Well, it's still kind of surprising how many McStizzie fans are out there! I'll give some thought to writing a short fic for the two of them, but I can't promise anything immediately. As busy as things have been for me lately, I'm lucky to get a chapter posted on this story. I appreciate your patience in that regard.

Now this chapter has a bit of everything...some confessions between Mark & Izzie, some discoveries for Mer & Der on the complications of living together, and a look at what Jack is thinking...cuz he's still out there...

Chapter Twenty-six

Confessions & Complications

Izzie rested her cheek against Mark's chest, listening to his racing heart. She knew this had been the right choice – to find him. Her feelings for him surprised her, she was always so careful to keep men from getting close to her. His hand rested along her back, absently smoothing her skin. It made her feel safe and protected, tucked against his muscular body.

"Izzie…" Mark said softly, and she tipped her face to look at him. He wasn't sure if this was the right time to say anything. He'd never told any woman he loved her – hell, he'd never been in love before. She looked up at him, her expression satisfied and sleepy and expectant.

"Hmmm…?"

"I'm glad you came here."

"Me too…"

"I admit, I was an ass for running out on you, especially after you told me you would be there for me. I was being selfish. And yet, no one ever cared enough to call me on my actions before this, honey…" Izzie started to say something, but he touched her mouth. "No, let me finish. You came into my life and turned everything around. And I just wanted to tell you that I'm in love with you. I love you…"

Her eyes went wide, and sudden tears filled them.

"Damn, this wasn't the response I expected, baby…" he murmured, feeling uncertain about her tears. Was that a good thing? A bad thing? "Hey, don't cry…I don't deal with tears very well…" He pulled her into his arms, not sure what else to say at that moment.

"Mark, don't you get it?" she half sobbed against his chest.

"Get what?"

Izzie pulled back, dragging her hair back out of her face. "I love you, too…why else would I chase you half way around the globe? Anybody else I'd say to hell with…"

He grinned at her then, his heart beating normally again. "You're right…I'm an idiot." Then he kissed her again, molding her against him so that they touched everywhere, not a millimeter of space between them. Slowly and deliberately, holding his cock against her, he rubbed himself along her length, teasing both of them.

Izzie moved with him, needing his heat, his fullness. "Make love to me…"

Mark gave her a slow, sensual smile, obeying her breathless entreaty. "All right, making love is easy with you…" His cock dipped against her clit, as she rolled beneath him, and a low hoarse moan caught in his throat. His whole body shuddered, as he gave her what she wanted, what they both wanted at that point.

"Then we're both easy," Izzie grinned at him, watching his cock slide into her, before he fell across her, and buried his face against her throat. "God you feel so good…" He was pulsing inside of her, every throb intensifying the tingle she felt building in her core. The pressure built at the base of his spine, as they moved faster, and her nails dug into his back. One more long slow thrust, and her body clenched around him, and she whimpered against his mouth. His own control shattered, and he pounded against her, his release filling her, as they clung together, helpless to do anything else…

"Meredith?" Derek peeked around the corner of the bathroom, finding her toweling her hair dry.

"Yes?" She looked up at him, propped against the doorframe. He had a bemused expression on his face. "What is it?"

"You have how many pairs of shoes?"

"Lots…" she smiled.

"And purses?"

"Several…where is this going?" she asking, walking over to stand in front of him. Damp tendrils framed her face, and the scent of lavender clung to her.

"And how much closet space do we have?" Derek crossed his arms over his chest, making his t-shirt pull tightly over him. "Enough for all of that…with your clothes?"

"Well, yes, do you have a point?"

"My point…" he paused, pushing away from the door, and taking her hand, "is this…" He led her over to the spacious walk-in closet. Rows of Meredith's clothes and racks of shoes and bags, neatly arranged, greeted them. And in the middle of the space, most of Derek's bags were still piled together, waiting to be unpacked. His new Versace jacket was hung up, in the far corner, albeit between two of hers. "I think we need to define the meaning of shared closet space," he smirked after a moment.

"Are you kidding me?" she half-giggled, looking at him sideways.

"We need a bigger closet," he pointed out. "I'm afraid to put anything away in case I mess up your system."

"Derek…if we're going to discuss issues…"

He raised one eyebrow.

"You need to put the toilet seat down…"

"Seriously?"

"Honey, you have no idea what it's like…and the dirty clothes go in the hamper, not on the floor beside it…"

"Really…? Thank you for pointing that out…" His eyes twinkled a little, as he matched her tone of voice. "Anything else…?"

"I don't know - have I got some other hideous fault you need to point out?"

"You snore."

"What?!? I do not…"

"You do…it's cute…but you snore."

Meredith gasped, standing even closer to him, staring into his eyes, while he tried to control the twitching of his mouth in amusement. "So sleep on the couch! I have to get ready for work…and you can put your damn clothes wherever you want!" She turned quickly and began to march towards the bathroom again.

"Hey…wait…" Derek sprinted after her, catching her arm.

"Are we fighting? Cuz I'm not good at that…" she sighed, turning towards him. The towel around her started to loosen and she tugged at it to keep it from falling.

"You never argued with Jack?" he asked, then caught himself. "Never mind, stupid question." He pulled her closer to him, and she wrapped her arms around his waist. Kissing the top of her head, Derek held her close for a moment. "Okay, you know it's not logical to assume we're never going to disagree on things, or have issues. Living together is a big commitment after all, even if I'm crazy about you. But it doesn't mean I'm going to hit you, or make you feel stupid, Mer, I would never do that. I'll always be here for you, even if we fight, you know that."

Meredith nodded silently. "Okay."

"You fight sometimes, and somebody apologizes. And I'm apologizing – I was just kidding you about the closet space, I didn't want you to take it seriously. Forgive me?" As he spoke, he tugged at the towel where it was gathered between her breasts, so that it dropped away from her. His hands slid over her hips, bringing her off her feet. "You okay?"

"Yes…"

"I love you, never forget that," he murmured, kissing her, his tongue sliding to meet hers, his hands moving to wrap in her hair.

"I love you Derek…" she whispered, as he let her mouth go.

"And I still need a shower too…wanna join me so I can redeem myself?"

"Derek, I've already.." she protested, as he scooped her up easily. "Derek! I have a client coming in early, I can't be late…!"

"I promise, you'll be on time…trust me." He quickly adjusted the water temperature, before depositing her on the floor. Never losing contact with her eyes, he stripped his pajama pants away, and then his t-shirt. He held his hand out to her. "Come here…"

Meredith's resolve faded in the face of his seductive smile. Any kind of residual worry about arguing with him dissipated like fog in the sunshine. "You're right, it's not realistic to think we won't have issues, it just made me nervous…but you're not like Jack." She took his hand, letting him pull her under the warm spray of water.

"So what can I do to make it up to you?" he asked, bringing her skin in contact with his. Fitting her curves against him, so warm and pliant under the steamy hot water. "I'm open to suggestions…"

"You're off to a good start," she sighed, surrendering to his touch. Then he poured some body wash into his hands, letting the lavender scent perfume the air. Slick with soap, he coated her body with swirls of lather, leaving no part uncovered. Her breasts, her belly, between her legs, everywhere he could to make her moan. He kissed her throat, and trailed his hands down her arms, then rubbing slow sensuous circles around her nipples until she arched up against him, closing her eyes.

"I like taking my time with these," he said, continuing to caress her breasts. "And with this," he said, kissing her lips again, tongue tracing a line along her bottom lip. "And with this…" as he slid the lather up between her legs again. "Yes, very definitely this is my favorite part to spend time on."

Meredith felt her knees go weak, and she forgot she was supposed to be in a hurry. Her hands slipped down his chest, fingers lingering on his nipples and he pulled her closer, bodies sliding against each other in hot soapy contact. Then his fingers were moving up, searching for her clit, and he bent her away from him, trying to get deeper inside of her. The hot water pulsed down on her, and she tried to grind her hips harder against his hand. She gasped and screamed as he massaged just the right spot, until she started to come in waves, clenching around his fingers.

Derek pulled her close again, steadying her as she trembled from the aftershocks of her orgasm. She took the bodywash from the shelf and started to lather his chest, and then slowly down along his stomach. Her touch lingered there, teasing him with a light caress. Then his breath came quicker as she circled his cock with her small hands, slippery with soap. She grasped him with one hand then, while her other hand stroked his inner thigh. She could feel his body tensing and his muscles quivering beneath her hand, while she stroked the length of his shaft.

As she continued to torture him with her fingers, Derek wound his hand in her wet hair and pulled her head backwards. He kissed her and his tongue thrust into her mouth in rhythm with his cock sliding in her hand. He was straining, close to the point of no return, but he growled and lifted his head from hers. They stood, panting heavily, before he lifted her up and lowered her down onto him, pushing her back against the wall of the shower. Clouds of steam were now surrounding them, and they were shaking from the need to be joined.

Meredith sighed blissfully as he slid deep into her, perfectly filling her. She wrapped her arms and legs around him, pulling him tighter, kissing him with hot passion. As he thrust faster and harder, she lost control and clawed at him and whimpered, begged and cried for release. He ravaged her mouth, as they pushed harder together, reaching for the climax they desired. She could feel his hot release inside of her as she pulled him in tighter.

Both of them shaken, she laid her head on his shoulder as they fought to regain their composure. He slowly let her go from his embrace and he brushed her wet hair away from her forehead, before placing a soft kiss there. "I adore you, Meredith," he whispered. "I don't know what I would do without you in my life."

She looked up at him, her eyes wet with tears, but a smile on her lips. "And I love you back."

"But we still need a bigger closet…" he whispered, and she dissolved into giggles all over again.

Derek put his cell phone away, before grabbing Meredith around the waist and hugging her. "I got the part! The one on 'Karen Silas'." He kissed her quickly. "They loved my reading, and they're sending the script in the courier today!"

"Seriously?"

"Seriously."

"I'm so happy for you honey! What part is that again?"

"An ex-boyfriend hiding a secret," he smirked, lifting his eyebrows.

"Ooohh…cool…"

"Bad news is that I have to fly to Miami – shooting starts in two weeks." But he couldn't keep the grin the off his face, despite that. "Thank you."

"For what?" Meredith looked puzzled, as she slipped into her shoes, checking the them for any sign of wear.

"Giving me the confidence, telling me to stop chasing so hard. You're the best."

Meredith smiled back at him – his enthusiasm was hard to resist, even if she was running late. After that shower, her body still tingled with the feel of his hands on her.

"I wish you could come with me – can you?"

"I can't get away right now. The salon's jammed and I have that meeting with Avon."

"Oh shit," Derek frowned. "I'm sorry – forgot all about that – the makeup line right?"

Meredith nodded. "Yep. We'll have to have phone sex…"

Derek grinned, eyebrows raising. "Phone sex, I like the sound of that." He grabbed her again, spinning her around happily. "Wanna practice the real thing so we have something to go on? With lingerie…or something else to conjure up visuals?"

"Black lace? Or maybe red?" she giggled.

"You know I'm partial to pink…or just skin," he said with a wink.

"I'll bet you are," she countered, kissing him. "But I have to run…we can work on the details tonight. Let's go for dinner – you buy!"

"Anything for you, honey," he said, letting her go slowly.

"Call you later!" She grabbed her purse, and jacket, and headed out the door. Derek sank to the bed, still clutching his cellphone, still happy about this latest turn of events. Maybe television was going to be the thing for to stimulate his career, he mused.

As Jack settled into the chair on his deck, he grimaced at the thought of going to jail permanently. The brief stint there before his lawyer managed to get him bail, had been the absolute worst experience of his life. Too many gang members with dead eyes that looked at him like fresh meat, too many junkies and thieves, had all made his skin crawl. Even though he was considered a white-collar criminal, it made no matter to them.

And now, back home again, he was at loose ends. The restaurant had been locked up and would remain so until after his trial. Pending the outcome, it would either revert back to him, or be sold to pay off some of the costs. He hated this part, the waiting, nothing to do. He tossed back the rest of his drink, deciding that one more couldn't hurt. But he stayed in his chair for another few minutes, watching the surf pounding against the sand, listening to the gulls screeching above him. It was nice out here, really nice, and he hoped like hell he wouldn't have to give this up. While Tom had assured him his chances were good to escape the full penalty, Jack hoped like hell to escape the whole thing. He didn't want to lose his restaurant, his way of life, and he began to realize that he'd screwed up royally. Even his woman was gone, living with Derek now, according to Tom. She didn't want anything to do with Jack, or aid in his defense whatsoever.

He shoved himself to his feet, and headed inside, to find the bottle of Scotch again, and to lose himself for awhile. Things would work out, they always did…