106. Chapter 106

The sun was just peeking up over the horizon when Meredith tiredly pulled her jeep into the driveway beside Derek's land rover and shut off her engine. It was very early morning and the on-call resident had sent Meredith home a couple hours early to make up for the fact that she had been called in at four in the morning the day before.

Meredith let herself out of her jeep and stumbled up the driveway between the many vehicles already present. The twenty-four hour shift left her more drained than usual, likely due to the memories that surfaced after treating the very lucky skydiver with the defective parachute. It left her feeling more grateful than she thought possible for what she had, and she craved the warmth and comfort of her husband's arms. She just wanted to crawl into bed and have him hold her. It was so early now that she hoped he had a couple hours before he had to leave for work himself.

The porch was dark as she climbed the steps and approached the front door. With her keys already in her hand, she reached to slide the house key into the lock, only to jump in surprise when the door swung open.

She clutched her hand to her chest with a nervous giggle, expecting to see Derek, Izzy or Alex, or even George, who had been crashing on the living room couch on and off for weeks. Instead, she fell into shocked silence when she met the eyes of the half-sister she had managed to fall into some type of working avoidance routine with over the past several weeks.

"M-Meredith," Lexie stuttered, her expression equally as shocked as Meredith's. "What are you doing here?"

"What am I doing here?" Meredith echoed. "I live here. What the hell are you doing here?"

Lexie stammered in surprise. "Y-you live here?"

"Yes," Meredith insisted. "This is my house. Now, why are you here?"

"I'm sorry," she stammered quickly. "I had no idea...really. Alex never said-"

"Alex?"

Lexie shut her mouth.

"Alex Karev?" Meredith insisted. "Alex brought you here?"

"We were just...uh..."

An engine sounded on the street, and Meredith turned to spot a taxi pulling up at the end of the driveway. She turned back to Lexie, whose cheeks had blossomed dark red. Meredith took in Lexie's tired appearance and rumpled clothes, and she just knew exactly what had happened.

"I should...uh...the cab," Lexie rambled. "I called the cab, so I should...go. I'm sorry. I...didn't know. That you lived here. Alex didn't say and I'm...sorry." If possible, she blushed an even deeper shade of red before she pushed past Meredith and practically ran down the driveway to the waiting cab.

Meredith started after her in shock. She practically lived in a frat house, and after more than a year she hadn't thought anything could surprise her. Not this much. But she was wrong. Wrong and speechless. Of all the things she could have possibly expected to come home to, her half-sister doing the walk of shame was definitely not something she could have foreseen.

With a huff, Meredith stepped into the front hall and shut the front door behind herself. She kicked off her shoes and then padded towards the stairs that would take her to the upper level, her bed and her husband. Whatever she had witnessed at the front door could freaking wait until she hadn't been up for more than twenty-four hours. Maybe after she'd gotten some sleep she would realize she had been hallucinating.

The upstairs hallway was dark and quiet as she shuffled down the hall to her bedroom. The sight of Derek's sleeping form greeted her the moment she opened the bedroom door. She smiled at the peaceful sight. He was lying in the middle of the bed, half on his side, half on his stomach, facing her side of the bed, and he had pulled her pillow against his chest.

Without wasting any time, Meredith shut the bedroom door and quickly stripped down to her underwear. She pulled an old, thinning tee of Derek's over her head and then padded across the floor to the bed. Derek stirred when she peeled the covers back and tugged at the pillow he was holding hostage.

"Hey," he practically breathed as he blinked tiredly at her.

"Hey," she whispered back as she slid under the covers and pressed herself against him. He moved to accommodate her, rolling so he was more on his side than his stomach. She quickly took advantage of the space by tucking herself into the warmth he had vacated and pressing her nose into the crook of his neck. His arm closed around her middle and she felt it. Warmth. Safety. Overwhelming comfort. It never failed. She ran her hand along his side to come to a rest at his hip, closed her eyes and relished the closeness.

"What time is it?" He asked quietly, running his fingers along her spine.

"Early," she told his clavicle. "You can still sleep for a couple more hours before you have to go to the hospital."

"You're home early..."

"The hospital took pity on me."

He yawned and tightened his hold on her.

She sighed. "How was your 'gentleman's evening?' Was there porn?"

He chortled. "Monopoly."

"Monopoly?"

"Mmm," he confirmed. "We played Monopoly. And Hahn was there."

"So, no strippers, and not just gentlemen?"

"Well, we knew it wasn't just gentlemen when Mark was invited..."

She laughed, and then laughed even harder when she felt him laughing as well.

"Mean..." She teased.

"But true."

She snuggled closer as her laughed subsided. "Did you have a good time?"

"Surprisingly, yes. The Chief is a remarkably sore loser. And is very bad at Monopoly. It was entertaining."

"I'm glad you had fun."

"Me too," he murmured, running his hand along her spine. "The only thing missing was you."

"I'm sorry my schedule sucks," she whispered, "But at the same time, it's your fault for marrying a surgical resident."

"You're worth it," he assured.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Good." She yawned. "I'm exhausted."

"Sleep," he whispered.

"M'kay," she agreed.

He stilled his hand with a, "Hmm," and she felt his body relax around her as sleep gradually recaptured him.

Meredith stayed awake for several minutes, listening to her husband's deep, even breaths as she felt his heart beat through her own chest. She shifted her hand from his hip to his back, wondering if she offered him as much comfort as he did her. She hoped she did. With a sigh, she snuggled a little closer and allowed sleep to take her.

Neither she nor Derek had moved an inch by the time the alarm clock went off at 6:30.

With a groan, Meredith burrowed her face into Derek's chest and tightened her arm around him. "Make it stop," she mumbled.

"Mmm," he murmured, "You have to let go of me first."

"No. You're too warm."

"Some might even say hot," he whispered into her hair.

She giggled. "Don't know who..."

He chuckled good naturedly. "Funny."

She pressed a kiss to his chest. "Can you just stay here today? It's so warm; like a cocoon."

"Sure," he drawled sarcastically, "I'll just page the Chief and have him tell my patients that I'm cuddling with my wife instead of saving their lives."

She laughed. "Sounds good to me."

He pressed a kiss to the top of her head and rolled away to turn off the alarm. "You're off today, right?"

"They have to give me some time to catch up on sleep."

Derek rolled back, the alarm effectively silenced. He draped his arm across her before speaking. "How about we go out for dinner tonight? I should be done at a reasonable time."

"Dinner sounds good. The steak place?"

He kissed her. "Wine, steak and carbs in a basket," he agreed.

She hooked her fingers into the collar of his shirt before he could roll away again. "Are you sure I can't entice you to stay here we me?" She kissed him again, hard.

He moaned when she pulled away. "Trust me, Mer, there's nowhere else I'd rather be, but I have three procedures scheduled today..."

She made a face. "Fine."

He chuckled as he rolled out of bed. "I have to go to work, and you need to get some sleep," he spoke as he turned and leaned over the bed to kiss her once more. "And then tonight I'm going to take you out for dinner, and then we'll come home and spend some quality time together..."

Despite her exhaustion, she felt her body tighten at the thought. "Okay."

"Okay," he echoed, kissing her one last time before donning his robe and heading across the hall for a shower.

Meredith fought the urge to cocoon herself in the blankets that smelled of her husband, close her eyes and fall back to sleep. Instead, she too rolled out of bed and donned a robe, intent on returning the favour Derek had done for her the previous morning.

The lower floor of the house was dark and quiet as she carefully padded down the stairs and then took the hall to the kitchen. She grimaced when she flicked on the kitchen lights, her eyes still sensitive from sleep, but she pushed on, determined.

After over a year of surgical residency, Meredith could make coffee without stopping to measure a thing. Hell, she could probably make coffee with her eyes closed. And standing on one foot. And performing surgery. In the middle of an earthquake. Because coffee was that important.

Once the coffee maker was simmering away, she pulled Derek's travel mug out of the drainer by the sink – because he was the type who hand-washed his travel mug every day – and collapsed onto a kitchen chair to wait. She leaned over the table and rested her head in her hands, determined to stay awake.

The beep that signified the coffee was brewed startled her, and she jumped up, slightly disoriented, as she silently tried to convince herself she hadn't fallen asleep sitting upright at the kitchen table. Still blinking tiredly, she filled Derek's travel mug and then headed out of the kitchen, leaving the rest of the coffee for her roommates. It was an unwritten rule that the first one up in the morning made a whole pot of coffee. It was incentive to not wallow in the mornings; the last one in the kitchen may find an empty pot.

Derek met her at the bottom of the stairs. He had pulled on jeans and a sweater, and she could see a white button down peeking out unevenly under the collar of the sweater. She smiled. This was one of her favourite things to see him in.

"I made you coffee," she announced, pushing the mug into his hand.

"Thank you," he murmured, stepping into her space and kissing her. His free hand snaked around her waist.

Meredith rested both of her hands against his chest and kissed him back. "I thought it was only fair."

Derek cocked his head and smiled at her in the way that made her heart feel all gooey. She wrinkled her nose, part of her happy that she could be this happily married person, and the other part of her mocking the happy, married part for becoming mushy and disgusting. It was an interesting dynamic.

"Is this just another ploy to keep me home today?" Derek teased.

She giggled. "Maybe." Her fingers twitched against his chest. He was warm and solid under her touch. She wanted to slide her hands under his shirts and touch him skin to skin, but she settled for sliding her hands upwards to fix his collar instead, knowing he had to get to the hospital.

"I wish I could stay home with you today," he whispered, leaning his forehead against hers when she was finished straightening his collar.

She smiled softly and closed her eyes. Her skydiving patient the day before had obviously had an even stronger effect on her that she had originally realized. But, as much as she normally hated being clingy, right now she didn't care. Right now she wanted to be able to be grateful for what she had. She had tried to be grateful for what she had while she had recovered from her own near death experience, but circumstances had gotten in the way, so she was taking the opportunity now.

Derek hummed softly, obviously perfectly content with remaining in their position for as long as she wanted. His hand rubbed small circles on her back. And he was warm. And he smelled good. Really good. It was all too easy to pretend she could stay like this all day.

With her eyelids feeling suddenly very heavy, Meredith pulled back, knowing she had to let her husband go to work. "I love you," she told him.

He smiled. "I love you, too."

She leaned in again to brush her lips against his. "You should go before I make you late."

He shrugged. "It's worth it..."

"Seriously."

"Seriously," Derek echoed.

She laughed.

He ducked his head down to kiss her one more time before he turned for the door.

"Let me know when you think you'll be home," she called after him.

"I will. Have fun sleeping."

"I will," she agreed.

With one last smile, Derek stepped out the door.

Meredith sighed and turned for the stairs; glad she had seen him off rather than go right back to sleep. It was little things like this that she was learning to cherish. The seemingly insignificant moments together.

She yawned twice as she ascended to stairs, and was starting a third yawn as she turned down the hall towards her bedroom. Alex hurried out of the bathroom, obviously running late and in a hurry. He nodded towards her as he made to move past, but she reacted on instinct by reaching out and grabbing a fistful of his shirt.

"Uh..." Alex said, sliding to a stop as he glanced down at the hand holding him there and then glancing up at Meredith. "What's up?"

"Do you care to tell me what the hell you were doing last night?" The memory had almost slipped her mind, but the sight of Alex had brought everything back.

Alex narrowed his eyes. "You weren't home last night."

"No, I wasn't. But I got home just in time to see Lexie Grey doing the walk of shame. Care to explain that?"

Alex shrugged. "Seems pretty self-explanatory."

She huffed. "Don't you people have some rule about screwing a friend's sister?"

He smirked. "That's the guy code," he explained. "Which you are not included in; for obvious reasons." He glanced down at her robe.

She glared at him.

"Second; I thought she wasn't your sister?"

"She's not," Meredith said immediately, on reflex.

"Then we don't have a problem, do we?"

"I..." She trailed off, not knowing what to say.

Alex smirked. "Now, if you'll let go of me," he pried her fingers away from his shirt, "I'm late for work."

"Fine, but this isn't over," she called towards his back as he hurried to the stairs. He lifted his arm in response as he descended the stairs, but didn't turn back around to face her. A moment later she heard the front door open and then close.

Another door opened immediately, and Meredith sighed as Izzie stepped out of her bedroom, looking bedraggled and half-asleep. "I'm sorry, Iz," Meredith said pre-emptively.

Izzie grunted in response as she stumbled down the hall towards the bathroom. "I had to get up anyway."

"Can you do me a favour today?"

The blond stopped at the doorway to the bathroom and shot Meredith a questioning look.

"Make Alex's life a living hell?"

Izzie's lips curled up into a smile. "My pleasure."

It was early afternoon when Meredith gave up on getting any more sleep. With a groan, she rolled out of bed and stumbled into the bathroom to brush her teeth. Her eyes were puffy as she stared at herself in the mirror. No matter how much sleep she got following an overnight shift, she always looked exhausted.

"I hate my job," she mumbled to herself as she rinsed her toothbrush and then turned off the tap. It was a lie, really, but one she told herself pretty much daily. She loved being a surgeon. She hated the schedule.

Padding back into the bedroom, she stood momentarily between her closet and the door, debating whether to shower first or go in search of sustenance. The growling of her stomach made the decision for her. Food first. Shower later.

She pulled on a pair of sweatpants to go with the tee shirt she had been sleeping in, snatched her cell phone off of her bedside table, and then headed into the hallway. The house was silent as she made her way downstairs to the kitchen.

There was a bowl of fruit sitting in the centre of the kitchen table, but she bypassed it quickly, needing something more filling after her long shift. The cupboards held nothing that promised quick and filling, so she shut them as quickly as she opened them. The fridge, however, offered her just what she was looking for.

Alex had a habit of ordering pizza and then shoving the leftovers – still in the box – into the fridge. His laziness and failure to label his pizza as his was Meredith's gain. She pulled the box from the fridge and opened the box. Three slices left. She pulled a plate from the cupboard, lined it with paper towel – a trick she had learned from Derek – and dropped two of the three slices onto the plate. She shoved the plate into the microwave and turned it on. She then picked up the third slice and took a bite.

No matter what her husband said, she maintained that there was nothing wrong with cold pizza.

Munching away on the cold slice, she took the now empty box to the recycling bin at the back of the house, returning to the kitchen in time to hear the microwave finish. She grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and the plate from the microwave before collapsing on the closest chair at the kitchen table.

Other than the sound of herself chewing, it was quiet.

Really quiet.

The odd car drove by on the street or bird chirped, but for the most part it was quiet.

She sighed.

Once she and Derek moved into their new home, it would be quiet like this a lot more often. She wondered what that would be like. She loved her roommates, even if they drove her crazy, but at the same time, on occasions like this she enjoyed the quiet. No crises to avert or arguments to mediate. No extra drama. No constant activity.

She would miss her roommates, she decided, but she would enjoy her new situation.

Just her and Derek.

It was a nice thought. Waking up to just Derek and not the daily stampede for the bathroom outside their bedroom door. Lounging around the kitchen table in the morning instead of fighting to get coffee and breakfast before leaving for work. Quiet nights curled up on the couch. No fighting over the remote. No escaping to their bedroom for privacy.

No more restrictions on when and where they could be naked; they were newlyweds, after all.

As she picked up her second slice of pizza, she reached for her phone. Derek still hadn't let her know when he'd be home, but she assumed he was waiting as long as he could to let her sleep. She sent him a text to let him know she was up. A moment later her phone rang. She quickly picked it up.

"Hey."

"Hey," Derek's voice filtered through the phone line. "I didn't want to bug you until I knew you were awake."

Meredith smiled to herself at how well she knew him. "I'm up," she declared. "Stupid overnight shift. I couldn't sleep any longer. How's your day going?"

"Good. All of my scheduled procedures went as planned this morning, and the rest of my day has pretty much been paperwork and one unremarkable consult."

"Sounds fascinating," she said dryly.

He laughed. "What are you up to?"

"Eating Alex's leftover pizza."

Derek clicked his tongue. "Alex isn't going to be happy..."

"Alex can bite me," she retorted.

He laughed. "What did Alex do now?"

"He slept with my sister."

"What? When?"

"Last night. Lexie was doing the freaking walk of shame when I got home this morning. I mean, seriously, how screwed up is that?"

"That's..." Derek trailed off. "Huh."

"Helpful."

He chuckled. "Sorry. I'm trying to come up with something supportive to say."

"Don't worry about it." She waved her hand, as if to wave off the topic of conversation, despite the fact that her husband could not see her through the phone line. "I'm over it. And I'm getting my revenge."

"By eating Alex's pizza?"

"Yes."

She could practically hear his smile through the phone line.

"Anyway," she began, "Do you know when you'll be home yet?"

"I should be home early. I thought we could spend some time together and then go to dinner. I made reservations for seven. Is that okay?"

"Sounds perfect. I'm looking forward to it. We haven't been there in a long time."

"I'm looking forward to it, too. I'll get back to my paperwork and then I'll be home as soon as I can, okay?"

"Okay. See you soon."

"Bye."

Meredith hung up and placed her phone back down onto the table. She picked up the last slice of pizza and sat in comfortable silence while she quickly finished it. She then deposited her plate into the dishwasher and headed upstairs to shower.

It was an hour later that she was sitting on the living room couch, laptop in her lap, bowl of popcorn beside her and daytime television playing across the room that the front door opened. She glanced at the time on the wall, not having expected Derek for at least another hour.

"Hey," she called.

Footsteps that weren't Derek's sounded in the front hall, and then George's weary form appeared around the corner. "Hey," he responded quietly. "I hope it's okay that I came here. The Chief found out I'd been sleeping in the on call room on my days off..."

"You're always welcome here, George," she offered with a smile, patting the cushion beside her.

"Thanks," he said genuinely as he collapsed beside her, and then sighed heavily. "I just haven't had time to find an apartment. And the only other option is moving back in with my mother..." He shuddered.

"And she irons things," Meredith said, from memory.

George laughed. "Weird things."

She joined him in laughing.

"You can always stay here," she repeated.

"I appreciate that, Mer," he said quietly, "I really do. But I can't sleep on your couch forever. I just need to get out there and find a place to live." He tensed, as if he were going to stand and march outside to his car.

"Or, rough it on the couch for a few more weeks and you'll have a room again."

George sent her a questioning look.

"Derek and I bought a condo," she said gently. He hadn't meant to not tell George sooner, but she hadn't wanted to make it seem like she was flaunting her successful relationship while he picked up the pieces of his failed one. "We take possession at the end of October." October was just days away now.

He smiled. "I'd love to live here again. Thanks, Mer."

She shrugged. "No problem. Saves me finding someone to live with Alex and Izzie. At least you know what you're getting into..."

He laughed. "Can I have your room?"

She pursed her lips. "Izzie would probably kill me if I didn't offer it to her. It's a girl thing; the whole private bathroom thing. But think of it this way, if she takes my room and you take her room, you'll end up in the room you first picked out." She smiled at the memories of when George and Izzie first moved in. Despite the fact that George had arrived first, Izzie had managed to take the room he had claimed.

He laughed as he remembered as well. "Can we at least tell her I get your room? Just to see her reaction?"

She nodded. "Absolutely."

He bumped her shoulder. "Thanks," he said again.

She bumped her shoulder back. "You're family, George."

He smiled, and motioned to the computer sitting haphazardly on her lap. "What are you looking at?"

She turned the laptop so he could see the screen.

"Furniture?" He raised an eyebrow.

"First of all; I'm incredibly bored. Second; Derek and I have to be able to furnish a new home in a month. I thought it was important to see what's out there, you know?"

He nodded. "Are you going to take stuff with you?" He motioned to the couch they were sitting on.

She sighed and shook her head. "I don't think so. Derek and I haven't really had a chance to talk about it, but if it were completely up to me, I'd want to start fresh. This was my mother's house and my mother's furniture. I don't want to start a new chapter of my life with the constant reminders." She had let go of her mother in the scrub room the month before. She wasn't haunted anymore, and she wasn't trying to live up to any of Ellis Grey's expectations, but that didn't mean her mother wasn't a part of her past anymore. She was moving forward; taking what good her mother gave her and leaving behind the bad. She felt that taking her mother's things to a new home would be regressing and she hoped that Derek would agree.

"That makes sense," George agreed. "I'm sure Shepherd will understand." He glanced at the screen again and chuckled. "That's a lot of couches. Do you know what colour you're going to paint the living room? That may help you narrow it down."

She shook her head, and then made a face. "I guess that's something I should consider first."

He nodded.

"And I guess we should paint before we move in to avoid the fumes or whatever..."

He nodded again.

She groaned. "Being grown up is stressful."

George laughed.

"Okay, so we get the keys the last week of October. We can probably paint it right away if we have colours picked out, right? And then we can have furniture delivered and move in by the end of October."

"You'll have to have the furniture picked out pretty quickly. You've only got four weeks." Four weeks to a surgical resident was only a handful of free hours.

She sighed. "And we're going to New York for Lauren's wedding in that time..."

"Lauren?"

"One of Derek's sisters."

"When are you leaving?"

Meredith scrunched up her face as she tried to remember the date. "The wedding is on the eighteenth. We're leaving Thursday and flying back Monday, I think."

"That's a long way to go for a few days."

"Yeah, I guess, but it's a family thing that I don't completely understand, but I'm getting used to. Derek's really excited about it. He's walking his sister down the aisle."

"That's nice. Is his family upset that they weren't invited to your wedding?"

Meredith sighed. It was something that weighed on her mind when she took the time to think about it. Although his family had sounded happy and supportive when she had spoken to them on the phone following her and Derek's nuptials, she worried that their attitudes may be different in person. "I hope not. Again, I'm still not really used to the family thing, so I don't really know. Derek said they were fine, and I'm doing my best to be happy and stable and believe him."

"That's very grown up of you."

She laughed. "I'm trying."

"I'm glad you're happy, Mer. It looks good on you."

She smiled softly. "Thanks, George." She considered him carefully before speaking again. "Are you okay?"

He nodded.

"I mean...really, are you okay?"

George sighed. "I made a mistake. And I tried to make it work. Callie and I tried to make it work. We tried," he repeated. "I know I loved her, the best I could, but it just wasn't enough. So, I can't regret trying to be with her. Everything sucks now, but at least I can't have any regrets, right?"

"Right," she agreed quietly.

"You don't have to hide being happy from me, if that's what you want to know."

Meredith stared at him, caught off guard.

George smirked, knowing he had read her right. "I'm glad you're happy, Meredith. You and Shepherd are clearly meant for each other. I don't want you to try to hide that from me. My life kind of sucks right now, but knowing my friend is happy makes it better, not worse, okay?"

Meredith nodded. "Okay. Thank you, George," she rested her head on his shoulder. "I wish you were happy, too."

"Me too. But knowing I have a place to live is a step in the right direction."

Meredith smiled, glad she was helping.

"Are you ready to go?" Derek asked as he descended the stairs, dressed in dark jeans and a navy jacket.

Meredith looked up from the couch and rolled her eyes. "I was ready before you started on your hair..."

He huffed. "I do not spend that long on my hair."

"Yeah, sure you don't," she drawled as she stood and approached him. He had gotten home later than expected, leaving limited time to prepare for their date night. She had showered and picked out her outfit before he had even gotten home. While he was showering, she put on some makeup, got dressed and headed downstairs to give him room to get ready himself.

He shook his head at her comment, but let it go. His gaze darkened as his eyes took in her form. "You look beautiful," he practically breathed as she came to a stop in front of him. She was wearing a black dress with her hair down, and a pair of heels to give herself some height.

Meredith fought the urge to bite down onto her lower lip as she met his intense gaze. No one had ever made her feel beautiful before, not like Derek could with just a look and a comment. "Thank you. You don't look so bad yourself." She ran her hands across the rough fabric of his sport jacket.

He leaned down to her level to brush his lips across hers. "I'm sorry I couldn't be home earlier." He had been called to a consult late in his shift.

She shrugged. "It wasn't your fault."

He kissed her again. "Shall we?"

She nodded and snatched her purse off the hall table on her way out the door. Derek paused to lock the door behind them, but caught up to her in time to pull open the passenger door in an over exaggerated fashion.

Meredith giggled. "You're being awfully charming."

He chuckled. "I try." He shut the door once she was in, and quickly joined her in the car.

Once he had started the car and began navigating the route to the restaurant, he reached his right hand to rest on her thigh. She smiled softly at the gesture and laid her hand over his, threading their fingers together. It was the little, unspoken, married things like this that made her heart flutter.

"How was your day?"

"Uneventful. I talked to George for a while. He seems to be doing okay, considering everything. I told him he could have a room once we move out."

"That's good. At least he knows what he's getting into with Izzie and Alex."

Meredith laughed out loud. "I said exactly the same thing."

He laughed as well. "It's good that he's doing well."

"Mmm-hmm. He told me not to hide my happiness from him."

"Do you still feel guilty?" He shot her a concerned look as he pulled the car to a stop at a red light.

"Sometimes. I just feel bad that I'm so freaking happy when my friends aren't. George is getting divorced and Cristina is so not over Burke, no matter what she says..."

He squeezed her hand. "You're allowed to be happy."

"I know," she told him honestly. "I just feel bad that we all can't be happy."

"That's because you're you," he told her as he pulled the car through the intersection. "You want good things for the people you love. You're a good person."

Her heart fluttered at his compliment. "I try," she echoed his earlier comment.

They bantered lightly for the remainder of the drive and arrived at the restaurant right in time for their seven o'clock reservations.

"I'm really glad we're doing this," she commented as Derek held the restaurant door open for her.

"Me too."

The inside of the restaurant was just like she remembered. Comfortable, but a step up from casual.

"Table for two?" The hostess asked.

Derek nodded. "We have a reservation under Shepherd for a table by the window."

The hostess quickly checked the reservation book and then smiled at them. "Follow me, please." She led them to a quiet table by the window, as requested, with a view of the harbour. "Someone will be with you to take your drink order shortly."

"Thanks," Meredith said as she sat across the small table from Derek. She glanced around the restaurant and then turned back to her husband.

"What are you thinking about?"

She smirked. "I'm pretty sure that the last time we were here, you asked me to be your girlfriend." After Derek's divorce to Addison had been finalized, this was where they had come to officially discuss rules.

Derek rolled his eyes at the memory. "I didn't mean it that way."

She laughed, but the waitress cut her off before she had a chance to mock him further.

"Can I get you two anything to drink?"

Derek suggested a bottle of wine, and when Meredith nodded in agreement, he nodded to the waitress, who smiled and then hurried away.

He offered Meredith a warm smile and motioned to the view of the harbour before she could comment further on their last visit. "You know, in a month, this will be the view from our bedroom window..."

Meredith felt herself smile broadly. "It will," she agreed. "I can't wait."

He mirrored her smile.

"We have a lot to do," she commented.

"Hmm?"

"Before we move in," she clarified. "We have to find furniture, but really the first step is to pick paint colours. And we'll have to take time off or something to paint, because I'm pretty sure that's something that takes time."

"We can always hire someone to paint," Derek spoke up.

Meredith paused. "That...could work. But we still have to pick colours."

He nodded.

She sighed. "Do you really want to hire someone to paint?" There was some mushy, married part of her that wanted to paint her new home with her husband.

He cocked his head, recognizing the importance. "We can do it ourselves, too. It could be fun."

She smiled. "I think I'd like that."

He smiled back at her, and barely broke eye contact as their wine was delivered to the table.

Meredith took a sip. "It's good."

He followed suit, and nodded. "It is."

She began flipping through her menu.

Derek did the same, and after several moments of silence he spoke up. "So, we need to look for furniture."

She looked up from her menu. "Yeah. I mean, either that or sleep on the floor."

"What do you want to bring with us from the house?"

Meredith bit her lip before shaking her head. "Nothing."

He raised an eyebrow. "Nothing?"

"Nothing," she confirmed. "Not a freaking thing. Everything at the house was my mother's. I want us to start fresh...if that's what you want. I mean, we're starting our lives together. We've got a new home. I want for us to start fresh."

He smiled that warm smile that made her heart flutter and her insides turn all mushy. "Sounds perfect."

"Really?"

"Really."

She reached across the table for his hand. "I'm really glad we're doing this, Derek," she murmured, meaning the date night, the marriage and the move all rolled into one. "I feel really married today."

"In a good way?" He asked, though he obviously knew the answer.

"In a really good way. I'm so freaking happy that I barely recognize myself anymore."

Derek's McDreamy smile reappeared. "I know the feeling."