Where You Belong

27

If the Chief thought a few hours away from surgery and stuck being tortured by means of prom-planning with teenage girls would be enough to break down their resolve, he was very mistaken. Bailey's interns were a notoriously close-knit group. They were very loyal to each other. Meredith knew none of the four who had gone before he had said anything. And she wasn't about to tell the Chief anything he wanted to know.

When she was called into the small conference room, Richard was sitting on the far side, hands clasped in front of him, looking menacing and authoritative. A number of files were stacked beside him on the table, the spines separated far enough to show their number and thickness. There was no doubt that there were the personal intern files. It was all just a ploy for control and power.

Meredith met his gaze as she shut the door behind herself and stepped across the room. She made sure not to glance at the files or note book on the table before him. She would not give him the satisfaction.

Sitting across from him, Meredith linked her fingers together and averted her eyes, picking a spot on the wall to the side and staring. She would remain silent as long as he would. And there they sat for several minutes. Meredith didn't move.

Finally, the Chief sat forward in his chair. "I've known you for a long time," he began, his tone even and controlled. "I knew your mother and father..."

Meredith's fingers clenched together involuntarily. He, evidently, knew her mother very well.

"...And I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that you did not cut those L-VAD wires."

Meredith continued to stare at her arbitrarily chosen spot on the wall.

"Meredith, I need you to tell me who did."

Something inside of her snapped and she turned to him; was he seriously expecting her to help him? "I've been going over this and over this in my mind, trying to piece this together." She paused, almost stopping to take pleasure in the fact that he had no idea what she was about to say to him. "It was you," she accused. "You're the reason my parents broke up."

He slowly sat back in his chair, and his silence destroyed the smallest fragments of doubt still lingering in the back of her mind. She ploughed onward with her accusations. "And it wasn't just an affair; she really loved you. It wasn't some cheap thing where she didn't tell you she was married." The man had knowingly slept with her married mother. "It wasn't all a lie. She left her husband for you."

Still, Richard said nothing.

"But you stayed with your wife, because it was the right thing to do...maybe safe, but she was the right person for you to be with. Let's face it...my mother? Nothing wrong with being safe, being with the good guy, because he's good. And we are talking about forever here." She sniffed and swallowed hard, fighting the stinging sensation behind her eyes. Derek really loved her. He had left his wife for her. He had chosen her. And she had been there, ready to start a life with him. She could barely imagine how crushed and pained he would have been had she decided that she didn't really want the lifetime with him. She would never have been able to forgive herself.

And that's exactly what the Chief had done. He had promised Ellis Grey a lifetime, and had reneged after she had taken the necessary steps to have that life. He had left her; broken her. And he didn't seem sorry. "You've never regretted your decision," Meredith continued. "You've never looked back, right?" She needed him to admit it. She needed him to look her in the eye and tell her he didn't hold any regrets; that he had forgiven himself for his callous actions. She needed to feel justified in hating him.

He sighed and looked away when she failed to break eye contact. "Meredith," he began after a long delay. "What you're talking about happened a long time ago-"