Seven Thousand Hours

Chapter 5| Powercut

Meredith woke up to the sound of her doorbell ringing. she glanced outside and noted it was still daylight, suggesting she'd only been asleep for a little while.

She ran down the stairs and swung open the door, catching the blue eyes before slamming the door shut.

"Dr Grey! Come on, open up. I need to talk to you" he shouted. She swung the door back open. He was stood there, his hair dripping with rainwater as his leather jacket clung to his body. In his hand was a small bunch of flowers.

"I've come to apologise" he said quietly before a clap of thunder cracked outside. And as much as Meredith hated this man right now, she wasn't a mean person. "Come in." She said as she stepped aside. She took his jacket and hung it in the laundry room to dry.

She came into the living room and saw him perched on the edge of the sofa. He stood up and handed her the small bunch of flowers. "I am so sorry, Dr Grey. Can we talk?" He asked her slowly, not wanting to scare her off.

Meredith didn't have the energy to fight, and she knew deep down that she was only angry and upset with Richard, he just got caught in the crossfire.

She nodded her head before asking, "Can I get you a drink? Wine? Whiskey? Water?" Derek nodded , "Wine would be great" he said. Meredith noted that she'd never seen him smile.

"How did you find my house?" Meredith chuckled nervously. "Izzie told me" he said. "Do you want anything to eat? I don't have anything in the fridge but I could order something?" Meredith suggested, hoping it would ease this weird tension between them. Derek nodded and they agreed on pizza. "It'll be 30 minutes."

Meredith lead them back to the sofa and took a seat at the other end before turning to him. "I'm sorry I shouted at you like that. You were only doing your job" Meredith said before taking a sip of wine. "Being my first day, I just wanted the job to be done right. I didn't realise there was a history there. I should have kept my mouth shut." Derek explained. He watched her pick her fingers, noticing she winced as she picked a bit to hard.

"You're Ellis Greys daughter" he said quietly but her head shot up. "You know her?" Meredith asked quietly. "She was a temporary surgeon during my intern year. That woman put me off General for life" he stated seriously but Meredith laughed a little. "She has that affect" she added.

They both took a sip of wine.

"You have a job, Dr Grey. At Seattle Grace, you have a job. Your position has been reinstated" Derek explained before turning away from her. Meredith looked at him confused. "What changed his mind?" She asked quietly. "I said if you go, I go" he said as he stood up and flicked through her records.

"You're a fan of The Clash ?" He pointed to the stack of vinyls. She nodded but was too focused on what he'd just said.

"Dr Shepherd, no. You shouldn't have done that. I'm just a resident, I'm not worth you losing your job over. That's stupid." She looked at him but he just shrugged. "Dr Grey, I didn't get the chance to tell you this but your technique was flawless. I've never seen skill like that before, especially under pressure. I would be a very stupid man to let you walk away from an incredible gift. I know raw talent when I see it, and you were incredible"

The doorbell knocked them out of their intense stares as Meredith dashed up to retrieve the pizza before bringing it inside.

"Raw talent doesn't matter when I haven't done much neuro work. I don't have the hours, I can't do it. Just leave it alone, Dr Shepherd." she pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed. "I can't leave it alone, Dr Grey. You're wasting your talent. And I was thinking whilst driving here that maybe there's a solution, maybe I can make this work. I want to make it up to you" he said solemnly, still not cracking a smile.

"And how do you suggest that?" She rolled her eyes. "Tomorrow I want you assisting me in the OR. I've got a very simple craniotomy. I want you in there. I'll assess where I think you're at and from there we will work a plan together to help you get enough hours if that's what you want. it'll be tough, maybe even harder than the intern years, but if neuro is where your heart calls, then you'd be silly to walk away."

Meredith looked at him with wide eyes, her heart pounding. She nodded her head. "That's what I want." She whispered. Derek shook his head. "You need time to think about this, Dr Grey. But I'm just telling you that I am willing to commit my time for this. Not just as an apology, but for the medical community. Like I say, I know talent when I see it. So think about it, and I'll see you for rounds tomorrow and we can talk after, okay?" He looked at her. She nodded. "If you could get me all your information regarding your recorded hours in each specialty then thatd be great"

He stood to leave but Meredith stopped him.

"Do you want to stay, Dr Shepherd?" Meredith asked and he nodded. "You really are miserable" she said as she watched him slumped in the chair, yet to see him actually smiling.

"Just hiding my pain" he looked at her.

"Your mother is Ellis Grey"

"And you've never smiled"

"I look forward to getting to know you, Dr Grey" he said.

"Meredith. It's Meredith when we're out of work. "Meredith" he repeated.

An hour had passed and the thunder was still going before all the lights and TV shut off.

"Good thing we ordered pizza" he mumbled before checking the lights.

"Powercut"

They looked at each other for a moment too long, making her toes curl.

"This day hates me"