Alright, here's the second half of my Christmas piece. I'm very glad to hear that people have been enjoying it so far! Anyway, this section is told through Derek's perspective. It picks up in the storyline just after where Meredith left off, so they're still out in the cold getting their tree. And hmmm...I don't seem to have much else to say. It's just fun and happy, so...yep. Moving on to the story now.

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Meredith likes to point out that she's Anti-Christmas. Very Anti-Christmas, she says. Seriously Anti-Christmas. She's fond of standing up on her tiptoes and whispering it in my ear whenever we walk past a house with a few too many strands of lights strung up, or when we stop at the grocery store to get more beer or ice cream or pizza, or whatever it is she's suddenly decided we need more of, only to find ourselves barraged by the blaring sounds of Frosty the Snowman. She just sort of smirks at me, and licks her lips, and points out how much she positively hates the whole holiday season. She blames it on the depressing influx of happy people. (Apparently I'm one of them, but she's decided to forgive me for that.) I can't help it though. I was miserable last December 25th, but that's got very little to do with the actual day, and pretty much everything to do with Meredith.

Christmas without Meredith was this dark meager thing full of too much time spent imaging what Christmas with her would be like. Turns out, Christmas with her is a lot louder than I'd imagined. (A few months away from her house makes you forget just how full and noisy everything with her roommates is.) It's also full of a surprising amount of incredulous, my-boyfriend-is-a-crazy-man looks courtesy of Meredith whenever I suggest something like wrapping presents or putting up lights. But at the same time, Christmas with her is far better than I ever could have imagined because it's full of moments like this one now. Actually, I have no idea how I convinced her to come get a Christmas tree with me. But still…she came. And now, Meredith is just staring at me, her green eyes bright beneath the white of her hat, and her hands burying their way deep into my pockets.

"I'm freezing Derek," she murmurs, wrinkling her nose at me. I don't really want to leave the dark green canopy of the forest, but I can see the shadows of our breath lingering in the air. They're these pale wisps of fog that hang like ghosts, prompting me to nod my head, and pull Meredith closer to warm her.

"Then we should probably go get one of the chainsaw wielding madmen to chop down our tree," I reply.

Meredith instantly raises an eyebrow. "Oh very funny," she says in a low voice. "Those were big saws."

"Yeah well, we have a big tree."

"A monster tree," she corrects, shaking her head at me. But a moment later, she's taking my hand and leading us back the way we came. "Fine" she mutters over the sound of our boots crunching in the snow. "We'll risk an encounter with the madmen." However, she pauses after a few steps, and glances up over her shoulder at me. "Just, after that, no more trudging," she adds, her eyes darkening seriously.

"Trudging?"

"Yeah." She gestures down at the snow, stumbling slightly towards me as she speaks. "All this trudging. It's exhausting." She takes another heavy exaggerated step, and I realize just how deep the snow is for her.

"Mer…you should've said something sooner," I say, smiling at the sight of her sinking almost knee-deep in a snow bank. Before she can protest, I'm leaning forward and scooping her up onto my back.

"Derek!" The sound of her voice is combined shock and laughter, but after a moment, she complies and hooks her legs around my waist. She's this insignificant weight that I could easily forget I was even carrying were it not for the sight of her snow-encrusted boots dangling in front of me and the arms she wraps tightly around my neck. Meredith leans forward, her lips pressing soft and warm against my cheek as she tilts her head down to rest on my shoulder. She sighs a happy little sigh, murmuring, "It is a pretty tree."

"Yeah," I agree. We fall as silent as the forest, and I just carry her towards where the trees grow thinner. The old slightly misshapen trailer that serves as the headquarters for tree purchasing looms into view, its silver body glimmering in the moonlight. Eventually, the long snowy hike is finished, and Meredith slips down from my arms, leaving me free to deal with the actual business of getting the men to cut down our tree. Two of them head off into the forest, axes and saws in tow, and I turn around to find Meredith.

And my jaw literally drops.

You'd think after a few weeks or months or whatever you'd get used to what you're girlfriend looks like, and wouldn't find yourself gaping like a fool every time you turn around because wow…isn't she beautiful. You'd think that, but…apparently I'm still a fool. Because once again I'm simply staring at Mer, unable to think of anything save how beautiful she is. She's laying spread eagle in the snow; her face upturned towards the stars. Somehow her hat has fallen off, and her hair is spilling in golden waves against the pure white. I walk towards her and she looks up at me, her eyes shinning as she stretches out a hand, tugging on the leg of my jeans.

"What are you doing?" I ask, wondering why my girlfriend, who never thinks a room is warm enough, has decided to lay down in snow.

"Making snow angels," she says. Her words slur together just slightly, similar to the way she gets when she's spent a night at Joe's…happy, mischievous, and a little bit pushy. And I'm starting to think she smuggled some tequila out of the tree trailer, because the next thing she does is reach up for my hand, yanking me down onto the ground next to her. "Make a snow angel Derek," she orders, rolling over me and onto the pure expanse of snow to my right.

"A snow angel?" I ask. "What?"

"Yes Derek," she says slowly, giggling in a way that is very unlike Meredith. "Make an angel in the snow. Are you telling me Mr. Christmas doesn't know how? Seriously?" I can hear the laughter in her voice, and, as I turn towards her, I see it in the depths of her eyes as well.

"I know what a snow angel is," I counter, filling my voice with mock-hurt that has her smirking and rolling over again to kiss me. "I just don't know why you want to make them," I continue, once she has settled back into yet another unmarked patch of snow. "They're Christmassy Mer."

"I know," she says, and there is a quiet edge to her voice that keeps me from teasing her further. Meredith sighs and swings her arms up in a long arc, the motion tracing wings into the snow. She doesn't speak for a long time, until the angel is completed and she's stood up to inspect it. But then she flops back down onto the ground, her snow flecked hair spilling over me as she curls up against my chest. "I used to love making them," she says in a hushed voice. "When I was a little girl…"

"Oh," I say as she trails off into silence. Meredith doesn't talk about her childhood, or her past at all really. She had started to right before Addison and everything, but since we've gotten back together…not much at all. She likes to speak mainly in terms of the present, though she's willing enough to listen to whatever I have to say about my childhood. I know her past makes her sad. Her mother makes her sad. All of it…well, she likes to forget. Only now, she's bringing it up on her own, and I don't quite knowwhat to make of it. "Meredith," I say questioningly, raising up on my elbow so that I can see her face. She just smiles quietly, lifting a cold hand and pressing it against my cheek.

"I think I still love making them." Her gaze drifts away from me, and towards the stars sprinkled in patches across the sky. "Because of you," she adds, her voice turning into this shy little murmur.

Remember the whole speechless gaping fool thing that happened just a few minutes ago? Well, it's happening again. Meredith's lips are bright red from the cold, and she's licking them anxiously, her eyes shinning as they leave the stars to once again search my face. This is a world away from last Christmas, and so intensely perfect that I don't know how I could ever make do without her again. "I love you," I say as soon as I manage to finally make it past the gaping fool barrier, and that has her instantly glowing with this smile that is just…radiant. Angelic…even. It's Christmas Eve after all, and she's been making snow angels. I can describe my girlfriend as an angelic snow goddess (on Christmas Eve) and still keep my guy card, right?

Right…?

Okay, probably not…but seriously, summing it up as "Mer is hot" doesn't come close to doing her justice.

"I love you too," she whispers back almost fiercely, tugging me down to her lips. Her mouth is warm and soft against mine, but a second later she's pulling away, her tongue clicking against her teeth as she shifts to bring her mouth to my ear. "That's top secret," she intones, her voice turning into this low rolling sound.

"What is?" I ask, a puzzled frown spreading across my face. "That you love me?"

She shakes her head, biting down on her lip as she grins up at me. "That you turned me into one of them."

"One of them?"

Meredith's eyes widen, and she lowers her voice conspiratorially. "Those nasty, happy, Christmassy people."

"Oh," I say, nodding my head. "Them."

"If Cristina finds out, you're a dead man," continues Meredith. She's got this wicked smirk playing at the corners of her mouth, and she points a gloved fingertip at my chest. "She gave you strict orders not to ruin me. And you failed."

"Failed?" I echo, trying to sound dismayed, but I'm pretty sure I'm once again um…failing. Because well, I love Meredith, and I love Christmas. If I can find a way to combine the two, that's bound to be good.

"Failed," she agrees sternly, before her voice breaks back down into peals of laughter. She rolls into my arms again, and we stay like that, surrounded by snow angels under the stars, until our tree is finally brought out and strapped to the car.

Meredith falls asleep on the drive back into Seattle, missing the slow exchange of snow into rain. It happens gradually, but the crisp chill leaves the air to be replaced by a cold dampness. The windows of the car are streaked with raindrops that refract the Christmas lights as we drive past glowing houses, turning them into blurry white shapes with blinking halos. Meredith is still sleeping when we pull up in front of her house, her hand curled up next to her face, and I can't bring myself to wake her. Instead, I just bend down and once more scoop her up in my arms. She stirs slightly, murmuring something incoherent, before twining her arms around my neck as she nuzzles down to rest against my shoulder. I don't know how she doesn't wake up when we go inside though, because we are immediately greeted by the entire remainder of Bailey's interns.

"Oh no, McDreamy killed Meredith," announces Izzie casually, even as she's pulling on a sweater and pushing past me to go outside and see the tree.

Cristina glances up at Meredith's sleeping form. "What? Too much sex?"

"You can't sex kill a dirty mistress," scoffs Alex. He heads out towards the car too, followed by a rather reluctant George.

"She's not a dirty mistress…" I begin to no one in particular, only to find myself cut off by Cristina.

"Save it McDreamy. We've all heard stories." Her voice is sharp, but she looks amused. It's not until the sound of Izzie squealing delightedly over the tree reaches the house that her face contorts into a bitter scowl. "I need more alcohol," she mutters, snatching her empty glass off the table and heading towards the kitchen. She pauses in the doorway, and glances back at Meredith and I. "Just set her on the couch or something," she adds, her tone surprisingly kind.

And I do just that, placing Meredith on the couch beneath the front window. The entire pane of glass has been covered with these incredibly ornate paper snowflakes (that I can only assume are of Izzie's making), and somehow that helps make up for all the rain. Meredith sleeps through the whole noisy process of us bringing the tree into the house. As soon as it's in its stand, Izzie is all over that tree; bossing her boys around, and carting out endless strands of lights, and enough ornaments to decorate several large trees. I just sigh and shake my head, moving back towards my Meredith. Sometimes it's strange to spend so much time in a house just brimming over with these interns, but they're Meredith's family. And honestly? The alternative of being anywhere else? Somehow…it's just not that appealing.

I run a hand through Meredith's hair, and she stirs slightly, draping an arm over my shoulder. "Derek," she mumbles, yawning as she speaks. "Did you put a hole in my house?"

"No hole," I say quietly, lifting her back up into my arms. "Want to see the tree?"

She just smiles a happy sleepy smile. "Mhmm."

We head back towards the tree which is already glowing like something out of a Christmas card. I'm guessing Meredith is still tired, because all she wants to do is settle down in my lap, her head resting against my shoulder. Occasionally she moves to steal my drink, or to exchange sarcastic comments with Cristina as Izzie continues to add more and more to the tree. The branches look almost jewel encrusted--the boughs bending low with the weight of the ornaments.

"So," begins Izzie happily, once she's finally added the last of the decorations. "Should we sing Christmas carols?" She sits down between Alex and George in this sort of drunken holiday flurry, and it takes her a minute or two to realize that her suggestion was met with a generally horrified silence.

"No Tinkerbell," snaps Cristina. "We shouldn't."

Meredith is rolling her eyes, and catches my gaze in the process. "We need to escape," I whisper, leaning forward to speak into her ear. Her eyes instantly darken suggestively, the corners of her mouth playing up into this little smirk.

"Take me to bed, Derek," she murmurs back, her voice low and soft and intimate. I'm definitely not about to protest, only, the silence caused by Izzie's suggestion has filled the room, causing Meredith's voice to ring out clearly. The interns instantly break into catcalls before we've even got to our feet, and Meredith bites her lip, her cheeks blushing bright red.

"Meredith, please tell me you're not seriously leaving me down here with McHappy, McGoofy, and Mc…" Cristina trails off, frowning at Alex. "Ass," she concludes, after a moment's thought. "Just so you can go get laid."

My girlfriend tilts her head back to wink at me. "Sorry…there are no chainsaws here," she says with this mischievous grin, before snatching my hand in hers, and leading us up the stairs.

Cristina groans and turns to Alex. "What's that supposed to mean?" she asks, but he just shrugs his shoulders, and by then, we've already disappeared from sight anyway. (We can climb stairs fast when we want to.)

"Do you think they figured it out?" giggles Meredith, stumbling forward with me into her bedroom.

"Figured what out?"

She bites her lip, her voice muffled slightly by the action of pulling off her sweater. "That I like Christmas now." Her hair is in messy waves, and her eyes stand out as bright lights in the dim room as she yanks me towards her once again. I have to actually remind myself to answer and not just kiss her.

"No idea…should I go back down and check?" I try my best to sound serious, but fail pretty miserably, because honestly there's just no way that I'm going to walk out of a room that has Meredith already unbuttoning my shirt in it.

Meredith shakes her head, and once again she's laughing. It's this sound that is somehow far more beautiful than the tree or the snow. More beautiful than anything else really… "Yeah right," she smirks at me. "Nice try McDreamy." And as we finally fall back onto her bed, I know there's no other place I'd rather be on Christmas Eve.

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And...the end. Short and fun and over quickly. So yeah, this was them when they're not being dysfunctional, when they're just happy to be together. And Derek comes home to Meredith's house, and it's filled with these people who are all much younger than him, who all technically work for him. And his girlfriend, his tie to these people, is sound asleep. But he just goes ahead and helps them bring the tree in because well...they're her family. And so, in a way, that makes them his too. So the interns were all there for that reason, and because I just really wanted to add some sarcastic Cristina to the mix.

Yep, that's about it. This one's finished, and in time for Christmas! I hope you guys all have a Merry Christmas! (Or you know, Happy Holidays/Generally Good Winter-time.) I'm excited. Not Izzie level excited, but you know...a little excited. Santa's coming, and all that. Hee. So, I won't have anything else up until after Christmas, but if any of you care, I shall be updating The World Turned Over the day after Christmas. Alrighty, that's all folks. Please review!