Disclaimer: I do not own characters from Grey's Anatomy.

Author's Note:
Hello friends! I'm throwing this story your way because I'm starting to enjoy it a crazy amount and I hope it'll bring you some smiles too!
You've probably gotten the gist from the description, but this story follows a series of events with the idea that Meredith and Derek met while she was merely a medical student working at a hospital and he was a second-year resident. The age gap between the two is different than that of the show, I realize that, but I'm excited to explore some new adventures with this new version of our favorite couple!

Side Note: I would suggest coming into the story with an open mind, there is little to no correlation with the plotline of Grey's.

Read.
Hopefully, enjoy.
Review if you'd like.

Six more hours to go and then you're free. You've got this, just power through and hopefully, she'll stop torturing you soon.
Is this normal? Being tossed between an overbearing attending and the one in your specialty?
Either way, it's getting old.
You're a resident, though, so buck up, man.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Ellis snapped at a young blonde in the lobby of the hospital.

Shit. Maybe stop for a second?
No, don't stop at the top of a staircase, you idiot.

"I work here," the blonde bit back, "I'm volunteering to pad my resume and the Chief offered me a job as an orderly."

The resident stepped down from the last stair, glancing around himself awkwardly as he took a couple steps closer, holding a file behind his back.

Ellis' stare was cold and hard, "Well you go tell Chief Webber that you do not accept the position, right now."

"Mom, I'm not going to do that," the girl told her simply.

Mom? Ellis Grey has a daughter?

"Meredith, dammit," Ellis said sharply, crossing her arms over her chest, "You can't just come in here and…"

"And what, Mother? Work? Get a job?" she asked rhetorically, rolling her eyes, "Oh wait… I know; you don't want people to know that I exist. Is that it?" she asked with a fake smile.

"Meredith…"

"No, no, no, it's fine," she chuckled dryly, "I get it," she nodded, "If you had a daughter people might think that the stone-cold Ellis Grey had feelings, but don't worry," she laughed again, "I will make it very clear that you're as emotionless as they come," she snapped.

"Meredith Grey do not talk to me like that," Ellis chided, "I am your mother…"

Meredith sighed wearily and turned, "I have to go to work," she muttered.

Ellis' arm snapped in front of her as she grabbed Meredith by the elbow, "Did you not hear a word of what I just said? You are not working in this hospital."

Ok, stop eavesdropping. You have to go up to her, she's your attending, you're her resident. She requested Jane Doe's blood work and made it clear you were to get them to her before she walked out the door. Get your ass over there.

"Excuse me, Dr. Grey," the young resident called out, jogging up to her, "The.. uh blood work you requested," he said, holding out the file.

"You're a Dr., learn how to form complete sentences," she told him sternly, releasing Meredith's arm and grabbing the file, "Thank you," she said dryly before sending one last glare to Meredith and walking toward the door.

"Don't take that personally," the blonde told him, "she's a bitch to everyone."

The doctor sighed and raised his eyebrows, "Duly noted," he snorted a laugh as they made eye contact.

Wow, her eyes are… so green.

The girl cleared her throat and a light blush moved up her face, "Well… uh, I'm gonna be late for my shift," she said with a smile, "Good luck, Dr..."

"Shepherd," he told her quickly, "Derek Shepherd," he said with a smile.

The girl nodded and returned his smile, "Meredith," she offered, sticking out her hand.

Derek reached out and shook, "I know… I heard," he winced, shrugging his shoulders, "Sorry, I didn't mean to…"

Meredith giggled as she released his hand, "Don't worry about it, I'd be surprised if you were the only one who heard that conversation."

Chuckling along with her, Derek nodded and tilted his head, "It was nice to meet you, Meredith," he smiled.

"Nice to meet you too, Derek," she smiled, nodding softly.

His eyes; they're sparkling. I didn't know eyes could sparkle like that and the hair, oh my god.

Derek's pager blared, "Duty calls," he announced, "Seeya," he smiled before turning and heading up the stairs with a jog.

"Seeya," Meredith smirked at his fast-moving figure, biting her lip as she walked toward the stairs on the opposite side of the lobby.

Get that smirk off of your face. Your ass is late.

The blonde nearly ran toward the Chief's office, passing by his secretary, and merely knocking on the door frame as she barged in.

"Meredith," Richard said happily as she hurried into his office, "I was beginning to think you weren't showing."

"I know, I'm sorry," she breathed, giving him an apologetic look as she walked closer to his desk, "My mother caught me in the lobby and she isn't very happy about…"

"The job, I know," Richard sighed, "Look, if this is going to be too difficult for you, I can make some calls and secure a position for you at another hospital," he offered from his desk.

"No," she said quickly, "No, I am very grateful for this opportunity, the hospital's close to campus, I'm familiar with the people, and with how things run. I am more than ready to ignore my mother, Sir."

And there's a really attractive resident on your staff that I wouldn't mind seeing every day.

"Alright then, I'm happy to hear it," Richard said with a grin, slapping his hands and rubbing them together as he stood, "Now I paged a resident to show you around… I know you've been here more times than you can count, but he's the best resident in his year and there is a lot he can show you," he told her honestly.

Meredith nodded, "I'm happy to learn," she smiled.

"Shep! There you are," Richard greeted, his eyes darting toward the door.

Shep? As in Shepherd? As in attractive doctor with the sparkling blue eyes?

"Sorry Chief, I was…" he began, walking further into the office, "Meredith," he smiled as he caught sight of the blonde.

"You two know each other?" Richard asked.

"No," Meredith stated quickly, "We just met a few minutes ago, he was delivering some labs to my mother when she and I…" she trailed off awkwardly.

"Right," Richard nodded knowingly, "I'll let you get to it, if you need anything, page me or give me a call, Meredith has my number," he said, moving to sit back down.

"Will do," Meredith nodded.

"Let's get started," Derek smiled, leading her out the door.

"Meredith?" Richard called.

"Yes?" she said, stopping in her tracks and turning toward him.

He smiled brightly, "Forget about your mother, I'm happy you're here."

"Thank you, Richard… umm. Chief," she nodded, cringing at the misstep.

Richard just chuckled, "You'll get used to that, shut the door on your way out, please."

"So…" Derek began slowly as she shut the door behind herself, "Your mother is Ellis Grey and you're on a first name basis with the Chief?" he asked, raising his eyebrows as they walked down the hall side by side, "What's the story behind that?"

"There's no story," Meredith said with a short giggle.

Derek gave her an unconvinced look, "I find that hard to believe," he chuckled.

She shook her head, "I don't have a story," she said sternly, "I'm just a girl in a hospital."

"Hey!" Derek said, tilting his head toward her and smiling widely, "I'm just a guy in a hospital."

What is this? Is he flirting with me? No, he's not, you idiot. He's just making conversation.
But is it a flirty conversation? Do I flirt back?
He's a co-worker. Do not flirt back, I repeat, do not flirt back.

"Just a random guy in blue scrubs?" she asked him, raising her eyebrows.

What did I just say?! Meredith Grey knock it off. This is inappropriate. Amy would be appalled. Ok, that's a lie. Amy would root for you, but that's the problem.

He chuckled, "Well, I do have a medical license," he admitted with a smirk as they approached the nurse's station, "Meredith, this is Debbie," he said, pointing toward the older woman with glasses and short brown hair, "and this is Clare," he said, pointing toward a much younger woman with freckles and long red hair, "Debbie, Clare, this is Meredith Gr…"

She kneed him from behind and his leg buckled, "Nice to meet you," Meredith said with a smile as he shot her an annoyed look.

Derek eyed her with confusion evident on his face before he glanced back at Debbie and Clare, "Right, well, you'll be working closely with them," he told her, his face becoming neutral again, "They'll give you assignments throughout the day, I don't know if the Chief will give you a pager. Sometimes he does, other times he just asks that you check in with them every so often or when you're in need of a new assignment."

Meredith nodded as she listened and then glanced back at the ladies, "I look forward to working with you," she smiled sweetly as they responded.

"Let's keep going," Derek said, smiling at the nurses as they walked away, "What the hell was that?" he asked sharply.

"I'm sorry," she sighed, "but I…"

"Look, I like you, you seem like a good kid," Derek told her, "but you can't do that.."

"They can't know," Meredith spoke over him abruptly, "No one can know that I'm Ellis Grey's daughter. You're not supposed to know," she said coldly.

Derek sighed and rolled his eyes, "Ok so you want to make her proud and you don't want people to give you special treatment, I get it."

"No, you don't get it," Meredith snapped, "You think Ellis Grey is a bitch, I know you do because she's a bitch to everyone and she was terrible to you today. She's always a bitch and she treats me just like she treats her residents," she argued, sighing and softening her voice, "I don't want people to know she's my mother because she doesn't want them to know, that way, when I screw this up, it doesn't make her look bad."

Well shit, Shep, you got that one wrong and now the cute girl's sad.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know," he said sadly, swallowing thickly.

Meredith crossed her arms lightly and sighed, "You weren't supposed to. Can we get on with this thing?"

Derek nodded and smiled, "Of course," he said, turning to continue walking down the hallway.

"I'm gonna say one more thing and then I'll start being nice again because you're technically my boss," Meredith told him suddenly as they turned a corner.

"What?" Derek asked with a laugh.

"You call me a kid again and I will end you," she told him harshly, narrowing her eyes in his direction, "and you know who my mother is so that's entirely possible."

The smile died off of Derek's face in an instant, "Right, won't happen again," he said quickly.

Feisty. I don't know if I like it or hate it.
Oh shut it, you love it.

"Meredith," Amy groaned, banging her head against the bathroom door, "Hurry up."

"Geez," Meredith huffed, throwing the door open and nearly causing her roommate to topple in head first, "Would you chill out?"

"You've been in there for an hour. I have to pee," she told her, shoving her aside and slamming the door in her face.

Meredith rolled her eyes and walked to her room to toss her towel in the laundry basket and grab her phone.

Great. 3 missed calls from Mom and a voicemail? It's only been a day since I started. Sparkly-Eye Guy better not have told anyone.

She sighed, hitting play on the voicemail and holding her phone to her cheek as she walked into the small kitchen, grabbed a blue mug from the cupboard, and poured a cup of dark, steamy coffee.

"What's with the face?" Amy asked as she emerged from the bathroom.

Meredith rolled her eyes, "My mother," she stated simply, taking a seat at one of the barstools.

Amy winced, "Twice in one week? That has got to be a record," she said, moving to grab a cup of coffee.

"I knew this was going to happen," Meredith groaned, tossing her phone onto the counter, "I start working at the hospital and she loses her shit."

"Then why the hell did you choose the one hospital in New York she does work at?" Amy asked her seriously, popping two slices of bread into the toaster.

"It's close to school, it's a great hospital, and I have connections," Meredith argued.

"But your mother is there," Amy retorted, scrunching her nose, "That's enough to make someone want to move to Antarctica."

"Maybe Richard was right," Meredith groaned placing her elbows on the counter and holding her head in her hands, "It'll be too hard, for both of us, I should just have him call another hospital."

"You can't do that now!" the brunette exclaimed, buttering the toast, "You've already had a standoff with her. Now is your time to prove yourself. Meredith Grey, don't back down. Pull up your big girl panties and show her you deserve the Grey name. You are gonna go to that hospital and you are gonna be the best damn orderly they've ever had," she nearly shouted, tossing a piece of toast at her and throwing her coat on.

Meredith laughed and shook her head, "Thanks," she said, taking a bite of the toast.

"Plus," she shrugged, pulling on her backpack, "If you leave the hospital, you leave cute Sparkly-Eye Guy," she smirked, snatching her coffee off the counter.

"I am not staying for Sparkly-Eye Guy," Meredith told her with a stern look.

"Whatever," Amy snorted, walking toward the door, "I'm late for class. Kick ass, Grey."

"You too," she sighed, glaring at her phone and taking an angry bite of toast.

Kick ass? I wish I could kick my mother's ass. That would make me feel better.

"Hey Shep, wanna grab lunch?" a muscular blonde called, swinging into the resident's lounge.

"Can you wait five minutes?" Derek asked, "I have to finish this," he reported, his head still buried in papers as he sat at a roundtable.

"Make it two and you've got a deal," the man told him, pulling a chair out and flipping it around, sitting on it backward and resting his arms over the top, "So that Peds nurse I was talking to you about? Totally into me."

Derek looked at him over his work and rolled his eyes, "Mark this is not going to make me work faster."

"I swear, man," he continued, a smirk playing on his face, "She's hot too. Remember Tracy Gaulding from med school?"

"With the glasses and the acne?" Derek asked, his face contorting as he continued scribbling.

Mark's face twisted in confusion, "No, must've been someone else then. The point is," he digressed, "She told me about this bar nearby and she wants me to meet her there Friday tonight."

"Good for you," Derek murmured, "You enjoy acne nurse."

"Come on, Derek," Mark groaned, "I need a wingman, be my wingman."

Derek looked up as someone else walked into the room, "Ah! Addie," he called before gesturing to Mark, "Go with Mark to a bar Friday night and be his wingman," he said before packing up his papers.

"Can't you learn how to get yourself laid?" she groaned, pilfering through her locker.

"Hey, I have no problem getting laid," Mark argued.

Derek snorted a chuckle, "Whatever you say," he shook his head.

"You know what?" Addison said, turning around to look at them with her hands on her hips, "I'll do it, I'll go, I need to get laid too."

"There you go," Derek nodded, gesturing toward her as he stood, "Wingwoman."

Mark glared at Addison and then turned back to Derek, "What's so important that you have to leave your best friend hanging?"

"Dinner," Derek sighed, "At my mother's. Want lunch or are we gonna sit here and talk about your flavor of the day for an hour?"

"And I wasn't invited?" Mark asked, standing and flipping his chair back around before following Derek toward the door.

"Hey!" Addison snapped, "Am I your wingwoman or what?" she asked, her hands shooting up.

"Friday night, lobby, 8 o'clock," Mark said gruffly.

"Yes," she whispered, spinning around toward her locker again.

"If you want an invitation, call Mom," Derek told him as they walked up to the nurse's station.

Mark scoffed, "If I call Mom all I'll get is a lecture about why I don't call her more often."

"Then you should call her," Derek laughed, handing the charts over to Debbie, "These are for Dr. Richardson," he told her.

"Thank you, Dr. Shepherd," Debbie smiled.

"Call her for me," Mark said as Derek smiled at the nurse, "She loves her Golden Boy," he smirked.

Derek shook his head and followed Mark toward the cafeteria, "I am not calling her for you. You want an invitation, you make the call."

"Lucky for me, I'll be at a bar that night anyway," Mark said with an arrogant smile and a pep in his step, "Addie better have brushed up on her wingwoman skills."

"She's been your wingwoman before," Derek said.

Mark raised his eyebrows and nodded, "I know, that's why she needs to brush up, I almost didn't get laid at all last time."

"You poor man," Derek mocked him, placing a hand on his shoulder.

Mark shrugged him off, "Shut-up Golden Boy."

After her mid-morning class, Meredith found herself at a small table, flush against a window in a quaint new coffee shop just off campus. She had textbooks and notebooks, pens and highlighters of all colors, scattered over the top as she attempted to study for an exam she had in a few days.

Just a couple weeks until Thanksgiving break. Soon you'll be able to log hours at the hospital, you'll have the apartment to yourself when Amy visits her family, you'll spend Thanksgiving…

"Hey, Mer," Amy said, sitting across from her with a huff, "God, it is freezing out there," she groaned, "I understand that it's mid-November in New York, but seriously? I'm done with the cold."

"It's gonna be a long winter for you," Meredith chuckled, shoving her things to her side of the table.

Amy rolled her eyes, "It's always a long winter for me," she complained, "and I have to go to my Mom's for dinner on Friday night."

"Since when?" Meredith asked, scrunching her nose at the thought of a mother.

"Since three hours ago," she sighed, pulling out flashcards, "apparently my brother finally has a night off and he's coming so it won't completely suck," she admitted with a shrug.

Meredith looked over at her, confusion flooding her face, "You have a brother? We've been friends for two years, how did I not know you have a brother?" she asked.

"He's a resident, he's not around a ton," Amy said simply, flipping through her cards, "You know about all of my sisters though because they're almost clinically insane and I have a million ridiculous stories about them."

"I know, I like the crazy sister stories," Meredith said with a devious grin, "I can't believe I didn't know you…"

Shepherd. Amelia Shepherd. Dr. Shepherd. Derek. Derek Shepherd. Dr. Derek Shepherd. Sparkly-Eye Guy. No, he's not, he can't be. When I mentioned him to her I mentioned his name, didn't I? I would have. Must be a different Shepherd family. The world isn't that small.

"You should come," Amy offered, scribbling a note down in her notebook, "Mom loves you and you'll get free food out of it."

"And I can meet your secret brother," Meredith responded with a glare.

Amy laughed, "Oh come on, Mer."

"I'm your best friend," Meredith argued with a short laugh, "You're supposed to tell me stuff like that! What else don't I know?" she asked suspiciously.

"Chai Latte for Amelia," a barista shouted out from across the room.

"Be right back," she winked, dodging the question as she hurried out of her chair.

Not the same family. Totally not. Except, the hair and the smile and maybe even the eyes and… dammit.

"Sorry, I didn't know she was free that night," Amy said into her cell as she came back with her latte and took a seat, "Ok, I'll tell her. Thanks, Mom. Yup, love you, bye."

"What'd she say?" Meredith asked.

"That she would be happy to see you again and I need to make sure you know that you're 'welcome in our home anytime, Dear'," Amy said, mocking her mother before taking a sip.

Meredith laughed, "Your mom is so…"

"Anti-Ellis?"

"Yes," Meredith sighed.

It must be nice; having a mother who cares and cooks and invites friends into your home.

I hope you enjoyed the first chapter of this new story, let me know what you think or how you're feeling about it!
Have a great Thanksgiving!

{P.S. - for those of you following More Heart, Less Attack; I'm almost done with the next chapter. I hope to have it up by tomorrow, stay tuned!}