The Release

Chapter 15

Meredith felt her eyes flutter as she was slowly waking, realizing she had fallen asleep. She felt a throbbing pain in her neck, she slowly moved her head up. She looked at the clock, realizing it was 1am. She had been awake for nearly 24 hours and her body felt it.

"Any word yet?" Meredith muttered as she looked up at a very tired Derek. He looked as if he hadn't slept in days. The prominent bags under his eyes said the same thing.

"Not yet," he said, shaking his head.

"I'm going to go grab some coffee. We have all had a long night," she breathed deeply as she finally got the energy to stand.

"I'll come too," Jake said as he stood up.

"Ok, I only have two hands," Meredith smiled as she started walking away, Jake following beside her. Meredith looked at him, she never really got a good look at him when he first came in and introduced himself. He was nice, clean cut and had a warmth to him.

"So Addison tells me you are a fertility specialist?" Meredith asked, trying to make conversation.

"Yeah, I am actually double certified," he nodded with a small smile.

"That's amazing, what is your other specialty?" Meredith asked, now intrigued.

"General Surgery. I worked at John Hopkins until my daughter was 18 and she decided to go to Seattle University. I packed up and moved out here, started working at Seattle Pres mostly," he said as they got into the elevator.

"What made you pick both?" Meredith loved hearing the stories of how attendings decided on a specialty, especially when she had no idea what she wanted to do herself.

"OB-GYN was my first choice. It was the easy one, you know? I went with General but ended up with an OB fellowship which led me to fertility. I enjoyed the idea of giving women the families they have always wanted," he said with passion in his eyes, Meredith had seen many people talk about their specialty's but the way he spoke about his was astounding.

"That's amazing, you're really passionate about that aren't you?" She asked.

"Yes, I love my job. It has its days but when I see the women I work with finally achieve what they have always dreamed it makes the best of it. Have you thought about your specialty? Addison told me you did wonderful with OB?" He asked as they stepped off the elevator to the first floor.

"I haven't really felt a calling for one yet. I know everyone expects me to go into general because that's what my mother did and she was extraordinary but I can't live up to her name," she said, shaking her head.

"You're mother was a surgeon as well?"

"She was. Ellis Grey," Meredith waited for the look he gave her as it changed, realizing that she was Ellis Grey's daughter.

"Like the Grey method?"

"The one and only."

"She was great, I envied her when I studied General. I attended one of her seminars once and the way she was so passionate about surgery made we want to be a better surgeon," he said, praising her mother.

"Which is why I don't want to ruin her legacy," Meredith replied, it was true. She didn't want to live in the shadow is the great Ellis Grey.

"You wouldn't ruin it, you would make your own," he shrugged.

"Thanks," she smiled, she genuinely enjoyed Jake. He was kind and seemed like the perfect guy. She could understand why Addison married him so fast, he seemed like he knew what he wanted and never let go.