Where You Belong

105

Meredith glanced at the time on the OR clock as the patient she had been operating on was wheeled out of the room towards recovery. Bailey had left her to finish closing ten minutes earlier when she had been paged for an emergency, and even though all Meredith had done by herself was to finish stitching up the incision on the very stable patient's abdomen, the fact that Bailey had trusted her enough to leave her alone in the OR without sending someone else in to observe filled Meredith with confidence. Just three months into her second year of residency and she was trustworthy enough to be left alone with a patient in the OR.

She thanked the scrub nurses as they started to clean up and sterilize the OR for the next patient, and then headed quickly for the scrub room. She hadn't been scheduled to be in surgery, but when Bailey had asked her if she was free as she rushed by with the accident victim on her way to the OR, Meredith hadn't been able to say no. It had been several weeks since she had upset her former resident by being distracted in her OR after losing a patient in the ER, and in that time she was pretty sure she had made up all the ground she had lost. Finally being able to put her mother to rest had taken a remarkable amount of weight off of her shoulders. Add the fact that that Chief was no longer disapproving of every aspect of her life, and Meredith was freer than she could remember being a very long time.

She just hoped the trend of good things happening instead of bad would continue.

The scrub room was empty as she pushed through the door and quickly set to work scrubbing out. When she was finished she barely paused to dry her hands before rushing out of the room and down the hall. Not wanting to wait for the elevator, she took the stairs to the floor that held Derek's office. The hallway was deserted as she exited the stairwell, so she broke into a light jog. Derek had told her he'd be in his office all afternoon, barring any emergencies.

She was slightly winded when she reached his door, but didn't pause for a breath as she tried the handle. It was unlocked.

Derek looked up from his paperwork as she pushed open the door. He offered her a warm smile. "How was your surgery?"

She waved her hand and didn't offer an answer. "Did she call?"

He pursed his lips for a moment, clearly noticing how anxious she was and debating how far he could push her. "Did who call?" He eventually asked, playing dumb.

Meredith expelled an annoyed breath as she pressed the door shut behind her and strode up to his desk, hands on her hips. "The freaking realtor!"

"Oh, her..." Derek drawled. "Yes, she called."

"Derek!" She hissed when he didn't offer her any more information.

"Yes?" He asked, feigning innocence as he pretended to be focussed on his paperwork.

"What did she say?" She demanded.

"Well, she said lots of things."

"Derek Christopher Shepherd!" She ranted, stepping around his desk and wedging herself between him and his paperwork. "Tell me what happened."

His hands found her hips as she stood in front of him while he sat. He pursed his lips again, thoughtful, but the expression quickly morphed into a full-fledged smile. "They accepted our offer."

"They did? We got it?"

"We got it," he confirmed.

She felt a rush of relief and excitement wash over her. After nearly three months of house hunting they finally had success. They'd found a two bedroom condo in a building by the harbour with a terrace that overlooked the ferryboats. It was perfect for them. Lots of light. Jacuzzi tub. Loft bedroom. Great view. Close to the hospital.