Seattle Grace Hospital
Administrative Floor,
Late Evening

-

Meredith slumped down next to Cristina who was sitting on the floor in one of the conference rooms. It was the only spot available since every single nurse or doctor who wasn't desperately needed somewhere else seemed to be lingering around.

"Any news?" Meredith asked, just having stitched up her last patient. The ER was officially clear of any crisis and all operations were back to normal. Except for the fact that every member of the Seattle Grace staff was preoccupied with the fate of one of their own. As much as they had all gossiped about Addison Montgomery-Shepherd, the loyalty that occurred in situations like this was as strong as it was unconditional.

"Nope," Cristina grumbled, clearly not happy with the situation. "What did he have to close the gallery off for?" she muttered under her breath while Meredith tiredly pulled her knees up against her chest to rest her head atop of them. "I mean, I get it, she deserves some privacy, but seriously, how are we supposed to learn anything if we're not allowed to watch?"

"Cristina?" Meredith barely lifted her head up.

"No, seriously," Cristina hissed, keeping her voice down though so that nobody else would overhear their conversation. "If it was me, I wouldn't mind. I'd be asleep anyway."

"So you wouldn't have minded if a bunch of interns had looked on while…" Meredith swallowed and looked up, continuing in even more of a whisper. "While Dr. Montgomery-Shepherd removed your fallopian tube when you had your ectopic pregnancy?"

"Well, it's not like I would have had a choice."

"Cristina," Meredith interrupted tiredly, "cut it out."

"But-"

"Seriously."

Cristina pouted but remained silent for a few moments. "So, where's McDreamy?" she asked then.

Meredith winced. "I don't know."

"Come on," Cristina mocked between her teeth.

"Honestly, I don't know."

"You think the Chief allowed him to scrub in?" Cristina asked, not even attempting to hide the jealousy in her voice.

"I don't think he even asked."

Furrowing a brow, Cristina gave her friend a side glance. "He didn't?" She stared at her feet. "I would kill to get in on that surgery and I wasn't even married to her," she commented dryly.

"He didn't even want to know how she's doing," Meredith blurted out while sitting up and turning closer towards Cristina whose eyebrows shot up in that typical way of hers. Not a lot of things could throw her off but when they did, it was crystal clear and written all over her face.

"He was there when she was brought in," Meredith explained, glancing around to make sure nobody was paying attention to them. "And then one second he was in complete shock and rushing to her side and the next he couldn't care less and just walked away."

"He walked away?"

Meredith nodded with a shrug. "He told Bailey to do whatever she thought was necessary and just walked away to take care of another patient."

"Maybe –" Cristina began but Meredith quickly added, "A non-critical patient," whereupon Cristina closed her mouth and stared at her feet again.

"It obviously had something to do with Mark," Meredith continued. "They were brought in together."

"She and McSteamy were in the same accident?"

"Same car, apparently."

Cristina shrugged. "So McSteamy and She-Shepherd-"

Meredith gave her a glare.

"Alright, McSteamy and the-woman-formerly-known-as-she-shepherd are doing the McNasty again. I thought that was old news?"

Staring at her feet as well now, Meredith heaved a long and heavy sigh. "I thought so too." And she didn't like where her thoughts were going now. "It shouldn't bother him that much, should it?"

Cristina didn't comment, knowing she wasn't expected to yet.

"I mean, they are divorced. He left her because she cheated on him. And then he left her again because he slept with me. Me. He said that he loves me. He said that he wants to be with me."

Cristina still waited.

"So he shouldn't be this upset about this, right? He shouldn't be this cold to her."

"Now she couldn't hold back anymore. "I'm confused. You want him to care more or you want him to care less?" she asked with a frown.

"More," Meredith established but then corrected herself, "I mean less." She hesitated. "Well, more and less." Cristina gave her a meaningful look. "I mean," Meredith struggled for the right words, "he should care enough about her right now to be worried or even afraid, but he shouldn't care so much as to blindly hate her just because she's sleeping with Mark again."

"Well, maybe it's just his way to try to find that middle ground," Cristina shrugged, getting annoyed with the entire conversation. She had enough complications in her own life, she couldn't spare too much thought to the mess that was Meredith's love life.

"So I hear McSteamy and Ex-Shepherd are doing it again?" Izzie suddenly slumped down next to them.

"Izzie!" Meredith hissed.

"What?" Izzie shrugged but Meredith just shook her head.

"Come on, Izzie," Cristina stated in fake dismay. "The woman's lying on a freaking table right now and is undergoing major surgery."

"Exactly," Meredith nodded. "Seriously, Izzie, where's your compassion?"

"Seriously?" Izzie echoed disbelievingly, "You wouldn't have said anything if Cristina had made the exact same comment," Izzie pouted while Meredith and Cristina furrowed their brows in unison. Good point.