Let It Go

3.

Derek and Meredith locked eyes, starring at each other for a moment. "Construction?" Meredith finally asked. "Stuff?" Derek countered, eyeing her still. He wasn't quite grasping what was going on. The woman he'd chatted up at the bar the night before last - the one he'd pegged for a business type - was standing in his office and being introduced as his newest attending. Richard looked between the two, trying to find the piece of this conversation he had obviously missed.

"Do the two of you know each other?" Richard asked curiously. "Kind of," Meredith answered. "Yes," Derek said at the same time. Meredith glared at Derek. "Kind of yes," Derek clarified. Meredith rolled her eyes discreetly. They didn't know each other at all. She hadn't given him her name or told him what she did for a living. He hadn't given her his name either and he had out right lied about what he did for a living. "Actually, we don't know each other at all," Meredith corrected Derek. "So you kinda of yes don't know each other?" Richard asked. "Yeah," Derek agreed. Richard gave him a confused look.

"Man, I've been looking all over for you. When I was downstairs earlier for breakfast I saw this chick... I swear she looked exactly like..." Mark burst into the office without knocking. He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Richard and Meredith. "And you've found her," he stated, looking from Meredith to Derek and back. Meredith tore her eyes away from Derek to eye the man who had burst in unannounced. Richard saw her looking at Mark.

"Um, Mere - Dr. Grey - this is Dr. Mark Sloan, head of plastic surgery. Dr. Sloan, this is Dr. Meredith Grey. She's joining our neurosurgery staff," he introduced. Mark grinned. "Among other things," he muttered, glancing at Derek. Derek gave him a dirty look. Richard glanced around the room again. Something was going on and he wasn't privy to it. He was the Chief of Surgery. He got to be privy to everything. He would figure out what was going on eventually. He looked to Derek just in time to see him staring at Meredith again. "Great," he muttered. His staff couldn't keep their hands off of each other. In the last 6 months he'd had two sets of doctors get married. And rumor had it that Dr. Karev and Dr. Stevens were joining the marital ranks. Now his head of neurosurgery was eyeing Ellis Grey's daughter as if she were a piece of meat. Fantastic.

"Dr. Webber, if we're done here, I'm going to start setting up my office," Meredith said, cutting her eyes one more time. Richard looked at her and nodded. "Um, sure. Go right ahead. The key should be in the top drawer of your desk. Shirly, the department secretary, can get you any supplies you need. Her office is at the other end of the hallway. And make sure you have access to all of the computer programs. And there should be a card with dictating instructions on it..." "Seriously Chief, the way you're babysitting her I don't know if I'd let her pick up a scapel," Mark commented. "Sloan...," Richard warned. Meredith shot Mark a look and headed towards the door. Sloan and Derek looked at Richard, obviously waiting for him to follow. "Fine," Richard said, throwing his arms up and leaving Derek's office.

"Meredith Grey," Mark stated. "Just a girl has a name." "Dr. Grey does, in fact, have a name," Derek agreed, sitting down at his desk. "So?" Mark asked. "So what?" Derek countered. "What's your first move?" "First move?" Derek asked. "Yeah - first move. Breakfast maybe? Coffee? A flirty converation? What's your pick?" he asked. Derek shook his head. "None of the above," he answered. "None of the above? You've got something better then bringing a tired doctor coffee?" Mark asked. "No. I don't date co-workers, remember?" Derek reminded him. "You know, it's not exactly against the rules," Mark mentioned. "I've checked." Derek rolled his eyes. "It's against my rules," he informed his friend. "Lame set of rules if you ask me," Mark mentioned.

"Don't you have something to do?" Derek asked. "Probably," Mark agreed. Then he smirked. "It's kind of funny," he stated. "What's funny?" Derek asked, shuffling through some paperwork. "You chat this hot woman up at a bar, watch her shoot tequila, don't shut up about her all the way back to my place, mention that you hope she comes back to the bar, and then - she turns up as your new attending. That's pretty comical in my book," Mark replied. "You have a twisted sense of humor," Derek observed. "Says the man who finds himself busted in his own really bad lie." Derek sighed. He seriously wondered why Mark was his best friend sometimes.