Under the Night Sky

Chapter 23: Thief in the Night

Contrary to what he had told Meredith quarter of an hour ago, Derek didn't go the grocery store right away but walked past a couple of gaps between buildings (he wasn't sure if they could be qualified as streets) and entered Cristina's inn. The town center was only beginning to wake up from the night's sleep even if it was already past 8 a.m.

"McDreamy," the snarky innkeeper greeted him at the reception desk. "Shouldn't you be back at the practice, attached to my person's hip as usual, or kneeling at her bedside?"

"How do you...?"

"I came over yesterday to see Mer," she rolled her eyes. "I don't think you heard me, I thought you wanted to wake her up staring at her."

"Well," he cleared his throat, only a bit embarrassed. "I was worried..."

"So was I. How is she?"

"Good, good. The worst patient in the world though," he chuckled.

"That's why you did a runner?" she raised one of her eyebrows.

"I did not do a runner," he replied, slightly offended. "I went shopping."

"Interesting. So you're here because...?"

Derek stepped from foot to foot nervously, glanced around and braced himself pose the question, "Should I be... should I be worried about Mitch?"

He could tell he hit the jackpot as Cristina choked and dropped the cloth with which she was wiping the counter.

She narrowed her eyes at him and hissed, "What did you just say?"

"I... I asked if I should be-"

"Shut up!" she silenced him. "How do you know about Mitch? She didn't tell you, I'm sure she didn't. Have you been trying to find something on her behind her back?"

"No!" he gasped, his voice raising an octave as he launched to explain. "Yesterday, she had a fever. I don't know if she was dreaming or what... She mumbled his name... repeatedly."

Cristina let out a deep heavy sigh pinching the bridge of her nose. "And you're going behind her back and asking me-"

"I don't want her to run," Derek argued insistently. "It's like I can't ask her about anything from her past because she starts to pull away. Just like yesterday, we had a fight just before she was... bitten by the snake."

"Well, it's not for me to tell," she said dismissively.

"I'm not asking you to tell me," desperation was clearly etched in his voice. "I'm not going to pry. It's not my curiosity but I need to know, should I be worried about this Mitch guy?"

"What do you mean by that?" she frowned in confusion.

"It's the guy she had been engaged to, isn't he?"

"And why would you of all people be worried about her ex?"

"I... I need to know if... if she thinks about him when she's with me or..." he combed his hair with his fingers, weary frustration washing over him.

"Huh." Her beady eyes fixed on him again. "Why do you care? You're just-"

"I know," he cut her midsentence, "I know. I'm here just for two months and we're just a summer fling. Well, somehow I care and I make no excuses for it."

She nodded and said after a while, "You don't need to worry about Mitch. If Mer said his name dreaming, it was a nightmare she was having."

"Does she... does she have feelings for him?"

"God, you're insecure," Cristina rolled her eyes. "You failed to make her come or what? Mitch is not going to suddenly appear in Rachel and sweep her off her feet, I can make that promise to you. Meredith doesn't love him, she hates him. And even if she did love him or wanted to get back to him, she wouldn't find him. And I think I've said enough," she stated with a finality in her voice.