The next morning, I pull into a space in the parking lot and get out of my car. As I'm walking towards the hospital, I hear someone jogging up behind me. I turn and see Derek making his way towards me. I pause and wait for him to catch up. He smiles at me and falls into stride beside me. "Coffee?" he says, carrying a holder with two cups of coffee.

"Is it decaf?" I ask. I bring my hand to my stomach for an instant and his face softens at me.

"This one is," he replies, handing one of the cups to me.

I take it gratefully and sip it. "Mmmm, thank you," I say, giving a satisfied smile.

"You're welcome," he says. We reach the hospital and he holds open the door for me as we walk in. "So you're trying," he says as we make our way across the lobby.

I turn my face towards him. "I'm trying." I pause. "I'm figuring...stuff out."

He gives a slight nod. "Okay." We come to a stop in front of the resident locker room and he moves closer to me, gazing down at my face. I lean towards him slightly, my gaze shifting from his eyes to his mouth. He moves ever closer and I part my lips in anticipation, suddenly unaware of the doctors streaming past us. "Okay," he says, pulling away, leaving me slightly dazed.

I glance at the floor then back at him. "So I'll see you later maybe?"

He smiles. "Definitely," he says.

I turn and walk into the locker room, a smile playing on my face. But as soon as I see Christina sitting on the bench, staring listlessly at the grey face of the lockers, the smile falls from my face. "Christina?" I say, walking towards her. She turns her face towards me, her expression unchanging. "You okay?" I ask.

"He's gone," she says brokenly.

"Who? Burke?" I ask, my brow furrowing in confusion.

She nods. "He left. I missed my chance."

"What happened between last night and this morning?" I ask. She shakes her head and looks at me, her expression almost one of bewilderment. "Christina?"

"He called. Said he couldn't wait anymore. Said he missed me, but that he couldn't wait anymore..." She trails off and shakes her head, tears forming in her eyes.

"I'm sorry," I say, because I don't know what else to say.

She nods tiredly and rests her head on my shoulder. "I guess I missed my chance," she says softly.

xxx

"I almost kissed him," I tell Dr. Williams later that day. "I mean we almost kissed. Whatever. I really want to kiss him. Every time I see him, all I can think about is kissing him. I think I'm having hormone surges."

Dr. Williams laughs. "Then kiss him," she tells me.

"What?" I say, leaning forward.

"Kiss him," she says with a shrug. "It's not like one kiss means you're getting married."

I nod. "No. That's true." I pause and my gaze falls to her ficus as it always seems to do when I'm thinking in this office. "You know what?"

"What?" Dr. Williams says.

"When you said marriage," I tell her slowly. "I didn't freak out. I'm not nauseous. I'm not sweating." I smile slightly. "I think I'm okay."

She smiles genuinely at me. "See? Progress."

xxx

I walk out of Dr. Williams' office and gather up my interns before assigning them to their attendings and sending them on their way. I spot Derek at a nearby nurses station and make my way over to him. He turns his head towards and smiles. "Hey, I was just going to get lunch, do you want to..."

"Come here," I say, grabbing his hand and pulling him into an on call room. I lock the door behind us and then turn towards him.

"You okay?" he asks, giving me a strange look as if he's concerned for my sanity.

I look at the ground then back up at him. "I'm really horny," I answer truthfully.

He pauses at my answer and then chuckles softly, smiling brightly at me. "Is that so?" he says, taking a step towards me.

"Yeah, it is," I say, moving towards him.

He reaches out and wraps his arm around my waist, pulling me closer to him. "Well that," he replies, "is something I can help with."

I smile and tilt my head to meet his descending lips. "I'm glad," I murmur, before he kisses me softly. Horny was so an understatement. I have never felt longing like this before. I am physically aching for his touch. I sigh softly into his mouth and he takes the opportunity to deepen the kiss, slipping his tongue into my mouth to duel with mine.

I press myself closer to him, desire curling in the pit of my stomach. He applies gentle pressure to the small of my back, holding me against him as he moves his lips from my mouth to my cheek and down to my jaw. I moan softly and reach up, pushing his coat off his shoulder, before immediately reaching down and tugging on the hem of his shirt. He pulls away slightly so that I can lift it over his head, before reaching down and puling my own shirt up over my head.

He then pauses for a second, taking in the sight of me. He moves his eyes over my body slowly and his gaze is filled with so much veneration and love that I move close to him again and press my lips to his. He wraps his arms around my waist again, trailing kisses down my neck, before pushing me backwards gently towards the bed.

I lie down on the sheets before he lowers himself onto me, pressing his lips to mine gently and then harder as I pull him towards me. After a while he pulls away slightly and trails kisses down my neck, across my chest, and between my breasts before stopping at my stomach and resting, cheek to belly. I smile down at him and he lifts his head, smiling at me before pressing a kiss to my stomach and moving back up my body.

He lies down beside me and I reach down, pulling his scrub pants down off his hips. He reaches out and rids me of my own pants, before pulling me back into his body. I lean forward and kiss him softly. He pulls my bottom lip into his mouth, sucking gently, before kissing the corner of my mouth and then my cheek. I close my eyes and focus on the feel of his lips against my skin. He moves his hand from where it was resting on my waist, down along the curve of my hip to my thigh and then back up. The mixture of his hands and his lips and the feel of his body against mine leaves me trembling with desire.

I look into his face and his eyes are dark with desire as well. Gently, he rolls on top of me, but suspends most of his weight in his arms. I can feel him at my entrance and I arch into him. He only smiles and lowers himself slightly so that his chest barely grazes my nipples. I whimper softly beneath him. "Derek..." I breathe.

He kisses me once and then thrusts into my slowly. I let out a moan and pull him towards me, but he only continues his painfully slow pace until I am nearly crying out with desire. Only then does he begin to speed up his pace, eliciting a soft moan from the back of my throat. I press my body into his pulling him deeper as he moves within me. With one last thrust we climax together and I close my eyes as he kisses my lips gently, lovingly.

He lies down beside me and pulls me into my arms, rubbing my back gently. "Thank you," I say.

He chuckles softly and presses a kiss to the top of my head. "You're welcome."

I snuggle closer to him, pressing my face into his chest and letting my eyes droop. As I drift towards sleep, I feel something like contentment washing over me and I smile before sinking into sleep.

xxx

I wake up and smile slightly, moving closer to Derek. I lean forward and trail kisses along his jawline, feeling the familiar stubble beneath my lips. He opens his eyes, subconsciously tightening his grasp around me and turns his face towards me. "How are you?" he asks, his voice soft.

"I'm...good. I think."

He smiles slightly. "You think?"

I nod slightly and shrug. "I'm getting there."

He nods at me, before leaning forward and kissing me softly on the lips. I sigh softly as he presses his body against mine again. "Don't you have work?" I ask.

He pulls back slightly. "It can wait." I nod wordlessly as he leans forward and gently brushes my lips with his. I part my lips and tilt my head towards him and with a small smile, kisses me firmly.

xxx

We walk out of the on call room hand in hand and pause in the hallway. I reach up and straighten the collar of his coat, my gaze never breaking with his. He reaches up and brushes the hair out of my face, before resting his hand on my cheek and stroking it softly. "So do you want come over to my trailer later?" he asks, his voice soft. "I'll make dinner."

"I can do that," I reply with a smile.

He leans towards me slightly, his gaze falling to my lips, still slightly swollen from his kisses. "Can I kiss you?" he asks.

I feel my lips curve into a smile and I nod. "Yeah, you can kiss me." He wraps his arm around my waist and pulls me towards him before kissing me gently. I feel desire flare within me again and fight the urge to pull him back into the on call room. He pulls back and smiles at me, before giving my hand one last squeeze and turning and walking away down the hall.