Happy Easter, everyone! I hope you enjoy this MerDer one shot I've been dying to write for a while now. Primarily MerDer fluff, but there's a little angst because it wouldn't be a story of mine without angst.

"Make sure they're in bed by nine, and no candy or ice cream after seven. And make sure you actually watch Zola brush her teeth. She likes to say she did it, when she really didn't. Bailey likes to be sung to sleep. His favorite songs are the Itsy Bitsy Spider and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. And Zola will probably want to read Cinderella twice. Make sure you leave her nightlight on, or she'll have nightmares…"

"Meredith," Derek laughed, "She's babysat for us before, she knows the kids' routine." Derek gently set his palm on her shoulder and guided her closer to him. It was date night. Meredith couldn't remember the last time she and Derek had been on a real date, just the two of them. She knew it was before Bailey was born. Lexie had still been alive. Meredith fought the solemn feeling that lingered in her veins as she thought Lexie's name. Sometimes she missed Lexie so darn much. She never had to worry about leaving Zola alone with Lexie. Lexie probably knew Zola better than Meredith, which sometimes bothered Meredith. Needless to say, Meredith had never felt the enduring sensation of worry when leaving her daughter alone with her aunt Lexie.

Tina was in her mid-twenties and had babysat for them on a few different nights when Meredith and Derek had been caught at the hospital. The kids seemed to like her, but that didn't mean Meredith trusted her. She had been referred to her by Dr. Bailey and was on her list of "Tuck approved babysitters." That should speak for itself, but that didn't mean anything. She was still a stranger in Meredith's eyes.

"I've got this," Tina smiled warmly; she was already holding Bailey. Meredith's eyes were planted on her perfect, precious son. Zola sitting at her little table in the living room drawing on a piece of table. "The kids are safe, I promise."

"Okay," Meredith exhaled slowly. She leaned toward her son and gave him a kiss on the forehead then looked over at Zola. "Come and give Mommy a kiss, Zozo." Zola grabbed the piece of paper that she had been drawing on and ran over to her mother. She wrapped her arms around Meredith then handed her the drawing. Meredith's face lit up when she looked at the picture. Zola had drawn a big heart with four stick people. There was a tall one that represented her daddy, then a shorter one that represented Meredith, and then two little ones that represented Zola and Bailey, with the Zola stick figure being about twice the size of the Bailey stick figure. "Awww, good job, Zozo."

"I wove you, Mama. Don't leave," Zola cried, a tear in her eye as little dark arms wrapped around Meredith. Meredith choked and felt the hard lump coil in her throat. She felt like she just been punched in the stomach.

She picked her daughter up and turned toward Derek. "Oh, Derek. We can't go."

Derek stared at her and shook his head. "Zozo, Mommy and Daddy need to have some Mommy and Daddy time."

"Why can't I go?" Zola cried. Tears rolled down her cheeks and she held on tight to Meredith, and Meredith's heart just broke as her daughter rested her head on her shoulder "I wanna be with you."

"I know you do, sweetheart, but Tina is going to take good care of you," Derek told his daughter. "You can't leave Bailey by himself. He needs his big sister to help sing him to sleep."

Zola stuck her lip out and lifted her head up. She didn't say anything. Her little eyes wandered back and forth between her mother and father. Meredith could tell she was still upset. Meredith was ready to just call it quits and stay home with the kids. After all, it wasn't often she had a free night, where she could just spend it with the kids. She'd put the kids to bed twice in the last week. It broke her heart when she couldn't be there with them every night, but being a surgeon was high demanding. She didn't want to turn into her mother, although she was certain Ellis and Thatcher Grey never had a "date night."

"Tell you what, Zola. You can help me make dinner," Tina offered.

"Depends on what you is cookin'," Zola said as she crossed her arms.

"What do you want, Miss Zola?"

"I want mac and cheese, and I want a princess tea party," Zola said very matter-of-factly.

"It's done, then," Tina said, and Zola's eyes lit up. She wiggled in Meredith's arms, and Meredith let her daughter go. Zola started running toward the kitchen. She looked back at her mom, dad, brother, and Tina.

"Well whatcha waitin' for? Let's get cookin'!" Zola exclaimed.

Meredith, Derek, and Tina all shared a laugh. Tina smiled and mouthed, "Run."

Derek took his wife's hands, and the two left. Derek whispered into Meredith's ear, "For a moment, I didn't think we were going to get out of there. You looked like you were about to cave."

"She's good at getting people to submit to her will," Meredith said, "but it's remarkable how one minute she's begging us to stay, and in the next she's basically begging us to go."

"Hm," Derek said. "I think she gets it from her mother."

"Excuse me?" Meredith's jaw dropped as Derek opened the passenger seat door for her and she slid into the car. He took the driver's seat.

"I had a hell of a time getting you to agree to this date night in the first place," Derek chuckled. "I mean, when was the last time we went on a date? Valentine's Day two years ago?" There was a pause.

"That was a good night," Meredith agreed, recalling the mind-blowing sex she and Derek had while Lexie had babysat Zola. "I miss her," Meredith whispered.

"I do, too," Derek agreed. "And Mark."

Meredith rubbed a tear out of her eye as Derek started to drive. "Well," she swallowed the hard rock in her throat, then her voice livened up as she overcame the brief period of sadness, "this is supposed to be date night, so what does my wonderful husband have planned for us?" They hadn't discussed their plans. In fact, it had all come about rather randomly. Derek had unexpectedly paged Meredith to his office during the middle of the day. She was anticipating that he was about to tell her that he had to work late, and she would have to pick up the kids. That's usually why he'd page her. Or, he wouldn't page her at all, and he would have a nurse come find her. Admittedly, she was guilty of that too. This time, though, he had immediately embraced her when she'd entered his office and had greeted her with a gentle peck on the lips. His blue, dazzling eyes sparkled into hers, just like they had when he proposed to her. And then, just out of the blue, he asked her to go on a date with him. She had momentarily felt like a teenager again being asked on her first date.

She'd stared at him, in utter shock, for a brief moment. The silence had rung in their ears, and then she asked him how. They didn't have time for a date. Who would take care of the kids? She hated being away from them if she didn't have to be. Then, Derek took the liberty of telling him that he had already lined up a sitter. At first she had been a little upset and insisted that they should be with their kids. Derek then went into a whole speech about an article he'd read about couples disconnecting after having kids, and how it was important that they have alone time too in order to maintain a healthy marriage. He proved his point, and eventually she agreed to the date. After all, his point was valid. She had felt a little disconnected lately, since it seemed as if they barely saw each other. They were both busy with their respective work schedules, and then when they came home together, they usually went straight to bed because they were so exhausted. She'd almost forgot what alone time actually meant.

But now, they were alone in a car, and it was just the two of them. There was an empty car seat and an empty booster seat in the back seat, and the car felt somewhat empty. Meredith caught herself out of habit looking in the rear view mirror searching for her kids, but of course they weren't there. The back seat was completely empty. She listened for Bailey's coos, or Zola's humming. Nothing. Complete silence.

Derek still hadn't told her where they were going. She looked over at her husband. "It's a surprise," he said.

"What?" Meredith's eyes widened. "Oh, Derek, you know how I hate surprises."

He shrugged. "Oh well," he laughed. "I guess you're going to have to deal with it." He continued to drive and she felt her blood boiling. She studied her husband, whose eyes were intent on the road. It was only five o'clock, so it was still light outside although a light rain had drizzled enough against the car's windshield that warranted the windshield wipers be turned on. Derek had a coy smirk on his face, which just caused Meredith's heart to pound even more viciously inside her chest. What the did her husband have up her sleeve.

Most of their "dates" involved going out to dinner and then maybe a movie afterward, though their actual dates were so few and far between, Meredith couldn't even remember the last time they'd gone to a movie. In fact, she was pretty sure it'd only happened once. Most of the time, they'd have drinks at Joe's and then come home for a night of passion and fire. She missed the mindblowing sex. Sometimes they couldn't wait until they got home, though, and they'd have sex in the car. After Zola was born, she felt guilty having sex in the house with Zola next to them, so they'd sneak out to the car in the wee hours of the morning to make love.

They didn't even do that anymore. With two kids, they couldn't, and especially living in the middle of the woods with Owen Hunt being their closest neighbor now that he lived in Derek's old trailer. When they lived at her old house, if Zola woke up and started crying, at least someone - usually Lexie - would be there to tend to her. Now, they didn't have that luxury.

"Close your eyes," Derek insisted.

"What?" Meredith asked.

"You heard me. Close your eyes," Derek laughed.

"Derek, I don't…"

"Meredith-"

"Fine," she exhaled, and did as he said and closed her eyes. She could tell the car had stopped, and she even heard the door slam shut as Derek got out of the car. She kept her eyes closed, though, and seconds later she felt her door open and Derek's hand landed on her shoulder as he reached over and unfastened her seat belt.

"Keep your eyes closed," his hot breath breathed into her ear. She did as instructed, and he gently took her hand and guided her. Darkness filled her eyeballs, though brief periods of light flashed against her eyelids. Then suddenly the damp drizzle stopped. They were inside a building, and she could hear voices. Lots of voices. The temperature had also decreased, as if they were in a room where the temperature was low. Luckily, she was wearing a wool jacket. And then she heard music. Country music? Where had Derek taken her, a square dancing club?

"Derek, where are we?" she asked.

"One minute," he said. He guided her up some steps, and then whispered into her ear, "Open your eyes." And she did. Her mouth opened as she looked around. She saw couple holding hands as they slid around the oval-shaped rink. Some glided smoothly, whereas others required their partner to support them. Then, she saw one woman fall and take her male partner down other with her. The partner got up, and then directed his attention to the fallen woman. He reached out his hand for support and guided her to her feet.

"An ice skating rink," Meredith said carefully. "Your grand idea of a date is ice skating?" And Meredith couldn't help but laugh.

"You hate it," Derek said, frowning briefly.

She shook her head. "No," she laughed, "but I've never ice skated in my life, so I'm gonna be like that woman who just fell, just so you know."

"You'll do great," Derek assured, leaning in and kissing her neck. "It's couple's night, so I couldn't pass it up, and I was trying to think of things we haven't done."

"There's a lot we haven't done," Meredith pointed out. "We've never...been bowling."

"Mmm," Derek said and ran his fingers through her soft, wavy blonde hair. "You're right, we haven't. Would you rather go bowling?"

She shook her head. "Nah, I think I'll try my hand at ice skating, but you cannot laugh at me. Okay?"

Derek chuckled. "Okay, I won't. If it's any consolation prize, I haven't been ice skating since I was a teenager."

"When you played hockey?" Meredith asked, raising an eyebrow, remembering how Derek had told her about his fellow teammate on the hockey team had been injured after an incident he believed that he had caused. Derek didn't say anything. "You know, I'm surprised you brought me here, then. It doesn't bring back painful memories?"

Derek swallowed. "It does," he confessed, "and I haven't stepped foot on the ice since the year it happened, and I thought this could be romantic. We're not playing hockey, we're just gliding around in circles. No harm done."

"You'll be gliding, I'll be wobbling," Meredith giggled as they went to rent their skates.

"You'll get the hang of it pretty fast, I bet," Derek insisted. "And if you wobble, I'll be there to support you. I won't let you fall." Meredith smiled ear to ear as their gazes locked.

Derek and Meredith each laced their skates, and as Meredith was finished, she stood up unsteadily; she was struggling to balance already. "See, I'm already wobbling," she pointed out. Derek's eyes narrowed on her feet and he laughed. "And you're not supposed to laugh at me!"

"Sorry, I'm not laughing at you, but the reason you're wobbling is because your skates are not tight enough. Sit down, I'll fix them." She exhaled and rolled her eyes. She knew she wasn't cut out for this ice skating business. She took a seat, and allowed Derek to tighten her laces.

"Ow!" she cried as Derek pulled tightly on the laces.

"Too tight? Sorry," Derek sighed, "but you want them tight. That's how you support yourself, so you don't fall."

"I thought you said you'd be holding onto me the whole time," Meredith laughed.

"I will, but it won't help if your feet are so wobbly you bring us both down," Derek pointed out, tying the last lace on her ice skates.

"Like that woman I saw fall," Meredith insisted. "I tell you, that's going to be us."

"I hope not," Derek said. "Now, stand up." He extended his arm, and she took his hand. He helped her to her feet and supported her as she caught her balance. He wrapped his arms around her waist and his lips pressed against her neck. His hot breath murmured in her ear, "Ready to ice skate?"

She giggled. "As ready as I'll ever be, I guess." He took her hand and guided her near the entrance to the ice. Her feet wobbled as the blades pressed against the carpet. Her heart was racing. She watched as one couple appeared to be racing each other across the ice. They were going so fast. She'd seen figure skaters on TV before and they made it look so easy. But watching people skate so insanely fast made her nervous. She couldn't imagine gliding so fast.

Derek stepped out onto the ice, and he folded both of his hands onto hers. "You'll be fine." His smile was sincere as he gazed into her eyes. She nodded, wanting to believe so. She gripped tightly onto the wall as she slowly put one blade on the ice, and then she lifted her other blade onto the ice. Her breathing quickened as the frozen air filled her nostrils. She held tighter onto Derek's hands as he slowly skated backward, supporting her. Her legs burned and wobbled with the new experience. Muscles she didn't know existed burned in her legs. "You're doing great," Derek said. He didn't take his eyes off her, nor did she him.

Her heart pounded viciously as she took careful strides and allowed Derek to support her with each one. A few feet into the rink, he guided her over to the wall and instructed her to hold onto the wall for a moment as he skated behind her. His large hands planted on her waist and he kissed the back of her hair. He held onto her as they skated in sync together. She started to feel comfortable.

"You're doing great," Derek said, "I see surgery isn't the only thing you're a natural at." He laughed gently.

"Haha," Meredith laughed. "I'm sure if you weren't supporting me with both your hands, I would be falling to the ground by now."

"Want to test that theory out?" Derek asked, and she felt his hands leave her waist. Her stomach fell into its pit, and she felt her heart pounding vigorously inside her chest as Derek glided beside her. He took her right hand. "You can do this, Meredith."

The air she breathed was frigid, but sweat dripped from her forehead. She nodded, and she took one stride, and then another, and another.

"You're doing great. See, you're a natural," Derek said.

"Mmm." Meredith murmured as her legs wobbled all of a sudden. She extended her arms to catch her balance, but it was too late. The blade was caught in the ice and she couldn't move. Derek tried to reach for her other hand, but instead she fell forward, right on top of him. "Derek, are you okay?" she gasped, realizing she was lying on top of Derek, whose stomach was pressed against the ice. She immediately slid backward, careful not to run her blade into him.

"Mhm," he murmured; the cold ice pressed against her knees. Even though she had been supported by Derek in the fall, her knees had still hit the ice. They tingled, and she knew she would have a bruise in the morning. "Fine." He moved to his knees, and she could see the red mark on his face from where the ice had hit him. Her bruised knee would not compare to his bruised face.

She laughed, "Oh, Derek, I'm sorry. I told you I was wobbly," she said. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Maybe we should take you to the hospital to make sure you don't have any internal bleeding?" she suggested.

"Meredith, do you know how many times I've fallen on the ice? Hundreds." Derek asked. "Really, I'm fine. Just got the wind knocked out of me a little bit." He steadied himself on his feet, and then extended his reach to help her up.

"I was just thinking about Michael, is all. He thought he was fine too. You never know, Derek. I would hate for something to happen to you," she said. "I would never be able to forgive myself because it would be all my fault."

He wrapped his arms around her and whispered in her ear, "I'm okay."

They skated around the rink several times, and Meredith didn't fall again. She'd learned the art of using her arms to balance herself, and she'd gotten to the point of where she didn't Derek for support at all. She could tell how proud of her he was. After all, he was right, she had gotten the hang of it pretty fast.

Skating ended at seven, and Meredith's stomach was growling with hunger.

"Okay, Mr. Date Night King, do you have dinner planned or are we going to starve?" she laughed as she and Derek headed back to the car.

"Oh, I definitely have dinner planned," he smiled warmly, taking her hand and holding it tightly as they walked back to the car together. He opened the passenger door for her, and she appreciated the chivalry. They shared a look when he took his seat in the driver's seat. His eyes melted her heart.

"Are you sure you're all right?" she asked. "No headache or blurry vision?"

He shook his head. "I'm a neurosurgeon, Meredith. I know what symptoms to look for." He laughed gently and leaned forward to kiss her. She savored the kiss, and kissed him back. Their tongues intertwined, and a fiery sensation shot through her nerves. It had been weeks since he had kissed her like this. It was the kiss that made him irresistible, the kiss that justified his nickname, the kiss that made her want to throw him in the backseat right now and take advantage of him. Her heart raced in her chest and pounded against her rib cage.

"We could have dessert first," Meredith broke the kiss, running her fingers through her own hair and then softly touched his clean-shaven face. He'd shaved just before they'd left, because he knew that she preferred him without any stubble. There was something about Derek's smooth face that turned her on even more.

"In the ice skating arena parking lot?" Derek lifted an eyebrow.

"We've done it in worse places," she pointed out.

"True," he laughed and their lips collided again. He hands were moving all over her body as his hands slid underneath her shirt, and her stomach growled again. "Wow," he laughed.

"On second thought," Meredith said. "Maybe we should eat first. I'm starving."

"Ice skating does have a tendency to burn a lot of calories," Derek said. "Now, what shall we eat?"

"I thought you had it all planned out," Meredith raised an eyebrow.

"I lied," he confessed. "I picked the entertainment, so I figured you could pick where we eat."

Her jaw dropped. "Well, how sweet of you."

She ended up choosing a nice little pizza joint just down the street from the arena. It was definitely a little high-schooly, but she didn't care. She was craving a meaty, greasy Pepperoni Sausage Pizza, and she didn't care where she got it.

The pizza was just as good as she'd imagined it, and she savored every bite of it along with her Coca Cola. She and Derek spent the meal gazing into each other's eyes, until she looked at her phone and realized it was almost nine o'clock.

"The babysitter should be putting the kids to bed soon," Meredith commented. "Do you think I should call?" She held her phone in her hand, even though her fingers were incredibly greasy, all ready to make the phone call.

"Don't," Derek insisted. "It makes you look like you don't trust Tina. You already kind of gave her that impression earlier."

"I don't want her to think I don't care about my children, though," Meredith insisted. "If I seem like I don't care, then it looks like I'm a bad mother."

"You're not a bad mother," Derek said. "You're an outstanding mother." He leaned across the table and kissed her cheek. "And I love you for it. I couldn't have found a better woman to be the mother of my children."

Her forehead wrinkled. "I don't know about that." She exhaled. "I feel like I'm not with them enough, and they're going to resent me later. Maybe we shouldn't have done this…"

"You didn't have fun?" Derek asked, frowning.

"No, I did," she said. "I just feel bad, plus Bailey and Zola are only going to be young once, and the chances are we aren't going to have anymore children. I should be there for them now. I should enjoy them while they're little."

"And you are," Derek said. "You're amazing. You might not put them to bed every single night, but you go down to the daycare to play with them at least once a day. I think you're one of the only mothers at the hospital who actually does that. Meredith, you've given up surgeries for them, and I know how important surgery is for you." Meredith frowned, realizing he was right. She could have fought Dr. Bailey for her HIV patient that Bailey had taken, but she hadn't bothered. It hadn't seemed worth it at the time, and frankly, seeing her son suddenly seemed more exciting than a surgery. "Surgery is still important to you, right?"

"Yeah," Meredith said, then frowned, "I don't know...I don't get the rush I used to."

"That's part of becoming a more seasoned surgeon," Derek said. "The rush is never as high as it is when you're youthful and young. It's kind of like sex."

"It's not like sex," Meredith shook her head. "Sex is always great. But if sex isn't as great for you anymore, then I guess you won't be needing it tonight."

Derek gave her a peculiar look. "So, you're saying you'd give up surgery because you don't enjoy it as much?" She widened her eyes. "And sex with you will always be great."

"That's not what you just said," Meredith pointed out.

"Maybe I phrased that wrong," Derek chuckled.

"No, I get what you're saying," Meredith said. "Sex when you're twenty is certainly more intense and exciting than sex when you're forty. However," she said slowly, "if it's with the right person, then it shouldn't matter. If you're truly in love with the person, then it's amazing every time."

"Which is why our sex is always amazing," Derek pointed out and he froze. "So, what you're saying, is you just need to find the right surgery."

"Exactly," Meredith said. "Except all of my surgeries keep getting stolen from me in one way or another."

Derek took the last bite of his piece of pizza and she watched as he chewed slowly and then swallowed. He exhaled, and his eyes twinkled into hers. "Or maybe you're just not looking in the right places."

"Huh?" She raised an eyebrow.

"You know, when you worked with me, you always put up a fight. I remember that time I put Cristina on my service, you were so determined to stay on my service…"

"That's because I wanted to be with you," Meredith insisted, raising an eyebrow. "And remember, it was my idea to leave neuro."

"You didn't leave neuro because you don't like neuro, though," Derek pointed out.

"What are you implying?" she asked.

"You left neuro because you thought we couldn't work together, Meredith. You sacrificed neuro to save our marriage."

"I wouldn't call it a sacrifice," Meredith said. "Neuro isn't that special, so I don't get where you're getting at."

"Mmm." Derek murmured, then insisted, "Maybe you haven't found the right surgery because you're not looking in the right specialty. Just food for thought." He wiped his hands with his napkin, and he smiled. "Any room for dessert?"

She squinted her eyes. "I'm not sure if I'm in the mood anymore."

Her head was spinning with all the words Derek had just thrown at her. He was right, she had left neuro because she wanted to save their marriage, and the worst part was she knew he was right. Deep down, she knew a piece of her missed neuro every day. And when she thought about it, much of her rush for surgery had gradually started to diminish after she'd left neuro. She tried to deny it, for the obvious reasons.

She had so much to think about, and she didn't know what to do. She couldn't start a neuro fellowship now anyway. That would require her to work more hours and be away from her family even longer. It just wouldn't work.

Derek frowned when she said she wasn't in the mood, but he extended his arm anyway after paying the bill in full in cash. She took his hand and allowed him to wrap his arm around her, even though her mind was now wandering.

He guided her to the car and opened the door for her again and then took the driver's seat. Their eyes connected, and he seemed to be aware that she was deep in thought. He leaned in and kissed her cheek. "You do what you think is best," he said. "I'll support you no matter what."

"Thank you," she said, and looked at the clock again. It was almost nine-thirty now, so the kids should be in bed. "Should we stay out a little later?"

He smiled. "Let's get out of this parking lot first." He drove toward the woods, and actually parked several miles away from the house in a safe location. He brushed his hand in her hair and placed a hand on each side of her face. "God, Meredith, you're so beautiful."

She gushed; it had been so long since he'd told her that upfront, although he used to tell her it on a daily basis. His mouth was so close to hers that his warm pizza-smelling breath lingered up her nose, and soon their lips touched. Their lips synced into their typical rhythm, and her hands reached over his shoulders as she soon found herself on top of him. He unbuttoned her blouse and she worked her hands under his shirt; their love was passionate, fierce, and anything but boring.

Meredith caught her breath as she fell into the passenger's seat.

"Passion," she mouthed. "Passion is everything."

"Hm?" Derek asked buttoned up his shirt and reached for Meredith's bra, which had landed in the backseat. Meredith didn't say anything; her head was pounding. And she now knew what she had to do.

When they arrived back at the house, Meredith and Derek were both surprised to see that the house was still completely lit up. It was just after eleven o'clock now.

"The kids should be asleep," Meredith said and gaped, "I knew I should have called."

"Relax, Meredith. I'm sure everything's fine," Derek assured as they both got out of the car and approached the front door. The door was unlocked, and even the inside door was open. Meredith's stomach fell to its pit, anxiously, as Derek opened the door, and they both froze in shock when they saw the woman holding their baby wasn't Tina, the babysitter.

"Amelia?" Derek gasped.

"Where's Tina?" Meredith gaped at Derek's youngest sister, whom she had met only twice before. She didn't know her well. Amelia's mouth had dropped when she saw Derek and Meredith enter the house, and her hand rubbed against baby Bailey's hand. In the corner, Meredith could see a fully dressed Zola was still awake too. "Zola, why aren't you in bed?"

"I not tired," Zola responded softly and she yawned.

"Oh, sorry, I told the babysitter to go home," Amelia announced. "I thought I could handle it on my own, but they just didn't want to go to sleep."

"My, God, Amy!" Derek scowled. "Meredith, we're hiring a new babysitter."

A/N - This was initially planned as a one-shot, but I could potentially see it being continued, considering it's left on a cliffhanger. This story was actually partly inspired by the promo pics for this Thursday's episode! :)