Holiday in Handcuffs

Chapter 17

Meredith was awakened from a very deep slumber by a patch of sunshine shinning through the window directly across her eyes. She shifted a little beneath the warm confines of her down comforter, a sleepy, satisfied smile forming on her lips as she pressed her cheek into the soft pillow. Sighing happily, she stretched her legs out, her smile fading as her foot hit something solid and warm. She bent her leg and slid her toes along the object, her smile disappearing when she realized that it someone's leg she was feeling up at the moment. She opened her eyes and squinted at the sunlight falling down on her as she slowly pulled her leg away.

Movement on the other side of the bed caused her to freeze, her eyes widening as she waited for the movement to still. When it finally did, she slowly shifted onto her back and pulled the comforter away from her face. Her eyes landed on Derek's sleeping form, his face only inches from hers as he pressed his cheek into the pillow, a slight smile on his lips. She scanned the slight stubble on his jaw and chin and the soft curls that fell onto his forehead, his eyelashes gently resting atop his cheeks. She let her eyes wander down to his neck and then to the top of his shoulder on down to where the comforter stopped in the middle of his well-muscled chest as he lay on his side. As she swept her eyes back up, she found herself staring into an intense pool of blue.

"You're staring at me." He whispered with a sly smile.

She regarded him for a few moments. "You're still here." She whispered with disbelief, causing Derek to chuckle a little.

"What, did you think I would sneak out while you were sleeping and hitch a ride out of town, or something?" He grinned.

"Not exactly, but..." She shrugged, "I wouldn't blame you if you had."

"Meredith." Her name rolled off of his tongue like honey as his eyes drifted towards her lips. Something in his eyes shifted as he stared at her and Meredith found herself growing slightly uncomfortable under the heat of his stare.

"Derek, last night was a mistake." She said hurriedly. She thought it best to get that out in the open before he decided to act out what his eyes were expressing. She searched his face closely as he nodded slowly, his dark blue eyes turning back to their original crystal blue color.

"You're right." He sighed. "It was a mistake. I guess we just got carried away."

"I blame the fireworks." She chuckled.

"And I blame the fireworks and Christmas. That's a lethal combination." He laughed.

"Yeah." She agreed with a nod. "So...." She met his eyes again.

"So.... let's get dressed. I have to get my things together and get home."

Meredith slid out of the bed and wrapped her bed sheet around her small frame. "I'll let you have the shower first. I can call you a cab while you're dressing."

"Thanks, that'd be nice." Derek replied, sitting up in the bed as he watched Meredith back away towards the bedroom door.

"It's the least I can do." She said as she stared at him with wide eyes. She tried to swallow, but her mouth felt incredibly dry.

"Shouldn't you get dressed before you go downstairs?" He asked with a laugh as Meredith opened the door in just the bed sheet that was wrapped around her.

"Oh, right." She laughed nervously. She blushed as she shuffled to her dresser and quickly pulled out some clean clothes.

She wasn't sure what had come over her in the past few moments, but she was sure that it quite possibly had something to do with the way the comforter had pooled at Derek's waist, exposing his chest and abs as he had sat up in bed. She clutched her clothes to her chest and hurried out of the door before she could get another glance at his half-naked form.