not quite nothing more, but mostly nothing more, which was a big step forward. As she turned the corner, she bit her lip, to keep herself from grinning a little bit. The truth was, though, that in those few moments, Meredith had begun to realize where she stood. The intern began to grasp that she was actually fine without Derek, and fine with not just Derek, but with Derek and Addison, together. Damn. For her, that realization alone was worth celebrating. And sharing. But there was no time for that now; she had to find Dr. Shepherd and figure out what was going on with Mr. Jackson.

Later, though, definitely later.