Meredith gazed out her window to the rain that was washing the dark street, already unconsciously rocking the baby back and forth in her arms with slow movements. When Morgan sighed, Meredith's gaze broke. She looked down at her baby and smiled. Then she looked at the clock and sighed. It was nearly 5 o'clock in the morning and Morgan had just decided to fall asleep.

She slowly stood up from the windowsill and carried the baby back to her bed. Meredith lay down beside her, her hand slowly rubbing against the baby's tiny chest. "Baby Morgan," she whispered, talking to her girl. "When you see dark outside, it means that we have to sleep. We sleep all night and then we wake up when the sun is up on the sky. I know it's confusing because you're only three weeks old and you haven't seen too much sun yet, but trust me… this is how things go around here."

The baby kept sleeping peacefully as if her mother's lecture would have been a lullaby.

Meredith sighed and rearranged the pillow beside the baby so that she wouldn't fall off the bed and then she drew the blanket over them and lay down with Morgan. Her eyes gazed out the window again and now the rain seemed to reflex in her eyes. She wasn't supposed to be lonely anymore, but she felt lonelier than ever. She wiped her cheek and took a deep breath. She had chosen this way so she was going to suck it up and move on. Meredith watched her baby until the 3 sleepless hours she had spent with Morgan that night wore her out and she drifted to sleep.

Later, Meredith was struggling with her bag, which constantly was falling off her shoulder, and with Morgan, who was sleeping in her arms. She sighed and ran the back of her hand over her forehead to wipe the perspiration. She watched how the elevator was dragging down to the main lobby while she tapped the foot against the floor, hoping for it to move faster so that she could get outside and get some air. With each stop, Meredith took a deep breath, feeling refreshed for a second only. She was having two more floors to go when the door opened and someone's face lit up.

"Meredith," Derek smiled and walked inside as soon as the other passengers got off.

"Derek," Meredith smiled.

His smile turned instantly into worry as he noticed her tired look. Her face was still glowing, but her eyes looked extremely tired. "Is everything all right with you and Morgan?"

"Yes, it is," Meredith just nodded.

"May I ask you what are you doing here?" Derek insisted.

"Do I have to give you a report?" Meredith snapped angrily, causing Morgan to fuss in her arms. "Shh," she whispered to the baby and rocked her slowly.

Derek was caught off guard by her burst. "I am sorry," he apologized quietly.

Meredith sighed as the guilt washed over and tears streamed down her cheeks.

"Meredith," Derek said softly and stopped the elevator. Gesture that made her throw a fist in his arm.

"What is wrong with you?" she snapped. "I have a baby in here," she scowled.

"Meredith, what's wrong?" Derek kept the tone of his voice calm. "We're friends, remember?"

Another tears rolled down her cheeks then. "It's nothing," she sobbed.

Derek gently slid his hands under the baby and took her into his arms. As he cradled Morgan with one arm, he wrapped his other one around Meredith.

"I'm just very tired," she sobbed into his shoulder as she clenched on him.

"Shh," Derek rubbed circles over her back, soothing her. "I know. It's not easy, but it will get better."

"When… she'll go to… to college?" Meredith sobbed.

Derek chuckled. "No. I am sure it's going to be sooner," he reassured her with a lighter tone and kissed her on the cheek.

Slowly she started calming down and she was able to hold back her tears. Meredith stepped back and wiped her face, sniffing. "Try to ignore what just happened."

"If that makes you feel better," he smiled.

"It does," she smiled back.

"Ok, then. I will ignore it," he chuckled. "So she's a night person, huh?" Derek smiled down at Morgan.

"She is," she sighed. "Can you let the elevator go now?"

Derek showed the intention of doing it, but his finger froze over the button. "Have lunch with me."

"Derek," Meredith groaned. "I asked you to ignore my minor burst."

"I already forgot about it," Derek grinned. "I want you to have lunch with me," he insisted and gave her a pleading smile.

Meredith giggled like a teenager and wiped her eyes. "Let's make it fast because Morgan will be asking for her meal soon and I am only carrying it packed," she smiled, her brows motioning down to her chest.

Derek laughed cheerfully and let the elevator go. "I can only offer you hospital food, so we'll be done with it quickly."

"Can I have Morgan back?" she asked him, holding out her hands.

Derek smiled curiously. "Are you asking me the permission?"

"Derek," Meredith just smiled and slid her hands under the baby.

"So why are you here?" Derek insisted.

Meredith rolled her eyes, this time smiling. "I wanted Dr. Henderson to see Morgan."

"I knew there was something wrong with her," Derek frowned.

"She's perfectly healthy," she reassured him. "I just wanted to make sure that her insomnia has nothing to do with any disease."

"Aww you are one of those moms," Derek laughed.

"And I am proud to be one of those moms," Meredith sniffed.

"I didn't say it was a bad thing," he smiled.

The cafeteria looked crowded at that hour, when Meredith and Derek walked inside. Derek stopped beside the entrance and sighed disappointedly as he looked around. "It's a little too loud," he said.

Meredith just smiled and walked ahead. "She's a night person, remember?" she looked back over her shoulder.

Derek chuckled and sped up to catch up with her. "Go find us a table and I'll buy the food. Anything in particular?" he asked her what she preferred to have for lunch.

"No," she shook her head.

While Derek went to buy their food, Meredith scanned the surroundings, looking for a private table. Part of the hospital staff knew her already and she knew that most of them had heard about the Baby Shepherd incident, so she tried not to catch any curious eye.

There weren't many choices for her, but she did spot a free table in a corner of the room. She waved back to Derek and pointed towards the table to know where he would find her.

Meredith pulled one more chair beside hers and dropped Morgan's bag in it. As she sat down, Meredith noticed some curious faces, staring at her. "Oh great," she sighed. She stood up and looked around, wishing to get rid of the curious stares as soon as possible. However, the luck wasn't on her side this time. She sighed and sat down reluctantly, shifting her chair to have her back half-turned to the stares.

Meredith looked down at Morgan and smiled. She was sleeping so peacefully, no laugh and no shout seemed to get to her ear. Meredith leaned down and kissed her softly on the forehead, feeling calmer once she felt her daughter's warmth.

"Chicken salad and a tea," Derek said, placing a tray in front of Meredith.

"That's it?" Meredith frowned.

"We have to watch for your silhouette," Derek chuckled, sitting down across from Meredith. As he glanced up at her, Derek met her glare. Apparently, he wasn't a good joker. "Do you want me to go and buy you something else?" he asked her, serious.

"So that you can call me fat later?" Meredith spat.

Derek chuckled and muttered under his breath. "Hormones."

"What did you say?" she scolded.

"I am happy to be your friend," Derek chuckled. He leaned over the table and opened the lid to Meredith's salad, pushing it closer to her. "I can hold her for you," he said, his eyes gazing at Morgan.

"You didn't wash your hands," Meredith answered and stabbed her fork into the salad.

Derek stared at her, offended. "I am a doctor, Meredith."

Meredith shrugged as she took a bite from her food. "You just bought lunch so you put your hands on dirty money."

"Fair money," Derek corrected her quickly, amused. "And what are you going to do? Spit food all over her?" Derek leaned back in his chair, smiling as Meredith looked down and checked her baby.

Meredith nervously threw her fork into the casserole and stood up. "How are you going to eat then?" she furrowed her brows.

Derek smiled as he pushed his tray towards her. "I had something earlier, but I needed an excuse to invite you to lunch."

Meredith rolled her eyes and tried to hide her smile. "Don't touch her face or her hands."

Derek laughed, finding amusing her restrictions, and stood up to take Morgan in his arms.

"Aren't you worried of what people might say about this?" Meredith asked him.

Derek gave her a genuine smile. "They talk even if they don't see us together."

Meredith sighed, knowing he was right. She could have said no to his invitation, why didn't she do it? She reluctantly picked up her fork and started eating again.

"So…" Derek cleared his throat conversationally. "Has life settled for you already here in Seattle?" he asked her.

Meredith just nodded as she kept eating. As she glanced up at him and saw Derek holding one of Morgan's tiny hands, she rolled her eyes, but stayed quiet.

"Nothing new from your mother?" he asked her and Meredith shook her head in response. "Meredith, you really don't have any family here?"

Meredith groaned, glaring at him. "No," she grumbled.

"Tell me you have at least one friend here," Derek smiled genuinely.

Meredith looked into his eyes for a moment and then looked down as she nodded. "I do," she muttered. She just didn't want him to know that he was her only friend.

"She has grown so much," Derek said, smiling at Morgan.

"She's only 3 weeks old," Meredith replied.

Derek smiled at her and shook his head, disapproving her answer. "You see her everyday, so you can't tell. You know…" he hesitated, smiling rather uncomfortable.

Meredith almost chocked with the food, knowing what he was going to say. She put her fork down and took a sip from her tea, all this time avoiding Derek's gaze.

"I came to see you ... twice," Derek said softly, without any reproach as Meredith had expected. "But you didn't answer," his disappointment came with the addition.

Meredith cleared her throat and flashed him a faint smile. "Probably I was sleeping or uh I was with Morgan."

Derek smiled reassuringly, but he knew she was lying. "I am not forcing you to be my friend, Meredith," he said, his voice was calm. "You can choose whoever you want as friend."

"Why do you want to be my friend?" she asked him, straight.

Derek smiled and his smile was sad now. "I divorced last year and then I came here. I have nobody here, so this hospital is like my home. Though this place is huge, only the work is my friend."

Meredith looked away, trying to hide the tears that were threatening to water her eyes again. Their stories were so alike. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, in attempt of calming down. "We're home tonight," she said quietly, her eyes shyly peaking to Derek.

Derek had a big smile on his face.

"Bring dinner with you," Meredith added.

"I'll stop by the most expensive restaurant in Seattle," Derek promised. Meredith smiled, displeased. "And I will buy a lot of food," Derek added, chuckling. "Maybe I will stock your refrigerator."

"That wouldn't be bad," Meredith giggled. She felt more relaxed now. Derek was right; people were talking about them anyway and she needed a friend. One thing she knew for sure, she couldn't allow Derek to become more than her friend. She already had a child and she didn't even finish her year as surgical intern.

--

Meredith tucked the baby with another pillow to her side and smiled as she leaned down and kissed her softly on the forehead. "Now Baby Morgan, don't wake up while Mommy is taking a shower, ok?" Baby Morgan wriggled her tiny nose and sighed in her sleep. Meredith giggled and leaned down to kiss her again. "I am going to leave the door open to the bathroom, so scream if you need me. I know you can do it," she told her and then she slowly got out of the bed. "Derek is coming to see us and you don't want Mommy to scare her only friend away."

As she had promised to Morgan, Meredith left the bathroom door opened and she stepped under the shower. It was still early in the afternoon and she didn't expect Derek to show up any time soon; therefore, she decided to fill the bathtub with hot water and relaxing bubbles. It felt good. She wasn't back at work yet, but she was tired as if she had been. Staying up all night with the baby and struggling to read some of the medical books for her exam, Meredith felt her body tensed most of the time.

Lying there and enjoying the silence, Meredith slowly drifted to sleep. She stirred awake when she heard the doorbell. Confused and surprised, Meredith glanced out the small window, checking if she had slept for too long. There was still light outside and judging from her slight headache, Meredith was sure she hadn't slept longer than 5 minutes; besides, the water was still hot.

The doorbell rang again, this time with more insistence. "You idiot," she gritted her teeth as she stumbled out of the bathtub. She grabbed a towel and wrapped it around her as she walked out of the bathroom. The doorbell rang again, shorter this time but enough to make Morgan whimper. "Crap," Meredith muttered and hurried to calm her down. "Back to sleep, baby. I am going to smack the idiot's head, don't worry," she whispered, caressing gently Morgan's chest. Morgan sighed as she calmed down and Meredith sighed as well.

She wrapped the towel tighter around her as she walked out of the bedroom. She was climbing down the stairs when the doorbell rang again. "Idiot! Idiot! Idiot!" she almost yelled as she walked to the door.

Meredith was ready to say some sweet words to whoever was at her door, but her words got stuck in her throat as she saw Derek standing on her porch. She remembered to breathe when she felt her towel loosening from around her body. Meredith started and wrapped her arms around the towel, holding it securely. "Derek," she breathed out.

Derek was left speechless by the view in front of his eyes. Her skin was glowing because of the water that was still dripping off her body and was matching with her messy hair, which had wet strands now. "Hi," Derek smiled, his eyes staring at the shape of her breasts.

Meredith giggled and wrapped herself better in her towel. She cleared her throat and suddenly she remembered. She was mad of him because of the way he had decided to harass her doorbell. "What is wrong with you?" she snapped at him. "Did you forget that I have a baby in here?"

"Sorry," Derek smiled apologetically, clearing his throat and avoiding to look at her skin. "But she's a night person."

"Derek," Meredith spat.

"Sorry," he laughed. "I wanted to make sure that you wouldn't ignore my visit again."

"I was in the bathroom," she explained.

"Obviously," Derek chuckled and just glanced down at her body.

"Oh just come inside," she stepped aside and let him in the house. "What are you doing here so early?" she asked him then as she remembered the early hour.

"I got off from work earlier. My last surgery was canceled," Derek answered, stepping inside. "I didn't buy dinner," he admitted. "But I can cook."

Meredith smiled and shook her head. "You should have come later then."

"No. I wanted to see my girl," Derek grinned at her. "Is she sleeping?"

"Your girl?" Meredith folded her arms across her chest.

Derek chuckled. "I birthed her," he pointed out.

"Really?" Meredith laughed. "Oh well, I guess I am curious to see your vagina now."

"You are?" Derek gasped, excited and took a step towards her.

Meredith realized how that had sounded. "Shut up," she giggled. "I pushed her out so I birthed her."

"But I was there to catch her," he remembered her. "And let's not forget that for a few hours she had my name."

"Yeah but she's still mine," she pointed out. "She's upstairs sleeping."

"Can I go see her?" Derek asked excitedly.

Meredith was tempted to say yes, but then she remembered that Morgan was sharing the same room with her. "I need to change my clothes first."

"Don't change them. I like these," Derek teased her.

"Funny guy," Meredith smiled.

"I will wash my hands and then you can show me her room while you change your clothes," Derek suggested.

"Derek," Meredith groaned.

"Please," he smiled pleadingly.

Meredith felt a limp in her throat and again she felt her heart drumming inside her chest as Derek smiled like that. "Follow me," she gave in and motioned for him to follow her upstairs.

Meredith led him into her room, where Morgan was still sleeping in the middle of the bed.

"Try not to wake her up though," she suggested as she walked over to her closet and looked for clean clothes.

Derek paused in the doorway for a brief second, a little surprised to see that Morgan wasn't sleeping in her crib. Then he found it cute how Meredith loved to have her baby close to her.

"The bathroom is over there," Meredith pointed to her bathroom.

Derek smiled and nodded as he followed her direction. He washed his hands- as Meredith had asked him to do- and then he returned in the bedroom. Derek lay down on the bed beside Baby Morgan, just smiling as he watched her sleeping. After just a little while, Morgan started whimpering quietly and fussing, so Derek stood up quickly and picked her up into his arms.

"You're not scared of me, are you?" he started talking to Morgan. "Have you forgotten me already? I am Derek," he spoke softly and Morgan seemed to recognize or like his voice because she calmed down and continued to sleep peacefully. "So, you remember me," Derek smiled as he paced around the room, slowly rocking her.

With Morgan in his arms, a pink teddy bear caught Derek's eyes. Derek smiled as he saw the bear on one of the nightstands beside the bed. Then, another teddy bear- smaller but still pink- caught his attention and Derek paid more attention to the room. There were baby clothes pilled up in one of the chairs, diapers and other baby care products, all along with Meredith's medical books. Derek's first impression: Meredith was a very messy person.

"You'd better not learn this from your Mommy," Derek whispered in Morgan's ear. "Do you think she will get mad if we go see your room?" he asked her, but then he smiled to himself. "It's not her room, is it? It's your room and I am sure that you don't mind."

Baby Morgan sleepily ran her tiny fist over her face and Derek smiled as he took her gesture as an answer. He walked out of Meredith's bedroom and paused in the hall as he listened to the water coming from Meredith's other bathroom. "She can take her time," Derek whispered to Morgan.

Derek felt a little disorientated as he looked around him. He didn't know exactly which one was Morgan room and he didn't want to be indiscreet and peaked in all the rooms. Therefore, he stayed and thought. The nearest room was the one across from hers and he thought that should be the room. Derek opened the door and his eyes grew huge as he looked inside. It was indeed Morgan's room, but it didn't look like anyone was sleeping in there. The walls had been painted in nice tones of lilac, simple but with a calming mixture of color. The only furniture standing in there was a pink small closet. Leaned against one of the walls were parts of what was supposed to be Morgan's crib, beside them a carpet had been rolled up.

Derek lifted Morgan and kissed her softly on the forehead. "I see that you're redecorating in here," he whispered. Derek walked out of the room when he heard the bathroom door opening.

"What were you doing in there?" Meredith frowned as she saw him walking out of Morgan's room.

Derek answered with a reproaching frown. "And you wonder why she doesn't sleep at night. She has no place to sleep."

Meredith glared as she came and slid her hands under the baby, taking her from Derek's arms. "She has a bed to sleep in," she grumbled.

"She needs her own place, Meredith," Derek pointed out.

"And what were you doing in there?" Meredith scolded him. "It's still considered rude to barge into people's rooms," she hissed as she turned around and carried Morgan into her bedroom. She slowly put her on the bed and tucked the pillows around her.

As she stood up, she saw Derek leaning against the doorframe and smiling genuinely. "I didn't feel inspired enough to arrange her room," she said quietly. "Besides I have a lot to study for the test."

As he heard that, Derek smiled and rolled his sleeves up. "If you had let me inside earlier I would have spared you of many sleepless nights."

Meredith tried to ignore his comment. Slowly she walked towards him and put her hands on his chest, pushing him out of her bedroom. She quietly closed the door and then folded her arms across her chest, staring at Derek. "What are you waiting for?" she asked.

Derek grinned and turned on his heels, walking in Morgan's room. Meredith's study books were everywhere, so she picked one and followed Derek inside, sliding down against the wall, ready to study and supervise Derek in the same time.

Meredith bit her lip to hide her smile each time she glanced at Derek or heard him cursing. Apparently, building up a crib wasn't a boring puzzle as Derek had thought it would be. Neither of them kept the track of the time, so Meredith was surprised to see that the light was fading outside and the room was getting darker. She stood up and went to turn on the light. As she flicked the light on, Derek squealed victoriously, making Meredith shriek, scared.

"Sorry," Derek chuckled, grinning. "I made it!" he beamed pointing to the standing crib in front of him.

"Yay," Meredith beamed sarcastically. "That was quit a challenge, huh?"

Derek frowned at first but his face turned bright again as he smiled at her. "It was," he admitted. Meredith came to his side, giving a closer look. She had to admit that the exterior looked exactly like in the model picture. "It was easy," Derek shrugged smugly.

"Was it?" Meredith asked as she leaned over the crib. "Then why does the mattress rise up and down? Are you trying to break her ribs?" she scolded.

Derek smugly smile faded instantly as he leaned over and looked inside the crib.

Meredith groaned, rolling her eyes, and propped her hands against the mattress. As she pressed a little more power against it, the mattress knuckled under her pressure. "Fuck," Meredith shrieked in pain as the edge of the mattress fell on her foot.

"Why did you have to do that?" Derek reproached, sliding an arm around hers to give her more support.

"Why?" Meredith yelled and threw a fist in his chest. "You could have killed my daughter."

"You're overreacting," Derek replied.

"Am I?" Meredith continued yelling. "I guess we also found out that the screws weren't well tight," she lowered the tone of her voice and she felt the pain fading, so she jerked her arm from Derek's grip. "She will grow up and when she will be able to stand, she'll start jumping," she explained calmer.

"I was going to check them," Derek muttered, offended.

"When? After Morgan was landing under the crib?"

Meredith just shook her head and started taking each screw out of the crib that Derek had tried to build. Derek wanted to tell her to give up as he would do it the next day, but then he decided not piss her off even more. Therefore, he took Meredith's previous seat on the floor and picked up her book, convinced that they would be in there at least until Morgan wakes up. Derek put the book the book aside soon as he saw how fast the crib was starting looking like a crib.

"How did you do this?" Derek asked in awe when Meredith smiled and pointed to the crib.

"I never said I couldn't do it," Meredith giggled. "I just never felt inspired, but now seeing you blowing it off after you had just bragged about how great you were…" Meredith smiled and shrugged. "The inspiration struck me."

Derek chuckled and shook his head. "You're a strange woman, Meredith."

"I am strange?" Meredith giggled. "You're the one stalking a single mom."

"I am not stalking you," Derek replied defensively. Meredith raised a brow knowingly. "I wouldn't call it stalking," he smiled.

Meredith was ready to give him a reply when Morgan started crying. Both hurried outside and Meredith went to pick her baby up from the bed. As Meredith took her into her arms, Morgan calmed down and just started fussing in her arms.

"Is she hungry?" Derek asked her as he came by her side and caressed Morgan's head. Morgan looked at her mother and then her blue eyes watched Derek. She looked back at her mother and smiled, wriggling her hands in the air.

"She smiled," Meredith said quietly, her voice being overwhelmed by the moment.

"Is it for the first time?" Derek asked, surprised.

Meredith gazed down at her baby girl and shook her head. "No, but… this time it looked different."

"Are you sure she's not hungry?" Derek asked her.

"She's not," Meredith leaned down and kissed her on the forehead.

"Then why did she start crying?" he insisted.

Meredith looked at him and rolled her eyes. "I am her mother. If she is hungry, China can hear her scream."

"You're overreacting," Derek laughed and slid his hands under the baby, taking her from her mother's arms, this time without asking for Meredith's permission.

Meredith wanted to say something about it, but then she changed her mind. It looked natural now to see Derek cradling her baby girl. She let her arms fell to her side and smiled as she watched them.

"I am overreacting a little," she smiled at him. "China can't hear her, but Mexico can."

Morgan let out a whimper as she frowned.

"Don't worry," Derek laughed. "I don't believe her," he said to the baby and kissed her on the forehead.

Meredith remembered then about their dinner. "I won't cook for you. You invited yourself here tonight," she warned him.

Derek gave her one of his best genuine smiles. "You invited me, but I am not going to argue with you about this, so I will make something for us."

Meredith took the baby from Derek and cradled her to her chest. "I will show you where the kitchen is, but you'll have to do it by yourself because I want to give her a bath."

"A bath?" Derek asked, his face lightened up by excitement. "I want to help."

"How about dinner?"

"Are you hungry?" Derek asked her, obviously telling her to say no.

"No," Meredith giggled.

"Great," he beamed. "Me neither. Let's give Morgan a bath," he suggested and pointed towards Meredith's bathroom.

"Ok," Meredith watched him, smiling so hard that her cheeks were hurting her. "She has her own bathtub. It's in the bathroom. Can you set it up?"

Derek nodded, thrilled to take part to such a big event like giving Morgan a bath and walked ahead into the bathroom. Derek set up the bathtub and filled it with water, carefully checking its temperature, while Meredith undressed the baby.

"Hold her," Meredith said and put Morgan in Derek's arms, walking then to the cabinet and taking out two bottles. She poured a little from each bottle and as she pressed a button, bubbles started mixing the two essences into the water.

"She has her own Jacuzzi?" Derek laughed.

Meredith smirked at him. "God bless the internet. I am broke now but my daughter is enjoying a Jacuzzi bath."

Derek smiled, but he did it with slight disagreement. "Was it necessarily?"

Meredith sighed as he asked her that. "I though it was," she admitted. "I even bought her lavender and vanilla essences to help her sleep at night."

He looked at her, smiling as if he was smiling at someone innocent and who did something wrong. "And it has never really occurred to you that she might be able to sleep because she doesn't have her own bed?"

"Shut up," Meredith giggled and took Morgan from him, carefully placing her into the water.

Derek knelt beside the bathtub, rolling a towel, and put it under Morgan's head to keep it up above the water while Meredith was slowly splashing water over the baby. "Can you give me her soap?" she asked Derek.

Derek was obviously more that thrilled to help her. "Which one is hers?" he asked.

"A pink one," Meredith answered, smiling down at Morgan –who was looking at her mother with curious eyes. Meredith tickled her under the chin and Morgan answered with a delighted smile. "She's so wonderful," Meredith said to herself, contemplating at her baby.

"No doubt of that," Derek agreed as he came by Meredith's side.

Meredith held out her hand for him to give her the soap. Derek showed the intention of giving it to her at first, but then he pulled his hand back and held the soap.

"Can I have it, please?" Meredith insisted, slightly irritated. "The water is getting cold."

"I want to wash her," he grinned.

"That's not possible," Meredith shook her head firmly. "Now give me the soap," she demanded.

"Why isn't it possible?" Derek frowned, standing up.

"Derek," Meredith moaned and stood up as well, determined to take the soap off his hand.

"I want to wash her. Please!" Derek insisted, hiding his hand to back so that Meredith couldn't reach to it. "You get to wash her and change her and feed her and play her anytime you want."

"Obviously, because she is my child," Meredith rolled her eyes. "And considering how the things are right now… I am sure you'll get the chance to give her a bath."

Derek couldn't help but grin at her statement. "Will I?" he kept grinning, but also hiding the soap to back.

"Yes," she rolled her eyes. "I want the soap now."

"No," Derek refused firmly.

"Derek!" Meredith snapped at him.

"Meredith," Derek groaned pleadingly.

"No!" she retorted. "And you know what? I have more soaps," she smiled and went to take another soap out of the cabinet. As she turned around to go back to Morgan, Meredith gasped outraged when she saw Derek washing the baby already.

"What do you think you're doing?" she scolded and grabbed his arm.

"Meredith," Derek protested and jerked his arm off her hand, making the soap slip out of his hand.

He stood up, his hands on his hips, glaring at her. Meredith adopted the same attitude and both exchanged glares.

Feeling ignored and probably getting cold, Morgan started screaming.

"Look what you've done," Meredith scolded Derek as she knelt down to Morgan. "That's ok, Baby Morgan. We'll be done soon." She rolled up her sleeves and looked through the water for the soap. As she found it, Meredith held it up to Derek, without looking at him.

Derek smiled and took the soap from her, kneeling beside her. Meredith let him wash her while she gave him assistance. Once the bath was over, Meredith helped Derek dress Morgan.

"We smell delicious now," Derek chuckled, sinking his nose in Morgan's skin as he carried her back into the bedroom.

Ever since the grown-ups were struggling to dress her, Morgan started fussing and whimpering. This time, Derek had no calming effect over her and she started crying and fussing even more.

"She's hungry," Meredith said, carefully taking her from Derek's arms. Meredith sat on the bed, leaning her back against the headboard and lifted her top so that she could feed Morgan. As she found her mother's nipple, the silence fell back over the house.

"Do you mind if I stare?" Derek asked, already sitting down at Meredith's feet.

"At my breasts?" she giggled.

"My intention is to watch her eating but considering the fact that she's eating from your breast, then yeah… at your breast," Derek chuckled. "Do you mind?" he asked her again.

She smiled at him and shook his head.

Derek crawled to Meredith's side and propped himself on his elbow, gently caressing Morgan's head. "This look so…" he contemplated at the view but he couldn't find the right word. He smiled as he saw Meredith looking questioningly at him. "It looks so sacred. Can you believe what men do to these?" he asked, sounding outraged.

Meredith couldn't help but laugh. "I know. They do amazing things."

"I don't think I will be able to do anything to them from now on," Derek stated, clearly staring at her breasts now.

"Are you talking about my breasts now or about breasts in general?" Meredith laughed.

"You don't mind the subject, do you?" Derek chuckled teasingly. He leaned down and kissed Morgan on the forehead. As he did that, Morgan threw a fist into his face. "This isn't the first time that she punches me," he complained.

"I don't know the reason she punched you before but I am almost positive that right now she didn't like to see you so close to her meal," Meredith giggled.

"I was close, wasn't I?" Derek laughed.

Meredith hit him with her leg, laughing. "You're my friend now, right?" she looked at him, smiling, but also serious.

"Of course we are," Derek smiled genuinely. "We're the best buddies."

"Ok," she giggled.

"Why?" he asked her, sensing that there was something serious she wanted to say.

Meredith shyly peaked at him and then smiled down at Morgan. "I talked to my lawyer and… I want Morgan's full custody. He is going to contact him soon."

"The father?" Derek asked, although he knew she was talking about Morgan's father.

"The man," Meredith corrected him, slightly angry just at the thought of calling that man a father.

"I am sorry," he smiled apologetically. "Do you think he is going to agree with it?"

"I am sure of it. Besides, this is … an interesting way of announcing him of the baby's sex," she smiled.

Derek had to admit that everything she was telling him was surprising. "Do I know him?" he asked her. "I think you told me once that he worked at the hospital with you."

Meredith nodded. "I am sure you know him, but…" she added quickly when she saw him wishing to find out more. "I am not going to tell you. There's no point. He's part of the past now."

"Not entirely," Derek disagreed. "You have a daughter with him and as long as you have her, he is part of your present."

"No, he is not," she spat, making Morgan whimper. She patted her on the back, rocking her slowly. "Once he quits at his parental rights, he will be part of the past."

"I am not judging you," he said softly, caressing Morgan's head. "But sometimes you just need to know how to protect yourself if you're not able to keep your pants on." as he said that, Derek could feel an intense glare coming from Meredith. "I am not judging you," he reassured her. "You made a mistake and now you're dealing with its consequences. I think you're doing a great job here. But there are other people who might not … handle something like this so well. For example, my friend Mark."

Meredith felt the blood rushing to her head and her breathing stopped as she heard that name.

"He is very… dissolute. He likes women and … sex. I don't see him handling very well a situation like yours," Derek continued, not noticing Meredith's reaction to that name. "Do you know Mark, right?" he asked her, suddenly curious.

Meredith could feel her head spinning. Was he talking about the same Mark she knew?

"Mark Sloan," Derek cleared up. "I am sure you know him because the strangest thing happened when he called me a while ago and I wanted to talk to him about you."

"Talk to him about me?" she spat. "Why would you want to do that?"

Derek became suspicious at her attitude. He stood upright and looked carefully at her. "What's going on between you and Mark Sloan?" he asked her straight.

"Nothing," she answered sharply.

"There is something," Derek contradicted her. "He had the same reaction as you're having now. You're angry with each other. What happened? Have you two gotten into a disagreement or what?"

"Yes," she answered. "He is a jackass and … and if you ever watched him teaching his interns then you know what I am talking about," Meredith muttered, letting Derek understand that whatever problems she had with Mark Sloan were professional only.

"I know that, but why is he mad of you? What have you done to him?" he asked her.

Meredith looked down at her answer, but Derek couldn't read it. "How well do you know each other?" she asked quietly.

"He's like a brother to me," Derek answered sincerely.

Meredith swallowed a lump and glanced at Derek. "He didn't tell you?"

"No. He didn't want to hear anything about you," Derek became even more curious now.

"Nothing at all?" she asked.

"No. Meredith, we are friends. We can talk about it if you feel like you need to. He is my friend but you are my friend too. I won't take sides," Derek said softly.

"I rather not talk about this," she muttered. She looked into his eyes and smiled faintly. "I don't blame him for anything. I was aware of what I was doing and he told me straight that he didn't want me to keep the baby."

"You're talking about Morgan's father now," Derek concluded.

"Morgan's man," she corrected him.

Derek chuckled a little. "That sounds weird."

Meredith chuckled along with him. "The man," she corrected herself.

"So you're not going to tell me what you have done to Mark," he smiled. "It must be something very ugly."

Meredith looked down at Morgan again. "I don't know how ugly it is. It was ugly my gesture, but … what I did was not ugly."

"Ok, you lost me there," Derek laughed. He came by Meredith's side and leaned his back against the headboard. "Did you sleep with him?" he asked her, quietly as if he was ashamed of his own question.

Meredith bit her lip to keep it from trembling as she watched her baby.

"I am not judging you," he reassured her once again as he got his answer.

"Do you want to burp her?" she asked him, handing him the baby and trying to avoid the imminent question.

Derek's face became a grin at her suggestion and Meredith sighed discreetly, relieved of having him distracted from their conversation.

"You're good with babies," she smiled, watching the careful and loving way he was holding Morgan.

"I love babies," Derek smirked.

"How come you don't have at least three then?" she asked.

Derek smiled, but this time his smile was sad. "It was never the right time for my ex-wife."

"Sad," Meredith sighed, staring at her hands. "Did you talk to her about it?"

"She aborted one," Derek muttered, gently caressing Morgan's back. He flipped her into his arms and started rocking her back and forth.

Meredith shyly touched his arm and gave him a comforting squeeze. Derek answered with a reassuring smile. "My time will come," he said.

"I am sure it will," she smiled back. "She's sleeping already," she whispered as she looked at Morgan, who was sleeping in Derek's arms.

They stood there without talking and just watching the baby sleeping. Meredith was thinking of what other jokes fate had prepared for her. There she was, standing with the brother of her daughter's father. Everything made her feel dizzy. She couldn't be friend with Derek now. … Could she? While Meredith was lost in her thoughts, Derek was having his owns. Spending an amazing evening with Meredith and her even more amazing daughter, he wondered how anyone could not want to be part of their life. Then his thoughts flew back in time when his ex-wife had announced him about the abortion she took.

Later that evening, Meredith walked Derek to the door. As he got outside on the porch, Derek turned and smiled at Meredith. He leaned his side against the doorframe, wishing to delay his departure. "Thank you for the great evening, Meredith! And for the sandwiches."

Meredith giggled as her cheeks turned pink. "That's all I could do for you."

"I helped you with Morgan's room so now you owe me a dinner," Derek smiled, trying his luck.

And the luck was on his side. "I guess I do owe you," she smiled.

"I am coming tomorrow to help you study," Derek promised as he pushed himself from the doorframe.

Her heart stopped when Derek stroked her cheek and leaned forward. Her mind was in haze as she felt his warm breath against her forehead, but became all clear once he pulled back. She hated herself in that moment for the fact that she couldn't feel his lips against her skin. She hated herself, because she couldn't start anything with Derek. Not after she found out who was his best friend. That would be wrong and unfair to Derek.

Derek smiled as he ran his thumb against her cheek and reluctantly let it drop it off her skin. "I will see you tomorrow."

Meredith swallowed a lump. She shouldn't accept his visits anymore. "Ok," she nodded and hated herself once more.

Derek didn't move. He was still there, his smile lingering over her face. "Bye," he stirred himself from his gaze and waved.

"Bye," she smiled and slowly closed the door. She leaned her forehead against it and waited until she heard his car leaving her driveway. "You're so stupid, Meredith," she muttered under her breath.

She returned upstairs and walking past Morgan's room, she made a turn and entered into the room. She walked over to the crib –which Derek had placed it by the wall across the window- and leaned down to pick Morgan up. Meredith carried her to the window where her rocking chair had found its place. She sat down and started swing slowly. "What are we going to do now, Baby Morgan?" she whispered. "We like Derek, don't we?" Meredith sighed as she stared across the room, lost in her thoughts. And then she concluded. "Mark is not going to tell him about us. He doesn't want anyone to find out, so Derek doesn't have to know… right?" she talked to the baby.

As answer, Baby Morgan let out a sleepy yawn and cradled her face to her mother's chest. She was letting her decide if that was wrong.