A/N: Moment's Unexpected is going to be a collection of MerDer one-shots based on a list of prompts that I have as well as any prompts people submit to me.
Prompt: Person A suspects the neighbors are serial killers. Person B attempts to placate them.
Killer Next Door
All it took was a mere thudding of sounds and a hushed scream. All it took was a few shots of tequila and a glass of red wine. All it took was a slightly drunk Meredith to be convinced something terrible was happening in the room adjacent to hers.
Running haphazardly across the room, Meredith flung herself at the hotel bed. Her hands groped the covers, attempting to find the one object that she desperately needed. When she finally found it she began to dance around, wiggling her hips and moving to a tune that was only inside her head before she froze as she realized the seriousness of the situation.
Hitting the call button, followed by a click of the one, she pressed her ear against her cell phone. She twirled her hair absentmindedly and tapped her foot rather impatiently. She hit the end button, some logical part of her knowing that Derek wouldn't answer. He would still be giving his charming speech at the conference they had flown to in Chicago.
Meredith decided to try her luck and hit the second number on her speed dial. The phone rang twice before a voice at the other end answered.
"Hey Mer."
"Yeah, yeah hi. Look, I think there is a murderer in the room next door," Meredith informed the listener, her voice completely serious.
"What?" the voice said with confusion.
"There is someone next door being killed by a murderer!" Meredith repeated, though she didn't realize how silly her sentence sounded.
"How drunk are you?" Cristina asked.
"I'm not drunk!" Meredith replied hastily.
Cristina only replied with an extended silence. It was a technique she had perfected which was usually completed with a stern look. Meredith could only imagine her face right now.
"Okay, fine, fine. I had a few drinks. But I swear there is someone being murdered in the next room. What if they co-"
"Seriously, Mer?"
"I'm not joking, Cristina. Something seriously bad is happening."
"Besides the usual crappy, miserable life you normally live?" Cristina asked, her voice only betraying a portion of sarcasm. "I think this is a figment of your imagination from being cooped up in a hotel all day without McDreamy."
"This is not funny," Meredith inserted.
She could faintly hear Cristina laughing on the line and suddenly it became infectious. Meredith let a peal of laughter slip from her lips before she had to nearly shake her entire body to resume her previous serious tone.
"Cristina, you're my person. That means if someone is being murdered in the room next to mine you're supposed to help me!"
"I said I would call you to help me drag a body across a room. But this is totally out of my reach."
"Seriously?"
"Seriously," Cristina replied. "Look, I'm on the thirtieth hour of my thirty-six hour shift. I do not have the emotional capacity for this."
"But Cris-"
"Bye Meredith," Cristina said in a rush.
Suddenly, Meredith was talking to air. She let out a loud puff of carbon dioxide, folding her arms across her chest. She slowly sat down on the edge of the bed, the white covers in disarray.
"So much for being my person," she said bitterly, suddenly feeling the beginning of the effects of the tequila she had drank. She scooted herself farther up the bed, pulling the covers with her as she leaned against the headboard. Meredith let her eyes wander back and forth, her eyelids slowly closing, only to be jerked awake by the random thuds she heard from the room adjacent to hers. As quiet was perturbed by noise, so were her closed eyes as they rapidly opened from her stupor.
Meredith continued to doze off, her eyes finally remaining closed for more than a mere thirty seconds. That was until a click and a bang jolted her upright, her heart nearly jumped from her chest. Meredith let out a terrified shriek as she dumped herself off the bed. She peeked over the tuft of white covers as her eyes peered at the darkly dressed figure standing before her.
I'm going to die.
I'm going to die in a stupid hotel that I knew was evil and full of murderers.
I told Cristina and she didn't believe me.
I'm not even supposed to die like this. I'm supposed to die of Alzheimer's.
Thoughts flooded into Meredith's head as she hid behind the bed. She lowered herself to the ground, laying on her stomach and pulling her hands up to cover her head. She could hear footsteps walking against the patterned floor. She held her breath as she laid still as possible, hoping that somehow the figure wouldn't see her or would miss a major artery if he shot her.
"Meredith?" a familiar voice asked as they stopped walking, standing directly in front of her figure. "What are you doing?"
Meredith slowly lifted her head, removing her hands from it to use her hands to push herself up into a sitting position. She ran her palms over her face, rubbing her tired eyes relentlessly. "You're going to think I'm crazy and drunk and I can't handle that right now."
Derek squatted down in front of her, letting himself relax into a sitting position. He reached his arms out, his hands grabbing her waist as he pulled her forward towards him. He wrapped his arms around her, placing a kiss on her forehead. "Why don't you tell me what's going on."
Meredith looked up at him, her eyes finding his baby blues, trying to find the compassion that laced his voice. She took a deep steadying breath, wrapping her arms around her torso. Her eyes dropped to the ground as she began to speak.
"I heard something in the room next door. At first I thought it was nothing but then, to ease some stress, I took tequila shots, which I ordered from room service. It actually wasn't too bad except for the fact that it made me paranoid and I'm pretty sure I heard someone get murdered in the next room. I called you but you must have been giving your charming speech and so I called Cristina which only made me feel like an idiot. I mean, where's your person when you need them?"
Meredith took a deep breath after she had spoke using only one. She looked up at Derek, scowling at the entertained smile that lined his face. "Don't look so smug."
"Hey, I'm not smug. I'm just admiring how worked up you are. It's kind of cute, " he informed her.
Meredith gave him an annoyed look, hoping to convey her message via looks than saying it aloud. Derek only replied by staring at her lips, which were beginning to jut out in a pout.
"Eyes up here," Meredith told him.
"I know," he murmured before placing a gentle kiss on her lips. "I'm not lost." Derek kissed her again, his hands sliding up from her waist to cup her face. "In fact, I've been here before," he added between kisses. "And I like it here."
Meredith seemed to melt into him, running her hands through his hair as their lips continued the familiar dance. She could feel his teeth grazing her bottom lip, gently tugging on it. She parted her lips, inviting him in further. Her hands moved quickly and with purpose. She slipped them underneath his shirt, delicately roving her fingers over every plane of his torso. It was enough to elicit a sigh from Derek.
Faintly, Meredith could hear the same thud as before. She opened her eyes just as Derek's lips trailed along her jaw and down her neck.
"Did you hear that?" Meredith asked.
Derek continued to kiss her neck, occasionally nipping a small area. He murmured a faint 'mmm.'
"Derek..." Meredith tried again, unfurling her hands from under his shirt to push softly against his chest. When the thud came again, Meredith jerked away from him as she heard a muffled scream. As she made eye contact with Derek, she mouthed the word 'murderer.' Derek shook his head, a smile finding its way to his face.
"If you don't believe me, I'm not kissing you anymore," she added as incentive.
The pout that laced Derek's face was nearly tangible. "What do you want me to do? Go check and make sure there isn't a woman being cut into bits?"
Meredith seemed to contemplate this voluntary idea before nodding to him. "Actually, that would be really nice. That would put my head to ease… or prove that I was right. In which case, we would be promptly leaving… or help the person so long as the attacker was gone." Meredith continued to babble on, her mind roaming somewhere seemingly far away.
"You actually want me to go and check, don't you?"
"Well, it couldn't hurt, Derek."
With a sigh, Derek unfurled himself from Meredith and stood up. Running his hand through his hair, he slowly walked to the hotel door, stopping with his hand on the door handle to look over his shoulder at Meredith.
Meredith used her hand to make a shooing motion. With a nod she told him to "go on."
Derek trudged out of their room, disappearing from Meredith's sight. She slowly stood up, creeping through the room. She grabbed a pillow to use as protection as she stood with her ear pressed against the door. She stood there for what seemed like an hour but must have been only a few minutes. Through the door she could hear a slightly muffled scream which she knew instantly came from Derek.
"Derek!" Meredith screamed, pounding against the door, her hand slipping from the door handle several times before she was able to successfully open the door.
Meredith's eyes darted to the right to see Derek standing pristinely in his suit, his baby blues twinkling and a smile filling his face.
"Derek!" Meredith shouted which was followed by a roll of her eyes. She could hear his laugh echoing in her ears before she threw the pillow at his smug face.
"Hey!" He said, throwing his arms up too late to be anywhere close to blocking it. Derek followed Meredith back into the room as she stormed away from him. "Meredith, c'mon."
Meredith whirled around, stopping in her tracks. "That was not funny."
An amused smile filled Derek's face as he stood there. "It was a little funny."
"No, it wasn't. I thought someone was dying and then you screamed and I thought-"
"Meredith, I'm fine and they are fine." Derek took a few steps forward, holding his hands up in front of him in caution. "In fact, they were more than fine." He took a few more steps until he was standing directly in front of her, sliding his hands around her waist. He dropped his lips to her ear, whispering a few words.
Meredith nodded her head almost imperceptibly. "Oh," she said.
"Exactly," Derek replied, kissing her forehead. "And now you," he paused, kissing her cheek. "Owe," he continued, kissing her jaw "Me," he finished, kissing her neck.
As Derek buried his head in her neck, Meredith managed to whisper an "I think you're the one that owes me" before she was caught in silence.
