Chapter Text
In a way Bailey was the reason that Meredith saw Dr. Montgomery-Shepherd for the first time. Despite the resident having already left to go home, she had extracted a promise from Meredith that she would make sure her Person actually left the hospital that night. Yang was well over hours and neither Bailey nor Webber were amused. So there Meredith was sitting in the lobby blowing through all of her data trying to coax Yang out of the locker room. Burke had also left for the day so she wasn’t too worried about Christina doing much more than trying to sneak off to the skills lab, but Izzy had promised to text Meredith if Christina tried to muscle her way in.
She was so focused on her phone that she didn’t notice Derek Shepherd step into the lobby. Her walking, talking, ode to Med-School-Meredith’s bad decision making sauntered up to the front desk. If she had noticed him before he noticed her she could have quietly slipped out of the lobby to the Intern Locker room to hide.
Unfortunately Derek Can’t-Take-A-Hint Shepherd had already sat down across from her,
“Hey Meredith, I’m so happy I ran into you.”
As soon as that familiar voice shattered her little bubble of peace a bland, perfectly polite smile slid on to her face. She tilted her head up just enough to acknowledge that she was spoken to without committing to a conversation.
“Evening, Dr. Shepherd.” The tone of her texts to Christina changed suddenly as she frantically begged for an extraction. She didn’t think the brush off would work but it was good to have hope.
“Meredith, I thought we agreed you should call me Derek.” Hope dashed upon the rocks as she could hear the sad puppy dog pleading in his voice. Unfortunately for Derek, her memory of their night together had left her thoroughly inoculated against his charms. Unfortunately for Meredith, his memory of their night together meant months of dodging his pursuits.
“Only before I realized you were my boss and actual teacher. Giving Derek Shepherd, guest lecturer, the time of day was already a mistake.” Meredith kept her face placid even as she put a bit of an edge into her voice. “Now you’re Dr. Shepherd.”
“Will I ever be Derek again?” Shepherd had the gall to sigh the heavy breath of a teacher whose student wasn’t grasping the simplest concepts. Meredith felt her spine stiffen and her teeth ache with the burden of the venom she wanted to unleash on this McDreary asshole. He didn’t help his own case by hooking up with other people in and around the Seattle Grace while shooting her the eyes.
That’s when Meredith spotted the latest in a string of situationships: Nurse Rose. The woman seemed nice enough, always willing to toss a bit of candy at a hungry looking intern. She looked lovely in a baby blue blouse and flowy skirt. If Meredith saw this Rose in a bar she would definitely try to buy her a drink.
“How’s Rose?” Meredith didn’t exactly raise her voice but she made sure the question carried. Rose's eyes snapped to hers and the scrub nurse shot her such a sweet smile that Meredith’s smile stopped being so wooden.
“I’m good!” Derek winced at his girlfriend(?)’s voice being so close. Meredith wasn’t sure if Rose caught it because the Neuro God had yet to turn around to acknowledge her. Rose’s eyes flicked to the back of Derek’s head with a slight frown, “Thanks for asking Meredith.”
Derek’s distant eyes looked past the get-it-together-man look Meredith shot him. If McDreary thought she was going to go along with his passive aggressive withdrawal he had another thing coming. Rose didn’t deserve that. Turning her body in her seat so that she was facing Meredith offered the scrub nurse a dazzling smile. The kind of look that had gotten her many numbers over the years. Rose stopped half a step away from Derek, looking just a little bit dazzled. Meredith made her voice smooth, more dulcite, not quite flirtatious but certainly…deliberate,
“I'm glad to hear you’re doing well.” She looked up at Rose through her lashes, “You certainly look lovely tonight.” Derek jumped to his feet taking the half step into Rose’s space and wrapping a hand around her waist.
“I promised her wine and steak.” His voice shifted to a smooth practiced cadence as he directed a charming McDreamy smile down at the woman in his arms. Meredith felt a little vindicated when Rose blinked at Meredith a couple of times before realizing her boyfriend was flirting with her. Thankfully she saw a text from Christina confirming she would meet her by the front desk. She stood up giving a another polite smile to the couple in front of her,
“That certainly sounds like a delightful evening.” McDreary, who could not learn to leave well enough alone, opened his big mouth.
“Would you like to-…”
“Of course, I’m more of a tequila, wings and pizza girl myself. Christina and I have horror movie night all planned out.”
“Aww girls night sounds awesome as well.” Rose smiles sweetly.
“Have a good night Rose, Dr. Shepherd.”
“Night Meredith.” Rose waved back to bright and bubbly.
Derek just looked on with the kind of grim smoulder that should be reserved for sapphics, poets, and, occasionally, guitarists of punk bands.
She thought she was in the clear, waiting by the front desk studiously ignoring the pair blatantly canoodling instead of getting that promised steak. She was so concentrated on watching anywhere but Derek and Rose that she was the first person to notice the elegant red head enter the room. The thing that first drew Meredith’s attention was shiny lush curls, though wine colored lips got her to take a second look. However what hooked her attention was black dress and fur coat. With killer heels the outfit screamed Revenge Dress.
Meredith’s rapture was the only reason that she caught the moment the woman's eyes found Derek and Rose. Meredith watched the woman’s face drop, her shoulder slumped, her gaze dropped down to a very interesting bit of floor.
A terrible thought crossed Meredith’s mind. A thought that she hoped with every fiber of her being was incorrect. Breath hitching, stomach churning the rest of the world faded away as Meredith searched for some clue to confirm or deny her theory.
The hand that didn’t have a death grin on her clutch trembled by the woman's side. Meredith had a series of mismatched impulses. The first impulse wanted to run fast and far to find a suitable hole to curl up in for a century or so. The second impulse wanted her to help, to soothe away the pain that was etched the painful way her lips were caught in between her teeth.
One step, more lateral than purposeful, but it was enough to catch the redhead’s attention. When those green, green eyes met Meredith’s every fiber of her being told she was a goner. She was suddenly super grateful that the front desk was still within arm’s reach to catch her weight when her knees buckled. All at once the woman in front of her shifted. Gone were the wide, wet eyes, the bit lip, and the trembling hands. In their place were razor sharp gaze, a snarl pretending to be a smirk, and a click clacking of heels so powerful that Meredith’s heart wrenched painfully to match their beat.
Meredith watched as Derek’s eyes found the woman’s and his entire body tensed, eyes flickering between her and the door. Rose noticed his sudden change, and murmured some soft questions with a look of soft concern. She reached out hand to feel his forehead but Derek leapt away like her touch burned. Meredith felt stomach clenched as Rose’s face crumpled, and she saw the red heads power walk falter. She wasn’t the only one who caught the waiver in righteous confidence. Derek moved closer to Rose with a placating, apologetic smile. Even at this distance Meredith caught his gentle apology. That snapped the red head back into action, her features sharpened, her spine straightened, her walk lengthened. This was a woman who forged herself from the coldest steel.
“Derek.”
“Addison.”
“What are you doing here?”
“Working. Who is this?”
“Don’t be coy. Why are you here?”
“Work. Hi I’m Addison Shepherd.”
"Please be one of his sisters," Meredith begged the universe, the gods, or anyone who might be able to answer her prayers, ‘or his cousin, or a vampiric ancestor coming to collect protection money and supernatural taxes.’
“Shepherd?”
“And you must be the woman who has been screwing my husband.”