Chapter 33: Oh my god.

"Where are we?" Meredith asked in a groggy voice. She opened her eyes and felt a little dizzy. Praying to god that she wouldn't get sick, she noticed the seatbelt and that she was extremely comfortable in a soft leather seat.

"Mer! You're awake…" a well-known voice exclaimed. Meredith looked to the left and stared into Derek's eyes. He looked relieved and a little disappointed at the same time, something she didn't care to think more about right now. If something was seriously wrong, he wouldn't be able to hold it in anyways.

"I'm awake," she agreed and noticed that the car was standing still outside a townhouse that was twice as big as her own. "Where are we?"

"At my place," Derek simply answered. He couldn't tear his eyes off of her sleepy little frame. The fact that the entire car was flooded with the scent of lavender did nothing to help him clear his mind.

"Why?" Meredith scrunched her nose in confusion, looking adorable.

"Because I don't know where you live."

"Oh" Meredith just answered sleepily. Derek thought she actually looked pretty sober; the little nap probably took the edge off.

"So I figured you could sleep in the guest room. Or you could tell me where you live and I'll drive you home…"

"The guest room is fine," Meredith assured him before something suddenly darkened her features like a shadow and made her look a lot more awake than before. "If Addison doesn't mind…"

"Addie would probably be delighted," Derek replied half lying, half trying to convince himself. "She'll be thrilled that someone will actually use the room."

"Let's do this then," Meredith answered and he easily caught on to the nervous edge in her drowsy voice.

"Let's," he agreed, got out of the car and went to open hers. But by the time he got there, she was already climbing out. She shut the car door behind her, resting against the car for a moment, making the ground stop spinning and looking up at his disgruntled face.

"What is it?"

"You didn't let me open your door," Derek answered, pouting slightly.

Meredith raised her eyebrows and stiffened a giggle.

"I'm terribly sorry Derek," she said in the most serious tone she could possibly muster. "I really appreciate the thought, since opening the door on my own can be such a struggle. It's mindboggling, really, how I managed to do it for the last 25 years…"

"You're mocking me," Derek mumbled, still a little aggravated by the looks of it but also smiling a bit.

"A little," she admitted and winked at him. "If you forgive me, I'll let you open the front door."

"Thanks," Derek chuckled and began crossing the short way to the house. "Consider yourself forgiven. Can you walk?"

"Yeah I think so," Meredith replied, carefully taking a few steps away from the car, successfully walking straight. "How did you get me into the car?"

"As a matter of fact," Derek smirked, "I carried you."

"What?"

"You didn't want to go home but I couldn't leave you there alone with Evil Spawn-"

"Who, Alex?"

"Yeah that's the one."

"So you threw me over your shoulder and walked out of there?" Meredith giggled, trying to imagine the image in her head, failing miserably.

"Something like that."

"Why thank you Derek. Now get a move on with that door, would you?"

"Right away madam," Derek chuckled and pulled out his keys.

"That's mademoiselle," Meredith corrected him with a snicker. "I'm not married."

"No you're not," Derek agreed with a smile as he finally found the right key and unlocked the door. "After you."

Meredith happily brushed beside him and left a trail of lavender that Derek was sniffing in as he followed her and locked the door behind him.

"Wow," Meredith said as she looked around with wide, nervous eyes. "This is…"

"All Addison," Derek finished for her with a tiny smile, offering to take her jacket.

"I could guess that much," Meredith thoughtfully nodded and let him have her coat.

"Make yourself at home," Derek said, frowning a little as he hung the coats up in the closet. "That's weird."

"What is it?"

"Mark's jacket is in here. He must have forgotten it the last time he was here."

"He's around a lot?"

"Yeah. We almost can't get rid of him, He lives just across the street but he says he likes this house better."

"It is very…" Meredith paused, searching her brain for an appropriate word; she wanted to be well mannered but also truthful. "Grand."

"It's a freaking interior magazine," Derek chuckled, gesturing to the artfully draped curtains and bare, white walls. There were no items that would tell you who lived there, no pictures, no books except for medical ones, no personality… The more Meredith looked around, the more out of place and awkward she felt.

Derek noticed her discomfort and fought the urge to take her in his arms and not let go… she looked about as wrong as he did in this nightmare of stainless steel and off-white surfaces.

"Would you like something to drink?" he asked, thinking that it was a little early to go to bed.

"Coffee would be great," Meredith nodded, still a little awkward in her sneakers, faded blue blouse and hole-y jeans. "Where's Addison?"

"Probably asleep. She's had a long shift."

Derek couldn't tell if he was imagining things; but Meredith really did look relieved.

They made their way to the kitchen, consisting of futuristic, white surfaces; it seemed impossible to locate anything but Derek, who had gotten around to learn to find the basics, managed to track down the coffee cups.

While they waited for the coffee, they leaned against the kitchen counters and talked about nothing in particular.

It amazed Derek how easy it was to talk to Meredith. There were never awkward pauses, never shallow words; he would only pause when getting sidetracked by her animated features.

As much as he loved to see her listen, unconsciously cocking her head to one side, slightly raising her left eyebrow in interest, he simply couldn't get enough of watching her talk. The way her face pouted into concentration. The way her features lit up when she laughed. It made him want to make her laugh and keep her laughing for a long time.

"Derek?" Meredith asked, scrunching her nose in the adorable, confused way. "Are you hearing what I'm saying?"

"What… Sorry, yes," Derek breathed, getting lost in her eyes. "What were you saying?"

"I was just asking if I could use your bathroom?"

"Of course. It's upstairs, second door to the left..."

"Got it," Meredith told him and made her way up the stairs, doing her best not to be too noisy or break anything. She didn't feel at home at all in surroundings like these; and in a hundred years, she couldn't imagine living a place like this. Nothing here reminded her of Derek. On the other hand she could see Addison's flawlessness in every perfectly arranged petal on a gigantic flower bouquet, smell it in the odour of her expensive perfume that was all over the place…

She reached the top of the stairs and turned left... wait, what was that noise?

Sounds were coming from the first door on the left, from the room Meredith assumed was the master bedroom. The door was half open and light flooded out in the hallway.

The sounds were low-pitched screams, a woman's moaning mixed with groans that could only belong to a man. Both voices were easily recognized.

Meredith stood there, frozen, for a few seconds, her eyes slowly widening.

Oh my god.

She involuntarily took a step forward, and then another one, but she already knew what she was going to see before she reached the door.

Meredith pushed the door open all the way, which went unnoticed by the couple on the grand bed. She quickly indentified the red hair as Addison's; the man lying on top of her was, just as her insides expected, Mark. Both were completely naked, moving in a fast, steady rhythm. The noises went on.

Meredith just stood there without really seeing anything.

Suddenly, a voice called from behind her.

"Hey Mer! You hungry?"