Just letting you know that this is the second last chapter 

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CHAPTER SIX

"I'm so sorry," Derek said as he and Meredith lay flat on their backs, staring at the roof of the tent. "I swear this is the first time it's ever happened to me."

"Don't worry," Meredith said, not taking her eyes off the tent roof. "It happens to guys all the time. It doesn't mean they're not in the mood. It's purely physiological. No big deal."

"I just… can't get the thought of them… you know… out of my head," Derek said, sounding traumatized. "They were so…"

"Aggressive?" Meredith volunteered.

"Yes," Derek said. "And they're so…"

"Overweight? I know," Meredith said. "I saw it too."

"Every time I close my eyes I just keep seeing them…"

"I know. Me too," Meredith said. "Can we just cuddle tonight?"

"I think that's a good idea," Derek said, wrapping a muscular arm around Meredith and pulling her close to him.

"At least Rita wasn't being ravaged by a bear," Meredith volunteered.

"I don't know which image would have been worse," Derek admitted.

They continued to stare at the roof of the tent, traumatized and wondering if they'd ever get the image of Hank and Rita's naked bodies out of their heads.

&&&

At four AM, Meredith and Derek still hadn't slept a wink. They were still wide awake, not daring to close their eyes for too long in case they started dreaming of what they had seen earlier. Meredith unzipped the tent a little bit.

"I think I can see the sun rising," she lied. Derek leaned over and looked out of the tent.

"Oh yeah, me too," he also lied. "We should get a head start. It's a long drive back."

"I agree," Meredith said. "We have to work tomorrow." Meredith and Derek hurriedly dressed in silence and disassembled the tent at record speed. They shoved the pieces in the box, not caring about how disorganized it was, and threw it in the car, along with the rest of their belongings. Meredith pulled her camera out of her backpack.

"One last photograph," she said to Derek. She stretched her arm out and took a picture of them posing in the wilderness with pretend smiles. They then got into the car and Derek began the drive back to Seattle.

They drove in silence for an hour.

"Okay. I have some rules for the next vacation," Meredith finally said, breaking the silence.

"What are they?" Derek asked, yawning.

"No camping," Meredith started.

"Agreed," Derek volunteered.

"No skinny dipping, no ants, no squirrels, no animals of any kind. No sleeping on the ground, No hiking, no forgetting torches, no fishing, no neighbors, no rain, no winter, no vacations that require assembling anything or anything with instructions –" Derek started laughing. "What?" Meredith asked, slightly annoyed.

"I'm sorry," he said.

"For what?" Meredith asked. "If you tell me I'm cute when I'm angry again I'll punch you." Derek shook his head.

"This was the most disastrous vacation I've ever been on," he said.

"I know," Meredith agreed, not understanding why he was laughing.

"But I don't think I've ever had so much fun in my life." Meredith smiled a little but tried to suppress it. "Think about it," Derek said. "When was the last time you laughed that hard? I don't think I've ever seen you laugh like that. Think about the stories we can tell the grandkids." After he said this, Derek immediately regretted it. Meredith had just managed to relax and he feared that he'd blown it. He nervously looked over at her but to his surprise he found her smiling to herself, watching the sun begin to rise out of the front window.

"It certainly was a unique weekend," she said to herself. "But I think I need another vacation to get over this one."

"I know just the thing," Derek said with a twinkle in his eye. Meredith looked at him with dread.

"No more," she begged. "I just wanna go home and sleep in a bed."

"So do I," Derek said.

"Seriously, I'll never call the hospital exhausting again." Derek pulled up on the side of the road.

"What are you doing?" Meredith asked. She looked out of the windows but there was no landmark in sight.

"I just have to make a call," Derek said, opening his door and stepping out. "Try and get some sleep."

After Derek had finished on the phone, he got back into the car to find that Meredith had indeed fallen asleep. He lovingly ran his hand down the side of her cheek and she murmured contently. Derek started the car again and drove to their destination.

&&&

"Meredith," Derek whispered, gently nudging her to try and wake her up. "Meredith, come in wake up. We're here." Meredith slowly stirred awake. She yawned and stretched out her arms.

"Where are we?" she asked, as he eyes adjusted to the sunlight. She sat up in her seat and read the writing on the enormous building in front of her. 'HILTON SEATTLE' it read.

"Thank you," Meredith whispered wearily as Derek opened her door and helped her out of the car. Exhausted, the weary campers walked into the extravagant foyer of the hotel.

"Thanks, Isaac," Derek said with a smile, tipping a man in a suit as he lead them straight to the elevator.

"No problem at all, Doctor Shepherd," Isaac said with a smile. "Enjoy your stay." He handed Derek a key. Derek and Meredith rode the elevator to the fifth floor and found their hotel room. Meredith looked visibly impressed as they entered the spacious, luxurious room. Her eyes wondered to the plush looking bed.

"One more thing," Derek said, gently leading Meredith into the bathroom.

"Yesss," Meredith said quietly as she noticed the bubble bath in front of them, steaming with hot water. "You know the way to a woman's heart," she said to Derek. Derek smiled and kissed her on the forehead.

"Ewww," he said suddenly, pulling at a piece of her hair.

"Ow!" Meredith exclaimed. "What?"

"You have ants in your hair," Derek said. "And it smells weird."

"Shut up," Meredith snapped, only half serious. "I told you the wilderness hates me."

Derek and Meredith undressed and climbed into the hot, jasmine scented bubble bath. They both moaned with pleasure as their worn out bodies hit the hot water.

When they were both scrubbed clean, they wrapped themselves in the hotel bathrobes and climbed into the soft bed.

"This is heaven," Meredith said as she pulled the soft sheets up around her and stretched out.

"Yeah it is," Derek said, snuggling closer to Meredith and pulling her into him, breathing her in.