Set after 4.11 – The day after Mer/Der broke up and he had his 1st date with Rose.

Mer's Room

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

"Argh!" Meredith mumbled as she struggled to find the alarm and hit the 'snooze' button. "Is it time to get up already?"

"If you had actually gone to sleep before 3:30am, you would not be so grumpy." Christina replied. "I get to be grumpy because you kept me up, but you do not get to be grumpy. Sad, yes, but not grumpy."

"I do not want to go to work today. I have a feeling. It is not a good feeling, in fact….." Meredith started.

"You have a feeling because you and McDouchebag broke up and you are going on no sleep and a little overkill of tequila last night. Get your ass up and get in the shower!" Christina interjected before Meredith could continue her lamenting.

"Fine, I am getting up, but you are to blame when my feeling that I should stay in bed and feel sorry for myself turns out to be right." Meredith retorted as she jumped out of bed and huffed her way to the bathroom. She came back to the bedroom long enough to say, "And no more mentioning McAss. We are over and he and his scrub nurse can ride off into the sunset for all I care."

Meredith grabs her clothes ard slams the bathroom door.

"Sure you don't care. And I am a chicken…" Christina mumbled sarcastically as she covered her head with the pillow to catch a few more minutes of much needed sleep.

Mer's Kitchen

"Alex! Stop eating from the skillet! I am making breakfast for everyone and you are hogging it all before it even finishes cooking!" Izzie yelled at him as he was giving her his best puppy dog face.

"I'm hungry, Iz! After Mer's failed attempt at breakfast yesterday, it is nice to see you back in the kitchen. No one cooks better than you." Alex replied as Izzie broke into a big grin.

Izzie finished the breakfast and yelled for George, Lexie, Meredith, and Christina to join them.

"Something smells good in here," George said as he walked into the kitchen with Lexie close behind.

"Thanks! Hey, Lexie, I heard you are allergic to eggs, so I made a special meal for you." Izzie informed her.

"Thanks, Izzie. I really did not want to have to run to the hospital for another epinephrine injection this morning." Lexie said with a sheepish look on her face as she sat down at the table.

"Yeah, Lex, you looked like your face got stuck in a bee's nest yesterday." George laughed with his mouth full of food.

"Gross, George! Close your mouth! I just wanted to eat what Meredith prepared for me." Lexie replied with a frown.

"Boy you really are codependent. If she asked you to jump off the Space Needle would you do that to gain her approval?" Alex said looking at her with disdain.

"Oh, you are one to talk. You sleep with a married woman every time she shows up at your doorstep for a quickie. Who is codependent?" Izzie replied with a smirk.

"Touche, Iz." Alex pouted as he finished his breakfast and started cleaning up the kitchen

The others followed Alex and the kitchen was quickly cleaned. Alex grabbed his coat. "It is time to get to work. Where are Mer and Christina?"

"Who knows what they are doing! Probably upstairs dancing or doing some stupid bonding thing they do." Izzie snarled as she grabbed her coat. "They are big girls and can take care of themselves. We are not their keepers."

The group headed to work. Meredith and Christina left (late as usual) and made it to the hospital with minutes to spare.

Derek's Trailer

"Do you eat trout for breakfast every day?" The Chief inquired as he walked out of his trailer with his Raisin Bran and banana.

"No, sometimes I like to mix things up and have a little Muelsi." Derek replied with a frown.

The chief looked at him and noticed Derek seemed lost in thought, like he was a million miles away.

"You want to talk about it?" The chief asked as he sat down in the chair across from Derek.

"About what?" Derek responded absently.

"About whatever has you looking like you lost your dog." The chief replied with a knowing look on his face.

"I am moving on and it is a positive thing, so why do I feel so sad?" Derek began. "I ended a relationship that was going nowhere and went out with a woman who wants everything I want last night. She is a breath of fresh air and I know she can make me happy, so what is my problem?"

"You still love Meredith." The Chief replied. "Until you get over her, nothing else will last or make you happy. He paused. "Are you sure that things are over for you two?"

"I am sure we are over. She does not want what I want and she does not trust me…..or anyone for that matter." Derek mumbled more to himself than to the Chief.

"Do you really think she is solely to blame for your break-up?" The Chief asked quietly.

"I thought so when we broke up, but she said some things that got me thinking about what I did to hurt the relationship. I even told Rose, my date last night, about the situation and she agreed that I am partly to blame for what happened between me and Meredith. I just……I need to learn from my mistakes with her and try not to make them again with Rose." Derek concluded.

"If you say so…." The Chief responded.

"I say so," Derek retorted. "Now, if you will excuse me, I need to get to the hospital for a craniotomy."

As Derek leaves, the Chief receives a phone call.

"Hi, Webber, it's Long."

"How is life in Alaska?" The Chief replied.

"Freezing and dark! But I did not call to exchange pleasantries. I need a favor and if I remember correctly you owe me one." Long replied.

"What do you need?" Chief asked .

"Here's the situation…….."

And so the day that would change several lives at SGH began……