It Came Upon A Midnight Clear

57.

Derek lay there for hours, staring at the ceiling. His argument with Ellis was running through his mind over and over again. He could see the indignant look on her face, the angry expression in her eyes, the gut wrenching words that Meredith had said she had spoken. He turned to his side and stared at the wall now, his conversation with Meredith ringing through his mind. It didn't seem normal, it didn't seem right. He remembered leaving that room, and Ellis was showing no signs of backing down. She had been stern and angry when she had told him that he was covering for her.

"She wouldn't dare..." Derek whispered as he shook his head, his eyes still refusing to close, his mind refusing to shut off. He sighed, shaking his head trying to brush the thought of his mind, though it kept coming back, and he couldn't ignore it.

After about four hours of no sleep, he climbed from his bed and got dressed. He threw his shoes on and grabbed his jacket as he headed out the door for the car, making his way towards the hospital.

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Derek sat outside Ellis' office for a few more hours, morning was breaking and he knew that she was always in her office promptly at 5AM. He waited and as if on cue, the elevator door opened and out stepped Ellis, walking briskly towards her office.

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Derek watched as Ellis approached her office, her eyes were straight ahead as she pulled her keys from her pocket. Derek stood up and watched her closely, noting how she just unlocked the office and walked inside without a word. He sighed as he stepped into the outer office after her.

"So now you're stalking me, Doctor Shepherd?" Ellis said as she unlocked the door to her office and stepped into it, switching on the light.

"No, Ma'am." He said softly as he stood outside her door.

Ellis walked up to her desk and turned around, noting that Derek would not step into her office. "Do I frighten you, Doctor Shepherd?"

"In some ways, yes, Doctor Grey. You do frighten me."

"Good." She said as she watched him continue to hover. "Is there something that I can help you with, or did you want to berate me further? I can invite the second floor staff up here if you'd like to do it in front of them... perhaps the maternity wing... I could just put it over the loudspeaker if you prefer."

"Doctor Grey, I do apologize if I embarrassed you yesterday, that was not my intention."

"You didn't embarrass me, Doctor Shepherd. Though since you're apologizing right now, I'm assuming that you were feeling rather embarrassed." She said as she shuffled through the papers on her desk and switched on her computer.

"No, Ma'am." Derek said as he stepped into the office.

"I'm assuming that you spoke with Meredith." She said as she looked up into his eyes. "I figure that the two of you had ample time to discuss the ins and outs of the incident last night."

"I wouldn't necessarily call it an 'incident', Doctor Grey, as much as it was a plea."

"Derek. When you come into my personal space... you scream and shout in front of my colleagues... spouting off angry words that I'm not so sure that you can take back... it should probably be referred to as an 'incident'." Ellis replied.

"I don't want to take it back, Doctor Grey. As I said before, I meant every word I said." Derek said, his eyes not wavering.

"Then why are you in my office?" She asked sternly.

"I want to know why you told Meredith what you told her." He stated.

"What I told her?" She asked, her eyes on his as her brow furrowed.

"When you spoke to me last, you said that I was going to be covering your shift here... You told Meredith that I would be attending the graduation with..."

"You will be attending the graduation ceremony, Doctor Shepherd. There are many reasons for this... and the main one, is that I don't want you coming in here three days before the ceremony throwing your ego around the room, knocking things off the walls in order to prove to me that you love my daughter. You love her. We can leave it at that."

"That's it...? You don't want me to complain?"

"I think that's a valid reason, Dr. Shepherd. I'm a very busy woman... I can't be dealing with you screaming in one ear, my daughter crying in the other..."

"So this isn't a trick?"

"Doctor Shepherd?" She said, looking up at him, tilting her head. Derek watched her eyes carefully, watching as her lips curled just slightly, just the same as Meredith's when she was trying to pull one over on him, or had him right where she wanted him.

"You're not going to make this look like I was going to go... and schedule me... making it look like it was my decision to work on that day... you're not going to rip this from beneath me, are you?"

"Derek... I think that being in the car with me for the six hour drive here and back will be sufficient punishment for us both, don't you think?"

"Would you like for me to answer that question?" He asked, the smirk slowly rising on his face.

"Derek...listen..." Ellis said as she stood up behind her desk, her eyes softening just enough for him to notice the change. "You've been the only person in Meredith's life with balls big enough to stand up to me... You're egotistical, spiteful, and a little too pretty for my taste... but she loves you... and you love her... if you didn't, you would have put up a fight yesterday when I told you that you had to stay here instead of going to her graduation. You showed me that you were willing to sacrifice yourself for my daughter's happiness, and that says a lot." Ellis said, her voice was soft as she watched him listen intently.

"Thank you, Doctor Grey."

"Derek... this is only one small step in the series of leaps that it takes to get to my 'stone cold' heart, as you so eloquently put it. I suggest that you get to work and concentrate on that... I'm sure that you have something to do around this hospital that doesn't involve you standing in my office bothering me."

"Yes, Ma'am. Thank you, Ma'am..."

"And Derek."

"Yes?"

"Call me 'Ma'am' one more time and I'm putting you on scut for the rest of the month..." Ellis said as she looked down at her papers.

"Yes... Mom..." Derek said with a laugh as he turned to walk out of the office.

"That's not funny, Doctor Shepherd!" Ellis exclaimed as she shook her head as she watched him laugh his way out of her office.