Under the Night Sky

Chapter 8: Starcrossed

This was not happening to him... It was a bad dream surely. He would open up his eyes or pinch himself in the arm and the nightmare would be over.

No, it wouldn't, he sighed scratching his head. He thought his bad luck finished the previous day the moment when he connected with Meredith. Nope, it seemed as if his problems were just beginning. And all because of his kind heart.

He heard Meredith's footsteps as she was going downstairs from her loft and he didn't know if he was more relieved or horrified. Thank God Izzie wasn't here yet.

"Oh, you're here early," she greeted him from over her cup of coffee. That was progress, there wasn't even a trace of the usual irritation about her.

"Hey," he breathed out. "Listen, I was wondering about... the pharmacy. How do you do it here?"

"We are the pharmacy," she answered sitting behind the counter. "We have a constant supply of medicines."

"Oh, okay, I need something..." he trailed off grimly.

"For yourself? What's wrong?"

"I... Bert, my dog, has... a little itching problem," he finished euphemistically, unable to utter the exact issue.

Meredith didn't have such scruples. "Oh. Lice? Fleas?"

Rip off the band aid, Derek. Rip off the band aid. "Lice."

"We have a shampoo. You know if you're planning on keeping him you should bring him over for a check-up, vaccinations and all that stuff," she said standing up and beckoning him to follow her.

Yeah, now he realized that he should have.

"There you go."

"It's... it's for animals," he muttered quickly scanning the label.

"Of course it's for animals. Isn't Bert a dog?" she laughed. "Why would you even need one that is not for animals..." she trailed off, a thought dawning on her. Suddenly she jumped away from him, her eyes involuntarily shooting towards his hair.

"I'm sure you're fine," she smirked. "But... maybe you should skip practice hours today..."

"I... I was going to," he sighed, knowing this was probably the most humiliating moment of his life. More than Meredith leaving him at the gas station. More than a patient's bowel erupting at him during surgery. Did he mention he hated this place?

"This is for people," she passed him another bottle stretching her arm out as far as she could and backing it quickly.

"You have to leave it on your hair and then rinse profusely," she bit on her lip. "Or you can always cut your hair."

"I'm not going to cut my hair," he narrowed his eyes at her.

"Don't need to be so defensive. It's not like I gave you the lice," she shrugged, her face scrunching up convulsively.

His lips went into a thin flat line. "I think I'm gonna go now."

"You do that," she nodded resolutely. "And... good luck!"

He shot her a glare and left the practice shutting the door loudly behind him while Meredith broke into soft giggles.

UNDER THE NIGHT SKY

A deep calming breath. Derek stared at his reflection in the bathroom mirror, the bottle of shampoo in his hand, only a towel around his middle. He was feeling worse than before his first solo brain surgery. No joke, it was his hair on the line, his hair that was one of the biggest advantages of his physique. Not that he would be no one without it, but he certainly would be less himself. Not to mention that he would look ridiculous. The hair lessened the effect of his crooked nose.