If that's what it takes

11

Derek slipped the key into the lock of his house, glancing one more time at the setting sun as he pushed the glass door open and entered the foyer of the empty house. He stepped inside and closed the door behind him as he tossed his key into the bowl beside the door, listening to the hollow clang as it slipped to the bottom, clanging loudly as he watched the last drops of sunlight gliding through the house across the wooden floors of the hallway and dispersing as it raked into the stone entryway. He set his briefcase on the floor and took a step forward, removing his shoes for no particular reason other than habit as he moved his feet in the direction of the sunlight.

He walked through the breakfast room to the bay window and pressed his hands against the glass as he took a deep breath and sighed loudly, listening to the deafening silence of the house as he turned swiftly and stepped around the small breakfast table to the sliding glass doors. He put his hand on the handle and slid it open hard as he listened to it smack against the metal frame, he cringed slightly and stepped out onto the covered porch.

He walked over to the hanging bench that he had installed by himself and listened to the soft wood creak slightly as he put his weight upon it, his sigh sending him deeper into the wooden bench as he settled down.

It was officially October and there was a biting chill in the air that stung his cheeks as the wind blew delicately over the expanse of his property, rising from the valley, swirling across his features as he swallowed hard and settled into his nightly ritual.

His mind was clear and constant, work had been difficult that morning, and had become increasingly difficult since his third year had begun. His boss was seemingly driving him into the ground with her demands and rounds and requirements and rules. She was tough to please, but he was always up to the challenge. He was turning into a brilliant surgeon and was loving every minute of every day at work, but it was tiring at times and it was times like this, coming home to a large, empty home, tired and worn from a long day.

He watched out in the valley for a long time, his mind drifting nowhere as it had gone somewhere that it hadn't been in a couple of weeks. He grabbed his phone from his pocket and flipped open the cover. The picture within had been replaced within the weeks and months that he had last seen his little friend, and though he had called her frequently on the phone at first, they had slowly drifted. He came to his senses, thinking it odd for a grown man to be calling a six year old girl for comfort and to comfort her. It was odd, he was an adult, and it may not have been appropriate of him to be so close to a little girl that had no ties to him. He needed real friends, real changes, real happiness, but it was October now... nearly three months since he had left the cafeteria and his small friend behind and made his way to another emergency.

Without thinking of the late hour, he pressed the button on the phone marked for Zoey, and patiently waited for someone to answer.

One ring.

Two.

Three.

He was about to hang up when someone answered the phone.

"Hello?" The voice growled over the receiver. Derek shivered at the anger in the man's voice as he swallowed hard.

"Um...Hi, I'm Derek Shepherd... I am a friend of Lexie's... could I talk to Zoey please?"

"Zoey?" The man asked as he coughed into the phone, not making an attempt to cover his mouth. "Shit, she's sleeping or whatever... why don't you fucking get lost, you perv... are you one of Lexie's fucking boyfriends...are you the fucker that she's cheating on me with? ARE YOU? YOU MOTHER FUCKING..." He snarled as Derek closed his phone quickly, his eyes widening in shock.

Derek could feel the bile rising in his stomach as the line went dead, the dizziness and sickness in his body was impossible to ignore as he felt an intense sense of urgency to just see those gray eyes one more time.