CHAPTER 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Grey's, but I wish I did.

Author's note: I had originally intended to make "Glorious Day" a one shot about Derek and Meredith's first hours as parents, but I've decided to add an epilogue to end it completely…so technically, it's a two shot. Thank you to everyone that left me comments. I greatly appreciate them. Enjoy!!

Meredith sighed at herself in the mirror as she tried to button her jeans. She thought of the angel sleeping in the next room who was responsible for her dilemma. Meredith wondered how someone that small and precious could cause such damage, especially when the clothes that she was trying to put on fit before he existed. She glared at her husband, father of the small and precious angel, who was in bed, absorbed with reading a book. He got me pregnant, she thought, with that stupid boy penis of his. His penis caused all of this… Meredith thought to herself grouchily. No matter how much she wiggled, the jeans would not zip up. Meredith rolled her eyes, stomped over to the bed and flopped down on her back. As God as my witness, these freaking pants will go on if I have to have Derek hold them open so I can jump into them from the top of the dresser…she thought. Derek looked up from his book in amusement as she wiggled around on the bed, fighting against the zipper.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

Meredith stopped wiggling and looked over to glare at him. "My pants don't fit. Did you stick them in the dryer on hot or something?" She demanded.

Derek thought for a moment before he answered her. He had grown accustomed to choosing his words carefully before responding to his wife, especially since her pregnancy and in the two weeks since Noah's arrival. The wicked cravings of strawberry ice cream and potato chips diminished right after Meredith gave birth, but the intense hormone surges decided to stay around for a bit longer. Derek looked at her and shook his head, "No, I haven't touched the laundry. Mom's been keeping up with it so I don't have to."

There, that's a safe answer…he thought, only to notice that Meredith's glare at him did not fade. "What?" he asked.

"Are you implying that I cannot keep up with the laundry?" Meredith asked shortly as she sat up, faced him and crossed her arms over her chest. She didn't wait for Derek to respond. "Did it ever occur to you that maybe I'm just a little busy with other things to be worried about whether or not you have clean underwear? I eat, sleep, and breathe baby…and I probably smell like him, too. He threw up on me today, twice. And he poops like it's no one's business. So, when I'm not feeding him, changing him, or taking a few minutes to love him a little, I'm sending out a heart felt apology to his father, perhaps engraved in stone or whatever, that I'm sorry that I neglected his laundry." Meredith got up from the bed and stomped into the bathroom. Derek grimaced as she slammed the door.

Derek let out a long, frustrated sigh. He knew that Meredith was consumed with taking care of Noah, and in the two weeks she's been a mother, she's become quite good at it. Noah was thriving and doing well, and Meredith was the reason for it. She was able to calm him when he cried, almost like she could pick up on what he needed by the sound. His mom said that it's a sixth sense mother's have, and she saw it in Meredith almost immediately with Noah. Derek saw it, too. He loved to watch Meredith with their son. He couldn't have picked a better mother for his child. She was wonderful with him and he was more in love with her than ever.

Derek sighed again, got out of bed, and walked over to the bathroom door. "Meredith," he called softly. He heard the shower running as he opened the door a crack to peek in. He caught a glimpse of his naked wife behind the shower door. He held in his breath for a moment. He stared at the outline of her body in awe as she showered, not aware that she was being watched. She is beautiful…he thought as he felt himself become aroused. He smirked as he quietly made his way into the bathroom and stripped himself of his t-shirt and boxers. He opened the shower door and stepped into the steaming water. He came up behind his wife and began kissing her shoulder. Meredith jumped, startled at the touch, and turned around to look at him. "Hey." she said quietly.

"Hey," he said in return as he looked at her from head to toe. "I just wanted to tell you that I think you're beautiful," he said as he wrapped his arms around her and placed his hands on her butt.

Meredith smiled and cocked her head sideways. "So, you had to get naked and climb in the shower with me just to tell me that?" she asked.

Derek wiggled his eyebrows at her. "Well, considering that it's been so long since I've seen all of you, thought I'd treat myself to a refresher course," he leaned in to meet his lips with hers in a soft kiss. His hands made their way up her back and back down to her butt. He pulled her closer to him as his tongue demanded entrance into her mouth. Meredith opened her mouth for him as she ran her fingers through his wet hair. She could feel his arousal between her legs, causing her to pull him closer and kiss him harder.

Derek suddenly stopped and took a step back. "Mer," he started, but Meredith lunged at him, slamming him into the shower wall. She kissed him hungrily as her hands roamed all over his body. "Meredith," Derek moaned between kisses, "Baby, it's too soon. We can't make love yet. You're not healed", he protested as she trailed kisses all over his neck and chest. He closed his eyes, relishing how great her lips felt on his skin, but quickly regained control of his emotions. He pushed gently against her shoulders, making her stop what she was doing to look at him. "Listen to me, my incredibly sexy, beautiful, horny wife. I love you, but we cannot do this now. I cannot make love to you knowing that there is a good possibly that I could hurt you or cause you pain. We just need to be patient and wait it out".

Meredith looked at him in agony, but then her green eyes slowly filled with lust. "What's going on in that beautiful head of yours?" he asked.

"Well," she began, moving close to him again. "You might not be able to make love to me, but I can love you…in other ways," she purred as she ran her hands down his waist and thighs, taking him into her hand and massaging him slowly. Derek groaned in appreciation at her movements. She smiled widely at him as she pulled his face down to her to kiss him again, and then dropped to her knees. I'll take the mood swings any day if this is the end result…he thought to himself as he groaned when Meredith began to work her magic with her mouth.

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Derek awoke when he heard Noah begin to fuss in the bassinet beside Meredith. He looked over at his wife, who was sound asleep and snoring slightly. He can't be hungry…Derek thought to himself as he looked at the clock. He had heard Meredith put him in his bassinet after nursing him about an hour ago. Derek waited to see if Noah would fall back asleep, but quickly became guilty because his son needed something or he wouldn't be up. He got out of bed and made his way over to his son who was lying awake in his bassinet, studying his surroundings. Even at two weeks old, people had commented to Derek and Meredith on how alert Noah was and how amazing it was to see how he studied people's faces when they held him.

"Hey, buddy," Derek said softly to him as he gently lifted him from his bassinet. "You should be sleeping, little man." Derek held him close and kissed his forehead. Noah looked up at Derek with his blue eyes and studied his features intently. "I know. You're used to Daddy with great hair, not bed head. I promise you, I'll fix it in the morning," he joked as he made his way with Noah to his nursery. Derek quickly changed his diaper, rewrapped him in his cocoon of blankets, and lifted him into his arms again. He moved is way over to the rocking chair and sat down to rock Noah back to sleep. He chuckled to himself as he watched Noah look around the room, wide awake. Noah's gaze rested at the mural on the wall that Derek and Mark had painted a few months before his birth. He and Meredith had decided that they were going to wait to see what the sex of the baby was, and they had chosen a nursery rhyme theme to remain gender neutral. The end result was perfect, and Noah apparently enjoyed looking at the colors.

"What color do you want Humpty Dumpty to be?" Mark asked Derek as he studied his work on the wall thoughtfully.

"He's an egg, Mark. There," he motioned toward the can of paint, 'use eggshell white". He smirked at Mark from the ladder as he turned back to designing the border along the ceiling.

Mark glared at Derek as he picked up the can of paint. "So, tell me, how did I get suckered into doing this job, anyway? Shouldn't Meredith be helping you…er…I mean, bossing you with this"?

Derek turned to look at Mark. "I don't want Meredith in here inhaling the paint fumes. She told me how she wanted it, and seeing how I fix people's brains on a daily basis, I think I can manage painting my baby's nursery. I've got it under control".

Mark chuckled. "Man, you are so whipped. I should have known when Meredith put that ring on your finger that it was all over for you."

Derek turned to glare at Mark. "I am not whipped. My wife is carrying my child. That translates into her getting whatever she wants from now on. Meredith wants a nursery rhyme mural, so I will go to whatever lengths to make sure it happens." Derek turned back to painting. "Besides, if I can recall correctly, I remember a certain someone who went to every department store in fifty mile radius of Seattle to find the perfect birthday gift for Lexie. Wonder who that guy was?" Derek teased.

"Shut up." Mark replied. "These Grey girls are high maintenance, but, I've always been up to the challenge. At least I didn't marry one."

"Yet," Derek replied. Mark turned to respond, but the men were interrupted by Meredith and Lexie coming into the room. "This room looks amazing!" Lexie exclaimed as she made her way to Mark's side.

"Meredith, paint fumes," Derek motioned to the walls of the nursery with a look of panic.

"Relax, Derek," Meredith rolled her eyes at him. "I am in a hospital all day around people, sick and contagious. I think I can be exposed to a miniscule amount of paint fumes. We'll only be here a few minutes anyway. We're meeting Cristina and Izzie for lunch". Meredith glanced around the nursery with an elated look on her face. "This looks great!" she exclaimed. "It's just how I pictured it in my head". She turned towards Mark, "Mark, thanks for helping".

"No problem. I'll do anything for my little niece or nephew. Besides, I figured Derek needed all the help he could get". Mark smirked at Derek, who glared at him as he made his way down the ladder. Meredith waddled over to Derek and wrapped her arms around his waist. "I'll thank you later," she whispered to him as she kissed his cheek. She moved her lips to his mouth and gave him a lingering kiss. She pulled away and winked at him. Derek gazed into her eyes for a few moments, relishing the feel of her swollen stomach against his. "Looking forward to it," he replied as he kissed her again.

"Mer, we should go if we don't want to be late for lunch," Lexie said. Meredith gave Derek one last kiss and pried herself away from Derek's embrace. He rubbed her stomach for a few seconds before she turned to leave the room.

"See?" Derek asked after the women left. "Did you see the look on her face? Pure happiness. I'd give anything to see that, whipped or not."

Mark glanced at Derek. "You're pathetic, and I am truly a worse human being for knowing you".

Derek laughed. "That's my line, you can't use my line".

"Is my grandson keeping you awake?" a voice asked from the doorway of the nursery, startling Derek out of his thoughts. He looked up to see his mother standing there in her nightgown and bath robe smiling at him. "Nah," Derek replied. "We're just having some father son bonding time. I've got a lot to teach him before fishing season starts". He looked down at his son who had drifted off to sleep.

Carolyn walked quietly into the room and stood next to Derek. "Your father used to do the same thing with you when you were a baby, "she replied, sadly. "There were nights when he would get up just to hold you while you slept. He said he liked it because it was just the two of you and you could talk about 'man' things. You remind me of him when I watch you with Noah. He would be proud of you and the father you've become." She rubbed his shoulder lightly and kissed the top of his head.

Derek could feel a lump forming in his throat and tears stinging his eyes. It was times like this that he really missed his father. He thought of him often, especially since finding out that he was going to be a father. He missed not having him to go to when he needed advice or to talk about life. When Meredith found out she was pregnant, he was the first person that Derek wanted to tell. When Meredith was having mood swings, he wanted to call him for advice. When he was scared about how to be an extraordinary husband and father, he wanted his father to ease his fears. "I miss him." Derek choked out. "I want for Noah to know him and I want Dad to know how much in love I am with my son. I didn't realize how much I missed Dad until I became what he was to me. I've wanted to be a father as long as I can remember and the moment I found out it was happening, it scared the crap out of me. I need him here with me." Derek swallowed hard and preoccupied himself with looking at Noah.

Carolyn sighed and kneeled down beside her son. "Sweetheart," she said softly, "your father is here, just not in the form you thought he'd be. He is guiding you, he's talking to you and you just don't realize it. Decisions that you make as a father and a husband come from him. His traits are instilled in you and you will instill them in Noah. Your father will always be with you and you will make sure that Noah knows his Grandpa Shepherd". She smiled at Derek with tears in her eyes. "And we thought Meredith was the emotional one." she joked.

Derek laughed at his mother's comment as she leaned in to kiss his cheek.

"I'm so glad that Meredith and I are getting this time to spend with you. I know Meredith really appreciates you being here and you've helped her so much with Noah. You've made my life easier, too, because I'm not sure if I would've been able to handle postpartum Meredith alone". Carolyn chuckled and kissed his cheek again.

"Okay, Okay, enough teasing Meredith, the poor girl. She's not as bad as you think. You should have witnessed Carolyn Shepherd after your sister was born. Meredith is a piece of cake compared to what your father dealt with. I'm amazed he stuck around to have four more children with me after Kathleen". She ruffled his hair and stood up. "Now, you need to get to bed and get some rest. You won't be doing your patients any good if you fall asleep during their surgery".

Derek gave Noah a kiss and handed him to his mother. "Yes, ma'am," he joked as he stood up from the rocking chair and walked out of the room. He turned around in the doorway and watched his mother speak softly to his sleeping son as she sat down in the rocking chair.

Derek walked into his bedroom and crawled into bed next to Meredith. He pulled her sleeping body closer to him and spooned her. He could smell the scent of lavender coming from her hair as he buried his face in her neck. "I love you, Meredith Shepherd," he whispered. "More than life."

Meredith muttered something unintelligible and began to snore softly. Derek smiled to himself as her snoring lulled him to sleep.

Meredith walked into the kitchen, where Carolyn was preparing dinner. "So, how much should a baby actually poop because this is the fifth pooped diaper I've changed today?" she asked.

Carolyn turned from the stove to look at Meredith. "Sixth, I changed one this morning before you were awake. It's completely normal, Meredith. Breastfed babies poop a lot more because breast milk is easier to digest."

Meredith sighed as she sat at the counter to watch Carolyn cook. "I don't know how I'm going to survive when you leave. I've never been good at cooking." Meredith leaned her cheek on her hand and sighed pathetically.

"Actually, when we got married, Derek made me promise that I'd let him do all the cooking, and I wouldn't touch the appliances in any home maker kind of way without someone supervising me. I apparently scared the crap out of him when I tried to make him chicken parmesan for his birthday and almost caught the house on fire. I could have sworn the recipe said cook at five hundred fifty degrees, not three hundred fifty. But then again, I have a hard time reading Izzie's writing, so I blamed it on her, but anyone who knows me knows that I can't cook to save my life. I even burn popcorn in the microwave…sometimes I wonder why Derek sticks around. I can't seem to get all domesticated or whatever, but I can make a mean grilled cheese".Meredith stopped talking when she heard Carolyn chuckle.

"I'm sorry, I know I'm rambling. Cristina says it's a sign of avoidance, or not knowing what I'm trying to say, or whatever, but when I catch myself in a ramble, it drives me crazy. I tell people to tell me to shut up when I'm rambling, but no one will. Derek says it's cute, he likes it, but come on, how many surgeons do you know ramble? How can I be an intense, hardcore surgeon when I ramble on endlessly?" Meredith took a deep breath and watched Carolyn's wide eyed expression.

"Now, I'm rambling over rambling," Meredith sighed. "What are you making?" she asked, changing the subject. "It smells wonderful."

"Vegetable soup," Carolyn replied. "I figured it would be a good dinner considering that it's raining. But then again, in the three weeks I've been here, I think it rained all but two days. But when it doesn't rain, Seattle is an interesting city and I can see why Derek likes it here, besides the obvious reasons." Carolyn smiled at Meredith humorously.

Meredith looked at Carolyn wide eyed. "Carolyn," she started slowly, "did I just witness a mini ramble from you? Ugh! I've drug you over to the side of rambling ramblers. I'm such a bad influence on you with my bad habits. You'll probably go back to New York and start rambling over something and Derek's sisters will wonder what happened to you and then they'll blame me. I can hear them now 'that Meredith and her rambling' she mocked, 'it's apparently contagious because now mom rambles after four weeks in Seattle, and poor Derek for dealing with the rambling and what about Noah? He'll probably ramble, too'. Then they will and call and yell at me.."

"Dear," Carolyn interrupted, "they will not call and yell at you. They like you. You make Derek happy, so who cares if you ramble. You wouldn't be Meredith if you didn't ramble." Carolyn turned back to the stove and stirred the soup.

Meredith sighed and got off the stool and made her way into the kitchen. "Considering we're having soup for dinner, the least I can do is make my mean grilled cheese to go with it," Meredith stated as she grabbed a pan from the pot rack above the stove.

Carolyn laughed and backed away to allow Meredith room. "Before you start, is the fire extinguisher close by in case we need it?"

Meredith snorted and turned to look at Carolyn, "Like mother, like son, I see," she replied sarcastically.

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Meredith made her way through the front doors of Seattle Grace hospital with Noah strapped securely and sleeping soundly in his baby sling in front of her. She and Noah were meeting Derek for lunch and they were going to take a tour of the hospital's daycare site to see if it was adequate enough to meet the needs of their precious son. Miranda Bailey had suggested the facility to Derek and Meredith before Noah was born claiming that she was pleased with how Tuck was taken care of there. Meredith took heart in what Miranda had said because she was a hard woman to please. Meredith would be returning to work in a few weeks and Derek's mother was leaving for home the day after tomorrow, so she and Derek needed to have a plan in place for when she returned to work.

As she walked off the elevator and onto the surgical floor, she caught a glimpse of Izzie standing at the nurse's station. "Hey, Iz!" she called to her. Izzie looked up from the chart she was reading and an excited look came across her face.

"Meredith! How are you? And how is the little ladies man? Aww, he's asleep!" She leaned in to kiss his forehead and stroke his cheek, "Hi gorgeous man, you are adorable, you little baby boy," she whispered. "You're getting so big, yes you are, I hardly recognized you, you big little boy. Mommy's taking good care of you."

Izzie stood up to speak to Meredith. "Mer, you look great, amazing actually. You can't even tell you just had a baby." She stated.

"Thanks, Iz, say that to my pants that won't fit. I had to go out and buy a size larger! And let's not talk about my boobs. You'd swear Dolly Parton and I were in competition or something. Derek likes them, though. He wants them to stay." She chuckled at the thought of Derek this morning staring at her in awe as she put her bra on.

"Speaking of Derek, here he comes." Izzie announced as Meredith turned around to see Derek and Mark walking up the hall.

"There's my beautiful wife," Derek called, coming up beside Meredith and kissing her on the cheek. "Not to mention my handsome boy." He leaned down to kiss Noah's forehead, holding it in place as he gazed at Meredith's cleavage.

"Derek!" Meredith exclaimed, smacking him on the arm. Mark chuckled as Derek stood up with an embarrassed expression on his face. "What? I was looking at my son," he protested.

Mark chimed in, "So, the conversation that we had about Meredith's breasts ten minutes ago was off the record?"

Derek turned to glare at Mark. "Don't you have a face lift or a tummy tuck you could be performing now?" Meredith looked between Derek and Mark in disgust.

"You mean to tell me that my breasts," she said, pointing her finger at Derek, "that are currently feeding your son, are the hot topic in this hospital?" she put her hands on her hips and waited for a response.

Mark looked at his watch and announced loudly, "One thirty already? I have to meet Lexie for lunch in the cafeteria." He turned to walk towards the elevator. Meredith quickly followed him as Derek trailed behind. "Mark Sloan, isn't it ironic that the daycare is also on the ground floor of the building. Hold that elevator. Let's go, Derek." Derek took Meredith's hand as she followed Mark onto the elevator. Mark smirked as he spoke to the sleeping baby.

"Noah, my man, let me introduce you to the elevator. The same elevator that you were conceived in almost a year ago." Mark leaned up against the elevator, pleased with himself at his comment.

Derek groaned as Meredith turned to glare at Mark. "Mark, Noah was not conceived in this elevator so don't tell him that. Derek and I never had sex in this elevator. The only things these walls have witnesses are several make out sessions, Derek feeling me up once or twice, and a proposal".

"Meredith," Derek groaned, "too much information for Mark. He'll run with it".

Mark smirked at Meredith. "Yes, Meredith, Mark will run with it," he stated as he crossed his arms over his chest.

Meredith was getting annoyed. She liked Mark, she really did, but she wondered how someone could be so immature. She took a step closer to him and lowered her voice. Derek watched her in amusement. Meredith could always put Mark in his place, especially now since her hormones were all over the place. "Let me make myself clear, if any of this conversation leaks its way out of the elevator, the entire hospital will know how Lexie broke your penis." She proclaimed, putting her hands on her hips.

Mark looked at her in horror and glanced at Derek, who started to chuckle loudly. "What?" Derek gasped, turning to Mark. "Lexie broke your penis? When?" He turned back to Meredith. "Meredith! How'd you know that?"

"I know everything," she declared, "and at this point in time, consider it blackmail." She turned away from a speechless Mark as the elevator doors slid open. Derek followed her out of the elevator, but turned to look at Mark for a moment.

"Hormones" he stated. "Oh, and for the record, Noah was conceived in the on- call room. I get horny after performing brain surgery." Derek chuckled as he hurried to catch up with his wife and son.

"That was amazing," Meredith proclaimed as she followed Derek to the scrub room to scrub out after their surgery together. She had watched Derek successfully remove a tumor the size of a walnut from Mr. Davis' brain. A tumor that was deemed inoperable by the head of neurosurgery at Boston General Hospital. Mr. Davis had come to Seattle Grace for a consult with Derek Shepherd after he heard of his reputation as being one of the top ten neurosurgeons in the world. Derek agreed to perform the surgery, asked Meredith to scrub in with him, and was able to remove the entire tumor with no long term complications for the patient.

Derek smiled at Meredith's enthusiasm. "I do tend to have that effect on you," he agreed as he dried off his hands. Meredith rolled her eyes at his inflated ego as she removed her wedding and engagement rings from the chain around her neck and put them back on the ring finger of her left hand. Derek looked at her with adoration as he watched her place her rings back on her finger, a gesture that sent chills up his spine. He still had a hard time grasping the idea that she was his in every way possible.

"Like what you see?" she teased as she moved closer to him and wrapped her arms around his waist. "Derek Shepherd, I do believe I caught you checking me out," she said seductively as she moved her hands up his back to his neck and pulled his face down to kiss her.

"Hmmmm," he replied against her lips as he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer to him to kiss her deeply, entering his tongue into her mouth. Meredith pulled away from his lips breathlessly.

"We need to go talk to Mr. Davis' family before we get too distracted with our baby making project." Meredith said. "Then, afterwards, you and me in the on call room for an after surgery celebration". She winked at him as she turned to leave the room. Derek grinned widely as he followed Meredith out of the scrub room at the thought of making a baby with Meredith. They had decided to start trying a few months ago after Meredith told him breezily "Derek, you're not getting any younger". Therefore, "Project Baby Shepherd" was underway. The members of the project would meet on a daily basis (sometimes several times) to 'discuss' the activities. They'd make love in the on call room, storage closet, in the car, and every room in their new house overlooking Seattle.

Derek had a hard time focusing as he heard Meredith talk with Mrs. Davis about the success of her husband's surgery and how he would make a full recovery. He barely paid attention to the conversation as he undressed her with his eyes, trying to imagine if she was wearing a thong or her black lacy panties that made him hot for her. He imagined removing them slowly as he kissed his way down her neck, in between her breasts, to her navel, and then down to her…

"Dr. Shepherd?" Meredith asked, "Dr. Shepherd?" Meredith waited for Derek to respond.

"What? Huh?" Derek stuttered in a state of confusion.

"Dr. Shepherd, Mrs. Davis wants to know if she can see her husband now?" she asked him with raised eyebrows. Meredith knew Derek's problem and narrowly escaped bursting into a fit of giggles.

Derek looked from Meredith to Mrs. Davis as he gathered his thoughts. "Of course, Dr. Grey. Mrs. Davis, that would be fine. Please follow me." Derek turned to walk away, but overheard Meredith's conversation with Mrs. Davis, saying it loud enough so he could hear it. "Your husband is lucky to have Dr. Shepherd as his surgeon. You'll have to excuse him, though, because he is already deep in thought about his next procedure, which will be very intense and time consuming for him. It's right up his alley, though. Practically screams his name. " Derek kept his eyes straight ahead as he made his way to Mr. Davis' room as he fought the heat that was rising in his body at the thought of Meredith screaming his name at the next meeting of "Project Baby Shepherd".

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Meredith fought back tears as Derek pulled into the parking lot at Seattle Grace Hospital. It had been an emotional day so far and it was only a little after six in the morning. Meredith didn't anticipate it getting better anytime soon. The six weeks that she spent at home with Noah flew by and she now felt nauseous at the thought of returning to work. She looked over at Noah, who was asleep in his car seat. Derek looked at her through the rearview mirror with concern. She had been quiet for the trip in, which was very unlike Meredith.

"Mer, you okay?" he asked quietly, turning to look at her in the back seat. She swallowed the lump in her throat before she responded.

"I'm fine," she replied in a flat voice as she rummaged through the diaper bag to count the diapers for the tenth time. She had packed enough items for Noah to stay at daycare for an entire week.

Derek looked at her with raised eyebrows. "Are you fine, fine or Meredith, fine?" he asked, challenging her to prove how she was really feeling.

Derek watched Meredith's reaction as her face changed from annoyance to sadness as she burst into tears. She covered her face with her hands as she sobbed quietly. Derek quickly got out of the car, made his way around to Meredith's side, opened the door, and pulled her up to stand. He wrapped his arms tightly around her as he whispered soothing words into her ear. He knew how hard this day was for her and he was determined to be there for her as much as he could. He had asked Dr. Bailey last week if he could have Meredith on his service for her first week back. Normally, Dr. Bailey would have frowned at the idea of him choosing favorites, but instead smiled at Derek in understanding and made the requested changes.

Meredith pulled back from his embrace and sniffed. "This is hard, Derek. How am I supposed to leave him with strangers when he's been with me since the moment he's been born? I mean, what if they leave him in his diaper too long and he gets a diaper rash, or what if he runs a fever and they don't page me, or what if they don't follow his daily routine? I don't think I can do this," She wailed as she started to cry again. Derek pulled her back to him for another hug, secretly feeling the same fears his wife said out loud.

"Mer, he will be an elevator ride away from us. Think of all the parents who don't have a daycare at their work. Their kids are miles away from them or across town. We're set because when we have a moment, we can sneak away from our jobs and visit with him. We've met the daycare staff and they know what we expect to happen in their care and they respect it. It's going to be okay, I promise". He pulled away to look in her eyes.

"You're right," she sniffed. "I'm okay, I'll be okay. I know they'll take care of him. I guess I'm just afraid that I'll miss out on something important. I just want to be a good mom and I don't want him to be scared. I remember spending hours upon hours in daycare while my mom was at work and being scared that she wasn't going to pick me up." She sniffed again and wiped the tears from her cheeks.

Derek placed his hand under her chin and made her look at him. "Meredith, you are an excellent mother. I've watched you with Noah since he was born. You are amazing with him. He adores you and he's glad you're his mom,"

Meredith laughed at his comment. "Oh yeah, and how do you know that?"

Derek smiled at her. "Because he told me one night when we were having 'man' time," he joked. Then he became serious again as he traced his finger along her cheek. "I could not have asked for a better mother for my child. You amaze me, and I fall more in love with you every day." He leaned in to kiss her softly. "And the fact that you're emotional in the parking lot over taking him to daycare proves that you are one trillion times better of a mom to Noah than your mom was to you."

Meredith wrapped her arms around his waist and squeezed him tightly. "You always know what to say to make me feel better," she sighed. Derek laughed at her comment and rubbed circles on her back. He glanced at his watch.

"Mer, we have to get Noah to daycare. We can't piss Bailey off and you can't spend your first day back to work doing rectal exams because you were late." He leaned into the car to unhook Noah from his seat. He lifted him gently against his shoulder making sure that his hat he was wearing completely covered his ears. He slung his briefcase strap over the other shoulder and waited as Meredith grabbed her purse and the suitcase of a diaper bag. "Ready?" he asked her.

Meredith held on to Derek's arm and reached up to adjust Noah's hat again. "Ready," she mimicked, realizing that this was the first of many times they would walk through the doors of Seattle Grace Hospital as a family.

THE END!!

I know, it was cheesy. But that's what happens when I've gone over a month without a new episode of Grey's!!!!

One more week!!