I apologize for taking so long to update. Thank you for the wonderful comments and for being so patient.

Sleep was eluding Meredith as she laid awake in bed long after Derek had fallen asleep while spooning her. Her fingers absently ran up and down the length of his forearm as he hugged her close with a possessive arm draped across her slim waist.

She was conflicted and she couldn't get herself to fall asleep. She had no idea what prompted her to agree to accompany him to his parent's anniversary celebration, other than to blame it on the lack of oxygen to her brain at the time. Her breath had caught in her throat at the way his piercing baby blues silently pleaded with her and she was lost. If her brain had been fully functional at the time, she was sure she would've come up with many good reasons not to go.

She thought of trying to talk her way out of it, but after several rounds of amazing sex in front of the fireplace, in the shower, and then on her bed, she was too exhausted to think straight. Afterwards as they lay in bed, he had been so happy that she didn't have the heart to disappoint him. She vowed she'd talk to him about it tomorrow. That's it. She'll do it tomorrow…

Meredith was sitting in really old guy's room reading…or rather hiding behind a magazine when Cristina breezed into the room, carrying her lunch tray.

"So this is where you're hiding today." Cristina stated matter-of-factly, eyeing her friend as she dropped her tray onto the bed and sat down.

"I'm not hiding. I'm keeping old guy company," she lied. From the corner of her eyes, she could see the doubtful look on her friend's face and let out a defeated sigh before confessing. "I'm hiding."

"Why don't you just tell him that you don't want to go?"

"I can't do that."

"Why not?"

"Because!" snapped Meredith. She gave Cristina a glare in response to the smug look on her face. "He's excited about the trip. That's all he talks about when we're at home. I've tried to tell him many times, but every time I open my mouth, I get nervous and we end up having sex instead."

"Am I supposed to feel bad for you? Because I don't."

"I'm serious!"

"So am I! Do you know how long it's been since I've had sex?"

"What am I going to do, Cristina? I am scared shitless at the thought of meeting his parents and I'm terrified to tell Derek. I don't do well with parents. We're like oil and water. We just don't mix. Look at my mother! I need to tell him. I SHOULD tell him….I can't tell him. You tell him. Yeah…that's it…you tell him that I can't go," she ranted like a madwoman on a mission. "Oh my god, he's going to think I'm crazy. Maybe…I should let him THINK I'm crazy, then he won't want me to go…and I'll be off the hook. What do you think?"

"I think he's gonna want to divorce your neurotic ass, if he heard all this crazy shit you're spewing," Cristina replied drily. "Just tell him that you don't want to go."

"Oh my god, you're right. I need help."

"No kidding."

"I need you to help me think of an out."

Cristina reached for her apple and leaned back in the chair. "You need me to help you think of an out?"

"Yes."

"YOU need ME?"

"Yes!"

"Me? The person you call your best friend. The same person you ditched and left with Barbie and Evil Spawn."

"Yes," replied Meredith, guiltily. "You're my person. You need to help me because you're my person and if the shoe were on the other foot, I would help you."

"See? Now that's where you're wrong because if that were me, I WOULD TELL HIM!" Cristina's loud shrill echoed in the room and made Meredith flinch.

After a long pause, Meredith let out a deep sigh and said, "Fine. I'll tell him, but you'd better have a crap load of tequila ready for when he throws me to the curb."

"I doubt that, but good luck and I'll be at Joe's after work with your poison ready at the waiting."

Six weeks later…

"Hello?"

"Joe's. Tonight. 9pm. Don't be late or the first few rounds are on you. On second thought, being a little fashionably late never hurt anyone."

"No. It just leaves a big nasty dent on my nonexistent bank account, that's all."

"What are you complaining about? Your sugar daddy's got deep pockets. He couldn't have spent much on that old tin box of his."

"I love his trailer and I don't care about his money. I don't even know how much he makes."

"Riiight."

"Shut up, you jealous whore!"

"Make me, Suzie homemaker!"

"Bitch!"

"Slut!"

"Surgery skank!"

"Domesticated!"

"Okay, that was fucked up," said Meredith after a long pause.

"I know," replied Cristina.

Meredith could tell her friend probably had the biggest smirk on her face at that moment. "Why are you calling?"

"I told you. Joe's. Tonight."

"And I told you when you asked me this morning, and this afternoon, and once more in the locker room that I can't make it. I have to pack."

"I can't believe you chickened out and didn't tell him."

"I tried, but really good sex always got in the way."

"I hate you. You know that, right?"

"I know," she replied with a satisfied grin on her face. "I'm actually starting to look forward to this trip."

"Wow."

"What?"

"He's really fucked you up with that penis of his. Did I just hear you say you're looking forward to the trip?"

"Yeah. Why wouldn't I be?"

"Oh I don't know…maybe it has something to do with the constant bitching from you for the past six weeks about how much you dreaded this trip."

"I've decided to turn over a new leaf or whatever the hell that saying goes. We're married and I need to support him. That's what married people do, right? Support each other and stuff."

"You're asking me; your SINGLE friend, because…?"

"Because I need you to convince me that I'm doing the right thing."

"Doing the right thing would be coming to Joe's and keeping me company. I swear I will kill Izzie if I have to listen to any more of her stories about Evil Spawn and how much she loves him."

"Izzie's in love, leave her alone. Love is good. Love is bright and shiny and…it's good."

"Oh, shut up and get your ass down here!"

Meredith surveyed the mess in her room with her clothes strewn all over the floor and bed and after another moment's pause; she said "Be there in fifteen."

Meredith had a nasty hangover. If the incessant pounding in her head was any indication, she knew this one probably ranked up there as one of the worst hangovers in history. She was lying faced down on her bed, her hair a tangled mess and still dressed in her clothes from the night before. The shoe that was dangling precariously on her right foot slipped onto the floor with a loud thud, startling her into opening her eyes which was a big mistake as it was immediately met with a nasty glare from the sunlight filtering in through the opening of her curtains.

"Shit!" she grumbled, pulling the pillow over her head.

She had almost fallen back to sleep when she heard the muffled sound of the phone ringing. Grumbling to herself, she pulled the pillow tighter over her head to block out the insistent shrill coming from her nightstand.

Go away!

Whoever it was must have gotten the message because the ringing stopped and just in time before the answering machine picked up. Shifting to a more comfortable position, she released a yawn and settled back into bed, prepared to return to her peaceful slumber.

Just then, she was disturbed once more with the sound of the phone ringing. Argh! Doubling up on the pillows, she piled them onto her head and silently pleaded for the obnoxious intruder to stop calling. She mentally counted down the rings, expecting the answering machine to pick up and like clock-work, it did.

"It's me. I'm not home so leave a message." She laid there listening to her familiar greeting.

Beep!

"Mer? I know you're there. I'm on my way over, so get out of bed and get dressed. Our flight is at 10am and we need to get there early to check in. Mer? I'm serious, honey. Get up and get dressed or we're going to be late." There was a short pause before Derek spoke again, his voice cautious. "Are you hung over? Did you go to Joe's last night? You did, didn't you? You promised me you were going to stay in and finish pa—"

Beep!

"Shit!" she quickly bolted upright in bed. She immediately regretted the quick movement because the dull throbbing pain in her head soon felt like someone took a sledge hammer to it and was making her head spin and her stomach nauseous. Shit! Shit! Shit!

Looking around her room, she let out another groan when she saw pile upon piles of clothes strewn about her room and an empty suitcase lying open on the floor. She looked at the clock on her nightstand to see that it was 8:15 and quickly scooted off the bed, making a mad dash to the bathroom for a power shower. She purposely left the water on the colder side in hopes that it would wake her hungover ass up.

The shower took longer than she had hoped. All the cold water did was succeed in making her avoid contact, whereby making her really late. She quickly left the bathroom and instead of getting dressed, she began to throw things into her suitcase, stopping every once in a while to actually fold some of the items.

Finishing the zipper to her suitcase, she smiled satisfactorily to herself when she looked at the clock to see that it was 9am. She began to mentally check off the remaining items she needed to do when the doorbell rang.

Shit!

Without thinking, she bolted out the door and ran down the stairs, taking two steps at a time. She narrowly missed slipping on her bottom when her damp feet slipped on the wooden steps. She stopped just short of reaching the door and took a much needed deep breath before unlocking it and throwing it open.

"Nice distraction," came Derek's reply when he looked up from his shoes to see her standing there wrapped in nothing but a towel, her damp hair falling around her shoulders.

Still trying to catch her breath, she smirked at him and asked "Did it work?"

"Are you offering?"

"Maybe," she replied, her lips curling into a smile as she gave his immaculately dressed appearance a once-over. "Are you accepting?"

"If we weren't running late for the airport, I would be ravishing you on the floor instead of having this very frustrating conversation that will lead to no sex, so I'm going to take a rain check."

"Who says it will be on offer later?" she teased before stepping back to let him in.

"Me!" He tried to grab her towel, but Meredith was quick on her feet and sprinted upstairs, being sure to drop the towel as she ran.

At the sight of her naked backside retreating from him, Derek quickened his pace and ran after her. "Tease!"

Meredith's giggles could be heard at the top of the stairs as she tried to shut the door before Derek got there. There was a loud thud as the door crashed open.

"Derek, stop! I'm ticklish!" she shrieked amidst fits of laughter.

"I just want a kiss from my wife!" replied Derek as he pulled her naked body into his hard frame.

"Stop," she said before reaching up to pull his lips down to her hungry ones. "Oh god…um…we can't…we shouldn't…," her voice trailed when his skillful hands began to roam across her body, eliciting a moan from her.

"Five minutes."

"You know it's never five minutes when we get started and…," she gulped, trying to think straight. Gathering all her strength, she pushed him away.

"What was that for?"

"Your family. Airport. Extremely late. Remember?"

"Spoilsport!"

"Get out and let me get dressed in peace."

Derek stuck his tongue out at her before bending down to pick up her luggage.

Taking one last look at herself in the mirror, Meredith smiled nervously as she fidgeted with a stray hair. Today was the day she was going to meet Derek's family. She had spent the last six weeks mentally preparing herself for this moment and convinced herself she was okay with it, but now that that day has arrived, she was a pile of nerves.

She heard Derek call for her from the base of the stairs to tell her that the driver was waiting to take them to the airport.

"Are you ready, honey?" he called up when he didn't see or hear her coming.

Meredith moved back from the mirror and ran to her nightstand where she stuffed a small box into her bag and called down. "I'm coming!"

Here goes nothing.