Holiday in Handcuffs

Chapter 15

The night air was crisp and cold as Derek and Meredith stepped outside onto the back porch of her mother's home. The full moon glowed brightly and millions of stars twinkled against the the almost blackened midnight sky, shining against the ice crystals of the snow that had fallen on the weathered wood of the deck and blanketed the expanse of the backyard. Their breaths came out in misty puffs just beyond their lips as they carefully walked across the icy deck that extended from the back porch that led down to the large backyard.

Meredith pulled her coat tighter around her frame to stave off the chilly wind that was now whipping at them. She could feel her nose already starting to get cold as she and Derek walked together towards the railing of the deck. They stood side by side, not speaking, as Meredith shoved her hands into her coat pockets and looked up at the sky as more fireworks began to fill the air again.

At first Derek had followed her lead and took to watching the fireworks explode above them. But, after a few moments, he found himself staring at Meredith in the moonlight as the colors of the fireworks danced across her smiling face as she watched the beautiful show in the sky. The tip of her nose and her cheeks had already turned a soft pink color and he couldn't help but smile at the innocence in the expression of her up-turned face. Her cheeks flushed a deeper crimson when she caught him staring at her.

"What?" She asked with a shy smile as she cut her eyes at him.

Derek shook his head. "Nothing." He replied softly as his smile widened. "So, you guys do this every year?" He asked, nodding his head up towards the sky as he looked up at the fireworks again.

"Yes. Every Christmas Eve at midnight... since I can remember." She said to him as she watched the fireworks reflecting against his face. "Our neighbors started the tradition.... and one year, when I was younger, they asked me to join them. We've been doing this with them ever since. I haven't missed a single year."

"That's a nice tradition." Derek said as he looked back down at her.

Meredith shrugged. "It's alright. I think they only asked me to join because it was either that, or stay inside with the nanny my mother hired."

"The nanny? Didn't your mother do this with you?" He asked.

"My mom didn't start participating until she and Richard married. And I think the only reason she started was because Richard made her come out here with us. She usually works on Christmas. She still works on Christmas. Now, though, she manages to come home at some point before midnight. Beforehand.... before Richard... she sometimes didn't come home at all." Meredith said as she watched her breath forming puffs of clouds in front of her face.

"I'm sorry." Derek apologized tenderly.

"For what?" She asked, turning to look at him again.

"You spent most of your Christmas' alone at a very young age. No child should have to experience that." He explained. "I'm sorry you did."

"You don't have to pity me, Derek. I turned out just fine."

"Ah... says the woman who kidnapped me with a water gun so she wouldn't have to be alone for one more Christmas." He chuckled.

"Well, you won't have to suffer too much longer." She replied with a slight laugh. "Come morning... you're free to go. I can even call you a cab now if you'd like." She suggested.

Derek shook his head as he stared into her eyes. "No, no. I'll wait until morning. Besides, I'm actually starting to enjoy myself a little." He grinned.

"Seriously? You're enjoying hanging out with a kidnapping lunatic who made you miss Christmas with your family?" She asked with raised eyebrows.

"Well, I didn't exactly say that this was the best Christmas ever, but it's definitely the most interesting." He laughed. "Plus, I'm sure that I'll think of some way to get back at you before morning."

Meredith's playful expression shifted apprehensively as Derek continued to grin at her. "What do you mean by that? What are you planning? You're not going to say anything to my mother are you?" She asked frantically.

"Hmmm.... that depends." Derek said to her as he stepped closer to the rail of the deck.

"On what?" She asked, taking a step closer to him. She was about to take another step so that she could stand beside him again when she was hit in the face with a fluffy ball of snow that splintered into a million tiny snowflakes on impact. It took her mind a few seconds to register what had just happened, but the instant chill that shot through her body from the coldness of the icy flakes still stuck to her cheeks and nose was reminder enough of the reality of the situation. Through her snowflake ladened lashes she glared at a laughing Derek, her stare penetrating through the cold night and locking with the amused expression in his eyes.

"Oh, shit." He muttered quickly as he stopped laughing and noticed the look on her face. She had barely taken a step forward before he quickly descended the porch steps and jumped into the thick snow that covered the backyard. His feet sunk into the foot and a half of stark white snow and he took off running when he heard her footsteps falling upon the wooden steps.

By the time Meredith's feet hit the fluffy snow, Derek was ten yards away from her. She bent down and grabbed a handful of snow, balling it up into a snowball before running after him. She gained a little speed and when she saw him stop and turn around to look at her, she rared back and threw the snowball with all of her might. She felt the snowball leave her gloved hand and she watched as if in slow motion as it sailed into the air and smacked Derek square in the chest. The look of shock on his face was priceless; his eyes wide and his mouth ajar. At first Meredith thought she had angered him, but then a silly grin broke across his face and she was forced to glare at him as she took off after him again.

With a little maneuvering on his part, Derek was able to put some distance between them as they ran after each other in the snow. He was nearing the area of the yard where the tree line started and when he saw the group of bushes to his right, an idea struck him. He looked back and could slightly make out Meredith's figure as she ran after him in the dark. He had just ducked behind the group of bushes when the flash of the fireworks lit up the sky again, illuminating the air around them. He could see through the bare limbs of the bushes that Meredith had stopped running. She obviously hadn't seen where he had gone, because she was standing still, looking all around for him. She took a few steps forward towards the bushes, and it was then that he acted.

Meredith let out a frightened yelp as Derek lunged at her. His intention was to just startle her, but his boot sunk a little lower into the snow than he expected and he tripped, dragging them both down into the soft blanket of snow. He landed on top of her as Meredith emitted a soft grunting noise and then erupted into giggles. Derek, out of breath and freezing, couldn't help but laugh right along with her, their breaths releasing and mixing in little white clouds around their faces.

After a few more moments, their giggles subsided and Derek was once again taken aback by the beauty in Meredith's delicate features as the fireworks above them once again reflected across her face. Meredith swallowed hard as she looked up into his eyes, his amused expression growing serious. She was suddenly aware of every tingling nerve in her body, the cold snow beneath her doing nothing to chill her as the heat of Derek's stare warmed her to her bones. In the next moment, his lips were on hers and they were tasting each other for the first time.