The alarm had been going off for a good twenty minutes before Meredith finally heard it. Derek was still slumbering beside her and she threw the blankets off the bed, cursing. Derek sat up immediately, blinking the sleep from his eyes.

" What time is it , " He asked, yawning.

" I'm late, Derek! I'm late for my first day of work! "

" Meri, calm down. You already have your clothes laid out, just go jump in the shower real quick and you'll be all set , " He flopped back down on the bed, burying his face in the pillow.

" Easy for you to say, Mr. I Get To Make My Own Schedule, you're never late for anything! "

Derek groaned loudly and pulled the blanket back over his head. He could already tell it was going to be a bad day.

She'd slipped out the door without even kissing him goodbye, still irrationally miffed at his ability to be able to sleep through the damn alarm. Now she was late and being late on your first day wasn't what you wanted to be. No, you wanted to be on time for your first day, early even. Not Meredith though. No, Meredith was already screwing herself in her medical career, even if only three people knew it. She was screwing her attending. Okay, well she wasn't just screwing him, she was dating him as well. Still, she didn't suppose that made it any better.

And of course, she had to be given her tour of the hospital by the Chief of Surgery, who gave her a stern look as she tried to slip in unnoticed. Great, just freaking great. Already she had him questioning her abilities and she hadn't even been there an hour. She fell into step beside Cristina who shot her a quizzical look. She shook her head furiously, obviously not willing to discuss exactly what had made her late and turned her attention towards Dr. Webber.

After their tour, they all scurried into the locker room to change into their scrubs. She felt a rush slipping the cotton material on. She wondered if she always would or if it was just mere euphoria of officially being recognized as a doctor. She and Cristina bantered back and forth on what resident they got, only to be interrupted by a doe eyed boy that Cristina had been making fun of the mixer, saying he had the hots for Meredith.

Meeting Bailey had been an...experience. It was no wonder people called her the Nazi. She'd put her interns in their place straight off the bat. Katie Bryce was their first patient and Meredith was terrified when Bailey informed her that Katie was now her responsibility. It became quickly apparent to Meredith that she much rather preferred her knocked out than conscious and talking. The girl represented everything that she herself had hated about high school. On the plus side, Dr. Burke didn't seem to recognize her and Meredith was thanking someone up above for being on her side.

That was until Katie's parents showed up and had questions. She'd gone on a mad search for Bailey, trying to figure out just who exactly she was supposed to page for the parents to talk too. Bailey had of course been distracted, pointing in the direction of a tall dark haired man. It was in that moment she wanted to throw a hissy fit. She knew that dark haired man. Before Bailey even got the words "Dr. Shepherd" out of her mouth, she just knew. She'd stood there for a moment watching him talk to his colleagues before he caught her staring. He did a double take and she took off down the hallway, not prepared for having to work with him just yet. Derek being Derek wouldn't have it of course. She heard his footsteps behind her and she tried frantically to lose him. No such luck. He caught her by the arm and was pulling her into the stairwell He released her as soon as the door closed and she glared at him.

" Now, that's real professional, Dr. Grey , " He grinned at her as she checked the stairwell for eavesdroppers.

" Shut up, " she tossed back distractedly.

" Is that any way to talk to your attending , " His arms folded across his chest and he was obviously bating her. The grin had become a smirk and he had that all too familiar glint in his eyes.

" So Inappropriate. What if somebody saw us , " She hissed at him.

" Meredith, would you relax? I simply just wanted to find out how your first day was going, " His arms dropped to his side, obviously disappointed that she wouldn't play.

" It'd be going a lot better if I had anyone but your patient , " Meredith snapped at him. He looked surprised.

" You're the intern on Katie's case? "

" Yes. Her parents are here and they have questions. Bailey told me to find you. "

" Okay. I'll go talk to them. Seriously, Meredith. You can't run in the opposite direction every time you see me , "

" Dr. Grey , " She corrected him sternly.

" Right. Dr. Grey. Are you aware that you cheated me out of my kiss this morning? That hurts."

" You slept through the alarm."

" So did you. "

" It was your fault. You kept me up all night. "

" I beg to differ. It was you who kept me ' up ' all night , " Derek replied, clearly pleased with himself.

" Derek! "

" I've got parents to talk too. I'll see you later , " He glanced around the stairwell quickly before dropping a kiss on her mouth, leaving her stunned before she called out after him.

" We are SO going to talk about this!"

Okay, so he'd broken the rules already. He knew she would probably kill him when they got home, but it had been worth it. He really had no clue up until she told him that she was the intern that had been assigned to Katie's case. Fate must be on their side or something, because he was anxious to see Meredith's skills as a doctor. This gave him the perfect opportunity to do just that.

Katie Bryce however might not be the best case to start off on, because he himself had no clue what was causing her seizures. Her parents were more than frustrated, understandably. He knew he'd be pissed if it was his kid and some doctor couldn't tell him what was wrong with her. Of course, Derek wouldn't be letting anyone else poke and prod his kid either. He'd do the tests himself.

He was confident in Meredith's abilities, but he wanted to see them in action. Which is right about the time his pager went off. 911 for Katie Bryce. He'd taken off down the halls realizing he had as much to prove to her as she did to him and not getting there in time didn't look good on his behalf. When he arrived, the room was full and Meredith looked flushed. He pushed his way into the room and over to Katie, checking her heart rate before finally looking up at Meredith.

" What the hell happened?"

" She had a seizure and her heart stopped-"

" A seizure? You were supposed to be watching her!"

" I checked on her and-"

" You know what? Just go, " Ouch. That had come out a little bit more harshly than he intended. He watched the hurt set into her eyes and he wanted to throw something. Right now though, his first obligation was to his patient. He could talk to Meredith later. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched her scurry out of the room and down the hall, obviously upset. Now, he really felt like an ass.

Well, she had certainly proved her doctoring skills to him. He'd kicked her out of the patients room without really even a second glance. That stung more than she'd like. So it had been hell sitting in the room with all the other interns, listening to him talk. Even if he was talking about a patient. She could see Richard standing out in the hall, looking in on him as he talked, so she kept herself despondent, even when he announced the incentive for helping him find the cause of Katie's seizures. She wanted in on that surgery if for no other reason than to prove to him that she wasn't incompetent. She was a good doctor.

Logically, she knew Dr. Webber would have a fit if he knew that she would be scrubbing in on Derek's surgery . They'd both probably get called into his office and receive a lecture on professionalism and favoritism. She agreed to work with Cristina, knowing that if they did manage to find the cure, that at least her friend would get the opportunity to scrub in on such an advanced procedure.

" So why don't you want to work with Shepherd, " Cristina's voice drew her from her thoughts.

" It's not that I don't want too. Okay, maybe it is. But I'm not talking about it. "

" Wait a minute! He was the hot guy in the bar the other night that was totally checking you out!"

" You think everyone's checking me out, Cristina."

" Not everyone. Just Georgie and Dr. Shepherd . Wait...you didn't go home with him did you? "

" Cristina! We're supposed to be working!"

" Oh my god... you did! "

" Okay, listen. I'll make you a deal. We get through this shift and I'll tell you what's going on, but NOT inside this hospital , " Meredith offered a compromise.

" Deal."

" Good. Now let's find out what's wrong with this girl, "

It was unfortunate for Meredith her theory was all wrong. She and Cristina did manage to find out what was wrong with Katie, but instead of letting Cristina scrub in, he told Meredith he'd see her in OR. So now Cristina was mad at her and she felt like crap. She'd tried to apologize to her new friend, but she wasn't having it. The only thing left to do was for Meredith go find Derek and get him to let Cristina scrub in as opposed to her.

She found him prepping Katie for surgery, shaving the underside of her hair.

" Promised I'd make her look cool. Apparently, being a bald beauty queen is the worst thing to happen in the history of the world, " He said once he glanced up and saw Meredith.

" Did you choose me for the surgery because I'm your girlfriend?"

" Well, now that wouldn't be very professional, would it?"

" You and professional aren't doing so hot today, "

" I chose you for the surgery because on your first day with very little training you helped save Katie's life. You earned your right to see her surgery through to the end and you shouldn't let the fact that we're dating get in the way of you taking your shot , "

" I'm not scrubbing in. You should ask Cristina. She really wants it, "

" Meredith, look. I jumped to conclusions earlier. I didn't have the full story. You earned your place in Katie's surgery and you're going to take it , " Derek's tone left no room for arguments.

Frustrated with her inability to get him to change his mind, she stormed off in the opposite direction.

He knew the minute she walked into the operating room that she wasn't regretting his decision. She stood off to the sides at first, nervous, and he waved her over to stand beside him. She came hesitantly, but she did come all the same. He was glad his surgical mask didn't betray his smile. Their eyes met in a look he'd never experienced before. Everything around them just kind of faded away and it was him and her alone in the OR. If he didn't know before, he was now fully aware of the fact that the tiny little blonde, who was messy and stubborn, had totally captured his heart.