Thank you to all my reviewers from the last chapter!
I wanted to wait to post this till my one year since I started this story, but I decided I couldn't wait as I have already started the next part (Which I will try to get up on the one year, no promises) + this is one of my longest chapters & quickest updates, so make sure you read the part before this!
Anyways, enough about me, enjoy!
Nathan's POV
We all file into Megan's room. Amelia is sitting in the chair next to her bed. Amelia and Megan's both have the same wide eyed look, and I figure it is because of me. Several seconds go by without anyone saying anything.
"Meg, how are you feeling?" I ask while moving to the side of her bed.
"Not well."
"Well, what's wrong? We will try to fix it, Megan." Meredith says softly. Meredith stands at the foot of her bed, watching her intently.
"What is wrong? I just found out who the slut is that you've been with while I was gone." Her eyes don't leave me as she speaks and I can clearly hear the jealousy in her voice.
My eyes immediately look to Meredith. Everyone does. Her cheeks start to turn pink and she bites her bottom lip before running out of the room.
"Megan, what the hell was that for?" I feel my temper coming out.
"What was what for?"
"Calling Meredith a slut, that's uncalled for." I take a deep breath, trying to calm myself.
"Well, she is, is she not?" All I could hear was the sarcasm in her voice.
"Meredith is NOT a slut." I say raising my voice. I glance to Owen to see that I'm about to cross the line with him but Amelia looks ready to defend Meredith. "We will finish this conversation later."
I push past Owen and out into the hall where Meredith and Maggie are. Maggie has an arm wrapped around Meredith and they are leaning against the wall. Meredith seems fine, but I know she puts up a tough front.
"Meredith." I reach out to touch her but she flinches away.
"Sorry." She whispers, barely audible.
"Sorry? What have you got to be sorry for?" I ask, unsure what she means.
"For being here."
"Why would you be sorry for that?"
"Because I'm pretty sure I got you in more trouble with Owen." She admits. She didn't directly get me in trouble, it's my temper that gets me in trouble.
"Meredith," I stop myself before calling her a pet name. "Mer, my temper gets me in trouble."
Her eyes finally leave the floor and they find mine. I desperately try to read them, try to figure out what is going on behind those green eyes, but I get nothing.
"Nathan, she saw us kiss. We kissed in front of that window, you know that one, that leads to her room. She saw it." Meredith takes a couple steps toward me, and swiftly turns back to Maggie. Once she reached Maggie, which was only a few steps away, she turned back to me. She repeated this as she talked. "There is no denying that. Why would I have any reason to kiss you unless we were involved somehow? Can I blame her for calling me that? No because you and I aren't together. We're idiots. I shouldn't have kissed you. We shouldn't be kissing at all in the first place. God, we are stupid. Stupid to think that the kissing is okay, especially when you a fiancée, whether or not you have decided to stay with her." Meredith rambled.
I tug her arm when she nears me again, and pull her toward me. My hand slides under her chin, and pushes it upwards, forcing her to look at me. "Mer, she was going to find out one way or another, but she had no right to call you that. Yes, we aren't together, but I'm not with her either. You need to calm down okay? She will realize how amazing of a person you are and regret saying that. Don't ever put yourself down over what one person says."
I watch as she nibbles on her bottom lip. I glance over to Maggie, who is watching us intently. Meredith takes a baby step away from me, but my hands are still holding her, keeping her from running.
"Don't listen to her Meredith. She just found out who her fiancée was with while she was trapped in a hole for ten years. I bet she is a little upset. Give her some time, she'll come around." Maggie chimes in.
"Okay." Meredith says, avoiding my eyes. She stares at something behind me, while I can't help but stare at her.
"Okay is all I get?" I ask.
"Let's give her some time to cool off. Then we will tell her our story, the whole thing."
"The whole thing?" I raise my eyebrows at the thought.
"Minus the details she doesn't need to know." Her eyes finally find mine again. "You know what details I mean."
"Oh, like the steamy night in the backseat of your car where you couldn't get enough of me?" I smile.
"Ewww." Maggie squeals, covering her ears like a child.
She sighs, but smiles. "Especially those details."
"Anything else we shouldn't mention? Probably not the plane or the day after huh?" I wink at her, and Maggie's face scrunches up.
"I don't want to hear about my sister's sex life!" She scoffs.
"Those too. No sex details. If she's asks, we have slept together, but nothing more." Her voice drops real low and her eyes are now on the floor. "And nothing about the pregnancy and miscarriage. That would be way too much for her to handle."
"Of course." I slide my hands up and down her forearms in attempt to comfort her. I feel the goosebumps pop up along her skin and she shivers, taking a step away from me while crossing her arms.
She is now facing the wall, not looking either me or Maggie. Maggie mouths something about getting food and points to Meredith, who completely isn't paying attention and is currently in her own little world.
"Meredith, how about we go get some coffee or something?" She doesn't respond, nor moves so I ask again, this time I walk over to her and put my hand on her back, careful not to let slide down too low. No matter how much I want to, I resist the urge, not wanting to upset her more. "Meredith, how about we go get some coffee?"
"Coffee sounds good."
With my hand on her back, we make our way to the elevator. Once the elevator doors shut, she rests her head on my shoulder. I enjoy the moment, knowing once those doors open she separate from me.
"Can we go somewhere else and get coffee? I'm so tired of hospital coffee, but it's fine if you don't really want to leave, I can drink the hospital coffee."
"If that's what you want, then yes. I hate hospital coffee too. I'm pretty sure we all just tolerate it." We stay unmoving, but my hand slides around to her side and pulls her a little closer for the last couple seconds of the elevator ride.
She sighs softly. "Are you sure you are okay with leaving?" She moves her head so that she is now able to see my face.
"I told you already, it's fine." I lean down and kiss her forehead, and she sort of smiles. The elevator dings, and as expected she jumps apart from me.
"Okay, so where are we going?" She asks, letting herself walk a little closer as we head toward the exit.
"Um, just a little coffee shop down the road, nothing extravagant."
"There's a coffee shop down the road and I don't know about it?" She raises an eyebrow at me.
"Yes, there is. It is newer, and I'm friends with the owner."
Her face looks completely skeptical. "I'll believe it when I see it."
"Well you'll be believing in a few minutes then." I wink at her, and her face looks more confused than ever. "Okay, so, my car or yours?"
"Um, I don't feel like driving, so yours. Plus, every time you get in mine it just brings up some interesting memories."
"Interesting? That's what you use to describe it? Those memories are hot, and unforgettable." I grin, and she elbows me.
"Shut up and just take me to get some coffee. I really would rather have so tequila but we will more than likely end up coming back to the hospital tonight."
"How about I show you this coffee place, then we come back and get you some tequila at Joe's? We can come back to the hospital tomorrow; it's getting late anyways." I walk around to the passenger side of the car with her, and open the door for her.
She just shakes her head and tries to hide a small smile, but I can still see it. "That's fine by me."
"Alright, let's go."
The ride is relatively short, and we stayed quiet the whole ride. It wasn't till I was pulling into the parking lot that Meredith said anything.
"Umm so, is this an actual place or are you messing with me? I see like one light on and there is literally no one here."
"Shhh. Enough questions, just follow me." I turn off the ignition, and get out of the car. I wait a moment for Meredith to follow. She sits in the car for about a minute with her arms crossed before deciding to get out.
"This is creepy. If you get me killed I'm coming back to haunt you." I watch as she keeps checking behind her.
"You are gonna be fine, I promise." We walk around back, and I knock on the door. We stand there for a minute before anyone answers.
"Hey Nathan, come on in." Travis says, opening the door wider and stepping back to let us in.
Meredith doesn't budge though. I walk back to her and my hand finds her lower back and nudges her toward the door. Again, I'm tempted to slide my hand down further but I resist and take my hand off her back the moment she's through the door. "Creepy." She whispers.
Travis takes us to the main part of the building, where the coffee shop is going to be. I knew Meredith didn't know about it yet because it had yet to open. The walls were half painted, and all the furniture was still either wrapped in plastic or the boxes they came in, besides a few bean bags and bar stools. He had set up a little area with bar stools where you can go up and get more coffee, as well as plans for plenty of comfy places all over. The coffee bar was the only area done so far, and that's where we sit when I come have coffee with him. I lead Meredith over and help her get up on a bar stool.
"It's set to open in a couple weeks, if we can get everything done by then. I hate painting, and my wife sucks at it, so it's been slowing coming along. I've been letting her do the decorations and plan how we are setting up the various couches. Nathan stops by often to get coffee, since he loves my coffee so much. We've been friends for years, and he is the one who convinced me I should open a coffee shop, and here I am. Anyways, would you like a coffee?" Travis explained to Meredith about this place. I watched as she looked around while he made her coffee.
"Nathan." She waits till I'm facing her before she continues. "We should help him finish up. If it's as good as you say it is, it will be packed in here. Plus, I can't do any surgeries for a week, and my other hand is completely fine."
I'm taken aback by what she says. She always is helping people, no matter what. "That's a wonderful idea. We will talk to him about it when he is finished with our coffees."
"I'm full of amazing ideas you know."
"I do know." It's one of those rare moment with her, when I get a genuine smile, and I can tell she's happy. She always seems happier whenever she's helping someone. I wish she'd smile more, since she has that gorgeous smile that just takes your breath away. I have this goal of making her smile more, but I feel like it will be easier to do whenever the whole Megan thing is figured out.
"Coffees are done." Travis says, placing our coffees in front of us.
I move mine closer to me, but I don't take a drink yet. I watch Meredith take a sip of hers, and her sigh afterwards. "Damn, that is some good ass coffee."
"Thank you. So, how do you know Nathan? You gotta be a close friend for him to bring you here before it's even open." Travis said as I shook my head furiously at him.
I watch as she nervously rubs her thighs. "I uh, we are just friends. Worked together quite a few times. I actually just had an injury to one of my hands so I won't be working for like a week." She shows him her bandaged hand. "My other hand is just fine if you want some help, I don't mind painting."
"Oh I would love that! Thank you so much!" Travis looked delighted to not have to paint as much.
"You're welcome. Anything I can do to help. This place will be packed when it opens, I can definitely tell you that."
"I hope so."
"I know so." There it is again, her incredibly gorgeous smile. Her smile brings a smile to my face.
We both finish up our coffee, thank Travis and set a time to help tomorrow. I lead her back to my Range Rover, and open the passenger door once again. Now we are heading to Joe's for Meredith to get some tequila.
"Thank you for showing me that coffee place, his coffee is amazing. I can't wait for it to open; I'll be at that grand opening for sure!"
"You're welcome. I will be there whenever it opens too, trust me." I say.
"I figured you would."
"Yeah." I decide to ask her the question that has been bothering me since earlier. I just worry she'll act fine, or shut me. My right hand finds her thigh, while the other is on the steering wheel.
She furrows her brows at my hand. "I don't want to be rude but, uh, your hand?"
"Meredith, I want to talk to you."
It's dead silent, and I hear her inhale sharply. She wraps her arms around her small figure, like she's protecting herself. "About what?"
"I get the feeling that you still aren't okay after the miscarriage. You won't talk about it, and whenever I bring it up you shut me out. I'm just want to know if you are okay, you can tell me if you aren't." I rip off the bandage, just letting how I feel out.
"Nathan, I'm fine." She asserts but keeps her eyes trained out the window.
"I don't know that I believe you. Meredith, I know what you went through was horrible, and I can't completely understand it, but just talk to me."
As the silence drags on, I realize she may just keep shutting me out. We are almost to Joe's now, and I know once we go in there the topic will be dropped. I park the car and turn off the ignition once again. I start to reach for the door handle when she finally speaks.
"It's hard. It took me so long to get over my first miscarriage. I was just about okay with it when I found out that I am likely to miscarry again. It took me months. I don't think I was truly okay with it until had Zola in my arms. But still, the thought of another miscarriage terrified me. After two pregnancies, I thought I was alright. I hadn't had a miscarriage since the first one, so I thought it was alright. Holding that positive pregnancy test in my hand, I just thought about the future. What it would be like with another little one running around. Where we would be. The miscarriage tore those happy future thoughts from me. It just hurts to think about what could have been, and no, I don't like to talk about it. It was hard enough going through it, and I don't like reliving it. So, maybe I'm not completely fine, but I'm getting there." With that, she leaves the car and heads into Joe's, leaving me to think about her words.
She had thought about a future with us. She has mentioned that. I inhale and exhale deeply, trying not to over think about it. She said she is getting better and that she doesn't want to talk about it, so I should probably leave her alone for now. It would be best.
So I head into the bar. I immediately see her blonde tresses and take a seat in the stool next to her.
"Tequila please." She tells the bartender.
"I'll have a beer." I add, and the bartender nods before going to make our drinks.
"You paying?" She asks.
"Yeah, I wouldn't make you pay."
"Oh okay, cause I'm pretty sure I left my wallet in your car."
"That's fine. I still have to take you home afterwards anyways." Or to the hospital, whatever she wants.
"Thanks for this. For showing me the coffee shop and taking me to get some well needed tequila." She says right as our drinks arrive. She throws her head back and takes the whole shot of tequila in one swallow. "Excuse me, can I get another?"
"You're welcome and you must really like that stuff, huh?"
"Yeah, it's my go to drink." She licks off any remaining on her lips.
"A tough one for sure." She nods. "So, you ready to do some painting tomorrow afternoon?"
"Yeah, since I can't do much else." She replies, never looking in my direction. The bartender sets down another shot of tequila, and like the last it's gone in seconds. "Another one, please."
I sip on my beer, knowing at the rate she's going I'm definitely driving. So when the bartender comes back with her shot, I ask for some ice water. Once again, she takes the shot like a champ, and asks for another. She repeats this a few more times, and in no time it's obvious that she is drunk.
"I think, I think I need another shot sir." She tells me, and I cannot help but laugh.
"I think that's enough for tonight, okay?" I smile, handing her the ice water.
"I said tequila, not water. You can't tell me I've had enough!" She drunkenly slams her hand on the bar, getting the attention of many. "Ow, that was my injured hand." She wines.
"Alright, I think it's time to go." I say standing up.
"I want one shot. Pleaseeeeeee?" She asks in such a childish way, and I let her have just one more. She takes the shot quickly, shivering after she took it.
"Time to go." I say, grabbing her arm and helping her to her feet.
She doesn't move though. "The room is spinning; I don't think I can walk." She hiccups.
"I've got you." I slide my hand around her waist, and hold her firmly. We take baby steps out the bar and to the car, making sure she doesn't fall. I help her into the car and buckle her seat belt before getting in the car myself.
I stare at the drunken woman next to me. I can't take her home like this, not to a house with kids. So, I start driving to my apartment, and I get the feeling I'll regret this in the morning.
She leans over the middle console and rests her head on my shoulder. Her hand falls uncomfortably in my lap, and I can't help but inhale sharply.
That causes her to lift her head up. "Wha, what's wrong?"
"Nothing, nothing."
She moves closer to the side of my face, and her breath on my ear tickles a little, but I try my best to ignore it. "You are really tense. I can help with that." She whispers seductively.
"No, I'm fine, really." I squeeze the steering wheel tightly, trying to stop the blood from flowing down south.
"Mhmm, I beg to differ." She whispers, kissing my neck.
"Meredith, stop. You're drunk." I grunt.
She pulls back, looking dumbfounded. "So?"
"So, that's exactly why we shouldn't do anything." I say, keeping my eyes on the road.
"We? You don't have to do any of the work. You are driving you know." I glance over and see her lick her lips, and I know exactly what she is implying.
"Meredith, I need to focus on driving." I give any reason to stop her.
"Have you never done it before?" She asks, sounding shocked.
"Meredith I have, I just don't want to right now."
"Something tells me otherwise." She points to my lap, which has become really obvious.
"Meredith..."
"Shh." She puts a finger to my lips. "I've got you." She adds before giving me a quick kiss.
Now I am pulling into my apartment's parking lot, and I sigh of relief that I can get out of this. Normally, I wouldn't mind but she is very drunk.
Her hands fumble with my belt as I park, and as soon as I do I stop her. "Come on, we are at my apartment. Let's go inside."
"Ooh, I like the idea of that."
I swallow roughly, realizing this might be harder than I originally thought. I help her out of the car, and up the stairs. She tries to kiss me about as many times as she almost falls, but I resist.
Once we are through my door, she immediately takes off her shirt. "Come on, let's do it."
I take deep breaths, and try to remember that she is very drunk. "Uh, let's go to the bathroom."
"Ohh, some steamy sex?" She asks as I lead her to the bathroom, but once we get there she throws up in the toilet.
I rub her back, and get something to wipe her face with. "Not so hot, huh?" She manages to say, and I can't help but laugh.
"Not really." I laugh, wiping her face again. "You think you are done?"
"Yeah, I think so."
With that, I help her up and to my bedroom. I sit her on the foot of the bed while I grab some clothes. I take off her jeans, and throw them aside. Next I take off her bra, and I try to keep myself from looking to much before sliding my t-shirt over her head. I help her under the covers before I strip down to just my boxers, and slide onto the other side of the bed.
She rolls into me, her face against my chest, and I can't help but wrap an arm around her. I just about to drift off to sleep when she speaks.
"I love you Nathan."
As usual, a bit of a cliff hanger. But the question is, will Meredith remember that in the morning?
As you can probably tell, I have had a lot of inspo lately, and I hope that continues as I start my summer classes. If they become to much, I will have to back away from this story for a bit, but I think I can handle it :)
As always, please review :)
P.S: Those new stories I mentioned, I started working on them too!