what i'm here for

Chapter 35: Building memories

Meredith hurried down the stairs, about a flight and a half behind Cristina. Upon reaching the ground floor, she hurried out into the lobby, only to catch a flash of dark hair as the door swung shut. Swearing quietly to herself, she caught the stairwell door on the close and shot into the lobby.

"Cristina!" She called out as she ran through the front door and into the cool evening air. Cristina was already on her bike. "Cristina, please talk to me," she called as she ran up to her friend, who was quickly fastening her helmet and preparing to take off.

"I have nothing to say to you," Cristina told her as she stuck her key into the ignition and turned her vehicle on.

"I'm sorry."

Her words caused Cristina to pause, her hand poised on the gear shift as she turned to meet Meredith eyes. But where Meredith expected anger and resentment she found...pain. "What are you sorry for, Meredith?"

"What do you mean?" Meredith asked cautiously.

"It's a simple question. You said you were sorry. Why?"

Meredith sighed. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I didn't know how. And I'm sorry I let you run around and ask everyone. And to be perfectly honest, I'm sorry I beat you."

Cristina sat, still and silent, for several seconds before she reached her hand away from the gear shift and turned off the ignition. "I don't want you to be sorry you beat me, Meredith," she scoffed. "I want to know why you didn't tell me. Did you know the whole time?" She asked, her tone much less harsh than before.
Meredith shook her head. "No. I didn't even know the results were available until you told me. And I was hiding from Derek's family, so I went and got them from the Chief."

Cristina snorted at Meredith's open admittance to hiding. "So, why didn't you tell me then?"

Meredith took a breath and shrugged her shoulders. "Honestly, I don't know. I freaked out for a while. And then Derek called me and I had to meet him and then go have dinner with his family..." she trailed off and shook her head.

"I bet you told him right away, though," Cristina said, not bothering to hide the contempt in her voice.

Meredith quickly shook her head. "No, I didn't tell him until today. We had a...thing during and after the first dinner with his family. So, I was kind of distracted for a while. Then we were away from the hospital and I just forgot. It really wasn't until today that I thought about it again. I swear."

Cristina nodded, accepting her explanation. "What kind of thing?"

"I, uh, a thing," Meredith answered. "A thing where we sort of talked and then went to bed and the next day was freaking torture to get through."

Cristina raised an eyebrow. "A fight?"

"No," she shook her head as her mind wandered back a few nights. "Not a fight. We didn't fight, or argue or anything. We just..." Meredith sighed. "I guess sometimes things can take you by surprise."

Cristina narrowed her eyes and swung her leg back over the bike, making it perfectly clear she was sticking around for an explanation. "McDreamy didn't go all weird that his family is in town and demand you act different or anything, did he?"

Meredith smiled and shook her head. "No." He would never ask me to do that "He...fine," she responded at Cristina's expectant gaze. "Can we at least sit down?" She motioned towards the front steps to her building, the ones she had flown down only a few minutes prior. Cristina nodded and followed her over, collapsing onto the second step and leaning against the railing as Meredith set herself down heavily on the third. She shifted and hunched over, resting her chin on her hands.