The surgery had gone off without a hitch, another one for the journals. Meredith stayed in the gallery long after everyone else had cleared out. She had watched Derek's excited face as he saved the child, as he closed the incision himself then thank his team, step out of the OR and scrub out. He had given her a wink before he stepped out and a nod to the Chief.
She stayed behind finishing her charts with her thoughts of the success she had just watched her husband complete, feeling such a sense of pride that he was hers. When suddenly the gallery door burst open and Dr. Yang ran in out of breath.
"I missed it!" She exclaimed angrily to no one.
Meredith bit her lip gripping her pen a little tighter, wondering if she should acknowledge her presence or not. Choosing to be the bigger person practicing for being Mrs. Chief, she tried to be nice.
"They closed up 20 minutes ago. Dr. Stevens did well." Meredith said trying to strike up a normal conversation with her fellow intern.
"And I suppose you saw it all from your front row seat." She bit back bitterly.
Meredith kept chanting bigger person in her head, future Mrs. Chief couldn't be fighting with other doctors, so she simply added "yes, I did" before she turned her head back down to look at her chart and continuing to do her notes. She was on the last one and she wasn't sure if that was a good thing or bad, because now she'd have to go back and look for her attending and who knew what he had lined up next for her.
"Of course you did, you're going to be getting special treatment all over the place, aren't you?"
Meredith again chose to not respond she kept her head down and writing her chart, choosing to not say anything to the angry fellow intern at all. Bigger Mrs. Chief Person was obviously not going to work with this girl.
"No, she's very much not going to."
Meredith's head shot up at the very angry tone of her very gorgeous husband who had just entered the gallery still in his OR scrubs. His eyes when angry always had the black tint to it and for some reason when he got mad it made her so hot. Especially when he got possessive jealous mad.
"I'm not sure what you're getting at with these insinuations but let me make it very clear for you Doctor. Dr. Shepherd here doesn't get any special treatment because she happens to be my wife. If anything she has to work doubly hard to prove herself on her own merits. She's been stuck with Dr. Burke today who has had her doing his charts for him for the sole reason that she is my wife, what have you been doing today Doctor?" he asked, his tone still very angry.
"I was in the neonatal OR." She responded back to him and funny enough that snark bitter tone was now gone and Meredith observed as the once fierce on the attack intern was now shaking in her shoes at the very angry attending facing her.
"So you were in the OR working on a neonatal surgery and she was here doing left over charting from yesterday. Are you getting special treatment?" He asked her directly too her face. Cristina didn't respond, just shaking her head no.
"I didn't think so. I don't ever want to hear of you attacking a co-worker with unsubstantiated claims. Do I make myself clear? You are to treat your co-workers with respect they deserve, all of them. Now go report back to your attending for the day."
Cristina said nothing at all and just left the gallery following Derek's orders. Derek still looked angry and Meredith found his standing up for her and his protectiveness so sexy. She chewed on her bottom lip watching him pace back and force trying to cool down.
"Is that how they treat you Mer?" he let out with a frustrated sigh.
"Hmmm."
"Mer…"
She just looked up at him with smoky eyes and a bright smile. "You're my knight in shining ferry boat scrub cap."
Derek just shook his head with a laugh at her randomness and finally letting go of some of the anger that had built inside of him the second he heard that from her and really noticing the look she was giving him. He took a step closer to her, running his hands through her hair, then resting his hand on the side of her face while his thumb brushed across her cheek, looking down at her sitting in her chair.
"We're at work." He started off trying to reason with this not being a good idea on her second day.
"We're alone."
"Mer"
"Der"
"Anyone can walk in here or the OR.
"But I want some special treatment," she winked.
"Meredith Shepherd." He gasped.
"Hmmm, I love it when you take charge." She turned her head so she was facing his palm placing a kiss to the inside of it, letting her tongue come out just a bit to let him know she meant business.
"Dr. Shepherd meet me in my office in a few minutes, there are things we need to discuss." He said in his authoritative tone which made her swoon even more. While taking a step back and moving towards the door.
"Yes, Dr. Shepherd." She said back trying to mimic him, grabbing her charts and quickly following her husband out the door.