Derek took another gulp of his ice tea, getting comfortable in the leather chair in his uncle's... no, his office. The full sun made the room glow brightly while air conditioning pleasantly cooled his skin. It was a very slow day. He had only one patient, Meredith had zero. Well, she had one if he included a pregnant cat. He almost laughed his head off when a girl in her early teens brought the cat, expecting Meredith to deliver the kittens. Of course he let his amusement out in the solitude of his office so as not to offend anyone or piss Meredith off. She took all her patients very seriously. She explained the girl very patiently that it was not the time for the little ones to come and when the time was right, the kittens would come without her help.
Yeah, working at the practice was fun, he remarked with surprise. Apart from the incredible and hilarious situations, he could just... rest. Drink his coffee, or rather ice coffee, sit in peace, gather his thoughts, chat with Meredith or Izzie. The unhurried pace was filling him with a sort of blissful serenity. He wouldn't have believed a few weeks back if someone had told him he'd enjoy working anywhere else than in the bustling hospital. Of course, he still missed the scalpel like hell. But he felt entitled to have a little summer fling with the practice. He would go back to his true love, surgery, in two months.
Meanwhile, he could enjoy the baseball game he was supposed to go with Mark and which he was now relating to him over the phone.
"Mark, move it faster!" he grumbled as he missed another good action. They were having a video connection and thanks to Mark he could follow the game live.
"I'm not your fucking servant, Derek!"
Mark was still very clearly pissed at him for staying in Rachel as well as for asking him to send Derek some of his clothes from New York. He hoped they'd arrive soon. His current wardrobe had shrunk considerably, some of his best shirts and pants he brought with him were no longer of any use.
"Yes!" Derek whooped with the stadium as the Yankees scored. "Beautiful!"
"You sure you're still a Yankee boy?" snickered Mark. "Maybe you have turned to Texas Rangers."
"I'm not in Texas, Mark, I'm in Nevada. And I'm a Yankee boy through and through," Derek rolled his eyes. "I'm offended with your remark- Keep the phone straight!"
Mark muttered something about fucking princesses under his breath but obeyed his request.
"Just like that!" he gasped as the hitter sent the ball flying high and far. His eyes nervously followed the player circling the bases. "Yes! Come on, come on! Faster! Yes, yes!"
Suddenly, the door to his office opened startling him enough to drop his phone onto his lap.
UNDER THE NIGHT SKY
Meredith flipped her phone shut and got to her feet, pulling off her lab coat. A house call coming up, just perfect to break the monotony of the day. She should probably take Derek along, she thought briefly as she went to the lobby. He wasn't popular with anyone in the town and he should start to warm up to the people if he really intended to stay for these two months.
She stopped before his door, her hand raised in the air ready to knock in case he was with a patient and... then she heard it. A muffled grunt through the door...
"Just like that! Yes! Come on, come on! Faster! Yes, yes!"
Her mouth hung wide open in shock. What the hell was he doing? Well, she had a pretty good idea. She felt ripples of anger inside her, did he picked up some whore and was shamelessly doing her in the office?
"Iz, is Dr. Shepherd seeing a patient?" she asked dryly.
"Not that I know of," shrugged the blonde. "But I went to make coffee a couple of minutes ago so someone might have come in that time."
"Hm," Meredith frowned and with a barely audible knock pushed the door open. "Hey, I'm going-" she trailed off.
Derek was indeed alone... with both of his hands between his legs behind his desk, panting.
"Oh," her mouth made a perfect letter 'O'. "Sorry, didn't want to interrupt... anything..."
"You didn't," he gulped feeling himself flush.
"That's okay," she smirked pitilessly. "You have... needs."
"I don't have needs," he gritted out. Why did he always make an idiot out of himself in front of that woman? The woman whose opinion he valued above the opinion of any other woman ever before?
"Okay," she nodded, her lips twitching. "You don't have needs, that's okay too."
"No... I... I have needs, just not now," he mumbled and stood up, showing he was absolutely not in need.
"So, the moaning and the dirty talk?" she decided to tease him a bit more.
"I was talking to my best friend," he replied biting his tongue immediately. Great, just fucking great.
"Oh!" her eyebrows rode even higher. "I didn't know..."
"It's not like that!" he exclaimed in panic.
"That's really okay, Derek," she nodded soothingly. "I don't mind-"
"I'm not!" he barked out angrily.
"Derek, no need to argue. Everyone in town knows already."
"Knows what exactly?" he shot.
"That you're, you know, not into girls," she shrugged. "I mentioned to Cristina that you made dinner and she couldn't keep her mouth shut so now everybody knows."
"So what?" he frowned.
"As far as I know no man in Rachel can cook, not to mention bake. That's like mission impossible."
"So the fact that I can cook means that I'm gay?" his hands flew to his sides desperately.
"Pretty much," she nodded. "That and the clothes, and the perfect hair."
"I am not gay," he glared at her. "For your information Mark, my best friend and brother, is at the baseball stadium. I was cheering on the Yankees."
"Suuure," she nodded biting on her lip.
"How can I help you?" he asked gruffly. "You heard my so called dirty talk and decided to join in the fun? Pant along with me?"
"I've got a call. I'm going to see a patient. Thought you should come."
"Aw, you thought of me?" he grinned.
"No, I didn't think of you," she rolled her eyes. "I thought of my patients. Why do you think it's so slow the last few days?"
"Because no one needs to see a doctor?"
"Wrong. Because people know you'll be working here and they don't trust you," she announced blatantly.
"Oh, well," he sighed uneasily. "They'll see I'm a good doctor in time-"
"That's not enough," she interrupted him. "You have to reach out to them."
"Reach out to them? You're telling me to suck up?"
"Not kiss their ass," she sighed as though she was talking to a five-year-old. "Be nice and attentive. Or... you know, don't bother," she shrugged when he kept staring at her. "I'll go by myself. Finish watching your match or something."
"No, I'll go," he assured her quickly. She was volunteering to take him on a case, he'd be stupid to refuse.
"I don't want to trouble you," she shrugged sarcastically.
"Meredith," he said calmly. "It will be my pleasure to come with you."
"Better watch out with that pleasure," she quipped. "There's no gas station on that side of town so I'd have to throw you out on the middle of the desert. Get your ass in gear, we're leaving in two minutes."
He sighed audibly after she left. Great, first she took him for a manwhore and now he was gay. Just perfect.
"Mark," he picked the phone back. "What's the score?"
"You're knocked out cold man," he whistled. "She mauled you!"
Derek clenched his jaw. He should have thought about disconnecting first.
"I was asking about the game, Mark!" he gritted.
"Who cares? I left the stands to listen to that fascinating little exchange. Who does that sexy voice belong to?"
"You just couldn't help eavesdropping, could you?" Derek reproached him, irked by Mark calling Meredith sexy. She obviously was but it was no one's interest!
"Oh, touchy," chuckled Mark. "You're hot for her, aren't you? She's that good, huh?"
"That's not your business," snapped Derek muting the phone. It would be a disaster if Meredith heard that too.
"Of course it's my business. Your business is my business. Is she your boss or something? She sounded very domineering... I like that."
"She's the co-owner of the practice," Derek admitted with a defeated sigh.
"You dog! That's why you stayed!" laughed Mark. "You should have told me instead giving that thinking about life bullshit."
"It's no bullshit. I am thinking about my life and... Meredith helps."
"I bet," Mark snickered. "But why does she think you're gay? You've gone that bad in this department?"
"We haven't... you know," sighed Derek.
"I'm gonna barf, you sound like we're in high school again and you can't get laid."
"I'm ending this conversation. Don't tell Ma anything."
"That you haven't 'you know'?" laughed Mark.
"That she knows. I meant about Meredith. Mom already asked me if I stayed for a woman."
"But you did!"
"I didn't... and even if I did, mom doesn't have to know about it."
"SHEPHERD!" Meredith's voice hollered from outside. "Are you deaf or what?"
"Gotta go," he muttered to Mark and ran out.
UNDER THE NIGHT SKY
"Thank you for taking me along," he said gratefully as they sped out of town, Meredith behind the steering wheel and Derek tightly wrapped with the seatbelt.
"Mhm." She put on her black sunglasses.
"Who's the patient? If it is a who..."
"It is a who, Chloe Bishop, 32. Severe abdomen pain and nausea."
"Not very unique symptoms," he said pensively.
"I know," she nodded. "But I bet it's food poisoning."
"You bet?" he asked curiously.
"Yeah. It's Chloe's birthday. She throws a party every year. And every year somebody gets poisoned. She's a terrible cook. What's even worse, she doesn't know that. But she's a great person so nobody wants to rip her heart out."
"How can you not know if you're terrible cook?" Derek asked curiously.
"She lives with her sister," explained Meredith. "She always tries to keep Chloe away from the kitchen. Derek... if anyone asks, we're over our necks with work."
"We're not."
"I know that." He could bet she had rolled her eyes at him behind her shades. "But... I'm a town doctor. You always invite the town doctor if you have a party or something."
"You must be leading a glamorous life," he chuckled. "No wonder you like it here so much."
"You enjoy ticking me off, don't you?" she asked amusedly.
"I enjoy our banter," he replied sincerely. "Anyway why exactly are we so occupied with doing nothing?"
"Because I don't exactly want to stay for the party. You'd willingly risk your stomach's wellbeing? I don't think so. I was a step from getting poisoned two years ago. Fortunately, I mean unfortunately, someone grabbed that fateful portion of the cake before me."
Derek broke out in laughter, "I like it here more and more!"
She smiled at his admission and went on to recount another local story which he found even more amusing.
UNDER THE NIGHT SKY
Derek's eyes inconspicuously swept over the little gathering reunited around their patient's bed. This was a birthday party? It looked more like a funeral, Chloe's family and friends couldn't be wearing more distressed expressions. They weren't all grim. Some looked impatient, others relieved. And they should be, they were winners in the poisoned food Russian roulette this year.
"I'm dying!" the said patient moaned from the bed.
"You're not dying, Chloe," Meredith assured her gently.
"I want to get up," she instead trying to sit up on the bed, "but everything is spinning..."
"Don't try to get up," Meredith eased her down. "You'll only get more sick."
"But it's-"
"For heaven's sake, it's just food poisoning, Chloe!" one of her cousins from Las Vegas blurted out, a scowl on her face. "Just like every year!"
"It's impossible!" groaned Chloe. "I only ate a piece of my cake. I'm dying."
Everyone looked a little uncomfortable while Meredith and Derek exchanged looks of understanding.
"You are not dying, Chloe!" the temperamental cousin spoke up again ignoring the looks the family was giving her. "The truth is that you can't cook, you can't bake, and you poisoned Aunt Mia five years ago, me two years ago, Jason last year and now yourself!"
"That's not true!" gasped Chloe. "Not true..." she looked around over her family but no one seemed inclined to deny. "I... I poisoned three people and myself?" she broke down in sobs.
"Chloe," Meredith rubbed calming circles on her arm. "No one is holding it against you. Everybody adores you."
"I'm a total failure! I can't cook, I almost killed four people myself included and... my boyfriend... who is going to dump me!"
"Sweetie, of course I'm not going to dump you, I love you!"
"I'll be an awful wife who can't cook!" she cried uncontrollably. If this was going to continue she would have to be sedated.
"It's not true," Derek spoke up brining attention of everyone around. Meredith arched one of her eyebrows questioningly.
Yup, her face was clearly asking him what the fuck. But she said herself he needed to reach out and it seemed like a perfect time. He was completely in the spotlight though, even Chloe halted her sobs, surprised to hear him for the first time.
"I mean, my sister, my eldest sister, and I have four of them in total," he started conversationally. He was good at chatting people up. At least he thought he was until he met Meredith. Anyway. "So Nancy, is a terrible cook. So bad that she poisoned half of the family with salmonella five... six years ago, including our Mom, two aunties, two our sisters and three nephews. That was quite a feat. But she's still a great wife and mother," Derek smiled encouragingly.
"Really?" Chloe wiped down her face from tears. "That's even worse than me..."
"It is," Derek nodded with a grin.
"Oh well," sighed Chloe. "It isn't the end of the world after all..."
"Oh, thank God," Chloe's cousin sighed with relief just like everyone else. "Dr. Shepherd, are you going to stay for the rest of the party," she battled her eyelashes. "The birthday girl is sick but we can have a drink to her health."
"No... uhm, sorry, we're... we can't," he stammered. What was going on with him? He was never awkward around women.
"I'm sure you have many stories to tell," she smiled at him saucily.
"We're very busy," he told her hastily and hurried after Meredith who was already on her way to the jeep walked off by Chloe's sister.
"Thought you might want to stay?" she asked him, one of her eyebrows raised questioningly.
"Stay?" he frowned.
"The feisty cousin," she shrugged. "She's pretty. She works in a casino, you know."
"So?"
"You know. What, she's not your type?" asked Meredith innocently.
"Feisty and pretty is definitely my type. That's why you can't get rid of me," he wiggled his eyebrows.
"But I'm not going to sleep with you whereas she seems very willing," Meredith challenged him.
"I am not interested in whatever she is willing to do," he confessed looking her in the eye.
She gazed at him curiously, he seemed sincere. Was it relief she felt at the fact that he wasn't interested in the girl...? No, absolutely not! She didn't have a care in the world. He could do as he pleased. She broke their visual connection walking around the car, frowning suddenly.
"What's wrong?" he asked coming up beside her.
"Breathe in the air."
"What for?" He inhaled deeply not understanding a thing.
"Can you smell it?" she asked gently.
"What?" he leaned nearer, her pleasant flowery scent tingling his nose.
"Don't... sniff me!" she jumped away from him as if he was a red hot iron.
"You asked me!" he chuckled. "And I smelled it, real good. A shampoo?"
"A conditioner, lavender," she bit her lip. "But that's not what I wanted you to feel. The rain, I can feel the rain in the air."
"Really?" he raised one eyebrow disbelievingly. The sky was perfectly clear. "It's going to rain?"
"More than that," she sighed ushering him inside the car. "A storm is coming."
"No way," he chuckled. "It's so peaceful." Not a leaf trembled on the trees and bushes around the house. He couldn't feel the wind on his heated skin.
"Have you ever heard the expression "calm before the storm"?" she rolled her eyes sarcastically as the car rolled into the road leading to the town. "You're such a city slicker."
"I guess I am," he sighed. He learned something new about life every day.
"But... you did good with Chloe," Meredith said gently. "You calmed her down, thanks for that."
"Oh, so you can do that!" he grinned from ear to ear.
"Can do what?"
"Praise me," he quipped. "I was beginning to think you were incapable of telling nice things."
"Idiot," she grumbled.
"Nuh-uh, you complimented me, it's done. Deal with it."
"You know, I think I need to drive faster," she smirked stepping on gas. She knew Derek didn't feel comfortable with her driving. "I want to get back before the storm."
In the corner of her eye she saw him go green on the face and check his seatbelt.
UNDER THE NIGHT SKY
"Damn, I didn't think it would come so quickly," muttered Meredith half an hour later.
Ten minutes after they left Chloe's, the sky darkened ominously, imposing the night during the day. A spectacular lightning crossed the heavens, instantly followed with a thunder.
"How far are we?"Derek asked, watching the weather lash out at them in fury. Meredith was driving incredibly slow due to the wall of rain that surrounded their car from every side but he wished she'd be able to drive like maniac. Anything was better than this.
"About ten miles," she sighed. "I'm pulling on the side. We can't go on like this. We'll wait it out here and continue when it's over."
"That's the most reasonable solution," he agreed. "It's impossible to see anything outside."
She stopped the engine and pulled back her seat, relaxing with her arms behind her neck. Derek, on the other hand, seemed much more fretful, glancing through the window with worry etched on his face, his seatbelt still fastened.
"Derek, are you okay?" she asked quietly, barely audibly over the beating of the raindrops against the hood.
"I'm fine," he sighed.
"It's just a storm," she smiled at him gently.
"But we're in the middle of it!"
"It happens."
"It does? You've been stranded in a storm before?"
"A couple of times," she nodded, cocking her head in his direction. "I stop, I wait until its over and get back on the road. That's it."
"It doesn't scare you in the least?" he asked with bewilderment.
"What's to be scared of? Just a few flashes and thuds. And rain."
"Combined all together, pretty scary on average," he winced trying to make out anything outside. "Are you fearless? Because you seem to be. Not afraid of anything and anyone."
"Of course not," she smiled from her seat. "No one is."
"Oh, yeah?" he looked at her pensively. "So what is it for you that you're afraid of? Obviously not thunderstorms, birthing horses, picking strangers in the desert..."
Her expression changed minimally. He noticed her swallow, her breath lengthen a little. But when she answered, her response was as sassy as ever. "You don't think I'm going to tell you all my weaknesses, do you?"
"You know all mine," he quipped.
"I'm sure I don't. Sometimes I think I haven't even scratched the surface."
"That was either a big compliment or its exact opposite..."
She giggled in response and sat up rubbing her arms. "Are you cold? It's getting chilly."
"A bit, yeah."
"I've got blankets in the back."
Derek's breath hitched in his chest momentarily as Meredith crawled to the back between two front seats, her butt at his eye level for a brief second.
"You coming?"
"Ssorry?" he mumbled, his throat becoming a bit dry as he watched her bury herself under one of the blankets, holding another one out to him.
"It's more comfortable in the back. Unless I'm one of the things you are afraid of?" she smirked.
"Oh, you are definitely one of my weaknesses," he breathed out following her onto the backseat.
"Bet you're regretting leaving the party now."
"Not at all," he assured her, settling close beside her. He was actually having the best time since he arrived to Rachel. He was with Meredith and they were talking without hostility, which happened more and more often between them. "There's nowhere I'd rather be right now. You?"
"It's... pretty good..." she shrugged.
"No urge to push me out and drive away?"
"You're being a good boy so far..." she said looking up at him, almost bumping her nose into his. Suddenly he was so close to her, closer than their faces ever were. She could drown in the mesmerizing blueness of his wide eyes that were gazing at her so intently. She could see all the imperfections of his features that made it so perfect... His stubbly cheeks, strong definition of his jaw, his crooked nose that still bore traces of the adventurous night in the bar, his lips looking soft and tempting...
She felt so warm, both because she was wrapped in the blanket and from the heat that radiated from his body. There seemed to be a huge fire inside her. What was going on with her? Her mental capabilities seemed to be shutting down as their faces pulled each other forward like magnets, their eyes half-lidded.
The rhythm of his heart mirrored hers, so wild and erratic. Any second now, he was going to die and go to heaven. In a jeep stranded in the desert during a storm, heavy raindrops rattling around like gunshots. He was going to kiss her, he thought with the last working neurons in his brain. He was going to taste those lips he had been fantasizing about. She was allowing him to taste them, which was even more incredible.
Their heads cocked into opposite directions just a bit, in an amazing synchrony. First, it was their noses that touched, their sides brushing and bumping against their cheeks to finally, finally allow their lips to connect with a deep sigh.
Derek had anticipated how good a kiss with Meredith would be but... this exceeded all his expectations. He never felt so good, so excited, so satisfied yet yearning for more at the same time. And their lips were barely grazing with the gentleness of a feather.
Ever so slowly his tongue cautiously caressed her lower lip and she automatically lowered it down before any reasonable thought entered her mind. It felt heavenly, for both of them. He never believed Meredith would agree on this kind of contact with him. The taste of the kiss was therefore strengthened by the surprise. And good Lord, the kiss that still could be described as chaste was exponentially more pleasurable than an intimate favor of another woman would be, than it ever had been.
Meredith didn't remember herself being equally responsive to such a simple caress. But it had been three and half years ago when she was this close to a man for the last time. And although she had been engaged to that man it didn't feel anything like now. The state that Derek's lips and tongue were driving her in... tingling from head to toes...
Impossible to know where would the initially innocent kiss have led if it hadn't been for the lightning that struck awfully close. They sprang apart, startled.
"Thank God we're not under a tree," he panted, the short kiss leaving him just a bit breathless. Another lightning illuminated the interior of the car, allowing them to clearly see their faces.
Meredith had her lips clamped with her hand, her trembling hand. The reality of the situation seemed to finally soak in. She let her guards down, she let a man penetrate her barriers...
If Derek wondered what a scared Meredith Grey would look like, he might have just had his answer. Her eyes were wide, her face deadly pale. He wished he had never actually got to know.
"Mere-" before he could utter a word she completely astonished him by tearing the blanket aside and jutting out of the car, straight into the pouring rain. "Meredith! Meredith, what are you doing?"
She started to pace up and down on the road, her face in her hands, seemingly oblivious to the downpour.
"For heaven's sake, Meredith, come back into the car!" he yelled after her but to no avail.
She was in a sort of a trance, a daze, completely unresponsive to his yells. Not wasting another second, he jumped out after her grabbing her shoulders, making her stop.
"Meredith! Please come back!" he shouted over the rain, shaking her gently. He rushed her back into the jeep, only slight resistance on her part.
"God, Meredith," he breathed out shutting the door securely behind them. "What were you thinking storming out like that?"
"I'm sorry..." she muttered, shivering. Her clothes were completely wet, just as his.
His heart panged at the sight of her, the beautiful mess beside him. She was a spitfire, his fearless and invincible spitfire, who now looked thoroughly defeated. He hated himself for the fact that he had brought about this.
"Mer, I'm sorry," he hurried to assure her. "I am so so sorry if offended you or... forced myself on you... I thought you wanted it too, my mistake obviously," he cast his eyes down, looking at his own hands.
As much as it cost her to admit the truth, she couldn't stand the tortured look on his face. This was her fault only. The circumstances threw them in a vulnerable position, they bonded and...
"I wanted this," she admitted in a shaky whisper while his head shot up in shock.
"You...?"
"I'm not carved out of stone," she shrugged, her cheeks covering in a blush. "I forgot myself for a minute and well... It was an urge, not a conscious decision. In this respect, yes, I wanted this."
"Oh," he let out a deep breath of relief.
"But it doesn't change the fact that it should never happen again," she said quietly.
"Why not?" he asked gently. "We are both consenting adults, we can both feel that pull of attraction. You can't deny that. It's been between us since day one. And before you say anything, this is not just about the sex. I want to-"
"Know me, I know. And you want me to know you."
"Yes."
"Derek, besides the fact that I don't do summer flings, I don't do flings at all-"
"Mer-"
"Don't Mer me," she berated him but her voice was gentle. "You're here for two months, it would be a summer fling by definition. Besides that, I'm not looking for a relationship of any kind."
"What about Avery?"
"He was a nice guy, I thought I'd maybe... But I'm not ready. I'm dark and twisty. Scary and damaged."
"And completely soaked," he sighed.
"I beg your pardon!" she squinted at him. For some unidentified reason she was pouring her soul to Derek freaking Shepherd and he thought it was a moment to make obnoxiously presumptive comments? And she had come to think he had a sensitive side...
"Well... you're trembling," he said with a frown. Why was she snapping at him, again?
"Of course I'm trembling, I'm cold!" she scoffed.
"I know. Me too. Not surprising with our cloths completely wet."
"Oh... you meant... that..." she stammered.
"What did you think I meant?" he couldn't resist smirking.
"Nothing, forget it," she rolled her eyes.
"Meredith, listen I swear I don't have any secret intentions and I won't look even if my balls will probably explode but... we need to get out of these clothes. I don't feel like catching a death of a cold."
"You're right," the doctor in her won over her reservations. "It doesn't look like it stops raining any time soon... Just turn around and don't look! You don't want to know what I did to a certain guy in New York who tried to look under my skirt."
Derek raised his eyebrows in surprise as he started to unbutton his shirt. In New York? A thousand questions begged to be asked. He chose not to. She told him a lot today anyway, he was in no position to press.
"Meredith?" he cleared his throat.
"What?" she breathed out, wiggling out of her denim dress.
"You can look at me, you know, I don't mind..." he smirked.
She felt the thudding of her heartbeat, not only in her chest, as she heard the clinging of his belt buckle.
"I'll pass," she croaked, biting on her lip. She slid her panties down her smooth legs under the blanket and quickly covered herself up to her chin. "I'm... I'm okay... I think..." she mumbled and turned around to see Derek's strong back, the blanket so low around him to barely cover his ass. When he faced her, the view was even better. Thank god it was dark or he'd see her drool.
"God, you're beautiful..." a strangled choke came out of his throat, making her blush like a schoolgirl. She looked so gorgeous, sexy and innocent if that made sense. Her semi damp hair fell loosely on one side of her face onto her shoulder, leaving the other one adorably bare. Her wide eyes shone like two emeralds while her skin glowed in contrast to the brown blanket which she was pressing to her heaving chest. The blanket under which he knew she was naked. Yes, his balls were going to explode tonight.
"You're not so bad yourself," she whispered breathlessly only to giggle a second later, breaking the tension. His hair was curling from the rain in all possible directions. "And you have an afro on your head."
"I do not!" he gasped flattening his ebony mane self-consciously.
"You so do!"
"I do not!"
They stared at each other. The situation was so surreal...
"So?"
"So?"
"Uhm, what do we do now?"
"I suggest we try to get some sleep," she said casually. "I won't be surprised if the downpour lasts all night."
"Okay... you know, if you could move here..." he patted the place beside him, "we could stretch our legs..."
Damn him and his logic...
"Just don't try anything funny," she warned him and tried to crawl over, careful not to bump her head against the roof and drop the blanket. She could barely keep it around her breasts.
"Ah, much better," he sighed with relief as they changed their positions. She felt his arm go around her waist.
"Hey!" she shouted smacking him against the chest. "I said no funny business!"
"It's for body heat," he shrugged yawning, his arm steadily around her. "Goodnight, Meredith."
She sat there rigidly. She hadn't been in a man's embrace for years, she was not ready for it. And yet... the anxiety was slowly being replaced with something else. Why, why were Derek Shepherd's arms so soothing, calming her down... She gradually relaxed against him, allowing herself to lay her head on his chest. It was... nice. She could let herself be in a man's arms for one night. Just one night.
"Goodnight, Derek," she huffed closing her eyes. He smiled in the darkness thanking high heavens for sending the storm and granting him the unparalleled privilege of holding Meredith's petite body.
Thunderbolts chased over the desert around their car but they couldn't care less as the heavy raindrops lulled them to a peaceful sleep.