A/N: If you're new to this particular story, here's a summary of what happened in the prequel, In Another Life.
Derek met Meredith when she was admitted to hospital to have a deadly brain tumour removed. He was struck by her instantly and found he couldn't get her off his mind, and struggled with his conscience throughout her stay in hospital, due to his marriage to Addison. Unbeknownst to him, she was feeling the same too, and when she woke up from surgery she said his name, causing Finn to become suspicious. Although nothing happened initially, they bonded one night when he stayed behind in hospital as she was alone. After she was allowed to leave hospital, Derek couldn't deny his feelings anymore and pursued her. They eventually slept together but decided it was a mistake as they were both in happy relationships - Derek with Addison, and Meredith with Finn. Or so they thought. Ignoring it seemed to be easier said than done when Meredith fell pregnant and finally decided it was Derek she wanted and not Finn. Giving him an ultimatum, Meredith hoped Derek would choose her as well, which, after some deliberation he finally did. They moved into Derek's trailer and Derek faced losing his job, but he chose to resign. Addison told him that she had seen the way he looked at Meredith and knew that he loved her. It then came out that Addison had in fact been having an affair with Mark behind Derek's back. As the months past, Meredith reached out to Finn and allowed him to be involved in the pregnancy, and he agreed that should the baby be Derek's, he would take a step back. Because of Meredith's medical history, Addison was assigned to be her OBGYN, which caused awkward moments for all involved.
During her first stay in hospital to have her tumour removed, Meredith struck up a friendship with Cristina Yang, and it was Cristina who partnered Meredith when it came time for her to give birth. Addison and Meredith made their peace with each other, and Derek and Mark re-bonded after finding out the baby was Finn's. After a heart-to-heart with his former best friend, Derek realised that he shouldn't run out on Meredith and revealed that he already loved the baby like his own. Meredith received a visit from Finn's parents who assumed she would be reuniting with Finn, but she set them straight, with Derek appearing to reveal he had taken time off work to spend time with Meredith and baby. Oh, and Finn got together with a woman called Erin, who is just a little too enthusiastic and forward for Meredith and Derek's liking.
Some plot amendments and character information: Due to when I initially wrote the story, many years ago, I had Cristina as an intern and still with Burke, and the likes of Callie and Arizona did not appear. Life Goes On is going to update them so Cristina is a resident, Callie and Arizona are there and together (but no Sofia as Mark is with Addison), and Cristina is with Owen.
Meredith is not in the medical profession - she is currently unemployed but Life Goes On will explore that side of her further. Her family is her dad, Susan (Lexie's mom) and Lexie, who is not at SGMW either, but her profession was never revealed in IAL. It will all be revealed in due course. Ellis Grey died when Meredith was young, and was not a surgeon.
And I think that's everything, so I hope you enjoy :)
The faint sound of crying was getting louder. It sounded so close, yet still so far away. And then suddenly, it stopped. Meredith opened her eyes with a start as the baby monitor she had been holding clattered to the ground. Sitting up, she blinked as her eyes readjusted to the light, and she rubbed the crick in her neck which had developed through falling asleep on the sofa. She had only closed her eyes for a few seconds, or so she thought.
"Four hours?!" she exclaimed suddenly, looking at her watch and standing up. "No, no, no, no, no, no, no…" she muttered to herself, as she headed into the hall and climbed the stairs two at a time, rushing into the nursery, but it was empty.
"Damn it," she exclaimed, this time stamping her foot in frustration. Sighing, she turned and tip-toed along the hall, turning the handle on their bedroom door slowly and carefully so as not to make too much sound. Inside she found Derek lying on the bed with baby Mollie peacefully laying on his chest, fast asleep. When he heard Meredith enter the room, he opened his eyes and raised a finger to his lips.
"I'm so sorry," Meredith whispered from the doorway, pulling an apologetic smile and biting her lip. Derek had been catching up with sleep after a particularly difficult 42 hour shift. She tip-toed across the room and picked up Mollie, who stirred, but did not wake. Meredith cradled her and walked across the room to put her in the Moses basket next to the bed, before crawling to lie beside Derek. She cuddled into him.
"I only closed my eyes for a few seconds," she said quietly. "Why don't you go and get into the bed in the spare room, and I'll stay awake, I promise."
"I'm awake now," Derek replied, kissing the top of Meredith's head and rubbing her back. "I may as well get up. What time is it anyway?"
"It's around nine," Meredith said, sitting up and stretching. "Do you want something to eat?"
Derek nodded. "I'm going to go and shower first, then I will meet you downstairs," he said, getting up and picking up a towel on his way to the door. Meredith returned to the nursery and picked up the baby monitor and placed it in her and Derek's room next to where Mollie was sleeping. When she got back downstairs she reassembled the one that had fallen apart after she dropped it while sleeping. While she was waiting for Derek to reappear, she went through to the kitchen and prepared two plates of food, bringing them out just as he arrived downstairs, and they both tucked in.
"Do you know what tomorrow is?" Derek asked, as he picked at the remains of his food.
"Mollie is three months," Meredith replied. "Oh, and it's Finn's birthday…"
"Funnily enough, that's not exactly what I was thinking of," Derek said, laughing. "Are you done with that?" he asked, pointing at her plate, and clearing it away when she nodded. "Come with me," he then said, taking her by the hand and leading her across the hall and into his study.
"What are we doing in here?" Meredith asked, confused. He very rarely used the study, and she was even less frequently in it. It was mainly used as a storage place for various medical books and files.
Derek had approached his desk and was rummaging around in a drawer for something. He eventually found whatever it was he was looking for and he returned to stand beside Meredith, smoothing out a piece of paper and handing it to her.
"What is this?" Meredith asked, examining the piece of paper and not seeing anything more than a picture of a brain, with various lines and dots around it.
"A year ago tomorrow, I returned to work after a vacation. My first patient was a woman, very annoying. She had a smile that tipped me over the edge.." he trailed off, hoping Meredith would realise what he was saying - and she did.
Realisation dawned over her face and she looked again at the piece of paper in her hand.
"It's a year since we met," she replied. "This is the picture you drew to explain my operation that night you stayed and talked to me, after Finn had a go. The night you apparently gave me the 'Derek Shepherd look of love'."
Derek nodded, and tucked a strand of Meredith's hair behind her ear, before wrapping his arms around her waist. "A whole year. I know we didn't start off in the most ideal fashion, and there have been some ups and downs along the way, but we got here - here we are."
"Here we are," Meredith repeated, leaning up to kiss him, the usual sensation shooting through her body. Kissing him now was as exciting kissing him all that time ago. She soon pulled away. "You know it's Finn's birthday tomorrow…"
Derek sighed. "You really know how to ruin a moment, Meredith Grey."
Meredith kissed him again and playfully placed a finger on his nose. "No, silly, I was going to say… it might be nice for Finn to spend some time with Mollie on his birthday," she continued. "So you and me could, you know, have some alone time to celebrate."
"And the moment is back," Derek replied, scooping Meredith into his arms and carrying her up the stairs. "I say we start celebrating now."
Meredith giggled as he opened the door to their bedroom and let it swing open. As it hit the wall on the other side, they both grimaced as Mollie stirred in her basket, both remembering at the same time that she was in there. She stayed asleep, however, and both Meredith and Derek breathed a sigh of relief, and Derek put Meredith back on her feet.
"I think the mood is well and truly gone now," Meredith laughed. "I'm sorry."
The next morning, the doorbell rang as Meredith was getting Mollie ready for the day ahead. Derek jogged down the stairs and noticed it was Finn and Erin. Taking a deep breath he opened the door.
"Finn, Erin, come in," he said, but not before Erin had already taken a step inside and was looking around the house from the hall. "Meredith is just upstairs getting Mollie ready."
"Great," Finn replied, clapping his hands together and rocking on his feet.
"This is such a nice house," Erin called from the living room, where she had wandered with no invitation. She soon returned holding a photograph of Meredith and Derek from the Shepherd family party. "This is so cute."
"Thanks," Derek replied, taking the photograph back and holding onto it. "Meredith!" he called up the stairs, not wanting to leave Finn and Erin alone downstairs.
Meredith soon appeared with Mollie in her arms and a changing bag swung over her shoulders.
"Everything you need is in the bag," Meredith said, as she handed Mollie and the bag over to Finn. "There are bottles in the bag, but she'll probably get hungry again around eight, so can you have her back by then please," she continued. "If she gets cranky sing to her, she loves singing. Oh, and…"
"We'll be fine," Finn said, heading towards the door. Meredith and Derek followed and both kissed Mollie on her cheek.
"Be a good girl," Meredith called as Finn disappeared down the driveway, and they stood waving until they had driven off.
"Were you talking to Mollie or Erin?" Derek asked, as Meredith closed the door. "She has no sense of personal space or privacy"
"Who, Mollie or Erin?" Meredith asked laughing, following Derek as he went to replace the photograph.
"Erin," he said. "She just waltzed in and started poking her nose around."
"Don't worry about her," Meredith replied. "So, what are we going to do today?"
"Ah," Derek said, turning round, his eyes sparkly and a sly smile on his lips. "You'll have to wait and see - it's a surprise."
And with that, he kissed Meredith lightly on the forehead before disappearing out of the room and heading upstairs.