Chapter Text
Meredith stared at her reflection in the mirror, horror and disgust rushing through every fiber of her body. The bright light of the intern’s locker room illuminating every single part of her features did not work in her favor either. “I can’t wear this… THING,” she grumbled through clenched teeth. “I look like the honor guest to a princess tea party!”
“It’s got some black swan vibes,” Cristina deadpanned.
“More like blue swan,” Meredith groaned. “That stuff even feels like scrubs. What the hell was he thinking? As if being sold off like cattle isn’t bad enough, I am gonna be sold off like cattle in a fucking tutu skirt-scrub combo! I should have taken my dress from home!”
“Wait… you left McDreamy in charge of your dress for tonight?” Cristina asked wide eyed. “Are you insane?”
“Well, he offered,” Meredith whispered. Offered wasn’t really the right word for it – more like insisted! She remembered the look on his face when she showed him the dress she was planning to wear tonight. At that point she thought he was disappointed, but in retrospect, maybe it was rather jealousy. Maybe he didn’t want anybody else to see her like that?
“Wouldn’t have mattered if he had threatened you, Mer. You DO NOT leave McDreamy in charge of your wardrobe! EVER!”
“Why not?” she asked. And wanted to slap herself silly. The image greeting her from the mirror was answer enough.
“Well, first of all, he’s a guy,” Cristina explained with a look on her face that said, ‘you poor, dumb girl’. “Second of all, duh, he’s a guy. And third of all, Jesus fucking Crist, Mer, he might be McDreamy, but he is a guy! You don’t trust a guy with his own clothes, let alone yours!”
“It’s really not that bad,” George made himself known. “Actually, you look nice. The color goes well with your eyes.”
Cristina waved her hand in the air. “If THAT doesn’t prove my point then nothing will.”
“Maybe, if we cut off that bushy stuff around your hips,” Izzie suggested, “It would be like you look that way on purpose.”
“Are you guys crazy?” Alex chuckled, fighting with his tie and the collar of his shirt. “She looks like a nuked mushroom. Get her out of that thing and stick her in a lab-coat. At least she’ll have a chance at being sold off.”
“What am I supposed to do? I can’t go out there like that. Or in a lab-coat. I’ll be the trash-talk-subject on Monday, and Tuesday, and…” She dropped on a bench and hung her head. “I have to quit my job! I have to move to another continent…”
“Okay, let’s not get ahead of ourselves!” Cristina calmed her person down. “Take a deep breath and relax. What options do we have?”
“Die of embarrassment in this THING in here, or die of embarrassment in this THING on stage,” Mer grabbed Cristinas arm and held onto it like it was a live vest. “Please, don’t let me die in this THING on stage.”
“I…”
“Cristina!” Meredith pleaded.
“Okay… okay… You are not dying tonight. And not any day in the near future. What’s your number?”
Meredith dug through her purse and found the slip saying: Intern NR. 13. “I have time, right? I can go home and get changed.”
“It would be a close call, but you might make it,” Izzie said.
“If you grow wings,” Alex snorted. “Send Bambi or Izzie. Your numbers are higher, right?”
“Not a chance,” Izzie huffed. “I am number 3 and George is 7. I told you I am number 3, Alex. If you mess this up by biding on someone else, I won’t bid a penny on your sorry ass.”
Meredith was kind of relieved that George could not make it home in time. Because the last thing she wanted was George going through her clothes. Or into her room. That none of her friends could make it, was a disappointment though. “I need to get out of here,” she all but yelled. “I am not doing this… in THIS.”
“Stay where you are! Nobody is going anywh…” Bailey growled, entering the locker room, shock slamming onto her face. “Oh, dear! That’s… That is… I am so sorry, Grey, I don’t even know what THIS is supposed to be.”
“Yeah, sure, go ahead and make fun of me. Why don’t you invite everybody else in here so, they can witness my shame.”
“Don’t give me any ideas, Grey,” Bailey warned, still shaking her head over that horrible sight in front of her, handing Meredith a black garment bag and a shoe box. “I am positive that, whatever is inside this bag will be an improvement compared to this monstrosity. And if not, just wear the damn bag.”
***
“Friends. Colleges. Guests. Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the first Seattle Grace Hospital Charity-Intern-Auction,” the Chief made a dramatic pause, waiting for the audience to finish their applause. “Our young colleges, the future of medicine, have graciously agreed to participate in tonight’s fundraiser…”
“Graciously agreed my ass,” Alex grunted. “Mercilessly bullied into is the phrase he’s looking for.”
“It was not that bad,” Izzie defended Webber. “He asked nicely, and don’t forget the 48 hours off we’ll get for a reward.”
“Speak for yourself,” Cristina grumbled. “48 hours off are not a reward. It’s a fucking punishment!”
Meredith couldn’t care less for any of it. She was enthralled by the outfit being sent to her- literally at the last second. 20 minutes ago, she was about to flee the country- after having strangled Derek with her bare hands, and now, all she wanted to do was hug and kiss him for this present.
She knew he had some kind of strange humor but scaring the living shit out of her with that scrub-tutu was something she had not seen coming. Neither had she seen the real dress coming. A black satin, one shoulder, floor lengths dress. Skin tight, with a wide, golden ring connecting the 2-inch shoulder strap to the front piece. Slender, golden chains serving as accessories on both sides of the shoulder strap and along the slit that reached to just under her hip on the side of her right leg. Completed with the 3-inch Louboutin’s, that slit made it possible for her to walk without tangling into or stepping on her dress and falling on her face.
This dress was made for her. Or maybe she was made for that dress, because it fit like she was liquified and decanted into it.
He was a guy indeed. He was McDreamy; but he certainly was no ordinary guy. She didn’t know he knew her size in shoes or clothes. Everybody- even Cristina and Bailey had to admit, she got a real good one with him.
He had a dark and twisty humor; he was considerate without being intrusive- because Meredith had no idea where he got her numbers from. He must have been very subtle for her to have no clue at all.
The only thing that she wanted to do before she’d kiss and hug him for the rest of the night was, slap him upside the head for the note he delivered with the dress. In perfect calligraphed, beautiful handwriting.
I cannot wait to peel you out of that dress tonight
Everybody heard Cristina read it out loud. And even Bailey blushed!
“… Ladies and Gentlemen, without further ado, let me give you the one and only Emily Wears.”
The show room exploded in applause as the Chief greeted the young auctioneer like he’d known her for ages.
“Thank you, folks,” Emily bowed her head slightly to the crowd. “Thank you all for the warm welcome. Now, what do you say, we earn Chief Webber some money?”
The first Intern to be sold off was a blond girl from Sydney Haron’s group. An ortho Attending and a resident Meredith didn’t know, battling each other over her like she was made of gold. Nevertheless, she was sold to the Attending for impressive 2.500 dollars.
“That’s a lot of money,” Mer whispered to Cristina. “I hope I can top that.”
“You will. And so will I,” Cristina replied. “Burke and I agreed on 5.000 bucks. But if he doesn’t want to spend the night on the couch, he’ll pay whatever price he has to!”
“Damn, I should have thought of that,” Meredith cursed.
“Don’t worry,” Cristina giggled. “He has already spent like 10k on your outfit. He won’t butt out on 10k more! When he sees you in this dress, all he will think about is getting you out of it.”
“It is pretty, isn’t it?” Mer asked, a smile sneaking on her face.
“It’s not pretty, Mer,” Cristina said with sincere admiration, “You look so fucking hot, if I wasn’t with Burke, I would try to buy you!”
“Jesus, Cristina,” Meredith giggled, “You should have said something earlier. We could have avoided all the stupid boy drama.”
“They are stupid boys and they WILL mess up. So, let’s make this our plan b.”
Next Intern to be sold off was Cristina. It went the way Cristina predicted. Burke raised every bid thrown at the auctioneer by 500 dollars, and when Derek bid on her- clearly just to piss Burke off- he even raised up to 10.000 dollars and earned the final “Sold!”.
Izzie was bought by Alex for 1.500 dollars- with nobody else challenging him on that. In return, Izzie bought Alex for the same amount. Meredith watched them all but sprint out of the show room- undoubtedly heading home, to fuck 3.000 dollars’ worth.
George was a bit of a surprise. Dr. Torres and Sydney Haron threw numbers at Emily almost faster than the experienced auctioneer could handle. Sighing a final, “Sold!” Emily sold George to a proud and slightly evil smirking Sydney for 6.000 bucks.
When it was her turn, Emily announced her as the daughter of famous surgeon Ellis Grey- on which Meredith had to physically fight to not run the opposite direction. Only the encouraging smile followed by, “Give a warm welcome to the lovely Meredith Grey.” made Mer take a deep breath and step from the curtain covered side entrance on stage.
Immediately, she scanned the crowd for Derek. And was shocked by what she saw. What at first, she misinterpreted as stunned excitement, she soon enough identified as anger. No! Not anger either! She’d seen him angry, when he scolded her for making a mistake. When he shoved blame on her for something that was not even her fault. When he punished her with disdain after she couldn’t make it to his on-call room pages.
This wasn’t anger, it was rage. Blind, unbridled rage. And for the first time- in the less than three months she knew him- she was afraid of him.
“500 bucks,” Derek barked before Emily had the chance to say anything else.
Meredith started shaking at the sound of his voice. This was way above anything he’d shown so far and even the crowd seemed to catch his vibe, because the room fell silent at his outburst.
“500 going once. Come on folks, you can do better than that.” Emily went, unimpressed by the death stare Derek shot her. “Going twice. Her shoes alone are worth more than that.”
Meredith felt tears push to her eyes. She was going to be sold off for 500 lousy bucks to a man who would do nothing but yell at her all night. She shot a silent SOS to Cristina, who leaned in on Burke to whisper something in his ear.
“And…” Emily raised her hand.
“1.000 dollars,” Burke called out. He looked like somebody had just stolen and threatened to burn his favorite scrub cap.
“There you go,” Emily smiled. “1.000 dollars from the gentleman with the turtleneck.
“1.050 dollars,” Derek yelled.
“Raised by 50,” Emily went, “from the guy in the 3.000-dollar suit. Maybe get your priorities straight next time.”
Her comment had the crowd snicker and huff, and another bid coming up. From someone very unexpected.
“1.500 dollars,” Dr. Torres called from the back of the room.
Meredith wasn’t sure if she could see it, but she gave her a grateful smile across the room. She’d rather do scut, clean up cast left overs or do whatever Dr. Torres ordered her to do for the rest of her residency, than spending this one night with Derek.
“2.000 dollars,” Derek shouted, his face red with hatred.
“That’s more like it,” Emily teased him openly. “2.000 dollars once…”
Somebody! Anybody! Mer prayed to anybody who was listening, for any support they could give. Please…
“2.000 dollars going twice.”
“Um… It seems we have a phone bidder,” the Chief called out, waving his cell in the air. “Is that okay, Emily?”
Meredith released a breath she didn’t know she was holding. Looking directly at her, Derek apparently realized she was not a happy camper at this moment. Which calmed him down considerately.
“It’s your party, Chief,” Emily shrugged, “Your party; your rules!”
“Then we have a 5.000-dollar bid,” Richard called out.
“Now we’re talking business,” Emily smiled enthusiastically. Looking right at Derek. “5.000 dollars for a night with the charming Meredith Grey.”
“5.050 dollars,” Derek all but spat at her. The rage back on his whole body language in the matter of a single breath.
“Oh, going cheap again, Sir,” Emily shot him a disgusted grin. “Saving up for the next suit? Or maybe some property in the Hamptons?”
The room got louder with not contained laughter, while Dr. Torres placed another bid, “6.000 dollars.”
“10.000 dollars from the phone bidder,” the Chief raised.
Meredith’s head was spinning. Literally spinning with all the money being thrown in for her. She was way too stressed by the threat of an unpleasant night with Derek to even think about who exactly was bidding on her over the phone.
“10.050 dollars,” Derek growled while looking at Meredith like all of this was her fault.
“20.000 dollars from the phone bidder,” Richard called out, smiling at Meredith.
“Sorry, Grey,” Dr. Torres yielded. “I am out.”
“20.050 dollars,” Derek hissed.
“50.000 dollars,” Richard mumbled. “Are you sure about that?”
“Am I sure about that?” Emily laughed.
“I mean… no, Emily, not you. I am… we are…” Webber stumbled over his words. “We have a 50.000 dollar bid on Dr. Grey.”
“50.000 dollars going once,” Emily called, sending a reassuring smile to Meredith. “50.000 dollars going twice.”
Derek looked like he was about to turn green and dismantle the whole furniture in the show room. And everything else in the show room. And the show room itself. But he didn’t say another word.
“And sold,” Emily went, pointing her hand to Richard and his cellphone. “50.000 dollars for the beautiful Dr. Meredith Grey, from the mysterious phone bidder.”
Emily shook Meredith’s hand, who stood there like glued to the floor. “He’s a jerk,” she whispered in Meredith’s ear, drowned by the loud clapping and cheering from the audience. “He doesn’t deserve you. And he does not own you!”
Meredith watched Emily return to her rostrum while Richard gently touched her elbow to guide her of stage. “Dr. Webber, who was that on the phone?” Meredith asked, a hint of fear settling in her brain. Sure, she didn’t have to spend the night with Derek, but spending the night with a complete stranger wasn’t too high on her bucket list either.
“I am not at liberty to reveal that information just yet,” Richard smiled.
“Tell me, you didn’t sell me off to a total stranger,” Meredith whispered, fighting the tears that threatened to spill. “Tell me, you didn’t sell me off to a serial killer!”
“Just how stupid do you think I am, Grey?” Richard barked, crossing his arms in front of his chest. “Every participant in this auction is registered, looked closely into and checked out.” Frowning at a fuming Derek, he corrected himself. “All but one, apparently. But you can trust me on this, Meredith, I’d put my hand into fire for the person on the phone.”
Richard was more of a father to Meredith than her real father ever was, she knew that he wouldn’t hurt her on purpose. But she’s thought Derek was a good guy and that he loved her, and that went out the window not too long ago. Who was to say that Derek wasn’t the only disappointment tonight.
“If you really don’t want to go, I won’t force you,” he smiled at her. “You don’t have to do anything that you’re that afraid of. I guarantee you, there won’t be any consequences if you…”
“I’ll do it,” Meredith hurried to say, seeing Derek approach the stage, waiting for her to join him. As fucking if! Just looking in his eyes, Meredith knew, he wouldn’t just yell at her tonight. “Where do you want me to go?”
He handed her an envelope, very similar to the one that came with the note on the dress. She opened it and read the card. Same handwriting as in the first note. It all started to make sense.
The Archfield Room 2021
“What about him?” Mer whispered, slightly nodding her head in Derek’s direction. “He won’t let me go without a fight.”
“Leave him to me,” the Chief smiled reassuringly. “Say the word and I’ll kick his sorry ass to another zip code.”
“That won’t be necessary,” Meredith had to bite back a chuckle. “Just hold him up long enough for me to sneak out.”
She made it outside the hospital without Derek following her. Without anybody following her at all. But only when she entered the cab and gave the driver directions, she allowed her body and mind to relax. Whoever she would meet in a couple of minutes, they would have to buy her a very stiff drink first!
Knocking at the door that said 2021, she waited for a while without hearing anything. One more knock with no answer and she’d consider her duty done and leave. She raised her hand and knocked one more time and just as she was about to turn around, a voice from inside was heard.
“Come in. It’s open.”
Meredith froze for just a second. That voice sounded very unfamiliar, and very female. With a shaking hand she pushed the handle down and the door open. What she saw inside knocked the breath right out of her.
Someone in black suit pants and a white dress shirt, tugged half into the pants. A black tie, loosely tied around a half open collar. Fire red, curly hair framing the most beautiful features she’d ever seen.
“Hi, I am Addison,” the woman held out a hand for Meredith to shake. “And you must be the woman I bought for tonight.”