Love Don't Cost A Thing

12.

Derek opened his eyes and squined as the light from the morning sun hitting his eyes. He stretched and yawned and turned in the bed and frowned when he saw that she had gone. He had held her most of the night till she had fell asleep in his arms. He moved her from his grasp and laid there and soon fell asleep too. He got out the bed, he was already dressed, having not changed or having anything to channge into.

"Meredith?" He called in the hallway and his breath caught in his throat as he saw her emerge from the bathroom, steem over her head and concealing all around her body, in nothing but a towl. She smiled slightly.

"Sorry that i left, i felt...i just needed a shower" She said. He merely nodded at a loss for words and she giggled a little and walked past him and into her room, closing the door behind her.

He blinked a couple of times and breathed in. He didn't know what to do...so he just stood there. She emerged a bit later, smirking at him. "Are you just going to stand there forever?" She asked and walked passed him again and headed downstairs. Derek smiled to himself and went after her, picking up the pace and meeting her and the bottom the stairs and snaking his arms around her waist and pulling her into a backwards hug, getting a very strong whiff of her flowery smelling hair.

"Derek!" she yelped in surprise and try to wiggle free of him. "stop! hey...st-stop! i can-" He started to tickle her sides, she had lost it then, emersed in a fit of giggles.

"D-d-derek!! I..stop!" she said and finally got out of his grasp and walked away and leaned against the nearest part of wall and tried to catch her breath. "ugh! I hate you" She said frustraitingly and kept her eyes closed as she tried to gain her composure back, but there was a smile plastered on her face.

"you don't hate me" He pouted

"right now, in this moment. I do...hate you" She said as she finally straightened up and opened her eyes, gaining her composure back

"sorry, i couldn't help it" He grinned

"shut up!" She smiled at the look on his face, but then she got serious and stopped smiling. "thank you...for last night." She said

"no problem...i'm kind of surprised you didn't kill me for even being in house un-announced" he said

"i did want to" She said..."But you showed worry and you actually seemed like you cared a little...i actually didn't mind that much" She nodded.

"You so realize that i did mean that i love you" he said and her eyes got a little wide and she coughed to take up time

"um...yeah, i know." She said and put up a hand to stop him from saying something. "I guess i should give you my answer" She said

"you already said you had feeling, but weren't sure you loved me" He said

"I know...but i never said anything else to the matter." She said and he furrowed his brows in confusion. "come on, lets go sit down" she said and ushered him intot he kitchen and sat at the island, he sat too.

"Derek, i'm going to ask you not to interupt me." She said and he nodded, interested.

"I do really like you, Derek" She began. "But i'm not sure if i do love you...yet i think...i just don't know. I do want a...well...i would like a relationship with you, i would." She paused and Derek didn't say anything, but his stomach erupted in summer saults of happiness...at least she wanted to that...she would love him soon enough...she went on. "But i don't know when i can trust you again Derek and maybe in time, i can love you and tust you. I hope you realize how much you did hurt me, even though you would think i have forgivin you yet, but...it just hurt me and with my past...i made me geel used and like an object, not a person and i know i have already said this...it must be annoying...and i know you have established that i was none of those things to you and that you were completely stupid and that you regretted and all that, but that doesn't change that fact of what you did." She breathed in a sigh and nodded and smiled. "but, i do want to be with you and see where it goes...what happens and if you show what you mean and said..."