Meredith found herself in a hurry, she had laid in bed later than she should. She just couldn't shake the conversation she had with Derek. It had been four days of avoiding phone calls and hospital halls with him. She was still unsure how she felt about everything, feelings that had resurfaced kept her down. As she drove through the rain that Seattle was known for, she parked in the parking lot with just enough time to make it to rounds without Bailey scolding her. She quickly got out of her car, going to the passenger side to grab her bag that had fell and emptied the contents all over her seat. She heard a car pull up beside her, she glanced up just enough to see who it was.
"Crap," she mumbled to herself, picking up all the things as fast as she could. She turned just as he got out of the car, slamming the door.
"Hi, I'm late," she managed to say before shutting her own door and hurrying toward the door.
"You're just avoiding me!" He said, calling after her as he tried to keep up.
"And I'm late," she said to him.
"Are we going to talk about what happened the other night?" He asked as he continued to follow her.
"No," she said, shaking her head.
"I told you how I felt and I thought we were getting somewhere," he said, following her into the elevator.
"Can we just forget about it?" She asked.
"That's not something you forget Meredith," he said, shaking his head.
"It is for me, and for you," she said, tapping her feet as the elevator continued to slowly move up.
"Why are you doing this?" He asked with a sigh.
"Doing what?"
"Acting like you don't have feelings toward me," he whispered.
"I don't," she lied. She couldn't be the intern sleeping with an attending.
"Liar," he whispered into her ear. She felt chills cross her body, feeling his breath against her skin.
"Why do you do this to me!" She groaned.
"It's the chase," he smirked at her.
"That chase?" She furrowed her brows as she looked at him.
"The fact that you want me and I want you, but you won't admit it. I'm doing something I should have done a long time ago," he said in a low tone, getting closer to her. Just then, the elevator doors dinged as they opened.
"You," she couldn't help but smile even though she wanted to scream at him. He had a devious smirk on his face as he watched her storm off to the locker room. She was the only one in there as she quickly changed into her scrubs. The door opened and Lexie came rushing in.
"You're late," Meredith laughed.
"So are you," Lexie hissed, "Dr. Yang is going to kill me."
"Cristina will be fine, I have Bailey to worry about."
"Why are you late?" Meredith asked.
"I have to stop sleeping with my boss," Lexie said with a groan.
"You're still sleeping with Sloan?" Meredith asked with a raised brow.
"He just makes me feel like I've never felt before,"Lexie sighed.
"For some reason, all the Shepherd's do that," Meredith groaned.
"Huh?"
"Mark is Derek's best friend, raised together like brother's," Meredith said, grabbing her stethoscope and roping around her before hurrying off.
"Are you sleeping with Derek?" Lexie said in a hushed tone as she followed her.
"Yes. No," Meredith said shaking her head, "long story."
"You know we are basically blacklisted if anyone finds out," Lexie whispered to her.
"Gotta go," Meredith turned and went the opposite way. She found her way to Bailey were everyone was walking toward the floor.
"Grey, you're late," Bailey said.
"Sorry I was just-"
"I don't care about excuses Grey," she replied, shutting her up. They went through and rounded on a few post op patients, landing in a room.
"Good morning Dr. Bailey," Derek said with a smile as they walked in.
"Who's presenting?"Bailey asked, ignoring him.
"Edward Levangie, 63 year old male admitted for pain management for dyskinesia," George started as he was reading off his chart, "he's been doing well since last night, responding very good to the bolus injections."
"Izzie, possible treatments?" Bailey asked.
"For Parkinson's disease, deep brain stimulation has shown very-"
"Not for Parkinson's, for spinal pain," Derek corrected, looking over at Meredith as Izzie stuttered. Meredith sighed, she knew the answer. He knew that she knew the answer.
"Interspinal catheter, that was he can get constant pain medication," Meredith said, looking over apologetically at Izzie.
"Excellent. Mr. Levangie, this is Dr. Grey. She's going to prep you for the procedure and assist," he smiled at the man on the bed. His pager started going off immediately.
"If you will excuse me, Dr. Grey will take excellent care of you," he smiled at the man before leaving.
"Next patient, let's go," Bailey said as all the other interns followed her.
"Alright Mr. Levangie, I'm going to make you as comfortable as I can. I have to go downstairs and prep. If you need anything just hit the call button," she smiled at him, turning to leave.
"Excuse me!" The woman who was with him said as she followed her out.
"My dad seems to really like you, he's always like skinny blondes," she said with a small nervous laugh.
"You need something?" Meredith ask.
"I was wondering if you would talk to him."
"About?"
"The brain surgery, the doctor mentioned it and I read about it online. If it works, it would help most of his symptoms and not just his pain," she stuttered, Meredith could tell she was extremely nervous.
"Is he a candidate?" Meredith asked.
"He is but he's afraid of it. Surgery on his back he can understand but brain surgery, I know there are risk but his quality of life-"
"There isn't any," Meredith sighed, shaking her head. She had seen many studies in med school on the procedure she talked about.
"It just keeps getting worse, I'm getting married next month and I already lost my mom, I just want him to walk me down the isle," she said as she started to cry. Meredith felt a pain in her chest, she knew exactly what the girl meant. It hit home as she lost her mother and didn't have much of a father other than Richard.
"I'll see what I can do," Meredith gave her a soft smile. She went down to find Derek, she wanted to find out all the specs of the surgery and how well of a candidate he really is. She searched the nurses stations, his office, and she finally found him. He was in the imagine lab with Bailey and a doctor she hadn't seen before. She waited until they dispersed, she went in when it was just him.
"Dr. Shepherd," she started.
"Dr. Shepherd? The other day it was Derek," he smirked.
"I'm trying to be professional," she huffed, the smirk on his face just made it worse.
"Mhm," he smiled.
"Mr. Levangie, is he a good candidate for DBS?" She asked.
"He is, great candidate actually. But he isn't interested," he shook his head.
"Ok but I think we should try again, I mean it would increase his entire way of life," she tried arguing.
"We are talking about a brain surgery that is preformed while the patient is awake. There is a risk of paralysis and a risk of death, plus the patient does not want it. It's not my job to push the patient into a procedure that he does not want," he said sternly
"But if you just-"
"No Meredith," he said. She thought about arguing but she just let it go. She turned and went toward the cafeteria, she needed to eat before the interspinal catheter.
"Heard you were late this morning," Cristina said as she came up behind her.
"It happens, you should have got me up," Meredith said as the two went to grab trays.
"I got here at 4am, you really wanted me to wake you up?" Cristina said.
"No," Meredith said, rolling her eyes.
"Shepherd is being a jackass," Meredith huffed, going to sit down at an empty table.
"What did you do this time?" Cristina chuckled.
"Nothing! We are doing an interspinal catheter later on a Parkinson's patient and I suggested we talk him into a DBS but he completely shut me down. One minute he's favoring me and the next he's blatantly dismissing me."
"What are we talking about?" Izzie said as she came sitting down being followed by George.
"Shepherd being an ass," Meredith said as she smacked on her carrots.
"I thinks he's great," Izzie said with a cheerful tone.
"You know sometimes I think you just want in his pants," Cristina chuckled.
"I do not, that is total intern suicide," she giggled. Meredith rolled her eyes, grabbing her pager as it started beeping.
"Gotta go," Meredith said, grabbing her half-eaten tray and throwing it away before going to Mr. Levangie's room.
"You page?" She asked as she entered the room, Derek was accessing him. He looked at her then back at him.
"Mr. Levangie, have you given any more thought into the other surgical option?" Derek asked, continuing his work-up.
"What? Why would I? I already told you no," he said, his shaking becoming progressively worse as he was getting agitated. "You are already cutting into my back but that isn't enough for you, all you guys ever want to do is cut."
"Dad, just listen to what the doctor's have to say," his daughter said, interjecting them.
"I already told you-"
"Sir, there is a very small window of opportunity for the procedure. Once the Parkinson's progresses to dementia, there's no longer an option for this surgery," Derek tried to explain.
"Is that when you guys will leave me the hell alone? Do I have to start drooling and forget my name to get some peace and quiet around here?" He said angrily.
"Alright, I'll talk to you later sir, try to get some rest before the spinal procedure," Derek said with a smile, trying to keep his spirits up. Her turned and walked out the door, leaving Meredith there.
"Dad, you're being unreasonable," his daughter started on him, "you won't even let the man talk."
"It's my damn life and my damn decision. You want them to cut into my brain and for what? I'll be at your wedding and sit in the back, your uncle will walk you down the isle. It's not ideal but it's life," he said.
"I know that," she said as she held back tears and quickly left the room.
"If she knows that, then what the hell are we still talking for, huh?" He scoffed, he sounded like he was genuinely upset as well. Meredith frown a bit at him.
"It is your life, but it's her life too, you know? You have a chance to try and get better and all she's asking you to do is try," Meredith said to him, raising her brow. She didn't want to upset him anymore but she knew she had to say something. She turned and walked out, leaving him alone to think. She turned when she heard him call out for her.
"We can do the damn thing but only today, if I leave here, I won't come back," he said surely.
"Ok, I'm going to go tell Dr. Shepherd," Meredith said with a smile. She quickly hurried down, he had a tumor resection scheduled with the new cardio attending Dr. Altman. She hurried as fast as she could, bursting into the scrub room.
"Dr. Shepherd, Mr. Levangie has agreed to the DBS but only if we can do it today. He said if he leaves he isn't coming back," Meredith said, trying to catch her breath, he looked over at Altman.
"Go on, it will be hours before we get to the spine," she said with a soft smile.
"Let's get this thing going," he said with a smile, turning and following her up to his room.
"What did you say to him?" He asked.
"Nothing, his daughter convinced him," she said. They quickly made their way up, not another word spoken between the two.
"Mr. Levangie, I hear you changed your mind," he said happily.
"Blondie over here helped me," he smiled at Meredith. She gave a smile back at him, looking at Derek who was giving her a look.
"Well I will go book and OR and Dr. Grey will prep you," he said with a smile before leaving. Meredith got him prepared, cleaning the sight and shaving off the little bit of hair he had. She got a page from Derek letting her know the OR was ready. She got a few nurses to help her wheel him down into the OR. She turned and went to scrub in where Derek was.
"Thought you didn't say anything," he said as he raised his brow.
"Nothing you wouldn't say," she smiled cheekily under her mask. He finished before her, going in and talking to Mr. Levangie while she finished scrubbing.
"It's a beautiful day to save lives," he said with a relieving sigh before he got started. He put his head into the metal holder to keep him from moving as he begin the incision.
"How you doing Mr. Levangie?" Derek asked as he was working. Meredith stood, watching closely as he removed a tiny part of his skull.
"I'm alright. Where's blondie?" He said.
"I'm right here, can't you see me?" She joked as she moved in front of him.
"I'm shaky, not blind," he chuckled nervously, "if anything goes wrong here, I'm blaming you."
"Well I guess I'll have to stand right here in front of you then," she smiled lightly under her mask at him.
"Ok, starting the drill," Derek said as a warning.
"He's going to drill a hole into the brain that controls the motor function," Meredith said as he tried to explain it to him.
"You can't see my brain from here, aren't you suppose to be learning something?" He joked.
"I'm good right here," she nodded, reaching out and grabbing his hands for comfort.
"Ok Mr. Levangie, this is going to sound scary but you won't feel a thing," Derek said, "take a few deep breaths and focus on the pretty girl."
Meredith watched, shaking her head as he started to drill into the mans head. She took a step back, the nurse stepped in and showed him a way to try and move his hands to see where exactly the point is that Derek had to go to.
"Like this Mr. Levangie, just keep trying," she assured him, motioning her hands. He got a little agitated, the shaking got worse as he tried to move his hand.
"You're doing great, the probe is almost in," Meredith said as she watched the screen showing where the probe was at the moment. It was only a few seconds before his shaking came to an almost complete stop, he was shocked as he was able to move his hands in the motion the nurse was showing him.
"I'll be a son of a bitch," he said, getting choked up as he kept doing the motions.
"Amazing," Meredith said in awe.
"That's great, your probably going to start feeling really tired now Mr. Levangie. I'm going to finish up here and get you up to recovery," Derek said happily, it worked. The man was going to be able to do things he hadn't done in ages and it was all in the hands of Derek. Meredith watched as he pulled everything out and started sewing him up. Mr. Levangie had fallen asleep just as Derek pulled the equipment off him.
"That was amazing," Meredith said in disbelief.
"The brain is such a mysterious organ," he said, getting everything ready for transport.
"It is, how one minute the man can't even stop shaking to do simple task and now he is able to stand and walk probably."
"Yeah, now you going to tell me what you said to him," Derek asked as they both wheeled him to recovery.
"Not a chance,"she giggled.
"Ok, listen I want to apologize," he started.
"Look, you can't let me scrub in when I haven't earned it and you can't treat me like crap when I haven't earned that either," she said as the two arrived at the elevators.
"Ok," he smiled weakly at her.
"And I'm sorry I called you a jackass," she sighed.
"What? You never called me a jackass," He chuckled.
"I did. Twice," she laughed.
"You did great today," he smiled as his pager started going off.
"Go scrub in on that tumor and let me know how it goes," she smiled at him.
"I will," he smiled back at her, turning to leave.
"I'll tell you something," Mr. Levangie croaked as he started to wake up.
"What's that?" She chuckled at him.
"If you don't marry him, I will," he smiled light up at her.
"What?" She giggled nervously.
"I see the way you two look at each other, he's crazy about you. Don't let that go," he said to her. She just shook her head, knowing he was right. Eventually she would have to forgive him because the man right here was right. He was the love of her life, always has been and always will be. She couldn't imagine her life without him 10 years ago and now that's he back, and she has a chance, she won't let that go.
"Alright Mr. Levangie, once we get up to your room, I'm going to let you rest and tomorrow we will get to practicing on that walking. You're going to need a lot of practice if you're going to walk your daughter down that isle," she smiled at him, trying to hold back the emotions she felt.
"Sounds good blondie," he laughed as they arrived into his room. She immediately went to change clothes, her shift was officially over and she was determined to make things right. She grabbed her stuff and drove down the street to her house. She searched her cabinets, finding a bottle of her favorite wine. She grabbed two cups, unable to find wine glasses. She stuffed them into her bag and made her way back to the hospital. It was pouring rain again now so she at in her car, waiting for him to come out. It was an hour before he came walking out, his head hanging low. She immediately got out of the car, going to stand in front of his. Her heart was beating out of her chance, she was taking a giant leap and not sure what the outcome will be. When he finally looked up and saw her, his frown turned into a smile.
"I know this place, it's got a beautiful view of the ferry boats in the water," she said, pulling out the wine from her bag.
"You remembered my obsession with ferry boats I see," he smiled, nodding at her.
"I don't want to miss another second of not being with the person who has made me happy from the moment I laid eyes on," she said. Instead of words, he leaned down and enveloped her lips into a deep, passionate kiss.
"I will never let you go again," he said to her in a whisper. She felt the weight lift from her chest, hearing those words from him made her feel like she was finally going to be happy for once in her life.
Author's note: we finally did it, we made it to the beginning of their new love story. There will still be some bumps along the way but hang tight and don't worry.
Again want to say how much I appreciate you all for doing what you do, the reviews and the likes. It just makes this girl so happy and more eager to write.