take my hand, wreck my plans

CHAPTER 9: rumour has it

"Stop whining or I swear I'll stop visiting you." Cristina yelled in exasperation at her best friend.
"Fine by me !!" Meredith exclaimed, "you're so mean, my best friend is a mean girl why am I friends with a mean girl?"
"Stop being such a baby" Cristina growled
"I am not being a baby!" Meredith whined again, "I am just bored I've been on bedrest for four days now, stuck in this stupid hospital not able to work or do anything really."
"Whatever, be grateful I'm visiting you at least. By the way you should put your precious McDreamy on a leash."
"What??"
"He's been flirting with nurses all week and he's known lots of success with them from what I've heard." Cristina continued with a grin on her face.

Meredith almost spit her water and started coughing choking on her water.

"Don't kill yourself with water again" Cristina joked.
"Not funny." Meredith replied throwing a pillow at her but completely missing her target, making her best friend laugh even harder. "What do you mean he's flirting with nurses?"
"Oooh, somebody's jealous"
"I'm not!! I'm not. I just want the juicy gossip." Meredith tried to convince her best friend and herself.
"Right... Well, let's say he's been way more friendly lately and yesterday he was talking with a nurse and they were all 'haha LOL you're so funny' and she was touching his arm and he was giving her his best McDreamy smile."

Meredith felt the rage boil inside her like a beast bursting into flames inside her. What was he doing? Why was he flirting with other women? But she was not jealous. Not at all.

"Now I'm definitely not giving you the nurse's name with that killer look on your face." Cristina said breaking Meredith's silent rage, "Geez Mer I should've never told you that because I'm going to end up with two dead bodies: McDreamy and his nurse. Crime of passion, that's beautiful." She laughed and started getting up
"What are you even talking about?" Meredith replied innocently, "I don't care. I couldn't care less. He does whatever he wants and he can flirt with whoever he wants, it's not my problem, not anymore. Not that it ever really was.'
"All right miss perfectly fine, you're rambling and I have a surgery so try not to kill anyone or yourself while I'm gone. I'll send someone to check on you soon, hang in there."
"I hate you. Have fun in surgery"
"I always do."

After Cristina disappeared in the corridor, Meredith sighed and knew she was about to spend a very annoying afternoon. She hadn't seen Derek since he came to see her after her surgery so she definitely had to know more about what Cristina said. If it was even true.

When the nurse came to bring her lunch, Meredith took the opportunity to subtly ask about what was going on in the hospital. She had to be sleek and not let anything betray her and her real motives.

"So, Debbie" she carefully started, "I'm dying of boredom in here, please tell me you have something juicy to tell me."
"Um let me think" the nurse replied "I'm sorry, Dr Grey but nothing is coming to my mind"
"Ugh!!" Meredith was acting purposely upset.
"I heard about an amazing surgery that Dr Karev and Dr Robbins pulled off together" Debbie tried, genuinely wanting to cheer her VIP patient up.
"Yeah, Alex told me about it yesterday..." she sighed heavily.
"Oh!" Debbie suddenly exclaimed, her face lighting up, "I heard a rumor on one of the doctors but I don't know if it's really right to talk about it."

Meredith needed to know; it was killing her to know that the whole world was moving on without her. "Debbie, please tell me! I promise I won't repeat it to a living soul."
"Alright..." Debbie whispered, "I heard from my friend nurse Lisa who heard it from a scrub nurse that in his OR during a surgery with Dr Kepner, Dr Shepherd told her that Dr Webber was trying to set him up with someone but he had told him no because he was already seeing someone."

Meredith's jaw almost dropped at this revelation. At least she knew where he stood regarding whatever they were. He had moved on so easily, how could that even possible?