Where You Belong

45

Meredith inhaled the steam wafting upwards from the large mug of coffee in her hands and sighed. "Tell me again why you're doing this?"

Derek sent her a playful smirk, his jeans, long sleeved shirt and vest clashing with her robe and slippers. "Because I'm a man."

She snorted. "If that were the case wouldn't you prefer to spend the weekend in bed with your girlfriend, instead of spending it with other men and sleeping on the ground in the cold?"

He left his pack by the front door and approached her, where she sat on the bench by the stairs. "Hmmm," he mumbled as he leaned down to her level, one hand supporting himself on either side of her. "Don't tempt me... I may be forced to stay here."

Meredith giggled. "That's exactly my plan."

Derek rolled his eyes. "Because that wouldn't make me look like less of a man in front of all the other men Preston took it upon himself to invite..."

She giggled again before pressing her lips hard against his. "Stay here and I promise I'll make you feel like a man."

He moaned into her mouth. "Meredith..." He kissed her again, and then pulled away. "Preston is already on his way. George is packed. We're picking up everyone else at Joe's. I can't pull out now."

"Hmmpf," she muttered, playfully crossing her arms across her chest, careful of her coffee mug.

"I'll make it up to you when I get back," he murmured, pressing his lips against her forehead.

"Mmm, I'm going to hold you to that."

"Looking forward to it."

"I bet you are," she whispered, leaning close so that her lips were a hair's breadth from his.

Derek pecked her lips and stood upright. "I'll miss you."

She raised an eyebrow. "You'll be gone for two days, Derek. Is it really manly to admit you'll miss me."

"Maybe not, but I will." He smiled at her. "And I know you won't tell anyone."

"It'll be our little secret," she promised, her voice light and playful, while her heart swelled with emotion. He was opening up to her more and more. He was admitting things he wouldn't have told her a few months ago. He trusted her.

"Thanks," he murmured, kissing her forehead before turning to head back to his pack.

"So," she spoke up eventually. "Tell me why going camping makes you a man?"

He rolled his eyes and shook his head.

"It's just like a slumber party," Izzy called as she came down the stairs, dressed in pajama pants and a sweatshirt. "We do it at home. They do it in the woods. That's basically the only difference."

Meredith laughed as Derek made a face.

"We should invite Cristina over tonight," Izzy continued as she plopped herself down beside Meredith on the bench. "We can have our own slumber party."

"Yeah, sure," she responded as she kept her gaze on her boyfriend. He was busy tying his sleeping bag onto his pack with surgical concentration, his fingers working easily to tie the knots. She would miss him too. The realization hit her hard. There had been times where she hadn't seen him for more than a passing moment for a day or two at a time during busy weeks at the hospital, but he had still been there. She had still known he was close by. This would be the first time he would be away, even if he was just camping two hours away from her.

Meredith had never expected to miss someone; not like this. She had never expected to have someone in her life who was around all the time, who she expected to be around forever, who would miss her if they were separated for a couple days. She hadn't been lying a few days ago when she told him she would move to New York if he chose to go back.