37. Need for Privacy

Disclaimer: Grey's Anatomy does not belong to me.

Sorry for the wait. My laptop wasn't cooperating. Thanks for the reviews! Enjoy. :)

After Meredith went to the dress shop to pick up her wedding dress, she quickly drove back to her house and placed it in Izzie's closet, where she knew Derek wouldn't see it. Then she left the house again, stopped off for some coffee for herself and Derek, and made her way out to the new house, where the appliances were being delivered. This was their first day off in almost three weeks, and though they were hoping to sleep in, that just wasn't happening today.

Meredith parked her jeep by the trailer and ran out to the house holding her bag and two cups of coffee. "Hey", she greeted, kissing Derek's cheek.

Derek smiled and accepted the coffee. "How are you?"

"Good", Meredith yawned. "I just picked up my dress. And then I got coffee because I know we're both exhausted and could use some caffeine."

"Good thinking", Derek laughed as he took a sip.

"Are they going to be here soon?", Meredith asked curiously.

Derek nodded. "Yeah, they just called. They're going to be here any minute."

"How long is this going to take?", she questioned.

"It shouldn't take that long. They just have to install things in the kitchen, and some of the faucets. No more than two hours", he shrugged.

"Okay", she yawned.

"Tired?", he asked with a chuckle.

"Very", she groaned, running her fingers through her hair. "I need to do some grocery shopping today too."

"We could do that after this", he suggested.

Meredith giggled. "You've never been grocery shopping with me…"

"Well, do you have a list?"

"List? No. I just go in and toss things in the cart that I need", she shrugged.

"Hmm…good method", he said with a smirk.

"It is", she agreed, standing on her tiptoes and kissing him.

"We haven't had sex in a week, you know…", he reminded her.

Meredith took a sip of her coffee. "That's weird."

"Very weird…", he agreed.

"Sleep has been trumping sex lately", she pointed out.

"That's because we haven't had a day off in a long time", Derek laughed.

"And the one day we get one, we have to come out here to watch people install things", she said, rolling her eyes.

"I'm hoping it doesn't take that long", he sighed, running a hand through his hair.

"Here comes the truck", Meredith yawned.

The delivery truck pulled into the recently paved driveway and the men opened up the back hatch before greeting both Meredith and Derek. After everything was unloaded, the two led them into the house and into the kitchen, where they would be installing the refrigerator, dishwasher, and oven.

Meredith looked at all of the new appliances and looked to Derek. "Are we supposed to stand here while they do this?", she asked quietly.

Derek shook his head. "We can walk around the house if you wanted…", he suggested.

"Okay", Meredith smiled. After the men began installing the appliances, Meredith and Derek left the kitchen and went outback on the patio.

"I like it out here", Derek said happily, wrapping his arm around her waist.

Meredith rested her head on his shoulder and looked at the city below them that seemed to go on forever. "Me too", she said softly. The two remained in silence for a few moments before Meredith spoke again. "So what are we doing about the trailer?"

"I guess we really don't need it anymore", he reasoned.

"Well, maybe we can keep it there until after the wedding. We should probably have a bathroom nearby.", she pointed out.

Derek kissed the top of her head, inhaling her soft scent. "Sounds good."

"Only five weeks now", Meredith said with a small smile.

"Can't wait", he grinned.

"When are we moving in here?", she asked softly.

"Whenever we want to. Of course, we should probably get some furniture…", he mused.

Meredith looked at him and giggled. "I guess it would be nice to have a bed, maybe a couch."

"I think so, too", he said amusedly. "We can start ordering furniture and stuff now I guess. We could just hold off on having it delivered until after the wedding. Unless you wanted to do it now."

"I want to sleep here on our wedding night", Meredith told him with a smile. "So maybe we can just do our bedroom."

"Sounds good to me. Although there will be no sleeping going on that night", he smirked.

Meredith rolled her eyes. "Fine. I want to have wild, married sex here on our wedding night", she said amusedly.

"That sounds better", he chuckled as she yawned again. "I think you've yawned fifty times in the past ten minutes", he pointed out with a laugh.

"It's all your fault", she retorted. "You were on-call last night, and apparently I can't get a good night's sleep unless you're next to me."

"If it makes you feel better, I couldn't fall asleep either", he chuckled.

Meredith smiled. "Is that pathetic?"

"Probably", he replied jokingly. "But it's the truth."

Another hour passed before the men finished installing the appliances. By now, Meredith and Derek had migrated back into the house. It was surprisingly warm outside, and the sun was getting to them. They opted instead to sit on the living room floor, not having any other option due to lack of furniture. Meredith even dozed off for a bit as she lay on the carpet, her head resting on Derek's thigh.

When the men announced that they were done installing everything, Derek woke Meredith up, though she swore she wasn't asleep, just resting her eyes. After making sure that everything had been installed just as they wanted it, Meredith and Derek locked up their house and left.

They made a quick stop at Meredith's house to drop off her car before driving to the food store. "You're going to regret going with me…", Meredith pointed out with a smirk.

Derek looked over at her briefly. "Why is that?"

"Because. After you see what a bad shopper I am, you're never going to want to go back with me. That and I'm hungry. It's never good to go grocery shopping on an empty stomach", she replied as she turned the air on in Derek's car.

"Why didn't you eat anything?", he questioned.

"I wasn't hungry then", she shrugged. "And why is it so hot today?"

"It's only the beginning of June. If it's warm today, imagine how hot it's going to be in July for the wedding…"

Meredith giggled. "It'll give you more of a reason to get me out of the dress quicker."

"True", he said with a laugh as they pulled into the parking lot of the grocery store. "Maybe we can sneak away during the reception for a quickie."

"Hmm...maybe", she mused, leaning over the consol to kiss him.

After exiting the car and walking to the entrance, Derek got a cart and they walked inside. "So...do you at least have an idea of the things you need?"

"Izzie always makes a list. I guess I'm more of a spontaneous shopper", she giggled.

"Mmhmm", Derek chuckled as they walked by the produce section. "Fruit?", he asked.

"Do you want fruit?", she asked back.

"Everybody needs fruit in their house", Derek said with a smile. He walked over and bagged some apples and grapes.

"You would think that", she mocked as he put them in the cart. "We need snack foods…"

"Okay", Derek laughed as they walked down one of the aisles.

"Cookies", Meredith said as she walked over the selection and reached for a bag of Oreos along with a bag of oatmeal raisin. "These are your favorite, right?"

Derek smiled. "They are."

"Chips…Alex and Izzie like barbecue", Meredith said as she scanned the shelf.

"Right here", he replied. He got them off the shelf and tossed them into the cart. "What kind do you like?"

"Barbecue is fine with me", she yawned. "We need cereal."

"Okay", he smiled as they walked down the next aisle. "Muesli for me. And the sugary kids stuff for you…", he teased.

"Lucky Charms is pretty damn good. You just don't give it a chance", she giggled, putting the box into the cart.

"Am I missing out?", he asked amusedly.

"Yep. You are", Meredith nodded as she thought of what else they needed. "Okay, tissues and napkins. Cheese, ketchup, bread, ice cream. Izzie needs flour and frosting. Oh, we need dish soap too. And I think we need milk", she responded.

"We do", he agreed. "And coffee."

"Crap, I forgot all about that…"

"I guess it's a good thing I'm here", Derek gloated.

"Guess so", she giggled.

After retrieving those items, Meredith stood in the aisle and tried to remember what else they needed. She twisted the ends of her hair and stared into the cart contemplatively. "See, this is why you should make a list…", Derek chuckled, crossing his arms.

"I don't need one. Just give me a minute", she retorted. "Ooh, toothpaste. And Izzie wants this brand of spaghetti sauce", she said, reaching into her pocket for the post-it note she had given her.

"I'll get this if you wanted to go get the toothpaste…", Derek suggested.

"Okay", Meredith nodded, yawning again. They got the items and met back at the cart, trying to remember the last of the items they needed.

"Oh, we need tampons…you don't have to go with me to get those if you don't want to. Apparently, guys find that traumatizing", she remarked, thinking back to how difficult it was to get George to buy them.

"I'm going to be your husband in five weeks. Buying your tampons is practically a husbandly duty", he laughed as they walked toward the aisle.

"Aw, thank you", she smiled. "You know I'm going to hold you to that…"

Derek kissed her cheek. "I want you to."

After Meredith picked out the box of tampons, she looked to Derek. "Do you need anything? Hair gel? Mousse?"

"You're funny", Derek smirked. "Mocking me after I so nicely came down the feminine product aisle with you…"

"You're right. Sorry", she giggled apologetically. "But you do need shampoo. The bottle is almost empty."

Derek smiled, surprised that she picked up on that subconsciously. "Yep. I do."

"And I need conditioner", she said as they reached the aisle. She quickly grabbed her usual bottle of lavender conditioner off the shelf and placed it into the cart.

"You can never change conditioners", Derek chuckled, putting his own shampoo in with the collection of accumulated groceries. "I don't think I could live without that scent."

"I promise you I won't", she giggled. "What else do we need?"

"Uh…earplugs", Derek remembered.

Meredith blushed slightly before laughing. "Okay."

"What?"

"Nothing, it's just…last week at work, Izzie said she needed a pair too", Meredith informed him as they went down the adjacent aisle for the earplugs.

"Why…? Oh, because of…", he said with a nod. "Yeah, that's embarrassing."

"She said hearing her friend and boss going at it was slightly disturbing", she giggled.

"It's a good thing we're moving out soon…", Derek chuckled as he grabbed two packs of earplugs off the rack and dropped them into the cart.

"Yep. I guess it is", Meredith smiled. "So do we have everything?"

"You tell me. Is everything scratched off your mental list?", he asked with a smirk.

Meredith swatted his arm playfully. "Shut up", she giggled, rolling her eyes. "Yeah, I think we're done."

"Okay", Derek smiled. They walked to one of the checkout lines and set the items on the conveyor belt. As Meredith pulled money out of her tote bag, Derek stopped her. "I got it."

"It's okay. Alex, Izzie and I always split it three ways", Meredith shrugged.

"I got stuff too. Just let me pay for our share at least", he said with a smile, pulling out his wallet.

Meredith thought of arguing with him, but noticed the annoyed look on the cashier's face, and decided against it. "Okay", she nodded, tossing her own wallet back in her bag.

After they bagged the groceries and packed them in the car, Derek buckled his seatbelt and looked at her. "Are you mad at me?", he asked with a small smile.

"What? No", Meredith assured him, shaking her head. "Why would I be?"

Derek shrugged. "No reason. So, I was thinking…maybe we should get a joint checking account—I mean, if you wanted to."

"Yeah?", Meredith asked softly.

They stopped at a red light and Derek looked over at her. "Well, it would keep us from arguing in the checkout line", he said with a laugh. "I just think it makes sense for us."

"I don't make nearly as much as you do though", Meredith pointed out.

Derek shrugged. "It's not about that. It'll just be easier for us, that's all. With bills and just everyday things once we get married, start a family…and God forbid something happens to one of us, everything goes straight to the other person."

"Yeah, okay", Meredith nodded.

"Yeah?", he asked.

"Yeah. I think we should", Meredith said confidently. "It's a good idea."

"Okay", Derek smiled, reaching over the console and taking her hand.

With her free hand, Meredith turned the air on in the car. "I swear, if it's this hot on our wedding day, we're getting married in the house", she joked.

"And then we can show the guests outside, while you and I have a pre-reception party in our bedroom…", he grinned.

Meredith rolled her eyes. "We'll see", she said with a laugh, wondering to herself how much she even believed it. Surely, if they were clever enough, they could find some means of sneaking away unnoticed.

Derek looked over at her and smirked. "You say that now…"

--

Later on that day, Derek unexpectedly had to go back into work for an hour or so to check on one of his more critical post-op patients. When he arrived back at the house, he noticed Meredith was walking barefoot around the kitchen in a pair of boy-cut panties and a tight camisole tank top that clung to her body. He watched as she got the ice cream out of the freezer and shoved her spoon in the carton.

Derek chuckled and walked into the kitchen. "Hey."

"Hey", she said with a smile, walking over to kiss his cheek. "I turned the air on…"

"I was hoping you would", he laughed. "I like the outfit."

Meredith bit her lip and looked down at herself. "I was hot", she shrugged, spooning some of the strawberry ice cream into her mouth.

"You look adorable", he said with a grin. He pulled her close and kissed her. "And you should definitely wear this more often…"

"I'll keep that in mind", she giggled. "Want some ice cream?"

"Sure", he replied.

Meredith put a spoonful into his mouth before kissing him again. "Good?"

"Hmm...", Derek smiled. "You're making it tough for me not to take advantage of you right here in the kitchen, you know."

"You can take advantage of me later on. But first, we have to figure something out. Tonight, the caterer called to make sure all of the menu orders were right, which got me thinking about the guests. And then I remembered that Addison and your mom are flying out here and need a place to stay, which is something we never even talked about.", Meredith rambled.

"Addie and my mom can stay here. Izzie and Alex could share. Addison can take Izzie's room, and my mom can take our room."

"Yeah?"

Derek shrugged. "Yeah. Addie and my mom can do some catching up."

"Your ex-wife and your mother having a girls' night…in my house…never thought I'd see that day", she giggled.

"They'll be fine. Izzie is a good hostess", Derek said with nod.

"It'll probably be her house one day anyway. She wants to buy it off me—not right now, but eventually", Meredith explained.

"That's good. You get to keep it in the family. Well, pseudo-family", he chuckled.

"It's better that way. I know she'll take care of it. I wouldn't sell it to just anyone", Meredith said, taking another spoonful of ice cream.

"I like this house", Derek said with a smile. "I think I'd miss it if you gave it up."

"Me too", Meredith replied. "So you'll call your mom and Addison to tell them the plan?"

"Yeah, I'll call them", he nodded.

"Good. So how was work? Is your patient okay?"

"She's fine. I thought I might have to go back in and operate, but she stabilized", Derek said as he picked her up and sat her on the counter. "What did you do tonight?"

Meredith set her ice cream down next to her and smiled. "Are you trying to take advantage of me?"

"Hmm…maybe…", he whispered. He rubbed her bare thighs with his hands and kissed her.

"Well, first I turned the air on because I was hot…then I got a shower…and then I put this on because I knew you would like it…", she explained half-heartedly.

"I do like it", he said, kissing her jaw line before moving to her neck. "But I think I'd like it off even more…"

"Yeah?", she asked, closing her eyes and tilting her head back.

Derek ran his fingers through her hair. "Mmhmm…"

"Here?", she asked. She didn't wait for an answer as she began working at the buttons of his jeans.

"In the kitchen?", he questioned, pulling back slightly to make sure he understood what she was suggesting.

Meredith shrugged. "It's been a week. Why not?"

"I like how you think", Derek chuckled. He assisted her in removing his jeans, and within seconds, they were on the floor, followed by his boxers.

Derek hooked his fingers in the sides of her panties and Meredith lifted up slightly so he could take them off. Meredith parted her legs and wrapped them loosely around his waist, gasping when he slowly pushed himself inside of her. "Oh Derek…", she moaned in pleasure, gripping the edge of the countertop with her hands.

"Mer", he whispered, overwhelmed at the feel of her. "God, I love you", he moaned.

Meredith leaned in and kissed him, whimpering slightly into his mouth as he pulled out almost completely. She moaned loudly as he thrust back into her, her mind dizzy with the great physical pleasure and love they were sharing.

Just as she starting clenching her muscles around him, something that drove him completely crazy, they heard the front door open, followed by the sound of voices. Meredith looked to Derek and froze in place. "Oh God", she whispered. "Derek."

"Damnit", he cursed. He regretfully eased himself from her and helped her pull her panties back up. She remained sitting on the counter, still slightly flustered from being interrupted in the heat of the moment. Derek pulled up his pants over his still throbbing erection and faced away from her, attempting to calm himself down.

Alex and Izzie walked into the kitchen and saw the two of them panting slightly, obviously up to something. Izzie immediately figured out what must have been going on and gasped. "You two were having sex in here!", she said knowingly.

"What? I—no", Meredith said, shaking her head quickly.

"Oh you so were", Izzie argued.

"Dude, sorry", Alex said awkwardly, noticing Derek still facing away from them.

"We, uh, we'll just come back", Izzie replied, almost amusedly. She and Alex walked out of the kitchen, leaving Meredith and Derek alone once again.

"Oh God", Meredith groaned. "Well if that isn't mortifying, I don't know what is."

Derek sighed, running his fingers through his hair. "Yeah."

"I'm glad I kept my shirt on", Meredith replied, looking down at her body.

"I really hate your roommates sometimes", he said jokingly. He really couldn't be annoyed or angry at them. It was their house too, and they just happened to get caught having sex in the kitchen.

"Five weeks until no more roommates", Meredith reminded him as she hopped off the counter. Derek steadied her as she lost her balance slightly, still trying to come down from her sex haze. "Five weeks until no more coitus interruptus…"

"Looks like we're not meant to have sex any time soon", he grumbled.

Meredith bit her lip, looking at the still present bulge in his pants. "We're having sex. Upstairs. Now", she demanded, taking his hand. "I'm still horny."

"Okay…", Derek replied, letting her pull him out of the kitchen.

"Alex! Iz!", Meredith called as they walked up the steps. "Derek and I are about to have sex! And there's a good chance it's going to be loud! Just thought I'd let you know!"

Derek looked at her and laughed. "Feisty. I like it", he grinned, as they reached the landing.

Meredith pulled her shirt off and looked at him. "Bedroom."

"Bedroom", Derek echoed, walking backwards as she planted a firm kiss on his lips.

When they pushed the door open and walked inside, Meredith fell back onto the bed and pulled her panties off. "You better be naked and inside of me in ten seconds", she panted, dropping her head back onto the pillows.

Derek smiled at her before following her orders. Within moments, they were picking up where they left off in the kitchen. Once they moved into their own house, they could have sex anywhere they wanted without any interruptions. They would finally have privacy. Something they both desperately wanted.

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