At The Edge Of The Ocean

19. By Inches

"What are you waiting for?" asked quietly Cristina sipping her coffee.

Meredith opened her mouth to speak but no sound escaped her lips. The two of them sere sitting on a bed, covered in semi-darkness. Meredith had dragged Cristina to an empty on-call room, desperate to have someone to freak out to about the Mark incident the previous day.

"I mean, seriously, what are you waiting for?" repeated Cristina "McDreamy's wrapped around your little finger. People get suspicious; they're talking, wondering why you turned into a teetotaller. I told you it was going to be like that. And now Sloan's on the verge of blowing it."

"I know," spoke Meredith louder than she intended. "I know."

"Trust me, you don't want him to learn form someone else. You should tell him... or he'll go nuts."

"I know. It's just... "It's not easy." Meredith twirled her fingers nervously.

"Life's not easy, Meredith," whispered Cristina. "And no one said it was going to be."

"I'll... I'll do it. I can do it," Mer kept assuring herself more rather than Cristina.

"Good. The sooner you tell him, the sooner you're going to sign out from the recyclable virgins' club. Looks like I'm throwing my membership card away."

"You're having dirty sex with Owen Hunt?" asked Meredith curiously.

"It's not dirty and it's not sex. I don't know what it is," Cristina shrugged her shoulders but there was a slight smile on her lips. "It will probably lead to sex, though."

She got up from the bed, "Are you coming?"

"I'll take a short nap," said Meredith. "I've got to recharge my batteries before going to the nursery."

"Right, you have the first trial procedure this afternoon."

"Yeah."

"Good luck," wished Cristina. "And with... everything."

"Thanks," breathed out Meredith. "I'll need it... in both cases."

"You know where to find me if you... yeah," she gave her friend the last encouraging nod and left the on-call room.

Meredith leaned back on the bed, set her alarm clock and drifted off to an uneasy slumber. Yet, she woke up before the alarm went off, immediately sensing someone's presence. She opened her eyes to see Derek lying on the opposite bed, propping his head with one hand and staring at her.

"What are you, some weirdo who watches women sleep?" she repeated with a smile the question she had asked him all those years ago in her bedroom.

He chuckled with the specific Derekish laughter that made her warm around the heart.

"It's just that you... don't snore," he confessed sheepishly.

"I don't," admitted Meredith. Shortly after Bessie was born, she decided to have the minor procedure and fix the snoring problem. She kept her daughter awake and she couldn't pluck ear plugs in an infant's ears. Infant, her daughter... Meredith's pulse quickened. She couldn't hope for better circumstances.

"Derek," she rose from the bed and he did the same. The narrow room made the distance between them incredibly small. "I... I've got something to tell you..."

She looked into his eyes knowing it was the moment that would affect all their lives and the life of her daughter... their daughter...

"Do you have someone?" fired Derek.

"What?" his question took her completely by surprise.

"Like a... boyfriend."

"What? No! I'm not in any relationship," she assured him frantically. This wasn't going according to her plan.