I Wanna Be Yours

"Chapter 21"

Meredith decides that she should keep dating Derek if only for the morning-after breakfast.

She's eating a feast at six-thirty in the morning, and he doesn't even look bothered by that. Derek is making her pancakes from scratch, and they're divine. Anything this man whips up is divine, and she is definitely adding this quality to the plus column in his favor for dating.

There are a lot of points in favor so far, and the ready-made pancake mix in a ketchup bottle in his fridge is not even the highest on the list.

Of course, her pager interrupts the moment of bliss, sending her to work prematurely, but not before a long, passionate kiss from Derek.

She's flustered all the way to Seattle Grace.

Being in the ER and dealing with her emergency page though grounds her again, and by the time lunch rolls around, she's ready to sit down in her office and take a nap.

Except, when she swings open the office door, she sees a mop of curly, dark hair sitting in the guest chair.

"There you are. That surgery was endless!"

Meredith smiles at Maggie, dropping on her own chair. "Tell me about it. That guy really, really wanted to die."

"What happened?"

"Fell from the second story of his building, most likely suicide. He's still alive, even though he has a long way before a full recovery."

"Seems like it was quite the surgery, you look dead on your feet

"Yeah," Meredith says, hoping she's not blushing. Half of the tiredness is definitely not due to the surgery. That night before has stretched for quite long, not that she's complaining.

"Uh oh, Meri. Who kept you up last night?" Maggie teases, clearly reading straight through her.

"Just a case," Meredith says, hoping she can sound nonchalant enough. From the way Maggie is smirking, she has failed spectacularly.

"Does that case have piercing blue eyes and incredible hair? Maybe a son named David?"

Meredith can't help the smile. "Maybe."

"Oh, my God! Are you two a couple now?"

"I...I honestly don't know. We kind of had a date last night, but we didn't call it a date. We just celebrated him becoming a resident."

"Yeah, of course," Maggie shrugs, her teasing smile the clear sign she doesn't believe a word Meredith is saying.

"It's not that simple, Mags. He has a son."

"You like the kid. I don't see the problem there." Maggie shrugs, and Meredith tries not to roll her eyes for too long. She wishes it were that simple. "What, are you already in love?"

"Of course not!" Meredith blurts, but it sounds bitter in her mouth.

Could she love Derek already? They only had sex twice, a kind of non-date, and shared a few kisses. It can't be love, can it?

"If you say so," Maggie smirks.

It is time for Meredith to hide her feelings better, then, before she spills the beans to Derek prematurely. And she has to come to terms with the fact that she's in love first – if she even is in love in the first place – before she even says anything to him. She has to.

"Look, I'm not good at love, and you know it. Not after Finn, surely not after what happened. It will end tragically," Meredith says, not sure who is she trying to convince of that.