"Daddy!" shouted the little girl, her dark brown wavy hair tied neatly in a side braid, and her radiant blue eyes shining, as she ran over to Derek. Derek smiled and knelt down, and jolted dramatically as she crashed into his arms. He laughed, and stood up, sweeping her into his arms. She wrapped her arms around his neck, and buried her head in his shirt.
"I missed you, Daddy." She said, as he kissed her forehead. Derek smiled, and hugged her tighter, as he walked towards the daycare cubby room.
"I missed you, too, Susannah." He said, as he reached into her cubby and grabbed her coat and book bag. He set her on the ground and helped her into her tiny black knee length pea coat. She took the back pack from him and put it on.
"Ready to go, Daddy?" she asked, smiling. He nodded and took her hand in his. They walked out of the building and over to Derek's car.
"Daddy, guess what we did today," she said, giggling, as he strapped her into her car seat.
"One second, Zanna." he said, as he shut her door and walked over to his side, and opened the door to get in. He put his seatbelt on, and pulled out of the parking lot.
"Now, what were you saying?" he asked, looking at her in the rear-view mirror.
"Daddy, guess what we did today." She said, sterner, this time. Derek sighed. Everything with Susannah was always "Why, Daddy?", or "Guess, Daddy!".
"I don't know, Zanna." He said, as he began to drive. She looked a little upset.
"Guess, Daddy!" she said, as she opened her book bag beside her. In the rear-view mirror, Derek could see that she had a zoo map in her hands.
"Did you go to the park?" he asked. She shook her head.
"No, Daddy, something funner than the park." She said.
"Did you go to a movie?" he asked, laughing as she shook her head.
"No, Daddy, something funner." She said, laughing with Derek.
"Okay, Zanna, I give up. What did you do today?" he asked, looking at her in the rear-view mirror.
"We went to the Zoo, Daddy! I love this zoo. It's so fun, just like the one in New York." She said excitedly. Derek laughed.
"So, we'll have to go again sometime." Replied Derek, smiling. He was glad that his daughter was happy being in Seattle.
"Yes, yes, yes!" she said, laughing. Derek looked back at her, and smiled wider.
"So, Zanna, Daddy has to go back to work for a little while. Is it okay with you if you come with me?" he asked, knowing full well that she would love to.
"Yes, Daddy." She said, clearly absorbed in her zoo map. Derek had divorced Susannah's mother only three months after Susannah had been born, and had lived alone with her in New York for almost a two years. Two weeks ago they moved to Seattle, and Derek was afraid that Susannah missed New York.
The rest of the twenty-minute ride to the hospital was silent, with Susannah slowly falling asleep. Derek pulled into the hospital parking lot, and parked in the first open spot. He unbuckled, got out of his seat, and walked over to Susannah's door to help her out.
"Daddy, can you carry me?" she asked as he helped her out of hear car seat. Derek nodded, and slung the backpack over his shoulder, and pulled her into his arms. She rested her head on his shoulder and began to fall asleep again as he carried her in his arms into the building. By the time they reached the elevator to go upstairs, Susannah was fully asleep. Derek pressed the up button, and waited, listening to his daughter's even breathing. The doors opened, and Derek stepped inside. He pressed the third floor button, and waited as the door closed. Derek shifted Susannah around, re-distributing the little weight that she was. The doors opened, and Derek stepped out. He walked over to the surgical board, and saw that the surgery he had scheduled for six-thirty was still there. He looked over at the clock and saw that it was 5:45. He had to get ready, but he needed to find somewhere for Susannah to be. Being in New York was so easy. His sister, Kathleen lived there with her husband and kids. Whenever he had a surgery after daycare hours, he dropped Susannah there. In Seattle, Derek had no one other than his daughter. Derek sighed and carried her over to his office. Once inside, he set her down on his couch, and changed into his scrubs and lab coat. He looked at the clock again, and saw that it was 6:05. He picked Susannah back up and rested her sleeping head on his shoulder, and walked out of his office, shutting the door softly behind him. He walked over to the nurse's station, and smiled when he saw on of the interns, Meredith Grey, standing there, doing charts.
"Dr. Grey." He said, as he walked over to her. She looked up and smiled at him.
"You have a daughter." She said softly, sounding surprised. Derek nodded, and shifted Susannah very slightly.
"Dr. Grey, I have to perform surgery on Allison in a half hour, and I need someone to stay with Susannah, so she's not alone. Do you think you could help me find someone?" he asked.
"I just have charts to do. I can watch her if you'd like." She said, smiling at the sleeping little girl.
"Thank you, Dr. Grey. I should be done around nine. You can take her back to my office, and use my desk to chart if you'd like." He said.
"That sounds good." She said, picking up a mound of twenty charts. Derek smiled and led her to his office. He opened the door and set Susannah down on the couch.
"She will probably wake up in an hour or so. She hasn't eaten yet, but this morning I packed a lunch that I didn't eat. It's over there by my coat. If she gets bored, her backpack has some things in it to keep her occupied. If she really gets antsy, take her into the gallery. She'll settle down, and just watch the surgery, and probably fall back asleep." He said. Meredith nodded, and looked down at the little girl. Derek knelt down beside Susannah.
"Susannah, princess, Daddy has to go into surgery, but a very nice doctor, Dr. Grey, is going to stay with you and keep you company. Okay, princess?" he asked, as he rubbed her cheek.
"Yes." She said, falling back asleep. Derek kissed her forehead, and cheek.
"I love you, Zanna." He said.
"I love you, too, Daddy." She whispered softly. Derek stood up, and walked over to the door.
"She's not usually this sleepy, but her daycare went to the zoo today. All of the walking must have worn her out." Said Derek, smiling at his daughter.
"I imagine it did." Said Meredith, smiling at the little girl, as well.
"Thank you, Dr. Grey. You have no idea how much I appreciate this." He said, taking one last look at his daughter before leaving the room.
"You're welcome, Dr. Shepherd." She said, as he left the room. Meredith sighed and sat down in the chair and began to do her charts.