Disclaimer: I do not own Grey's Anatomy if I did then things would be A LOT different.
I woke up with a slight crick in my neck yet I was still extremely comfortable and warmer than I normally was upon waking. I turned my head slightly and smiled up at the sleeping form of Derek. We were lying on the couch, and his arms were wrapped around me. I felt safe in his embrace. There was something almost soothing about the scent of him, about the warmth emanating from his body. And I knew that feeling this comfortable with him was not a good thing. If anything it would lead to disaster. Surprisingly I was not hung over. I expected to be but it turns out I did manage to get enough sleep the night before.
I carefully disentangled myself from his sleeping form and stood up backing away from the couch slowly. We didn't get much talking about anything important done the night before. But we did manage to polish off a bottle and a half of tequila and spend the evening laughing and kissing quite a bit. Somehow I resisted his charms and we did not end up in bed together. I looked at the blue screen on the TV and took a guess at the fact that we watched a movie. I popped it out of the VCR and smiled, of course it had to be one of my mom's surgical tapes. Most surgeons that I knew wanted a chance to see The Ellis Grey in action. And I will admit she was at one time an amazing surgeon, but she always was a terrible mom. I put the tape back into the box that was in the hall closet and closed the door a little louder than I intended. I heard grumbling coming from the living room and walked back in there with a polite smile on my face.
"Sorry about that Derek. Can I get you coffee or something?" I asked from the doorway. Derek was now sitting up on the couch rubbing his eyes. He looked exhausted and I was guessing he didn't sleep as peacefully as me.
"Coffee, aspirin, more sleep." He said with a weary smile and a shrug of his shoulders. "Remind me to never drink tequila again."
"Oh it can't be that bad." I said with a small laugh before turning and heading into the bathroom to grab him some aspirin. I opened the medicine cabinet and looked around with a small sigh. "We are out of aspirin." I called out the door towards the living room. The only thing I could find was some Midol, so he would either settle for that or he would have to deal with the hangover. I peeked into the living room before heading on to the kitchen to make the coffee. Derek was still sitting in the same spot now rubbing his temples, a slight grimace of pain stretched across his lips.
I put the coffee on and leaned against the counter letting my thoughts wander. Today wasn't supposed to be too busy, no surgeries scheduled unless an emergency popped up. I was looking forward to the day, it should go smoothly and with any luck I would be back home around 8. I wondered what Derek would be doing, and I guessed that he would end up at the Hospital. I found myself looking forward to running into him again. It would be a bit weird if he did get the job as the head of Neuro, and I was almost positive that he would. I remember back during my internship I saw him once; he came into Boston General for a consult. I wasn't picked to be on his case which was disappointing but I watched the surgery from the gallery. That was the moment I decided to become a neurosurgeon. All I could see were his eyes, he looked up into the gallery once or twice, and I could have sworn he was staring at me. But of course he wasn't, why on earth would one of the top Neurosurgeons in the country be checking out some lowly intern.
The smell of the roasting coffee brought me back to the present. I still remembered the moment that I thought we shared while he was doing his surgery. But I doubted he would remember as well. I opened up the cabinet above the sink and grabbed two coffee mugs. I didn't know how he took his coffee but I was guessing black. So I poured two cups and set them down on the table, the Midol sitting next to one of the mugs.
"Coffee is ready." I called into the living room. I heard a few sluggish footsteps then looked up to see him approaching the table. He looked at the bottle of Midol and laughed, the first real laugh I had heard from him.
"No aspirin?" He asked as he sat down and lifted to mug to his lips, taking a cautious sip so as not to burn his tongue.
"Midol works better." I said before taking a gulp of my coffee. The bitter taste was welcome and I anticipated the energy the caffeine would bring. I watched as Derek opened the Midol and took out two pills. He popped them into his mouth and washed them down with the coffee.
"I guess we shall see."
"Well I need to get ready and head to work." I said as I stood up from the table, mug in hand. "Are you going to need a ride to the hospital?"
"If it won't be an inconvenience then yes." He said with a small smile.
"No that's fine." I said as I walked out of the kitchen and towards the bathroom again. I took another gulp of coffee before setting it down on the counter and looking in the mirror. I looked tired still, darkened circles under my eyes, and bags beginning to form. Night after night at the bar was beginning to take its toll. I stripped off my clothing and stood there studying my nude form for a moment. I never thought of myself as anything special. My breasts were average sized, my hips the same. I looked like most of the petite blonde women out there in my opinion. I turned away from the mirror and started the shower, making the water as hot as my body could stand. I never could take a cold shower, not even to wake up in the morning.
I stepped into the shower and let out a contented sigh as the hot water started pulsing on my skin. Standing in the shower is one of the few times of the day that I am truly alone. As a surgeon it is hard to get privacy, at work you are bustling here and there. Then even when you aren't at work there is the constant worry about your patients, and the chance of getting paged right back to work. So I was savoring these few moments of solitude. I grabbed my shampoo and poured a quarter sized amount into the palm of my hand. I worked it in my hair until the lather was thick then stepped back and let the water wash it all away. Conditioner was next; I worked it into my hair and inhaled the scent of lavender deeply. I felt the last of the tension ease away from my body at the scent. It soothed me down to my very core. I heard knocking at the door and gripped the bar in the tub to stop myself from falling. I knew who it was, there was only one other person in the house besides me, but I wasn't used to the knocking, not in the morning, not during my shower.
"Meredith, is there another bathroom so I can start cleaning up?" I heard him say a bit loudly. I did have two bathrooms in the house, but the other one wasn't working right now. Something was wrong with the plumbing and I didn't get it fixed yet.
"Um, not right now. Just get ready in here." I shouted out to him. It wasn't like he would be able to see anything through the curtains. I heard the door open then close again. Even with the curtain closed I could tell he was staring at it, and I felt like he wanted to say something. "Do you need anything?"
"Well I don't have a toothbrush, shampoo or conditioner." He said wryly.
"There is an unopened toothbrush on the top shelf of the medicine cabinet." I said before grabbing the shampoo and conditioner. I stuck my arm through the curtain and felt goose bumps raise on the exposed skin. "Here." I said pulling back when I felt him grab the bottles.
"Thank you."
I had to let the conditioner sit for a little longer so I leaned against the tile wall and sighed softly. My bathroom wasn't really small, but with him in it, it felt smaller than I even imagined possible. I grabbed my face wash and started to wash my face, then rinsed it and the conditioner out. All that was left was washing my body. I grabbed a loofah and the vanilla scented body wash before lathering up. The smell was good, but not as intoxicating as the lavender scented shampoo and conditioner. I turned off the shower and laughed realizing that I could not get out of the shower.
"Derek can you hand me the towel from the back of the door?" I asked while sticking my arm back out of the shower. I felt the towel be draped across my arm and pulled it behind the curtain with me. I dried off quickly and wrapped the towel around myself, looking down to be sure everything was covered. I stepped out of the shower and gasped at the sight of Derek standing there shirtless his hair slicked back with water.
"I love the scent of your shampoo, it suits you." He said with a smile before wetting the toothbrush he had in hand. He moved over slightly making room for me at the sink. I didn't say anything just opened the medicine cabinet and got out my toothbrush and the toothpaste. I ran the toothbrush under the water before putting a small amount of toothpaste on the bristles. I handed the tube to Derek before starting to brush my teeth, wondering how today would go. When I finished I rinsed the brush again and put it away.
"I will meet you out by the car." I said before going to my bedroom. I pulled open a drawer and grabbed a pair of faded blue jeans. They were my favorite pair, after nearly 7 years they still fit, though lately they had been getting a little bit tighter, I just didn't know why. I opened up the next drawer and grabbed a plain black t-shirt and a black bra. I pulled both of them on and did a quick glance in the mirror. I didn't have enough time to blow-dry my hair so I pulled it back in a ponytail and glanced back in the mirror to study the results. For some reason, today my appearance mattered. And that reason was probably the handsome surgeon currently getting ready in my bathroom. I sighed once more and headed outside to the car to wait for him. I got in the drivers side and started the car putting a Clash CD in. I glanced up and saw Derek heading towards the car with a smile on his face.
"Thanks again for the ride." He said as he got into the car. "I love this song." He whispered before closing his eyes and mouthing the words. I laughed softly and shook my head before pulling out and heading towards the hospital.
A/N: First thank you to: Brandi Rochon, AllAboutSoul, and nfinchamscheff for your reviews. I love getting feedback on my stories. Hope you three aren't disappointed by the chapter. I know this one is only Meredith and Derek but really I could not resist. And no romance this time, sorry. I tried to think of something 'fluffy' to put in there but I think I did a good job with the chapter. I am hoping to get the rest of our beloved characters in the next chapter.
