Camping

"Cristina, I am going camping." Meredith told her person.

"Let me guess: with Derek? He is the one dragging you with him into the wilderness. Is he planning to climb a mountain with you?" She asked, semi-interested in her friend's 'problems' though she has a truckload of her own. They were just finishing a twenty-four hour shift, both women have scrubbed in on two amazingly interesting and highly complex procedures and now Meredith has the weekend off.

"Not that I can think of." Meredith answered, hoping the mountain part was indeed not planned for their trip. She was not equipped or experienced enough to climb some mountain. "God, I hope not."

"Sure you do." Derek plans to take her camping, he wants to show her the wilderness, the nature, the rivers and the insects that going to invade her sleeping bag or the sleeping bag she'd been borrowing from Derek since he had two them. Cristina just scrunched her brows in reply and said: "You don't do wilderness, Meredith. Surgery, Meredith. Surgery is who we are. Oh my, he makes you go?! Doesn't he?" Cristina seemed to find that pretty amusing so she erupted in laughter.

Meredith just rolled her eyes.

"Can't you be a little more productive, Cristina. I am freaking out here. I don't do outdoor stuff or fishing stuff." Meredith complained a little bit. "Quit it, Grey. You're so not getting out of this." Cristina chuckled, she couldn't help but do that. "Which clearly sucks for you." In this moment, Meredith saw a figure leaning against the door frame, smiling at her dreamily. It was Derek, fully clothed in some outdoor gear.

"Look what McDreamy's wearing, Meredith. It's probably going to be cold."

"You might be right." Meredith said before turning to Dere who asked: "You ready, Mer?"

"Yeah, I am." Meredith. "Looks like I have to go."

Cristina replied with a short smile before exiting the locker room, leaving Meredith with Derek alone. "I am." She reached for his hand and together they walked along the hallway, exiting the hospital. Derek was leading Meredith to his car.

When they got home, Derek already had packed the bags, now he only had to load them into the car.

„Really, so we're actually going camping?!" Skepticism sounded in Meredith's voice as she watched him packing his clothes into a bag. "You will like it." Derek assured her while smiling his McDreamy smile Meredith loved about him. "I don't do the wilderness, Derek. There are no toilets and anything in the wilderness." Meredith reasoned with him.

Although she never even thought about backing down.

She knew Derek loves camping and she wanted to share that with him. She really wanted to do that.

"You'll like it. It is a nice way of waking up to the birds singing and enjoying the view. There is nothing better than that." Derek told her charmingly. Meredith looked at him for a moment and then she said: "Except maybe surgery. Derek, I am missing out on surgeries." "There will be more surgeries, Meredith. Come on, this will be fun. Just the two of us out there, hiking and fishing." "I hate fishing." Meredith protested weakly. Derek just chuckled, he knew Meredith just made an attempt to back out in the last minute. That was so like her.

"Mer, have you packed your bag? I mean, we'll be gone the entire weekend."

"I know that we'll be gone for the entire weekend. I need my fleece. I assume it's going to be cold out there?" Meredith asked although she knew the answer to that question already.

Derek just grinned at her but there was no verbal answer, though.

Meredith finished packing her bag with warm clothes 'cause knowing Seattle very well means knowing when to pack extra warm clothes. Maybe she should do it like the birds who ditch Seattle every winter and then come back.

"I'll keep you warm, Mer. It's just you and me in the tent." He smiled her and gave her quick kiss on the forehead. "You better be doing that." Meredith warned him, a warm smile covered her face. Even if she didn't show it, she was excited about spending time outdoors with Derek.

This is going to be a whole new experience for her.

"I know that this is going to be a new experience for you but you know what: embrace it, Mer. You'll see, it's fun."

"Killing fish is supposed to be fun?!" Meredith asked, chuckling slightly.

"It's quiet, you can think and concentrate fully on yourself." Derek said. "Come on now, we've got a long way to go." He offered her his hand, then when their hands touched they made their way downstairs. They then got in the car and Derek drove them to where he planned to go camping. There was a lone parking lot in the middle of nowhere.

When they got out of the car both of them could smell the pines, the trees and all. The fresh air. Meredith saw the trail that was guiding them the way to the river Derek wanted to camp and go fishing.

/

"This is my camping trip. I was going to come alone. Space. I have a right to space." Derek mumbled to himself as he looked over to Meredith who sat there on a rock and stared out of the water, she looked up and all she could see was freaking sky and some trees or more like a forest and a mountain, a really big mountain. And now they were camping and fishing. "Yeah, sure you have a right to space ... but somehow you've made the decision that I was coming with you. So this is all you, Derek. Still doesn't my question why we don't catch any fish. Assuming this river has fish in it and that we're using the right techniques which we are, we should be able to catch more than none an hour." Meredith looked at Derek who was standing the water, holding the fishing pole in his hand and seemed to enjoy this. But for Meredith – well she was freezing. It was cold and rainy and she'd be lucky if she doesn't catch a cold. But that kind of weather is typical in Seattle.

"What do you make of that?" Meredith wanted to know these things from her *mountain man* who was currently looking at the river, trying to catch some fish which seemed to be very difficult.

"What do I make of what?" Derek asked back, trying not to sound so amused.

"That we haven't caught anything yet. Any theories?" Meredith asked, trying to sound vaguely interested in what Derek was currently doing. But she just couldn't help but think that surgery was way more interesting.

"Just one." Derek answered, smirking 'cause he knew that Meredith would roll her eyes on him as soon as he said this.

"Fish generally don't like to go where there's a lot of noise." Derek explained to her.

"Fishing is supposed to be quiet, a quiet activity. It's good to backpedal from all the stress from the hospital and so on. I like this, fishing and being here with you even though you're making quite a bit noise." Derek smiled at her. Meredith faced him. "'m sorry." She mumbled. "I am going for a walk if that's okay. So you can catch your fish." Meredith smiled at him, noticing that he looked good in this, even though it's new to her. But before she could disappear Derek turned around.

"Yeah, people chatting, laughing, moving around, that sort of thing." Derek said, ironically he was the one talking and therefore scaring off the fish. "That sort of thing lets the fish know they're not alone. That's the theory." He explained. "Funny, coming from you ..." Meredith shot back, her eyes sparkled as she turned around to eye him.

"You're the one talking. I am going for this walk now." She said.

Derek looked up, locked eye contact. "Be careful, Mer. I don't want anything happen to you, you know." Derek warned her, suddenly overprotective. Fearing the worst, that something could happen to her while he had no idea 'cause he was preoccupied with something trivial as fishing while Meredith's life could be in danger. But his mind already figures out worst-case scenarios … "I'll be fine, Derek. I am a big girl. I can take care of myself." Meredith told him. "I know that. But this is not Seattle, we're in the wilderness here, miles away from the next house or hospital. I am not even sure if we got reception at this place."

"You're rambling." Meredith watched him and smiled.

"It's cute. I like it." She came back and kissed him properly. For a moment, Derek lets his fishing pole be a fishing pole and kissed Meredith. She closed her eyes, no one was around for miles.

/

Then Meredith wandered off on some lone trail that goes straight into the woods. Derek was still near the river, trying to do the impossible and catch some fish. Wood cracked under her feet and the forest swallowed Meredith whole. It was a whole new area for her. After a few meters she felt someone following her. There were footsteps.

She breathed in sharply. She wasn't alone here. It was just that Derek was fishing and not with her.

"Mer, wait. There are bears out here, you know. It's better if you don't go alone." Meredith breathed out when she heard Derek's voice behind her and then his arms around her hips. Meredith laughed, then she said: "You smell like salmon." She mocked him.

Derek just smiled at her.

"Seems like I did catch our dinner." Derek smiled.

"We'll make a campfire that keeps us warm and then we'll can do whatever we want." "But first the walk." "Sure." He gave her quick kiss and they disappeared into the woods ... planning to be back for dinner.