We've Got To Stop Meeting Like This

Chapter 28

"Meredith!" Richard's voice sounded optimistic as soon as she answered the phone.

"Dr Webber?" She asked, slightly unsure as to why he would've called her.

She'd just got back to her apartment in Boston after spending the weekend with Derek and wanted to rest before being in the hospital again in six hours time for surgery.

"I've told you before, call me Richard. I have a proposition for you. Is there any chance you can come to Seattle in the next two weeks at all?"

She laughed softly at the fact she had just left the west coast and was now back on the east coast. If only he'd called her a few hours earlier. Her hand subconsciously drifted to her abdomen as she spoke.

"I've just come back from the West Coast, Richard. What is it you wanted to proposition?"

"I want to offer you a job. Once your fellowship ends."

"That's really kind of you, Richard, but my speciality is paediatric neurosurgery... and last I checked Seattle Grace doesn't have the specialist provisions."

"That's where my proposition comes in, Meredith. We need something new. Fresh innovation. I've been following your work while you've been at Children's in Boston and that combined with what I've seen while you were here... I want you to liaise with the paediatric and neurosurgery departments and help build a specialist paediatric neurosurgery centre from the ground up."

"Oh, wow, Richard, I don't know what to say..." she was speechless.

What he was asking was huge. It was huge for her career, the opportunity it gave her. She'd had job positions offered from hospitals all over the country wanting her to work for them, but she hadn't been offered anything close to this.

"Say yes! Come out, see the initial plans, look over the contracts. When does your contract in Boston end?"

"End of June, just over two months away, are you sure about this? I mean, this is huge, it's a big ask..." she trailed off.

Her gaze dropped down to her abdomen, and she felt as though her heart was being squeezed. She'd be four months along at the end of June, and due to give birth in November... maybe he'd be better off finding someone else for the job, someone with more experience who wasn't going to give birth and be off on maternity leave, something she hadn't even thought about yet. How much maternity leave would she need to take? How much would she want to take? And all that was even before the issue of having to tell her mother. It filled her with dread just thinking about it.

"Meredith, I know in my gut that you are the person for the job. I want you to think about it, come out and see what we have planned, make an informed decision. And I'll look into an attending"

"Okay, I'll think about it and get back to you at the end of the week about a visit."

"That's what we love to hear! I've gotta run, I'll be waiting for your call! Bye!"

"Okay, bye, Richard."

The call dropped and she lay back on her bed with a deep sigh. She needed to tell Derek. She'd need to talk to Derek about this. This would change the course of their future. She didn't even know if they were telling people about the baby yet. She'd need to tell Richard about the baby, and then that would more than likely get back to her mother, so she'd probably have to tell Ellis first herself. A shudder ran down her spine at the thought.

As though he knew she needed him, her phone started to ring in her hand, and she lifted it to see Derek's face smiling back at her.

"Hey," she breathed out, stress evident in her tone.

"Hey, you okay?"

"I'm wiped," she said with a tired laugh, "and Richard Webber just phoned me."

"Oh? Is everything okay?"

"Yeah. I mean, it wasn't uh, personal. He offered me a job when my fellowship ends."

"That's great, but aren't you looking for a hospital with a paediatric neurosurgery wing?"

"Yeah, that's the thing. He wants me to head the development of a new department in Seattle Grace."

"Oh, wow, that's... that's big. Did you tell him about the baby?"

"No," she sat up in the middle of the bed with her legs crossed, her chin resting on her hand as she spoke, "He wants me to come to the hospital in the next two weeks to look everything over. I said I'd think about it and get back to him."

"Are you going to tell him?" He spoke softly, aware of the implications of her doing so.

"I mean, I'll have to if I take the job. It's such a good opportunity..." she sighed softly as she climbed off the bed, the phone still held against her ear as she walked into the bathroom and started to run the water for a bath.

"It really is, Mer. Don't worry about me, if you choose to take it. I can find a job in Seattle, okay?" He reassured her.

"Okay. It's a lot to think about. My problem isn't necessarily with Richard it's... I need to tell Ellis about the baby. If she hears it from Richard I'll be double dead. I can't even remember where she's supposed to be right now..." she tried to remember the last conversation with her mother, but she was coming up short.

Derek chuckled softly, "She's in New York at Mount Sinai for a week."

"I guess that's close enough to see her in person," she groaned softly, her hand held over her face as she perched on the edge of the tub as it filled with warm water.

"Don't worry about it, Meredith. Everything will be okay. I love you, okay? Have your bath and get some sleep."

"I know. I love you, too."

"Goodnight, baby."

"Night, Derek."

She hung up the phone and set it on the side as she turned the taps off, stripping off her clothes she'd worn on the plane and sliding into the bath slowly, letting the warmth envelope her. She'd call her mother tomorrow. It could wait until tomorrow.