"Oh my goodness! Meredith! Thank-you for one of the most amazing dates I have ever been on!"
Addison was beaming the day following her night out with Alex. After watching the stars from the blanket, the pair had strolled around the park, arms linked. Addison was ecstatic, and she couldn't wait to tell Meredith (and Miranda and Callie) all about the wonderful evening Alex had planned. However, she noticed immediately that something was very wrong with Meredith.
"Hey, what's up with you?"
"I'll be there in a minute."
"What? Meredith, I didn't…Meredith!"
"Hmm. Oh, I'm fine."
"Why do I not believe you?"
"I'm fine. I swear. How was the date?"
"I just told you, but you were off in lala land."
"Oh, sorry. Did you have a good time? I take it by the grin that you did."
"It was amazing. He was so nice. He'd made dinner and everything. It was really rom…Meredith!" Addison noticed that Meredith was no longer listening again.
"I'm sorry. I'm really distracted today."
"No kidding. Out with it. What's wrong with you?"
"It's nothing."
"I'm not going to force you, but please come talk to me if I can help."
"Okay. Thanks. And I'm glad you had a great time."
Meredith headed down the hall, not really sure where she was going exactly. She just knew that she needed to get out of the hospital. Soon, she started to walk a little faster. Then, she was running down flights of stairs. I can't deal with this on my own, but I don't want to tell Addison. Addison would probably be a better choice than Derek. She would definitely be better than Cristina. Maybe…Oww! Oh, my side really hurts.
Addison was now convinced that Meredith's distraction was something more serious. She wondered if she should go after her, but she didn't want to push. She needs to talk about whatever is bothering her. I wish she would trust me. Maybe I should talk to Derek…No, whatever it is, she doesn't want to tell him. Cristina? No, she needs support right now. That's it, I'm going to catch up with her. She headed toward the stairwell that Meredith had disappeared into but realized she'd never be able to catch up with her in her heels. Grimacing, she pulled them off and took the stairs two at a time. When she reached the first floor, she paused. Meredith was nowhere in sight. Stomp, stomp. She heard thumping coming from the floor above her and moved to the side of the stair case. Sure enough, Meredith came bounding down the stairs, tear-streaked. Addison jumped out just as Meredith was stepping off the last stair.
"Come on. We're going home," Addison was pulling her heels back on.
"No. I don't want to go out there and let people see me like this."
"Okay, then. We'll sit in here until you're ready to go out."
Meredith sat down next to Addison on the stairs. She sat quietly for a moment before resting her head on Addison's shoulder. After a few coughs and hiccups, she decided she could speak.
"I'll tell you, but I need to tell you outside the hospital. I don't want anyone else to hear."
"Okay. I'll go tell the chief that we're leaving for a while. Will you be okay in here?"
"I think so."
Addison walked down the hall to the chief's office and knocked on the door.
"Yeah?" came the gruff voice of Richard Webber.
"Chief?"
"Come in, Addie. What's going on?"
"Would it be okay if I leave for a little while? Meredith isn't feeling well, so I'm going to take her home."
"Sure. Is there anything I can do to help?"
"I don't think so. I think she just needs some rest."
"Okay. Let me know if she needs anything at all."
"I sure will. Thanks, Chief."
Addison went back to the stairwell to find Meredith surrounded by people asking what was going on, but Meredith looked pale and horrified. She pushed her way through the people gathered in the little stairwell and helped Meredith to her feet.
"Come on. Let's get out of here."
Silently, Meredith followed Addison out to her car. Silently, they rode toward Addison's apartment. They had barely pulled into the garage when Meredith started to scream.
"I didn't want anyone to know I was upset!" she wailed. "Who did you tell?"
"I didn't tell anyone. I swear. I went straight to the chief's office and then came to get you."
Meredith believed her. She didn't really think Addison would blab around the hospital that she was hiding in a stairwell in tears. Sheepishly, she looked over at Addison and apologized. Addison's reply was to shake her head and offer Meredith cookies.
"I don't really know how to tell you this, but something happened before I fell into the water."
Addison nodded silently, giving Meredith the space and comfort she needed to talk.
"At first, I thought I could handle it on my own, but then it got to be too much. I couldn't take it anymore, so when I fell in, I decided not to swim," she reached out and took Addison's hand.
Addison gave her hand a small, reassuring squeeze. She waited to see if Meredith had anything else she needed to say before speaking.
"Take your time. You can tell me what happened when you get ready."
"I'm ready. I'm just scared."
"That's okay. I'm here to help you through this."
I can do this. I can tell her, and she'll help me. If she can't, she'll find someone who can.
"Addie? You won't tell will you?"
"Of course not. Not unless you say it's okay."
"Okay. Here goes," she took a deep, shaky breath. "A few days before the ferry boat thing, I was walking to my car in the hospital parking lot. This woman came up to me and said her boyfriend was getting discharged but they didn't have a way to get home. I offered to call a cab, but she didn't have any money. Well, after she got me distracted, her boyfriend or whoever attacked me."
"What did he do?"
"He…" her voice cracked a little, and she squeezed Addison's hand harder. "He told me to get down on the ground. Then, he pulled out a knife and forced me to undress…" she drifted off.
"If you are getting at what I think you are getting at, you need to say it. It will help, I promise."
"He…he…I can't."
"You can do this, Meredith. You've already come so far."
"He raped me."
A/N: I wanted Meredith to have a really good reason for not swimming when she fell into the lake.