Work Text:
I gotta go over that case again, Mr Piller...and change the medication in the file so that the nurses can handle that..and then...I’m done!, she thinks with a slight smile, happy she might be able to get home on time today so she can spend some time with her kids.
She rounds the corner to one of the surgical wards and almost runs over Maggie.
“Andrew!” the other woman calls after a fast retreating figure, their lab coat billowing dramatically behind them.
The figure doesn’t stop to see what the dark-haired woman wants.
Meredith comes to a stop next to her, confusion written on her features as she first glances at Andrew and then at Maggie.
Her sister sighs and Meredith cocks her head to the side slightly. “What happened?”
“We lost a kid today.” Maggie turns her head upwards to the ceiling, before turning back to the room they were now standing in front of. Through the windows, Meredith can see a weeping couple, holding onto each other for dear life.
“Are those the parents?” Something inside of Meredith constricts at the sight and she hears Maggie exhale deeply.
“Yeah…Andrew was just standing there for the longest time, staring at them. It’s like he couldn’t move until I basically tried to push him out.” She sighs once more and turns her back to the room, walking to the nurse’s station. “We were operating for over six hours on the kid but he just didn’t make it. God, he was so young.” Maggie leans against the counter and lets her head rest in her palms.
“I’m sorry.” Meredith sees Maggie nod and rests a hand on her back for a moment, her eyes sweeping over the path Andrew had taken to leave. It doesn’t sit right with her that he just left like that. Not after what Maggie had just told her.
“You should look for him. This one hit him pretty hard.” The words are just above a whisper and Meredith is torn between staying with her sister and looking for Andrew. “Hey, it’s okay. I’ll be fine, Jackson’s waiting down in the lobby for me. Just go.” Her sister urges her and nods in the direction of where they’d seen the resident last.
“Call me if you need anything, alright?”
Maggie just nods at her and she leaves without another word, taking the same path Andrew had a couple of minutes ago. She barely knew where to start looking.
After checking the resident's lounge, cafeteria, the tunnels and everywhere else she could think of, she still hasn’t found Andrew. It’s like he has been swallowed by the ground. She even checks to see if he’s left, but his clothes and motorcycle are still there. And he wouldn’t have left in his scrubs.
Meredith runs a hand over her face, exhausted by the day she’s had, but the worry she’s feeling for Andrew leaves her stomach in tight knots. She sits down on one of the gurneys in the tunnel, tries to recall where she’s seen him spend his “free time” in the hospital but comes up with nothing.
She’s even tried calling and texting, but he won’t pick up.
Another sigh escapes her lips and she closes her eyes for a moment, thinking of the moments she has spent time with him and tries to figure out where he might go, when a thought suddenly comes to her mind.
She smiles and stands back up, making her way over to the elevators.
It takes her almost five minutes to get where she wants to go but as soon as the doors open, she feels cold wind sweep over her arms and she shivers, regrets that she didn’t think to bring a jacket with her.
Meredith looks over the space and spots his figure leaning against one of the walls, head bowed, shoulders hanging and breathing laboured. She takes a moment to just look at him, feels his frustration in the way his hands ball into fists before letting go and repeating the motion. She can’t see his face, as his back is to her.
Her stomach drops a little and she slowly walks closer, trying not to startle him as he seems deep in thought.
When she’s close enough, one of her hands finds its way onto his shoulder, applying slight pressure to try and ground him back to reality. He jumps at the touch and she would’ve smiled at it if it wasn’t for the tears glistening in his dark orbs as he looks up at her. Her heart breaks a little at the sight and she comes to stand a little closer to him.
Losing a patient, a kid no less, is the worst part of the job and she hates it with a passion. But she’s worked long enough as a doctor to have realised by now, that even when you do your very best in an OR, it’s still not good enough at times. Sometimes it’s just too late. But with kids, it’s always just a thousand times worse.
She holds his gaze, keeps her hand where it is for a moment longer, before letting go slowly and resting against the wall beside him, her upper body angled towards his slightly. She breaks eye contact, instead looks at the ground and the city lights shining in front of them. Feels the knots in her stomach tighten at seeing the way his face just crumbled a little bit more. It hurts.
She entwines their fingers and lets them rest on the upper side of the wall they’re leaning against. She feels him give her hand a slight squeeze, as he exhales shakily and just stares resolutely ahead, not saying a word. Feels him try to control his breathing while squeezing her fingers again and again, as if it might help ground him.
As a doctor, a professional distance to your patients is essential to surviving this job. It’s essential in any medical profession. She knows that. They all do. It’s just that sometimes...sometimes you have these cases, these patients, and they just grow on you. Especially children. And it’s hard to act indifferent when it’s kids, she knows. God, she knows. And Andrew’s always been one to bond with the little humans. He gave a surgery up for a girl once!
She stays silent beside him and eventually lets her head rest against his shoulder, her other hand snaking around his upper arm. She knows she should be helping him but can’t help herself in finding comfort being this close to him. This whole day had been exhausting and this grounds her, stops her from worrying about her own problems and patients and losses today.
She feels his breathing get a little more even again and lifts her eyes so she can look up at him, her head still resting on his shoulder.
He’s looking down at her, his dark eyes sad and heavy and she feels her heart squeeze at the sight. The twinkle that usually resides there is dampened, and Andrew tries to smile softly in response to her action but it can’t quite hide the pain he’s feeling.
She wonders if it’s the first kid he’s lost in his years as a resident.
He turns his head to drop a quick kiss on her forehead, before freeing his arm from her light grasp and snaking it around her back, pulling her a little closer to his side.
Meredith lets him and crosses her arms over her chest to warm herself some more.
“Did I ever tell you about my time as an EMT?” He eventually breaks the silence in a quiet questioning tone, exhales shakily once more and she shakes her head no. “I’d just gotten out of high school. It was one of my first call outs. An MVC.”
He rests his head on hers and Meredith can feel the motions of his lips against her hair as he tells his story.
“We were the first ambulance on scene and when we got to the first car...there was a woman in the front seat and she was bleeding heavily from a neck laceration. As I got closer to try and stop the bleeding, I saw this little bundle in her arms...a tiny bundle wrapped in her jacket and a blanket. I realised then she wasn’t screaming and crying because of the pain she must have been feeling.” Andrew takes in a shuddery breath, eyes squeezing closed for a second at reliving this memory before he opens them again. “She was holding her dead toddler in her arms. There was nothing we could’ve done. But she wouldn’t let go of him, nobody was allowed to touch him. Not even if it meant we couldn’t help her properly. And...I still can’t forget her wails. I don’t think I ever will.” He bows his head and tugs her further into his side, seeking the comfort she’s offering to him.
“Today reminded you of that moment, didn’t it?” Meredith concludes as she remembers the crying parents she’d seen in the ward. She angles her upper body a little more towards him, which is a little difficult considering the tight embrace he’s clasped her in. She lays her right hand on his chest, and feels his heart pound rapidly under her palm. Her other hand settles on his far hip to return the embrace.
“I’m sorry you lost him,” she adds as an afterthought. She feels him nod against her in response and doesn’t say another word. Instead, opting to stare ahead to let him sort through those memories. There’s nothing she could say to dampen the pain he feels, much less to take it away from him. Sometimes you have to feel it, to be able to let it go.
He kisses the crown of her head once more and she relishes in the warmth that spreads through her core and hopes he feels it too, as they stay like that for another moment. She probably shouldn’t use this vulnerable moment of his to enjoy their closeness. And yet she cannot find it in herself to fight these feelings. Not after what has happened. Sometimes taking comfort in another person’s presence is all you can do to not fall apart.
After a few more moments just standing like this, she can’t help the shiver that runs through her muscles. She turns fully so she’s facing his side completely, his arm still draped loosely over her shoulders. He looks back at her, his eyes a little less filled with sorrow and tries a smile once more. It works a bit better this time.
Meredith smiles in response and steadies herself with a hand on his shoulder, before standing up on her tiptoes and pressing a quick soft kiss to his cold lips. “As much as I’d love to keep standing here with you, I have to get home to my kids.”
His face turns into a grimace before nodding curtly. “I didn’t mean to keep you.” It still sounds a little broken, like he’s putting up a front again, as if he’s trying to convey to her he’ll be fine. She knows he’s not feeling it.
“You didn’t. I chose to,” she shrugs and smiles up at him, feels the warmth radiating off his palms where they’re resting against her waist. She really doesn’t want to leave him alone. And she’s adult enough to admit it’s not just because she wants to be there for him. The selfish part of her simply wants to spend time with him. She shivers again. This time he notices.
“I should let you go home to your kids then.” He offers her another smile and slowly lets his hands fall to his sides, creating some distance between them. Meredith misses his warm touch instantly and tries to think of something to keep him with her for a little while longer.
She hasn’t let him come home with her yet, despite how sure she feels about this. Because she can’t let her kids get attached to him should this not work out. She badly wants it to though. And she also really does not want to let him go today.
So she makes a quick decision, gets closer once more and wraps her arms around his neck. He wraps his arms around her hips instinctively, surprised by her sudden move.
“Or you could just come with me.” It’s a question hidden in a rather simple statement. Did he feel ready to meet her kids? Was he ready to include that part of her life in his own?
Meredith’s heart beats a little faster in her chest as she waits for a response from him but Andrew just looks at her, stunned by the question. She tilts her head to the side, a little habit she has acquired in their time spent together, while her fingers stroke through the hair at the nape of his neck.
A sigh escapes Andrew’s mouth, the chaste touch calming his raging nerves and he nods. “If you’re sure.”
“I am.” She pulls him closer and presses another kiss to his lips, feeling him respond this time. It’s soft and slow, as he tenderly tugs her closer to his chest. Meredith feels the hard contrast of his warm body against the chill of the wind blowing around them even more accurately now and curls her cold fingers into the lapels of his lab coat, not wanting this moment to end.
Andrew breaks the kiss at feeling her shiver again, and smiles down at her as he presses another quick kiss to her forehead.
“Let’s get you inside.” He takes her hand and gently pulls her with him.
Meredith is a little relieved at being able to go inside, but immediately misses the feeling of his lips against hers the moment they part.
They walk in silence, their fingers interlaced, until they get to the attendings’ lounge.
Meredith squeezes his hand before she lets go of it. “I’ll see you at my car?”
Andrew nods at her, before turning his head to either side of the corridor as if looking for something before suddenly taking her hand once more, pulling her into him again. His other hand settles against her cheek as he gives her another kiss. It feels a little more urgent, as if he’s trying to show her what he can’t tell her yet. “Thank you.” It’s a whisper against her lips and he’s gone before she can fully grasp what just happened.
She touches a hand to her lips and laughs breathlessly, before shaking her head and going into the room to change out of her scrubs.
“I see he’s just fine.”
Meredith jumps at the voice and looks at Maggie, who’s sitting on a chair with a smug grin on her face. She ignores her words. “Didn’t you say you were leaving with Jackson?”
“I was, and then he got called in for an ENT consult on a kid and now I’m waiting for him to finish.” The dark-haired surgeon shrugs and puts her chin on her palm, watching her sister with an intent gaze.
Meredith tries to ignore that too as best as she can, instead starts changing out of her scrubs in the adjacent changing cubicle. It’s oddly quiet while she removes her clothes and puts on her daily ones, that she wonders for a moment if Maggie has left already, but she didn’t think she would without saying goodbye.
She throws her scrubs into the laundry bag and emerges again, only to find Maggie still sitting there and staring at her as if she is a puzzle Maggie wants to solve.
“What is it?” She’s a little annoyed now and rolls her eyes at her sister.
“You were beaming, Mer. You had this shit-eating grin on your face that I haven’t seen in so long,” the other woman states and shrugs again, smiling at her. “I’m happy for you. You deserve this.”
Meredith looks at her sister for the longest moment and doesn’t say a word. It’s scary how affected she is by him but she also wants this too badly to just let it go. She wants to feel like this again and he’s making it possible, even if it could end up hurting her. Or him.
She’s always had the affinity to hurt the people she cares about. And she cares about him. A lot. Even though she doesn’t want to admit it out loud yet.
Like she said, scary.
“He’s a good person.” She finally says in answer and feels the smile tug at her lips at the mere thought of him. “And I think I like him. More than I thought I did.” There goes her not admitting it out loud yet.
Maggie’s surprise at her words is evident in the way her eyes widen, but it eventually turns into a genuine smile. “I’m glad.” They’re silent for a moment until Jackson’s suddenly standing in the doorway.
“You coming?” It’s directed at Maggie and the woman stands up hastily, grabbing her stuff.
“I am.” She starts walking out, but turns around once more. “Are you going to leave too? I think there’s someone waiting for you.” She winks in a way that makes Meredith wonder just how much she caught of their conversation in front of the room, before leaving with Jackson.
Meredith just stands there for another moment, before shaking her head and grabbing her things as well. Not what she had planned to say.
When she finally gets to her car, Andrew’s already standing in front of it, his rucksack slung over one shoulder.
“I’m sorry, I just ran into Maggie.” She waves a hand in the general direction of the hospital and smiles sheepishly at him at having made him wait in the cold. She unlocks the car and gets into the driver’s seat, while Andrew gets in on the other side.
She starts driving and they’re both silent for a little while, until Andrew exhales deeply, breaking the calm that has settled over them. “I should apologise to her. I was kinda running away there.” He glances at her profile and she looks back at him, before staring at the road again.
“You could, but I don’t think you need to. She understands.”
She can see Andrew’s nod in the corner of her eye but he seems restless, like a bundle of nervous energy. She thinks it might not only have to do with losing the kid today and it calms her a little that she’s not the only one who knows how serious this moment is to them, that he cares and worries just as much about meeting her kids as she does.
She grabs his hand where it’s thumping a soundless beat on his knee and squeezes his fingers reassuringly. He stops and entwines their hands, letting them rest on his upper leg. After a moment he lifts her hand and places a kiss on it, before letting go. She looks at him a little confused, but he smiles at her.
“You need both your hands to drive.”
She shakes her head but grins at his words, and puts her now free hand back on the steering wheel.
They pass the rest of the ride in silence, but every once in a while she can feel his eyes on her and it makes her heart beat a little faster every time.
“The kids still need to eat, so I’ll make them dinner. You can make yourself comfortable wherever you want in the meantime,” she explains once they get out of the car.
He looks at her and nods curtly, grabbing his things.
Before he actually has a chance to get far, she’s grabbed his hand to pull him towards her.
“Andrew, please don’t take this the wrong way.” She takes in a deep breath and swallows hard. “They’ll ask why you’re here for dinner too. And for now, you’ll just be a friend. I know they’ve met you before but since Derek, there has never-” She stops mid-sentence in her rambling as Andrew puts his finger on her lips.
“It’s fine. I’m a friend. They are your kids. It’s your call. And we’ll go the pace you’ll set with them.” His voice is barely above a whisper, but it’s so earnest and genuine that Meredith feels her breath catch in her throat for a moment.
She stares at him a little open-mouthed and by the way Andrews’ lips form a straight line and his eyes twinkle in the dark, it seems like he’s trying to bite back a laugh at the sight of her not knowing what to retort for once. She knows it’s not exactly something that commonly happens to her. So she lets it slide for now and regains her composure, her stare turning into a smile. “Thank you.”
Andrew just nods and happily welcomes the kiss she presses on his lips to emphasise her words. It was supposed to be a quick peck but instead turns into a few more, both not entirely willing to part just yet.
But Meredith eventually pulls back and puts a hand on his chest to regain some distance between them. She feels a little light-headed at the tension that’s filling the space between them and takes a deep breath, realises Andrew’s not entirely unaffected by it either.
“Leeet’s gooo.” He draws the words out and lets Meredith go first, trailing after her at a slower pace.
As soon as she’s opened the door she has her arms full of her three children and hugs them tightly to her chest, remembering all too vividly the parents crying over their lost child. She doesn’t even want to consider how it’d make her feel if she ever lost one of them. It’d probably break her.
She sniffs but shakes the thoughts off, plastering a smile on her face for them. They are babbling over one another, each of them wanting to be the first to tell her about the day they’ve had.
She laughs and turns around to see Andrew standing in the entryway rather uncertainly. It’s then that the kids notice their guest and they all turn to their mother.
“What’s Maggie’s friend doing here?” Zola wonders curiously and looks at her mom with a questioning gaze.
“Andrew’s here to have dinner with us. And he’s also a friend of mine,” Meredith explains to them before ushering them into the kitchen, distracting them by asking about their day. She feels Andrew following them more quietly and as she turns around to look at him, sees his eyes scrunched up as if in pain.
“You okay?” She touches his arm for a second to catch his attention and he looks at her in a confused frown, before losing the look and nodding.
“I’m good.”
Meredith doesn’t quite believe him but decides to leave it at that for the moment. And besides, she thinks she knows what it was about.
“Meredith!” The voice of her nanny Susan pulls her away from her thoughts and she looks into the smiling face of the older woman, her blonde hair in a ponytail. She’s standing at the kitchen counter and seems to be preparing some ingredients. “The kids have all had a bath already and they’re just waiting for dinner. I’ve prepped some things for you as they wanted some pasta.” She points at the things in front of her and Meredith looks over it, trying to make sense of them. Susan smiles knowingly at her and hands her a recipe. “It’s all written down there, you really can’t go wrong.”
“You do realise I can burn water, Susan?” Meredith tries to joke and bristles as her kids start to snort because they know it’s actually true.
Bailey runs to Andrew and grabs his hand, dragging him further into the kitchen while telling him about Meredith’s mishaps in the kitchen.
“You’ll be fine, Meredith. Just put those in the water and try them every few minutes. This pasta recipe truly is the easiest there is,” she reassures the mom of three once more. “Now, if that’s all, I’ll be on my way.”
Meredith nods at her and smiles. “Thank you, Susan. I’ll see you tomorrow. Have a good evening.”
“Bye, kids!” Susan calls out to them and the three go running to hug her goodbye before rushing back into the kitchen to watch Meredith helplessly try to sort through the ingredients.
“Here, let me help.” Andrew comes to stand beside her and takes everything out of her hands.
“No, you’re our guest! You really shouldn’t!” She tries to stop him but he just puts a hand over hers and stills her in her movements, a smile forming on his lips.
She finds she likes this much better than the look on his face minutes before.
“Meredith, my mom was an Italian lady. She taught me how to cook and make it taste like heaven. And I really am hungry and I do want to be able to eat dinner here.” He winks at her, eyes twinkling, and she gives in eventually, only to create some distance between them again because she can feel the tension rising anew. It’s distracting.
“But I’ll help.”
Andrews nods at her and goes about preparing whatever he needs while Meredith tells the children to set the table. Zola’s the first to get up and get the plates, while she also tries to give Ellis small things to do so she doesn’t feel left out.
Meredith’s heart feels fit to burst with fondness at seeing her kids interact like this, before she turns back to Andrew to help him, while still keeping an eye on her three midgets.
“So, how often do you actually mess up in the kitchen?” Andrew whispers the question in her direction where she’s standing next to him, chopping some tomatoes. She can hear the smug grin in his voice without needing to look up.
“Oh, shut up!” She laughs and playfully swats his shoulder with her free hand, turning her eyes onto him. She stares at him for a moment before shaking it off and going back to her task at hand.
“Mommy, the table’s done!” Bailey calls excitedly.
“Thank you!” She smiles at her kids and turns to look at the clock, realising they will need a moment longer to get dinner ready. “You can play for a few more minutes, I’ll get you when dinner’s ready.”
Three cheers were heard as her kids scramble back to their playroom.
She watches them for a few seconds, before she turns back to help Andrew prepare their dinner, trying and failing not to get distracted by him too often.
And if his smug grin is anything to go by, she’s sure he’s noticed.
Then again, she can also feel his burning gaze on her every other time.
“They have so much energy!” Andrew heaves a sigh as he flops down on the couch beside her where she’s sat down after getting the kids settled into bed. He rests his head on the back of the sofa and closes his eyes for a second, one arm coming to lie on the backrest, his fingers almost able to touch her shoulder.
“They do.” Meredith laughs at the exhaustion written all over his face. “And it’s not even been a whole day. What will you do if you ever need to look after them for a whole day?” It’s meant more as a joke but the meaning behind it isn’t lost on either of them.
Meredith sighs and furrows her brows, massaging her forehead where a headache is threatening to build. Why was her mouth running away with her today?
She feels his hand travel along her shoulders to the base of her neck, brushing over her skin gently.
She looks back over at him and sees this unbelievably fond expression on his face directed at her. Her heart jumps a little.
“Come here.” Andrew holds his arm out to her and she slowly pushes herself into his embrace, leaning against his side while he keeps stroking through her hair. He presses a soft kiss to her temple. She takes his free hand in her own and sighs.
“How are you feeling?” She wonders out loud and feels him still beside her for a second, before continuing to comb through her locks.
“I’m so...angry we couldn’t save that boy today.” His voice sounds a little choked as he takes in a deep breath.
Meredith feels his heart beating where she’s leaning against him.
“I’m also sad we couldn’t save him. He was...so young.” His sigh’s heavy and Meredith feels the knot in her stomach return.
“I know.” It’s all she can add, the right words evading her. But are there any right words in such a situation? “Some losses hit you hard, and stay with you for a long time. That’ll never change.”
He exhales deeply and she squeezes his knee, trying to give him what little comfort she can offer. Tomorrow will be another day. Another chance to save a life. It’s important to never forget that. But it’s difficult to remember that when this day had been such a mess.
They sit in silence for a while, both engrossed in their own thoughts, while Andrew keeps playing with her hair and she does the same with his fingers in her own. It’s calming and domestic and feels so natural as if they’ve never done anything else in their lives.
Eventually, Andrew breaks the quiet that has settled over them again. “But I’m also feeling good.” He leans his forehead against her temple and breathes in deeply. “Because I can be here. With you. And your kids.”
They both laugh soundlessly.
“It helped, seeing them play together and be happy and make this huge mess on your table I have never seen a kid make before.” Meredith chuckles at his words and turns her eyes on his.
“Thank you, for cooking tonight.” She’s said it so many times already but feels like she has to say it again. She hopes he understands it’s not just for dinner, even if she keeps adding those words.
“Always.” He keeps playing with strands of her hair as they look at each other. She sits up a little straighter, using his leg to steady herself.
“Meredith.” The word’s not more than a whisper and she can feel his breath ghosting over her lips as he says her name, while the hand that’s been playing with her locks comes to rest against her cheek, his thumb stroking over the soft skin.
“Andrew.” She smiles at him and feels the almost electrifying tension between them intensify.
“I know I’m here as your friend, but I’d very much like to kiss you right now.” Andrew breathes, his other hand travelling over the arm that’s resting on his leg, up to her shoulder and over her back.
Meredith doesn’t say a word, instead leans the rest of the way in to lock her lips with his, teasing him by pulling away again after a quick peck. She laughs at the very unsatisfied expression on Andrew’s face but is quietened almost immediately by his lips catching hers again in a heated kiss.
This time she doesn’t even try to resist or pull away.
Andrew pulls her closer against his chest, and she feels like his hands are everywhere at once that she loses the ability to think straight. She turns her upper body so that it’s angled towards his fully, her hands pressed against his chest to steady herself. His arm pulls her closer still until she’s flush against him, both of them breathing heavily. Her own hands wander through his locks, tugging a little and eliciting a groan from him that makes her smile smugly. It had been a long while since she’s affected someone this much.
Andrew smiles against her lips and breaks the kiss, letting his mouth travel over her jaw to her neck, leaving kisses over her pulse point that make her shiver in his arms. It’s his turn to feel smug and she knows it, and she catches his lips in another passionate kiss, tongue tracing over his lower lip while one of her hands trace over his chest, trying to find access to his bare skin.
He leans back against the sofa, pulling her with him so that she’s almost straddling his lap. They break the kiss to just look at each other for a moment, breathing heavy and pupils dark and dilated. They lean closer to each other again, when they suddenly hear a creak on one of the stairs.
Meredith jumps away from his embrace and scrambles into a standing position, thinking it’s one of her kids wanting a drink of water or something, and it takes Andrew a moment to catch up. He stares at her dazedly.
Meredith stands unmoving in front of her sofa, breathing heavily and hair tousled from the way he’s been running his fingers through it. Her skin still tingles from his touch and she tries very hard to ignore the pull she feels towards him, of wanting to return to his arms and continue where they left off.
Instead, she strains to hear another noise but the house stays quiet and Meredith finally lets out the breath she was holding and runs a hand over her face, feels the heat emanating from her reddened cheeks and turns her gaze back on Andrew, who’s still in the same position he was moments before.
They just watch each other for a few seconds before they start laughing simultaneously.
“Shh, shh!” Meredith puts a finger to her lips to quieten Andrew but is having a hard time herself. She feels like a teenager that’s almost been caught by her mother. It’s exciting and thrilling and she didn’t realise how much she’s missed this feeling until this very moment.
Andrew watches her with a fond expression on his face and she holds out a hand to him, feeling her heart pounding in her chest, so full of feelings for this man she can’t quite put into words yet.
He stands up, takes her hand and draws her closer to him again, so that their chests are almost touching. His hand brushes a few strands of tousled locks behind her ear and he’s just smiling at her and it’s so full of something that it almost overwhelms Meredith. He lets it rest against her cheek.
“Meredith, one day I’m gonna say all these things I’m thinking about right now and I really can’t have you run away from me when I do.” He sighs and presses a gentle kiss to her lips, lingering there for a second before pulling away again.
It makes her a little weak in the knees. The implication of his meaning scares her, but she nods anyway, putting a hand on his cheek, tracing his lips with her thumb.
“And I might just be ready to hear them then.”
She knows he’ll be patient until then, will give her the time she needs to sort through this. She smiles up at him and kisses him again and it’s so much softer than it had been moments before. It sounded much like a promise she’s willing to keep, sealed off by a kiss.
“But until then…” Her fingers trace over the buttons of his shirt until they settle against his collar, brushing against his throat in a barely-there touch. “...there are a few things we can do in the meantime.” Her smile turns seductive and Andrew’s breath catches in his throat at the sight of it.
“Lead the way,” he whispers huskily as she takes his hand and pulls him towards the stairs up to her bedroom.