Dempeo: The Whole Truth

Chapter 10

"Ellen and I have a chemistry that has been obvious since we first met and my chemistry with Ellen goes beyond the series"- Patrick Dempsey

He woke up to small fingers tugging on the sleeve of his top, Talula, who was now three, had more energy than what he would have deemed possible. It was 6:00 am and he had to be on set in an hour but he couldn't bring himself to wake Jill up. They'd been struggling recently, his work schedule was completely insane and Jill had been looking after Tee by herself most days. On top of that he knew that he subconsciously resented Jill, he had fallen head over heels in love with his co-star and as terrible as it was he resented Jill for not being Ellen. She didn't deserve the gruff replies he gave her or the lack of affection between them, he was going to try to make it work with everything he had. He'd start that day by taking Tee into work with him, just for the morning, but it should be enough to give Jill a break and to show her that he appreciated everything she did for him.

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He was lying on his stomach on the floor, a barbie in hand, as Ellen walked through the trailer door. He looked up at her, expecting mockery that would surely follow him around set for weeks, but instead saw a faint flash of amusement in her eyes followed by a look he's never seen before. She had met Tee a couple of times, after watching the pilot Jill had made a point to invite her over for dinner. Yet another reason why Jill deserved so much more than what he was currently giving her, she was making an effort to befriend the co-star that he openly flirted with in front of her. Ellen walked over to them, setting her bags on the sofa before bending down and sitting cross legged next to him. "What are you playing?" she asked Talula softly, "Princesses" Tee replied holding out one of the many barbies that were currently scattered across the floor. "Thank you" she said taking the doll, he couldn't hide the look of love on his face when he watched Ellen. "What are you going to do with her while you film?" she asked quietly while Talula was preoccupied, "She's only here for the morning but I hadn't really thought about it" he admitted. "What scene are you filming? I don't think we have any together today do we?" she asked, he shook his head "No, I'm filming with Justin I think". "I'll look after her" she said, he could see a glimmer of affection in her eyes as she watched Tee play, "You really don't have to, I can call Jill to pick her up early" he said. "No I want to Paddy", he sat up in a kneeling position next to her and brushed her hair away from her cheek, kissing it gently as he cupped the other side of her face with his other hand. "Thank you" he said softly, running his thumb over her cheekbone. She inhaled deeply through her nose, her eyes fluttered shut as she leant her head slightly into his hand. "There's nothing to thank me for" she said, moving back to lean against the sofa her expression had changed, it was almost as if that intimate moment between the two of them had never happened.

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"Cut, I think that's all we need, thanks guys" the director said letting them go. He stood at the edge of the set, taking a sip from his bottle of water when he saw Ellen walk up with Tee on her hip. "There are my girls" he said without thinking, kissing Ellen on her temple before taking Talula from her, he hoped that the statement would go unnoticed but the look on Ellen's face said that it most definitely did not. "Did you have fun with Ellie?" he asked Tee, she nodded and looked up at him with her big blue eyes. "We went and had a look around the MRI, apparently all of the flashing lights are really interesting" she said smiling at him. In that moment life he could have had with Ellen flashed in front of his eyes, bleary eyed morning kisses, family picnics with Talula and the child that they would have had. It was almost enough to bring tears to his eyes, the thought of a future with Ellen, maybe, just maybe, it would be possible one day, if Ellen returned his feelings. "Paddy? Are you okay?" she asked holding onto his arm, he was almost completely sure that he hadn't let a single emotion show on his face, but of course Ellie knew, she always knew. "I'm fine, let's get back to the trailer, Jill will be here any minute to pick up Tee" he said smiling at her. His wife, Talula's mom would be here, he had to control his emotions, he had to snap out of this.

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There she was, her back to him as she shovelled the fries onto her plate. She had left before him to go get lunch, he'd told her that he'd catch her up as he needed to get changed into his scrubs, that was one of the best things about Grey's, not having to worry about what he was wearing. He walked up behind her, bracing his hands on the table either side of her. "Do you have enough food there?" he said laughing, his head resting on her shoulder, "Looking after a toddler is hungry work" she said turning her head slightly towards him. "Thank you again, Tee loves you" he said leaning back just enough for her to turn around to face him. "It's fine, I had fun, Talula is great" she said, her green eyes locked with his, "She is" he agreed smiling softly. He glanced down at her lips, they were parted and shiny, like she had just put lip gloss on. "Hey, my eyes are up here, you're always saying how nice they are, look at them" she said giggling, he looked back up and smirked, "You really are something else" he said, she hit his chest in response before turning back to her food. "Are you excited for the Emmys" she said with her mouth half full, "Of course, how could I not be excited to present an award with my beautiful co-star" he replied leaning against the table next to her. "And this is why you're Dr Mcdreamy" she said laughing, "You know what I'm looking forward to even more than the Emmys?" he asked, "No" she said raising her eyebrows. "Have you read next week's script?" he said, "Not yet? Why? Do I have to do something that will make me look stupid?" she said with wide eyes. "No, nothing like that, we have a shower scene" he said half smirking and half laughing, "Oh you really are such an ass" she said laughing. "You love it really" he said grinning, she rolled her eyes while still laughing. It was true he was actually more excited for this shower scene than he was for the Emmys, how could he not be? They hadn't kissed for almost 5 weeks and the tension between them was almost unbearable, the scene would hopefully put a damper on it, at least for a while.

Apparently there's a magazine article that Jill did somewhere that literally says something about Patrick and Ellen flirting in front of her- I've tried to find it but haven't been able to so if you do please send it to me lol