Sutures and Secrets || Mark Sloan

33 | Moving In, Moving On

05x03

After a hot shower, Charlie wrapped herself in a towel and headed toward her room, enjoying the brief moment of quiet. But as soon as she walked in, she stopped in her tracks.

Derek was standing in the middle of her room, holding a tape measure, muttering something under his breath as he extended it across the wall.

"Uh, Derek? What are you doing in my room?", she asked, raising an eyebrow.

He turned to her, looking completely unfazed and pointed to the wall. "I'm thinking about making this my office when you move out."

Her expression shifted from confusion to disbelief. "When I what?"

"You know -", Derek said casually, jotting something down on a notepad. "When you move out. Meredith and I are officially back together, and we're moving in. So, I figured - soon?"

Charlie blinked, trying to process what she just heard. "Soon?", she repeated, deadpan. "When is soon exactly?"

Derek shrugged, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "I don't know, a week? Two, maybe?"

Her jaw dropped. "You're kicking me out?"

"Not kicking you out.", he said, offering an awkward smile. "It's just - time, don't you think?"

She stared at him, her face a mixture of offense and outrage, then turned on her heel and stormed out of the room without another word.

A few doors down, she flung Alex's door open without even knocking.

"Alex!", she snapped. "Did you know Meredith is planning on kicking us out?"

Alex, shirtless and very much preoccupied, glanced over his shoulder at her. "Kinda busy right now, Charlie."

It wasn't until then that she noticed the woman in his bed - half under the covers, half not - and what they were in the middle of.

"God, seriously?", Charlie said, averting her eyes in disgust.

The girl in Alex's bed smirked and leaned forward. "You're welcome to join us.", she said suggestively.

Charlie's jaw dropped again, this time in horror. "Oh, my God!", she exclaimed, slamming the door shut and backing away.

"Knocking! It's a thing, Charlie!", she could hear Alex yell from the other side of the door.

She rolled her eyes and muttered under her breath as she stomped down the hall. "First I get evicted and now I need therapy. Perfect."

--------

At the hospital, the chaos of the morning continued as Charlie, Izzie and Alex stormed down the hallway, following closely behind Meredith.

"So, when exactly were you planning on telling us we have to move out?", Charlie demanded, catching up with Meredith, her tone sharper than she intended.

Izzie chimed in, equally annoyed. "Yeah, when? Because I'd like a little heads-up before I'm homeless."

"Seriously, Meredith.", Alex added, walking beside them with his hands in his pockets.

Before Meredith could respond, Derek joined the group, seemingly out of nowhere. "Good question. When were you planning to tell them?", he said, smirking slightly, clearly eager to have them out of the house.

Meredith turned to him, frowning. "Wait, why do they have to move out?"

Before Derek could get a word in, Izzie pulled out a ziploc bag from her pocket and handed it to Meredith. "Here.", she said, shoving it at her. "A muffin. My bribe. Just, you know, keep that in mind."