Love gives hope

Chapter 29 "where to go?"

Derek's Point-of-View

I opened my eyes feeling like a new man. A vibrant man. An engaged man...

I reached out to embrace my beautiful fiancé when I was met with a cold empty side of the bed. I blinked a few times as a sinking feeling weighed down in my gut as I feared for a moment that perhaps I'd dreamed it all up. I sat up in bed and looked around the room as I called her name.

"Meredith?"

I saw a glow of light coming from under the bathroom door and my stomach eased. I threw my legs over the bed as a new fear settled in my chest, a much lighter fear as I figured she was dealing with morning sickness. A smile pulled at my lips. Yes, I was the sick bastard that was happy his fiancé was emptying her stomach and probably mentally cursing my name for being a part in why she felt so shitty. The thought that she was carrying something inside her that was a part of me sent me to the moon.

I reached the door and tapped my knuckles gently against it when I heard her voice on the other side in conversation. A moment later the door opened, and she looked up at me all aglow as she pulled her phone from her ear and hung it up.

"Hey." She breathed

"Morning." I mumbled as my heart fluttered in my chest, I leaned in and kissed her lips softly, I felt hers smile against mine.

"Morning." She giggled.

"Are you ok?" I asked after remembering my concern that brought me to the door. "Do you need me to get you anything?"

"No, I'm fine. Just calling in so the weekend is all ours."

"So, you're not in there hurling your guts out cursing my name?"

"No." she rolled her eyes, "I was letting you get some much-needed rest."

"You know what..." I let out a soft sigh and lifted her into my arms as I carried her to the bed and set her down gently. "This has got to change."

"What's got to change?"

"You taking care of me." I mumbled as I looked down on all her beauty "My cancer is gone; I've never felt better. You on the other hand are pregnant and you've got another 8 months to go so... do me a favor and put your brave face away and let me baby you a little."

"What if I don't want to be babied?" She frowned.

"Then, I will guilt trip you with my ''I survived cancer' talk." I grinned, she giggled as she rolled her eyes "So...how are you really feeling?"

"I feel like I have a parasite inside me that is slowly sucking the life out of me." She sighed honestly. I stared back at her incredulously as I tried to get that image out of my head "What...you said be honest."

"Yes, but I wasn't imagining you referring to our baby as a parasite."

Her lips suddenly cracked into a big beaming smile as tears sprung just as quickly from her eyes.

"What's wrong...I'm sorry I didn't mean.."

"No." she sniffled as she shook her head "It's not that it's....you said 'our baby'."

"I did." I frowned. "It is our baby."

"I know." She smiled again, "Hearing it for the first time..."

Then, a smile was spreading across my lips as I felt myself sharing the same emotion she was.

"Your hormones are going to be so fun." I teased. She scoffed and threw a pillow at me. "So, what are we going to do with this weekend off of yours?"

"Unless you changed your mind, I was thinking we'd get married?"

"Definitely no changing my mind." I mumbled as I kissed her, "I want us married as soon as possible...today even."

"Then, how do we do this?" she asked, "I don't do big weddings, or crowds at all for that matter."

"City Hall?" I asked. She cringed.

"Now that just screams shot gun wedding."

"Well," I shrugged "I did just knock you up."

I got another eye roll, "How about Vegas?"

As convenient as that sounded, I just couldn't imagine her walking down the aisle in the Church of Elvis...I looked into her beaming cheeks and soft green eyes that swallowed me in like a tropical sea and suddenly all I could picture was her and I walking up the beach hand in hand.

"How about Maui? You and me on the beach with an officiate, it'll be just the two of us and we can get married and honeymoon all in one."

Her eyes twinkled as she thought about it and a smile broke across her face as she leaned in and kissed me.

"I knew there was a reason I love you."

I pulled her into me and seared her lips to mine, I plunged my tongue into her hot mouth and felt my core heat up as I found myself needing every bit of her. She moaned as her arms wrapped around my neck and her fingers trailed into my hair, until finally she broke away and panted.

"As much as I want to keep this up...if you want us to be married by sunset we better go."

I weighed the pros and cons for a moment as I told my other head to relax. I let out a relenting sigh and took her hand.

"In that case we better go."