A/N: Many of you wondered if you'd get to see Meredith and Derek at Joe's...Well, I bet you'll like this chapter!

Chapter 5

The empty shot glass hits the worn-down counter with a clink as Meredith slumps on her bar stool, her muscles loosening, even though she knows she's far from getting hammered.

Maybe she should get hammered.

Derek Shepherd kinda makes her want to get hammered. Because his eyes shine when he clips aneurysms and she has no idea what possessed her to make him touch a patient in the first place. She's Medusa Grey, she can't be soft with any intern, even though he's older than all of them and he knows how to lean against things.

She should find someone to fuck tonight and forget all about him.

Her gaze moves around the booths and the tables, searching for a possible conquest, and then a groan escapes her lips. Of course Mark Sloan has taken his buddy out for a drink.

"Joe, another," she calls out to the bartender, who looks at her more like she's a friend than a customer. Also, the fact that his name sounds almost like the name of her favorite liquor brand helps matters when she won't be able to stand.

"Grey!" The boisterous voice of Mark Sloan rings out even in the crowded bar, and she groans loudly again.

"Make him go away," Meredith mumbles to Joe, who's sporting an amused smirk.

"Hey, Grey, I heard you let my brother clip an aneurysm yesterday," he gloats, walking closer to her then asking Joe for a refill.

"I clipped the aneurysm," she mumbles, drowning her tequila.

"Well, yeah, but he actually closed the clip," he smirks, sleazy as usual.

"Whatever. Joe, tequila!"

"Come on, sit with us," he smiles. "We can do celebratory shots."

Meredith frowns. "You're buying me a drink, Sloan?"

"I'm not!" he exclaims. "I'm sort of taken. But we can celebrate together," he smirks again, but then it turns softer, somehow. "You look lonely over here." This is a Mark Sloan she has rarely seen out of the confines of a patient room.

Wonderful, now he's looking at her like she's a patient.

"I'm trying to get laid," she says crudely, and Mark's eyes light up.

"Derek is single," Mark shrugs. The gossip.

"And he's an intern. Even if he's older than I am, I'm never sleeping with him."

"One drink?" Mark begs, and she rolls her eyes.

"You're buying," she growls, before she stands up and plops herself next to Addison, on the other side of the booth from Derek. "Hola," she nods, slumping on the leather of the booth bench.

"You speak Spanish?" Addison questions, amused.

"Only when I drink tequila," she snickers back, and she can clearly see Derek swallowing thickly the last sip of his drink.

"Scotch for the luckiest intern, tequila for Medusa," Mark grins, coming up with their drinks as if he were a waiter. He puts something fruity and with a straw in front of Addison, then grabs his own tumbler of scotch.

Derek and Mark clink glasses as she stares at the amber liquid in hers, sighing loudly. The lights of the bar and the tequila aren't helping with ignoring how good Derek looks. His red shirt clings perfectly to his body, leaving enough to the imagination; his eyes are sparkling, even if they still look tired; his hair...God, his hair is perfect. She's dying to run her fingers through them and hear him screa…

Okay, what?

Maybe she should slow down with the tequila.

She slams down her shot, winning a whistle from Mark, Addison smacking his forearm.

"Ouch! Why did you do that?"

"Because you're coming home with me, tonight," she purrs, and Meredith rolls her eyes.

"I should have stayed home. In my bed. Asleep." Derek groans next to him.

"Are they always this disgusting?" Meredith asks, tentatively looking up at him. His eyes are sparkling blue.

Derek hums, a strange sound that she knows signals amusement, yet she has no idea why it makes her insides tingle. "I think they have the strangest relationship I have ever witnessed," Derek admits, taking a sip of his scotch. "Sorry he dragged you here."

"It's fine, I was just drinking."

"And you can drink here," he grins, tilting his head a little to the side and looking at her. Holy mother of stares, now she feels naked.

"I can. And Markie is buying, so..." She giggles, though she knows it's the most awkward giggle she has ever let out. Derek laughs with her, and his eyes dance even more, if it were even possible.

Maybe she should take him home. Fuck him and forget about him. Even if they work together, they can reach an agreement. The man is too gorgeous for his own good, and she's horny. She's too drunk to bury her horniness with surgery, so she needs to find a man. Right now. A man who isn't Derek Fuckable Shepherd. Who is also single.

"Does Mark buy you drinks often?" he asks, genuinely curious.

"We're weird friends. He always flirted with me from the moment I started at Grace, and now our offices are close. All first year attendings get offices on the same floor, and mine is next to his. I think he feels guilty I have to hear him and Montgomery go at it while I do my paperwork."

"Gross," he grimaces, looking adorable. Wait, what? Adorable? The man is sex on legs, he's not adorable. "I shared a room with him in college, I feel your pain."

"Always been a manwhore?"

Derek chuckles. "At least now it's the same woman. Upgrade from the game of 'Guess the skank that will drink your coffee' I did every morning after we went out for drinks."

And Mr. Sexy has a sense of humor. Okay, he's not Mr. Sexy. Dr. Sexy? Interns don't deserve the title, though. Oh, she'll have to think about a nickname for him.

No, she should forget all about Derek Shepherd. No thinking about sexy nicknames for him. Nope.

Yep, laying off on the tequila.

"Do you think they'll notice if we leave?" Derek asks, amused, still a glint in his eyes.

"Together?" she spats out, and he almost chokes on his scotch.

"NO!" he yelps. "No! Not that you're not attractive and sexy and that top really brings out your eyes, but –" he stutters, clearly nervous. He clears his throat.

"I mean, you're hot too, gorgeous, but...intern," she fake coughs as well, grimacing at her empty tequila shot glass.

"Yes, intern," he smiles, and she can see a hint of a blush on his cheeks. Her own face feels like it's on fire.

"Intern," she sighs.

"You really look good tonight, though," he murmurs, his eyes sparkling. He's too fucking dreamy for her to resist.

There it is. McDreamy. She's doomed.

"I'm leaving," she hums, and he looks disappointed for a second.

As soon as she stand up though, her legs give out on her. Awesome. She thanks all the stars that her apartment is so close to Joe's.

"Need some help?" he grins, lowering his empty tumbler on the table.

"I'm fine."

"Honestly, these two are about to go fuck in the bathroom or leave me stranded, I'm leaving too, I don't need to see that when I can be home sleeping," he says, nodding towards Mark and Addison, their tongues down each other's throats, groping each other almost to indecent exposure.

"We can have Joe kick them out," she grins, and he laughs loudly.

She finds her footing again at her second attempt, but Derek's hand is quick to steady her. His fingers splayed on the small of her back feel way too good, and part of her wonders how the same fingers would feel on other parts of her body.

Stupid tequila brain.

"We're leaving," Derek announces loudly, but Mark and Addison barely disentangle to mutter a goodbye before they're back in their sex haze.

She starts walking, and Derek of course walks beside her. He holds her up gently as they move out of Joe's, and he feels solid and warm pressed so gently against her. She wonders why she feels like nothing bad will happen if he moves even an inch closer.

"Need a ride?" Dirty, dirty thoughts swirl in her brain when he says that. "We can share a cab," he adds, and she wonders if his brain is filled with dirty too.

"No cabs, I live a block away."

"Do you want me to take you home? It's already dark," he adds.

"I'll be fine," she hums, but she still feels unsteady as she pulls away from his arms.

"Except you can barely walk straight," he grins, holding out his hand again.

"Fine," she relents, hooking her arm with his. "Never mention this again, Shepherd," she admonishes, and his eyes sparkle with mirth.

"Promise," he grins.

They stare into each other's eyes for a long, endless minute, and she licks her lips just as he leans in.

A car honks and they spring away, both of them resuming their walks. Stupid tequila brain indeed.

Derek Shepherd is a gentleman because he leads her up to her front door and waits for her to find her keys before leaving.

"It was a fun night," he grins. "Next time Mark and Addison are screwing in their office, page me and we'll interrupt them."

She laughs, squeezing his arm one last time before he hops down her front steps.

"Bye, Shepherd," she smiles, closing the door in his face.

She sighs loudly as her brain keeps swirling, hitting her forehead against the door. She's so, so screwed.

A/N: I know this might look like a short chapter, but I usually let the scenes dictate how long they want to be and when it's time to stop. I don't believe in adding scenes or lines of dialogue just for word count's sake. I usually write longer chapters, and they'll probably get back to normal, but I feel like this one was complete right here.

I'm glad you all liked David and I'll have more of him soon. I'm also glad you all seem to be enjoying this story just as much as I like writing it. Nothing can make a writer happier. Thank you for your support!