Halloween came too soon, and Meredith found herself with Zola in her bedroom, getting her dressed for trick or treating. This year she had wanted to be Princess Tiana, so Meredith had obliged and Carolyn had made her the most elaborate Tiana costume she had ever seen. She was currently sitting on her bed, pulling and teasing Zola's hair into a bun that would make her look like the princess from the Disney movie. Finally, after what seemed like hours, Meredith had deemed her daughter's hair okay, and Zola rushed to her closet to grab her closet. "Help me mommy!" she said, grinning from ear to ear. Meredith couldn't help but match her daughter's smile. "First we have to put on a shirt, because it's kind of cold outside, okay?" she told her, tugging the cream colored shirt over her head, avoiding the bun she had just perfected. Thankfully the shirt matched the costume and Zola didn't complain. There was so much tulle underneath the skirt of the dress to make it poof out, and Meredith watched her daughter twirl. "Mommy I'm a princess!" she squealed, as Meredith put the bow on her bun, and handed her the elbow length gloves that went over her shirt with ease. "Come here baby girl," she smiled, lifting her into her lap. She could barely sit there anymore, what with Meredith's baby bump growing. She was nearly 6 months at this point and growing steadily. Once Zola was on her lap, she put on shiny black patent leather Mary jams, before letting her daughter preen at herself in the mirror on the back of her bedroom door. "Grandma made me pretty!" she laughed, touching her hair. "Oh Zozo, you're always pretty," she smiled, bending over and pressing kisses all over his face. "Go show daddy how pretty you look," she smiled, before heading to her own bedroom and getting herself dressed. She pulled a loose black top on over her tight tank top, shedding leggings for a pair of jeans and slipping her feet into boots. They were taking the kids over to Alex's house, as were Arizona and Callie with Sofia, to go trick or treating once again, since they live in the middle of nowhere and had no neighbors.

Heading out of the main room, she encountered Derek with little Bailey, dressed as a storm trooper from Star Wars. "Oh, don't you look both adorable and intimidating?" she laughed, swooping down and picking him up, laughing as he shrieked from laughter. "Oh my little Bailey-boo," she smiled, peppering him with kisses as she reached for Derek's hand and giving it a tight squeeze. This, right now, was everything she had ever wanted but didn't know she wanted. She put Bailey down and let him play with his toys, Zola still spinning around but in front of another mirror. She reached for Derek again and he took her in his arms, holding her tight, hands on her belly. She reached up, her hand on his cheek, smiling warmly as she pressed a kiss to his lips. "I love you," she whispered, content to stay in his arms just like. "I love you too," he grinned, kissing her back as they watched their kids do their thing, getting hyped up for running house to house and eating sweat things. "You know, when I first met you, I never thought about having kids. And now we have almost three and I can't thing of anything different," she grinned, turning around and looking up at him as her green eyes sparkled in the living room lights. He looked down at her and laughed. "I on the other hand only knew it was a matter of time before I got you to agree to the kids part," he teased her, lips barely touching hers, before the bossy voice of their five year old sounded in the room. "Mommy! Daddy! I want to go to Uncle Alex's and get some candy," Zola demanded, and Meredith and Derek broke apart, laughing. "Apparently we have a bossy daughter," Meredith teased him, grabbing her coat and a scarf, before grabbing her phone and keys. "Come on Zola, you're right, we should be leaving," she smiled, pulling open the front door and unlocking the car, getting her into her car seat somehow what with all the tulle underneath her dress. Derek was in charge of getting Bailey into his car seat, so she slipped into the passenger seat.

Soon enough they were at Alex's house, or rather the house Meredith grew up in, and Zola had started to grow up in. Meredith let the kids out of their car seats and they ran to the front door, where Alex let them in. Meredith and Derek took longer, holding hands as they made their way to the door, letting themselves in. The house looked completely different from when they lived in it but she liked what Alex had done with it. Alex and Jo jumped up from the couch to greet the Shepherd family. Zola had already rushed over to Sofia and they were in Disney Princess land; Sofia was dressed as Princess Belle and the girls were having fun with their dresses. Callie and Arizona came out of the kitchen, the two of them with beers, smiling and as happy as can be. Meredith had been happy to hear that the two of them had decided to try again a few months ago, and they seemed to be happy. "Hey guys," Meredith smiled, all of the adults flopping down in chairs or on the couch. Everyone was drinking except for Meredith and Jo, and Meredith couldn't help but wonder if the fourth year resident was pregnant. It was possible; plus Alex loved kids. It would be great for them to have another kid in the community of doctors. "So guys are we actually taking the kids out?" Callie laughed, finishing her beer and setting the empty bottle on the table. The adults laughed and stood up, Meredith with help from Derek, and gathered their kids, Alex grabbing Bailey by his middle and tossing him in the air. "Uncle Alex and Aunt Jo are going to give out the candy, but we'll see all of you in a little bit," he said, kissing Bailey on the forehead before handing him to Derek.


The kids had a ball trick-or-treating, running from house to house, and Meredith couldn't stop taking pictures of them posing with Sofia in their costumes. She never did the trick or treating thing as a kid, so seeing her kids have so much fun with it made her deliriously happy. She knew Derek had grown up trick or treating with Mark and his sisters, and if he had it his way he and Meredith would do family costumes with the kids. That was where she put her foot down though, especially now that she was pregnant. Cat ears were the closest she was going to get to a real costume, she had told him, as she put on the metal cat ears decorated in rhinestones. Zola had approved and said, "You look so pretty mommy! But not as pretty as me and Sofia," she had declared, before marching up to the next person's house. Meredith had laughed at the moxie of the strong-willed 5 year old, shaking her head at Derek and poking him in the chest. "She gets it right from you," she teased him with a kiss. He had shaken his head. "Nah, she's all Grey, she's just like you and Lexie," he teased. There was a name that hadn't been mentioned in awhile. Meredith brushed it off, wanting to focus on the happy. The kids ran around for about two hours, before Meredith had a sleepy Bailey in her arms and Zola was comfortable with her head on Derek's shoulder, threatening to fall asleep. Callie was holding onto Sofia's hand as she wobbled unsteadily on the sidewalk. It had been a fun night for all three kids though, with all three getting a ton of candy (most of which would be consumed by the six adults in the house).

Later that night in bed, Meredith lay curled up in Derek's arms. One arm was draped across her bump, his thumb caressing the back of her hand. She was so comfortable, she felt herself sinking back into his arms, her eyes closed. "I had a thought, earlier, when you mentioned Lexie," she said, sucking in a breath. She had come to realize that it would never not hurt to talk about her younger sister. She spoke to Molly occasionally, and she loved Maggie and the pair had a great relationship, but no one would ever replace Lexie Grey. "I have no idea what I want to name the baby, but I want her middle name to be Alexandra," she said, letting out a breath she didn't know she was holding. Derek smiled, leaning against her shoulder before reaching over to find her forehead in the dark. "I think that's a perfect idea. Alexandra is officially Baby girl Shepherd's middle name," he smiled, as Meredith rolled over to face him. "She would've loved another niece so close to home…" she smiled, tearing up a bit. He gently brushed those tears away, kissing her on the forehead, then both cheeks, then the mouth. "She would have, but our little girl will grow up hearing stories about her amazing, brave, aunt Lexie," he promised, brushing a thumb over her eyelids. She was exhausted, and after placing her head on his pillow, she quickly drifted off to sleep for the night.


Two weeks later came 24 weeks pregnant and Meredith had started plans for Thanksgiving. She wasn't going to cook it, of course; Maggie and Amelia would still never let her near the kitchen despite her protests at getting better at cooking and baking. They didn't trust her with over 50+ people and a huge thanksgiving meal. After all, Derek's entire family was coming, everyone from the hospital was coming; hell, Meredith had even invited her dad as a peace offering. Derek had convinced her to, he had convinced her that their children should know their grandfather. So that was why she found herself in the attending's lounge one Monday morning, pouring over cookbooks, wondering if anyone would like anything she was picking out or if it was just her crazed hormonal brain that wanted to eat anything and everything. Carolyn and the rest of the Shepherds were getting in the day before Thanksgiving; most were staying in hotels but some were staying at the house. It was going to be crazy but Meredith was thrilled for some reason. Things had definitely changed in her life and she couldn't be happier about it. "Remind me how I got roped into this again?" she asked Derek, who was sitting in an armchair across from her, trying to figure out a complicated surgery he had later that evening. "Because you love my family," he retorted with a cheeky grin. She made a groan of frustration. "Of course I love your family," she laughed, closing up the cookbooks and casting them aside, picking up the latest Neurosurgery journal and trying to focus on it…but it was hard to focus on reading when your teacher was your incredibly sexy husband. "I can't focus on anything anymore. Literally, I have a one track mind," she said, arching her eyebrows and looking over at Derek. It took him a moment to get the hint but once he did he flashed his blue eyes at her with a smirk. "Oh really? Is this around that time again?" he teased her, setting down his model and instruments, before moving over to the couch and locking her in a deep kiss, hands flowing freely through her wavy hair.

Of course her pager decided to go off, followed by his, and she groaned. "Fuck. Seriously? I love blood and surgery as much as everyone else here but right now? Really!?" she exclaimed, reaching up to her hair and pulling it up to a bun, quickly and expertly, grabbing her scrub cap from her pocket. Derek did the same, sans pulling his hair back, and grabbed her hand as they made their way down to the ambulance bay for their first 911 of the day. She wasn't allowed to lift patients onto gurneys but she could make herself useful in trauma rooms. She was checking out an incoming trauma when she felt a pain ripping through her abdomen. Stepping back from the table she moaned in pain. It felt like a contraction and she gripped her stomach, looking down. "Dammit," she said quietly, everyone else in the room pausing to look at her. Derek stopped what he was and considered her, putting an arm on her shoulder. "Mere, do you need to go sit down?" he whispered, concerned for her and the baby. "No I'm fine," she said, continuing to assess the patient for injuries. Head lac, stomach wounds, broken leg. Callie came barreling in the room as well as Bailey and Webber, all ready to do their jobs. "He needs a head CT," Meredith said, after shining her penlight in his eyes. They were off, rushing the man up to CT, where Meredith could finally sit down while they waited for the CT to come through. When it finally did, Meredith grimaced and looked over to Derek. "This is going to be rough," she breathed out. Derek simply nodded at the CT techs moved him back onto the gurney to move the man up to the OR.


Meredith and Derek stood next to each other in the scrub room, Meredith pinning her rings to her scrub top before scrubbing in and ignoring the pain in her stomach. She knew it wasn't labor; it was random and untimed. The only thing it could be was Braxton Hick's and as much as it sucked, life went on. After Derek entered the OR, she took a deep breath after a particularly painful contraction, stepping inside the door and allowing the scrub nurse to gown and glove her before popping up at Derek's right side. She was still having random pains as they opened up the patients brain to drain the blood and fix the bleed, but what should have been a short surgery turned into several hours as the patient coded several times. They were able to get him back several times but the stress on Meredith's body wasn't great. Her contractions were still coming with no rhyme or reason, at random intervals, but they weren't too strong, until suddenly an overwhelming pain gripped her. She cried out, dropping her instruments and grabbing her belly. Derek quickly passed off his instruments to Edwards, instructing her to close the patient up, and moved over to Meredith who was sitting on a chair by the wall. Kneeling down he pulled off his bloody gloves.

"Mere, you need to go up to OB. I know they're just Braxton Hick's but you need to slow down, that's what your body is telling you," he told her, kissing her forehead. She frowned, placing her hands on her ever-expanding belly with a sigh. She loved being pregnant, she loved carrying their baby, but she hated when things like this popped up. "Come on babe, I'll walk you up there," he said, taking her hand and leading her to the scrub room. They both degowned and headed up to OB. The floor was pretty empty and once Meredith said she'd been experiencing contractions all day, they quickly set her up in a room. Derek helped her out of her scrubs and into a hospital gown, tucking her into the bed. A nurse came by to draw blood and do an ultrasound. "Your baby is doing fine," the nurse said confidently, showing them the screen. Their baby girl was squirming around and kicking like crazy, which Meredith could feel. "I'll have Dr. Ryan come in as soon as possible," she said with a smile. Meredith cracked a fake smile, before turning to Derek, who had pulled up a chair to her bedside.

"Der, what if they aren't just Braxton Hicks? What if she's coming early?" she asked him, concern written on her face. She was 24 weeks and she knew the odds; the baby could survive but it would be tough. She was terrified. Of course, her worrying only brought on more stress, which brought on a high blood pressure reading that Derek was keeping on eye one. Sooner than later, Dr. Ryan came rushing into the room with a smile. "The good news is that your labs and ultrasound came back great. The bad news is that, as you know, as a surgeon you have a lot of stress in your life, which makes you at risk for preeclampsia. Your blood pressure is higher than normal and puts you in the danger zone for it, so I'd like to keep you overnight to monitor it, and keep the baby on a fetal monitor to see if it's contractions or Braxton Hicks. Either outcome, I'd like to see you off your feet and at home for at least two weeks to see if we can keep your stress levels down and see if it helps both mommy and baby," she said, scribbling something in Meredith's chart. Meredith threw her head back and groaned. This was absolutely not something she wanted. Derek caressed her hand gently, trying to calm her down. "Mere, sweetheart, we need you to be healthy and we want our little girl to be healthy," he said, trying to soothe her. She was frustrated. She was trying to have it all. A family, a career. She felt it all crumbling through her hands like sand on the beach. How could she be a world-class surgeon and an amazing mother at the same time if her pregnancy was keeping her back from her fellowship? She knew though that she needed to keep her baby safe; she loved that little girl so much and she hadn't even met her yet, she didn't even have a name yet. "I'll do it. I can stay at home," she breathed, an arm covering her eyes as she tried not to cry. The situation itself was stressing her out and she could hear the alarms beeping, alerting Derek and Dr. Ryan of her skyrocketing blood pressure.

"Meredith I'm going to need you to take deep breaths and let them out slowly," Connie instructed her, trying to calm the distraught patient. Derek continued to rub her hand, whispering things in her ear to calm her down. Her uterus tightened up with another contraction and she groaned, trying to take the deep breaths requested of her. Both Dr. Ryan and Derek were relieved as her blood pressure started to drop slowly, and soon it was within normal range. "Meredith that was great, please do that whenever you feel like you're stressed or about to have a panic attack okay? We need to keep both of you happy and we need to keep that baby inside of you for another 13 weeks," she said, as Meredith lay in the bed, unable to do anything for now.


Derek stayed by her side, having bumped his surgeries to late tomorrow, after the time he would be taking Meredith home when she was discharged. She was hooked up to the fetal monitor which monitored contractions, and so far she'd only had a few, which were still erratic and had no pattern. So they were all right; they were Braxton Hicks. It put both Meredith and Derek's mind at ease, but Meredith was royally pissed that she had to take time off work. Upon waking up from a nap Meredith sighed, checking her blood pressure. It was a bit high, but not high enough for concern. Turning her head the other direction she found Derek fiddling with his phone. "Hey," she said hoarsely, half smiling at him. "You're awake," he smiling, pressing a kiss to her lips. "I am," she sighed, moving hair out of her eyes. He returned her sigh and kissed her again. "I know you're unhappy, but this is your body's way of telling you to slow down, Mere. We both want you and the baby in one piece once she decides to come," he said with a smile. She adjusted herself in the bed, moving over and patting the space she just made. "Come sleep with me," she smiled. He made no hesitation to crawl into the tiny hospital bed with her, spooning her and wrapping his arms completely around her, his hand finding her bump like usual as he breathed in the scent of her lavender shampoo. "I love you so much," he whispered into her hair, and the smile on her face spread. "I love you to the moon and back," she giggled, turning her head so she could see his. "Not possible, I love you to infinity and beyond," he stated. "Mmm, I think you've been watching way too many movies with Bailey and Zola," she laughed, scrunching up her nose as she rubbed his two day old stubble. "I will love you forever. You're it. You're the only one," she said softly, her eyes misting over. "I hate to bring this up but…when you had the accident, before you woke up, I had decided I was going to be a widow for the rest of my life. No more dating. You were my one and only love," she said softly, a hand on his cheek. He couldn't help feeling choked up by that. "Remember, years ago, when I told you you were like coming up for fresh air? That I was drowning and you saved me? Back at the trailer, all those years ago. You were so young," he laughed, cupping her chin. She nodded with a small smile. "You did. You were. You still are. I fell in love with the girl in the bar, the girl who tosses back tequila as if it were water, the girl who grew up dark and twisty, the girl who was my one night stand the night before I was supposed to start work here. I love you and I can't imagine my life any other way at this point," he stated, pulling her even closer. Tears were rolling down her cheeks and her breath hitched. "I remember it. All of it. Telling you that when I met you I was done, I had found the person I wanted to marry. After all those years it came true. Look at us now," she giggle, gesturing down to her pregnant belly. "Do you think this is the last one?" she asked her green eyes sparkling. "Hmmm, one more?" he teased her, his hand caressing the bump, feeling the soft kicks of their daughter. "We'll see Dr. McDreamy," she teased him, her lips finding his again as the rare fall sunlight faded beyond the window.


Thanks for the amazing reviews AGAIN guys! I realized why the guest reviews weren't posting and I FIXED IT! Now I can get them right away and you can send as many as you want! I'm excited I fixed it!

I'm going to post the first chapter of the college AU soon, as soon as I choose the best title for the fic I hope you all like it! I know I write a lot of narrative and not much dialogue; it's just the type of writer I am and if you hate it I'm SO sorry, I'm definitely trying to work on adding more dialogue into my stories! I'm used to roleplaying the most so I love writing narrative and description, it's second nature to me so it comes out that way in fic but I promise I'm trying!

The college AU is posted and is called Long Live :) Give me some feedback! I'm nervous about it!

Definitely adding more and more MerDer into here, and there will be more Grey-Sloan couples as well, I promise!

Please read and review! Reviews make me SO happy!