This one is for you

CHAPTER 54

Derek's POV.

The plane is about to land, and Meredith is snuggled in my arms, fast asleep. We've "tested" a few places on the plane, except for our seats, where we are now. I looked down at her, her face hidden in my chest so that you can only see her wavy blonde hair. She seems to stir a little and I tightened my hold on her.

Ooops, I woke her up. She stretched her arms a little and let out a moan. "We're almost there, sleepyhead." I whispered, my face inches from her's.

She let out a content sigh and buried her face in the crook of my neck. "Okay." She whispered and seems to go back to sleep again.

A moment later, her blond head popped up and looked me straight in the face. "Derek, where in Europe are we going?"

"Umm....Paris." I answered guiltily, remembering how her last trip to the city was anything but romantic. "I'm sorry, I should've told you first."

She shook her head a little, making her wavy hair saw and bob along. "No...I need to move on anyways...right?" She said with a half smile.

"Mere, if you want...you can go to some other places while I stay in Paris. Maybe you can go to London, Vienna...anywhere." I suggested, hoping it might make her feel better.

"Are you kidding? No! I'm not gonna leave you in Paris, I'm staying with you!" She protested, hitting my arm with her tiny and ineffectual fist again.

"Okay, okay...so where do you wanna go in Paris?" I asked, stroking her hair as she sat next to me.

"Mmmm...I don't know, where do you find inspirations for your "European" feel music?" She asked with a smirk.

"Anywhere...as long as I'm with you." I whispered, giving her the look that she calld the "McDreamy" look.

"That was so cheesy!" She said with a giggle.

"I thought you like your men cheesy." I said, pulling her into my arms again. Somehow, everytime she sits close to me, and if I'm not holding her, I feel empty. Therefore, everytime we are together, she's almost always in my arms. Mark call me perverted, Mere calls me a caveman, but I don't care. I want my Mere, and I want my Mere in my arms.

"That I do....seriously, where are we going?" She said into my chest.

"What about the Louvre? That's a pretty artsy place, I think I can get some inspiration there." I suggested. However, when I said "the Louvre", Meredith's body tensed up for a second in my arms. It was barely noticeable, but I felt it.

"Mere...you okay?" I asked concernedly.

"Yeah, yeah...sure, we can go to the Louvre." She said quietly, not as bubbly and happy as before.

"Mere, really, what's the matter?" I asked again.

"It's nothing...I'm fine. See? I'm good, totally fine!" She said, sitting up and giving me a bright smile that I knew was fake.

"Mere...you're like the worst liar I've ever met." I said, crossing my arms as I watched her. She looked at my face and realize that I was not going to give up anytime soon and dropped her shoulders.

"You want the short truth or the long truth?" She asked.

"What about the short first?" I said, thinking it shouldn't be that of a big deal if she can almost make fun of it.

"Okay...I went to Paris with him and we went to the Louvre. But I went again at night and I destroyed all the artwork down the Mona Lisa gallery and then I stole the Mona Lisa and all the other art works mentioned in "The Da Vinci Code" and I sold them all on ebay and I said I was Leonardo Da Vinci." She finished, quite proud of herself.

I couldn't help but burst out laughing. Meredith can always amaze me, whether she's telling the truth or not. She saw me laugh and looked like she thought she was off the hook. I quickly stopped and looked at her again. "Now, what about the long truth?" I asked, looking at her pointedly.

"Aren't we suppose to be landing now?" She asked, looking around at no one in particular, clearly avoiding my question.

I was about to object and tell her to answer my question when the plane hit the ground with a thump and we can feel it moving to a stop. The captain came out and told us we've landed and that we can go now.

"Yay! We're here!" Meredith immediately jumped up and went to get her bag.