A/N Hey, I have an early update for you! I was on a roll, lol! Thanks a lot for comments and exhaustive explanations about muffins and cupcakes :) I tried to throw some humor in this update, don't know about the result though. As always, waiting for your thoughts about it. Enjoy!
Warning: A bit of "mature" stuff at the end of the chapter. There will also be some in the next one.
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It was time to get up. If he wanted to have a shower before his rounds and change into fresh clothes he kept at his office, he needed to get up now. That perspective didn't look too appealing, though. He was much more comfortable here, so peaceful, so serene, with his arm draped around Meredith and his little daughter.
He still couldn't believe he was there, in Meredith's bed. When he set out to her house, he feared rejection or indifference, yet, she took him back. She told him she loved him, which surpassed his wildest dreams. It was a little like a dream actually. He only hoped his leaving this bed, this room wouldn't put an end to it.
With a small sigh, he leaned to kiss his girls' heads delicately and made to slip from the bed. Before his arm left Meredith's waist, she stirred and caught his wrist.
"Der?" she asked with a sleepy voice.
"Shh," he calmed her. "Go back to sleep."
"Wher'oo goin'?"
"I have rounds," he whispered.
"What? What time is it?" she asked more consciously.
"It's early. Enjoy your morning in, we'll see each other at lunch, ok?" he hesitated before adding. "I love you."
"I… love you too," she breathed out barely audibly. "How are your eyes?"
"Sore," he chuckled. His heart swelled so much with love that he hardly gave any notice to his gas irritated eyes. Truth to be told, they were more than sore, it felt as if he had thousands of little splinters under his eyelids. "I'll live."
Meredith nuzzled her face back into the pillow and he reluctantly tiptoed out of the room. He gave the loves of his life the last look and quietly closed the door.
"Derek?" Carolyn's voice sounded behind him making him jump. Awkward… he was a middle-aged man caught by his own mother while slipping out of his girlfriend's room in the early morning. Not to mention his crumpled clothes and thick stubble. It was always Mark whom his mother used to catch trying to sneak girlfriend after girlfriend from the room where he stayed at Shepherds'. And it was always Derek's dream to be caught by his mother like that because that would actually mean he was alone with a girl doing stuff in the first place. But a band geek with a hooked nose and a huge afro could only dream. Derek didn't know why God decided it was the perfect moment to fulfill his teenage wishes. Life was a bitch.
"Good morning, Ma," he said meekly turning to face her and cursing his timing. She was in her bathrobe apparently on her way back to her room.
"It surely is," she smirked looking at him with her eyebrows raised. "When did you get here?"
"Late," he nodded squirming under her regard. "Late last night."
"So, I take it I can stop worrying?"
"If it's possible for you to ever stop worrying. But… yes, we talked, explained everything and went to bed together. I mean, no, not like that," he stammered, having realized what he just said to his mother. "It was just… sleep, Bessie came later, she had a bad dream."
"Are you going to hospital?" grinned Carolyn, amused with her son's jumbled explanations.
"Yeah, yes. I should a… hurry up."
"Derek," she frowned as he walked past her to the stairs. "Your eyes are all red, have you… cried?"
"I… yeah," he admitted half truthfully. Carolyn loved Meredith and he was sure the fact that she accidentally treated her only son with tear gas wouldn't change that but he preferred to spare Meredith the mortification. On the other hand, that particular info wouldn't stay hushed up for long. Knowing Yang, it was already circulating down Seattle Grace's gossip drain.
He took a quick look at the mirror in the hall and sighed deeply. He looked as if had just finished an all nightlong marathon of tearjerkers. The skin around his eyes was still deeply red, his eyelids puffy and the whites bloodshot. Maybe he should see an ophthalmologist.
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"Looks like there was a lot of crawling last night," Mark greeted him with a grin as he joined him on the way to the cafeteria. He took a closer look at his friend's face and asked, "Man, what happened to you? Did she use torture? Oh, wait, did she spank you? Didn't know you were into pain."
"Shut up!" he hissed as a group of interns passed them giving him furtive glances.
"And I didn't believe Debbie telling me that Big Grey went postal on you."
"Don't be an idiot, Mark," warned Derek. Well, Mark was almost right. After all, Meredith did attack him. "We made up."
"Yeah, I know," he grinned. "About time, I'd say."
"You know? How do you know?" frowned Derek.
"Your mother's called me."
"Of course," Derek rolled his eyes. "I stumbled on her when I was leaving Meredith's bedroom this morning, not like I did anything but I felt like a teenager caught in the act."
"Like you would know the feeling," smirked Mark viciously. "Hate to remind you but you lived vicariously all through high school. All these years later, I'm still getting more than you."
"Not for long," Derek shook his head with superiority. "Meredith is a spitfire, and the things she can do with her body… and with mine in the process…"
"Yeah, right," squinted Mark ironically. "Little Grey's a- What's that?" he grimaced as they were met with an ear-splitting cry at the entrance to the cafeteria. "Is someone setting a bone here instead of the OR table?"
"Nope, it's just MiniShepherd proving she has a healthy set of lungs," drawled Alex from a nearby table.
"I don't think she needed to prove anything," grinned Izzie. "She has being loud coded in her genes. I still have this stock of earplugs I bought while living at Mer's."
Derek searched the cafeteria with his eyes to find the two blond heads at the level of the table in the other corner of the room. Bessie was sitting on the floor, beating it with her feet and crying wildly, stopping only to gasp for air. Mer was crouching near her trying to untangle the arms she crossed over her chest.
He was momentarily rooted to the spot. It was just unbelievable that this was his little angel. His heart gave an unpleasant pang as he gazed at her red blotchy face, covered in tears and an angry grimace on her lips.
"So… I'll leave you to it," Mark patted him sympathetically on the shoulder. "Enjoy the family meal. Oh, and see you at dinner."
"What?" he managed to register the last piece of information observing his daughter screaming uncontrollably. "What are you talking about?"
"Your mom invited me and Lexie at Meredith's; probably wants to celebrate. Hope you'll still be alive," Mark winced glancing at Bessie and hurried to pick up his lunch.
Derek took a deep breath and neared Meredith's table, getting to the heart of the problem.
"No, don't want!" yelled Bessie. "Want ice-cream!"
"Bessie, you can't have ice-cream before lunch. It's bad for you tummy," Meredith tried to reason with her.
"What's going on?" asked Derek with concern.
"She doesn't want her lunch, she wants ice-cream," groaned Meredith pushing hair from her forehead.
"She can have that later, right?"
"No!" Meredith shook her head firmly. "There will be no ice-cream today. Not after a tantrum like that," she sighed. "Let's get up from the floor, sweetie. Your food is getting cold."
"No! No eating! Hate you!" she screamed into her face.
Meredith winced involuntarily. She knew Bessie didn't understand the connotations of the word 'hatred'. For small children like her, it was either love or hate, nothing in between. It hurt nevertheless.
"Fine," she nodded curtly, picking Bessie up and placing her in the chair. "Fine. You're not hungry, then don't eat."
She heaved herself on her own chair and started to pick unenthusiastically at the food on her plate. Derek followed her lead even forgetting about his own hunger. Bessie instantly slipped from her seat and climbed into his lap, drying the last tears into his scrub top.
"Fine, I'll be the bad guy," shrugged Meredith. "Just don't you dare give her any sweets. We can't bribe her into eating."
Derek realized how much of an impact Bessie's words must have had on Meredith. She told him only yesterday how she feared becoming her mother. He gently took Bessie off his knees and leaned to tell her seriously, "That was a very bad thing to say to Mommy. Mommy loves you, she wants you to be healthy and happy."
Bessie rocked from side to side but Derek held her steadily in his arms. "You don't hate your Mommy, you love your Mommy. And you made her very sad. You don't want Mommy to be sad. Bessie, do you want Mommy to be sad?"
She looked fixedly at the floor for some time to finally shake her head, "Mhm-mhm."
"Go give your Mommy a hug, it will make her happy."
Bessie made her way back to Meredith, her eyes downcast.
"Mommy, I'm sorry," she reached her hands upwards to hook around her Mommy's neck and Meredith picked her up with a small whimper. "Love you, Mommy."
"I love you too, Cherry-pie," she rubbed Bessie's back tenderly. "More than you imagine."
Thank you, she mouthed towards Derek gratefully and covered his hand with hers.
You're welcome, he answered giving her a gentle squeeze.
Meredith's smile melted somehow as she studied Derek's face in greater detail.
"Oh my God, you look awful," she groaned.
"Thanks," he said wryly. "I knew a simple thank you was too much."
"Are you in pain?" she inquired, her forehead creased with worry. "I think you should see an ophto about it."
"I already have," he reassured her. "I got eye drops, they relieve the soreness."
"I nearly blinded you!" she bit her lip.
"Mer, don't exaggerate, it was only tear gas," he sent her a McDreamy smile. "You could hardly blind me with such a little dose. You just… temporarily disfigured me… and sparked off the new gossip about using domestic violence against me."
"I'll never live this down," she slapped her forehead hopelessly.
"I'll get my lunch now as emotions blew over," chuckled Derek getting to his feet.
"You know," smiled Meredith seating Bessie on her lap, "we could put an official end to the bet, you know The Bet… if there are still any people holding on to that."
Derek smiled at her and leaned to catch her lips in a light kiss.
"Some serious money's changing hands today, I hear," smirked Bailey, halting behind the table of her former interns.
"How could you possibly predict that?" groaned George placing the due sum before her while the rest of the group rummaged their pockets with frustrated expressions.
"Let's think," muttered Bailey counting the cash. "I know to look, I think with my brain and I'm Bailey so-"
"So she knows everything," grumbled Cristina but added on a lighter note. "I'm glad that someone did win here."
"Yeah, someone did," agreed Miranda softly watching Derek return to the table with his lunch and give Meredith another kiss.
"10 bucks his pretty face collided with her fists," giggled a nurse to her colleague, passing by their table.
"20 she tried to make him beg for forgiveness holding lamp over his eyes," exclaimed George.
"30 she kept him blindfolded all night long," took up Alex with a grin. "They like dirty."
Cristina burst out laughing. Meredith Grey and Derek Shepherd, it was one of those cases where the truth was as crazy as the wildest story.
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"So, Mark Sloan?" smiled Meredith as she and Lexie took out plates from a cupboard in Meredith's kitchen.
"Don't tell me he hit on you too!" frowned Lexie.
"He's Mark Sloan," stated Meredith. "He hit on everybody, sorry."
"Just say it," spitted out Lexie.
"Say what?" frowned Meredith testing the cleanliness of the wine glasses.
"That I'm stupid, or naïve. That he's older and he's an attending," she gesticulated wildly with her hands. "Like say 'Lexie, what the hell are you doing?"
"It's funny," commented Mer.
"I'm a laughing stock," said her sister letting her arms plop lifelessly to her sides.
"No," grinned Meredith. "It's just… Izzie, Izzie Stevens asked me the same question, sitting at the same spot. We were living together at the time and she saw Derek sneak out of the house one morning."
Lexie laughed heartily.
"So who am I exactly to criticize you for your relationship?" shrugged Meredith. "Been there, done that."
"What did you say to Izzie?"
"Hmmm, I guess my eloquent answer was: 'Uhm… it's just… and he's just so…"
"And then Izzie expertly concluded that I was falling for him," she gave Lexie a sharp look.
"I guess," she sighed. "Isn't it… too fast?"
"Even if it is, you can't exactly help it. I've been falling hard and fast since I took him home for drunken sex. But it's scary, I admit."
Lexie got lost in thought while Meredith asked her shrewdly, "So, is this a regular freak out or is there an ulterior motive?"
"Thanksgiving's coming," sighed Lexie glancing at the tray full of freshly baked cupcakes.
"And?"
"And I spend every holiday at my parents."
"You want to spend this one with Mark?"
"No… well, why not… I don't know," rambled the brunette. "Either case they'll know I have a boyfriend."
"You don't want them to meet him?"
"What if they don't like him? There are thousands of reasons," Lexie stuffed a cupcake into her mouth desperately. "He's Mark Sloan!"
"You might be blowing it way out of proportion," frowned Meredith as her sister reached for another cake. "He's not Casanova, he doesn't have a worldwide reputation."
"But he's a manwhore…"
"Not anymore, no, he isn't," Meredith shook her head. "Is this all you can say about him? That he's a manwhore? Because it doesn't bode well."
"No, it's not everything," she denied frantically. "He's great, not only in bed, well, he's amazing in bed… and his fun and his funny, we laugh and we talk and-"
"You see, you know what to tell Susan and Thatcher, well, maybe skip the bed part. And… you can stop eating now."
"This is why I've always wanted to meet you, my older sister," said Lexie quietly.
"To follow in her inglorious footsteps?" smiled Meredith. "Maybe you shouldn't introduce Mark to your parents after all. They'll think I'm bad influence on you, hooking up with an older boss and all that."
Lexie rolled her eyes, "No, it's just… You know what to tell people and I'm not only talking about me and my silly things. I've seen you with patients and patients' families. You don't judge, you know what people should hear and you don't lie to them and it's pretty great."
"You make me look like a master of communication and looking at my relationship with Derek we know it isn't true."
"I know what I'm saying, Meredith," insisted Lexie. "And I'm really glad you're my older sister."
Meredith reciprocated her smile, "I'm glad you're my sister, too."
"What's that smell?" Lexie suddenly scrunched her nose.
They looked with panic at the oven and yelled at the same time, "The roast! Carolyn!"
"What? What's happened?" Carolyn hurried into the kitchen, followed by Derek and Mark with Bessie perched on his shoulders. "Oh, my… Girls, you were supposed to watch over the meat!"
"Mrs. Shepherd, no one in their right mind leaves a Grey girl alone with the food," grinned Mark. "It'll either disappear or end up in the trash can."
"Fortunately, it's not all ruined," Carolyn breathed out with relief, taking out the sizzling pan. "We won't starve."
"And there's someone who tried to convince me she could cook," smirked Derek opening the window.
"I said simple things!" Meredith glared at him swiping him with a table cloth. "Like comfort food!"
"Ouch, Big Grey," winced Mark. "You're violent, I guess the rumours you wanted give Derek a double black eye are true."
"I… did not!" exclaimed Meredith glancing nervously at Carolyn, who looked suspiciously at the three of them but at the moment concentrated on giving commands what to take to the dining room.
"Derek, you'll do the honors?" said Carolyn giving him the knife to cut the roast, as they were all seated at the table. "You're the man of the family."
"And I'm what?" asked Mark indignantly. "A skinny schoolgirl?"
Derek had a childish urge to stuck his tongue at his friend but being under his mother's watch, he satisfied himself with a lofty smirk.
"Little Derbear's not a man," Mark grumbled on. "He's a chick who's got a trashing from his woman last night."
"Now, seriously," Carolyn put her hands on her hips impatiently. "What's with that story? What's happened to your eyes, Derek? No, I won't believe you cried all night begging Meredith to take you back."
Derek looked sheepishly at his mother and then at Meredith who hid her red face.
"Ifrdtheargastizface," she mumbled.
"I'm sorry. I didn't catch that, dear," Carolyn turned towards her.
Meredith cleared her throat and spoke a little louder, "I fired the tear gas at his face."
There was a moment of silence and then Mark burst out laughing followed by Lexie and the rest of the table, including Bessie who took up the good mood of the adults.
"It was… self-defense," Meredith bit her lip trying to justify herself. "I thought he was a thief."
"Quite right, Meredith," agreed Carolyn with a good natured smile making Derek frown. "You did what every mother would. When it comes to the safety of the child, we shoot and asks questions later."
"Looks like you have to get used to the women front," commented Mark. "They're gonna always side along."
"So, what's with Derbear?" asked Meredith to divert the attention from herself, even if Carolyn didn't seem horrified with the amount of bodily harm she inflicted on her son.
"Embarrassing Derek stories time, excellent," quipped Mark enthusiastically. "Did you think he's McDreamy on the other side of the continent? Nope, he's our little Derbear, skinny ass, afroman-"
"Excellent, I could throw in some embarrassing Mark stories Lexie would love to hear," Derek interrupted the list of the epithets giving out the portions of the roast.
"There are no embarrassing stories about me. There are the adventures of the great Mark Sloan," he boasted.
"I assure you I can tell plenty," argued Derek.
"Yeah, sure, wait for your turn," smirked Mark. "So, Meredith, do you want to hear the one when we were in the ninth grade and Mrs. Shepherd discovered a box of condoms in Derek's room?"
"Do tell," said Meredith with a wide grin.
"There's nothing to tell," groaned Derek.
"I guess I have to agree on that with Derek," stated Mark sorrowfully. "Not much to tell because there weren't Derek's condoms. I hid them there assuming Mrs. Shepherd won't tidy up his room with Derbear being all that prim and proper. But you know what's the funniest in this story?"
"What?" grinned Meredith.
"The funniest part is that," Mark tried to hold back his laughter, "Mrs. Shepherd didn't even ask Derek for explanations. Everyone knew there was no way Derbear was getting any."
"Are you done having fun at my expense with my daughter listening about my sex life?"
"What sex life?" grinned Mark.
"Mom!" whined Derek.
"Boys, enough! I swear Bessie here behaves more maturely," scolded them Carolyn.
"Oh, she's got a temper all right," Mark shook his head. "You should have seen the show she gave today at lunch."
"What happened?"
"We had a little problem," explained Meredith. "She was fussy with the food."
"Derek here was scared shitless, looked like he wanted to run."
"Mark Sloan! Refrain from that language at the table and in front of my granddaughter!"
"Sorry, Mrs. Shepherd," he said solemnly.
"I was scared and stunned," admitted Derek. "But I didn't what to run."
"Temper tantrums are hard," sighed Meredith.
"So, is Bessie getting any apple pie I made today?" asked Carolyn looking between Meredith and Derek.
Meredith glanced at her gratefully. There was the strange and incredible thing about Carolyn Shepherd. She gave birth to and raised five children, she was an experienced parent, yet she never interfered with Meredith's decisions concerning Bessie.
"Mommy, please!" pleaded Bessie. "I eated dinner good!"
"You did," nodded Meredith. "And you apologized earlier. I think you could have a slice but you have to ask your Daddy."
"Daddy, please!" exclaimed now Bessie, looking at him expectantly.
Derek was momentarily speechless but managed to recover quickly, "I… You can have your cake, princess."
"Thank you, Daddy, Mommy!" she bounced happily in her chair.
"Grey girls always get what they want," chuckled Mark.
"She's half Shepherd," Meredith winked at Derek playfully.
"Derbear, will you help me with the pie?" asked Carolyn, standing up and going to the kitchen.
"Of course, Ma."
"Should I take all in to the dining room?" he asked depositing the dirty dishes to the sink.
"In a moment, son," she said wiping her hands. "I need to have a quick word with you."
"Yeah?"
"Your father always wanted you to have this," with a melancholic smile, she took a ring off her finger and placed it on her open palm, "for the right girl."
He looked open-mouthed at the simple ring with a sparkling stone.
"Addie wasn't right, clearly."
"You spent three days with Meredith," said quietly Derek. "Most of which she was at the hospital. you barely even know her."
"I know enough," she nodded firmly. "I know she loves you, I know she cares for you. And sweetheart," he caressed his cheeks affectionately, "sometimes you tend to see things in black and white."
"Mhm," he nodded.
"Meredith doesn't."
"No."
"You need a spoonful of that. You need her," she whispered, making him smile and nod.
"But it's too early," he cleared his throat, somewhat reluctant to take the offered ring. "We only made up yesterday and Meredith… I don't think she sees herself ready for marriage."
"I know it's too soon," acknowledged Carolyn. "I'm not telling you to run back there and kneel in front of her this instant. You have a lot to work out beforehand. But you can still take the ring as a reminder of your goals, of what you want to be with Meredith and Bessie."
He finally appeared convinced and reverently picked the subtle piece of jewelry.
"And let me just tell you this," Carolyn stated knowingly. "From what I gather, Meredith didn't think she was ready for motherhood and you see yourself what a wonderful mother she is, how much she understands. She wants to share her life with you. Do you see how she asked you to make a decision concerning Bessie? It might have been a small one, but it just shows how thoughtful she is."
"I don't want to scare her off," said Derek. "The last time I mentioned marriage we broke off and she left the country."
"A lot has changed since then," remarked reasonably Carolyn. "Now, take the tray, dear, or they'll start to suspect something. And hide that ring!"
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Meredith sprawled her body languidly in the bath. The evening went well, so lightly, warmly… family like. Like something taken from someone else's life. But it was her life now, she realized with a content sigh.
Suddenly, the door to her bathroom opened and Derek went in smiling at her. "I thought you'd wait for me," he pouted stepping closer to the bath.
"Bessie's sound asleep," he wiggled his eyebrows at her staring to unbutton his shirt. "She went out cold during the story and I tucked her in."
"And your mom?" she subtly reminded him of the presence of his mother under the same roof, despite her brain going fuzzy, watching fixedly the muscled wall of chest being exposed before her very eyes.
"No, I didn't tuck my mom in," he quipped tossing the shirt aside and moving his hands to his belt.
Meredith gulped at the thought of what she was going to see next. "Seriously," she breathed out, her throat going dry. "No funny business."
"You're withholding sex from me?" he quirked his eyebrow at her, pulling down the zipper at the front of his khakis.
"Marks tells me you're more than capable of going on without it for long periods of time," she smirked.
"Funny," he said dryly as his trousers joined his shirt on the tiled floor.
Meredith licked her lips unconsciously. God, she loved his body, every part of him, but that one covered now only with his boxers was her absolute favourite.
He hooked his fingers behind the elastic band to pull the last item of clothing off his body when he paused, catching Meredith's cloudy expression.
"Yeah, funny… lots of fun," stammered Meredith.
"You know, Mer, not that I'm bothered," he spoke conversationally. "But my eyes are a bit higher."
"They are," she agreed absent-mindedly still staring at his crotch, the force of her stare making him harden. "You wanted to take a bath, right? Go on…"
He sighed and stepped out of his boxers, proud at the lusty smile that appeared on Meredith's lips and her heavy breathing. He stepped into the warm water and sat down in the opposite end of the bath.
"Are you tired?" he asked with concern.
"No," shrugged Meredith with a smile.
"No?"
"It was… nice. I get why happy families are always so… happy."
Derek's heart beat faster. Apparently, his mother once again turned out to be more perspicacious. If Meredith wasn't ready now, she would certainly be soon enough. It was going to be hard being around her without blabbing about the ring. Yet, he couldn't rush, he needed to find a distractor. He smiled mischievously, there was one, right within his reach.
"So… you're not tired?" he smirked, rubbing her thigh with his feet underwater.
"Oh, no," she turned her head slowly in a warning.
"Good," he whispered, his hands finding her calves.
"No! I meant… I'm not tired… but I meant no sex!" she hurried to explain, her excitement rising nevertheless.
"What? Why?"he frowned.
"Your mother's here!"
"She's not here," he grinned.
"Smartass," she glared at him trying to scoop her legs closer to her and away from him, but he held her firmly. "We're not having sex when your mother's under the same roof and certainly not after what she heard about our sex life."
"And it's my fault that Lexie blabbed about that old hospital gossip about our hot dirty loud sex?" he asked emphasizing the last words.
"It's not gossip, it's the truth," replied Meredith. "I mean the loud part is."
"And the rest isn't?" he exclaimed indignantly getting closer to her, placing her legs around his waist. "I think I need to refresh your memory."
"There'll be no sex!" she giggled.
"Oh, come one," he whined. "Do you think my mom is gonna stand with a glass pressed to your bedroom's door?"
"She wouldn't have to do that in order to hear us. Besides, don't forget about your daughter, you want to traumatize her with the sounds of her parents having sex?"
"She's a heavy sleeper," he argued. "She slept right through our talking last night."
Meredith only shook her head defiantly.
"I'm wounded," he insisted with a pouty face. "By your hand."
"Don't try to guilt-talk me. You said you were good and you'd live."
"I was just acting manly. In reality, I'm suffering," he grimaced.
"Too bad, I don't go girl on girl," she shrugged.
"Oh, now, you're asking for it!" he laughed and lunged at her, his lips going to her neck, biting on her skin while his fingers started to tickle her sides mercilessly. She tried to escape his ministrations giggling madly but the only thing she achieved was slapping water onto the floor.
"Shhhh!" he shushed her. "My mother will hear and come to tell you off for having dirty wet sex with her son!"
Laughing even harder she managed to breath out, "You're making fun of me!"
"Yes, I am," he murmured nuzzling his face between her exposed breast. "It calls for some serious spanking, I say."
"Nope," she said coyly. "I think you just won't get any more apple pie."
"Withholding both sex and apple pie? That's just plain cruelty!"
"I'm going now, Mr. Sexcrazed," she shook her head, clumsily trying to break free. "I think all that sex-starvation you experienced in your youth is taking its belated toll."
"What sex-starvation?" he asked abruptly, pulling his mouth from her hardened nipple.
"The one Mark told me about," she smirked taking the advantage to stand up. "The one that apparently went on until college."
"I… fine, so I might have lost my virginity at college," he grumbled laying back in the bath. "Am I a lesser man now?"
"No," she smiled. "I think it's sweet. The waiting thing or something."
"It wasn't exactly like that," he admitted uncomfortably. "Mark was kind of onto something with the skinny ass and afro part."
"Seriously?" she frowned scanning his broad well-toned body, muscle after muscle and the hair being the object of universal admiration. "No way… you're… hot… and you're like… a sex god."
"Thanks," he shot wryly. "That's real ego boosting."
"Seriously," she crouched to him. "And I love your hair…" she murmured moving her hands through his black curls pushing her breasts close to his face.
"But you're still not getting any right now," she moved away to stand up and step out of the tub. She glanced back at Derek to find his eyes glide scrupulously over her body. She suddenly felt self-conscious, it wasn't the normal lust look Derek gave her while seeing her naked. She rubbed her neck bringing her arms over her chest timidly, feeling a bit silly at her unsuccessful attempts to cover herself from his eyes.
"Derek?" she frowned. "What… what are you looking at?"
"You," he answered simply. "Post pregnancy you."
"I… you saw me naked at the trailer," she reminded.
"I wasn't really looking," he said softly.
"I didn't change that much."
"You did," he smiled. "You're still skinny, true. But your hips are a bit rounder and your breasts… definitely. How didn't I notice that before?"
"You should've seen me while I was breastfeeding. They were verging on disproportionate," she tried to joke.
"Mhm, have any photos?" he asked grinning.
"Only clothed ones," she smirked.
"And that's…" he scooted to the edge of the bath, brushing her abdomen with his fingers.
"An ugly stretch mark," sighed Meredith, inhaling deeply as his lips descended on her imperfect skin.
"You're beautiful," he said huskily. "And mine," he added giving her stomach the last peck.
"What is it with men and their obsession over pregnant bodies?" she asked slipping a robe over her body.
"I'm not obsessed with pregnant bodies," he laughed. "Just your body, even if you denying me sex."
She rolled her eyes and walked out of the bathroom. Derek joined her under the covers of her bed several minutes later, spooning her tightly, just like the previous night. It was good to have him back, safe and warm, sometimes still scary, but she never wanted to lose that new life she was embarking on with him and that new level of intimacy they seemed to be reaching.
