A ringing in Derek's ears woke him up, his body jolting upwards from where he lay on the couch. He looked around, trying to make sense of the noise. It wasn't his phone, and he was pretty sure he wasn't imagining it. And then a knock also sounded on the door. The doorbell.
He glanced at the clock on the wall. One in the morning was far too early for someone to be at his front door. If the noise didn't stop soon, Maddie would wake up, and getting her back to sleep in the middle of the night had never been an easy feat.
He got up with a groan, dragging himself over to the door and opening it, ready to be angry with whoever was on the other side for the late hour. Except, when he opened it, he found Meredith standing there, grinning wide as she saw him, her eyes lightening up. Derek was about ninety-nine percent sure she was drunk.
"Derek!" She exclaimed, moving to walk through the door, her arms raised.
"Shh." He stayed quiet, his hands going to her waist to hold her steady as she stood in the threshold, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Maddie's asleep."
"Oh, crap. Shit." Her voice dropped to a whisper, albeit quite dramatically as she pulled back to look at him, her eyes a little wider. "Hi."
"Hello." His eyebrow quirked as a short laugh escaped him. He gently pulled her inside, closing the door, and keeping her steady at the waist. "What are you doing here?"
She sighed as her bottom lip jutted out in a pout, her fingers running through his hair. "I missed you."
He lifted one hand to her cheek, brushing over her flushed skin. He tucked a loose strand behind her ear. "I missed you too, but... You've been drinking."
"That's true." She nodded.
Taking him by surprise, she spun them so that his back was against the closed door, pressing her lips to his. Her body pressed flush against his, slightly pushed up on to her tiptoes. He returned her kiss, tracing her jawline with his fingertips and tightening his arm around her waist. They shared desperate kisses, and he could taste the tequila on her tongue. He felt her fingers tickling the bare skin of his waste as she tried to lift his pyjama top, but he knew he had to stop her.
His hands covered hers with a gentle grip, stopping her from pushing his top up even further. "Meredith, no."
"What?" She pulled her head back to look at him.
"We can't, not here."
Her brow furrowed, her bottom lip caught between her teeth as she paused for a moment before speaking again, a look of understanding on her face. "Bedroom?"
He shook his head with a sigh, releasing her hands to cup her face. "No, because you're drunk, Meredith."
She groaned, rolling her eyes, but he didn't miss the tears starting to build up in her eyes. "I only had a few drinks."
He pressed a kiss to her forehead, and to the tip of her nose as she continued to pout. "I'm not taking advantage of you when you're drunk, and I'm sure you didn't come over here just to have sex with me."
Her arms moved round his middle as she buried her face into his shoulder. He moved his arms around her, holding her close, running his fingers through her hair as she mumbled. "I missed you, I want you."
"I missed you too, but we didn't exactly part on the best terms earlier today." He pressed a kiss against the top of her head.
Her hands started to creep up the back of his shirt, her lips ghosting the skin of his throat. "Tequila makes me want sex, and you give the best sex."
"Meredith, we can't have sex tonight." He shook his head, pressing his lips together as she took a step back from him with a sigh.
"Fine." She shrugged, moving towards the door. "I'll leave then and go back to the bar, or whatever."
He shook his head again, stepping towards her with a slight chuckle. "I'm not just going to let you wander off when you're drunk."
Her face contorted into a deeper frown, stepping back with her arms crossed over her chest. "Well you won't have sex with me! You don't want me!"
"I never said I didn't want you." He stepped toward her, offering his hand. "I always want you, I will always want you."
He almost laughed again when she rolled her eyes, but he refrained, imagining it would only make the situation worse. "Sure." She turned away from him, her head bowed as she went into her pocket for her phone.
"Stop rolling your eyes at me." His hand touched her elbow, turning her towards him. He stepped closer and cupped her cheeks with his palms. "I'm not going to have sex with you right now, because you are clearly quite drunk and my daughter is asleep upstairs, I believe that was a rule you made."
"Then why can't I leave?" She looked up at him with wide, confused eyes, and all he wanted to do was kiss her.
He lowered his head, touching his forehead to hers as his voice dropped to a gentle, quiet tone. "You think I'm just going to let you wander off drunk and hope you don't get hurt? Not worry about you?"
"I mean... yeah?" She tried, but he could sense she was slightly unsure in her answer. Like it was answer she had been sure of in a past life, but that she was doubting now. A rage burned in the back of his mind, wondering why anyone would just not care where she wandered off to when she was drunk, vulnerable.
"Absolutely not." His teeth clenched slightly, relaxing as he took her hands in his, stepping back and urging her towards the living room. "Come on."
A groan escaped her. "Fine." Even though he couldn't see her, he was almost a hundred percent sure she had rolled her eyes again.
"I take it you went out with Cristina then?" He asked as she dropped herself onto the couch and he sat beside her.
"Yeah." A sigh left her as she tilted her head to the side, moving her legs into his lap. "She ditched me, though, and I didn't want to just go home."
"She ditch you for a surgery or a guy?"
"A guy." Her nose scrunched up in annoyance, and he couldn't help his soft laughter this time.
"How did you get here?" He unzipped her boots as they spoke.
"Taxi." She shrugged and tilted her head back against the arm of the couch, closing her eyes.
He grinned, taking one of her feet and massaging the sole with his thumbs in small circles. "You remembered my address?"
"It's in my phone." Her voice came out as a murmur and he glanced up, thinking she might be falling asleep as he switched feet, massaging the other. An unmistakable moan escaped her lips as they parted. Her hand reached toward him, searching for him.
"Do you want something to eat?" He took her hand, squeezing gently.
She shook her head, linking their fingers together. "No."
"A drink?"
"No."
"Not even some water?"
"I want an orgasm." The abruptness took him back slightly, her eyes snapping open and meeting his. "Are you going to give me an orgasm?"
"Meredith." He shook his head with a small chuckle, gently pulling on her hand for her to move closer to him. "Come here."
She sat up, looking at him warily and moving her feet from his lap. She grinned suddenly, then moved to straddle his lap. His hands dropped to her hips, shaking his head with a chuckle as she tangled her fingers into his hair.
She rose an eyebrow, almost challenging him. "What, is this not what you meant?"
"Not exactly, no."
"Why?"
"Why what?"
"Why can't we have sex? Why can't I have an orgasm?"
"Because I don't want you to wake up in the morning and regret it."
"What if I just wake up in the morning and just want sex?" Her face lowered toward his, a slight smirk on her lips.
"Well, in the morning, that will be a different story, and if that's what you want when you're sober, I'm not going to argues with you. But you're drunk, and you were angry with me, so I'm not going to take advantage." He lifted a hand to her cheek, stroking with his thumb.
She groaned, dropping a kiss to his lips. "You're too good for me." Her voice came out as a whisper, and suddenly she wasn't in his lap anymore.
He watched as she pulled her jacket off, lifting her shirt off and leaving her in just jeans and her bra. He groaned, running his fingers back through his hair in frustration as he suddenly felt the need to adjust himself.
"Kissing me and sitting in my lap in one thing, but now you're just playing dirty."
She smirked, biting her lip as she unbuttoned her jeans. "You love it when I play dirty." She lowered her jeans, moving back toward him in just her bra and panties.
He stood before she could lower herself into his lap again, and his hands moved to her waist as he pressed a short kiss against her lips. "You are gorgeous, but you can't walk around naked."
He took a step back, intending to remove his shirt to give to her, and she put one hand on her hip. "And what do you suppose I wear?"
He tugged off the shirt and passed it to her. "Here, wear that."
"Okay, that's not fair! You can strip but I can't?" She groaned as she pulled the shirt on, and part of him wished she was still naked. Meredith wearing just his shirt was a sight he never imagined would turn him on so much.
"At least I still have pants on." He cleared his throat, stepping towards her and taking her hand. "Now, I need sleep, and you need sleep. I'm worried if I leave you alone you'll wander off."
A grin appeared on her face as she tilted her head to the side, pulling his hand slightly. "I get to sleep in your bed?"
"Yes. Are you sure you don't want a drink or anything before we go up?"
"I'm sure." She released a sigh, putting still as she looked at their joined hands.
"What's wrong?" He took her bait, stepping closer and wrapping both of his arms around her waist.
"I got a taxi all the way here to have sex with you." She looked up at him again, a frown appearing on her face. "And you're sending me to bed."
"Who on earth let you run a hospital for four weeks?" He chuckled as he pressed his lips to hers, kissing her a few times and hoping to get rid of the frown.
Her hands came up to rest on his shoulders, mumbling into the kisses. "You're not funny."
"but you are adorable." He kissed her again, grinning as a smile started to spread across her lips. "Now come one, I have work in the morning."
"Fine." She seemed to give up on her venture to get in his pants, leaning against him with her head on his chest as he eheld her close.
His lips touched the top of her head, rubbing her back slightly. "Do you need me to carry you?"
"No, I just like it when you hold me like this." Her voice came out in an almost vulnerable murmur, and he tightened his hold around her for a second longer.
He dropped his arms and took a step back, kissing her forehead. "I can hold you in bed. Go on up, I'm just going to grab some water."
She yawned with a nod, stretching her arms up for a second before heading towards the stairs. He could see the tiredness in her eyes, and he was sure she might already be asleep by the time he followed her up. Once he was sure she'd make it upstairs without falling back down again, he went into the kitchen, grabbing two bottles of water from the fridge and the pack of aspirin.
Meredith confused the hell out of him sometimes. He had been sure it would take a lot of apologising and begging her to talk to him after she'd left his office earlier that day, but he was the one she'd wanted to go to that night. Sure, she had been out and drank with Cristina, probably to get it all out of her system by venting to her best friend, but she'd come home to him. He wanted her to always come home to him.
He went to join her upstairs, but instead of finding her fast asleep in bed, she was lingering outside Maddie's room. There was a small frown on her face. He frowned himself, moving toward her and placing a hand on the small of her back.
"What's up?" He glanced to Maddie, seeing she was still asleep in bed.
She looked up at him, a forced, small smile on her lips, although he could see the tears forming in her eyes. She shook her head. "It's nothing."
"Maddie's okay, she's still sleeping." He urged her towards his room with his hand on her back still. "Let's get into bed."
She walked ahead of him, her hands coming up to rub at her eyes. He followed her in, watching her carefully as she looked around his sparsely decorated bedroom. Something was definitely off with her.
He barely caught her murmur. "Need the toilet." Before she disappeared into the adjoining bathroom.
He noticed her breathing had picked up a little, similar to when she had broken down in the hospital not too long ago when, relatively, they had barely known each other. He sat on the edge of his bed, waiting for her. He put the bottles of water on the nightstand with the advil. He kept an ear out, listening for her. He wanted to make sure she was okay, but he didn't want to startle her or invade her privacy.
The door opened again, and he looked up, seeing her stood with one hand on the door jam, tears streaking her cheeks. "Der..."
He held his arms out towards her. "Come here."
"I need." She took a breath as she moved toward him, her nose scrunched up as though she was using the pause to debate her next words. "Please don't ask, I just..."
"I can just hold you." He wrapped his arms around her, guiding her into his lap. "No questions."
Her head turned against his shoulder as he lay down on the bed with her, his arms strong around her but not tight. He pressed a kiss against the top of her head, his hand rubbing her back as he held her, her shoulders shaking slightly.
He wanted to know what in particular had shaken her up this badly, this suddenly. He wanted to be able to help, but he figured just by being there for her, it was helpful in its own way. Given the alcohol she had consumed, it could have just come out of nowhere. He just wanted to be able to do more.
He spoke softly, hoping it may be comforting for her. "I've got you, I'm here." His fingers ran through her hair slowly.
She lifted a hand to wipe at her eyes as she looked up at him. "I'm sorry, I couldn't, I tried to calm myself down and I couldn't. But you help."
"It's okay, you don't need to apologise." He lifted a hand to cup her cheek.
"I feel like a mess." She tried to wipe at her eyes again, and he tried to help by brushing a few tears away with his thumb.
He shook his head a little, pressing a kiss to her lips quickly. "You're a cute mess.
A small smile graced her lips as she rolled her eyes. She yawned, covering her mouth, cuddling into him again. Her face hidden against his chest.
"Go to sleep." He murmured against her hair, pressing another kiss against her head.
She made a small noise of agreement, only the sound of her breathing filling his ears instead of the heart wrenching sobs from moments before. He pulled the blankets around them, not letting go of her for even a split second as she fell asleep against him.
He didn't mind if he was tired tomorrow. Being here for her, having her come home to him and letting him comfort her, it was worth it.