Where You Belong

107

Having expected to spend her day watching Mark Sloan perform two face lifts, Meredith was surprised to find her name listed on the OR Board with Erika Hahn when she arrived for work. A quick, and somewhat uncomfortable conversation with Cristina and Alex in the Residents' Lounge told her Hahn had intentionally made the switch in order to keep Cristina off her service.

Meredith had tried to apologize to her best friend, but Cristina had stormed out of the room.

"She's not mad at me, just the situation," Meredith insisted, hoping she was right.

Alex scoffed. "Whatever you say."

She glared at him.

"Hey, if you don't want Hahn's service, I'll gladly trade you."

"Not a chance in hell."

"You owe me for eating my pizza," he said, referring the Meredith's lunch the day before.

"Yeah, well, that was revenge for sleeping with my sister."

"I thought she wasn't your sister."

"She's not," Meredith insisted. "But she's still..." She trailed off.

Alex shot her a knowing look, telling her he knew she didn't have a leg to stand on. "Just don't have sex with her in my house again. At least not until I move out so that I don't have to know about it."

"Whatever," Alex mumbled as he left the lounge.

Meredith made a face before following suit. She had to get to the cardio floor to find the new attending. She had never worked with Hahn before, so she had no idea what to expect. Cristina and Izzie offered very different experiences with the cardiothoracic surgeon.

The moment Meredith set foot in the cardio unit, she spotted Hahn standing at the Nurses' Station. She took a breath as she approached her. "Good morning, Dr. Hahn," she greeted. "I'm Dr. Grey-Shepherd. I was assigned to you for the day. I'm sorry I'm not more prepared, but I must have read the schedule wrong. I was expecting to work with Dr. Sloan this week." She hoped that playing dumb would save her from any animosity on Hahn's part.

Hahn turned from Meredith and gave her an approving nod. "I requested the schedule be changed," she explained. "I wanted to get to know the residents I'll be working with. Your mother is Ellis Grey, right?"

"Uh, was, yes."

"Was?"

Meredith nodded. "She passed away a few months ago."

Hahn's expression immediately became sympathetic. "I hadn't heard. I'm sorry."

"Thank you."

Hahn pursed her lips. "Dr. Grey-Shepherd."

Meredith nodded, uncertain.

"Any relation to Derek Shepherd?"

"He's my husband," she said carefully, but with confidence. It wasn't something she was ashamed of or trying to hide from anyone.

"I'd heard he was married to a resident," Hahn said.

For a moment, Meredith held her breath, waiting for the insult, but it never came.

"I wasn't going to believe it until I had proof," Hahn finished, humour evident in her tone.

"I'm sorry?"

Hahn smiled, as if sharing a joke. "I asked your husband and Dr. Sloan if they were a couple on my first day. The way they follow each other around..."

Meredith laughed. "They grew up together," she explained. Their friendship still surprised her after the better part of a year of hostility between the two. "They're kind of like brothers."