'I was looking forward to meeting the great Derek Shepherd.'
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CODE BLUE
001. THE BEGINNING
before episode 1 of season 1
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DEREK SHEPHERD FELT LIKE HIS HEART HAD BEEN TORN OUT OF HIS CHEST WHEN HE CALLED HER. He didn't know anyone besides her and Richard Webber in the city, and truth be told, he needed her. He needed his best friend.
"Derek?" her sleepy voice sounded through the phone. "What's wrong?"
"I- I- I caught Addison and Mark sleeping together in my bed," he said, feeling the weight of those words coming out of his mouth for the first time.
"What?" He could hear the shock in her voice, and he could almost imagine her bolting awake in bed.
"I'm in Seattle. At the train station and I-"
"Stay there. I'm coming to pick you up," she said before hanging up.
Derek didn't have to wait long before he saw her. At first, Joanna Rhodes looked the same as he remembered from the last time he had seen her, last year. But as he analyzed the petite girl running towards him, he realized how much she had changed. She was a lot thinner, almost in an unhealthy manner. She was still beautiful, but Derek noticed he could see some bones that were not apparent before. Her huge brown eyes were decorated with purple bags beneath them from nights poorly slept - courtesy of surgical residency, no doubt.
But none of it mattered to him at that moment. He just needed to be held by someone.
And that was exactly what she did. He hugged her tightly, feeling somehow like nothing and everything had changed in the time they had been apart.
When she finally pulled apart, much to Derek's dismay, he noticed the tall blonde standing a few feet from them, as if to give them privacy.
"Derek, this is Christopher, my roommate, and my friend," Joanna introduced.
"Hm- sorry. A pleasure to meet you," Derek said, looking at the man. He kept shifting his gaze from Christopher to Joanna, trying to figure out what exactly was the nature of their relationship.
"The pleasure is all mine," Christopher said with a smile. "I was looking forward to meeting the great Derek Shepherd."
"I hope my reputation proceeds me," he responded plastering a smile. If he was ever going to survive this, he had to start pretending like nothing was wrong. Like he wasn't about to crumble into a million pieces.
