92. Chapter 92

Eyes closed, Meredith inhaled, the air crisp and clear with just a hint of salt from the ocean. A cool line of water rose from mid-calf up to mid-thigh, and then fell back down, before rising again. Over and over and over in the relatively regular rhythm of the ocean waves.

The last time she had been in the water – a week ago in Hawaii where she had barely gone past her knees while Izzy and Cristina swam – she had quickly been elevated to a nine. Now she was much lower.

A five. Maybe even a four.

The water was warm and smooth. Inviting, even.

With a sigh, she opened her eyes. The sun was bright, despite her sunglasses.

Derek squeezed her hand. "How're you doing?" He stood beside her, patient and supportive, his fingers threaded through hers.

She offered him a smile. "Four."

"Four is good." He shuffled forward through the water, tugging on her hand, knowing she needed a slight push.

She followed him, trusting, until the water was up to his hips and low on her waist. This time when they came to a stop she tucked herself against his chest with a sigh. "It's warmer than your pond."

"It is," he agreed, looping his arms around her. After returning from the beach the night before, they had managed to fit in a fourth round before spooning together and falling asleep. By the time they woke they had long since missed breakfast in the resort restaurant, but had managed to order it to their room.

Swathed in a fluffy bathrobe, Meredith stepped out of the bathroom. She had ordered the meal this time while Derek showered first, and she had heard it being delivered as she had stepped out of her shower minutes before.

The suite was empty, but the patio doors were open. After a moment of debate, she decided the bathrobe was acceptable balcony wear.

Derek looked up from his omelette as she stepped out. He offered her a wry smile. "Healthy breakfast choice."

She rolled her eyes at his sarcasm as she collapsed onto the chair next to him and snatched her breakfast plate from the table. Pancakes. Fruit. Whipped cream. Syrup. "It has fruit."

"That's your argument? Really?"

She tried her best to glare at him. "At least mine's not full of cholesterol."

He huffed and took another bite of his omelette.

Feeling irrevocably safe in his arms, Meredith sighed. "I think I may be down to a three," she mumbled into his bare chest.

Derek kissed the top of her head and released her. "Good."

She moved forward, trusting him to follow her. The beach gradually declined into the water, so she took several steps before the water began to encroach on her shoulders.

"Now?" He questioned when she came to a stop.

"Maybe a three-point-five." She closed her eyes and sucked in a deep breath, which she released slowly. Her heart was thumping in her chest, but not in a way that made her feel out of control. She had a healthy respect for water, and suspected she always would after her experience, but the lessons Derek had given her and the fact that he was right beside her gave her the confidence to be able to breathe.

She felt him reach for her hand, his warm grip grounding her, making her feel secure. She smiled and opened her eyes. The ocean spread out in front of her in a smooth blanket that sparkled from the midday sun. Quiet and inviting. Nothing like the cold, dark water of Elliot Bay.

He sighed heavily, and she glanced at him, biting back a smirk at the concern lining his eyes. Ever protective. Cleary he was distressed that her three had become a three-point-five, despite the foot or so deeper they had travelled. To Meredith a half point increase was positive regarding the circumstances.

In a moment of impulsivity, she swiped her hand across the surface of the water, taking Derek completely by surprise as the splash caught him in the face. He floundered for a moment, and she couldn't help but laugh.

It wasn't until he narrowed his eyes at her that she realized she was stuck. Not only was he holding her hand, but they were a good fifty feet into the water and with his superior height he would be better able to win any kind of water fight.

When a wave of water impacted her face, she wasn't surprise. She tried to pull her hand out of his, but he held tight and splashed her again.

"Hey! Der-" She was cut off by a third splash.

He chuckled, but stopped his assault for long enough for her to retaliate.

Laughing now, Meredith splashed him again and again. He finally dropped her hand to cover his face. With both hands free, Meredith splashed him harder, and was so distracted that he took her by surprise when he gave on simply trying to cover himself. He moved towards her suddenly, reaching for her in an attempt to stop her, but miscalculated the distance between them. He was right in front of her before she realized he was moving, and his chest slammed into hers before she could react.

The impact sent her off balance. Her feet moved back to catch her, but didn't move fast enough in the water, and she fell backwards into the water, taking Derek with her.

Water swirled around her head as she was submerged. It hissed by her ears and filled her mouth with a strong salt taste. Her limbs splayed as she floundered in the water, fighting for balance or traction or anything. And then her feet found the sand and pushed upwards on instinct.

She surfaced a moment after Derek – just in time to catch the worry in his eyes quickly dissipate.

"You ass," she chastised, shoving playfully at his chest.

He chuckled and caught her hands, pulling her to him. "You started it."

She laughed out loud and hooked her hands behind his neck.

"Sorry," he mumbled, before he pressed his lips to hers.

She kissed him back and then buried her face into the crook of his neck as she hugged him tight, celebrating. She was solidly at a zero.

Several hours later, Meredith half sat and half lay on a lounge chair, drink in hand, enjoying the warm sun as it dried her skin and bathing suit after she and Derek had taken a second swim.

"I still can't believe you ordered that," Derek mumbled from his lounge chair beside her, also clad in only his bathing suit.

She giggled and took a sip of her very stereotypical island drink. Brightly coloured and complete with fresh fruit skewered on a small plastic sword and a mini umbrella. "It's good. I had one in Hawaii. Want to try?" She held it out to him.

He made a face and shook his head, happy with his neutral coloured drink without the frills.

She shrugged and took another sip. "Your loss. And you don't get to make fun of it if you won't try it."

Choosing not to respond, he sent her a smile and then lay back on his chair. He wore sunglasses, so she couldn't see his eyes, but she assumed they were closed because he didn't react when a goggle of bikini clad women ogled him and his bare chest as they walked past, half of them also sending glares towards Meredith.

She laughed.

He rolled his head back towards her at the noise. "What?"

The trolling women were past them now, and he hadn't even noticed. For a world class neurosurgeon he could be truly oblivious. Biting back a laugh, she smiled at him. "I love you."

He smiled back. "I love you too."

"What do you want to do for the rest of the day?"

"This," was his response.

"When do you want to do the snorkelling thing?"

"Whenever you're ready."

"Maybe in a couple days?" She offered. "So I can get better at the swimming thing first."

"You're pretty good already."

She smiled at his comment. They had played in the water for close to an hour both times, and lots of actual swimming had occurred. With the beach on such a gradual incline she had been comfortable swimming around, knowing she could touch bottom if she needed to. She had the coordination figured out.

"I had a good teacher."

He laughed. "I try."

"That'll be another thing off our list."

"And it'll move the most important item up to number one."

Her stomach fluttered in nervous excitement at the reminder of the thing she was most looking forward to. "I guess we have to start planning something."

He nodded. "Any ideas?"

"Just something that results in a picture."

"For the grandkids."

"Exactly. A normal, or at least semi-normal, wedding picture."

"What exactly would constitute as a semi-normal wedding picture?"

"Just...something happy without a creepy background like a freaking surgery themed wedding chapel in Vegas," she stated, making fun of his earlier suggestion.

"I was joking about that."

"Sure you were," she taunted, bantering with him.

He laughed. "We'll get our picture. Do you have any ideas on dates?"

"Soon."

He smiled. "I like soon."

She smiled back. "Me too. I mean...I love you. You love me. We know we want the forever thing, so why wait?"

"Exactly."

The look in his eyes was pretty perfect and made her heart thump in her chest. She bit down onto her lower lip as she met his gaze. The gaze of the man who would be her husband sometime in the near future.

God, she wanted it. She wanted to be able to call him her husband. And she wanted to hear him call her his wife.

She wanted the permanence. The expectation of forever. Not that she didn't have it already, from the look in his eyes.

He cocked his head, his eyes narrowing, his gaze scorching into hers. Her body started buzzing.

She swallowed and her upper incisors released her lower lip. "I'm going to go up to the room... Want to join me?"

Derek was on his feet in a heartbeat, reaching out to her.

She giggled at his enthusiasm and took his hand, allowing him to pull her out of the chair.

He hooked his arm around her waist and kissed her.

She kissed him back and then tugged on his hand, pulling him towards the hotel.

Hours later, Meredith and Derek wandered hand in hand along the beach in the opposite direction of the previous day. It wasn't quite dusk, but the sun had dipped low enough in the sky so that the air was cooler. Their hotel was at the edge of the resort, and whereas the direction they had travelled the previous evening had been quiet and mostly undisturbed, the opposite direction gave rise to buildings and people.

Music from at least three different bars played along the beach, but not loud enough for any one beat to be overpowering. Some vacationers were dancing, while others still took advantage of the water, and others still wandered through the small shops scattered across the resort.

"Want to get a drink?" Derek asked.

Meredith groaned as her hand came involuntarily to her stomach. "Maybe on the way back. I still feel like I'm going to explode." They had eaten dinner in the hotel restaurant for the first time and the food had been delicious. Too delicious, apparently.

He chuckled. "I think you shocked the waiter with the amount you put away."

"I didn't eat that much," she retorted, knowing it wasn't exactly true.

"Sure you didn't. Only twice as much as I did..."

"It was not twice as much."

"Fine. One and a half times as much."

She huffed, but abandoned her argument.

"We could get ice cream," Derek suggested, purposefully prodding her, as he pointed at a small ice cream stand they were about to pass.

"I hate you, Derek Shepherd," she muttered.

He dropped her hand and hooked his arm around her waist, pulling her to a stop and pressing a kiss to her temple. "You love me," he countered.

"Not when you're mean to me."

His free arm snaked around her waist now too, hugging her close. "I love you," he offered.

She sighed. "Fine. I both love and hate you. Simultaneously."

He laughed and kissed her, causing her to laugh as well. "Let's check out some of the shops while you make room for dessert."

"Okay." She followed him into the closest shop. Very touristy. "I think you should get this," she commented immediately, pulling a Hawaiian style shirt off the rack by the entrance and holding it up for him to see.

"Hmm," he murmured, pretending to be considering the orange, blue and purple design. "I don't think it's quit my style."

"Okay," she said, replacing it with another, this time a pink and yellow design. "How about this one?"

"Oh, that's much better," he said sarcastically.

She giggled and put it back on the rack. "Are you looking for something specific?"

He shrugged. "Nothing specific. Just...something."

"Something?"

"Yeah. We're on vacation. Therefore we need to purchase some touristy thing to sit and collect dust at home forever and remind us of this trip."

She bit back a laugh. "Okay. So, we're looking for a souvenir of some sort. How about that?" She pointed to a giant ceramic sandal hanging on the wall with Bahamas sketched across it.

He chuckled. "I was hoping for something a little less tacky."

"I hate to break it to you, Derek, but it's kind of tacky-palooza in here."

"You're right. Let's see what our other choices are."

They left the shop, passed a store that appeared to sell only bathing suits and towels, and stopped at a shop that seemed much more promising. Still touristy, but much less tacky. A number of clothing racks sat to the right, an array of shelves along the back wall held books, and to the left was a jewellery counter and several glass display cases.

Meredith smiled at a small glass sculpture of a cartoon fish, and then made a face at the price and moved away from that particular display. "How about a shell necklace?" She asked, pointing to a display wall showcasing several varieties.

Derek offered her an amused smile. "I'm not really a shell necklace kind of guy. But if you want one, it's yours."

She giggled. "Well, I'm not a shell necklace kind of girl."

He raised an eyebrow. "And what kind of girl are you, then?"

"The kind of girl that loves the kind of guy that you are," she bantered back easily.

"Mmm, good answer," he whispered, stepping forward to peck her lips.

She threaded her fingers through his and wandered with him until something caught his eye. "Here. How about this?" He picked up a picture frame. It was carved stone, mostly light grey, with several other colours interspersed. Bahamas 2008 was etched into the bottom right corner.

"It's pretty," she offered. "But we'll have to take a picture to put in it. It doesn't make sense to have a picture of something else in it or just an empty frame."

"We'll get a picture of us here to put it in," he corrected.

She smiled at his insistence. "Okay."

He pecked her lips again. "Okay."

Five minutes later the frame was paid for, packaged and safely tucked into a plastic bag Derek carried with his free hand. His other hand was securely in Meredith's as they continued along the beach. As they passed the bars, the dance music began to fade, only to be replaced by a softer tune. The throngs of beach dwellers began to thin, until Meredith could see a small gathering of dressed up people in the distance, almost all facing the same direction. She smiled as they got closer still and she was able to recognize the scene as a small wedding. The bride and groom were facing each other at the front of the small crowd, saying their vows.

Not wanting to be intrusive, Meredith came to a stop just close enough that she could see, but not so close that would be considered spying. Derek's strong arms wrapped around her waist from behind and his chest pressed up against her back. The marrying couple were smiling as they now exchanged rings. That would be Meredith and Derek soon. They had gotten sidetracked during their attempts to wedding plan earlier that afternoon, but would need to sit down at some point soon and make some decisions.

Although, the scene before them seemed pretty perfect, she had to admit. Getting married on the beach at sunset in the Bahamas? Pretty awesome.

Pretty perfect, actually, she had to admit. They wouldn't have to worry about dresses and tuxes. Or Venues.

No guest lists. No stress. No deciding on napkins and cutlery.

No waiting.

Her heart thudded against her chest. She had told Derek weeks ago that the concept of eloping appealed to her...

The wedding crowd started clapping as the newly married couple kissed, pulling Meredith from her thoughts. Derek's chin was resting on her shoulder and she could practically feel his heartbeat through her back.

She turned in his arms, preparing to broach the subject, but the expression on his face silenced her.

He cocked his head, his lips curled into a full fledge McDreamy smile and his eyes sparkled. "You wouldn't happen to be thinking what I'm thinking?" He murmured.

She hooked her hands behind his neck. "I think I am."