"Derek."
There was a soft voice in his ear, followed by his favorite giggle as he mumbled something unintelligible as he burrowed further into the covers.
"Derek, you have to wake up."
"'M sweeping."
"Oh, you're sweeping?" Meredith giggled. "Well, then I guess I should get dressed, because sleeping people don't usually want birthday sex."
Without opening his eyes, Derek reached out to pull her closer, burying his face in her neck. "Not naked."
"I could be," she replied, threading her fingers through his hair, her other hand moving his under her shirt. "Der..."
"No."
Meredith sighed as she leaned down to whisper in his ear. "Happy birthday, Der."
Derek's eyes flew open and he was still for a moment before he sighed and moved to kiss her. "Thank you."
"Good, now you're awake," Meredith said. "Get up."
"It's my birthday," he practically whined. "I get to sleep when I want."
"Fine," Meredith sighed, pulling out of his arms. "But if you don't want your birthday surprise..."
"Does my birthday surprise involve naked Meredith?" he asked, pulling her close to him again.
"It could," she nodded. "At some points."
"At some points?" Derek raised his eyebrows. "What is it?"
"It's a surprise," she giggled. "But I happened to pull some strings and get you the weekend off."
"What?" Derek asked. "Interns don't get time off."
"They do when Ellis Grey's daughter calls and demands that her boyfriend get time off on his birthday," she said. "And when said boyfriends older sister backs up Ellis Grey's daughter."
"You're taking me away for the weekend?"
"If you get your ass out of bed," she replied.
"Fine," he sighed. "But this better be worth it."
"Oh, it is," Meredith nodded. "Trust me."
Derek smiled as he leaned in to kiss her softly. "Mer?"
"Hmmm?"
"Best birthday ever."
"You've been awake for five minutes," she rolled her eyes.
"Five minutes with you in bed," he said with a smile. "Better than any other birthday I've had."
"Corny," Meredith whispered against her lips. "My boyfriend is corny. And completely lame."
"My girlfriend loves the corny," Derek laughed.
"Take a shower," Meredith said, shoving him towards the bathroom.
"Bossy," Derek sighed.
"You love it," she giggled, kissing him softly.
"Hmmm," Derek sighed. "Shower sex?"
"I already showered," she giggled. "Make it quick, we've got a lot to do. Including each other."
Derek smiled as he stepped into the bathroom, turning on the shower as he slid out of his clothes. He had just gotten out of a thirty hour shift the night before and was completely exhausted, almost too tired to remember it was his birthday. But Meredith, his wonderfully amazing girlfriend, had remembered, and it was already clear that she had managed to make it extra special for her.
"So," he announced, walking out of the bedroom freshly showered and planting a kiss to the top of her head as she sat at the table, lesson plans scattered in front of her. "Where are we going?"
"That," Meredith smiled as she gathered her papers and slid them into a file folder. "Is for me to know and you to find out, old man."
Derek frowned. "I don't think I like that."
She giggled as she stood, her lips meeting his as her fingers laced through his. "You're twenty seven now," she whispered. "You're officially no longer in your mid twenties. You're in your late twenties."
"If I'm old then so are you," he argued.
"I'm only twenty four," she replied. "I haven't even reached the quarter of a century mark yet."
"I don't like you."
"Well, then I guess I'll have to trade you in for a younger model," Meredith shrugged, moving to sit down at the table again.
"You wouldn't dare," Derek breathed, pulling her close again. "I could show you right now how not old I am."
"Later," she promised as she tugged on his hand. "It's time to go."
"Where are we going?" Derek asked.
"Somewhere," Meredith shrugged, leading him out of the apartment.
"Well, I'm glad to know we're not going nowhere," Derek rolled his eyes. "Come on, Mer."
"You'll see when we get there," Meredith said, sitting him down in the passenger side of her car. "I'm going to have to insist that you put this on." She slid a blindfold around his eyes, pressing a kiss to his lips when it was securely tied. "Can I trust that you're not going to take this off?"
"Are you going to do naughty things to me?" Derek asked, and she giggled at the hope lacing his voice.
"Later, Dr. Shepherd," she said. "Just don't take it off."
"Fine," Derek sighed, crossing his arms over his chest as he felt the car begin to move, and a moment later, Meredith's hand took his.
It would be nice to spend a significant amount of time with her. In the month since he'd started his internship, most of the time they'd spent together had been hurried lunches at either the hospital or her classroom or nights spent curled in each other's arms. He'd missed simply being with her and just...being. She allowed him to be who he truly was, and as much as he loved the stolen moments of intimacy in the on call rooms of the hospital, he couldn't wait to simply be with her again.
The drive was long, and he had long since given up trying to figure out the turns she was taking as she drove, instead choosing to push her buttons a little bit. He squeezed her hand tightly before he started asking questions.
"Are going to the airport?"
"Derek."
"A fancy hotel?"
"I'm not giving in."
"Vegas?"
"Yeah right."
"Are you taking me to the middle of nowhere so we can re-enact the car scene from Titanic?"
"I don't even want to know why you saw that movie."
"I'm just saying...if you want to bring me to the middle of nowhere to have your way with me in the backseat, it's totally fine."
"Derek Christopher."
"Are we here?" Derek asked, feeling the car come to a stop. But he still felt as if they were moving somehow.
"Almost," she giggled. "Just...wait for a few minutes."
Derek paused for a moment before he asked, "Are we on a ferryboat?"
Meredith was silent, and a moment later he felt her hands on the buttons of his jeans. "I think it's time for a little preview of your birthday sex," she breathed.
"Hmmm," Derek nodded, fumbling for the handle to reach his seat back. "Happy birthday to me."
XXXXX
"Are we there yet?"
"I have students in my class who are more mature than you," Meredith giggled as he felt her drive off the road, bumping slightly.
"Where the hell are we?" he asked, reaching for the blindfold.
"You take that off and there's no sex for you," Meredith warned.
"Fine," he sighed, feeling the car come to a halt. "Where are we?"
Meredith didn't respond, and a moment after he heard her car door shut, his opened and she reached for his hand, pulling him to his feet. He felt her wrap her arms around his waist, and a moment later the blindfold was slipped over his eyes. "Mer," he breathed, looking out over the land that he loved so much, the cliff that overlooked the entire city of Seattle. "What...what are we doing here?"
"We're here," Meredith breathed. "Because I figured we should spend some time on our land."
"Our...what?" Derek asked.
"Well, technically my land," Meredith shrugged, moving towards the trunk. "But I bought it because I know how much you love it, and I couldn't get your name on the deed without your signature, and I wanted it to be a surprise, so right now it's my land. But it can be your land too."
"Meredith," he breathed, watching as she pulled two backpacks out of the trunk. "You bought this land?"
"Yeah," she smiled softly. "And I figured that one day we could maybe...I mean a really really long time from now when you're not an intern anymore and I actually have money again...we could build a house here. Because it would be completely amazing to wake up everyday and look out over the cliff."
"You are so amazing," Derek whispered, pulling her into his arms and kissing her hard. "Meredith, you've just made every single dream I've had come true."
"Well, just wait," Meredith whispered against his lips. "Cause I have a lot more coming."
"Like what?" Derek whispered. "Because I don't think anything can top this. It's incredible."
"Camping," Meredith smiled, pulling back to hand him a backpack. "And, courtesy of Mark Sloan, a brand new fishing pole and tackle box."
Derek stared at her for a moment as he reached for the offered items. "You really are the perfect woman," he stated. "Thank you."
"You're welcome," she giggled slightly. "And I took the day off of work to go camping with you. If that doesn't say I love you, I don't know what does."
"I think buying my favorite cliff and giving me hot sex in the woods counts," Derek laughed as he led her towards the woods.
"Who said anything about sex in the woods?" Meredith asked.
"Me," Derek said, reaching for her hand. "It's my birthday, I get sex."
Meredith feigned a distraught sigh. "I suppose I can do that," she said.
"You may not have a choice," Derek replied. "I like the fact that I can make you scream until you're hoarse with no neighbors to complain about the noise."
Meredith sighed deeply, feeling her skin heat. "Maybe I want you to make you scream," she purred.
Derek paused, bracing himself against a tree for a moment as he stared at her. "Shit, Mer," he breathed.
"Later," she promised, kissing him quickly. "We have to find a place to camp."
"I know a place," Derek sighed, glancing down at his tightened pants. "Just...give me a minute."
Meredith rolled her eyes as she looked at him. "You have problems," she said. "Let me help you out. Think about...the fact that when I dropped Meg off from school the other day I caught Kathleen and Chris having sex on the kitchen counter."
Derek frowned as he shot her a dirty look. "That's sick," he said. "I do not want to picture my sister like that."
"Looks like it worked," Meredith shrugged as she turned to continue walking through the woods.
Derek sighed as he started after her. "You're to smart for your own good, Meredith Grey," he sighed.
"You love me," she giggled.
"I do," Derek nodded, pulling her into a clearing in front of the lake. "We can set up the tent here."
Meredith took in the small clearing, he circle of rocks that sat in the center, obviously having been used as a fireplace previously. "You've been here before," she stated.
"Hmm," Derek nodded, setting his backpack down and pulling the parts of the tent out. "When I thought you were going on our trip with another man," he said. "I came out here to escape. It's where Dad found me to tell me he had my ticket."
Meredith smiled as she moved to help him with the tent. "You really love it here," she observed.
"It's where I do all my best thinking," Derek nodded. "I can't believe it's ours."
"Mine," Meredith giggled. "If you're good I'll share."
Derek laughed and grabbed her hand. "We should get the tent up," he breathed. "So we can christen your land properly."
"I like that idea," she breathed against his lips. "Especially since you're technically still my sex slave."
"How many times do I have to tell you that we both lost?" Derek asked.
"Fine," Meredith shrugged, pulling away from him to slide the tent onto the poles. "We'll just have to make each other scream then."
"I like that plan," Derek nodded. "Tent, now."
Meredith smiled as she stepped back. "I think I'll let you be a manly man and put the tent up yourself," she said. "I'll go get firewood."
"Fine," Derek rolled his eyes. "But we're not going to need a fire. I'll make sure the tent is hot enough without it."
"Right," Meredith nodded. "Let's just hope that you haven't lost any of your stamina now that you're old."
"I'll show you old," Derek said seductively, reaching for her and pressing her against a tree. "The tent can wait."
"It totally can," Meredith groaned as she wrapped her legs around his waist.