Perfect strangers

Chapter 14

The days seemed to be getting longer and merging into one another as Meredith pushed herself through every shift. She offered to stay over and do over night shifts, not wanting to spend another night alone. It was almost impossible for her to sleep at night now she didn't have Derek's arms wrapped around her tight as she drifted off.

So here she was, on her third day of her not leaving the hospital.

"What have we got?" As she pulled her hair up into a ponytail and pulled on a fresh pair of clothes.

"Unidentified female, found collapsed in the park about 30 minutes ago, her abdomen is rigid so we have reason to believe there is some internal bleeding." The paramedics relayed as they moved the patient and got her settled on the hospital bed.

"We need to get her to CT now." But before Meredith could carry on the monitors started crashing and she knew that they didn't have time to waste. "Forget that, get her straight up to the OR."

Meredith ran after the gurney as they pushed it towards the OR. Surgery was the one thing that kept her going, the adrenaline rush she got after saving a life, it gave her a purpose. It made her feel alive.

But the minute she stepped out of the hospital, it felt like she had the weight of the world on her shoulders. So now she had been forced out of the hospital and made to go home, she realised how exhausted she was as dragged her body to her car. She was almost certain that it wasn't safe for her to be driving home, so she turned and headed for a bar. A drink is exactly what she needed.

"Hey Joe." Meredith smiled as she placed herself down on a stool. "Tequila."

She watched as he poured her a line of shots, the sudden urge to drink them all quickly overwhelmed her body in the hopes it would numb her pain.

"Here you go, it's good to see you again." Joe nodded at her before moving on to serve his next customer.

Meredith didn't hesitate as she picked up the first shot and knocked it back with ease. She didn't even flinch as the liquid burned its way down her throat. The burn offered her an unusual sense of comfort as she continued to take the rest of the shots.

"You should probably slow down on them shots." Mark said holding his hand up as he signalled for Joe to grab him a beer.

"Probably but why should I?" She asked as she took her last shot and continued to ask Joe for more.

"Then give me your keys." Mark said holding his hand out. Meredith didn't hesitate to drop them in his hands before moving her attention back to her shots. "I saw Derek earlier."

"You did? How is he?" Meredith asked as she finally turned to face Mark properly.

"Not great." Mark shook his head before he lifted the bottle up to his lips and took a sip of his beer. "He's quiet, he goes to work and then goes home. I barely recognise him anymore. Look, Lexie told me not interfere and don't tell her I'm doing this because she will definitely flip, her hormones..." Mark shook his head as Meredith laughed.

"But...whatever happened between you two, I'm sure you can sort it. He was the happiest I've ever seen him when he was with you, you brought the life back into his eyes. You're the same, Meredith you don't walk away from the people you love."

"It's a whole mess at the minute Mark, it's just not the time for us to be together. As much as I hate it...it's what we have to do." Meredith said as she took her last shot and pushed herself onto her feet as she stumbled slightly.

"Come on." Mark reached and grabbed her arm, steadying her. "I'll take you home." He moved to grab Meredith's bag and coat before wrapping his free arm around her back.

It took him a while to finally get Meredith to his car and settled in before he started the drive home. Meredith didn't stay awake for long as she moved to rest her head on the cool window and finally let her eyes shut for the first time in days.

Mark didn't feel comfortable taking Meredith home and leaving her there alone, so he drove them to his house where he met Lexie standing in the drive.

"Hey, how is she?" Lexie asked as Mark stepped out the car and walked round to her, pressing her lips to his quickly.

"Not great, she's drunk." Mark sighed as he rubbed his hand up and down her back. "Again."

"I hate this, I hate that I can't do anything to help her, she's my sister..." Lexie was beyond stressed about how to deal with this as her hands went to her bump where their baby was kicking away happily.

"Hey, calm down." He placed his hands on top hers. "Look, I'm going to get her inside, I'll put her in the spare room. We will sort this, together ok?" He watched as she nodded before he kissed her again before moving round to get Meredith out of the car.

He slowly pulled the door open before he pulled Meredith into his arms as he carried into their house and straight up to the spare room. Moving the bin to the side of the bed after placing her on her side, he pushed her hair out of her face and covered her with the blanket before turning to leave the room.

"Thank you for doing this Mark." Lexie smiled softly at him as he joined her in the kitchen.

"Of course she's family." Mark said as he wrapped his arms around Lexies waist and pulled her into his chest as he held her tight.

Mark couldn't blame Meredith and Derek for behaving the way they was because he was certain that if anything happened between him and Lexie then he would be doing exactly the same. So he squeezed her tighter as a reminder to himself that he was extremely lucky to have the woman he loved in his arms.

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He could call her. His finger was hovering over her number and all he had to do was press down and it would ring. But he couldn't bring himself to do it, so instead he locked his phone and placed it down next to him before reaching up to run his fingers through his hair.

This was not how things were meant to go but he had no control over it. But now he could and the first thing he was going to do in the morning is pass over the case with the Millers to someone else. Nothing was worth losing Meredith with, so if that meant giving up a case then that's exactly what he was going to do.

Life didn't mean nothing if the only thing he had to live for was work. He wanted the woman he loved by his side as they made their way through life together. So he was going to get Meredith back, even if it was the last thing he did.