Hello everyone!

I'm absolutely blown away by the response to the first chapter! Honestly, I was touched by each and every review so thank you so, so much to everyone who took the time to leave one.

I think this is going to be really fun to write and I will try my very best to get you updates as soon as I can. Just keep in mind that I'm a very busy college student and am also trying to keep up with my other fic, Holding You Together, so the updates more than likely won't be as fast as this one, haha :)

Enjoy!

Chapter 2

"Meredith?"

The distant voice calling her name was enough to make Meredith jerk from sleep. Not quite ready to face the world and leave the warmth of her bed, she groaned and buried herself further under the covers. But something was different.

For one thing, she was naked.

For another, something warm and equally naked was shifting beside her.

"Meredith!" her mother's voice hollered up the stairs once again, effectively waking her even more.

Clutching the tangled comforter to her bare chest, a half-awake Meredith rolled over to investigate the shifting mass behind her.

Cautiously opening her eyes, she was met by an all too familiar disheveled head of black curls and two sleepy blue eyes.

"Crap!"

Memories of the previous night suddenly came flooding back, hitting her like a train.

"Crap?" Derek mimicked, slight offense lacing his tone.

"Hi," Meredith amended breathlessly. Pulling the comforter with her, she climbed off the bed, leaving Derek only covered by a thin white sheet.

"I'm late," she announced, turning to face the naked man in her bed.

"Why don't you come back down here and we'll pick up where we left off?"

The combination of the strategically placed sheet, his bare chest, and the playful gleam in his eye was almost enough to make her say 'The hell with it!' and take him up on the offer. However, the sudden sounds of movement downstairs brought her back to reality.

"No! You have to go. I'm late. Which is not what you want to be when your own mother is your chief of surgery, so…" she trailed off.

"Meredith, I'm leaving in 5 minutes with or without you!" Ellis yelled up the stairs again.

"You live with your mother?"

"Well, it was just easier after I graduated med school and I was planning on moving out with Alex soon but that's all been shot to hell."

"I'm sorry," Derek apologized with a slight frown.

"Why?"

"I didn't mean to bring up Alex."

"You know what? We don't have to do the thing."

"What thing? We can do anything you want." That damn gleam was back.

"No. The thing: Have the awkward morning after conversation; pretend we care."

"Who's pretending?" Derek asked, tilting his head in confusion.

"Meredith, I'm leaving! And your father already left so you'll just have to drive yourself!" her mother yelled right just before they heard the door slam below them.

"Oh, thank God she's gone," Meredith sighed deeply, sinking to the bed in relief.

"I'm getting some mixed signals here so this may be a little awkward, but my car is still parked in front of Joe's and my shift starts in 30 minutes…"

Why the hell wasn't he more freaked out about this horrifying situation?

Reaching for the nearest pillow, she turned to whip it at his over confident face before stalking off to the bathroom to start the shower.

One record breakingly quick shower later, Meredith cautiously re-entered her bedroom not knowing if her guest had left or not.

The room was empty and the clothes that were once strewn haphazardly about the floor were no longer there either. Dressing in the first things her hands touched, she quickly started throwing her damp hair back in a messy pony tail as she flew down the stairs to grab something portable to eat so she could leave.

"Good morning again," greeted a cheerful voice from the kitchen table. "Coffee?"

What. The hell. Was happening.

If someone had told her 6 years ago that Derek Shepherd would one day be lounging in her kitchen, casually reading the paper, grinning at her over a coffee cup, she would have admitted them to the psych ward.

However, lo and behold, Derek Shepherd was indeed in her kitchen, reading the paper, and even offering her her own steaming cup of coffee.

"I wasn't sure how you liked your coffee so I left it black."

"Black is fine," Meredith managed despite her obvious surprise at his presence. "What are you still doing here?"

"Well, I chose to interpret you mauling me with your pillow as a 'Sure, Derek, I'd love to give you a ride into work!' and made you coffee to show my gratitude."

Who was this man? This was not the Derek Shepherd she had the displeasure of knowing since her intern year. That Derek Shepherd was ass no one wanted to work with. That Derek Shepherd grunted instead of actually returning a greeting hello. That Derek Shepherd didn't smile. That Derek Shepherd didn't flirt. That Derek Shepherd didn't make offering a cup of coffee look sexy.

"You're showing your gratitude by offering me my own coffee?" she countered dryly with a lifted eyebrow.

"Well if you say it like that…" he teased, never taking his eyes off her and taking a sip from his mug.

Momentarily transfixed by the eye contact he was maintaining, Meredith shook herself out of it while mentally chastising herself. What in the world did she get herself into?

Grabbing her mug, she briskly went around the kitchen to transfer her coffee to a travel mug as she tried her hardest to pretend she didn't feel Derek watching her every move from the table.

"If you want that ride, I'm leaving now."

"Meredith, don't you think we should-"

"I think," Meredith interrupted, "that we both have shifts starting in ten minutes and that we need to go."

"I think we need to talk about-"

"Not now!" she cut him off a second time. Right now, all she wanted was a chance to process everything without Derek and his eyes to distract her.

Grabbing her keys from the counter, she left the kitchen to retrieve her coat from the hall. She didn't have to look back to feel Derek following closely behind her.

The ride to the hospital was awkward to say the least.

Derek could tell she didn't want to talk about their night together but all he wanted to do was grab her and demand to know what all of this meant.

Meredith, on the other hand, wanted to be anywhere but in that car with him.

"I guess it could be worse," she thought bitterly. "I could be stuck somewhere with Alex."

She shuddered, realizing she would have to face him at some point during the day. Not exactly easy to avoid the chief resident when you are a resident.

"Crap."

As soon as she turned the engine off, Meredith was slamming the car door and practically running across the parking lot before Derek even had the chance to unbuckle his seat belt.

"Thanks for the ride?" Derek called to her disappearing form.

She didn't bother to acknowledge him and brushed past her meandering co-workers in order to get to the residents lounge a fast as possible.

"You're late," Ellis greeted plainly as she matched Meredith's brisk pace.

"I know, Mom." This was just about the last thing she needed.

"Cristina Yang, on the other hand, was actually here on time and got herself on Dr. Torres's service. Care to explain where you were while you allowed her to take cardio right out from under you?"

"You know where I was, Mother. I was home," she answered through a tightly clenched jaw.

"Well, while you were sleeping in, a major cardio trauma came in 20 minutes ago and it looks like they'll be in and out of the OR all day. I suggest you find another service to be useful on for the day and get it together for tomorrow. You're a 5th year resident, Meredith. This is not the time fall behind and get lazy. I raised you to be a force of nature. Step it up."

And with that, Ellis promptly turned down the hall and out of sight.

"Always a pleasure, Mom. Great pep talk," Meredith mumbled, pushing the door the residents lounge open using more force than necessary.

Today already needed to end.

Reviews are greatly appreciated!

Thanks for reading!