Everyone Has Secrets

Chapter 37

A knock on his office door startled him slightly, out of the medical journal he'd pulled up about twenty minutes ago now. His head lifted as the door opened and he was surprised to see Meredith's head pop around the corner, his eyebrows lifting in questioning. He didn't even realise she was back in the city, much less in scrubs in the hospital.

"Meredith?" he asked, a hint of amusement in his voice.

"I heard a rumour," she said with a small grin, stepping into the office and closing the door behind her, "Actually, two rumours, from two different sources, both of some interest to you."

"Did you now?" he chuckled softly, intrigued by her apparent giddy mood.

"I did," she nodded, her grin widening as she approached his desk, resting her hands on the wooden surface as she leaned forward slightly, facing him, "Don't you want to know?"

"I'm very interested to know what you know," he laughed again, turning off the monitor in front of him and running one hand through his hair.

"I hear you have an attending leaving... somewhat voluntarily," she quirked an eyebrow.

"Somewhat voluntarily sounds about right," he rolled his eyes, shaking his head a little, "Nelson hasn't improved since you were temporarily in charge, and honestly got progressively worse in his attitude, clearly not impressed with an outsider taking the head position, so it was lightly suggested by your mother, who I assume is one of your sources, that he leaves, before he was made to leave."

"She's not my source," she shook her head with a laugh, grinning still, "Richard tells me all the gossip around here. I love Ellis, but she really is all business most of the time. If she doesn't want it to involve me somehow, such as a permanent job opening, she wouldn't tell me."

He chuckled again as she rolled her eyes, aware of the constant pestering of her mother getting her to settle down in Seattle, or anywhere really, and have a more permanent, stable position, rather than travelling all over the globe. Personally, he was amazed by the work that Meredith did, and how she was able to juggle all of it while still doing her research and coming up with new clinical trials. It was one of the things he truly loved about her, not that he would reveal that to her. He was pretty sure she wasn't ready for that kind of admittance.

"Okay, so now that I know your gossip source," he matched her grin, tilting his head to the side, "What's this second rumour, and if Richard isn't your source for this one, who is?"

"Oh, this one was actually your daughter," her grin widened somehow.

He was pretty sure he'd never seen her in such a good mood, but he couldn't wrack his brain for what Maddie could've said that would induce this reaction from her.

"What has Maddie been telling you?" his eyebrow rose in confusion.

"She said, and I quote, 'Need to get daddy present, Nana said birthday on Saturday'," she laughed with a playful pout, "Apparently it's your birthday on Saturday, and you didn't tell me."

"I don't really celebrate my birthday," he chuckled, amused to have been ratted out by his daughter.

"You were just going to keep it a secret from me then?" her eyebrows rose as she moved around the desk to stand beside him.

"Not a secret... but I wasn't going to advertise it," he shrugged, turning his chair to face her.

He had to stop himself from reaching out and touching her. Wrapping his arm around her waist and pulling her into his lap. He was just too excited to actually see her again, unannounced, when she'd been away for two weeks. He still had to find out why she was in the hospital scrubs. He hadn't asked when she'd next be bac, but he hadn't felt like it was his place to ask.