Let It Go

8.

"So... How was the picnic?" Izzie asked the moment Meredith arrived at their table for lunch. Izzie's eyes were sparkling and she had a smirk on her face. She knew. Or at least Meredith thought she knew. "It was fine," Meredith answered, sitting down and unwrapping the turkey wrap she'd decided to try. Izzie looked at George who was sitting beside her. "It was fine George," she said. "I'm sure it was very fine," George agreed, looking at Meredith. "How fine was it Meredith?" Izzie asked. Meredith looked from Izzie to George. Both of them were completely smirking.

"You two are fishing for something," Meredith stated. "We're just wondering how fine the picnic was," Izzie said, still smirking. "Meredith went fishing - at the picnic. The picnic that was fine," George added. Meredith gave him a dirty look. "You were there George. You can tell Izzie how fine the picnic was," she said. "I already told Izzie how fine I thought the picnic was. The food was fine. The weather was fine. The alcohol - that was really fine. But Izzie wants to know how fine the fishing was," George replied, not missing a beat.

"My God would you please just tell Izzie about whatever the hell happened between you and McDreamy so she'll shut up?" Cristina snapped, slamming her book down on the table. "I'm doing a piggy-back procedure this afternoon and her talking about how 'fine' things are is going to cause me to miss it because I'll be at Joe's - drinking." Meredith looked at Cristina who looked completely irritated. "Maybe you should go to Joe's either way," she said. "A drink might calm you down." Cristina gave Meredith a dirty look of her own before picking her book up again. Meredith smiled, knowing Cristina didn't mean it - she was just wound too tight for her own good.

"Fine Izzie..." "Don't say fine!" Cristina interrupted. "Piggy-back procedure, read about it," George retorted. Meredith heard Cristina mumble something that sounded like 'Bambi' before sinking farther behind her book. "Derek and I..." "Derek?" Izzie interrupted. Meredith sighed. At this rate, she'd never get around to saying what she was going to say. "First names. Interesting." "We fished," Meredith finished.

"Fished?" Izzie repeated. "That's all you did? All you did was fish?" Meredith nodded. "Yeah. That's it" Izzie looked at George then back to Meredith. "But George said..." "George said nothing. George saw nothing. George assumed nothing," George spoke up. "George was with his wife, enjoying his hot dog and his beer." "George said you and Derek were sitting close, laughing," Izzie said, trying to get the good out of Meredith. "I said they were closeish. Not close. Closeish," George commented. Meredith glared at George.

"He was the only person there I knew beside the chief. I mean, I knew some of the other's names and such, but they had their families and I'm not so good with the whole 'Hi, I'm Meredith, who are you?' thing. So I talked to Derek, And we laughed because - well, he's funny. And so is Mar - Dr. Sloan. So I sat with them and we laughed," Meredith rambled. "You knew me!" George protested. "You were with your wife," Meredith replied. "Who I introduced you to. And who pestered the hell out of me until I told her what I'd said to you about her." Meredith grinned. "Did you tell her the truth about what you said to us?" "Course not," George shrugged. "Oh you are so hiding something," Izzie accused, biting into her salad and staring at Meredith. "I am hiding nothing," Meredith said.

"Grey has a date with Shepherd," Alex announced, sitting his tray down and sliding into a chair next to Izzie. Meredith choked on her soda. "What?" Izzie exclaimed, her head bouncing from Alex to Meredith. "Seriously?" she asked. "Seriously?" "Seriously? George echoed. Cristina rolled her eyes and silently damned them all for being so excited about a date when she was trying to refresh her memory of a prodecure she'd only observed, never performed - not that her patient needed to know that.

"How'd you find out?" Meredith asked. "It's true?" Izzie asked excitedly. "The head of my department is Shepherd's best friend. We were in with the burn patients, Shepherd started talking, I heard things," Alex explained. "You have a date with McDreamy and weren't going to tell us!" Izzie exlaimed. "Shame on you for keeping your personal life private!" George added. Izzie glared at him briefly. Meredith sighed. She'd never really had people she confided in aside from her sister Lexie and while she liked the four she was sitting with, especially Izzie, she'd only known them a week.