"Oh my God," Meredith breathed as Derek collapsed on top of her a few hours later. "Derek...oh my God."
"Mer," he whispered, pressing his lips against hers before he leaned down to rest his head between her breasts. "That was..."
"I've never," Meredith shook her head slightly, trying to clear the post orgasmic fog from her mind. "Wow."
"Wow," Derek agreed, finally pushing himself off of her and leaning his head on his elbow to look down at her. "You're beautiful."
Meredith blushed as she ducked her head to rest against his chest. "You already got me into bed," she giggled. "You don't need to sweet talk me."
"It's not sweet talking," Derek laughed, kissing her gently. "It's the truth."
Meredith sighed as she looked up at him. "I love you," she whispered.
"I love you too."
"You know what would make me love you even more?" Meredith giggled, lacing their fingers together.
"What?" Derek asked, bringing their hands to his lips and pressing a kiss to the back of her hand.
"If you got me cheesecake," Meredith giggled. "Because someone couldn't wait until dinner was over to ravage me."
"Right, because you were completely innocent," Derek sighed as he slipped out of bed and pulled a pair of boxers on. "I'll be right back," he said, leaning down to kiss her forehead before he disappeared out the door.
Meredith sighed happily as she flopped onto her back, staring at the ceiling. That had been completely amazing. Derek Shepherd was amazing in bed, and she was sure that she'd never had sex like that before.
She'd had her fair share of lovers in college, one night stands that she'd kicked out the next morning as she willed herself to never drink tequila again. Until the next weekend, that was. But after Ryan had taken the money from her mother to leave her, she'd never been able to trust anyone enough to let them into her heart, or her bed, again.
Until now.
No one had ever made love to her like that before. Derek had been careful, slow and precise in making sure no inch of her skin had been abandoned by his lips, and he'd been sure to take his time and memorize the way her body moved before he had given her the sheer pleasure of him inside her. She could still feel his hot breath on her face as he moved gently in and out of her, whispering how much he loved her and worshipping her body with his own.
And the man had stamina. She couldn't help the smile that spread across her face as she turned to look at the clock beside his bed. They'd spent the past four hours in bed, and she couldn't even remember how many orgasms she'd had. He managed to make her feel safer and more happy than she could ever remember being, and she knew that this wasn't just any special relationship. This was Derek Shepherd, and she wasn't going to allow herself to let him slip away. She was quickly depending on him to make her life whole, and she didn't want to lose that.
"Here you are," Derek announced as he came back into the room, cheesecake in one hand and a bottle of wine in the other, a bottle of chocolate syrup cradled between his arm and his stomach.
"Hmm, you're the best boyfriend ever," Meredith giggled as she sat up and reached for the cheesecake. "Although...as much as I love chocolate sauce, I'm not sure I want it on my cheesecake."
Derek smirked as he set the wine and the syrup on the bedside table and sat down on the bed beside her. "It's for later," he whispered, opening his mouth for the bite of cheesecake she was offering him.
"Derek," she giggled. "I'd love to do that with you. And we will. But I think you've worn me out."
Derek sighed as he looked at her closely. "It's been awhile for you, hasn't it?" he asked.
Meredith smiled softly as she stabbed the cheesecake with her fork. "Look, I'm really glad we just...did what we did. But if it's too weird for you...it'd suck, and I'm not sure what I'd do, but you shouldn't feel obligated to stay with me because we just slept together."
"Meredith," Derek sighed, pulling the plate from her hands and tilting her face up to look at him. "Stop trying to push me away. I'm not going anywhere. You're amazing, and I love you, and I'm not leaving you. Ever. So stop trying to make me."
"Okay," she whispered, kissing him softly. "Sorry."
"No reason to be sorry," Derek shrugged. "Are you sore?"
"A little," she shrugged. "But it was worth it. Completely and totally worth it."
"It was," Derek nodded, pulling her out of bed. "Come on."
"Derek," she frowned. "What are you doing?"
"We're taking a bath," Derek announced, pulling her into the bathroom and turning on the water. "It'll make you less sore."
"You know how to draw a bath?" Meredith raised an eyebrow. "Should I be worried?"
Derek rolled his eyes. "Consider it part of my mission to be the best boyfriend in the world," he said as he reached for the bubble bath.
"That's unopened," Meredith observed.
"Wow, maybe you should have become a detective instead of a teacher," Derek laughed as he poured it into the water.
"Shut up," Meredith rolled her eyes. "Did you buy that for me?"
Derek sighed as he helped her into the tub, then climbed in behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist and resting his chin on her shoulder. "You said you like baths," he murmured. "I want you to feel at home here, Mer."
Meredith giggled. "Does this mean I have to buy muesli?" she asked.
"It would be nice, yes," Derek laughed.
"Thank you, Derek," Meredith sighed, leaning back into his strong chest. "Tonight has been...amazing."
"It really has," he murmured, pressing his lips against her cheek.
"Your sister didn't know about us," Meredith whispered suddenly.
Derek tensed slightly. This wasn't necessarily a conversation he wanted to have right now.
"She does now," he whispered. "Apparently I'm not exactly discreet."
"I could have told her that," Meredith giggled slightly. "Was she mad?"
"I don't think so," Derek shook his head. "She was worried. About Meg."
"Derek, you know I won't treat her any differently," Meredith said. "She's always been one of the best students in the class."
"I know. She has my genes."
"So not what I meant," Meredith rolled her eyes.
"I know," Derek said. "But Kath did make a good point. If Meg finds out about us, she's going to expect you to treat her differently. She's only six, and as smart as she is, I don't think she'll be able to see you as Miss Grey in school and Aunt Meredith the rest of the time."
"Oh," Meredith tensed almost immediately, pulling out of his arms to stare at him wildly. "Derek," she breathed.
"I didn't mean that," Derek shook his head, pulling her back towards him. "Don't freak out, Mer, please don't freak out. We're not getting married anytime soon. But if Meg knows we're dating, she's going to think of you as an aunt. She doesn't get the in between stuff. And she'll expect to be treated like your niece, not your student."
"That makes sense," Meredith sighed. "So we can't tell your family until June."
Derek frowned. "That's a long time," he said.
"I know," Meredith nodded. "But I'm Meg's teacher until then. And Kathleen's right, she has to come first in all of this."
"I know," Derek sighed. "I want my family to meet you. They'll love you."
"No they won't," Meredith shook her head
"What?" Derek asked.
"Mothers like...girls like Izzie and Lexie," Meredith sighed. "They don't like me. Because I drink tequila. And my house is musty and old. And my own mother doesn't like me. And your dad...well, I'm assuming your dad won't try to sleep with me, which is better than dads of other guys I've been with, but...still, he won't like me. Parents don't like me."
"That is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard," Derek said firmly. "My mother will love you. No matter what your alcoholic beverage of choice is, she'll love you. And my father will love you too, because you keep me in line. And he will most definitely not try to sleep with you."
Meredith sighed. "It doesn't matter anyways," she shrugged. "I'm not going to meet them for like...seven months, so it doesn't matter."
"It does matter," Derek sighed. "Meredith Grey, I'm making it my new life mission to convince you that you should like yourself as much as I do."
Meredith smiled as she turned to kiss him gently. "The water's getting cold," she whispered.
"Time for bed?" Derek asked.
"Definitely," Meredith nodded. She stepped out of the tub and wrapped a towel around herself, frowning when she turned and saw Derek still sitting in the tub. "Are you coming?" she asked.
"Yeah," he sighed. "I just...you're so beautiful."
Meredith smiled as she pulled another towel off the rack and held it open for him. "Thank you," she whispered as he stepped out of the tub and she rubbed the towel over him.
"Did you just accept a compliment?" Derek asked. "Maybe this will be easier than I thought."
"Shut up," Meredith threw the towel at him and moved back towards his bedroom.
"What are you doing?" Derek demanded as he walked into his room a few minutes later and saw her lying on the left side of the bed.
"Going to bed," Meredith replied. "I'm serious, Derek, the sex was amazing, but I can't handle more right now."
"That's not what I meant," Derek rolled his eyes. "You're on my side of the bed."
"No," Meredith shook her head. "This is my side of the bed."
Derek frowned. "How can we both have the same side of the bed?" he asked.
"I don't know, but you're going to have to get used to sleeping on the right side," Meredith said.
"Why can't you get used to sleeping on the right side?"
"Because...if you don't let me sleep on the left side, I'll go home," Meredith nodded. "And sleep on the left side in my own bed."
"That's just mean," Derek frowned. He moved towards the right side of the bed, sliding under the covers and staring up at the ceiling for a moment. "I just gave you the hottest sex of your life, you should let me have my side of the bed."
Meredith laughed as she rolled onto her side to face him. "Just try," she said. "I promise I'll make it worth your while."
"But...I might die if I sleep on this side of the bed."
"Okay, that's the stupidest thing I've ever heard," Meredith rolled her eyes. "Good night Derek."
She turned out the light, biting back laughter as she felt him toss and turn a couple times, muttering under his breath as he punched the pillow. After a few moments of grumbling, she felt him slip an arm over her waist and press his chest into her back.
"What are you doing?" she asked, automatically reaching for the hand that rested on his stomach.
"Sharing our side," Derek mumbled into her hair.
"Oh," Meredith smiled, snuggling into him. "Okay."
XXXXX
Meredith stirred early the next morning, smiling as she felt the heavy weight of Derek's arm still draped tightly around her waist, his leg thrown over hers. This whole sleeping together thing was not bad, not at all.
She slowly untangled herself from Derek's embrace, wincing slightly as a delicious ache spread through her body. She hadn't even realized how flexible her own body was until Derek had placed her in positions that she'd always thought were impossible as she'd flipped through Izzie's Cosmo. She replayed the night before in her head as she slid Derek's button down over her shoulders, smiling as she watched him sleep soundly, clutching her pillow tightly. He was adorable. Sexy as hell, but definitely adorable as he slept, his hair a mess and his mouth turned up in a small smirk.
She sighed as she made her way across the hall to the bathroom before moving to the kitchen and looking around for a moment. She couldn't cook, Izzie had forbid her from even boiling water ever since she'd set off the smoke alarm trying to make toast when they were in college. But she was starving and she couldn't wake Derek. And she refused to eat muesli, no matter how hungry she was.
She could make pancakes. They weren't that hard, there was just eggs and flour, maybe some sugar or something, but she could definitely do that. She nodded as she reached for the door to the fridge, pulling out the eggs and the milk. She turned back to the counter, looking around for a bowl.
"Who the hell are you?" a voice that definitely wasn't Derek's demanded from the doorway, causing her to shriek in surprise and drop the eggs she was holding onto the ground.
"Oh," she said, turning to see Mark standing in the doorway. "Mark. You must be Mark."
"That's me," Mark nodded, a smirk coming across his face. "And from what I'm guessing, you're the hot teacher."
Meredith stared at him for a moment. "Meredith," she said.
"Right," Mark nodded. "So where's Shep?"
"Sleeping," Meredith replied. "I'm making him breakfast."
"Right," Mark nodded, stepping into the kitchen. "Here's a hint. You don't need a cup of salt to make pancakes."
"Oh," Meredith said, staring down at the ingredients in front of her.
"And you make them on the stove, not in the oven," Mark laughed. "Man, Shep's going to have a hell of a time teaching you to cook."
"I don't think I like you."
"That's impossible," Mark rolled his eyes. "Everyone likes me."
"That's not true," Derek said from the doorway, laughing as he moved towards Meredith. "You were up early," he said as he pressed a kiss to her forehead.
"I was hungry," she shrugged. "You could have slept longer."
"I was lonely," Derek smiled down at her. "Sleep well?"
"Amazing," Meredith breathed.
"Me too," Derek said, wrapping his arms around her waist.
"Okay, seriously not what I want to see first thing in the morning," Mark announced as he poured himself a cup of coffee.
"Feel free to leave," Derek said as he turned to look at the mess on the counter. "What the hell is that?"
"That's...Mark tried to make pancakes," Meredith nodded firmly.
"Hey!" Mark exclaimed. "I just got home. And Shep knows better than that."
"Sadly, that's true," Derek laughed. "Mer...did you want to make pancakes?"
"Well...I'm not exactly allowed to cook," Meredith bit her lower lip.
"You're not allowed to cook?" Derek asked.
"Ever since I caught the kitchen on fire trying to make spaghetti Izzie banned me," Meredith replied.
"How do you set the kitchen on fire while making spaghetti?" Derek asked with amusement in his voice.
"Well...apparently you're not supposed to leave potholders on the stove," Meredith shrugged. "How was I supposed to know that?"
Derek laughed as he leaned forward to press his lips against hers. "Well, it's a good thing that I learned from the best," he said. "I'll keep you fed."
Meredith smiled as she watched him moved towards the counter. "Thank you," she smiled, wrapping her arms around his waist.
"I expect to be paid back for this," Derek said as he poured some milk in with the flour.
"Oh really?" Meredith asked.
"Yes," Derek nodded. "I want my side of the bed back."