A/N ~ thank you if you review :) i love reading them

Derek ran his hands along his face and closed his eyes, inhaling deeply. Standing in front of the surgery schedule board, he was trying to figure out if he had enough time to go to the coffee cart and the bathroom before his early craniotomy.

"Good morning," came his wife's voice next to him. He opened his eyes and was offered a coffee, which he gladly took with a strained smile. "So…" Addison twisted the ring on her finger. "Did you get stuck in a surgery?"

Derek shook his head but was drawing a blank when he opened his mouth to reply to Addison. After a moment that was becoming too long, he came up with, "was tired." If Addison was at all sceptical, she hid it well.

After Meredith yelled at him in the bar last night, Derek abandoned the idea of returning to his trailer. Having to focus on driving for half an hour wasn't all that desirable. After trudging back to the hospital, he texted Addison to say he wouldn't make it home and laid down in an on-call room to sleep. He knew his possessiveness was unreasonable, but he just wanted Meredith to see he still cared. None of her friends loved the idea of her going home with a random blond man she had met 20 minutes previously, and yet they weren't being told to fuck off. And although he knew it sounded stupid, part of him was hopeful they could still be friends. Clearly, that wasn't an option. Derek looked at Addison as she replied to him, thinking back to the moment several days ago when she had introduced herself to an unsuspecting Meredith.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Want me to drive you home tonight?" she asked.

"Sure," he smiled softly at her.

A silence grew between them and Derek looked at the ground once it became awkward.

"I think Mark's gone," Addison blurted out eventually. Derek frowned and looked up at her.

"What?"

Addison sighed. "I just… gah! It's awkward, okay? We're awkward. And it shouldn't be like this. We agreed we'd try again; we'd work on our marriage. But Mark was here, and Meredith was here; well, she's not going anywhere," Addison grumbled. Derek frowned incredulously at her tone, but Addison continued. "But I bumped into Mark yesterday in the lobby and apparently he knows we're back together. He said something about being happy for us, and that was that. He just walked away. So I think he's given up and gone back to New York. And now we can really… you know. Make it work."

Derek stared at her for a moment. "Mark knows we're back together?" he asked, to which Addison nodded. "... How?"

Addison shrugged. "You told Meredith. Maybe she told him."

"Of course," Derek scoffed and shook his head. "Why the hell are they friends?"

"Derek," Addison was taken aback by the slight anger in his voice. "Why does it matter? Who cares what they do and who they're friends with," she reached out and took his hand. "Derek, this is about us."

Derek sighed and watched his hand sit limply in Addison's.

Addison glanced at the clock perched above the surgery board. "Look, I need to go. What time should I meet you downstairs?"

"Uh, I think I'll be done around eight, eight-thirty. That okay?"

Nodding, she kissed him on the cheek, gave a quick goodbye, and walked past him. Derek sighed and took a sip of the coffee she handed him, but it was far too hot. Hissing, he pulled it away fast and, without thinking, shoved it in front of a random surgical resident walking past him. The young man hesitantly took it and slowly looked at Derek with a questioning look. Derek shrugged and walked away.

Meredith groaned and turned over onto her back. Before she even opened her eyes, she was aware of the loud breathing next to her on the bed. She lifted her head off the pillow and looked over at Connor. He was sprawled out on his stomach; Meredith bit her lip and poked him once. When he didn't respond, she huffed and sat up, looking for a clock. Her eyes widened when she looked over at the window, and through the gap in the curtains, she saw the sun rising. "Shit. Shit, shit, shit." She leapt out of bed and yelped when she found herself standing beside the bed, naked. She impetuously dragged the duvet off the bed and wrapped it around her body. She scoffed at Connor, who remained undisturbed. Meredith began rifling through junk on the bedroom floor, where she found all her clothes except her bra. Contemplating for a moment, she decided there was no time to worry about it. Braless for a day would be fine. She swiftly threw on her clothes, keeping a watchful eye on Connor the whole time. Once she was dressed, she stopped and stared at him, still sleeping. She grunted and lifted a pillow off the floor to throw at him. He started slightly, and Meredith rolled her eyes.

"What?" he finally said, his voice thick with sleep.

"Hello?" Meredith yelled.

"What the fuck…" Connor groaned and turned to look at Meredith. He smiled at the sight of her. "Hey."

Meredith sighed impatiently. "Hi. Where's my purse?" Connor blankly stared at her, which pissed her off. "I need to go. I'm, like, very late. I mean, I don't know how fucking late because you have no way of telling the time in this goddam room except the sun," she gestured aggressively to the window, then dropped her hand and stared disbelievingly at Connor, who was still silent. She ran her hands over her face. "My purse!"

"Uh… probably on the hallway table, I don't know," he spoke.

Meredith nodded and stormed out of the bedroom. She was standing in a small apartment with an open living dining area decorated like some college frat house. She eyed the small hallway table and sighed with relief at the sight of her purse lying nicely in the centre. She walked over and immediately took out her phone, cringing at the time. 7:44 am. Work started forty-four minutes ago. Squeezing her eyes shut, she took a moment just to breathe. This whole sleeping with inappropriate men thing was supposed to help her get over Derek. Yet, here she was, in a situation she had found herself enjoying many times previously, but now she was extremely uncomfortable and wanted to be anywhere else. And she had yelled at Derek last night. Actually, she swore at him in front of everyone. Her chest began burning and she felt the unsettling sensation of stinging behind her eyes, so she put all her energy towards not crying in the one night stand's apartment.

"Um."

Meredith opened her eyes and whirled around to meet the eyes of Connor, who had cleared his throat and was standing awkwardly in boxers next to the small sofa. "Hi," Meredith said, dropping her arms from holding her phone close to her chest. "Sorry. I just, I'm, uh," she pointed to the door. "I'm late," she spoke quickly, tilting her head and nodding, "like I said… already." When Connor didn't say anything, she gave an exasperated sigh and turned around, gathering her things. "I swear you were really different last night," she mumbled, spotting her shoes in the corner of the room and rushing over to them.

"Sorry! I just-" Connor breathed, following her with his gaze. "You're hot."

Meredith narrowed her eyes and glared at him briefly while shoving her flats on. Once sorted, she sped over to the door once again. Pausing at the handle, she sucked her lips in. "Bye, Connor. Thanks for the," she inhaled, "night. The night was fun." Meredith was out the door before he could get the chance to reply.

"I mean, I thought alcohol changed the way I acted but, I swear to god Cristina, I fell asleep next to the most sultry blond man I've ever met and woke up next to a fifteen year old!" Meredith exclaimed.

"Say that last part a little louder," Cristina smirked. She had joined Meredith not long ago at the laboratory counter as they were both waiting on results for their respective attendings.

Meredith swatted at Cristina. "Shut it, will you? God," she ran her hand over her forehead. "As if the physical headache isn't punishment enough, I was late, I'm down a bra, and it was just so fucking awkward this morning."

"Punishment? For what?"

"I don't know," Meredith shook her head softly. "Just, like, existing, probably."

Cristina raised an eyebrow. "Dramatic much?"

Meredith smirked up at her. "Shut up."

"So, how angry was Bailey?" Cristina asked.

"Oh, god," Meredith placed her elbows on the countertop and buried her head in her hands. "Full nazi mode. It was bad. And she did not want to hear a single word from me. I mean, what if I had a near-death experience, and that's why I was late?"

Cristina eyed her, "You didn't."

"Well, she doesn't know that," Meredith raised her head and pursed her lips wryly.

Cristina chuckled. "Was it worth it, at least? Was he any good?"

Meredith smiled and scoffed at Cristina's question, shaking her head in joking disapproval. However, her smile fell when she looked past Cristina and spotted Derek walking up to them. Because this day was going too well, Meredith thought. Her eyes widened, and she immediately ducked her head down, murmuring, "Hide me, hide me." Cristina frowned and turned around, snorting once she realised what was happening. She looked at the back of Meredith's head resting it on the counter, and sighed sympathetically.

Derek slowed as he came closer to the two girls. "Move along, McDreamy," Cristina said flatly without looking him in the eye.

Derek regarded Cristina only for a moment before he let his gaze rest on Meredith's slumped form. He felt all his frustration from the previous night melt away as he watched how she blatantly pretended he wasn't there. It dragged the corners of his mouth up ever so slightly, but they fell when Cristina cleared her throat. He looked at her, and she raised her eyebrows and flicked her eyes down the hall. Derek sighed.

"Meredith, can we talk for a moment?" he asked, not wanting to let Cristina make him back down.

"About what?" Meredith's annoyed reply was muffled since she kept her head down. He was surprised; he expected her to ignore him. He didn't know how to answer her; he didn't exactly have a plan. He just saw them as he walked down the hallway and couldn't bring himself to walk past without acknowledging her. When Derek didn't say anything in reply, Meredith raised her head. "What, Derek?"

She looked worn down and had a deep frown fixed on her face. "Listen, I-" Derek began, but was interrupted by the man who had just turned up on the other side of the kiosk.

"Labs for Robert Hubble?"

Meredith turned and took the paper from his hand with a smile and a thank you. She turned to Cristina, widening her eyes for a short moment before saying a quick goodbye, to which Cristina nodded in understanding. Meredith then turned to Derek. She lingered for a moment while they locked eyes and looked at each other, but with a deep breath, she broke the eye contact and walked away.

Meredith was ready to collapse as soon as she stepped into the elevator. It was something about knowing that she was in there for the last time before driving home and immediately falling asleep, she mused. Leaning against the back wall, she began counting the shoelace holes on her sneakers to encourage her eyes to stay open. She didn't notice him stepping onto the elevator.

"Meredith."

Meredith looked up quickly, caught off guard by the informal greeting, and she wasn't prepared for the look on his face. Derek was standing before her, his back to the elevator doors. His gaze was fixed on her, his expression not matching the softness with which he spoke her name. She noticed his hair was a mess; he had clearly taken his scrub cap off recently. But he didn't usually go without fixing his hair after a surgery. His eyebrows were slightly furrowed, and his shoulders were tense. She slowly inhaled and swallowed heavily as Derek watched her. He remained very still, even when she looked back down and resumed counting on her shoes. Rather than struggling to stay awake, she was now vigilantly watching his feet in her peripheral vision.

It was too quiet. A week ago, the two of them in an elevator alone would not feel so painfully stiff, but rather the opposite. She heard the soft shuffle of his shoes against the floor rather than seeing it, and unexpected tears blurred her vision. But he was coming closer to her. Light filled the floor, and Meredith realised the doors had opened, meaning they would be on the ground floor. Sucking in a heavy breath, she lifted her head. Derek paused, and his face fell when he saw the look on her face, which prompted hot tears to fall from both Meredith's eyes. She hurriedly looked past him, and her breath hitched as she watched the doors close.

"Meredith…" Derek's anxious plea was ignored. He watched helplessly as Meredith dropped her head in her hand, and her shoulders began to shake. As he watched her sob, something thick built up in his chest, yet he stayed rooted to the ground. It felt wrong to stand and do nothing, but she had pressed herself into the wall as if trying to create as much space as possible between them. His eyes stung as her cries filled the silence.

Something in him snapped when she let out a low moan and brought her other hand to her face. He should at least try to comfort her. But as he stepped forward, he heard the contrasting cheerful ding of the elevator. Meredith gasped and harshly raised her head. Derek caught nothing more than a heartbreaking glimpse of her face damp with tears, before she hung her head and rushed around Derek out of the elevator, disregarding that she was once again on the surgery floor. As people filed onto the elevator, Derek was bereft and glassy eyed, and he absentmindedly moved to the side to allow more space for the other passengers. He took a deep breath. His wife was waiting for him in the lobby.

A/N ~ i'm sorry for updating slowly, it's summer here so i'm home and have been doing things :) i've also been reading sooo much recently. Hope you enjoyed !