Turned Upside Down - Grey's Anatomy

Chapter 18 - Bathroom

Opens box of shame. Drops chapter. Crawls back into box of shame.

Anyways: Enjoy! (P.S. If you're confused just reread from the beginning)

Chapter 18 – Bathroom

Derek cleaned his razor in the sink of the en-suite bathroom. He drained the water, making sure that his tiny beard hairs went down the drain. He wasn't quite awake yet. It was just before five in the morning. He placed his razor in the holder next to his shaving brush.

His shaving routine was traditional. He had fond memories of four-year-old Derek standing on a stool next to his dad every morning as he got ready for work. His dad would always put some of his shaving soap on little Derek's face so that he could pretend to get ready with him. His dad had never gotten the chance to teach him when the time had come but Derek had stuck to the routine he had seen so many times. Every morning when he saw himself in the mirror with the white foam beard he thought of him.

He turned on the shower and gave the water some time to heat up while he stripped out of his pajamas. He stepped into the hot water.

On workdays, he mentally ran through the day's schedule and surgeries as he went through his shower routine.

Meredith's face appeared between the shower curtain and the wall. "Morning," she smiled tiredly.

"Good morning," Derek leaned in and gave her a quick kiss.

"You're getting me all wet and soapy," she protested.

"That's kind of the point of a shower. You could join me," Derek replied with a suggestive grin.

"I don't want to shower right now," Meredith closed the curtain again.

"How long have you been up?" he asked as he rinsed out the conditioner.

"I don't know. Hour, hour and a half. I couldn't sleep," she closed the toilet lid and sat down, hugging her right knee into her chest and resting her chin on it.

"This seems to be a recurring theme," he commented before turning off the water.

"I wish it wasn't."

"Me too," Derek pulled back the curtain, grabbing the towel he had laid out earlier, and wrapped it around his waist, "I honestly assumed you were still asleep when my alarm went off. But then I caught my foot in a pair of jeans on my way to the bathroom, I ran into the dresser, stubbed my toe and when my loud cursing didn't wake you up, I got a little suspicious."

"I was wondering what that noise was," Meredith laughed.

"Hey! You could at least pretend to care," Derek grinned, stepping out onto the bath mat and grabbing another towel to dry his hair. "I could have seriously hurt myself."

"Well, did you?" Meredith asked.

"No, but our bedroom floor is a health hazard," he stated while applying deodorant.

"And who's responsible for that?" Meredith challenged with an amused expression, "Who threw all our clothes on the floor last night? If I remember correctly it's always your dirty laundry that never actually makes it into the hamper and instead stays on the floor until I give in and finish the job. Which is funny because you never have any trouble finishing."

"I have no idea what you are talking about," Derek feigned innocence as he applied aftershave to his cheeks.

"Oh, you know what I'm talking about."

"That's a bit rich coming from you, don't you think? How many dirty cups, glasses or tumblers would I find in random places if I went looking right now?" Derek ventured.