-1Forever.

The word had never held much meaning for Meredith. It was…just a word. A figure of speech concerning time. Now, it seemed to have taken up residence in her mind. Correction, Mark's voice saying the word forever had taken up residence in her mind. Over and over, like a broken record, she heard him saying Forever. What the hell did it mean?

"Stop dwelling on it," Meredith ordered. The cat looked at her as though she had lost her mind. Maybe she had. Maybe staying up all night, dwelling on what Mark had meant when he said forever, had caused something in her to snap, making her as fruity as the cereal she was trying to eat.

"Will you stop staring at me," she snapped when the cat continued to eye her. She rolled her eyes, and then spooned up a bit of Fruity Pebbles and pink tinted milk. "I'm allowed to freak out just a little on this. One date and he is talking forever. That's not normal is it?" The only answer she got was a soft meow and a twitching tail. What did she expect, talking to a cat and expecting answers? Ha. She had lost it. "You are no help." She spooned in another bite, chewing vigorously. She knew that she was being ridiculous, that she was really losing it. She couldn't help it though. Mark had said Forever and then hadn't elaborated. Was he talking about committing to Forever right now? Did he mean that eventually he wanted Forever? Did she even want him to want Forever?

Fear twisted in her gut at the thought of a Forever that didn't have Mark. That answered her question. She needed a Forever that included Mark. He was a part of her. She pushed the bowl of cereal away, reaching for her cell phone. She pressed speed dial, and then waited.

"Hello," his husky voice mumbled on the other end of the line. A grin spread across her face. She could get use to hearing that voice every morning.

"Good morning," she chirped. He muttered something about her being a bit to cheery first thing in the morning. "If I am, it's because of you."

"Me? What do I have to do with you acting like a canary of crack?" Mark snarled. She fought back a laugh. She had forgotten that he wasn't a morning person. Fine. She was. They balanced each other out.

"I want it to. I want forever." There was silence on the other end. "Mark? Are you there? Did you hear me? I want forever too!" She gasped when he hung up. Her mouth hung open. He. Had. Hung. Up. On. Her. "Asshole. See if I put myself out there again," she sneered, grabbing up the almost empty bowl of cereal. She dumped it out in the sink, rinsing the bowl out before placing it in the dishwasher.

Still scowling, Meredith stormed into her bedroom. She stripped out of her frog printed pajamas and yanked on a pair of denim shorts and a white t shirt. The lawn needed mowed. She would take her anger out on the lawn. Pretend it was Mark's face.

"Oh, now what!" She sighed when she heard a pounding knock on her door. With the way her luck was running it would the I.R.S. serving her up with an audit. She let out a strangled gasp when she opened the door. Strong arms fold around her, and firm lips capture her's. She shoved her palms against a muscular chest, wrenching her mouth free. "You hang up on me and then come over to make out?" And the cat thought she was crazy.

"You want forever," Mark grinned, squeezing her tighter. She let out a small squeak. "Sorry." he stepped back, brushing her hair out of her face. "I love you. Feels good to be able to say that, know what I mean?" She nodded. She did know what he meant. She loved the way 'I love you Mark' rolled off her tongue. "I want to say that to you every morning. I want to wake up to your annoying cheerfulness. I want to…" he took a deep breath "I want to spend the rest of my life with you."

"Good. Cause I want to spend mine with you." Meredith teased back. "Guess that means we should get married, huh?" She was half joking, half serious.

"Yeah, I guess it does," Mark answered, his mouth diving down to capture her's once more. The kiss felt like home. It felt like…forever.