Hiding in the Shadows

24. The Morning After

"Mer? Where the hell are you?" Cristina yelled as she walked down the stairs. It was a rare morning that Meredith would be awake before her. She walked into the living room and gasped.

Derek Shepherd was on their couch and her person, her friend...was sprawled on top of him.

"What the fuck is this?" Cristina yelled.

Derek groaned. Meredith moaned and shifted to get more comfortable. Something was sticking into her stomach and it was hard and long and...oh! Meredith's head shot up and she stared into hazy blue eyes.

"Oh crap!" Meredith scrambled off of the couch grabbing the throw to cover herself with. She looked down at Derek and stared. His erection was tenting his boxers. Wow! He was hung.

"Do you mind?" He said gruffly.

"No...not at all." Cristina said, staring at it.

"Where the hell are my pants?" Derek demanded, wincing as he did so and grabbing a throw pillow to cover himself.

"Who cares." Cristina replied.

"Cris." Meredith admonished.

"What? It's right there looking at me." Cristina defended.

Meredith shook her head and looked for his pants. She found them behind the couch. She handed them to him quietly.

"Look, I am going to go take a shower and when I get back down here, you won't be here...so...goodbye Derek." She took a step back and preceded to flee the room.

"I don't have my car so I will be needing a ride to work." He reminded her dryly.

She stopped and looked back at him.

"Oh...right. Crap. I will be ready in thirty minutes...coffee is in the kitchen. Help yourself to breakfast or whatever." She ran up the stairs.

She was so out of practice...that line used to work so well.

***********

"Hurry up and park Mer...Shithead stinks back there...Scotch is seeping out of his pores." Cristina demanded.

"Shut it Yang." Derek demanded.

"Um...no. This is Mer's car and we are not at work so...fuck off." She retorted.

Derek turned his attention to Meredith.

"Do I have to include her with the surgeries?" He asked.

"Yes, you do. Cris, shut up." Meredith demanded. "I swear it is like having two children in the car with me."

"Sorry Mom." Derek said dryly.

Meredith looked at him in the rearview mirror.

"Watch your mouth young man." She said sassily.

Derek grinned slightly.

"Oh look...you two are having a moment." Cristina said sarcastically. "Get me out of the car before I hurl."

Meredith parked and Cristina escaped quickly, leaving them behind.

"Hey Mer." Izzie yelled. She halted in her progress moving towards her. George bumped into her.

"Hey!" He protested. He stilled when he noticed Derek.

"Um...Mer...can we talk to you?" Izzie asked.

"I'm kind of busy right now Iz." Meredith said pointedly, tilting her head towards Derek. "I will catch up with you later."

Izzie nodded and she walked towards the hospital's entrance with George.

Meredith looked at Derek.

"That can't happen again Derek."

"What can't happen again? Me showing up drunk on your doorstep last night or you waking up on top of me this morning? Cause both are fond moments I would like to hang on too." He said sarcastically.

"There will be no memories...I will go with you to Connecticut to your family thingee or whatever, but this...whatever it is, can't happen. I am not your crutch to get over the bad shit in your life. You play hot and cold and I can't handle that right now." She rambled.

"What? You can't handle being friends?" He asked, smirking.

"Have you ever had friends? Because showing up on their doorstep and keeping them up all night with loud off key singing, vomiting loudly and whining like a baby while doing a striptease is not my idea of friendly." She retorted.

"Man...your friends are boring then, huh?" He said.

Meredith rolled her eyes and snorted.

"Do you do that often? Get stumbling drunk and forget your address?" She asked hesitantly, waiting for him to bite her head off.

Derek sighed and pushed a hand through his hair.

"Yeah." He admitted.

"Oh...well...um...next time write your address on your forehead so someone can take you home." She suggested jokingly.

Derek chuckled.

"I'll be sure to do that." He said. "I am sorry for inconveniencing you, Dr. Grey."

He stared to walk towards the hospital.

"It's Meredith or Mer." She said.

Derek turned around.

"What?"

"When we are out of the hospital and when we are at the reunion...I am not Dr. Grey. I am Meredith or Mer." She repeated.

"Why?"

"We have to be familiar with each other or no one will ever believe we are a couple. And you sung badly and you slept underneath me on my couch and you vomited on my foot...and I felt...it. So out of the hospital, I am Meredith and you are Derek...okay?" She said.

Derek smiled slightly. He nodded.

"Okay...Mer. I will see you later and I will talk to Bailey or well the Chief cause Bailey terrifies me...about you being on my service." He said.

Meredith giggled.

"Yeah, Bailey is scary." She admitted.

"Yeah." He breathed, looking at her.

"Yeah." She said awkwardly.

"I should go in and take a shower...apparently, I stink." He said.

"Yeah, you should. I will see you later." Meredith said.

"Yeah, later." He turned around and disappeared into the hospital.

Meredith watched him go.

What the hell had she gotten herself into?