Patrick's POV
I get home and see Jillian picking up the plates from the table.
"Hello." I say, removing my jacket and hanging it up. She looks at me and smiles.
"You're home. You missed dinner."
"I know. I'm sorry. I'm sure it was delicious." I say. She walks into the kitchen and I pull out my phone.
A text from Shonda pops up.
Your script was sent in the mail. Congratulations! See you at 6 am on Monday.
I grin and shout to Jill, "Hey have you checked the mail today?"
"No. Why?" she asks. Without replying, I run out of my house and down the street to my mailbox. Opening it, I find a big package with my name on it. I rip it open and step back onto my driveway to get out of the street.
I read through the script slowly, trying to process the words, my dyslexia making it difficult. I only have a couple of days to memorize the script. I don't want anyone to know about my disease.
I have a job. A steady income! I jump for joy at this thought, literally jumping up and down with my script in hand.
I hear a familiar giggle and immediately stop jumping. I whip my head in the direction that the sound came from. In the distance, I see a small, petite figure standing on a porch a few houses down from me.
"Ellen?" I ask, trying to see through the darkness. The figure steps away from the house and begins to walk toward me.
"I'm sorry for spying. I didn't know you live here." she said. She steps into the light from the street lamp. I meet her halfway and smile.
"What made you so happy?" she asks.
"I got my script." I tell her.
"Really? I haven't gotten mine yet." she says worried.
"Well do you want to rehearse? I'll let you borrow my script." I tell her smiling.
"Right now?" she asks.
"Sure. Why not?"
She checks her wrist watch.
"Pat its 9 at night."
"Oh I'm sorry. Is it past your bedtime?" I ask teasingly.
"You know what, Dempsey? You're gonna get it."
"I'm so scared." I say smiling. She grabs the script from my hands and smacks me with it. I chuckle.
"Patrick?" Julian's voice echos into the night.
"I'm here, Jill." I tell her. She walks toward me and El.
"Who's this?" she asks, staring at Ellen.
"This is Ellen Pompeo. She plays Meredith Grey. My on screen lover." I say jokingly. Ellen and I both laugh.
"Hi. It's nice to meet you." Ellen says, sticking her hand out. Jillian stares at her hand before turning to me.
"Will you be coming in soon?" she asks. I nod, stunned at her sudden coldness. Jill walks back inside, leaving both Ellen and me shocked.
"I apologize. She isn't normally this cold."
"It's alright. I guess she doesn't really like me." she says looking at the sidewalk.
"I, uh, should be going home." she says.
"Didn't you want to rehearse?" I ask her. She smiles and starts to walk away.
"I don't think your wife would be all too happy with us if we did rehearse."
"Right."
"Goodnight Patrick." she says as she walks down the sidewalk. I turn to go inside but pause and look at her.
I run up the sidewalk toward her and grab her arm.
"To hell with what she thinks." I say smiling. She giggles and shakes her head.
"Alright. Fine. But don't keep me out too late, Dempsey."
I nod and grab her hand. I lead her to the shed in my backyard and open it.
"What are we doing?" she asks. I go inside the dark house and find what I'm looking for.
"You didn't think we were going to practice here did you?" I ask as I move the bike toward her. She grabs it and I grab the other bike. I swing my leg over and settle myself on the bike seat.
"You just gonna stand there?" I ask. She smirks at me and gets on the bike. I pedal and lead us out of the backyard. She catches up to me and we ride side by side through the dim lit streets. I look at her and see a smile spread across her face as the wind blows her blonde hair back.
She catches me staring and I quickly look forward again.
We finally arrive at the park and we lock up our bikes.
"Isn't this park closed?" she asks. I shrug and smile at her. She giggles and rolls her eyes.
I get the script out of the basket on the front of her bike. She grabs it from my hands and walks toward the lamp post in the middle of the park. I follow her.
"Where should we start?" she asks, flipping through the script. I look up at the sky and stare at the constellations.
"Patrick." she says, hitting me with the script. I point up at the sky.
"I should've brought my telescope." I say quietly. I look at her and see her smiling at me.
"What?" I ask.
"Nothing." she says smiling.
"Come on!"
"It's just...you're still you. You haven't changed."
"What do you mean?" I ask.
"You're still the sky obsessed nerd. It's cute. Really." I blush.
"So I'm still a geek huh?"
"A very handsome geek." she says. I smile at her. I feel my phone buzzing from my pocket. I answer it, already knowing who it is.
"Hello Jillian."
"Where the hell are you Patrick?" I hear her voice shriek through the phone.
"I went for a walk. Fresh air. I'll be home soon."
"You better be Patrick Dempsey or your ass is sleeping on the couch tonight." I hang up the phone and roll my eyes.
"Who was that?" she asks.
"Jill."
"Oh." she says sadly. I smile at her, taking in the way her hair somehow finds a way to glow even in the dark.
"So we should get back then." she says. I nod but don't move. She stands there staring at me the way I do her.
I feel my phone buzz again. I sigh and look down at it. It's a text from Jill telling me I have 5 minutes.
"I have five minutes to get home." I tell her. Her eyes widen and a small smile forms on her face.
"What?" I ask.
"It just sounds like she's your mom." she says giggling. I look at her with a straight face.
"You think this is funny?" I ask. She smiles and giggles again, nodding.
"It's not funny. She's going to take my phone away. Or ground me." I say, allowing the smile to form on my face. "She will probably spank me too." I say. This makes Ellen giggle even harder and I step closer to her.
"Punish me for being a bad boy." By now, Ellen is gasping for air. I chuckle due to her contagious giggle.
"Well Mr. Bad boy. Let's get you home." she says, walking toward the bike. I shove the script back into her basket and we get settled on our bikes.
"I'll race ya." I say, already pedaling away. I stand up on my bike and pedal faster. I take a turn and see her speeding up behind me. She passes me as she stands on her pedals.
When we finally arrive home, I see Jill standing on our porch with her hands on her hips. I roll my eyes as we pedal into my driveway.
Ellen steps off of her bike and puts the kick stand down.
"I'll, uh, see you later Pat." she says awkwardly as she walks alway. "Goodnight Jill." she says sweetly. Jill doesn't even glance at her as she shoots daggers at me with her eyes.
I smile apologetically toward Ellen and watch her walk into her house.
"Bike riding?" I turn to Jill. "You took her bike riding? How old are you Patrick?"
"We just rode down to the park to practice." I tell her calmly.
"Why couldn't you just practice out here? Too many sex scenes? Oh wait. You do that during your free time."
"Excuse me?" I ask.
"Just tell me the truth Patrick! Are you sleeping with her?"
"No! Jillian, we've known each other since we were five. That's all. We were just catching up."
She rolls her eyes and shakes her head.
"You're sleeping on the couch. Tonight and the rest of the week until I feel that I can trust you again." She walks inside and I run a hand through my hair frustratedly.
I open the door and lay on the couch to try to get some sleep. I toss and turn, thinking about how cold Jillian acted toward Ellen.
And then my thoughts focused solely on Ellen. Holding her small body against my chest. Her smile and the way her eyes sparkle. And that is when I began to drift off into a peaceful sleep.
