Chapter 4- Pretty Women

Blowing out their candles or
Combing out their hair,
Even when they leave
They still are there.
They're there

Ah! Pretty women, at their mirrors,
In their gardens,
Letter-writing,
Flower-picking,
Weather-watching.
How they make a man sing!

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Disclaimer: Not mine; never was, never will be. Oh, I should have done this for previous chapters, but the song quote is 'Pretty Women' from Sweeney Todd. Try to find the version with Johnny Depp and Alan Rickman…it's brilliant.

AN: This is a chapter full of dates…good dates and horrible dates. I'm a bit terrified to write them, but I'll try to do my best. Oh, also, to DinuDinuDinu, I totally picture Finn as Michael Vartan too! I've been in love with him since Alias. So imagine away. : ) That being said- enjoy the chapter!

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Lexie blindly hurried into the hospital, trying to take deep calm breaths to pull herself back under some semblance of control. She hated him! When the hell was he going to realize his daughter was a grown woman and that life went on even when our loved ones left us?

Her sister, Molly, found dealing with their father easy. Lexie sighed. Anything was easy when you lived in a different town and were concentrating on your new baby, especially when you had your older sister to deal with any serious trouble. Whenever she called Molly, hoping for a bit of sympathy, she always got the answer. 'Lex, really, stop being so selfish. He's our father, and he just lost the love of his life. You could try to show a little bit of compassion.' After hearing that for the sixteenth time, Lexie had stopped calling Molly and temporarily moved in with her half-sister. A certain half-sister who was walking towards her right now. She hastily wiped at her eyes and then plastered on a smile.

"Morning, Lexie," Meredith greeted. "Where were you last night? You didn't come home."

"Oh, yeah," Lexie stumbled over her words. "I went and stayed at Dad's for the night."

"Oh, really?" Meredith raised an eyebrow. "Is he hanging in there?"

"He's fine," Lexie answered shortly.

Meredith sighed, giving her sister a look. "I've given someone that answer way too many times to believe you," she chided affectionately. "You know, you can talk to me about it. Technically, he's my father too."

"I never thought I'd hear you say those words," Lexie managed a laugh. "But seriously…everything's fine, Meredith. I just need to find George."

"He's probably in the intern locker room, waiting for me," Meredith answered, looking puzzled. "We've got rounds in about fifteen minutes."

"Oh, okay, thanks!" Lexie called, already on her way. She breathed a huge sigh of relief as soon as she was out of hearing. She'd spent what felt like forever trying to get Meredith to be as sisterly as she'd suddenly become, but today, she wished she'd just go back to the woman who didn't think they were sisters at all.

The locker room was bustling with activity as the shift switch took place. Exhausted interns left, looking forward to bed, while the new shift came in, equally exhausted, but trying to perk up before the residents scooped them up for rounds. Lexie couldn't remember the last time she felt like she was really, truly rested. Putting those thoughts away, she found George's locker, recently moved right next to her own.

George was shrugging into his lab coat and looking for his stethoscope. Lexie grinned and reached into his locker, pulling it out from the mess on the top shelf. "Why don't you just put it on the hook like everyone else?" she asked, handing it to him.

"Life would be…err…less exciting?" George grinned bashfully. "Hey, have you seen Meredith? I don't want to be late."

"Don't worry, I just saw her," Lexie assured him. "She said she'd be here in about fifteen minutes."

"Oh good," George grinned, sitting down on the bench between two rows of lockers. "You might actually have a good day with Christina. Word is she got in on a heart transplant this morning."

"Thank God," Lexie smiled, stuffing her purse into her locker and unbuttoning her top. "If Hahn passed her off for one more surgery, I think one of her interns would suffer death by scalpel."

"It's her favourite weapon," George laughed. He paused, looking thoughtfully away as Lexie took off her jeans in favour of scrub pants. When she was decent, he turned back. "How'd things with your dad go last night?"

Lexie sat down on the bench beside George with a huff of frustration. "Terribly," she admitted. "There was lots of yelling and guilt-tripping. Ending off with a resounding 'I'm your father and I need you here to look after me, you ungrateful bitch.'"

George wrapped an arm around Lexie's waist, giving her a supportive hug. "No go then, eh?"

"No," she sighed, resting her head on his shoulder. "I'm so sorry, George."

"Me too," George said sincerely. "Still, I know you would if you could."

"Oh no, no no!" came the rather loud and mocking voice of Christina Yang. "Absolutely no snuggling on the job, Three."

Lexie leapt away from George to stand in front of Christina. "Much better," Christina nodded. "One, Two, Four, move your lazy asses. We've got an influx of mono in the free clinic, and Bailey thinks for some reason my interns would be the best group to deal with it. Move it!"

George stood to face Christina. "I really don't like you sometimes," he joked with her.

"I know, Bambi," she grinned, following her interns. George looked around. Izzie was off giving her interns a pep talk, while Alex snarled at an intern for not being changed into his scrubs yet. He suppressed a surge of bitterness, before trotting off to find Meredith.

It didn't take long. He had just rounded the first corner past the intern locker room before he saw her, in heated debate with Derek. He hurried back around the corner, but couldn't resist staying to listen.

"Derek, I seriously don't have time for this," she said shortly. "I'm supposed to be rounding with my interns."

"I just wanted to hear how your date went," Derek said. His voice sounded light, but there was a strain underneath that George thought sounded a little desperate.

"It hasn't happened yet," Meredith informed him. "It's tomorrow."

"So, Rose was right?" Derek asked incredulously. "We've been broken up for less than a week, and already you've got that sappy vet running after you again?"

Meredith sighed, and George could imagine a flash of anger in her eyes. "You know your source of that information?" she said, with a harsh edge to her voice. "That's why I'm incapable of feeling guilty. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got rounds."

George had no time to hide before Meredith came barrelling around the corner. "Oh, hi," she said, sounding surprised.

"Hey," George smiled. "I was just coming to see where you were."

"Sorry," Meredith winced. "I ran into an asshole on my way here."

"Everything all right?" George questioned.

"I'm fine," Meredith smiled. And for the first time, George sort of believed her.

---

Finn lifted his hand to ring Meredith's doorbell, then had a momentary flash of doubt, and dropped his hand again. He took a few steadying breaths, trying to find his confidence. Before he had quite reclaimed it, however, he heard a few giggles, and glanced to the right to see two faces slip out of view behind the curtain. So much for privacy. Throwing caution to the wind, he rang the door.

Meredith answered it almost immediately. He'd been meaning to make some sort of comment about her nosy roommates, but the sight of her made the words catch in his throat. She done her hair into loose, bouncy curls and had opted for a red halter dressed that cinched at her slender waist before falling to her knees. "Hey," she smiled.

"Hi," he breathed, unashamedly looking her up and down. "You look…amazing."

"You don't look too shabby yourself," Meredith giggled. "Come on in. I've just got to grab my coat. Oh and excuse the room mates."

"Room…?" His eyes fell on Izzie and Christina, who were seated on a bench in the front hallway, studying him. "Hey."

"Hi," Izzie smiled. They'd established a friendly connection shortly after the death of her fiancé, and he was grateful for the friendly face. He only recognized Christina from the prom, and his initial impression was that he'd have to do a lot of proving before she'd approve of anything to do about him.

She looked him up and down openly, before nodding slightly. "Have a good time," she said shortly, then got up and headed to the kitchen. Izzie offered him the thumbs up and then half-skipped after Christina. He shook his head, but before too much marvelling over the strange behaviour could be done, he'd been rejoined by Meredith.

"Ready to go?" she asked.

"Yeah," he nodded. They left the house and he grinned as she slipped her arm through his.

"So, where are we going?" she asked.

"It's still a surprise," he teased.

"Oh, just tell me," Meredith rolled her eyes.

"Ever heard of a place called Maria Pesto's?" Finn asked. It was a quaint Italian restaurant with unbelievable food and beautiful décor that reminded him of his trip to Tuscany.

"I've heard of it, but I've never been," Meredith admitted.

"You'll love it," Finn promised.

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Derek drove into Rose's driveway and turned off the car. He hesitated for a moment, studying her apartment building. It was a nice, clean place done on the outside with warm stucco. He knew inside everything was decorated very fashionably in the modern sense. He tried to picture his future dream house with the sharp angles and harsh silvers, but found pictures of old Victorian cupboards, blue china and comfy red couches slipping in instead. He growled under his breath and jumped out of the car.

He was surprised to see Rose already waiting for him in the lobby. She looked cute, wearing a silky lavender dress and her hair piled up with delicate pearls at the ears. Very mature and put together. He offered her a smile, and she came out, slipping her arm through his. "Hello, you," she smiled, kissing him on the cheek.

"Hey," he grinned, turning to kiss her fully on the lips. He was determined to make this work. Rose was everything he thought he needed, and she was very attentive and attached to him, judging by the glow in her eyes when they parted. "You're very prompt."

"You were a bit late," shrugged Rose. "I don't want to miss our reservations."

"Sorry," Derek apologized, opening the car door for her. When he slid in beside her, he offered his explanation. "The chief parks his trailer on my land, and he wanted to have a chat."

"About what?" Rose inquired, as they pulled out of the driveway.

Derek paused. He definitely couldn't tell her the truth. Richard had been lecturing Derek on the evils of giving up on Meredith. The lie came surprisingly easy. "Just, work stuff. I don't want to bore you. Where are we headed?"

"Have you ever heard of a place called Maria Pesto's?" Rose asked.

"No," Derek answered, a wave of relief. He and Meredith had never been to dinner at this Pesto's place. For one of the first times, he and Rose wouldn't have the ghost of his ex on the date with them.

---

Meredith laughed as Finn bungled the Italian pronunciation of his meal to the waitress. "Oh, and I suppose you know the correct way to say it?" Finn teased as he handed up his menu.

"Yeah, actually," Meredith answered. "I spent a lot of time in Italy."

"Really?" Finn asked, surprised. "Me too…when did a medical student find time to go to Italy?"

"Actually, I took two years off after high school to backpack all over Europe," Meredith revealed. "I wasn't sure what I wanted to do with my life, and I thought there might be answers overseas."

"Did you find them?" Finn asked.

"Sort of," Meredith shrugged. "I was standing on the steps of the Vatican when I found out my mother was experiencing early on set Alzheimer's. So that was something."

Finn winced and reached across the table, squeezing her hand sympathetically. "I'm so sorry for your losses, Mer," he sighed, holding her eyes with his own. She felt a sad smile on her face. Somehow, he was one of the few people who made her truly believe that when he said it.

In half an hour they'd covered drowning, the mess that was Meredith's family and her residency. She'd been shocked how easily everything had come out. Somewhere along the line she'd forgotten how easy Finn was to talk to. "Thank you," she said, straying away from the usual 'Oh, I'm fine' standby answer.

He sat back, taking a sip of his wine. "Where else did you go in Europe?"

"Oh, all over," Meredith replied. "I loved Germany though."

"Did you go to Munich?" Finn asked.

"Of course," Meredith grinned. "With all those crazy lions everywhere."

"And the Hofbräuhaus?" Finn carried on, with a twinkle in his eye.

"Well, I went to the Hofbräuhaus, but I can't say I remember it too well," she admitted.

"That makes two of us," Finn laughed. "I like to think I enjoyed myself though."

Meredith laughed loudly, causing Finn to grin. "I've missed that," he said, his tone a little softer.

"What?" Meredith asked, slightly confused.

"Just your laugh," Finn smiled. "I know it's cheesy…but it's just so great."

"It was cheesy," Meredith confirmed. "But that's okay."

"Not running for the exits?" Finn teased.

"Not yet," Meredith agreed, looking over at the door. Her jaw dropped in disbelief and without realizing what she was doing, she brought the dessert menu up to hide her face.

"What is it?" Finn asked, turning to look at the door. He groaned in a mirroring disbelief. Derek Shepherd had just walked in with a woman Finn recognized from Joe's. "You've got to be kidding me!" Derek made eye contact with Finn, and the immediate look of shock assured Finn the run in was an accidental one. That was some little comfort.

"I do not believe this!" snapped Meredith.

"He's seen us now," Finn observed. "I'm sure they'll go somewhere…" He trailed off as Derek placed a hand on his date's back and followed a waitress to a table four places from their own table.

"That would require not being a massive shit disturber," hissed Meredith. Derek's date was peeking over at their table in a very unsubtle manner between making what looked like harried apologies. Derek, on the other hand, was stoically ignoring Meredith.

"Do you want to go somewhere else?" Finn asked.

Meredith placed the menu down and sat up straighter. "No, it's all right," she assured him. "We were having an awesome time here and there's no reason to let him change that. I feel like I've been so selfish though. You know all about my mess of a life…what have you been up to? How's the practice going?"

"Everything's generally really excellent," Finn shrugged. "Not much to tell, honestly. I took a trip out to Montana a while back."

"Fishing?" guessed Meredith.

"Right in one," Finn smiled. "Called up some of my old buddies and we went down for a week and rented a cabin. I've still got some trout left over. You should come over and let me make you dinner."

The tentative offer was left hanging in the air as the waitress delivered their meals. Finn's stomach was rumbling and he dug in happily. "I'd really like that," Meredith said, after the waitress added cheese to her pasta.

Finn swallowed a mouthful of linguini and then offered her a grin. "It's a date, then."

"You know, I've never gone fly-fishing before," Meredith confided.

"All that time you were with Derek and he never took you fishing?" Finn asked in disbelief.

Meredith shrugged. "Fishing was what he did when he needed space."

"Well, you can come take space with me any day," Finn grinned.

Meredith flicked a piece of feta at him. "That was ridiculously cheesy," she laughed.

---

"I'm so sorry," Rose said for near on the twentieth time. "We really can go some place else."

"It's all right," Derek sighed, wishing she would just shut up so he could hear the conversation at Meredith's table. "Just…just decide what you want."

"Oh no," Rose said suddenly. "She's coming over…"

Derek's head shot up and he blatantly watched Meredith walk to their table, an uncertain smile on her face. Behind her, Finn was watching with the simple confidence of a man who was sure of his footings and date. "Hi," Meredith said, coming to rest at their table. "I figured I'd do the mature thing and come over and say hi."

"Finn couldn't do the same?" Derek shot out before he could stop himself. Both Rose and Meredith looked at him oddly.

"That was very nice," Rose rushed in to cover the awkwardness. "It's a bit of a strange situation for everybody."

"No kidding," Meredith nodded, glancing worriedly at Derek. "Well, anyways, have a good dinner. We just got our food…its delicious."

"Enjoy your supper," Derek said tightly. Meredith rolled her eyes openly and walked back to Finn, who was already returning her smile.

Derek tried to hide from Rose behind the menu, but she was now blatantly staring at him, he sighed and put it down. "Sorry," he grunted.

"Derek…if you clearly have so many unresolved feelings with Meredith, why did you leave her in the first place?" she demanded, her eyes offering no escape from interrogation.

"I don't have unresolved feelings," he protested. "Just anger and bitterness, unfortunately."

"What the hell did Meredith Grey do to you?" Rose asked, clearly angry.

Derek sighed, looking sadly at Rose. Why was everything with her so hard? Why couldn't they just live in a world where Meredith didn't exist? When Meredith wasn't around, he and Rose had a good time, but as soon as the slender blonde entered his radar, he had to force himself to concentrate on Rose. It really wasn't fair. "I…I don't know," he answered. "I guess it was the fact that she could operate without me."

"I know how that feels," Rose said, suddenly sympathetic. Derek suddenly remembered Rose had gone through the same thing…met someone she wanted to love forever, and found him unwilling to take the necessary steps. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Derek smiled. "Meredith was…she was everything," he admitted. "I've never found someone who I just loved with something that all-consuming. And after Addison and I gave up, Meredith and I had a good thing. But one morning, I found her under the water in her bathtub…" He trailed on, eager to finally get all these feelings on his chest. Perhaps he just needed to let it all out, let Rose in on every element of Meredith and then move on together putting the past behind them. Rose smiled and clutched his hand at all the right places, and he felt for a moment like everything would be all right.

"With Burke and Christina's wedding, she just couldn't concentrate on me," Derek explained. "When I needed her the most, she was obsessed with the idea of getting her best friend down the aisle."

Unwillingly, his eyes drifted over to where Finn and Meredith were preparing to leave. Finn was holding Meredith's jacket for her, and she was laughing at something he'd said. As she slid her arms into the jacket, he spun her around and kissed her lightly on the lips. Derek prepared for the immediate coldness. One thing Meredith disliked was public displays of affection. But it never came. Instead she laughed, and, placing a hand on his chest, kissed him. Like it was a habit. Like we'd be doing it forever.

Derek jolted and found he'd lost the story. "I know Dr. Yang and Dr. Burke failed to make it down the aisle," Rose was saying. "I can only imagine how that affected Meredith."

Derek stared at her for a moment. Her best friend had lost the love of her life. How stupid his reactions seemed. She was just being as strong a friend to Christina as Christina had been to her. My person. And frankly she was there when you weren't. "I…" he found himself unable to continue. "I don't really want to spend all my time with you talking about Meredith. Why don't we talk about something else…anything else really."

"If you're sure," Rose smiled. She was always so supportive. He had to do this right. He could not screw this up.

---

"So, I had an amazing evening," Finn confided in her, walking her up to the door.

"Despite the appearance of my ever-charming ex?" Meredith sighed.

"Perhaps because of," Finn shrugged.

"What does that mean?" Meredith laughed.

"Nothing at all," Finn shrugged. He leaned in and, pulling Meredith close, kissed her deeply. She swayed towards him, deepening the kiss.

When they finally parted, he was glad to see the lust in her eyes. "You are so good at that," she grinned stupidly.

"You're not so bad yourself," he complimented her. "I'll see you Sunday afternoon then?"

"Yes please," Meredith nodded. She watched as he walked back to his car, exchanging one last goofy grin before slipping inside. She was immediately pounced on by Christina and George.

"How'd it go?" they both demanded.

"Amazing," Meredith admitted. "In all the craziness with Derek, I forgot exactly how well Finn and I get along. It was a nice refresher course…even with Derek four tables to our right."

"What?" hissed Christina.

"With Rose," Meredith elaborated.

"That's…that's awkward," George shook his head. "That is definitely awkward."

They moved into the living room, collapsing in front of the television. "You're telling me," Meredith giggled. "Where is everybody? I don't want to have to go through this more than once…and you're all so nosy…"

"Izzie and Alex got called in for some knee surgery Callie got in," Christina answered.

"Where's Lexie, then?" Meredith asked. "If George is off, she should be too."

"She's uh…she's at her dad's, actually," George replied. "I think she's going to be there for a while."

"Why?" Meredith asked, shocked.

"She went to ask him if she and I could get an apartment last night," George admitted. "I gather things went pretty messily. And he told her she had to come back home."

Meredith sighed, sitting further back in the sofa. Images of Lexie swam before her eyes, with her soft brown eyes that had so much to see yet. She was overwhelmed with the need to do something. Some sort of protective beast seemed to be stirring inside of her for the first time. She supposed this was what it meant to be an older sister. "I think I have to pay a visit to my father in the not-so-distant future," she observed ominously.

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