(Untitled)

[drownondryland]

Most days, honestly, all Meredith really has to do in the clinic is check the charts the other doctors have left, make sure files and supplies are still organized and everything's clean and sterile and in working order. It's a matter of the same tiny details again and again and again, often when no discernible change has been made

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[daretodo]

I shouldn't feel bad. If we were back in the city, requesting a new a doctor would be perfectly normal, just another part of the bureaucracy that is the health care system, but on the Island, it's a heckuva lot more personal -- which is really my problem, anyway. See, I'm not the most social of guys. I have a pretty predictable tendency to keep things close to the chest, of only letting a select few onto this crazy ride I like to call my life, and when it boils right down to it, Mary Jane's the one who keeps inviting Dr. Grey into our lives, not me. Don't get me wrong, I'm plenty grateful for the times the good doctor's patched me up over this past year, but after one of my many minor nervous breakdowns last month -- one of them in front of her, in this very clinic -- it's become apparent that our situation is an awkward one at best. She's one of my wife's closest friends, and while that inherently means she oughta be there for MJ, requiring her to be there for me the next time I find myself on that O.R. table strikes me as almost

[drownondryland]

"Uh, the same," Meredith answers, nodding. "Fine." It's a word she's used far too many times in the last few months, let alone the whole of her life, but that doesn't make it less true. Things aren't great lately, but they aren't terrible either. The problems have reached a plateau, ever-present but, because of that, dulling into just another part of daily life to endure.

Peter, on the other hand, seems a bit distracted. That's fair, though, she figures; she's not the only one things aren't easy for. He probably has plenty on his mind she can't guess at, and probably shouldn't try to. At the very least, his saying he's alright means this isn't one more of those visits that ends in her going home early to tell Sean someone else has disappeared on her. "Just another quiet day, really."

[daretodo]

"So you have time to...?" I ask, gesturing between the two of us with a quick flick of my wrist. There's an awkwardness to my coming here at all that apparently can't be helped -- I mean, for crying out loud, I can't even finish a sentence. Maybe I'm compensating for saying entirely too much the last time, when I was too wound up to bite my tongue. Shaking my head, I let my hand drop down to the chair, fingers curling around the edge of the backrest. I'm silent for a long moment, trying to gather my thoughts, and eventually, I force myself to attempt actual eye contact. There's no point in beating around the bush. "I had something I wanted to discuss, regarding future treatment."

[drownondryland]

Meredith lowers her head a little as she looks up at him, trying and failing to gauge the mood here. At least, she's pretty sure she fails. He can be difficult to read, but then, she's never been all that great at reading other people to begin with. "I have plenty of time," she says. "What can I do for you?"