This must be karma for his wife dumping the girl on the ground last night.
"Dr. Grey…"
Lexie kept her gaze trained on Derek and Alex. "Yes Dr. O'Malley?"
"Do you remember our conversation from last night?"
Lexie looked at George as if he had grown a second head. She studied him for a moment as scenes from a slow moving movie starring herself filtered through her head. "I remember falling off my stool."
"Do you remember our talk about Dr. Shepard?"
Lexie thought again. All she remembered was nice hair and falling off her barstool. She was glad her mom wasn't around to see her get so drunk she couldn't stay seated.
"George, I'm getting refills. Do you want another beer?" Derek asked.
George looked over at Derek and the empty glasses in his hands. "No thanks, I'm good."
With a nod to both George and Lexie, Derek excused himself. George found relief in the lack of recognition on Derek's face as he glanced at Lexie.
This may not be so bad after all.
"Why do you want to talk to Dr. Shepard?" The way Lexie's eyes moved from George to follow Derek as he walked away made him frown a little. "Dr. Grey?"
Lexie watched the older man as he moved towards the bar. She did remember him, well, his hair, from last night, and discovered from a couple of nurses earlier today that he was Dr. Derek Shepard, dreamy neurosurgeon extraordinaire, who was currently dating her half-sister Meredith. Dated her half-sister before his wife came to town and then left her half-sister who dated a vet before Dr. Shepard finally left his wife for her half-sister. Nurse Debbie had been proud of winning $200 in the Shepard vs. Vet pool.
The half-sister she didn't know existed until shortly before her mom died.
Meredith, Cristina and Izzie continued watching the scene before them.
"Why is she talking to George?"
Cristina backhanded Izzie's shoulder. "Shut up, I'm trying to read her lips."
Izzie returned the slap. "You can't see that far!"
"I have perfect vision, so shut up!" Cristina hissed.
"She said 'Shepard." Cristina turned to Meredith. "I'm positive she said it."
Meredith held her breath as she watched Derek approach George and her "sister." Molly had spoken of how crazy proud Thatcher was of Lexie. Thatcher's offspring grew up to be bright and shiny, protected and loved. They weren't cursed with her dark and twistiness. Meredith wondered if Derek would find that attractive.
Both Izzie and Cristina looked to Meredith for her reaction as they also watched Derek approach George and Lexie. They released their collective breath as Derek spoke to George and barely glanced at the woman standing next to him before walking to the bar. But Meredith still held her breath as she observed Lexie's eyes still on Derek.
That spurred her into action. Springing up from her seat, Meredith cut through the small crowd to stand beside Derek at the bar while he waited for Joe. She slipped her arm around his waist and rested her head against his shoulder.
"Hey!" Derek slipped his arm around Mer and pulled her snugly against his body, pressing a kiss against her forehead. "Thirsty?"
Meredith tipped her head back and found her face very close to Derek's. So close their breath intermingled with lips millimeters away from touching. Glancing at his mouth, Meredith considered the distance and realized it wouldn't take much to cross it.
Space is overrated.
Rising up on her tiptoes, Meredith pressed her lips against Derek's. Both were momentarily stunned by perfectness of the contact, and any thought of Lexie was pushed from Meredith's mind by the firm glide of Derek's lips over hers.
"Is that Meredith?" Lexie motioned toward the figures engaged in a heated lip lock at the bar.
George twisted around to see Meredith being very thoroughly kissed by Derek.
"Yep. That's Meredith."
"My parents never mentioned her." Lexie sighed. "I guess Mom started talking to Meredith a few months before she died. Molly knew about it, but no one told me."
George couldn't tell if the look on Lexie's face was "happy she found a sister" or "sad she lost the man."
"Dr. O'Malley, do you think Dr. Shepard would talk to me?"
"Why do you want to talk to him?"
Lexie turned back to George. "I'd rather not say. It's personal."
"They're at it again." Alex dragged a stool and set it next to George. "I knew I should have gone for my own drink." They looked over to Derek burying his face in Meredith's hair as he held her close and her arms looped around his waist.
For once George was thankful Alex intruded in a conversation. He didn't like the direction this one was going.
"Alex, have you met Dr. Grey?" George motioned to Lexie.
With Derek sucking Meredith's face at the bar, Alex had grown thirsty, bored and curious to know what George and Meredith's sister were talking about. "So you're Meredith's sister…"
"Half-sister," George corrected.
Lexie looked at the two men. "How do you know that?"
Alex shrugged. "When you work at the hospital, you know stuff."
"Who are you?"
"Dr. Alex Karev."
Lexie giggled. "Ah, you're 'Evil Spawn.' " Both men noticed the giggle didn't come close to Meredith's melodious one.
Alex frowned while George almost split his side laughing.
"And I wasn't going to mention it, Dr. O'Malley, but I hear you're 'Bambi.'"
Alex smirked while it was George's turn to frown. "I'd rather be 'Evil Spawn' than 'Bambi' O'Malley."
Izzie watched as young Dr. Grey turned her attention to Alex as he grinned at something she said.
"What were you saying earlier about ten blades?" Cristina pondered as they watched Alex and George with Lexie Grey.
"I might start with a ten blade and move up to a bone saw."
Cristina raised her glass in a toast to the thoroughly miffed Izzie.
Derek broke the kiss and brushed his nose against Meredith's cheek. He had almost forgotten they were in a public place as Meredith brushed her hips against his rapidly growing erection. The bar noise surrounded them as Derek smiled into lavender-scented hair.
"You do realize you have to stay where you are."
Meredith reached between their bodies and lightly rubbed her hand against his zipper and the hard ridge straining behind it. She smiled as Derek's hips moved against her palm.
"Oh really? Well, I see Cristina waving me back to the table. I'll be…." Stepping away from Derek, Meredith squealed when he yanked her back against his body.
"You're not going anywhere," Derek whispered, then raising his voice a little louder than normal speaking volume. "So, Dr. Grey, what is the outer coating of the brain called?"
Meredith was confused. "Cerebral cortex, why?"
Derek forced himself to continue to think of anything non-Meredith to control his raging erection. No way was he strolling out of Joe's with a much noticeable hard on. "What are the three main structures of the brain?"
"Cerebrum, cerebellum and the brain stem." Meredith leaned back so she could look at his face. "What are you doing?"
"Trying to concentrate on anything but you…"
"So you'd rather teach a Neurology 101 class in Joe's than concentrate on me?" Meredith wasn't sure if she should be offended or not.
Derek chuckled at the semi-insulted look crossing Meredith's face. "I need to not concentrate on you so we can get out of here so I can concentrate on you."
Blushing slightly at the thought of Derek "concentrating" on her, Meredith's gaze fell on the threesome by the dartboard: George, Alex and Lexie. Then she remembered. Space. Sighing deeply, Meredith stepped back half a step and looked up into Derek's questioning face.
"Space, remember?" Meredith reached up and cupped the side of his face. "I'm sorry."
Nodding, Derek rested his forehead against Meredith's. "I am too." Derek whispered.
"Are you two done yet?" Arms crossed, an amused Joe stood waiting while freshly refilled drinks sat on the bartop. "I didn't know I was also providing a floor show tonight." Meredith shrugged apologetically and returned to Izzie and Cristina as Derek made his way back to the dartboard area.