First of all, sorry for the delay in updates. I've had a severe case of writer's block. Secondly, thank Grand Delusions for betaing this chapter for me. She's my godsend and if you haven't read her stories, do it now! Do not delay, go read them. She and I are currently starting work on our baby which has tentively been titled 'Ever The Same'. Our outline took us three weeks so our brain is a bit fried. Again, sorry for the delay, but remember that I'm working on Chapter Ten right now.

This was just perfect. Derek didn't think his morning could possibly get any worse, but he'd apparently been mistaken. There had been an outbreak of syphilis in the surgical wing of Seattle Grace, and now he along with every other staff member were receiving a lecture on safe sex from Chief Webber. Meredith and Cristina stood to one side of him and Meredith was trying to stifle her giggles, but failing. He nudged her in the side and she promptly stopped. He couldn't blame her though. He, himself, wanted to laugh. Especially when Richard's secretary took over and began to demonstrate the proper way to put on a condom.

But he didn't have to endure the speech because Richard pulled him out of the room. MRI was currently free and Derek was not looking forward to what they had to do now. In fact this was one of those moments in life he wished that he had gone any other path but Neuro. He found himself hoping this was anything other than what he suspected. His hope was in vain. He pulled Richard into see for himself. They discussed their options. Richard told Derek to put together a surgical team, but to keep it top secret.

Secret. There was that word again. His mind drifted back to the pregnancy test he'd found earlier that morning. Why hadn't she told him? Sure, kids weren't exactly something they'd talked about, but he thought Meredith would be secure enough in their relationship to come to him about it. A child wasn't something they had planned on, but they could work through that. He loved children, always had. It was just something he and Addison had never had time for. Back in New York, he'd been too busy being a hot shot doctor. He rarely ever slept at home, let alone with his wife.

The subject of Addison left a bitter taste in his mouth. Reaching for the phone, he hurriedly dialed Meredith's pager number. Richard had assured him that no one knew that he called Addison, let alone tell anyone that she was Derek's wife. Still, he had always tried to be honest with Meredith and he didn't want to stop now. Besides, he wanted her on Richard's case. And there was the little fact of the little white test he had found this morning. If Meredith was pregnant, he didn't want to stress her.

Five minutes later, he heard a knock on his office door and then Meredith poked her head in.

" You paged me? "

He smiled and waved her in. The door shut behind her with a click and she crossed the room to sit on his desk.

" How was the rest of the meeting? "

" Painful. There's nothing like watching a grown woman demonstrate how to put a condom on a banana. We're doctors. We should know how a condom works. "

Laughing, he pulled her from his desk and onto his lap. Her arm came around his neck to keep her balance.

" So we need to talk about a few things, " Derek began nervously.

" Okay, " She replied, an uneasy note to her voice.

" First of all, I need your help with something I'm working on. Can you keep a secret?"

" Better than you think, " Meredith assured him.

The pregnancy test nagged him and he didn't doubt her.

" Okay, good...You know I love you right, Meri? And there's nothing you could tell me that would change that.

" Okay, I'm a little lost here. Do you mind explaining a little bit here? "

" I found the test in the trash this morning, Meredith. Why didn't you tell me? " Derek pressed.

" First of all, what are you doing rooting through the trash and second what test are you talking about? "

" You know what I'm talking about. You don't have to lie to me about it, Meredith."

" I'm not lying to you about anything! I seriously have no clue what you're talking about."

" Okay, I guess when you're ready to face the truth we'll talk about it. In the meantime, we have work to do, " Derek snapped at her, annoyed with the fact she was acting like he was an idiot and didn't know what a pregnancy test looked like.

" Fine! Seriously, Derek, maybe you should get tested because I think you're showing early signs of insanity, " Meredith sniped back and was met with a glare.

" Oh? Well, if I got syphilis, it'd have to be from you! "

Meredith's mouth dropped open and suddenly Derek wished he would have just kept his mouth shut until they got home. Her blue gray eyes narrowed and she pulled the door open roughly.

" I have better things to do with my time than to listen to you accuse me of being a whore. I'll help you with whatever you needed help on, but don't think for one second you're getting anywhere near the bedroom tonight, " Meredith kept her back to him as she spoke coldly.

The door slammed shut behind her and Derek dropped his head down in his hands. That hadn't gone the way he'd wanted it too. Sometimes he wondered how he could be a brain surgeon when he himself was every once in a while brainless.

-v-

Meredith spent the rest of the day avoiding her boyfriend. He'd paged her many times and she'd call to check, make sure it was medical related. Except everyone but the last page had been him wanting to talk. She'd just hang up and ignore him. Of course that did her little good now as she stood across from him in the operating room. He'd been looking at her with those pleading indigo eyes and she was resisting the urge to slap him. Meredith still couldn't figure out just what the hell he was talking about. She hadn't taken any tests, let alone thrown any away.

" Are you going to stay mad at me forever? " Derek asked casually as he remained focus on the surgery at hand.

" I don't think this is the time to be having this discussion, Dr. Shepherd, " Meredith replied icily.

His eyes sought out hers and she almost caved. Almost.

" Meredith-, " Derek started.

" Not in this hospital. We can talk about it later, but it's not going to happen right now, " Meredith's tone left no room for arguments.

" Thank God, " Bailey's voice interrupted the staring match going down.

Despite the surgical mask, Meredith cracked a lop-sided smile at her resident. Sometimes she loved Bailey.

Now, hours later she was trapped in an elevator with him with the chief lying in a hospital gurney between them. She stared everywhere but at him, even though she could feel his gaze resting solely on her. They hadn't spoken to each other since they left the OR and she planned to keep it that way. She was still fuming over the fact he'd basically accused her of being a whore. Now he was acting like he wanted to make nice. Let him suffer for a while is what she decided if she would forgive him or not.

" What time does your shift end tonight? "

" I told Bailey I'd stay overnight and keep an eye on the Chief, " Meredith coolly told him.

" I was hoping we could have dinner tonight."

" Seriously? You think I even want to look at you right now? Seriously?"

" Meredith."

" What! "

" Oh… Usually I say Meredith and you yell at me, I didn't have anything planned actually. "

" Will you two keep it down? I just had major brain surgery here and I have just the smallest bit of a headache, " Chief Webber interrupted them groggily.

" Sorry, sir, " Meredith was immediately contrite, shooting daggers at Derek with her eyes.

" Meredith, please. Don't be mad at Derek. I asked Addison to come out here, he didn't even know until this morning, " Richard tried to smooth the situation over, clearly thinking that must be the source of the argument. He realized his mistake when Meredith's mouth dropped open slightly and Derek groaned.

" Oh, you are unbelievable! " Meredith shrieked at him right as the elevator doors opened. She stormed out, giving them both an evil look as she disappeared.

Richard heard Derek sigh and he realized he shouldn't have interfered.

" I didn't help, did I?"

Derek laughed sarcastically and patted Richard on the arm.

" You , my friend , just put me in the doghouse for at least a week. "

Meredith was still fuming when she came across Cristina in the lobby. The whole idea had been for her to go outside and get some fresh air to calm her temper, but once she saw her best friend, she decided to rant a bit.

" So Derek's gone crazy. He keeps bugging me about some damn test that he found in the trash and I have no idea what he's talking about. Then he calls me a whore, well he didn't call me a whore, but the implication was most definitely there, " Meredith announced as she took a seat in the lobby beside Cristina.

" Okay, first of all, take a deep breath. I didn't understand anything you just said. Second, Derek called you a whore? " Cristina asked, half amused and most certainly interested.

Meredith made a big show of taking a deep breath before starting over again.

" Derek's crazy. He's convinced I'm hiding something from him. He found this test in the trash and I have no idea what test or even what the hell he's talking about, " she explained.

" Why was he going through the trash?"

"I know! That's what I said. So he keeps saying that I know what he's talking about, when I have no clue about any freakin' test."

It suddenly clicked in Cristina's head what Derek could have found in the trash.

" I told him he might want to get tested for syphilis because he was showing early signs of insanity. Do you know what he said to me? "

" No, but I'm sure you're going to tell me, " Cristina answered dryly.

" He said that if he did have syphilis he'd have to have gotten it from me!"

" Ouch."

" He's so sleeping on the couch tonight, " Meredith scowled.

" What would I do without the sordid drama between my attending and my best friend? "

" Derek and I do not have drama, " Meredith stated as she climbed to her feet. Cristina followed and they headed towards the front desk.

" You so have drama. Half of this hospital is caught up with what's going on with Dr. Shepherd and Dr. Grey. You're like a bad episode of General Hospital."

" Cristina!"

" What? It's true."

" It's only because Derek's acting like a jackass- " Meredith was cut off as she bumped into a tall redhead dressed to kill.

" I'm so sorry, " Meredith apologized immediately.

" Not a problem. I couldn't help but overhear your conversation. Are you talking about Derek Shepherd? " The woman asked innocently.

" As a matter of fact, she was. Do you know him? " Cristina asked, only to be elbowed sharply in the ribs by Meredith.

" Ah, so you must be the woman whose been screwing my husband, " The woman replied cheerfully and Meredith was certain she heard Cristina's jaw hit the floor.

" And you must be the adulterous bitch who cheated on him with his best friend, " Meredith smile and replied just as nicely.

The redhead extended her hand.

" Addison Shepherd, " she introduced as Meredith took it.

" Meredith Grey. "