OK So I'm working on this whole updating more often. I do apologize for the past, it's been a crazy month…. Got in a car accident, and then, 3 days after I got it fixed, I got it stolen…. Got it back (Didn't really want it back) and now I have to deal. So this is a good escape.
Aftermath
Chapter 10: All That I've Got
Meredith froze in her chair. "This can't be happening." She muttered to her table companion. But she got no response. When she looked over, she saw her predecessor was smiling like the cat that ate the canary. Somehow, I don't think this is going to be good.
Addison froze in her spot. Mark, who'd been tugging on her arm, stopped cold when he saw Erica and her younger companion. He put two and two together and gathered that this was Meredith, AKA the current love of his ex-best friend's life. His fingers curled a little tighter around Addison's upper arm. "Exhale." He instructed softly. She automatically released the breath he was sure she didn't know she was holding.
"What do we do?" Meredith tried again, hoping to get Erica's attention as she finally tore her eyes from Addison's.
This time, she responded. "She didn't expect me to be here. And I'm guessing, by the look on her face, she definitely didn't expect you to be here. So, you'd probably be better off not saying anything when she comes over." Erica told her, never breaking eye contact with Addison.
"You don't think she'll come over here, do you?" Meredith whispered, desperately avoiding eye contact now.
"Oh, I not only think it, I know it. We're his past and his future Meredith. Don't think she doesn't know it. She knows where she falls in Derek's life. She'll be making an appearance." Erica explained.
Meredith opened her mouth, preparing to say something else, but Addison decided to prove Erica right and started over, practically dragging Mark behind her.
Erica kicked out a chair for Addison using the heel of her 4" stiletto boot. "Addison! Fancy meeting you here! Do take a seat!" Erica exclaimed in false excitement.
Addison grabbed the chair that was shoved her way. "What are you doing here!" Addison hissed under her breath.
Erica held up her Jack and 7 in response. "This is a bar. We're having a drink." Erica replied glibly.
"Why are you having a drink with her?" Addison questioned, her eyes flashing, darkening in anger.
It took every fiber of Meredith's being not to run away or shrink into her chair. She managed a glance at her companion, shocked to find her cool as a cucumber. My God, she must be made of steel.
"Derek invited me to dinner Addison. You know that. We ate here. Meredith joined us after her shift was through. What's with all the questions? Do you have a day job we don't know about? CSI perhaps?" Erica teased, her voice dripping with sarcasm.
"This whole thing is ridiculous You should NOT be here. This is a total breach of
ethics and professionalism! We were doing just fine until you poked your nose where it didn't belong!" Addison exclaimed.
Erica rolled her eyes. "Hmm, that's what you call this? Poking my nose in? Really…? Right, well you go ahead and run and tell Richard that. We'll finish our drinks and wait here. Mark, pull up a chair." Erica snapped, her eyes narrowing at the red head.
Addison was at a loss for words. "That's what I thought. Now, I'm sure you'd like to make your exit now, so why don't you go ahead and do that, and when you call Derek to yell at him, would you remind him that he owes me for his half of dinner and drinks? Thanks, you're a doll." Erica finished, turning her eyes from the older woman.
Anger rocketed through Addison. She turned her talons to Meredith, easier prey. "You know you shouldn't be here, seeing him outside of work. You know he's married, and yet you came anyways. What's she been telling you! That he doesn't really love me? That he loves you so much more! That I broke him! That you fixed him! Well I have news for you! I didn't break him, she did! She left him!" Addison shrieked, wrenching her arm of the tugging grasp of Mark.
Before Meredith could even react, Erica was on her feet, the tips of her very expensively manicured nails barely touching the table as she leaned over, using her considerable height to her advantage. She towered over Addison by a good 5 inches.
"Now I recognize that you hate me. I know that you can't stand the sight of me, of what I stood for in Derek's life. And I have no problem with that. You don't matter to me. Not in the slightest. So you can sling all the mud you want at me, but not at her. The only reason you're mad at her is because you're mad at yourself. You know that if you hadn't fucked up and fucked him, she wouldn't exist. But she does. She's very real. And that pisses you off because you can't scare her off and you don't want to face the real reason why you can't. He LOVES her. He loves her more than he ever loved you and you know it." Erica finished, her voice laced with venom.
Meredith's eyes were as big as saucers, as were Mark's. "Take your adultering ass and leave. Take your partner in crime with you." Erica commanded, not leaving the red head any other option.
Erica sat back down and took a long pull on her drink. "That was such a bad idea. I shouldn't have flown off the handle like that. You OK? You look a little freaked out." She muttered to Meredith.
"I'm fine… I was a little freaked. I've never seen her act like that before. I don't think anyone's ever talked to her like that before." Meredith replied, her voice tinged with awe.
Erica smiled softly. "Yeah well, someone needed to speak to her that way." She replied, throwing down the rest of her drink in one gulp.
"Do you think Derek will be upset?" Meredith asked after a moment. She watched as Erica swirled the ice around in her glass and contemplated the question.
She shrugged. "Hard to say. He used to be frighteningly predictable, but not as of late. He's throwing strikes when he used to throw balls." Erica quipped, clunking the empty glass down and scooting it away from her.
"Look, Meredith, there really is no easy way of dealing with this. Because there is nothing you can do at this point except be who you are, be the woman he fell for. And if that's not enough, well then you did what you could. The ball is in his court. It has to be." Erica continued after a moment. She grabbed her coat and dug into her purse, pulling out some large bills. "This ought to cover it. Coming?" Erica asked, shrugging into her coat.
Meredith grabbed her coat and quickly followed the quick footed psychologist out. "Don't give up. I know you want to, but don't do it just yet. Give him a bit more time." Erica said as she bid her goodbye to the young intern.
Meredith watched Erica as she strode off into the night. Well that was definitely not the evening I was expecting.
ONE WEEK LATER
So far, Erica had settled in well. She'd done her preliminary research and done a fair amount of observing/spying and was ready to begin treatment
First up were the doctors that were on the same floor as the bomb. That meant Preston Burke, Cristina Yang, Derek and Meredith. Skimming over the list, she opted for Cristina first.
Half an hour later, the slender, dark haired woman was sitting across from her, arms folded in front of her and not making eye contact.
"You know, the sooner you drop the 'I don't have any issues, so I don't need to be here' act, the quicker we get this done with." Erica started, hoping to get the attention.
"I don't need to be here. I don't see what the big deal is. We are all OK." Cristina replied, her voice full of boredom and exhaustion.
"Really? And you aren't the slightest bit bothered that you almost lost your best friend and boyfriend all in one accident? That doesn't affect you in the slightest?" Erica challenged.
"Almost, but I didn't lose them. They're very alive." Cristina argued, rolling her eyes at the therapist across the table from her.
"Right, they are. But you didn't know that would be the case when it was happening though. You didn't know if they would live or die, you didn't know if you would live or die." Erica pointed out, jotting down a few notes on Dr. Yang's body language.
Cristina stayed silent for a moment. "I don't do this. I don't do confessions, I don't cry, it's not who I am." She explained.
"I get that from your body language. And I respect that you're a private person and you deal with issues within yourself. But I have to tell the chief, in good faith no less, that you're cleared for duty. Now tell me something, if you're so "fine" then why aren't you scrubbing in? Says here that up until the Code Black, you were one of the most vicious when it came to securing surgeries. Want to explain that?" Erica asked.
Cristina stared defiantly at the woman across from her. She wasn't going to tell her anything. She didn't know her, she didn't need help. She was just fine, when were people going to start believing her! She averted her eyes and blew a strand of hair from her face, displaying just how much she didn't care for the therapist's presence.
Erica had dealt with people like Cristina Yang before and unfortunately the manner in which they were handled wasn't pretty. But what choice did she have? She stood and walked around to Cristina's chair. She leaned down, placing a hand on either arm rest, sticking her face in the younger woman's.
"Now you listen to me you pathetic, rude, disrespectful, whiny little intern! I have a job to do! One that I am very good at! One that I am VERY highly regarded for! You're good at what you do, I get that! I respect that! You do whatever it takes to get the job done! Good for you! But you carry around an attitude and chip on your shoulder to match because secretly, deep down, you think you're the best. You think that no one else here is nearly as good as you. You might be good, but you are far from the best. You are an intern! A nobody! And that precious career that you've thrown your heart and soul into, can disappear in a heart beat! All it means is that I walk out this door and tell Richard that I don't believe you're mentally fit to work. So let me say this as simply as possible. If you do not talk, you do not practice. The choice is yours." Erica finished as she walked to the door, hand on the knob, and waited.
REVIEWS!