𝐑𝐈𝐒𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐏𝐇𝐎𝐄𝐍𝐈𝐗 ━━ 𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐤 𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐩𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐝

two | tequila

"Toilet's free for use."

The cold sensation of the tiled floor sends chills up my legs as I lean against one of the walls for support. Meredith lies down on the floor itself, and her best friend Cristina Yang sits in the shower.

"It's not us. It's them." Meredith growls in frustration. "Them and their stupid boy. . .penises. They didn't tell me they'd just leave after a night of fun. They gave absolutely no warning that they were going to leave me to clean up the mess."

A slick sliding sound comes from the shower.

"It's not that Burke broke up with me." Cristina grumbles loudly. "It's how he broke up with me — like it was business. Like it was a business — like he's the boss of me."

I catch my bottom lip between my teeth. "Technically, he is the boss of you."

"And what's worse is that I care."

My hand reaches for the half-empty bottle of vodka, but I give up halfway. Of course, Meredith's next round of vomiting ruins the mood and worsens the effects of our hangovers.

"The problem is estrogen."

"No, the problem is tequila and vodka."

The young doctor in the shower shakes her head. "I used to be all business. And then he goes and gets me pregnant."

"With his stupid boy penis." Meredith chants like a mantra.

"Thanks again for inviting me." I press a damp towel against my forehead. "I really needed this after the year I've had."

"You still haven't contributed to the discussion." Meredith prepares to hunch over the toilet once again. "Which stupid boy penis ruined your life?"

I look at her through squinted eyes. "His name's Lennox. Worst man in the entire universe."

"I'll challenge you on that."

One car ride later, and we reach the hospital. With the same interning schedule, our shifts match up exactly.

"So this Lennox guy." Meredith cocks her right brow. "Is he something special?"

"He's something, alright."

I step through the sliding doors right beside Meredith. From the corner, Dr. Shepherd — Derek — appears from around the corner.

"Good morning, Dr. Phoenix." He greets me, side-eyeing Meredith not so discreetly.

"Good isn't something I'd use to describe this morning."

Meredith and I quicken our pace to reach the elevator. Just before he can enter, the doors close, leaving the two of us alone.

"You know, I still don't understand why you had sex with him." My finger presses against the number to our floor. "He seems to be a bit stalkerish."

"When you tell me about Lennox, I'll tell you about Derek."

"Sounds like a plan."

Bailey assigns the six of us to the E.R. for the shift, splitting us up between the victims of a major car crash. George takes the first victim. Meredith takes the father. Isobel Stevens takes the second victim, Alex Karev with the son. That leaves me and Cristina with the mother.

"My husband Bob's a really good driver. Safe, you know?" Lea Sibert stares up at the lights overhead. "I think he saw something in the middle of the road and swerved to avoid it."

As she talks about the events prior to the accident, the two of us conduct routine checkups to make sure her injuries are just superficial.

"The crash. It just-It just came out of nowhere. One second, everything's fine. The next, it. . ."