Chapter 9-
Confrontation, Realization, Graduation-
"Doctor Grey, I love Meredith with all of my heart and I feel awful that we had to tell you this way, but we felt that it was important that you know that I have every intention on taking the best care of both Meredith and our child, forever." Derek said softly, his eyes on Ellis Grey as she continued to stare at him. Her steely gray eyes were burning into his skull as she placed her fork beside her plate. She continued chewing the bite that she had eaten and swallowed slowly as she continued to stare at Derek.
"Mom?" Meredith whispered, watching as Ellis' hands began to tremble, her forehead wrinkling in such a way that Meredith knew for a fact that if they didn't do something quickly, her mother was going to explode. She couldn't run from this, but she couldn't sit here while Derek took the brunt of what was coming. "Mom, it's not his fault…"
Ellis' head snapped in Meredith's direction. "It's not his fault?" Ellis growled. "It's. Not. His. Fault.?" She growled, her teeth clenching in anger as she now glared at Meredith. "Are you stupid, Meredith?"
"Doctor Grey…" Derek said, trying to stop her tirade before she went completely off on Meredith.
"Don't you Doctor Grey me, Derek. I trusted you! I trusted you with my child, and look what you did to her!" Ellis growled. "I trusted you to take care of her… to be her friend and companion, and what do you do? You ruined her!" She exclaimed. "You ruined my daughter, you goddamned fucking bastard!" She screamed as she slammed her chair from the table, standing quickly.
"Mom!"
"Don't you … don't you dare call me 'Mom'… you're on your own now, Meredith… I will not be a part of this… I will not be a part of this!" She exclaimed as she growled at both of them.
"Stop! Stop, Mom… just listen!" Meredith exclaimed, tears springing to her eyes as she tried to grab her mother's arm.
"No! No! This is unacceptable! This is unacceptable and I don't want you in my home any longer! You are no longer welcome in my home, either of you! I want you out… get out of my home!" She shouted as she pointed towards the door, the anger in her body was building.
"Mom! Please! Listen! Derek is going to take such good care of us… he is a good man… just listen to us, please! He loves me! He can take care of me, but I needed you to know that I'm having…"
"Don't say it, Meredith. I don't even want to hear it… I don't want to acknowledge it… I don't even want to look at you… or you!" She exclaimed as she pointed at Derek. "And if he can take care of you so goddamned well, then he can finish paying for the waste of medical school that I put you through! It's a waste! It's a waste, Meredith! You are a waste! I am going to the hospital… when I get home, I want every trace of you out of this house… every single trace! You're goddamned lucky that you got that internship, Meredith… because if I could, I would take it away from you… You don't deserve to be a surgeon… squandering your talents on raising children and God knows what else… and you…" She growled as she pointed at Derek. "You're going to pay for this, Derek Shepherd… I'm going to have so many hoops for you to jump through, you're going to think you're a part of the Ringling brother's circus!" She exclaimed as she stared both of them down. "I can't even stand to look at you!" She exclaimed as she turned and walked out of the room, ascending the stairs, she left Derek and Meredith sitting at the table in shock.
Meredith's eyes moved to his, and though he could see the fear in her eyes, he could see something more within the depths of her soul. There was a tiny tinge of hope as she swallowed hard, refusing to cry.
"Either… that went better than I expected… or… I can't feel the stab wounds over my adrenaline rush." Derek whispered, his head tilting to the side as he watched her resolve slowly grow. "You're bigger than this, Meredith." He whispered. "You're not her…"
"Derek." She whimpered, tilting her head as she gripped her fork in her hand tighter.
"You're bigger than this… you're better than this… you deserve better than this, Meredith." Derek whispered.
"Derek…" She whimpered, shaking her head.
"Meredith…" He whispered as he watched her wipe the tear from her eye, rubbing her palm in her eye as she watched him.
"Derek… take me home." She whimpered.
"Do you…"
"I don't want anything here, Derek… take me home… take me home… please… please just take me home." She whimpered as she shook her head, carefully standing as she tried not to cry.
Derek kicked the chair out and rushed to her side, grabbing her as he felt her wobble in his arms. She wrapped her arms around him as she squeezed him tightly. "I love you, sweetheart…" Derek whispered as he squeezed her back.
"I know… I know you love me…I know that you're going to take care of me." She whispered as she slowly released him, taking his hand as he looked at her with a sympathetic, yet confident look in his eyes.
"Let's go home." He whispered, leaning down to kiss her head, they walked arm in arm from the house as they made their way home.
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January 12
Derek walked down the hallway, his eyes were drooping as he rubbed the bridge of his nose. He stared at the chart in his hands as he tried to make the pages stop blurring. He stared at the page for a long while, forgetting for a moment what he was actually doing when he felt a heavy shoulder on his back.
"Derek, I've been saying your name for fifteen minutes now…" Mark said as Derek stared at him for a second and then shook his head.
"Oh… oh, sorry… I've just… I've got a million things on my mind right now." He said with a sigh, shaking his head.
"How can you concentrate on surgery like this?" Mark asked, shaking his head as he looked at his exhausted friend.
"Surgery? I haven't been in on a surgery in almost two weeks, Mark."
"Not since you told her, huh?"
"Yeah." Derek sighed, shaking his head. "I've been here for almost four days straight… sleeping in the on call room, eating lousy cafeteria food… I feel like shit, and I get paged every five minutes to do more scut. She's got me in the clinic suturing… treating colds… giving enemas… I'm a surgeon…" He grumbled.
"You're supposed to be a surgeon… right now you're just a guy with shit on your scrubs…"
"That's jello…"
"Same thing." Mark shrugged. "How's Meri?"
"Meri is… living under my blankets…" He shrugged. "She refuses to go out anywhere unless I'm with her… she eats, sleeps, and pukes…that's it…"
"Derek, that's not good for her…"
"You think I don't know that?" He growled. "You try to pry her from the sheets when you climb out of bed ten minutes after you lay down next to her because you're paged to take care of the emergency room while everyone else is taking care of the fucking surgeries…" He grunted. "She has to go back to school in four days, and I haven't been able to spend one afternoon with her…She refuses to come to the hospital, refuses to do anything…Where is Cristina?"
"She was in California visiting her parents for a few days… she'll be back this afternoon… Do you want her to go straight to your place?"
"Please…" Derek whispered as his pager went off. He looked at it as he groaned. "Jesus… fucking… Christ… goddamn…" He grumbled as he clipped it back on his waist. "I'll see you around… if I last through the fucking day…" he muttered as he shuffled down the hallway, leaving the chart he had been looking at on the counter as he disappeared around the corner.
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Derek walked into the apartment slowly. He had finally achieved the maximum hours that he could work, and was able to go home for at least eight hours to recuperate. The first thing he noticed when he walked inside were that all of the lights were off. He fumbled around in the dark and found the light switch. "Meredith?" He called, his eyes barely open, he had no idea how he had even gotten home on such little rest. "Meri…?" He called as he walked through the apartment. He stepped into the bedroom and noticed the lump on the bed. "Meredith…" He said softly as he touched her leg.
"Mmm…" She grumbled beneath the covers as she moved her foot.
"Meredith… get up…" He said as he tugged on the blanket.
"No…" She grumbled.
"You're starting to rot away… do you want to get bed sores?" He asked.
"I'm not going to get bed sores…I can move around if I want to. I just don't want to…" She muttered. "Where have you been?" She whispered.
"Where do you think I've been?" He asked, raising his eyebrows to the still covered women in his bed.
She pulled the covers down, her eyes adjusting to the light coming from the hallway. "With your other fiancé?" She asked, her voice gravely and tired.
"Yes, Meri… with my other fiancé…I work… and deal with two pregnant women who sleep all the time."
"You got her pregnant too?" Meredith exclaimed as she tried not to smirk.
"Have you noticed how you and I have switched schedules… you're sleeping all the time while I'm awake all the time… this isn't good for either of us… get out of bed." He said as he tugged on her arm a little.
"No…" She whined as she shook her head. "I don't wanna…"
"When was the last time you ate something?"
"I don't know…" She mumbled as she covered her head with the blanket.
"That's it… up… out of bed…" He said as he pulled the blankets from her body, sending her rolling into a ball.
"Der-EK!" She squeaked as she pouted. "No…" She mumbled as she started to cry a little, her body curled up as she whined.
"Fine…" he said as he lay down beside her, covering them both with the blanket. "But I'm warning you… I may not be able to keep my hands to myself… and you know what that means…"
"Sex?" She asked, looking up at him.
"No…" He mumbled into his pillow. "It means…"
She watched him for a few seconds as she waited him to finish his sentence. "Derek?" She whispered, noticing that he had already fallen straight to sleep, snoring away into his pillow. She rolled to her side and watched him sleep, his face looked tired and worn, his hair was flat and unkempt, and she had watched how he slouched as he entered the room, the way he had carried himself.
He was exhausted.
He was absolutely, positively exhausted, and there was no way around it. He was physically exhausted from his job, mentally exhausted from both his job and worrying about her, and emotionally exhausted thinking about the future. She reached her hand to his face, running her fingertips along the tiny wrinkles on his forehead as he slept, his face slowly relaxing with her touch. She carefully ran her fingers over his ear and nestled her fingertips through his hair, Her fingers moved delicately around his ear back to his cheek, resting her thumb on his chin as she watched him cuddle into the pillow delicately.
"See what I do to you…?" She whispered as she listened to his breathing. "See… this…" She shook her head. "If I wasn't in your life… my mother wouldn't be putting you through this… you would be in Seattle where you want to be… and you wouldn't be stuck with a pregnant medical student who has the wicked witch of the east as a mother. You'd be happy…" She whispered as she felt her tears start to fall.
She suddenly felt his hand clamp onto her arm, and his tired eyes staring up into hers. "If you weren't in my life, I'd be alone." He whispered. "I need you." He replied.
Suddenly the doorbell rang, and Derek groaned as he rolled onto his back.
"Are you expecting someone?" Meredith asked, her head popped up as she glanced towards the door.
"It's…" Derek started to say as the doorbell began to ring over and over again, and there was pounding on the door.
"You had Cristina come over!" She exclaimed, a smile on her face as she rolled from the bed.
"Just… keep it down… okay?" He whispered as he waved his arm towards her.
"I love you, I love you, I love you!" She exclaimed as she jumped onto the bed again and kissed his cheek, rolling off to answer the door.
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Meredith rushed to the door and opened it, a grin on her face as Cristina put her arm down from banging on it. "It's about time…" She said with a shrug as she walked into the apartment.
"Oh! Pizza!" Meredith exclaimed as she grabbed the box from Cristina's other hand and carried it across the apartment.
"Meredith… that's for both of…" She stopped as Meredith opened the cover and grabbed two slices, one for each hand. "Us…" She shook her head as she sat down on the couch, watching Meredith sit down beside her.
"We need to be quiet… Der is sleeping." She said softly as she leaned against the arm of the couch, shoving a slice of pizza in her mouth.
"Mark said that he hasn't been sleeping."
"No."
"And he said that's all you've been doing."
"I get up to eat… and drink… and go to the bathroom… you know, the survival things…"
"Vitamins?"
"Every morning."
"Eh… it's your vacation… your prerogative if you just want to get fat and lazy." Cristina shrugged. "As long as you're taking care of the… thing…"
"Hey, I'm going to get fat anyway, I may as well enjoy it… and it's a baby, Cristina… you can call it a baby…" Meredith said as she shoved another mouthful into her mouth.
"It's not a baby until it doesn't have a tail…right now, it's a thing."
"You're a thing." Meredith shook her head as Cristina laughed a little.
"So mommy didn't take it very well?"
"Mommy didn't take it at all… Mommy got rid of her slut daughter and refuses to pay for my last semester of medical school. Mommy threatened to fire Derek and not accept my internship…"
"Mommy is a spiteful bitch… and you're not a slut." Cristina muttered.
"She all but called me one." Meredith sighed.
"Mer… you're in your early twenties… you're engaged to a great guy… you're an adult…Mommy has no say."
"Mommy is my fiancé's boss… mommy… is going to be my boss… Hell, Cristina… mommy is going to be your boss." Meredith said, pointing the piece of pizza at her, she turned the slice towards her mouth and chomped down on it. "We're shcrewed…" She mumbled with her mouth full. Suddenly, they both jumped at the sound of slamming coming from the bedroom.
"GODDAMN IT!" Derek's voice came screaming through the apartment as something slammed against the wall.
"Hulk angry…" Cristina whispered, sending Meredith's eyes over towards the bedroom, where Derek emerged, an angry growl on his face as he grasped his pager in his hand.
"What's going…"
"I have to go back in…" he growled as he threw his shirt on, glancing over to the couch. "Hey, Cris."
"Hey…" She said as she watched him walk across the kitchen and opened the refrigerator. "There's pizza over here…"
"Aw… pizza…" Derek said as he shook his head. He walked over towards them quickly and leaned across the couch, giving Meredith a kiss on the lips as Cristina handed him a slice. "Thanks…"
"Why do you have to go in, I thought you were here for a few hours…" Meredith said softly as she gave him a concerned look, watching as he walked towards the door.
"There's an emergency…" he said, kicking his shoes on.
"The emergency is going to be you dropping dead from exhaustion!" Meredith exclaimed.
"Oh… I'm not going in for the page, Meri… I'm going in to talk to the chief… face to face… I'm sick of this shit…" he said as he grabbed his jacket and walked out the door.
Meredith and Cristina sat back and looked at one another with a surprised look as they both swallowed hard. The door swung open and they both turned and looked at the exhausted look on Derek's face as he stepped back inside. "I love you." He said softly as he gave her a soft smile, before turning and slipping out the door once again.
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Ellis sat at her desk, carefully writing out some work orders for a few new machines as she worked over the budget numbers. She sighed as she looked through her calendar for a moment, a commotion coming from the outer office. Her head flew up as she heard her secretary arguing with someone. She heard a man's voice and a loud slamming sound, like someone's fist on a desk. She stood up quickly to see what was going on in the outer office, and immediately recognized the voice.
"No! I will not wait for an appointment! I will see her now!" Derek's voice boomed through the door to the inner office, and spilled out into the hallway where people stopped to stare.
"Doctor Shepherd, Doctor Grey cannot see you at this time, she's in a meeting."
"She's in a meeting? Oh… that's a load of goddamned shit!" Derek exclaimed as Ellis heard Derek push his way past the secretary.
"Doctor Shepherd, I'm going to have to call security." The secretary exclaimed.
"Then do it, Goddamn it!" Derek exclaimed as he grabbed the doorknob of Ellis' office and swung it open. The secretary lifted the phone.
"I'm calling security, Doctor Shepherd!" The secretary exclaimed once again.
"No." Ellis said from beside her desk. "Put the phone down." She said, pointing to her secretary. "Put the phone down… Doctor Shepherd you seem upset."
"Damn straight I'm upset!" Derek exclaimed.
"Do you care to explain to me, perhaps in a calmer tone, Doctor Shepherd, what has gotten you so wound up?" She asked softly, coldly as she closed the door behind him, walking around the chair, she waved her hand towards it. Derek refused to sit down, he stood glaring at Ellis.
"I am sick of this." Derek exclaimed, ripping his pager from his waist. "I am sick of this goddamned pager going off for every goddamned bowel movement in this fucking hospital! I am sick of feeding and bathing patients! I am a fucking surgeon, Doctor Grey! I deserve respect! I do NOT deserve to be doing the nurses jobs!" He exclaimed, his face was red with anger, his teeth gritted as he growled at her as she stood before him.
"So you're saying that you're better than the nurses in this hospital? You're saying that you deserve better than them?" Ellis asked as she crossed her arms over her chest.
"Damn straight I do!" Derek exclaimed. "I have paid my dues! I will not stand to be punished in my professional life for the decisions that I make in my private life!" He exclaimed.
"So you think this is about Meredith?"
"It is about Meredith!"
"So you think you're suffering here because of her…? You really think that I'm that spiteful?"
"Yes!" Derek exclaimed.
"You're right, Doctor Shepherd… I am." Ellis growled. "I thought that maybe you needed a little practice with wiping asses and waiting on people hand and foot so you can see what it's like to be a parent… what it's like to want to be a surgeon but always having something coming in the way of what you love." Ellis said sternly. "I wanted better for my daughter… and you've come between her and her dreams, Doctor Shepherd. We discussed this…you broke the deal."
"She wants this child!"
"She has no choice, Derek! She's not an evil person! She does not give in to the challenges that life gives her! She's a strong, strong woman… and I made sure of that! But you need to understand that this issue… is going to ruin her chances to be the surgeon that she always wanted to be."
"You're just afraid that she's not going to be as good as you." Derek growled. "You're afraid that your daughter is going to be a failure… and that the fact that she is going to have a child is going to slow her down… that it's going to make her weak, soft in some way… You're afraid that our child is going to come in the way of YOUR dream… because when you gave birth to your own child, it slowed you down… well I have news for you, Doctor Grey. Meredith is nothing like you. Meredith is stronger than you… Meredith is more giving than you… Meredith is more thoughtful than you… and you're goddamned straight that Meredith isn't going to be the surgeon that you are… Ellis Grey… Meredith Grey is going to be ONE HUNDRED TIMES as good as you ever were in all of your years as a surgeon… because she has a fucking beating heart in her chest, not a fucking lump of stone like you do! The only thing that I regret about bringing that child into this world… is knowing that his grandmother is nothing more than a cold hearted bitch!" Derek exclaimed as he stared Ellis in the eyes, his cold angry blue eyes burning straight into hers as she stared into his.
Her mouth was open just slightly as she tried to form a word, any word as she watched his chest heaving from his outburst, his eyes showing no signs of remorse, only a gain in self respect and personal strength. He continued to stare at her as he shook his head.
"I'm going home." He whispered as he turned towards the door. He put his hand on the doorknob to leave and Ellis finally found her voice.
"Doctor Shepherd." Her voice came out stern, almost taunting as he stood there, waiting patiently for the gauntlet to fall. He turned his head and his eyes met with hers. She held her hand out to him. "Your pager, Doctor Shepherd."
Derek's breath caught as he heard her words. He had no idea what this meant, but he stared at her hand as she continued to look at his face. "Doctor Shepherd… I'm waiting…" She said, moving her fingers as she continued to watch him. He slowly lifted the pager from his hand, placing it softly in her hand, he looked her in the eyes. She could see the tears in his eyes, the sadness, the exhaustion, the absolute torment in his eyes. "You can pick this up Monday morning when you come back in." She said sternly to him, watching as his eyes reflected confusion. "Go home and get some sleep, you look like shit." She said as she turned from him and walked to her desk. She sat down calmly, slipping the pager into her drawer, she looked back up at him with raised eyebrows. "Well?" She asked as he looked down at her and blinked his eyes hard.
Without saying a word, he turned and walked out of the office, past the secretary and down the hallway. His stride was long and confident, and for a moment all of his exhaustion had disappeared. He knew that as soon as he walked into his apartment that he'd be out like a light, but for right now… at this moment… nothing could beat him down.
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Meredith and Cristina were lying opposite one another on the couch with the television on. They were quiet and thoughtful as the door opened. Meredith jumped to her knees and looked over the couch at the opening door as Derek stepped through.
"You're still alive!" She exclaimed as she watched him look over at her. His eyes were a bit stunned and his hands appeared to be trembling slightly and he still hadn't looked in her direction. "Derek?" She said, tilting her head slightly as she watched him stop. He looked up at her, his face blank as he tilted his head. His eyes were glazed over, and he almost looked like he didn't recognize her. "What happened?" She asked.
"I…" He sighed as he shook his head and squeezed his eyes tightly. "I think I called your mother a cold hearted bitch." Derek cringed a little.
"You what?" Cristina asked, turning around on the couch, looking at Derek as well.
"I think I called Meredith's mother a cold hearted bitch…" Derek said as he wrinkled his forehead in confusion. "I think… I think I yelled at her, and… and then she took my pager away…"
"She took your pager away?" Meredith asked. "What did she do with it? Did she fire you? Derek, what happened…?" Meredith asked as she climbed over the back of the couch, padding her way to him, she reached up and touched his cheek, his face holding an exhausted expression. "What happened?"
It was as if something inside of him snapped. One second he was exhausted, staring into Meredith's sad, lonely eyes, so scared and worried about him. Her innocence was so pure and beautiful, her heart so clear and fresh of the hatred that her mother expelled. He looked into Meredith's eyes, and he knew that all he needed was her, and then the next second… she saw that look in his eyes.
"Derek?" She whispered one more time, and that was when it happened. She was in his arms, his mouth on hers, his hands roaming her body as he backed her quickly into the bedroom and slammed the door with his foot, completely aware that Cristina was there, but absolutely oblivious to everything else but the exquisite beauty before him. "Derek…" She moaned against him as he pulled at her shirt, tugging it up, he yanked on her pajama bottoms and panties eagerly as she pulled at his scrub pants, watching them fall around his ankles as he pulled his boxers off and pushed her hard onto the bed, climbing on top of her. "Derek…" She moaned as he entered her quickly, eagerly, full of love and angst and an ever growing need to prove his love to her.
"I love you." He whispered. "I love you…" He whispered as he kept his rhythmic time as they moved together in perfect synchronicity. "Oh, Meredith… I love you so fucking much!" He exclaimed as he felt her groaning beneath him, feeling her own body building up to that total bliss that he was leading her to.
"Derek…" She whispered. "Derek… I… Derek… I love you." She whispered as she felt herself climbing the edge of the cliff of oblivion, feeling as she pulled him with her, falling over the edge of eternal bliss, grasping, holding, squeezing, suckling. Their bodies melded together in an exhausted pile of limbs and sweat, smelling of sex, love, and the conquered battle as they lay there finally, their bodies twitching in love's embrace as their breathing slowed.
Derek slid to his side, pulling her into him as she held him for a while. She could hear the television playing loudly in the living room and for a moment was brought back into the reality of knowing that her friend was sitting out on the couch, probably scarred for life at what she had to hear.
"Oh…" Derek whispered, trying to catch his breath. "Don't worry about her…She's a big girl…" Derek whispered.
"I'm not worried about…"
"You were thinking about it… I could see it in your eyes…" He whispered as he smiled softly at her. "Meri... I love you."
"I love you." She whispered, looking up at the sound of the television, and glanced back at Derek, his eyes filled with the flame of one thousand fires, her own eyes burning with a continued desire. "She's a big girl." Meredith shrugged as she buried her body into Derek's and devoured his lips once again.
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Derek lay curled against her, his body still heaving from all of the activity, though his strength completely wiped out. He buried his nose in her neck and breathed deeply, a low growl was released from deep within his throat.
"You need your sleep…" She whispered, leaning back slightly so that she could see his face. She ran her fingers through his hair as he looked at her with a half asleep expression. She placed her hand on his cheek, feeling the stinging stubble on his cheek as it prickled her skin.
"I called your mother a bitch…" He mumbled as he buried his face in his pillow. "I don't know if I'm fired…" He slurred.
"She wouldn't dare fire you for defending yourself, Derek." Meredith whispered. "She needs the challenge… she needs the fear… she feeds off of it."
"She took my pager…" He mumbled.
"She was probably just giving you a break."
"Before she fired me…" He grunted as he felt his muscles aching.
"She's not going to fire you… what happened?" She whispered.
"I told her that I wouldn't stand to be punished for my personal life… I told her that I deserved better…"
"What did she say?" She whispered, listening to his words as she carefully ran her fingers through his hair.
"It's not important." Derek whispered as he rolled onto his back. "It doesn't matter what I said… I said it… and I meant every word of it…and now I have to wait until Monday to find out what she's going to do to me."
"She's going to respect you." Meredith whispered as she kissed his forehead. "She's going to respect you for standing up for yourself… and for standing up for me… because like you say… when you're defending her and you say you're not defending her… She loves me… in her own twisted… arms length way… she loves me and wants the best for me… even if it means she has to hurt me to show it."
"Then why are you depressed?" He asked, watching her sit up a little. "I thought you were depressed because your mother wants nothing to do with you."
"No." She whispered, shaking her head. "I'm just…I don't want to go back to school." She shrugged, watching Derek move quickly as he tried to sit up. "No… No, not because…" She smiled a little as she shook her head. "I just don't want to leave you." She said softly as she lay back on the pillow and turned towards him as he relaxed back on his pillow. "I don't like being so far away… and I just keep thinking about all of those cold nights without you." She whispered as she pressed her forehead against his.
"I don't like being without you." He whispered as he smiled softly. "It's only a couple of months… a couple of months of you being busy… and me being busy… and then we'll be busy together…" He said softly as he ran his fingertips through her hair.
"And we'll both have to deal with her." Meredith sighed.
"We'll have each other… and until then… you have Cristina…" Derek said as he watched Meredith's eyes widen.
"Cristina!" She exclaimed as she started to giggle, covering her mouth with her hand as she rolled off the bed.
"Yeah… you may want to go make sure she's alright… we made quite the ruckus in here." Derek chuckled to himself as he watched her throw her clothes back on quickly. She crawled across the bed and kissed his lips, listening to him groan under her touch.
"Get some sleep." She whispered as she kissed him again.
"I'm going to try… you girls behave yourselves." Derek whispered as he leaned up for another quick kiss before he watched her roll from the bed and flit away towards the door.
"I love you." She whispered as she disappeared out the door.
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Meredith stepped into the living area and glanced to the couch. Cristina was sitting close to the television on the floor, the volume up as she stared at the screen. Meredith climbed over the back of the couch and waited for Cristina to say something.
"So… The homecoming mating ritual is finished?" Cristina asked as she turned her face with a smirk.
"Sorry…" Meredith said with a shrug. "We had some things to talk about."
"And a little bit of praying, I'm guessing." Cristina laughed as she laughed at Meredith's reddened face. "There's nothing to be embarrassed about… you two have been under a lot of stress… who am I to judge a little game of 'tickle the baby's toes'."
"Cristina!" Meredith exclaimed.
"You leave me out here while you two hump like bunnies… and you don't expect me to come up with some kind of crude remark? Oh Meredith… I thought you knew me better than that." Cristina laughed as the two girls sat back and relaxed, letting the evening pass as slowly as they could, enjoying one another's company.
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It was Sunday evening and they were stuck.
They weren't stuck physically or anything, it wasn't as if someone had poured glue on the front step of his apartment, but they stood face to face and there was nothing that could move them.
The sound of a horn bellowing beside them could be heard. It was loud, long, and insistent, but their eyes were still settled on one another's. The horn stopped for a moment, only to be slammed down upon once again.
"I think Cristina wants to get going." Derek whispered, his hands on her arms as he continued his staring contest.
"Hm…" She mumbled, her eyes reflecting his as she held her hands on his waist, her eyes never wavering from his.
The horn rang out a third time and they heard the car window open. "WILL YOU TWO JUST SUCK FACE AND GET IT OVER WITH? WE HAVE TO GO!" Cristina shouted as she stuck her head out the window.
"I can take you back." He whispered.
"You have to work in the morning." She replied.
"What if I'm fired… and I find out that I could have taken you back?" Derek whispered as they listened to the horn honk long and loud once again.
"You're not going to get fired." Meredith said, shaking her head. "Just… take care of yourself, Derek… and don't take her shit. She wants you to be a strong doctor…"
"You keep saying she's testing me, Meredith. You keep telling me that by defending myself and you, that I'm doing the right thing… but I can't help but think that maybe… maybe I should just keep my mouth shut."
"Don't you dare, Derek." Meredith shook her head. "I'm serious… She's your boss… and she knows the rules… She can't bully you around like that… You're a surgeon… you're a damned good one at that… and she knows that. She's not about to give up on you… You're doing this for yourself… you're doing it for me… and you're doing it for…you're doing…"
Derek's smile spread slowly across his face as he watched her flounder for a moment. "Our baby." He whispered.
"Our baby…" She smiled.
"Make sure you take care of yourself… vitamins… lots of water…" Derek said as he watched her smile slyly at him. "And get rest… don't let me find out you've been staying up late studying… You know your shit…"
"GODDAMN IT!" Cristina's voice came from the car as the door slammed.
"You should go…" Derek whispered as he pulled her into a hug, squeezing her tightly as she squeezed him back. "I love you so much."
"I love you." She whispered as Cristina stomped up to them.
"Alright… we've been sitting out here for twenty minutes… it's time to go!" She exclaimed as she started to tug on Meredith. Derek held her tightly as Cristina tried to pry his arm off her. Meredith giggled. "Give her to me… Give her… to… me!" Cristina grunted as Derek laughed as he lifted Meredith up in the hug and started walking forward. "I swear… you two are the sappiest people in the whole freaking world!" She exclaimed.
"Why do you think we're stuck together?" Derek asked, laughing as Cristina rolled her eyes.
"Just get her into the car so that we can go. I have things to do…"
"She has to study…" Meredith rolled her eyes as Derek stood beside the car as Cristina climbed in.
"Study… geez… classes don't start until tomorrow."
"No rest for the wicked!" Cristina exclaimed.
"You can say that again…" Derek rolled his eyes as he gave Meredith a sly grin. "You be a good girl." He whispered, placing his finger on her chin as he brought her lips to his. "No worrying… no stressing out… and no missing me."
"Two out of three aren't bad…" Meredith whispered as she shrugged. "I'm going to miss you." She whispered as she kissed him again.
"I'm going to miss you…" He whispered as he opened her door for her. She climbed in and he closed the door behind her as she rolled the window down.
"Aw… come on!" Cristina exclaimed as she shook her head and put her head on the steering wheel.
"I love you…" Derek whispered. "I love you both."
"We love you too… now can we go?" Cristina grumbled.
"I wasn't talking to you… I was talking to Meri and…"
"I know who you were talking to…" Cristina shook her head.
"We love you too." Meredith laughed as she leaned forward and kissed his lips. "You be good too…"
"I will…" He whispered as she slowly rolled the window closed, watching as she waved from the window as Cristina slowly backed out. He waved goodbye as Cristina drove off with his Meredith, leaving him shivering on the curbside long after the tail lights disappeared around the corner.
--------------------
Derek took a deep breath as he walked down the hallway towards Doctor Grey's office. He shook his head, trying to rattle off the feeling of anxiety in his gut. Meredith had called him on his way in, giving him a good luck kiss as she mumbled incoherently into the phone. He laughed as she hung the phone up, knowing that she wasn't always a morning person, he was happy to hear her voice.
Thinking of Meredith kept his feet moving as he stepped into the outer office. The secretary's desk was empty and Derek made a mental note to apologize to her later on. He glanced to Ellis' office and noticed that the door was open, and he could see that she was sitting at her desk writing.
He thought for a moment of whether he should disturb her or not, when she spoke his name without looking up. "Doctor Shepherd, you're early." She said as she reached into her drawer and pulled the pager out. She put her pen down and stood up.
"Doctor Grey." Derek said softly as he nodded politely.
"Do you have anything to say for yourself before I hand your pager back to you?" She asked, her eyebrows rising as she gave him a steely glare.
"No, Ma'am. I have nothing more to say at this time." He said softly as he reached his hand out.
"No apology?" She asked.
"No, Ma'am. I said what I was feeling, and I said what was true. I make no apologies for anything that I said. I make no apologies for my feelings, and I will not allow myself to be abused for the simple purpose of your own personal gratification." Derek stated, his eyes directly on hers as he spoke, his voice was deep and confident as he watched her eye him carefully.
"Did my daughter make it to school alright?" She asked firmly, watching Derek's eyes remain steady.
"I think that you should call her yourself and find out, Dr. Grey. I think that it would make her feel better knowing that you inquired about her."
"Meredith doesn't need me in order to be strong, Doctor Shepherd. You said so yourself that she's stronger than I am."
"It's the gesture, Doctor Grey. I understand if you don't want to be needed, but Meredith is the kind of person that does need to be wanted." Derek said as he reached for his pager.
Ellis pulled her hand back for a moment as she stared Derek carefully in the eyes, her jaw clenching slightly as she watched the confident look in his eyes. "There is a craniotomy in OR 2 at 6 AM. I expect you to be there and scrubbed in and the patient to be prepped when I get there, Doctor Shepherd. Six… and absolutely no later." She stated as she reached her hand forward and dropped the pager in his hand. "I don't apologize either, Doctor Shepherd. I guess that it's something that we're both going to have to get used to." She said as she turned for her desk, expecting Derek to still be standing beside her desk for a moment, she was surprised to look up to see him walking out of the door without another word.
--------------------
March 23rd-
"Can you drive any faster?" Derek mumbled, shaking nervously in his seat as he glanced to Mark as Mark shook his head.
"Man… you are a mess!" Mark exclaimed.
"The appointment is at one… it's past twelve thirty… Go faster…"
"If you're thinking that maybe I'll crash, and you can get to the hospital faster that way… I'm not sure that Meredith would be very happy with that."
"If it gets me to the hospital faster!" He exclaimed as he leaned his head back. "Just go faster!" Derek exclaimed. "Do you want me to drive? I can drive if you want me to drive…I mean, I wouldn't mind driving…"
"Derek… seriously… I'm going to give you a sedative if you don't relax."
Derek's cell phone rang, and he lifted it quickly. "Meri?" He said into the phone, his voice suddenly calmer, his fingers trembling less.
"Hey sweetheart…" She said softly into the phone, hearing his voice made her calmer too as she glanced to Cristina who was flipping through a magazine beside her. "Where are you guys?" She asked.
"We're in the freaking middle of nowhere! Mark won't drive faster!" Derek exclaimed.
"We're almost there…" Mark said with an irritated growl.
"Don't rush, sweetheart… get here in one piece…" Meredith said softly, feeling the anxiousness in her belly as she put her hand on it.
"I don't want to miss it…" He said softly as he sighed.
"You're not going to miss it… don't worry… I won't go into the appointment if you're not here…" Meredith said softly. "I promise I'll wait for you…"
"We're pulling into the parking lot." Mark muttered as they turned into the hospital parking lot.
"We're pulling into the parking lot!" Derek exclaimed as he grinned so brightly, that Mark thought for a moment that he may need sunglasses to block his eye from the glare. He shook his head as Derek jumped from the car before it was in park, the phone was in his ear as he jogged towards the front doors. Mark parked the car and climbed out, jogging towards the front door after Derek.
They entered the doors and Derek asked Meredith directions through the phone. He moved quickly towards the elevator, talking excitedly in the phone as he entered it, nearly forgetting to keep the door open for Mark, who gave him a raised arm as if he was going to smack him. "I'm almost there, sweetheart…" Derek said as he noticed the weird looks from other people in the elevator.
"New father…" Mark whispered, nodding towards Derek and he chuckled as they smiled and nodded.
The doors opened and Derek grinned as he told Meredith he would be right there, walking quickly down the hallway, his eyes widened when she walked around the corner. "Meri!" He said happily as he wrapped his arms around her, holding her close as she squeezed him. "Look at you…" He whispered as she showed off her bump proudly, grinning as Derek looked at in amazement. "It's the big day…" He whispered as he embraced her again.
"It is… I'm so glad you guys were able to get here…" Meredith said as she turned and hugged Mark, who lifted her off the ground a little in a hug.
"I was about ready to kill him." Mark said, pointing towards Derek who was standing with his arm around Meredith, grinning.
"I could tell…" Meredith giggled as she looked up at Derek as he wrapped his arms around her shoulders from behind, just needing to touch her. "He acts like he didn't see me a couple of weeks ago…" Meredith shook her head.
"I missed you." He whispered, nuzzling her neck as he kissed her softly. "How are you, Cristina?" Derek asked as Cristina continued to flip through the magazine beside them.
"Fine, Derek… how are you?" She asked as she didn't look up.
"I'm…."
"Rhetorical question, Derek." Cristina said looking up at him as he shook his head at her. Mark sat beside Cristina and gave her a peck on the cheek as Derek continued to hold Meredith while they stood there together.
A nurse walked around the corner and smiled. "Meredith Grey?" She said as she held a chart.
"Yes…" Meredith said softly as she took Derek's hand, and they walked into their appointment together.
-----------
They went into the room together, and the doctor prepared Meredith for the exam. Derek watched everything closely as the doctor explained everything. Neither one of them spoke up to point out that they knew how everything worked, so caught up in one another that they weren't even listening very closely. The doctor explained the sonogram and Derek held Meredith's hand as they began the procedure.
He could feel her hand trembling, nervously awaiting the picture on the screen as the doctor prepared them for what they were going to see. Derek stood beside her, his hand on hers, softly squeezing it now and again as they watched. "So now we're ready to tell the…"
"It's a boy." Derek grinned as he looked to Meredith. "Meri… it's a boy!" He exclaimed.
"It is a boy…very… good…" The doctor said, glancing at Derek as he tried so hard to contain his enthusiasm, he was just bursting at the seams with joy and happiness.
"You're going to have to excuse him…" Meredith said with a giggle. "He's just…"
"I'm happy." Derek whispered as he leaned down and kissed her forehead. "I am… so…happy…there is just no other way to say it…" He sighed as he shook his head. "Look at him, Meri… he's just…"
"He's very active." The doctor pointed out.
"You're telling me…" Meredith sighed.
"He looks like he's doing just fine, Ms. Grey."
"He's perfect." Meredith whispered.
"He's ours…" Derek sighed, looking at the screen, enraptured by the movement. "He's our… son…" Derek smiled, as tears began to well up in his eyes.
"Why don't you go out and tell Mark and Cris… and then we'll all go out to dinner… and we can call your mom and sisters…" Meredith said as she squeezed his hand, watching as he continued to just stare at the screen. "Derek?"
"Oh…" He said as he looked to her again, tearing his eyes from the screen. "Yeah… yeah, I'm going to go tell Mark and Cristina…" He said with a a grin as he sat up and leaned down, kissing Meredith on the lips as he stared into her beautiful eyes. "I'm going to go tell them about our son…" He whispered as his eyes sent her such a signal of untarnished love, that she swore that her own heart skipped a beat.
--------------------
April 23-
Derek slipped into a schedule of calling Meredith at every chance that he could. He visited her at every opportunity, and the closer that the month of May came, the more excited they had become for her impending graduation. Derek was busy at the hospital, though when he was able to get time off, he had enough time to make it to her apartment and stay overnight before heading back. He and Mark would frequently schedule the same time off so that they could travel to Ithaca to be with the girls.
Derek was just settling down in front of the television after a long shift at the hospital, a bowl of muesli in one hand as he heard his phone ringing. He smiled softly as he reached for the phone, answering it with a smile. "Hey." He said into the phone, listening for her usually cheery voice on the other end of the line. "Meri?" He said softly into the phone. "Meri, are you there?" He asked, hearing a sniffle on the other end of the line. "Mer…are you crying, baby? What happened? Are you alright? Is it the baby?" He said, the more questions he asked, the more anxious he became.
"Derek…" She whimpered into the phone. Her voice was so small, so vulnerable and so sad, his heart ached.
"Meri…" He said softly, his voice was tender and soft as he listened to her sniffle. "What happened, sweetheart?"
"She happened…" Meredith whimpered over the line as she began to sob.
"Meri, what happened? Where is Cris? Are you alright?"
"No… No, Derek… I'm not alright…" She cried. "I called my mother… like you told me I should… to invite her to the graduation… she said she's not coming… she's not coming to my graduation…" Meredith sobbed loudly into the phone as she gripped it tightly. "Why did you tell me to do that, Derek? Why would you tell me to call her! You knew she'd do this to me! You know she hates me!" Meredith exclaimed.
"No… Meri… she doesn't hate you… what did she say?"
"She said that she wasn't interested… she said that she would be embarrassed to be seen with me… her unwed pregnant daughter… she hates me, she hates our baby… and I hate her too…" Meredith sobbed. "I hate her, and right now I hate you for making me call her…!" Meredith exclaimed.
"Meri…"
"Shut up!" She screamed as the line went dead.
Derek stared at the phone for a moment. He could feel the anger building up in his belly as his jaw clenched. Part of him wanted to cry for Meredith having to deal with such a horrible person in her life, and another part of him wanted to find Ellis Grey and rip her into a million pieces for making Meredith so upset. He stood up, leaving the bowl of muesli on the coffee table as he walked straight for the door, grabbing his keys and slipping on his shoes as he walked out of the apartment and headed for his car.
--------------------
Ellis entered the scrub room after finishing another surgery. It had been a quick procedure, and she was washing her hands when she heard the door open quickly. She turned to see Derek walking into the room. His feet were heavy and his face held a degree of anger that Ellis had never seen, though was fairly sure she'd see again. "Doctor Shepherd." Ellis said as she washed her hands.
"Doctor Grey." Derek growled as he stood in the doorway as the scrub nurses and a couple more doctors entered the room.
"To what do I owe this pleasure?" She asked, looking up at Derek, her eyebrows raised as she reached for the towels, wiping her hands.
"Oh… I don't know, Ellis." Derek said, using her first name leverage, taking her by surprise. As soon as he said it, her eyes were directly on him, giving him the reaction that he had been looking for. "Maybe it's because of the hysterical phone call that I received when Meredith informed me that you wouldn't be attending her graduation from medical school." Derek said, his voice loud and stern as he watched the interns and nurses watch her.
"This is not the time or the place to be discussing this matter, Dr. Shepherd." Ellis said, glancing at the other people in the room as she tried to distance herself from the conversation.
"She's your daughter, Ellis. She's your daughter and she's carrying your grandchild. Your daughter is carrying your own grandchild… and you won't talk to her… you won't look at her… you won't call her… what is wrong with you? What is wrong with you that you can't give her one ounce of respect? She's your daughter… she's your flesh and blood… and you can't even stand her!" Derek exclaimed.
"Doctor Shepherd, that is enough!" Ellis said sternly as she scolded him, her voice agitated as she tried to remain unaffected by the eyes that were on her. "What are you all looking at… go on… the surgery is over…" She exclaimed, shooing the nurses and interns from the room. They scattered like flies, bumping into one another as they exited the room quickly. "Who do you think you are coming into this hospital… confronting me in front of my staff? Who do you think you are, Doctor Shepherd?"
"Who do you think you are, Doctor Grey… do you think you're immune to the vile, rude, putrid things that you say to your daughter? Do you think that she forgives you… understands you… do you honestly think… that she doesn't give a shit about what you think or feel about her? Can you stand there… and tell me, that you don't think she wants you to be a part of her life… our life… our child's life…? Ellis… she's not asking for the fucking moon… she's not asking for a fucking pony… she's asking for some fucking recognition for something that she feels that you should be proud of her for! She's looking for acceptance from you!"
"She doesn't need my acceptance! She doesn't need me, Derek! She has you to coddle her and do whatever it is she wants done. Look at you now… you're like her little errand boy… coming in here… speaking on her behalf… it's pathetic, Derek!" Ellis said as she trembled, her eyes staring angrily at him as he stared angrily at her. "Now… get the hell out of my scrub room!" She exclaimed.
"No." Derek shook his head. "This isn't over… this is far from over…" he said angrily. "You… will apologize to her… and you will tell her that you will be attending her graduation… and you will go… and you will tell her that you are proud of her." He shook his head. "You stand here all high and mighty in your operating rooms, and your office… and you think that you are better than everyone else… when in reality, you're nothing but a frightened little person with the need to put others down in order for you to feel good about yourself. You know that you love her… you know that you are proud of her… You see yourself in her, and you're afraid that she's going to turn into this…" Derek said as he waved his hand at Ellis.
"You're afraid that if you get too close that she's going to turn into you… into this cold, calculating, robot of a woman who hides her emotions from everyone… She doesn't hate you, Ellis… and she doesn't want to be you… she wants to be herself… and you can't avoid her… I won't let you… I mean… Jesus Christ Ellis… you signed the form for her to be an intern here… if you didn't want her to be here, then you wouldn't have… if you didn't want her to be here after she found out about the baby, I'm sure that you would have fucked that up too… the fucking truth is… you don't want to show her that you love her… You don't want it to be as blatant as a hug or a kind word… but I'm telling you right now… the subtly is wearing out, Ellis… and so am I… and so is Meredith. I suggest that you suck up your fucking pride and go to that graduation, and tell her the fucking truth for once!" Derek exclaimed, his face was red and angry as he stood across from her. He had never been so angry with anyone in his entire life, and the longer they stood there, the stiffer and colder Ellis seemed to become.
They stood across from one another, each holding that angry scowl as they battled for control. Ellis opened her mouth to say something, and closed it once again, continuing her angry stare. "I'll… attend her graduation, Doctor Shepherd." She growled. "I'll attend her graduation… but you're going to have to stay here in Boston… You're going to have to cover my shift at the hospital while I attend my daughter's graduation." She growled, her voice deep and taunting, her request was something that she thought that Derek would absolutely not agree to.
"Fine then." Derek nodded. "May thirteenth…ten o'clock… I'll tell Meredith to expect you there." Derek said angrily, daring her to speak any further. "Thank you." He said sternly as he turned and walked quickly from the room, stomping down the hallway towards the elevator.
--------------------
Derek stomped into the elevator and pushed the button to go downstairs. He stepped backwards and leaned against the back of the elevator, looking to the ceiling. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, slowly releasing the breath as his heart beat wildly in his chest. The doors opened onto the lobby floor and he opened his eyes and walked forward, quickly making his way towards the exit.
"Derek!" A voice came from behind him as he tried to get out as quickly as he could. He turned and saw Mark rushing towards him.
"I'm going home, Mark." Derek growled as he turned towards the door.
"Meredith's been crying for like two hours…" Mark said, grabbing Derek's shoulder, turning him around quickly.
"She's pregnant, Mark… pregnant women cry…"
"She won't talk to Cristina." Mark said, his voice was truly panicked.
"Mark… I know why Meredith is crying… and I took care of it… I just… need to get the hell out of this hospital."
"What happened?" He asked, his eyes showing concern as he followed Derek towards his car.
"Her mother made her upset… I… made her upset… she probably saw someone at the grocery store that gave her a funny look, and that made her upset… I can't get out there, I have to work in the morning… I've tried calling her, she won't answer my phone call… She just needs to cry it out, and she'll call me when she's doing better." Derek sighed as he put his head in his hand. He looked up at Mark. "I need a fucking drink." He said as he turned from his car and walked across the parking lot towards the bar across the street.
"Derek… Derek, man…" Mark said as he grabbed Mark's shoulder, watching Derek glare at him. "What's going on with you?" He asked as Derek suddenly felt his phone vibrating in his pocket.
"Hello?" He said quickly, sternly into the phone.
"Derek?" Her voice was soft and high, and he heard a sniffle.
"Meredith." He sighed, feeling his body relax slightly with the sound of her voice.
"Derek… what did you do?" She whispered, sniffling again as he tried to find his words.
--------------------
"What did I do?" Derek whispered, his mind suddenly blank as he listened to her breathing on the line. "Meri, are you alright?" He said softly, something he had to ask before the conversation went any further.
"I'm… confused." She whispered.
"Meredith… I… I didn't mean for it to happen… and… and before I knew it, she had her hooks in me…and I tried not to do it… I really tried not to do it, but I couldn't help it… She just… she fills me with such a feeling of unbelievable…"
"Derek…?" Meredith said, her voice humored at the exchange.
"Meredith?"
"What are you talking about?" She asked.
Derek glanced to Mark, who was glaring angrily at Derek. "What are you talking about?" He asked, turning his back to Mark.
"All I said was that I was confused, and then you started to talking about some woman…Derek, is there something that you need to tell me?" Meredith asked, her voice becoming anxious.
"No! No… no…Meri… cut that out…"
"You're the one that said that…"
"I know what I said…I was talking about your mother… that's why you called, right?"
"Yes." Meredith said softly. "What did you…do to her?" Meredith whispered.
"Why?" Derek asked softly.
"She… called me." Meredith swallowed hard. "She called and left a message… and she sounded upset."
"Upset…"
"Yes."
"Like… angry…"
"No… like she was crying… Derek… Derek, my mother doesn't cry."
"Meri… I…"
"What did you say to her, Derek? What… what did you do?" She whimpered, on the verge of tears.
"I just… I told her how it was going to be… Meri… I told her that… she needed to start treating you like the smart, caring, loving… sweetest creature that was put on this earth…" Derek turned his head and watched as Mark pretended not to be listening as he waited for the phone call to be through. "What did she say?" Derek asked.
"She said that… she had talked with you… and she came back to her office and thought about it… and realized that I had earned her recognition… that she was proud of me, and that she would be there… she apologized for what she had said earlier and asked for my… for my forgiveness… Derek… there had to have been more to that conversation… something you're not telling me… did you threaten her?" Meredith asked.
"Meredith…" Derek said into the phone, his voice a warning as he shook his head.
"She even said that you had offered to drive her here… to bring her to the ceremony… Derek… I mean…I didn't realize that…"
"She said what?" Derek asked, his voice was high and he almost laughed when he heard what she had said. "Are you sure that she said that?"
"She said that she'd be here… with you… to watch the graduation…I'm…actually kind of creeped out…" She whispered.
"Huh… yeah…" Derek sighed loudly as he looked to Mark, his smile was wide.
"She also said in the message to tell you that you were right… and that this was the only way that you'd ever hear her say that." Meredith said with a sigh as she listened to Derek. She knew that he had a smile on his face as he stood wherever he was, listening to her words, words that were still unbelievable to her. "Where are you?" She whispered.
"Outside the hospital…" He said with a sigh. "Mark and I were going to go get a drink." He said softly as he imagined her eyes, her lips, her nose, her face looking at him.
"Oh…" She said softly, her voice was soft and sweet as she thought for a moment. "I'll… let you guys get back to your thing…" She said softly. "Derek." She whispered.
"Hm?" He whispered.
"I love you." She replied in a whisper. "I love you …"
"I love you." He replied to her.
"Thank you… Derek…" She said, her heart yearning to see his face, to touch him, to taste him. "I miss you." She whimpered.
"I miss you, sweet thing…" Derek whispered as he stomped on Mark's foot as Mark rolled his eyes. "I'll see you soon."
"Call me before you go to bed." She whispered.
"I will." He said with a kiss sound over the phone. "I promise I'll call you before I go to bed." He whispered. "Tell the little one that daddy loves him."
"He knows." Meredith smiled as she heard him sigh slightly. "I'll talk to you soon, sweetheart."
"I'll talk to you soon." Derek replied, as they both hung up at the same time. Derek paused for a moment, his eyes moving to Mark, standing a couple feet away from him. "Alright… let's get that goddamned drink…"Derek said as he turned towards the bar once again.
"I thought it was a 'fucking' drink…" Mark said as he followed Derek.
"Nah… it's just a goddamned drink now…" Derek said with a smile as the two of them entered the bar.
--------------------
"Meri… just do it…" Derek whispered as he played with the little toy in his hand as he talked on the phone.
"Derek, it's silly… don't make me…"
"Come on… just for a minute… please?" He asked as he listened to her sigh and giggle a little.
"Fine…" Meredith said.
Derek heard shuffling over the line, the sound of Meredith lifting the shirt from her belly, and he heard her confirm that the phone was in place. Derek smiled as he began to speak. "Hey buddy… it's daddy…" Derek chuckled to himself, thinking how ridiculous Meredith must feel, though at the same time, he could hear her giggling. "Daddy just wanted to say goodnight… and tell you that he misses you and your mommy very much. I'll see you soon… you can put mommy back on the phone now…" He laughed as he waited for Meredith to lift the phone back to her ear.
"Alright… did you tell him what you wanted to tell him?" Meredith laughed.
"Yes… yes I did…" Derek laughed as he smiled sadly. "I miss you, sweet thing." Derek whispered as he tried to hold back the tears in his eyes.
"I miss you… oh… Derek…don't do this to me…" Meredith whimpered as she tried to control the lump growing in her throat.
"I'm sorry…" He smiled softly as he tried not to cry. "I love you, Meri…"
"I love you…" She whispered.
"Sweet dreams…"
"Sweet dreams, Derek." She whispered, as she listened to the sound of the phone clicking closed.
Derek lay in the bed, the phone sitting firmly in his hand as he stared at the ceiling. He could feel the tears welling up in his eyes, and the lump in his throat as he thought of her being so far away from him. He imagined her laying on the bed, her belly swollen with their little one nestled comfortably inside, and he could feel the tear rolling down his cheek. The one thing that got him through the night, was the one thing that got him through every night without her, and that was the knowledge that soon they would be together, forever.
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Derek lay there for hours, staring at the ceiling. His argument with Ellis was running through his mind over and over again. He could see the indignant look on her face, the angry expression in her eyes, the gut wrenching words that Meredith had said she had spoken. He turned to his side and stared at the wall now, his conversation with Meredith ringing through his mind. It didn't seem normal, it didn't seem right. He remembered leaving that room, and Ellis was showing no signs of backing down. She had been stern and angry when she had told him that he was covering for her.
"She wouldn't dare…" Derek whispered as he shook his head, his eyes still refusing to close, his mind refusing to shut off. He sighed, shaking his head trying to brush the thought of his mind, though it kept coming back, and he couldn't ignore it.
After about four hours of no sleep, he climbed from his bed and got dressed. He threw his shoes on and grabbed his jacket as he headed out the door for the car, making his way towards the hospital.
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Derek sat outside Ellis' office for a few more hours, morning was breaking and he knew that she was always in her office promptly at 5AM. He waited and as if on cue, the elevator door opened and out stepped Ellis, walking briskly towards her office.
--------------------
Derek watched as Ellis approached her office, her eyes were straight ahead as she pulled her keys from her pocket. Derek stood up and watched her closely, noting how she just unlocked the office and walked inside without a word. He sighed as he stepped into the outer office after her.
"So now you're stalking me, Doctor Shepherd?" Ellis said as she unlocked the door to her office and stepped into it, switching on the light.
"No, Ma'am." He said softly as he stood outside her door.
Ellis walked up to her desk and turned around, noting that Derek would not step into her office. "Do I frighten you, Doctor Shepherd?"
"In some ways, yes, Doctor Grey. You do frighten me."
"Good." She said as she watched him continue to hover. "Is there something that I can help you with, or did you want to berate me further? I can invite the second floor staff up here if you'd like to do it in front of them… perhaps the maternity wing… I could just put it over the loudspeaker if you prefer."
"Doctor Grey, I do apologize if I embarrassed you yesterday, that was not my intention."
"You didn't embarrass me, Doctor Shepherd. Though since you're apologizing right now, I'm assuming that you were feeling rather embarrassed." She said as she shuffled through the papers on her desk and switched on her computer.
"No, Ma'am." Derek said as he stepped into the office.
"I'm assuming that you spoke with Meredith." She said as she looked up into his eyes. "I figure that the two of you had ample time to discuss the ins and outs of the incident last night."
"I wouldn't necessarily call it an 'incident', Doctor Grey, as much as it was a plea."
"Derek. When you come into my personal space… you scream and shout in front of my colleagues… spouting off angry words that I'm not so sure that you can take back… it should probably be referred to as an 'incident'." Ellis replied.
"I don't want to take it back, Doctor Grey. As I said before, I meant every word I said." Derek said, his eyes not wavering.
"Then why are you in my office?" She asked sternly.
"I want to know why you told Meredith what you told her." He stated.
"What I told her?" She asked, her eyes on his as her brow furrowed.
"When you spoke to me last, you said that I was going to be covering your shift here… You told Meredith that I would be attending the graduation with…"
"You will be attending the graduation ceremony, Doctor Shepherd. There are many reasons for this… and the main one, is that I don't want you coming in here three days before the ceremony throwing your ego around the room, knocking things off the walls in order to prove to me that you love my daughter. You love her. We can leave it at that."
"That's it…? You don't want me to complain?"
"I think that's a valid reason, Dr. Shepherd. I'm a very busy woman… I can't be dealing with you screaming in one ear, my daughter crying in the other…"
"So this isn't a trick?"
"Doctor Shepherd?" She said, looking up at him, tilting her head. Derek watched her eyes carefully, watching as her lips curled just slightly, just the same as Meredith's when she was trying to pull one over on him, or had him right where she wanted him.
"You're not going to make this look like I was going to go… and schedule me… making it look like it was my decision to work on that day… you're not going to rip this from beneath me, are you?"
"Derek… I think that being in the car with me for the six hour drive here and back will be sufficient punishment for us both, don't you think?"
"Would you like for me to answer that question?" He asked, the smirk slowly rising on his face.
"Derek…listen…" Ellis said as she stood up behind her desk, her eyes softening just enough for him to notice the change. "You've been the only person in Meredith's life with balls big enough to stand up to me… You're egotistical, spiteful, and a little too pretty for my taste… but she loves you… and you love her… if you didn't, you would have put up a fight yesterday when I told you that you had to stay here instead of going to her graduation. You showed me that you were willing to sacrifice yourself for my daughter's happiness, and that says a lot." Ellis said, her voice was soft as she watched him listen intently.
"Thank you, Doctor Grey."
"Derek… this is only one small step in the series of leaps that it takes to get to my 'stone cold' heart, as you so eloquently put it. I suggest that you get to work and concentrate on that… I'm sure that you have something to do around this hospital that doesn't involve you standing in my office bothering me."
"Yes, Ma'am. Thank you, Ma'am…"
"And Derek."
"Yes?"
"Call me 'Ma'am' one more time and I'm putting you on scut for the rest of the month…" Ellis said as she looked down at her papers.
"Yes… Mom…" Derek said with a laugh as he turned to walk out of the office.
"That's not funny, Doctor Shepherd!" Ellis exclaimed as she shook her head as she watched him laugh his way out of her office.
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Derek pulled his car up to Ellis Grey's home, nervously tapping his fingers on the steering wheel as he waited for a moment. He wasn't about to honk the horn, he knew that would be a mistake, so he climbed from his seat and began to walk towards the front door. In a moment, the front door opened, and Ellis stepped out. She was holding a briefcase in her hand as she quickly locked the front door. Derek took a step back, moving to the passenger side door, he opened it and stood beside it as Ellis turned and walked towards the car. She had her head down as she walked swiftly, her head swinging up as she slowed, her eyes moving up to Derek's face. "Well look at what we have here…" She said sternly, though a tinge of teasing could be heard. "Derek Shepherd is a genuine gentleman."
"Yes…" He paused as a small smile began to appear on his face. "Yes, he is." He replied, watching as a slow smirk appeared on her face as she gave him a knowing look as she climbed into the car, allowing Derek to close it behind her. He shook his head and grinned as he walked around behind the car, opening the driver's side door, he glanced to Ellis as she made herself comfortable. "We have to make one stop before we head out…" He said as he glanced to her. "If you don't mind, of course."
"Do whatever it is you have to do to get me there." Ellis said, waving her hand at Derek as she opened her briefcase and pulled a few papers out.
----------
Derek pulled up to Mark's apartment complex. He glanced to Ellis and excused himself from the car as soon as he saw Mark coming down the steps from his apartment. He caught up with him as he stepped out onto the sidewalk. "Did you get everything?" Derek asked as he caught his breath, stopping Mark for a moment.
"Camera, gifts… anything else?"
"One thing…" Derek said as he glanced to the car. "I forgot to tell you that I…"
"Is that the chief in your car?" Mark asked, his eyes widened as he took a step back.
"I promised Meredith's mother that I'd bring her to the ceremony."
"Derek! Don't you think that you could have told me this ahead of time?"
"What? There's nothing wrong with her… Meri wanted her there… she agreed, we're not looking a gift horse in the mouth."
"I thought Meri hated her mother." Mark whispered furiously.
"No…Meri thinks that her mother hates her…"
"Whatever… Derek… I don't think I can do this…" Mark huffed as he looked back to the door to the apartment.
"Oh, stop being a goddamned baby and get in the fucking car." Derek growled as he pushed Mark towards the car.
"You are so going to owe me for this!" Mark called as Derek scowled at him as he followed him to the car.
"Shut up and get in…" Derek said as he walked around the car to the driver's side. Mark glared at him over the car as he climbed in.
Derek sat down in the driver's seat and glanced to Ellis, who was reading through a medical journal, writing notes. "Doctor Grey, you're familiar with Mark Sloan." He said as he put his seatbelt on, glancing to Mark in the back seat through the rearview mirror.
Ellis didn't look up from what she was doing. "No, I can't say that I am." She replied.
Derek started pulling the car from the parking lot and smiled. "He's one of your surgery fellows… works in plastics…" Derek shrugged.
"Ah…" Ellis replied as she continued writing her notes. "I have a lot of doctors on my staff, Doctor Shepherd… I can't keep track of all of them." She replied, her eyes shifting to Derek as Mark sighed from the back seat.
"Totally understandable, Doctor Grey." Derek replied as he noticed out of the corner of his eye, the slight smirk on Ellis' face, and the look of horror on Mark's face in the back seat. "Let's get to that graduation." He smiled as he drove them on their way.
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The drive started off fine, the three of them remained quiet for a while and Mark was sending Derek dirty looks into the rearview mirror. Derek shook his head and smirked as he drove, watching as Mark became more animated in the back seat.
"You know, Doctor Sloan, it's fairly childish of you to sit back there signing to Doctor Shepherd… if there's something you'd like to say, feel free to just come out and say it." Ellis said without looking up from her journal.
Mark put his hands down on his lap and Derek chuckled as his face turned red in embarrassment. "Um... I was…"
"I know what you're doing, Doctor Sloan… you're upset that I'm here… well… it's not going to change, so why don't you just act like I'm not here and use your voice to talk to Doctor Shepherd… that way we can just get all of this tension out in the open… and I won't have to feel like I'm in mime camp." She said, hearing Derek continue to laugh. She glared at him and he stopped laughing, though the smirk was still on his face.
"Yes, Ma'am." Mark said softly.
Ellis lifted her head from the journal and turned her head, looking back at Mark with a glare. "Doctor Sloan…"
"Yes?" Mark asked, his eyebrows raised, his voice high with concern.
"Dude… don't call her 'ma'am'…" Derek laughed.
"Dude?" Ellis said, turning her head as she looked at Derek with disdain. "Please tell me that you did not just say 'dude'…"
"I did not say 'dude'…" Derek said, laughing. "Crap, I said it again!" Derek exclaimed as Mark began to laugh.
Ellis turned her head and shook her head, burying her head back into the journal as Mark and Derek laughed to themselves.
"I can't believe that I agreed to ride to this thing with Felix and Oscar…" She sighed.
Derek chuckled, glancing to Ellis as he watched her try to concentrate on the journal in front of her. She tapped her pen on the paper as she stared at the journal and Derek could tell that there was something was bugging her. He then noticed that Mark was leaning forward.
"Doctor Grey?" Mark asked from the back seat, leaning forward a little, peeking over her shoulder.
"Yes… Doctor Sloan…?" She growled under her breath as she turned her head.
"You really don't know who I am?" He asked.
"Mark… seriously, give it a rest…" Derek laughed as he tried to stay out of it.
Ellis turned her head to face Mark. Her glare was icy and frustrated as Derek watched Mark sit back quickly. "No, Doctor Sloan… I really don't know who you are… and unless you're the person that wrote this article that I'm reading… I really have no interest in talking with you right now." She said as she raised her eyebrows at him. "Doctor Shepherd… why is he even riding with us?"
"He's dating Meredith's roommate."
"Ah…" Ellis nodded her head. "You two have a little bit of a business going on here, I see…"
Derek chuckled as Mark's face turned red in the back seat. Ellis turned to face Mark, a slight smirk on her face as she tilted her head. "Is yours impregnated as well? Perhaps you boys could start a colony…" She said with a humored look as Mark's face became redder and Derek laughed harder.
"I think… I'm just going to… read now…" Mark muttered as he lifted a magazine that he had brought, dropping his eyes as Ellis turned back around.
Ellis turned to Derek as he glanced over at her, noticing the smile in her eyes as he realized that she was actually enjoying herself. "For the record, Doctor Shepherd… I do know Doctor Sloan… in fact, if you hadn't started dating my daughter, I would have thought you two were together." She smirked to herself as Derek laughed and she returned to her journal.
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The rest of the drive was fairly quiet, and Derek and Ellis had exchanged a couple of smirks as Mark remained flustered in the back seat. As soon as the car was parked in the crowded parking lot, Mark opened the door and jumped out. "Thanks, man… I'll catch up with you guys later…" He said quickly as he took off towards the building.
Derek walked around the other side of the car as Ellis placed her journals in her briefcase. Just as she was about to open the door, the door opened and Derek stood with his arm extended. "Derek, you don't have to…"
"Yes… yes I do." He said, daring her not to take his arm as he nodded his head softly. "Come on… when was the last time you had someone walk you somewhere?" He asked, nodding towards the building.
"Never, Derek." She said, giving him a half glare as she shook her head.
"Come on…" he said, nodding his head towards his arm. "Be a little adventurous." He whispered. "I won't tell anyone."
"Derek Shepherd… I do believe that you're too charming for your own good… and I can't believe my daughter fell for it." Ellis whispered as she stepped from the car, carefully allowing Derek to take her arm in his.
"Well… she's an exceptional woman… and I am very lucky to have her." Derek winked as he walked with Ellis on his arm.
"Kiss ass…" Ellis muttered as she laughed slightly, and though as strange as it seemed to Derek to hear this woman laugh, it seemed right to him, and only made him smile brighter.
They walked towards the doors to the arena where the ceremony was being held, throngs of people were entering through the doors. Derek dodged the crowd, keeping Ellis close to him as not to bump into anyone and as soon as they entered the first hallway to head toward the stairs, Derek was suddenly slammed into by another person.
"Derek!" A woman exclaimed as she wrapped her arms around him, making him jump as he turned his head quickly.
"Bethany… what are you doing here?" Derek exclaimed, watching as his sister stood in front of him, grinning brightly as she glanced to Ellis and back to Derek.
"We're here for Meredith…" She laughed. "Hi… I'm Derek's sister Beth…" She said with a smile as she held her hand out to Ellis. "You must be Meredith's mother."
"Yes… Ellis Grey…" She said with a polite smile as she glanced to Derek and back to the woman as she shook her hand politely.
"We? You said 'We're' here…"
"All of us…" She said with a giggle. "Girls… all of us girls… we left the boys with the kids… except for Donnie and Taylor… they came along too… they're with Mom and the girls… you two should come sit with us… We've got some good seats… they sent me to come looking for you."
Derek turned to Ellis and smiled politely. "Don't mind her, she babbles." Derek said as he watched Ellis chuckle. "Would you mind if we…"
"No… no, absolutely not." Ellis said as she shook her head. "Lead the way, Bethany." She said, glancing to Derek, who held her arm once again and followed Bethany through the throng of people.
"I have four sisters…" Derek whispered to Ellis as they walked. "My mother's probably here too…" He watched as she nodded, giving him a grateful smile for explaining before they reached the rest of the family. "My mother's name is Marion…sisters are… Bethany, Kathleen, Joann and Nancy… they all look alike, there's no reason to have to tell them apart…" Derek shrugged.
They walked down the steps to a row of seats as they watched the preparations below. Derek could see the heads of his three sisters, his niece and nephew, and his mother sitting beside them. He took a deep breath as he walked towards them, watching as Bethany announced that she had found him. Each of them turned around one at a time, smiling as they saw him approaching, smiling as they waited to greet him, and formally meet Ellis Grey for the first time.
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Meredith sat in a chair in the corner as everyone hustled and bustled around them. "Cris, I can't do this." She whimpered as she shook her head, her hand trembling as it moved over her swollen belly over and over again. "Cris…" She whimpered as she grabbed hold of Cristina's arm.
"Oh, shut up… you already technically graduated… this is just for show… the cattle call, the final showdown… just quit your whining, straighten the freaking mortarboard, and get your big fat ass out there when the line starts up." Cristina muttered as she ripped her arm from Meredith's hand.
"You're so mean…" Meredith whimpered. "He's making my tummy hurt…" She whimpered.
"Stop that right now, you know that it's not mini that's making you feel this way… you know it's the fact that Derek is somewhere in those stands with your mother… probably half drunk just so that he can deal with her… Mark is probably flipping out because no one told him that she was coming along, and I'm sure that your mother is just so absolutely thrilled to be here, that there's no stopping the proud grin on her face and… blah blah blah…."
"My mother doesn't smile." Meredith grumbled as she looked up at Cristina. "Rescue me, Cris… just… kidnap me and bring me somewhere… anywhere else but here… I can't do this…"
"If you think that I'm going to swing your sorry fat ass over my shoulder and sneak out of this arena, you've got something more wrong with you than a child with extra shiny hair growing in your abdomen… You're going to do this… you're going to walk out there, get your stupid goddamned diploma, and you're going to grin like a stupid freaking idiot while you do it… because if you don't… well… well I'll cry… I'll cry, Meredith… do you want that to happen? Do you want to be responsible for that? Do you? Do you, Meredith?"
"Fine…" Meredith mumbled as she pushed herself off the chair, wobbling a little as she stood up as everyone stood in line to walk out for the ceremony. "It's just fine… I'll do this… but I'll remember that you were mean… and I'll remember that when my child is born prematurely on the floor of this arena because you were selfish and mean and cruel enough to force me to do this… it was your fault."
"You're in a roomful of doctors... one of them is bound to know what to do... Don't forget to name it after me… you know, to honor me in my endeavor to torture you totally and completely."
"I love you, Cris…" Meredith mumbled as she waddled her way towards her place in line.
"Yeah, yeah… but don't you dare going around telling people that it's my kid!" Cristina exclaimed as she disappeared through the crowd towards her place in line.
Meredith walked slowly towards her place in line, standing against the wall, she became very aware of the whispers of the people around her, glancing to her and looking quickly away. The noise in the room was distracting, and her ears were burning as she waited patiently for the ceremony to start. She was tired and in a bad mood, her ankles were swollen and she just felt awful. She placed her hand on her belly and slowly, rhythmically began to rub it as she closed her eyes. She sighed as a picture of her Derek appeared in her mind sending a smile upon her face as she imagined him standing before her. She imagined seeing his smile, his eyes, touching his skin with her fingertips. She took a deep breath and suddenly could smell his cologne fill her senses. She knew that it was just a figment of her imagination, and she even heard his voice.
"What do you think you're smiling about?" He whispered, his voice was tender and soft, and she didn't want to open her eyes, she didn't want to pull herself from her daydream. A hand rested delicately on her belly, and she jumped.
Her eyes flew open. Her mouth widened in surprise, and she gasped. "Derek!" She exclaimed.
He stood before her, his smile wide with pride as his eyes watered slightly as he looked her over. "You look so… beautiful…" He whispered, shaking his head as he kept his hand on her belly.
"What are you doing here?" She exclaimed, her arms instantly encircling him as much as they could, her belly pushing into him as he held her for a few moments.
"Why do you think I'm here?" He asked, pulling from the hug as he smiled at her. "I told everyone that I 'had to go to the bathroom'." He said in air quotes as he laughed.
"Everyone?" She asked, looking behind him for a moment. "Where is…"
"Oh… she's out there…" Derek grinned. "I just… I couldn't know that you were just a few feet away from me, and not be able to touch you." He said softly as he hugged her again.
"You left her out there by herself?" Meredith whispered.
"No… she's in good company…" Derek nodded as he smiled at Meredith's confusion as she tilted her head at him.
"Derek… you didn't leave her with Mark… please tell me that you didn't leave her with Mark…" Meredith shook her head as concern washed over her features.
Derek chuckled at her concern. "I promise, I did not leave her with Mark." He said, holding his hand up in promise.
"Then where is…"
"Meredith… she's here… don't worry about it." He whispered as he kissed her softly, hugging her close. "You look upset." He whispered in her ear.
"I am upset…" She whispered. "I missed you." She said as she felt the tears welling in her eyes.
"I missed you…" He whispered. He looked into her eyes and placed his hand on her chin, smiling into her eyes as she let a tear fall. "Just think about it…." He said with a smile. "This is your last official day away from me." He smiled.
"What about tomorrow? I don't go home until tomorrow…" She whimpered.
"Exactly… you'll be with me tomorrow… Did everything get packed already?" He asked.
"Yes." She mumbled as she nodded her head. "The truck left this morning." She whimpered.
"Good… then we'll get this silly ceremony over… and we'll all spend the day together… and in the morning, you and Cris can catch up with us…" He smiled as he ran his finger across her cheek, catching the tears on his thumb. "No more crying… this is a big day…" He smiled as he watched her eyes lighten up slowly. "I'm very proud of you, do you know that?"
"Mmm hmm…" She nodded sadly.
"Your mom is very proud of you… my mom is very proud of you… all of my sisters are proud of you…"
Meredith tilted her head, a slow smirk emerging onto her face. "Your mother and sisters?"
"Shh…" He said with a smile. "I wasn't supposed to say anything." He winked as he watched her brighten up tremendously. "We're in the fifth row… we'll be on your left close to the podium… we'll be watching for you… you look for us." He said as he leaned forward and kissed her lips.
"I'll look for you." She said with a smile.
"I'm proud of you." He smiled. "I'm proud of both of you." He laughed, indicating her belly as she laughed, her hand still rubbing it softly. "I'll see you both later." He said as he leaned forward and kissed her belly, listening to her giggle, she shook her head as he kissed her again.
"Thank you… for cheering me up… for finding me." She whispered.
"Thank you for finding me." He whispered as he kissed her lips softly, watching her eyes as he slowly disappeared into the crowd.
Meredith sighed contentedly as she ran her fingers over her belly, she looked down at it and sighed again. "Your daddy is the best…" She smiled, still feeling the tingling feeling of his lips on hers as the ceremony officially began.
--------------------
Meredith took a deep breath, following after the person in front of her as they made their way out to their chairs for the speeches and announcements. She stepped out into the arena, following the long line of graduates as she made her way to her chair. Her first intention was to get to the chair and sit down, and then she would look for Derek. She got to her chair, her feet aching as she sat down on the uncomfortable seat. She could feel the baby moving around, and whispered softly as she ran her hand over her belly. She could feel a tinge of burning in her stomach, and noticed that the girl beside her was glancing at her.
"Are you alright?" She whispered, seeing the look of pain in Meredith's eyes.
"I'm… I'm alright… just a little uncomfortable…" Meredith whispered, smiling politely. "Thank you."
She tried to make herself as comfortable as possible, shifting in her chair as she glanced up to the podium. She followed her eyes up five rows and spotted a familiar face. She saw Bethany sitting with Taylor on her lap, bouncing her slightly while she talked to Donnie as he sat beside her. Beside Bethany sat Kathleen, talking animatedly with Nancy and Joann. Next was Marion Shepherd, her face was turned and she was talking and laughing with… with her mother.
Meredith's jaw dropped slightly as she watched Ellis smile, laugh, and talk with Derek's mother. She smiled slightly after a moment, knowing that if anyone could at least take a peek into her mother's shell, it would be Marion Shepherd. She had a way of just pushing her way into a person's life without making you feel violated or pressured. She always seemed helpful, and she never pried too far. She always wondered if Marion held a grudge against anyone in her life, and if there were ever anyone to have a grudge with, it would be her mother. Ellis took her son's time away from his mother, kept him away at important times, holidays, birthdays. She kept him busy and tired, but from the looks of the conversation they were having, there was anything but animosity up in those stands. Her eyes drifted to the person sitting next to Ellis as he sat staring dreamily into the crowd of students, his eyes only on her as she brightened up.
She watched as his hand lifted slowly, delicately and his fingers wiggled as he waved at her. She did the same, raising her hand slightly as she wiggled her fingers, finding that she was smiling at him, her eyes sparkling with pride and happiness as she watched him nod towards their mothers, shrugging. She laughed a little as he made a face, and laughed a little harder, when her mother's hand smacked him lightly in the arm without her even looking at him. Ellis looked up from talking to Mrs. Shepherd, her eyes landing on Meredith as Derek pointed out where she was to everyone. She didn't wave, but Meredith could tell that she was proud, and happy to be there, or else she wouldn't be there. After a moment, everyone seemed to settle in for the ceremony as the speakers prepared to give their speeches, and Meredith set her attention on only Derek sitting in the stands watching her. The speeches seemed to fly by, and her eyes were just captured by the man sitting in the stands, sending thoughts of support and love in her direction. They were about to name the graduates, who were to stand when their name was called, when Meredith felt a sharp pain in her side. She shifted forward, looking to the floor, squeezing her eyes closed. "Don't do this to me, Mini…" She whispered as she rubbed her side, taking a deep breath as she sat back in her chair. Derek's eyes were suddenly filled with concern, and Meredith could see her mother whispering to him, and him nodding. Mrs. Shepherd glanced to Derek, who seemed to be trying to calm her down as well.
They were announcing names one at a time, and were blazing through the alphabet as they neared 'G'. Meredith felt another sharp pain, grimacing slightly as she felt sweat rolling down her brow.
"Are you going to be alright?" The girl beside her asked, genuinely concerned.
"I'm alright." Meredith whispered. "He's just… doing somersaults…" Meredith grunted slightly as she took a deep breath and looked up. She was starting to feel a little dizzy as she sat up, looking up into the stands, she had noticed that Derek had disappeared. "Shit." She whispered, her voice whimpering slightly as she looked down at her belly. "Do you see what you did… now you have daddy all nervous and he's not going to be able to see mommy graduate… you're so grounded the second you're born…" She muttered as she straightened her back as she started to feel a little better. She listened to the names being called, and as soon as her name was called, she stood up slowly, steadying herself as the girl beside her reached out for her arm. She turned and thanked her softly as the next name was called, and the next.
Meredith stood staring up into the stands, the empty seat beside her mother made her heart ache as she watched the proud look on everyone's face. She could feel the baby moving, shifting and kicking. She closed her eyes as she tried to hold the pain back, and waited patiently as they reached the last name on the list. The baby moved, putting pressure on her bladder, and she winced as she waited for the announcement of their graduation and a few more words of encouragement. She shifted from one leg to another as she waited, and another sharp pain made her wince. "Behave...please…" She whispered as she rubbed her belly. "Please… just be a good boy…" She whispered. Suddenly, the crowd erupted into applause as they announced the graduating class, and Meredith looked to the stands to see Derek's family and her mother standing and applauding as they all looked on with concerned glances. Meredith winced again, grabbing her belly as she growled. "That is enough…" She grumbled as she took a deep breath. "If you don't stop this right now, you're going to go live with Cristina…" She mumbled as she felt the baby start to calm down, and the kicking stopped being so hard. She found humor in it, though just wondering for a moment if it was psychosomatic, though not caring as she followed the person in front of her as they walked from the arena floor to the back room.
She walked quickly, the dizziness starting to make her legs feel wobbly as she followed the person in front of her. As soon as she stepped off the floor, she felt her arm being grabbed. "Meredith…" Derek said as he grabbed her into his arms, trying to see if she was alright.
"Derek…" She whispered, her eyes glassed over as she winced. She had sweat running down her face, her throat was dry, and she was starting to see spots. "I don't feel so good." She whispered, shaking her head. Derek could feel her getting heavier in his arms as her eyes rolled back, and her knees gave out as he called for someone to call an ambulance.
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Darkness turned to light, there were flashes, movement, shouting, screaming, demanding. She could feel her entire body aching as people moved around her, about her, above her. Colors swirled in her mind as she felt the pressure of something on her face, the warm hand of someone on hers, the frantic questions. Nothing made sense, nothing was right.
A face flashed in her mind, and she tried to open her eyes, her vision blurred and her body weak. "Derek…" She whimpered, moving her hand, she felt the hand around hers squeeze it tightly, her voice was muffled by whatever was on her mouth, and she wasn't even sure that she had said it. She knew that he was there, he had held her as she fell, he was there now. Though he wasn't in her line of vision, she knew that it was his hand on hers, she knew that it was his voice that was filled with pure fear.
She then heard another voice above all of them as she felt her body being lifted, moved, carted from the crowd of strangers that were staring. She recognized the voice, but not the fear that was injected into it, not the anxiety. It was this voice that made her the most frightened, because she had never heard this voice have anything but confidence in it, and all she heard before she drifted back into unconsciousness, was the fear in her mother's voice.
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The room was bright, the sounds and feelings that she was experiencing were not comfortable at all. There was a weird taste in her mouth, the noises from the room were beginning to irritate her. There was the whirring and beeping of the machines, there was the tapping of something in the room, but the most irritating was the chattering going on between two people directly over her.
She could feel Derek's hand on hers, and she listened carefully to his voice as he spoke in a stern whisper. His hands were warm and soft, and she could feel them trembling around hers. The other voice was her mother. Her voice was shrill and frustrated, nervous and anxious. It wasn't stern, it wasn't angry, just concerned. Meredith listened to the argument, something trivial, she figured, because her brain wasn't exactly processing anything but the tones of their voices at that point. She didn't even care what they were arguing about, the point of the matter was that she was trying to sleep, and they were interrupting it.
She opened her eyes just slightly, enough to make out the forms of Derek standing over her, and her mother on the other side. She smiled to herself hearing the defensiveness in his voice against her mother. She had never actually heard him speak to her mother in such a tone, and often wondered how he sounded like when he defended her. It was her mother's turn to talk, her bony little finger pointing at Derek across her body.
"Why don't you two take it around back… kick one another's asses…and let me get some sleep…" She grumbled from the bed as she squeezed Derek's hand. Her eyes opened a little wider as Derek smiled, crouching down to her face, he pushed her hair back and kissed her lips.
"Meri…" He whispered, his voice was tender now, not that frustrated stern voice that she had heard moments before.
"Meredith…" Ellis said, taking her other hand. Meredith's brow furrowed as she looked to her mother, not remembering the last time her mother held her hand for anything other than to keep her from doing something.
"I know… my name… can you please tell me what happened?" She whispered.
"Pre-eclampsia." Ellis stated, her doctor voice suddenly making an appearance as she released Meredith's hand. Meredith didn't need an explanation, she knew what it meant, but she also knew that her mother would have some sort of lecture pent up inside of her just waiting to spew out. Meredith nodded, and waited for it.
"It was pretty damn close…to…um…" Derek whispered, running his fingers through her hair. "They got you here… were able to stabilize your blood pressure…they wanted to deliver at first, but your mom had them re-evaluate you...and they decided to see if they could bring it down… You've been out for a few hours…"
"Deliver?" Meredith whispered, her voice small and frightened as she said the word, her eyes were so frightened as she turned her head to her mother.
"They put you on a magnesium drip…to try to keep the blood pressure down… if it flares up again… it could be worse." Derek whispered. "I don't want it to get worse." He whispered.
"No…" She whimpered. Her eyes remained on Derek as she told him her worries and fears through her eyes, her tears were sitting on the edge of her eyelids as she watched him swallow hard. "Your mother wants you to go back to Boston… tonight… she arranged an ambulance to transport you." Derek said as he looked up at Ellis.
"Is that what you were arguing about?" She whimpered, looking up at her mother.
"Derek didn't want you to be transported until you woke up." Ellis replied, looking down at her daughter. "He thought that if you woke up in the ambulance, that you'd be frightened… I just… I just need you under the care of me… of my staff… you need the best, Meredith… I won't settle for anything else." She said stubbornly.
"Mom…" Meredith whispered. She reached for her mother's hand, and after just a moment, Ellis placed her cool hand on Meredith's belly. "I'm sorry…" She whispered, tears rolling down her cheeks as she cried softly. "I'm sorry…"
"Meredith…" Ellis said softly as she squeezed her daughter's hand. "There are better ways of getting my attention than getting yourself sent to a hospital." She winked at her daughter as she glanced up at Derek. "Derek takes very good care of you… and his family and your friends are very concerned." She said softly. "You need to take care of yourself too though, Meredith…" She said, as Meredith nodded her head slowly. "I…" She paused for a second as she looked to Derek and back to Meredith. "I love you, Meredith… and I don't ever want anything to happen to you."
"Mom…" Meredith whispered, carefully pulling her mother's hand with her own. She lifted her mother's hand and placed it carefully on her belly. "Mom, I'd like for you to meet your grandson." She gave her mother a shy smile as she watched Ellis smile sadly.
"I don't think he's ready to meet us just yet, Meredith…And we're going to do our best to make sure that you both stay as comfortably as possible until we can officially be introduced." Ellis said softly as she squeezed her daughter's hand. She leaned down and kissed Meredith's forehead. "You get some rest, sweetheart… I'm going to check on that ambulance." She whispered. She stood up and glanced to Derek as she nodded. "Doctor Shepherd…" She said with a smirk as she watched him.
"Doctor Grey." He nodded, smirking back at her as she turned towards the door.
"Meredith." Ellis said from the doorway before she walked through it. "I'm very proud of you." Ellis said softly as she then turned, and walked down the hallway.
--------------------
As soon as Ellis disappeared out the door, Derek turned his eyes to face Meredith. Her eyes were closed, a small smile on her face as she took a deep breath. Derek watched her closely, every twitch of her eyelid, every movement of her lips, every tiny wrinkle on her delicate forehead, he watched closely. He held her hand in his, her slender fingertips intertwined with his. He moved his thumb rhythmically over her skin as he watched her.
"You're thinking about it." She whispered. "Stop thinking about it."
"I can't stop thinking about it, Meredith." He replied.
"But I don't want you to cry."
"I won't cry."
"You will." She whispered. "You'll cry, and not tell me." She whispered, slowly opening her eyes to meet his. "Don't cry alone, Derek. If you want to cry… cry with me."
"Meri…" Derek whispered as he watched her eyes flicker from one of his to the other, her eyelashes fluttering delicately as she watched him search for what he wanted to say.
"Did I screw up, Derek?" She asked, suddenly, her question taking him by surprise.
"Did you screw up?" Derek whispered.
"Yes." She whispered. "Did I screw up… this… us… our baby… was it something that I did to get me put here? Was it something that I could have prevented… should I really be here in this bed right now, or should I be at home right now getting ready to go to back to Boston, back to you?" Meredith whispered, tears beginning to well up in her eyes, sparkling softly as her lip stuck out in a pout.
"Oh, Meri…" Derek whispered as he leaned forward and kissed her lips softly. He delicately moved his fingers through her honey blonde hair as he watched her search his eyes for an answer. "You didn't do anything wrong… This isn't your fault… sometimes these things just happen… sometimes it happens…"
"But I don't want it to happen…" She whimpered.
"I don't either…" Derek shook his head, tilting it slightly as he watched her swallow hard. "Do you have any pain right now, sweetheart? Can I get you anything?"
"No." She whispered. "Derek…?" She whispered, her eyes glancing to the door for a moment and back to him once again.
"Hmm…" he said softly as he watched her eyes drift to the door again.
"Did I… embarrass her?" Meredith whispered.
"Your mother?"
"Yes." She said, her brow furrowing more as she shook her head slightly, her eyes filled with fear. "Did I embarrass her?"
"Meri…" Derek whispered. "Meri… your mother is nothing but proud of you."
"But…"
"Meri… she doesn't just 'say' things… she doesn't say things just to make people feel better. You know better than that. You know your mother better than that. She's not that kind of person. She says what she wants to say… whether it hurts the other person or not… if she was not proud of you, she wouldn't say it… she wouldn't be here ready to bash my head against the wall until I let her kidnap you and whisk you away in an ambulance. She loves you very much."
"She loves you." Meredith whispered. "She loves you, too."
"I'm not going to be the one to ask." Derek whispered. "I'll take that she can stand me…" Derek shook his head.
"I saw her smiling… talking with your mother… Oh… Derek…" Meredith gasped. "Your mother and sisters… where are they? Are they alright?" She whispered.
"They're alright… they went to their hotel room… they're going to be back a little later before we leave…"
"And Cristina… where is she… she's probably freaking out…" Meredith whispered.
"Mark is helping her pack all of the things you were going to pack tomorrow… She's going to drive home tonight…look at all of the people that are worried about you two…" He said, tilting his head. "You've caused quite a ruckus…"
"They're all worried about… me…" She whispered.
"They are…" Derek smiled softly. "We all are… we love you very much, Meredith…and we don't want anything bad to happen to you."
"I'm scared." She whispered, squeezing his fingertips as he gave her a sad smile.
"I know…" He whispered. "You're a brave girl… and now… you're a doctor…" He smiled, watching as she gave him a funny look.
"I'm a doctor." She whispered.
"You are…" He replied.
"Doctor Meredith Grey… Shepherd." She grinned, seeing the surprise in his face for a second before he chuckled. "I like the ring of it…"
"Ah…" Derek chuckled. "I like the ring of anything you say." He whispered as he kissed her softly.
"Derek…" She said as she pulled from his kiss slightly. "Will you lay with me?" She asked, her eyes shifting to the other side of the bed, though small, it would be accommodating. "Will you… lay with us… rest with us?"
"There are no two people in the world that I would love to snuggle with, than you and our little guy." Derek whispered as he stood up. "They're going to come in and check on him soon…check on you both." Derek whispered as he climbed onto the bed beside her.
"They can work around you." She whispered as she gently curled into him as best as she could, feeling his strong arms encircling her. "I need you right now." She whispered as they both cuddled, until one of them was able to fall asleep.
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Derek watched as Meredith finally fell back to sleep, her eyes fluttering in a soft sweet dream as her nose wiggled slightly. Derek longed to press his ear against her chest, listen to her beating heart, feel the gentle thumping of her beautiful heart pounding against her chest. He longed to run his fingers along her neckline, gently brush his lips against every inch of her body. He followed the contours of her face, her beautiful cheekbones to the delicate folds of her ear. He longed to nibble softly at the tender flesh of her earlobe, hear her make that throaty growl that made him go crazy.
He listened to her gentle breath, the way her mouth was open just slightly, a smile hiding within her dreams as he watched her sleep, listening to the heart monitors, the fetal monitors, everything that was filling the room.
"You scared the hell out of me today." Derek whispered, his voice was so tender and sweet and it was filled with nothing but honesty. "I was sitting in that seat, watching you… and you made this… awful… painful face… and I knew that I couldn't get down there fast enough. I nearly fell over myself to get to the door of the arena…" He whispered. "I heard them call your name when they reached it on the list… I was so proud, I am so proud… I was standing by the door, they wouldn't let me through, but I watched you stand up… and I saw the way the girl beside you steadied you… and you looked like you were alright… right then… but I knew that I needed to get to you." Derek whispered. "I was almost ready to make a scene… pushing my way through everyone just to get to you… to catch you… if you needed it… and when the ceremony ended, and you were still standing there… waiting… I could see that you weren't doing well… you were walking unsteadily, you're eyes burning into the head of the person in front of you just willing him to move faster… so that you could sit down… lie down… something other than stand there… the closer you came to me, the more pale you looked… and I didn't think that I could make it to you in time… and you fell into my arms, and my heart crashed into a million pieces… Meredith… feeling you collapsing in my arms was by far the most painful feeling that I've ever had in my entire life." He swallowed hard as he continued to watch her sleep.
"I don't know what I'd do without you, Meri Grey… you keep me young… you keep me happy… and you keep me honest. You give me courage… and you're just perfect… in every damn way, you're perfect… and it hurts me… so much when you let your mother get to you… let her pull your self confidence… and make you feel inadequate…or small… you're big, Meri… and no… that's not a fat joke… you're a big person, Meri… you've got such a big heart… you've got such a colorful soul… and you're so wise… so damn wise for someone your age… and it fills my heart with warmth… and it makes me feel just… so damn helpless around you. I will do anything for you, Meredith Grey… and I'm so damn proud of you that I don't think that using that word even partly covers how I feel… and I'm so glad that I was there to catch you when you fell…" He whispered.
He watched as she shifted a little, pulling her body closer into his, he swore she must have heard his words, and he honestly didn't care. He knew that he'd tell her all of the same things whether she were awake or sleeping. He had no fears of what she thought of him. He knew that she loved him with all of her heart. He smiled softly as he pushed his nose into her hair slightly. He took a long, deep breath, letting the sweet scent of lavender waft into his nostrils. Not even the gross sterile smell of the hospital could wipe clean the beauty of her scent to him.
"You know… there were a bunch of things that I wanted to talk to you about when you got home tomorrow… things that I know that we'll talk about… and things that we should have talked about months ago but never found the time…We'll get to it… as soon as I get you home… We'll catch up on all of those things that we missed when we get home…" Derek whispered. "Remember… you told me to think of names for the baby?" He said with a gentle whisper in her ear. "I think that I have one that you're going to love." He whispered as he buried his nose further into her and closed his eyes, resting in the peacefulness that was his Meredith.
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Derek had his nose still buried in Meredith's hair when he heard the nurses come in and check on Meredith. They worked around him, moving her a little here and there, waking her up to ask her a couple of questions. Her voice was groggy and tired, and when the nurses were finished, they slipped out as they wrote a few notes in her chart. Meredith turned her head away from Derek's for a second, sending him searching for her in a sleepy haze. His eyes opened, and her eyes were looking directly into them.
"You have beautiful eyelashes." She whispered.
"Thank you." He smiled sleepily as he watched her smile slightly. Suddenly, the door opened, and Derek looked up to see his mother walk in slowly, poking her head around the corner. "We have a visitor…" Derek whispered, nodding towards the door. Meredith turned her head and smiled at Mrs. Shepherd softly, her eyes still droopy with sleep.
"Meri…" She said softly as she approached the bed, scooping up the young woman's hand. "I was so worried about you."
"She's doing alright…" Derek whispered.
"The doctors told me what happened… it seems pretty serious… I mean… they wanted to deliver the baby? It's way too early… I hope you're doing alright… are you feeling alright? I was so worried…"
"Mom…" Derek said as he rolled from the bed, dropping a kiss on Meredith's lips. He stood up. "She's going to be fine… she just needs to rest… strict bed rest…"
"Your mother said that they're taking you to Boston… they're taking you to Boston?" She whispered as she looked up at Derek. "Is it safe… is she stable enough? Will it be alright to travel? Is the baby alright? Was there any stress on him? Is he moving around?"
"Mom…" Derek said as he walked to the other side of the bed. He encircled her with his arms as she squeezed him tightly.
"You're just trying to shut me up… aren't you?" She whimpered into Derek's shoulder.
"I'm trying to get you to calm down… just… relax…" Derek said softly as he let her continue to cling to him.
"I'll be alright…" Meredith said softly, watching Derek hold his mother tightly. "I just need to rest… I have no pain right now… they have me on some medications, keeping my blood pressure down… and hopefully there won't be any complications… they'll be able to deliver the baby as close to the due date as possible…"
"That's so scary…" She whispered as she released herself from Derek's hug. She crouched near the bed, pulling the chair closer. "Sweetheart…" She said, shaking her head. "If you need anything… anything, you need to let me know. The girls and I will be right by your side… Nancy is an OBGYN… if you have any questions or anything… if you want us to stay with you or to…"
"Mom… I think we have it all under control…" Derek said softly placing his hand on her shoulder. She turned her head and scowled at him.
"Derek, if you had this all under control, this wouldn't have happened." She said, shaking her head, she looked down at Meredith and ran her fingers through her hair. "If you had this all under control, she wouldn't be lying here right now… poor little girl…"
Derek watched as Meredith took it all in, her eyes sparkling as she glanced up at Derek, and he stuck his tongue out at her as his mother's attention remained on her. She had to fight so hard not to smile at him as he stopped, just as his mother turned her head again. "How long will she be in the hospital?"
"Um…" Derek stammered for a moment as he raised his eyebrows. "Um… she could be in for a week… or up to a month… depending on how her blood pressure is…" Derek shrugged. "They're going to keep her under observation." He nodded.
Suddenly, the door opened, and Cristina barged in with Mark right behind her. "Good… you're awake… lazy ass…" She said as she stepped without noticing Derek's mother sitting there. She stepped right up to the bed and looked down at Meredith. "It's good to see that Mini is behaving himself… seriously though… I'm going to kill you… causing a scene like that… you'd think that the highlight of the day would have been when the speaker said 'orgasm' instead of 'organism'… but nooooo… it was the pregnant graduate sprawled out on the ground in a choke hold by her fiancé…" She babbled on as she glanced to Derek. "And speaking of you, Derek… preeclampsia? Preeclampsia? Seriously… don't you read the studies on that? They say that lots of sex during pregnancy can help to prevent that… maybe if you gave it to your woman once in a while instead of holing up in the hospital all the time, she wouldn't be laying here… what do you think about that?" She said, crossing her arms as she looked to Derek standing there with his face bright red and his eyes widened.
"Cris…" Derek whispered as he glanced to the bedside. "Cris… this is my mother… Marion Shepherd…"
Cristina's eyes widened and her jaw dropped for a minute. She closed it quickly as she spun around with her hand extended. "Cristina Yang… Meredith's roommate… best friend… you know… and the like… It's nice to meet you…" She said as she shook Mrs. Shepherd's hand, thankful for the amused smirk on her face.
Mrs. Shepherd looked up at the embarrassed looks on both Derek and Mark's face as she shook the young woman's hand. "It's a pleasure, Cristina…" She laughed as Meredith giggled from her bed.
The door opened once again, and Ellis walked inside holding Meredith's chart in her hand. "This room became crowded all of a sudden… isn't visiting hours over?" She asked, her voice was stern, but her eyes were still soft and concerned.
"You don't work here, you can't boss us around." Derek replied, watching Ellis' eyes move to Mrs. Shepherd.
"Do you see what I have to deal with on a daily basis?" She shook her head. "Alright… we're going to begin the transport in an hour… the ambulance will be downstairs… "Cristina, I'm assuming that you'll be taking your own car." Ellis asked, watching Cristina nod. "And Derek… you can ride in the ambulance with Meredith. Pretty boy… you're riding with me behind the ambulance in Derek's car." She said, pointing to Mark. "We'll be in constant contact with the ambulance the entire way just in case there are any issues. How are you feeling?" She asked Meredith as she stepped forward towards the bed.
"I'm alright." Meredith whispered.
"Are you ready to go home?" Ellis asked.
"I'm ready to go home." Meredith whispered, grasping Derek's hand as she gave her mother a teary eyed expression as she sighed with the thought of being there already.
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The ambulance ride was smooth and quiet and Meredith remained stable the entire time. Derek held her hand securely as she slept the entire way. They arrived in Boston in the early morning hours, pulling into the emergency bay behind the hospital. Derek jumped from the ambulance, aiding the EMTs with the gurney as Meredith moved a little atop it, her eyes opening briefly.
"Just close your eyes, baby… we're home now…" He whispered as he squeezed her hand as they lifted her out, pulling her into the hospital door and down the long hallway to the maternity floor. All of Derek's attention was on Meredith, and nowhere else. He didn't want to chat with any of the doctors he saw in the hallway, he didn't want to answer questions or notice any curious looks. He wanted to get Meredith and that baby somewhere safe and sound, somewhere where he could just rest with her peacefully for a couple more hours, days, weeks, months. He just needed to be alone with her, and it was starting to ache.
They pulled her into a small hospital room, the monitors and medications were ready to go, and they lifted her from the gurney onto the bed, with Derek's hand on one part of her or another each step of the way. They attached the equipment to her and asked her a couple of questions as they prepared her chart. Each movement of everyone in that room was like a machine, everyone doing their part to make her comfortable, each one doing their part of the job to ensure that she was stable. The nurses and doctors left the room, leaving Derek alone for a mere moment with her. He rubbed her hand gently as he crouched down beside her, watching her head turn to the side so that she could face him, her eyes slowly opened.
"We're home, sweetheart…" He whispered as he delicately let his fingers dance over her skin as she watched him sleepily.
"No…" She mumbled. "This is the hospital…" She whispered. "I want to be in our bed together." She whimpered.
"Oh… I know, darling… my sweet, sweet girl…" Derek whispered softly as he continued to run his fingers through her hair, his eyes melting into hers as his voice soothed her. "I know, baby…" He whispered.
Suddenly, the door opened quickly. "You were on my ass the entire way here… you drive like a goddamned maniac…" Mark huffed as Cristina followed him inside.
"If you would drive just a little bit faster, I wouldn't have had to freaking tailgate you the whole way…"
"Cristina… I had my boss in the car, I wasn't about to get a speeding ticket with her sitting in the passenger seat. It's bad enough that we looked like a bunch of ambulance chasers the whole way here, but then you have Doctor Grey sitting beside me making snarky comments about my hair, the cologne I'm wearing… it was nerve wracking… at one point, she got so into my face about something or other, that I thought that she was going to make out with me."
"Mark…" Derek said, shaking his head in frustration.
"What? It's true? I mean seriously, if that woman got any closer to my face, I swear she would have bitten my nose off."
"Mark… thanks for your help today… but I think that…" Derek said as he nodded towards Meredith.
"Oh… oh, yeah…" Mark nodded.
"What? You're kicking us out of here? We just got here…" Cristina said as she looked between Derek and Meredith. "We don't have to…"
Suddenly, Ellis walked in and Mark straightened himself immediately. Derek and Meredith exchanged a glance as they watched Ellis look over the EMTs numbers from the drive. "Things are looking good…" She said as she continued to look over the chart. "Things are looking very good…" She looked up and noticed Mark and Cristina were standing there. "What are you two doing in here… out, out… she needs her rest…" She said as she shooed them.
"But…" Cristina mumbled.
"No 'buts', you can come back for visiting hours… it was nice to meet you both… now out…" Ellis said as she pulled both of them towards the door. "Now say goodbye… good… out…" She said, without letting them say another word, she pushed them out into the hallway.
She spun around and faced Meredith and Derek. "Well… everything looks good here… you're home, I'm home… everything is right with the world. I'm sending the OBGYN over at nine to do a full physical, and they'll be checking on you every hour… I'll be back in a little while… I think I need a little bit of sleep before my day officially starts, and before you ask Derek… yes, I keep a coffin in one of the on call rooms to sleep in…"
"I didn't…"
"I know you think that I'm an evil person, Doctor Shepherd. I know that you think that I don't care about my family, or anything other than the hospital, and I hope that from what happened here, you can see that I am not the horrible person that I am made out to be around here. I have to be tough, Doctor Shepherd, if I want to make it in a man's world… and if that means that I have to teach my daughter to be tough too, then I'm going to do it." She said, her voice stern as Derek and Meredith watched her defend herself.
Derek stood up suddenly, and walked over to Ellis. Without saying another word, he put his arms around her and gave her a hug. She stood there stiffly for a moment, just standing in Derek's arms, and finally after a moment, she put her hand on his back and hugged him in return. "You don't have to prove anything to me, Dr. Grey." He whispered. "I'm not the one that needs your approval." He said as he pulled from the hug and looked her in the eyes. Meredith sat watching the exchange curiously, her mind still confused about what exactly had happened, but she swore she saw tears in her mother's eyes.
"I'm… going to…I think that I'm going to… go now…" Ellis said as she glanced to Meredith quickly. "Take care of her, Derek. If there are any changes… let me know…"
"Yes…" He smirked.
"Thank you." She said as she cleared her throat. "Meredith, I'll see you later." She said as she took a step backwards towards the door.
"I…" Meredith whispered as she looked up at Derek, and back to her mother. "I love you…Mom." Meredith whispered as she watched her mother's lip curl up just slightly.
"I love you too, dear." She whispered as she turned and walked out of the room.
Derek turned to face Meredith, as a grin spread over his face. "What do you think you're smiling at?" She whispered as she watched him approach her slowly.
"We're alone…" He whispered, as he pulled himself onto her bed and wrapped his arm around her.
"We are alone." She whispered as she leaned forward for a kiss. "We're alone… and you like my mommy…"
"Cut that out…" Derek whispered with a chuckle into her.
"You like my mommy… I think it's cute."
"Just go to sleep…" He laughed.
"Mommy lover…" She giggled as she cuddled into him and listened to the vibration of his laugh as she drifted off.
