16. Need to Talk

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"I thought you were taking off today and tomorrow?", Izzie yawned, her body sprawled out on the bench in the resident lounge, tired from her night on call.

Meredith pulled her hair back into a ponytail. "Derek and Mark are going to the little restaurant a few blocks away with his mom. And I wasn't going to spend the day lounging around the house."

"How long are you here until?", Alex asked.

"I don't know. It depends if I get a surgery…or if I want one of yours", she added with a grin, waving the sparkle pager around before clipping it onto her scrub pants.

"You know, you could just give it to me for the day. Go home, relax, spend time Mommy McDreamy", Cristina suggested.

"If she's giving it to anyone, it's me. I made all of the baked goods for his mother", Izzie argued.

"I'm the one who gave up my room for three days and has to share a bed with Iz. She's giving me the pager", Alex told them.

"Hey, I'm being nice. If you don't like it, sleep on the couch", Izzie said.

"Hold on", Meredith interrupted. "I'm not giving anyone the pager. So you can stop fighting."

"You suck", Cristina said, taking a bite out of her granola bar.

"Oh, before I forget…do both of you have off Sunday?", Izzie asked Meredith and Cristina.

"Yeah, why?"

"Because I think I can get us in the bridal shop", Izzie said happily.

"On second thought, I might just have work on Sunday", Cristina said quickly.

"You do not", Meredith said, rolling her eyes. "Come on, it might be fun…"

"What the hell happened to you?", Alex asked jokingly.

"Shut up", Meredith laughed. "Sunday sounds good, Iz."

"Yay! Okay, so I want you to start thinking about colors and styles", Izzie told Meredith. "It's good to go in there with an idea of what you want."

"You really have a lot of freakish wedding knowledge", Cristina commented.

"I appreciate it, Iz. Without you, I'd be totally lost", Meredith said with a smile, coming to Izzie's defense.

"Hey guys", George said, entering the resident lounge.

"Hey George", Meredith greeted.

"Did you guys hear anything about the new OB/GYN?"

"There's a new gyno-beast?", Cristina asked.

"Wonder which one of us is on the uterus parade", Alex said, clipping his name tag to his pocket.

"Mer, if I get stuck there, feel free to sparkle page me out of it. Really, it's all yours", Cristina offered.

"Oh, so now you want me to take your surgeries?"

"If they involve being on the vagina squad, then yes."

"How many names are you gonna come up with for OB/GYN?", Bailey asked, walking into the lounge holding a stack of charts.

"We heard there's a new Addis—Dr. Montgomery", Meredith said, correcting herself. "Any details?"

"I'm not here to gossip", she told them. "I'm here to tell you that your interns are waiting in the hall, because you're all too busy chit-chatting."

"You're not going to tell us anything?", Izzie asked with a smile, attempting to coax a few details out of their former resident.

"She started yesterday, and Sloan already made his move", Bailey told them. "That's all I know."

"Ooh, Mer, get the details from Derek", Izzie called, making her way down the hall.

"I will", Meredith called back.

Bailey shook her head and chuckled. She knew that she had taught them well, and that they were the best surgeons in the bunch, but she couldn't help but laugh at their incessant need to gossip. "Look, I know that technically I'm not in charge of you anymore, but if I find any of you lounging in the hallways discussing hospital gossip, I'm putting you in the pit", she warned them.

"Can you do that?", Alex asked.

"Karev, don't tempt me. Now go", she said, shooing them away. They instantly dispersed and went on with their work days. Bailey laughed softly to herself, knowing that she still had power over them, even if they thought otherwise.

--

"So guess what mom gave Meredith last night?", Derek asked Mark. The three were eating breakfast at the small café near Seattle Grace. Linda loved spending time with her boys. Derek and Mark had been best friends since they were toddlers, and she was grateful that their friendship had remained strong even through everything that had happened.

"Do I even want to know?", Mark asked, taking a sip of his coffee.

"Baby pictures…embarrassing blackmail at its best."

"Damn. That's harsh", Mark winced, shaking his head.

"Did she like them, dear?", Linda asked.

"Oh yeah", Derek laughed. "She wants to frame all of them, even the one of us in the pool."

"With the matching shorts?", Mark asked amusedly.

"Yep."

"Oh that's a lovely picture", Linda said with a smile. "You two were the sweetest little things, always so charming."

"We're still charming", Derek teased.

"Did you know they have nicknames for us over at the hospital?", Mark asked.

"Oh God, Mark, don't", Derek groaned.

"McDreamy and McSteamy", Mark said with a nod, ignoring Derek.

"Oh that's adorable", Linda laughed. "Who made those up?"

"Your future daughter-in-law made up McSteamy", Mark grinned. "I've been called worse…"

"Oh you love it", Derek laughed. "Don't even pretend you hate it."

"And where did Mc…?"

"Dreamy", Mark finished. "Dr. McDreamy."

"I hate you", Derek kidded. "I'm actually not sure where that one came from. Probably Meredith or one of her friends."

"Oh I almost forgot to tell you—Richard hired a new OB/GYN. She's hot…", Mark grinned.

"You don't waste any time, do you? When did she get here?", Derek asked.

"Yesterday."

"I'm surprised Richard filled the position. He's still hoping Addison comes back", Derek laughed.

"Addison is very happy in Los Angeles. I don't think she'll be living here again", Linda assured them. "So is she nice, honey?"

Mark nodded. "Yeah, she's sweet. I actually ate lunch with her yesterday…showed her around the hospital."

"Aah", Derek nodded. "Grand tour…"

"You bet."

"Show her the on-call rooms?"

"I don't like that, Derek", Linda scolded.

"Sorry, mom", Derek said in an apologetic tone. He was actually amused by the fact that though he was approaching forty, his mother still had the power to make him apologize for his seemingly sexual remark.

"You should know that I'm turning over a new leaf. Ever since you've gotten engaged, I feel like it's time for me to settle down—or, at the very least, attempt to settle down."

"Settling down requires a woman to settle down with", Derek reminded him.

"I'm working on it…"

"Good for you, sweetheart", Linda said with a smile, praising Mark for his efforts.

"Thank you", Mark replied. "At least one of you is nice to me…"

"I'm nice to you", Derek laughed. "You're the best man at my wedding. One day, you'll be the godfather of my kids. I'd say that's nice."

"I'm going to be the godfather?", he asked, pleasantly surprised. It wasn't that he thought Derek would choose someone else, he just hadn't thought about it before.

"Who else would do it? And I'm sure Cristina will be the godmother."

"Great", Mark grinned sarcastically.

"Cristina is Meredith's best friend, right?", Linda asked.

"Yeah", Derek said with a nod. "They're really close. She's always kicking me out of bed to have girl talk with Meredith."

"Is she single?"

Derek looked at her questioningly. "Yes…"

"Maybe Mark could date her", Linda suggested.

"Yeah, right. Yang hates me", Mark laughed. "She called me Ken all day yesterday."

"Ken?", Derek asked curiously.

"I was working with Stevens. All day long, we were Ken and Barbie", Mark said, shaking his head.

"Oh, that's Izzie right? Maybe you could date her. She seems like a lovely girl", Linda said with a smile. Apparently, she was now a matchmaker. If one of her sons was getting married, she had to make sure that her pseudo-son also found a woman to settle down with.

"I thought her and Karev were an item", Mark said.

"You're just as gossipy as Meredith", Derek commented with a laugh.

"I am not", he argued. "I just heard them talking about sleeping in the same bed, so I assumed they were dating…"

"They're sleeping in the same room while mom is here", Derek told him.

"Sounds like you're both very gossipy", Linda joked.

"We are not", they said in unison.

"Whatever you say, dears", she laughed. "So when are we meeting Richard today?"

"As soon as we're done here. I told him yesterday that you'd be stopping by around noon", Mark told her.

"That sounds great", she said with a smile. Linda was loving this time with her boys. She loved her girls dearly, but Derek and Mark lived so far away, and their busy careers made it difficult to call regularly. It was so nice spending time with them, knowing that they were happy. Derek had found the love of his life, and Mark, well, he would come around. She was sure there was a woman out there for Mark that would love him just as much as Meredith loved Derek.

--

"Hello, Linda. How you doing?", Richard asked as she and Derek stepped into the Chief's office.

"I'm great. And how are you doing? Oh, how's Adele?", Linda asked kindly, taking a seat in one of the chairs in front of the large wooden desk adorned with stacks of papers.

"Oh, she's…well, actually, we're separated. But it's amicable. We're dating now…dating each other, trying to make it work again…", he rambled with a nervous smile. Derek looked on from the chair next to his mother, and smiled to himself. Richard and Meredith may not have been related, but Derek couldn't help but notice a similarity in their nervous habits.

"That's great, Richard. It's always good to have second chances", Linda said with a smile.

"Yes it is", Richard replied happily. "So, how's the family?"

"They're doing well. Oh dear, Derek, I can't believe I almost forgot to tell you…Amy is pregnant", Linda exclaimed happily.

"What?", Derek asked in shock, unable to hide the happiness spread across his face. "How could you forget to tell me something like that?"

"I've just been so busy these past two days, it completely slipped my mind", Linda explained.

"That's great. Give her my congratulations", Richard grinned.

"I'm going to go call her." Derek stood up from his chair. "And I'm blaming you when she asks why I didn't call sooner…", he joked.

As he left the room and walked down the hall, he saw Meredith approaching. "Hey you", he smiled, kissing her softly.

"Hey. Mark told me you guys were talking to the Chief. I was just on my way in to say hello. Where are you going?"

"Oh, um…my sister is pregnant, and my mom forgot to tell me about it until just now", Derek explained with a laugh.

Meredith smiled. "Oh my God! Derek! That's great! Which one?"

"Amy."

"She's the youngest one, right?"

"Yep. Amy's the baby of the family", he said with a warm smile.

Meredith wrapped her arms around him. Standing on her tiptoes, she kissed him on the cheek. "That makes fifteen nieces and nephews now."

"Yes it does", Derek agreed, kissing her again.

"Okay. Go call her. I'll be in the Chief's office…", Meredith said with a warm smile, starting to make her way down the hall.

"Okay. I love you."

"I love you too", she said sweetly, her ponytail swaying back and forth as she gracefully bounced down the hall toward Richard's office.

"Hey man, where you going?", Mark called to Derek.

"Calling Amy. She's pregnant, and mom just decided to tell me now", he laughed.

"The baby is pregnant?", Mark asked excitedly.

"Yep", Derek nodded.

"I want to talk to her when you're done", Mark told him as the two made their way into Derek's office. "Wait…why are you calling from your desk phone?"

"Seattle Grace gets the long distance phone bill. Not me."

"Now what would mom say to that?", Mark chided.

"Oh don't even start, Mr. New Leaf", Derek joked.

"Shut up", Mark shot back amusedly. "I'm serious about that."

"Mhm", he mumbled, dialing the number and waiting for an answer.

"Fine. When I fall in love with the new OB, you owe me an apology."

"Will do."

--

Meredith sat quietly as Linda and Richard discussed old times back in New York when Derek was one of the Chief's students. They talked about family, and made pleasant conversation, and Meredith just sat. She really didn't know what to say. Richard was like a sort-of step-father to her, and Linda was her future mother-in-law, but she couldn't think of anything to say.

It would be easier if Derek was here, but he was off calling his sister. It amazed her that people actually had happy families. Families that called to congratulate each other on their pregnancies, and celebrated birthdays, and, well, whatever else families did together. It even surprised her that along with marrying Derek, she gained an entire family…sisters-in-law, brothers-in-law, and now fifteen nieces and nephews. For once in her life, she'd be part of a family, and one day, she and Derek would have their own. They would be husband and wife, mommy and daddy.

"So Derek tells me that you had planned to retire", Linda said.

Richard nodded. "I was going to, but my work here—it wasn't finished. I've learned to prioritize…delegate. And because of it, I get to spend more time with my wife. Adele was the reason I was going to retire in the first place. I thought I'd have to choose between my wife and my career…but somehow, I found a way to have both", he said with a smile.

"I'm glad, Richard", Linda smiled. "When Derek told me that he had been offered the chief position, I thought you'd retired, but then he told me he turned it down. He thought the stress of work and having a personal life would be too much."

Meredith's mind had been wandering, but now she was listening intently. Derek had never told her that he had been offered Richard's job. In fact, Derek never brought it up at all. Meredith had always assumed that Richard hadn't picked any of them. But now, now she was learning that Derek had been given the opportunity to have the job he had been dreaming of his whole career, and he declined. And that made her angry. She knew she was being irrational, and should let him explain things before she jumped to conclusions. But she couldn't help but think that she influenced his decision.

"I, uh…I'll be back", Meredith said quickly, standing up from her chair and making her way out of the room. She knew that she shouldn't be angry. She knew that it was almost her time of the month, and she always got a little short tempered and moody, but no matter how much she tried to calm down, it wasn't working.

Luckily, she was on-call to the pit that day, and there were hardly any traumas rolling in. She just need some time to cool down, sort some things out. Meredith made her way down to the tunnels, got some chips and a soda from the vending machine, and hopped onto one of the gurneys, lying down on the hard, black mat to think. Derek could be chief of surgery right now. Meredith knew he wanted this, and had been working for it his whole career. And when he finally had his chance, he gave it up.

She was snapped out of her thoughts when she heard her cell phone vibrate in her pocket. She texted Cristina back, telling her that she was in the tunnels.

"Okay, why are you down here?", Cristina asked, plopping down on the adjacent gurney. "It's lunch time. You never miss lunch time."

"I have chips."

"Chips aren't lunch."

"I just…need time to think."

"You mean sulk?"

"I'm not sulking."

"You're laying on a gurney by yourself in the hospital basement. That's called sulking."

Meredith sighed. "Okay, fine. I'm sulking."

"But why?"

"Because. Derek turned down the chief position."

"The Chief is still working here."

"Yes, because Derek turned it down."

"Okay", Cristina nodded slowly, trying to piece together why exactly Meredith was pissed off. "And…?"

"He did it because he didn't want to choose between his personal life and his career."

"So he did it for you", Cristina replied.

"Yes…maybe…I don't know."

"Well, did you talk to him?"

"No."

"Are you gonna?"

"I'm engaged to him. We sleep in the same bed. Obviously I'm going to have to talk to him eventually. Stupid brain man…"

"So why don't you just go find him now?"

"Because. His sister is pregnant and he's happy…his mom is here, and she's happy, and I can't say anything with her around."

"So, what, you're going wait until she leaves? That's stupid."

"What?"

"Look, Meredith, I'm not usually the one dishing out relationship advice. I really don't have the best track record, seeing as I was left in the back of a church on my non-wedding day", Cristina explained. "But if I've learned anything from that, it's this…you have to get all of the crap out in the open. Because before you know it, even more crap is going to pile up, and it's going to be too late to say anything, and you'll find yourself eyebrow-less in the back of a church while the man you love walks away because you never told him how you felt."

Meredith was speechless. Cristina never spoke about Burke, or the non-wedding. Meredith had made a few unsuccessful attempts to get her to talk, to show some emotion over what had happened. But the fact that she had openly brought it up was big. "I know. I have to talk to him. But I'm just pissed right now."

"Oh, you have a right to be pissed", Cristina told her frankly. "But don't stay pissed or grudgy. Yell at him…kick his ass, whatever, and let it go."

Meredith smiled slightly. "Thanks, Dr. Phil."

"Just trying to be helpful. You're my person", Cristina shrugged, not wanting to make a big deal out of it. She knew she wasn't always there for Meredith when it came to problems with her and Derek. She let them fight their own battles. But if Meredith wanted to bitch about him, she was all ears. That's just what they did. They could bitch and complain to each other with the comfort of knowing they were each other's confidants.

Cristina patted Meredith's knee. "Okay. That concludes our therapy session for the day. I'm hungry."

"See you later", Meredith called out to her friend as she made her way toward the stairwell. Eventually, Meredith's pager went off. 911. She quickly made her way back upstairs to find the ER full of car crash victims. There was lots of blood. Lots of bloody, broken car crash victims that needed to be cut open. Looks like talking to Derek would have to wait until tonight.

So, this chapter had a few things going on. There's a new OB/GYN. Mark is evolving. I love him as a manwhore, but I think it'd be good to see him have a substantial relationship. Cristina is talking about Burke, something she hasn't done before now. Alex and Izzie are sharing a bed—make of that what you will. Hee hee. And Meredith knows that Derek turned down being chief. This was never addressed on the show, and I think it's sort of important.

Please review! Reviews are like oxygen to a writer. Is there anything you'd like to see in this fic? I'm open to suggestions! :)