The title is the first line of Iron & Wine's Communion Cups And Someone's Coat, the only downside of this song is that is too short.

I don't have much to say about this, it's short, I know that, it's mostly a filler. Meredith is once again the storyteller throughout this late summer morning on the beach. I wish it was summer right about now...

Enjoy this chapter!

Part 28 – Talk of Yesterday

Don't go far off, not even for a day, because -

because - I don't know how to say it: a day is long

and I will be waiting for you, as in an empty station

when the trains are parked off somewhere else, asleep.

Pablo Neruda

It remained sunny for the rest of Friday morning and for a few hours both of us forgot that we were still in the State of Washington. The place Derek had chosen for our vacation was awesome in every aspect, even when it rained, like it did Saturday morning. We weren't lucky enough to get two sunny days in a row, but the rain was okay since we hadn't made any plans.

When I woke up, Derek was still asleep, with a peaceful, relaxed grin plastered on his face. His bare chest rose evenly in the dim morning light. The calming sound of rain filtered in through the cracked window.

I had stopped being a heavy sleeper after Alice was born, while Derek kept sleeping like a hog. He used to wake up early, but he'd been very tired lately and his body adapted. I think he'd even gotten used to my snoring.

I untangled myself from his embrace. His arm fell limply on my side of the mattress, and he barely stirred.

I padded to Alice's room. She was sleeping in her crib as well. I brushed some of her curls and she kept sleeping peacefully, just like her father. They looked more alike when they were asleep than when they were awake. Their faces often had the same sated, calm expression.

With a puff, Alice rolled onto her other side and kept resting while I headed downstairs. The quiet there was unreal. The soft murmur of the waves lulled me into a stupor, while I waited for the coffee to be ready, sitting at the kitchen table. I poured a mug of the steaming liquid with slow, deliberate gestures and sat on the reclining chair on the porch, enjoying the view.

I had always adored dull, boring days with a slow drizzle; days when everything suddenly got still and silent. The ticking of the rain on the old, wooden roof of the porch mixed with the rustling of the waves and the strong smell of seawater was covered by the usual, damp flavor of rain and the coffee's blissful scent. A slight fog rose from the ocean, almost like the steam from my mug of coffee, the smell enveloped my nostrils in a gentle, virtual hug with every breath that I took.

For a moment my mind drifted back to Seattle, where Cristina was surely trolling for surgeries and Alex was flirting with some new intern. Then it quickly turned to New York and the fact that the Shepherds were going to get together in Seattle for Christmas; the fact that I belonged to that kind of family still overwhelmed me more than I would admit. Then I thought about Makena and Zoey, Makena's beautiful baby girl. Carolyn had sent me a photo of her. She was just a few weeks younger than Alice and I wanted to meet them so badly and get to know that little girl.

"Your side of the bed was cold."

I heard Derek's voice behind me, and I turned around to see him leaning against the doorframe in his sexy way, his hair was sticking up all over the place, unkempt. His t-shirt was a bit wrinkled from sleeping in it. His eyes sparkled brightly in the gray light, even though he had just woken up. He was simply handsome right there, even more than he normally was.

"I made coffee," I smiled, holding my mug out to him.

"I noticed," he grinned while he showed me his hand. It was wrapped around another similar cup that I had somehow missed in my earlier scrutiny. "Did you have fun yesterday?" He smirked, recalling the memories of our morning at the farm with Alice.

She giggled, squealed, and clapped her hands each time an animal came near her. We found out that she loved rabbits and chicks, but she was afraid of cows and horses at first, probably because of their size. She was delighted when Derek took her in his arms and hopped on the horse, riding it for a couple of laps. She was fascinated from the moment we arrived until the time we had, had to walk home, and she doze off immediately that night, without even a goodnight kiss.

Apparently she was still asleep, because there were no sounds coming out of the baby monitor.

"What got you up so early?" Derek asked, plopping into the chair next to mine. His knee was just barely grazing mine while he sipped his coffee.

"Habit, I think."

"I don't think I've ever slept so well in my whole life," he teased, a big smile appearing on his face.

"Oh, that's because I wore you out yesterday night," I smirked, teasing back.

We'd started to tie up the loose ends of what we'd began building again in Seattle, finally feeling like us again, like the couple we know we could be, and because of everything, we had never had the chance to fully appreciate it for long.

The more I stared at him, the more I saw the man I'd vowed to spend the rest of my life with, the man I'd give my life for, my man. I sighed contentedly as he stood up and moved behind me, leaving his mug of coffee on the small table. His fingers began to massage my shoulders, loosening the knots caused by our busy lives as surgeons and lifting away all of the burdens there.

We remained quiet, because we didn't need words. Words were reserved for our own bubbly space after making love or the quiet moments before falling asleep, when everything was dark and it was easier to say scary things out loud. We shared our deepest secrets in the dark, snuggled in each other's arms, drawing comfort from each other's hugs.

"Alice loved the farm, uh?" I asked, breaking the quiet while his hands still massaged magically.

"Yeah, she really loved it. We should try to do this more often," he suggested. His hands started to work a bit lower, towards my shoulder blades.

"I think she's missed us a bit lately. We've been so busy with ourselves." I sighed and silently moaned when he hit a particularly delicate spot. I could sense a smirk on his lips

"She's such a smart girl," he said, with his own proud Daddy voice. I fell in love a little bit more every time I saw the two of them together, and I couldn't help the smile that automatically spread across my face.

"I can't believe she'll be one in a few months. I mean, wasn't she born like, yesterday?"

Derek chuckled. "Feels like it," he admitted.

Out of the blue, the argument that we'd gotten into in the car popped into my head and I knew that we had to talk about it again. There were things that I missed when we'd started the conversation ban between us, like sharing all sorts of things with each other, even the silliest. I missed talking to him, because he had been the first person to get me to talk about my secrets. It felt like I was keeping all of those secrets by myself again, and it didn't feel much better than it had before.

"Do you think we're doing a good job, raising her?" I asked cautiously. He continued rubbing my back like it was just a normal conversation about the weather.

"I don't know about me, but you're doing a great job Meredith, a really great job."

"I'm doing the best I can. You're the one that knows stuff," I smiled. He had, had some practice with his nephews and nieces, but he was still at a loss sometimes when it came to Alice. Like the first time he went to hold her, and he didn't even know where to start. I remembered the moment like it was yesterday and yet, Alice was almost one.

"Believe me, right from the start, we were on the same boat." He kissed my neck while his hands roamed down to my lower back. His hands, skilled hands of a neurosurgeon, knew exactly where to touch and soothe.

"God, you're so good at this," I moaned again, trying to hide just exactly how much I loved his hands.

He chuckled again "You'd trade this for sex?"

"Some days I'd probably say yes." I turned to kiss him softly, and he deepened it, building up the all ready existing fire in my core. Apparently the night before hadn't been enough.

"So I'm better at rubbing your back than making love to you?" he mocked.

"You're amazing at both. It's just that sometimes I need a back rub more than I need sex."

"I can do both, you know..." he smirked. His face was barely a few inches from mine, his eyes sparkling. They turned a bit darker all of a sudden.

"You mean now?" I grinned back. His familiar features were darkening with lust.

"Whenever you want," he replied wryly.

As soon as his lips touched mine he was practically ready to take me right then and there, but a soft rattle came out of the baby monitor and we both groaned, pulling away from each other.

"She's not that smart right now, uh?" I smirked, disappearing from his view and leaving him standing there dumbfounded, probably thinking about a cold shower.

AN: I think I'm back on track as regards uploading schedule, even though I've seen a little less visits than before. It's expected, the more a story grows higher are the chances for readers to lose interest.

I want to thank all of you again because I reached the 100 reviews and I know it's not a big deal maybe, but for me it means the world. I never thought I could write something that got at least 100 reviews and almost 40,000 views. I hope they'll be more, there are a few chapters left, but I hope that everybody out there who liked this story might give his or her opinion at some point, I really like to hear from you all...

Thanks for sticking with my story!