Disclaimer: I do not own Grey's, or The Lion King. Otherwise, I would not be in school.
AN: Just for fun. Finals are weighing me down, and this is how I relieve stress. It's not my greatest ever, but I like the idea, plus I would really like to go fishing right now.
Derek breathed in Meredith's scent on her pillow before he got out of bed. He missed her. He missed her presence in the morning when they were waking up, he missed the noise she made trying to keep quiet to allow him to sleep in, and he missed her attempts at making them dinner. After showering, Derek moved into the twin's room to start getting them ready for school.
"Good morning guys! Who's excited for kindergarten?"
"Is mommy home yet?" Tommy asked from under his covers.
"No bud," Derek said, sitting on his bed. "She'll be home next week. I know it's been a while."
"I don't wanna go to school then!" Brendan huffed.
Derek sighed. "Would you want to go fishing?"
"No, not with out mommy."
"But mommy never came before, it was always us men," Derek said, trying to get something out of the boys.
"But she was always waiting for us at home." Tommy said.
"And she always packed us a lunch that was right." Brendan replied, clearly still bitter that Derek forgot to cut the crust off of his peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
"Well boys, I'm afraid you have to go to school. I made your lunches the right way."
"I have a tummy ache." Tommy piped up.
"My chicken pox hurt," Brendan replied.
"Brendan, you don't have chicken- well, I can't send two very sick boys to school, now can I? Ok, you can stay home today, but you're going to school tomorrow." Derek got up and left the room, noticing that neither child seemed cheered at the day off from school. The separation from Meredith was more difficult on them than Derek or Meredith had originally thought. Derek wasn't sure what he was going to do with the boys today, but he was glad that he had the day off work.
"Daddy?" Derek turned to see Tommy standing at the entrance of the kitchen. "I can't sleep, and Brendan's making noises with his nose."
Derek laughed and scooped Tommy into his arms. "What do you say we have some couch time?"
"Daddy, I'm five and a half, I'm too old for couch time."
"I know, but I'm not too old. Alright, are you comfortable?" Derek was lying down on the couch with Tommy snuggled on top of him.
"I'm cold."
"How 'bout now?" Derek asked after he tossed a blanket on them.
"I love you daddy."
"I love you too bud."
"Daddy?" Brendan called as he came into the living room about half an hour later. "I'm sorry I didn't go to school today."
"Hey, it's ok," Derek said in a soothing voice when he noticed tears in Brendan's eyes. "Sometimes Mommy doesn't go to work because she misses you guys too much when she's there and she wants to spend some time with you." Brendan nodded.
"Can we still go fishing?"
"I think so, but we're going to have to see what Tommy thinks."
"I want to go fishing too," Tommy said, his head still buried in Derek's chest, and his voice thick with sleep. "Will mommy be mad?"
"No, why would you think that?"
"Because we went without her."
"No, mommy won't be mad. Why don't you two head upstairs and get your fishing clothes on, and I'll get everything together." The boys scampered off to get ready and Derek was glad to see some life back in their eyes. Meredith had been in Bethel Alaska volunteering medical services to the natives in the area. She was acting as a general surgeon despite her specialty in neurosurgery. It had been five weeks, and Derek and the boys had one more week to go.
The boys came back into the kitchen wearing rubber pants, flannel shirts, and fishing vests. Meredith bought the outfits as a joke, but the boys loved them and always wore them while fishing regardless of the weather.
"We were gonna put our boots on-"
"But mommy made us leave them outside."
"Your boots are outside but before you go, you each need to take a tackle box." Derek met them outside in complete fishing gear as well as carrying three fishing poles and a cooler. "Alright, let's go."
"I'm hungry," Tommy said. Derek laughed and handed each of them a banana to eat on the way.
"Ok boys, you know the rules. Stay out of the water, no standing closer than ten feet to each other, only cast into the water in front of you, and don't do anything if you get your lines crossed. Just yell."
"Ok daddy!" They chorused. Derek stood up stream and in the water where he could keep an eye on everything and still fish.
"Daddy, I got a bite!" Brendan shouted. Derek moved from his place in the water so he could be next to Brendan.
"Ok bud, remember like I taught you."
"Reel it in slowly!" Tommy said.
"Daddy, can we eat it?" Brendan asked, looking at Derek with anxious eyes.
"Maybe, but we gotta get it in first. Keep reeling it." Slowly, they pulled the flopping fish from the water onto the land. "It looks like he's a keeper. Who wants trout for dinner?"
"ME! ME! ME!" both boys said, jumping up and down.
"Ok, but we're not done yet. We need at least one more fist to eat. So Tommy, it's your turn." The boys eagerly picked up their fishing poles and went back to the edge of the water. Derek took care of the fish without the boys seeing.
About an hour later, Tommy spoke up from his spot on the bank. "Daddy, I'm hungry, but I haven't caught a fish yet. Can I still have dinner?"
"Of course. I think somehow there's gonna be enough fish for everyone tonight. Why don't we all come over here and get cleaned up for lunch. Put your poles away like I showed you. Good, careful Tommy, don't catch yourself." Derek handed the boys their lunches and the three of them had a picnic at the edge of the water.
"You remembered," Brendan said when he noticed the crust had been cut off his sandwich.
"I told you I made your lunches right today."
Later that evening, Derek asked the boys to come into the kitchen to help make dinner. "Tommy, can you open the cooler, I left something in there from earlier."
"Daddy this fish is swimming," Tommy said as he lifted the lid of the cooler.
"Cool!" Brendan said, looking in the cooler too.
"I brought this fish back and Tommy gets to try to catch it with his bare hands before we barbeque it. Are you ready?"
"Yeah." Derek helped Tommy onto the table where he knelt over the cooler and poised his hands ready to strike. The fish was swimming around peacefully, not very fast. Suddenly Tommy thrust his hands into the water and screamed when his hands came in contact with the swimming fish. "It's ok daddy, I'll eat vegetables tonight."
Derek laughed and pulled the boys off the table. "Why don't I take care of the fish and you guys pick out a movie for after dinner?"
Derek and the boys ate dinner pretty quickly and settled down on the couch for a movie. "What is it this time guys?"
"The Lion King."
"We're the king of the jungle." Soon the twins had settled into Derek's side, Tommy's hand still in the popcorn bowl, and both were on the brink of sleep. Derek was still watching the movie, enjoying the time he got to spend with his boys, and regretting when this would all be over because they were growing up.
Suddenly, the front door opened. "How are my two little lion cubs?"
"MOMMY!" Both boys were on Meredith in an instant with Derek hot on their heels.
"Hey," he said, kissing her. "I thought you were going to be another week. I've missed you so much."
"I've missed you too. Hi boys. Have you been good for daddy?"
The boys nodded and began talking a mile a minute telling Meredith about everything that had happened since she left. "Mommy, Daddy said you were 'posed to be gone for another week. How come you got to come home early?" Tommy asked, his green eyes dancing with excitement at seeing his mother again.
"Well, the supply plane came a week early and brought another surgeon with it, so they let me come back a week early. They knew how much I missed you guys."
Once the boys had quited down, Meredith had the chance to talk to Derek. "So how was it?"
"It was hard. They missed you a lot. I missed you a lot. But it was something you needed to do, so it was good. Actually, I enjoyed the time I got to spend with them. They're growing so fast. Today we went fishing. And Brendan doesn't trust me making lunch anymore."
"You forgot to cut off the crust, didn't you?"
"Yeah. I'm glad you're home. I love you."
"I love you too." The family settled back down on the couch to finish watching the movie, and all four of them were asleep before it was over, enjoying the time together.
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