Reaching Forward

7

The faint glimmer of sunlight entered through the small crack of the curtains. Derek Shepherd had been awake long before the sun rise. He figured it to be at least 10 o'clock. Meredith, on the other hand, was still sound asleep. The previous night's events and the mere fact that she was in the early stages of pregnancy had taken a toll on her mind and body. But, Derek had barely been able to sleep; he couldn't help but think about all that had happened. He was going to be a father and he couldn't help but smile. The entire night he had his hand softly resting on Meredith's still flattened stomach. Sometimes, he would lightly rub where his child grew.

A small mumble came from Meredith as she began to stir awake. Placing a hand through her tangled hair, she had to realize where she was for a second. Turning over, she looked into Derek's eyes and whispered, "Hi."

He grinned at her, "Hi. Did you sleep well?"

Rubbing her eyes and yawning, she responded, "A little bit better than I have been. I've just been so tired lately."

He reached over and began to rub her back, "I'm sorry."

Sighing, she smiled weakly, "It's alright. I guess I should get used to it because in less than a year's time we'll have an infant keeping us up all night."

He could hear the nervousness in her voice. Not knowing what to say, he decided to change the subject, "Do you feel up to breakfast?"

She groaned, "I don't know. I'll probably just throw it up."

"When was the last time you ate?" He questioned, slightly concerned.

"I had a few Saltines last night and before that..." She hung her head down, "I don't really remember. Every time I smell food, I just want to throw up."

Getting up, he walked in front of the bed, "You should at least try to eat a little something. How about some toast?"

Shrugging, she answered, "I guess. But, I'll be surprised if I manage to keep it down."

Walking the few feet to the kitchen, Derek began to search for the bread. Meanwhile, Meredith was left alone in the bedroom. Staring at the ceiling, she began to contemplate the things that were going on. She knew that there would be major implications when she slept with Derek. For instance, the situation between her and Finn would become even more complicated than it was. Finn. She grimaced when she thought about him. With finding out she was pregnant and then deciding to keep the baby with Derek, she hadn't let him know where she was or what was going on.

Slowly getting out of bed, she started walking toward the kitchen where her bag was. Finn had probably left her several messages on her cell phone. As she continued on, a wave of vertigo hit her. Derek, who had been watching her since she got out of bed, rushed forward and quickly caught her before she fell. Leading her over to one of the two kitchen chairs, he worriedly began to question her, "Are you alright? What happened?"

"Yeah, I'm ok. It was just like all the energy left my body for a moment." She tried to reassure him.

At this time, the toast decided to pop up from the toaster. Turning around, Derek placed it on a plate and set it down in front of her before taking a seat on the other side of the small kitchen table. Meredith began to nibble on her toast when Derek began to question her further, "Why'd you get up? I would have brought it to you in bed."

Swallowing the little bit she had attempted to eat, she sighed, "I was coming to get my cell phone to check my messages." She began to look at her toast as if it was the most interesting thing in the world, "Finn's probably been worried about me. I haven't talked to him since I found out I was pregnant."