Who would have thought

59

Somewhere in the back of Meredith's mind, she knew she should move. She knew she should probably move and go to the bathroom or go get something to eat or...something. She knew that. She had somehow managed to sleep in and she knew that getting up to do the morning things was a good idea, but she just...didn't want to. No part of her body wanted to move.

She wasn't quite sure any part of her body could move even if she wanted it to. She was completely tangled up in Derek. She wasn't sure how that had happened as she was definitely supposed to be mad at him but right now it kind of felt too good to think about being mad. And the night had gone well so it was probably good that they were tangled up.

He was usually an early morning person. Derek was the kind of person who got up at five and jogged and ate breakfast and was happy. But he was still sleeping. He was wrapped tightly around her, holding her close, his nose buried in her hair as he slept. And she didn't want to move. She just wanted to stay here for a very long time and forget about everything else.

Everything except for Derek could just disappear and she would definitely be perfectly happy with everything. He felt good wrapped around her, his heart beating smoothly against her back. They were so close she could feel every thud and she never wanted to move ever. She would be content to just spend the rest of her days with Derek holding her this close.

Which was cheesy. She knew that. She knew if she actually said it to him, he'd laugh at her. Or probably not. He'd probably agree. She couldn't actually imagine anything better than this. Anything better than feeling the steady beat of his heart, the rough flannel of his pajama pants, his calloused surgeon hands. And his breathing. The steady rise and fall of his chest against her back was almost comforting.

She was definitely supposed to be mad at him. After what he had pulled last night she was pretty sure the general public would understand if she never wanted to talk to him again. Except he had just been being Derek and doing whatever he had to to take care of her and make sure she was happy. He had just been being the over protective boyfriend that she loved far too much.

And it had gone well. Lexie wasn't crazy. She wasn't a stalker. She was actually really nice and Meredith was sure she could probably really like Lexie one day, and could probably do the whole sister thing. Derek had been right, which she wasn't one hundred percent sure she'd really ever admit to, but he had been right. She had been scared and he had pushed and he had been right.

Which was nice. It was nice that her boyfriend knew her that well. And it was nice that he had pushed, or nudged. Last night had been more like a nudge. He hadn't actually forced her to talk to Lexie, he had just made it easier. Derek made a lot of things easier. He kind of made life easier. Not that she was ever going to tell him that either. He would never shut up.

So maybe she shouldn't be mad at him. She was pretty sure she couldn't be mad at him right now. She couldn't be mad at the way his arms were wrapped around her, holding her close to his chest, her hand nestled in his larger one. There was no way she could be mad at him when he made her feel so safe. When he made her feel completely at home and...loved.

"Hmmm..." he suddenly groaned, sounding happy as he shifted slightly behind her

She tightened her fingers around his, wondering if he was awake or just moving a bit in his sleep. He should be awake. He should definitely be awake, unless awake involved moving, and then he should stay asleep. But then his head was moving, his face moving from her hair to her neck, gently pressing a kiss just above the collar of her t-shirt. "Morning," she whispered.

"Morning," he murmured, squeezing her tighter for a second.

"How'd you sleep?" she breathed, fighting the urge to turn over and face him, to tell him she loved him. That was probably a weird thing to say first thing in the morning, and turning to face him would mean the loss of his heartbeat against her back, gently lulling her into a complete sense of calm.