take my hand, wreck my plans

CHAPTER 10 : bad liar

Today was the day. Today was the day Meredith would be going back to work at the hospital and she couldn't be happier. She was a bit stressed but she had spent the past two weeks doing absolutely nothing and she could not stay one more second in this house. There was someone she wasn't that thrilled to see again but still had missed way too much.

She thought that with time, she would just forget him but it was completely the opposite, every day she missed him a little bit more. She didn't know how that was even possible considering they didn't even have that much history but the ache she was feeling was definitely real. 

Derek was nervously pacing in the attendings' lounge, taking a sip of coffee from time to time. He had drowned himself in surgeries and paperwork these past weeks and had barely left the hospital. Today was the day Meredith was coming back and he was determined to have a serious conversation with her. He absolutely hated how they left things and was pretty sure she had heard about all the crazy rumors running around the hospital. This place was no better than a high school.

He had overheard from Yang and Karev some updates on her from time to time but nothing much and it was killing him. The need to see her was becoming more pressing each minute.

"Alright, remember you are taking it slow. This is not the Olympics; you are not an intern having to prove anything. You are my head of general and I need you in one piece so don't overwork yourself on your very first day back." Bailey declared, giving Meredith her pager back.

"Bailey, as you said, I'm not an intern. I know how to take care of myself and what I'm capable of or not." Meredith replied amused.

"Yeah right. Meredith Grey and following instructions and rules have never been a good pair in the past."

Meredith laughed and left the chief's office, eager to finally be back in the OR. Being back felt so good that she was almost forgetting all her problems.

"Cleared for surgery?" Meredith heard Alex ask her as he was joining her to walk by her side.

"Yes, finally!" Meredith squealed, "And Jo is on my service today, it's going to be a perfect day, I can just feel it."

"You know you're scary when you're cheerful, especially when you sound so fake." Alex teased her.

"Oh, shut up I'm trying to be optimistic to chase any dark and twistiness." She explained "I'm all about bright and shiny now."

"Bright and shiny... Right." Alex wasn't convinced at all, "Alright, have fun on your first day back and try not to kill my girlfriend."

"I'm not Cristina, I don't overwork residents" Meredith yelled to Alex who was already walking away.

She was feeling light and still high on the rush of surgery after her lap chole. The surgery went perfectly and she was so glad to be back in the OR. She opened the door of the scrub room and her feet automatically led her to the attendings' lounge.

The couch felt so comfortable and Derek was so tired, he didn't feel like getting up even though he still had a lot to do. His next surgery was in about an hour and he just needed to rest his ayes for a bit. He heard the door open and groaned at the intruder. Slowly, he opened his eyes and turned his head, only to meet the gaze of the person that had been haunting his every thought.

"Meredith!?" He said in disbelief.

"Hey" She replied, uncomfortably.

"You look good without an appendix."

Meredith felt her cheeks blush against her will and wanted to slap herself for reacting like a teenager in love. A stupid smile appeared on her face as she thanked him until she remembered what she last heard about him.