"Hey!" Derek couldn't help but yelp when a thud pulled him from his sleep.
"Wakey wakey, sleepyhead." Meredith called.
"Would you stop waking me up by throwing these at me, please?" He requested as he sat up, balancing on his elbows. Despite the annoyed quality of his tone, he had a wide grin.
She smiled as she sat at the end of the bed. "I'm just excited."
"You're always excited. Every morning." He sighed. He was easily a morning person when he woke up himself, but not what he was woken up by someone else and dragged out of bed.
"I am. I love our mornings."
"One day, you're going to chuck these at me, hit me in the face, and give me another black eye, you know that, right?"
She faltered at that. "Uh- right. Probably should have thought of that. I'll stop. Sorry."
"I'll say it's fine if it gets me out of the next ten minutes." He offered hopefully.
She snorted. "Yeah, right. I'll just take the admission of stupidity. Now, up we get!"
"So what is it about this penguining that makes you so excited?"
She giggled at the term. "Penguining?"
"Penguins shuffle around with their little egg, you know? Like in the nature documentaries." He explained as she tossed his first KAFO aside, before moving to the velcro of the other one.
"Normal twenty-four-year-olds don't watch nature documentaries. Not sure normal people in their thirties do either." She muttered with a grin. "But, yeah, I know what you mean."
"So...I'm the egg, you're the parent penguin. Except- I mean, I'm the one doing the weird shuffling thing and you're the one walking normally but you know what I mean."
"There's also no paralysis nor walker involved in penguin eggs either." She pointed out before gesturing to the brace he was now free of, but not out of. "Or KAFOs."
"Excellent points. But- my question?" He pressed. "I wanted to know what your obsession with penguining was about."
"Right. It...It's not that I don't love you...I mean, the bit of you that means you can't walk. You know I love all of you but-" She smiled softly. "I don't know, just- something about seeing you walk really just makes me smile."
"But-" He tried.
"But it's not because I want you to walk-walk." She confirmed before he even got to start his sentence. "There is no part of my mind that sits around, crying over- or even thinking about what it would be like if you were able bodied because- I mean, I'm gonna be honest here, you know I really couldn't care less about the fact you can't walk. I really, really couldn't."
"So...you just like penguining? That's it?"
She smiled. "I like you walking. I like holding you in my arms as we shuffle. I like shuffling around your garage with you. I like kissing your neck as a reward for making it every few steps. And I love-" She placed her thumbs in his pyjama bottoms. "-our daily post-walk sex."
He grinned. "Mmm, well, that's certainly something I can agree with."
"Meredith. Grey. You're still alive?"
She smiled at the woman's instant greeting when she picked up the phone. "I know, I know Jen. I'm so sorry for not calling...ever. Life has been so hectic."
"Well, I've finally got you now."
"You do. And, for once, I am not working."
She smiled. She understood that; she was a surgeon too. "And, also, I was kidding; don't worry, all is forgiven...especially considering the fact that I've also made minimal effort to contact you. Therefore, I'm returning the apology."
"So...why are you calling now?" She asked, intrigued. She made a brief smile at Derek as she spotted him settling their drinks on the table by the sofa.
He waved, and gestured to her drink. He was smiling, like always, and didn't seem bothered by the fact that they were now communicating non-verbally.
She waved back, but shook her head.
"You're coming to Cali."
"I'm coming to Cali?" Meredith repeated, surprised.
"Harry proposed!" She squealed.
"No. No way-" She breathed.
"Yes way." Jennifer rebutted. "And you're my maid of honour, of course."
"Oh, wow. Right. So I really am coming to Cali."
Derek's head tilted at that, but he didn't interrupt her phone call. What was in California? Or who?
"Yep. Think you'll be able to take the time off?"
"Hopefully. I can always work some extra shifts, work some stuff around."
"Okay, great. No pressure, but I haven't really made any friends here."
"Right." Meredith agreed with a smile. "No pressure."
"But I gotta ask about you now. How's Seattle? Enjoying it over there in the rain?"
"It's not that rainy." She replied. Although, come to think of it, it had probably been raining for the last week or so. "But yeah, it's good- I haven't killed anyone yet so...that's nice."
Jennifer laughed. "Neither have I! We're doing so well."
Meredith smirked. "We are."
"Favourite speciality?"
"I'm going to be a total cliché and say neuro." Meredith admitted after a regretful moment. There was nothing wrong with neurosurgery, but ninety percent of med students seemed to have started off wanting to do neurosurgery, so it felt like a bit of a juvenile answer.
"Even now?"
"Even now. Especially now actually." She confirmed. "How about you?"
"Loving cardio- oh, loving the kids in paeds but not so much the fact that they're dying kids-" She listed. "That said, I'm actually quite liking oncology."
"Lots of choice then."
"Opposite of you."
"Well- I don't mind cardio. Obviously, general surgery is...looming."
Jen giggled. "Of course. And I understand why that's terrifying."
"Mmm-" Meredith sighed. "Tell me about it."
"So...from the fact that you haven't mentioned it...I'm assuming you don't need a plus one for my wedding? I mean- it hasn't been that long, has it? And I assume you've been focusing on your work and all."
"Oh." Meredith breathed. "Actually-"
Her jaw dropped for a second before closing to reply to her friend, "You're already getting laid? Meredith! What?"
"You're getting married." Meredith replied pointedly.
"To the dude I started dating in high school. It's not like I just met him."
"Well...yeah." She sighed. She forgot about that. "That's fair enough, I suppose."
"So you have a boyfriend. Do tell. All the details. All the details."
"Um-" She swallowed as she looked over to Derek, who was now sat next to her on the sofa. As he had a rather large couch, he had decided to swing his legs up onto it, so she was facing him. "My boyfriend-"
Derek raised his eyebrows, and pointed to himself before mouthing 'me?'.
She smirked, but didn't reply. "His name is Derek. He uh- he's a neurosurgeon. Head of neurosurgery, in fact, at Seattle Grace."
"Oh, wow." Jessica muttered.
"But- well, I mean, don't get me wrong, it definitely helps that's he's a surgeon because it means he understands my work and pressures, but, you know, he's great in other ways too."
"Good looking?"
"Oh, of course." She winked at Derek. "He's very, very handsome."
He wiped his hand across his face and made a slight pout, as if he was modelling.
She just about held in a giggle at that. "He has amazing hair. Memorising eyes. But it...it's not his looks, you know? It's a bonus, sure but- you know, there's other things."
Derek stopped his joking at that.
"He's just...so extremely kind; I'm always the most important thing to him, even when I really don't think I should be- even when he's the one having a hard time, I'm the focus. And he's funny- I'm constantly laughing so much my mouth literally hurts sometimes. He trusts me to know myself and to know certain things without a bombardment of questions and demands. I honestly don't think he's ever done anything that's made me feel bad about myself or upset me really, other than the minor and infrequent misunderstanding- in fact, he's the one making me feel better about myself, constantly. He just...he's perfect. So freaking perfect."
Derek wasn't looking at her in the eye anymore. He couldn't.
"Jesus, Mer." She sighed. "Maybe I need to trade in Harry for this Derek dude you speak of."
"Just...swooning." Meredith muttered, looking away from Derek now in the hope that he'd be able to breathe again.
"New-love obsession?" She assumed.
"More like...moderate-amount-of-time-love obsession." She replied. "We've been together a few months now but- I still feel the same way. Still madly in love."
"So...I'm assuming all of this means you do need a plus one afterall?"
"Well- it kind of depends." She swallowed. "Where are you getting married?"
"Where?" Jennifer repeated, confused. "In a church."
"What...kind of church?"
"A...church-church. A Christian church? You know, with...big stained glass windows and crosses and priests?" She replied, confused. Meredith knew both her and Harry were Christians, or at least leant that way due to their families, so she was confused by the question.
"I just-" She paused. "The type of church is important to me- to Derek."
"Why?" She asked, only getting more confused. "Has he got a problem with religion? Because I love you Mer but in not changing my wedding to a mosque to make your boyfriend happy."
"No- it's not- it's not like that."
"Then what?" She pushed.
"Derek was-" She paused. She could do this, right? "He's a little...different."
"What do you mean, different?" She asked, confused.
"He's...not someone you'd expect me to be dating." She admitted. She wasn't overly concerned about the way she explained this in front of him; he knew that these things weren't easy to confess to, so he was understanding.
"I don't understand."
"Derek was in an accident last year."
"Right."
She swallowed before admitting, "He was permanently paralyzed from the waist down."
She didn't reply to that. She wasn't sure she could.
"Jen?" Meredith asked softly before regretfully making a glance to Derek. He was most definitely listening and most definitely noted why she had gone silent, if his expression was anything to go off.
"Like...you mean-"
"He can't walk. Like- he...lives in a bungalow- has a car with no pedals- hates stairs; he's paralyzed."
"But like-" She prompted again. "You know-"
"He uses a chair." Meredith stated. She supposed that that was what Jen was going for to begin with, but didn't really want to have to say it like that.
"And...this-" She paused. "This is the guy you're dating?"
"I get it, Jen. I really do. I think I would have been laughing at myself if I heard about my future life and someone said this stuff to me but- honestly, I've never met such a nice guy- such a nice person. Someone who just...can make me feel so loved and so- complete."
"What about sex?"
Meredith snorted. "Paraplegic can have sex, Jen. Well- Derek can, at least."
Derek smiled too, guessing the question. He was glad that she could be so free about it.
"And, you know-" She winked at Derek. "-he really is quite excellent, despite any assumptions that you might have made already."
She giggled. "Okay, okay. I get it- handsome guy with the fancy career and the fabulous sex- I'm jealous, Mer."
"If it helps, I hate me too. All...bright and shiny. It's disgusting."
"So- I mean- you said you were happy and- you know, I heard all of those things that you said about how nice he was and all but-"
"I meant what I said, Jen. Trust me. This..." She smiled at him. "He is...the one for me, okay? I know it's...a little unorthodox, when it comes to...you know, society or something but-" She sighed as her smile expanded. "He really is perfect."
"You know that's not what I meant, Mer."
"I like bright and shiny. I freaking adore bright and shiny so I freaking adore Derek...and he adores me." She replied, hoping it would reassure her friend.
She sighed. "So-"
"It'll take you a minute."
"Mmm?"
"It took me a day or two to...conceptualise- to figure it out- to, honestly, process the idea of dating someone who a lot of people unfortunately steer clear from as a friend, nevermind a partner. So just- take a minute, Jen. It's okay."
She sighed. "Okay. Thanks."
"But, yeah- Last year, I'd think I was kinda crazy too but now-" She sighed happily before smiling at Derek. "Now I can't imagine my life without him."