A/N I do not own Grey's Anatomy. Hope you enjoy all the same :)

So I actually do like Izzie so please don't be angry at how she's being portrayed in this chapter. She had a lot of crap going down in Season 4 and she's never the most welcoming character to new people. So I thought she would push Zoe's buttons.

As for Derek's interactions with Zoe and his anger - more is to be revealed in this chapter! A lot of things happened between the two and Derek does have high expectations of those that he loves (as seen with Meredith and Amelia) and he can hold a grudge (Amelia). So I don't think his reactions are too unrealistic. And that being said, Zoe has made major mistakes.

Chapter Three

"So you hate George now?"

"I don't hate George. I love George. But I just want him to not to be in the same coast as me. I would just rather he cease breathing." Izzie released a satisfying breath, "Yeah that would be good."

"I hate Derek. But I love Derek. I get it." Meredith agreed, nodding her head in understanding.

"I don't hate George." Izzie said in slight defensive.

"You two make me want to drink and the sun isn't even up yet. I hate you both."

"No one even asked you Christina."

"Too bad. I'm giving you the fruits of my wisdom without a request." Christina said in a fake-chirp of joy.

When a blur of black came from behind them out of nowhere, Izzie released a yelp and nearly dropped her bedazzled travel mug. It was Zoe Shepherd decked out in tight spandex running gear. The brunette doctor was now jogging backwards and looking at them.

"You should try moving a bit quicker. Seven ambulances will arrive in ten. An apartment building caught on fire."

The three doctors watched as she sprinted off into the hospital. Before she entered the doors she stole a muffin out of Mark Sloan's hands and laughed cheerily at him.

"I really don't like her." Izzie blew out a weary breath before the three rushed off.

There was a nine-year old open on her table when Izzie Stevens began her inappropriate line of questioning and began to ruin Zoe's day.

And her seven mile run had put her in such a great place.

"So where did you grow up, Doctor Shepherd?"

"New York." Zoe tried to keep the annoyance out of her tone. She really did. She couldn't get flustered with her hands in a little kid's belly.

"In the city?"

"No. A small town about an hour outside."

"Oh that must have been nice!" Izzie exclaimed as she assisted Sloan on a skin graft. "I bet it was nice! Was it nice, Doctor Shepherd?"

Zoe hated how she said Doctor Shepherd. She didn't know why but she freaking hated it.

"It was fine." Zoe stated once again successful in keeping her tone even and controlled but hoping that Izzie would discontinue her line of questioning. "Karev, can I have some suction please?"

"So where did you go to school?"

"Hopkins." Her response was short and impatient.

"Hopkins? Wow. That's…wow. I mean even Derek didn't go to Hopkins, right?"

Zoe stilled her hands and to shoot the blonde a look.

Mark caught her eye and even with the mask on Zoe knew that he was smirking at her. Those blue eyes were shining.

Zoe took a breath to calm down. "That's right Stevens. Even Derek didn't go to Hopkins."

There was a pause in the mindless chatter. And for a minute Zoe thought Izzie had gotten her fill of sinking her teeth into the new girl.

"You were married, right?" Izzie asked suddenly as if a light bulb had gone if and she just had to ask it. Right now. In an operating room. With a severely injured child on the table. "What was he like? Your husband?"

Zoe wasn't prepared for that.

"Uh, I don't really-"

"What was he like?" Izzie persisted with a determined look in her eye. Zoe could see the Karev guy shoot the blonde a look.

Zoe could feel Mark staring at her. She refused to look at him. Or anyone else.

"He was…handsome. Charming. Rich." The tone was still controlled.

Karev's voice cut through the room. It was one of few times he had spoken through the entire surgery. "You marry him for his money or something?"

Now she could feel every single eye in the Operating Room on her. This was perfect. She had been here for three days and this was how she was being introduced. She felt naked and exposed. This wasn't how she wanted this to play out. This was supposed to be her new beginning and her second chance.

But she would give Stevens what she wanted. What they all wanted. They wanted the flaws. They wanted a reason to hate her and she would give them one.

If they wanted to hate her that bad then she would let them.

So she answered, "Yeah. I did. And when he had a heart attack and died, I was happy. Really happy. And super rich."

They operated in silence for the remainder of the surgery. And for that, Zoe was thankful.

"You gave me an impossible surgery."

"What?"

Zoe had no idea what Meredith Grey was speaking about. It was a long day. A hell of a day to really start her new job. Five patients survived but two died. One was a kid.

She had a serious kink in her neck. And the first year residents were such a pain in the ass.

Such whiners.

And now she was in the changing room wanting desperately to go to sleep after a 20 hour day but Meredith Grey was standing over her with a pissy look on her face.

"You gave me an impossible surgery. The 50 year old man. Frank? You assigned him to me and he was impossible. There was zero chance of survival."

Zoe squinted at her brother's whatever as she attempted to understand.

"So…you're angry because I gave you a complicated trauma patient…who died?"

Meredith hands bunched into tiny fists as she exclaimed, "I'm angry because you clearly took out your anger with Derek on me. You set me up for failure today!"

Who the hell was this chick?

"Excuse me?" Zoe asked in disbelief, not believing what she was hearing.

Meredith just stared at her with her tiny fists clenched as she clearly waited for an apology.

"Okay, I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt here." Zoe said, and for the second time today she was attempting to keep her cool.

Meredith Grey would not be getting an apology.

"Just this once I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt because I don't know you yet. You seem okay. You seem adept and you're also good with your patients and that's important. So listen while I explain some things to you."

"Alright." Meredith gritted out as she clenched those fists more.

"First, over half of trauma patients have an incredibly low survival rate. Because they are trauma patients. They have gone through trauma. You just received the crappy luck of the draw today." Zoe said sharply as her tone grew increasingly more annoyed.

Meredith was now unclenching those fists a little bit.

"Secondly," Zoe began, not breaking eye contact with Meredith, "I am not foolish or petty enough to jeopardize your education and career because your boyfriend is ignoring me. I can't say the same for your friends, however."

Her brother's girlfriend looked embarrassed. For both herself and for her friend's behavior.

'Good,' Zoe thought, 'they should all be embarrassed.'

Meredith, with a now pink and embarrassed face, stayed rooted to the spot and looked as if she was trying to spit something out that just couldn't come out.

Zoe decided to play nice, "You don't have to say sorry. The look on your face is enough."

The pink faded in Meredith face a few moments later. And she relaxed. She took a seat next to Zoe on the bench and sighed.

"Derek is difficult." Meredith began, her voice cautious but strong, "I don't know what happened between the two of you but I know its bad because he refuses to speak about it. And I don't want to give you the whole 'he hurts you because he loves you' bit but…he wouldn't be this angry if he didn't love you."

The blonde paused and gave a self-deprecating smile, "and believe me as someone who makes Derek angry often, I know. He just has high expectations for those that he loves."

Zoe examined the woman beside her. She seemed smart. Perhaps a little bit emotionally damaged and childish but smart. And strong.

She hoped that she made Derek happy. And a little bit crazy. Derek needed a little bit of crazy.

She just hoped Derek wouldn't screw it up.

"Let me guess," Zoe began slowly and lowly, "he has you up on a pedestal so high that he can't even see you anymore."

Zoe knew that she was right from the way Meredith looked at her.

"I heard you put Meredith through an impossible surgery tonight." Derek's voice cut through the clear and crisp night air.

She was ever so close to being out of those big hospital doors and closer to her bed. And then Derek had to come and ruin it all.

"Derek. Shut up."

"Excuse me?"

She was so over this day and this night and these people.

"I want us to be okay. I want this to work and I want us to be a family again-" Zoe began.

"You-"

"No! I get to speak. This is the part where you listen to me." She said angrily, pointing a finger at him. "I am not going to grovel. I will not get on my hands and knees and beg for you to forgive me. And I am not going to harass you. I am going to stay here and wait patiently for you to get to know me again. Because right now you don't know me."

"You-" He started but Zoe cut him off once more.

"I am not finished!" She yelled, her face scrunched up in anger. There was a beat and her face softened. She said quietly, "I screwed up. I get that. I disappointed you. I get that too. And then I ran away for almost a decade. I've made mistakes, Derek. But don't think for a second I am here desperately seeking your approval because I can't sleep at night. I sleep just fine."

And this time it was Zoe that left Derek standing in the dark.

"What are you doing here?" Meredith asked as she came home to see Derek sitting on the porch swing.

He was resting his head in his hands and staring off into the distance. He didn't look upset but his eyes looked sad and his mouth looked thoughtful. A half empty bottle of beer dangled from his hands.

He didn't react. "Derek?" She asked again.

"She was a really great kid. An amazing kid." He said, still not looking at her. Meredith instinctively knew it was Zoe that he was speaking of.

"She was just a baby when my Dad died and my Mom…my Mom was a wreck. So I looked after her. And she was the best kid." Derek laughed breathlessly and took another gulp of beer. He still wasn't looking at her.

"Did you know she had straight A's in high school? Perfect straight A's. She was president of her class and she was in Model UN and and"- He cut his train of thought off with a laugh, "she was captain of the state winning soccer team AND the chess club."

"Der-"

"She was funny. And full of life. She was fearless and beautiful. She was kind. I mean, by 17, Amelia was a drug addict and had her first overdose. But Zoe was…perfect. She had early entrance in John Hopkins, a full scholarship and then she just…disappeared." Derek's voice got quiet then and he rubbed his face. He suddenly looked so tired and so old.

He continued on, his voice more gruff, "She became someone I didn't know. She ran away and got married when she was 18 years old to this horrible man. She dropped out of school. She became…cruel. And then he wanted her to become a doctor." He gave another mirthless laugh, "So she did. Because he asked her to. So she became a doctor. Just like that. Snapped her fingers and was at John Hopkins. She came first in her class. She was even offered an internship at Mayo Clinic…it just came so easy to her."

Meredith knew there was more to the story and she had to ask, "What happened then?"

Derek clenched his jaw and ran a hand through his hair, "John. The husband. He died. He was rich. Incredibly rich. So she disappeared again. Went overseas to work." His voice was no longer weak now. He gulped down the remaining beer in the bottle. His Adams apple bobbing and it travelled down his throat.

Instead it was angry and bitter, "In seven years, my mother received seven phone calls. She missed out on nine nieces and five nephews."

"And she left you." Meredith finished. She knew that was the part that bothered him the most.

And it was.

"Yeah," Derek agreed, his voice thick "she left me."

Hope you enjoyed it! Please review :)