what i'm here for

Chapter 27: Moving out

Meredith collapsed onto the bed, crossing her legs in front of her as she scooted away from the edge, and turned to face Derek, who was sitting up against the head of the bed, legs strewn out in front of him, his eyes darting back and forth as he read the contents of the medical journal in his hands. He glanced up and smiled warmly at her before going back to his place on the page. He knew from the look in her eyes that she needed to talk, but he also knew she needed to organize what she was going to say first. She was silent for several minutes as Derek quietly read about a new clipping technique. She sighed, and he blindly reached out to take her hand.

"We could just not tell them," Meredith finally spoke.

He looked up, dropping his journal to his lap. "What?"

"My friends. We could just not tell them that I'm moving."

Derek felt the corners of his mouth curl up despite himself. "You don't think they'd notice?"

She shrugged. "They're all very caught up in their own problems right now. They may not notice."

He laughed at her joking expression. "They'd notice eventually. Izzy would barge in one morning and you wouldn't be there, and that would at least make her suspicious, especially if she finds Cristina instead."

Meredith scrunched up her nose. "Yeah, okay. I guess you're right." She sighed dramatically. "I just don't know how to tell them."

"Well, it's okay if you want to take some time..."

"Derek!" She exclaimed. "Stop offering me more time. Let me tell you one more time just how much I want to live with you. I don't want to wait."

Derek smiled at her as he felt his insecurities melt away at her words. Every time he voiced them she would scoff and yell at him. But every time her reaction told him the same thing. She really did want to live with him. She really didn't want to wait.

"Okay, just making sure," he told her.

She rolled her eyes, squeezing her hand as she did so. "Well, stop making sure. I'm not used to being the calm, rational one."

Derek laughed. "Well, you're doing a very good job for someone not used to being rational, but I promise I'll try to get back to it as soon as possible so you can go back to being the irrational one."

She mock glared at him, though her sparkling eyes gave her away. "Thanks for that," she muttered.

"You're welcome."

It had been a week since they had found the apartment and had heard that morning that the paperwork had gone through. They would officially take possession first thing Monday morning. It was currently late Saturday evening, and they both had the following day off. They had decided to head out to the trailer for the night, with plans to pack up Derek's remaining stuff. However, once they had arrived, they quickly realized he didn't have much left there that he would need at the new apartment. They would leave all of his fishing gear and what Meredith had termed his 'out door man stuff' at the trailer. After that, there wasn't much left for them to pack up and shove into his trunk.

Meredith sighed and leaned forward, sinking her head into her hands. She made a strange strangled noise.

Derek chuckled as he reached a hand to run through her hair. "What can I do to help?"

She tilted her head so that she was resting her chin in her hands and could look him in the eye. His hand slid down her head to cup her cheek. She smiled. "You're already doing it."

"Well, I'll have to keep doing it then."

She smiled, and he lost himself in her eyes for several moments before she spoke up again. "It's going the change everything," she admitted.