Say when

54

Reality soon set in and the grueling tests and school soon overtook them as the next week flew by and their little happy bubbly was deflated slightly... Meredith and Derek were still elated to have taken the next step in their lives together and their new friends they had in Mark and Addison were just as happy for them and knew all to well how hard becoming doctors and starting out would be and they were there for them when they needed.

Meredith sat hunched over the kitchen table that afternoon trying her best to study but she kept glancing at her new piece of jewelry fitted perfectly on her finger and smiled feeling a flutter in her stomach every time she thought about it.

She heard the front door open and knew it was Derek coming in from his morning class. She heard him walk over to her and closed her eyes as she felt him lean over and place a few suckling kisses against her neck and mumbled..

"How's it coming?" he asked as he took the seat next to her..

"Not great." She moaned.. he furrowed his brow as he placed his hands around her waist and pulled her into his lap.

"Oh yeah." He asked placing a soft kiss against her lips "Why?" she looks at him and sighs as she glances at her papers then back at him..

"I'm trying to think about Systemic Pathology and Genetics right now.. I am, I really, really am." She groans "But all I can think about is holding your hands in mine and vowing the rest of my life to you, being Mrs. Derek Shepherd. Its all I can think about."

"Sounds like you have a problem." He grins thinking about their wedding day some day in the future.

"I do." She mumbles as she stares into his eyes..

"What should we do about it?" he asks..

"We should get married." She blurts out..

"We will Mer." He chuckles at her impatience..

"I mean now." She says giving him a straight face..

"Honey." He says with a sigh "We cant.. I want you to have the wedding you deserve, and as much as I would love to marry you tomorrow I want you to have all the things you want, but I cant right now."

"What I want." She says placing her hands on the sides of his face and looking him deeply in the eye "Is to be your wife, to start the Happily Ever After part right now. I don't need the big wedding, I don't even need to have a white dress. We could go down to the courthouse, me and you, it'll be special. The important thing is that you and I are married, not how it happens."

He sighs shaking his head not wanting to jump into something that she would end up regretting.. he knew that every girl had envisioned a wedding as a child and he didn't want to rob her of that.. especially when she'd lost so much already.. but the look of longing in her eyes twisted a knot inside of him..

"This is what you really want?" he asked..

She nods at him and they sit there in an uncomfortable silence as he thinks about it and debates it in his head.. she finally sighs and rolls her eyes..

"Come on Derek." She whines slightly "Put me out of my misery."

He looks at her sitting perfectly in his lap and knew that he wanted nothing more than to start their new lives married and she was right.. it didn't matter how it happened just that it did..

"Ok." He smiled..

"Really?" she gasped as a grin spread across her face..

"Yes." He smiled and then looked at her with a smirk raising his brow "But first you have to put me out of mine!"

She furrowed her brow wondering what he meant when he scooped her up as he stood out of the chair and she gasped and let out a giggle as he carried her back to the bedroom to make love. She put her arms around his shoulders staring into the eyes of the man she would soon marry feeling all the happiness in the world.