I want to thank you for allowing me to indulge in some naughty MerAlex fun these last two chapters, in effect putting the story on hold. Finally moving on with the story ...

"Meredith!"

"Oh crap!" The startled cry was muffled by the thick wood.

"What are you doing in there?"

"Go away, Alex … please! Just go away," she pleaded.

"Mer, three more to break the record, and we only have 8 hours left. Come out of the linen closet now," came the teasing order through the door.

She leaned her head against the shelf and looked at the ceiling of her clearly unsuccessful choice of sanctuary. There's gotta be a less obvious place to hide in this house that he knows nothing about, she mused, breaking into a disbelieving giggle.

She came in here twenty minutes ago after she saw the mischievous glint in his eye as she looked up from the magazine she was perusing across him in the living room where he was watching a movie. Panicked by that evil gleam, she jumped out of her chair with the excuse of needing to use the toilet, and then made a dash to refuge as he drawled, 'we've gotta start on number five soon.'

Not that she was complaining about the sex, because well, the sex was amazing. Mind-blowing. But still, three times in four hours! That's already a record right there! This was getting ridiculous … it's going to be the death of me. Oh but what a way to go, the voice of twisted-dirty-mistress-turned-adulterous-whore-Meredith exclaimed.

Stifling the gurgle of laughter at her warped thoughts, she opened the door a crack to glare at him, noting his smirk and eager stance.

"Fine," she said with a snort, opening the door wider to walk out, "But we're abstaining from sex for a week!"

Licking his lips and rubbing his hands, he followed her to the bedroom.

X --- T minus 6 hours and 2 more to break the record --- X

"Where did you hide this time? Looked everywhere for you," he greeted as she sat beside him on the couch.

"Ha, no way I'm telling you," she snorted, curling her legs under. "What's for dinner?"

"Chicken … it'll be here in 38 minutes," he replied, checking his watch, and then turned the page of the blue book on his lap.

"What's that," she asked as she peered over his shoulder.

"I found one of your albums, and I was just looking at some pics of you as a child."

She made a face, pulling away from him as she slouched lower onto the couch.

"Mer, there aren't many after the page marked '6 years old'," he voiced his observation.

"Yeah, well, pictures are supposed to capture and preserve happy memories," she answered with a shrug, a slight hitch in her voice.

His head snapped to her at the indifference in her tone, noting her pained expression, instantly regretting his unintentional inducement of wariness. Idiot!

"Mer," he said softly, slowly closing the album before setting it aside, and then shifted his body to face her.

"I don't want to talk about it, Alex," she said dispassionately, closing her eyes and clasping her hands on her stomach.

"You can talk to me, Meredith," he countered, reaching out to run his hand to stroke the top of her head.

His chest tightened at the instinctual shudder that racked her body as soon as he touched her, recognizing her withdrawal. The rejection stung, he must admit, realizing that he wanted a more intimate relationship with her beyond that of the physical, and it suddenly became imperative that she did, too.

"Mer …"

"There's really nothing to talk about, Alex. So, she died and I won't see her again … but really, it isn't much different from when I was growing up … so, there's really nothing to talk about …," she trailed off as a tear escaped her eye and rolled down her cheek.

She took a few deep breaths, wiped at her cheek and opened her eyes to Alex' sympathetic look. She stared back at him for a moment longer, and then forced a smile as she abruptly moved to rise.

"C'mon, let's go. We've got a record to break," she effected an unconvincing cheery invitation, grabbing his hand to pull him up, all the while avoiding eye contact.

He resisted her weak attempt, tightening his fingers over hers.

"Mer," he coaxed softly.

"We're having sex, Alex, let's go" her voice quivering as she fought back the tears.

He tugged on her hand, releasing it as her body involuntarily drew nearer, snaking an arm around her waist to pull her onto his lap, the right side of her body pressed against him.

She held herself rigid and resistant as he wrapped both arms around her, succumbing to tears when she felt the brush of his lips against her temple. Letting go of the last shred of control she had over her emotions, she sagged against his chest and buried her face in his neck, her hands limp on her lap, accepting the comfort he offered. Grateful for his silence, she welcomed his soft caresses, giving in to the need to cry.

Her silent weeping, broken only by the occasional sniffing, had subsided to constrained breathing and sighing when the food arrived twenty minutes later.

Wiping the last tear from her face, she slowly sat up to face him, smiling weakly.

"Thank you," she whispered sincerely, her eyes finally meeting his warm brown ones.

"You're welcome," he whispered, softly pressing his lips to hers for a few seconds before they both stood to answer the door.

X --- 11:30 pm --- X

"Mer," he said, slipping under the covers beside her.

Lying on her stomach, she groaned exaggeratedly, and then came out from under the pillow she pulled over her head the instant she heard his footsteps on the stairs. Her arms forming a right angle to raise her upper body from the bed, she glared down at him.

"Enough! No more sex … I give up," she growled, making big eyes at him as he stared back with a smirk.

"That's okay," he chuckled smugly, putting his hands behind his head on the pillow. "We already broke the record, so you're safe for the rest of the evening."

"That's not the only record I broke today," she mumbled, collapsing on the bed in relief, her face turned to him.

"What other record did you break," he asked curiously.

"Number of showers I had in a day," she giggled, thinking of the shower they had just an hour ago --- the one where the record-breaking deed occurred --- the 4th one she had today.

He joined in her laughter.

"Well, they were all necessary. First, we had to wash off the whipped cream. The next one was because of our afternoon 'workout'. And of course the last one was … well, we couldn't go to bed all sweaty now, could we," he defended humorously, his eyes gleaming with memories of the activity that precipitated the last shower.

"Shut up. Just so you know, I'm spending my next day off alone!"

"Admit it. You thoroughly enjoyed it," he cajoled, shifting to his side to face her.

She rolled her eyes at him before closing them, but she offered her admission by grinning widely at him.

"Izzie left a message that she wasn't coming home tonight," he said after a while, still watching her. "No need to sneak out of your room in the morning."

She opened her eyes to see him watching her, and she flashed a smile back at him. He leaned in to plant a goodnight kiss on her forehead, evidence of his 'promise' to let her finally rest, and then smirked at her before closing his eyes. She acknowledged his action with a giggle, shifting to lie on her side as she studied him.

His last comment played in her mind. She recalled the time George had cornered her at the kitchen last night, confronting her about the panties. Luckily, while she was stammering her ridiculous explanation, Izzie had walked in, and she had managed yet again to evade George's curiosity. However, she knew that they would have to admit it (this-relationship-that-wasn't-officially-a-relationship) eventually, which means they had to figure out what this was --- and soon.

"Alex," she said softly, causing him to open his eyes inquiringly.

"Do you think this … us … what we're doing … I mean, the two of us … do you think it's weird?"

You know what was difficult about writing this chapter? Doing the maths! LOL. Seriously! I even had a little notebook beside me to keep tally of the 'facts'. Really, I did.

Jany1988 --- thank you for always leaving a comment, even short ones. I really appreciate it, especially since you're busy with your abitur.

MeredithandDerekfanforever --- thanks for reading this meralex story, especially since you ship merder and lexzie. Hope you liked it.

AuburnH --- LOL. glad you liked it. read your story, and I don't mind shameless self-promotion at all --- in fact … hey everyone, check out 'FRIENDS FIRST' by AuburnH! hurry and update already.

Murgy31 --- yay! can't wait to read it.

xxDark-Elfxx --- me too, me too! my heart skipped a beat when I read that. Oh, it's gonna be a really long wait till September!

Lennie1984 --- boy, I hope it is indeed a hint, because well, I'm already in love with meralex! LOL.

Sara/lexie/kate --- I know what you mean about mermark. That would be interesting to see too. As for the hinted nasty-nasty, I'm afraid that's all you're gonna get until you give those lessons I asked from you. LOL.

LaFilmeM --- i'd be fine with the meeting of the dirty mistresses club too, if shonda does decide to go that way. Hehe. Imagine how steamy that's gonna be.

Cabot007 --- thank you for making my weekend. Really, that was one of the sweetest compliments I've ever received, and I truly appreciate it. tear

Thank you for reading, and again, my heartfelt gratitude to those who constantly leave reviews.

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