𝐑𝐈𝐒𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐏𝐇𝐎𝐄𝐍𝐈𝐗 ━━ 𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐤 𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐩𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐝

seven | keyed

"Meredith, it's. . .six in the morning. Why aren't you still asleep?"

The waking hours have never been my favorite part of the day. Honestly, before interning at the hospital, you couldn't pay me to wake up before noon.

But here I am, tucked under the covers with my back pressed against the headboard and cellphone between my shoulder and ear.

"There's a boy in my bed."

"Name and location where you found him?"

"Steve. And at Joe's."

I groan silently before swinging off the edge of the bed and searching for my fuzzy slippers. "Do you need me to sneak you out of there or —"

"Damn it, I gotta go." She grumbles under her breath. "He's waking up."

At the hospital, the two of us — plus Cristina — meet up to share a cup of coffee and complain about every little disturbance in our lives.

"They always look so sad when I kick them out." Meredith crosses her legs, one over the other.

"Tell me about it." I shake my head, swirling the drink. "Seriously, tell me about it. I haven't had a one-night stand in too long."

We laugh together at the thought of the pathetic men in our lives.

"But seriously, why do guys not understand that when you pick them up in a bar and take them home for sex that there are no picket fences or kids in the future?" Meredith continues with the man from the night before.

Cristina slips a hand into her scrub pocket and pulls out. . .a key.

My brows cock in surprise. "He got a key made for you?"

"Burke keyed you?" Meredith questions with a similar look

"I got freakin' keyed before coffee."

"What is wrong with them?"

"He might as well hold a shotgun to your head."

Out of nowhere, an unfamiliar man walks in with a large, brown suede coat held over his front.

"Meredith?" His eyes widen. "You-You work here?"

"What are you doing here, Steve?" She sits up on the bench.

He swallows nervously. "I'm having a little trouble." His eyes shift to the coat. "Actually, I'm having a big problem."

Once he moves the coat, the problem. . .reveals itself. I lift my right brow while looking at him, sipping my coffee some more.

"Ever since you and I. . .it won't go away."

"Oh, there are so many things I could say to you right now. . .champ."

With that statement, I pull Cristina away from the troubled couple. Once we're out of the audilary distance, the two of us burst out into the laughter,

"Did you see his —"

"How could I not?"

While Cristina leaves to confront Burke on the sudden move-in proposal, I receive page after page from a particular neurosurgeon.

"Dr. Shepherd —"

"Derek."

"Look, Dr. Shepherd." I firmly stand my ground. "You can't keep staring at me from across the hall with this. . .sad look in your eyes. I didn't date you, so why do you need to be so gloomy?"

"I know about your illness."

My breath hitches at the back of my throat, but I keep my composure. "What illness would that be, doctor? Because I don't think my health concerns you."

"Back in New York, your father used to be my professor. I've known him since."

"Last names don't mean shit, Shepherd."

"Oh, so you're not the only child of famed surgeon Lennox Phoenix?" He hugs the clipboard to his chest. "Because the way he talked about his daughter Leven, you'd think otherwise."

Looking behind me, I push him into the empty stairwell to my right. The door swings shut before I sit down on the steps.

"I don't care about him anymore." Goosebumps rise over my arms. "So if you could just. . .keep your mouth shut."

"Have you been regularly visiting a doctor? Because I can get you —"

"I don't need — nor want — your help, Dr. Shepherd."

"If you're not receiving proper care, you're in —"

"Have I not made myself clear?" I stand abruptly and tug on the neck of my scrub shirt. "This external pacemaker already controls my personal life. I don't need it to control my work life either."

Before I can storm out the door, he pulls on my arm. My back grazes his chest, and it takes everything in me to relax my heartbeat.

His breath tickles my ear. "I care because I don't want to see you die a preventable death."

"You don't know me, Dr. Shepherd."

"I could get to know you."

"You have a wife. If you were looking for something with me — or anyone, for that matter — you wouldn't be with her."

Calmly, I step out of the stairwell, leaving him alone to ponder his thoughts. I meet with Cristina and Meredith in her friend's exam room, where they use a need to drain the blood.

"Hey, you're all better." I smile politely at Steve while Meredith grimaces. "Have you talked to a certain doctor about a certain key?" I clear my throat.

Steve sits up, his lips curving down in a frown. "Me?"

"No, not you. I'm done talking about you." My eyes roll. "Cristina?"

"He suggested I think about moving in with him." She shudders at the very thought.

Unfortunately, not even an hour later, Steve is back to his. . .erect state. Bailey comes down to deduce the few possibilities of what is going on, one of which includes neurology.

"Hello, everybody." Dr. Shepherd greet with a warm-hearted smile. "What's up?"

"His penis. Literally."

The neurosurgeon proceeds with noting preliminary observations of the genital area. Meanwhile, Cristina and I restrain any form of laughter so as to not humiliate Meredith.

"So, when did this, um, problem begin?"

"Well, I had an erection last night and woke up with one this morning."

"And when did you last ejaculate?"

His graze drifts to Meredith's. "I'm not sure. Meredith?"

"Oh, I'm. . .I'm gonna go with Dr. Bailey." Cristina wordlessly runs out of the room, leaving me in the awkward position with Meredith and her ex-lovers.

"Meredith, what time did we, uh. . .you know."

"Right." My teeth bite down on the inside of my cheek. "What time did you two. . .do it?"

After a quick C.T. scan, Dr. Shepherd finds a tumor near his lower spine that's pressing against his cavernous nerve, inturn causing the erection.

His surgery is a success, but all six interns are called back to the OR when one of the patients gives birth to six babies: five girls and one boy.

We each take one baby to their incubator, and I get to watch over the only baby boy.

"Hey, kid."

I lock eyes with Dr. Shepherd from across the room, the other doctors blurring out of sight. Similar to when he talked to me at the bar, it's just us.

Except this time, there's something. . .different.

"You're gonna be just fine."