what i'm here for

Chapter 46: What i'm here for

Meredith set her tray down beside Derek's, joining her boyfriend, Izzy and Cristina at the cafeteria table. She had been in surgery since early that morning, and it was only now, well into the afternoon, that she was able to spare a few moments for some much needed refuelling. It no longer surprised her to catch Derek and her friends eating at the same table, but it still made her heart jump every time. She really didn't want to keep the two most important parts of her life separate, but it was evident she wasn't going to have to. Even Cristina was warming up to him again, regardless of the fact she had lectured him for 'destroying her person' after she had come back 'soft' from their Thanksgiving weekend trip a few weeks prior.

"Hey," Derek greeted warmly, leaning in for a quick kiss.

"Hey," she responded when she pulled away, extending her greeting to the rest of the table.

"I shouldn't be talking to you," Cristina stated.

"Why not?"

"Cause you were in surgery all morning, while I was stuck in the pit stitching up psychotic middle aged men who seriously need a new hobby in life. Seriously, you think you'd be embarrassed to be in public looking like that."

"Come on, they were in costume. I think it was cute," Izzy countered.

"Yeah, you would."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Stop!" Meredith commanded, effectively cutting into the argument. "Can you fill me in before you continue this?"

Cristina rolled her eyes and motioned for Izzy to explain.

"A group of skaters who put on a children's Christmas play every year got into a bit of a fight during practice," Izzy said with a shrug. "And apparently a group pile up isn't such a good idea when you're wearing skates... Lots of wounds, lots of blood and lots of stitches."

"And they all showed up in creepy elf costumes," Cristina added.

"They weren't creepy," Izzy countered.

Meredith laughed as they began arguing again. Ever since Izzy had taken such a firm interest in Cardio, the two squared off about all sorts of topics. But they didn't seem to actually hate each other, just determined to beat the other at something, regardless of the subject matter. "Yeah, they're gone again," she said lightly, turning to Derek. "You do anything interesting today?" Christmas was less than two weeks away, so there had already been a multitude of unusual holiday related maladies and patients.

Derek smirked. "Well, I scrubbed in with a sexy resident on a tumour resection this morning..."

Meredith laughed and playfully bumped his shoulder. "Really?"

He nodded, successfully keeping a straight face. "She kept making eyes at me across the table."

"I did not!" She scoffed.

Derek's expression broke. "Okay, maybe I was the one making eyes," he admitted. "But I can't help it if I find my favourite resident irresistible."

She felt a familiar fluttering in her chest at his words and leaned into his shoulder, smiling when his arm found her waist. His head came to rest over hers and she sighed happily as she let his sturdy frame keep her upright for several moments. It had been a long couple weeks, filled to the brim with double shifts, and instead of relaxing in her spare time, Meredith found herself being dragged Christmas shopping. She had relented to accompanying Derek to shop for his mother and his sisters and brothers-in-law. And he had guilted her into joining him on several toy store runs.

If you're going to be Aunt Meredith, you have to pull your own weight.

But really, she was happy to go with him. He seemed so free and happy lately, and there was nothing she wanted more than to spend time with him, regardless of the task or environment. She sighed happily.