To paraphrase Sally Field...you liked it...you really liked it... LOL I have to admit, I had second thoughts about that last chapter after I posted it, and I worried you would think I had lost it, having them get married. So I was relieved to see the positive reviews on it! Now, we'll have to see where it goes from here...

Chapter 9 – We All Know the Fairy Tales

We all know the stories
We all know the fairy tales
We all get the glory of making it for ourselves

From the beginning
We're all looking for a happy ending
Every dream of winning
Every love we've been in
Right from the beginning
We're looking for a happy ending

Meredith snatched up Derek's shirt from the floor, and buttoned it with shaking fingers. "We were both obviously too drunk to think clearly. That's gotta be grounds for annulment, right?" Impatiently, she brushed her hair out of her eyes, trying to ignore the headache that throbbed dully along her temples.

Derek resisted laughing at the sight of her standing there, hands on her hips, her small body lost in his shirt, the buttons on it done up haphazardly. "Don't laugh…" she said, watching his lips twitching. "It's not funny!" Then a wave of dizziness washed through her, her stomach revolting, and with a strangled moan, she made a frantic dash towards the bathroom. The door slammed shut behind her, and Derek was left alone before he could answer her question.

He inspected the ring on his finger again, turning it over slowly, trying to recall the exact events of the night before. Fleeting images flashed through his thoughts – dancing at the club, standing in the chapel, kissing Meredith in the parking lot…that he remembered. Staggering into the suite, flinging clothes in every direction…collapsing onto the king size bed in a tangle of hands and mouths, laughing uncontrollably…but what had happened inbetween?

Not being prone towards doing anything impulsively, Derek was confounded at this turn of events. Meredith was right about one thing – they knew nothing about each other, besides the fact they liked to win, and they were well matched in bed. Hardly enough to build a marriage on, was it? With a soft groan, he pulled himself out of bed, and finally discovered his pants lying behind the bar, crumpled and smelling of alcohol. He was about to pull something else out of his suitcase, when there was a sharp knock at the door. Thank god…coffee…he thought, yanking the pants on carelessly, and going to open the door.

Only to be confronted by Cristina, looking as pained as he felt. "Ms. Yang?"

She brushed past him. "Where's Meredith?"

"Come in…." Derek muttered, closing the door. "She's in the bathroom, she's not feeling too good…"

"That makes two of us – or maybe three, judging from your pinched and annoyed expression," she observed dryly. "Marriage not agreeing with you?"

Derek rubbed his face tiredly. "I wasn't aware of being married until about ten minutes ago. I don't suppose you can enlighten me?"

"It was a lovely ceremony…and don't worry, they have it on tape. You should receive a DVD today from the chapel," Cristina smirked. "It's part of the deluxe wedding package."

"Great. I'm sure it will go a long way to aid in the annulment."

"Seriously?"

"Seriously, Ms. Yang. My bride has decided we were far too drunk for our own good, and she wants an annulment."

Cristina perched on the barstool, kicking her foot against the railing. "What did you do to her?"

"What? ME? Nothing…" Derek protested.

"But you want to be married? You DID ask her last night, after all."

"It obviously seemed like a good idea at the time. I just don't remember any of it. Damn champagne…" Derek paused, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Why are you here, anyway?"

"I just wanted to warn Meredith that the bastard of an ex-boyfriend that she dumped, has arrived in Vegas, looking for her. I bumped into him in the lobby."

There was another knock at the door, and Derek whipped it open, desperately hoping for the room service cart to be there. Instead, he came face to face with a stranger, who immediately barked a question at him. "Who the hell are you?"

"I should ask you that. You knocked on my door," Derek said, irritated.

"Karev…damnit, what are you doing here?" Cristina yelled, catching sight of who it was.

"I followed you…not too bright, are you, Yang?" Alex sneered. "I know how you think – you would run right to Meredith. Where is she?"

"Can it, Evil Spawn…she wants nothing to do with you." Cristina came to stand behind Derek, glaring at Alex. "Can't take no for an answer, can you?"

"Hold it right there," Derek said firmly, putting his hand against Alex's chest, as he tried to move forward. "I'm not sure who you are, but this is my suite, and I'll call security if you don't leave."

At this point, Meredith emerged from the bathroom, looking pale and shaken, still in Derek's shirt, her hair in a golden mess of curls around her face. She took one look at Cristina, then at the two men standing nose to nose at the door. "What the hell…Alex …get the fuck out of here…" she muttered, coming to stand beside Derek as well.

"Meredith, baby…." Alex started to say, trying to grab Meredith's arm.

"Don't call me BABY…" Meredith spit out, wrenching her wrist away from Alex's grasp.

"I think you need to leave," Derek pointed out again, his headache suddenly ramping up behind his eyes, his fingers curling into a fist. "I'm trying to be reasonable, but…."

"Who are you to tell me to leave?"

"Derek is my … husband…" Meredith murmured, blurting out the only thing she could think of to get Alex to back off.

"What?" Alex's accusing glare took in Derek's rumpled appearance, the pants hanging half open at his hips. Derek slung his arm around Meredith's shoulders, pulling her against him. "Your…husband…seriously?"

"Yes, seriously," Derek replied, "so you can leave, she's in good hands." And he slammed the door shut in Alex's face. Meredith sagged against him, and he tightened his grip on her shoulder. "Are you okay?"

"This day just gets better and better," she mumbled.

"Who was that?" Derek asked, guiding her over to the sofa.

"That was the asshole on the phone yesterday. Alex Karev…asshole extraordinaire…."

"I call him Evil Spawn…" Cristina added, grabbing a bottle of water and tossing it over to Meredith. "Here…"

"Thanks…" Meredith curled up, tucking her legs under her, and tugging the shirt over her knees. "I can't believe he showed up here. Thanks for getting rid of him, Derek."

"I can tell Mike in Security to keep him under surveillance, just in case he tries anything," Derek offered, reaching for the phone again.

Meredith shook her head, distracted as sunlight glinted off the ring on her finger, and she stared at it for a moment. Her gaze swung back towards Derek. "What were we thinking? I didn't even know you three days ago."

Derek took her hand, and laced his fingers in hers, keeping his intense blue eyes fixed on hers. "Why don't we give this a few days to calm down and think rationally? We can spend some time together…"

"Derek…" Meredith sighed softly. "I…"

There was another knock at the door, and this time Cristina jumped up. "I'm taking off anyway, so you can have your tender moment here. Call me later, Mer…"

Opening the door, and this time it really was the room service arrival, and the cart was wheeled into the suite, exuding a fragrant aroma of coffee. "Thank god…" Derek muttered, once the table was left, and they were alone again. He gulped a couple of aspirin, and chased it with the coffee. Then he handed Meredith a cup, and sat down beside her again. "What were you going to say?"

"Derek, this can't work. You don't want to give up your lifestyle, and the other women…and I never planned to get married at all. My mother was divorced and bitter as long as I can remember, and I have no desire to end up like she did. This was a mistake, a drunken foolish mistake, and it needs to be fixed before it goes any further. Thinking about it for a few days isn't going to change anything."

Derek took her hand again, rubbing his thumb along the gold band on her finger. "Now, there I disagree. I think…we need to get to know each other, more than wild sex and playing poker…" he grinned, "…and after that, if you still feel the same, we can dissolve this marriage, and go our separate ways. Meredith, obviously there's some connection between us, or we wouldn't be in this situation." He took the cup from her other hand and set it on the coffee table, pulling her in closer to him. "I know you're independent, and tough, and smart…and I find all of that very attractive. And I think I would like to find out even more about you…" His mouth hovered closed to hers again, and Meredith found herself getting lost in the sound of his seductive voice, and the look of desire in his eyes. Her hands found their way onto his shoulders, feeling the muscles flexing under his warm skin as he moved against her. "I like you, Meredith Shepherd…very much…" he murmured, pressing a soft kiss onto her lips, drawing a ragged sigh from her in response.

"You're distracting me again," she sighed.

"You're just too irresistible," he countered, his lips skating along her collarbone, and lower to where the button was fastened. "And I would really…really…like to make love to you again so that we can remember it this time…"

Meredith giggled infectiously. "You would, huh? But I thought we needed to find our compatibility without the wild sex…?" But she found herself melting against him, as his body settled over her, his hips shifting against hers insistently. "Derek…I like you too…but…" She tried to gather her scattered thoughts, as his mouth moved lower, seeking the soft curve of her breasts under the shirt.

"But…?"

"But…we need to take this slowly."

"I'm trying to," he murmured, tugging at the buttons. "No rushing this time…"

"No, I mean…no sex…"

"What?"

"No sex…" she repeated firmly, wiggling out from underneath him. "Just dating, with flowers, and dinner, and romance…" Standing up, she paced away from him, putting some distance between his tempting lips and her body.

"For how long?" Derek asked, arching his eyebrow at her, as he reined in his libido. He stood up as well, and moved closer to her, pinning her against the edge of the bar, where she stood, her hands behind her back.

"A…month?"

"A month…" Derek sighed, cupping her cheek. "All right…one month, no sex…just kissing…I'm all for the kissing…Mrs. Shepherd, I plan to kiss you as often and as long as I like – my concession to this deal…" And he leaned in to do just that, with a long slow kiss that went right to her toes, taking her breath away. Their tongues danced, slid and stroked, until Meredith was feeling the effect in her core. Involuntarily, she whimpered against his lips, and he released her with a groan. Giving her no time to object or argue, he turned away, heading towards the bathroom. "Now… if you'll excuse me, I need to have a cold shower…"

Song lyrics from "Happy Ending" by Sugarland