Keep Holding On

Chapter 42

Meredith hurried away down the hall, the sight of Derek's shocked face still fresh in her mind as the tears fell. Her hands shook and she couldn't catch her breath. She finally paused around an empty corner as an intense pain shot through her abdomen.

The muscles squeezed tight and the searing heat coursed through her body, causing her to double over. The excruciating feeling took her breath away and she all the sudden felt dizzy. She panted a minute until the intensity wore off and slowly the vise around her belly was released.

Catching her breath, Meredith straightened herself and began walking forward slowly, telling herself it was nothing. Probably those Braxton hicks things Addison had been warning her about. She felt better as she took her time passing through the hallway, aiming for the restroom.

Only two minutes later, the pain returned, starting at the top of her baby bump and radiating down. The ache was so intense she felt it in her thighs and she suddenly became nauseous. Gasping through the forceful pressure being asserted on her lower body, she clung to the wall for support as she found the woman's bathroom.

With great difficulty, she swung the heavy door open and dragged herself into a stall. As the tightening again faded, she kneeled before the toilet waiting to throw up. The nausea eased as she knelt on the cool tile, her head sweaty and skin clammy. Meredith again stood, eliciting a sharp pain to shoot through her pelvis.
She gasped and looked down to see bright red blood slowly soak through the upper legs of her scrub pants. A sob escaped her mouth as fresh tears appeared. She was coming around on her thirty first week of pregnancy; this was nine weeks too soon. Fear gripped Meredith as she reached out to the medal wall, bracing herself for the next pain.

"Ummm... are you okay in there..." An unknown voice spoke from outside the stall.
Meredith unlatched the door with shaky hands and swung it open. The young nurse inhaled sharply when she saw the pregnant pale doctor standing before her hunched over in pain.

"No...I need you to...." Meredith panted through the intense contraction. "I need you to page Dr. Montgomery-Sloan."

___________

Derek ran a hand through his hair as he stood impatiently in line at the new Starbucks cart in the lobby. He needed coffee. He needed strong black caffeine filled liquid to get his mind off of Meredith. Off of Meredith and the vet and the laughing and the touching. It was making him nauseous. Actually, physically, sick to his stomach.

His initial feelings of hurt and jealousy were quickly turning into anger. He was mad. How could Meredith be so quick to move on? How could she do this to him, and with Finn, none the less? It was almost too much to handle.

Derek snappishly ordered his coffee and paid for the java with a testy shove of a five dollar bill. He didn't bother waiting for his change as he scoffed off, needing to be alone, needing to think.

His mood continued to grow fouler and fouler as he paced a deserted hallway. Meredith was slipping through his hands; his happiness, his future, was falling through his fingers.

Derek turned and lifted a foot to kick a trash can that sat innocently to the side when an annoying familiar voice stopped him in his tracks. He groaned and brought a hand to his head, easing the immediate throbbing at his temples with two fingers.

"Aww.. Dr. Shepherd!"

"Aww.. Dr. Finn." Derek mocked, not bothering to hide his contempt.

"So... it's been a while." For some reason the vet thought the neurosurgeon wanted to talk.

"Not really." Derek turned and finally faced him, plastering a mimicked grin on his face.

Finn furrowed his brows, not completely grasping the purposed sarcasm of the other man.

"Oh...well... anyways...I ran into Meredith yesterday down in the ER. I was just stopping by to grab a cup of coffee with her...so we could catch up... but it seems she's busy. We'll probably do it later."

Derek furrowed his brows now. Was Finn doing this on purpose? Was he trying to get a rise out of him? Or was he just completely ignorant of everything going on?
Derek held his styrofoam coffee cup up to his lips and took a long sip, deciding to remain silent.

Finn continued smiling, not in the least put off by Derek's cold stare, still completely oblivious to the awkwardness of the situation.

"So you and Meredith had a thing hu?" Finn asked, finally pushing Derek over the edge.

"Look..." Derek stepped close to the surprised vet's face and hissed. "Whatever hopes you had in coming here today... whatever plans you had made in your tiny head... forget about them! Meredith and I did not have a thing. We are a thing. We are in love and we are going to get married. Just because she's scared right now and trying to push me away does not mean that you get to prance in here and take advantage of her vulnerability. I will not let that happen. She is mine pony boy so tuck your tail between your legs and get the hell out of my hospital!"

Finn rocked back, completely taken back from the sudden outburst of the irate doctor.

"I think that's a little uncalled for. Jealous much?" Finn folded his arms across his chest and smirked.

Bright lights flashed behind Derek's eyes as his breathing became fast. He imitated Finn's gesture, crossing his own arms, and stood to his tallest height.

"Do you really want to push the matter?" Derek raised his eyebrows challengingly.

"I'm just saying... Meredith made it clear you two were not together. She's available. And I think it should be up to her who she wants to date and who she doesn't. Just because you knocked her up...twice... doesn't give you the right to..."

Finn didn't even see the fist coming as it connected with a satisfying crack to his nose, sending him flailing backwards. He doubled over, holding a hand over his face as the blood dripped from his nostrils.

Finn finally looked back up and met Derek's dark enraged eyes with his own wide shocked ones. He quickly retreated from the still fuming hovering doctor.

"What the...I can't believe... Are you..." Finn continued his backward retreat, a bewildered expression across his face.

He stopped and opened his mouth as if he was going to continue to challenge the neurosurgeon, but was impeded by the heated warning shot from Derek.

He shook his head and finally turned, quickly hurrying away, mumbling under his breath something about not being able to wait to tell someone named Stormy what happened.

Derek waited until Finn disappeared around the corner until he shook his hand out, the pain shooting through his knuckles. He figured that probably wasn't the smartest thing he ever did, but thought, damn it felt good.

The noise of his pager shook him out of his daze, as he turned on his heel and smiled. It was time to get back to work, and then later it would be time to find Meredith and make her listen.

Enough of this charade. He was through playing around. He would sit Meredith down and make her listen. If he had to yell until he was blue in the face, he would find a way to get it through her thick skull that no matter how hard she pushed.... he wasn't going anywhere.