Officer Shepherd✔️

Home late

DEREK

after I finished work, I drove back to the hotel. I went inside and pulled my key out of my pocket. I unlocked the door, opened it and walked inside. it was already pretty late, almost three in the morning.

I close the door behind me and lock it. I throw my things on the foot of the bed and go into the bathroom. I take a shower and go back into the other room. Meredith is still in bed asleep.

I go to the closet and put on a pair of sweatpants. I get into bed and pull the covers over me.

****

I was asleep for a few minutes before I felt a kick in my lower back, hard. I roll over onto my side and see Meredith still asleep facing the other side. "Meredith, why are you kicking me?" I ask. she doesn't answer.

I sit up and lift her into my lap. she stays asleep. "Are you kicking in your sleep or are you mad at me for being home late?" I say. she shifts a bit and lays her head on my chest. "Okay," I say and try lying her down next to me. she kicks me again.

"Okay, what is your problem?" I say. "Next time just stay at work instead of waking me up," she moans before she moves herself out of my arms and lays down back in bed. "baby, I had to work late/ I'm sorry," I kiss her shoulder multiple times.

"No, go to sleep," she pushes me away. "Baby, I was going to come home earlier but something came up," I kiss down her shoulder blade through her shirt. "it's fine, we'll argue when I'm not too tired... Goodnight," she mumbles before she falls back asleep. I lay down next to her and pull her into my arms. I kiss the back of her head and fall asleep.

****

the next morning I wake up to the bright lights of the sun. I sit up and see Meredith opening the curtains. she's fully dressed and showered. "why are you up so early?" I say rubbing my eyes. "because I got home at the right time and went to bed early," she says.

"get up." I hear her say. "why?" I groan laying back down. "you have work," she says. "and you need to shower, you smell weird," she says. "what do you mean I smell weird?" I ask. "I don't know, you smell like 'psycho killer'" she says.

"what does that even mean?" I say. "it means whatever you want. get up and go shower," she says. "No, I want to talk," I say. she sighs and rolls her eyes. "I don't want to talk, just go to work, I have somewhere to be," she says.

"where do you have to be?" I ask. "I have a patient I want to see at the psych hospital, it's not too far from here," she says. "when did you go to the psych hospital?" I say. "yesterday when you were at work all day, there was nothing else to do," she shrugs.

"I'm sorry I wasn't home earlier, I tried but there was a lot more to do than I thought there was going to be... you speak Italian?" I say. in order for her to go to the psych hospital here, she would have to speak Italian.

"I studied a lot of languages in high school and Italian was one of them," she says. "either way, I'm smarter than you, next time you'll be coming home late, just call instead of doing nothing," she says.

"I'm sorry-" I try to say. "No, I don't care if you're sorry. call me and that's all you have to do that's all you have to do," she says. "Meredith-"

"No, because I wanted to leave during the night to go out but I couldn't because I was worried you were going to come home and I didn't want you to not know where I was!" she says. "Meredith, I was-" she starts pacing around the room.

"why is it you only think of yourself? you don't think if I'm going to be worried, you don't think about what I want to do. you only think about what you want, it's always about you," she rolls her eyes.

"Meredith I was-" I say. "No, you don't get to say, you get to be quiet she says. "Meredith, I'm trying to say something to you-" I try and say standing up.

"No, I don't want to hear you talk-" she stops when I slap her ass. "What the hell are you doing? That hurt," she says looking at me shocked.

"I'm getting you to shut up so I can do the talking, you talk too much," I sigh. "I know, that's why I don't tell you about my feelings and then you complain when you don't know what's wrong with me," she frowns, she walks back over to the bed and sits on the edge facing away from me, looking out the window.

"Meredith, I didn't mean it like that, I love hearing you talk, just don't love it when you keep cutting me off," I say. I walk over to her, placing my hand on her should rubbing up and down, standing next to her.

"I don't care anymore," she says quietly as she looks into her lap. "Meredith, it's alright, I'm not mad at you," I say, sitting down next to her and wrapping my arm around her shoulder.

"No, I'm sorry for overreacting," she says. I hear her voice crack as she speaks, she turns to look at the wall so I can't see her tears.

"Meredith-" I say. "No," she sobs. I didn't know she would be so upset. "It's okay," I say softly. I pull her closer to me and wrap my arms around her, holding her close.

She turns and presses her head into my chest, sobbing softly into my chest. One arm wrapped around her and the other hand cradling her head, I smooth my hand over her hair as she sobs quietly.

She calms down a bit and pulls away to lay her head on my shoulder. I kiss her forehead. "Feel better now that you've cried?" I whisper kissing her cheek gently.

"I feel tired," she whispers. "Do you want to go to sleep?" I ask. "No," she sniffles. "What do you want then?" I ask. She shrugs.

"We can do something later. Do you wanna cuddle? Would that make you feel better?" She nods.

I sit down against the headboard and lift her into my arms. I place her sideways on my lap. I wrap both my arms around her waist. I put one hand on the side of her head, kissing it before pressing it against my shoulder.

She cries quietly into the crease of my neck as I rub my hand up and down her arm soothingly. I grab my laptop from next to me and put on the Addams Family.

A few minutes later she stops crying. After we watch the Addams family for about an hour she ends up falling asleep.

I turn off the laptop and continue to hold her as she sleeps, listening to her soft snores. I turn my head a bit to kiss her nose making it scrunch a bit before she goes back to sleep.

I press my forehead against hers, closing my eyes and listening to her breathing as she sleeps.

I want to hold her as she sleeps for the rest of my life. I can't let something this good go, not after everything that's happened, she's my one chance at love, if I lose her, I'm never going to find this in anyone else. She's it for me. And hopefully, one day, she'll have my children and I can hold her and our children in my arms.

One day.

I was reading ugly love but I only read three chapters in almost a week. I just couldn't get into it, so I Dnfed it and started 'unravel me' and I read one hundred pages in one sitting...