Endless Summer Nights

42.

She groans in frustration as her pressing need to pee wakes her. She was sleeping soundly deep under the covers when the baby decided to kick her bladder. She inhales deeply as she prepares the throw the covers off of her body, and that is when she breathes in a heavenly smell. Bacon. She can smell bacon and suddenly, she really needs to have some bacon. Some bacon and black olives.

No longer is getting out of bed such a daunting task, as she heaves the blankets off of her body and carefully gets out of bed. She is still a little sore, so she slowly walks towards her bedroom door. Her hand is on the doorknob and she is preparing to open the door just as someone knocks on the door. She jumps.

"Mer?" Derek's voice calls softly into the room.

She quickly opens the door. "Jesus, Derek. You just scared the shit out of me!" she tells him as she struggles to regain her breath.

He chuckles as he recovers from his own scare of having the door thrown open so quickly. "Sorry, I was just coming to see if you were awake and to tell you breakfast is almost ready."

She can't help but lick her lips as she thinks about the crispy bacon and the large black olives. "Yeah, I know. I can smell it, but I really have to pee first," she tells him as she begins to hop lightly from one foot to the other.
"Oh," he says with a chuckle as he moves out of her way. "Do you need any help?'

She looks at him and smiles warmly. "No, thanks. I think I can go to the bathroom on my own," she tells him as she walks into the bathroom and shuts the door.

Derek sighs as he leans against the wall and runs his hand through his hair. She may not need his help getting to the bathroom, but there is no way in hell he is going to let her walk downstairs on her own. Thoughts of her in the next room drove him crazy last night. All he could think about was how much he wanted her in his bed.

He straightens up as he hears her washing her hands. When it takes a few minutes, he assumes that she is also brushing her teeth. She is shocked to find him still standing there when she opens the door.

"What are you doing?" she asks, confused.

He can't help but smile as he finally takes in her appearance. She is wearing a dark tank and a pair of yoga pants, emphasizing her baby bump. "I was just going to help you downstairs," he finally says after a minute.

"Oh," she says as she tilts her head to the side. She doesn't like feeling so helpless. "Okay," she sighs as she takes a step forward. Then she notices the way he is looking at her. "What?"

"Huh?" he asks confused as he tears his eyes away from her fuller breasts.

"You're staring at me," she states as a blush creeps into her cheeks.

"Oh, sorry," he mutters as he smiles softly at her. "Ready to go downstairs for breakfast?"

She smiles as she rubs her stomach. "Yup."

He chuckles as he walks with her to the top of the stairs. "I think it would be better if I carried you again," he says seriously as he turns to her, a smile still on his face.

She bites down on her lip before she sighs. "Yeah, you are probably right."

"Of course I'm right. I'm always right," he says with a chuckle as he picks her up.

"Cocky," she mutters as she rolls her eyes.

"And you like it," he says as he begins to walk down the stairs.

"Whatever," she giggles as they reach the bottom of the stairs, but Derek doesn't put her down. "You can put me down now," she tells him as they reach the kitchen.

"Right," he says as he softly places her on the ground, not wanting to let go of her.

His mother greets them happily. "Good morning, Meredith. I hope you slept well?" she asks as she places a stack of pancakes on a plate.

"I did," Meredith says softly as she plays with the hem of her shirt. It is awkward for her to be in such a family setting.

"Good," Mrs. Shepherd responds as she adds a small pile of scrambled eggs to the plate.

Derek chuckles next to her. "She woke up in the middle of the night and just HAD to have some black olives," he says with a dramatic eye roll.

"Hey," Meredith responds as she rounds on him," YOUR son wanted them. Would you want to deprive him of something that he wants so badly?"

Derek chuckles once again as he rests his hand on her abdomen. "Of course not... especially since he needed them so badly."

Mrs. Shepherd watches this interaction with a huge smile on her face. "Is that why my shopping list says a case of black olives?" she asks amused.

Derek nods. "It is."

Meredith bites down on her bottom lip. "You don't have to get them. I don't want to be an inconvenience," she mutters as she shifts nervously from foot to foot.

"Nonsense," Mrs. Shepherd says as she waves her spatula in the air after placing a pile of bacon on the plate. "It is a pleasure, not an inconvenience. How much butter do you want, dear?" she asks.

"None," Derek responds as he moves forward to take the plate.

Mrs. Shepherd jerks the plate away from him. "I wasn't talking to you, Derek. I was asking Meredith."

Meredith blushes as they both turn to her. "Oh, uhh...a lot," she says with a shy smile.

Mrs. Shepherd chortles as she adds two dollops of butter to the tops of the pancakes. "Do you want some black olives as well?" she asks knowingly.

Meredith simply nods before Mrs. Shepherd opens a can of black olives and pours them into a bowl. She sits the plate down in front of Meredith. Meredith licks her lips in anticipation.

And then she smells it. Eggs. They have never bothered her before, but now the smell has her clapping her hand down over her mouth and running to the nearest bathroom. Her knees have barely hit the floor before she is throwing up into the toilet. Derek is right behind her, rubbing soothing circles on her back and holding her hair back. Mrs. Shepherd appears in the doorway.

Meredith turns to look at them after she has stopped vomiting. "Sorry," she says in a raspy voice.

"What are you sorry for?" Derek asks with a furrowed brow.

"Ruining breakfast," she answers as she rests her face against the toilet.

"You didn't ruin breakfast," Derek reassure her as he continues to run his hand along her spine.

"It was the eggs," she says as she closes her eyes.

"The eggs?" Derek asks somewhat confused.

"The smell. The smell of the eggs made me sick," she says as she leans back over the toilet bowl.

"I will go throw them out right now," Mrs. Shepherd says.

"No, it's okay. I don't..." Meredith begins as she continues to hover over the bowl, waiting for the nausea to subside.

"You are not an inconvenience," Mrs. Shepherd reassures her before going to throw the eggs out.

Meredith and Derek sit in silence as Meredith slowly begins to feel better. "Derek?" she asks after a minute.

"Yeah?" he responds.

"I still want bacon and black olives," she says with a small smile.

Derek chuckles as he gets to his feet. He holds his hand out to her. "Let's go get you some bacon and black olives."

Meredith smiles at him as she slowly stands up, the action of running and getting on the floor causing her some pain. But she smiles through the pain, because unbeknownst to her, the best pain killer is offering her his hand and healing her without her ever knowing it.