Let It Go

49.

Derek strolled towards the Chief's office, whistling. Last night, he had gotten the best sex of his life followed by the best sleep he'd had in months. Great sex and great sleep lead to whistling. It also led to grinning, grinning like a damn fool as Bailey had ever so eloquently told him earlier. He didn't care. Grinning and whistling was fun. Somewhere in the hospital, Meredith was grinning like a damn fool too. At least she had been when he'd seen her briefly a couple hours ago.

Meredith was amazing. That was the main thought behind the grin on his face. She was the very definition of amazing. She completely mesmerized him with her giggle and her lavender scent and her sparkling green eyes. She was strong, independent. She knew who she was and what she wanted. She had had a 'dark and twisty' past as she had called it but somehow, she had overcame it. Derek was convinced her family issues were part of what made her the person she was today.

"You wanted to see me Chief?" Derek asked, strolling into Richard's office as if he owned the place. "Yes, Dr. Shepherd, I did," Richard said, looking up from a stack of papers. He took a good look at Derek.

"What are you so happy about?" he asked. "Details," Derek replied airily, settling into a chair across from the chief. "Details? Do these 'details' have anything to do with Dr. Grey?" Richard pressed. Derek's grin grew even bigger. "Life is good," he answered. Richard shook his head.

"All I'm going to say on the subject is that she is the daughter of an old friend of mine. I changed that girl's diapers. That gives me a right to stick my nose into her business from time to time," he told Derek. Derek chuckled. "What's so funny?" "Nothing," Derek said, shaking his head. "Except that I'm more afraid of your wife then I am of you." The Chief muttered something about cocky brain surgeons under his breath before becoming professional again.

"I called you here to discuss the proposal you submitted a couple weeks ago," he began. Derek's professionalism finally made an appearance. "It's an ambitious undertaking Shepherd," the chief continued. "And if you have success, it's going to solidify your place in medical history, not to mention boost the credibility of UVA's neurosurgery program even more." Derek nodded in understanding.

"Derek, I'm going to approve this. I'm throwing a lot of money your way. Don't make me regret it," Richard said this last part as almost a warning. He was careful with where he allotted his money. Allowing Derek to undertake in a cutting edge research project would prevent him from purchasing still more state of the art equipment, but the recognition both Derek and the hospital would receive if Derek was successful outweighed their need for more equipment at the moment.

"Thank you Chief," Derek said. "I've already drawn up a rough plan for what I want to do. I'll send it to you over e-mail when I get back to my office." Richard's pager sounded. "Sounds good. I've already allotted the money to your department. Once I see the plan and approve it, you can get work on it." He stood. "I've got to take this. I'll get back to you later today or tomorrow on that plan." With that, Richard was gone.

Derek left the Chief's office, back to grinning and whistling. Meredith was amazing, he'd had amazing sex with her twice in the last 24 hours, and he was about to undertake a massive research project. Life was definitely good and that definitely called for grinning and whistling. He spotted Mark at the end of the hallway. Mark had already spotted Derek - or heard his whistling - and was walking towards him, his famous Mark Sloan smirk splashed across his face.

"Uh, uh ah... Someone got lucky last night!" Mark teased, watching Derek blush crimson. "I may have," Derek admitted. "May have? I ran into Bailey outside of the scrub room and she said my overly-moussed best friend was strolling around the hospital grinning like a clown on morphine. There is no may have. You got lucky. Finally." Derek rolled his eyes.