Derek laid there, motionless. He tried to hide the look of shock on his face. Had he just heard her right? Tomorrow. She did say tomorrow. He was positive she said tomorrow. He couldn't keep up with her. An hour ago she was angry. Then they had sex. And now she wants to get married. Tomorrow. Nothing would make him happier than marrying her tomorrow. But he had to wonder...was that what she really wanted?
"Tomorrow? Did you just say, tomorrow?" Derek asked as his eyes searched her.
"Yes." She said with a giggle as she nestled against him.
"As in the day after today?" He asked again. She nodded. "Like when we go to sleep, and then wake up. That day?" He said, still in shock.
"That would be the day..." She said with a smile. "What? Now you don't want to marry me..." She said sadly. The look of disappointment evident.
"Mer...yes! I mean no. Yes, Meredith Ellis Grey, I want to marry you!" He said as he looked into her eyes. "I was just a little surprised, that's all."
"Why?" She asked as she cocked her head, a trait she had picked up from him.
"Well, a few hours ago, you were mad a me." He stated as he cocked his head too.
"No, a few hours ago, I was upset. A few days ago, now that was when I was mad. More disappointed. But I'm not anymore. I can't stay mad at you. I was stupid, you were stupid. Let's not be stupid anymore." She answered with a sigh.
"When you say get married tomorrow--" He started, she quickly cut him off.
"Yes- I mean the day after today!" She said loudly, anticipating what he was going to say.
"No, that's not what I mean. There is nothing planned." He said, not getting her rationale.
"I mean you and I, tomorrow. City hall, the courthouse, wherever the hell we are supposed to go." She rambled quickly.
"That's romantic..." He said with a chuckle. She laid her head back on the pillow and stared at the ceiling.
"You've been married. I've been married." She told him with a shrug.
"You deserve better than a Vegas wedding chapel." He said as he ran his hand on her cheek.
"Derek...I had the fluffy white dress, the cake, a thousand guests." His eyes got wide. "Yes, literally a thousand guests." She said quickly with a head shake. "I just want you and me. No family. No parents. Derek and Meredith. Alone. Together." She said with a sigh.
"I do too. Nothing sounds better. But we are doing this right." He demanded. "Not tomorrow. This weekend."
"Not tomorrow." She whined as she looked over at him.
"Nope. This weekend. Tomorrow is Thursday. People don't get married on Thursdays." He reasoned, looking into her green eyes.
"What's the difference? We'll be alone. What is a Thursday compared to a Saturday. Hey! City Hall isn't open on Saturdays!" She said, as she realized.
"We are not getting married at city hall..." He said with raised eyebrows.
"We're not?" She asked, as she started to give in.
"No. We most definitely are not." Derek told her. "You are taking Saturday, Sunday and Monday off." He demanded.
"Derek-" She started.
"No, Mer. Your step-dad is Chief of Surgery. I am your attending. You have been working way too much. More than anyone else. You have been on-call every other day. You are taking days off, and I am going to make sure of it." He told her as he kissed her head. He began sniffing. Meredith gave him a puzzled look. "Eww." He spat.
"What?" She asked with an offensive tone.
"You smell. Your hair. It stinks!" He said as she smelled it again.
"It does not!" She whined. "I washed it at the hospital."
"It smells so... Not flowery." He explained as he sniffed again.
"So it doesn't stink?" She asked, feeling a little better.
"No, it just doesn't smell like you." He said as he pulled her close.
"I can't wait to be Mrs. Derek Shepherd." She said with a sigh.
"Dr. Shepherd." He clarified.
"Ah, yes. Dr. Meredith Shepherd. It's perfect." She said as she relaxed into his side. She wouldn't want to be anywhere else.
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Meredith didn't even hear the tapping of the keyboard. She was out. Zonked. Comatose. In dreamland. She and Derek had stayed up late into the night, and then night turned into morning. She hadn't been sleeping well in the on-call rooms. She needed Derek, and she hadn't had him. He wanted to be in there with her, even if she was sleeping. Just to be near her made him happy. Derek listened to her loud snoring. He wasn't sure how he had ever gotten used to it. On occasional nights, it did still wake him up.
"Mr. Derek..." Anna whispered as she opened the door. Derek silently thanked God that Meredith hadn't woken up, and they weren't doing their favorite activities. He had completely forgotten to lock the door. He glanced over at Meredith. He knew she didn't have any clothes on. He quickly pulled the covers up farther.
"Good morning, Sleepyhead." He said as he looked over at her.
"Whatcha doing?" She asked as she looked at him.
"Research." He said as he tapped away.
"Oh." She said simply. He grabbed his piece of toast, and took a bite. He offered it to her and she took a bite. She climbed onto the bed, and sat next to him. She had the day off of school, and Jane had the day off.
"How come Merediff is still sleeping?" She asked as she looked over at her.
"She worked late. She's tired." Derek told her.
"She works too hard. No one else's mom works that hard. I asked." She said frankly.
"What?" He said as he looked over at her.
"I asked Emily, an Kelly, an Melissa. Their mom's don't work that hard. Emily's mom doesn't work. I think Merediff is working too hard." Derek laughed at her knowledge. He thought about the mom comment. Everyone else's moms. Did she consider Meredith her mom? That would be great, but he wondered what she really thought.
"I think you're right. But she has to, Anna. Not forever, but she has to right now." He told her.
"Oh." She said as she looked over at her. "Did you get your horse yet?"
"What?" Derek asked with confusion.
"Your horse!" She said, getting mad that he didn't remember. Then it dawned on him.
"Um, no, not yet. We are still horseless." Derek said sadly. He looked over at Meredith with a frown. "No horse..."
"You will. Just wait." She returned.
"I hope so." He muttered.
"Can I help?" She asked as she looked up at him. He spit out his coffee.
"With the horse?" He asked.
"No. The research, silly!" She said as she looked at the screen.
"Hmm. Maybe you can." He said as he continued working.
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Meredith looked around her room. No sign of Derek. No sign of Anna. No sign of life. And she was almost considered dead by the way she looked. She washed her face, looking onto the mirror. She had bags under her eyes. She had never had bags under her eyes. She slowly brushed her teeth, but she didn't get dressed. She just wanted to hang out in her pajamas. Right now she just didn't care what anyone thought about her appearance. Meredith came slowly down the stairs. She felt just as bad as she had when she got home the night before. She was just plain tired. She looked around the clean house. She knew Izzie and George were at work. She thought she heard giggling in the backyard. She poured herself a cup of coffee and walked out the backdoor. She smiled when she saw Derek and Anna kicking the soccer ball around the yard. Derek looked up at her and smiled.
"Good morning!" Anna said as she ran over and gave Meredith a hug. "I missed you."
"I missed you too!" Meredith said with a faint smile. Derek jogged over and sat in the chair next to Meredith.
"You keep playing. Meredith and I are going to watch." He told Anna breathlessly as he kicked the ball to her.
"Okay!" She said as she chased the ball and continued running around. She kicked at the fence and it came back at her. She had a huge smile on her face. She was a happy kid. She was always content.
"You are out of shape." Meredith joked as she watched him heave. She loved to just look at him, watch him. He made her feel better without saying a word.
"Hey, you should see that kid run!" He laughed as they both watched Anna play. "You look tired." He said with a frown.
"I am tired. I feel like no matter how much rest I get, I am still exhausted..." She said, shaking her head. "I slept eight hours. That should be more than enough... But still tired... I don't know what is wrong."
"Oh my God! Should you... should we?" He stammered, as a smile grew on his face.
"Spit it out." She laughed as she sat back in her chair. He looked so happy, like he was going to burst.
"Test. Should you take a test? A pregnancy test?" He asked with hope in his eyes. "That would explain the tiredness. And the crankiness."
"I am not cranky!" She said loudly. She looked across the yard at Anna. She smiled, but it quickly turned to a frown. She became serious. "I'm not, Derek. Don't get your hopes up. I learned to stop doing that awhile ago."
"Mer-" He started as he looked over at her. He knew she felt defeated. She couldn't make eye contact with him.
"No, Der. I can't handle this right now." She said as he nostrils started to flare. She was trying to hold it in. She was trying to be strong. He watched a tear run down her cheek.
"Mer-" He said softly as he rubbed small circles on her hand with his thumb.
"I hurts to be disappointed." She finally said as she looked up at him.
"I know..." He agreed as his eyes dropped to the ground.
"As much as it hurts you, it hurts me more. Do you know why?" She asked, he nodded his head no. "Because it hurts you. To see the look on your face...The disappointment. That is the worst part for me. I hate to see you in pain. I can handle my own, but not yours. It crushes me. You want children, and I can't even give them to you." She said as tears ran down both cheeks. Derek leaned over and hugged her. Anna looked up and ran over. She sensed something was wrong. She gave Meredith a worried look, and quickly wrapped her arms around both of them. They all held each other.
"Merediff, are you okay?" Anna finally asked when they all pulled away.
"I am now." She said with a faint smile. Looking into Anna's big brown eyes made her feel better.
"Good. Sometimes you just need a hug!" Anna laughed, having no idea what was going on. Just her innocence, made both of them feel better.
"You are awfully smart for you age, young lady!" Derek said as he tickled her. She climbed up onto his lap.
"Did you show her yet, Mr. Derek?" She asked as she looked back and forth between the two of them.
"No, I didn't. Why don't you get the folder off of the countertop and bring it to me?" He suggested. She ran away. "Are you okay?" He asked, hoping that Anna had helped her, like she had him.
"Yeah. No, not really. But I'll make it. I have both of you." She said as she sat there, looking off into space. "I'm supposed to start in three days. We'll take a test. But I need you. I don't need you at the hospital or anywhere else. I will need you there. Because if it's negative... I need you." She whispered. Derek's heart swelled, she needed him, and she was admitting it.
"And I will be there." He returned as he kissed her head. Anna bounded out the back door with the folder. Derek handed it to Meredith.
"What's this?" She asked as she grabbed it.
"That, my Dear, is where we are going this weekend." He said with a toothy grin. She opened the folder and looked at the papers. "We are going to the Caribbean."
"Oh my God. We can't--" She started.
"We can, and we are. You deserve a real wedding. Even if you had the big wedding...Mer- this is our wedding. Me, and you, and Jane will be there to watch Anna." He said looking into her eyes. "Anna needs to be there with us. She is our family..."
"Derek, it's--" She said as she looked into his eyes. "It's perfect."
"Good!" He said with relief.
"But I changed my mind." She said quickly. He looked at her with worry. "I think Drew should be there. And Cristina. Or Mark, but I have never met Mark and I don't know if he should because I don't know how he would act because I don't know him. But Cristina, she is my person and I need my person. Not my mom or anyone else, but I need her. Because she's my person. And you, I mean I don't want to ruin it for you. Drew is your family and if you want him there, or someone else- So, if you want something, it's up to you because---" She rambled quickly. Anna and Derek looked at each other and laughed. "What?"
"Mer. Calm down! We can do whatever you want. If you want Yang, we'll have Yang. And Drew, he's perfect. Mark, it's not his thing. Not to mention I don't need him around you. We know what happened last time he was my best man! So, Drew is a good choice." Derek said as he looked into her eyes. They both laughed.
"So we are getting married... This weekend..." She sighed. "This is good."
"Do I get to wear a pretty dress?" Anna asked with a smile.
"Only the very prettiest." Derek assured her.
"Yay!" She said happily. "When do I get to pick out my dress?"
"Holy crap!" Meredith gasped. "It's Thursday. We are leaving tomorrow night. I have no dress, Anna has no dress. We have nothing. We need things." She said quickly.
"And you wanted to get married today..." He chuckled, shaking his head.
"Seriously, Derek." She said as she stood up.
"Silly! Why can't we go now?" Anna asked.
"That would be-- I guess we could. This is weird. Doing like this, unplanned." She said as she paced. "Maybe it's a bad idea."
"Merediff, calm down!" Anna demanded. Meredith looked at her. Sometimes she just seemed so grown up. She knew more than anyone gave her credit for.
"We'll go get the white dress. Or green, or yellow...whatever you want." He said with a smile. "But I'd like you better naked." He whispered into her ear.
"Derek...you are---You can't go, it's bad luck!" Meredith explained.
"Aunt Addison could take us!" Anna suggested. "She likes dresses."
"Aunt Addison is probably busy." Meredith sighed, she didn't want to go by herself.
"Addison is never too busy to shop!" Derek said as he flipped his phone open, calling her.
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"This is weird, right?" Meredith asked as she glanced over at Addison. "Me, marrying your ex-husband. And you are going dress shopping with me. That's weird, right?" Meredith said with a chuckle.
"Strangely enough, no it's not. It wonderful. In fact, I am happy he is off my hands now. He needed to find someone to make him happy. You definitely do that!" Addison pointed out as she drove down the road. "Plus, you keep him in his place!"
"You and Mr. Derek were married, Aunt Addison?" Anna asked with a funny face.
"Yes, a long time ago." Addison said as she looked at her in the rearview window.
"That's weird." Anna laughed.
"I agree." Addison said with a chuckle.
"Mr. Derek should be with Merediff...they're iin love.../i" She said with a giggle.
"Yes, they are." Addison agreed, and looked over at Meredith with and approving nod.
"I need to call Drew." Meredith said out loud as she dialed the phone.
"Oh, so Drew comes but I don't?" Addison said feigning disappointment.
"We both need our people." Meredith explained.
"I was kidding! I know how you feel. The two of you...it's romantic." Addison clarified. "But, between you and I, I think Drew is more your person than Derek's."
"No, he's not. It was him or Mark. And well, I don't know Mark." Meredith explained as she went to press send.
"Drew is the better choice. Plus, you keep him in line." Addison chuckle. "You keep all the men in line. Maybe I should send Stan to you for awhile." They both laughed.
"Hey." Meredith said to Drew when he answered the phone.
"Hey, Mer. I haven't heard from you in awhile." He said, pretending he was saddened.
"Hey, it goes both ways!" She shouted with a laugh.
"You're no fun anymore. Derek tells me you're all mommy-fied." Drew said with a chuckle. "So how is that going?"
"It's good." Meredith said as she looked back at Anna. "Great, even. So what are you doing tomorrow?"
"Oh, the usually. Fixing faces, making New York beautiful." He said. "Why?"
"Mark is taking your cases." She told him. "Because you are going to get your ass--" Meredith started.
"Merediff...bad word!" Anna warned. Drew heard her and laughed.
"Your arse to Seattle, because you are going to the Caribbean this weekend..." Meredith explained.
"With you? That could be fun..." Drew said jokingly.
"Yes, with me. And Derek." She heard him moan. "And Anna, and her nanny Jane. Plus Cristina..."
"Yay! A family vacation." He whined. But he had a huge smile on his face. He was happy that she thought of him. They had a connection, and it meant a lot to him. He'd never admit it, though.
"No. A wedding. My wedding. You are Derek's best man. And Cristina, she's my person. And you are coming...understand?" He demanded. Addison looked over at her and shook her head.
"Anything for you, Mer." He said happily.
"Good. Get an early flight. We are leaving here at eight p.m.. And don't tell anyone." Meredith told him forcefully.
"Okay, okay." He responded. She could see him rolling his eyes. She knew him well. But she also knew there was no where he'd rather be.
"And Drew?" She said before she hung up.
"Yeah?" He asked.
"Thanks." She muttered as she looked out the car window. They were getting close.
"See you tomorrow. Oh, and congratulations!" He told her.
"Bye." She said before she flipped her phone shut.
"Let's go get you a wedding dress." Addison said as she parked the car.
"Cause you're getting married!" Anna sang out happily as she jumped out of the car.
"Yes...yes I am." Meredith said with a smile as she grabbed Anna's hand.
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