Chapter 82: Birthday and Valentine's Day

Meredith opened her eyes slowly, reluctantly, as her mind drifted back to consciousness, a very uncomfortable consciousness. Her muscles felt slightly stiff after a night spent in the simple bunk bed in the on-call room. But even worse than that was the lack of her human heating pillow. Over the last month, she grew so accustomed, addicted really, to sleeping with him, that every night apart left her with a small sense of emptiness. Mind you, she had trouble with nodding off at all.

With a wide yawn, she pushed herself to a sitting position, scratching her back. She eyed her bed with hostility; if it wasn't for a VIP case, she felt compelled to supervise, she wouldn't have stayed all night. She didn't feel like going back to sleep, but she wasn't all that eager to get up and go out… there, either… She then glowered at the door, completely innocent in this case. She knew already, she knew for the past week, that this day was going to suck, royally. The reason for that was simple, her birthday.

It wasn't that she suffered from a bad case of b-day phobia. She had no problem celebrating other people's birthdays, she didn't have many occasions for that, pray. It was her own birthday she couldn't stand. Her mother never attached any special importance to that, by definition, special day. If she did remember about it, it was always extra money as a gift, something which Meredith had always in abundance. One year, however, Ellis promised little Meri a trip to the movies and a dinner out. Unfortunately, like many other promises in her life, the plans didn't come to fruition, not on her birthday, not on any other day. Dr. Grey was held up at the hospital while Meredith spent the evening alone without even a crumble of cake. Since that day, Meredith never held any great expectations. It was easier to overlook her birthday, less disappointing when no one cared about it.

That was not the only reason Meredith could do without celebrating her birthday. There was an even darker one. By some ironic twist of fate, Meredith Elizabeth Grey was born on February the 14th, the lamest, corniest, most commercialized holiday in the world. All the Valentine's traditions, decorations, cupids and pink hearts effectively prevented her from forgetting about her own solitude and misery. What was there to celebrate anyway?

Apparently, Derek was strongly convinced there was. He refused straight on to ignore her birthday as she begged him to, and promised it was going to be both the best birthday and Valentine's Day of her life. Such a pity, she detested either occasion. Though, if her boyfriend was hell-bent on something, he would always find a way to make it happen. Knowing him, he prepared something grand… She gulped heavily, she hoped she wouldn't drown in the sea of pink when she left the on-call room.

With a sigh of resignation, she put her scrubs and the lab coat on, brushed her hair and peeked outside tentatively. So far, so good. Everything seemed normal. She straightened out her clothing and marched to her office.

"Morning, Chief," a nurse smiled up at her in passing. "Happy Birthday!"

Meredith nodded in acknowledgment though her teeth were deadly clenched. Of course, everyone knew; nothing could stay quiet in this place.

"Happy Birthday, Dr. Grey," wished a doctor on her way.

Derek, Addison or Mark… who was she supposed to strangle? Speak of the devil… His name barely entered her mind when she spotted him striding confidently towards her, like some prince charming. Her breath hitched a little as her eyes swept over his perfect chiseled features, baby blue eyes, perfect wavy hair and perfect shiny smile…

"There you are, I've been looking for you everywhere," he murmured into her ear sneaking an arm around her waist and planting a kiss on her lips. "Happy Birthday, love. Happy Valentine's Day."

"Ugh, thanks?" she raised her eyebrows skeptically but reached up for another kiss. Kisses were okay, only Derek's kisses would get her through the day.

"Why the pout?" he chuckled as they walked along the corridor.

"You know," she sighed looking straight ahead. "I don't feel that good today, I might be falling down with something… Maybe we should-"

"Oh, no," he interrupted her categorically. "You're not getting out of this."

"Derek!" she whined. "I hate hate hate this day! Let's just go home after work and have sex, it will still be my best birthday ever!"

"Mhhmm, as tempting as that offer is," he chuckled, "I'm still saying no. I'm taking you away tonight, it's non-negotiable."

"Why am I allowing to do this to myself?" she groaned.

"Well, you love me, you owe me for my catastrophic birthday and Dr. Wyatt told you to," he rattled off amusedly.

"What if I don't have a present for you?" she changed her tactics. "You still want to take such an ungrateful woman out?"

"Doesn't matter," he shrugged easily. "I don't mind if you're going to pay with sexual favors."

"Whatever," she rolled her eyes and detached herself from his embrace as she reached her office. "So, where are you taking me?"

"Wouldn't be a surprise if I told you," he answered smugly.

"Why does it have to be a surprise?" she huffed letting her hands fall to her sides.

"Huh, why did you want to surprise me with the wine country?" he threw back.

"Point taken," she sighed checking her watch. "Anyway, you're done with rounds?"

"Yeah," he nodded. "I've just finished."

"The separated twins are, okay?" she asked.

"Yes, they're fine, they're stable."

"No post-surgery complications?"

"Absolutely none."

"And the place you're taking me to…?"

"Will remain undisclosed until we arrive there," he chuckled. "Nice try, though."

She glowered at him and turned on her heel. "Go to work, Dr. Shepherd."

"So, you really don't have a present for me?" he asked her before she disappeared behind the door to her office and was answered with her evil laughter.

"What do you know?" asked quietly Meredith sneaking beside Addison.

"What about?" she eyed her with a puzzled look.

"You know what," Meredith rolled her eyes. "Derek's surprise. He must have spilled something to Mark, what is it?"

"Mer, for the hundredth time," sighed Addison tiredly and continued her walk down the corridor, "Stop bugging me. You can wait those couple of hours to see for yourself."

"I know I can wait," huffed Meredith. "It's just… Derek's onto something big and perfectly romantic and corny…"

"Like what you got him isn't corny," snickered Addison.

"Even if that's the case," Meredith started defensively, "my gift is small, like… small. And I know Derek will go grand. He's going over the top and I just… I don't want to do something stupid and disappoint him. I bring bad luck. So, tell me what you know so I can prepare myself."

"You should stop blaming yourself for what happened, Derek doesn't. And I swear, Meredith, I don't know anything. Mark doesn't know anything."

"Oh, God," Meredith rubbed her throat absent-mindedly. "If he didn't tell Mark… it must be something… gigantic... enormous… colossal!"

"Just breathe, Mer, remember to breathe," the red head patted her on the shoulder. "I can tell you where Derek is not taking you. El Gaucho, that's where we're going with Mark, I overheard him confirming the reservation."

"But… that's the best restaurant in Seattle…" frowned Meredith.

"Yeah, so?"

"Derek wouldn't take me to a second-rate place on my birthday," she shrugged. "Maybe Mark made that reservation for Derek?"

"Gee, thanks, Mer. I guess it's alright for Mark to take me to a second-rate place," she answered wryly.

"You know I didn't mean it like that- Hey, what's going on in there?" exclaimed Meredith seeing Derek, Mark, an intern and a nurse all making a hasty exit from a patient's room.

"Sedatives," Mark ordered the nurse in a grunt.

Meredith gazed into the room and repeated her question, "What is going on in there? Who are these people?" she demanded as her eyes swept over the scene composed with two women fighting over a man resting on the bed.

"That's… Taylor Roberts, 42. He has a tumor on the frontal lobe," sighed Derek reluctantly.

"And the lovely ladies?" Meredith pointed impatiently at the two women who seemed ready to throw at each other with fists.

"Well, the brunette," Mark took up amusedly, "is apparently the guy's fiancée."

"And the other one?"

"The other one," Derek began reluctantly, "is his…"

Mark interrupted him clearing his throat. "Wife."

"So that's his… and his…?" frowned Addie quizzically.

"Just got acquainted actually," Mark wiggled his eyebrows. "Doesn't really seem like they hit it off… The dude's so busted…"

"Okay, let's forget about the fact that Mr. Roberts is a first-class adulterer and concentrate on treating him as a patient with a life-threatening ailment. He needs peace and quiet. How could you just leave like a dog with its tail between the legs? What kind of doctors are you?" she berated them.

"Okay, they were kind of scary," frowned Mark throwing an uneasy glance at the interior of the room. "The wife actually asked if we could perform a penectomy while taking care of that tumor…"

"You felt personally threatened?" snorted Meredith. "Are you men or mice?"

Mark and Derek exchanged uncomfortable looks.

Meredith rolled her eyes and strolled between them to enter the room.

"The nurse will just be back-" called after her Derek.

"With sedatives? Meredith looked down at them with pity before going inside. "Please."

"Mice," threw Addison innocently strolling past them.

"Hmm," Derek sighed watching with slight apprehension his girlfriend interacts with two enraged women.

"What are you so twitchy about?" eyed him Mark suspiciously.

"Nothing… in particular," shrugged Derek. "Just… big plans for tonight. I want everything to be perfect."

"Where are you taking Grey?" asked Mark curiously. "Because I have-"

"I know where you're going with Addison. That's not the place I'm going to be with Mer," he assured quickly.

"Just checking," grunted Mark.

Derek nodded nervously. For the last few days, he was putting the calm smug façade but, the nerves were eating him up inside. It wasn't just Meredith's birthday, nor a special Valentine dinner and he was the only person in the know how much more special the day was supposed to be. He just had to make sure everything was running smoothly until the evening and hopefully Meredith would…

"There, was it that hard?" she asked loftily reappearing in the corridor. Mr. Roberts's room was unusually quiet even though the regards of interested parties were far from peaceful. "Make sure there's no mix-up about who has the legal rights when that man goes to surgery."

Mark nodded and with a deep breath reentered the room.

"Quite a Valentine surprise, huh?" she shook her head. "You know, it wouldn't shock me… a year ago, let's say. I'd think it was life. But now, I can't help wondering, what people actually do that? They promise to love each other forever and then just go outside the marriage promising basically the same things to someone else. It's… sacrilege."

"Yeah," he agreed looking at her reverently.

"Derek?" she studied his face carefully. "You alright?"

"Sure," he nodded checking the time. "So, we meet after my surgery and set off…" he trailed off leaving a small kiss on her forehead, "for our," another one on her nose, "date," and finally on her lips.

"What if there are complications?" remarked rationally Meredith. "What time… are our reservations?"

"Reservations?" repeated Derek, taken aback but quickly collecting himself. "Oh, right… our reservations… will hold as long as we need," he finished mysteriously offering her a dazzling smile.

She squinted at him suspiciously. "I'll have to go home to change."

"No, you won't," he shook his head slightly. "I took care of that, I brought you something to wear for tonight."

"What?" she gasped horrified. "I'm gonna kill you if you a made mess in my dresser!"

"If anything, in your drawer," he chuckled. "I just got you a pair of jeans and a sweater."

"Derek!" she swatted his arm. "How am I supposed to go to a fancy restaurant in a sweater and jeans?"

"Who told you we were going to a fancy restaurant?" he laughed cocking his head.

"Aren't we?"

"We'll just have to wait and see, won't we?" his eyes twinkled at her. "But I can promise you'll love it."

"I will?" she questioned folding her arms over her chest. "You think so?"

"I know so," he stated with full certainty in his voice. "Wanna bet?"

"Yeah, I wanna bet," she fired without much thinking, his cockiness setting her up. "The loser's the other's slave for the rest of the month."

"Oh, your ass is mine," he smirked shaking her hand firmly.

"That so doesn't count!" Meredith muttered under her breath yet another time. She was not surprised with the lack of reaction on Derek's part, other than self-satisfied smirking that is. She could kill him during moments like that, literally kill him. What would be the best way to do him in? Probably ride him to death. Practical and pleasant at once, as Derek put it during that memorable elevator ride that hosted their first kiss. He would certainly not suspect any malevolent intent of hers since he was so damn pleased with himself, he made her his so-called slave…

"I said it didn't count, dumbass!" she repeated glaring at Derek from her seat. "What's the point of a bet if you know the result?" she demanded as Derek's jeep wheeled into the driveway to the trailer. Of course, she loved the place he was taking her to. She adored his land, and he was well aware of that little detail. To tell the truth, she should have got the picture earlier when he told her he prepared warm clothes for her to wear for the evening.

"Sweetie," he looked down at her with superiority. "The point is in winning."

"Humph," she breathed out an inarticulate sound. "You know you're not too creative, right? We spend every weekend on your land."

"I beg to differ," he retorted amusedly. "You'll learn how creative I am by the end of the night."

"Sure, sure," she nodded skeptically. "A dinner with candles? A trail of roses leading to bed? What's my present? Some costly piece of jewelry, isn't it?"

"I'd stop with presuming if I were you," he quipped. "Your instincts have already failed you once tonight. Just relax, okay," he added on a more serious note reaching for her hand while stopping the car. "Trust me."

"You know I trust you," she sighed rubbing his palm delicately with her thumb. "I'm sorry for being such a pain in the ass. It's… just not really my day. That guy, you know, your patient, just rubbed me the wrong way altogether."

"Hey," he unbuckled his seatbelt to turn to her. "The fact that some people cheat or lie, or break their promises, it doesn't have anything to do with us."

"I know," she gave him a small smile. "Sometimes I think there's no love like ours anywhere on earth. That we're… chosen… or blessed or… I'm just rambling…" she let out a nervous laugh.

"We are blessed," he agreed warmly.

She looked up at him again but forgot what she wanted to say. Her eyes rested on another vehicle parked in front of Derek's trailer. She couldn't make out much in all engulfing obscurity, but the barely distinguishable lettering led her to believe it was a company car.

"What's that?" she asked Derek curiously. "Is there a light in the trailer?" The main lights were out but feeble golden beams sneaked out, probably from the kitchen or the bedroom.

"Wait here for a second," he smiled and kissed her on the cheek before climbing out.

"But-" she went to protest.

"Wait," he admonished firmly. "Remember that part about being my slave for the rest of the month? Thank you, I appreciate your cooperation," he chuckled as she finally desisted all resistance and leaned back in her seat somewhat reluctantly.

Instead following him out, she watched as he reached the trailer but before he pulled the handle a man came out. Meredith frowned as after a brief conversation, she saw her boyfriend count a generous amount of cash from his wallet and offer it to the mysterious man. They shook hands and the man jumped into the car to drive off. When they finally become alone, he got back to the jeep and opened the door for Meredith gallantly.

"Who was that guy?"

"He… was from the Valentine patrol," replied Derek resolutely.

"Valentine what?" she scrunched her face.

"You're asking way too many questions. My lady," he grinned charmingly helping her get out. "Everything is ready and waiting for you."

"Everything?" she eyed him questioningly and jumped out paying attention not to forget her bag that hid his present. Although, she wasn't so sure anymore she wanted to give it to him. It seemed lame and insignificant compared to what Derek was doing for her. Her hand tucked safely in his, she followed him in the biting February cold, but was astonished he didn't direct her steps to the trailer but… around it taking a small path made in the snow.

"Der?" her voice echoed in the inhabited surroundings. "Where are we going?"

"You'll see," he chuckled.

"Are we going fishing?" she asked half-heartedly, her eyes trying in vain to penetrate the darkness. A shiver ran up her spine when her ears caught a faint rustle in the bushes. She involuntarily pressed herself almost flush to Derek's back.

"No," he burst out laughing. "Do you really have such a low opinion of me and my sense of romance?"

"Okay," she bit her lip pensively. "Is this a bloody Valentine? Is there a tree stump with a machete all cleaned up and sharpened especially for me?"

"Love, you know I'm too subtle for a machete," he chuckled wholeheartedly and she had to smile. Not at his riposte, but at the term of endearment. That was the newest habit he picked up and she found out she didn't mind. No one ever called her sweet names, she never called anyone sweet names. But with Derek it felt natural and right, especially when his voice wore that tender throaty timber reserved uniquely for her.

Though as they entered a small clearing behind the trailer, hidden from view up front, her mind was completely blown over with what awaited her.

"Wow," she let out in amazement, her eyes wide as they scooped the scene. "I… wow… How… when?" she stammered as they halted, their hands still joined tightly.

"That's what the Valentine patrol helped me out with," Derek answered quietly carefully observing her face, now fully visible.

"That… is beautiful," she managed to say, a smile warming up her features. She stood up immobile for a while, just soaking up Derek's surprise and the love he invested in preparing it. In the middle of the clearing blazed a strong fire that was making the snow cover around them sparkle merrily.

"I guess I was right about that tree stump," she faked a dramatic sigh tugging at his arm to come forward.

"Yeah, but it's for the opposite part of your body," he quipped as they walked so close the fiery tongues banished the cold from their skins. Derek leaned down and smoothed a blanket over the large piece of wood making a makeshift bench for them to sit.

"It's not exactly fine dining…" a trace of nervousness passed over his face as he opened the food container brought up earlier by his helper.

"It's more than fine to me," she assured him calmingly taking a seat and stretching her legs closer to the source of warmth.

"You see, that's just one of the things that constantly astounds me about you," he told her warmly unwrapping their dinner. "That's one of the things I love you for."

"What?"

"You're so complicated and yet so simple."

"It's simple when it's just the two of us together," she said softly, "preferably here. Do you need a hand?"

She tucked her hair behind her ears and crouched beside him helping him with their provisions. Her eyes lit when she spotted a container with a piece of birthday cake and her lips curled up in a warm smile while she leaned to press a small kiss on the side of his jaw.

"Couldn't resist," she grinned up at him.

"Good," he breathed reciprocating the caress. "So, we have sausages to roast… and salad… and smores…"

"And champagne," she giggled appreciatively at the bottle, "with no glasses…"

"Damn, I knew I forgot something," he made to stand. "I'll bring a pair from the trailer-"

"Don't," she stopped him, "it's perfect as it is. Besides, don't you dare leave me here alone!"

"Okay," he laughed sitting down on their little bench and impaling their sausages on sticks. "You know there's no one in-"

"Yeah, yeah," she interrupted him. "It would have to be an escaped convict, I heard that before. But you're aware it's wilderness, right, Der? And in the wilderness live… wild things…"

"Yeah, you for example," he chuckled and didn't duck in time to avoid her violent shove.

"I guarantee you won't be laughing when you meet a bear on your way one day," she warned him. "I will be laughing at your frightened ass."

"You'll be laughing when a bear eats me?" he snorted. "That's kind of heartless."

She laughed with him snuggling against his side as they sat before the trickling fire, preparing their Valentine dinner, and talking about everything and nothing. When they were finished with their messy meal, their fingers were greasy and black. With a mischievous face, she raised his hand and before Derek had any chance to defend himself, she traced a charcoal smudge across his cheek.

"Now you're truly the man of the mountains," she stifled her laughter.

He shook his head at her playfulness but didn't even try to wipe the dirt from his face as he carefully opened the plastic container with Meredith's birthday cake and lit the single candle.

"Happy birthday Baby. Time for a wish," he nodded holding the cake before her.

She smiled up at him tenderly and whispered with a certainty that dazzled him, "What else would I wish for when I have everything I need before me." She blew off the candle with a giggle and dived her spoon into sugary sweetness.

"Mhhmmm," she purred at the rich taste. "I can't believe you bought me a cake… You must try it." She lunged at his mouth with her lips coated in icing.

"Delicious," he murmured, his eyes a bit cloudy. He watched as she devoured the sweetness with apparent pleasure, feverishly weighing in his mind the possible outcomes of what he was about to do. The cake almost disappeared from Meredith's plate and it was time for presents. Although, he wasn't sure if he should offer her his gift just now. He didn't want her to feel obliged when he posed her the question. On the other hand, he didn't want her to feel guilty or selfish if she thought they should wait some more.

He cursed in his head urging himself to get his act together since Meredith put away the now clean plate and was looking at him curiously.

"Everything all right?" she asked pushing an unruly curl from his forehead.

"It is…" he breathed and reached out for a folder protected from the snow with a plastic bag. "And… it's… my… it's my gift for you…" his voice cracked a little as he handed her the folder.

"What is this?" she looked at the stack of documents from one side and another.

"Open it," he encouraged her, his arm returning around her waist.

She did what he asked her to do, and the folder slipped from her hands onto her knees when the first few lines of the text told her what exactly Derek's gift consisted of.