Where You Belong

33

Wrapped in Derek's strong arms, Meredith was fast asleep, lost in her dream world. A dream world that contained only her and Derek and a large, comfortable bed, and all the time in the world. And even in her unconscious state, a smile graced her lips.

That is, until a loud thunk from hallway pulled her to consciousness.

She groaned as her dream world fell away, leaving her bereft as she blinked wearily at the sudden onslaught of the real world. Derek was still right there with her, still sharing the bed, but his even breathing on the back of her neck told her he was fast asleep, lost in his own dream world, and not doing the things to her he had been doing in her dreams. Or maybe he was, she mused, wondering suddenly what Derek Shepherd dreamed about.

Burrowing herself deeper into his arms, Meredith closed her eyes again and pressed her face into the covers, willing sleep to take her again.

However, a second, equally loud, thunk from the hallway, this time coupled with her roommate's cursing, prevented any chance she had of returning to her dream.

With an irritated moan, Meredith pried Derek's hands away from her middle, leapt out of bed and hurried to swing open the door.

"I was having a really good dream and you ruined it," she muttered to George as she caught sight of him attempting to dodge the array of boxes that lined their hallway.

"Sorry," he responded quickly, replacing the last box he had inadvertently knocked over. He was scowling and wore rumpled lounging clothes. He obviously hadn't showered yet. "There's these boxes... All these boxes. Callie said she was bringing her stuff over and...uh...it's all here."

Meredith shrugged. What was a fifth roommate when you already had four sharing one house? And really, they were all surgeons and so weren't home all that much anyway. "It's okay, George. I don't mind." She offered him a tired smile and leaned against the door jam.

"I don't mind either, nah. I don't mind a bit," he mumbled as he stepped closer to her, stopping when he was only inches away. "Kick her out."

"What? I can't kick her out. You're the one who told her she could move in," she retorted.

"I said she could stay for a couple of days. A couple of days? It's been over a week. And now there are boxes. And she's using my computer...and she's here all the time. Would you kick her out?" He met her eyes straight on as the bathroom door opened behind him. "Kick her out now," he begged.

Dressed only in a red towel, and oblivious to their conversation, Callie strode past them. "Hey, you guys might want to wait a while. There's no more hot water." She paused, back still turned to them, as she sifted through one of the many boxes she had brought with her.

"Do it," George prompted. "Why do you hate me? Do it."

Meredith shot him an incredulous look and shook her head. "No."

The third bedroom door opened at the end of the hall, catching all three of their attention. "Hey," Izzy said. "Can I get a ride with you guys to the hospital?"

"You're going to the hospital?" Meredith asked for confirmation. It had been a little over a week since she and George had convinced their resident to come home with them to talk to Izzy. And it had been decided that Izzy would stop the incessant baking and come back to the hospital, but she hadn't been ready yet. This was a very good sign.

"Yeah," Izzy said quickly. "I'm going to go in and talk to the Chief...see about coming back." She swallowed hard. "Anyway, just let me know when you're leaving," she said before disappearing back into her room.

"That's great," Callie called, turning to face Meredith and George. "Izzy's coming back. That's...great, right?"

"Mmm-hmm," Meredith mumbled with a smile and a nod as she bit back a smile at George's sudden change in demeanour.