Although four of you lived in the old building, it was rare that you crossed paths with them there. All four of you worked at Seattle Grace Hospital as surgical interns and spent far more time there than at home, it was just the place you'd go rarely to nap before working again. Coming home in the middle of the night you wasn't uncommon for you, but seen as you travelled home alone, you assumed your other three roommates would all be asleep when you entered the home, expecting the normal silence you were met with when entering at five in the morning. That wasn't the case tonight.

You tried to close the front door silently as to not wake anyone up, but you could hear the quiet sobs of someone coming from the still lit kitchen. There was no reason for anyone to be awake at this time and there certainly was no reason for them to be in the kitchen. You couldn't help the curiosity that brewed within you, letting your feet lead you into the lit room. Your first assumption would have been someone having gotten up to get a glass of water but the person you found certainly wasn't drinking water.

Meredith was slumped on the counter, her head tiredly falling into her hand, the other grasping onto a bottle of liquor that looked almost empty even though you were pretty sure it was full quite recently. Tear trails were left upon her cheeks, new tears coming along to dampen them.

"Mere?" You whispered not wishing to startle her as she was clearly deep in thought.

Her eyes snapped up at you, attempting to give you a weak smile but you knew it held far more pain than she wished to admit.

"You're home late," she whispered.

"There was an emergency surgery, so I stayed for it," you shrugged. "What's wrong?"

She shook her head. "Nothing."

You approached her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders, just wanted to help her but without knowing what was wrong you were a bit stuck.

"Don't lie to me Meredith."

Meredith let out a sigh trying to get her thoughts in line due to the mess her alcohol intake had caused.

"He didn't choose me."

You cocked an eyebrow at her.

"Derek..." she paused. "He's staying with Addison. I don't know why I'd expect him to stay with me when she is his wife."

You gave her a sympathetic smile, hugging her tight. You knew that no words were going to help her but you were going to be there for her every step of the way through her pain.

~*~

Written by Charlotte.