"Derek."
"Yeah?" He replied, looking up from his chips and over to where Jen was sat.
"Can I be really rude?"
He didn't answer for a second. What an odd question. "Uh- yeah, sure, I guess."
"Derek-" Meredith sighed. "Just because she's my friend doesn't mean she gets to ask weird questions."
"It's okay, Mer. I don't mind. Promise." He whispered to her before kissing her briefly on the cheek. He looked back to Jen. "Something about my chair, right?"
She smiled, but he could tell she was a little embarrassed. "If you don't mind. I don't want to start a fight between you."
"No, it's okay. She just worries that I'm not drawing boundries but...I don't need to draw boundries in this conversation, because we're friends now." He explained. "And don't worry about us; the only fights we ever have are worry fights."
"Right. So uh- obviously, you know-" She swallowed, and her eyes flickered from his face to his body for a brief second, before leaving him completely. "I wasn't looking- I mean, I wasn't doing it on purpose- but I just...can't help but-"
"You want to know what happened to me?" Derek finished for her. He half-gestured to himself by looking down, eyes settling on one particularly serious-looking scar around his left knee cap. "You want to where all these came from?"
"Was it difficult?"
"Was what difficult?" Derek pondered with a creased brow.
She hesitated for a second before elaborating, "Looking in the mirror for the first time."
He swallowed, and looked down to where her thumb was stroking one of the scars on his knee.
"You know I think you're handsome- the most handsome man in the world but...I know that you don't think that- that you hate it so-" She paused, and analysed the look on his face. He looked so anguished. "Sorry. Stupid question. Don't answer that."
"My rehab facility had a state-of-the-art hydrotherapy unit. I remember Eve - she was my favourite nurse there - took me to my first appointment, and I just...I said no. It was one of the only words I could say, in fact, so I'm pretty sure I said it about a hundred times."
She sighed and replied with a soft, sympathetic, "I'm so sorry."
He smiled for a second, before it fell again. "Mark bought me new swimming stuff. Eventually I found something that covered most of me. And...I told Eve to go. It wasn't like I liked her in any important way- I didn't like her romantically or anything like that and that was literally the job she was payed to do, but...I worried anyway."
"You thought the way that she looked at you would change."
"I don't know why. But...yeah." He agreed.
"Well, you know the way that I look at you has changed since that day when I fell asleep at your house, and walked in on you getting changed."
"What?" He asked. His voice was soft, but his eyes flickered instantly from his knee, where Meredith was still drawing circles with her finger, to her face.
She smiled. "I saw your scars and I...I realised how freaking epic you were- how strong you were, Derek. Remember? I think...maybe it helped me fall in love with you a little more, actually."
He smiled back.
"Also-" She blushed a little red. "No shirt meant I got to see your muscles. And that was super hot too."
He snorted. "Of course. Wouldn't be complete without that bit. "
"I really do hate to ask, and I know Meredith is going to pull me aside later and hiss at me for this but...I just can't help it."
"It's fine. But- I mean...are you sure you want to know?"
Her eyes looked between him and Meredith at that hesitant question. What did that mean? "I am just about a surgeon too- the same as Mer. I can deal with gore, trauma."
He exchanged a quick look with Meredith as she squeezed his hand for reassurance. "Right...okay. Where to start, I uh- I...broke my skull in a few places. Apparently I had some lovely racoon eyes."
"Baslar fracture then?"
"Yeah." He agreed. "Then...I actually did break...my neck, but it was a stable fracture. I was put in a halo, and I have never had any neurological problems because my cord wasn't involved. Well, wasn't involved there, at least- obviously, my lower fractures weren't quite so lucky...that's an ASIA C SCI at T10 and 11. Uh-" He pointed to his shoulder. "This was a dislocation that needed an ORIF. Dislocated elbow too. Broke this wrist, needed surgery. Three surgeries on my pelvis. Three on the left knee- that was one of the worst, think I'm rather lucky it's still attached. Two on the ankle. And- right, yes- I'm on my third kidney now. No spleen. Missing a chunk of bowel. Questionable lungs at the time, but they're fine nowadays. So...ex laps, a hundred chest tubes and central lines (or at least that's what it seemed like), oh- and then I rather destroyed my rib cage, and my heart wasn't a fan of that so...also have this line down my chest. But I...think that's it."
She didn't speak for a very long time, a blank expression on her face. "So...that...I mean, and you're just- sat here right now."
"Oh, and obviously the TBI too. And the...AOS as well. Then...I mean, I was in a coma, and then...PVS for a few days. Then for a while my motor skills and cognition were out the window and obviously I couldn't speak with the AOS either so...yeah." He swallowed. He'd managed to list off his issues quickly enough, but he was starting to think about all the things he'd just said now.
"Oh...my god."
"Jen-" Meredith tried.
"Oh my god." She looked to Harry. He had had an equally as horrified look as her, but now he was just worried about her. "But like...that actually happened to you? All of that...stuff. Jesus Christ. How the hell are you even breathing right now? And what the hell happened? How did you even end up like that?"
"It's...a long story. A really long story."
She sighed. "Sorry- You don't need to tell me. It's okay. Sorry, again."
"Would you like to go and collect us all another round of ice creams to have a moment to breathe?" Derek pondered hopefully, so both couples could have a minute of peace. He knew Meredith would talk to him, and he imagined, and understood, that both Jen and Harry wanted a second to discuss the information they had just recieved.
"Yes. That...that's a good idea."
"Oh. My. God!"
The group stopped at that.
"Jen?" Harry asked, looking around and spotting his fianc- no, wife. He was still getting used to that.
"Humongous llama!" She squealed as she ran up to the carnival stand, pointing at a llama toy that was almost as tall as her.
"Woah." Harry muttered as he joined her. He was well aware of her llama obsession, so he wasn't too surprised by her screams.
"How do I win? What do I do? How do I get it?" She asked the man stood at the counter immediately. "Please. I need it. I need it."
He smiled. "It's a top prize, tier A, so that's 100 points in 10 throws. That all means you've got to land this ball in the smallest hole...10 times in a row." He explained as he held out the ball.
"Has anyone ever done it?" Jennifer asked, looking at the game with raised brows. She wasn't sure she could win that once, nevermind twice. Ten was hopeless.
"Honestly?" He asked. "No."
"Oh." She breathed, frowning. So much for her llama dream.
Harry kissed her on the cheek. "I'll try for you, if you want."
"I mean...we can try. Someone has to be the first one to do it, right?"
"Sorry." The man sighed as Harry through his 10th ball, and missed the infamous middle hole. "But that was good; sixty points from the middle hole makes you the joint top best player I've ever had."
He sighed. Only because he'd been doing it for about ten minutes now. "Jen-"
"Yeah, I know." She kissed him out of thanks, but it certainly wasn't a happy kiss. "We're not gonna do it. It's fine. Don't worry."
"Can...I try?" Derek asked. "Do you mind?"
"Oh, god, no. Please do." Jen said with a smile.
"Right." He sighed as he took the ball. "Here we go...I guess?"
"Marry me."
"Jen-"
She squeezed her llama. "Please, marry me."
Harry cleared his throat loudly beside her, nudging her in the ribs.
"Ah. Right. Bigotry. Forgot about that." She sighed as she looked to Harry with a frown.
"Also cheating on your husband with your best friend's boyfriend is not a very nice thing to do." Meredith reminded her. "Just...letting you know again that Derek is my boyfriend, because I know you keep forgetting."
She pouted. "What if we shared them? Double husbands sounds pretty good to me."
Meredith giggled as she dropped her arms down to embrace him a strange kind of hug from above, where she was stood behind him. "I'd like to keep Derek to myself, I'm afraid. And I never, ever, ever, ever, ever letting him go."
He smiled, just a little, as he engulfed her in his arms. "Really. I'm all yours, forever and ever. I promise. I love you, and I'm never going to stop loving you. You are all I want in the world. Jennifer is nice enough, but nothing compared to you. I pinkie swear, okay?"
She wrapped herself around him too, head buried in his chest. "Mine." She muttered defensively.
He laughed, just once. He couldn't help it. "Yes. I'm all yours."
He smiled, partially at her love and partially of the memory of them in the hotel together, her half-drunk and half-hungerover all at the same time.
"Now, I'm going to take my boyfriend to the end of the pier to watch the fireworks. You're welcome to join us."
"No, I think-" Jen kissed her husband. "I think we better do the same, but somewhere else- have some couple time. I've got to make up for the jokes I keep making about stealing you're man and it's easier if he's not sat there, where I can see his beautiful hair...oh- or his piercing blue ey-"
"Jen!" Harry exclaimed through a chuckle. "You're doing it again!"
"Oh. Right." She breathed. "Okay. Off we go. I'll uh- text in a bit so we can take you back to the hotel? Or maybe we want to stop off at a bar? We'll see, just- look at your phone after the fireworks end."
"Will do." Meredith said with a nod as the couple headed off.
"So...you want to watch the fireworks with your boyfriend, huh?" Derek asked with a grin.
She smiled. "Mmm. Now- shall we hold hands as we head over?"
"Meredith-"
She held her hand out. "C'mon- you know you want to."
"I don't, you know I never do-" He took her hand despite his verbal refusal. "But you do, and I love you...so, as always- fine."