Where You Belong

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When Meredith awoke, her mouth felt pasty and dry, her back was sore from lying in the same position for so long and her head hurt in that way that told her she had been sleeping for too long. And yet, she still felt exhausted.

Two weeks straight at the hospital will do that to you.

With a groan, she rolled onto her side and stared at the empty spot next to her. Derek had definitely been there when she had fallen asleep – they had continued her victory celebration in bed after getting home from the restaurant, and when they had finished, she had practically cocooned herself into his arms and closed her eyes – but his warm, naked body wasn't there now. It was awfully bright in the bedroom, though, despite the lights being off and the blinds shut. It had to be late morning, or even early afternoon.

Knowing he was a morning person, she couldn't fault him for having left her in bed. He had probably woken hours earlier.

Squinting, she stared across the bed to read the digits off of the clock on his bedside table. 12:09. That meant she had slept for...

Hmm.

It had been dark when they had returned from the restaurant, but not middle-of-the-night-dark. Evening dark, as if the sun had recently disappeared below the horizon. But it was late November, so that didn't really mean it had been late. And then after they got home, they'd continued celebrating her victory in bed. How long had that taken? It hadn't lasted as long as it sometimes did, but definitely wasn't quick. And they'd only gone one round.

With a sigh, Meredith gave up trying to come up with a time she may or may not have fallen asleep the night before. She'd slept for at least twelve hours, she concluded. That should be enough, but she knew after the last two weeks, it would take a few days before she felt caught up. Or, as caught up as she could, being that she was a surgical resident.

She yawned as sleep tugged at her mind. She closed her eyes and toyed with the idea of going back to sleep – it would be so easy – but she decided against it. She could catch up on sleep later when she didn't have an entire day to spend with her husband.

It was Thanksgiving, after all. It was also the first day she and Derek had off together in weeks. And she had already wasted hours of it sleeping.

Summoning all of her available energy, Meredith forced herself to roll over and get out of bed. She padded into the en-suite bathroom to relieve herself and brush her teeth. She toyed with the idea of a shower, but decided to wait. Maybe she'd convince Derek to join her for a shower later.

Instead, she returned to the bedroom and pulled on underwear, sweatpants and her Dartmouth tee shirt. It may be Thanksgiving, but she was determined to be thankful for being able to lounge all day in comfortable clothes.

She found Derek in the kitchen. His back was turned to her as he faced the stove. Quiet music played from the iPod dock in the living room, so she wasn't sure if he had heard her descent along the stairs. Most of the lower floor that she could see as she approached the kitchen was relatively tidy, with enough out of place to show it was lived in. A half full glass on the table beside the couch. The television on mute as a football game played on the screen. The remote for the television dropped on the coffee table. A throw blanket loosely folded on one of the lazy boys. A stack of mail sitting on the table by the front door, with a single letter having fallen to the floor.

Home. She hadn't realized just how much she had missed it.

She stopped briefly to pick up the letter from the floor, but paused before replacing it on the pile. It was just an ordinary bill from the phone company, but it was addressed to them both – Dr. Derek Shepherd and Dr. Meredith Grey-Shepherd – and that made her smile. She placed the bill on the table and continued to the kitchen. Derek was still facing away from her. She assumed he was doing something to the turkey. The counters around him were littered with food packages, bowls, books and notes. It looked like a calmer version of Izzie had hit the room.