Author's Note: Kind of a filler chapter. Ah well, enjoy it anyway. And review, por favor.
Disclaimer: Shonda Rhimes owns it all.
It was another normal day. Derek walked into Seattle Grace with Addison on his arm, as he usually did. They were laughing and making small talk, with Addison leaning on his shoulder, close to Derek's face. Her coconut shampoo made her hair smell so good. God, he missed her. Both of them had been extremely busy at work, and their time together was more limited than it had ever been. It was nearing Thanksgiving, and Derek and Addison had promised each other they would take an extended weekend together.
"Derek." The deep voice interrupted the couple, and they both turned around to see the Chief standing behind them.
"Morning, Richard," Addison said politely.
"Hi, Addie," the Chief replied, nodding in acknowledgment. "Derek, can I see you in my office for a minute?"
Addison looked at him, puzzled. What the hell? Derek thought. I haven't done anything wr- oh FUCK. He totally knows I called Addie up for some unnecessary consults just so I could see her. Distracting her from work...
Returning Addison's confused look, he lightly touched her arm as he followed the Chief to his office. Once they were both seated, Richard began to talk.
"So. You've been working with Meredith Grey recently, haven't you?"
"Yes, I have," Derek nodded, confused.
"How has she been doing?"
Derek had to think about this. To be honest, he never really paid her that much attention. She had been faithful in doing all he had asked of her, running labs and doing scut work. Whenever he asked a question about a patient, she had known most of the answers.
"Good. She's good. She'll be a talented surgeon."
"I know." Richard leaned forward in his chair. "Derek, I'm assigning her to you full time."
"I don't get it," Derek said, puzzled.
"Well, she's the most promising new intern, aside from Yang. You're an extremely skilled surgeon, and I know you have a lot to teach. So teach her," Richard said.
"Well, if you insist, Chief, I-"
"She's actually requested to be on your service, you know. She told me she's interested in neurosurgery as her specialty."
This was certainly news to Derek. He was confused. As interns, it was strongly encouraged that they be placed with numerous residents and attendings with different specialties. This was so they could decide for themselves which areas were of preference to them. He was perplexed as to why the Chief would assign her to him full-time. Then he remembered that Meredith was like a daughter to him. Whatever the Chief's pseudo-daughter wanted, his pseudo-daughter got.
Meredith had certainly shown enthusiasm with the job, but wasn't constantly harassing Derek to be placed in every surgery he did, like Yang was with cardio. He wondered what her ulterior motives were. He shook his head. Ulterior motives? What the hell was he thinking? Maybe he just wasn't paying enough attention to her, and she really was interested in neuro.
"Uhm, all right. Sure. I'll be happy to teach her," Derek said with a smile.
"Excellent. Good day, Derek," Richard dismissed him.
As Derek was walking out of the Chief's office, Meredith came up to him. "Dr. Shepherd, hi, uhm, what can I, uh, do for you this morning?"
"Well, it looks like you're my permanent intern now. So, you can start by bringing me coffee. Double-shot mocha latte. Then round on patients and do their charts. Then report back to me and maybe I'll have something for you to do. Get going."
Meredith scurried away in the direction of the coffee cart. Derek chuckled. Then he felt a light touch on his shoulder.
"Well well well, slave driver Shepherd. I must admit, the bossiness turns me on," Addison said with a laugh.
Derek grinned, happy to see his wife. "Richard assigned her to me permanently. Hey, I might as well have fun with it, right?"
Addison smiled. "That's Grey, right? I heard she's promising."
"I suppose so. I haven't been paying much attention. I've been too busy thinking about you," Derek replied, smiling mischievously.
Addison playfully punched him. "You devil," she said, and kissed him softly on the lips. They were then interrupted, much to Derek's dismay, by Meredith returning with the coffee.
"Uh, sorry, Dr. Shepherd, here's your coffee. And uh, hi, Dr...Shepherd," Meredith trailed off.
Addison smiled in recognition. "Hello. Derek, I'll see you at lunch, all right?" She kissed him again before walking away.
Meredith watched her retreating figure, then looked at Derek. "Ooh, lunch plans!"
Derek gave her a confused look, and noticed her tense up. "Get to work, Dr. Grey. Now."
Grabbing a handful of charts, she hurried away. Derek watched her leave the room, a perplexed look on his face. Why was she always so interested in what he and Addison did together?