Where You Belong

10

Derek felt the beginnings of a headache as he strode through the halls of the hospital after his argument with the chief. He couldn't believe it. He had accepted a job offer, sold his practice and moved across the country to get away from Addison; and the chief, the same chief who had called him up months ago and asked for a favour, had offered his ex-wife a contract. The same ex-wife he had moved across the country to avoid.

It was nothing personal, Shep. She'll be good for the hospital. His former mentor's words still floated through his brain. It sure as hell felt personal. He still couldn't look at Addison without feeling bile rise in his throat at the memory of his wife and his best friend in bed together. And he was trying to start over. He had a new, smaller, home and a new job that he was quickly discovering he was made for, and he had a wonderful new woman in his life. A woman whom he loved and was pretty sure he would one day build a life with. But he was suddenly horribly apprehensive about the prospect of building towards that life with his ex-wife right there. All the time. Her presence infiltrating his every move and plan. And he knew it would be harder on Meredith. As happy as she said she was, he knew she still felt guilty.

They had found out two days before that Addison had officially moved to Seattle. Meredith and Cristina had caught her on her way up to sign her new contract. And Derek hadn't been able to get a word with the Chief until that morning. And by then there had been a lot of words. A lot of very loud, very angry, words.

Derek sighed. He hadn't been able to spend a lot of time with Meredith in the past two days; they had both been swamped with patients, but she seemed to be dealing with it okay. But every time he saw that shimmer of uncertainty in her eyes he felt his heart constrict. He had done that to her. He had lied to her and made her unsure. He did his best to reassure her every time that look reared its head, but he was terrified it would get to be too much for her and there would be nothing he could do. And he would lose her. He was determined not to let it happen, but the idea of losing her plagued his mind.

He needed more time to show her he wasn't the man he had been when they had first been together. He didn't lie and he definitely didn't keep big secrets like secret wives. Derek still couldn't quite believe what he had done. He still couldn't grasp the process that led him from being the good guy to the guy who starts a relationship and fails to tell the woman about his wife. He wasn't that guy.

He sighed again and checked his watch. Meredith was scheduled to be in surgery all morning; a reward from her resident who was impressed to hear her intern had shown up two hours prior to her shift and instead of reading up on the day's charts to get a leg up on the competition, had busied herself in the pit. So, at least some good was coming out of their relationship for her right now.

Derek didn't have anything scheduled that day, but had a few patients he needed to check on, so he made a bee line for the main nurses' station. He had just reached the stairs to take him down to the main floor when a familiar figure arguing with the nurse behind the desk caught his attention.

"Weiss?" He called out as he hurried down the stairs towards the friend he hadn't seen in months.

"Derek!" Weiss called upwards, relief evident in his voice as Derek reached the floor. "I've been looking for you."

"Good to see you," Derek greeted, extending his hand and pulling Weiss in for a 'man hug.' "What brings you to Seattle?"

Weiss sighed, and Derek immediately took note of the worry and exhaustion cloaking his friend's features. "It's Sav," he said quietly.

Derek tilted his head as worry suddenly flooded his mind. "Come on," Derek motioned for Weiss to follow him to a more private place to talk. Derek led him to a small break room and sat at the table, motioning for Weiss to follow suit. "What's going on?" He prompted.