Don't Believe

"Do you know for sure? I mean, you can't just assume things like that." Cristina replied after a small pause.

"No, I don't. It's just, she's been acting weird for the past couple of days. I've been noticing it. She's been trying to cover up her neck, and her face looked horrible." Izzie said with a look of concern. "When I asked her about it, she looked like a deer in headlights. She probably would have fainted if she wouldn't have gotten paged."

"Oh Iz. She's been through so much. I just don't believe Derek would do something like that. Don't say anything until we are sure about it, okay? You don't want to start any rumors." Cristina said as she got up to leave.

"Okay, just please pay attention. I'm going with her tomorrow to the store for thanksgiving, so I will try to talk to her."

"Alright. Bye Izzie." Cristina replied as she walked back up the stairs.

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Meredith passed Derek in the hallway, and tried to make it around the corner before he saw her. She just couldn't deal with hiding things from him. She decided she was going to tell him, but she wanted to wait until they were at home alone. She had two hours left on her shift, and her back was killing her from sitting down, suturing all day. She hated being in the ER. It felt like she had gone to Medical School for nothing. And now she was suspended for 4 weeks instead of 2. The thing that worried her the most was how she was going to explain to everyone why she wasn't performing any surgeries.

Her pager buzzed, and she looked down to read 'CHIEF'S OFFICE' in big bold letters. She sighed as she turned around and headed for the elevator.

She informed the secretary who she was and made her way into Miranda's office. Dr. Cooper was sitting in a chair next to an empty one, which Meredith assumed she was supposed to sit in. She made her way towards it, making sure not to look at Dr Cooper.

"Hello Meredith. I'm sure you know why we are in here today?" Miranda said.

"No Ma'am. I don't." Meredith replied with a stern look on her face. He wasn't going to do this. He wasn't going to ruin her career.

"Well, Dr. Cooper has informed me that you have a bit of an attitude problem with authoritative figures in this hospital."

"That isn't true. I only have a problem with ones that treat me wrongly." She said crossing her arms in front of her chest.

"Dr. Grey. Do you think you need to take some time off and go back to counseling. Are you sure, you were ready to come back this soon. You were going through a lot." Miranda said, trying to act caring towards Meredith.

"No I'm fine. I'm just trying to get through my residency. Its very stressful."

"Well if you didn't sleep with attendings, you might be able to concentrate more." Dr. Cooper said, butting in the the conversation.

"Excuse me, Dr. Cooper, but we have a daughter together and are engaged to be married." Meredith snapped, finally looking into his cold eyes.

"Dr. Cooper, the hospital is well aware of the relationship between Derek and Meredith. You shouldn't make assumptions."

"I was just stating a point Miranda. I'm sorry." He said with the most fake smile he could manage. It made Meredith sick. She knew he was friends with Dr. Bailey, and she was scared no one would believe her.

"Well, Meredith, you need to pay attention to what you say, I know you might not think you are being disrespectful, but others might think you are." She said looking at Meredith.

"Okay. I'm sorry." Meredith replied just wanting to get out of there.

"How is Delia, by the way?" Miranda said with a smile.

"She's good. Almost seven months now. She's teething though, its been hard." She said smiling back.

"I'm looking forward to seeing her soon. Afternoon Dr. Grey."

Meredith nodded and stood up to walk out. After that run in, she didn't want to be near Dr. Cooper even more. He was nearly ruining her career. Her mind was made up. She had to tell.