Meredith was sitting on Derek's bed flipping through her chemistry textbook when he walked in, fresh from the shower, wearing nothing but a pair of boxers. She didn't notice him at first, so he simply paused in the doorway and leaned against the doorframe, content just to watch her. She was sitting cross-legged on the edge of the bed, her head bent downward towards the book in her lap, her hair falling forward in a golden curtain that framed her face.
After a while, she glanced up and caught sight of him. She smiled slightly, letting out a long breath as her gaze fell across his bare chest, before moving back up to his face. He pushed off from the doorframe and walked across the floor, coming to stand in front of her. Reaching out, he brushed the hair away from her face, running his fingers across her cheek.
Placing her hands on his hips and tugging him towards her, she tilted her head towards him. With a small smile, he leaned down and pressed his lips against hers. She made a soft humming sound in the back of her throat as he ran his tongue along her lips, tracing the familiar outline of them. As he continued to kiss her, she pushed the textbook out of her lap and it tumbled forgotten to the floor. She then slid her hands up his chest and into the still-damp curls at the base of his neck, pulling his lips towards hers.
With a low groan, he began to push her back against the bed. She fell back against the sheets, uncrossing her legs as he lowered himself on top of her. As his mouth found hers again, his tongue teasing her lips open, she ran her hands across the broad expanse of his back and down the length of his arms. "Derek…" she breathed, suddenly very aware of the fact that she was still fully clothed. "Too many clothes."
He pulled back slightly to look into her face. "Mmm," he murmured, his lips parting in a devilish grin. "I agree."
He reached for the hem of her shirt, pulling it up and over her head. After tossing it to the floor, he reached behind her and unhooked her bra strap. The straps immediately loosened, sliding partway down her shoulders and he reached out, pulling them the rest of the way down her arms. His gaze ran across her body hungrily, his eyes brimming with love and veneration.
She stared up into his face as he took in the sight of her, her fingers playing idly with the curls at the base of his neck. But after a while, she began to grow impatient and shifted beneath him. "Derek," she breathed. The sound was low and filled with want and it seemed to snap Derek out of his trance.
With a small smile he leaned towards her again, brushing his lips against hers, before trailing kisses across her jaw line and down her neck. Her eyelids fluttered shut as her body hummed to life, trembling slightly as he ran his lips across her collarbone and then back up to her neck to her mouth. He pressed a soft kiss to her lips, before pulling back slightly to look into her face. "Do you want to…" he murmured, his voice trailing away as he looked into her face, trying to read the dozens of emotions flickering in her eyes.
"I don't know," she told him honestly. It would be the first time they had sex since her pregnancy scare. It wasn't that she didn't want to—she really wanted to—but she would be lying if she said she hadn't been shaken by the possibility of having to face all those decisions. "I don't…" She shook her head slightly and leaned forward to press her lips against his gently. "I don't know."
He nodded slightly and as she searched his face, she was met with nothing but understanding; there was no trace of resentment lurking in his eyes. He rolled off of her so that he was lying beside her and drew her into his arms. With a small sigh, she pressed her face into his chest. "I'm sorry," she murmured.
"Meredith," he said his voice almost scolding. "Don't be sorry. Don't ever be sorry."
"But—" she began only to be cut off almost immediately.
"No, don't be sorry. You have every right to be freaked out. It's your body and even though I would have been there every step of the way, it would've been you who had to get the abortion, not me." He was quiet for a minute as he reached up to brush the hair away from her eyes. "Just…don't be sorry."
She smiled slightly, lifting her gaze to meet his hesitantly. "Okay," she said.
He nodded. "Okay," he murmured, his voice low as his fingers trailed across her cheek.
As his gaze shifted to her lips, she shifted closer to him until their bodies were pressed together once again. He slowly drew her face closer to his and pressed a feather-light kiss to her parted lips. With a soft moan, she moved closer and pressed her lips hard against his. He groaned softly and wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her hips towards his.
She let out a breath as he shifted his mouth to her neck. "I think…" she murmured.
"You think," he breathed, his breath warm against her skin.
"I think," she said again, trying to focus on her point—because she did have one—as he nibbled gently on her earlobe. "I think I want to."
"You think you want to," he repeated, not really following her train of thought.
"I think," she said, this time with a little more force, "I want to."
Finally, he got the picture and lifted his head to look in her face. "You want to?" he asked.
She nodded. "I do," she said.
He smiled and pressed his lips to hers. "Okay," he mumbled into her lips as he reached for the snap on her jeans.
"Okay," she echoed, her voice barely above a whisper as he wrapped her up in his arms and pulled her close, making her forget everything. Everything except the pressure of his body against hers and the feeling of his hands as they trailed a path along the curve of her thigh and that he loved her. Even as they finally joined as one, he made sure she didn't forget that. He whispered it over and over in ear, his voice rising and falling like a lullaby until they collapsed in each other's arms and she pressed her face into his chest, letting her eyelids flutter shut into sleep.
xxx
In the middle of the night, Meredith was awoken by the very distinct sound of a rock hitting Derek's window. She knew the sound well. It was how her non-friends back in Boston used to wake her up when they went down to the docks to drink tequila and smoke in the middle of the night. She had trained herself to wake up to the sound almost immediately, which is probably why she woke up before Derek.
As Derek slept on peacefully, completely oblivious to the midnight caller, Meredith slipped out from under his arm and walked over to his window just as another pebble hit the glass. Frowning slightly, she pushed open the window and stuck her head out.
"Derek?" a distinctly masculine voice called from below.
"No…" Meredith said, struggling to bring the person into focus.
"Meredith?" the person called, his voice surprised.
Meredith took a step back from the window, her frown deepening. She glanced at Derek and considered waking him, but he looked so peaceful that she decided against it. His hair was rumpled with sleep and his arm stretched out towards the place where she usually lay as if he meant to hold her. With a sigh, Meredith stepped back to the window. "Who is that?" she called down.
"It's Mark," the person called.
"Mark?" Meredith repeated. "Aren't you in New York?"
"Well obviously not, because I'm standing underneath your window," he called. There was a pause and Meredith heard him sigh. "Can I come up? I feel like I'm in a freakin' scene from Romeo and Juliet."
Meredith laughed softly and nodded before realizing the movement was probably lost on him. "Yeah, sure," she said. "I'll let you in."
She shut the window and turned away from it, tiptoeing across the floor, out the door and down the stairs. When she opened the front door, Mark was already standing there. He looked awful, like he hadn't slept in days. The normally neat scruff that ran along his jaw line was rough and unkempt. The lines on his face seemed deeper than she remembered and there were dark circles underneath his eyes. He looked as if he had been beaten up. He seemed bruised, but not in the physical sense. Even his eyes looked faded. "Hi," she said, her voice soft.
"Hey," he murmured and his voice was weary. "Is, uh, is Derek here?"
"Yeah," she said with a nod. "I'll, um…I'll bring him down."
"Thanks," Mark said, already moving into the living room and sinking onto the couch.
Meredith made her way back up the stairs and into Derek's room. He was lying just as she had left him, sleeping peacefully, so she got onto the bed and crawled across the covers towards him. "Derek," she murmured, running her hand along his arm. "Derek, wake up."
He began to stir under her touch and opened his eyes, immediately focusing on her face. "Hey," he mumbled, his voice hoarse with sleep. "What's up? Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, it's just…"
"What? What is it, Mer?" he pressed, suddenly alert.
"Mark's here," she said.
He was quiet for a while and his gaze drifted away from her face to focus on something far off. "Is he…is he okay?"
Meredith shook her head. "No, I don't think he is."
Derek nodded. "I guess I should…I guess I should go talk to him," he mumbled, looking slightly shell-shocked.
"Yeah," she agreed with a nod. He rolled off the bed and began to move towards the door, but her voice stopped him. "Hey, Derek, are you…are you okay?"
He turned back towards her and something in his face made her stand up from the bed and walk over to him. "I just remembering something," he explained. "The last time Mark showed up at my front door in the middle of the night was the day my dad died. He flew all the way out here to make sure I was okay."
Meredith nodded, but didn't say anything. Instead, she reached out and took his hand, intertwining her fingers with his. "I think he is the one who needs you tonight," she told him. "You can return the favor."
Derek nodded, the corners of his mouth twitching up in the ghost of a smile. "Right. Return the favor."
Meredith smiled sadly and pulled him closer so that she could reach up and press a kiss to his lips. "I'm so sorry, Derek," she murmured and he knew what she meant.
"I'll be right back," he told her. "You should get some sleep."
She nodded and watched as he walked out of the room before turning back towards the bed.
So Mark's back. I felt obligated to wrap up the Addison/Mark story. I didn't want to leave you guys hanging, so that's gonna be next chapter.
I hope ya'll enjoyed! Please review!!!!
P.S. How many people were super proud of Meredith last Thursday? If Derek had said those things to her a couple seasons ago, she would've run in the other direction. But now…she's staying! Yay for therapy!