Under the Night Sky

Chapter 5: Written In The Stars

"Mer?" Izzie spoke up cautiously behind her, clearly wondering if her friend and boss didn't go a little insane.

"Yup?" asked Meredith sticking a piece of paper saying "Ask at the vet" onto the door.

"Why are you putting that up?"

"So that everyone would know to come through the back entrance," Meredith smiled with satisfaction. Thank God in heavens she forgot to tell Derek about the existence of another room in the practice. She usually drove to the place herself when an animal required medical attention but from time to time people came over with smaller ones. That was what the room was for. The vet office had even its own entrance which could also lead to the main part of the building. But only the locals knew it. And if a non-local needed help they would be directed straight to the right place without a problem. Except Derek...

"But the main entrance is fine," argued Izzie with wide eyes.

"Iz, I don't want Shepherd breathing down my neck," she said honestly. "He thinks he's a godsend to women and, heck, the whole humanity. I just want one peaceful day. Is that too much to ask?"

"Nope," shrugged Izzie. "You're the boss, Meredith."

"Come on," Meredith beckoned her inside. "It's almost nine, I'm sure he'll be here soon enough."

UNDER THE NIGHT SKY

It was almost nine. Thank God, the practice wasn't too far from his uncle's house. The chances of recovering his Lexus were very slim for the time being. The road service promised to be here in two days. He preferred to avoid Sheriff Rigsby and he didn't know anyone here. People were openly staring at him as he walked through the town, some of them holding hostile expressions. He wondered if this was Mrs. Hodge's doing and protectiveness of Meredith or the general fact that he was not from here.

He finally reached the steps of the practice and... took a double take. "Ask at the vet". What the hell did that mean? There was supposed to be no vet in Rachel. He tried the door. Locked. He took out his cell phone from his briefcase... Damn, he didn't know the number. He took a few steps back and swept over the building's façade. No sign of life. Meredith's car wasn't in the driveway. With a sigh, he decided to have a walk around the town. Maybe there was a veterinary clinic, a small scale one of course. There could be, there were a lot of ranchers around the town. Rachel was tiny, he would find the place eventually.

Little he knew, a keen devilish pair of eyes followed his every move from a crack in the blinds.

"Sucker!" she clenched her fist triumphantly.

"He took the bait?" asked Izzie with a half smile bringing Meredith a cup of coffee.

"Course he did," she laughed. "It's gonna be a good day. I can feel it."

UNDER THE NIGHT SKY

Derek reached the end of the town. He didn't reach his goal though. There was clearly no vet in this part of town. And why Meredith would put up that notice was beyond his understanding. He abandoned the hope of getting information from the locals a long time ago. Whenever he tried to approach someone, they hastily went away or answered that they didn't know.

Upon returning to the centre, if there was one in Rachel, he decided to step inside the inn. Cristina Yang was Meredith's friend but she was clearly a nonnative. Maybe that was his chance.

"Ms. Yang," he sighed stopping at the reception.

"Dr. Shepherd," she answered mimicking his tone.

"I was wondering if you could point me the way to the vet."

He watched one of her eyebrows ride up. "There's no vet in Rachel."