Simply saying she was sorry didn't seem good enough to Meredith. After all, this was the guy she was sharing a bed with every night, who she confided her secrets to, and who had spent a good portion of his time off yesterday researching her mistake. Making a nice dinner seemed like a plausible idea but neither she nor Cristina could cook. Something was up with Cristina anyways, she'd been acting all happy, which was very unlike Cristina. Switching back to the task at hand, she found herself at a loss. What could she do for Derek that would show him that she was sorry and still manage to convey how much she cared about him?

It was lucky for her that in all the chaos going on that one discussion had been put off. The conversation they had about her telling him she loved him. He hadn't brought it up and neither had she. It wasn't like they'd had all the time in the world to talk about it anyways. The past week had been a catastrophe of events. First, there had been Bailey finding out, then the thing with her mother, followed by the thing with the heart, and now they were barely speaking to one another.

She'd called Cristina to see if she had any ideas, but her friend's phone had just rang. Meredith wondered if maybe Cristina had found herself a boy to play with, but quickly dismissed the notion knowing if she were, she would have told Meredith. So she'd gone upstairs to root through what they'd been using as a storage room to see if anything in there struck her. She came up empty. Meredith had all about given up and was about to just go to the store and buy something for him when inspiration struck her. She turned to look back at the room. All of the sudden, she knew what to do.

Derek seriously considered staying in one of the on call rooms as opposed to going home. At least here he wasn't worried about running into his girlfriend who had long since left for the day. He knew he'd have to deal with Meredith sooner or later, but he really didn't want to fight with her and he was certain that was what would happen. He'd purposely avoided her most of the day after her meeting because he was still angry with her. So he stood staring at the surgery board debating on what to do. Richard came to stand beside him.

" I figured you'd be gone by now , " His boss sounded surprised.

Derek sighed wearily and scrubbed his hands over his face.

" Well, you know me. I love this hospital, " Derek replied.

" Uh-huh. Trouble in Paradise? "

" How'd you know? "

" I get that same look when I'm trying to avoid Adele."

Derek chuckled humorlessly and Richard took a deep breath before continuing.

" She nearly lost her job and from the looks that you two have been getting from Dr. Bailey, I'd say she had a bad enough day already. "

Derek nodded thoughtfully before making up his mind and turning to Richard.

" I should probably head home. "

" That's what I thought."

There was a hushed curse and a scurrying of feet that could be heard as soon as he got in the door. Which was followed by a door slamming. He entertained the thought that maybe the women had been drinking again. It wouldn't be unusual for them to celebrate something by getting drunk. Not wanting to interrupt whatever it was they were doing, he went into the kitchen and grabbed a beer. He set it down on the bar and pulled his laptop out of his bag, thinking maybe he could find a good game of online poker or something until they passed out.

He'd been down there a good ten minutes when he heard feet creeping down the stairs and Meredith appeared in the doorway. She looked pleased to see him, but she didn't make any move to come any closer.

" I thought I heard you come in. "

" Didn't want to interrupt you two ladies from whatever it was you were doing. "

" Cristina's not here."

" Oh. It's just...I thought I heard two people."

" Nope, just me. "

He nodded distractedly and took a swallow from his beer bottle. Meredith shifted uncomfortably.

" I didn't see much of you today, " She said softly before stepping into the kitchen and making her way to stand beside him.

" I was busy."

" You were avoiding me."

" Well, that too." He admitted, pushing his laptop away and turning to face her.

" I'm not really good at the whole apology thing, so you have to bear with me here. I know I do stupid things and that you get frustrated with me sometimes and that I did a really stupid thing yesterday. And I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I went out and tried to drink my problems away. I'm good at that. I just need to learn that I don't have to do that anymore. " Meredith confessed to him.

" No, you don't."

" You're right. Because now I have you. "

He looked at her for a long moment, seeing the look of vulnerability that came along with that confession. He waited a moment before pulling her into his lap. She came willingly, arms twining around his neck.

" You have me, " He confirmed softly as he nuzzled her neck. Her fingers danced over the back of his neck teasingly, before finally curling into his hair. Their lips met in a gentle kiss, one full of forgiveness. However, when he made a move to deepen the kiss, she pulled away suddenly.

" I almost forgot."

" Forgot what, " He asked curiously as she got to her feet and tugged on his hand.

" I have a surprise for you."

" I hate surprises."

" You'll like this one, " She promised. as she lead him through the kitchen and up the stairs. He assumed they were going to their room, so he was confused when she stopped in front of the room at the end of the hall.

" What are we doing? "

" Shhh! You'll see."

She opened the door and pushed him inside. The room that had once been full of boxes and various other junk was now cleaned up and he could see what it's original purpose had been. There was a desk at one end of the room and the bookshelves built into the once empty wall were now loaded with books. He looked at her, not knowing where she was going with this.

" This is your new study, " She told him excitedly, watching his face for a reaction. He turned to her and gave her a grin, pulling on her hand and dragging her along with him as he checked out the space she had redone.

" You did all this in one afternoon? "

" I had good motivation. Do you like it? "

" I love it, Meri. Just for the fact you did it for me. "

" Well, I had totally selfish intentions. I was hoping maybe this would keep you home more."

They were standing in the middle of the room and he drew her against him, smiling down into her pleased face.

" You know, I think I might love you, Meredith Grey, " The words tumbled out before he could stop them and he waited for the reaction he dreaded.

" Well, that's good. Because I think I might love you too, Dr. Shepherd. "

" Hey! You broke the rule, " He complained, trying to hide his happiness to her response.

" Yeah, so? What are you going to do about it, " She challenged him as she pushed him away, teasingly. He easily caught her by the waist before she could get away and kissed her hard. She gave in easily and he lifted her up, her legs wrapping around his waist. So caught up in each other as they made their way down the hall into their room, they didn't notice as they passed Cristina who had just come up the stairs. She looked at them, amused.

" You guys are so gross, " She commented as she headed into her own room. Her response was the slamming of their bedroom door.