Chapter 83: Will You Marry Me?

"Derek," Meredith whispered his name breathlessly as her fingers gripped the paper. "You… it's…" Her head shot up towards him.

His smile continued to be calm and gentle, his arms remained firmly wrapped around her.

"It's your dreamland," he said softly. "It's high time it's rightfully yours."

Her breath hitched when she moved her regard to the documents and back up at him.

"I… I can't, Der," she shook her head.

"Of course, you can," he assured her peacefully. "You need to, you have to. It's where you belong, with me."

"It's… so much," the hand she brought to her mouth shook emotionally. "It's your land, Derek. It's your property."

"Whatever's mine is yours," he murmured nuzzling his nose into her temple in anticipation. He hoped this statement would be soon confirmed by legally valid vows.

"Love," she tried to argue rationally. "You paid a lot of money for that piece of land; I can't just accept it for free. It's not a shiny necklace."

"I know it's not," he laughed easily. "It's our future home."

"Derek, I do want this," she pointed around with her hand. "I want to share this with you… if you let me pay-"

"No," he shook his head firmly. "Let me offer this one gift to you, let me give this to you as a…" he trailed off trying not to presume too much.

"As a what?" she asked curiously.

He chuckled with a slight shake of his head. "Please, Meredith. Accept this. You love this place; you claimed the ownership already with your heart."

She sighed yielding to his pleas. "It just doesn't seem fair…"

"We will split the costs when building the house," he proposed gently. "Speaking of which, that Valentine patrol guy? He was from the architect's office doing documentation to draw up the house plans; he agreed to do me this favor and prepare the surprise."

She looked up at him unsurely, her lip between her teeth. Her breath hitched, it was that moment, one of the moments that changed the course of your life. Finally, she smiled bravely and traced her name on the deed claiming her co ownership of Derek's land, their land. Her heart filled with inexplicable warmth and she threw herself at him with a loud giggle, raining his face with kisses. He laughed heartily at her enthusiasm, deeply hoping it would last until he popped another question.

"God, you're so…" she trailed off shaking her head in wonder, lost for words as she climbed onto his lap.

"So what?" chuckled Derek.

"I'm a little afraid to feed your ego but I guess the occasion calls for it," she laughed, her arms tightly around his neck. "You're amazing, I don't know what I ever did to deserve you." Before he had any chance to reply she claimed his lips in a tempting kiss, but when she backed away her forehead was creased in tiny frown. "Now, I'm not sure if I should even bother to show you my Valentine gift," she admitted apologetically.

"Why not?"

"Because it's… it's really small… and… well, small…" she said almost shyly. "And… I kind of made it myself…"

"You made it yourself?" he asked excitedly.

"Yeah…" she squeaked trying to avoid his curious gaze as it was making her blush. "I know it's more than cheesy… but I thought it was sweet… And it was just supposed to be a Valentine gift… and you gave me your land…"

He grinned at her. "Come on, give it to me."

"That sounds dirty," she wiggled her eyebrows bringing her lips to his pulse point.

"You're not going to get away from this," he said firmly fighting to remain focused. "I want my present."

"But it's insignificant…" she attempted to explain.

"It's not insignificant if you made it with me in your mind," he argued. "Pretty please?" he smiled cocking his head to the side.

She felt herself melting at his puppy-eyed look making her unable to deny him anything.

"Okay," she sighed albeit reluctantly and reached out for her handbag. "It's… really silly, but… there's going to be a fireplace in our house. We're going to light up in the cold days and make love in front of the fire," she whispered tenderly caressing his cheek. "Above the crackling fire, there's going to be a mantelpiece, a place for our pictures… and this…" she took out a small, wrapped package from her bag. "That's something to put the very first picture into, any picture you'd like."

He unwrapped the paper discovering a simple wooden frame decorated by hand, by Meredith's hand clearly, as it was careful and meticulous, with bits of cones and emerald needles glued imaginatively all over.

"Cheesy, I told you," she shrugged at his smile.

"It's beautiful, thank you," he planted a kiss on her nose. "Even more so that you found time in your busy schedule to do it for me. I think I know what picture I'd like to place first in our new home…" he cleared his throat his hand diving insecurely to the inner pocket of his coat.

"Which one?" asked Meredith.

"It… it hasn't been taken yet…" he swallowed not without difficulty. "But I… I hope it will be…"

"What do you have in mind?"

"Well," he stuttered going slightly red on the face. "So… uhm… I'd like to ask you something…" he cringed inwardly, way to go starting his proposal. "Just remember you're my slave for the month," he gave a small halfhearted chuckle. "Do you… Would you-"

"Okay," nodded Meredith fully straddling him. "Yes."

"Yes?" he breathed out with confusion. Did she know about his plans?

"Yes, sure, why not?" she grinned coyly fidgeting above him. "It's pretty warm from the fire so-"

"What are you talking about?" he frowned.

"What are you talking about?" She gazed at him biting his lip. "I thought… you know… a quickie in front of the fire? No?"

Derek gasped with laughter and didn't even stop when Meredith swatted his shoulder with an annoyed huff.

"I might be up for that offer later," he assured her amusedly and firmly locked his free arm around her, preventing her from sliding out of his grasp. "But that's not what I wanted to ask."

"Mhm," she huffed her arms folded against her chest creating a barrier between their bodies.

"Meredith?" he willed her to meet his regard. "Meredith? I love you."

"Mhm." She remained indifferent busying herself with brushing a speck of snow off her sleeve.

"Tell me you love me," he pleaded trying to keep his courage from waning. "I really need to hear it right now."

She frowned at him and said, "I love you. You know I do."

"Good," his breath hitched dangerously. "Meredith, would you do me this honor and agree to marry me?" he finally drew the small box from his pocket and opened it revealing the ring he had bought for her months before. He raised his eyes at her, fearful and hopeful at the same time, his heart beating out of his chest.

Meanwhile, Meredith's jaw opened loosely making her stare wide-eyed and open-mouthed at the beautiful, elegant piece of jewelry before her. That was certainly not what she expected to be offered that night and the circumstances seemed to overwhelm her for a moment.

Seconds drew on as he waited for her reply in tension, any reply, though preferably her acceptance.

He finally forced himself to utter, "But if you prefer to-"

"No!" she yelped breathing deeply, frantically shaking her head.

"No," he repeated quietly. "I understand, I-"

"No! I mean yes!" She became completely tongue-tied.

"So, is it a no or yes?"

"I… I cannot fathom one reason why you love me," she said breathlessly, her voice quivering imperceptibly. "Or why you want to marry me, but you apparently do... and I want to as well… marry you, that is… I don't want to spend another day without you anymore… so, it's a yes…"

"It's a yes…" he managed to breathe out with a strangled voice, blissful warmth spreading through his limbs, cell after cell. "Yes!"

"Derek?" she giggled. "The ring?"

"Oh, yes," he laughed at himself and slowly, as his hands were trembling, slipped the ring onto her waiting finger. Meredith beamed admiring the way the single stone reflected the firelight. It felt as though that fire was burning inside of her now too. She truly belonged to Derek and the ring was the obvious proof. Time back, she would have laughed at the prospect of simply belonging to somebody but now she cherished the emotions it brought in her, tenderness, excitement, safety, peace… She didn't need to run anymore, to go out of her way to prove her worth to anyone. She was loved, as simple and as complicated as that.

"I'm going to be a wife…" she said with wonderment in her voice.

"Not a wife," he chuckled. "My wife…" he underlined proudly.

"Your wife," she whispered, bringing his forehead against his. "I promise you I'm going to do everything I can to make you happy, so you don't regret-"

"I won't regret it," he assured her, and his lips searched out for hers. Their mouths glided against each other inducing the usual spark of electricity down their spines until Derek's tongue coaxed her lips to part inviting him inside. They lost themselves in the all-consuming kiss when…

Stars shining bright above you
Night breezes seem to whisper "I love you"

"What is that?" frowned Derek looking around disorientated.

"That's…" Meredith tried to catch her breath, recognizing the tune. "Uhm, I think that's my cell…"

"I've never heard that ringtone."

"Well, that's because it's my mother," she explained with a grimace. "I don't think she ever called me since I moved to Seattle." She scowled at her handbag as though it was the culprit. The phone kept ringing breaking the silence of the forest, but she made no move to pick up.

"You… set that song…?" he uttered uncomfortably, not willing to suggest anything unpleasant about her mother and... his future mother-in-law...

"It usually doesn't bode well when she calls me, so the song is just positive priming," she explained with a wry smile.

"You're not going to answer?"

"Nope," she shrugged lightly, making herself comfortable on his lap. "I'm not going to talk to my mother right now. We have much more important things to do," she smiled coyly.

"It might be something important…" he put forward just for the sake of propriety.

"Nothing is more important than you," she shook her head. "Besides, I'm sure it's nothing. She called me before Christmas trying to lure me back to Boston. Not a chance."

"She still wants you back on the East Coast?" sighed Derek recollecting Ellis' tirade he had to painfully endure during her visit.

"I don't care what she wants. She's deluded, she always was…" she smiled as the phone finally stopped its song. "Now she gave it a rest…" she trailed off nibbling on his lower lip. "Now, let's move on with that quickie, shall we, my future husband?"

He gave a moan when her lips descended onto his neck, effectively pushing all thought of Ellis Grey out of his mind.

Meredith couldn't help letting her lips stretching in a lazy content smile as she woke up just seconds ago in the small bedroom of the trailer, on Derek. That was the way she wanted to wake up for the rest of her life. Careful not to stir him up from his slumber, she nuzzled her face into his naked chest, her nose tickled by his soft short hair.

It was going to dawn soon though it couldn't be long after they fell asleep. Their kiss progressed to a quickie outside, something they scrupulously developed into another joyously tiring night of lovemaking. She inhaled his scent closing her eyes to bask in their happiness a little longer. It seemed so unbelievable and taken out of someone else's life; she was going to get married, have a real home she never knew… All thanks to the wonderful man that was sleeping beside her. Her mind replayed the song that was in their hearts all evening.

"Stars fading but I linger on dear, still craving your kiss… I'm longing to linger till dawn, dear…" she hummed softly before covering her mouth with her hand so as not to burst laughing out loud at her own cheesiness. Then her fingertips stopped tracing circles on Derek's skin… as her thoughts drifted involuntarily towards her mother. Her heartbeat picked up its pace and her forehead creased in sudden anguish, not because of concern for the reason of Ellis's call though.

She became rigid in Derek's arms as she realized… they were getting married. And getting married logically led to having children… They usually avoided the subject, or it was Meredith who purposefully avoided the subject, something she could no longer do. She had to face the difficult topic at last. Truth to be told, she just always expected to never have children. She never imagined to even want them. First, before Derek, she never saw herself in a lasting relationship. Second, she regarded having children as an obstacle for her career. She was well aware, Ellis made sure of that, that she was a burden for her mother. Why would she bring a child to this world and made them suffer like she had?

However, the unexpected happened. She was embarking on a future with the man that she loved more than anything else on this earth. Derek grew up in a large family with traditions; he surely wanted a family like that of his own. Her life plans needed to be revisited.

She tried to relax waiting for her lover to wake up. Once she noticed the change in his breathing, she asked with a small voice, not looking up at him.

"Derek? Is our… ? Our house… is it… going to have… a lot of rooms?"

"We can make it any way you want," he murmured in response.

"No, what I mean is…" she bit her lip nervously, "the rooms for… ." she mumbled the rest of her sentence.

"I'm sorry?"

"For… kids…" she whispered weakly.

"You mean our kids?" clarified Derek with a tone that obviously indicated the excitement that was proper to a little boy promised to get a desired toy.

"Er… yeah, you want to have kids, right?"

Derek scooped over changing their positions, so they were facing each other.

"Do you?"

"I asked you first," she bit back.

"Mer, I don't want to scare you," he said sincerely, "but, yes, I'd like to have a child with you."

"Okay," she released the breath she didn't know she was holding.

"I don't want to pressure you into anything though," he took up. "It's about what we both want."

"You're not…" she lay her head on the pillow. "I… I think I might want… to have a child… someday… I just… Let's get married first and… when we're ready we might… I could… let's just start from there, okay?" she stuttered.

"Okay," he gave her a small smile leaning in for a kiss, tying his fingers with hers. "I love you," he stated reassuringly moving towards her under the comforter, making it slip to their waists. His body covered hers from head to toes, invading her lips insistently. His tongue plundered the cavern of her mouth, his thorough tenderness making her melt underneath him.

She sighed happily as his hot mouth released hers and moved to tease the sensitive column of her neck. His constant presence beside her, his words and caresses were reassuring, putting her at ease, persuading her she had more to give than she had thought. They would be joined as husband and wife and when the time came, she would be ready to give him a child he wanted.

Derek continued to lavish the loving attention to various parts of her body until they were all tingling and humming, pleading to be taken over the edge. Her request was granted as she felt herself filled tightly by him all of a sudden, completed by him. She opened herself for him as much as she could, inviting him deeper. Her arms surrounded him securely preventing their bodies to part for an inch and she moaned feeling him move inside her delicately but relentlessly.

Their rhythm was slow, almost peaceful; the mutual pleasure building inside them at a leisurely pace. But soon, the air was thick with their wanton moans and subdued outcries. The fire coursing in their blood was all-consuming. Their sexes met finally in an intense thrust. Breaths stopped in their chests, pupils dilated uncontrollably, and their throats released wild growls as their bodies shook under the impact of the orgasmic wave. They relished the latest, but certainly not the last, bliss of their joining.