21. Valentine's Day Pt 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Grey's Anatomy. But if Shonda wants to use any of this fluff, she's more than welcome to do so. More MerDer fluff, I say.

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"What are you thinking about?", Meredith whispered, her head still resting against his chest as the ferry continued to make its way to downtown Seattle where they would be spending part of their day.

Derek snapped out of his trance and smiled at her. "Hmm? Oh, I was just wondering when to give you your next gift."

"Derek, I—"

"I know. You don't want anything", Derek smirked. "But that's just too bad."

Meredith smiled. "Is it?"

"It is." Derek tilted her chin up and kissed her softly. "So I was thinking we could go there for lunch", he pointed to nowhere in particular.

"Where?", she asked, confused by his vagueness.

Derek pointed toward the downtown area. "There."

"Don't make me call you an ass on Valentine's Day", Meredith warned, unable to hide the smile tugging on her lips.

"I don't want to ruin the surprise…"

"Fine. Don't tell me", Meredith shrugged. "But it better be worth the mocking."

"Trust me…" Derek kissed her again. "It will be."

After they got off the ferryboat, Derek waved a cab down and gave the driver directions, making sure Meredith couldn't hear the conversation, much to her chagrin.

However, any annoyance quickly disappeared when the cab pulled up to the destination several minutes later. "Der", Meredith gasped.

"Aren't you glad I didn't spoil the surprise for you?"

"Oh my God…", Meredith whispered in shock as Derek paid the cab driver before getting out of the car. He walked around and opened the door, taking her hand into his own.

"You planned this?", Meredith asked as she and Derek made their way to the elevator that would be taking them up to the Space Needle where they would be dining.

Derek laughed. "Of course I planned it."

"Seriously?", she asked, still in awe over his more than generous gift to her.

"Seriously", Derek chuckled. "I remember you saying that you'd never been here before so I decided it would be fun for us to come here for lunch."

"Thank you, Derek", Meredith whispered, standing up on her tiptoes to kiss him softly.

"They're also going to let us book one of the smaller private rooms for the rehearsal dinner", he grinned. At first, Meredith had wanted to have the reception at the Space Needle, but after seeing how beautiful Derek's land looked at sunset, she changed her mind, and wanted to have the wedding and the reception all in one place. So instead they opted to have the rehearsal dinner here.

"Really?", she asked as they boarded the elevator and made their way to the top. The buildings surrounding them looking smaller and smaller as they ascended.

Derek nodded. "Yep. They said we could take our pick. Any room we want is ours."

"How did you…?"

"I have ways", he replied simply, quirking his eyebrows.

Meredith smirked at him. "Ways, huh?"

"After we decided on July 12 a few weeks ago, I called to reserve a spot. I know I should have told you, but I wanted it to be a surprise", Derek said with an honest smile. "I've had this Valentine's Day lunch reserved since we got back together. The whole rehearsal dinner thing was just an added bonus."

"You had this planned for that long?"

"Yeah", he shrugged.

Meredith wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him softly. "I love you."

"I love you too", he whispered. Just then, the elevator doors opened, signaling their destination to the top of the Space Needle.

"Wow", Meredith gasped as they made their way toward the restaurant, all the while looking out across the Seattle skyline, which was spinning ever so slowly around them.

Derek chuckled and kissed her cheek. "You're so cute when you get excited."

"I'm just…this is…I've never been here before and it's…I'm glad I'm here with you", she said with a smile.

"I'm glad I'm here with you too." He gave her hand a gentle squeeze as they made their way to the hostess, who quickly seated them at a small table by the side with a breathtaking view of Seattle.

"I'm guessing this table wasn't just a coincidence", Meredith said with a knowing grin. Derek really went all out to make this day special for her, and she was grateful to him.

"Maybe, maybe not", he said casually, picking up the menu.

Meredith giggled. "That's what I thought…"

The two spent their lunch making conversation that always came easy to them. There were never any awkward silences or a loss for things to say. They talked about work, and the wedding, and caught up on each other's lives. This was their first day off in almost three weeks, and they had been exhausted when they got home. They were even too tired to have sex let alone talk. The day off was certainly appreciated.

"So I was talking to Lexie yesterday at lunch", Meredith began, biting into a piece of cheesecake she had ordered for dessert.

"Yeah?"

Meredith nodded. "Yeah. We got to talking and…we're babysitting Laura again."

"Oh…okay", Derek smiled. The last time they babysat Laura, Derek was genuinely surprised by how great Meredith was with the baby. She was so nervous that something would go wrong, but everything went perfectly fine. They actually had fun.

"Yeah, well, we get the four day weekend next month for spring break or whatever."

"Spring break?", Derek chuckled.

"Shut up. You know what I mean. For the conferences I guess" Meredith huffed.

"I know", he said with a laugh. "I just enjoy your terminology."

"Ass", she smirked. "Anyway, Lexie told me that Molly and Eric invited her along for a mini-vacation. They know that she's an intern and doesn't really get many vacations so they thought it would be nice for her to go. I think they're going to visit Thatcher too while Molly and Eric are in town. Anyway, so I volunteered us to babysit, but it'll only be for two days, so we still have two days to ourselves…", Meredith rambled.

"Oh, so this is like an overnight thing?"

"Yeah, I um…is that okay? They wanted to drop her off Wednesday night after we get off from work, and they'll pick her up Saturday morning-ish, so it's only two full days really. We'll still have two whole days to ourselves", Meredith explained. "Sorry I should have cleared it with you. I got excited and sort of volunteered us."

"You got excited?", Derek beamed. He loved that she cared for her niece. A year ago, the thought of babysitting for an hour would have freaked her out, and now she willingly volunteered them to babysit for two days.

Meredith shrugged, blushing slightly. "Yeah. It's just…she's a good baby and she's cute…and its good practice."

Derek swore his heart skipped a beat when she said that. He couldn't help but lean across the table and kiss her. "I love you", he said softly as they pulled back.

"What was that for?", she asked, a blush spreading across her cheeks.

"Because. I'm in love with you", he said simply.

"I love you too", she giggled, finishing off the last piece of cheesecake. "So you're really okay with it?"

"Absolutely", Derek said with a nod. "Can't wait."

Meredith smiled. "Okay."

"I'm just glad it isn't on the weekend we're going to Sonoma", Derek mentioned casually.

"Hmm?", Meredith asked with a confused expression.

"Oh, Sonoma? That's just another one of my gifts. Forty-eight uninterrupted hours", Derek said with a huge grin. "We never went, and I know how much you were looking forward to it…"

"I…seriously?"

"Yeah. We're going in April."

"Do you realize how much time we're taking off? They're going to fire me."

Derek shrugged. "I'm Richard's favorite attending. And I let him live on my land for a few months before he moved back with Adele. He owes me. And you're the most brilliant resident in the whole group. I think we can afford to take a weekend off. Besides, I already cleared it with the chief and bought the tickets."

"I'm not the best in the group. And you don't have as much pull as you think you do", Meredith smirked.

"You'd be surprised how much pull I have. And yes, you are the best, most brilliant surgeon I've ever seen. And the most beautiful and funny and—"

"Stop." Meredith rolled her eyes.

"My point is…this is my gift to you. We're going to wine country whether you like it or not", he said in mock seriousness.

"Thank you, Derek. It's…I know I joke around, but I really do appreciate it.", Meredith said with a genuine smile.. "But when they fire me, you're going to have to support our family with a single income."

"They're not going to fire you. You are a valued resident. Besides, if they fired you, who would I have quickies with in the linen closet? And the supply closet? And the on-call rooms?", he asked jokingly.

"That's true.", Meredith sighed, looking around to make sure people were out of ear-shot of their conversation. "Speaking of…we should have some shower sex tonight. The shower at the trailer is smaller, but I'm flexible, which I know you enjoy."

"Hmm…we haven't done the bendy thing in a while."

"And it's Valentine's Day…", Meredith added, smiling slightly.

"It is", Derek agreed, returning the grin.

"And then more sex in bed…"

"Lots of sex", Derek whispered. He tried to keep his voice down. Once the two of them got on the topic of sex, it usually ended with them actually having sex. But he figured that was probably not appropriate at the Space Needle. Although, it would be memorable.

After they were done with lunch, one of the employees showed them the rooms available for the rehearsal dinner. They settled on the Lake Union Room, the only one with a dance floor, which Derek insisted they needed to have so he and Meredith could dance, something he'd only do with her. The Lake Union Room also had a view of Queen Anne, downtown Seattle, and the Elliott Bay Marina, which had an amazing view of the ferryboats.

After spending an hour or so touring the Space Needle, something neither of them had ever seen before, they did some shopping in town, followed by a quick stop for coffee. They decided to take a walk in the park and take advantage of the sun.

"I love you", Meredith whispered as they walked along with their arms around each other's waists.

Derek kissed her temple. "I love you too."

"So do you like the room we picked?"

"I love it."

"Doesn't the maid of honor usually toast at the rehearsal dinner?", she asked.

"Yeah, I think so", Derek replied.

Meredith laughed. "I can't even imagine what Cristina and Izzie are going to come up with. It'll probably be mortifying."

"Just be grateful that they do that in front of a smaller group of people. Mark has to toast us at the reception…with the guests as his audience", Derek reminded her.

"Crap. You should probably get a copy of that beforehand to censor anything we don't want announced."

"He won't say anything bad about you. But me? I'm not so sure I trust him. He'll be bringing up embarrassing things from our childhood."

Meredith giggled. "I want to hear those stories."

"I don't", Derek laughed. "Knowing Mark, he'll bring up me losing my virginity or something."

"Mark knows that story? Even I don't know that story."

"Believe me…you don't want to hear it", Derek sighed, shaking his head.

"Aww, that bad?", Meredith asked, resting her head on his shoulder.

"Yep", Derek nodded. "That bad."

"Oh come on. Now you have to tell me", Meredith insisted.

"What about you? Are you going to share your story?", he asked with a chuckle.

Meredith shrugged. "My story is boring. Just some drunken mistake my sophomore year of college."

"Was this during your pink hair stage?"

"Nah. The pink hair was gone after high school. I'm pretty sure Dartmouth wouldn't have appreciated it", she giggled. "Anyway, I guess I'll just tell you so then you'll have to tell me yours. I was at a party and some drunk frat guy—Greg was his name—he came up and started talking to me. By this time, I had the bottle of tequila in my hand so my head was all cloudy and everything was kinda porny. Next thing I know, we're in my dorm room and, well, you know the rest…", she said with a sigh.

"You're right, that was kind of boring", Derek laughed.

"I told you." Meredith nudged him with her hip. "Your turn."

"Okay, uh, it was the summer before I started med school—"

"You were a virgin all through college?", she asked, a certain amount of surprise in her voice.

Derek nodded. "I wasn't into the whole drunken party sex thing in college…", he teased.

"Ass", she said with a smirk. "I bet no one wanted to sleep with you."

Derek looked at her in shock and laughed. "Okay, that was low."

"It was. I'm sorry", she giggled.

"I forgive you", he laughed before kissing her cheek. "Would you like me to continue? Or are you just going to keep making fun of me?"

"I'm listening."

"Okay. So I had been dating this girl for a while—Becky. It was the Fourth of July and her parents were having their annual party. We decided to sneak away to the gazebo when it got dark outside to uh…seal the deal…"

"Ooh, I like your story so far", Meredith giggled.

"Oh it gets better...I guess we'd been gone for a while, and her parents got worried so they decided to come looking for us. They recruited others to join in the search, armed with flashlights. Anyway, her parents eventually found us in the throes with Mark by their side. After her mom ran away crying, Mark announced it to the party. Needless to say, I wasn't welcomed back to any more Fourth of July parties…", he sighed.

"Oh Der", Meredith winced. "That's horrible…"

Derek laughed. "Now do you see why I wouldn't want Mark telling that story?"

"Do you really think he'd be able to work that into his toast?"

"I have no doubts", Derek said with a laugh.

"Maybe I'll let him take me lingerie shopping for the wedding night in exchange for keeping anything embarrassing to himself", Meredith joked.

"Oh so he told you about offering to take you shopping for Valentine's Day?", he asked amusedly.

"I still can't believe you declined that offer. Mark and I would have had so much fun at Victoria's Secret…picking out thongs and bras and lacey nightgowns. We could have even stopped off for that chocolate body paint and some glow in the dark condoms", she smirked.

"As sweet as that would have been, I already bought some of that stuff", he said with a grin.

Meredith smiled. "And I may have bought some lingerie…the kind you like…with the tie in the front…"

"Easy access", he whispered into her ear, lightly nipping on her earlobe.

"Mmm", she moaned.

"I think we've had enough porny talk in the park", he chuckled.

"How did we go from wedding toasts to easy access lingerie?", she asked with a giggle.

"It was probably your fault", Derek smirked.

Meredith laughed. "My fault?"

"That's okay. I love our porny conversations." He kissed the top of her head that still rested on his shoulder.

"At least it's Valentine's Day. We get to be a little porny today", she reasoned.

"Are you having a good day so far?", he asked, pulling her closer to him.

"Mhm", she murmured, just enjoying the feel of his warm body close to his. She hadn't really ever celebrated Valentine's Day before, but so far, it was exceeding her expectations.

"So I have another gift for you", he told her while reaching into his coat pocket.

Meredith lifted her head from his shoulder. "Here?"

"Yeah", he nodded, pulling the item from his pocket. "I don't want you to think this is in any way a replacement for him, but I got you this…", he said softly, handing her a dog collar.

"Wait, why?", she asked, looking up at him confusedly.

"I know we both loved Doc, and that we still miss him, but I was thinking that one day, we could get a dog", he said with a small smile. He really didn't want her to think this gift was meant to replace Doc. He just knew that she loved dogs, and that it could be nice for them to get another one in the future.

"Like, a family dog?", she asked, playing with the collar in between her fingers.

Derek's smile grew wider. "Yeah. A dog for our family."

"I'd love that", she whispered, leaning in to kiss him softly.

"I love you", he murmured against her lips.

After they broke the kiss, Meredith looked up at him with tears in her eyes and smiled. "I love you too."

"So you're really okay with it?"

"I am. I always wanted a dog when I was little, but my mom would never have gone for that. So ever since I was little, I swore to myself that by some slim chance I ever had kids, they'd have a dog", she admitted quietly. "Doc will always be my first baby though", she said with a soft smile.

"He was a good dog." Derek smiled and wrapped his arm around her shoulder.

"He was", Meredith whispered, her sadness melting away when she thought of how Doc had given them a reason to be together, even if it was just taking him for a walk in the morning before work.

"We'll get the best dog out there—one that's protective—and good with little kids…although we'll probably have to find a new vet…"

"Are you seriously bringing up my ex-whatever on Valentine's Day?"

"Is that tacky?", he laughed.

"A little", she smirked.

"I'm just saying…" Derek threw up his hands in defense. "We really can't go back there. That could be…"

"Awkward", Meredith stated with a definitive nod. "Very awkward."

"But then again…you could flash him the ring—make him jealous", he grinned.

"Is that how you see me? As a trophy?", she asked playfully, knowing he was only joking.

"Of course not." He shook his head. "But in any case…I won."

"I guess you did", she laughed, tilting her head up to kiss him.

"I love you, Mer", he smiled. "And we have time to find a vet. We still need to get a dog before worrying about any of that."

"And we can walk him on the land together", Meredith added.

"Speaking of that, I have another gift for you back there", he told her with a smile.

"Hmm…okay. Wanna head back?"

"Sure", Derek agreed.

After they took a cab back to the ferry dock to retrieve Derek's car, they drove back to their land where they would be spending Valentine's night.

There's still one more Valentine's Day chapter before I add some more drama to this fic. By the way, are people still interested in this story? I just want to make sure. :)

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