When Meredith woke the next morning, it took her a moment to remember why she felt so safe and comfortable. After a moment, when she felt Derek pull her closer and nuzzle his face against the back of her neck, she remembered the night before and felt a slow smile spread across her face. She turned gently in his arms and pressed her lips against his, cupping his face in her hands and smiling softly as his eyes fluttered open. "Morning sleepyhead," she whispered.
"Mmmmm, morning," Derek whispered, pulling her closer and pressing his lips to hers again.
"Last night was amazing," Meredith whispered.
"It really was," Derek smiled. "God, Mer, I can't even begin to tell you how incredible you are."
Meredith smiled softly as she ducked her head to rest against his chest. "I love you," she finally whispered.
"I love you too," Derek replied, running his hands up and down her spine. "God, I love you so much."
She sighed happily as she relaxed in his arms. "Can we just stay like this forever?" she asked.
He laughed slightly, the sensation causing Meredith to smile against his chest. "I'd love to, Mer," he replied. "It might pose a problem for our schoolwork though."
"You just had to say that," she sighed. "I guess you're right though."
Derek laughed again as he tightened his arms around her. "We'll always be able to have this, Mer," he whispered. "I know we have to go out into the real world, but...If you're okay with it, we can always come back to this."
She nodded against his chest. "I want that," she whispered.
They lay curled together for a few long moments, not speaking or moving, just holding each other and enjoying the safety they felt. After a few minutes, however, their perfect existence was interrupted when the door barged partway, the chain lock stopping Addison from entering. "Mer, let me in," she groaned.
Meredith sighed as she pulled herself out of Derek's warm arms and wrapped her robe around herself, throwing Derek his boxers. She opened the door to reveal a frenzied Addison as she bustled into the room.
Addison walked straight to her closet and reached for her coat, rambling all the way as she did so. "Mark and I are going to breakfast. He's freaking out because he has an exam tomorrow, so I told him I'd take him out to breakfast so he can..." she trailed off when she saw Derek laying shirtless in Meredith's bed and a slow smile spread across her face. "Meredith," she breathed.
"Addison," Meredith shook her head. "Don't make a big deal out of this, please."
"This is so exciting!" Addison squealed, moving forward to hug Meredith tightly. "Mark!" she called across the hall. "Come here!"
"What's going on?" Mark asked as he walked into the hall, smiling as he saw Derek. "Nice, Shep, finally sealed the deal."
Derek smiled slyly, but quickly turned serious when he noticed Meredith's scowl. "Drop it, Mark," he said, nodding that he would spill everything later.
"Okay, well, we should all go to breakfast," Addison said excitedly. "We can all go out on double dates now."
"Fine," Meredith rolled her eyes. "I need to get dressed."
"I bet Shep's going to back out now," Mark laughed.
"Mark," Addison groaned, pushing him out of the room. "You're seriously impossible."
"We'd love to go to breakfast, Addison," Derek laughed as he pulled his shirt over his head. "We'll let you and Mer get dressed, just come get us when you're ready."
"Okay," Addison nodded as she watched Derek and Mark walk out of the room
Derek smiled over his shoulder at Meredith, causing her to smile and duck her head to ide her blush.
As the door shut behind them, Addison turned to Meredith and said, "Spill."
"It was...amazing," Meredith breathed as she reached for her dresser drawer. "Derek is just so incredible, and I can't believe how perfect he can make me feel."
Addison giggled as she collapsed onto her bed and looked at her best friend. "I'm so happy for you, Mer," she said.
Meredith sighed as she turned to look at Addison. "Please don't make a big deal about this, Addison," she begged.
"But it is a big deal," Addison insisted. "Your first relationship, your first time with a guy, your first time letting anyone into your heart. It's a big deal, Mer."
"I know," Meredith nodded. "And we're serious now. But I'm not the kind of girl that can just walk around and flaunt being in a relationship with a guy. I'd rather have it just be kept quiet."
"Fine," Addison sighed. "Are you ready to go?"
Meredith walked over to her dresser to grab her hairbrush. "Almost, just give me a few minutes."
Across the hall, Mark smiled at Derek as he watched him run his gel covered hands through his hair. "So it finally happened," he stated.
"She's amazing, Mark," Derek breathed. "I can't get over how incredible she makes me feel."
Mark rolled his eyes. "You always were a chick like that," he said.
"I'm done," Derek breathed, ignoring Mark's sarcasm. "She's so skittish, and I'm pretty sure she would freak out if I told her that, but I love her. And she's it for me."
"You want to bring her home?" Mark asked with wide eyes.
Derek nodded. "Yeah," he said. "Mom would just love her, she would immediately be part of the family. And I'm pretty sure Dad will adore her too."
"Wow," Mark breathed. "I can't believe you actually want Mom to meet one of your girlfriends."
"I know," Derek said with a nod. "She's so anxious for me to get married already, and even though Dad tells her she's being unreasonable, I'm pretty sure he's just as anxious for me to bring a girl home."
There was a slight pause in the room before Mark said, "I'm happy for you, man. I'm glad that she's finally come around."
"Thanks," Derek said as he collapsed onto his bed. "It looks like we're both officially with the girls of our dreams."
The door opened slightly before Mark could respond, and Derek looked up with a wide smile when he saw Meredith poke her head in. "Hey, you."
"Hey," Meredith said with a smile. "Um, Addie and I are ready to go, so if you're both ready...we can go."
"We were just waiting for you," Derek replied as he stood and moved towards her, pressing a quick kiss to her lips.
"Good, let's go," Meredith replied, leading them out the door.
Derek laced his fingers through Meredith's as they walked to the cafeteria, enjoying the newfound closeness and security he felt at the feeling of having her close to him. They walked quickly through the line and sat down at a table in the corner, everyone digging into their meal before Mark began to speak.
"So I've been thinking, and I have a brilliant idea," he announced. "What?" he asked when everyone groaned loudly.
"Nothing," Addison replied. "It's just...when you have ideas someone else ends up suffering."
"The last time you had an idea, I almost had to tell my parents I couldn't graduate high school because of the principal's toupee on top of the flag pole," Derek chimed in.
Mark rolled his eyes. "That was a flawed plan," he said. "But I'll have you know that I have great ideas. Like God."
Meredith laughed as she leaned in to rest her head against Derek's shoulder. "I'll listen to your idea, Mark,"
"Thank you, Grey," Mark said, shooting Derek and Addison a dirty look. "Anyways, my brilliant idea is that since we're all happy or whatever now, we should switch rooms. Live with our significant others."
The table was silent for a moment as they processed Mark's request. Switching rooms was against the rules, but Derek felt his heart tighten with excitement at the thought of living with Meredith.
"I think that's a great idea," Addison said, leaning forward to press a kiss to Mark's cheek. "For once your idea isn't so bad."
Derek looked at Meredith, trying to gauge her reaction to Mark's idea. She turned to look at him, searching his eyes before a slow smile spread over her features. "I think it's a great idea," she said to Mark.
"Good," Mark said with a firm nod as Derek wrapped an arm around Meredith's shoulders and pressed a kiss to her cheek.
"And maybe...after this year we can think about getting an apartment off campus so we can all really live together?" Meredith suggested cautiously.
Derek turned to look at her with amazement written all over his face. With a wide smile, he leaned forward to press a kiss to Meredith's lips. "I love you he whispered in her ear, causing her to smile widely before they turned to finish their breakfast. After they had all finished, Addison and Mark parted ways with them to head to the library, while Derek and Meredith walked back to the dorm.
"I'm not trying to be difficult," Meredith rolled her eyes as she opened her mailbox in the library. "I really do have to study."
"I'm going to help you," Derek insisted.
Meredith rolled her eyes as she tore open a letter from her mother. "Yeah right," she said. "Maybe if you mean distract instead of help."
"Come on," Derek pouted, reaching for her hand. "I'll make it fun.
"You're an idiot..." Meredith's voice trailed off as she read the letter in her hands, her head starting to swim as she felt Derek take her weight into his arms and ask her what was wrong, but she couldn't respond. She couldn't breathe. Her mother was sick, and she didn't know what to do.