WARNING: Part of this chapter is rated M. It's sectioned off between the GAGA so don't read it if you are offended.
On with the story . . .
The putting-Katherine-to-bed-early plan failed miserably, and an hour later all three of them sat on the living room floor.
Meredith handed Katherine a ball. "Here, Katherine, this is a ball. Can you say ball? Ball."
Katherine shrieked excitedly, rocking back and forth, reaching for the ball. "Be, be!"
"Close enough." Meredith handed her the ball, and it went straight to her mouth as everything did these days.
"Hey, princess, what about be, be, bed?" Derek asked.
Giggling, Meredith looked over at him. He seemed rather put out by all the energy Katherine had been displaying for the past hour, but had he really expected her to go to bed two hours early? She could tell though that he desperately wanted Katherine out of the way, and admittedly, she agreed with him. They needed to talk about the implications of no more time, and where exactly they would go from here. And sex might be good. It had been a very long time for her, after all.
Scrutinizing Katherine closely, Meredith said, "I think she might sleep now."
"Really?" Derek looked like Christmas had come early.
"Yeah, she's doing the ear rubbing thing." Katherine tended to rub her ears when she was tired.
"I have absolutely no idea what you are talking about, but okay." He swept Katherine up into his arms. "Bed time, Katherine."
Meredith got Katherine's bottle ready before heading up to Katherine's bedroom. Derek had apparently already read to her, and now had her laying in one arm, ready for her bottle. Meredith handed it to him and sat down on the footstool.
"So, Mer, what does this mean, exactly?"
"What does what mean?" She wasn't quite sure what he was talking about.
"Well, you said you wanted to give us a shot. How exactly do we go about doing that?"
Meredith blushed and shifted uncomfortably. She knew exactly she wanted; she just didn't know how to put words to her thoughts. Today Christina had been so happy, well, in her own way. She had Burke and they were having a baby. Meredith wasn't quite sure why Christina's happiness had made her want to make it work with Derek, but somehow she had suddenly known it was the right thing do to. It would make them both happier. They already had the baby; they just needed each other now.
"Um, well, I'm not sure. We should date maybe, talk?"
Derek laughed, which was not exactly an encouraging reaction. "We already talk, and when would we have time to date? We both work all the time and we have a baby."
There was that word, we. He used it all the time. Maybe now they could really be we in the true sense of the word. "Okay, I don't know."
Laughing again, Derek shifted Katherine to his shoulder to burp her. "Why don't you think about that?"
As Katherine finished her bottle, they struggled to have a conversation. It was strange. Things were never awkward between them. It could get weird, but never awkward like this where they couldn't have a decent conversation. If it was going to be like this she wanted to go back.
But then work came up, and they fell into an easy conversation involving surgeries and the current gossip about their coworkers. Meredith found it hilarious that Derek always seemed to have the best dirt on everything and everyone.
Derek set Katherine's bottle on top of her short bookcase when she had finished it.
"Here, want to hold her for a minute?" Derek held Katherine out to Meredith.
Nodding, Meredith accepted the baby, holding her close. She savored these moments when Katherine was so relaxed and would just let Meredith hold her. They occurred less and less frequently as she grew older and more independent.
After a minute, Meredith kissed Katherine on the cheek, and then laid her down in her crib, gently covering her with a soft blanket.
"Night, Katherine," Derek said from behind her, reaching his arm around her to stroke a finger down Katherine's velvety cheek.
They quietly left her bedroom, turning off the light and gently closing the door.
"Come on." Meredith followed Derek downstairs so their voices wouldn't keep Katherine from falling asleep.
They ended up on the living room coach, Meredith with a diet coke and Derek with a beer. Meredith faced him, and they stared at each for a moment, neither wanting to be the first to break the silence.
To Meredith's relief, Derek cleared his throat, and started the conversation with an ineloquent, "So, uh, Meredith . . ."
"Um, are you still okay with this, Derek? I know it's been a kind of a long time, and I was wondering if maybe you were having second thoughts. Maybe you don't want to do this anymore." She hated her rambling habit. It was an awful way to deal with nerves because all it accomplished was announcing to the whole room that she was nervous.
"Are you kidding? Of course I want to do this. I've wanted this forever. You know that I love you, Mer." His gaze smothered her, and she looked down at her hands.
There was another point that was bothering her. It was one that she really didn't want to bring up, but it had to be addressed. "You hurt me a lot. You have to promise you won't anymore."
Derek was silent for a long moment, and Meredith grew nervous. Was the promise not to hurt her something that was too hard for him to make?
"Meredith, look at me." She obeyed without thought. "Mer, you know this isn't going to be perfect. It will never work if we go into it thinking that everything will be perfect. Sometimes we're going to fight. You'll yell, I'll yell. And, Mer, sometimes we're going to hurt each other because that happens. We hurt the people we love sometimes."
Meredith hadn't even realized she had looked away until she felt Derek's hand under her chin, forcing her to meet his eyes. "But I can promise you that I will never intentionally hurt you. And when I do hurt you, I promise I will always come back to help fix you. Meredith Grey, I never walking away again. I'm done. You've it for me."
She couldn't stop the tears that were running down her face. Derek's little speech may have been cheesy, but it left her with no doubt that he had meant every word. And it gave her real hope that they could actually make it for the long haul.
"Hey, hey, don't cry." Derek wiped the tears from her face. "This is the happily-ever-after part, so you don't get to cry."
She choked back her tears and smiled at him. "We can do this, right?"
"There's never been a doubt in my mind."
"Okay." She nodded to try to quell her nerves. "Okay."
And then Derek was laying her back on the coach and smashing his lips against hers. Her coke fell from her hand onto the floor, where it presumably spilled all over the carpet. It would be hell to clean up later, but Meredith couldn't bring herself to care. Not when Derek's mouth was all over her face and neck, kissing her like he would never again have the opportunity.
"I love you, Mer. I love you so much." His mouth went to the neckline of her shirt, and Meredith curled her fingers into his hair, tugging him gently back up to her lips.
His hands stopped roaming her body long enough to find hers and entwine their fingers together. He held her hands on either side of her head as he kissed her deeply. She opened her mouth to his probing tongue and gave into the sensations it evoked in her. It had been too long since anyone had kissed her like this. So full of promise and love.
They kissed for a long time, hands still not moving from faces and hair. Meredith felt almost lethargic laying on the coach, memorizing the feel of his mouth on hers. But eventually, hands started to roam again, and Meredith worked frantically to unbutton his shirt, no longer lazy and relaxed with his hands all over her body.
When Meredith finally managed to free Derek of his shirt he pulled back a little. "Mer, are you sure you've ready for this?"
She smiled. "Make love to me, Derek."
GAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGA
Derek grinned in response and eased his hands under her shirt, bringing it up and over her head. His mouth and hands were instantly all over the newly exposed skin. Meredith moaned and, with her hands in his hair once again, pushed his mouth into her cleavage.
"Derek." Her hands left his hair to travel across the smooth planes of his back, marveling at the soft skin on top of the hard muscles. She felt him reach behind her and deftly unsnap her bra, and she worked at his belt in response.
Her hands were caught between them when Derek suddenly wrapped his arms around her and kissed her deeply, their bare chests pressed tightly together. His hand tangled in her hair, and the other was kept firmly on her back, holding them close together.
Finally, she broke the kiss, panting slightly as she gently bit his bottom lip before fumbling with his belt once again.
"Here." His warm hands touched hers, and unbuckled the belt in a matter of seconds.
Before she could take advantage of the loosened belt, Derek had unbuttoned her own pants, and was easing them down her legs. And suddenly it was impossible to think because he had cast the pants aside and was touching her. Even through her panties it had her squirming and bucking beneath him. It had been far too long since any man had touched her so intimately.
And then her panties joined the rest of her clothing on the floor and she was left completely naked on the coach.
"You're beautiful, Mer."
The way he said it left no doubt in her mind that he really did see her that way, and she smiled slightly, pressing her hips against him in need. "Please, Derek."
"Shh, Mer. Be patient."
Derek proceeded to kiss his way down her entire body, licking and nipping at her skin. Any fleeting thought that didn't involve him and what he was doing to her had left her mind by the time he reached her inner thighs, and her body clenched when his mouth reached its ultimate goal. Her vision blurred as his mouth worked her, and she almost went over the edge completely when his fingers delved inside of her.
She moaned some version of his name, and he whispered something to her that she couldn't comprehend. Her orgasm took over her at the sensation of his fingers thrusting in and out of her, and she cried out in pleasure as she clutched at his back.
When she opened her eyes, and had recovered at least some of her ability to think, Derek had stripped of his pants, and was clearly ready to enter her, waiting only for permission.
"Derek," she moaned, spreading her legs wider, and lifting her hips off the coach so he could gently press himself into her. She whimpered pathetically when he didn't move for a moment, wanting nothing more than to feel him move in and out of her body.
He soon began thrusting into her, rather slowly and gently, as if she would break if he wasn't careful. She wrapped her legs around him, and urged him to go faster, attempting to control the rhythm even though she was caught beneath him.
Eventually he obeyed her whimpered demands and increased the tempo until their bodies were shinning with sweat and they were both panting from the effort. She could felt herself coming close to finishing again, and, if she still knew him as well as she thought, he was too. And then one strong orgasm triggered the other, and they clung to each other as their bodies gave way to pleasure and oblivion.
GAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGA
This is bliss. That was the only thought that could occupy Meredith's mind as she lay underneath Derek, trying to recover from their lovemaking.
"Derek?" she whispered when she could speak again.
"Hmm?" He moved slightly so he could pull out of her, and she sighed sadly at the loss of the intimate connection.
"I love you."
He smiled softly and their eyes meet. "I love you too." He kissed her gently, teasing her lips with his own.
She sighed contently. "I know."
He nuzzled her neck. "You'll never know how much."
Closing her eyes, she let her head loll back, giving him more access to her neck. "As much as I love you," she mumbled lethargically.
"Nope. I love you more." He moved his lips to nibble on her ear.
"Nu-ah." With a sudden burst of energy she rolled herself on top of him. Unfortunately, she didn't take into account that the size of the coach didn't allow for much rolling, and Meredith ended up on top of him on the floor.
Meredith giggled hysterically, and, needing to get in the last word, said quickly, "I love you more."
Instead of smiling and continuing the argument, Derek made a face. "Ug. Mer, why is the carpet wet and sticky?"
"That would be spilled coke."
He wrinkled his nose again, and before she could react, he had gathered her into his arms, and lifted her off the floor. Consenting to let him carry her, she put her arms around his neck and hooked her ankles around his back.
"We're finishing this in the shower."
She grinned wickedly. "Let's do the bendy thing."
He laughed and carried her up the stairs. "Well, I don't know . . ." he teased.
Taking advantage of the position she was in, she rubbed herself again him and kissed him neck. "Please, Derek," she purred.
"Okay," he groaned immediately. "Stop that, or I'm going to drop you."
Giggling again, she did stop, not really wanting them both to tumble down the stairs. They made it to Derek's bathroom without incident, and he set her down in the shower. Reaching around her, he turned the water on, and pressed her against the wall, kissing her.
"I love you forever," he whispered, pulled away to press their foreheads together.
"Yeah. I love you forever too."
And in that moment, Meredith somehow knew that their words would survive the test of time, and that she and Derek really would make it.
So that was long, and sometimes cute, sometimes cheesy, sometimes porny, sometimes serious. Okay I'm done. It was a lot of things, but most importantly, Mer/Der are happy and will continue to be for the rest of the story. All three chapters of it.
I thought this chapter turned out pretty okay. I don't have many thoughts on it. Meredith finally trusts Derek again, and Derek promised not to walk away, and it just seems like everything is going to be okay now. Finally.
Please review and tell me what you thought.