Wow, how fabulous was the last episode? Sandra Oh deserves an award for her performance. Anyway, sorry for the delay and I hope you like this chapter.

Derek frowned as he looked at his beeper. Meredith had paged him and asked him to meet her in one of the exam rooms. He wasn't stupid enough to think he'd get a repeat of prom night, so he was curious as to what she wanted. He entered the room and found her seated on the edge of the bed, hands tightly clasped in her lap.

"Hey," he greeted. "What's up?"

"Ah, Derek, you're here," Mark said from behind him. Derek turned to watch as Mark closed the door before looking up. "Meredith wanted you here while we discussed her options," he explained.

"You talked to Hawkins?" Derek asked.

"I did." Mark pulled up a rolling stool in front of Meredith. Derek moved to stand beside the bed, his hand automatically moving to touch her.

"And?" Meredith asked.

"I know Derek has concerns with the surgery," Mark stated.

"I want this, Mark," she reminded him.

Mark nodded. "I know you do and Hawkins and I talked about some less invasive procedures that I would like to discuss with you."

"What kind of procedures?" Derek asked.

"The one I'd like to try is called somnoplasty. It involves using a low-intensity radio frequency signal to remove part of the soft palate. It's a fairly new procedure, but the results do look promising. The best thing is it's done with a local anesthetic and there's minimal discomfort following the procedure."

Derek was suspicious. "What are the risks?"

Mark shrugged. "The same as any outpatient procedure. Bleeding, infection, swelling has been reported more frequently, but not normally to an excessive level."

"And this will stop me snoring?" Meredith checked.

"The papers I read stated an eighty-six percent effectiveness six to eight weeks following treatment."

Meredith looked at him and he could see the hope shining in her eyes. "What do you think?" she asked.

"I think it's a far better option than the U-triple P." He touched her cheek. "Are you sure you want this?"

She gave an emphatic nod. He looked at Mark. "And you're sure you can do this?" he asked.

For once, Mark didn't look smug. "I wouldn't do it if I wasn't sure," he assured Derek.

"Derek?"

She was asking for his approval and something about that didn't sit right. "Mer, don't do this to please me. I love you just the way you are."

"Even when I snore like a chainsaw?" she asked, a small smile on her face.

He grinned back and touched her chin. "Even then."

The way her eyes shone told him that he had said exactly what she needed to hear. "I want to give this a try," she told him.

He nodded. "Okay." He looked to Mark. "When do you want to schedule this?"

Meredith and Derek took a seat at the table where her friends were waiting, thanking Joe as he placed a drink in front of them.

"I cannot believe you're going through with this," Cristina told Meredith. She turned accusing eyes to Derek. "And I can't believe you're letting her."

"It's her decision," Derek defended.

"But it's your fault," Alex muttered, before taking a sip of his beer.

Meredith looked around the table at her friends. "Guys, come on. It's no big deal and it's not Derek's fault."

"Oh, please. You've gone through your whole life blissfully unaware of your small, insignificant sleeping habit until McAss here opens his big mouth. Suddenly it's a big deal and you want to have surgery."

"Is it so wrong that I'd like my boyfriend to sleep in the same bed as me?" Meredith asked.

"What's wrong is that he got out of the bed to start with," Alex retorted.

Derek drained his beer and got to his feet. "You know what, I think I'm just going to go and let you guys talk about me behind my back."

Meredith grabbed his arm. "Derek, no." She turned to face her friends and glared. "Would you guys stop? It's not Derek's fault that I snore. Nor is it his fault that he's a light sleeper and I keep him awake." She got to her feet. "I'm doing this and I don't think it's too much to ask for a little support from my friends." That said, she turned on her heel and stalked from the bar.

"Meredith." She was already out the door when Derek caught up to her.

"What?" she snapped. He raised his hands in defense and she sighed. "Sorry, it's just they can make me so mad sometimes."

"They care about you, Meredith. They're just worried."

She raised an eyebrow. "You're defending them?"

He shrugged. "I don't want to come between you and your friends." He kissed her. "Come on, we'll sleep at the trailer tonight."

She shook her head. "It's too cold tonight for you to sleep out in the hammock," she protested.

He pulled her to him, fitting her body snuggly against him. "I'm going to sleep in my bed, next to my girlfriend, and you're going to sleep as well." She looked away and he touched her chin, making her meet his eyes. "I'm serious, Meredith. No more staying awake. It's not healthy."

"So much for doctor-patient confidentiality," she muttered. "You need your sleep, Derek."

"And so do you. You're an intern, you can't afford to miss out on sleep." He pulled something out of his pocket and held it up for her to see.

She squinted and then smiled. "Ear plugs?"

He shrugged. "You never know, it might work." He kissed her. "Let's go and test them out, huh?"

Meredith smiled at him and let him lead her to his car.

Thanks for the reviews, guys, I really appreciate your kind words. I hope you enjoyed this chapter as well.