A.N. Hi everyone, chapter 12 is finally here! I'm awfully sorry for the lack of updates but I share my writing time with another story and besides that my studies are really time-consuming at the moment. The good news is that my holidays are coming so I hope to post more often. R&R!

I hope you remember the last two chapters, or you might be a bit confused.

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Meredith's fingers were working furiously to undo a knot on Bessie's shoe-laces. The harder she was tugging at the rope, the more tangled it was becoming.

"Mummy, 'urry!" urged her Bessie, too impatient to stay in one place.

It was lunchtime and Meredith took the opportunity to sneak out of hospital and take her daughter for a short walk. She really needed that break as she felt like a nervous wreck. She tried to remain calm and reason with herself. She hadn't experienced such an emotional rollercoaster since… well, since she was in Seattle last time.

"Stupid sneaky McBastard," she muttered under her breath.

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SEVERAL HOURS EARLIER

Derek reached his hand and said with a knowing smile, "Hello, friend."

As they stood shaking their hands, their eyes interlocked, Meredith felt drawn to him. However, in the back of her mind, she knew she couldn't let herself do what her body clearly craved for.

"So…" she started. She awkwardly slid her hand out his grasp, tracing her fingertips the lines in his palm. The loss of skin contact left her slightly bereft.

"So," murmured Derek, his glazed eyes never leaving her features. He was as moved with their touch as she was. He had dreamed of feeling her for so long that the simplest of handshakes made his senses go haywire.

"So, I guess we should.. huh…" stuttered Mer, trying to make some sense of her incoherent thoughts, "we should, actually, go to work."

"We should." They made the way towards the elevators together, shoulder to shoulder. "We've found you an office."

Meredith looked at Derek with interest.

"The Chief was very choosy," he continued.

"Oh?"

To tell the truth, Webber was annoyed with Derek's proposition.

"What did I tell you, Derek?"

"Really, Richard, you told me to find her a place to work and I did just that."

"We might look for something else, somewhere else," said Richard halfheartedly.

"This is the neuro department," reminded Derek determinately, his arms crossed on his chest.

"I told the chief that I didn't need anything fancy. But he's so stubborn," sighed Meredith.

"He wants the best for you. And he doesn't want you to have regrets you might have choosing Seattle over Boston."

"I never chose Seattle over Boston," argued Meredith. "I knew all along I was never going for the Chief thing at Providence."

"You did?" Derek was taken aback by her statement.

"Er, yeah." When will I learn to keep my mouth shut?, she thought frantically as she accidentally brushed the subject she was desperate to avoid.

"Let's hurry," she said instead. "It's my first day, I don't want to be late."

Derek knew her too much not to notice an abrupt change in her manner, a telltale sign that she was keeping something from him. He decided not to press her; one wrong word and he could undermine their fragile understanding.

As they entered the neuro department several minutes later, Derek pointed at the door leading to a small room and announced with a smile, "Voila," he opened the door with a grand gesture. "Dr. Grey, welcome to your office."

Meredith took a quick glance inside but spun around almost immediately, raising her eyebrows in consternation.

"It's… It's right opposite your office…"

"It's the best we could come up with. Besides, I need to keep an eye on you," he explained flashing his McDreamy smile.

"Keep… an eye… on me?" Meredith repeated slowly.

"Oh, yes," confirmed Derek. "You've been a fully-fledged surgeon only for a few days. I need to be close," he said with a low and soft voice, inching towards her. "Make sure you're… comfortable…"

Mer cleared her throat and backed a little, meeting the wall behind her.

"I think… I'll be just fine…" her stare fixed on his lips…

Meredith didn't have an idea what could happen at that very moment if someone's loud footsteps hadn't broken the moment.

"Good morning, Dr. Stevens," Derek sighed with resignation. Izzie was hurrying along the corridor with a pile of lab results in her hands.

"Good morning," her greeting was full of the familiar coldness and resentment. "Please, continue when you left off. Don't let me interrupt you."

"Izzie!" called Meredith after her.

"what's going on between the two of you?" asked Derek with concern.

"It's… complicated," Meredith shook her head.

"This can't keep going on. You have to put your foot down, you're her attending now," reminded Derek authoritatively.

"I know, I'll take care of this," assured Meredith. "Listen, I need to get changed. See you around, Dr. Shepherd." She quickly stepped into her tiny office, shut the door into his face and pulled down the blinds of the room's sole window donning on the corridor.

Once hidden from Derek's view she leaned her back heavily on the wall, trying to cool off. The friendship resolution was already crumbling, minutes after their agreement. It seemed like she couldn't stop herself from flirting with him. Deep down, you're the same slutty intern, she reprimanded herself. And Derek's attitude wasn't helping. He was smiling, leaning, giving her long looks and… he got her an office door to door with his. If she pulled up the blinds, she would have a perfect outlook over his office. In which he's probably undressing… Just focus on work, Meredith. Be professional and friendly, but not too friendly…

She quickly put on her navy-blue scrubs and directed her steps to the lobby. Fortunately, Derek was nowhere in sight.

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"Jackson, prep Ms. Lewis for surgery. Green, you're taking care of the other patient; and page Dr. Grey," Derek ordered the interns, investigating the scans of two head-trauma patients.

"Page Dr. Grey?" Mark Sloan entered the CT room , halted beside his best friend and shook his head pityingly. "It's bad Derek. Now, you need her to second you medical opinions?"

"Don't be daft," Derek rolled his eyes at Mark. "I have two patients needing immediate attention, I can't be in two ORs at the same time."

"That's a relief because luring her to the CT room would look a bit desperate. Good to know that you didn't hit the romantic bottom."

Derek's body stiffened guiltily at Mark's last comment. He would be a laughing stock if he told Mark about his… well, desperate ride near Meredith's house the day before…

"So, how's the situation on the front? You two still fighting?"

"We… declared kind of a truce."

"A truce?" Mark was all astonishment; only the day before Meredith Grey was after Derek's blood.

"We're… friends now," Derek was perfectly aware how lame it sounded.

"Friends?"

"Yeah, she suggested that."

"She-"

"Can you stop repeating every word that I say? It's annoying," snapped Derek irritably.

"Sorry, I'm just surprised. You're evolving faster than a malignant tumor."

Derek looked at him in disbelief, "Thanks for comparing my relationship to a disease." He asked anxiously, "Does it mean good, the friends thing?"

Mark eyed him skeptically and chuckled, "Friends with benefits, maybe."

Derek smiled but shook his head, "She keeps pulling back because she doesn't trust me. I'm going to move slow, baby steps."

"Dr. Sloan, I need you for a consult. We have a patient with severe facial burns," Alex's voice sounded from the door.

"Good luck," whispered Mark patting him on the shoulder and leaving the room, seconds only before Meredith hurried in.

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"What are we going to do?" asked George silently, walking out of a patient's room behind Meredith.

Their patient, a middle-aged woman with brain tumor, insisted to put off her surgery until the arrival of her fiancé.

"Right now, we're going to wait."

"But you heard what her sister said, she'd never seen him. What if he doesn't exist? We might be wasting time."

"I know it can be the impact of the tumor but we can give her 24 hours. Given the advance stadium of the illness, her chance of recovery is… scarce. I want to grant her wish. You're going to monitor her condition. If anything changes, we'll operate immediately."

George nodded and said, "It's really good to have you back. Seattle Grace wasn't the same place without you."

Meredith smiled warmly, "Thanks. Aren't you mad at me?"

"Why would I be?"

"I wasn't here for you, for any of you. You had rough moments; cristina told me."

"It's not your fault," George shrugged his shoulders. "And don't worry about Izzie, she'll come around."

"Talking about me?" asked Izzie passing them by. "You must be the only two; the rest of the hospital is talking about you, Meredith."

"Izzie," called Meredith. "We need to talk, we keep bumping into each other-"

"Yeah, how annoying is that?" Izzie grimaced her face and walked away.

"Izzie!" shouted George. "I'm sorry, I'll talk to her-"

"Don't worry, George," protested Mer. "I have to do it myself-"

She was cut off by the sound her pager. "I need to go, keep me posted on Ms. Hernandez's condition."

She dashed into the CT room to find Derek inside, "You called?"

He pointed at the two sets of scans, "We have a male and female in their twenties, head trauma form motorcycle accident. Didn't wear helmets. What can you see?"

"Excuse me?" Meredith huffed, examining the images. "I'm not your intern!"

Derek chuckled, "Sorry, just the force of habit."

She scowled at him, "I'm taking the woman."

"No, I'm taking the woman. Her condition's much more serious-"

"I can see that," argued Meredith. "And I'm capable-"

"I don't doubt you are. But I'm still the head of department," he replied, playfulness never fading from his features. "Dr. Green's prepping your patient, he's a second year intern."

"Fine, Dr. Shepherd," she squinted at him.

"My patient's mother told me they're engaged," said softly Derek. "Let's make sure they make it to the grand day."

Meredith nodded and made her way to leave.

"Dr. Grey," Derek called after her mischievously. "Are you going to dance again?"

Meredith tried with great effort to keep her face straight, "No, Dr. Shepherd, I AM NOT," she emphasized each word.

"That's a pity," he shook his head mournfully.

"I don't dance in the OR… usually… It's a long story."

"Care to tell me when we're not busy with saving lives?"

"Maybe," Meredith hesitated and added, cocking her eyebrow, "if you behave."

Meredith didn't have any intention of repeating the IEPS tradition in Seattle. She performed her own private ritual at the beginning of a surgery. It was nothing spectacular; quite the contrary, it was discreet, almost imperceptible. She didn't utter any magic formulas or stretch her muscles. All she did was a simple hand movement, a habit she acquired during her first solo surgery.

When she was allowed to perform first procedure all by herself, she was six-months pregnant. Her unborn daughter chose the precise moment when Meredith was stepping up towards the operating table to start kicking her little legs inside her mum's womb. She probably sensed the excitement Meredith felt at the prospect of solo surgery.

Meredith put a hand on her swollen belly in attempt to calm her baby. Ever since, she had been repeating the small gesture every time she performed a surgery. Even though she was no longer pregnant and her abdomen was flat, it still filled her with contentment and confidence. This time was no exception.

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Two hours later, Meredith was scrubbing out, full of optimism. The procedure went without complications and Meredith felt a strange sort of elation. She and Derek were working together, they were operating on two people in love. Their future and their happiness were at their hands. She only hoped they handled their patients' fate better than their won.

According to the nurse Mer asked for information, Derek hadn't yet finished. It was understandable; the fiancées injuries were more extensive, she had intra-cranial hemorrhage

She slipped into the gallery to see the progress of Derek's operation and decided to wait until he finished. Judging by the monitors, it shouldn't take long. She perched on the highest bench, unnoticed by a group of interns conversing animatedly.

"So, I have this patient," said a blond girl. "A young woman who can't stop blushing. She's so funny. She turns all red whenever McDreamy is around."

The groups burst into silent giggles. Meredith smiled. Apparently, their McNickname tradition was still thriving. It looked like she and her friends took a place in the medical history, even if it was only a Seattle Grace Hospital medical history.

"You'd better tell that girl to watch it," advised a girl with dark braids. "Shepherd's a private property. All rights reserved by McFoxy!"

"So true, she shouldn't enrage a woman that's so good with a scalpel!"

The comment was met by another gale of laughter but to Meredith it was like a bucket of cold water.

McFoxy? Who the hell is McFoxy?

"Having fun?" hissed Meredith coldly, careful not to cause disruption in the OR below.

The interns turned around, eliciting gasps of terror.

"We… we…" the blond girl stammered, her eyes wide with shock.

"We what? You've suddenly lost the ability of human speech? You were very eloquent a few seconds ago, as I can remember."

"We were watching the procedure," another intern tried to save the day.

"Shut up! You didn't come here to learn, you came here to gossip. Otherwise, you would respect the fact that down there a group of doctors is trying to save someone's life. Take the crap you were talking about somewhere else, you're banned from the OR for today."

The interns were rooted to the spot as if preparing to be executed.

"What are you still doing here? Get out of my sight!"

The girls scurried away, bumping into each other as they tried to get away from their attending's fury as quickly as possible.

Meredith was seething. Not so much with the fact that she caught a bunch of interns fooling around. They were just accidental casualties of her rage as she learnt from their banter that Derek was apparently seeing some "McFoxy". Meredith snorted to herself, sounds like some slutty bitch.

If looks could kill, Derek Shepherd would be dead at that very moment, instead of handing his scalpel to a nurse. Meredith eyes travelled along with the knife to the nurse, the nurse. She would recognize everywhere those big innocent eyes, she visualized them too many times while playing darts.

Well, well, well… How cosy…

"Good work, everyone," Derek's voice announced the end of the procedure. The patient survived; it was all she needed to know for now.

She left the gallery not to meet Derek. If she did now, she would pour all her anger at him and she really didn't want to do that. Unfortunately, she stumbled upon her half-sister who fell victim to Meredith's foul mood.

She groaned inwardly at the sight of Lexie's enthusiastic face.

"Hi," she started awkwardly. "I'm…"

"Dr. Grey, are you assigned to work with me?" Meredith asked bluntly.

Lexie was slightly surprised at the fact that Meredith knew her name, "No-"

"Were you sent to tell me something important?"

Lexie shook her head once again, "No-"

"Then why are you wasting my time?" Meredith didn't even attempt to sound less aggressive. Cristina was right, the interns were really stupid and lazy.

Meredith's harshness knocked Lexie for six, her eyes began to water.

"Go and make yourself useful! Tell Dr. Shepherd that my patient's stable and so far there have been no complications." She departed without another word leaving hurt Lexie behind her.

She really needed to calm down Thank God it's almost lunchtime.

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PRESENT

"Stupid sneaky McBastard," muttered Meredith under her breath. "Stupid McJackass and his slutty McLadies. Slutty McFoxy and slutty nurse."

"Sutty, sutty," repeated after her Bessie.

Meredith gasped in panic and covered her mouth. It wasn't the first time she verbalized her not-so-elegant inner ramblings in front of her daughter.

"Don't you repeat that ever again, sweetie!" She finally managed to untangle the knotted shoelace.

"What sutty?" asked Bessie.

Meredith groaned, "It means that mummy's crazy. Look, you're all set, we can have our walk."

Bessie broke free of Meredith's hands emitting a real belly laugh and trotted along the alleyway, her mum at her heels.

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The park proved a refuge not only for Meredith Grey. For Miranda Bailey, meeting her son there was a regular practice. She had recently finished her residency and trying to fit Tuck in her schedule was a desperate quest.

"Tell mummy how's your day, hmm?" she asked as her son ran a miniature car on the park bench. She heard a loud laughter and cast a fleeting glance at the source of the sound. Her mind registered disinterestedly a small girl followed by a young blond-haired woman only to turn her attention at Tuck. However, a sudden thought struck her and her head snapped back to two running figures. It was too late to see the woman and the girl again, though; they had already disappeared behind a bush.

For a second, she could swear the woman was Meredith Grey but almost immediately, she laughed at the irrationality of the concept. After all, she didn't clearly see her face and how many women had blond hair like that? And what would be Meredith Grey doing in a park with a few-year old child? She dismissed her silly thoughts from her head and focused on her son.

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A.N. Important note: If any of you have doubts after reading this chapter, I assure you Derek has nothing to do with Rose! They broke up in peace years ago and she's still a scrub nurse at Seattle Grace but that's all.

Gosh, I believe it's my longest chapter ever!

BTW, how did you like the last Grey's episode? I think it was amazing, the ending left me speechless! Waiting two weeks for the crossover seems like a torture.