~*~

Meredith slumped down in the chair, burying her face in her hands. She'd been on the job approximately fifteen hours, and under Miranda Bailey's watchful eye, deemed she was doing anything and everything wrong.

"First my birthday… now I totally suck as an intern…"

" Mer, you just need practice…"

Meredith had pretended to be fatigued, taking it as a opportunity to escape for some alone time. Being a vampire, she lacked the need to eat, sleep, drink, and even breathe. A soothing, marble-esque hand fell lightly upon her shoulder, Lifting her head, Meredith met the golden hued eyes of Dr. Carlisle Cullen. The elder vampire was in his hundreds, for human standards, he looked as though he was pushing his early thirties at best.

"Happy Birthday, Meredith." Carlisle said warmly, making a final notation in a chart, and passing it to a nearby nurse, who was so entranced by his beauty she nearly walked straight into a wall. Meredith looked up with narrowed eyes, purposely swivling in her chair, avoiding the prying eyes of their many human admirers.

"Carlisle… please…. Don't remind me! Another year I grow… older… another year to remind me why I hate being alone."

"You know you're more than welcome to spend the evening with Esme and myself. " Carlisle offered, picking up another chart and flipping it open. Meredith actually considered the offer, than shook her head, politely declining.

"No thanks, Carlisle…. I'm thinking of just caving it and going to Joe's…."

Carlisle smiled good naturedly and gave the younger vampire a tender pat on the shoulder. Meredith flashed him a small smile.

"Grey! Oh… Dr. Cullen, I didn't see you."

Miranda Bailey stood with her hands on her hips, silently fuming. Meredith inwardly cringed at the woman's hateful stare.

I can see why they call her the Nazi… she's vicious!

"Oh, Dr. Bailey, I was just doing a medical check…" Carlisle replied sweetly. Meredith rolled her eyes, seeing Bailey's harsh demeanor soften slightly.

"I'm sorry if my intern was holding you up." Bailey apologized. Meredith fidgeted nervously.

"Not at all. In fact, I should be apologizing to Meredith here. We're old friends from medical school, and we haven't seen each other in a long time." Carlisle interjected, placing a pen in his pocket. Bailey looked taken aback.

"You… Grey… you know Dr. Cullen….!" She seemed shocked at the idea.

"Guilty as charged….Dr. Bailey." Meredith mumbled. Carlisle laughed heartily, before making his way down the hall.

"Remember, my offer still stands, Mer…" he said, before vanishing down the hall at human speeds. Meredith shrugged her shoulders, looking up at the short black woman glaring down at her angrily, rubber gloves in hand.

"Find Yang and Karev immediately, Grey! Mr. Williams needs a rectal check…"

Standing slowly, Meredith took the rubber gloves offered to her, and trudged off down the hall.

Happy freakin' birthday to me…. I hate my life….

~*~

"I'm telling you… the woman is a robot…" Izzy snapped.

"She's a demon from hell…" Christina snarled.

" I haven't performed his badly since 1953…." George muttered.

"Hey we all suck!" Alex said, lifting a can of soda. "what else is new?"

"Hey…. You know we can take that in multiple ways… 'suck..' get it?" Izzy kidded, jokingly barring her teeth into an apple.

"You guys are really lousy…." Meredith said, sliding beside Izzy with a tray full of food. The five of them sat in the farthest room in the cafeteria, surrounded by other staff of the hospital. The food wrappers, coke cans, etc had all been opened just for show, their heads bent in whispered conversations.

"The Nazi's not the toughest I've seen… I served in a medical unit under Pattionson's command… that was true hell…" George muttered, pretending to unwrap a brownie. Meredith toyed with some cold noodles on her plate. Even if she could eat… the progress of the day had drained her of any desire she would have had to eat lunch.

"I heard you talked with Carlisle… damn, I envy you. He's so hot." Christina said, faking taking a sip of her cola.

"He's also totally with Esme…. I wouldn't risk anything Mer…" Izzy warned. Meredith threw up her hands in dismay.

"He just wanted to wish me a happy birthday! Plus- I know he belongs to Esme! I wasn't going to do anything!" Meredith said, dropping her eyes back to her untouched tray of food.

"I say we just get Mer a good mortal or something…" Alex suggested, his eyes falling onto a group of nurses entering the cafeteria. He sat back, licking his lips approvingly. Izzy cupped him over the head lightly.

"I thought you and I were together…" she murmured.

"We are… I just like some mortal flavor… we've been a couple… since 1952!"

"Well, serving in Korea does do that to a person…." Izzy said offhandedly.

"Guys, seriously… Mer needs some action…." Christina said pointedly.

"I'm not that desperate… plus…. Uhh hello! Me—vampire! I'd kill a mortal if…. Ya know…" Meredith scrunched up her face, "or… I'd…. possibly…"

"You've got more self control than that…" George said soothingly. "You wouldn't eat him…"

"Thanks George…. I wasn't thinking about that… ok, well I was… but I was thinking about… you know… just being attracted to a man as a normal human!"

"Buuuuuuuuut you're not. We're vampires…. Might as well accept it…. Oh… she's really hot looking…" Alex said, eying a striking red headed woman entering the room.

"Addison! Hey!"

Addison turned, going to her friend with a smile. Alex leaned back in his chair, eying her from across the room.

"Keep hangin' your mouth open that wide Karev, and you'll be the only vampire that eats flies…" Christina said, grabbing his mouth and closing it shut.

"Can it Yang, just cuz you can't get any…." Alex growled.

"I can too! Hello! I can just bat my eyes and I'll have fifty men at my doorstep instantly!" Christina said, eying him.

"Bet?" Alex challenged.

"You're so on!" Christina said with a wicked gleam.

Meredith absentmindedly stabbed a piece of soggy pot roast with her fork, watching the lukewarm gravy drip onto the tray. Performing the human motion of breathing, Meredith inhaled sharply, taking in the scents of multiple humans, and finding nothing worthwhile..

"Shepard… excuse me… Dr. Shepard!"

She turned and saw him a few moments later.

He was gorgeous—even by human standards. With his almost salt and pepper colored hair, and dark, dreamy eyes. He entered the room with the air and confidence of someone who was used to being in complete control. Subtly, Meredith watched Derek Shepard cross the room, pick up a tray of food, and sit down with a bunch of other doctors.

"Wow… now that guy is hot!" Meredith said, nudging Christina with her shoulder. Christina looked up from stabbing Izzy with her fork.

"Oh… yeah, he's nice I suppose… lets see…. Oh…. that's Dr. Preston Bruke… I think he's hot! Oh… and that's another doctor… I think that's Callie Torres…. She's ok I guess…. I guess they're a select group or something…" Christina said eying Dr. Burke with a seductive smile on her face.

" Hmmm…. I think we need a lil' wager… which one of us can snag one of them faster…" Alex said, crossing his arms.

"I gotta agree with Mer… it'd be nice to go after a human the normal way…." George said amicably.

"For once, O'Malley has the right idea." Meredith said with a small smile.

"Fine…. We'll do it the normal way…. For now…" Christina said with a definite pout in her voice. "But good grief I'm impatient… and Dr. Burke is looking finer by the moment…"

"As a lover or a snack?" Izzy guessed.

"Both…." Christina added with a smirk.

"Lord you guys…." Meredith said, slinking down in her seat, and checking her watch. They only had about fifteen minutes left for their lunch break. George pushed back his chair, and the rest followed suite moments later.

"I'm telling you Mer…. If he was one of us you'd be all over him…. think about it!" Christina hissed as they were dumping their plates.

"Yeah…. Imagine him in the sun.." Meredith murmured dreamily, "his body sparkling in the sun…. cept we can't go in direct sunlight but still…."

"McSparkly….I like that name…." Meredith joked, following her friend out the door and back onto the chaotic wing of the hospital floor.

"Who's that girl…. She's gorgeous!" Derek said, emptying his tray. Callie shrugged, following Derek out into the hall.

"They're the Nazi's new batch this year. They look like they're fricken rock stars or something! Did you see that blond……"

"Well… I think the blond did work as a model briefly…." Derek persisted…. "Who was that girl that was the last one out?"

"Grey, Meredith I think."

"Meredith….? That's a pretty name…" Derek said conversationally. "I mean… I was merely inquiring… she'll be working with me for the time being. Bailey said so, I mean…."

"Puh-lease. You were checkin' her out. She was hot." Burke said, elbowing him good naturedly. Derek hide his blush as he ducked under Burke's half nelson, as they also made their way down the hall.