Chapter 26

Number one rule of surgery is limit exposure. Keep your hands clean, your incisions small, and your wounds covered. Number two rule of surgery is when rule number one stops working, try something else. Because sometimes you can't limit exposure, sometimes the injury is so bad you have to cut, and cut big. In surgery, the healing process begins with a cut, an incision, the tearing of flesh. We have to damage the healthy flesh in order to expose the unhealthy. It feels cruel and against common sense, but it works. You risk exposure for the sake of healing, and when it's over, once the incision has been closed, you wait. You wait and hope that your patient will heal. That you haven't in fact, just made everything worse. I Like You So Much Better When You Are Naked; Meredith Grey

"Yeah, I'm fine." She sounded convincing. As in really convincing. Heck, she's been ready to get out of here since one week Tyler, the nurse had now brought the wheelchair into the room, because you as a patient you were obliged to use a wheelchair. At least on hospital ground. "Come on, I'll help you." Derek offered. "No, no. Go on, do your own thing. I am fine here, I have to be if I want to go to work as soon as possible. I am way behind the others." Meredith stood up carefully and gently went a few steps. Derek was at her side instantly and propped her, just as a precaution if something should be. After a few steps Meredith Grey had reached the wheelchair and sat down, immediate relief could be seen on her face, purely facilitated. She breathed in the fresh air when her face hit the sun for the first time in weeks. She took another deep breath and closed her eyes. Finally, no more cold sterile walls ... That was a relief. A real relief.

She was happy when Derek helped her into the passenger seat and drove off of the hospital parking lot. She leaned her face against the cold glass of the window. They would be home soon. She would be sleeping in her own bed. With Derek. That was more than she could ask for. She didn't need much to be happy. Just him. Derek. "Are you okay?" Derek looked over to her, just for a moment. "I am okay, really. But watch out, you never know what's coming. Please. The last thing we need is an repeated accident." She shot him a knowing look. Derek knew what she was talking about, so he just turned his gaze and continued to drive. It was evening and it was one of the rare days in Seattle with sunshine. Even if the sun's disappearing right now. But the colors were amazing. Meredith smiled when she watched him in profile. And then the sunset over Seattle ...

Also, there wasn't much traffic. "How about we take the ferry?" Derek's eyes blinked adventurous. "I'd love too, really but I am tired and I shouldn't tired myself out. As much as I want to I have to say no."

Derek nodded in understanding. "We'll take the ferry another time."

The traffic light jumped red and after he looked to the left and right side, to check if there were anything he had to pay attention he did a 'knee jerk reaction' and kissed his gorgeous girlfriend. "What was that? Aren't you supposed to pay ..." She stammered pleasantly surprised ... "... attention? Yes, I am but the light's still red and there's this problem: I can only drive if it's green ..." Derek gave back. Meredith laughed. "And that is an insurmountable obstacle." She countered, still smiling.

Then the traffic light jumped to green and the car accelerated.

This was a good. They were heading home.

They came closer and closer to it every minute. Everything was going to be fine. They were Meredith and Derek and they will be okay. More than okay, they will be extraordinary. Together, he and Meredith will do great things, things she never imagined she actually wanted but with him she wanted it all. That she knew. Meredith inhaled slowly and then exhaled.

Suddenly, she felt weariness flooding through her veins and before she knew it she drifted off into a light sleep.

She didn't see anymore how Derek shortly glanced at the sight of her sleeping figure half lying there in the seat, her head leaning against the headrest. He smiled for a moment before he turned his attention back to what was happening in front of him in the traffic ...

She woke up as Derek drove into the street where Meredith's house was. "Mer." The caring neurosurgeon said, nudging her shoulder while slowing down their car. "Meredith, wake up." But she never said anything coherently, she just made a grumbling noise and didn't wake up. Apparently, her sleep was that deep. "Meri." He said a bit louder. "Hmmppf, what ..." Meredith mumbled ssleepily, her eyes only half open. "We're almost home, it's time to wake up now. You can sleep in your own bed ..." "Our." Meredith corrected automatically. " ... sleep in our bed which is much more comfortable than a car seat." Derek told her. "We're almost there?" She sounded like a child on christmas, waiting to open the gifts. "Wow, I don't even know how that feels like - being home." She said slowly, looking out of the windows for the last meters. Then he braked and stopped the car ...

"Okay, now we're here."

"Home." Meredith gripped onto Derek's hand tightly once he had stopped the car and let go of the wheel.

"Yes, we are. Feels good, right." For a moment they just sat there.

Meredith was more than relieved to finally be home. Four weeks, four freaking weeks in a bed, in a hospital bed recovering from a major and straining heart procedure were more than enough. Staying four weeks in the hospital as a patient was definitely not her favourite thing. She hated being the patient. To be on the other side of the patient - doctor / doctor - patient situation ... It was hard on her. She went emotionally through hell. And it hadn't been just her. It had been Derek too. Cristina who was the one who made all judgment calls whenever she needed to make them - with the help of Derek. Bailey and all the others tat cared about her. These last few weeks have been hard on them. But it's over now and hopefully the future will bring joy and more memorable moments with the people she loved, the people that are her family ...

When they were home Derek parked the car next to the house. "Should I help you or ..." Derek asked. He motioned to her chest. "It's not like I am going to break down any minute Derek. I am not that fragile. Okay, my chest hurts and that sucks right now but without that surgery I would have been dead in a few months or even earlier. I know it's sucks, believe me I do but we'll get through this. That little pain won't stop me." Meredith said, attempting to smile but it was only a weird grimace. She unhooked her seat belt and slowly sat on the edge of the seat and then, she was standing up. A pained expression covered her face but she was too 'Meredith' - like to say something.

She took a few unsecure steps towards the frontdoor, with Derek glancing at her proudly. She never even stopped even if her incision was hurting she didn't show it. This was his Meredith. Unbelievably strong. "I made it." Meredith said a bit tired as she reached the frontdoor. "Without help." "Here, catch." Derek throwed the keys over to her and Meredith did catch them and unlocked the door. "I'm on my way, I'll be there. Just make yourself comfortable." Derek called back. He unloaded a heavy suitcase with Meredith's things she had needed for her hospital stay. Due to her heart surgery.

"Uff, that's quite heavy." He mumbled to himself as he made his way to the frontdoor. "Get over yourself." Meredith called back, she was already in the kitchen waiting for Derek.

"You are overdramatizing things." She called back, rolling her eyes.

Knowing that Derek wouldn't be able to see that.

But that was okay too.

"You might be right that way." Came as a reply. Meredith snorted. "See?" Then she heard a thump and she assumed Derek had closed the frontdoor - which he had - and now he entered the kitchen.

"So ..." He said, looking around. "What are we gonna do with our newfound freedom?"

"You're funny." Meredith giggled in response.

Derek was carrying her up the stairs to the bedroom. They were alone in the house. "Derek." She exclaimed surprised. She hadn't expected he would do that. "Let me down, I am too ..." Meredith didn't finish the sentence. They were almost upstairs. She buried her head in his neck, hoping he wouldn't stumble across a step. And he didn't. "What? No, you're not to heavy. You're a lightweight, there's no way I can't carry you, so stop protesting." He said. "But your back." Meredith replied softly. "MY back's fine. No problem." He shrugged it off like it was nothing.

"And you're supposed to take it easy. Rest. Watching all kind of idiotic movies - kind of rest." He added as he entered their bedroom. He sat down on the edge of the bed, Meredith still snuggled into his arms. "We're home." She mumbled into his chest, her words were muffled. "We are." Derek replied, smirking. "Can you believe it? I mean can you actually believe we're actually home after so many weeks in some cold, sterile environment?" She looked up to him as she said these words.

"After a that long time we're finally back where we belong. What a shame that we can't celebrate it properly ..."

"Oh, you mean ..." Derek kissed her on the top of her head.

Meredith nodded.

"We'll have to make that up as soon as we can." Derek offered slightly devilish, having some particular activity in mind. "Mm, I think I am on board with that ... Yes, definitely on board. I look forward to it ..." Meredith replied, her eyes twinkled. "But we can't exactly do it now ..." Silence for a moment. Both of them were falling silent, Derek grasped Meredith's hand. "But I want to." She added quietly.

"Me too." Derek answered. Meredith looked at him, directly into his blue dreamy - ish eyes. She could drown in those eyes, she believed. Then Derek continued: "But being here with you, is almost as good as shower sex. I mean, just being here with you ..." He looked into nowhere, "... is enough right now. I cannot imagine what life would be like without you."

"Lonely, I guess."

"Yeah, lonely it would be for sure ... among other things I won't say, because right now in this moment I am just glad for every moment I have with you. I know how fast that can change ... It's a gift, a precious gift ... We shouldn't squander any moment because you don't know what can happen ..." He trailed off, referring to certain happenings that happened not far in the past ... "You're starting to get all warm and full of secret feelings ... Mcdreamish ... I love you too." Derek said, smiling when he saw Meredith looking up to him. She rolled up him, even if her chest protested a bit. Her face scrunched a bit but soon everything was back to normal. "I am happy. Another week in the hospital and I would have gone crazy. Seriously." Meredith made him laugh with one single comment coming from her.

Derek empathized with Meredith and her feelings, four weeks in the hospital - as a patient lying on the surgical ward, recovering from a surgical procedure, and not as a doctor - were more than enough. Not only for the patient, as well for the relatives. Even if he hadn't been there as a patient (for the most part, when ignoring the bus crashing against some car that somehow happened to be his car - thing and as a result of that he ended up in the ER of Seattle Grace Hospital. Leaving Meredith freaked out, but where he luckily hasn't sustained any life-threatening injuries. Besides of a mild to moderate concussion, which was almost nothing. Most of the symptoms were gone after a week after it had happened.

"I'm glad you're here. With me." He said quietly, interrupting the comfortable silence, supported his chin on her head, Meredith turned so that she could look at him.

"Me too." She simply replied.

She yawned soon after that, Derek eyed her. She seemed tired. "Are you tired?" He asked, gently running his hand over her side.

"Maybe a bit." She replied.

"It's okay to be. Yor body needs to regain its strength back, sleep is important right now." Derek told her.

"So I've heard." Meredith replied. "Can you switch off the lights and just hold me?" She asked in a sweet voice. "Sure, I can. Wait." He said, jumping up, then he came back. Lying down on the bed. His body next to hers and he holds onto her tightly. "What if I hurt you?" He asked, sounding worried. "You won't. You could never hurt me." Meredith's words were reassuringly and soon he just relaxed. "Just come lie down next to me ..." She repeated quietly.

"Do you want to sleep?" He suddenly asked into the dark.

Silence.

"No." Pause. Then came from her: "Do you?"

"Not really." Meredith snuggled deeply into his arms.

"God, this is perfect." Meredith suddenly said. "I've had no idea how much I missed this until now."

"What did you miss ..." Derek asked back dumbfounded. "Us, you idiot. In a hospital isn't really much privacy. Especially as a patient in ICU or stepdown. You get poked and prodded - they use you as a pincushion." She whined a bit. Derek laughted and earned a smack on the arm. "Oh, don't give me the mopey face." He said as he saw Meredith sulking face expression. "Why not?" She asked back. "It doesn't suit you, that's all. Even though you still look breathtakingly beautiful ..."

"It's dark in here, how can you say that if you don't see me?" Meredith wanted to know. The 'McCouple' was still up talking about some things. "Doesn't matter, you're still you. And you are amazing." He replied. "I honestly doubt that, but it's flattering." "No, you really are, I mean it." Derek said, obviously trying to convince her. "You do."

"I do. If I didn't I would not be saying something like that." Derek Shepherd replied into the dark. He swooped her into his arms so that their bodies came nearer. "I love you, Der." Her voice was barely audible.

"You're the best thing that's ever happened to me. You are my oxygen." She confessed with a small voice. "Well, same goes for me too." He replied with a smirk. Which she can't see in the dark but ... "

"Ouch." Derek replied.

For a while, nobody said anything. Then, suddenly Meredith shifted under her blankets and she interrupted the silence with asking his name: "Derek. Der, are you awake?"

"Hmpf ..." He grumbled something into the pillows.

"Can I ... can I ask you a question?"

Her voice sounded slightly unsure. "Sure, shoot." Meredith inhaled audibly before she asked that question. "Derek. Please don't run again." She just said before asking the real question.

"I won't. I promise."

"Good." Pause. "What happened to your ... father? Are you ready to talk?"

Derek stiffened for a moment which caused Meredith to hold her breath. "I mean, you don't ... if you feel uncomfortable answering it you don't have to ..." She rambled, worried that she had destroyed everything. Derek felt Meredith's nervousness, that she had done the same thing as the first time ...

"Mer." He said, his voice a bit shaken.

"It's okay." He took a breath. "It's just so hard to talk about it. And it still hurts like hell-"

Meredith stared at him, although he couldn't see that in the dark. She wondered what had happened. "Take all the time you need." She told him. "It happened when I was ten or eleven, around that. My youngest sister Amy, she was only five or six years old. She doesn't really remember him."

"Your youngest sister? There is more than one?" Meredith exclaimed, shocked. Derek cleared his throat, a bit relieved that Meredith obviously had forgotten their previous topic. "I have four sisters ... Amelia, Liz, Nancy and Kathleen. One is worse than the other when it comes to my relationships ..." Derek knew that she won't take this information lightly. "So, once they meet me, they'll hate me instantly, is that what we're saying?" Her voice quivered.

"No. I don't think they will hate you. They don't know how a great person you are, but they will once they get to know you. You don't have to meet them anytime soon, if that's a problem with you." Meredith didn't reply. Derek had four sisters. That's a lot. But she had two sisters herself, so ... But she never got to know them. She never grew up with them, or had a real family. Derek has a family. "I'll be ready to meet them someday from now but not right now." She said.

"I am probably pretty bad at the whole family thing, you know. I've never had anything like that. Sisters. I have never had that. I know there's Lexie and there's Molly, my two half - sisters I've never even met." She was rambling again.

"Okay. I was ten when it ..." Derek stopped when he saw Meredith's embarrassed expression.

"What's going on?" He asked.

"Sorry, for interrupting you and for being so insensitive, for being so self focused." She bit onto her lower lip.

"It's okay, Meredith. It's really okay."

Meredith still wasn't so sure about that but it was better to just shut up and listen to him.

Derek cleared his throat before he started speaking. His voice sounded hoarse and was filled with strong emotion and pain. That she noticed when he started telling her about that day ...

"Two men came into the little store our father had owned, they had guns and they wanted money ..." Disbelievingly, he shook his head as if he couldn't believe that it really had happened.

"What happened then?" Meredith asked gently, grasping his hand for support.

"And then the two guys came in, we could hear them talking but we weren't paying attention until dad yelled. They had already pulled the gun, and they had already taken the money… And now they wanted the watch that mom gave him for their first anniversary. He wouldn't give it up ..." Derek shuddered at the memory on this day - the day, everything had changed completely. The day his father had been murdered by two men with guns.

Meredith stayed quiet. It was better not to say anthing, to just let him talk.

She just held his hand for support.

"They just shot him, Mer." He whispered as he choked back a sob. She pressed his hand tightly. "Ssh, it's okay to let it out." "It's been so many years since it had happened ... but it still hurts." He told her, suddenly he looked vulnerable. "I tried to save him after they were gone but I couldn't - he bled out while we were waiting for an ambulance. It was horrible. The blood, it was everywhere. On my clothes, my hands ..." He said, obviously shaken up when he recalled these memories.

Meredith looked at him with big eyes. "I don't really know what to say. You must have been so scared. I ... I am sorry you had to go through that. You really love him, don't you? Before he died, before he got shot, was he a good dad?" She asked, trying to not get emotional. But this story was unbelievably sad and horrific. On one single day two men had destroyed one family, just ripped them apart for money and a watch. What's wrong with people.

"He was the best dad you could possibly wish for."

"Good." Was her only reply. She swallowed hardly. Derek tried to distract himself from the memories,

Then there was silence. They just laid there, feeling the warmth coming from both of their bodies. Eventually in the next minutes both of them fell asleep. "Night." Someone mumbled, followed by some inrecognizeable noise. Soundly, without nightmares or anything that could cause trouble at night ... They now knew the benefits of sleeping in their own bed. They knew that that shouldn't be taken for granted ...

In the next morning, Derek was the first to be awake. The sun had woken him up, yes, sun. Sometimes, there is sunny weather in Seattle. And two in a row, that's a welcomed surprise. Meredith was still sleeping soundly, she snored a bit. He smiled when he saw her lying next to him. He stood up, careful not to make any noise. He didn't want to wake up Meredith. Stealing her the much-needed sleep. She was still asleep, but she started turning under the covers. "Don't make up." He whispered. "I'll be right back." As if she had heard him, she stopped turning. Derek smiled and went downstairs to prepare breakfast for Meredith and him in bed. It was meant to be a surprise for her.

After ten minutes he was done preparing breakfast and took the tray with the food to take it upstairs to their bedroom.

On his way he met Izzie, who was eyeing the tray. "Breakfast for two?" She asked. "For Mer?"

"Certainly." He answered. "Okay, I gotta go, my shift starts soonish and I don't want to be late. Bye, Shepherd." She said before she entered the kitchen herself to percolate coffee. "When you want coffee, there is still a rest of it in the stove. If you want it." He called after Meredith's roommate as he went up the stairs.

"Thanks, I found it." Izzie called back.

Soon he heard footsteps running towards, what he presumed, was the frontdoor and then the frontdoor was closed with a huge thump. Hopefully it hadn't waken up Meredith. So he continued his way to their bed, set the try on his nightstand and gently squeezed Meredith's shoulder.

"Hey, sleepyhead. Wake up." He softly murmured.

"'m tired, let me sleep." Came back from under the covers, only Meredith's hair looked out. Derek hoped that they hadn't stayed up to long yesterday, that they haven't overdone it. "Mer, breakfast is ready." He bribed. Now, within seconds, Meredith's head looked out from under the covers. "Breakfast, where?" Now he could tell that she was hungry. Her eating skills were one of the things that keep amazing him. "Here." He said, pointing to the full tray.

"You did that? Wow, Derek, ... that's ..." She sat up.

"We don't even have to leave the bed." "I know." He answered, smirking. "I knew you would like spending the day in bed with your boyfriend, including having breakfast there." "Come here."

She outstretched her arms to him. "Come here, McDreamy." Derek looked at her in shook.

"You didn't just call me McDreamy, did you?" He asked flabbergasted. "I did." Meredith replied, giggling. "You will pay for that." He replied laughing as he let himself fall on the bed and embraced her in his arms. "So that is me paying for it." Meredith stated. "I like it." Derek tried to hold back a laughter. This situation was hilarious.

He planted a kiss on her cheek.

"Let's eat." He said.

Meredith nodded and kissed him back. "So, now we can eat." She said.

Her eyes were fixated on the food on the tray. "You are hungry, aren't you?" He asked, as he ran his hand over her arm. "Damn right you are. I am really. I didn't think I was when you woke me up. But right now I am." In this moment, her stomach growled loudly. "See, I am hungry." She told him.

"Let's see if we can do something about that." Derek replied, as he reached for the tray.

Two hours later, they were still lying on their beds, doing nothing except breathing, talking and pretty much staring at the wall all the time. "What are we going to do with our free time? I am bored, can't we do something more interesting than just lying around here and doing pretty much nothing? We have far enough free time. And we can't even think of something we want to do. That's funny." Meredith whined. Derek turned his head to look at her.

"Just rest." He simply replied.

"It's all I did the last five weeks and I am for sure as hell not going to do this the next two weeks because then, I am psych case." Meredith complained. "Okay, now you're exaggerating the whole thing. Think of it as some kind of vacation." Derek told her, quite amused by what he saw. "Yes, a vacation without being able to have sex with my boyfriend."

She made a face when she saw DereK was holding back a laughter.

"But I can't have that, and that's making me crazy."

"That's perfectly clear to me." Derek answered. "You don't do a good job at hiding it." Meredith scoffed. "Because I don't want to hide it. I want to have sex. I need it after more than five weeks of abstinence. But I can't because my freakin' ribs need to heal." Damn it, she is in a mood, he thought to himself.

"We'll have lots of that once your ribs have fully healed."

"That only means more waiting." Meredith grumbled, she was acting way to skittish for Derek's liking. "Right now, I hate the fact that I have had open heart surgery because it keeps me from doing the things I love." She vented to herself, Derek only listened with half an ear. "So since I don't have to work for two more weeks ..." Meredith didn't react, she fell silent after she had finished ranting about the things that were unfair to her. "We could do something together." He suggested.

"Maybe in the second week." He added, hoping there was some kind of reacting coming from Meredith.

But there wasn't coming anything from her.

"Meredith." He said her name to get her attention. She had spaced out. She was someplace different with her thoughts. Meredith never even looked at him, she seemed somewhat agitated. Maybe she was experiencing pain. Derek remembered what one of his professors had once said about pain management after a total sternotomy. That proper pain management was a must. Because the patient's ribs have been pulled back, being forced to stay pulled back to get a clear view on the surgical area, that they divide the sternum - all that causes pain then. Derek noticed that after she hasn't really made a movement since he had a question or said something. "Are you even listening to me?" Meredith was snapped back into reality. "What did you say? Yes, I am listening." She said, Derek tried to make eye contact with her. "No, you're not. Meredith, what is going on?" He asked finally. "I am fine."

"No, you're not. Your face is telling me that you're are not feeling fine. Damn it, Derek really could read her like a book. "So what's going on with you? Does your midline incision hurt? Do you want some pain meds? They gave you a prescription for oral pain medication before they released you. Should I get you some pain meds? I can make a run to the pharmacy if you need me too. Please, Mer, tell me how I can help you." He pleased.

Derek glanced at Meredith's face, trying to figure out whether she was in pain or not.

"Derek." Her voice sounded really small. "What is it, Mer?" He asked back gently. "I may take you up on that offer with the pharmacy thing." Her voice sounded strained and thick as she said those words. "Oh, Mer, why didn't you say anything?" He questioned her as he ran his hands over her side. "I didn't want to disturb you with my problems. I just need some oral pain meds, that's all. The pain can be controlled with that."

"You sure?"

"Positive." Meredith replied, wiping an unruly streak from her face.

"Is it your incision?" Derek Shepherd asked worriedly. "Should I take a look at it? See, if it's infected. You never know what causes the pain. Should I take a look at it? You know, I as world renowned neurosurgeon?" He wanted to be sure it was nothing too serious. "No, Derek it's just healing pain. I am okay. Although the requested pain meds would be nice." "I am on my way out." Derek told her, kissing her softly on the cheek before he left the room. "You sure you're okay? Besides the pain I mean?" He asked slowly. Meredith nodded.

"I am. See you later, Derek."

"Love ya, Mer. I'll be back with your pain meds in no time. Stay put while I am gone, don't do anything risky." He advised her, it was meant to be helpful and caring but for Meredith is the hovering thing annoying - at least right now. "I won't, okay?" She said, rolling her eyes as she sat upright in her bed.

She didn't want to pick up a fight with Derek.

When Derek came back thirty minutes later with her pain meds, she was reading in some neurosurgery magazine Derek had subscribed and that was being sent to her home monthly. She looked up when she heard his footsteps. She saw him leaning against the doorframe and smiling at her with his gorgeous McDreamy smile. "I see you've found yourself something to do." He chuckled slightly. "What are you reading? Neurosurgery Today?" He asked, while pointing to the cover. He tried to see what article she was reading. "Do you like neuro or do you just like the neuro god?" He asked her playfully.

"Derek." She scolded him. "What the hell was that?" She asked, being taken aghast. "Please." He made a mopey face to caused her to laugh and finally to answer his question. "I like neurosurgery and not just the neuro god. But him I love too. He is so handsome and he's really good in bed. But he has that big ego and thinks he is god, well - he has god complexes sometimes ... But he's my hero and I really love him. Since I know he just brought me my very much needed pain meds." Derek ignored the last comment wisely. He smiled at her.

"What issue is it?"

"Issue July 7/2008. Pretty interesting if you ask me." She giggled but winced when she felt the impact that the movement had on her ribs. "Damn it, that hurts." She squinted with her eyes in response. "Are you ..." He didn't finish the sentence. "I am fine." The ribs had finally stopped hurting that much. It got better, she just needed to adjust her breathing, then everything would be okay.

She smiled at him.

"Makes me miss surgery a hell lot more."

"Nice to see that you calmed down. Do you want to take one or ..." He held up the package with the medication. "Give that to me." She told him laughing. "What, you need 'em?" He grinned. "Why haven't about that?" He mocked her a bit when she looked at him with those puppydog eyes, trying to make him do what she wanted. "Please. I'll grumble never again." She bribed him. Her chest really was hurting. She'd just blocked it out for the most time for making the pain bearable.

Then he suddenly noticed the pained expression and somewhat pale complexion and he worried even more.

"Here." He said, handing her the meds. "Is the pain really that bad?" He asked concerned. "Although my pain threshold is quite high when it comes to medical things. Although that doesn't seem to be working with having your chest cut open, your sternum divided in two and your ribs pulled back in order to get to your freakin' heart to correct it. But wait, it's still beating - so what do they do? They stop my heart and put me on bypass ..." She trailed off as she remembered the gory details of her heart surgery. She hadn't seen it though but she had seen the procedure not long ago on one of her patients.

Meredith looked at him before she nodded.

"I'm sorry for mocking you. If I knew it was that bad I wouldn't have been doing that." Derek apologized. "I'll get you a glas of water." With that he left the room. Before she knew it, he was back with the very much needed water in a glas. Holding it in his hands cautiously so that it wouldn't splutter everywhere. "Thanks." Meredith said and took the glas. Now she really felt the need to drink something. Something like water. So that she wouldn't get dehydrated. Because that wouldn't do anything good, especially not with her current condition.

She hadn't even realized that she needed water, that she actually felt thirsty. But Meredith did feel in fact thirsty, but her body hadn't shown it until now. Meredith took a sip, after she swallowed the pill. And then she emptied the whole glas with one big sip. Derek watched her doing that. "Wow. You really must have been thirsty." He didn't say that in a seductive way ... but she almost wished he did.

"You have no idea." Meredith replied chuckling.

"Here." He suddenly said, revealing something he had never shown before. "It's for you." He said. It was wrapped in something. "It's just chocolate, I thought you could use some candy ..." He sounded abashed although there was nothing he should be abashed for ...

Meredith's eyes lit up when she saw the chocolate. "Oh, Derek. That's so sweet from you. It's exactly what I need."

She opened it and took a piece. "Yummy, tastes great. You want too?" She asked. After he took some piece of chocolate, he turned to her. "Is it getting better." He asked, refering to her pain.

Meredith cocked her head and nodded after a short self assessment of her pain level. "It is, actually. I am already feeling its effect. The pain's starting to subside. Slowly but it does. Thank you for getting me these pain meds. You have no idea how much I thank you." "You can repay me later by *makeup - sex*, although it isn't really makeup - sex since we haven't been having a falling out ... Get that, I am starting to ramble too. Your rambling has an effect on me too." Derek chuckled when he said this. "I love you, Mer. I want you to know and remember that." He planted a kiss on her cheek. Meredith closed her eyes and felt his arms embrace her when he laid down as well. "I love you too, Der."

A/N: Hey, thanks for reading, guys ...

This is just a short (long) chapter with a bit MerDer fluff. We all need it dearly, I think ... with everything that's going on in the 'real' Grey's Anatomy. Meredith and Derek on two different coasts. Them fighting about the job offer and with Derek leaving for Washington D. C. Here are some happier times for our favourite couple. I know it's short, all the previous chapters were way longer but still, next post is probably Tuesday or Thursday. R&R please ... I'd really like to know what you think about my writing. Have a nice weekend.