Chapter 1

Seattle October 2004

Meredith is looking at the departure board. Why did this happen to her? What did she do to deserve faith being so cruel? Her whole life has felt like she is on the non chosen side. Her mother had chosen work over her own daughter. Her father had chosen a new family. Her boyfriend had chosen his wife. When was she to choose instead of react? The flight is called and she grabs her carry-on and walks to the gate.

Derek is looking around the hospital for Meredith. He wants to check on her and see if she is alright. He is not, after a sleepless night. Addison is happy and tries to seduce him to celebrate their reunion but he doesn't feel like there is anything to celebrate. At lunch he passes the interns table and everyone there sends him evil glares. No Meredith there either. It is at the end of the shift he first hears his new nickname Mc Bastard married to Mc Bitch. Cristina doesn't even look embarrassed when he catches her saying it. The next day is worse and still no Meredith. The third day he requests her from Dr Bailey but he only gets a glare and gets Dr Yang instead. During surgery he finally learns that Meredith has transferred but only Dr Webber knows where to. Not even Cristina knows and she doesn't hide her agitation against him. They almost loose their patient due to his loss of concentration and he is in a very low mode afterwards. Addison meets him after surgery in a very happy mode due to the same news about Meredith. He can't stand Addison and stays in an on-call room that night.

New York October 2004

Mt Sinai has one of the best neurosurgical departments in the country and she has got a transfer with only a couple of months left of her internship. Sometimes it is a benefit to be the daughter of a legend, Dr Ellis Grey. Meredith steps out from Human Resources with her new badge and a crisp white lab coat. They both read Dr Meredith Harrington and she will make a point of been referred to as Dr Harrington. She doesn't want anyone to connect her with her mother, the legend, so she uses her mother's maiden name instead of Grey. The new name will also make it more difficult for any of the Seattle staff to find her.

Dr Melissa Jameson, a fifth year resident, is called the general, who unsurprisingly specializes in general surgery. She has three interns plus Meredith; there is John who wants to go into plastics, Laura who wants trauma and Michael who wants ortho. The hospital is similar to Seattle Grace Hospital when it comes to departments but it is a lot larger in size and staff. On her first day she is put on scut to learn about the hospital, the second day is in the pit but from day three she is back in the OR again.

She rents a room close to the hospital but only uses it for sleeping and spends as many hours as possible in the OR. The hospital policy requests that she register one hundred hours in five different specialties and two hundred hours in the rest, combined time in the OR. She has the option of choosing and it makes her think that finally it is her turn to make choices.

When summer comes and the results from the intern exam are published she is number one in the hospital and on the top-ten list in the country. She gets offers from different hospitals around the country to do her residency with them. Dr Webber from Seattle Grace even calls her asking her to return to them but she declines gracefully and stays at Mt Sinai to do her residency and hopefully her fellowship. Her resident, the general, invites Meredith and her fellow interns out to celebrate since the four of them were all amongst the top ten in the hospital.

The five of them are at the bar across from the hospital. It has the feel of Joe's but not as homey. She misses drinking tequila with her Seattle friends so, to celebrate her results and drown her memories, she orders shots of tequila. Her fellow co-workers stare at the tiny woman downing shot followed by shot. They has only seen her drinking light-beer or wine before.

"Hold it Meredith" John says "we're here to celebrate not to empty the bar."
"Shut up"
He signals to the bartender for coffee. When the cup arrives she pushes it away.

"I thought we were here to celebrate" she glares at him.

A long blond man slides down on the stool beside her.

"Hi, is this seat taken?"

"Yeah, by an ass" she replies without giving him a look.

John's gasp is heard from her other side. She turns to him and asks

"What?"
He leans in and whispers in her ear.
"That is Mark Sloan, Dr Mark Sloan. He is the plastic God."

She turns and looks at Mark who is nursing his drink.

"Are you the guy that slept with your best friend's wife?"

He almost drops his glass and chokes on this drink, as does John.

"Who are you?"

"I'm Meredith."

"The dirty mistress?"

"Yeah, you could say that, but I didn't know he was married until she told me."

The general returns from the bathroom, stops behind Meredith and snarls at Mark.

"Stop hitting on my intern, Mark. She is not for you to man-whore around."

She turns and speaks to Meredith.
"That man is the biggest man-whore on the east coast. He slept with my sister in-law and almost broke their marriage. Don't ever go there, he is dirt."

"Melissa Jameson, stop back talking me. I'm sitting right here and Meredith already knows that I slept with Addison."

"You do? How?" Melissa asks.

"We are the dirty mistresses" Meredith answers, with a giggle. Then she connects the dots.

"Oh my, you must be one of Derek's sisters… But you have another surname?"

"Are you the slutty intern my brother dated in Seattle?"

"I'm not the slutty intern. I'm the best intern." She states before continuing. "He pursued me into dating him… and when Addison arrived I asked him to choose… and left Seattle when he picked Addison."

Melissa just stares at her and then tells her to stay away from Mark. That he is no good for her. Meredith just grabs his drink and downs it.

"Yuck, you have the same taste as Derek."

"Yeah, we always had the same taste" he whispered seductively into her ear.

She looks at him and thinks, what the hell, he looks hot and she wants to forget so why not.

"Do you want to leave?" she asks grabbing her purse.

He only needs a second to decide and gives her a smirk before taking her hand and ushering her out of the bar.

During the following years Mark and Meredith become best friends with benefits. Neither wants to commit to the other and seeks other partners from time to time. Meredith excels in neurosurgery and starts a trial to cure inoperable tumors. Dr Melissa Jameson becomes one of her best friends together with her fellow interns John, Laura and Michael.

Seattle March 2009

Derek is late for his flight and runs for the gate. He makes it as the last passenger and slips into his first-class seat. The consult is last minute and he knows that the moment he leaves the plane he will have to spring into action. The patient is young and the tumor is growing fast. He sighs and leans back into the seat.

New York March 2009

The night after Meredith's first successful surgery Mark is waiting for her in the hospital lobby to take her out for celebrations. He is sitting close to the elevators when he sees ha familiar man walking in the main doors. The man he hasn't seen since he got caught in said man's bed with the wife, Addison.

Derek walks into the once familiar lobby feeling a little strange. He hasn't been back since he moved to Seattle. Looking around he sees Mark sitting by the elevator looking as if he is waiting for someone. Knowing him he guesses it is one of the nurses. He hesitates for a second before turning professional and walks up to the elevators. He pushes the button for going up before turning to look straight at Mark nodding and turning back towards the doors.
"Good evening Dr Shepherd" Mark says.

"Good evening Dr Sloan" Derek replies.

"Are you here on a consult?"

"The chief asked for a consult. Are you waiting for someone?"
"Yeah, my dinner date" Mark says with a smile.

"Are there still nurses here who you can pursue to dates?"
"Yeah, a few, but this is a resident, a neurosurgeon."
"Even the intelligent ones can have a flaw."
The elevator signals its arrivals and while the door opens Derek gives Mark a last look and says.

"See you around Dr Sloan" and turns back to walk in.

Meredith is leaving for the night after giving her intern and resident in charge instructions about her trial patient. When the door to the elevator opens she can see Mark talking to a man who looks familiar. She sneaks behind the man as he turns and enters the elevator.

Derek looks out into the lobby while waiting for the door to close. He can see a petit woman snuggling up to Mark and the smile Mark gives her before giving her a light kiss. There is something very familiar about the woman that nags him on the ride up to his patient. At the nurses station he can hear two doctors talking about Dr Harrington's latest trial patient and the so far success. He would really like to meet this mysterious doctor who doesn't attend any medical conferences or appear on any picture in any interviews done with her. There have been a lot of articles in different medical journals of her success story but so far no picture.