Chapter 64: Civilized Talking
"You're heading to the practice again?" Carolyn asked as Derek strode into the kitchen the next morning. They managed to eat their dinner peacefully at the inn last night and to tell the truth, the evening ended quite well despite the unpromising beginning. The inn had a special atmosphere about it and more to keep his mind off things than anything else, Derek kept entertaining them with stories about the town, their traditions and inhabitants. Nobody bothered them seeing as Owen was being so attentive to them.
"Yeah," he nodded grabbing a slice of toast from the table. He looked at his mother and hesitated.
"What is it, Sweetie?"
"Mom, I… We haven't really got a chance to talk about what happened yesterday…" he took a deep breath. "But… I wouldn't want you to get the wrong picture."
"I think I know where this conversation is heading. I told you, I'm not going to judge Meredith."
"It's just, I've never seen her like that…" he sighed.
"Derek, please, don't explain her behavior to me. I've always thought I'm a good judge of character. I'll decide whether I like her or not when I get to meet her. Until now… I've only seen a deeply unhappy woman. God knows we all want to forget about everything and everyone around us sometimes."
"Do you know how much I appreciate you coming here?" he asked and went over to plant a kiss on her cheek.
Carolyn didn't have a chance to answer as peals of laughter coming from outside interrupted the flow of the conversation.
"What now?" she said suspiciously and hurried out of the house, Derek at her heels.
Amelia, Addison, and Mark stood in a semi-circle behind the SUV laughing uncontrollably and pointing at a dark mark on the car's trunk.
"Derek!" Amelia giggled at him, and he felt a dread of foreboding. That glint in his sister's eyes was not a good sign. Even Addison was shaking with laughter. "Is there another medical issue that you've concealed from us? Besides the lice, you know."
"What the heck are you talking about?" Derek asked sourly.
Derek came to look at the source of their hilarity he felt as though he was punched in the gut. There was black writing on his brand new shiny red wine-colored car. And not just any writing. 'Derek Shepherd, E.D.' had been scribbled by a very shaky, and probably drunk, hand, apparently with the aid of a permanent marker. A crooked asterisk had been added to explain to laymen that E.D. meant erectile dysfunction. Derek's jaw set tightly, and his knuckles went white, his face brightly red from humiliation. Bitch! He couldn't help that epithet from running through his mind. She was going to pay for that, as soon as he got her convinced that he wasn't a mendacious dirtbag of course.
"Meredith…" a strangled whisper came out of his throat. They didn't see the offensive and completely groundless inscription when they left the inn last night. Thank God, they spotted it before he went to town…
"Seems like the girls carried on with the party after they left," Mark snickered and then shook his head in a commiserating manner. "Man, you should have told me if you had any problems in that department. You know I'm an expert."
"Don't be ridiculous," Derek snapped at him. "I don't have any problems in that department whatsoever!"
"How do you know?" Mark fired off thickly. "You haven't had any since you left here last time. And no, jerking off in your hand doesn't count."
"You better watch it or you're gonna have to stitch up your own mug!" Derek hissed rounding on him.
"Whoa, man!" Mark threw his hands in the air. "It's not like I'm the one responsible for scribbling on your car that you have an erectile dysfunction."
"Poor girl, to be that crazy over a guy, Derbear of all people," chuckled Amelia. "And I'm going to need therapy by the time this trip is over."
"I need to see Meredith," Derek said as he unclenched his teeth and hurried towards the house to grab the car keys. "This is getting out of hand."
"Uhm, Derek," Mark cleared his throat, a smirk on his face. "You might want to get this off of your car first. Or you'll earn a reputation you'd really wish to avoid."
Derek growled out in frustration. "How? How do I get this off? It's a marker."
"Nail polish remover," Carolyn said simply.
"Really?" asked Mia. "That simple?"
"With six children one must know these tricks," laughed Carolyn.
"Look, Ma, I think you should stay in the car…" Derek started carefully when he pulled up by the practice.
"I disagree, I want to see the place that's so dear to you, where you're going to work."
"You will," he assured her. "But maybe today's not-"
"If I remember correctly, you were saying something about how great it was to have me here this morning…" she smirked. "Besides, I am your backup."
"My backup?" he couldn't help but chuckle. "What, are you handing out karate lessons now in your free time?"
"I will throw that line back at you when you're in prison next time," she quipped.
"That was a once in a lifetime experience." He rolled his eyes. At that moment, the door to the practice opened and Meredith walked out, wearing dark shades, and rubbing her neck as if it was stiff. An overnight bag was hooked around her elbow. Derek had been mad at her when he discovered her little stunt, but his anger had subdued on the way to town. Moreover, he knew perfectly well that any reproaches and angry words could only do more harm.
"Meredith!"
One hand on her jeep's door, Meredith flinched and slowly turned to him as he caught up with her.
"Could you, please, tone it down a notch? Or a few notches?" she pleaded quietly. Despite her sunglasses, he could notice her grimace.
"Sorry," he almost whispered as she put the back of her hand against her forehead. "Are you alright? Sorry, you answered that question profusely yesterday."
"Did… did I?" she asked and Derek could clearly read the nervousness in her voice. "When?"
"Yeah, you yelled it at me when you were leaving the inn with Cristina and Izzie," he said conversationally. "Which apparently you don't remember?"
"You were… at the inn? When?" Meredith went as white as sheet.
"We've had dinner at the inn last night," he explained just as Carolyn joined him at his side, with an encouraging smile on her face. The situation wasn't that bad so far, at least Derek and Dr. Grey were talking like civilized people.
"Oh," Meredith said feebly.
"You're not gonna ask me what you said?" Derek went on, guiltily enjoying watching her squirm as she strained her memory.
"I think it's better that I don't remember."
"It's not like you said anything embarrassing," Derek smirked. "Just that I'm constantly in your dreams."
"Look, whatever I might have said yesterday… I'm sorry," Meredith sighed, taking off her glasses to look at both Derek and Carolyn. "I truly am-"
"It was Cristina doing most of the talking."
"Then I'm sorry on her behalf… since I don't think there's a chance of hearing that from her…" For a second, she didn't know what to do or where to look under the combined blue gazes of Derek and his mother. "Now, please, excuse me."
"Where are you going?" Derek asked her with a frown as she pushed the sunglasses back on her nose and got in the car. "To a patient? I don't think you should be working today; I can go instead."
"No, I'm not going to see a patient. FYI, I've taken a day off," she explained patiently. "You know what, why don't you go to the practice and help out Owen. You wanted to work back at the practice, didn't you? Izzie has been a no show so far and I can't say I blame her."
"Mer-"
"Derek, I might have apologized to you, but that doesn't mean I wouldn't have said what I said when I was sober. I'd appreciate it if you moved out of my way. As you've noticed I feel like crap today. I could run you over. Accidentally… of course."
"You didn't mention the car incident," Carolyn remarked slyly when Meredith pulled off.
"I wouldn't have gained anything if I had," he shrugged. "Besides, I'm gonna get back at her when… uhm, later," he cleared his throat uncomfortably as his mother's raised eyebrows alerted him that he had perhaps blabbed a little bit too much. "So, why don't I give you a tour of the place?"
