Author's Note: Thank you so much for all of the awesome feedback lately! It is much more fun to write happy MerDer than angsty MerDer. That's not to say that there won't be a little more angst in this story, just not right now. I'm giving them a break for a couple chapters.

I'm really loving this long holiday weekend. I finally have time to work on this, and I may even have another chapter ready to post before the end of the weekend. If all goes well, I'll be able to pick up the pace and post more frequently, but we shall see…You never know when writer's block will hit. Anyway, I hope you continue to enjoy!

"Mmmm…what time is it?" Meredith murmured groggily as she looked over at Derek. He was already wide awake, lying on his side, and she had the sneaking suspicion that he had been watching her sleep. She usually hated when he did that.

But not this morning.

This morning, there was nothing about Derek that she hated.

On Meredith Grey's emotional spectrum, hate and Derek were on opposite sides.

"It's a little after eight. You slept in," Derek responded, smiling.

"You let me," Meredith fussed.

"Yeah, well…you looked like you could use the extra sleep. You had a busy night." Derek leaned in and kissed Meredith delicately. Casually. Like it was a typical part of his morning routine.

"Yeah," Meredith sighed, recalling the previous evening. Despite turning out the lights after making love, neither managed to fall asleep, and they had sex one more time before calling it a night. "I slept really, really well. You are far more cuddly than Cristina," she teased. She slid closer and wrapped her arms around him, drawing him closer. Their legs naturally intertwined.

"I do what I can," he whispered, feathering her with fleeting kisses along her jawline.

"Ohhh…no…don't…" Meredith pouted, starting to push him away.

"What?"

"I have to get up and get ready for work. We can't start this," she protested.

"What time is your shift?" Derek asked, concern registering through his eyes as the corners crinkled a little.

"I need to be there by ten, which means I need to leave here in like…a half an hour…or else Bailey will get mad at me. God, how ridiculous is it that I don't have to report to her anymore and I'm still scared?"

"We'll make this quick," Derek insisted, pulling her back towards him.

"You don't do quickies."

"I can do them, I just don't prefer them. But I'll take what I can get," he smiled mischievously at her.

Meredith stared at him for a moment, deciding if there was any possible way she could resist him…wondering if she even wanted to.

He started kissing her neck, working his hands lower down her body under the covers. Given that she never put any clothes back on before going to sleep, it didn't take him long to find the places on her body that made rational thought surrender to emotion and allowed her to ignore anything else happening around her.

Derek…touching…touching…kissing…must go to work…must resist…touching…

"I need to go shower, Derek," she whispered, doing her best to fight him off.

"I work well in there, too," he growled. He continued to slide his fingers along the curves of Meredith's body.

"Fine. Go start the shower. I'll meet you in there," Meredith conceded.

Derek sprang from the bed and practically sprinted to the bathroom, clearly excited that he won this debate. In reality, he hadn't expected Meredith to give in since he knew that she was already running later than she should to make the ferry. And he did hate feeling rushed through sex.

Meredith laid in bed and listened to the sound of the shower starting. The sky had cleared up somewhat since the rain last night, and a steady stream of sunshine was pouring down on her from the skylight. She stretched slowly and meandered to the shower where Derek was waiting.

"We so don't have time for this," Meredith sighed sadly as she opened the shower door.

Derek stood naked under the heavy stream of water, a small pout perched upon his lips. "Are you sure?" he groveled.

"Yeah, I just…I don't want to be late this morning," Meredith replied, swapping places with him so that she could feel more than just the mist of water bouncing off his body. The hot water greeted her like a warm massage, and she closed her eyes to enjoy the feel of it pummeling her body.

Derek grabbed a bar of soap and carefully reached around her from behind, dancing the soap along her chest in an effort to lather her body. He used both hands to spread the suds around her breasts until he was ultimately cupping them, working the nipples between his thumb and forefinger.

"Are you sure you don't have time?" he pressed, his breath against her neck adding to the humidity in the shower.

"No…no time…no time at all…" she mumbled. She arched her back a little, pushing her breasts further into his grasp. Her head leaned back against him, and she reached her hands behind her to feel the slick skin of his muscular body.

His hands continued their descent, a soapy trail marking all of his stops along the way.

"So, you probably don't want me to do this, then," he said, sliding his hands in between her legs. He continued lathering her body seductively, feeling her body tense with arousal.

"Mmmm…not…at…all…" she groaned, slowly working her body against his hand while feeling his erection behind her.

"And, if I turned you around and made you do a bendy thing, you probably would say no to that, too?" he asked, dropping the soap to the ground so that he could work exclusively with his fingers to explore her. He began nibbling on her left ear, tugging it slightly with his teeth, before sliding his lips further along her neck.

"Probably," she murmured, feeling waves of pleasure swell inside her like flood waters beating against a weakening dam. She broke away from his grasp and turned to face him. Her body was flushed from the heat of the water and her growing excitement, and she eyed him hungrily.

Their eyes locked and within moments Meredith found herself pinned against the shower wall, balancing precariously on one leg while Derek buried himself inside her. They frantically synchronized their movements, trying to control the wild lust they felt for one another, but both had worked themselves up into such a frenzy that self-control seemed to spiral down the drain along with the soapy water spraying from the shower head.

Meredith gripped Derek fiercely, her nails digging into his shoulders as he pistoned in and out of her. Her breathing was shallow as she felt his pelvic bone grind against her with each thrust, and maintaining her balance became a tremendous challenge as an intense orgasm raged through her body.

Derek continued bucking against her, now fully supporting her body as he slid his hands under her. He punctuated each thrust with a throaty grunt before emitting one long groan that indicated his climax.

Meredith whimpered slightly as Derek released her to her own two feet. Her legs felt wobbly and unsure as she tried to hold herself up to finish the shower, but Derek hovered close enough that she felt relatively certain he'd stop her from collapsing.

"Was that fast enough for you?" Derek asked, winking at her as he reached for his shampoo.

"Was that another one of your previously undisclosed skills?" Meredith shot back, a wide smile spreading across her face.

"Perhaps," he agreed. His hair transformed from a wet black to foamy white as he worked the shampoo through his tendrils. The clean minty scent of it spread through the bathroom, making Meredith feel more like she was at a spa than getting ready for work.

"Hey, I forgot my shampoo in my bag. Can I use that?" she asked, holding out her hand to point to the shampoo bottle.

"Oh, here," he said, passing her a different colored bottle instead.

Meredith studied the bottle, realizing that it was her lavender shampoo.

"Gosh, I didn't realize that I left this here," she said, slightly confused. The bottle seemed full, and she hadn't stayed at the trailer consistently enough to leave a new bottle of it there.

"You didn't. I bought it," he replied casually. The shampoo rinsed out of his hair easily, allowing it to return to a straighter version of his black mane.

"Yesterday?"

"A while ago. I like the smell," Derek replied. I missed your smell…I missed having you here…

Meredith understood the subtext perfectly and just nodded. She decided that she wouldn't press him for further details – he had already confessed enough.

The two finished showering in comfortable silence, and quickly toweled off before getting dressed for work.

"I am so going to be late," Meredith huffed while pulling on a cottony long-sleeved white tee shirt. The clock read a little after nine, and she knew there was no chance she'd be able to make the ferry in time to get to Seattle Grace by ten.

"You're fine. You forget who you're with. I'm your boss. I'm your boss's boss," Derek smirked while working the buttons on his own shirt.

"Yeah, I know already. That makes this so much better," Meredith remarked sarcastically, kicking her feet into her tennis shoes without bothering to untie them first. She struggled with the heel of one a little, but had both on quickly.

Derek scurried around the trailer, gathering his things for the day before leading Meredith out to his car.

"Do you think this will be easier when I'm chief?" Derek asked, starting the drive towards the ferry.

Meredith looked at him quizzically, a little surprised by his question.

"What are you talking about, Derek?" From everything she had heard, the chief was staying on another year and the search for a replacement was ongoing. All she knew was that Derek didn't get the job, and she was scared to bring up the topic with him for fear that it was a sore subject.

"Mere," he paused, deciding how to continue and how much to divulge. "I was offered the position as chief," he finally continued, almost whispering conspiratorially.

"What? Seriously? When?" she returned, wide-eyed with shock.

"The day of the wedding. But I turned it down," he said, nodding as if trying to convince himself that it was the right decision.

"I don't understand. You wanted that so much," Meredith continued, still puzzled. She looked at him as if he was some imposter that had taken the place of the man she loved.

"I wasn't ready. I needed more time to figure things out with…us," he stammered. He looked over at her, trying to read her reaction.

She continued to stare at him in disbelief.

"You gave up being chief of surgery – your dream job – for us?" She shook her head as she continued to try to make sense of it. Her eyes began to rim a little with tears.

"I haven't given it up forever, Mere. Just for a while. It's still my goal, but the timing wasn't right. I thought we needed some time to work through some things, and I knew I couldn't do that if I was taking on so many new responsibilities," he continued. He removed one hand from the steering wheel and reached over to grab Meredith's hand. It was a little cold but still soft. He squeezed it gently and began massaging it tenderly with his thumb.

"But…but…what if something happens and you don't ever get another shot at it? I just…I don't get it…" Meredith sputtered.

"If that happens, I'll deal with it. I'm not too worried, though. And not being chief isn't the worst thing that could happen," Derek countered.

"So you turned it down, and you're fine with that," she repeated, still not sure what to think. Was Derek Shepherd, god-complex-wielding-head-of-neurosurgery saying that he'd choose her over his career? His career?

"I'm definitely fine. Better than fine, in fact," he confirmed, squeezing her hand for good measure before returning it to the steering wheel.

"Well, okay then," Meredith said, sinking back into her seat to stare out the window. She still felt overwhelmed by his decision, but not smothered overwhelmed. More happy. "And no, it won't…" she mumbled.

"What?" Derek asked. Now it was his turn to be confused.

"It won't be easier," she continued, returning to his earlier question. "When you're chief, it won't be easier. You'll want to treat me differently, and I don't want that. No special privileges, Derek. I mean it."

"Every privilege you've ever had you've gotten because you earned it - you're a great surgeon. That's not going to change. I don't give you special privileges…at the hospital anyway." He smirked, making her blush a little.

"Sick and depraved, you know that? One tracked mind…" she laughed, hitting him playfully.

"And I guess I don't consider on-call rooms, technically, to be part of the hospital," he added, prompting another jab from her. "Or elevators or stairwells or empty corridors or my office or…"

"The worst, really. Sometimes, you're the worst," she giggled.

"See? I told you I wasn't ready to be chief just yet," he sighed dramatically. "Besides," he continued more seriously. "I need to spend some more time grooming the one person I think could actually fill my shoes as chief of neurosurgery someday. She may be a truly brilliant resident, but she's no Derek Shepherd."

"Not yet," she agreed. "But someday."

Her eyes twinkled a little as they met Derek's, and he smiled with pride as he recognized that the question of her specialization was officially settled. Their tenuous relationship status was remedied and no longer created an obstacle keeping her away from his O.R.