Chapter Text
Working at a decently-sized hospital, one learns to expect the unexpected: natural disasters, huge traffic accidents, spontaneous labour in the most inopportune of places, aggressive patients… One also gets used to seeing the more human side of unexpected chaos: domestic disputes being worked out over lunch, shouting matches in an empty corridor or two (or more) people having sex in any available room they could find. It is a high-adrenaline environment after all.
Still, occasionally situations occur that leave Meredith Grey dumbfounded.
Such as walking out of the back entrance of Seattle Grace to find her…whatever he is to her now…standing against a pillar with his tongue down a nurse’s throat and his hands palming her ass.
“Jesus Christ, Derek.” Meredith has to move past him to get to the parking lot, but she is seriously considering turning around and taking the long way round, if it weren't for the damn rain and the fact that Izzie stole her umbrella this morning. Derek's eyes shoot open, and he steps forward, leaving the nurse standing behind him with a bewildered expression on her face.
"Meredith, honey," Derek tries, reaching out for her forearm, but Meredith shakes herself free, resisting the urge to slap him in return.
"Don't you 'honey' me, Doctor Shepherd ." She grunts in frustration as she attempts to keep her voice down despite the anger blazing through her veins. She doesn't want to attract the attention of the entire hospital...again.
It was bad enough that his wife showed up out of nowhere. His smart, beautiful, tall, witty wife that no-one told her about. But now this?
“Meredith, I still want to make things work,” Derek tries once more, but Meredith shakes her head.
“You need to figure out which direction you want to follow your dick towards,” she hisses at him. “First you wanted me, then Addison, then you left us both in some sort of purgatory state, and now I find you with–” She pauses as she realises she doesn't recognise the nurse.
“Rose,” the woman quietly supplies, her gaze on anything but Meredith’s face.
“With Rose,” Meredith repeats. “Nice to meet you, Rose. Have a nice evening. Goodbye, Doctor Shepherd.”
Meredith storms past Derek and Rose and into the rain. When she gets to the middle of the employee parking lot, she freezes.
“Shit.” The umbrella isn't the only thing Izzie has in her possession; she's taken Meredith’s car keys this afternoon – with her permission – to take an unwell George home. Great. So now Meredith can either take the bus home, which means walking a mile through the rain, or she can head back inside to call herself a cab, but that means having to go past Derek again.
Suddenly, the clicking of approaching heels brings her out of her reverie, as the owner of said heels holds their own umbrella out over Meredith.
“Hey.”
“Uh, hi,” Meredith replies, staring dumbfoundedly at Addison. “Was there something you needed, Doctor Shepherd?” Addison smiles at her, and Meredith suppresses the urge to let out a sigh. How does the woman still look like a million bucks after a twelve-hour shift when Meredith herself feels like she needs a three-hour shower just to feel like herself again?
“Just wanted to see whether you were okay,” Addison says, gently guiding Meredith towards the side of the pavement. Addison's hand is warm on Meredith's back, the heat of her palm seeping through Meredith’s cotton henley.
“I'm fine,” Meredith answers far too quickly to convince even herself. Addison raises a perfectly-shaped eyebrow.
“I saw what happened just now.” Ah, well shit. That just completes the chaos, doesn't it? The wife coming to check on the dirty mistress after catching the guy in question with his…whatever this Rose is to him. Meredith opens her mouth for a retort, something snappy, but nothing comes out. Great.
“He's–” she tries.
“--a dick,” Addison finishes for her. “He's a dick. A good looking dick with great hair, but a dick nonetheless.”
“...yeah.” Meredith chuckles. “Yeah, he is.” Addison laughs in return. It feels like they are sharing secrets, standing here huddled in the rain together, in the middle of the parking lot.
Oh.
They are in the middle of the parking lot.
Meredith feels her cheeks grow hot. She stammers: “I, uh, I should go…to the bus station. Yeah, the bus.”
“Don't you drive?” Addison asks, tilting her head to one side.
“Izzie took my car this afternoon,” Meredith offers as an explanation, motioning weakly at her surroundings. “So it's the bus for me.”
“In this weather?” Addison frowns. “Let me drive you home, my car's right over there and it's no trouble. Call it me wanting to make sure my intern doesn't end up with pneumonia.” Meredith wants to object, wants to tell her no thank you, I've seen enough of Derek's lovers for one evening and also we both know pneumonia doesn't work like that , but then it seems Mother Nature herself is making the decision for her as a lightning flash illuminates the sky followed almost immediately by a loud clap of thunder and Meredith yelps , her hand finding Addison's in a panic.
–which then induces more panic, because she's just grabbed hold of the hand of the attending whose service she's on this week, who she's pretty sure hates her guts for screwing her husband, and though she doesn't see herself ending up in obstetrics she did enjoy her shift today and it's only Monday and–
“Meredith. Come on, let's get you home.” There's a slight demanding tone to Addison’s voice, smooth as honey, and Meredith finds herself nodding in agreement before her brain can catch up and protest again.
It isn't until they reach Addison’s car and the woman opens the passenger side door for her that Meredith realises she never let go of Addison's hand– and Addison let her .