take my hand, wreck my plans

CHAPTER 6 : emotional bruises

The rain was pouring outside and no matter how much Derek wanted to stay inside the warmest bed he had ever known, they had to leave really soon for the airport.

"Maybe our flight will be delayed because of the storm" he said smiling

Meredith didn't reply and simply got up, starting to pack her stuffs.

"You have to go" she told him still not looking at him.

Derek opened his eyes widely; her tone was suddenly cold and indifferent.

"To pack" she added quickly "You have to pack. In your room. Not in mine obviously. Because your stuffs are in your room you know. And the plane is in 3 hours so you should hurry, I mean, we should hurry"

Meredith was rambling, something was definitely up.

"Meredith, is everything ok?" Derek asked, finally getting out of the bed.
"I... Yes. You just need to go pack."

Derek tried to look her in the eyes but she was dodging him. He nodded and collected his stuffs before exiting from her room.

As soon as the door closed behind him, Meredith let herself fall to the ground and break down in tears. She hated to fly in this weather and this whole week end had brought up so many memories that she had tried to bottle up.

She looked at the water glistening on the window and wiped her tears. She needed to finish packing and collect herself before taking the plane. This time she would be okay, it would be fine, it wasn't her first time flying in a storm. Everything would be perfectly fine.

Derek had finished packing and didn't know what to do. He didn't know if he should go see if Meredith was okay, if they would be going to the airport together, if she would wait for him. He had no idea where he stood with her and was completely lost. He sat on his bed and looked at the grey and threatening sky. The flight would be long.

The two surgeons got out of their rooms exactly at the same time and Meredith realized she had to confront him sooner rather than later.
Derek finally broke the silence "Do you want to catch a cab together?"
"Sure"
They went downstairs together and got into the cab, all in silence.

Meredith was very uncomfortable; she didn't know what to say after almost kicking him out earlier and now that they would have to be working together after everything that happened.

The whole ride was in silence and Derek couldn't help but stare at her. He was studying every inch of her face as if he wanted to engrave her face on his mind before parting ways forever. He was looking at her beautiful green eyes following the cars slowly moving through the rain. Her chin was resting on her hand and her mouth was pouting a little bit. Everything about her was just perfect and seemed to be a work of art.

"That'll be 22$" the cab drivers told them, breaking the silence.
Meredith handed him some cash before Derek could react and immediately got out of the car.

"At this time, please make sure your seat backs and tray tables are in their fully upright and locked positions. Please direct your attention to the screens for a safety demonstration." The flight attendant announced

Meredith shifted position in her seat, she was really nervous because of the weather and her previous plane experiences. She hadn't seen Derek since they got out of the cab and she had no idea where he was sitting but all she wanted was to see him to apologize for her odd behavior today. The child next to her started crying.

"Diego, calm down" his mother tried in vain.
"No no no!!!" the kid shouted
"I'm so sorry, he's not like this usually, but he didn't get a nap today" the woman apologized to Meredith.
"Oh. No, please don't apologize, I get it" Meredith smiled at her
"This is our first family trip together, Bryan planned it last minute." The woman continued, "He said it was going to be relaxing and blissful, but so far, not so much bliss"
"Excuse me sorry" a man cut in and Meredith assumed it was Bryan "Marisela are you ok? I can hear him all the way from my seat, do you want me to take him?"
"It's okay, go sit back down "Marisela replied "But I reserve the right to switch out mid-flight because mama's going to need a glass of wine"
"You guys weren't able to sit together?" Meredith asked
"Like I said last minute" the other woman told her smiling
"Well, do you want to?"
The man thanked her and Meredith got up, looking for her new seat.