"First you have a wife and now you have a kid?!" Meredith's voice echoed down the otherwise empty stairwell. She had let Derek drag her here; why she didn't know. At first she didn't want to believe Richard. There was no way Derek had a daughter. But, when Derek proceeded to apologize over and over again, she had to face reality. When she had found out three weeks that her lover was indeed married, she'd been pissed; they hadn't slept together since then. She barely talked to him. But he'd been working his charm and she found herself missing him more and more each day. She had even accepted his invitation to dinner tonight. But now… now it would take hell freezing over before she ever found herself falling victim to his charm again.
"Meredith," Derek said, placing his hands on her cheeks and directing her face to look at him. "I wanted to tell you. Really, I—"
Meredith shook her head and stepped away from him. "No! Don't lie to me. If you wanted to tell me you would have."
"Meredith," Derek pleaded.
"No, Derek." She opened the door leading to the hallway. "Don't touch me. Don't talk to me. Don't even come near me." With that, she left.
But Derek wasn't going to let her go without a fight. He followed her down the hallway, taking note of who else was around them, being careful to not draw too much attention to them or the fact that they were in, if nothing else, a heated argument that could very well determine the future of their relationship.
He saw Meredith look over her shoulder then pick up her pace. He followed her closely until she turned and pushed open the door to the women's restroom. Stepping inside, she collided with someone else.
"Sor—" Meredith started to say until she noticed that it was Derek's daughter who she'd run into. Meredith stared at the girl for a few moments then pushed past her. Aden shook her head in response then stepped into the hallway, letting the door shut behind her. She took two steps and stopped when she saw Derek standing there.
"I take it that didn't go well?" Aden asked. When he sighed instead of answering her, she continued. "If you didn't pretend I don't exist maybe—"
Derek held up his hand. "Not now, Aden!" Then he walked away.
"Okay, sure, no problem," Aden said to herself. "Guess I'll just go back to waiting." She headed back to the waiting room to the corner where her bags were still stowed. Sitting down, she picked up her backpack and began rummaging through it. After a few minutes of no luck, she zipped the bag shut and set it on top of her duffel. 'Damn, forgot I had to leave them back in New York.' Sighing she sat back in her chair and glanced around at the other people in the room.
Across the room from her, a little boy no more than five years old was kneeling in front of a chair, running his Matchbox cars over the vinyl covering of the chair. His father sat nearby. In the opposite corner, a twenty-something man was sitting, head bent, hands folded. Near the door, an elderly woman sat; a younger woman, who Aden assumed was her daughter, next to her. From what she'd heard earlier, there was a good chance that all of them could leave here tonight grieving.
'God, I hate hospitals.' Aden stood up and put her backpack over one shoulder. Hoisting the duffel bag up over her other shoulder, she left the room. She opted to take the stairs this time, passing Dr. Webber's office as she did.
"Aden!" Several feet past his office, she heard his voice and turned around to face him. "Sneaking off? What's your father going to say when he goes looking for you?"
'Like he'll even care' "Just tell Derek I'll be downstairs… waiting for him."
An hour later, Alex found himself leaving the hospital along with Izzie, George, and Meredith. Pulling his hood up over his head he noticed a familiar figure to his right. He slowed down his pace, falling behind his friends. "Hey, guys; give me a few," he told them before turning and heading to his right.
Sitting underneath the overhang on the brick wall was Aden; Alex headed over to her. Reaching her, he said, "Don't you know that kills?"
Blowing out a puff of cigarette smoke, Aden replied, "So does second-hand smoke. Way I see it it's better to go out on my own accord." Grabbing the cigarette pack from the spot beside her, she offered it to him. "Want one?"
Alex shook his head. "No, thanks." As raindrops began falling again, he hopped up onto the wall beside her. "I think your dad's looking for you."
'I doubt it' Aden decided to change the subject."They look pissed," she said, motioning towards the group of interns sharing an umbrella in the middle of the lighted pathway leading towards the parking lot. Putting her cigarette out, she continued, "You probably shouldn't be talking to me."
"Don't worry about them. They just…"
"Hate Derek?" she asked. 'Join the club' "I'm sorry your friend—Meredith—had to find out like this."
"It's not your—" Alex was interrupted by Derek, who shouted at his daughter.
"Aden!" Derek walked up to them. "Where have you been? I've been looking for you for the last ten minutes." Noticing Alex, he greeted, "Karev." Alex nodded in reply.
"I've been here the whole time."
"Richard said you'd be downstairs."
"Yeah; last I checked outside was downstairs," Aden shot back.
Derek shook his head. "Don't be a smartass. Grab your bag and let's go." He picked up her duffel bag and started walking away, not even bothering to check if she was following.
Jumping off the wall, she grabbed her backpack and slung it over one shoulder. "I guess I'll see you around," she told Alex before turning to walk away. Turning back, she thanked Alex although he had no idea what for. Then she turned and ran to catch up with Derek.
"So, how long is your break from school?" Derek asked, glancing over at the girl sitting in the passenger seat of his car. They were nearly home and it was the first time either of them had opened their mouth. Belatedly he realized he'd been less than welcoming—unkind really—to her. But he hadn't been prepared for this. He never was.
"You haven't seen me in over a year and you already want to get rid of me?" Aden said. "Don't worry, Derek, I wish I wasn't here too."
Derek sighed. "Does everything coming out of your mouth have to be sarcastic?" He shook his head. "That's not what I meant and you know it."
Aden wanted to call him on it; tell him he was only lying to himself but she knew it was futile. So instead she used the darkness of the night to mask the rolling of her eyes.
"So?" Derek repeated.
"Uh," Aden hesitated. "Indefinitely."
Stopping at a red light, Derek turned, gaping at her. "Indefinitely? What the hell does that mean? What did you do?"
Aden took a deep breath. "Expulsion is what happened."