Chapter 12 – Damon
His hand traveled up and down, from her waist to her leg and thigh, and then up to her ribs, stopping below her breast.
She moaned softly as she woke up from a wonderful sleep. Stretching her body, he traced kisses down her neck.
"Morning," he gently pulled her by the shoulder and laid her onto her back.
"Morning," she smiled, looking into his piercing blue eyes.
He leaned in, cupping her cheek and kissing her soft lips. Her arms wrapped around his neck, willing of holding him there as long as possible.
"How are you feeling?" Derek asked Meredith, settling beside her. "Tired?"
"I should feel tired, shouldn't I?" Meredith giggled.
"Well… I was pretty amazing last night, so…"
Meredith pinched his cheek, laughing. "I am feeling great. At least as great as possible."
Derek sighed and nodded. "He left and Danny seemed to take that very well. He was just a bit sad, but that's understandable."
"I don't know," Meredith didn't seem as convinced as Derek.
The past week, after Damon returned from his business trip, life followed its usual course for Daniel. Not even the fact that he was packing his stuff didn't scare Daniel, because he was still sleeping there and he was there in the morning.
"Don't worry," he caressed her cheek. "We have a smart boy. Now can I show you how amazing I am in the morning?" he grinned against her lips, crashing them with a kiss.
"I'd say you're rather pretty cocky in the morning," Meredith giggled, parting her legs and welcoming him on top of her. "Wait. What time is it? Do we have time?"
He took her hand before she could reach to the alarm clock, and put it around his neck. "No worries, ok?"
Meredith was about give in, when she heard something downstairs. She pushed Derek off her and stood upright, listening carefully for any sound.
"Mer," Derek sighed, irritated with the interruption.
"Damon?"
Then both of them heard Daniel.
Meredith gave Derek a knowing look and hurried to throw some clothes on her before she went to look for her son.
"Danny?" she called out from the hall.
As answer, a few sobs could be heard from down stairs. She found Daniel sitting on the stairs, with his head buried in his knees.
"Danny," she said softly and climbed down, taking a seat next to him.
Daniel looked up, tears streaming out of his eyes. "He... he left..." he said between sobs.
Meredith smiled gently, wiping his cheeks. "He did. He left yesterday. Don't you remember?"
Daniel kept sobbing. "Why?"
"Daniel, you know why. Don't be sad. You're still best friends and you can visit each other whenever you want."
"But... I want Damon," he cried, leaning to his mother's arms.
Meredith hugged him closely, rocking him slowly in attempt of calming him down. She heard Derek's sigh from the top of the stairs. She looked up and pled with her eyes not to say anything.
Derek was visibly disappointed with the scene. He shook his head and left for the bathroom.
"Come here," she stood up and carried Daniel onto her arms. "Let's wash your face." She took him into the bathroom.
Derek was wiping his face when they came in.
"Go away!" Daniel managed to surprise everyone when he shouted at his father. "I want Damon back!" he demanded, looking up at his mom.
"Daniel!" Meredith snapped. "Derek..." she looked at him, wanting to apologize, but he shook his head.
"I told you so," he said as he walked past them on his way out.
"What?" Meredith asked, confused.
He stopped in the doorway, controlling his anger. "He should have left the day I came here. I knew this would happen. This is all your fault."
Meredith stared at him, speechless.
Derek wanted to leave, but changed his mind again and turned to Meredith. "When I suggested that he should move, you should have listened. Because I knew better."
"Leave," Meredith gritted her teeth, feeling the anger ready to throw something at him.
He shook his head with disapproval and shut the door on his way out.
Meredith took a deep breath and tried to calm down. Daniel was still crying in her arms. She turned the water on and splashed water on Daniel's face despite his screams. She wiped him with a towel and put him down.
"Daniel, stop!" she shook him a little, to bring him back to his senses. "What's wrong with you?"
Daniel's cry stopped when he found himself shaken by his mother.
"This is not how you talk to your father. Never yell at him again. Are we clear?"
Daniel frowned, not entirely happy, but then he nodded slowly.
"I get that you miss Damon already, but it's not the end of the world. He's still your best friend and you can visit each other. He had to move because he needs to be with his family, just like you need to be with yours. With me and Derek. Derek needs to be here and not Damon, because Derek is your father."
Daniel sniffed back his tears, sobbing.
"Go to your room and calm down. I will be with you in a minute," she smiled gently, caressing his face.
Daniel wrapped his arms around her neck and hugged her.
"Be a big boy and stop crying, ok?"
Daniel nodded and Meredith walked him out of the bathroom.
The bedroom door was closed. Now that she managed to calm Daniel down, she needed to have a serious talk with Derek. There were some things he had said that she didn't appreciate.
Derek was picking his clothes for the day, when Meredith walked in. He shut the closet and folded his arms against his chest as he waited for Meredith's lecture.
"I know I am going to repeat myself and I know you are not going to like it, but we don't like the truth, always. Damon was here when you weren't and we couldn't just dispose him because you showed up. He means something to us and I may have not managed the whole situation too well, but this was my best. Yes..." she didn't let him talk when he opened his mouth to say something. "I am going to rub this into your face each time we'll fight or each time we'll fight because of Damon." She stopped for a moment to catch up her breath.
Derek took advantage of Meredith's break and asked bitterly, "Is it always going to be like this? We make love and then we fight?"
Meredith laughed sarcastically. "Are you asking me? You're the one picking up a fight out of nothing."
"If you could just listen and understand..."
"I think I listen to you enough to understand how huge your ego is," Meredith shut him. She ran her hands through her hair and let out a sigh. "This isn't working properly. Daniel shouldn't hear us arguing."
"Are you serious?" Derek questioned. "So you're breaking up with me, just like that?"
"I am not breaking up with you, Derek. We... do need a break, though."
"Like a break is what we need right now," Derek retorted sarcastically.
"Apparently that's what we need," she replied.
"So, am I left on the outside now?"
"No! You can stay here. Derek, I don't want us to break up and I don't want to take a break either, but we do need one. You can stay here, be with Daniel. You can take him out whenever you want. Just you and I are taking a break."
Derek was staring at her like he could not believe what was happening was real. Nervous, he entered the bathroom and slammed the door.
Meredith sighed and sat down at the edge of the bed. Her relationship with Derek had been on the rocks from the beggining and she didn't want that, she truly believed that a break was what they needed.
After she comforted Daniel and helped him get dressed, Meredith took a quick shower and went downstairs for the breakfast. Daniel was already eating his breakfast and Derek was pouring coffee for himself. When she walked in, he just turned and glanced at her.
"I am on call tonight so you'll have to pick Daniel from the daycare," she told Derek.
Derek just nodded.
"Can you give me a mug?" she asked then.
Derek opened the cabinet and took out a mug, handing it to her.
"So you're not speaking to me at all. That's very mature of you, Derek. But ok, if this is the game you want to play. I am not going to speak to you either until you'll be the first one to come to me and say a word."
Derek lifted a brow, like mocking her.
Meredith huffed and went to the table, to have breakfast with her son.
After picking Daniel from the daycare, Derek drove straight home. The past 2 days had been painful. He and Meredith weren't speaking to each other and Daniel kept sulking over Damon's moving. He hated the whole situation. He tried to blame Damon for it, and then he tried to blame Meredith, too, but it didn't work. He couldn't find any of them guilty for the state of their relationship.
Not even he was guilty; or entirely. Something had to be done, because he loved Meredith and the family they had together.
Daniel dumped his backpack on the hall and left in the search for his mother. Apparently, Meredith had left earlier from work today.
Derek didn't want to yell after Daniel to pick his backpack because their relationship had been pretty rocky for the last 2 days, too. So he took it and desposed it on the couch, together with his stuff. As there was no time for cooking and he knew that Meredith wouldn't cook either, he and Daniel had stopped by to a restaurant and bought dinner.
He was unpacking in the kitchen when he heard Daniel's feet trailing into the room.
"Mommy's sick," he said sadly and quietly.
"What?" Derek looked at his son. "Are you sure?"
Daniel nodded.
Derek wiped his hands and left the kitchen, followed by Daniel. "Is she in her room?"
"Uh-huh," Daniel nodded.
He slowly pushed the door opened and walked in. It was dark in the room already, but he could see her. He walked to her bed and bent to take a better look at her. She looked like she was sleeping. He put his fingers on her forehead and there was no sign of fever. There was something in her breathing though, that showed she was feeling sick a little. Daniel clung on his father's hand, expectantly looking up at him.
Derek smiled and picked him up. "She must be very tired," he whispered. "We'll let her sleep."
"And her dinner?" Daniel whispered back, very serious.
Derek chuckled quietly and walked out of the bedroom, closing the door behind them. "She's a big girl. She will wake up and eat something. We'll save something for her," he smiled down at Daniel.
Sad, Daniel turned his back on Derek and walked ahead, downstairs. Derek let out a sigh. In order to start fixing things with Meredith, he had to repair his relationship with Daniel.
While Derek heat up dinner, Daniel stood at the table, wriggling his legs, his face propped in his hands. Derek put the food on the plates and brought them over to the table. Before he handed Daniel his fork, Derek decided to have a little talk with him.
"Do you miss Damon?" he asked.
Daniel glanced up at him and nodded once.
"He has been very busy with the moving, but what do you say if I give him a call tomorrow and see if we can visit him? Or even better; if we can meet in the park?"
Daniel's face lit up in an instant.
"But you need to promise me something," Derek smiled. "You need to promise that you won't be sad anymore."
A smile grew on his lips and Daniel nodded firmly. "I promise, daddy."
From that moment, the smile didn't leave his face anymore. How easy that had been? Derek surprised himself. All he had to do was to leave aside from his ego.
Meredith felt lost when she woke up. She didn't know what day or what time of the day was. She tried to sit up, but something heavy in the pit of the stomach made her lay back down. Her head was buzzing, too. She closed her eyes and tried to relax. The alarm clock on her nightstand was showing 7 a.m. Now she remembered she arrived home and crashed in bed. She could not believe she had slept for so long.
She was not in the best shape, still, but she needed to check on Daniel. She hadn't seen him for almost 24 hours.
Slowly Meredith dragged herself out of bed and went to check on Daniel's room. The door was open and the room empty and so was Derek's. Derek seemed to handle Daniel pretty well as no shout of crying awoke her.
She took a shower, hoping for more energy, but the pain the pit of the stomach was still present, as well as the headache was.
To her surprise, she found Daniel and Derek happily chatting about how great the waffles and the pancakes were. Her stomach growled when the smell hit her nosetrils. She couldn't remember when was the last time she had eaten.
Daniel greeted his mother with a big smile and his mouth smudged with syrup.
"Don't drown your breakfast in syrup," Meredith told him, smiling and taking the bottle away. "You had enough of this. I don't want you to start climbing the walls."
Daniel giggled and stab another waffle.
Derek was turned to the oven and glanced just once at her since she came in. She chose to ignore him, too. She knew it was silly, but she couldn't explain what she was getting so irritated with his presence there; especially with his stubbornness of not talking to her.
She took herself a plate for some breakfast and then went to fill a mug with coffee. Derek was at the coffee pot already, filling a cup and handing it to her afterward.
Meredith looked at him, surprised with his gesture. She shrugged her shoulders and accepted the coffee. She took a sip out of it, but as the coffee slipped down her throat, nausea hit and made her spit everything out in the sink. There was something wrong with that coffee. As she cleaned her mouth with water, she could feel Derek's glare on her. From the corner of her eyes she also could see him pouring from the same pot and drinking from the same coffee. She was confused, because Derek made good coffee.
Now she was filling worse. She walked over to the table and sat down next to her son. The appetite was gone already, scared by the nausea.
"Daddy and I are going to the park today. With Damon," Daniel happily informed his mother. "Wanna come?"
Meredith stared at him, in shock. What was going on with the world today? She looked up at Derek and he put a small smug smile on his face.
"That's great," Meredith smiled at Daniel. "Did Damon call?"
Daniel shook his head. "Daddy did. And I talked to him too."
Meredith just couldn't pull herself together and understand what exactly Derek was doing. They had argued over Damon and that was why they weren't talking to each other, but he was now taking Daniel out to meet Damon in the park. What was going on was too much for her to take. She would have loved to sit and have breakfast with her son, but she had left unfinished work at the hospital because of the headache.
She got up from the table, kissed the top of Daniel's head and asked him, "Be good today. Have fun."
Daniel just smiled at her and she left the kitchen, watched confused by Derek.
After she had picked her stuff, Meredith stopped by the kitchen just to say goodbye to her son.
"Mommy?" he called her back.
Meredith popped her head in.
"Don't you eat anything?" he asked her.
Meredith looked at Derek, who was looking at her, waiting for an answer. He had asked Daniel to ask her that. Meredith smiled wearly.
"I don't have time," she told Daniel and added, glancing at Derek. "But thanks."
From the moment he spotted Damon sitting on a bench, Daniel ran from Derek, straight to Damon. After a few hugs and questions, Daniel wanted in a swing, so he chose Damon to go push him.
"Are you seriously jealous of me? Really?" Damon asked Derek while he pushed the swing. "Then you must not know how jealous I am of you."
Derek smiled, surprised with Damon's statement.
"Everything changed since you showed up in Seattle. Daniel and I aren't the same anymore," he stated.
Derek didn't know how to respond to that. He had certainly not expected to such words from Damon.
"Meredith told me you're not talking anymore."
"We had a little disagreement," Derek answered quietly.
"Over me."
"You have no idea how hard it's been for me and see that someone else had taken my place."
"It wasn't exactly like this," Damon contradicted. "Meredith always was there when a father was requested. I never was Daniel's father and Meredith and I weren't a couple. I do have to admit that... I liked Meredith, when I first met her."
Derek shot him a 'i knew it' glare.
Damon chuckled. "You have to admit she's pretty hot, even though she's a mother now."
Derek couldn't disagree on that. He also knew it was silly to think that no other man could look at Meredith.
"Quickly I had to learn that she's not going further than a flirt," Damon continued. "So what's the problem between you two?" he asked Derek.
Derek was watching Daniel, how his eyes narrowed each time he was coming forward with the wind blowing in his face.
"You know, the first step in rehabilitation is to admit that you have a problem," Damon stated.
Derek looked up, with an amused look on his face. Meredith was right; Damon sounded rather like a therapist than a lawyer.
Damon chuckled understandingly. "My mother is a therapist. She has her office at home," he explained.
"I see now," Derek let out a chuckle.
"Stop!" Daniel screamed giggling when he was done with the swing. Derek put him down and let him take off to a group of boys who were playing in the sandbox.
"I can see how much he missed me," Damon rolled his eyes and then walked together with Derek to sit on a bench nearby.
"I have a problem," Derek finally admitted.
Damon agreed with a nod. "I have a problem, too." He looked at Derek as he was staring at him. "I received this great job offer in New York, it offers me everything to move here, but I am not sure if I can leave Seattle."
"Because of your sister's," Derek said, confused.
"No," Damon sighed. "She was just a pretext to leave Mer's place," he explained.
"Why?" Derek was intrigued now.
Damon looked at him and rolled his eyes. "Because you're annoyingly loud when normal people want to sleep."
"What?" Derek burst into laugh.
Damon rolled his eyes, again. "I am not going to admire your performances, so don't make me repeat what I said."
"How about your sister?"
"She's legal now. She can take care of herself. Besides, dad is sending her money for rent."
"Is Cristina the reason you don't know what to do?"
Damon remained silent for some time, while Derek waited for his answer. It seemed like he and Damon could chat without much trouble and whatever was on Damon's mind, Derek wanted to help.
"From man to man, Cristina is challenging and fun, but we're too different," Damon stated.
Derek wasn't sure if he liked that answer. He had overheard Meredith and Cristina talking about Damon and Cristina sounded truly interested in him. Meredith would definitely not like to hear that.
"I don't know about Cristina. I just feel like I can't leave this town. There's something about it."
"It's not good what you're saying about Cristina. She's the girl with the scalpel and she's very good with its handling."
Damon chuckled. "I don't think she would come chasing me all the way until New York."
"No, but if you move, you might like to come back visiting," Derek pointed out.
Damon just shrugged his shoulders. He had a point with that.
"Did you know we don't have a hair dryer?"
Derek and Damon turned around, founding a girl standing behind their bench, smiling at them. She was blonde, her tail braided over one shoulder and wearing an extreme make-up.
Damon rolled his eyes and turned his back on her. Then Derek knew she must be his sister.
"And you decided to dry in the sun. In the park," Damon replied.
"I didn't wash it, but I will want to do it, eventually."
Damon looked at Derek. "My very annoying sister."
She giggled and slapped Damon's head.
"I am Jenny," she held her hand out to Derek. "You must be Daniel."
Derek shook his head, but remained stunned when he heard Daniel's name. "Why?" he asked, letting out a chuckle.
At Damon's grin, Jenny frowned and answered, confused. "Aren't you his friend?"
"Daniel is my son. I am Derek."
"Oh," Jenny frowned. "Why didn't I misunderstand?"
"Do you want an answer to that?" Damon asked sarcastically.
"I want you to stop being so rude to me," she replied.
"Then stop being so..."
Derek interrupted Damon, not wanted to assist to a fight between brother and sister. "How do you like Seattle, Jenny?" he asked politely.
Jenny walked around the bench and took a seat beside Derek. "It rains a lot," she stated, frowning. "But it's ok, I guess."
"You'll get used to the rain," Derek reassured her.
"I heard you're not from Seattle."
Derek looked at Damon, "You two communicate a lot, despite the fact that you find her very annoying."
"I'd say she likes to eavesdrop to other people's phone calls."
Daniel came running and stopped in front of his father. He saw Jenny there, just then. He looked like he wanted to say something, but he was too curious about who that girl was and what was doing there.
"He must be Daniel," Jenny concluded. "He looks a bit like Brad Pitt," she told Derek.
Derek just chuckled. "Is there something you want, Danny?" he asked his son.
Daniel nodded, looking up at his father and pointed back to an ice cream vendor.
"I don't know," Derek shook his head. "You haven't had dinner, yet."
"Why can't we start with the dessert?" Jenny questioned.
"Why can't you stop asking stupid questions?" Damon retorted.
Jenny shot her brother a glare. Then she turned to Derek. "You think you can give me a tour around the city? Introduce me to this place?" she asked him. "My brother is always working or baby sitting."
Derek looked questioningly at Damon, who just shook his head with disapproval.
"Actually, I work and baby sit all the time, too," he answered.
"Nonsense," Jenny smiled. "Is it because of your ex?"
"My ex?"
"Yes. The one you're not currently speaking with. You two need a break."
Damon stirred beside them and took out his wallet. "You two need to go and buy some ice cream," he told Jenny, taking out a few bills. "Take Daniel with you. Just this time," he asked Derek.
Derek couldn't say no to that. Jenny's presence was getting overwhelming.
Jenny was staring at Damon as if in disbelief. He shoved the money in her hand and glared coldly, making her stand up.
"Go after her. She has the money," Damon told Daniel, who was looking at them, confused.
Daniel took off after Jenny and was by her side in an instant. "Who are you?" they heard him asking.
"None of your business," she answered, annoyed.
"She's... awfully young," Derek told Damon.
"And awfully annoying," Damon nodded. "My dad wished for a girl. Don't mind her. She'll go away. Usually she goes for older men, but if you ignore her, she finds another target."
"Is she that bad?"
Damon just shrugged. "I don't want to say anything because she's my baby sister..."
"The first step for rehabilitation is to admit that you have a problem," Derek reminded him.
Damon chuckled and nodded.
They stood there, watching Jenny buying ice cream for her and Daniel. Compared to his sister, Damon was a great person and very decent, Derek concluded. He was feeling sorry now that he hadn't given him a chance from the beginning. It would have spared him of many problems now.
"It must be the ferryboats," Derek stated.
"What?"
Derek looked at him. "The reason you can't leave Seattle. It must be the ferryboats."
"It must be," Damon muttered with a sigh.
"Can I dare and ask what you're going to get Daniel for his birthday?" Derek asked Damon.
Damon grinned at him. "No."
"You're not going to help me with this, are you?"
"No. Not really," Damon admitted.
"Do you think you can help me with a hint?" Derek asked. "It's less than a week until his birthday and I have no clue what to get for him. He has everything."
Damon smiled knowingly while shrugging his shoulders.
Derek was starting to get annoyed with Damon, again. "Is it expensive?" he tried, again.
"Yes."
"Very expensive?"
Damon answered after a short thinking, "Yes."
"You know I can uninvite you to his birthday."
Damon snickered as Derek said that. "Storm your brain. You must come up with something good. You're a brain surgeon, for God's sake!" He stood up, tucking his hands into his pockets and asked Derek, "What do you say for a ferryboat ride? She has sea-sick."
Derek chuckled and agreed. Maybe he and Damon were in competition after all, so he had to win this one.
By the end of the evening, when Damon and Daniel said their 'goodbye's, Derek had started to like Damon; secretly.
N/A: A little more Mer/Der drama, but I promise this is the last one. I am actually thinking to bring this to an end soon. Then I can go back to my other, Complete.
