A/N- Thank you so much for the reviews and alerts, they make my inbox much brighter! I have one more chapter with Mrs. Shepherd after this one, but I want to move on a tiny bit, so I'm going to put them both up today, then I can get onto some of the fun stuff!
Disclaimer- I don't own Grey's Anatomy :(
There was nothing Meredith loved more than waking up in Derek's arms. That is except waking up in Derek's arms knowing that neither of them had to work, and they got to spend the entire day wandering around Seattle, visiting the landmarks that were, for Meredith, looked at from afar but never visited. What made it even better was that they got to do it all with Carolyn, Derek's mother, who by the smell of it was just about to serve up breakfast. She felt Derek stir behind her, pressing a kiss to her neck as he pulled them both from their slumber.
"Morning," he uttered sleepily into her neck.
"Morning," She returned, turning over so she could kiss him back, their lips meeting softly as their hands went instinctively to the others' hair. Meredith pulled away and rested her cheek on Derek's chest, savouring the rare moment of bliss that she'd earned by working a 90 hour week.
"We should be getting up." Derek said, making no effort to move, instead pulling Meredith closer, kissing the top of her head and breathing in the lavender scent that he loved so much.
"We should," Meredith agreed. "I think your mom made breakfast, and I'm insanely hungry, but trust me, if we were alone, we wouldn't be leaving this bed all day." Derek grinned as he pulled the both into a sitting position, swinging his legs over the side of the bed and stretching before turning to look at her.
"Choosing food over me are we?" He joked, knowing that with Meredith, food often trumped sex, especially after a long surgery filled week.
"If Mark hadn't spent the entire week telling me how amazing a cook your mother is i might feel a little differently." She followed him into the bathroom, joining him in the shower once the water was warm. They quickly dried and dressed and joined Carolyn in the kitchen, ready for whatever the day would throw at them.
"Okay, where first?" Derek asked his mother as she joined him in the front of the car. Derek's mother had seen little of Seattle before, having only ever passed through on the way to somewhere else. Derek had suggested that they go and see the sights, something he himself had yet to do despite living there for well over a year. Meredith could tell that there had been many similar tourist-y trips for Derek when he was younger, Meredith hadn't had the same luxury, only ever seeing the sights in Boston when she went on a class trip, or the nanny had been instructed to get her out of the house, so Derek was excited to take her, trying desperately to help make up for her less than idyllic childhood. She'd laughed at him when he took her to the aquarium one afternoon, walking around pointing out the various types of marine life within it. She scoffed and called him a loser, but secretly she'd loved it, it made her feel blessed to have a boyfriend that was willing to experience it all with her, even if it was, as Meredith called it 'a bunch of slimy fish swimming laps'. He'd even tried to buy her a cuddly toy from the gift shop, holding up all kinds of creatures, much to the delight of the other visitors, she picked up a tiny clownfish key chain instead, letting him attach it to her keys after he'd paid for it, making sure everyone in the gift shop knew it was for 'his incredibly beautiful girlfriend'. Meredith was excited to see if he was quite so embarrassing and romantic with his mother around.
"Well definitely the space needle, and anywhere else you'd like to take me. I'm sure Meredith knows dozens of nice places to go, being a Seattle native and all." Meredith went quiet and looked out of the window trying to avoid Carolyn's gaze in the rearview mirror.
"Have i put my foot in it again? I'm sorry sweetheart, Christopher and I used to be forever taking the five of them, I didn't even think that you probably didnt have the same. I guess we'll be discovering it all together." She asked apologetically. Meredith looked at the floor of the car, and Derek patted his mother's knee, trying to hide his smirk from both ladies. There was a moment of awkward silence, in which Meredith tried to figure out a way of making Carolyn think that she was somewhere normal, but being Ellis Grey's daughter, there was little chance of that. Derek opened his mouth to make a suggestion, but Carolyn beat him to it. "Well no bother, Addy gave me a list of places that might be nice to go, Nancy told her i was coming out to visit you, and she passed the list along." Derek cringed slightly at the mention of Addison, they were on good terms now, she sent the occasional email detailing her work life, and Derek would reply similarly. It was brief but it was civil, and he couldnt ask for much more.
Derek continued to drive, glancing at Meredith and smiling at her apologetically, trying to keep her spirits up, instead of making her think again about her mother and the shortcomings she faced as a child. They pulled into a car park near to the building, and Derek walked round and opened his mother's door, before taking Meredith's hand like a gentleman and guiding both ladies through the doors a grin plastered on his face that told of the surprise he had in store.
As they made their way up the space needle, Meredith wondered at what things would've been like for her if she'd had the kind of family that went to the aquarium or the zoo on weekends, that played soccer in the backyard on thanksgiving. At least she'd get to do that when they had their own kids. She would be the mom that spent her only day off baking cookies for the bake sale, or making an attempt to throw together a Halloween costume. Her kids would be sick of the sight of the tropical fish or the wild animals, they'd love the movie theatre and build a bear would be a destination whenever she felt like treating them. Shopping for clothes would involve more than the nanny poking at her and wrapping the tape measure around her before she went off and picked out half a dozen outfits that her mother would approve of. Meredith hadn't really been nurtured towards anything maternal, the only doll she ever got was anatomy jane, so she had to hope that when the time was right, everything would come naturally, and what didn't, she'd try her damnedest to pick up on her own. She had the best role model in Carolyn who squeezed her hand and held her close, the way she would have done when her own children were small. She still felt guilty for pointing out Meredith's childhood, and much like her son, she wanted to make up for it in any way that she could. Meredith smiled, finally feeling like a part of a family, something that before now, she could only have dreamed about.
After exploring the building, Derek headed towards the restaurant, whispering his name to a busboy as he entered, staff quickly coming to escort the three of them to a table near the large windows. Meredith gasped as she looked at the view, taking in the image of the whole of Seattle and beyond, the water sparkling in the rare october sunshine. Carolyn too was mesmerised by the view reaching for her camera and snapping a few photos to show to her grandchildren. Knowing that both would be distracted, Derek had ordered ahead, knowing exactly what both would want to eat. The food arrived promptly and the three tucked in quietly, not wanting to ruin the atmosphere or the wonderment of such a beautiful sight.
After coffee, the three of them walked the streets that were commonly walked by tourists, taking in the sights that were commonplace to those who had lived in Seattle for a while. Carolyn insisted on many photos, particularly of Meredith and Derek, asking passers by to take many shots of the three of them next to the more famous landmarks. Carolyn was a lover of architecture, so Derek lead them to various buildings that were of particular interest, pointing out various features while Meredith smiled. As boring as she found architecture, she loved it when Derek got passionate about something. If his mother hadn't been with them, they'd definitely be looking for a place to have sex around about now.
As the afternoon went on, Meredith began to get hungry again, and so Derek embraced Meredith's passion for food and grabbed a light dinner for them all from an Italian take out place, and they sat and watched the sun go down over the water. Satisfied that they had been appropriately fed, Derek once again took one lady on each arm and guided them towards an old theatre close to where they had parked. Meredith furrowed her brow in wonder at why Derek was bringing them to such a place. Neither were very much into arts, and Meredith had been drunk every time she'd entered a theatre in college, usually to see some friend of a friend make their debut in some of the most terrible theatre she'd ever witnessed. She looked up at the place, the name sounding familiar from one of the many architectural rambles from earlier in the day. She looked at the board, trying to figure out what they could possibly be seeing at a theatre that wouldnt be out of place in a 1920s Seattle.
"It's called culture Meredith," Derek teased as he handed over his credit card to pay for three tickets to the musical version of an old film he and Meredith had watched one weekend on the sofa. Meredith continued to frown at Derek's choice of entertainment, having slept through the middle of the film, but as soon as the lights lowered, her expression changed and by the end, she was on her feet cheering with the rest of the theatre goers. Grinning at Derek before getting wrapped up in the moment and kissing him hard, forgetting Carolyn was there momentarily until Derek pulled away slightly.
"I actually enjoyed that." She smiled as they walked back to the car. "Thank you Derek." He smiled and opened her door for her, kissing her quickly before helping his mother into her seat and driving off towards home. The journey was quiet, all three of them tired from the long day, but all of them happy, and full of appreciation for Seattle.
When they arrived home, Carolyn said her thank yous and good nights, yawning as she ascended the stairs, wanting nothing more than a good night's sleep. Derek pulled Meredith into his arms and began gently swaying with her across the living room, quietly singing one of the musical numbers to her, making her giggle in surprise before taking his hands and letting him dance with her.
"I thought you didn't sing or dance?" She jibed resting her head on his strong chest as she let him dance with her.
"In public, I don't, right here with just you, I can make an exception." The two looked into each others eyes, heading towards the stairs, tired after their day of exploring, but totally content, holding each other close as though they would never let go. When they crawled into bed after getting changed, they snuggled up together, never wanting the bliss to end.