Everything, All at Once {a MerDer one shot}
Disclaimer: I don't own the show. Correatown owns the song used in the title. I own nothing. Meredith and Derek are just too perfect and adorable not to write about, especially after the newest episode. Something short as usual. Plus, the idea of Meredith and Cristina hanging out somewhere other than Joe's amused me, so that's in here, too. Anyway, enjoy!
Meredith feels the weight of the weight of the mattress sink down as Derek climbs into bed next to her. His arms wrap around her as soon as he lies down, and he spoons her against his body, kissing her shoulder.
Meredith smiles. "Are you trying to have sex with me?" she asks, inching herself closer to him out of habit and taking his hand after he rests it over her belly.
"Well, we're both still wearing pants, and I'm pretty sure we'd need to take those off for that, so no," he says playfully, in contrast to last night when, had Meredith not been within her ovulation window, there would have been no sex. "But we can if you want."
"I'll still be ovulating tomorrow. We can do it then. And we get off work at five, which means we can do it a few times when we get home, too," Meredith says.
"Okay." He hugs her closer to him and she sighs contentedly as his warmth permeates under the covers and makes her feel safe and loved like nothing else.
"You okay?" she asks.
Derek nods. "Hmm, yeah. Long day."
"Yeah." Meredith pauses as she tries to find her words. "I didn't mean to just go off on you like that today, you know. I never meant to tell you that at all, actually," she confesses. "That was the scariest day of my life, and if I could spare you from feeling what I felt, I wanted to. But I just..."
Derek cuts her off. "Don't apologize. I should be the one apologizing. I had no idea. You've been so strong through all of this that I never..." He swallows. "I'm sorry, Meredith."
Meredith shrugs. "Don't be. You're my husband. I know you'd do the same for me. Telling a shooter to shoot you to save your husband, or jumping into below freezing water to save your wife. It's all the same." She turns in his arms to face him, resting her head next to his on the pillow. "I love you."
"I love you, too." He leans in and kisses her, and his arm snakes around her waist to her back.
She splays her fingers over his cheek and kisses him again. "Sorry if you feel like a sperm factory lately."
"When have I ever protested having sex with you?" Derek laughs. "And don't worry, I don't feel that way. Team sport."
"Okay, good," Meredith says. She smiles. "You know, when we went out tonight, Cristina told me she actually had fun going fishing with you. She told me not to tell you, but I wanted you to know that."
Derek blinks. "Really?"
"Really."
"Good. She was a pain in the ass the whole time, but I'm glad," he nods in satisfaction.
"She told me she asked you to quiz her," Meredith says. "So... it really was all about fishing?"
"Well, I would've preferred a little less chatting and telling me to move the boat, but yeah. Fishing. And for a few minutes, when I could get her to shut up, silence."
"So, I guess I can't mock you for your woodsy fisherman wisdom anymore, huh?" she laughs.
He grins at her. "Does that mean you'll go fishing with me?"
"I guess if Cristina made it through six hours on a boat, I could do it. Plus, if we got bored, we could have sex."
"Excellent point."
"And I'll make sure we have a woodsy, nature-loving, outdoor kid that enjoys fishing," Meredith promises. "That way if I hate it, you can have a partner other than Cristina."
"That'd be good; thanks," he chuckles. "So, where did you guys go tonight?"
"Well, I'm not drinking because of "Project: Baby," so we went to the mall," Meredith says.
Derek smiles at her, amused by the thought of the two of them holding shopping bags and eating frozen yogurt at a food court, and not downing shots at the bar. "You went to the mall?"
"Cristina's idea. She made me eat a huge pretzel. And I bought a scarf, some lotion, and I got you more of that fancy shampoo you use because you were running low," Meredith tells him. "Mindless retail therapy, but whatever. It was fun."
"Good," he says, kissing her forehead. "And thanks for the shampoo."
"Oh, I got a book, too." She twists around in his arms and pulls it from her nightstand, then hands it to Derek as they sit up against the headboard.
Derek looks down at the pink and blue book in his hand. "Ovulation to Onesies: A Guidebook on Everything Pregnancy," he reads off the cover.
"Yeah. I flipped through it at the bookstore. It's chock full of information and tips on getting pregnant. There's even a whole section about sex positions," she divulges, knowing that would pique his interest.
He raises his eyebrows and flips through the book, browsing the pages. "Really?"
"I thought we could read it, maybe try a few. You know, for the sake of variety." Meredith smiles at him and bites her lip.
Baby making hadn't become a chore, but still. No reason they couldn't have oodles of porny fun, even if it was mostly confined to their bedroom because of the Grey-Shepherd bed and breakfast they were running these past few months.
"Hmm, variety is very important," he practically hums, dropping the book on his lap and kissing her.
She moans into his mouth and when they pull back, they're both a little breathless. "That spoony sex was fun last night," she says, resting her head on his shoulder.
"We actually took a break from fighting to have sex," Derek can't help but grin at the memory, unashamed.
"And when we were done, we picked up where we left off," she adds. "If that's not marriage, I don't know what is."
To love each other, even when we hate each other, etched in Derek's doctory chicken scrawl on the Post-It above their bed. This is forever.
Derek laughs, and the sound makes her insides all warm and fluttery. "Even when we fight, we have good sex."
Meredith drapes her hand over his torso and breathes him in. "I'm glad I still get to fight with you."
There was a day when she thought she might never get to do any of those things with him again. Fighting or sex or curling up with him in bed. And it makes her grateful to wake up beside him every morning. Brush her teeth next to him. Share a bagel. Battle for control of the radio on the way to work. Save lives. Anything and everything, from mundane to profound. None of it gets taken for granted.
She doesn't say this, though, because if there's anyone else who understands what she means and knows how she feels, it's her husband.
"Me, too," he says softly. "Also, baby making."
"Before I met you, I never wanted kids. Now, it's all I can think about," Meredith says.
"Me, too."
She presses a kiss to his chest. "Wanna do some reading?"
"Love to."
Meredith picks up the book from his lap and opens it up to the first chapter. "Tracking Your Cycle," she reads from the bold print at the top of the page. She looks over at Derek and scrunches her nose. "Yeah, I think I know how that works. How about we skip ahead?"
"Don't be embarrassed," Derek laughs.
"I'm not. That's just a total unsexy buzzkill," Meredith says, flipping to the section of the book with the sex positions. "Okay, this is better."
"You do realize this could potentially end in us having sex, right?" he asks.
Meredith smiles at him. "I'm willing to take that chance."
And all you really want is so clear
And all you really want is so near you
Well maybe what you want is right here
Well maybe what you want is right here
Meredith feels the weight of the weight of the mattress sink down as Derek climbs into bed next to her. His arms wrap around her as soon as he lies down, and he spoons her against his body, kissing her shoulder.
Meredith smiles. "Are you trying to have sex with me?" she asks, inching herself closer to him out of habit and taking his hand after he rests it over her belly.
"Well, we're both still wearing pants, and I'm pretty sure we'd need to take those off for that, so no," he says playfully, in contrast to last night when, had Meredith not been within her ovulation window, there would have been no sex. "But we can if you want."
"I'll still be ovulating tomorrow. We can do it then. And we get off work at five, which means we can do it a few times when we get home, too," Meredith says.
"Okay." He hugs her closer to him and she sighs contentedly as his warmth permeates under the covers and makes her feel safe and loved like nothing else.
"You okay?" she asks.
Derek nods. "Hmm, yeah. Long day."
"Yeah." Meredith pauses as she tries to find her words. "I didn't mean to just go off on you like that today, you know. I never meant to tell you that at all, actually," she confesses. "That was the scariest day of my life, and if I could spare you from feeling what I felt, I wanted to. But I just..."
Derek cuts her off. "Don't apologize. I should be the one apologizing. I had no idea. You've been so strong through all of this that I never..." He swallows. "I'm sorry, Meredith."
Meredith shrugs. "Don't be. You're my husband. I know you'd do the same for me. Telling a shooter to shoot you to save your husband, or jumping into below freezing water to save your wife. It's all the same." She turns in his arms to face him, resting her head next to his on the pillow. "I love you."
"I love you, too." He leans in and kisses her, and his arm snakes around her waist to her back.
She splays her fingers over his cheek and kisses him again. "Sorry if you feel like a sperm factory lately."
"When have I ever protested having sex with you?" Derek laughs. "And don't worry, I don't feel that way. Team sport."
"Okay, good," Meredith says. She smiles. "You know, when we went out tonight, Cristina told me she actually had fun going fishing with you. She told me not to tell you, but I wanted you to know that."
Derek blinks. "Really?"
"Really."
"Good. She was a pain in the ass the whole time, but I'm glad," he nods in satisfaction.
"She told me she asked you to quiz her," Meredith says. "So... it really was all about fishing?"
"Well, I would've preferred a little less chatting and telling me to move the boat, but yeah. Fishing. And for a few minutes, when I could get her to shut up, silence."
"So, I guess I can't mock you for your woodsy fisherman wisdom anymore, huh?" she laughs.
He grins at her. "Does that mean you'll go fishing with me?"
"I guess if Cristina made it through six hours on a boat, I could do it. Plus, if we got bored, we could have sex."
"Excellent point."
"And I'll make sure we have a woodsy, nature-loving, outdoor kid that enjoys fishing," Meredith promises. "That way if I hate it, you can have a partner other than Cristina."
"That'd be good; thanks," he chuckles. "So, where did you guys go tonight?"
"Well, I'm not drinking because of "Project: Baby," so we went to the mall," Meredith says.
Derek smiles at her, amused by the thought of the two of them holding shopping bags and eating frozen yogurt at a food court, and not downing shots at the bar. "You went to the mall?"
"Cristina's idea. She made me eat a huge pretzel. And I bought a scarf, some lotion, and I got you more of that fancy shampoo you use because you were running low," Meredith tells him. "Mindless retail therapy, but whatever. It was fun."
"Good," he says, kissing her forehead. "And thanks for the shampoo."
"Oh, I got a book, too." She twists around in his arms and pulls it from her nightstand, then hands it to Derek as they sit up against the headboard.
Derek looks down at the pink and blue book in his hand. "Ovulation to Onesies: A Guidebook on Everything Pregnancy," he reads off the cover.
"Yeah. I flipped through it at the bookstore. It's chock full of information and tips on getting pregnant. There's even a whole section about sex positions," she divulges, knowing that would pique his interest.
He raises his eyebrows and flips through the book, browsing the pages. "Really?"
"I thought we could read it, maybe try a few. You know, for the sake of variety." Meredith smiles at him and bites her lip.
Baby making hadn't become a chore, but still. No reason they couldn't have oodles of porny fun, even if it was mostly confined to their bedroom because of the Grey-Shepherd bed and breakfast they were running these past few months.
"Hmm, variety is very important," he practically hums, dropping the book on his lap and kissing her.
She moans into his mouth and when they pull back, they're both a little breathless. "That spoony sex was fun last night," she says, resting her head on his shoulder.
"We actually took a break from fighting to have sex," Derek can't help but grin at the memory, unashamed.
"And when we were done, we picked up where we left off," she adds. "If that's not marriage, I don't know what is."
To love each other, even when we hate each other, etched in Derek's doctory chicken scrawl on the Post-It above their bed. This is forever.
Derek laughs, and the sound makes her insides all warm and fluttery. "Even when we fight, we have good sex."
Meredith drapes her hand over his torso and breathes him in. "I'm glad I still get to fight with you."
There was a day when she thought she might never get to do any of those things with him again. Fighting or sex or curling up with him in bed. And it makes her grateful to wake up beside him every morning. Brush her teeth next to him. Share a bagel. Battle for control of the radio on the way to work. Save lives. Anything and everything, from mundane to profound. None of it gets taken for granted.
She doesn't say this, though, because if there's anyone else who understands what she means and knows how she feels, it's her husband.
"Me, too," he says softly. "Also, baby making."
"Before I met you, I never wanted kids. Now, it's all I can think about," Meredith says.
"Me, too."
She presses a kiss to his chest. "Wanna do some reading?"
"Love to."
Meredith picks up the book from his lap and opens it up to the first chapter. "Tracking Your Cycle," she reads from the bold print at the top of the page. She looks over at Derek and scrunches her nose. "Yeah, I think I know how that works. How about we skip ahead?"
"Don't be embarrassed," Derek laughs.
"I'm not. That's just a total unsexy buzzkill," Meredith says, flipping to the section of the book with the sex positions. "Okay, this is better."
"You do realize this could potentially end in us having sex, right?" he asks.
Meredith smiles at him. "I'm willing to take that chance."
And all you really want is so clear
And all you really want is so near you
Well maybe what you want is right here
Well maybe what you want is right here