what i'm here for

Chapter 29: Freaking out

To her, and Derek's, surprise, their decision to cohabit didn't come as a shock to the Seattle Grace Gossip Line. Other than a small influx of well wishers, there hadn't been any talk, there hadn't been any gossip, and most of all there hadn't been any staring. It had been a week, and it was now common knowledge that she and Derek had moved in together, but the hospital didn't seem to care. It was as if the idea of them moving in together was ordinary. Expected. Nothing worth discussing. Izzy and George were still a hot topic. Meredith and Derek were quite a cold topic. And Meredith loved it that way. She had forgotten what it was like to live life in relative anonymity. And it was a welcome change, even if she did feel sorry for Izzy and George, who she knew was struggling with their new found spotlight and some other, very personal issues that she had unfortunately been on the receiving end of.

"Meredith!"

Meredith only half flinched at the sound of her half-sister calling out her name from down the hall. Things had been slightly better between them since Meredith had talked Lexie through the final days of her mother's life. Meredith had ceased her determination to hate the other woman, or she had at least decreased its magnitude. It wasn't Lexie's fault. It really wasn't. And if Meredith kept repeating that over and over in her head, then eventually she would start to believe it in full.

"Hi Lexie," she greeted as the brunette hurried up to her, charts stacked haphazardly in her arms.

"Have you seen Dr. Yang?" Lexie question quickly, eyes darting around for any sign of her resident. "I need to find her, cause she said she wanted the lab results right away and I can't find her anywhere."

Meredith sighed inwardly, knowing her best friend was being a tad harsh on her interns, but also knowing there was nothing she could do about it. "Have you tried paging her?"

Lexie quickly shook her head, her eyes wide. "Oh, no. She told us never to page her unless it was an emergency. And I really don't want to piss her off any more."

Meredith rolled her eyes. "That sounds like Cristina," she muttered.

"Okay, so you don't know where she is?"

Meredith shook her head. "I haven't seen her in a couple hours." She only hesitated briefly before deciding to divulge more information. "Hahn's in surgery right now. Have you tried the gallery?"

Lexie shook her head. "No, I haven't. But I've tried everywhere else. I'll go check. Thanks, Meredith." And with that, she was gone.

Meredith laughed to herself, for once not minding the smile spread across her features. Maybe that was because it had been two weeks since she and Derek had moved in together, and a little over three weeks since The Talk. It was currently day twenty-five of their new life together. The one where they were going to communicate and be mature and be happy. And so far it was working.

The novelty of the situation was starting to fade into a comfortable routine, in which Meredith, for the first time in her life, felt at peace. For the first time in her life, she felt relaxed and happy and... home. She had never been so sure of anything before. Derek was there every night when she fell asleep, and Derek was there every morning when she woke up, and it was only his name on the answering machine along with hers. The manic grin that had plagued her three weeks ago had now faded to a gentle smile. Life was good. Finally.

Meredith sighed contentedly as she rounded the corner into the last hallway before the nurses' station, completely unaware and unprepared for what was about to happen. She caught a flash of blond hair before she was blind sided by a larger frame and pulled behind a cart, a hand clamping down over her mouth to prevent any noise.

Meredith lurched, fighting against her restrained arms.

"Stay still," Izzy's voice hissed at her, causing Meredith to at least calm down at the knowledge she was being restrained by someone she knew. She paused and stopped fighting as footsteps passed them. She ripped her friend's hand off her mouth as she recognized George's back as he led three women past them. Once they had disappeared around the hallway Izzy released her hold.