A.N. I seriously hope you won't shoot me after this chapter :). I just couldn't resist. Thanks for all the reviews. Let me know what you think after this one. Cheers!
Warning: some mild steaminess at the beginning but just like I wrote, I couldn't resist!
**********************************************************************************Meredith's bedroom was covered in darkness and the only source of light was the pale moon hanging low in the sky. Despite the late hour, sleep was the last thing on the minds of two occupants of the bed which was screeching loudly under the weight of the two entangled bodies.
Meredith moaned deeply as Derek's hands snake around her thighs, caressing her flesh with increasing intensity. Her hips jerked on their own accord demanding closer contact with his middle.
Derek trailed hot kisses on her collarbone and her neck to whisper throatily into her ear, "You're… so… impatient…"
Yes, she was. The night was heavenly but she needed to feel complete again and there was only one way to achieve it. Her legs pressed tighter around Derek's waist.
"Derek…" she pleaded shakily.
His fingertips travelled back upwards to her chest continuing the pleasurable torture. He leaned into her ear again, biting it gently and asked, "Derek what?"
She could tell he was smiling.
"Derek what?" urged her his raspy voice. "Tell me, Meredith… tell me what you need…"
"I need ahhh-" her breath hitched. Her senses were sharpened and numbed at the same time. Her heart was thumping like mad. She could hear it beating wildly. Wait! Why was her heart… beeping?
Meredith opened her eyes and switched off her alarm, annoyed. Crap! She was in her bedroom, alone, sweating and aching in the pit of her stomach. She lied back heavily on her pillows waiting for her breathing to ease.
Since the moment in Derek's office, a few days ago, she hadn't been able to stop thinking about Derek, dreaming about Derek, fantasizing about Derek… That kissed awoke the beast that had been dormant for almost three years.
Their eyelids fluttered to close as Derek angled his head for better access…
When their lips brushed, it was so gentle and weightless that Meredith no longer knew whether it was real or imagined…
She didn't want it to be imagined, she wanted it to be real but it was too fast, much too fast… With the ultimate incredible streak of self-control, she backed away. Derek moved forward chasing her lips, unprepared for the sudden movement.
They eyes opened and they froze.
"I… I should go," Meredith cleared her throat. "It's… late… It's late… and I should go."
Derek nodded, disappointed, trying to collect himself.
Crossing the doorway Meredith turned back and looked into his misty eyes. Walking out without another word would certainly erode their relationship. She had to show him she didn't shut him out.
"Derek," she smiled at him warmly. "Thanks for the gift. It will be my lucky cap. I've worn it for surgery, you know. Went fine."
Profound relief washed over Derek. He had been afraid he rushed into things, that he scared her away. But she didn't push him away, she didn't… and she was telling him that.
She didn't push him away but the things between them changed in a way; for better or for worse – that remained to be seen. Whenever they were together, they warm, smiling and making sweet little gestures that sent shivers down their spines. Their fingers always found each other while passing charts, their arms always brushed while getting into the elevator… And the tension, the tension was palpable…
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Meredith had already got herself into the routine of life in Seattle. Just like every morning, she dropped Bessie at the nursery and trotted to Grace.
"What has got into you this morning?" she met Cristina at the entrance to the hospital.
"Nothing," dismissed her Meredith.
She groaned when she spotted who else was waiting for the elevator.
"Hi," Derek flashed her a charming smile.
"Hi," she didn't even look at him. After the night she had, she could just push him against the wall and…
"Meredith?" Derek noticed her cranky mood. "Did you sleep well?"
Huh, wouldn't you like to know how well…
"Yeah, fabulous." She pushed the button fervently, she needed to have this ride over and splash some cold water on her face if Derek wasn't to become a rape victim.
"You're impatient," chuckled Derek.
Oh God! Meredith unbuttoned her jacket. It was getting hot in here…
The elevator door opened and the three of them stepped inside.
Why does he have to look so damn… McDreamy? If it wasn't for Cristina… Meredith looked at his lips; he was saying something, only what?
"… tell me what you need…" her thick mind registered Derek's words with horror.
What? Was he a freaking mind reader?
"What?" she tried to look innocent under Cristina's suspicious stare.
"I was asking you about your trial, Mer," Derek repeated slowly and clearly. "I asked you if you had any problems. If you do, just tell me what you need, and I'll help you."
"Oh, ok," Meredith twirled her fingers nervously. "It's … it's going fine!"
"What about that potential patient you said volunteered?"
"He's coming!" Me to… "He's… er… he's coming over, soon."
Meredith decided talking about her trial was a safer option than letting Derek sidetrack her dirty mind. She started to swamp him with information before he had a chance to open his mouth again.
"I have other patients in line. I was really surprised with the response. Actually, there are quite a lot of volunteers. And they keep calling-"
"I knew it would be like that," interrupted Derek, eyeing her curiously. "Those people have nothing left to lose. They grasp at every possible chance-"
"See you later, Derek!" she cut him off getting out of the lift and striding to her office.
"What?" she asked as Cristina tugged along.
"It's me who should be asking that."
Meredith started to pace in circles at her small office, while Cristina sat on her desk watching her, "Is this about the almost kiss again? I thought you've got over that."
"No. it's not about that, not really…" muttered Meredith. "I just had a rough night."
"Something's wrong with Bess?"
"What? No, absolutely not!" squeaked Mer. She sighed and lowered her voice confidentially, "It's just… been… really long since…"
"Since what?" frowned Cristina. "Oh, oh!"
"Yeah," she whined. "Oh my God! What am I thinking about! I'm a mother!"
Cristina sniggered, "The last time I was assigned to gynie, women didn't lose their vaginas after birth."
"How would I know?" said Mer exasperatedly.
"You haven't?" asked Cristina.
Meredith shook her head. "Ididn't want to be some trashy woman who sleeps arounf dumping her daughter to someone else. After Bessie was born I just couldn't… I mean, Bessie had been in my body, she had grown up in my body. How could I let some accidental guy touch my body after that? I just couldn't have meaningless sex…"
"And only Derek could make it meaningful, couldn't he?" said Cristina softly.
"Yeah," admitted Mer reluctantly. "You can laugh at my mushiness."
"I won't. I haven't been with anyone since… Burke. I understand."
"Oh, what about Owen?" asked Meredith.
Cristina and Owen went out on a date several days ago but her friend kept mum about it.
"If you're getting at that so-called date I think the word fiasco would sum it up just fine," she grumbled.
"I'm sorry. What happened?"
"I told you we were both really messed up people. And… he showed up drunk at my doorstep… and now we're avoiding each other."
"Then we're starting the recyclable virgins club," chortled Mer.
"The horny recyclable virgins club," corrected Cristina.
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Fortunately for Meredith, there was something that could horniness out of her mind, at least for a while – work.
"Hello," said Meredith coming into an exam room.
"Hi," said a young energetic woman reaching out her hand towards Meredith. "I'm Arizona Robbins, neonatal and peds. It's nice to meet you."
Meredith hadn't yet met this doctor with her blond her tied in a ponytail. She was hired during her absence at Seattle Grace.
"Meredith Grey, nice to meet you too. You need me for a consult?"
"Yes," Arizona said seriously. "We've got a difficult case."
Meredith carefully examined the scans which turned out to show a woman's uterus.
"About five-months pregnant… spina bifida!" she stated. It was a rare condition.
"Exactly," agreed Arizona. "The patient's Molly Thompson,22-years old, 23rd week of pregnancy. We picked up the baby's condition at the checkup toady."
Meredith frowned, "We need to operate immediately. We might still be able to prevent any damage to the baby's spinal cord."
"Ok," nodded Arizona and said hesitantly, "It's just… It's a pretty complicated surgery. I really don't want to give any offence but-"
"It's ok," assured her Meredith. "Don't worry. I've participated in this procedure. I wouldn't touch the scalpel if wasn't 100% sure I was up for it."
"Ok, are you coming to talk to Mrs. Thompson? I'm sure you'll explain the problem better than me."
"Sure, I'll be down shortly. I just need to get a closer look at the images and prepare the course o d the procedure."
She was actually half-excited, half-nervous. Spina bifida cases didn't happen everyday but playing with a tiny baby's life was a different matter.
Twenty minutes later, Meredith was on her way to her patient's room. Before she could get there she was stopped by Lexie.
"Dr. Grey… Meredith," her usually perky face was anxious.
"Not now, Lexie," said Meredith. "I'm in a hurry. I need to see my patient."
"Yes, the patient," Lexie hurried with explanations. "That's what I want to talk to you about. It's Molly!"
"I know her name, Molly Thompson, 22. Lexie, I don't have the time for this."
"No, it's Molly!" exclaimed Lexie. "Our… our sister Molly. Remember how I told you she was coming for a checkup? And well, she did, she did come and…" she covered her mouth with her hand, "and there's something wrong with the baby. Molly, she doesn't know about you, she doesn't know has other sister than me…"
Meredith was dumbstruck. Her… other half-sister's baby had spina bifida? No she couldn't think clearly. She only knew she couldn't walk into Molly Thompson's room, her sister's room…
She turned back on Lexie and hurried away.
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Meredith walked as fast as she could without running. She stopped at the nurses station, "Do you know if Dr. Shepherd's in the OR?" she asked frantically.
"He's just finished. Should be in his office," replied one of the nurses with a knowing look in her eye.
And sure thing, Derek, still in his surgical cap, was sitting in his swivel chair with his head thrown back, a cup of coffee in his hand.
"Derek!" Meredith stormed into his office. "Derek!"
He opened his eyes blinking rapidly and rubbing them gently. He looked tired.
"Meredith," he looked at her with a frown. "What's wrong?"
She handed him Molly's scans.
"I need you to take that case," she pointed at the images.
"What?" he took the envelope and pulled out the scans.
"I was called for a consult. But I can't operate. I can't!" Meredith spread out her hands helplessly.
"Spina bifida…"
"Yeah."
"You don't have any experience with that," assumed Derek.
"I do!" huffed Meredith. "I've assisted on this kind of procedure, actively!"
"Then what's the problem?" inquired Derek.
"The patient… It's Molly."
"Molly?" Derek was as clueless as she had been before.
"Molly Thompson, maiden name: Grey," she expressed herself more precisely.
"Your other sister?" Derek cottoned on.
"My other half-sister. You see now that I can't operate on her?"
"I am sorry, Meredith," said Derek. "I can't possibly perform this procedure. Just listen to me," he quieted her attempts to argue. "I've just spent 5 hours in the OR. I can't take the risk of going in for this one," ha raised the scans, "a procedure demanding extreme concentration and precision."
Meredith closed her mouth in resignation.
"I'm sure you're going to do your best," encouraged Derek. "I've seen you countless times in the OR over the past week. Molly will have the best care she could hope for."
"But she's my sister," she ran a hand through her hair. "What if come into her room, and there's… there's my father… and his wife… A loving family…"
Derek sighed. He closed the distance between them and cupped her face.
"Meredith," he rested his forehead on hers. "You're not alone in this. You have a family, too, a loving family."
After a moment, he heard her breathing ease out.
"I shouldn't have got that emotional about it," she said silently. "She's… just another patient, right? I mean, it's not like she's my family… I don't know her. I haven't ever seen her. I've seen my father only once since I was five… Thanks, Derek."
She pulled away and hurried out. Derek stood still shaking his head. That wasn't the reaction he intended to induce. It was so like Meredith…
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A.N. So as to clears things, it's Meredith's first meeting with the new family of Thatcher but I decided to leave that scene when Meredith went to see her father at his house.
