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perfectpaperbluebirds · 8 months

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Sicktember #24

Prompt: “Did you just sneeze?”

Fandom/OCs: Grey’s Anatomy (Meredith and Derek)

Words: 710

Sicknario inspo: Doctor with hay fever from this post

Author’s comments/background: I’ve only written Grey’s Anatomy once before for a fic exchange event (read it here) but it’s a fandom I’ve been in for a long time and always intended to write for. Not sure how great the characterization is here since admittedly it’s been a minute since I’ve revisited these lovlies, but I think it works. This is set in the first few seasons when Meredith is still an intern and super angsty and pining after Derek from afar, AKA the best part of the series IMO. This is also the only allergy fic this year. Allergies aren’t usually my thing, but I try to squeeze at least one in every Sicktember.

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In Meredith's opinion, spring was the most horrible time of the year. Everyone pretends to be happy about the flowers and the birds and the love in the air in spring, and fake happiness is Meredith's worst nightmare, but it's not just the fake happiness. She was also cursed with the world's worst spring allergies, and she spent most of every spring wanting to claw her eyes out from the itching or else worried her nose was going to fall off from all the sneezing. Allergy medications didn't work, except to make her tired enough to fall asleep standing up, and she would choose being sneezy over being near-comatose in the OR any day. She could keep the sneezing under control when she needed to, at least usually.

One morning though, while doing rounds with the rest of the interns, her nose betrayed her. She was the presenting intern for one of Dr. Shepherd's patients, and it was an interesting case that she was excited about. The minute she walked into the patient's room, though, she knew she was in trouble. The smell coming from the two massive bouquets of flowers beside the bed almost knocked her over, and she cleared her throat to ward off a coughing fit, making an unattractive hacking noise. Cristina elbowed her none-too gently, giving her a "get it together" look.

Meredith did her best to get it together, but she was fighting a losing battle from the start, since all the flowering plants outside had nearly done her in before she'd even arrived. She started off in a clear voice, presenting the case and all the research she'd done, but the itch in her sinuses grew nigh unbearable in moments. Derek saved her by asking the interns a question just as she was about to lose control, and while Cristina was showing off her knowledge, Meredith turned to the corner of the room to let out a stifled sneeze. It was quiet, thankfully, and she hoped no one noticed. Yet when she turned back around, Derek was looking right at her.

"Did you just sneeze?" he asked with a half smile.

"Nope. Just clearing my throat. Sorry." She felt Cristina's eyes boring into her, which Meredith pointedly ignored as she continued to present, trying not to breathe in the smell of the flowers. It was a lost cause though, and out of nowhere she sneezed, harsh and wet and totally unhidable, all over the chart in her hands.

"Bless you!" exclaimed the patient. "Oh dear, are you getting a cold, dear? Or–oh no, are the flowers bothering you?"

"I'm fine," Meredith managed, though her eyes were streaming and her nose wasn't far behind. "I'm not sick, don't worry about me. So as I was saying…."

She pushed through the rest of her presentation through sheer force of will, but her fate was sealed, and she crushed another sneeze into her shoulder as she finished.

"Bless you!" exclaimed the patient, the patient's husband, and Dr. Shepherd. The other interns were either snickering behind their hands or looking sympathetic.

Derek quickly came to her rescue even as she felt another sneeze building. "Thank you, Dr. Grey. She explained what we're going to do very well, but do you have any questions for me?"

As the patient and her husband began to interrogate the neurosurgeon, Meredith accepted the inevitable and turned away to sneeze twice more into her elbow. The patient turned to look at her once more.

"God bless you again! Are you quite sure you're alright, dear?"

"I'm really fine," Meredith sniffled. She forced herself to smile at the ridiculousness of the situation. "And anyway, I think we're supposed to be asking you that."

Her breath began to hitch into another sneeze, and this time Derek turned to her with an amused look. "Why don't you excuse yourself and go blow your nose, Dr. Grey. I think we've got it from here. But come back when you're ready and we'll go over the case again, away from the flowers."

Red-faced, Meredith did as she was told. Yes, she thought to herself as she washed her face in the bathroom down the hall, she really really hated spring.

#sicktember 2023 #skt 2023 #prompt 24 #gre/ys ana/tomy

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