Gentlemen Only

Play Date

Meredith was discharged the next day from the hospital, having been kept overnight for observation: apparently, she'd hit her head hard when she'd fallen, so her physician wanted to make sure she didn't have any subdural bleeding. Once he'd signed off on her discharge papers she practically sprinted out of the room. She needed a shower in the privacy of her own home. Unfortunately, the guys decided to stay all night by her side. Normal women would swoon at such chivalry on their behalf, and Meredith wished wholeheartedly she could be like one of them. Instead, stress prohibited her from relaxing long enough to fall asleep, resulting in a sweaty, anxiety driven delirium that had nearly driven her insane. Not only was she mental, now she also stunk to high heaven and desperately needed to scrub her skin clean of the hospital smell.

She didn't go back to work until the next day. Her nose was still covered by a dressing, and her face was puffy and bruised, now mottling into ugly bluish-green blotches. Her eyes were red rimmed and swollen due to a fitful night of restless dreams.

Meredith knew she looked hideous, yet, the fridge needed to be stocked with food for the week, so she had to make at least one appearance at the office, if only to afford some ramen. Her clothes were wrinkled so badly an elephant wouldn't be caught dead wearing them, and her socks were blatantly mismatched. All in all, she was a walking textbook disaster of how not to appear in public.

"Oof!" She grunted, stumbling backward. She was so lost in her thoughts that she failed to notice the office door swinging out. It hit her in the arm, thankfully, not her face. However, the jolt was enough that she lost her footing and tumbled. A strong arm shot out and pulled her upright, the swiftness of the motion whipping hair from Meredith's messy bun.

"Mer!" Jet cried in astonishment. "Why didn't you answer my calls?" His voice sounded gruff and harsh, very unlike him.

"What calls?" Meredith stammered, thrown by his sudden personality change.

"I called you all day yesterday to make sure you were alright." He explained roughly, still holding her steady.

Meredith brought her trembling hands to her hair, using the excuse of fixing her wayward strands to distract them both from her nervousness. "I didn't see any missed calls." She assured, affixing her bun tightly on the top of her head. "See." Her hand, now a bit steadier, dove into her pocket to pull out an old cell. "No calls."

Jet sighed, tentatively slipping the phone from her grasp. "This isn't even on, Meredith." He tried to power the device up, face impassive. "It's dead." He grunted, thrusting it back in her palm.

Meredith's mouth formed a small, perceptible 'o'. Her eyes widened, a hint of fear fliting through them briefly. "I'm so sorry, Jet. I should have known." She gazed down in shame. "I know I'm late, and I forgot to call yesterday and-"

Her words were cut off by a calloused finger pressed firmly against her lips. "Don't." He shook his head, warding off her attempted apology. "You were exempt for yesterday. Don't apologize."

"But-"

"Had you asked, you would have known that I approved you a week off." Jet explained, bringing his hand down. The tip of his finger drew across her lip and she shivered.

"Why did you seem angry?" She asked, suddenly confused by the conversation, like she had missed a crucial piece of information.

Jet couldn't seem to meet her eyes. "I was worried about you, Meredith." He admitted slowly, still avoiding her gaze. "You weren't answering your phone, and as your boss it would be highly inappropriate for me to just show up at your apartment and check on you." He swallowed visibly, Adam's apple bobbing slightly.