peace

chapter 11

"Good morning Dr. Shepherd." Meredith said with a smirk.

"Good morning Dr. Grey, how are you?" He asked.

"I'm great."

"How is the blueberry?"

"Also great." She said with a nod.

"That's good cause I have an exciting surgery today that I am sure the both of you would like to scrub in on." Derek said handing her the chart.

"A hemispherectomy?" Meredith said with excitement.

"Yup. So spend the morning rounding on my patients and doing Mr. Jacobs pre-op. As long as you do a good job, the retractor is all yours."

"You are going to let me hold the retractor?" She said with disbelief.

"As long as you do a good job this morning, I can't see a reason why I wouldn't let you hold the retractor."

"Maybe because you have never let another intern do it, you barely let us scrub in."

"Well that's not very responsible of me. This is a teaching hospital, I should be teaching you." He said with a cocky grin.

"Okay but you can't just teach me. We discussed the special treatment, and the fact that you shouldn't do it."

"I will treat all my interns equally, but you have shown the most affinity towards neuro. So not teaching you would be irresponsible."

"As long as my affinity has nothing to do with what's in my uterus." She pointed to her stomach.

"Absolutely separate. Church and state." Derek confirmed.

"Well then." She said with a smile. "I have some rounds to do."

"Yes you do." He smiled after her as she scurried away.

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"Guess what I am scrubbing in on." Meredith said as she found Cristina at the nurses station.

"Oh of course shepherd lets you scrub in on a cool surgery. Your womb is working for you."

"A hemispherectomy, and he specifically said it had nothing to do with my womb."

"You get to watch a brain get cut in half?! Lucky pregnant bitch."

"I get to hold a retractor while the brain gets cut in half." Meredith bragged.

"Oh. For the first time ever, shepherd lets someone actually help in a surgery, and that has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that you are giving him a child."

"None." Meredith said confidently. She wasn't quite sure if she believed the words she was saying but there was the whole thing of not looking a gift horse in the mouth.

"Uh-huh. Well I am on Burke's service. Maybe I should let him impregnate me. Then I could get fancy cool surgeries."

"Ew Cristina." Meredith said as she chastised her friend.

"I know, I know. I don't even think that sleeping with Burke would be worth the cardio surgeries."

"Probably not." Meredith laughed "I have to go round on Derek's patients so that later today, I can help cut a brain in half." Meredith gloated.

"Pregnant whore." Cristina retorted.

"Pregnant whore who gets to help cut a brain in half later today." Meredith corrected.

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"Wow that was amazing." Meredith said as she scrubbed her hands after the long surgery.

"It was. You did great." Derek confirmed.

"I did, didn't I." Meredith laughed.

"Absolutely, with hand's like those, you are going to make a wonderful neuro surgeon."

"Oh." She said quietly.

"What?" He asked concerned.

"It's nothing."

"It's not nothing. When a world class neuro surgeon says you are going to make a wonderful neuro surgeon, most people get excited."

"um- I just always thought I would go into general."

"Why is that?"

"Do you know who Ellis Grey is?" Meredith asked sheepishly.

"Of course, two time Harper Avery winner, creator of the Grey Method- Grey. You have the same last name." Derek said as he realized the connection.

"Very astute observation Dr. Shepherd. She is my mother."

"I- didn't realize she had a daughter."

"I love my mother, and she loved me, I think. But she wasn't necessarily the most motherly person out there. Surgery tended to come first and she always trained me to follow in her footsteps. Until she decided that I didn't have what it takes. I just- always thought I would prove her wrong, become a general surgeon. And surgery is my passion. I just always thought it would be general surgery."

"You can still do general surgery. If you want to. You are extraordinarily talented Meredith. You can do whatever you want to do. Just make sure you do it for yourself, not for your mother or me or anyone else." He looked sincerely into her eyes.

"Thank you Derek." She said.

"Of course Meredith. You know, I once went to conference where Ellis Grey spoke. She scared the crap out of me."

Meredith laughed. "Yea she has that effect on people."

"You're just- very different from your mother. I mean, I think you're probably just as talented. But she was sorta cold and harsh while you are warm and kind."

"That's- I'm still a little scared that baby will have an Ellis Grey-esk person for a mother."

"I don't think blueberry will have to worry about that. You are going to be a great mother Meredith."