Meredith saw the flash of gold bounce off the ring on his finger as he ran his hand through his hair.
Looking at her with a confused look on his face, he said "I was, but I'm…"
"No!" she screamed, cutting him off in mid-sentence. "I don't want to hear your excuses."
Reaching for her purse, she started walking towards the door. Moving across the room in lightening speed, he got to her before she reached for the door handle. Turning her around to face him, he tried to make her look at him.
"Meredith, let me explain."
"Let go of me!" she yelled, struggling to free herself from his hold. She was exhausted. This emotional rollercoaster was exhausting.
Derek was not giving up. He couldn't let her walk out of his life. Not like this. After a few minutes of struggling, she gave up and sagged against his arms. "I'm an adulterous whore."
"You are not an adulterous whore," he said, looking straight into her eyes. "Listen to me! I was married once, but that is over."
"Then why are you still wearing your wedding ring?" she asked, pointing to his ring finger.
Derek looked at his left hand and didn't know how that ring got there. Reaching for her hands, he opened his mouth to explain when he felt a slim band on her finger. Holding her hand up between them, they both looked down and realized the exact same thing. The ring on her ring finger was a smaller, yet identical version of the one he was wearing on his.
"Oh my god, we're married?!!" she screamed in disbelief.
"It would appear so," he responded, looking at the ring on his finger again.
"This can't be happening!" she said, feeling herself hyperventilating.
"Maybe you should sit down before you faint," he said, pulling her further inside the room to sit on the bed.
"We can't be married! I'm leaving and I have a life and…and, we just can't be married!"
"Are you already married? Is that what you're trying to tell me?"
"No, I'm not married! I mean, I'm not married to anyone else but you!" she exclaimed.
Derek couldn't help but feel relieved and happy at hearing her say that.
Standing up, she said "I have to go. My flight is in three hours and I still need to pack."
"You can't leave. Not now, not like this."
"Yes I can. Watch me," she said with determination in her voice.
"At least give me your number."
"No! No number. No talking. No…anything!" she yelled. Meredith knew she was being irrational, but she was not prepared to handle something like this and at the moment, all she wanted to do was run as far away as possible.
Letting out a resigned sigh, Derek said "At least let me take you back to your hotel."
"There's no need. I don't have that far to go." Seeing the confused look on his face, she went to explain "I'm staying on the 22nd floor."
Pulling herself free of his hold, she stood up and walked to the door. She knew he had followed her. She could feel his presence behind her without having to look. Reaching for the door handle, she turned and gave him a faint smile.
"Meredith…" he pleaded with her one last time.
"I'm sorry," she said, before rushing out so that he didn't see the tears that were threatening to fall.
Once she was safely enclosed inside the elevator, she let herself cry. She didn't know why she was crying. It was absurd to cry over someone she barely knew, yet she couldn't control the rush of emotions that were flooding her mind. Leaning back against the elevator for support, she wiped the tears away and that's when she saw it – the ring that was the cause of her distress. She stared at the ring wondering how she did not notice it before…this yellow strip of gold that lay in contrast against her fair skin.
The elevator doors opened on the 22nd floor. Stepping out, she pulled the ring off and put it inside her purse. Checking her eyes in the mirror that hung next to the elevator doors, she wiped the rest of the tears away, took a deep breath and headed in the direction of her room.
"You're back!" Izzie squealed when she entered the room.
"Where have you been?" asked Cristina.
"I…um…I decided to take a walk to get some fresh air," she lied.
"Wearing the same dress from last night?" Cristina asked.
"Actually, I never returned to the room. I was feeling restless after we got back and stayed downstairs to gamble and didn't realize the time," she lied, trying to cover her earlier slip-up.
"Well, I'm glad you're back. We need to pack and start heading out," said Izzie, shuffling her towards the bathroom.
Cristina stood back, watching Meredith. Something didn't seem right with her. Her eyes were red and puffy and it could very well be from lack of sleep, but she also looked sad and defeated. She was going to have to talk to her about this later when Barbie isn't around.
Meredith stepped into the shower and let the hot spray of the water wash away all the memories of the previous night. She was feeling an overwhelming sense of sadness and didn't know how to handle it. She sat down in the shower and let the water wash away the tears that were falling in flowing streams down her face.
She got dressed and finished packing and as she stood at the doorway surveying the empty hotel room, she couldn't help but be reminded of Derek and waking up in his room not too long ago.
By the time they reached the lobby, she decided – against her better judgment – to give this thing they had a chance. They may end up regretting it and hate each other, but she was willing to accept the consequences. The connection she felt with him was too strong to avoid, no matter the amount of distance she tries to put between them.
As they waited for their taxi to arrive, she turned to Izzie and Cristina and said "I need to check something at the front desk. I'll be right back."
Walking up to the receptionist, she asked for a pen and paper. Once she was done, she folded the paper and handed it back to the receptionist. "Can you make sure this gets to Derek in room 1502?"
The receptionist nodded and smiled, assuring her that they'll make sure it gets delivered.
The lack of sleep was really getting to Meredith by the time they boarded the plane. She was running on auto-pilot and could not wait to be seated so she could take a long nap. Izzie was chatting excitedly about all the stuff that happened after she and Cristina left, which was driving both her and Cristina nuts.
"If you two don't mind, I think I'm going to catch up on some much needed sleep."
She moved to the seat next to the window and took out the blanket and pillow. She kept shifting and punching the pillow which prompted Cristina who was sitting next to her to ask "What's the matter with you?"
"I can't get comfortable. My body is sore from all the…" She was about to say "sex" when she stopped herself and said "From all the walking around."
"Okay," Cristina responded, watching her as she shifted again and finally found her spot.
Meredith was having a good dream. Images of Derek were flashing across her mind, making her smile in her sleep.
::Flashback in a dream sequence::
The door came crashing open with a loud thud as they both fell inside the room. Their mouths were locked in a passionate kiss, their tongues dueling with one another for control. Without breaking the kiss, they stumbled inside the room and closed the door behind them.
Moving her toward the bed, Derek tugged lightly at her hair to expose the soft lines of her throat. Breaking the kiss, he trailed his mouth down the smooth column of her neck, stopping occasionally to lick and suck on her heated skin. Meredith let out a moan and pulled at his hair, bringing his mouth back to her hungry lips.
"Meredith, maybe we should…," Derek said between kisses.
"Shh. No talking…just kissing. Tonight is my wedding night and I want more kissing," she said, giggling.
She spun them around so that he was standing with his legs backed up against the bed. She pushed him back onto the bed and hiking up her dress, she moved to straddle him. Derek was shocked and excited by her wild abandon. Reaching up, he pulled her head down for yet another passionate kiss. A surprised moan escaped her lips as she felt his tongue invade the soft interiors of her mouth. She laced her fingers with his and moved to hold his hands captive above his head.
Sitting back so their faces were inches apart, she could see his chest rise and fall, his breathing ragged. Slowly, she began to move her hips in a circular motion, increasing the tempo when she felt the obvious bulge in his pants. Letting go of his hands, she sat up and pulled her dress off over her head, her hands moving around to unclasp her bra. Her breasts felt heavy as she released them from the confines of her bra. Reaching up, Derek cupped her breasts and began to gently massage them, his thumbs grazing the hardened nipples.
Wanting control, Derek moved so that she was now lying on the bed. Stepping back long enough to rid himself of his clothes, he moved to lean above her. Lowering his head to plant soft kisses on her belly button, his fingers slid underneath the straps of her panties and pulled them off, tossing it carelessly on the floor.
Meredith's hips moved up of their own volition, but he placed a firm hand on her lower abdomen to still her movements. Moving up her body, he stopped to take an aching breast into his mouth, teasing the throbbing nipple with his tongue and mouth. Just when Meredith thought she was going to pass out from the sheer pleasure, he released her breast, only to move to its twin.
"Oh my god, Derek!" she screamed.
Derek took her hands and held them above her head. Leaning down so that they were looking deeply into each other's eyes, he thrust hard into her.
"Derek!" Meredith screamed when she felt him fill her to the core.
"Oh my god, Meredith…," he moaned when he felt her muscles contract around him. "Meredith," he repeated her name as he thrust faster and harder into her.
"Meredith." She heard her name being called from a faint distance.
"Meredith!" said Cristina, giving her arm a harder shake.
"Wh-what?" said Meredith, still in a sleepy daze.
"You were moaning," said Cristina with a smirk on her face.
"I was not!" she denied.
"Dude, you were totally moaning," said Izzie, leaning forward to look at her.
"I wasn't moaning!" she said, embarrassed to be caught having sex dreams.
"You were having sex dreams!" exclaimed Cristina.
"Cristina!" Meredith said, looking back to see if anyone heard.
"Who were you having sex dreams with, Mer?" asked Izzie, shifting in her seat to look at Meredith with peaked interest.
"From the sound of it, it was definitely not with McBoring," said Cristina sarcastically.
"I was not having sex dreams. Can we please drop it?"
"Okay, okay…we'll drop it."
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