take my hand, wreck my plans

CHAPTER 4 : wonderland

Derek ran through the airport; his flight was in a few minutes and it was the last one to New York that would make him on schedule for the conference. He passed the gates right on time and got on the plane. He could finally breathe; he relaxed in his seat and fell asleep.

He woke up when the plane landed in New York and was a bit disoriented for a few seconds but quickly remembered where he was. It was already late so he would only have time to check into his hotel room to change before rushing to the conference opening dinner.

Meredith took a sip of her glass of champagne and looked around at all the doctors. She barely recognized anyone. Amelia had told her she wouldn't make it to this conference, to Meredith's disappointment, but she had hoped she would know at least one person. She suddenly regretted her outfit because it was colder than what she had thought.

Derek entered the reception and his eyes met the most gorgeous woman he had ever seen. Meredith Grey was standing right across the room, wearing a short silk backless black dress and high heels. Once again, she looked completely astonishing and Derek almost let out a 'wow'. He looked around at the empty tables and realized the dinner hadn't started yet. Right as he was thinking this, people started sitting down. The seats were assigned and Derek started looking for his.

Meredith sat down where it said 'Meredith Grey' and sighed when she realized that her table was empty for now. Doctors' schedules were so hectic that you never knew if you actually would make it to an event even when you said you would.

Derek spotted the blonde general surgeon sitting alone at her table and approached her. As he was walking toward her, he realized that his name was written on the sit right next to her. 'How convenient' he thought.

"Dr Grey, I believe we are seated next to each other tonight" he smiled
Meredith looked up and was startled for a few seconds at the sight of her colleague from Seattle at a conference in New York. What were the odds?

"Dr Shepherd" she greeted him "I didn't know you were coming to this conference too"
"Conference on alternative pain relief, I had to be there"

Meredith smiled and took another sip of her champagne. He looked really good in a suit and his hair was really smooth. She would love to get lost in these curls.

"I don't think anyone is joining our table tonight" Derek broke the silence
"What a shame" she replied sarcastically
"Dr Bailey didn't tell me you would be there too when I told her I would be gone for a few days"
"I'm full of surprise" Meredith said chuckling.

Derek looked at her a bit surprised, was she flirting with him?

"I didn't know you would be interested in this conference since you're a general surgeon" he added, still confused about the signals she was sending.
"All surgical patients experience pain, it's not exclusive to neurosurgery. And I'm not your general surgeon colleague tonight, I'm just a girl at a medical conference."
"And I'm just a guy at a medical conference" he replied raising his glass before taking a sip.

Now he knew she was definitely flirting with him and he loved it.

"It's the first time I see you in a suit, you look good" Meredith said softly
"Thank you" Derek felt like a lovestruck teenager "You look stunning in this dress"

Meredith simply smiled at him and turned her attention on the plates that were arriving. She didn't know why she was flirting with Derek Shepherd. He just looked so good tonight and she was at a conference in New York which meant she could do whatever she wanted and pretend that nothing happened once she'd be back in Seattle. It also had been so long since she flirted with a man, it just felt good to know she could still have that effect on men.