Chapter 3 – Your new twin sized bed

A/N: Ok, so… I've got some small stuff to say before we start. This chapter will be a tiny bit longer than previous ones. Love it or hate it, that's just the way it is. (Hopefully you'll love it. Let me know if this is something you would like to experience again!) Thank you so very much for your reviews and alerts and stuff! They mean a lot to me and helps me get the courage to continue and hopefully finish this story. I send hugs and kisses to all of you! 3

You look so defeated lying there in your new twin size bed.

With a single pillow underneath your single head.

I guess you decided that that old queen holds more space than you would need.

Now it's in the alley behind your apartment with a sign that says it's free.

(Your new twin sized bed – Radiohead)

"You're offering us jobs?" Derek Shepherd and Meredith Grey (Now without the Sloan) had arrived to Seattle that Tuesday morning only to remember what an awfully rainy place it was. They quickly checked in to their hotel rooms at the Archfield and realized they had no idea of what to do with all of this free time.

Seeing that their only common contact was the chief of surgery at Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital, Richard Webber, they decided to make him their first stop. They had not been long in the waiting room before his assistant Patricia ushered them into the large and homey office. After hearty greetings and hugs they were hastily seated by his desk. Meredith and Derek quickly explained their presence in town and why they had left their respective homes, not going into specific details. The chief listened intently and nodded thoughtfully. Then something in his eyes made both of the visitors wary.

Without preamble Richard started talking about business. He explained that he was retiring within the month and was being replaced as chief by the hospital's very talented Owen Hunt. Richard's wife Adele had apparently given her husband an ultimatum where Webber would either quit his job or be without a home and a marriage. The choice was simple.

Unfortunately Richard had been unable to locate a new head of General surgery on such short notice and had long been in need of a new face as the head of Neuro. Meredith and Derek's appearance could not have had better timing according to the chief. To say that the companions were stunned by the offer, especially coming so closely after their arrival, would be an understatement.

"Oh yes. You'd be the perfect candidates for the job. I could not have dreamed about better replacements." Chief Webber smiled at them with an almost giddy expression in his eyes. "With the two you on the staff this hospital would without a doubt raise to at least place two in the ranks for best teaching hospitals in the country."

Meredith and Derek looked at each other with puzzled expressions before looking at the chief again.

Oh… kay?

Derek took the reigns.

"Um… Thank you so much for the opportunity, Richard but…"

The chief clapped his hands delightedly. "Brilliant! You start on Monday."

Meredith woke up from her daze. "What? But…"

"No buts, Meredith. As I understand it you have nothing waiting for you in New York. I will complete all of the necessary paperwork and leave the information you need with my assistant. It all should be ready and done for before the end of the week. It was nice to see you both."

Before they knew it Meredith and Derek were ushered again, this time out of the office, and looked at Chief Webber with confusion but also a great deal of mirth in their eyes. They both said goodbye to the happy man and turned to leave when Richard once again stuck his head out of the door.

"Oh, I almost forgot… Meredith, I've had someone taking care of your house for you. Seemed a shame to leave it standing there to rot... The key is still beneath the flowerpot by the door. See you Monday!" With that Richard closed his door, not even registering the look of shock on Meredith's house as he mentioned 'her house'.

They started walking together towards the elevators. "Well… that didn't turn out the way I expected," Derek's confused voice echoed in the empty corridor. Meredith nodded distractedly.

"What did he mean when he spoke of your house?" he continued, looking at her strangely.

"Um… I guess he meant my mom's house…" she trailed off. "That is so strange! I had no clue she didn't sell it. I haven't been there in… what? Twenty-five years?"

As they made their way into one of the elevators Meredith's thoughts were miles away and she did not see the sour-looking Asian girl walking straight in her direction. The collision was inevitable. There was nothing that could have been done.

Meredith straightened up and looked apologetically at the woman whom now had half of her coffee cup spilled on her navy blue scrubs and the other half on her usually snow-white tennis shoes. She braced herself for a fierce berating and thought she was going to be proved right when she saw the Asian woman's murderous glare. Then, as a light switch the livid expression turned into one of amazement.

"Meredith Grey?" The woman sounded just as excited as she looked.

Meredith fiddled with her purple dress, a bit uncomfortable. "Y- yes?" she stammered.

"The Meredith Grey? You wrote an article on the prevalence of perioperative visual loss last year!" The woman practically bounced on her feet, making the souls of her shoes squeak a bit on the coffee stained floor.

"I did, actually." Meredith was pleasantly surprised. Many people knew of her, mostly because of her famous mother, but few had actually read or acknowledged her work. At least in her presence.

"Your point about the risk factors being higher in cardiac and spinal fusion surgery made more sense than any other I have read on the subject! You are a modern legend!" The woman cleared her throat and reached out her hand.

"Hello, I'm Christina Yang. Head of cardio here…" Her tone turned professional and flat as she firmly shook Meredith's hand.

"Hi there. Well I'm Meredith, as you seem to already know…" She smiled. Derek coughed a bit beside her. "Oh right! And this is Derek Shepherd, former head of Neuro at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York. We're starting here on Monday actually, the both of us…" Meredith trailed off as her mind began to reel. Then something clicked in her brain.

"Wait… Christina Yang? Cardio? Oh my god!" Meredith clapped her hands together in delight. "I think I heard your seminar a couple of years ago. The one where you compared general to regional anesthesia during peripheral vascular surgery!" Meredith smiled widely when Dr Yang nodded.

"Dude, that was awesome." Meredith and Christina laughed.

"Wait… you're starting here? This is brilliant. I'll take you out to drinks tomorrow night… My shift ends at nine o'clock. The bar is just across from the hospital… If you're not otherwise engaged, that is?" Dr Yang said the last part a bit slyly, discreetly glancing at Derek and raising an eyebrow. Meredith snorted.

"Sounds great, see you there," Meredith smiled and walked away, dragging along a smirking Derek in her wake.

"Oh, Dr Yang! Your comparison between different types of anesthesia made my blood pump!" he mimicked her, earning a hard shove in his side as they finally reached the exit.

"You liar. I did not sound like that," Meredith huffed, secretly pleased about Derek's good mood. He had seemed incredibly down lately. Perhaps he was beginning to see a light in the tunnel?

"Oh, you so did. I had no idea you were so nerdy!" he teased.

"I am not!"

"Am too!"

The key fit in the lock as if no time had passed. A slight click was heard as she turned it and the door opened without a squeak. Meredith's eyes were wide. It was like walking into a childhood memory. Only… in her mind it wasn't as dusty. And there were no sheets covering every surface. She shuddered slightly as she stepped into the hallway. There were cobwebs in the corners and the entire atmosphere felt like captured from a horror film. She jumped high in the air when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Oops! Sorry…" Derek apologized. He looked around the room in wonder. "Mer, this place is incredible," he smiled. Meredith stared at him.

"Incredible? Oh yeah. Incredibly scary! Like- a really freakishly scary movie kinda scary." She shuddered again. "Let's just leave before the little boy with dead eyes appears out of the bathroom with his screaming cat." Derek raised an eyebrow questioningly.

"A boy with a screaming-…" Comprehension dawned. Derek laughed. "Mer, have you watched The Grudge recently?" he looked at her as if she was a little girl with nightmares. Meredith laughed nervously. Her heart was beating a little faster when she recollected the traumatizing experience when she and Addie had tried to watch a scary movie together. It had ended in Meredith refusing to leave the premises alone, leading to her spending the night and Mark coming to get her in his car the morning after.

"Y- yeah… so what? It's a scary movie." She snorted indelicately. "Like I was that affected or anything. It just… creeped me out a bit. The-… the writing I mean. It was completely rubbish. I mean… A woman being killed by her husband and a kid being drowned in a tub with his creepy cat." She snorted again and started to pace around the living room where a large couch and a coffee table were covered by two large white sheets. "Lame!" She laughed with a tinny voice. "Why would that be scary? I almost cut a man's liver in half this one time. Now that was scary..." Meredith continued to ramble. When she turned around though, there was no one there. She swallowed hard and felt her heartbeat racing even faster.

"Derek?" she whimpered. There was no response. She span around to check if he stood behind her but no… he was nowhere in sight.

"Okay, Derek. Come out. It's not even funny," her voice trembled and she felt close to tears.

Then she heard it.

Coming from the top of the stairs was a small sound.

A mouse? No… It sounded almost like…

"Meow!"

Meredith screamed.

Tears started running down her cheeks as she continued to yell from the top of her lungs. She ran for the door but was stopped by a pair of strong arms wrapping around her middle. She started fighting to get free, but the arms wouldn't let go.

"Shhh, Mer! It's just me! It's only me!" Derek's laughing voice broke through her roars of panic. Soon her breaths started to calm and she slowly relaxed in his firm embrace. Meredith quickly dried her eyes and turned around, still trembling. Her eyes flashed. Derek's face was not laughing anymore. He looked absolutely terrified at the expression on her face. She was not happy.

"Derek Shepherd…" Her whispering voice sounded like a gunshot in the silent house. He took a step back and released her from his hold. He had forgotten for a second. This was not Addison (insert feelings of pain and suffering here) he was joking with. Addie would be mad at him for a while and then forgive him. Meredith was not the same person. She looked like a woman possessed.

What should he do? Hide?

Pfft. That was pathetic. They were two mature adults… Meredith was harmless! He shook his head a bit.

Then he saw her face again and swallowed. His thoughts started racing rapidly. Then...

Screw it.

Derek didn't think he had ever run that fast in all his life. Meredith was close on his heels. He ran up the stairs three steps at the time. Meredith's legs were shorter, which gave him an advantage. When he got up he quickly searched the corridor for an appropriate hiding place. This was Mer's territory; he had no clue where to go. Opening the first door he reached he threw himself in and slammed it closed behind him. Meredith's footsteps echoed behind him but he felt safe for now. She hadn't seen him yet. This was great. If he could just barrage himself in somehow he would be able to stay for a while. There was a pack of gum in his wallet. Nah, he wouldn't starve. He'd have things to chew on for ages.

These were the thoughts passing through the brain of a man who had spent three years studying pre-med at Harvard university, five years in med-school, five years as a surgical intern at one of the highest ranking teaching hospitals in the country and finally five more years as an attending neurosurgeon at said hospital. To say he was a bit distraught at that moment would be an understatement.

Derek looked around the room and was a bit stalled. The walls were a pale beige color. Tasteful but sterile. A large window with white lace curtains gave a view over the suburb street below. The walls were bare, but showed pale marks where posters might have ben ripped down, making the room as impersonal as the inside of an eggshell. The bed in the center of the room was neatly made with a large light grey bedspread over the dark wooden frame. To one side sat a desk and an office chair and on the other was a large closet in the same wood as the bed. Derek didn't know why, but he had a feeling this was Meredith's old room. It made him sad for some reason… That this was the place where Meredith had spent about eight years of her childhood.

He shook himself out of his musings as he heard Meredith's footsteps echo through the hallway outside. He quickly grabbed the chair and placed it at an angle to prevent the door handle from moving. Then he sat down at the bed and held his breath. The footsteps stopped suddenly. He heard her attempt to lower the door handle and stop as she realized it was stuck.

"I know you're in there, Shepherd," she said with a dangerously low voice. "If you don't open this door I'm going to kick it in!" Derek sighed desperately and ran his fingers through his hair. She sounded awfully sincere, he thought in panic.

"I'm going to count to three, Derek." Her voice was low and husky. He shifted as he felt himself getting a bit turned on.

Whoa… Where did that come from?

"One…" Derek's mind whirled.

"Two…" What was he supposed to do?

"Two and a half…" Her voice wavered a bit. Derek moved like a flash. He pulled the chair out of the way and swung open the door just as Meredith came barging against it. She tackled him to the floor like a log and he felt himself getting the air knocked out of him as his back hit the hard wooden floor.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry! Are you all right?" He heard Meredith's voice above him and felt her checking him up to see if he had any broken bones. He coughed as his air returned to him.

"Ho- holy shit, Mer!" he hissed. "Rugby player in collage?" He continued to cough. Meredith smiled despite herself.

"I guess we're even now…" she winked at him. God she was strong for such a tiny person. She smiled as she helped him up off the floor. He breathed out for a moment, thinking himself safe. Then she interrupted his musings.

"Just for the record…" Her voice was sweet as honey. Then it turned deathly serious for a second.

"Don't you dare pull that stunt on me again, Shepherd. Or I will cut you open and give your vital organs to medical research."

Then she smiled and walked out of the room. Derek gulped and hurried after her.