A/N: So, there was plenty of David in the past couple of chapters, but Meredith and Derek do have friends of their own. Let's see how's that going for them, uh?

Chapter 9

Someone is knocking.

Meredith blinks blearily, as she hears the door open. Door. Hospital smell. Faded couch. Yep, definitely Seattle Grace Hospital.

"Did you fall asleep in your office again?" A familiar voice reaches her ears, and she lifts her head, a smile stretching automatically.

"I work a lot, Mags," she jabs back, straightening up her back as her little sister walks inside and closes the door, then plops herself in one of her armchairs.

"Yeah, right, super neurosurgeon, the apple of Mom's eye…" she teases, a playful glint in her chocolate eyes.

"Maggie, we both know you're the apple of Mom's eye. And Dad's," Meredith rolls her eyes. "What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be in class? Dartmouth?"

"You should get a dog, he will give you a reason to get home. No, wait, you'd kill a dog and he will pee everywhere, since you're never home. A cat. I'm finding you a cat for Christmas."

"Maggie! Cats are not presents, and Christmas is months away!" Meredith groans. "And you still haven't answered my question."

Maggie huffs, in the same way she did when she was five, and Meredith tries her best to hide her smile. "The dean gave a week to all the best students explore all their possible choices for internships so that those behind can catch up on schoolwork. I'm exploring."

"Oh, I have to train you too, now?" Meredith groans, though her smile widens. "I'm happy for you, Margaret."

"Stop calling me that!" she grins, and all of a sudden, she doesn't look all that young anymore.

Her baby sister looks like a woman. Well, she is a woman, but she has always been young in Meredith's eyes. Now, they're almost on the same playing field, and there's something different in her gaze. She is older, she has wisened up, and it shows in her demeanor. She might still be the same bookish, nerdy, funny sister she grew up with, but she looks different.

Her hair is still curly and soft, her eyes still wide and kind like Richard's, even though he always says they both have their mother's smile. Meredith has seen her mother smile so rarely she's not sure she can agree with him. Either way, Maggie has matured, and Meredith feels like she has missed it.

"How's the boyfriend?" Meredith quips, then, wanting to tease her sister a bit more, to uncover her childish side again.

Of course the child prodigy is not only kicking ass in medical school and doesn't have a flavor for tequila like she did during her own years in college, she's also in a pretty stable relationship, a meet-the-parents kind of relationship.

"He's fine. Dean's fine." Her eyes are sad when she says that, and she can't look at her in the eyes.

"Right," Meredith snorts, and Maggie takes a deep breath. "Mags –"

"He cuddles," she blurts, her eyes widening. "He's a cuddler and I hate when he wraps his arms around me after sex." Meredith grimaces; she really doesn't want to hear about her baby sister's sex life, even if this issue sounds important.

"But he's your boyfriend. I'm the one that kicks out boys before they can cuddle."

"So you get it, how awkward it is, right?"

Meredith frowns. "Look, you know I suck at this, but aren't you supposed to, you know, enjoy it? I mean, you love the guy, you care about him. You've been with Dean for what, two years? I can't believe you never shared a bed."

"I flee," she hums. "I let him fall asleep then I go to sleep on the couch and set an alarm."

"Oh," she can't help but blurt, unable to school her expression.

"He proposed," Maggie murmurs. "He proposed and I ran. Holy crap, I'm horrible. He proposed and I said no and left like a bat out of hell!"

"Maggie, stop," Meredith sighs. She's completely out of her element here. Her sister is having a relationship avalanche, and she has no clue how to deal with it. Her only somewhat serious relationship had been Finn, and even then, it only became serious because they were forced to make it so. She has no terms of comparison.

"Dean is a good guy, he treats me well, and I can't even sleep next to him."

"Margaret Harper Grey Webber!" Meredith snickers, and Maggie stops her rambling, her jaw slack. "Yes, I did just middle-name you. Listen to me."

"Sorry," she murmurs, looking down at the floor.

"When I was with Finn," she starts, but Maggie interrupts her, a wary look in her gaze. She gets her sister, she never brings up Finn, but this one sounds like one of the rare times she can make an exception.

"Meredith, you don't need to talk about him."

"When I was with Finn, before he left me alone and with way too many responsibilities to deal with at twenty-four, I liked when he held me. Yes, it was weird at first and I didn't feel all that loved there, not to the point that I'd let my guard down, but I was with Finn for six months, not two years. What we had was new, it became big and exploded and we fell apart, but I'm sure that I would have learned how to like cuddling in two years."

Maggie's eyes are still downcast, and Meredith regrets her outburst. Especially because she's pretty sure she has made her sister cry.

"You think I should be ready to marry him?" Maggie sniffles.

"No. You'll know when and if you're ready to marry him. I'm pretty sure that even if everything had unfolded differently, I would have never married Finn."

"Why?" she frowns, finally looking up, and her eyes are puffy. Meredith hands her a tissue, and she cracks a sad smile in return.

"I couldn't see a future with Finn."

"But – "

"Yes, I could see the future, I was warming up to what was going to happen and the idea of sharing my life with him, but Finn was hardly ever in my plans."

"Do you miss him?" Maggie whispers, and Meredith's heart clenches, knowing exactly who she's referring to.

"Finn?" she asks, playing dumb. She already has a lump in her throat.

"David."

"Yes," she croaks out without a doubt. "Not a day goes by that I don't think about him."

They fall into a heavy silence as Meredith closes her eyes, leaning back on her chair with her hands folded in her lap, relishing and dreading the same memories.

There's a knock on the door again and both sisters try to recompose themselves.

Derek enters shyly, studying the scene, barely stepping inside the threshold.

"Dr. Shepherd," she greets him softly, taking a deep breath. "What is it?"

"I'm your intern for the day. I know you had Yang today, but she had a shorter shift today and I need to go back home and start cooking after lunch so I switched, and – "

"Alright," she sighs, her lips twitching up in a smile at his insecurity. Yes, he can be the cockiest man alive when it's just the two of them, but when he's an intern and there are people, he still needs to build up his confidence; she finds this endearing. "Are you familiar with Mrs. Hudson's case?"

"Fifty-one-year-old female, spinal meningioma pressing on the vertebrae from L2 to L4. Chemotherapy and radiations cleared the margins, but she still complains of numbness in her legs. It still hasn't metastasized and – "

"Thank you, Dr. Shepherd," she smiles, winning his cocky, dreamy smile back. "I need another CT and MRI just to make sure it hasn't expanded further, then you can prep her for surgery."

"I'm on it, Dr. Grey," he nods, turning towards the door.

"How's David?" she asks, before she can stop herself. Maggie gives her a pointed look, begging her for an explanation later.

"He's bragging about his cut with all his friends. He even called his cousins all the way in New York," he chuckles. "It's already fading, though, don't worry," he winks, before he leaves the room.

"What was that? Or better, who is that?"

"That's my intern," Meredith sighs, playing it cool, even though she knows Maggie is going to read right through her.

"Your hot intern. He's old, though."

"Long story," Meredith sighs.

"How do you know his story? Are you taking advantage of him?"

Her eyes widen. "Maggie!"

"What? I'd do him. He looks like he'd be really good in bed…"

"Stop it!"

"Oh, you're so thinking about doing the nasty with your intern," she giggles, and Meredith blushes. "Can't blame you, though, he's gorgeous."

"Maggie, come on," she whines, hoping it can keep her out of trouble. Maggie doesn't cave, even though she stops the teasing only to break into a fit of giggles.

"Okay, fine, I'm stopping," she takes a deep breath, her eyes leaking tears of laughter.

"Thank you," Meredith quips, rolling her eyes.

At least her sister is laughing now, instead of moping about Dean.

There's another knock at her door, before Mark Sloan peeks his face in.

"Joe's, tonight, nine o' clock. Don't...hey!" He grins, as soon as he spots Maggie sitting in his chair. "Hello, beautiful," he smirks, winning an eye-roll from Maggie.

"Don't even think about it, Sloan. That's my sister. My little sister."

"Oh, wow. Bring her along!"

"Mark, seriously – "

"We're just drinking, Grey."

"I could use a night out, Mer," Maggie grins, eyeing Mark.

"He has a girlfriend, but fine. I'll need the tequila if our parents want to have dinner together with her," she relents.

"See you then, I'm bringing Addie."

Fabulous. She'll have to witness the two of them making out for another night.

She groans. She needs new friends.

The flavor of the sauce on the spoon explodes on his tastebuds and Derek smiles.

Perfect.

He grins as he watches the mess that is his kitchen, now bathed in light, as David sits at the table and works on his homework. He told him to get started on it in his room, but of course at the first roadblock his son has set camp in the kitchen and never left. He did the same when he was a kid, it's not surprising. And David is probably milking it, since Derek knows coloring the right shapes is not beyond David's abilities. Derek can't blame him, though. He knows he's excited about tonight.

The doorbell rings, and David's head perks up. "Your friends!" he grins, before he rushes out of the kitchen.

Derek hears the muffled voices from the hall getting closer and closer as he stirs the pasta in the pot.

"Shepherd," Cristina greets him a smirk on her lips. "The resemblance between you and your minion is even more striking in flesh and blood."

"I have the best genes," Derek laughs.

He turns around and greets the rest of his interns' gang. They chit chat about mindless stuff as they get to know each other better and they all try to figure out David, while David tries to figure them out as well.

They move the party to the living room, turned into a dining room for the occasion, and David boasts about the fact that he set up most of the table all on his own. Izzie of course encourages him and turns into her cheerful, giggling self, while the other three have more moderate reactions.

Derek is enjoying the fact that David gets along well with his friends. He never had many, especially not close friends, but working a hundred hours a week with someone, dealing with life or death situations, pushes you to become good friends. He's glad he has more, not just Mark and Addison now. He loves his family, and he's glad that his mother moved closer to him as soon as he moved to Seattle and became a father, but that doesn't change that he enjoys a different kind of company.

Cristina is snarky and honest, and he finds her brutality refreshing sometimes. Alex and George keep him sane, in their very own peculiar ways. Izzie is...happy. She's dark too, but her perkiness usually overshadows that. He feels pretty happy himself with what he has, considering all the sacrifices he had to make.

David laughs at one of Cristina's jokes, and he knows it was worth it.

"Wow," Izzie practically moans after eating her first morsel of cheesecake. Dessert has definitely come too soon. "The texture of this is perfect."

"I have no idea what she means, but this is a mean cheesecake. Where did you buy it?" Alex asks, eating one of the blueberries off the top.

"I made it myself. I mixed a couple of recipes I've tried during the years. Lots of attempts before this."

"I love it."

"Daddy always makes it 'cause it's my favoritest cake in the world."

"With berries?" Cristina frown. "You're weird, kid."

"No, I like it with chocolate, but Daddy said grown-ups like berries," David sighs, clearly disappointed.

"Grown-ups like chocolate too," she winks, and David grins at her.

As much as David tries to stay up and keep the lively atmosphere alive, by nine he's yawning like there's no tomorrow, so Derek forces him into bed.

"Okay, now that the midget is gone," Cristina smirks devilishly as soon as he climbs downstairs. "Let's get to the gossip."

"What gossip?"

"About you, feeling up Dr. Grey at Joe's," Izzie smirks too, her eyes glimmering in expectations.

"There wasn't any feeling up. We just left together and I walked her home because she was slightly drunk."

"She gets drunk?" George mutters under his breath.

"Of course she does, she must live a lonely, pathetic life, considering how stuck up she is," Alex shrugs. "Maybe you could help her, Shep. If she gets laid, maybe she's a little less cranky during rounds."

Derek clears his throat. "No way."

"Oh, you want to do Grey, I know it." Cristina snickers.

"She's...hot. She's hot."

"Dude, she is, but she's dangerous. I wouldn't let my good friend near her anytime soon."

"Is that a boy code for penis, Karev? Lame," Cristina grins, and the others try to repress their laughter.

"Seriously, it won't look good for you," George suggests. "The rest of the interns will cry favoritism, attendings will blackmail you. Not pretty."

"It happened in the hospital I did my clinicals. Definitely not pretty," Izzie nods.

Derek gulps, hiding his gaze in the carpet.

"Oh God, don't tell me you're already sleeping with her!" Cristina exclaims.

"No!" he blurts quickly. "We...kissed. Once. In an elevator. I – "

"You have a crush on her!" Karev sing-songs, the rest of them snickering at his expenses.

"David sounds more mature than you, guys," he defends himself, though they are still giggling.

"Seriously, do you like her?" Izzie asks, sobering up.

"I think I do? I'm not sure. There's something there."

"That explains the looks," Izzie nods, turning towards Cristina.

"Eye sex."

Derek's eyes widen at Cristina's jab, though she drops the subject quickly.

"She's not David's baby mama, though, right?" George asks, looking a little confused.

"What? Of course not. Why would she be?"

"Gossip," Alex replies plainly.

"They saw you guys exit together a couple of times, and David was with you. They're assuming a lot of things."

"Yeah, she's not. I told you how I got David."

"What was that like?" Geroge asks. "I mean, one day you're getting ready for your intern exam, the next you're a father?"

"Pretty much. I was thinking about going back to New York for my residency and he showed up." Derek smiles. "It was hard at first. And not just because he was a baby. I knew babies. My sisters call me the baby whisperer."

"It's because of his SPD, huh?" Alex says.

"He's not a fan of touching, and he was even worse before. Now I know that I can hold him tightly and he calms down, back then it took me two weeks on virtually no sleep to figure out he had to be swaddled as tight as possible. As soon as the swaddle became loose, he cried. It was maddening."

"That sounds impossible," George sighs.

"It felt like it at times." He takes a moment to reminish his past with David while his friends reflect on his words.

"Do you think that's why his mother abandoned him?"

"I...yes," he admits. "Terry said in her letter that she tried, but she couldn't be a mother, and I can't blame her. Though I'm sure having more love around would have helped him."

"She did what she thought was best," Cristina shrugs.

"It's the hardest decision," Izzie murmurs. "You can't blame her for doing what she thought was best for David."

"I don't," Derek says, frowning at Izzie's reaction, though everybody in the room looks a bit confused by how fiercely she's defending Terry.

"I had a baby at sixteen," Izzie confesses. "I gave her up for adoption. Her name is Hannah."

"Oh," Derek hums, unable to say anything more, even though he knows what it might feel like for Izzie to have given up her baby. He couldn't imagine doing it himself, though. Silence stretches.

"Though, really, your doorstep? That was rom-com cheesy," Cristina snickers, and they finally start laughing again.

Joe's is packed, and Meredith is somewhat glad Mark and Addison are already there. They're squabbling, as usual, but she's sure they're just one step closer before they start sucking face and go fuck in the bathroom. Or worse, leave.

Maggie looks around herself and she seems giddy at the mere idea of hanging out with attendings. She's been legal for a couple of years, and Meredith still can't picture her in a bar. Maggie belongs near a book, usually, though she cleans up nicely.

At least Mark has the decency to keep his slewy comments to himself when she proceeds with the introductions.

"So," Mark smirks, clearly cutting to the chase. "Are you screwing Derek?"

Maggie almost spits her drink while Meredith tries her best not to choke. Addison limits herself to a snort, while Mark smiles smugly, sipping his scotch.

"What? Of course I'm not, he's an intern," Meredith fires up, glaring at her sort-of friend.

"But you'd do him?" Maggie jumps in, looking genuinely elated at the prospect of gossip.

Meredith rolls her eyes, and tries to ignore the mental images of their elevator kiss. Oh, yes, she'd totally do him.

"There are rumors saying you're David's mom, of course I'm worried," Mark shrugs, and Maggie's eyes widen.

"How could I have possibly given birth to Derek's son when we didn't even know each other at the time of David's conception? I wasn't even in Seattle back then."

"Tell that to gossip. Maybe you were the one night stand," Mark jabs.

"You're impossible," she grumbles, drowning her shot of tequila.

"She was in a relationship at the time," Maggie grins, and this time it's Mark who is speechless.

"She what?" Addison blurts.

"Finn. He was studying to be a vet," Maggie continues, even though Meredith has already kicked her under the table, twice.

"Vets aren't real doctors, Grey. That was lame." Mark at least is attempting to make the situation a little less uncomfortable, but he's failing miserably.

"I was young, I made mistakes."

"Mer, he was way too kind and perfect. You can't have perfect," Maggie shrugs.

"Oh, thank you so much for the vote of confidence," she snaps, asking Joe's for another round.

"You know what she means. The dude wanted a wife, a bunch of kids, a dog and the white picket fence, I'm sure," Mark says. "You would have rotted away not being a surgeon."

"Yeah. I'm not sure I ever loved him, though. It was complicated back then."

"We're dropping it," Addison shares a poignant look with the other occupants of the table, sipping her drink.

"Thank you. And no, I'm not sleeping with Shepherd. I wouldn't touch him with a ten foot pole."

"Is that the intern?" Maggie asks.

"Yeah, that's him."

"Right!" she giggles, "Of course you will never touch him."

"Do you like Derek?" Addison prods, smirking slightly.

"He's nice. A decent intern."

"And?" Addison grins.

"He's...handsome."

"Gorgeous," Maggie blurts, disguising it in between coughs.

"I never said that!"

"I did," Maggie laughs, while Mark pulls a face.

"I should show you his high school photos. Definitely nothing gorgeous there."

"Why did you walk out of the hospital with him and David all giggly, then? Unless that was another rumor…" Addison, grins, sipping her drink.

"David wanted some ice cream. I always get my young patients ice cream after surgery," she sighs.

"You gave him stitches, Grey," Mark grumbles, probably mumbling something about the fact that he's a plastic surgeon under his breath as well.

"Still my patient," she shrugs.

"Did he pay?" Maggie asks, even more intrigued now.

"He had already paid before I could argue. And he didn't take my money."

"So it was a date!" she exclaims.

"I agree with the sister," Addison shrugs, giving her a smirk. "Even manwhore Mark knows that when he pays it's a date."

"Oh, man, I think you went on a fake date with Shepherd and his kid!" Maggie exclaims, widening her eyes in mock surprise.

All of them laugh, and she's glad that her sister and her sort of friends are getting along. She needed the night out, even if they're teasing her, or dragging up old memories. She truly hopes no nurses are around to hear about fake dates with interns, or she'll never hear the end of it at the hospital.

A/N: Well, looks like a few of their skeletons are being let out of the closet, uh? Even though Meredith does seem to have a bit more of a past compared to Derek... What do you guys think? Do you still want to know more?