Three Seasons of Derek Shepherd Pissing Me Off (A Thorough Review)
I’m rewatching Grey’s Anatomy for God knows how many times, and for some reason, only now Derek Shepherd and the way he treats women is making me so fucking furious that I actually wanted to dedicate an entire tumblr post to it. I’m already at the end of season three, and I’ve got a ton of complaints about this man.
Let’s revise what kind of shit he did to the women he’s dated so far. That's a loooong ride...
⚠️HUGE SPOILERS STARTING FROM HERE⚠️
1. He dragged Meredith into a love triangle.
I don’t have a problem with Derek not telling Meredith on the first night that he had a wife. That’s fine, they just met at a bar, they were going to spend one night together, they both thought they were single, and nobody was obligated to share more than they wanted that night. Considering the fact that the next morning Meredith forgot his name and immediately kicked him out — obviously not planning any kind of continuation — things could have gone differently. So that’s okay.
But when she showed up at the hospital, they officially met, and he realized he was interested in more than just one night, and he wanted to start some kind of relationship with her. At that moment, before starting anything, he should have told her he was still married. At least that he’s married but planning to get a divorce — like, it’s temporary. At least that. But he didn’t say it for one reason: because if he had, any decent woman would have told him, “Go fuck yourself, sort out your personal life, and after you’ve sorted it out, maybe we can get something started.”
Besides, Meredith fully understood that she was a first-year intern and he was an attending, and they stood very far apart on the hierarchy ladder. She knew it could hurt her career, and she tried to push him away, even though she was still drawn to him. And he didn’t help with that — because he kept coming at her, he wouldn’t leave her alone, he was constantly in her space, constantly flirting, and wanted more. He also fully understood that this could hurt both their careers — hers and his. And guess what? It did. Spoiler. Sorry.
2. He took the advantage of her.
Derek kept pursuing her throughout the entire first season. And the peak of this whole bullshit was (s1ep5) the party that I usually kinda glossed over, but this time, during this rewatch, it became so obvious and disgusting and vile that I was just like, “Holy shit, what a revelation.” So here’s what happened: Izzie threw a party at Meredith’s house, literally the whole hospital knew about it except Meredith herself. And Derek, of course, went there. And now pay attention (!) — Meredith came outside completely wasted with a bottle of tequila in her hand.
Derek showed up after a shift at the hospital in his own car (meaning he was sober), walked up to her (I repeat: SHE WAS DRUNK), and they ended up having sex in his car.
I mean what do you call that? He literally took advantage of her while she was most vulnerable. He also knew that sober she wouldn’t have said yes. That’s just some fucking asshole behavior, may I tell you. And yep, Bailey caught them seconds after. He got away with it, she didn’t 😍
3. He lied about himself while he was in a relationship with Meredith.
After that episode, they ended up in a relationship. They started dating, they actually became a couple, they lived together in her house. And he continued to hide information from her — not just that he’s married, but about himself in general. Barely, he showed her where he lived, barely told her anything about his life, his sisters and interests, etc. Like he’s some romantic, mysterious guy — which drives me crazy because it’s not romantic at all. It’s not romantic when you have no idea who you’re dealing with.
4. He chose to stay with his wife, but he continued to think of Meredith as his own.
At the end of season 1 Addison shows up to save her marriage, and we finally find out he’s married. Addison circles around Derek, trying to figure out if the marriage is worth saving. Derek is also in a state of confusion, not knowing what to do. But dude, you’ve been in Seattle for TWO MONTHS (at least that’s what we’re told). You ran away from New York. You had two months to figure out what to do with your life. What the hell were you doing? What were you thinking about?
Addison puts divorce papers in front of him and says, “That’s it, I have nothing left to do here. Either we get divorced right now and I leave, or you don’t sign papers, and I stay, and we try to save our marriage.” Derek wanders around with those papers like a lost puppy right after telling Meredith by the elevator, touching her cheek and all that, that Addison is leaving, and they can just continue their relationship. So he chose her — not directly, not literally, but still his actions and his words indicated that he chose her, Meredith (s2ep5).
And then he has the audacity not to sign the divorce papers. And then he has the audacity to corner her on the stairs to yell at her, saying, “Meredith, you don’t understand how hard it is to put an end to an eleven-year marriage” Like you wouldn’t get it, Meredith, lol. I was fucking floored when I heard those words. And I was floored even more that she didn’t react properly — she just stood there blinking when she should have told him to go fuck himself right then and there.
💡Look, I actually like Derek’s position regarding his eleven-year marriage. It’s one thing when you’ve been dating for say two months and you don’t really know the person, you don’t know what kind of relationship you could have with this person, etc. At that point, you can absolutely call it quits at any moment and not look back. But when you have +10 years of marriage behind you and there’s been a conflict that complicates things, I don’t think the right solution is to just tear everything apart and move in opposite directions. You’ve got +10 years of shared life — and there was a reason you got together in the first place, right? Things were good, you loved each other, you got married, you kept living together as a couple, and everything was fine until something cracked and led to a big conflict. So I think the right thing to do in that case is to try to save the marriage. If both partners still have the desire to repair things, why not? Actually, that’s the right thing to do. And in that regard, Derek did good.
But he’s not good for keeping Meredith around like he wanted to sit on two chairs at once — hang out with this girl, and also stay with his wife. And he absolutely had no right to yell at her like that, as if accusing her of not understanding his deep, complex feelings, lol. He said, “I’m hesitating about signing the papers, about leaving Addison.” He’s saying this to his — essentially — current girlfriend. What was she supposed to answer? “Yeah, sure, take your time.” Like, “We’ll stay together while you decide whether you want to end your marriage or not, and then you’ll come back to me with a decision, and what am I supposed to do? Where do I fit in this equation?”
What an asshole!😡
She should have said: “You call Addison your family, you tell ME you have doubts before signing the papers — which literally means for ME that you have doubts about being with ME! What am I supposed to do in this situation, sit and wait until you decide? Decide what? To break up with me and go back to Addison? But while you’re deciding, I’m supposed to be understanding? You have doubts, but I have no doubt that I have no business in this relationship right now. Come back when you’ve figured your shit out. Maybe then we could have something. But as long as you have doubts, go be doubtful somewhere away from me.”
And he still had the nerve to stand there, blame her for something that wasn’t her fault, roll his eyes, yell at her. “To end in one day? I need a moment to understand the magnitude?” Dude, what have you been doing for two months in Seattle?! You had plenty of time to decide what to do with your life and your marriage, but you just decided to ghost your wife and screw a new girl. Bravo!
Anyway, Derek decides to try to rebuild his marriage with Addison. But that’s not the end of our shitshow. Because the whole time he acted like he was doing her a favor, and he kept reaching out to Meredith. Throughout his entire reconciliation with Addison, he behaves like an asshole to both women. First of all, if you’ve decided to rebuild your marriage, you should at least let go of the situation that led to this. But no, Derek acts like he’s doing Addison a favor. Yeah, she cheated, that’s true — she did cheat with his best friend, and that’s her fault. But you want to fix your relationship. You made a decision, so stop tormenting her.
💡Honestly, Derek tries to look good, that’s what I see. He tries to do the right things that would look right from the outside, but inside he’s just completely disgusted by having to do this, and he just tolerates it. And it fucking infuriates me.
At the same time, while rebuilding his marriage with Addison, he doesn’t leave Meredith alone. He still considers her his property, because he’s constantly in her orbit. Even Bailey had to ward him off at one point. There was a moment in some episode where Meredith was feeling bad, it was obvious to everyone. He wanted to “comfort” her, and Bailey stood between them so he wouldn’t approach and reopen those wounds. Like, I see no care in that. Just fucking let her go already, you chose someone else — go away. But no, he keeps circling around her.
And when he thinks she spent the night with Finn, what does he do? First, he goes back to his wife and has sex with her in the shower — obviously not thinking about his wife. Disgusting. Add that to the list. Second, he then accuses Meredith in the hallway, literally calls her a slut. Thank God she finally stood up for herself. She should have said more, because what the hell is this level of audacity? She’s single, you’re not together anymore. You still think she’s yours. But that’s your problem — she’s free to do whatever she wants, she’s been free to do whatever she wants for a long time.
And this story ends with Derek cheating on Addison with Meredith. I refuse to blame Meredith for this because — on one hand, yes, she’s also guilty, she knew this time Derek was in the relationship, but on the other hand — he had so emotionally attached her to himself that I think she was genuinely dependent on him at this point, kind of trapped and submissive. So yeah, I don't blame her. (maybe it's just that I want to blame Derek for everything right now, lol 🙂)
P.S. This isn't the end of my rambling, but tumblr's making me stop here. For anyone who’s interested – catch you in the next post.
Here's an non-comprehensive list of everything M.A.G.I.C went through in their internship year aka the first 3 seasons of grey's anatomy. the first 61 episodes. I'm not sure how to break this down so I think I'll go character wise, and mostly in order of most to least believable. I'm not including their patients, time spent studying, actual working hours, stuff they do outside the main scope of the program (meredith spending time with her mother, george shooting a turkey with his family) etc. I'm also not commenting on the timeline of how everyone seems so close even though, again, this is supposed to one calendar year. this is just the stuff that happens to them on a personal basis.
(hilariously, richard webber is supposed to retire as early at the very first episode of the series and yet james pickens jr is one of two remaining main characters as late as season 22. (they haven't announce the cast of S23 yet, but i have to assume he's going to stay))
ALEX
he seems to have the most "normal" internship year. he falls for izzy, but they don't officially date. He does fail what seems to be the oral portion of the STEP 2 exam- but he retakes the test and passes. He sleeps with various women, most notably Nurse Olivia. This results in a syphilis outbreak at the hospital. He meets Ava- who is actually Rebecca. (as a patient) He has Addison Montgomery punishing him by putting him on a near permanent OB-GYN rotation, and he was kind of a typical asshole of the 2005 variety (forces himself onto Meredith at one point, bullies izzy, freezes in the elevator) but other than that, a believable internship year. he also is passively involved in the whole Denny Duquette thing, and he moves into the main house in S3. before that we don't know where he lives.
CRISTINA
Now it may seem weird to have her here, but she also has a relatively normal year. She falls in love with a guy, has a miscarriage, moves in with the guy, and gets left on the alter. it's pretty fast in terms of actual time (again, this happens in the span of one year) but not utterly impossible. of course, burke gets shot, and she bears the burden of studying and doing his surgeries but that also feels doable- if improbable- to me. she's supposed to be the gunner of her class, the best intern so it tracks that she can keep up with advanced procedures. we learn about her dead father, and we meet her mother. she's obviously involved in a lot of the meredith stuff, and she helps with the denny thing. she's also there for the bomb but burke sends her away so she's just in brain surgery with derek, and mostly it's her friend going through that.
GEORGE
i struggled between george and izzy because a LOT happens between them. George's marriage is written to be hasty though so he ultimately lands here.
is in love with meredith. moves in with her. sleeps with her. gets mad at her. makes up with her.
moves out of the main house and moves in with cristina and burke
is burke's "guy" and discovers burke's tremor.
gets syphilis from Alex. (via Nurse Olivia)
meets and dates callie.
bailey names her baby after him when he helps deliver the kid (not even getting into bailey having a baby even though she wasn't pregnant in the first season let alone naming him after an intern she's known for less than a year but whatever)
breaks up with callie. helps with the LVAD thing
dad in the hospital for cancer. dad dies.
marries callie in vegas.
sleeps with izzy. (falls in love with her?)
agrees to have a baby with callie
applies and gets accepted to mercy west as a transfer.
fails his intern exam and has to repeat his intern year
IZZY
also moves in with meredith
gets bullied by Alex for being "doctor model"
throws a party for her hockey boyfriend but they end up breaking up
dates alex for a bit but they break up when she sees him necking nurse olivia
struggles on her mom's birthday but eventually calls her.
makes thanksgiving dinner with burke?
has time to decorate the apartment for christmas.
meets a patient- denny duquette. - who gets rejected for a heart transplant and leaves the hospital.
starts sleeping with alex during the bomb in the patient episode.
denny comes back and gets fitted for an LVAD. izzy and denny spend a lot of time together
izzy breaks up with alex after he's an ass to denny.
denny is offered another heart but izzy learns he might not get it which causes her to cut his LVAD wire.
denny proposes and izzy accepts.
denny dies, and izzy quits being a surgeon.
she's gets an $8.7 million inheritance. (they have known each other like.... 6 weeks or something be so fucking serious)
izzy gets reinstated at the hospital despite being a millionaire, because all she wants to do is a "running whip stitch." she's not allowed to do surgery though, and has a bunch of hoops that legal and hr make her jump through
izzy decides to spend her inheritance building a free clinic for Seattle Grace. This happens in 8 days. (stfu fr)
alex tries to kiss her but she's not ready.
izzy is not happy about george's marriage. they fight about it.
sleeps with george. is convinced she's in love with him.
is fully allowed to perform surgeries again just because the chief said she could. (no HR or legal oversight?)
and finally, our plot armor queen. a lot of this is derek related but it just gives me such whiplash just watching it, i can't even begin to imagine what she's feeling. also the context of this being one calendar year is very important to me. (also v ridiculous, i love this show)
MEREDITH
sleeps with a guy who turns out to be her attending
is late to her first day of work.
mom has Alzheimer's but that's a big secret because mom's a super famous surgeon (didnt know famous surgeons were a thing)
gets roommates she wasn't sure she wanted. they're all up in her space and stuff. she ultimately appreciates it but cmon.
is sexually harassed by alex
bailey learns she's sleeping with an attending and gives her crap. (izzy and george are also awful about it but i'm counting this as one thing)
tells derek about her mom and he gets her mom into a clinical trial.
her boyfriend's wife shows up at the hospital
she breaks up with derek even though he continues to pursue her. derek tells her he's getting a divorce. he does not do that. (pick me choose me love me famously happens here)
mom shows up to the hospital and everyone learns her secret in a super public way.
sleeps with a bunch of guys. one of them shows up to the hospital with priapism.
sleeps with george. they have a falling out.
puts her hand in a body cavity that has a bomb in it. Bomb squad guy explodes into pink dust in front of her.
meets her half sister who is pregnant and her dead beat dad's other family. susan is nice.
gets a dog. gives the dog to derek. is friends with derek till he calls her a whore. the friends breakup
helps with the cutting of the LVAD wire. learns her mom and her chief of surgery were having an affair. is friends with george again.
dog dies.
starts dating the vet. sleeps with derek at prom. decides to date them both. (don't ask about they prom, yes it's a real thing)
panties on the bulletin board
meets one of derek's bitchy sisters
half sister gives birth and has to deal with her dad, new niece at the hospital.
mark shows up and flirts with her. derek punches him.
has appendicitis. breaks up with vet. derek is being weird towards her. they get back together.
mother is lucid and says some pretty nasty things to her. (a regular tuesday night for some of us tbh).
she tries to drown herself in the bathtub. actually drowns. dies. meets a bunch of dead patients and dead dog. is revived.
mom dies.
deadbeat dad's wife makes and effort with her and is actually a good fake mom to her. bonds with her dad a little bit.
fake mom gets the hiccups and also dies. dad is drunk and straight up slaps her in front of everybody... (the slap is never brought up again)
doesn't write anything on her intern test.
her cheif of surgery acts like a fake dad to her and makes it so that she can retake the test later in the day.
she passes the test. (when the fuckkkkk did they study???)
Warnings: canon violence, canon talk of death, methods of kill, heavy angst and heartbreak
Summary: The reality of your situation hits you hard when you have to go to the one person you're actively trying to avoid. Your entire life has been dictated by him, and you're done living in fear. It's high time you start taking action for those who have had their innocence taken from them.
Season Seven Masterlist
Author’s Note: I do not own anything from Criminal Minds. All credit goes to their respective owners. If any warnings exceed the normal deaths/kills from the show, I will list them.
x
"I met Chris Shelton when he claimed his son's body. This is the last thing I expected," the ME sighs. "There are multiple points of entry from the spears."
JJ notices the wedding ring still on his finger. "He still wears his wedding ring. Bailey was all he had left. He'd do anything to protect him."
"I'm not sure about that. Bailey's trachea showed signs of scarring."
"Did he attempt suicide before?"
"No, it was internal damage. He had stress to his heart and lungs that isn't typical in someone his age."
"That wasn't in your report," Hotch says.
"It wasn't related to the COD."
"How old are the injuries?"
"It's hard to say."
"Did you assume his father was abusive?" Hotch asks.
"If not him, someone was. I didn't think much of it till I saw similar scars on the other boys including blisters and burns on their hands."
"On all of them?"
"Their scars were much older, but yes. Identical."
"Thank you." Hotch and JJ head back to the library. "The organ damage is severe, like the boys have been suffocated, but what about the blisters?"
"The youngest cadets probably have the freshest scars," Hotch says.
"Alright, well, we're gonna need one of them to admit it. I'll work on it."
She leaves his side just as Derek approaches him without Strauss. "Hotch, she's drinking."
"Strauss?"
"Yeah, she needs help, man. She could blow this case."
"What happened?"
"She laid into Massey. She actually said the kind of things I would have said. For a minute I was like, okay, good. She's finally on our side. Then I smelled it, Hotch. I asked you if something was going on. You partnered me with her."
Hotch sighs. "Morgan, she was getting help. I'm gonna have to call EAP, but this is not—"
"What? This is not about me?" Derek cuts him off. "Is that what you were gonna say? You know how many times I've heard that, Hotch? Well, I am tired of it. You keep telling me that I have problems trusting people. Well, from where I'm standing, you're the one who can't trust anyone with anything."
Derek storms off in anger, and Hotch rubs his head where a small headache is forming. Just then, Emily and Rossi come back from their hunt in the woods.
"Any sign of Josh?"
"Tawes is still looking."
"I need to find students who are having trouble with authority," Jj asks Penelope. "Look for kids who had disciplinary issues before they came here."
"Okay, I can do that. I gotta tell you, they post rewards faster than they do demerits. I have a few names."
"Did any of them have class with Bailey?"
"No, but each of the plebes have laundry duty. Does that help?"
"Their dorm is the farthest point from the laundry room. Why are they so isolated?" Spencer asks.
"The ME said Bailey had blisters and burns, his fingertips were raw, and his trachea had internal scarring."
"That's awful," Penelope sighs.
"Guys, that could be damage done inside an industrial-size dryer," Spencer gasps. "That's how Massey is breaking these boys."
"No. In all the materials it says they don't believe in corporal punishment," Penelope says.
"Bailey wrote about each of those boys and how they bullied him in his journal. His father must have read it and wants revenge. Does it mention Josh?"
"Not at all," Rossi says.
"Why would Chris go after him?"
"What if Massey lied to Chris?" Emily theorizes. "He set Josh up and convinced Chris that Josh was responsible for Bailey's suicide."
"That still doesn't explain how he found the secluded woods," JJ says.
"Wait, where is Mr. Shelton's phone?"
"It's right here." Emily takes it out. "It's got a couple of contacts on it; Somerville Academy being one of them."
"Any unknowns? Tawes has a cell."
Emily looks surprised. "No way. Lieutenant No Tech?" She looks through it. "There's one unknown. It's a text. It looks like phone numbers."
"What are they?"
"252-5727 and 802-8448."
"Those aren't phone numbers. That's latitude and longitude. Right where those boys were camping."
Emily leaves and finds Derek, Hotch, and Strauss talking to each other. She informs them what they just found out.
"Massey has withheld information at every step along the way. He's not to be trusted," Hotch declares.
"What's your theory?" Strauss asks.
"He's created a dysfunctional and abusive environment in which children like Bailey and others are repeatedly abused. Josh is a protector type. His power was taken away the night Bailey killed himself. We believe that's when everything shifted."
"Josh's parents said he's been withdrawn since Bailey's suicide. There's a good chance that's because he was planning his escape," Emily adds. "Josh didn't have enough points to go into the woods, but Massey sent him anyway."
"Why would Massey give Josh the opportunity to escape?" Strauss asks.
"He wouldn't. He had another agenda. Massey texted Chris the coordinates for the campsite, not to hurt all the boys, but to take out Josh. He never counted on Josh fighting back, and he underestimated the power for Chris' revenge. Staging the murders to look exactly like Bailey's death was a message."
"To who?"
"To Massey. Chris wanted MAssey to lose his sons, too."
"Josh knows Massey has secrets, and he's the only person who can bring the school down. Now, Massey will do anything to destroy Josh. We need to find Josh before Tawes does," Hotch says.
"He has a massive head start," Emily sighs.
The group heads back into the library to regroup.
"Josh is close and has a plan. How would he escape?" Spencer asks.
"Get to higher ground. What's the fastest way out?"
"He'd look for wheels. How did Chris get there?"
"He probably drove his own car. We didn't see any ATVs," Emily says.
"Chris drives a truck," Penelope says.
"Did you see one on the road on the way in?" Derek asks Emily and Rossi, both who shake their heads. "Where is the next closest road?"
"It's a trek. It's at least a few miles north of where the body was just found," Rossi answers.
Spencer looks at the map of the area. "That leaves three likely areas where he would have parked."
"Alright, we need to divide up."
It's nearing night time, but the team splits up as soon as they reach the campsite. With only three places Josh could have gone, it's easy to find them. Josh has a huge rock in his hands, and Tawes is kneeling on the ground with a bleeding skull. Josh is about to smash the rock over Tawes' head when Derek tackles him to the ground. Hotch aims his gun at Tawes and sees he is reaching for his own gun.
"Don't do it, Tawes. It's over."
Tawes raises his gun, and Hotch is forced to shoot him. He only got him in the leg, so he'll live. Josh, unsure if he will get jail time, is taken away. Tawes and Massey are the real monsters here, so Hotch waits until morning to get Massey. Derek walks into his office alone and waits for Massey to get off the phone.
"I understand your concerns, but we're all fine. Call anytime."
"Colonel Ron Massey, you're under arrest."
Massey stiffens. "I've done nothing."
"You texted Chris Shelton the coordinates of the campsite. That makes you an accessory to murder."
"Texted?"
"Fine. You had Tawes do it."
"Why would I do that?"
"Because you had now power or control over Josh, and you couldn't handle that. The problem is, he wasn't gonna go away quietly. He wanted you to pay for all those years of abuse."
"Well, no one will believe Josh. He's a troubled boy."
"He's a grown man, Colonel. You should be proud."
Everyone, cadets and staff members, watch as Massey is put into handcuffs. They know he isn't the man he portrays himself to be. As thrilling as this case was, Spencer is eager to get home. There are a lot of things he needs to talk to you about. The apartment is dark when he gets home, but the bedroom light is on. You only hear him when he pushes the bedroom door open. You jump up and try to clean the mess off the bed, but you're not quick enough.
"We need to talk."
You close the files and stack them. "We have nothing to talk about."
"You put in your resignation."
You refuse to meet his eyes. If you do, you might break down in tears. You needed him today, but the last thing you'll do is tell him that. You don't want to burden him.
"So?"
He scoffs. "So? So this is your job, Y/N."
"Not anymore."
"Hotch didn't file it, you know."
"I don't know why because I've quit. I'm not coming back."
You continue to pack your things away, and Spencer nearly bursts with anger. He grabs your hands, forcing you to stop what you're doing.
"Just stop, okay? Look at me."
You yank your hands away. "What do you want me to say, Spencer? How can I go back to work after all this?"
Arguing with you about this isn't going to go anywhere good, so Spencer switches topics. "Where were you a few nights ago? Before I left for this case, you weren't home. I know this because I went to the bathroom in the middle of the night."
"I don't see how that's any of your business."
"We're partners, Y/N. We're getting married soon. Don't treat me like this."
You turn away from him and nearly cry. You scrunch up your face as if you're going to cry, but you don't let the tears fall. All you've done is cry, and you're sick of doing it. He doesn't deserve this. Still, he'd never understand what you're doing or how you're feeling.
"I'm tired. I'm going to bed."
"I know you went to see Frank and Clarissa."
That makes you freeze. You turn to him slowly. "How the hell do you know that?"
"His lawyer called me. Did you really think it was a good idea to go and talk to him?"
"Last I checked, you're not the boss of me. I can do whatever the hell I want. Stay out of it, Spencer."
You quickly gather your things from the bed and walk past him, not knowing a piece of paper has fallen from the pile. Spencer picks it up and looks at the list of names. Jeremy Carson, Frank Emory, and Clarissa Emory's names are crossed off.
"Penelope said you asked for a list of names." You go still and look at the list in his hands. "Are you..." The pieces of the confusing puzzle fit perfectly in his head. He's always been too damn smart. "Are you going after these people like some sort of vigilante?" He sees the look in your eyes and immediately knows the answer. "That is not for you to do, Y/N."
The dam inside your body explodes. "Those children need me! I did nothing when those men were hurting them!"
"You didn't know!"
"Well, I know now. There's no way I'm letting these men get away with what they're doing." Spencer looks concerned. "You have no idea what you're talking about here, so just drop it. I'm fine." You walk over to him and snatch the paper from his hand. "I'm sleeping in the guest bedroom tonight."
With that, you leave the room, and Spencer is left with more questions than answers.
"Beware, so long as you live, of judging men by their outward appearance." - Jean de La Fountaine
x
Want to be tagged? Follow my library blog @aqueenslibrary where I reblog all my stories, so you can put notifications on there without the extra stuff :)
summary; you are an intern at Seattle Grace and you work under ‘The Ruler of all that is Evil’. everyone gets sick sometimes, and when a woman that you happen to have a crush on gets sick. you just can’t pass the opportunity.
notes; i wrote this a long time ago, please bare with me…
Being on Addison's Montgomery service is not an easy job. Especially when you have to look for her all over the hospital. Unfortunately Seattle Grace has a lot of good hiding spots.
"Hey, have you seen Dr. Montgomery?" You asked one of the nurses.
"No, sorry." She replied and rolled her eyes.
"Okay, thanks."
You like most of the nurses, they're really nice and very helpful but some of them are horrible. For example, this one, her name is Bria and she's a pain in the ass. Which makes you sad because you've always been really nice to her, unlike other residents.
You had been looking for her for an hour already, You really thought that Bailey wanting to get rid of you, did not mention that Addison had taken time off. Just when you were really about to give up you walked into one of the one-call rooms. You sat down on the bed that faced the couch and saw pink scrubs you've been looking for.
"There you are, I've been searching for you all day Dr. Montgomery," you mumbled. "Oh, are you okay?"
She didn't look like she was ok. She was sitting leaning on the couch and almost melting.
"Yes, I'm fine. Thank you, y/n," she replied.
You walked up to her and put your hand on her forehead. You had never seen an attending in such a state. Especially her. You've never seen her like that.
"Shit, you're burning up and I'm pretty sure that white paint has more color than your face. You're not okay, Addison. You're sick," you gasped. "Come on, I'll drive you home." You stuck out your hand.
"No, y/n. You have patients, you can't just leave. I'm gonna be fine." She protested trying to get up.
"No, come on. Lay on the bed or you can stay on the couch, whatever you feel comfortable with and I'll go to the chief and tell him that you're sick and that I'm the only one who's going to drive you home. You stay here."
As you said, so you did. You went to the chief and explained to him that you were currently on Addison's service and actually weren't busy at the time. At first he didn't like the idea, but when you started talking about how dangerous it was for her patients to stay, he quickly succumbed. Also, you bought water and a sandwich because she looked like she needed energy.
"Okay, I'm back. Do you want a sandwich? Water?" She nodded her head no. "Addison, drink this at least and don't argue with me." She finally gave in. "Are you in any pain? Anything I could look into?"
"My stomach hurts a little bit," she muttered.
"Lift your shirt up."
"No, y/n. That's fine, I'm fine."
"Stop being so stubborn, please let me help you. You finally have a chance to see how good I am." She smirked. "Now come on, lift your shirt a little bit."
You examined her abdomen and also did an ultrasound to be safe. Everything looked fine. But you could tell she was in pain, and you don't quite know why, but you felt a strange feeling in your chest. When you finally made it to your car you breathed a sigh of relief. You knew that at this point her only option was to go with you. I mean, after all, she was already in the car anyway.
It was the first time you were in the apartment of any attending, well, maybe not counting the fact that Derek practically lived in the house you lived. You climbed the stairs and soon found yourselves in a cozy apartment. You told Addison to sit on the couch and covered her with a blanket right off the bat. She looked innocent, almost like a baby.
"Why are you doing this?" You heard her raspy voice behind you.
"Huh?"
"You're nice to me and you've always been, even when you found out about me and Mark. Even when I was hard on you. I mean, I get that you're a doctor too so you help people, but just... why are you helping me?"
You couldn't hide the fact that you just cared. Fact, Addison did stupid things in life, as we all do, but that didn't make her a bad person. Besides, you started to have a little crush on her from the first time you saw her, and on top of that you became something like friends and she was really close to you. You understood each other.
"I just care about you," you responded and turned around to look at her. "Okay look, this is probably not a very good time to tell you this but... I kinda have a crush on you?" You made a weird face. "I didn't tell you anything because this whole thing with Derek and then Mark was hard on you, but yeah I have a crush on you, maybe something even more than a crush. Also we're friends, really good friends so stop asking me these ridiculous questions," you explained.
"You have a crush on me?" Her eyes widened.
"God, sorry I didn't mean to make you... Look, we don't have to do anything about it. I'll be fine. Just forget it." You smiled awkwardly.
Couple days later...
"You finally told her?" Mer asked and took a bite of her fries, you covered your face with your hands.
"That wasn't the plan but yeah I did. God, I'm so embarrassed." You laughed.
"Was she shocked?" Alex asked.
"Pretty much, yeah."
"You're right, this is dumb. She's practically you're boss." Cristina shrugged her shoulders.
"You're acting like you didn't screwd an attending yourself." You rolled your eyes and she just raised her hands in defense.
You're pager went off. You looked at it. It said 211 which meant that Addison paged you. You looked up at everyone's faces, most of them smirked.
"Is that your lover?" Izzie teased you.
"I hate you all, I have to go." You got up from the table and headed toward Addison's office.
You felt like you was going to throw up. You haven't seen her for a few days, after you left her apartment that day you couldn't go back. You felt stupid. You told her, you told her you felt something and she just sat there looking at you so you left as soon as you could. You didn't want to make things awkward between you, you had already passed that stage when Addison found out that your friend was Meredith.
You stood in front of the door urging yourself to knock, and when you finally worked up the courage you almost ran out of there.
"Hey, you paged me," you said looking into the office.
She was sitting at her desk, looking much better than a few days earlier. Although overall she always looked good which was unfair.
"Can we, ummm... talk about what happened?" She asked looking at you with a slight site of embarrassment in her eyes.
"Oh, sure. Why not?" you said ironically. "So I told you I have a crush and you looked at me like I was crazy, then I felt like I actually was, so I left and been avoiding you since then."
She stood up from the desk and faced you. You both breathed loudly.
"I didn't look at you like you were crazy!"
"You know when was the last time I said I liked someone!?" Now you both raised your voices. "What are you doing?" you asked confused when she came so close that you could feel her breath on your face.
"Would you just stand still?" She asked and came close enough that your lips touched in a kiss.
At that moment you thought you could fly. Your knees bent under you as soon as her hands reached your hair. God she kissed so well. Her lips were softer than anything you've ever known. It was sweet, effortlessly sweet. You wrapped your arms around her waist, her hands were in your hair. You lost yourself in her.
You break the kiss. You felt dizzy. You swear you could still feel her lips on yours. You were breathless for a moment, the silence was now filled only by your breathing.
"You..." you whispered.
"I didn't know what to say, y/n. I've never been with a woman... It's just so confusing because, I would know what I should've done that day, if you were a man but you're not and... I like you, I never even thought about falling in love with a woman. It's just... You're so caring, beautiful, smart... I..." Her eyes were running all over the room.
"Look at me," you breathed. Her blue eyes finally looked straight into yours. "God your eyes are so beautiful." You ran your thumb over her cheek. "We don't have to rush anything. Baby steps, okay?" you asked her and she nodded.
"Baby steps." She bit her lip. "Now, please kiss me." You smirked and pulled her closer to finally put your lips in a long kiss.
AN: GUYS, SORRY I DIDN'T NOTICE THIS PART WAS NOT PUBLISHED HERE ON TUMBLR
Word count: 1,8 k
Two weeks have passed. I was alternating between neuro and OB. But I wasn't under Derek's service he took care of it, Burke was with Cristina as usual, but I'm not mad at them because they're secretly dating, and who's left for me to take under his care? My savior, Doc Amelia Shepherd.
At first, it was purely professional, but her charismatic nature and charm made it very easy for her to tear down the walls I had put up to protect myself. She was so amazing and so precise in her work that I was amazed at what she was able to do.
There are times when I see a Derek in her, in the way she talks or acts, and it makes me feel remorseful. The whole situation was complicated and the fact that I shouted at him doesn't bother me at all, but maybe I overreacted a bit, the fact that I almost broke his nose does bother me, even though he gets on my nerves, I still see him as a mentor and an older brother.
Working on the neuro was the easiest and most enjoyable part of my job, and then came the hard part. Ob. Addison wasn't lying, and she really did call me into her service sometimes, and the work on Ob is terrible, but everyone already knows how much I hate it.
On the other hand, I became very close to Addison. We crossed professional boundaries a long time ago, and our friendship meant a lot to me. She always knows how to cheer me up and calm me down when I'm stressed, and she can also make me nervous, even if it's just with a friendly flirt.
Today I was in Bailey Services for a change and had the task of helping anyone who needed help, although there weren't many patients in the hospital, so it was a piece of cake for me. I did some tests on some patients upstairs and went to the lab to get the results.
There were many nurses in the lab, so I had to wait, and that's when nervous George sat beside me.
"H-ey, Len."
"Hi George, what's up?" I turned to him, giving him my full attention.
"We-ll, Uhm, I just wan-ted to ask you a question." I nodded to give him the signal to continue.
"You see, I've been thinking about it for a long time and I like you and I'd like to ask you to go to the hospital prom with me." I was very surprised and I didn't want to hurt him but I definitely didn't want to go there with him, George is great, cute, everything is great but he's too young for me. Daddy issues
"George... Listen, you're a great guy, but I don't think it would be a good idea, but I'm sure if you ask others they'd be happy to go with you. I'm sorry George" I felt sorry for him when I saw the sad look on his face.
He nodded and walked away, and as soon as he was gone they called my name to come and pick up the results. I took them to the necessary rooms until I saw Meredith talking WITH DEREK? He had his hand on her shoulder and they were pretty close to each other like very close, WHAT IS THAT BITCH DOING? And Meredith? Is she that easy to seduce?
I would have stopped them if a pager hadn't gone off telling me that I needed to get to the patient on the other side quickly, I needed to run there, the patient was collapsing and the nurses didn't know what to do
But luckily we were able to save him, God, I can't imagine what Bailey would have said to me if I had failed to do something about it. I was going to go back to them, but I heard a noise coming from the corridor, so I went over there to have a look.
There were many people, but in the middle, I saw Derek and a doctor I didn't know, he was far away and I couldn't see who he was. They were talking about something, but Derek turned around and punched the doctor, oh what the hell is going on here?
Wait, isn't that Sloan? given the aggression Derek showed, it would fit, Mark took Addison from Derek, even though it was a long time ago... what is he doing here? I leaned against the wall enjoying the chaos, although I must admit the fight was a bit rough, they were both bloody and tired.
The Chief appeared from the other side and pushed them apart. "What the hell is going on? Have you gone mad? You two get into my office right now, Anderson, you too!" yells and points at me.
"WHAT? Why me? I've done nothing?!" I followed Derek and Mark into the chief's office and we sat together. After a while, the chief came and took a seat in front of us. I felt like I was back in school again when I made a problem and we had to go to the headmaster's office.
"So can you tell me why my best doctors here have been in fights and beatings for the last month?"
"It's not my fault, it's not my fault these guys have big egos." As if to say it wasn't my fault, I threw up my hands.
"Anderson, if I were you, I'd be worried, I've seen what's happened to you and Derek, I'll sort it out in a minute, Doc. Sloan, why did Derek hit you?"
"Chief, I have no idea, I was standing in the corridor talking to this intern, Meredith I think her name was, and I asked her where I could find her beautiful friend and that's when Derek pulled me and hit me, but I'm just lucky I found her friend at least her." And he smiled at me with a wink.
"And I promise I will break your arm if you ever touch Meredith or Len again." Wait a minute. So Derek hit him for me? They argued for about half an hour. Then the chief sent Mark to work and turned to me.
"So tell me, Anderson, why did you hit Derek two weeks ago? I was going to leave it at that, but after today I can see it was a bad idea."
"Chief, I know I overreacted, but he had it coming to him, he was very rude to Meredith."
"But I have to. I had no choice and the Chief himself gave me an ultimatum that I had to end it and I had to be nasty so that Meredith would hate me, do you think I'd want to hurt her?" The pager of the boss went off and he had to leave the room, but we stayed in the room.
"So you didn't want to do it?" I asked him.
"I'd never do it unless I had to, so I hated myself for it, but I'd already explained it to Meredith, you know I love her and I was going to explain it to you, but then I saw Mark and I heard what he was saying and I was so pissed off."
"Oh," Now I was feeling a little bit embarrassed.
"You know, when I saw Mark with Meredith I was afraid he was going to take her over again and when he was interested in you it made me even madder, he's not good for you, he's not good at relationships, he never has been, he just enjoys it and then throws it away. I had to do something, for your protection and for my sister's. I had no idea what she would do if Mark took you away from her." What does he mean?
"So you wanted to protect me?" With tears in my eyes, I looked at him.
"Yeah, I will always try to protect you. Hey, Hey, don't cry... it's okay." He stood up and hugged me, God, I felt so embarrassed, but I felt helped by him hugging me.
"Thank you Derek really..." He gave me a smile and we sat there in a comfortable silence.
"Oh, also... I'm sorry I punched you... It wasn't really part of my plan, it was just kind of a coincidence." I chuckled to myself.
"Well, it was surprising and powerful, I must say, I wasn't expecting it, but you were really angry. You could have broken my nose if you'd hit it higher. But you're too short."
"OK, I'm done."
when the chief arrived he was in a better mood and we managed to get out of it without any problems, at least that's how it went. I looked at my watch and my working hours were over and I could go home, I went down the stairs to the cloakroom, packed my things and came to the reception.
Addison was near the counter and when she noticed me she gave me a nod and motioned for me to come over to her. I was going to turn to her, but Mark got in the way of me and stopped me.
"Doc. Anderson, I've been lookin' all over the place for you. It is very hard to find beautiful girls like you here."
"So you've found me, what do you need? But be warned, my working hours are over and I'm planning to go home." I can see now why they call him McSteamy.
"Oh great, since you're not working, why don't we go and get something to drink?" oh what a confidant.
Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Addison squealing in disgust and moving closer to us. "Hmm, I don't think so, thank you for the offer."
"Oh cmon, one drink..." He was leaning a little bit towards me, but I put my hand on his chest and I pulled him away from me.
"No."
"I love that you're unapproachable, okay, so how about you come with me to the prom?"
"You think if I said no to drinks I'd go to the prom with you? McSteamy?"
"Yeah!"
"So you're wrong, can you please move on, I'd like to go home now."
"Under one condition." God, he was annoying.
"if you promise to have one dance with me." One dance won't kill me, right? Dance no but Amelia maybe.
"I'll have a look at what I can do with it." He smiled at me and cleared the way for me, I walked over to Addison, but she was looking very irritated.
"Hey? You're okay?"
She just nodded her head and showed me the files for a very big operation she had in mind for me.
PS: Do you think Amelia will be jealous of Mark's dance with Len, or will she ask her to dance with her?
You assume at first that you're feelings are nothing more than a stupid crush. You don't think Mark Sloan - the Mark Sloan - would feel the same but to your surprise, he does.
He's a little out of his comfort zone because he's never really felt this way before. He thought that he loved Addison but now that you're here, the feelings he has for you and ten times stronger than he's ever felt.
He kind of brushes off your conversations about being exclusive, he's unsure.
He's admittedly a little scared at first. Derek talks him round.
"I don't know what I'm supposed to do."
"That's bullcrap. You know exactly what to do, Mark. You go over there and you ask (y/n) to be yours."
So that's what he does.
One night he appears at your apartment with roses in hand, rambling and ranting about how he can't stop thinking about you and it's more than a fling.
You kiss him and tug him to bed.
You see a different side to Mark than everyone else does. He's kinder, softer and you notice he stops looking at any other woman. He just looks at you.
God, he's handsome. You could easily just watch him all day if you could.
He flirts with you so much. Always making a suggestive comment or grabbing your ass; he's just so flirty.
"I love you, you know. More than anything."
If he's had a hard day, he either needs one of two things. A rough fuck anywhere that's free (a wall, an empty closet etc) or he needs to curl up beside you in an on-call room.
Mark finds it hard to open up but you make it easier for him. You make everything easier.
He's not ashamed of PDA. He quite likes making the other doctors stare as he kisses you in the corridors.
The sex.
He's so good, you knew that he would be but holy shit. You didn't think he'd be this good.
He gets to know your body way better than you ever knew it.
He loves the taste of you, loves the way you smell. You love how much he loves to please you.
He sets himself a challenge every time the two of you have sex; can he make you scream louder than the last time? Usually, yes.
Mark loves to leave love bites on your body; anywhere and everywhere. Bailey just rolls her eyes when she sees a new one on your neck.
Double dates with Mer and Derek.
Callie hangs out a lot with Mark and then with you, you like the dynamic of their friendship and you're not at all threatened. She helps bring the softer side out in Mark.
He's possessive; definitely has a breeding kink.
He can get quite jealous but tries to play it as though he's not jealous at all.
You love to watch him work, he's so skilled and so impressive and you enjoy whenever you get to watch him doing a surgery.
He likes cuddling at night, loves to have you lie on his chest and cuddle right into his side. He'll press soft kisses to your head and he'll tell you that he loves you.
Strangers in the night - Scarlett Johansson x Fem!Reader
Part 20:
“Today we are joined by an amazing actress, director, and screenwriter. You’ve seen her in films like Red Sparrow, Lady Bird, and the Divergent trilogy. Please welcome, Y/n Cole,” called out James Corden and I walked out from the back.
I sat on the sofa and before we started he introduced the other guest. Ellen fucking Pompeo. “Oh my god hi,” I stood up and Ellen spread her arms with a wide smile. “Hi!” She said and we hugged. “I am fangirling, so sorry,” we all sat down. “I’m guessing you’re a Grey’s Anatomy fan, Y/n,” started James. “Are you kidding? I live and breathe by Grey’s Anatomy,” I said and the crowd laughed along with Ellen. “It’s season 15 now, who is your favorite character at the moment?” “Ugh… I looove Meredith,” I glanced at Ellen and she smiled. “I truly think since Derek died, she’s a better character in general. I love Jo, oh Amelia, she’s the best. Alex is one of my favorites too, along with Bailey. I can’t choose!” I sighed and shook my head. “Do you watch the show often?” Asked James. “Oh yeah. Very often. Actually, I made my girlfriend watch it with me, so we started at the beginning,” I said, already nervous about what was coming now that I mentioned Scarlett. James saw the opportunity and with a smile, he started talking. “Now that you’ve mentioned, you just went public with your girlfriend who’s none other than Scarlett Johansson,” he said and the crowd erupted in cheers and I just shyly smiled. “I was genuinely surprised when I saw your post. I haven’t heard any rumors or that kind of talk around the two of you,” he said. “That was a struggle, believe me,” I chuckled, and then so did the crowd. “We did our very best to lay low at all times. And we just shot Jojo Rabbit so it was very important for us not to look like we’re just trying to promote the movie, so we just laid low for a while now.” “But you’re happy?” Asked James and I smiled very widely just knowing how happy I actually am. “I can’t even describe how happy I am. It just feels… right,” I explained even though I could barely put my feelings into words.
***
“Please water them Scar, they're gonna die if you don’t,” I basically whined as she helped me move my suitcases into the car outside. “I will water your plants every day,” she let the suitcase over to my driver who put it in the truck. “Thank you,” I said and he sat behind the wheel. “Have fun and text me when you can. I’ll bring Rose when I can,” Scarlett took my hands. Smiling cutely. “I will. I’ll miss you but it’s gonna be fun when I come home,” I smiled and she nodded. “It sure will.” “Okay, I need to leave. I love you,” I gave her a long kiss before pulling her in a hug. “I love you too.”
I got into the car and we made our way to the airport where I got on the plane and took off to Massachusetts.
On the plane I’ve read the script multiple times, memorizing my bigger parts.
When I touched down I checked into the hotel and because we have a tight schedule, the table read was just 2 hours after my landing.
Getting all my essentials for the rest of the day and I was at the office in no time.
I don’t think I’ve ever been so comfortable going into a new project. I’ve worked with the director before, I’ll have Flo there and Timmy, and the only thing I was nervous about is Meryl Streep. I don’t think I need to explain that.
I walked into the room and I spotted Florence right away, who was speaking to Emma Watson and Eliza Scanlen. There was Greta Gerwig at the front table talking with probably the producers. I didn’t see Timothée anywhere so I quickly texted him but then I felt a gentle hand on my shoulder. I turned around and I was faced with the icon herself, Meryl Streep. “I didn’t mean to scare you, sorry. I just wanted to say hi, before we start,” she said and I was just standing there, my mouth dry. The next thing I know something just hit me in the back. Like a crumpled piece of paper. Quickly cleaned my throat and answered. “Sorry,” I chuckled. “It’s so nice to meet you. I’m such a big fan of yours, but I’m sure you get this from everyone,” I mumbled, trying to not faint. “Oh well, it’s not the same from everyone, so thank you. But, I must say I’m also a fan of your work. Red Sparrow was amazing,” said MERYL STREEP. I can’t wait to tell my dad about this. “Wow, uhm… thank you so much. It means a lot,” I smiled and with a hand on my shoulder once again she stepped away and went over to Greta. Timmy literally jumped to my side and I’m sure he heard everything because he had a big smile on his face, his eyebrows almost meeting with his hairline from the excitement. “That was siiick,” he whisper-yelled and shook me by the shoulders. “I just can’t believe that happened,” I said. I spoke with everyone a little, and I was really excited about this movie.
After we all got our seats, Greta spoke a few words and we started.
We had such a great time. Everyone was laughing and when something emotional happened we all paid attention to those who were in the scene.
Around 8 pm we finished and it was amazing. We all had great chemistry with each other so I think this is gonna work out really well.
“Do you guys want to go have dinner? I know a great place,” I suggested and most of them accepted the invite.
Timothée, Florence and I got into one car and Emma, Eliza, James and Laura into the other one. Laura needed a little convincing to tag along because she said “I’m too old to go with all of you”, but she’s way too cool not to come with us.
We all fell into conversation pretty quickly as we got to the restaurant. Everyone was talking to someone and I think everyone felt comfortable with one another. “So you get to experience both Noah and Greta’s directing methods, that must be interesting,” I said to Laura who was sitting next to me. “Yeah, it’s so fun. Both of them are so different but I’m sure they’ll have some similarities.” “You guys shot the whole of Marriage Story on film, right?” “Yes, but I’m sure Scarlett told you all about it,” she smiled cheekily. I smiled shyly and nodded. “She did, yeah. I love the story so much, it’s just so full of love and your character just seems so fun and cool,” I said. “It is an amazing story. Noah did such a great job with the script. But let’s not talk about work in off time too, I could barely get Scarlett away from her phone while working,” she bumped her shoulder to mine and I just smiled. “I uhm… we talked a lot that time yeah,” I said and Laura smiled knowingly. “Ah well her smile was different. She was happy and glowing. I think you surprised everyone, but I could tell it’s genuine. I’m glad you have each other.”
***
“Hello?” Heard the voice over the phone. “Scarlett? Baby, hi,” I mumbled as I saw her beautiful face on the screen. “Okay, you’re drunk. First day went well then,” she chuckled adorably. “It was so fun! Oh my God, Meryl Streep is amazing. She said Red Sparrow was amazing. Funny because I’m naked in that one,” I said while taking my dress off, but I accidentally stumbled onto the couch. “Careful there.” “I’m fine,” I threw the dress on the floor and made my way to the bed. “Take off your makeup before you go to bed, baby,” said Scarlett over the phone. “I don’t want to though,” I whined as I sat on the fluffy bed. “You’ll thank me tomorrow.” “Fine,” I sighed and moved to the bathroom. “How was your day?” I mumbled as I fidgeted with my skincare bag. “It was good. We had some reshoots for Endgame so it was fun,” she said. “Oh don’t tell me any spoilers or I’m gonna cry,” I started to take my makeup off. “I won’t, I won’t. I think you’re gonna like it though.” “Yeah? I’m sure you’ll look hot in it so I’m not worried,” I smirked at the screen and she just laughed. “I’ve never seen you this drunk before, how much did you have?” “Just a couple glasses to be honest,” I shrugged. “Aha, I’m not so sure about that.” “I’m telling you, it wasn’t a lot.” “If I text Laura, are you sure she’s gonna say the same thing?” I glanced down at the phone and a smile pulled on my lips. “No.” “Yeah, that’s what I thought, but I’m glad you’re already having fun. I’m sure it’s gonna be a great shoot.” “Oh my god, yeeees. I love everyone so much,” I threw the makeup wipes in the trash and rinsed my face with cold water before going back to the bedroom. “Take a painkiller in case this all goes to hell. And drink a lot of water.” “I’ve been drunk before, I know how this works Mom,” I chuckled. “I just want to make sure you’re okay, baby.” “I know, I know. Thank you for that,” I blew a kiss towards the screen. “Always. What’s the plan tomorrow?” She asked. As I could see, she was just lying in bed with glasses and a big sweatshirt on. The TV reflected from her glasses making it a bit difficult to see her eyes. “Rehearsals for the next week and just after that we start shooting. But I can’t waaaait, I’m so excited for this one. I just know that it’s gonna be so so good and fun,” I laid down in bed and pulled the covers up to my chin. “I’m excited for you and to see it. Have you done a period movie yet, I don’t think so, right?” “Not this old, no. The latest was the Gatsby I think,” I yawned while trying hard to focus on the conversation. “You should go to bed, Y/n,” Scarlett said as she got up from her bed. “I really should but I love talking to my girlfriend, she’s kinda fun you know,” I rolled over to my stomach, trying to get comfortable. “Yeah? Well, your girlfriend is not going anywhere so you can speak to her whenever you’re free.” “I know,” I said slowly, just looking at the screen and admiring how amazing she was. “I love you,” I said, still feeling the booze. “I love you too, you drunk. Go to bed, honey. Text me when you wake up, okay?” She said softly with the cutest smile on her face. “I will. I love you.” “I love you too, sleep well.” “You too.”
***
All the cast members filled up the room as we were waiting for Greta. Florence on my right side and Timothée on the left. Sunglasses on both of their faces, sliding off their chairs, heads tilted back. “How are you not dead?” Murmured Timmy as he pulled the hood of his sweater over his head. “I have an amazing girlfriend who takes care of me. And you crazy people just downed every glass you found on the table,” I gave him a bottle of water. “Thanks.”
“Alright everybody, I hope you had a good night's sleep. Today is like to go through some of the bigger monologues so we can work on those if it’s necessary,” Greta explained and as I looked at my friends, I quietly chuckled. “Today’s gonna be fun.”
Standing Up For Meredith (Alex Karev and Meredith Grey Season 18 Friendship Imagine)
Age Rating: 12+
Chapters: One of One
Fandom: Grey’s Anatomy
Canon Episode: Season 18 Episode 15
AN: Happy Holidays guys! I was rewatching 18x15 and I couldn’t help but think about how protective Alex was of Meredith and how much help he could have been during her confrontation with Bailey. Like and reblog below and let me know what you think.
Summary: After hearing from the residents about Bailey yelling at Meredith and debasing her and bringing up Derek, Alex goes to confront Bailey and stands up for his best friend.
Words: 4209
February 21st, 2021
“She said what?” Dahlia Qadri asks Taryn Helm in disbelief as they gossip at the lunch table with Casey Parker.
Helm was assisting Grey and Marsh on their surgery today and was a witness to Bailey’s tirade against Meredith when she heard word that Grey might be leaving. Once she got Bailey settled in cardio and paged Pierce, Helm went to lunch where she shared with her friends about the heated argument she saw and heard.
“Chief called Grey that same little girl who followed her handsome attending having sex with him in his car even though he was married.” Helm repeats causing Parker to munch an apple slice intrigued along with Qadri who widens her eyes in shock, “And then she went off on Marsh and Grey yelled at her to stop before she started to get dizzy and possibly had a heart attack. I wanted to speak up for Grey but I was scared to lose my job and get killed by the Chief, so I just stayed quiet until Grey told me to get cardio.”
“So Grey is leaving?” Qadri asks feeling panicked over her idol no longer working here.
“It was unclear she barely let Grey get a word in.”
“Wait she slept with a married attending?” Parker asks his mouth full of apple, “I thought she was with Dr. Shepherd back then?”
“She was married to him.” Helm clears up.
“Wait was she married to Dr. Shepherd when she slept with a married attending?” Qadri asks lost, “And how does Addison Forbes Montgomery fit here?”
“I heard there might have been a foursome involved.” Parker dishes out the rumor he heard.
“What are we talking about?” Amber DeLuca nee Karev asks as she sits down with her classmates placing her tray of salad and green juice on the table, “Is this about Schmitt’s mom? Any word?”
“She’s stable.” Casey informs her, “But that’s not what we’re talking about. Helm was just telling us about the knife the Chief pulled from her own back and stabbed into Grey’s. Repeatedly and unmercifully.”
Helm explains to Amber who munches on her dry salad, “Grey might be going to Minnesota and Bailey yelled at her and brought up her dead husband in her cruel tirade which caused Grey to yell back and Bailey to possibly have a heart attack.”
Amber pauses her chewing, “…That is a lot of information to digest along with leafy greens.”
“Try keeping up with nearly two decades of love stories in this hospital.” Qadri brings up sipping her juice, “Apparently according to the Chief in her smear campaign Grey was sleeping with a married attending when she was still a resident. I’m trying to remember if this was when she was married to Derek Shepherd and when Addison Montgomery entered the picture. I need a timeline chart just to keep up.”
“Well lucky for you kids I’m related to someone who was here while American Idol was popular and who loves to recount his golden intern years even when I don’t ask for it.” Amber sips her green juice, “The married attending Grey slept with when she was an intern was Dr. Shepherd.”
Qadri nods understanding now, “That makes sense. Wait I thought he was married to her?”
“That was later.” Amber leans back setting herself up for Storytime, “But when they first met and slept together, he was married to Addison Montgomery.”
“So, she cheated with a married man?” Parker asks growing more intrigued.
“They were separated at the time, and she didn’t know at first.”
“Wait at first?” Qadri asks with wide eyes, “So she slept with him knowing he was married? We’re he and Montgomery separated by then?”
Amber purses her lips feeling like an interloper divulging other people’s stories, “…They were working on things that ended when he and Grey had sex at this very hospital.”
Parker’s eyes widen, “Wow. My respect for Grey just depleted, not as a surgeon but as a person.”
“It’s not always black and white Casey.” Taryn defends her hero, “Besides if you heard half the things Bailey told her you would agree that she doesn’t deserve that level of shame thrown at her for something that happened like a million years ago.”
“It’s true.” Qadri supports Helm and Grey, “And besides it takes two to tango or in this case cheat. Derek Shepherd made his vows, and he broke them. Also, he was an attending and slept with an intern. Both events don’t say well about him as a husband or a superior. I don’t see you shunning his legend status.”
“To be fair he’s dead.” Amber brings up that quiets Qadri who looks down awkwardly, “And he’s not here during a time when superiors dating their subordinates is frowned upon and made into a meme or HR complaint. I can’t imagine how the accreditation council would be with him in a sit down. Like today they Clockwork Orange Andrew for our relationship which is just ridiculous.”
Helm scoffs with a mocking smile, “Of course you think it’s ridiculous you’re trying to have a baby with your attending husband.”
“That is different.” Amber defends her marriage with a glare.
“Your husband is your boss.” Casey points out popping another apple slice into his mouth.
Qadri nods in agreement, “Sorry Amber but you know what they say tomato tomahto.”
“No tomato, no tomahto.” Amber proclaims offended, “I was an intern, he was a resident when we met and started dating, it’s like a high school freshman dating a sophomore. Neither of us were married to other people, and the sex is very consensual.”
“Okay.” Helm says in disgust while Amber continues.
“Like super consensual, so consensual it might actually be stamped as inappropriate.”
“We get it.” Qadri responds in petty jealousy, “Your super-hot attending husband is super amazing in bed. Anyway, weren’t we talking about Grey and Bailey? There is no way Grey is gonna stick around if it that fight was as bad as Taryn makes it out to be.”
“It really was.” Taryn recounts traumatized, “I think I was close to having a cardiac event until the Chief had one.”
“We’re doomed.” Qadri whimpers, “Grey is leaving, the program is gonna be shut down, we’re gonna be out of jobs and the chief might be dying. And I thought 2020 was over.”
“Odds are it was probably a panic attack not a heart attack.” Amber comforts her friend, “She’ll come back from that believe me I have.”
“Do you think Grey’s gonna stay even after all of that?” Helm asks scared for the future.
Amber swallows her juice just as Alex Karev stands up from the table behind them to throw away his trash. He stops in place when he hears Amber mention his best friend.
“Meredith Grey has been here since intern year.” Amber answers, “Nobody stays in their place of residency forever it’s a fact. And hearing your boss basically call you a disloyal little cheater and bring up your dead husband probably had Grey sign her resignation if she hasn’t already.”
“What did you say?” Alex asks his sister moving closer still holding his empty tray with a surprised look from her recap of how his long-time boss allegedly treated his best friend.
Amber jumps up slightly and turns with an exhale, “I swear we should put a bell on you.”
“What we’re you just saying about the Chief and Grey?” Alex asks again this time with an angry frown and narrow eyes, “What did Bailey say to her?”
“Um we were just talking about what Helm heard Bailey say or yell to Grey about an hour ago after the xenotransplant. I don’t know what-”
“Hellmouth.” Alex turns his stone-cold expression towards Taryn who looks up slightly scared but keeps calm, “Tell me word for word what Chief Bailey just said to Meredith Grey.”
The residents look at each other in worry over this man who usually appears calm act cold and confrontational. Alex waits for Helm’s response doing his best to keep the growing rage in him from coming out.
That Night
Alex Karev stands by the nurse’s station in his casual wear after work. He is waiting for the accreditation council to leave the conference room so Bailey can be alone, and he can have a private word with her about what she said to Meredith. After hearing Helm’s rough transcript of the fight between his boss and best friend, Alex made it his mission to set Bailey straight in her tirade.
When he offered to be Meredith’s person after Cristina left, Alex was annoyed at what that entailed at first but now he knows defending Meredith even to Bailey is what she needs and what Yang would do. Now he can’t imagine reacting any differently when his best friend is disrespected despite all the sacrifices and success she brought to the hospital.
“Hey, are you ready to go home?”, His wife Jo Karev approaches him with their daughter, Luna Karev, in the stroller, “I could use a night of relaxation after the disrespect I got from the council of pencil pushers for choosing to throw away 8 years of training to bring life into this world and have a better mental state.”
“Well if it makes you feel better Meredith got first place in being disrespected from the very person who trained us from the beginning.” Alex recounts still frustrated with his eyes still peeled to the conference room, “And it was after she brought a groundbreaking surgery to our doorstep to impress the council of pencil pushers but that didn’t matter to Bailey because she yelled at Meredith and brought up her dead husband.”
“Wait what?” Jo asks in shock, “She did that?”
The council leaves the room with Alex seeing Bailey still sitting at the table, “I’ll tell you later right now I gotta speak for Meredith because she is not gonna do it herself.”
Jo sighs seeing she can’t talk him out of this, “I’ll look into selling items on eBay in case you get fired again.”
Alex marches into the conference room closing the door behind him and standing behind Bailey, “We need to talk.”
“Not now Karev.” Bailey tells him rubbing her eyes exhausted, “I have got enough problems as it is I don’t need you piling it on.”
“It’s about Meredith.”
Bailey groans making the wrong assumption, “Let me guess you’re mad at her too because you just found out she might be leaving us in the worst time possible just when the accreditation council came to review us?”
“Oh I’m mad.” Alex confirms with a sharp tone.
Bailey turns to face him rubbing her tired eyes, “I can tell believe me that girl literally almost gave me another heart attack.”
“I’m mad at you.” Alex corrects Bailey who opens her eyes looking at him surprised as he continues in a cold, angry tone, “Meredith Grey has been there for you at every turn. And I’m not just talking professionally, I mean personally with your miscarriage and when your mother died-”
“I know.” Bailey interrupts with a glare of hurt that he’s bringing up her horrible trauma.
“And for the past two years she has been trying to help with the backlog while helping David Hamilton with his research. She brought a pig kidney transplant into your OR because she knew that would impress the hell out of the council. And how do you repay her after that groundbreaking operation? You call her disloyal and selfish for possibly considering a job offer she is torn about because she is loyal to you and Webber!”
“I am here trying to hold this program together with tape while it’s falling apart!” Bailey defends herself, “She is leaving us while that is happening in the middle of an increasing physician shortage!”
“None of that is her fault!” Alex reminds Bailey, “Meredith didn’t cause a pandemic to happen, she didn’t cause surgeons to quit from exhaustion or die from a virus, she is not the reason the medical community is falling apart, and her staying isn’t gonna miraculously save it in one go!”
“I know that!”
“You know that and yet you repay her respect with jabs and cruelty that involved making fun of her dead husband!” Alex reminds Bailey that stops her as her anger slowly forms to shame, “Her husband who you were friends with and cried when he died and yet you used him in a tornado of insults to hurt Meredith? Congratulations it worked!”
Alex inhales deeply stepping away from Bailey before facing her again, “You and Webber and this place raised her but let me remind you she has just as much scars from here as success, more in fact. She almost died here 6 times, first time she was almost blown up, second time she drowned, third time she was almost shot by a lunatic, fourth time she was in a plane crash that killed her sister.” Bailey looks down in remorse at this dark recap, “Fifth time she was attacked by a patient and sixth most recent time was from covid.”
“I know all of this I was there.” Bailey reminds Alex as she grows more tormented.
“She is conflicted about going to Minnesota full time because she is loyal to you even after you fired her and slandered her in front of the medical board not caring if her license gets taken away for trying to help a little girl get the surgery she needs to save her life. And despite all of that she came back when you asked her to. If it was anyone else, anyone else in her position they would leave and ask you to lose their number but not her even though she could get a job anywhere. She stayed and said yes because she loves you too much to let what you said get to her even though it almost made her lose her license.”
Alex inhales before continuing, “If she wants to leave that is her decision, it’s not yours and it certainly doesn’t warrant you to barge in and verbally attack her and a man who came to help you even though he doesn’t owe you crap. Cristina left, Izzie left, Callie left, Avery, Kepner, Robbins they all left for better things, and you didn’t go off on them like you just did to Meredith. She stayed and she helped you for almost 20 years, she has earned the right to leave, and she has more than earned your respect you have just shown you are clearly incapable of giving her.”
Bailey looks up at the ceiling now fully ashamed of herself as Alex finishes, “Even now after the crap you gave her, she respects you too much to confront you, but I don’t. I don’t respect anyone who tries to hurt my family even if it’s you Bailey. So, I am here to tell you to make things right with Meredith, not so you can keep her here against her will but so that she doesn’t leave feeling like the family she has chosen sees her less than what she is. That’s all.”
Alex leaves the room slamming the door behind him. He exhales heavily, feeling the rage finally leave his body. The pediatric surgeon shakes off the last of his anger before calmly walking towards his family who are still by the nurses station waiting for him.
“Now we can go home.” Alex takes the stroller from Jo pushing Luna as they walk down the hall.
Jo grins proud of her husband for standing up for the people he loves and makes it known, “Have I told you, you’re awesome?”
“Not recently.” Alex tells her with a grin his troubles already forgotten, “Why?”
“The way you got all papa bear with the chief just now.” Jo tells him with a smile looping her arm around his, “Most people would find it scary, but I find it hot especially since we became parents.”
“Believe me it felt less hot when I did it.” Alex states brooding, “But when Meredith has a bad day or someone thinks she deserves being kicked around I think about what Yang would do. And then I would find a way to tame it down so there would be less bloodshed.”
Jo chuckles, “Well believe me that wasn’t tame enough. But I’m still proud of you for what you did. You stand up for the people you love, it’s what makes you a great man, a great husband and an even greater father. I can almost hear Luna’s future prospects peeing their pants when you put the fear of god in them.”
“You better because this little girl is not going out on dates until she’s at least 30.” Alex declares as a protective father.
“I wouldn’t hold your breath.” Jo tells him with a smile, “She is your daughter after all.”
Alex groans at that reminder already seeing trouble ahead of him once Luna starts dating. Jo chuckles kissing his cheek and holding his arm as they continue to walk down the hall ready to head home and rest.
The Next Morning
Alex enters the attending’s lounge carrying a cup of coffee from the kiosk ready to start the day while Jo and Luna are at home on her day off. When he heard word that the residency program was on probation Alex could already foresee problems piling high for the hospital and residents jumping ship in response. As mad he is at Bailey, he doesn’t want to see the program that trained him crumble to the ground if he can help it.
“Please tell me it’s just another very false rumor.” Meredith asks in slight horror entering the room, “Please tell me you didn’t tell Bailey off in my stead after she almost had a heart attack!”
“It was a panic attack.” Alex corrects rolling his eyes at her overdramatic statement.
“You told her off and you implicated me in your suicide attempt!” Meredith exclaims in a low voice, “She is stressed, she is overworked not to mention she is at high risk for another MI.”
“I don’t care about Bailey’s heart.” Alex tells his friend who glares at him, “I mean obviously I care about Bailey’s heart but regardless it doesn’t excuse her insulting you after all you’ve done to help her and it certainly doesn’t make it okay for her to bring your dead husband into her mock storm. Why aren’t you mad at her?”
“I am!” Meredith tells him frustrated, “I don’t like her at this moment, but I do love her, and I don’t want her to die because-”
“Because of a decision that’s your entirely.” Alex points out quieting Meredith, “Your decision, not Webber, not Bailey’s and not Catherine’s, it’s yours. It’s your decision to leave like so many of the residents in our class have without being shamed by people who’s respect you have more than earned by now.”
“The residency program is on probation.” Meredith reminds him blankly, “This hospital has backlogs up to the tip of your hair, surgeons are quitting left and right, residents are going to leave in a panic. It is not the right time for me to even consider leaving Bailey and Webber to handle that mess on their own.”
“And you have the answers to all of the problems in the entire world that’s causing surgeons to quit and surgeries to get canceled?” Alex asks sarcastically causing Meredith to frown and sit at the table, “Because if you do, I am gonna have to bow down and kiss your feet for the rest of my life.”
“This isn’t funny.”
“And I’m not being funny right now.” Alex stands in front of Meredith to face her looking down at her, “This place is falling apart with you here and it will still fall apart when you leave. It’s not me being mean it’s me being realistic, there’s no guarantee you can save this place all on your own if you stay.”
Meredith’s eyes soften at this reminder from her best friend who continues, “Mer you’re an extraordinary doctor everyone knows that and it’s not a surprise all of them are mad that you’re leaving but your one surgeon. This damn crisis that covid started is gonna take a lot more than one surgeon to fix and it doesn’t fall on your shoulders. This hospital, the program is not your problem to solve it’s Bailey’s and Webber’s and Catherine’s and they should all know that by now and so should you.”
His best friend sighs at this feeling the guilt leave her body slowly, “It’s okay for you to leave, you have the right to leave, you have earned the right to leave. This hospital survived long before you came, and it’ll survive long after you’re gone. Bailey should know that instead of bringing you down for something that is entirely up to you.”
Meredith looks at Alex imploringly, “How are you not mad that I might be leaving? Everybody else is and they aren’t gonna be the last in their residency class here and be left without a best friend to set them straight when they’re being a jackass.”
Alex chuckles at this, “Mer I’m not that arrogant, misogynistic resident who pushed everyone away and you’re not that gloomy, self-destructive resident who fixes other people’s problems to avoid your own. We’re grown up and we’re better. We’ve worked, we’ve run entire floors, we’ve researched, hell you’ve won awards for this place. And if Bailey can’t see that then you should leave and find people who see you for who you are not for what you’ve grown out of.”
Meredith looks thoughtful at this reminder of what she herself thinks after Bailey’s tirade, “We’ll be fine without you here, and I’ll be fine. I won’t like it, and I’ll miss the hell out of you, but I’ll support you if this is something you truly want. It’s why I stood up for you because if I can see that then so should the rest of them, it’s the least you deserve.”
Meredith grins at this support that she has been deprived of for the last 24 hours with Alex grinning back happy to see his pep talk is working.
“And if you’re worried about me returning to my Evil Spawn days just remember I got a wife and little girl to set me straight now. I have a family and a life now I didn’t think I could ever have until you saw the best in me that I didn’t even see in myself. I’m finally exactly where I should be and it’s thanks to you and Jo. You and Jo made me a better person, a kinder person, someone who deserves all the love I didn’t have growing up and that has earned you a seal of approval to leave from me. I’ll be fine here on my own, you made sure of that.”
Meredith has tears glistening in her eyes as she realizes she is going to miss Alex the most, “I’m never gonna see you again.”
“You’re going to Minnesota Mer, not Mars.” Alex reminds her with a grin, “We’ll text and skype, and we can visit you around the holidays. Our kids will love the snow, and we can see which family makes the best snowman.”
“I grew up in Boston your gonna regret that proposal.” Meredith says with a smile, “What am I gonna do without you? You’re my person.”
“You’re a force of freaking nature.” Alex compliments, “You’re your own person. You don’t need my permission, or Bailey’s or Webber’s, you’ve never needed anyone and you know it. Why else are you leaning towards Minnesota and Nick? You know it’s what you’ve earned for yourself and deep down I think you know you don’t need anyone’s permission to leave. If you didn’t you wouldn’t have stood up for yourself and Nick against Bailey, Bailey, that says enough on your decision. And don’t try to convince me otherwise.”
Meredith looks at Alex in awe, “Who knew Evil Spawn would come to my defense when everyone else is against me?”
Alex chuckles petting her head like old times, “Somebody’s gotta have your back one last time.”
Meredith grins, “Thank you.”
“Anytime.” Alex goes to the bathroom to change while Meredith smiles at her best friend supporting her when she needs it the most. She thinks back to the first time they met and is wonderstruck by how much they’ve grown as people and friends.
She knows she doesn’t need him but that doesn’t mean she wants a life where he’s not in it even if she’s halfway across the country. His permission isn’t something she needs but it’s something that makes her feel less guilty for wanting to leave.
And it’s something that makes her feel just as angry at how patronizing other people are despite all she has given for them and this hospital. It makes her stand up and grab her scrubs, getting ready to start the day with no shame or remorse for what is ultimately her decision.
