Falling in Love with You | A Merder Story

Their First Holiday

Meredith and Derek have gone on a few dates since their first one. They hang around each other at school all the time, they hang out all the time after school. She goes to his practices, she goes to his games.. she is his number one fan. 

"So, are you going to the game with me tonight?" Meredith asked Alex while she was driving back to her house from school, dropping Alex off first at his house.

"Whatever, sure," Alex responded. 

"I'll pick you up," Meredith said as she pulled into his driveway.

"Can't wait," He said sarcastically. 

Meredith received a text from Derek about an hour before the game started.

It read: "If you're still coming tonight, meet me on the sidelines before the game ends. We'll have a lot to celebrate tonight." 

Meredith responded. 

"I'll be there," 

A little less than an hour later, Meredith picked up Alex and headed to the high school to go to the game. 

Meredith didn't really understand why high school football was so hyped, she loved pro football but never understood why high school football was so popular, but she was more than happy to go cheer on Derek. 

"Will you calm down?" Alex asked Meredith during the third quarter of the game. 

"You know, I read an article that talked about sports injuries and how often concussions go untreated, especially concussions that quarterbacks get. What if Derek gets hit, hard, and hits his head, and it goes untreated and then someday he just dies from a traumatic brain injury that we could've treated," Meredith said. 

"Relax, he's not dumb, he knows how to play football right," Alex said. 

The fourth quarter came and Meredith headed down to the sidelines. 

The score of the game was 21-20, all Derek needed to do was score a touchdown to win the game. Fourth down, four yards, four seconds left on the clock. 

"Touchdown.. Shepherd..?" The sports commentator said from the box. 

"He ran it in?" Alex asked Meredith. 

"He ran it in," Meredith said as she saw Derek running towards her. 

He ran over to Meredith with a smile on his face the whole time, and a smile on hers too. He took his helmet off and hugged Meredith. 

"I love you," Derek whispered in her ear while he was hugging her. 

She didn't respond. 

The next day, Valentine's Day, Mark and Derek were out looking for something to get for Meredith. 

"I told her that I love her," Derek said.

"When the hell did you do that?" Mark asked. 

"Last night after the game," Derek said. 

"Did she say anything back?" Mark asked. 

"No," Derek said. "She has abandonment issues and I hate to say it, but I don't think anyone has ever really said that to her, and meant it, so I'm just taking it as it goes." 

"She's probably just freaked," Mark said. 

"Probably," Derek said.

"He told me he loved me," Meredith said to Alex while they were out trying to find a gift for Derek.

"What's the big deal?" Alex asked.

"Nobody's ever said that to me," Meredith said. "Like yeah, my mom said it but she never really meant it."