Under the Night Sky

Chapter 57

When Derek opened his eyes the following day, he was momentarily disoriented. It took him a moment to process what was going on with him and where he currently was. He blinked sleepily a couple of times, unsure whether he was still in the middle of one of his dreams or really in the house whose ownership he shared with Meredith, in the bedroom where he shared many nights with her.

The events of the previous day slowly unfolded in his consciousness, the flight to Vegas, the car journey to Rachel, seeing Meredith for the first time for months, being bombarded with tomatoes, being arrested... and finally being slapped by none other than Meredith. He could still feel her hand on his cheek, the sting going straight to his heart.

However, nothing that happened yesterday made him feel down. Quite the opposite actually, it might have been the effect of a good night's sleep but he was hopeful, and even optimistic. He didn't even bother to change the sheets last night, he went to sleep enveloped in her sweet scent. Maybe that semblance of closeness with her was what had worked wonders for his mood.

Derek was startled from his musings by muffled footsteps and hushed voices coming from the corridor.

"Let him sleep a little longer. I'm sure he's got a hell of a day ahead before him."

"Okay, let's go downstairs. Ma's making breakfast."

Even before Mia and Addison's voices died down, he jerked his head sideways to check the time. It was half past eight already, he overslept! He had half an hour before Meredith started seeing patients and it would be drastically hard to get ahold of her during work hours, he knew all the excuses well enough.

He was not deceiving himself, he knew that he'd be lucky to get a minute alone with, let alone actually get her to listen to him or change her mind. But he was patient. He wasn't sure what made him this patient, the love for Meredith or the clinical trial (and the latter undeniably resulted from the former) but he would not back down until he proved her wrong. And it wasn't just for the satisfaction of proving her wrong, he told his mother the truth last night. He didn't want to punish Meredith or make her feel bad because he was hurting too. He couldn't even bring himself to feel mad at her and he was grateful to Meredith precisely for that. He loved her too much, he had felt the pain she bore every day, he had seen it in her eyes. She had warned him he might get burned, she had warned him many times. He had been in too deep already, probably since day one.

Cutting a long story short, he wasn't seeking revenge. He was trying to move on from the point they were currently stuck in to the happily ever after he knew was well within their reach.

He decided he didn't exactly have time to shave, he hastily got dressed and practically ran down the steps.

"Morning," he threw at his family as he whizzed past the open door to the kitchen.

"Morning, sweetie," his mother called back. "I didn't know you were up. I've just made breakfast... or attempted to make it. There's barely any food, except Pedigree Pal."

"That doesn't surprise me," Derek chuckled as he balanced on one leg putting his shoe on. "Meredith is a terrible cook, she usually gets takeaway."

"You're not gonna sit down?" Mia asked as she swung on her chair to peek at him from the kitchen.

"Nope, sorry!"

"Geez, man, you're a sucker for punishment," Mark commented with pity.

"Nah, he's just in a hurry for the lice check-up," quipped Mia making everyone burst into a fit of giggles. "I'd say we'll all benefit from that."

Derek ran back to the kitchen and scowled at his sister while grabbing the car keys. "I will get back at you for that!"

"Is that a threat?" she snorted.