I Wanna Love Somebody Like You

5

Late. Meredith was so late, and it was all Derek's fault.

She'd kicked him out of her bed an hour earlier, before George or Izzie had woken up, but she was still completely late for work. It had been nice to just sleep in his arms, to not have to think about the cold half of her bed as she missed Derek's arms around her. So the night before, after a long day of jumping through hoops for Bailey in attempts to make up for her relationship with Derek, Meredith had been more than happy to welcome him into her bed on two conditions: that there wouldn't be any sex and that he would leave before her roommates woke. And he'd been more than happy to abide by her rules.

"Morning," George greeted, handing her a cup of coffee as she walked into the kitchen.

"Hi," she sighed as she gratefully took the coffee and took a long sip.

"Did you uh...did you sleep well?" George asked, stepping closer to her.

"Fine," she said, glancing at him for a moment before she stepped around him to reach for the paper.

"What time is your shift over tonight?" he asked.

"Six," she said. "And the day off tomorrow. I can't believe how excited I am to not set foot in the hospital for thirty six hours."

George laughed slightly as he moved towards her again. "So I was thinking," he said. "You know, if you don't have plans tonight, I was thinking that we could maybe go out for drinks. If you want. Somewhere besides Joe's because we always go to Joe's, so I was thinking that we could go somewhere more...nice."

Meredith tilted her head to the side for a moment, amusement playing on her lips. "What's going on, George?" she asked.

"I...nothing," he said firmly. "I was just thinking that we could celebrate. Your day off tomorrow. Together."

Meredith couldn't help but feel sorry for George. He wasn't exactly smooth, and it was pretty obvious that he wanted to ask her out on a date. She wasn't quite sure how to tell him to stop, other than to tell him that she had a boyfriend. Which wasn't a lie, but she knew that he would tell Izzie and Izzie would bother her until she told her the name of her boyfriend. So for now, she was just going to be amused to watch George try to ask her out until she could figure out what to do.

"Sorry, I've got plans," she said, reaching for her coat. "I'll see you at the hospital?"

"Oh," George said, nodding as he looked down at his feet. "Right, the hospital. I'll see you there."

Meredith smiled at him as she reached for a bagel. "Bye," she called.

"Oh, Mer!" George called after her as she made her way towards the front door. "Don't forget your umbrella. It's pouring out there."

"Oh," Meredith breathed, seeing Derek's umbrella in George's hand. He must have left it there that morning as she'd shoved him out the front door. But she could lie and pretend it was hers. Or keep it because her husband was an idiot. "Thanks."

"No problem," George said, offering her a small smile.

"Bye," Meredith said, walking quickly out of the house. Derek's umbrella shielded her from the rain, and she could feel the nerves buzzing through her body as she drove the familiar route to the hospital. They really had to start being more careful. In the month since Bailey had caught them in his car, they'd been pretty good at sneaking. But George and Izzie weren't stupid, and eventually they would figure things out. So she had to talk to Derek. And ask why they never went to his place. Because he had told her that he'd left the hotel a month ago, but for some stupid reason he refused to tell her where he lived. Something about making it special or romantic or something cheesy like that.