Feeling inspired so here's one more! Not sure where to take it from here, so review away!
"This better be the best brisket I've ever had." Miranda had been suspicious when Ben told her he wanted to try somewhere new for dinner. Last time he'd suggested somewhere new, they'd both spent the night alternating between the toilet and a waste basket.
"Trust me! I went to this place with Jackson back in the day. It's a bit out of the way but unbelievable brisket." Ben opened the door for his wife.
"Well, at least I won't be running into anyone from work here." Miranda had this uncanny habit of always being within a 3 km vicinity of one of her co-workers. She'd lost count of the number of dinners, movie dates, playdates that had been interrupted by one of her fellow colleagues.
"Let's grab a table." Ben led the way, picking a table close to the window, knowing Miranda liked to people watch over dinner. It had been a quiet day at the hospital, with the press conference taking precedent over the OR today. Miranda had for once left at the same time as him and he wasn't going to waste that golden opportunity.
"Ok, let us see what we've got here." Miranda picked up the menu. But before she could decide if Ben's opinion on the brisket was accurate, she heard a familiar sound, echoing across the small restaurant. Miranda lowered her menu, scanning the room slowly. There was only a few other customers here, although it was hard to tell with the ambiance lighting shadowing the corners. But when she heard it again, she knew – it was Meredith Greys laugh. Her airy giggle which she remembered from when she'd met Grey as an intern. She didn't laugh as much now, not since Derek and not since being assigned chief of general surgery. Miranda had noticed how her face had grown stern, a mask of silent authority now more common than her laugh.
"What the – " Miranda stood up from her chair, ignoring Ben's quizzical look. She peaked around the pillar behind their table, feeling rather silly but letting her curiosity lead the way.
"What are you doing here?" Miranda whispered to herself, catching a glimpse of the laugh's owner. She was right – there was Meredith Grey. In this restaurant, at least an hour away from Seattle. She really had the worst luck.
"What are you doing? People are staring." Ben broke her trance, coming up behind her and attempted to lead her back to her seat by the elbow.
"Meredith Grey is here. I bet she's got some major life dilemma she needs to ask me. Or maybe she wants to talk about some surgery I said she couldn't do but she's gonna ask to do it anyways. Or…who knows! But she's here!" Miranda decided she was definitely the unluckiest person in Seattle. She bet that even if her and Ben had gotten on a plane and travelled to Antartica, they'd run into someone from work, wanting a piece of Miranda Bailey.
"Is that Riggs?" Ben joined his wife, spying behind the pillar. He blinked several times, clearing his vision. It was definitely Riggs – he could identify that hair flip anywhere; the man had a great head of hair and he knew how to use it. Meredith seemed to be appreciating it too – they're hands were touching across the table. They were leaning so close to each other that Ben was mildly concerned about the lite candle hovering between them.
"And Riggs too? Oh dear lord. Now I've got two of them. I bet he wants to…to…be head of cardio or buy a new OR suite just for himself or…or demand we buy scrubs in a colour that better compliments his eyes or…or…something!" Miranda wasn't even aware that Ben had long stopped listening.
"I really don't think they're gonna bother us, Miranda." Ben smiled, watching the couple in front of them with a smile.
"Ok so I admit, the brisket wasn't half bad." Meredith relented, settling into Nathan's couch. They had finally gone for that dinner date she'd promised him ages ago. She'd picked a place across town, overhearing Ben mention it, since she was still mindful of Maggie and her current delicate state of mind. Her sister had been quiet when she'd asked her if she could watch the kids tonight so she could go meet up with a friend. Amelia had immediately assumed she was seeing Thorpe again, although she'd only gone out for a drink with the military doctor once many months ago before deciding it was too soon. She let them believe it – now wasn't the time. Meredith wanted to enjoy this, whatever it was, for just a while longer because she knew it was going to get very complicated.
"I think the company distracted me from the food." Nathan grinned. He'd always hoped for this – Meredith on his couch, comfortably flipping through his TV channels like she owned the place already. But he had never let himself dare dream that it could come true. She'd been so cautious and guarded and there was so many obstacles in the way. He had learned the hard way that the slow burn of hope often led to a fiery disappointment. But he was letting himself have faith again, letting himself believe this could happen, that it maybe was already happening.
"Kids are asleep already. I gotta say, they drive me crazy but having live in babysitters is pretty nice sometimes." Meredith scrolled through her phone, grateful that Amelia was a wonder with her brood.
"Want a drink? You won't need to rush home anytime soon." Nathan stood up, pouring them both a glass of wine.
"You know, this is the first time in awhile I'm…having fun. My life lately has been all about diapers and sippy cups. And when it's not – its about court cases and dead moms and divorce." Meredith took a big gulp of her wine, savouring the tartness.
"Oh God I'm sorry. I'm sure you don't want to hear that. Nothing quite as sexy as an exhausted, dishelved mom with a felon best friend and a house that may need new carpeting from all the tear stains everywhere." She hadn't been on a date in a long time, so long that she had forgotten how to even properly act. She polished off the rest of her wine, already feeling the tingle in her lips as she poured a second glass.
"No I like hearing about your life. You're a mom and sister and a friend – I want to know about all those things because I want to know about you." Nathan replied, the chatter of the abandoned TV long forgotten. He didn't care about sexy – although Meredith was the best kind of sexy, the kind that is completely unaware of their own desirability – he cared about the real her, the one with the eclectic family and chaotic house filled with people who loved her.
"Ok. I guess I can't really hide all my skeletons with you, considering you work with them all. What about you – who's your family?" Meredith was on her third glass of wine, feeling bold and buzzed, both on alcohol and the man in front of her.
"Well, I've got a brother. He's in New Zealand – works as an adventure guide up there in the mountains. Parents are still there too – we lived in Portland for a big part of my life, when my dad was still working in finance. He had a heart attack a few years back and decided to call it quits – bought a sheep farm back home and now my parents sell ponchos and hats made from the wool from their sheep. I haven't been back in awhile – can't say they were too impressed with me after all the missions in the Middle East. Dad accused me of using it to run away from my problems and mom just got tired of turning on the news and wondering if I would be the up there, another causality of war." Nathan didn't talk much to his co-workers. He kept things light, not wanting to burden them with his problems.
"Where you running away? I mean – I get it if you were. I ran away – literally ran away – after Derek died. I was so overwhelmed. Alex called me every single day, but I ignored him. I ignored everybody and everything and just…ran away. So I get it if you ran away." She finishes her wine, placing the glass on his barren coffee table. She can't help but notice the state of his apartment – it's clean and proper but entirely devoid of personal touch. She thinks their hotel room in Sioux Falls looked more lived in than this place.
"I guess I did run away. I think you get really used to being a half of a person. It was always Nathan and Megan. I couldn't take being just Nathan. I couldn't take them asking where she was or what happened. I figured I had two choices – piss everyone off with my anger or disappear. I knew the moment I set foot on American soil and some well meaning friend asked where she was, I'd lose it on them. I'd take it out on them, because I knew it was my fault and there was no way to shed that anger, although it felt really good to try. So instead of ruining all of my relationships back home, I just let them…fade away. It was easier, but also cowardly." Nathan didn't remember much about his time in the Middle East. He had an extensive memory of the cool surgeries, gory traumas and medical miracles he'd witnessed – but his recollection of his self was hazy. She was right – he had run away both from home and from himself.
"But we both came back. We ran away and then we came back." Meredith said, her eyes boring into him.
"Yeah – we did. And now we're here." Nathan replied, feeling his shoulders relax, releasing tension he didn't even notice he was holding. He'd told her it was her laugh that had first drawn him to her, but he was starting to see it was more than that – they were two lost ships, still in uncharted territory but at least lost together now.
"This is nice – being here with you." Meredith spanned the space between them on the couch, turning her attention to the TV. He nodded, sliding in beside her stealthily. She was opening up, slowly but surely, Nathan was noticing. It didn't take much – Meredith had build some substantial walls around her heart, but he was learning that those walls weren't impenetrable.
"I love garbage TV." She mumbled against his arm, turning up the volume on the reality TV show she had selected. He nodded, trying to focus on the screen. Meredith had angled herself against him, pressing her ass into his crotch in the most perfect way. He didn't want to ruin the moment, make her think all he ever wanted from her was sex. But she was squirming against him, re-adjusting the blanket she'd pulled around them. Her shirt had slid partially off her shoulder, revealing a lacey bra strap he was trying really hard to ignore.
"How on earth do these people not know they're pregnant!" She was completely entranced by the show, gesturing wildly at the TV while further grinding into his crotch. He was getting hard, he couldn't help it. Nathan really regretted his choice of pants for the night, the zipper of his jeans digging in to his growing bulge. He tried to focus on the woman on the screen, drawling in a thick Southern accent about how she looked down and saw a baby dangling between her legs. But even that wasn't enough to kill his growing erection – it made him think of Meredith being pregnant, her body plump with new human life. Normally that wasn't something that caused this reaction in him, but right now it was causing a further blood rush down south.
"Ow you're belt buckle is stabbing me in the – " Meredith reached her hand back, searching for the obtrusive object pressing into her back.
"Oh…hmm I guess you really like this show, huh?" A smile spread across her face, her hand working his bulge.
"No – it's your ass – I mean – I – " Nathan couldn't form words as she slid into his jeans. Her face looked positively evil as her hands made quick work of his belt buckle and zipper. He breathed a sigh of relief as she freed him from his confines.
"I'm surprised every time at how big it is." She whispered as she nipped at his ear lobe. It was true – her hand felt small around his growing erection. She reached pulled his pants down further, using her other hand to cup his balls.
"Oh God." Nathan felt like a teenager again, making out with a girl on his couch. Except he seriously hoped his mom wasn't going to burst in anytime soon. She was good at this – firm grip, constant, steady pace and taking advantage of his ample precum to smoothen her strokes. But he was being selfish, he realized.
"Mmm my turn." He pulled her hands away, rolling on top of her. Her shirt had become twisted and the lace bra was fully exposed. He pulled the cup down, sucking hard on her nipple and earning a pointed moan. Sliding down further, he showered kisses across her stomach, taking particular care around her many scars. He made quick work of her pants, noticing that her lace panties most definitely matched her bra – that made his cock twitch. He imagined her picking out her outfit this morning, imagined she'd picked this set particularly for him.
"Ugh finally." Meredith sighed as he pulled her pants down. She was buzzed on pleasure and wine – the best combination in her opinion. He was taking his time and subsequently driving her crazy. These panties were going to have to go into the pile of others ruined by Nathan Riggs, although she wasn't particularly upset about that fact. She ran her fingers through his hair, hoping to speed him up; he was sucking on her clit through the thin lace of her panties, holding her hips down with one strong forearm to prevent her from grinding herself into his face.
"Patience, patience." Nathan stopped his ministrations to remove her soaked panties. He could smell her arousal, see her glistening in front of him. He grabbed her knee, opening her legs further to give him access. He loved doing this to her – tasting her, feeling her hands in his hair and her legs quivering around his head. He sucked her clit into his mouth, earning a scream of surprise. Nathan couldn't help but feel a sense of pride, knowing he could make her feel like this. He slipped a finger inside of her, shortly followed by another. Her hips jumped against him, a clear sign she was close.
"Oh don't stop, don't…stop…ahh" She was so close, her legs shaking and fingers digging into his shoulders. Even before they'd started whatever this was, she'd been a fan of his skills in this department. There was a myth out there that going down on a woman immediately resulted in her pleasure. Meredith had been on the receiving end of enough slobbery muff dives to know this was far from fact. But Nathan – he was very very good at this. She hoped he didn't mind that she was probably going to rip half his hair out at this rate.
TAP TAP TAP.
The sound of the door snapped them both out of their reverie. Meredith, feeling her orgasm fade, looked down at him quizzically. Nathan shrugged, his brain still too clouded with lust to put anything together.
"Nathan? Are you in there? It's…it's Maggie."
