Confide in Me

Chapter 15

Meredith had been travelling all week, and now it was Sunday, and she was home with Derek and Maddie. Except Derek had work today. She'd only come home late the night before, and when Derek had reminded her he had work the next morning she'd wanted to hit something. Sh heated. When their schedules fell like this.

Maddie had started calling her mommy just over a month ago, and even though she still slipped up now and again, using her name instead, Meredith felt like her mother. Maddie was her daughter. It brought a smile to her face every morning when she woke up and remembered.

Derek's lips were pressed against her forehead when she woke that morning, and she reached out to pull him back down on the bed. She buried her face against his chest and his arms wound around her with a soft chuckle.

"I have to get up and shower or I'll be later," he said.

"You should take every single Sunday off, like I do," she said with a huff. She pressed kisses to his bare chest as her hand slithered between them to play with the waistband of the pyjama pants that he'd worn to bed.

"You know I don't normally," he said. He lowered his lips to hers in a short kiss, and she felt the smirk against her skin as she continued to tease him. "I'll do my best not to do it again. But now I need to go and shower."

"Fine," she huffed, and caught his bottom lip between her teeth for half a second.

"Definitely later," his voice came out as a groan, and he kissed her once more before disappearing from the bed.

His absence from beside her sent an instant chill through her body, and she pulled the blankets up closer around herself. She heard the water turn on in the bathroom. She couldn't get back to sleep. She was due to fly out to Columbia the next day, and she hated that she couldn't spend they day with him before she left for the next few days, like they usually would where possible. At least she'd be able to spend the day with Maddie, maybe take her to the park or the aquarium. Have a proper day out with her.

Meredith found her phone and started to scroll through the possibilities of what they could do with their day. Derek would be at the hospital until the evening, and hopefully would make it home for dinner. Maybe they could go and pick up some groceries. Meredith wouldn't cook – that would be somewhat dangerous. Either Derek could cook, or they could order in food if he'd had a particularly difficult case. She'd ask him later what he wanted to do.

A small knock sounded on the bedroom door that had been left ajar, and she looked up from beneath the blankets to dee Maddie stood there, her arm around her stomach and a pained look on her face. Meredith went into immediate alarm and pulled back the blankets, not caring about the colder air in the room.

"What's wrong, Maddie?" Meredith frowned.

"Sore tummy," Maddie mumbled as she shuffled closer to the bed.

"Come here, bug, come and get into bed with me," Meredith encouraged.

Meredith helped her up onto the bed next to her and wrapped her arms around her as Maddie curled up against her side. She touched the back of her hand against Maddie's forehead to take her temperature, her frown becoming deeper at the small girl's raised temperature.

"Just a sore tummy?" Meredith asked.

"Mhm," Maddie groaned. She turned into Meredith's side more as she tried to get comfortable.

"Where abouts?" Meredith brushed back Maddie's hair with her fingers, careful not to make her feel worse in case she had a headache.

"Everywhere," she mumbled.