You're Like Coming Home

56.

"It's true," Meredith nodded. "I've seen Law and Order. They take rape very seriously."

Derek laughed as he pulled her into his arms. "You're something else, Meredith Shepherd," he sighed. "You know I would never hurt you."

"I know," Meredith sighed as she settled into his arms. "I'm scared, Derek."

Derek sighed against the top of her head. "I know," he whispered. "I am too."

Meredith pulled out of his arms to look him in the eye. "You're scared?" she asked. "Because I thought you knew what you wanted to do, ever since high school."

"I have," Derek said. "But that doesn't mean I'm not scared. Being a doctor is hard, and I sometimes wonder if I can do it."

"You can," Meredith nodded encouragingly, running her fingers through his hair. "Derek, you're amazing. And you don't even have to study half as much as I do. You're not going to have any problems."

"I hope you're right," he whispered into her hair.

"I am," Meredith whispered. "You've worked hard for this, Derek."

"So have you," Derek whispered. "I'm glad you're not giving this up, Mer. You know I would have loved you either way, but you've worked so hard for this and it would have been a shame to see you give that all away."

Meredith smiled as she reached up to kiss him gently. "Thank you, Der," she whispered. "I love you."

"I love you too," Derek smiled as he tightened his arms around her, inhaling deeply as he closed his eyes and allowed sleep to come.

XXXXX

Meredith stood in the middle of the kitchen, staring at the clock above the stove as she tapped her fingernails nervously against the counter.

10:07.

She had her first class at 11, and she knew if she left now she would be twenty minutes early, and she refused to be that girl. But Derek had left two hours earlier for his first class, and she had found herself completely and totally bored in the apartment without him as she waited for it to be time to leave.

She'd already picked up the dirty clothes from the floor of her closet, done all the dishes by hand, and vacuumed the living room, and somehow only an hour had gone by. Now she stood in the middle of the kitchen, biting on her thumbnail as she looked around the room, trying to find something to occupy the next twenty minutes of her life.

"Mer?" Derek's voice called from the doorway, causing her to rush out of the kitchen.

"Derek!" she cried. "How was it? Was it scary and horrible? Do you have a million things to do now? God, you probably don't even have time to talk to me, because you have so much to do. I have to go anyways, even though I'm going to be early, but I guess it's better to be early than late, so I'll just go and you can start your homework..."

"Meredith," Derek laughed as he stepped forward and took her into his arms. "I always have time to talk to you. And I have some reading to do, but nothing too time consuming."

"Oh," Meredith nodded. "So it wasn't super scary?"

"No," Derek laughed. "You'll do fine, Mer, it's not that different from college. Just doctors instead of professors."

"Okay," Meredith said, biting her lower lip. "I guess I should go."

"You'll be fine," Derek laughed. "Just try not to raise your hand and then ramble for ten minutes like you did on the first day of Brain Mind and Behavior."

Meredith scowled as she slapped his bicep. "I'm still mad at you for not stopping me," she said. "I'm leaving now."

Derek laughed as he pulled her close, kissing her firmly. "It was cute," he said. "And I love you."