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“Who’s that?” Meredith peeked over Addison’s shoulder as the redhead packed her things. She had been packing up her old photo albums but stopped to peek through one of the older looking ones. It had been gathering dust and the cover was worn and faded. It hadn’t seen the light of day in years. Addison had paused on a page with two smiling men in graduation gowns.
One Meredith recognised – Mark Sloan, Addison’s closest friend and confidant. His youthful, shining face was beaming at the camera. The cocky smirk Meredith was familiar with painted on his lips. Mark often tried to flirt with them both.
At first, it had irked the blonde to no end. She knew of Addison’s history with him, and how he had helped her end her marriage. She also knew that they were just friends – nothing more – but in the beginning it had forced her jealousy to show.
Of course, they were all friends now. But Mark had been fiercely protective over Addison, something Meredith admired.
Once he saw that Meredith wasn’t just some doe-eyed girl, fresh from her tour of the world and got to know the blonde, he had accepted her into their little family. He was probably just as protective of Meredith, now, too.
When Meredith found out she was going to Seattle for her internship, Addison had immediately assumed the worst. She quietly sulked for days, believing that this would be it – the thing that tore them apart. It had been Mark who shook her out of her idiocy. He was the one to come up with the move.
They had both been nervous about it at first – their relationship was still in its early days. But after some reassurance – and a little of Mark’s teasing – they knew they were ready. It helped that Mark was coming, too. It meant that Addison wasn’t so afraid to uproot her whole life.
If Meredith was being honest, she was glad Mark would be there, too. He had helped them see sense through their little fights. Plus, Meredith would know three doctors in total at her new hospital. Which, she was willing to bet, would be a lot more than any other intern.
Meredith rested her head on Addison’s shoulder. The woman seemed to hesitate over the man grinning proudly next to Mark. He had a hooked nose, a similar cocky grin and hair. Lots of it.
Addison cleared her throat.
“That’s Derek.” Her fingers hovered over the film.
Meredith had been told about him, of course. Bits and pieces from Mark, and a lot of long, hard conversations with Addison. She knew that a part of her girlfriend still loved the man who had hurt her so badly.
Whenever they talked about it, Addison insisted that they were equal in the blame. That the cruelty had gone both ways. But Mark had seen it differently. He had seen the way that Derek had been cruel and manipulative and knew that his selfishness and hostility towards his own wife were to blame. In the end Addison did the only thing she could to not feel so alone.
When Meredith had found this out, she had been angry. Mark wouldn’t even let her go home to her girlfriend until she had walked off her rage. The way she saw it Addison was perfect. She was warm, attentive, and full of love. She couldn’t see how anyone could take such a beautiful thing and turn it away.
Addison had been honest from the beginning.
The blonde was aware of her marriage status. Derek – the ass that he was – was still refusing to divorce his wife, despite having left the state. Addison and Mark had both tried several times – even calling the man’s mother – to get him to sign the papers, but every time that Addison’s lawyers sent them, they came back shredded.
Meredith looked into the happy eyes of the man before her. Try as she might, she could not find anything inside of her btu discontent. Underneath her fingertips, Addison sighed.
Meredith knew that looking at him was bringing up sad memories. She couldn’t stand it – how even now, several hundred miles away, this man still found ways to hurt her Addie.
At least now she knew what he looked like. If she ever saw him on the street, she would punch the cocky, proud grin off his stupid, asshole face.
The slamming of the front door interrupted both of their thoughts as they both jumped a little, snapping out of their little bubble. Neither of them had to look to know who it was, his obnoxious yelling already reaching their ears.
“I brought Chiara’s!” Mark yelled, already setting out boxes of the delicious pizza.
“Thank god.” Addison groaned when the scent hit her nose. Her stomach rumbled. They had been packing practically all day, and she had been dreading having to cook and clean at the end of it.
“Don’t worry, Red.” Mark grinned. “I brought paper plates and everything. You don’t have to unpack your kitchenware.” He smiled. He really had thought of everything. He knew what the two women were like – either they would get so engrossed in the packing they would forget to take care of themselves, or they would get so engrossed in each other they would forget to pack. He took one glance at the apartment. “Oh. You haven’t even packed the kitchen up yet?” He furrowed his brows.
Meredith shrugged, already stuffing her face full of food. She hadn’t even realised they had skipped lunch. She was starving. And it really was the best authentic pizza. She had been to Italy only a few months before, and it could probably beat out some of the pizzerias there. She would miss Chiara and the insanely good pizza she made.
Addison seemed to be thinking the same thing. She was savouring every morsel, a contented smile on her face as she ate.
“I guess you’re going to need my help.” Mark groaned. He wasn’t excited to offer a hand himself. “I can give you the number of my guy?”
“I’m not letting strangers riffle through my things.” Addison said. The Montgomery-Forbes had someone to call for this kind of thing – they had a name to call for anything you could think of – but she wanted to do it herself.
Meredith, for one, was on her side. She had sort of moved into the apartment – her mother’s New York residence becoming effectively abandoned - not long after she had fallen for Addison. She didn’t want some stranger looking through all their things.
“We would appreciate your help in packing.” Addison batted her eyelashes at him. Sloan groaned, but they all knew that he would end up helping them eventually.
“I did my packing.” He whined. Although Meredith wasn’t too sure what he was whining about – he’d only paid someone else to do it for him, after all.
Addison swatted him playfully. “Just enjoy your pizza. After that you can get started on the kitchen.”
“Fine.” He moaned playfully. “But that means you’re helping me unpack when we get there. And the pizza is on you!”
“I don’t think any pizza in Seattle could beat Chiara’s.” Meredith pouted a little. “They got New York beat on coffee, though.”
“Well then coffee is on you. You’ll be an intern anyway. It’s not like you’ll be doing anything else.” He grinned.
Addison shoved him playfully. “I will buy you both coffee on the first day. How’s that sound?” She admonished a little.
She did enjoy their teasing, but she wanted Meredith’s first day as an intern to be fun and interesting. She wanted her to feel the rush of surgery. She did not want Mark making her his personal assistant.
Thankfully once they had gotten to Seattle, they had time to settle in before the dreaded first day. Meredith wasn’t nervous, per se. But she was anxious. She wanted to get started and hit the ground running, but at the same time she only knew three of the staff, and everyone else would know her. She had no doubt that the moment the rest of her intern class found out that she was friends with attendings already – and dating one, no less – she would be the subject of ridicule.
Addison insisted that everything would go smoothly. Meredith tried her hardest to believe her – but it was easier for the redhead. She just had to keep her head down and do her job. And she was excellent at it – Addison Montgomery was one of the most demanded surgeons in the country. People travelled from all over to be her patients.
Meredith had been able to sneak in on some of her surgeries and it was a marvel. She was so calm and collected in the OR. She was at ease. She knew what she was doing. It was one of the many things that had made Meredith fall harder and faster than she had ever believed she could.
Mark, on the other hand, was a different story. Meredith knew that he was being playful as he did rather enjoy his teasing. But she knew that at heart he was just a big softie wrapped up in the disguise of a man-whore. He would be her biggest defender should anyone choose to pick on her about her mother or her relationship. He too was a surgeon in high demand. Much like Addison, he was calm and cool in the OR. He always found time to shamelessly flirt with the scrub nurses. Of course, he was different when compared to Addison. They both were cocky – for good reason, they had the talent to back themselves up – but he liked to be flashy. Not all his surgeries were butt lifts and nose jobs – as Addison so often liked to remind him – but he rather enjoyed his more serious work. The first time Meredith had seen him really connect with a patient was the first time she had really appreciated him for the kind-hearted man he was.
It didn’t help, despite both of their reassurances.
So instead, Meredith focused all her energy on unpacking. While they had shacked up together int New York, it was unofficial, and Meredith had chosen to move back into her mother’s house in Seattle. Most of the boxes she elected to shove into Ellis’s old office. She could deal with those later. It was odd, having a whole house to herself.
Perhaps, a few months down the line once they were all settled into the hospital, she would ask Addison to move in. It would be quiet here all alone in the huge house.
Once the house was settled, she barely had enough time to prepare herself for the intern mixer. She was nervous, to say the least. She had no idea what to wear or who to talk to. Addison had promised her that if she got lonely, they could always go back home early.
Addison and Mark would be there, too of course. She wanted desperately not to lean on them too heavily. But the worry still lay there underneath. She wasn’t normally this nervous – she didn’t care about what other people thought of her. But this was her life for the next few years, and she wanted it to go well. Spending her entire residency with people that hated her was not a good idea.
Thankfully she had managed to find some other interns in her class who didn’t seem too moronic. She could get by spending her time with them.
One of the interns – Cristina – was a smart, blunt woman who didn’t seem to be too girly (just like Meredith, thank God) who teased her about liking fetal surgery. Apparently, she had been caught staring at her secret girlfriend for most of the night. At least she found room to make fun of her new friend for doing the exact same with the Cardiothoracic head, Teddy Altman. She was sure that Cristina was head over heels for more than the woman’s surgical technique.
There were others in her class that were friendly enough. Izzie Stevens was a tall, blonde, leggy model. But she was nice, too. A little to bright and shiny for Meredith’s tastes, but friendly enough. At least she wasn’t one of those catty girls.
Then there was George. He had been following her around most of the night like a puppy. It would be sweet - if his advances weren’t entirely misdirected towards her. She hoped that he would get the point soon enough.
Alex Karev was an ass. He was lecherous, and misogynistic. She hoped that working alongside three other women would flatten that side of him soon enough. He aspired to be just like Mark, which would be a good thing if he were able to get his cockiness to be more endearing like the plastic surgeon than just plain gross.
Meredith didn’t end up leaving too early. Some of the other interns were headed to the bar, but she’s drank more than her fair share of tequila back in Europe. And tequila always led to bad things. Like Sadie. Instead, she went with Addison back to her house.
The plan had been for Addison to drive back to her new apartment during the night. She was an attending, so she didn’t have to wake up so early for rounds. But Meredith was an intern. She had to be up at the crack of crack.
She squinted as she sat up, the sheets falling to her waist as she blinked away the sleep in her eyes. One glance at her alarm clock had her adrenaline spiking. She was late. And on her first day, no less!
She hurtled out of bed, quickly flinging on the first shirt and jeans she could find.
“Mer?” Addison grumbled from the bedsheets, watching her girlfriend sprint around the room.
“I’m ‘ate!” Meredith mumbled around her toothbrush from the en-suite.
Addison’s eyes widened as she, too spotted the clock. She wouldn’t be late if she left for her place right now.
Meredith practically threw herself out the door and down the hall as Addison softly padded down the stairs to catch her girlfriend.
“Wait.” She mumbled, stilling the blonde with her hands. “Here.” She swiped away some toothpaste from the corner of her mouth, leaning down for a gentle kiss. Meredith smiled for a brief moment, seemingly forgetting her reason for rushing as Addison opened up the front door, pushing her out with a gentle shove. “I’ll see you later.” She smiled. Meredith nodded dumbly.
If Addison wasn’t a whiz in the OR, she would have missed the metal hurtling straight at her head. But she was quick on her feet and managed to catch it mid-air.
“Lock up when you leave! Bye, love you!” Meredith yelled, already revving her engine and speeding out the drive.
Addison waved goodbye; the cool metal closed in her other hand. Addison moved around the house slowly, acclimating herself with the new territory. They hadn’t really paused to tour the house when they had gotten in the night before.
Grinning at the memory, Addison quickly gathered her things, straightening up the bedroom and making sure all the windows and doors were locked before leaving.
Her first day wasn’t all that bad. Her resident – Dr Miranda Bailey – was fierce and unforgiving. Strict, but fair. The woman made Meredith a little nervous, but other than that there wasn’t anything wrong with her first day.
What Meredith hadn’t been expecting was the sexism. Some doctors – and even plenty of patients seemed to disregard her existence immediately – even though she was perfectly qualified. Perhaps one could argue it was the first day jitters. Maybe the excitement and nerves were written clear across her face. But there was one attending in particular who seemed intent upon ruining her day.
Something about him seemed oddly familiar. But she supposed it was just his lecherous grin and the way he looked her up and down – as though he was undressing her with his eyes. She knew her mother had experienced much of the same treatment from her time as a resident, but she had hoped that men like that were no longer getting away with their behaviour.
She was wrong. And so she took digs at him, too. Since angry stares only seemed to encourage him, she continued to shut him down at every corner.
One date. That was all he was asking for. And yet the creep wouldn’t take no for an answer. He kept pestering and pestering, and she kept shutting him down. The only reason he would leave her alone was to focus on his patients. But even then he would make comments in front of them.
She couldn’t wait to get home to Addie. To get her hatred for this man off her chest and to be held by her girlfriend so that she could forget about this horrible, horrible day.
That was what got her through the long, arduous first shift. Thinking of Addison.
When she finally saw her girlfriends face, she was glad that it was back at her house, after she had the chance to clean up and scrub off that disgusting doctor’s remarks from her skin.
“How was your first day?” Addison had asked her, as her toned arms snaked their way around her waist.
“Long.”
“Wanna talk about it?” Addison frowned.
“Why don’t guys just get that they’re complete creeps!” Meredith began, sitting up fully in bed. “I mean you tell a guy no and it just seems to spur him on! Stupid, arrogant little asshole.”
“Who was it? Maybe I can talk to Richard.” Addison knew that Meredith wouldn’t let her meddle. But it was important for all of the interns to not have to work with a lecherous creep.
“That stupid neuro guy.” Meredith huffed. “Shepherd.”
She felt it, the moment that Addison’s arms stilled around her. The moment that things shifted. “Shepherd? You don’t mean Derek Shepherd, do you?”
Meredith frowned, trying to remember if she ever caught his first name. “Derek is... Oh.” She turned to pull Addison’s face towards her. “Addie I’m so sorry. I would never have –“
“What do you have to be sorry for, Meredith? It’s not your fault that he’s here. Or that he insists on being a complete creep.”
“I have half a mind to go and pummel that idiots face in.” Meredith began getting up and out of bed, keeping her pyjamas on but slipping into her converse.
“Meredith, stop.” Addison grinned, though it was sad at the edges. “Come here. We can deal with him in the morning. You need your rest.
“No! I want to go punch his stupid face in.” Meredith pouted.
Addison simply patted the spot next to her on the bed, and Meredith deflated. Slipping her shoes off once more she climbed into bed, Addison’s arms snaking across her torso once more.
“You’re here with me. And that’s all that matters.”