I Wanna Love Somebody Like You

9

"Especially when you already feel guilty," she nodded running her fingers through his hair.

"Exactly," Derek said, leaning into her. "Have you checked on Holden?"

"He still doesn't know what he wants to do," Meredith said. "It's...I can't imagine being in that position."

"Me either," Derek sighed, tightening his arms around her. "I'm glad you're on today."

"Well, it was either this or making turkey with Izzie."

"Which makes me even more glad that you're here not at home," he laughed. "I'd like the house to still be standing when we get off tonight."

"You know you're not supposed to be mean to people you love on Thanksgiving," Meredith said, trying to wiggle out of his lap.

"Hey!" he protested, tightening his hold around her waist. "Don't go."

"You're the one who's being mean," she sighed, but relaxed in his arms anyways.

"I'm sorry," he said, leaning forward to press his lips against the soft skin of her neck. "But I am glad that you're here instead of at home."

Meredith smiled at the ease at which he referred to her house as home. In the months since George and Izzie had found out about their relationship, the only times he had slept at the trailer had been when she was with him. And she loved that. Knowing that they would spend every night one of them wasn't at the hospital together was extraordinarily comforting, and she had even been wondering if they were living together. Without really living together, of course, because she would definitely destroy that conversation.

"I was thinking that we could go to the trailer tonight," she said instead of bringing up the topic of living together.

"Really?" Derek asked, taking her hand to play with her fingers. "I would have thought that you would have wanted to spend the evening with George and Izzie."

"No," she shook her head. "I want to spend it with you. At the trailer."

"Okay," Derek said. "It's been too long since we've been out there."

"It has," Meredith agreed, omitting the fact that she'd run out there earlier that morning, between breakfast and the start of her shift to set up for her surprise. Derek was going to be completely proud of her.

"Hmmm," Derek let out a contented sigh, leaning into her and inhaling deeply.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"Breathing you in."

"Oh," she breathed. "Okay." They stayed in that position for several moments, her cuddled in his lap as his chin rested on her shoulder, his breath warm on her neck. As she was basking in the comfort of his embrace, she closed her eyes and allowed herself to recall the conversation that had sparked her idea for that night, after her shift.

"I can't believe it," Derek said, tearing his sweater off as he paced their bedroom. Meredith sat cross legged on their bed, her head moving back and forth as she watched him move through the room. "Who the hell does he think he is? He calls me and tells me that he needs a head of neuro, that he'll give me whatever I want if I take the job. And then he doesn't give me one freaking day off when I ask for it after six months. And a holiday!"

Meredith watched with an amused smile. "Well, he is paying you two million dollars a year," she said.

He glared at her and the smile died on her lips, realizing that he wasn't in the mood for joking around. "Sorry."

"It's not that I even want to go to New York," he continued his rant. "Unless you'd come with me, but I know you can't get that much time off, and it's completely okay if you don't want to. I get that you're not ready for that yet. But I still want to spend the day with you, and now I have to be on call for all those stupid people who can't drive on holidays."