SERIES: THERE IS NO GREATER LOVE
PART 2: READY TO LOVE AGAIN
By Merlucaforever
…
Summary Part 2: Ready to Love Again is the second part of the series "There Is No Greater Love". We have already seen how it all started with a simple "Crush" (Part 1) that Meredith tried to fight with all her might until that magical and sublime night spent in the arms of her resident, which made her wonder if she was Ready to Love Again. In this second part of our story, which will have (at least) eight chapters, I invite you to discover how long Meredith was going to keep building walls around her heart for fear of love before she let it go.
I would highly recommend reading Crush first if you have not done so already.
Every single title is named after a song similar to the plot that you should absoooooolutely listen to on YouTube.
Songs: There Is No Greater Love, by Nat King Cole
Ready to love again, by Lady Antebellum
Version française également disponible !
I do not own Grey's Anatomy characters; Shonda Rhimes does.
…
Notes: I'm back for the second part. I'm sorry it took me so long — new job, new celebrity crush (Regé-Jean Page)and especially lack of inspiration after Andrew's death. Thank you for your patience and your loyalty. We will pick up exactly where we left off, the day after Alex and Jo's wedding, which is actually the beginning of season 16. Wishing you a happy reading. Don't forget to let me know what you think; I would love to read your comments. And if you like the story, let me know through your Kudos which are always welcome.
I'm not a native speaker. I apologize for the mistakes.
…
There is No Greater Love
(Nat King Cole)
watch?v=_EIWATXnyf0
There is no greater love
Than what I feel for you
No sweeter song, no heart so true
There is no greater thrill
Than what you bring to me
No sweeter song
Than what you sing, sing to me
You're the sweetest thing
I have ever known
And to think that you are mine alone
There is no greater love
In all the world, it's true
No greater love
Than what I feel for you
…
Chapter 1: Little Secret
Summary: After six weeks of hanging around with each other and flirting, Meredith and Andrew finally gave in to their mutual attraction and slept together. However, they are not ready to share their fledgling story which they decide to keep secret for a while longer (Read Part 1: Crush). Unfortunately, they are going to discover that this is easier said than done when you work at Grey Sloan and have sisters as nosy as Maggie, Amelia and Carina.
Little Secret, by Rachel Stevens
…
Meredith Grey and Andrew Deluca had a little secret — or was it rather a big secret? A secret they were sure no one was going to discover. In any case, that was what they thought when they pulled into the parking lot of the Grey-Sloan this morning, after having spent the night together. Before getting out of the car, Andrew reached out for her hand and gently squeezed it for a second or two. They smiled at each other as they remembered the new rules that they had agreed to follow this morning when they were in each other's arms. Not surprisingly, they found it very difficult to go by those rules.
They would have liked to hold hands as they walked through the parking lot and headed for the daycare to drop off Bailey and Ellis — they had already dropped Zola off at her school a few minutes earlier. They longed to kiss in the elevator but, like every morning at this time, the cabin was crowded. At least, Andrew had managed to slide his hand into hers and their fingers remained entwined until the elevator stopped on their floor. Then, they had to part in the hallway and — oh crap! — they almost kissed each other goodbye!
Meredith's day began with the usual morning rounds which were immediately followed by a meeting with all the heads of department. Sitting in the meeting room, she had a hard time focusing on Bailey's little speech about the potential of the new Hyperbaric Chamber she had just installed and the Ortho Department she had also completely revamped about a week ago by hiring new staff, especially a new department head — Dr. Atticus Lincoln — whom she introduced to them and whose pedigree she praised, rejoicing that she was able to poach him from the Mariners.
She also talked about the surgeons who had deserted — not just April and Arizona but perhaps Alex and Jo, too, who might not come back after their honeymoon — which meant that they would have to fill their positions as soon as possible to avoid being overwhelmed with work for too long. And in the meantime, they were going to have to muddle through without them.
Meredith was only listening with half an ear because all she could think about was the night spent with her resident. The best sex of her whole life! Andrew was the most attentive lover she had ever known. He had anticipated her slightest wishes and was able to please her by doing the right things, in the right way at the right time, as if they were long-time lovers. He was both tender and passionate at the same time.
She was having sex flashbacks and she couldn't help herself. Her mind was reliving the scene where Andrew was doing that thing to her that she had loved so much and that no one before him had ever done to her. She felt a shiver run down her spine as if it were really happening. That's when she jerked to attention at the sound of Bailey calling out her name.
"Grey! Is the meeting boring you that much?"
Meredith saw everyone around the table staring at her, especially Richard, Catherine, Owen, Jackson and of course Maggie and Amelia. Her sisters were smirking and Meredith quickly looked away. She opened her mouth to answer but Bailey went on:
"If I didn't know you so well, I'd say that you partied way too much last night at the wedding."
"Ha ! Ha ! Ha ! Ha ! Ha !"
Meredith's nervous burst of laughter filled the room. The intrigued looks on everyone's faces made it clear that they thought she was a bit weird this morning. As no one seemed to find the situation as hilarious as she did, especially Bailey who had her legendary tyrant look, Meredith's laughter slowly dwindled, ending with a choked cough.
She felt like her little secret was written all over her face. How could she have let herself go like that in front of her co-workers? If Bailey kept staring at her like that, she was going to guess that she was hiding something, she told herself. Meredith didn't know how she managed to find out everything. It was impossible to get anything past her. Bailey glared at her and decided to ignore her and move on to the last item on the agenda — the vote.
The vote? What vote? Meredith had no idea. She just raised her hand at the same time as Bailey and her sisters to vote "for" like them and sank back into her chair, wishing she was invisible.
…
After her morning meeting, Meredith went to her lab, happy to have no surgery scheduled so far due to her lack of concentration today. She was daydreaming over her coffee. She let out a sigh of well-being. Wow! What a wonderful night!
She lightly started when she heard Amelia call her. She had obviously been there for a while but Meredith hadn't noticed her presence. She was looking at her with curiosity.
Actually, it hadn't taken Amelia too long to find out what was going on after seeing Meredith at the meeting — and also Andrew during her rounds — but she wanted to be sure. She asked her outright:
"So, how did it go with your plus-one, yesterday?"
Meredith blushed violently and began to stutter before answering.
"Uh… What?"
"I can't believe it!" Amelia exclaimed incredulously.
"What's the matter?"
"You did it!"
It was a statement and not a question.
"Amelia, keep your voice down, please! Someone might hear you," she hissed.
"Wait! You're not even denying it?" Amelia scoffed.
"I… I did not admit to anything either, in case you haven't noticed."
"But you admit that something did happen last night, right?"
"That's none of your business," she growled.
But Amelia was undeterred by her rebuff. She stared at her as if her neurosurgeon's eyes could scan the inside of her brain to read the truth that she was hiding from her.
At that very moment, Maggie walked into the lab, carrying a gorgeous bouquet of flowers. Meredith thought it was a good diversion and hastened to ask her sister:
"Maggie, what is it? Who sent you flowers? Jackson?"
"No one. I ran into Helm, who was looking for you. These are for you," said Maggie as she handed the bouquet of flowers to Meredith, who smiled and breathed in their scent. "I can tell you that the whole hospital is already aware that you have a mysterious admirer, Mer. Even Bailey seemed very interested in your flowers," Maggie went on.
"Oh no, Bailey knows about the flowers?"
Bad luck! The chief was probably going to make the connection between the flowers and her strange behavior this morning, Meredith thought.
"The least we can say is that they are magnificent. Hmm! Orange roses… interesting!" Maggie smiled.
"What's interesting?" asked Meredith and Amelia at the same time.
"You don't know the meaning?" asked Maggie.
Meredith and Amelia shook their heads.
"Orange roses are a combo of red roses, which represent deep love, and yellow roses, which represent friendship. They symbolize a budding romance or one in its early stages, especially if that romance stemmed from a friendship first. This color is an appropriate choice when you want to tell someone that you're not only fascinated by them but that you also have a great passion or desire for them… and that you want something more."
"Oh wow! You know a lot about flowers!" exclaimed Amelia.
"Yeah, but also about colors in general. The mood rooms that are close to my heart, especially the Blue Room and the Green Room, are all focused on the use of colors to improve the health of our patients. By the way, thank you for your vote this morning, ladies."
Ah! This is what we voted for! Meredith thought. It's a good thing she didn't vote to close the hospital!
"So, I presume that you know who sent you these flowers symbolic of desire and passion," said Amelia.
She and Maggie exchanged knowing looks when they saw Meredith's blissful smile. It was obvious that their sister had no doubts about the identity of the sender. And neither do they.
"Okay guys, can I read my secret admirer's card in private?"
Maggie replied:
"If I didn't already know beyond a shadow of a doubt that it was Andrew, the only secret admirer that I would like for you, it's this new Ortho guy Bailey introduced us to this morning and whom the nurses have already dubbed Ortho God."
"I had already met him," stated Meredith. "He had help me with a patient last week. He seems to be a pretty good surgeon but we won't be a good match, trust me."
Indeed, Meredith remembered him because the patient in question — a woman who had been seriously injured in a car accident with her pregnant daughter — had been discharged this morning during her rounds.
"He's not bad at all," added Amelia.
"Interested?" Maggie asked her.
"Not at all. I'm kind of off the market."
You should get back on the market quickly, dear, because Teddy is back and she's 11 weeks pregnant! Maggiethought.
She had discovered this heavy secret early this morning when Teddy, who seemed to have spent the night in the OR with Bailey, had required a cardio consult. She wished she could have told Amelia or Meredith about it but couldn't do so without breaking the rules of the HIPAA. She might have zoned out for a brief moment because she realized that Meredith was talking about Owen. She interrupted her:
"Mer, don't change the subject. Show us Andrew's card."
"Why are you two so sure that the flowers are from Andrew?"
"I know it's him because you've been acting weird since this morning," said Maggie.
Amelia added:
"It wasn't hard to guess that something happened between you too, last night. Andrew was on cloud nine during the rounds. He had only hampered our work instead of being helpful. Of course, I could have gotten rid of him, but since I knew my sister was responsible for his absent-mindedness, it wouldn't have been fair for me to do so. Especially since Maggie and I have been playing matchmakers to fix you up with him."
"Please, guys!" Meredith sighed, as if to tell them to stop insisting. But that had the opposite effect since Maggie went on:
"Come on, Mer! I understand that you want to keep it under wraps for now, but all secrets are safe with me, I assure you. I'm not saying it's always easy to keep a secret... but in our job we... we know what it's like to keep a secret, don't we?" she rambled, aware that her tirade sounded strange. But that was because she was on the horns of a dilemma, not knowing whether to spill the beans about Teddy's pregnancy or not.
Meredith sighed and reluctantly surrendered:
"Okay, it's Andrew; you can brag about your matchmaking skills."
Maggie and Amelia exchanged a triumphant smile.
"There's nothing to gloat about; you've made it so easy for us!" said Amelia. "But… uh…"
"What?" Meredith asked, seeing how Amelia was hesitant to continue.
"Mer, I hate to be the one who break it to you but, whether we keep it under wraps or not, the whole hospital will know about it in no time at all," Amelia predicted.
"Damn it, the flowers!" Meredith exclaimed.
"Yeah! You know the Grey-Sloan. They will start looking for your secret admirer and won't stop until they have identified him. They will quickly make the connection; I can assure you. Not just because you live under the same roof, but because the way you look at each other is bound to betray you."
"I'm going to kill him for not having been able to keep our secret for more than 24 hours!" exclaimed Meredith.
"Mmm! That promises to be steamy tonight between you two, then!" Amelia teased her. I'm pretty sure that's what the card says. Am I right?
"It's personal, I'm not going to read it to you," said Meredith.
That's when she finally took the card and read the message silently.
I can't wait just to be with you.
No need to know what the card said anymore. Meredith's mirthful laughter that burst out was the most pleasant thing that they had heard in a long time and they couldn't ask for more.
"Our sister has a boyfriend, Amelia!" Maggie stated.
"It seems so," replied Amelia.
"A what?" Meredith exclaimed.
…
Meredith was updating some charts with Qadri and Helm at the nurses' station when she felt that she was being watched. She raised her head and saw Andrew standing in front of the OR schedule board. He was staring at her. She was immediately overwhelmed by his intense gaze.
When she saw Andrew's smirk, she realized that he was very aware of the effect he was having on her and that he was pleased with himself. She hadn't seen him since she received the flowers about an hour ago because he was in the OR. He had been breaking their rules from day one and was deliberately reveling in it!
I'm going to give him a piece of my mind!
Meredith picked up her phone and began texting him: "No looking at me like that at work, it's a rule." He answered straight away: "Pay attention to your interns instead of texting me." How dare he, thought Meredith as she typed furiously: "Meet me on the rooftop in 10 minutes." She blushed a little as she read his last text: "Your wish is my command."
She realized that the interns had asked her a question and were waiting for her answer. She had started to stutter and asked Qadri to repeat everything she had just said. When she looked at him again, he was already walking away, a suggestive smile on the corner of his mouth.
It took her a few minutes to give new instructions to her interns so that they could run a few more tests for a patient admitted that morning and who needed surgery.
"We're on it, Dr. Grey. We'll prep Cece as soon as we're done with the labs. Surgery's at 3:00. There wasn't an O.R. available before then."
"That's fine, Helm. Thank you," Meredith said before heading for the elevator to the rooftop.
Helm watched her walk away and let out a deep sigh. Qadri rolled her eyes and said to her:
"Seriously Helm? You're still crushing on Meredith Grey? It's clear that she has an admirer who not only has very good taste in women but also in flowers. So, please, get over this pathetic crush for your sake and for the sake of everyone — especially mine!"
"And you, your crush on Andrew Deluca, you can just forget about it. There's no way you'll ever be together. Despite all your pathetic efforts to attract his attention, he never even looked your way yesterday at the wedding. And I think I know why."
"He might need more time, but he'll get over Sam Bello eventually," Qadri added with a shrug.
"I think he already has. But your problem is not Sam."
"What do you mean by that?"
Helm had noticed something that Qadri hadn't seen, not only because Qadri was too focused on her tablet while discussing Cece's case with Meredith Grey, but also because from the angle at which she was standing, she couldn't really see the OR schedule board, unlike Helm who had instantly grasped what was going on. Meredith's mind was elsewhere and it was easy to guess who she was texting and why she was blushing.
Helm was already walking away and tossed ironically over her shoulder:
"We have the same problem, you and I."
"What?" asked Qadri, puzzled, trying to catch up with her.
"Our problem is the secret admirer of Meredith Grey!"
"What?" she exclaimed. "Helm… Helm wait… What do you mean?"
But Helm didn't turn around. She had a patient to prep for surgery — a matchmaker apparently. Maybe she could help her to meet someone so she could move on. Because she had to stop deluding herself into thinking that Meredith Grey could one day look at her the way she looked at Andrew Deluca.
…
Andrew was on his way to the elevator when his sister, running out of the elevator car, bumped into him, and he almost spilled the two coffees he was carrying. Carina asked him bluntly if he was the secret admirer of Meredith Grey, who had had flowers delivered to her.
He sighed and rolled his eyes! Why wasn't he surprised that she already knew about it? The gossip in this hospital spreads faster than the plague, he thought.
And of course, Carina wasn't fooled for a second when he tried to deny it. But that didn't matter. He had no time to lose in trying to convince her, because Meredith must have already been waiting for him on the rooftop. He said to her in Italian:
"Carina, please, do not insist."
"Do you know they're taking bets on the identity of this secret admirer, man or woman?"
"What? So, people in this hospital have nothing better to do than playing detective?"
"I see that you still bring her coffee. Maybe I should make a large bet on you?"
"You won't dare!"
"Why are you so worked up since you're claiming it's not you?"
"Carina, mind your own love life, will you?"
He stopped short at the look of sadness in his sister's face. What an idiot he was! He had completely forgotten about Arizona's departure yesterday, immediately after the wedding!
"Carina… I'm sorry!" he said hastily, in English.
She gave him an angry look and, without saying a word, she turned on her heel and walked away.
He sighed. He knew he was going to have to apologize to her again, but for now, he preferred to let her calm down and stepped into the elevator.
Andrew had never noticed that the elevator took so long to ascend to the rooftop. He just couldn't wait to be with her! When the doors slid open, he spotted her standing in front of the parapet, her back to him. She didn't turn around when she heard the elevator's door shut. He walked to the convenient spot where he had placed his coffee a week ago — when he had taken her to the rooftop and had almost kissed her — to put down the two coffees he had brought. Intrigued by her silence, he approached her and quietly called out for her:
"Meredith?"
He smiled when he saw her turn around, but his smile vanished from his face when he met her gaze.
Oh heck, I should have asked her if she liked flowers!
She called out to him reproachfully:
"You sent me flowers!"
"I know, cliché-wise, there's no possible way to top that, but I couldn't help it."
"Andrew, you know what I mean. Our little secret is an open secret now. My sisters managed to worm it out of me in less than a minute."
"If it's any consolation to you, my sister also made me spit it out. Our sisters are terrible!"
"Andrew, you're not going to get away with this." And then she sighed heavily and added "You broke our rules. You sent me flowers at the Hospital, and you stared at me in front of everyone as though you wanted to undress me. Perhaps, I wasn't clear enough about the rules this morning?"
"I might have been a little distracted when you were telling me about the rules this morning," he said with a smirk.
"Andrew!" she berated him.
But he was smiling at her with his irresistible smile and the scolding look she was trying to put on started to soften despite herself. Of course, that didn't escape Andrew's notice and he took advantage of it by adding:
"All I can recall is that you were naked against me and I was caressing your breasts. I don't know exactly what's messed up my thinking lately. You don't have a clue what it is, Dr. Grey?"
Meredith couldn't suppress her giggle any longer. Andrew smiled at her and reached out his hand to brush a strand of hair behind her ear. He looked at her and said, seriously this time:
"Mer, I'm sorry for breaking our rules."
And suddenly she realized that she didn't care whether people discovered their secret or not. She just didn't want any gossip to hurt them. People will certainly be tempted to stereotype them or bet on the longevity of their relationship, while they were still trying to figure out what was happening to them. But, on the other hand, she felt like things were moving too fast and that she needed those rules to slow them down. The word "boyfriend" tossed out by her sisters earlier have been running through her mind. She would like to, but she couldn't wipe it away.
She didn't want him to be sorry and felt guilty for not having shown him how much she loved the flowers, because she did love them. She put her arms around his neck and looked up at him with her smiling eyes. Instinctively, Andrew wrapped both hands around her waist to bring her closer to him. She rested her forehead on his and murmured:
"I missed you."
Andrew smiled. It had been barely three hours since they had parted after dropping Bailey and Ellis off at daycare and he had missed her terribly as well. He couldn't think of anything else but her and their crazy night of love.
"Not mad at me?" he asked her in a whisper.
By way of an answer, she stood on her tiptoes to place a light kiss on his lips before saying:
"The flowers are absolutely gorgeous! I love them. Thank you."
And then she kissed him again tenderly.
Glad to see that she liked his flowers, Andrew said:
"It was a kind of cheesy way to say thank you for that wonderful night."
"No, I would say a lovely way."
"Do you have any plans for tonight?" he asked, tilting his head to one side.
"Plans? Like… a secret rendezvous with a mystery man?"
"Hmm hmm!"
"I certainly have plans for tonight. Plans where you are shirtless while I'm wearing your favorite T-shirt… I mean… nothing but your T-shirt," she giggled naughtily.
"I can't wait to take it off," he smiled.
Then, he leaned down to kiss her. He began at her ear, trailed his mouth across her cheek and kissed down her neck, all the way to her collarbone before claiming her lips desperately as if he couldn't have survived a moment longer without them.
She threw her arms around his neck for balance, weaving her fingers into his heavy locks of hair. They kissed openmouthed, with tongues and lips and teeth and everything they felt for each other. But it wasn't enough. He needed to be as close to her as two people could possibly be. He palmed her backside and squeezed, lifting her up on her toes in order to pull her flush against him.
He felt her nipples tense against his chest, as if they recalled last night's attentions and were begging for more. His hand drifted to her breast of its own accord and he began to tease the aching tip with his thumb, making her moan with helpless pleasure and relief. She rubbed her pelvis against his, and the solid ridge of his arousal pulsed against her belly.
God, what has this woman done to him! She seemed to have driven all coherent thoughts from his head. He could have easily taken her to the nearest on-call room, but not only would that have been a violation of their rules, that would also have broken their kiss and the mere thought of being deprived of the sweetness of her lips was unbearable.
He loved kissing her so much that he could continue for hours, days, weeks and months until winter came and chased away this wonderful fall which had changed his life. If it meant that he could keep kissing her every single day from now on, he would be her secret for as long as she wanted him to be — however difficult it might be to restrain that primal, male need to let the world know that she was his.
No, he was not ready to let her go. He held her so tightly she could have been a part of him. Their moans mingled, their lungs were emptied of breath, and their hearts pounded like mad as they basked over and over in the warmth, the taste of their kisses, so much better than their forgotten coffees cooling down.
…
Ready to Love Again
(Lady Antebellum)
watch?v=Cr_aqxI-7DQ
Seems I was walking in the wrong direction
I barely recognize my own reflection
Oh, scared of love but scared of life alone
Seems I've been playing on the safe side baby
Building walls around my heart to save me
Oh, but it's time for me to let it go
Yeah I'm ready to feel now
No longer am I afraid of the fall down
It must be time to move on now
Without the fear of how it might end
I guess I'm ready to love again
Just when we think that love will never find you
You run away but still it's right behind you
Oh, it's just something that we can't control
Yeah I'm ready to feel now
No longer am I afraid of the fall down
It must be time to move on now
Without the fear of how it might end
I guess I'm ready to love again
So come and find me
I'll be waiting up for you
I'll be holding out for you tonight
Yeah I'm ready to feel now
No longer am I afraid of the fall down
It must be time to move on now
Without the fear of how it might end
I guess I'm ready
Ready to love again
Oh, I'm ready to love again
…
Little Secret
(Rachel Stevens)
watch?v=9S2GF184W7A
Oh yeah
Oh yeah
Down, shivers up and down
Wondering what we'll get up to
I'm feeling high I get excited
You know how I like it
I'm dying just to be with you
No need to tell a soul, keep it under control
Just tell me where to go
We'll be in privacy
I'll be your secret, your holy secret
Baby, no one need know what we'll get up to
I'll be your secret, your little secret
Don't you know I can't wait just to be with you
Oh
So tell me what's the plan
Your wish is my command
I'm longing just to please you, tease you, be my mystery man
You make me rude, got me in the mood
It's so exciting, hiding my secret rendezvous
We're on a roll, keep it under control
Just tell me where to go
We'll be in privacy
I'll be your secret, your holy secret
Baby, no one need know what we'll get up to
I'll be your secret, your little secret
Yes, it's you that my heart is addicted to
Oh yeah
I said I like it when you do it like that
Slow moves knockin' boots in the back of your car
I like it when you do it like that
(like it when you do it like that)
Jumpin' hoops gettin' cute in the middle of the dark
(Woah, oh-oh-oh)
I like it when you do it like that
I'll be your secret, your holy secret
Baby, no one need know what we'll get up to
I'll be your secret, your little secret
Don't you know I can't wait just to be with you
I'll be your secret, your holy secret
I'll be your secret, baby
I'll be your secret, your little secret
Yes, it's you that my heart is addicted to
I said I like it when you do it like that
(Yea, yea)
I said I like it when you do it like that
(Yea, yea)
I'll be your secret, holy secret
…
Notes: Thanks for taking the time to read. It would be great to know what you think.
Don't forget to listen to the songs.For the song "There is no Greater Love", I propose a new version for this second part. I have chosen for you the version of Nat King Cole instead of the version of Amy Winehouse.
…