Come lie with me

Chapter 18

Meredith sat at her kitchen table sipping the coffee that Izzie had set before her. Her head was pounding and her mind was fuzzy, but she took sip after sip, trying to find her way back to sobriety.

"Why didn't you call me?" Izzie asked. "I would have come to get you. There was no need for Lexie to go to all that trouble."

"Oh, I am sure she didn't mind," Meredith said.

Izzie looked skeptical, but said nothing.

"Besides," Meredith said, "I thought you and Alex were going to get together and…talk."

Izzie shrugged. "What is there to say? He wants me to have the surgery and fix the bulging vein in my brain. I would rather not. Talk over."

Meredith thought to herself that she was too drunk to be having this conversation. "Izzie, you need to do all you can to get well."

"Why?" She shook her blond curls. "I am only seeing my dead fiancée, whom I know is dead, so I don't see what the problem is. It is not like I don't know I am seeing things. As long as it doesn't affect the medicine, I don't see the harm."

"You are lucky," Meredith said. "Any other hospital would refuse to let you practice until you get it fixed."

"Well, the Chief knows it is not dangerous."

"Not to anyone but you," Meredith muttered.

"Feeling more sober?" Izzie asked.

"Somewhat," Meredith responded. "I am still a little woozy."

"You'll be better soon," Izzie chirped, being all bright and shiny.

"Oh, I am in hell," Meredith said, putting her head on the counter.

Their pagers went off then. Izzie looked at hers and frowned. "It's all hands on deck. There must be a lot of car accidents because of this rain."

"I can't go to work like this," Meredith said.

"Looks like it's another banana bag for you," Izzie said with a laugh.

"Great."

Izzie helped her up from the stool, and they walked into the hall. "Alex!" Izzie called up the stairs. "We are heading into the hospital!"

"Me too," he yelled back, coming down the stairs as he pulled a sweater over his head. "Wow," he said, when he saw Meredith. "You look like crap."

"Little voices please," Meredith said, swaying as she stood there.

Izzie and Alex laughed, and the three of them head out into the night.

***

"Tell me who she is."

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

"You are no fun," Derek said to Mark as they drove to the hospital in his sports car. "Why won't you make my night a little brighter and tell me who she is?"

"Well, when you put it that way…"

"Yes?"

"No," Mark said, causing Derek to sigh with frustration. Mark grinned to himself. Despite the fact that this was a dangerous situation, he sort of loved goading Derek the way they used to.

"Whoever she is, I need to know," Derek said.

"Why?"

"Because I need to write the Pope and tell him I have a candidate for sainthood."