"Okay, seriously, Derek Christopher Shepherd, we should have left like ten minutes ago," Meredith said as she pounded on the bathroom door. "And I still have to brush my teeth. Stop putting all that gel in your hair and..." her voice trailed off as Derek flung the door open, standing in front of her in her favourite black dress pants and a red button down, the first few buttons undone to reveal just a hint of the chest hair she loved to run her fingers over. "Oh."
"Oh?" Derek smirked, raising an eyebrow as he crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the doorframe.
"You look...I mean, the shirt is..." she stared at him for a moment, her teeth sinking into her lower lip before she launched herself at him, throwing her arms around his neck as she kissed him hard, a leg going to wrap around his waist. Derek responded eagerly, running his hands up and down her back before travelling to her thighs, his hand inching under the deep green dress she was wearing as he pulled her closer to him. They kissed passionately for a few moments before they both had to pull away, completely out of breath.
"Mer..." he breathed, his eyes filled with desire as he stared at her, taking in her flushed cheeks and the way her chest rose and fell quickly as she tried to catch her breath. The dress showed just the right amount of cleavage, and he could feel his pants getting tighter by the moment as he took in her appearance.
"I...we can't," Meredith shook her head. "We're going to be late for dinner at your mom's and we just...can't."
"What?" Derek asked, his brain still cloudy. "Mer...you can't kiss me like that and not do anything about it."
Meredith swallowed hard as she looked down at the obvious bulge in his pants, feeling the heat of arousal spread through her own body as well. "I want to," she whispered. "God, Derek, I want you. But we're already late."
"And I what am I supposed to do with this?" Derek asked, gesturing to his pants.
Meredith giggled as she picked her coat up off the bed. "Well, maybe I can do something about that on the ferryboat," she said as she tossed him his own jacket. "Just make sure you're calm enough to drive."
"Mean," Derek muttered, shrugging his coat on. "I'm married to an evil mean... person."
"Yes, I know," Meredith rolled her eyes, taking his hand and leading him down the stairs. "Your mother is going to kill us."
Derek sighed as he hurried towards the parking garage behind her. It had been two months since they had been attacked, and he was sure that they had never been stronger as a couple. When they'd finally been able to put the initial fears and stress following the attack, they had turned to each other in ways that made him love her even more. They had been amazing together before, but now...now he felt as though he had a sixth sense when it came to his wife. He was able to know how she was feeling, whether she needed a hug from him or to be left alone, and he always knew when he should step in to help her with her problems, and when she could handle them on her own. She was completely amazing, and he couldn't believe that he was lucky enough to be married to her.
Their first semester of med school had been difficult, with more stress than anyone should have had to face, but they had gotten through it brilliantly. They'd both made quick and smooth recoveries from their physical injuries, and although it had taken time for them to feel comfortable making love again, when they'd finally done it, it was more amazing than it ever had been before. After coming so close to losing each other, they reached a new level of lovemaking, learning to worship each other's bodies in ways they hadn't known before. And of course, Meredith had been more than willing to indulge in some of the fantasies he'd let slip during his brief encounter with morphine.
Now, they were on their way to Emma's house for Christmas Eve dinner, and were planning on spending the night in his old room as they did every year. And every year, Meredith refused to have sex with him in his mother's house, even though he was well aware that she had some very revealing Christmas lingerie buried somewhere within that house. So he was stuck driving through New York City as Meredith ran her fingers up and down his thigh, trying to ignore the throbbing in his pants and the fact that nothing would be done about it for at least twenty four hours.
"Der, you're going to miss the turn," Meredith giggled as he slammed on the brakes, causing several horns to blare from behind him. "You should be more careful," she giggled. "We would have missed the last ferry, and then where would we be?"
Derek rolled his eyes as he pulled onto the ferryboat, putting the car in park as he turned to look at her. "I seem to remember you promising me something," he murmured, pulling on her hand to bring her closer to him.
"Hmmm," Meredith smiled, reaching over him to push his seat back in one jerky motion. She smiled as she slid onto his lap, straddling his hips as she leaned down to kiss him. "I suppose I can do something about this...problem you're having."
"Can you be Dr. Shepherd?" Derek asked in a husky voice.
"Oh," Meredith purred. "You want to play dirty. I can give you an exam. A very... inappropriate one."
"Yes...Dr. Shepherd," Derek moaned.
"Now, I seem to have found the source of your complaints," Meredith whispered, quickly undoing his belt and pulling him out. "And there is one very easy treatment. But it can be...very intense."
"Intense...good," Derek nodded.
"Good," Meredith nodded, leaning down to kiss him passionately. "Get ready for an intense ride." She quickly pushed her panties aside and lowered herself onto him, watching his face as he moaned.
"Yes," he groaned as he threaded his fingers through his hair. "Oh....Dr. Shepherd." His mind went blissfully blank as she moved her hips over his, knowing that this was well worth not being able to have sex with her tonight.
XXXXX
"Late, we're so late," Meredith said as she applied more lip gloss. "And now I have sex hair."
"That's your fault," Derek argued. "You know I love your hair."
"Yeah, well, from now on no more hair pulling for you," Meredith said trying to smooth her hair. "Hair is off limits. I always have sex hair."
"Well...we always have sex," Derek laughed. "And you can't ban be from your hair."
"I can too," Meredith nodded. "And it's done."
"Fine," Derek sighed. "Then no more scratching my back."
"What?" Meredith asked. "I can't help that."
"Well, you have sharp nails," Derek shrugged. "Mark was impressed though. And I can't help running my fingers through your hair. So if I get banned from something, then you should too."
"I..." Meredith frowned as they pulled onto Emma's street. "Why are we even having this conversation?"
"I don't know," Derek laughed. "But for the record...I like when you scratch my back."
Meredith giggled as he shut the car off and turned to her. "I like when you pull my hair," she admitted. "But we can't do that now, we have to go in."
"Fine," Derek sighed, pulling their small suitcase out of the backseat, then turning to take her hand as they walked up to the house. Emma flung the door open as soon as they stepped onto the porch, pulling them into hugs before they could even process what was happening.
"You're late," she said as she pulled away from Meredith. "But I'm glad you're here."
"Sorry, Mom," Derek sighed. "Traffic, you know."
Emma smiled as she looked them over, a sparkle in her eyes. "Right," she said. "I know how it is. Come on, everyone is in the living room."
She turned and walked towards the living room, but Meredith held Derek back. "She knows," she hissed.
"Knows what?" Derek asked.
"That we had sex," Meredith replied. "And that's why we're late."
Derek frowned. "She does not," he said. "And even if she does...does it matter? We're married, Mer, she knows we have sex."
"It matters because it makes me look like a whore."
"Having sex with your husband does not make you a whore," Derek rolled his eyes, pressing his lips to hers gently. "And she won't say anything. So just...forget it. Or don't forget it because it was hot and amazing, but...don't think about it now."
Meredith nodded as she followed him towards the living room. "Don't think about it," she repeated. "Right."
"Hey everyone," Derek smiled as he walked into the room. "We're here, the party can start."
Nancy rolled her eyes as Kathleen giggled up at Derek from her spot on the couch. "Nice shade of lipstick, little brother," she said. "It suits you."
Derek's hand immediately went to his mouth, rubbing furiously to try to get rid any remnants of Meredith's kisses.
"I think she was referring to the one on your neck, Shep," Mark laughed from where he sat on the armchair across the room, Addison curled into his lap.
"Shit," Meredith whispered, moving quickly to wipe the lipstick away. "Um, I..."
"Relax, Mer, it's funny," Liz laughed from the floor. "A little disturbing, but funny."
Meredith blushed furiously, and Derek squeezed her hand before he reached down to scoop Hailey off of Kathleen's lap. "There's my favourite girl in the whole world," he laughed as he tickled her tummy gently, causing her to giggle loudly.
"Apparently I've been replaced," Meredith laughed as she sat down next to Kathleen on the couch.
"Wait until you have your own," Kathleen rolled her eyes. "I think the only reason Chris talks to me anymore is so I'll give him more babies."
Meredith giggled as she ran her hand over Hailey's dark curls, true evidence that she was a Shepherd. "She's gotten big."
"Oh, don't get her started," Chris rolled his eyes as he walked into the room with a bottle of wine. "She bursts into tears every time she thinks about it."
"I can't help it," Kathleen smiled as she reached for her daughter. "It feels like she was just apart of me. And now she's growing so fast."
"Babies do that," Derek laughed as he sat down next to Meredith.
"Don't make fun of me," Kathleen said. "I still have stories that Meredith hasn't heard."
"What?" Meredith asked, perking up. "I thought I had all the dirt."
"Oh no," Caitlin giggled. "We had to save some stuff to embarrass Derbear with."
"Like what?" Meredith asked.
"Nothing," Derek said quickly.
"How about your senior prom?" Liz asked.
"Mom," Derek turned to his mother. "They're being mean."
"Did you just tattle on us?" Nancy asked.
"I...no," Derek pouted.
"I think you did," Kathleen giggled. "Hailey thinks so too."
"What happened at senior prom?" Meredith asked.
"Derbear wanted to break up with Rose," Caitlin said. "But Mark had already told her that Derek wanted to go with her. Which led them to have the biggest fight I've ever seen. Until that time Mark broke Derek's nose. But anyways, Derek decided it would be a brilliant idea to just get drunk, and then it wouldn't matter if he hated Rose. So he stole a flask of tequila from the liquor cabinet, proceeded to get wasted at prom, and threw up in the middle of the dance floor."
"And I was the one who had to drive him home," Mark rolled his eyes. "Not fun."
Meredith giggled. "Is that why you hate tequila, Derbear?" she asked.
"Don't call me that," Derek replied.
"Why not...Derbear?"
"You know, I could take back all the presents I got you," Derek threatened.
"You would not," Meredith giggled. "You love me too much."
Mark started making gagging noises from his seat, causing Addison to smack him on the shoulder, the sisters to giggle, and Emma to stand and gesture bring an end to the playful banter. "Alright, let's go into the dining room for supper," she said. "The roast should be done by now."
Everyone stood, gathering wine glasses and making their way into the kitchen. Derek started to follow his family, but Meredith tugged on his hand, pulling him back to face her. She wrapped her arms gently around his neck, pressing her lips to his before resting her head on his shoulder.
"Hmmm," Derek sighed, tightening his arms around her. "Not that I don't love this...but any particular reason?"
"No," she mumbled, her voice muffled against his shirt. "Just wanted a minute alone with you. It's our first Christmas."
"No it's not," Derek laughed. "You've been having Christmas here for years."
"It's our first married Christmas," Meredith whispered.
"Oh," Derek nodded. "That it is."
"I can't believe we've been married for six months," she sighed. "I just...I love you."
"I love you too."
Meredith sighed happily as she stood, nestled in his arms, the glow of the fireplace and the Christmas tree illuminating the room behind them. They'd had a difficult semester, and they were sure to have some hard times ahead of them. But right now, in that moment, everything felt completely perfect as they held each other tightly they knew that anything they encountered could be overcome if they just faced it together.
Derek tightened his arms around her, knowing that in this moment, his life was completely perfect. Nothing could ever top the feeling of standing in his wife's arms, the Christmas tree gently illuminating her face as she cuddled close to his side. He loved Christmas.