Survivor

Chapter Eighteen

Yall might hate me after this one...

Derek walks around the house, his eyes glued to the ceilings and corners where cameras are now installed. Vanessa has cords across the main room, connected to her laptop as she works on syncing up the feeds. There's a light blue van parked two houses down, the outside decorated with the name of some fake electrician company.

The undercover vehicle looks normal to anyone else, but inside holds some of the best top-notch surveillance equipment the government has to offer. Derek smiles to himself, impressed with the job his team has done. Not only is the inside of the house now covered, but the outside as well. There's an alarm system and multiple hidden cameras securing all entrances to the house. All of which can be viewed from the tech van.

"It's been a while since we've been bodyguards, Shep." Jake remarks from his spot on a barstool in the kitchen.

"You know how important this case is." The dark-haired agent shoots back.

"Just sayin'," Jake shrugs, moving from his spot to stand next to Derek in the main room. "We good work, yeah?" He asks, following his boss' gaze to the cams.

"We as in, Lohan, Howard, Webbs, Prenton, and I. You sat on the couch and make smartass remarks the whole time." Derek's eyes sparkle with amusement, and the blonde man next to him playfully punches him in the shoulder. "Oh, you wanna go?" Derek squares up to Jake, both men smiling, but flexing their muscles, adrenaline before a fight kicking in.

"You are both children!" Maggie snaps as she walks into the room. "Take it outside, now!" The men quickly make their way out the back door to the soft, green grass of Meredith's fenced-in backyard.

"It's been too long since we've sparred," Observes Derek, shaking out his arms.

"You scared? Need a refresher, old man?" Jake taunts, a cocky grin on his face.

"Oh, you did not just call me old man." That's the last straw, and Derek launches himself at his team member, both men having been trained for years in hand-to-hand combat, it's evenly matched. They're not hurting each other, just getting some practice work in.

After an hour, both men are sweating from their workout, muscles burning from use. They lay on the grass, staring at the cloudy Seattle sky.

"Shit." Jake breathes, and they both begin laughing.

"You're better than I remember."

"Been practicing."

"Still can't beat me though," Derek says cockily.

"Shut your mouth before I punch your lights out." Jake threatens. A clap of thunder makes both men jump, and they start to get up and rush into the house, just in time for the rain to start pouring out of the sky.

When the three women pull into Meredith's driveway, finally back from the hospital, Meredith is the first out of the car in an instant. She quickly makes her way inside, barely noticing the rain and nearly tripping over some wires that have appeared across her hall thanks to the FBI team's fancy setup she now has in her home.

Cristina exchanges a concerned look with Olivia then takes off after the other surgeon. Meredith doesn't so much as look at anyone as she flees upstairs to the master bathroom, Cristina finally catching up to her.