Whatever It Takes

Chapter 33

You make it easier to be, easier to be me.
It's hard to believe, You make it easy...
--Lifehouse



"Thank you for dinner it was really good." She said walking her plate over to the sink..

"Thank you for the company." He replied following her with his dish.

She gave him a nod with a soft smile as their eyes locked for a moment.. she quickly looked away taking a sip of her wine and let out a deep exhale.

"So are you going to tell me about your day?" he finally asked

"Wasn't planning to." She replied with a raised brow.

He furrowed his brow with confusion as he looked at her precariously.. she knew that look well, it was one she got from Derek a lot.

"Finn." She replied "I know I had a bad day, and I know I came here. But it doesn't mean I want to sit down and talk about it.. I'm the kind of person that just likes to go to bed and forget about it. I don't go into detail about my problems.. they're my problems and I don't... I don't share."

"Ok." He said offering half a smile... she tilted her head and frowned slightly at his reaction.

"Ok?" she asked confused.

"Ok." He said with a nod "You don't want to open up right now, I can respect that."

"You can?" she asked even more confused..

"I can."

He said setting his wine down as he stepped closer towards her looking down into her confused green eyes

"From what you've told me, you've been through a lot. And you haven't been treated right. And you're all confused and messed up inside and maybe you're even trying to figure out how not to be so you figure the best way to do that is to keep it to yourself until the feeling passes."

"Maybe." She gulped feeling her cheeks flush slightly...

He ran his fingers across her cheek to brush a few strands of hair out of her eyes and smiled..

"So I can wait." He said softly "Because... because you're worth waiting for, and because for the first time in a long time the first thought in my mind isn't how soon I can get to the bar to numb my internal pain. My first thought when I wake up is you. And I... I think you're pretty great."

She felt her eyes mist slightly as a knot of churning emotion twisted tightly in her gut. She opened her mouth to retort something, to make light of what he just said... but her voice wouldn't let her.

She closed her mouth and lowered her eyes to his clean shaven mouth and closed her eyes as she leaned into him feeling his soft chest against her palm and rose to her tip toes as she felt her lips softly press against his.

She pulled away after a successful lip lock looking back at his surprised face. She swallowed hard blinking back the water in her eyes as they stared at each other not sure as to what to say, what to do next.

The kiss was simple, it wasn't anything out of the ordinary, no excitement, no magic.. yet it was sweet. It felt nothing like it did when she kissed Derek, where she would feel it everywhere in her body. But it was a start.. a start at something new.

Wanting to give something new another try she started to lean into him again.. this time he caught on and did the same... she closed her eyes waiting for impact when they heard a loud chime of the doorbell..

It startled her hard concentration and she jumped back, her fingers went limp and she dropped the wine glass she was holding hearing it shatter against the floor... she looked up at Finn apologetically.

"Its ok." He said with a smile "I'll get it, if you can just go get the door... its probably the person that called earlier. Just let them in I'll be right there."

"Ok." She said with a relieved sigh and smiled.

She turned stepping over the glass as he went to retrieve the broom. She walked out of the living quarters of the large home and towards the office where he conducted his clinic.

She reached the door and grabbed onto the door knob turning it lightly as she smiled waiting to receive whatever patient and owner it was on the other side... the door flung open and her smile faded quickly as she put it on as her eyes clashed with a familiar set of ocean blue ones...

"Derek." She gasped...

The look on his face just as surprised as the one on hers.. forgetting about the small creature cradled safely in his arms as he stared at the woman in front of him wondering why she was answering the door to a vet clinic, and wondering if maybe he'd gotten he wrong address.

"Meredith." He choked out "What... what are you doing here?"

She opened her mouth to respond but before she could she heard footsteps coming up behind her strong against the hardwood floor...

"Ok, got that cleaned up, now what do we have-" she heard behind her... Derek's eyes diverted to the figure walking up behind her...

"Finn." He said under his breath..

They all looked at each other in shock as an uncomfortable silence filled with tension gripped the group.

Meredith felt a knot grow in her stomach, just when her evening was starting to look up now this... she glanced down noticing something for the first time and gasped breaking the tension in the room...

"Is that Marktina?"

Derek looked down at the furry creature in his arms realizing she was still there and cleared his throat...

"Um yeah... but I mean she probably doesn't remember you.."

But before he got the sentence out completed the dog looked up at Meredith and perked her ears up excitedly... Meredith reached out her arms just as the dog jumped out of Derek's and into hers...

She started yapping and licking Meredith's cheek enticing a loud rapturous giggle to escape her... Derek's eyes twinkled as he felt a warm sensation in his chest hearing that laugh for the first time in over 5 years.. a sound he adored so much...

The dog continued to tickle her causing a gail of giggles from her. Derek felt his cheeks strain from the smile crossing his face as he enjoyed the sound he missed so much.

But his joy soon faded as he glanced over seeing the same kind of joy coming from the other man in the room. The light and twinkle in his eyes, the warmth seeping from his cheeks as he took in the sight. He felt his heart sink into his chest because she was looking back with the same look... only she was looking at Finn.