You work for me

•7•

They made their way down town and saw a huge Christmas carnival going on. There was a light show, baking stations, horse back riding. And even more. Meredith was beaming with joy.

Derek wasn't really fond of all the color but seeing Meredith happy made him smile. Meredith was all warmed up with her jacket and mitts, and her little beanie with a pompon sticking on it, just stopping before it feel over her eyes. Derek had on a black long coat and a black hat with a pair or finger mitts.

"Wow! Derek look at the little farm!" She grabbed his hand and ran over to the donkeys, sheep, horses and cows. They stepped inside the barn which was a bit warmer.

They looked around at all the animals, not even realizing they where still holding hands. "Hi sprinkles!" Meredith started petting a white horse with black spots.

"And buttercup!"
"And Wallace!"
"And honey!"

She was running to all the horse stalls and giving them pieces of carrots and pets. Derek just followed and watched her be so amazed by Christmas.

"Would the lovely couple like to go horse back riding?" A woman asked her and Derek.

"Oh we aren't-" Meredith cut him off and started jumping around. "Yes! We would love too!" Derek looked over, not sure what to say but went along with it.

Meredith was riding buttercup and Derek was riding Wallace. He was a brown horse and Meredith's was a tan color.

The riding instructor led them to a trail in the forest that was lined with fairy lights and a shovelled pathway.

"It's so beautiful out" Meredith was looking around in awe, Derek was looking at Meredith with a huge smiled plastered on his face. They continued walking the horses along the trails until they reached another stable. The horses where brought inside and they had to walk back to the fair grounds.

"That was really fun, but you didn't have to do this for me" she smiled as they started walking down the snowy path. "Well I kinda did... like I am said, I treated you horribly and you didn't and don't deserve that" he smiled as she moved a little closer to him.

"It's cold out" Derek rubbed his hands together and breathed into them. "Oh here! My dad taught me a trick when I was little" she grabbed his hands and held them inside hers. She brought them close to her mouth and started blowing on them. He smiled as he felt them get warmer.

"That's cool" he took them away and felt immediately warmer. She smiled and they continued walking down the path. "Mmm... I smell apple cider" Meredith closed her eyes and took in the scent.

"Apple cider? What's that?" She opened her eyes immediately and looked at him.

"You don't know what apple cider is?!" She grabbed his hand and they ran to the cider stand. "Hi, two cups please" Meredith asked the lady. They watched her take a big soup spoon and open a large pot full of cider, filling each cup up and handing it to them.

They walked outside and found a spot to sit down by some lights. "I can't believe you've never tried apple cider! Your like the grinch" she giggled. He looked up and smiled at her.

"I used to love Christmas... I used to love my family too. It's really hectic, I have 4 sisters and only two brother in laws because the others ones aren't married. I grew up with girls surrounding me. And I love them but when I moved here I hardly had any contact with them and it just ended up with me being alone all the time. And I got so busy that Christmas just became a hassle."

He smiled warmly at Meredith who was listening to him. "So you'd have a heart attack if you ever had a daughter" she giggled. He smiled and laughed. "Probably. But I don't think I'll have to worry about that" he sighed and looked down, holding his cup.