(Shattered...) Dreams Fulfilled

Favorite Things

The sparkling waters of the lake surrounded by distant snowcapped Alps had welcome the first rays of sun hours before and now, through a barely visible opening, one lingered on Meredith's face. Her body shifted slightly in Derek's embrace, as the warmth of the sun on her face made its presence felt and she scrunched her nose.

Meredith felt his arm tighten around her and smiled, enjoying the feel of his body spooning hers. Safe in the comfort and knowledge that he loved her she continued to lie in his arms and giving in to the serenity of the moment closed her eyes. Not long after, the sun's rays once again warmed her face, almost as though it was intended to be her own personal wake up call. But, this time, just for a split second before she became fully alert she would have sworn she saw a glimpse, as we do at the end of a dream, of Brianna holding her wedding flowers and heard a familiar and healing whisper...I love you lots Mommy.

They'd spoken of faith the night before and as she became awake and aware of her surroundings, at that moment she found healing rather than sadness and sent a silent prayer of thanks, and a heartfelt message she chose to believe would be heard. "We love you too baby bear...Mommy and Daddy will never forget you."

Meredith smiled thinking back to the night before and all the ways he continued to show her he loved her and pondered how she could do the same. Carefully, she attempted to pull away from his arms but he instinctively held her closer. Thankfully he was sound asleep and it only took another attempt to rise from the bed.

"I can do this," she mumbled, "it can't be this hard..."

"What can't be this hard," Derek said as he wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her neck.

"What are you doing up?"

"Meredith..." he said suggestively.

She turned in his arms to hug him. "I was not talking about sex," she giggled and pressed herself closer against him, "but, we could, or better yet..."

"Uhmmm..." he replied as he captured her lips.

"Oh no," she said and ended the kiss.

"Oh no..." he said, confused at how quickly she was out of his arms.

"Derek, I'm trying to cook here...and do you hear that sizzling sound? That means something is about to burn because I put the pan on the stove and since you interrupted me I didn't put anything in it."

He smiled, "you're trying to cook?"

"Don't be a moron, you can see that's what I'm doing."

"Uhmmm... a moron...and that's just because she loves me so much," he joked. "Can I help?"

"No, this was supposed to be me being wifely and all..."

"Wifely," he smiled, "as in the wifely duties you talked about..."

"They're not duties...I told you, well cooking might be, but I wanted to surprise you and do something nice for you and bring you breakfast in bed, but you ruined it," she pouted as she looked at the egg mixture and picked up the bowl.

"It's the thought that counts," he told her and went to grab the bowl where she had mixed the eggs, for what he presumed would be scrabbled eggs for breakfast.

"I'm going to do this," she said and slapped his hand away playfully, "and you're not allergic to them, so it's not like I can almost kill you as I did my sister."

He roared laughing. "Yes...you're right, I'm not allergic."

"Ok then," she said, and gave him a quick peck on the lips, "go sit down, and why are you here, you were sound asleep."

"I woke up and you were gone so I looked till I found you," he said as he walked over to get a cup of coffee.

"Derek, sit down..." she told him, "I want to do this, all of it...breakfast for you today."

"But I can help," he said, and instead of sitting down walked over to her again and nuzzled her neck, as she concentrated on the eggs cooking in the other frying pan she used after the butter had burned in the first one.

"I'm just trying to do something...you've done so much for me...and I want you to know how much it means to me," she said and at the same time turned the egg mixture.

"Mer...didn't you tell me...it's not a contest...we love each other, we'll do things for each other and sometimes I'll do more, others you will...depending on what we need, and it will be perfect, and just so you know...you're perfect as you are even if you never cook."

"You're afraid to eat my cooking," she giggled, "aren't you?"

"Not at all, it's scrambled eggs."

"I thought it would be safer than an omelet," she joked, "we don't have much luck with those."

"Ouch," he said, recalling the last time she'd made the attempt.

"Good thing for you I'm a forgiving person," she joked, "but if you ever...ever flirt with another woman again..."

"Why are we talking about this?" he asked.

"Because," she said in a light hearted mood, "it's what couples do...and we're married and you and I...are not avoiding saying things to each other...and we have said many things and after last night..."

"Uhmmm..."

She took the pan off the stove and set it on the granite top, "we can talk about anything," she said and turned to face him, "and it doesn't change how we feel about each other."

"When did you get so wise?"

"I don't know that I'm wise ...but I know that we've a lifetime ahead of us and that is all that matters, and Derek..." she said and kissed him softly, "I love you and I know you love me and I feel I can say anything...just as we did last night...there's no reason we can't be honest with each other and say what we're thinking and we don't have to walk on eggshells around each other."

"I do love you Meredith, and you can say anything to me," he said and brushed her lips.

"I know...you can say anything to me too."

"Maybe we should eat the eggs before they get cold," he teased her.

"Maybe we should," she smiled, "go sit down," she said and brought the tray she'd prepared earlier to take upstairs to the table and placed a bowl of cereal with fruit in front of him as well as orange juice and coffee mug for each of them.

"Aren't you eating cereal?"

"Nope, I've got something better," she said and brought a plate for each with eggs and smoked salmon and a bread basket with some of the pastries they'd bought yesterday, and finished by pouring them both coffee.

"This looks great," he said, "how long were you down here?"

"About twenty minutes, I got up and took a shower and you were still asleep so I was hoping to bring you breakfast, but this worked."

"This worked very well. I can get used to this every morning."

"I think you'd get tired of the same thing every morning," she laughed.

"Will you get tired of me every morning?" he asked and reached for her hand.

"Never. Will you?"

"What do you think," he said, and brought her hand to his lips as their eyes met in an intimately charged acknowledgement of emotions.

"That you feel as I do...that each moment with you makes me need," she said as she took his hand and brushed her thumb over his wedding band, "and want..." she whispered, "and love you even more," she finished as she leaned over to place a kiss on his lips.

"I would not," he said, and swallowed past the lump of emotions lodged in his throat, "ever get tired of this every morning."

"You can have this every morning," she smiled softly, "it's only the meal part you won't get."

"I can live with that," he laughed and kissed her before he continued with breakfast. "By the way, these are good...see you can cook."

"Thanks to the internet."

"Huh?"

"I came down here and that laptop," she pointed to a nearby counter, "was just dying to be used," she smiled, "so I went online and looked up the recipe for scrambled eggs."

He looked at her, fork suspended in mid air before he took the next bite, "you looked for the recipe for scrambled eggs on the internet."

"Derek, it was the first real breakfast I was preparing for you. I did not want to risk poisoning you."

"Mer, it's scrambled eggs...how..." he was trying to keep from laughing.

"I would not recommend laughing at me."

"I'm not...it's just," he said, and decided to eat before putting his foot in his mouth.

"I'll have you know, there are thousands of results on Google and they even have videos to watch...I settled for the easy one, milk and eggs."

"Smart choice," he said, and laughed unable to keep a straight face any longer.

"I think" she laughed with him, "this will be my specialty...scrambled eggs for breakfast."

"Did you watch the video?"

"No," she giggled, "I knew how to break eggs and whip them."

"Why didn't you just call for breakfast?"

"I wanted to do this for you...this morning, and besides Derek, it's already so late they'd wonder why we didn't call earlier...and they'd know we'd been up all night."

"We're on our honeymoon," he smiled, "it's expected, and it's not so late."

"I preferred to keep this private...our morning together. Last night was special...too special to share any of it or this morning with anyone."

"It was..." he smiled and looked at her in the way expressly reserved for her.

"New favorite things..." she said.

"Some old..." he agreed, fingers entwined.

"At last..." she whispered.

"At last..." he smiled, "you liked the song?"

"I loved the song...I loved our entire night."

Unexpectedly the phone rang, startling them both and he got up to answer and she began to clear the table.

"What was that about," she asked as she began to do the dishes.

"Mer, it's a hotel, they do this, let's go upstairs."

"You're not answering my question, what was that about."

"It's a surprise," he said, turning off the water and kissing her. "You'll find out tomorrow."

"More surprises... Derek, you've got to stop."

"When we get home, we're not going to have any free time for a while. Well, I am, you're not..."

"Thanks for reminding me..." she said rolling her eyes.

"It's true, Bailey's not going to relent on the schedule and it's not likely we're going to have even a weekend off together in a while...so while we're here...I can do surprises," he said and untied her robe while his hands caressed her body.

"You win... while we're here..." she said and then forgot any further objections she may have had as she gave in to the pleasure of his hands on her body.

"I'm glad you see it my way," he smiled upon her lips, and then reached for her hand and they walked up the kitchen stairs that led to the upper floors.

"Let me shave," he said as they reached the bedroom.

"You don't need to shave," she said, as they took turns brushing their teeth, "I don't mind."

"That's not what you said last night," he teased.

"That was different," she smiled, "it would have been more than a day's stubble."

"So..." he said, "a day's stubble is ok?"

"More than ok," she smiled. "Especially..." she giggled, and felt his lips on hers.

"Especially," he said, continuing to kiss her as he led her back to the bedroom and gently pushed her down on the bed.

"That one...new favorite thing," she smiled seductively, enticing him not to stop.

"Uhmmm...we could always try ..."

"Yes..." she asked, "try what..." and giving in to his kisses, all but his touch was forgotten as new and old favorite things were experienced.

"You know what my favorite thing was about last night?"

"Do tell..." he said as he raised an eyebrow in anticipation, and entwined their fingers, as they lay in each other's arms long after their breakfast had ended.

"It's not about sex."

"It's not?"

"It's how you made me feel," she said, suddenly pausing, "well, you know..."

"Meredith...you've never been shy with me before... "

"We've never spent a night like last night before..."

"No we haven't...lots of secrets...any regrets..."

"Oh no...Derek...I loved last night...it's like now, just being in your arms... I've told you before...the moment afterwards...when the world stops and you make me feel safe, and last night...you made me feel..."

"I hope you realize how very much I love you..."

"I do..." she said quietly, gently squeezing his hand, and turned on her side to look at him, "you made me feel cherished and special and...I wouldn't trade a moment of last night."

He laughed, "nobody would believe we spent most of the night talking...just talking."

"That was my favorite thing..." she said and smiled before closing the small distance between them.

"Talking was your favorite thing," he feigned a pout, "you wound me."

"Derek...there was such intimacy ...the most intimate night of my life," she smiled, "even when we only really made love one time...well, you know..."

"I do know...and like you...I would not change a single second of last night."

"Staying up talking till four...and two bottles of champagne...and..."

"In between...discovering so many ways that have become favorite things..." he said, and they shared smiles filled with intimate secrets as they both remembered all the moments of a night when two lovers well practiced in the art of avoidance had opened their hearts, and smiles had turned to tears; sadness had turned to laughter and concern and tenderness had given way to love filled passion and moans of pleasure long before their bodies were intimately joined with each other once again.

"I love you Derek," she said gently upon his lips.

"I love you Meredith," he said, and a tender kiss sealed the hopes and promises of dreams shared on a night destined to be unforgettable.

A/N: Thanks so much for 3.1k reads!!!