Chapter 6 – I heard it through the grapevine

A/N: Hi there! So glad you like the story. Thank you so much for all the support. I'm starting university soon though, and will not be able to keep posting chapters this often. Hopefully it's OK and my wish is that you'll stay anyway. Please, please, please keep reviewing and all those other lovely things you are so good at. It gives me the will to finish this story, even if it sometimes seems impossible when I have so much other stuff to do. Love you all! /Hanna

I bet you're wondering how I knew

About your plans to make me blue

With some other guy that you knew before

Between the two of us guys

You know I love you more.

It took me by surprise I must say,

When I found out yesterday.

Don't you know I heard it through the grapevine
Not much longer would you be mine
Oh I heard it through the grapevine
And I'm just about to lose my mind

(I heard it through the grapevine – Marvin Gaye)

Seattle Grace Mercy West was not a place that frowned upon the thought of gossip. In fact, it bathed in it. The entire place reeked of silent whispers and giggles about sex in on-call rooms, syphilis outbreaks and heart-breaking break ups. Nobody was safe. If something important had happened to a member of the hospital staff, within the day the entire hospital would be aware of all the facts. It was an art really. One mastered to perfection by some of the most unappreciated employees in the workplace. They were the underdogs, the low scum… but also the people that actually ruled the hospital in their own secret ways. That's right. The majority of all gossip threads slithering through SGMW's white corridors started at the nurses' station. Or, as the other staff liked to refer to it as; "Gossip central".

Today was no different than any other day in the rumor mill. The fact that two world-renowned surgeons had just transferred from New York to their hospital on an incredibly short notice was making most of the nurses giddy. Why had they come? What did they look like? Were they a couple? Was Derek Shepherd really as handsome as they were saying? When the rumor about a square drama (Is that a term?) made its way to the ear of one Sally Forbes, a nurse who knew all and everything revolving the hospital, she almost screamed in delight. She immediately went to her best friend, Miley Smith with a humungous grin on her face.

"What do you know?" Miley asked insistently, trying desperately to read any clues from Sally's intense gaze.

"Funny you should ask!" Sally smirked. "Lindsey Foreman just told me that Mary King saw the new head of General, Dr. Meredith Grey, at Joe's the other night." Miley looked confused.

"How did she know it was her? What does she look like?" she asked and Sally grinned excitedly.

"Well, that she didn't say. Mary heard her speaking to Joe though! 'Said she just moved here from New York and that she's starting today or something… But that's not all." Sally almost bounced on her feet.

"So, Mary didn't hear it all... but this Dr Grey apparently told Dr Yang some story about how she had found her husband in bed with Shepherd's wife! How sad is that?" Sally's smile contradicted her words though. Miley looked intrigued.

"Really? That's interesting… And she was speaking to Yang? Of all people," Miley huffed. "I'm surprised she didn't get her head bit off."

"Mm-hmm… I know right." Sally nodded conspiratorially. "Anyways, I have to go now. Just wanted to tell you." With those words Sally was off and Miley left alone with her thoughts. Not long after that, Nurse Graham walked by, and really… Miley couldn't not tell her. She deserved to know. And so it went that by noon almost the entire hospital was aware of the fact that both new heads of neuro and general had some really awful background stories in their cubbies.

"Um, Derek… Is it just me or is everyone staring at us?" Meredith sounded a bit self-conscious. They were eating in the cafeteria recapping their first day to each other. So far it had all gone without a hitch. The interns practically adored them, having heard about their work back in New York. The residents respected them and followed their orders without complaint. It had almost gone too well. Meredith was suspicious.

"Ith juhft you," Derek's muffled voice said; his mouth was full of burger.

"It's not just you," Christina's voice broke in as she threw down her tray with food beside Meredith.

"What?" Meredith asked.

"It's not just you. Everyone is staring," she continued and put a ton of dressing on her chicken sandwich.

"What? Why?" Derek asked and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. Christina stared at him, looking a bit disgusted.

"Erm…" Christina averted her stare and looked at Meredith with a nonchalant expression. "Well, they pity you," she stated and began to eat.

"Pity? Why would they pity us?" Meredith was bewildered. Derek raised an eyebrow and met her gaze before looking back at Christina.

"The whole hospital is speaking about your tragic past. Makes me wanna throw up," she responded flatly.

"Our what? The cheating thing? How would they even know about that?" Meredith whispered desperately.

"Oh, it's the nurses… They know everything," Christina said.

"Crap," Derek muttered, rubbing his nose.

"Hey! Stop complaining!" the small Asian woman demanded. "You should embrace this thing. Everyone is treating you like you're made of glass. Use it against them to build respect! Gain their trust, or something. Soon they all will forget it anyway," Christina said. Meredith laughed.

"Gain their trust! Says the woman who has all of the residents and nurses shivering in their shoes at the mere sight of her." Christina looked almost flattered. She smiled a crooked smile.

"I'm just a realist. Trust me, it is better to be feared than loved."

"Doctor Grey!"

Meredith turned around at the sound of a resident yelling her name. She had just sent an intern to take some tests to the lab and had a surgery in ten minutes.

"What is it, Walters? I have a surgery coming up," she asked in what she hoped was a respectful tone of voice. The resident fiddled slightly with her shirt but kept silent. She seemed uncomfortable and Meredith started to get impatient.

"Dr Walters? I don't have all day," she said, annoyed. The resident straightened and looked a bit embarrassed.

"Sorry," she mumbled. "Dr Shepherd just sent me to tell you 'good luck'," Dr Walters spluttered out. Meredith raised her eyebrows and tried to hide her smirk. Well Derek, you are certainly using your temporary power thoroughly.

"Oh. Well thank you Dr Walters," Meredith responded coolly. When the resident turned to leave, Meredith stopped her with her words.

"Just one thing. There's this nice bakery across the street. Would you please go over there and buy a piece of cheesecake for Dr Shepherd?" Meredith smiled slightly.

"I just think it would… It would brighten up his day…" Meredith drifted off with a sad voice. Dr Walters stared at her with sympathetic eyes and nodded.

"Absolutely, Dr Grey," she responded fervently. "Should I get you something as well?" By this point Meredith's laugh was so close to the surface that she had to cough behind her hand to keep it from tumbling out.

"Um… Sure. A banana cupcake would be lovely. Thank you, Dr Walters." The resident smiled brightly and rushed away in a gust of wind. When she was out of hearing distance, Meredith started giggling like a maniac. Oh, this was great.

Making her way towards the elevators she smiled at the thought that this move probably had been the best idea she'd ever had.

When Derek walked into the gallery that afternoon it was incredibly crowded. It seemed people from all over the hospital had arrived to watch the new hot chief of General surgery in action. When the people caught sight of Derek though, they immediately parted and made way for him until he stood directly in front of the glass, getting a full view of the gallery below. He watched as Meredith with incredible precision performed a lung lobectomy. She made it look incredibly easy, and as she asked questions to the resident beside her, he couldn't but feel a bit proud.

Of course, he had seen her perform surgeries like these countless if times. He had probably watched more of her surgeries than even Mark had. It wasn't the fact that she was good, because clearly she was amazing. No, it was the fact that now all of those people that had looked at her with only pity in their eyes would realize what a hotshot surgeon she really was. They would respect her and see beyond the gossip that whirled around their heads. Hopefully he would get one of these opportunities as well. Suddenly Meredith glanced up towards the gallery and caught his gaze. He smiled at her and he saw her eyes crinkle behind her operating mask as she responded in kind. He watched her work in silence and discretely took a glance at the crowd every now and then to gather their reactions. So far, they seemed pretty impressed.

"Mm… she's hot," he heard a voice behind him. Derek froze and looked at the man who had uttered the words from the corner of his eye. He recognized him. Albert Karev or something... He was a pediatrics attending, which surprised Derek a bit. The man seemed like a complete man-whore, making working with children seem a bit out of place. Derek didn't like him.

"Beautiful," a small and boy-looking guy sitting next to him sighed. Derek didn't like him either.

"I wonder how she is beneath the sheets…" Karev continued as if he hadn't heard. "You think she's wild? Looks like she would be wild. Plus, sad chicks are desperate. I'm sure she needs a… shoulder to cry on, if you know what I'm saying." Karev's innuendo was obvious. This was it. Derek spun around towards the guys and gave them both a look that could make bigger men pee their pants. He stared at Karev for a few seconds before talking in a measured voice.

"Doctor… Karev, is it?" Derek asked. The man lifted an eyebrow in response. The entire room was now looking at them expectantly. "You, and doctor…" Derek trailed off, looking at the other man.

"George O'Malley, sir," the person in question answered.

"Karev and O'Malley. I think we've all heard enough of your shallow comments about the talented and wounded surgeon down there. Please, do us all a favor and leave this room immediately." Derek's voice was low and deadly serious. The men stared at him for a long while, before George hurriedly picked up his stuff to leave, dragging a perplexed Alex Karev behind him.

"Yes, we're very sorry Dr Shepherd. It won't happen again," O'Malley stuttered out before closing the door behind him. The other surgeons, nurses and even janitors stared dumbfounded at Derek and he sighed exasperatedly, running a hand through his hair. This was not the kind of scene he needed to make right now to gain respect. He mentally kicked himself.

"Stop staring! Don't you all have jobs to do or something?" he asked impatiently and stormed off in a huff, leaving a confused and surprised crowd behind him. In the top left corner of the gallery sat a nurse called Sally Forbes, grinning like she had just opened a very good Christmas present.