Opposing Forces

56

The last few weeks had seemed to fly by and the plane had been flying like normal with a few tweaks here and there, but that was expected with what they had to work with.

Meredith sat up on the flight deck looking out into the dusk sky around sunset. The wind was blowing her hair around her face as she could see land along the horizon. She heard someone walk up behind her but continued to look forward and softly said, "Isn't it amazing out here." Meredith took a deep breath taking in all the scents of the of the ocean and night air.

"I guess." Alex said from behind her looking out in the direction she was. He knew Meredith could sit here for hours just thinking. Alex saw it as a waste of time to sit out and gander out into the world, but he decided to sit with Meredith and talk with her a little while.

Meredith turned to Alex and smiled a bit, "It would do you some good to just relax and take some time with yourself."

Alex just started laughing, "You really believe in that shit, one with yourself."

Meredith laughed with him but something caught her attention in the far out distance, Derek was standing with a few people looking out.

Alex looked in the direction that had obviously grabbed her thoughts. "I am sure you both are ready to be off of here."

"You have no idea. I have really avoided him as much as possible the last 2 weeks. It has been nearly impossible, but we just couldn't have another slip up." Meredith broke her gaze from him at the risk of being caught or someone seeing him.

Meredith had told Alex everything that happened a few weeks before in Derek's shop. He was impressed that she was willing to really try. Alex knew Derek was something special when he first found out. After the monumental conversation with Derek, Meredith had proactively tried to stop flirting and being "free" with the boys which proved a lot to Alex. He felt his phone vibrate in his hand indicating he had a message. He had turned it on a few hours before anticipating getting close enough to pick up a signal. He carefully looked around making sure no one was around that would cause him trouble. The Captain of the boat didn't allow the use of cell phones until they were pulled in; nonetheless, they all used it as soon as they could.

Meredith noticed Alex look in his pocket at his cell phone and decided she would turn hers on. She figured sometime soon they would be within range. She turned it on and noticed a voicemail. It was getting pretty dark out and she knew it was probably safe to check it. She listened intently and immediately frowned upon hearing the voice. She hung up her phone to Alex looking at her.

"Who was that?" Alex asked curiously.

Meredith sighed loudly wondering why her and why now. "My mother." She said barely audible.

"Huh." Alex said casually then asked, "What did she want?"

"She is in town and will be there when we touch down in the morning." Meredith said regretfully. She looked over to where Derek and company were talking, a few of them smoking. She was thankful that was something she never saw Derek doing not that it would make that much of a difference on her feelings; however, it showed what kind of person he was.

"What about him?" Alex asked knowing it was exactly what was going through her mind. One knew Meredith well and knew what she was thinking most of the time without many words being spoken.

She saw him look at his phone and smiled slightly thinking about how nice it will be to just be able to communicate with him on a normal basis. They had relayed messages a few times through Mark and Alex, but they kept that to a minimum so people wouldn't get suspicious. She looked at Derek and smirked. "He is in some trouble." Meredith immediately got her phone out and started texting.