So this is just kind of a filler chapter. I'm sorry it took me so long to have anything to post! It won't be too much longer until there is a new chapter!!
Chapter 13: Honest
If you can be honest, I can be too
If you'll
take the first step, I'll follow you through
But no one wants to
bleed, no one wants to hide
No one wants to hurt, alone inside
When Meredith woke up, it felt strange to not be lying in the middle of a lonely bed. She could feel Derek's body heat and in a weird way, she was happy he was there. She closed her eyes again, deciding that she wasn't really ready to wake up yet. She had slept well and she was tired of those sleepless nights she'd been having previously.
She felt the mattress move a little as Derek woke up and got out of bed. She wanted to thank him, but instead she willed her eyes to stay shut. His shuffling stopped and she felt as if he was watching her. Before she could open her eyes to see if her suspicions were right, she heard him move into the kitchen area.
She opened her eyes when she felt Derek's hand on her arm, not even realizing that she'd fallen back to sleep. "Meredith? It's already seven. I'm pretty sure they'd like to see us at the hospital at some point in time today."
Meredith blinked a few times; unsure as to how she was supposed to react to his hand on her and the close proximity of their faces. "Uh… yeah."
"Good," he said with a smile as he moved away from the bed, "I made breakfast. You can take a shower if you want."
Meredith nodded, despite the fact that Derek was walking back to the kitchen, his back turned to her. She sat up on the bed and looked around the trailer again. Everything that happened the previous night flooded her mind and she tried her best to digest it, but it didn't sit well with her.
This wasn't how it was supposed to be. She'd slept in another man's bed. This wasn't what she was supposed to be doing in Seattle.
"Seriously, though, cold pizza? Every morning?" Derek asked as he hit the elevator button and then let his arm drop to his side.
"Old habits die hard," Meredith said with a small smirk.
"I think I need to teach you proper nutrition," Derek said, "For a Doctor, you don't seem to care about how you treat your body."
Meredith's first reaction to that comment was to pull away or lash out He didn't know her and it wasn't up to him to decide how she should treat her body. Despite her instinct, something stopped her. Maybe she just wanted to be nice because he offered her a place to stay. That's what she told herself anyways. Deep down, she knew that it had something to do with her enjoying the time she spent with him. It was carefree and light. She might as well try to keep it that way. "Surgeons in general don't know how to take care of themselves. Irregular sleeping patterns and a diet consisting of coffee, espresso, and muffins. At least I through in some dairy."
"Dairy?" Derek questioned with a raised eyebrow as they both stepped into the elevator, "What, do you drink a cup of milk with your cold pizza?"
"No, cheese. Cheese is dairy and I happen to like massive amounts of gooey cheese on my pizza," she answered, still smiling. She knew that she was driving him crazy and probably even grossing him out. Still, she was enjoying every minute of it now.
"That's just wrong," he said shaking his head, "There will be no cold pizza while you're staying with me."
She turned to him and looked at him doubtfully, "Derek, it's a trailer. Cold pizza could be considered gourmet in a trailer." She rolled her eyes slightly at him as the elevator opened to her floor. "I'll see you later."
"Yeah, later," he echoed as he watched her walk out. Just as the doors closed he called out after her, "And don't joke the trailer!"
Meredith walked into the locker room and placed her purse inside her locker. She got changed and threw her hair into a ponytail before ever noticing that Cristina was there. Meredith gave her an awkward smile before shutting her locker door.
"Did you just walk in with Shepherd?"
"Excuse me?" Meredith asked, trying to act as though she had no idea what Cristina was talking about.
Cristina made her way over to her own locker and grabbed her scrubs, "You and the hot neuro attending that goes by Shepherd? I just saw you guys walk in together."
"Not together," Meredith said quickly, "At the same time, but not together."
"It looked like together."
"It wasn't together."
"Whatever…" Cristina trailed off before Meredith hurried out of the locker room, realizing this was the reason that she didn't like to have relationships with her colleagues.
"Dr. Grey?"
Meredith stopped walking and turned around to see the Chief of Surgery, "Uh, yes sir?"
"Have you given any thought to a contract?" Richard asked cautiously, eyeing the staff around him for the gossipy nurses.
Meredith situated uncomfortably on her foot before responding, "I, uh, I don't think that I'm ready for anything permanent right now. I still have a family in New York and, well, Seattle is far away from New York."
"I understand," he answered quickly, "But give it some thought. We'd really love to add you to our permanent staff."
"I'll think about it," she answered with a nod before he walked away, leaving her with her coffee and post op notes.
"You don't like Seattle?"
She quickly lifted her head again in surprise at the voice, "I… uh, what?"
"I'm hurt," he continued, "Here I am, offering you a place to stay while your house is falling apart and you aren't even going to stay in Seattle?"
She smiled slightly at his childish ways, "You are offering me a place to stay in a trailer," she commented as she grabbed her coffee and began walking down the hall.
"A very nice trailer," he said as he followed her down the hall, "Very clean, smells nice too. Good food. Much better than cold pizza covered in gooey cheese."
"Says who?" she asked with a small laugh.
"Me. I say," Derek said as they stopped in front of the closed elevator doors.
He stood in front of her and crossed his arms, giving her that smile that she'd grown accustomed to seeing in such a short amount of time, "You act like you want me to stay in Seattle."
"Maybe I do," he flirted a little before noticing her smile falling. The elevator door dinged and she pushed past him without another word. He turned around and watched as her eyes clung to the floor while the doors slowly closed in between them.
5
