Help is Around the Corner

Help is Around the Corner 7

Help is Around the Corner

Addison and Derek's trailer catches fire, and Meredith offers them a place to stay for a while.

After dinner, and after popsicles, Izzie reminds everyone that it's game night.

"Alright, what are we going to play?" Izzie says excitedly. "We have board games, charades, cards..."

"Let's play battleship!" says George.

"There's one, two, three, four... eight of us. Battleship is a two-player game," says Cristina.

"Monopoly?" says Alex.

"Again, it doesn't work for eight players," says Cristina.

"Let's play poker," says Meredith.

"Strip poker!?" says Derek.

"That's not what I meant-" Meredith blushes profusely.

Suddenly, she's imagining Addison losing at strip poker, and having to take off her top, and it's causing her to bite on her lip again.

Derek lets out a satisfied chuckle, which Meredith doesn't even catch because she's too distracted, but from behind Meredith, Addison glares at him.

"I was kidding..." says Derek awkwardly.

"Right..." says Addison also awkwardly.

"Let's play Pictionary," says Izzie.

"Okay," says Meredith.

"Okay!" says Addison enthusiastically.

"Addie likes drawing," Derek comments.

"Derek likes drawing," says Addison. "I mean, tumors mostly, but sometimes other things," she chuckles.

"Which teams are we all on, people?" says Callie.

"Addison and I, we umm... We play for the same team," Meredith blurts out all of a sudden.

"No kidding," Cristina teases.

"Hey, that's not what I-" Meredith facepalms.

"Of course it is," says Alex.

"I'm right here, remember?" says Derek.

"They can still 'play for the same team,' even if you're here," Cristina points out.

"I want to be on Addison's team too!" says Izzie, in character.

"Of course," Meredith grumbles.

"We'll throw Derek in there too, for good measure," says Cristina, purposely trying to stir up the pot.

"And they'll be against us, Cristina, Callie, Alex, and George."

"You're going down!" says Izzie.

"No way," says George.

And it's so on.

Izzie gets out a notebook and a pen, and she hands it to Derek to start.

The rules they've decided on are pretty simple; one person draws a picture without any letters or numbers, and their team has twenty seconds to guess what it is. After twenty seconds, if they haven't guessed correctly, the other team can 'steal,' it if they guess correctly on the first try.

"Okay," says Derek, as he takes the notepad.

"Go!" says Callie.

Derek starts drawing a squiggle pattern, which forms three circles, and then some different shapes, until George exclaims "Snowman!"

"Wrong team, George!" Cristina says frustratedly. "Okay, you know what? That shouldn't count, it was for practice.

"Nope, it's ours," says Meredith.

"Fine, take it, we'll beat you anyway," says Alex.

Alex ends up going next, and he just draws a long line with a smiley face at the top, and then four sticks at the bottom until Callie guesses "giraffe."

"It kinda looks like you," Izzie teases.

"Oh please, I'm so much buffer," says Alex.

Izzie ends up drawing next, and Meredith's culinary skills are tested, because she draws some obscure houseware thing that Meredith can't identify, and Addison guesses it immediately.

"Who even uses a salad spinner anyway," Meredith grumbles.

"I do all the time," Izzie cheers.

"It does save a lot of time," Addison agrees.

"Okay..." Meredith mutters.

Addison notices that Meredith seems a little off, and she rests her head on the blonde's, and that seems to relax her.

"Cristina, you're up," says George.

"Hit me," says Cristina, as she points to the cards.

"Three, two, one..." Derek counts off.

Cristina slowly and delicately draws an abstract object.

"A duck!" says Alex.

"A swan," says George.

"A fetal pig," says Callie.

"Time!" says Izzie.

"What is it?" Derek whispers to Izzie, and Addison, and Meredith.

"I think it's a chicken," says Meredith.

"Go for it," says Addison supportively.

"A chicken?" Izzie asks Cristina.

"Yeah..." Cristina sighs.

"Yes!" says Derek.

"We're winning!" says Meredith.

"Good, 'cause you're up," says Cristina.

"Okay..." says Meredith, as she picks up the notepad.

She scowls a little when she gets her word, but then she figures out something she can do with it.

"Go!" says Callie.

Meredith hesitates for a moment, before she starts with a butterfly pattern with a square around it. It's an item from her bedroom, and she figures with both Derek and Addison on her team one of them will get it, even if she knows Cristina could steal it.

"A pillowcase!" says Addison.

"Yes!" Meredith turns around and hugs Addison while she's still on her lap.

She's so excited she could kiss her, and she almost does. She leans in and everything, but then her eyes widen, and she remembers what's happening, and who Addison is, and what the hell is she thinking!?

That's the third time this evening she's pictured kissing the redhead.

It's probably unhealthy at this point!

Meredith leans back abruptly, before she turns around, blushing, unable to face Addison right away because of the emotions that are overtaking her.

"Nice one," says Derek, as he congratulates his wife and his ex-girlfriend/mistress all in one sentence.

"I'm glad we're playing for the same team," says Addison to Meredith, as she reaches past her for the timer.

If Meredith thought she was blushing before, it's got nothing on how much she's blushing now.

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***** END OF CHAPTER 7