Trapped in my head

Chapter 37

"Hey, are you ready?" Andrew asked as Meredith opened the door to her house for him. It was Sunday morning and they had an appointment. They were going to go hiking in the mountains today and have lunch together in the restaurant on the top. It wasn't a really difficult hike he had picked out but rather a more comfortable trail that would take about two hours. At the restaurant there was also a chairlift they could take down again after lunch.

"Yeah, I just need to get my backpack." She said, smiling at him. "Hey DeLuca." Amelia said, coming out of the kitchen. "Hello, Dr. Shepherd." He replied, closing the door behind her while he was waiting for Meredith to come back down. "You can call me Amelia when we're not at the hospital." She said, crossing her arms, leaning against the doorframe and grinning at him. He just looked at her, raising his eyebrow.

"Well, have fun." She said after a few seconds of silence and disappeared back into the kitchen. "Thanks." He said, a little confused. "I'm ready." Meredith suddenly said, coming back down the stairs, the backpack in her hand. "Great." He said, bending down to kiss her cheek as she smiled at him, just because he couldn't resist.

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Twenty minutes later they arrived at the parking lot and got out of the car. He couldn't resist a smile as he looked at her. She was wearing a way too big, beige rain-jacket and a pair of olive green cargo jeans as well as some very cute looking hiking shoes. Her hair was up in a low, messy bun and she just looked- beautiful. "Let's go." He said, locking the car, as they started to walk towards the begin of the pit.

"Do you go hiking a lot?" she asked, looking around. "I try to but life as a surgeon is sometimes pretty busy huh?" he replied, smiling at her. "That's true. I'm happy we can spend the morning together today." She gave back, smiling at him too for a few seconds. "Do you go hiking sometimes?" he then asked after a few seconds of slightly uncomfortable silence.

"Yeah, mostly with Alex. I know that he doesn't like it very much but he still always comes with me." She gave back. He was glad that she had Alex, but still their relationship seemed to him somehow a little too- couply.

"Can I ask you something about Alex?" he then asked, wanting to know. "Sure." Meredith gave back. "Did you too ever- were you too ever more than just friends?" he asked, making her look at him. "Well- he's more like my brother than my friend. But if you mean- something else then- maybe you already forgot but- you were my first kiss ever Andrew." She chuckled.

"Right, sorry." He gave back, smiling at her from the side as she looked ahead. "Can I ask you something too?" she then asked, still not looking at him. "Of course." He replied. "You- you've had sex before right?" she asked, catching him off guard. He had not expected that kind of talk now. "Yes- I had."

"And- is it- different with me?" she questioned, so that he slowly started to understand what she meant. And she was probably not asking because it had been her first time but because she was autistic and the girls he had had before weren't.

"Yes it was. It's different with everyone because- no one is the same." He said, trying to approach that topic carefully. "But- am I different like- more different?" she asked quietly, making his heart ache a little. "Yes you are. Because until the day I met you, I have never ever liked someone as much as I like you. And because of how much I like you- it's completely different with you. It wasn't just sex and it isn't just normal kissing- it's more. It's just perfect because- you are perfect." He said, making her stop walking as she looked up at him. She was smiling brightly, almost grinning. "Okay." She whispered, making him chuckle as he laid his arms around her waist, pulling her in for a kiss. "I love you." She whispered against his lips, still smiling contagiously. "I love you too." He replied.

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After they had continued to walk for a while, slowly starting to warm up to each other again, starting to get deeper into conversation, the sky started to get slightly darker. "Andrew I think it'll start raining in a bit." Meredith said, looking up at the sky and making him follow her gaze. "Yeah, we have thirty minutes left to go, I hope we'll get to the restaurant before it starts raining. God I hate weather reports they're literally never right." He said, taking her hand.

She just chuckled, making him smile too. "You think it's funny when I'm frustrated huh?" he asked playfully, making her giggle again. "You're so cute." He said, chuckling at her. "Do you know what they have at the restaurant?" she asked, trying to prepare herself for the food already. "Yeah, I checked the menu. They have some sandwiches, salads and even Pizza." He replied. "Great." She gave back, smiling brightly.

Suddenly they heard a thunder in the distance that made Meredith tighten her grip on his hand. "You okay?" he asked concerned, continuing to walk a little closer to her. "Yeah, just don't like thunders" she gave back. "Right I remember. Like at the night where we were stuck in the elevator." He said, still a little worried, receiving a nod from her. And then it started raining, at first only slightly but after a few minutes it was getting worse so that it was soon pouring.

Meredith and Andrew were already jogging by now, still hand in hand. But as he looked over at her she didn't seem to be scared or overstimulated or anything. She was smiling brightly, she was enjoying the rain. And somehow that made him enjoy the rain too, so that they slowed down again. She let go of his hand and stopped, raising her head so that the rain fell directly onto her face as she had her eyes closed. As he just observed her, he realized how lucky he was to be able to be with her. Because she was- yeah- she was different. She didn't wear make-up, she didn't wear fancy and expensive clothes, she didn't go shopping, she didn't care about what others thought of her she was just- herself and he loved her. And while she was enjoying the rain on her face, he couldn't help but smile brightly at her.

"I really like rain. It smells good." She said after a while, looking at him again. "What does it smell like?" he asked a little confused. "Like rain and like forest. I love that smell." She said, raising her head again and closing her eyes. "I think we should keep going Mer, I don't want you to get sick." He said as he noticed that she was shivering slightly. "Are you cold?" he asked, taking her hand and carefully starting to pull her a little until she started walking next to him again. "A little." She replied, still having her eyes closed and her head up as she let him lead him.

So, he let go of her hand and laid his arm around her waist to make sure she wouldn't fall. After another fifteen minutes they arrived at the restaurant, completely drenched in water but since Meredith didn't even seem to care he didn't either. "We should ask for some blankets and get out of our wet clothes."

"It's nice in here." Meredith replied, looking around. It was a beautiful little restaurant, it was warm and very cozy. "Here I got some blankets, take off your jacket." He said, leading her over to a table in the corner where they both sat down and he helped her out of her rain jacket, before laying one of the blankets around her shoulders, before taking off his jacket as well.

"I'm hungry." Meredith then said as he sat down as well, making him chuckle. "That's why we're here" he gave back, laying an arm around her shoulder and pulling her closer to him. "Are you getting a little warmer?" he asked, still concerned she might get sick. "I'm fine." She said, cuddling into him, what made him smile as he placed a kiss on top of her head. He himself wasn't really cold. He had a pretty strong immune system and literally never froze.

"Welcome to the Smore's, what can I get you to drink?" the waitress that had approached their table asked. "Do you have tea?" Meredith asked, still shivering slightly. "Yes of course, any preferences?"

"Uhm- no peppermint please." Meredith just said. "Alright, and you?" she then asked Andrew, smiling at him friendlily. "I'll have some tap water."

"Okay, here are the menus, I'll be back in a few minutes." The waitress replied, giving them each a menu. The restaurant wasn't very full due to the heavy rain so that there was just one more family and an elderly couple. "I think I'll have a bacon sandwich." Meredith said, closing the menu and cuddling herself back into Andrew's arms, sighing happily. "I'll take a turkey sandwich." He said, closing his menu as well and laying his arm back around Meredith who seemed to be pretty tired so that he stayed silent, giving her some time to rest. This definitely didn't go as planned but still- he was more than happy to be with her here and have her half asleep in his arms.