DISCLAIMER: Grey's Anatomy is not mine, because if it was, Eve would not be my friend as she'd go nuts seeing me around Patrick Dempsey all the time. ILY EP4 3
This is PART TWO of the two-part Christmas post. Let me know if you think the story is moving too fast or if you're happy with it.
Chapter Four; Paperwork
Derek woke up later that morning, and just watched Meredith as she slept. She was snoring quietly as she always did, but he'd grown to love it. She slept like a child, deeply, not waking until she was fully rejuvenated. Derek stepped into the shower and thought about his plans for later that day. Last night after they'd finished making love on sofa, he'd carried her upstairs to bed and waited for her to fall asleep. Once she'd started to snore quietly, he had snuck out of bed and filled up a pillow case full of small trinkets and toys. Her very own Santa stocking.
After the shower, Derek walked downstairs and turned on the coffee machine. He sprinkled in a few peppermint flavoured flakes, and put it on the bench, sure that Meredith would be down at any moment and in need of a caffeine jolt. He started making waffle batter and sprinkled in chocolate chips. While he was cooking the first of the batch, he heard the tell-tale creak on the stairs and saw Meredith as she walked around the corner.
"Merry Christmas, beautiful," he smiled, handing her the coffee.
"Even the coffee tastes Christmassy," she said quietly, rubbing her eyes. "I would wish you a merry Christmas but I am ridiculously tired, Derek."
"Through no fault of my own," he laughed, tickling her gently. "If I remember correctly, you were the one who initiated the second round last night."
"Maybe," she smiled, slowly waking up as she drank more of the coffee. "But I didn't hear any complaints from you either Doctor Shepherd."
"Oh no. No complaints here."
She sat down at the high stool next to the kitchen counter and he passed her a plate of waffles and a candy cane.
"For breakfast?" she asked, picking up the striped candy stick.
"Christmas is the only day when you can get away with eating it and not being judged," he replied.
"So what else is on the agenda for today?" she asked through a mouthful of waffle.
"Well I think we should see if Santa visited," Derek twinkled.
"Oh please Derek," she mumbled. "As if."
"I'm not so sure," he replied, pulling out the holly-print pillow case from under the Christmas tree. "It certainly looks like Santa found you this year."
Meredith's mouth gaped open, a half-chewed piece of waffle lying on her tongue.
"You didn't," she said with a giggle. "You didn't!"
"I didn't do anything," Derek replied with a smile. "It must have been Santa."
She giggled like a child, and sat on Derek's lap under the tree, pulling the pillowcase towards her.
"Are there any rules about Santa stockings?" she asked him, kissing him gently.
"You can't look at what's inside," he replied, brushing her hair out of her eyes. "You just have to stick your hand in and take things out on at a time."
He sat, with her in his lap, and smiled as she got so excited, pulling out packages of hairties, and jellybeans, and a new purple stethoscope. She smiled at him as she grabbed a packet of chocolate coated peanuts, and then a box of glow in the dark condoms. Finally, she pulled out a pair of lacy red underwear and a matching bra with fluffy white trim.
"Doctor Shepherd," she said throatily. "Do you have some sort of Santa fetish?"
"Actually Doctor Shepherd," he replied. "I just have some sort of fetish for my wife, naked except for some very skimpy underwear."
"Ooh la la!" she giggled. "So this stocking thing is awesome. We are SO doing it again next year. But next year, if you're a good boy, maybe Santa will come to you too."
"Well I'll definitely try my hardest," he laughed.
"Dirty Derek," she laughed. "Really dirty. So what's next on the Christmas to-do-list?"
"Your Christmas present," he replied, passing her a quite large but flat box, wrapped in santa paper.
"You already gave me a gift," she replied, picking up her stocking.
"That's from SANTA," he emphasises. "This is from me."
She opened it slowly, carefully unsealing the tape and folding the paper carefully. She opened the flat box, and looked at the documents that lay inside. There were two separate bundles of documents. The first, had a post-it labelled "FIRST" and the second had a post-it labelled "SECOND". She pulled off the post-it, reading the title of the document. It was a deed.
"Derek," she said shakily, looking up at him. "What is this?"
"This house, now officially belongs to both of us," he smiled. "The land and the house were only under my name, so I called my lawyers, got some papers signed up and fixed it. Now it's officially ours to share, forever."
"Derek," she repeated. "I can't even... oh my God... that's too much!"
"You saved me," he said earnestly, looking into her eyes. "You saved me when I was drowning, and I love you more than life itself. Half a house is nothing compared to how much I adore you."
"Thank-you," she said quietly. "I can't even begin to repay you."
"Open the second one," he whispered.
She pulled off the post-it note, reading the forms quickly.
"Is this what I think it is?" she asks with a grin spreading across her face.
"Meredith Grey," Derek said, pulling her up to stand next to him. "I know that we said the post-it was enough, but it's not. I want us to be legal. I want for everybody in the world to know how much I love you. Will you marry me? Again?"
"Yes," she grinned. "Yes Derek, I will."
"Consider this your repayment," he smiled, picking her up and twirling her around.
"When can we do it?" she asked, picking up the marriage licence. "And HOW did you get my signature to sign for this?"
"I may have forged it," he laughed. "I didn't think you'd mind. And if you don't have any better plans, I actually made an appointment at the courthouse for this afternoon."
"Perfect," she smiled, kissing him fully on the lips. "But enough of that for now, it's time for your present."
He grinned, pulling her back into his lap as he sat down on the couch. She reached behind the couch, pulling out a massive wrapped present with both hands.
"What is this?" he asked in amazement.
"Oh I have NO idea," she laughed. "Unwrap it already!"
He pulled off the wrapping paper, finding a big basket, filled with different goodies. He pulled out a tube of chocolate body paint, a pair of edible panties and lavender scented massage oils before he suddenly realised what it was.
"Is this a sex box?" he laughed out loud.
"It's our grown-up toy box," Meredith smiled coyly.
Derek continued to pull out a bottle of their favourite champagne, vanilla-scented candles, a pair of black fluffy handcuffs and finally a tiny Flip video camera.
"Meredith," he said. "Consider this your warning. In about two seconds I'm going to ravage you completely. Right here."
"No way mister," Meredith replied, planting her hands on her hips. "I don't want to lose my value. You're going to have to marry me, first."
He kissed her chastely, and then laughed his head off.
"Let's just go now," he begged. "Screw this afternoon's appointment. I don't want to waste another hour not being married to you."
Meredith nodded, kissed him back and then ran upstairs, rifling through her wardrobe.
"What're you wearing?" she asked him.
"My red shirt," he replied. "So I look very good-looking."
"Just like the night at the bar," she smiled. "My one night stand turned into the love of my life. It's so ironic, and like a Mills and Boon novel, Derek."
"What are YOU wearing then?" he asked.
"My black dress, with the slit up the side."
"Just like the night at the bar," he repeated. "The girl I fell in love with at first sight, now on our way to becoming an old officially married couple."
"Sounds about right," she smiled.
They both got dressed, struggling to keep their hands off one another as they both snuck peeks at the other naked. They held hands on their way out to the car, and Meredith kept her hand on his knee for the entire drive across town. When they got to the courthouse, they walked straight in, with their marriage licence and said the traditional vows, exchanging the rings they'd bought for each almost a year ago, after their post-it wedding.
"Merry Christmas, Mrs Shepherd," Derek said with a grin as they walked out into the parking lot.
"Merry Christmas, Mr Shepherd," Meredith replied, kissing him passionately.
"Now," Derek growled, revving the engine. "Let's get home so we can put our Christmas presents to good use."
"Oh yes please, husband," Meredith smiled. "I just can't wait to put on those lovely lacy underpants."
Derek groaned just thinking about it, and Meredith squeezed his thigh.
"Don't worry Derek," she whispered into his ear. "We've got a lifetime to spend together. And I intend on spending a fairly large chunk of it naked."
