I Wanna Love Somebody Like You

7

Meredith was completely in love with Derek's land. They'd spent the entire day before hiking through the woods and exploring the land that he'd bought on a whim, and she had returned to the hospital for her shift completely relaxed and ready to face anything that the other interns had to thrown at her.

She took a deep breath as she walked into the locker room, standing in the doorway for a moment as Izzie and George turned to look at her. "Hi," she offered, glancing at Christina for support.

Izzie rolled her eyes, and George stared at her for a moment before he turned back to his locker.

"Are you still mad at me?" Meredith asked.

"Mad?" Izzie frowned. "Why would we be mad? Because you've been lying to us for two months? Or because you're sleeping with our boss?"

"It's not like that," Meredith explained.

"So you didn't leave Joe's with him two nights ago?" George asked. "You didn't...spend all of yesterday off with him and not even talk to us about what we saw?"

Meredith hesitated. "Okay, maybe I could have told you better," she said. "But it's not like you think. I'm not just sleeping with him."

"But you are sleeping with him," Izzie stated, slamming her locker shut. "You know what, I don't even care. I have to work. Because unlike some of us, I have to prove that I'm a good doctor to get into surgery."

"Izzie..." she sighed, watching helplessly as Izzie stormed out of the locker room. "George, you get it, don't you?"

"You know, I wish I could say I did," he said. "But I don't. I thought we were friends."

"We are," Meredith said. "I just didn't want you to react like this."

"So you lied for two months," George said. "You really thought we weren't going to find out? You thought we were that stupid?"

"No, I just didn't know how to tell you," Meredith said. "Can't you just let me explain?"

"You should have explained a long time ago," George said before he followed Izzie out the door, leaving Meredith alone in the locker room with Christina.

"I take it they're not handling the whole McDreamy thing well?" Christina asked, leaning against the lockers as Meredith began to change.

"McDreamy?" Meredith asked.

Christina shrugged. "I think it's the hair," she said. "Are you going to deny it?"

"No," Meredith giggled. Derek was going to hate it, but McDreamy definitely fit him. "They saw us together. At Joe's."

"No offense, but it was pretty stupid for you to make out with him at Joe's," Christina said.

"I didn't make out with him," Meredith said. "I just sat at the bar with my boyfriend."

"Who's also your boss," Christina said.

"I know," Meredith sighed. "But they just need to let me explain. It's not like I knew he was going to be my boss. I met him almost a year ago."

"Hey, you don't need to defend yourself to me," Christina shrugged as she looked down at her beeping pager. "Good luck with your angry roommates."

Meredith sighed as she quickly changed into her scrubs, hooking her pager to her hip and going in search of Bailey for her assignment.

"Grey," Bailey said when Meredith found her in the pit. "You're on neuro with Shepherd and O'Malley."

"What?" Meredith frowned. "If Der...Dr. Shepherd already has an intern shouldn't I go somewhere else? Cardio or ortho...I'll even go to gyno."