(Much appreciation for the comments! I don't own GA. If I did, I wouldn't be biting my nails waiting for 4.12.)
"Give me the largest coffee you have," Meredith begged the clerk manning the counter. The coffee kiosk on the hospital's main floor seriously beat the cafeteria-supplied dark water. It was worth the extra steps and time, and the trek gave Meredith a few needed minutes to herself.
"You never did answer my question."
"And I'm not going to." Meredith glanced over her shoulder, surprised to find Derek behind her. Standing close behind her. It's the closest they've been in weeks. What was he doing, and why? "And stop following me." Go follow your nurse.
"Why not?" Derek couldn't help himself. He had to inhale. He missed her lavender and its calming effect. "And I'm not following you. I really need coffee. You just happen to be here."
"Because I'm not." Meredith pulled a few singles from her pocket to pay for her coffee. Of course she was in bed this morning. Why wouldn't she be? Having driven herself home after dinner with Brian and, exhausted, she went straight into bed. Meredith still wasn't sure how Brian managed to talk her into breakfast before his early flight back to Chicago. He had been entertaining and charming during dinner, but she wasn't interested in seeing more of him. She should have been, but she wasn't. She wasn't interested in seeing anyone.
"I've got it." Derek cautiously nudged Meredith's hand out of the way to lay a few bills on the counter. "And I'll take a large coffee."
Before Meredith could tell Derek to keep his money, the clerk studied Meredith's nametag. "There's no charge for her coffee." She handed Meredith a large Styrofoam cup.
"What?" Confused, Meredith removed the lid. "Why not?"
"It's already paid for."
"By whom?" Someone was buying Meredith coffee? In bulk? Derek ignored the little voice reminding him that he had walked away from her. He was walking back and didn't like it.
"Don't know, but she gets free coffee for a month, or until the money runs out."
Til it runs out? Derek had to know what the fuck was going on. He told the little voice to shut up. "How much money?"
Wondering why Dr. Sheperd's jaw looked ready to break, the clerk consulted the yellow post-it note stuck to the side of the cash register. "A hundred bucks."
"What?" Meredith wasn't sure she heard the clerk correctly. She had a prepaid coffee tab worth a hundred dollars? Who in the hell would do that? And why? She knew it couldn't have been Derek. At least she didn't think it could have been him. She refused to hope it could be him.
"Is that all you can say?" Derek asked. "Is that honestly all you can say?"
"It's all I can say." Hope fell like a cement block as Meredith reached across the counter for the note. Dated for today, it held her name and the amount. Clearly, it wasn't Derek. Meredith kicked herself for hoping it had been him, when it would have been so out of character for 'Dr. Who's Ready Right Now.' Besides, he was too busy rescheduling a surgery to make room for his date with the nurse. "Sorry about that." With an apologetic smile, Meredith handed the note back to the clerk. "Could you also add the names Yang, Karev, Stevens and O'Malley to that?"
"Meredith..."
Meredith drew a deep, bracing breath. She wished they could have a conversation, for once, not filled with anger and mistrust. "What is it, Dr. Sheperd?" Damn, how she missed him.
"Meredith, we need to..."
"You need to stop rearranging my schedule around your freaking love life." Meredith cut him off. She still couldn't stomach seeing the two of them around the hospital. She had ached to curl up in a ball and cry when Cristina laughed about the engagement ring spotted dangling around the nurse's neck. 'Bring your own ring when you're with McDreamy,' she had cracked. Meredith felt like cracking into millions of tiny pieces.
"I didn't..."
"Sorry to interrupt, but I need a word with you." With a nod to Meredith, Dr. Richard Webber grasped Derek's arm. "About the surgery schedule."
"Can't this wait Richard, I need to finish my conversation with Dr. Grey."
"No Shep, this can't wait."
Meredith's pager demanded her presence elsewhere. Derek sadly watched her jog away as Richard continued talking to him. "Please tell me what I heard about you moving a surgery to impress a nurse isn't true."
"It isn't true."
"Are you telling me the truth?"
"Yes it's the truth." Frowning, Derek turning to face Richard, looking him straight in the eye. "Why are you questioning my word?"
Sighing, Richard glanced in the direction Meredith had taken. "I've heard things."
Derek followed his line of sight. "Things are...complicated."
"Things are only as complicated as you make them, Derek." Richard replied. "So uncomplicated them, and stop using my surgery floor as your dating tool."
"I'm not using it as a dating tool." Derek motioned for Richard to follow him across the hallway, away from the alert ears of the clerk slowly refilling her Styrofoam cup stock. "Look, I do owe you an apology about the schedule, but I'm not using it to impress Rose."
Richard suddenly felt tired. "Why did you do it?"
In the clear light of day, outside the haze of his anger, Derek hated the embarrassment sweeping through his system. Last night it seemed so simple. It had been the right thing to do. "I'm not sure how to explain this..."
"You know, I'm probably better off not knowing. But Derek," Richard's voice took on a serious tone. "I know there's no way to stop the staff from talking, but you need to stop giving them so much material."
"I know that Richard."
"No, you don't." Richard shook his head. "I know Meredith can be, like you said, complicated..."
"My relationship with Meredith isn't your business."
Richard's spine straightened at Derek's words, his body inflated by indignation. "The hell it isn't. That girl is my responsibility. I've sat back the past few weeks, watching her walk the halls, with a lot of pain in her eyes but head held high, while you make time with your nurse. Meredith had the same look while you were working things out with Addison..."
"I love her." Derek briefly closed his eyes against the pain. The little voice went to work again, pointing out his choices of Addison and Rose, and congratulating Derek on showing Meredith how much he loved her.
"The nurse?"
"No, Meredith."
"Then what the hell are you doing to her?"
Derek wished he had an intelligent answer to that. "I'm going to fix things. Once and for all."
"Make it once and for all Derek. You have to stop this back-and-forth." Richard ordered. "For her sake."
Everything inside him screamed at Richard to mind his own business, once and for all. But the man was looking out for Meredith. When he hadn't been. "I will."
"Well alright then." Slapping Derek once on the back, a satisfied Richard left the coffee shop. He was off to handle the next crisis on his list.
His coffee now cold, Derek walked back over to the kiosk to order a fresh cup. His upcoming talk with Rose called for a hot shot of caffeine.