Confide in Me

Chapter 14

"I think I'm ready to go back to work," Meredith said with a yawn. She sat on the couch in Derek's office, flicking through a journal.

"Bored of me already?" He asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

"Never," she grinned over at him. "I'm starting to miss travelling. Not as much as I used to... maybe it's the range of work. I don't know. I feel like I need something... more."

She sighed and dropped the journal to the table.

"Whatever you need to do, baby," Derek said, smiling at her before returning to his work.

She stood from the couch and move to stand behind him. Her hands rested on his shoulders, and she frowned slightly, starting to massage his tight muscles.

"You aren't going to beg me to stay here, and not work away?"

"If you're wanting me to tell you that I never want you to leave, that I want you in our bed every night, then I will. But more than that, I want you to be happy. And if travelling for work makes you happy, then that makes me happy," he tilted his head back to look at her. He took her hand in his and pressed a kiss against the back of it. "This relationship, our family, doesn't depend on whether you work away, or whether you work from the office in the house. I'm not going anywhere."

"You're too good to me," she said in a small whisper.

He turned and pulled her into his lap. Her head fell on his shoulder and his arm fell loosely around her.

"I just want to try and see how it goes, probably not anything international," she lifted her chin to press a kiss against his jaw.

"Okay," he nodded, his fingers lingering over her thigh. He pressed a kiss against the side of her head. "Maddie was asking questions last night, about you."

"What questions?" She frowned slightly.

"Not so much about you, but how, if you were her mommy, you'd be a different mommy. I think she's trying to understand the difference between her real mom, and you being her new mom," he explained. "She's been relating the idea of a mom solely to how Megan acted."

"That makes sense," Meredith nodded. "Do you think she understands better after your talk?"

"Yeah, I think so."

"Is it bad that I'm really excited for her to call me her mom?"

"Hey, I'm excited too," he chuckled. "I'm pretty sure everyone sees you as her mom at this point."

"I just want to do right by her, you know?" Meredith twisted toward him.

"You've always done right by her, Mer. I'm pretty sure you're her hero," he laughed, and kissed her quickly. "You're the closest thing she's ever had to a loving mother."

"Speaking of, shouldn't we be going soon to get her from your mom's?" Meredith blinked back her overwhelming emotion, changing the inject.

"Soon," he murmured, and pressed a kiss just below her ear, sending a shiver down her spine. Her thighs pressed together, almost on instinct at the sensation that shot right to her core. His fingers gripped at her thigh slightly. "So responsive..."

"We don't have time," she breathed, closing her eyes and focusing on his touch.

His breath tickled her skin. "I always have time for you."

****

"Granny, when am I going home?" Maddie asked Carolyn from her seat at the kitchen table. She had her colours spread out in front of her and various sheets of papers covered in colourful drawings, ready to take home.