Where You Belong

116

"I love my new room," Izzie practically gushed as she set her lunch tray on the table next to Meredith's and then dropped into the chair next to Meredith. "Thank you," she added, hooking her arm around Meredith in a half hug. "Thank you, thank you, thank you! You're so my favourite person right now."

"I'm glad you like it," Meredith said humorously as she set the forkful of salad she'd had half way to her mouth back onto the plate to make room for Izzie's arm. After she and Derek had had the better part of the last week off to move, they'd worked Friday and Saturday, and then Sunday morning cleared their remaining belongings from the house and given Izzie the all clear to move rooms. Meredith had been off Monday as well, and then Izzie on Tuesday, so they hadn't seen each other until now, Wednesday.

"It's so much bigger," Izzie continued, "And there's more closet space! And I don't have to share the bathroom with any stupid boys."

Alex huffed at her comment. "Well, I'm just glad I don't have to deal with all your girly crap in my bathroom anymore."

"Our bathroom," George corrected, having moved into Izzie's old room.

"Don't remind me."

Meredith smiled at the interaction. "I hope you three are happy together."

"You mean you hope they don't kill each other," Cristina corrected.

"Pretty much," Meredith agreed with a smirk. She finally took her bite of salad. After over a year together, and numerous shared meals, salad had become a common lunch for her. Derek's influence. And as much as she wanted to deny it, she had come to enjoy them.

"How is it living with just Derek?" Izzie asked.

"It's...really nice," she said honestly. For almost a week now she had fallen asleep and woken up next to Derek in a room that had only ever been there's. They'd shared meals and moments in rooms that Meredith didn't have a single bad memory in. There wasn't a single square inch of the condo that Meredith could associate with her childhood, and there had never been a drop of blood on the kitchen floor.

Alex snorted. "Nice," he echoed her choice of words. "I'll bet you don't even bother wearing clothes."

"Alex," Izzie chastised.

"What?" He retorted. "It's Mer and Shepherd. We were all thinking it."

Meredith rolled her eyes. "We're not that bad."

Alex raised an eyebrow. "Do you really believe that? Do you really think we couldn't hear you? Or that we didn't find your clothes all over the house?"

Meredith felt her cheeks heat. She could recall a number of times where she hadn't been able to find a shirt or a bra. Or her underwear. When they'd turned up in the laundry room, she'd always assumed it had been Derek. "What's your point?"

Alex smirked. "That you're probably enjoying your alone time."

"And what's wrong with that?" It's not like what he was saying wasn't true. They'd had a healthy sex life before they'd gotten married, and now they were newlyweds. It was expected.

"Nothing. It's like I've said before; embrace it."

Meredith glanced at the rest of the table, hoping someone would change the subject.

Cristina spoke up. "Have you finished christening all the rooms yet?"

Meredith shot her best friend a glare to tell her she wasn't helping.

Cristina shrugged in response to tell Meredith she knew she wasn't helping and that that was the point.

"I'm not answering that."