Where You Belong

110

After a moment, she shook her head almost imperceptibly and took a deep breath.

He waited until Meredith reached for her door handle before he did the same. She met him at the back of the car. He opened the trunk and reached for the first suitcase, but she stopped him with a hand on his arm.

Covering her hand with his free one, he turned to face her and shot her a questioning look.

With a smirk, Meredith pressed herself into his space and hooked her hands behind his neck, tugging him down a few inches so she could kiss him. Derek fell into the kiss, his hands finding the small of her back as he pulled her against him.

"What was that for?" He whispered when she pulled away.

She shrugged, her hands playing with the hair at the base of his neck. "Just because."

He smiled and leaned down to press his nose into the crook of her neck. He inhaled. She smelled like lavender and Meredith. After a moment he shifted to rest his chin on her shoulder and swayed them side to side a few times.

"I'm glad we're here," Meredith whispered as she hugged him back.

"Mmm, me too," he murmured. "I'm really glad you're here." He could still acutely remember the relief and gratefulness he'd felt four months earlier when he had realized the love of his life and his family were comfortable together. He loved both so much, and he wanted desperately to be able to have both together. At the time, he had been grateful for her willingness to make such an attempt for him. She had little to no experience with families, but she had flown from Hawaii to New York to meet his. Her gesture had more than made up for her running to Hawaii in the first place, and for the several days they spent at his mother's house, Derek had been grateful and amazed at the effort she was making for him.

He just hadn't understood at that time how much it meant to her.

She had never had a real family of her own, and he had wanted very much to make her a part of his. He had just never stopped to realize how much that meant to her. She wasn't just finding a spot in his family for his sake. She was getting a family out of the deal; the family she had never had. Her admission that morning in the airport had nearly taken his breath away.

Meredith leaned back in his arms, just far enough to meet his gaze. Her eyes were sparkling. "There's nowhere else I'd rather be," she stated with a shrug, as if it were the most natural thing in the world that she be here with him.

And maybe it was, Derek thought to himself.

He smiled and captured her lips with his for several seconds before releasing her and reaching for their suitcases.

"There are a lot of cars here," Meredith commented as he pulled out the first suitcase – hers – and pressed the handle into her hand.

Derek nodded as he pulled out his own suitcase. "We're a lot of people."

"Still..."

He shut the trunk and then pecked her lips. "Mom and Brian have two cars, and then one each for Kathleen, Nancy and Meg. That's five. Plus us is six. Plus Lauren and Shane. Seven."

"It's a good thing your mom has a ridiculously long driveway," she commented as they headed up the driveway along the line of cars.

Derek chuckled. "True."

They reached the short cobblestone path that led to the front door.

"You ready?" He asked.

"Yeah, I think so. Just...can we have the same deal as last time?"