Strangers in the night

12

She was late. She was running way late. This was bad. This was what happened when she spent the night before reading up and studying. Now she she late. And screwed. Because she wasn't just running late, she was running late for a very important meeting to meet her new boss, The Derek Shepherd. He was the best neurosurgeon in the country and she was going to be late for her first meeting with him.

This was not how she had planned today going. She had planned on being on time to work for once. She had planned on being calm and professional and completely impressing Dr. Shepherd. But apparently God hated her or something. Because her alarm hadn't gone off, she was pretty sure she didn't have any clean clothes, and she had ten minutes to get to the meeting on time.

She was going to walk in and look like the completely frazzeled mess that she generally was. And he was going to take one look at her and probably never let her scrub in ever again. Or at least not let her anywhere near his surgeries. Her career would be ruined just because she had hit snooze once. She didn't even know why a snooze button had been created. It was asking for people to get in trouble.

Screwed. She was completely screwed. And of course it was pouring rain and her car was giving her trouble and...screwed. The world was against her today. She'd probably run in while he was talking about being punctual or something and think she was an intern, instead of a fellow. She had heard things about him. She had heard he took his surgeries seriously. And she was running late.

Maybe she could just slip in. She could slip in when he was looking down or something and he wouldn't even notice that she had arrived late. She could be saved. Of course usually a surgeon at the top of their field noticed everything and he probably only looked down when he was operating, but still, she could at least try to slip in. There was no reason to make a big scene.

The plan had involved wearing something nice. But her clothes were dirty and she had been so busy at the hospital and avoiding things and studying that she hadn't done laundry. So she'd have to meet him wearing her scrubs, which wasn't a big deal, but still...she was completely failing at making a good impression. This was the best neurosurgeon in the country, and she was a mess.

He would never take her seriously again. She would go from being the fellow that got in on all the good operations to being a complete nobody in the hospital. He would have the power to do it. Derek Shepherd probably had the power to do anything he wanted to do. The world was his oyster or whatever crap. And since she was late he could certainly crush her with that oyster shell.

He wrote textbooks and journals. He had pioneered surgeries that most people hadn't even considered before. She wasn't exactly sure what she expected him to look like, or act like, but her best guess was he was in his fifties and really strict, worse than Bailey. Except he was friends with Mark so that didn't jive at all. But still...best neurosurgeons with oyster shells had to be old and strict.

And probably an arrogant ass. That would explain the being best friends with Mark thing. Not that Mark was an arrogant ass, he was actually kind of great once you got to know him but he definitely came off as an arrogant ass. Which probably meant the great Dr. Shepherd was the same way. Or maybe just an arrogant ass plan and simple and nothing more complicated than that.

He probably had the right to be an arrogant ass though. Or maybe not the right so much as...no, he probably had the right. He was the best. He was the best and he was amazing and she was running so stupidly late at this point that her new arrogant ass amazing boss would wonder why she scrubbed into the surgeries she did. Crap. This was not the way today was supposed to go.

She rushed down the hallway and ignored the stares that followed her. It's not like it was the first time she had ran down the hall, she did it all the time. Her face was probably quite pale and the impending sense of doom was probably not helping but running in the hospital was not unusual for her. She just needed to get there. And then deal with the mess her life was about to become.