Where You Belong

129

Derek awoke to the sound of the front door closing. He sighed and blinked at the darkened blurriness of the bedroom. His eyes focused and he turned to read the numbers on the alarm clock resting on his nightstand. The alarm wasn't set to go off for another twenty minutes.

He rolled over and reached for his wife, content to pull her into his arms and drift back to sleep until he had to get up. Unfortunately, his plan was ruined by the fact that the sheets next to him were cool and bare. He sat up and glanced around the darkened room, trying to determine how long ago she'd left the bed. She'd definitely fallen asleep in his arms only a few hours earlier.

The night before had been...exceptional.

After getting out of his afternoon surgery, only to be told Meredith had had some sort of breakdown when she'd found blood on the kitchen floor of her mother's house, he'd panicked. He'd thought it had been too much for her; thought it had pushed her over the edge he'd watched her balance on for weeks. She'd opened herself up and had been vulnerable. Too vulnerable, he'd begun to think. He'd watched for weeks as the stress of opening herself up to her past slowly created cracks in her strength and ability to cope. He'd thought it had been too much for even his very strong wife to handle. He'd been desperate to find her, to help her.

To save her.

But he hadn't had to. He'd found her and she'd been okay. Better than okay. She'd been empowered. She'd had an epiphany. She'd reshuffled her world view. And she'd invited him into her therapy session without hesitance; had let him in to see and hear and experience everything with her.

She'd saved herself.

He'd known she was strong – something he had recognized and admired early on – but he hadn't know she was that strong. To know what she'd been through and to be included as she worked to make a different life for herself was truly humbling.

Everything had changed. She'd changed. When she'd first started, he had hoped the therapy would help her see things differently, but the reality was truly remarkable. The things she'd said to him, the things she now viewed differently than before...

She was so strong to have reached that point and come out the other side. So strong. And the moment they'd set foot in their home they'd bypassed the kitchen for their bedroom, needing each other more than nourishment. And it had been different. They'd craved each other, but hadn't been desperate. They'd reached a new level, a new ability to share their emotions and thoughts and needs.

Truly exceptional.

With a sigh, he swung his legs over the side of the bed so he was sitting and reached for his phone. He'd woken to the front door shutting, so she'd probably been paged in early. And she would normally text him, so that he'd know where she was when he woke up.

His phone didn't show any missed texts.

He rubbed his hands over his face. If she'd just left, maybe she hadn't had the chance yet.

After standing, he stretched and stumbled into the bathroom to relieve himself and brush his teeth.

It was disappointing that she wasn't here now. After everything they'd experienced the day before, both the good and the bad, he wanted to spend the morning with her, even for something as germane as sharing breakfast together before work.

Leaving the bathroom somewhat more awake then he'd been when he'd entered, he shuffled across the bedroom to his dresser. He pulled on a pair of boxers and tee shirt before heading downstairs to check the coffee pot. If she'd been paged for an emergency, she may not have had the chance to start the coffee.

When he reached the bottom of the stairs, he heard rustling in the kitchen and his mood picked up. Maybe she hadn't been paged in early. He quickened his steps and smiled as he rounded the corner and caught sight of his wife puttering around the kitchen.