Seven Thousand Hours

Chapter 49| Putting on the Ritz

A few hours had passed and they were now both fast asleep in the trailer.

"Mmm- what time is it?" Derek groaned as he felt Meredith shuffle around the trailer. "3pm" she sighed quietly as she pulled on some gym clothes. "Where are you going?" He asked as he sat up. "On a run" she smiled at him as she ruffled is wild curly hair. "Hmm- just give me 5 minutes and I'll come with you" he smiled at her as he climbed out of bed. "Seriously?" She grinned. "Seriously" he grinned before he kissed her. "You feel good, you think you're ready?" She asked as he grabbed some clothes. "Yeah. Callie cleared me for this sort of stuff last week, as long as I don't fall on my wrist, everything should be good" he explained as he slipped into the small bathroom to change. "You can change out here you know" she laughed a little as she pulled out both their running shoes. "Still not ready, Meri" he called before he opened up the door and stepped back into the kitchen. "I know" she smiled as she handed him his shoes.

They set off on their run as they made their way through Seattle. "You feeling good?" He panted breathlessly as they ran below the Space Needle. "Yeah" she smiled at him. "You?" She asked as they ran side-by-side. "Never better" he grinned as he picked up his pace a little. "Okay Mr Incredible, not so fast" Meredith laughed as she chased after him. "I've got runners high, there's no stopping me" he laughed. She went quiet for a moment. This was the first time he seemed genuinely happy in over a month.

"Der, wait up!" She called after him as she ran towards him. "Maybe we should pick running back up. You seem happy. It'd help with your depression" she suggested as they ran through a small park. He smiled at her. "Yeah, I like that idea" he said as he somehow managed to kiss her as they ran.

They eventually made it back to the trailer as they both stopped outside breathlessly. "That was-" she gasped. "Such a high" Derek laughed before he came over and kissed her passionately. "Hmm-" Meredith moaned against his lips, her body igniting a flame she thought had burned out weeks ago. "Der" she gasped as he sucked on her neck before pulling away.

"Come on, we need to start getting ready" she laughed as they went inside. Whilst she showered, he searched through his closet for something to wear. After deciding of a basic black tux, he laid it on the bed and began to change. He frowned as he pulled on his shirt. He set himself the small task of buttoning up his shirt but the moment he tried to use that fine skill, his hand went numb before a burning tingle seared through his wrist. "Stupid fucking hand!" He shouted as he threw the shirt off and against the wall in anger.

Meredith carefully stepped out the bathroom and saw him sat on the bed, his face in his hand as he appeared to be crying. "Der..."Meredith sighed as she came over and sat next to him, wrapping an arm around him. She saw his shirt on the floor and sighed. She reached down and grabbed it. "Here." She said as she pulled his hand from his face and watched as a tear fell. "It okay" she whispered as she slipped on his shirt and began doing up the buttons. "These things are going to take time. You can't be too hard on yourself, Der" she said as she finally reached the top button before smoothing his collar down.

"I'm 33 years old and my girlfriend is having to tie my tie" he laughed sarcastically. "Your girlfriend is doing this because you physically can't because you were in a life-changing accident. It's completely okay" she rolled her eyes before tightening it up and kissing him. He sighed. "Thank you" he said before kissing her quickly.

She dried and curled her hair before doing a simple makeup look. "Let me just get my dress on and then we're ready to go" she said before she suddenly dropped her towel in front of him and reached to get her dress. He was completely mesmerised by her body in a way he'd never felt before.