Looking at you side ways

30

"Not so fast Dr. Grey." The Chief said.

Meredith turned around slowly and thought to herself,[i] shit. I am busted![/i]

"Yes Chief?"

"Are you on duty now or off?"

"Um...off."

"Go find an on call room and sleep for two hours. I don't think you should be driving home. Meet me in my office at seven thirty AM."

Meredith gulped and knew she was busted about the hours. [i]Somehow he knew.[/i]

"Yes Chief." She left to find an empty on call room.

The Chief turned to Debbie and asked shrewdly, "Did you know Grey was over the limit?"

She looked him in the eye and said, "No."

"Because if you did know; that would be a problem."

"With all due respect Sir, she did an outstanding job. Anybody else and that baby would be dead. She left the room twice for one minute each to use the restroom. She monitored that baby like a hawk. I'd rather have her at one hundred hours than most of the other interns at fifty."

"But you didn't know?"

"No Sir. And her resident DePalma was the one who brought her here."

"Really? Good job Debbie."

"Thank you Chief."

The Chief left and Debbie smiled slyly to herself.[i] She was an excellent liar.[/i]

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Meredith woke up to her beeper at seven fifteen AM. She had asked one of the nurses to page her. She brushed her teeth and scooped her hair into a ponytail. She made her way to the Chief's office.

The door was open and Patricia wasn't there yet. She stood in the doorway and coughed slightly. The Chief looked up and said, "Come in Dr. Grey. Close the door and sit down."

Meredith did as she was told and the Chief tapped his fingers together thoughtfully.

"Excellent job with that preemie Dr. Grey."

"Thanks."

"That being said, there are rules for a reason."

"Yes Sir."

"I understand that Dr. DePalma assigned you to that case?"

She sighed and would have loved to stick it to DePalma.[i] But that wasn't what happened.[/i] "Not really Chief. I actually volunteered."

"So you knowingly went over the limit?"

"Well. It's a little complicated, but yes I guess I did."

"Dr. Grey. The eighty hour limit was implemented because interns were exhausted and making too many mistakes. Mistakes in a hospital environment can cause death. You realize you could have been putting that child in harms way?"

"I wouldn't have volunteered unless I thought I could give excellent care. And I did get some sleep yesterday."

The Chief tapped his fingers together. [i]She looked so much like Ellis. But in his mind she was a sweet shy little child. He knew he would have to get over that. She was now a grown woman who was a surgeon. She had done an outstanding job. He wanted her in the first place, but saw she was at seventy nine hours and told DePalma to find someone else.[/i]

"All right Dr. Grey. But understand when you are exhausted, you can't think clearly. Your definition of sleep and excellent care are comprised when you work that much. Consider this a verbal warning. It happens again, it goes into your permanent file."

"Yes Chief. Thank you. It won't happen again."

"Good."

"Am I excused?" She was fighting the urge to jump up and run out of the room.

"Not just yet Meredith. I want to speak with you about your mother."

"My mother?"

"Yes. How is she?"

"Um...okay I quess."

"When is the last time you heard from her?"

"It's been awhile. I am not sure." Jeez, she thought. [i]That was a lame answer.[/i]

"Is she really with Dr.'s without borders?' Richard was surprised. [i]That was so not Ellis.[/i]

"Um..no. I just didn't want to get into it with Dr. Dubois. It makes me uncomfortable talking about my mother. Everyone just assumes I am here because of her."

Richard smiled at Meredith and said, "Meredith. The people who matter know that is not true. I have seen your transcripts and your file. You earned this position and you belong here. I am proud that you are a part of this team."

"Thanks Chief."

The Chief continued to tap his fingers together while he looked at her.[i] He wondered what Ellis was really doing, but could tell from Meredith's body language she wasn't ready to talk about it. She was twisting her watch on her wrist nervously just like Ellis used to do.[/i]

The Chief stood up and said, "Go home and get some rest. You did good. I don't want to see you back here for forty eight hours. Understand Dr. Grey?"

Meredith stood up and said, "Yes Chief." Now she wondered where she was going to go. [i]She didn't know Derek's schedule and wasn't sure if she could go home or not.[/i]

She went to the locker room and changed clothes to go home. She thought[i] about calling Cris, but figured she was probably still sleeping in on her off day. Maybe she would just go home, lock her door and go to sleep for the next forty eight hours. Forget about everything and everybody. Avoid, avoid, avoid. She was good at it. She wasn't going to stop at the nursing home either.[/i]

Meredith waited for the elevator and the doors opened. She started to step in and noticed Derek alone leaning against the back of the elevator.[i] She couldn't make it to the stairs if she tried.[/i] She put her head down and stepped in and turned her back to him.[i] Avoid, avoid, [/i]she chanted to herself. [i]Pretend he is not here, two feet away. Pretend she couldn't feel his intense penetrating gaze sweep over her. She felt her heart beat faster and her pulse quicken. She prayed that someone else would get on, but of course they didn't. [/i]The doors shut. They were alone.