First of all, there are more than 100 reviews already and well, I want to hug you all virtually for the support! You guys are amazing!
It took me a little while to get this chapter done but hey, it's a long one! I kind of used the bonus hour we got as we put the clock one hour behind for the final editing of this chapter, so here it is.
I hope it will make you Sunday better, mine is rather gray, dull and rainy. Now it's 5pm and I have the light on already...
Chapter 9
A week had passed and Derek was ready to be discharged.
Meredith had visited Mark multiple times when Derek was asleep, keeping company to the fellow member of the Ex Dirty Mistresses Club. He was still heavily medicated, but he was fighting with tooth and nail to remain alive. Arizona instead was doing a lot better than when they brought her in, even if the recovery was long and painful. Her leg had miraculously caught only a slight infection and the medications had fought it off almost completely.
Meredith had spent most of her days and nights at Derek's bedside, alternating with Carolyn to bring home Zola and once even Cristina offered to monitor him and Mark through the night. Meredith still hadn't had the courage to go to sleep at the new house alone and her nights at home were spent mostly tossing and turning in the bed, waking up at inglorious hours to pee or to puke. She was exhausted, but she knew at some point it was all going to pay off.
"All set" Derek smiled brightly, standing next to his bed, his wrist firmly wrapped in a protective sleeve as he zipped his bag shut. He was in sweats and a simple t-shirt, sneakers and a zip-up hoodie at the end of the bed ready to be worn. His cast had been removed completely and he looked genuinely relieved to go back home.
"Good" Meredith smiled, moving closer to him, smoothing the wrinkles on his t-shirt as he stood in front of her, before she stole his lips for a quick kiss. It soon became something more heated as Derek pulled her closer and sneaked his good hand under her t-shirt to rub her back, feeling her up, then rested it on her hip, his thumb stroking her stomach in a feather touch.
"You still need the wheelchair" Meredith grinned, pulling away from him and panting, her lips swollen and her cheeks rosy. Not bad for their first proper kiss not in a hospital bed.
"I know" he grinned cockily and watched delighted as the smile spread widely on Meredith's cheeks as well.
Carolyn entered the room rolling in the chair with Zola on it, the little girl looking just as delighted as her parents. Meredith picked up Zola to let Derek sit and he lowered his body without complaints on the wheelchair. He let Zola hop on his lap as they walked towards the lobby, bouncing her and making silly noises of a zooming car as they rolled to the exit. Many people said hi on their way or simple turned to him with a nod of recognition and a smile, the scene feeling like a deja-vu for Meredith, if it wasn't for Zola's presence and Carolyn. The same faces were somber and sympathetic when they rolled out last time, just the two of them.
"We're going home" she said with a slightly nervous smile, after they reached his Porsche in the parking lot and Carolyn buckled in Zola while Meredith helped Derek in the car. He had struggled a lot more last time.
"We are" he smiled at Meredith when she sat in the driver's seat and squeezed his thigh. Her warmth seeped through the sweatpants and made him smile even brighter.
Carolyn sat in the back with Zola as Meredith started the car. It still felt wrong for Derek to see her drive this car -his car- but she was pretty good at maneuvering it, despite the fact that he was usually the one driving.
"This monster has blind spots the size of Texas, I hate it" Meredith mumbled between herself as she backed out of the parking lot and Derek grinned. He definitely had to buy a new car for her, since the Jeep had exhaled her last breath a couple of weeks prior.
"Do you want a minivan?" he smirked and she simply glared at him.
He stared as she carefully exited the parking lot and drove the car through very familiar roads. She looked a little less pale than the other mornings and she had whispered to him, right before leaving, that so far she hadn't puked even once, despite feeling a bit nauseous. He was glad that Baby was behaving.
"I don't want to be the mother who ran over her daughter backing away in the driveway, Derek" she snapped, her expression softening when she thought back to a patient they had and her sad story.
"I know" he kept grinning, his eyes finding his mother's in the rear view mirror and she was smirking as well.
"Whatever" she scoffed, her gaze steadily on the road
When at an intersection she turned right instead of left, he turned towards her, puzzled "Mer?"
"What!?" she snapped, annoyed
"Um, you turned right" he hesitated, swallowing thickly and dreading her reply.
"So?"
"You have to turn right at the next intersection, not here" he stated cautiously
"Oh, freaking trust me Derek Christopher!" she spat and Zola giggled in the back seat at the stunned face of her father.
"Don't argue with your ladies, Derek" Carolyn grinned and Derek suddenly wished the baby in Meredith's womb was indeed a boy. His girls were already ganging up against him and he was even wounded, Baby definitely needed to be a boy. He sighed deeply, ignoring what Meredith's plans were and deciding that for once, she could be the one surprising him.
After a couple of turns, he suddenly recognized the road and he grinned dreamily, whispering "You're taking us home"
"I'm taking us home" she growled, but then her gaze softened.
She turned to look at him as soon as they reached the docks and smiled softly while they waited for their turn to board the ferry, noticing his bright, twinkling gaze. "We're not all moved in yet. I just..."
"We'll move everything" he smiled, taking her hand and squeezing it gently, appreciating the kind gesture "Thank you"
"I'm sorry for snapping at you" she mumbled
"Don't worry" he brought her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles, making Zola giggle once again.
"Isn't Daddy silly?" Meredith grinned through the rear view mirror at the amused gaze Zola shot her.
"Dada" she echoed and Derek grinned back at her
"Daddy is happy because we're going to stay in the new house baby girl" he smiled softly, his eyes meeting Zola's "I planned every single inch of that with your Mama; you'll see, it's amazing"
"The house is finished?" Carolyn smiled brightly, interfering in the somewhat one-sided chat.
"Yes, it is" Meredith confirmed, moving the car on the ferry then they all climbed out to stand on the deck.
Derek and Meredith stood side by side against the railing, Zola in Meredith's arms and Carolyn a few steps further on their side, all staring at the bay as they moved away from the docks.
"It's beautiful out here" Carolyn commented, taking in the islands ahead and the city of Seattle they were leaving behind.
"You understand why I have a thing for ferryboats now, right?" Derek smirked, brushing Zola's curls as he pulled Meredith closer to him, his hand resting discretely on top of her stomach. Her fingers intertwined with his as they silently stared at the scenery, the wind in their hair. Carolyn moved a few steps away from them while they enjoyed their closeness, finally outside the four walls of Seattle Grace.
"Ull!" Zola pointed her chubby finger to the sky and shrieked as soon as a bird flew over them, following the trail the boat was leaving, its wings using the blows of air at its advantage.
"Yes baby, that's a seagull" Derek grinned, then turned to Meredith a little puzzled "This is a new word"
"I just brought her with me once that I went checking on the progress at the house and I, uh, ran out of ideas to keep her still so I started babbling about birds and physics and apparently she remembers that stuff" Meredith blushed
"We have a little genius in the making" Derek smiled proudly at his daughter who promptly grinned back.
"I need to tell Cristina to watch her mouth around her" Meredith sighed, nuzzling her nose in Zola's curls and breathing in her sweet baby scent.
The two of them remained quiet, then they saw Carolyn come back towards them with her phone in her hands.
"Okay, I managed to keep the rest of your sisters away at least for the next few weeks. I'm not sure they won't fly here at some point, though" she smiled gently
"I just hope they don't have matching vacations" Derek smirked, pulling Meredith a little closer, knowing that the idea of being around family still bothered her. Especially now that her only resemblance of blood-related family had died under a plane wing.
"They just love you too much to stay away, Derek" Carolyn teased him and he sighed loudly.
Before he could argue with that, the docks of Bainbridge Island came in sight and they had to walk back to their car and move onto the island.
The drive to the house was quiet, but filled with expectations. Zola played happily with a toy in the back, blissfully unaware of the meaningful trip. Meredith somehow managed to fidget while she drove, tapping the gear stick or rubbing her fingertips against the steering wheel nervously. She was worried he wouldn't like some details she had added last minute. There were things to which he had given her free reign and that scared the crap out of her.
She had never needed to decorate a house. Her college room had the essentials plus things she had collected along the way, there was no need for memorabilia from her own house, a place she had dreaded to come home to. She had framed a couple of photos of her old friends and added a bunch of medical posters stolen from her mother's stack and that was it. She liked to decorate, but not the tiny college room they had assigned her.
This time around she had a dozen of rooms to furnish. Some she didn't even knew existed before she had seen the name scribbled on the blueprints. Derek was almost set on building a guest house at this point, if their future guests got too annoying. Or if the family expanded even further.
"Mer, I'm going to love the house" he said simply, squeezing her hand when he noticed her fidgeting.
She bit her lip but she didn't answer, afraid to start up a full blown ramble if she opened her mouth. He kissed her knuckles again and made Zola giggle in the same perfect way she did before. He made sure to kiss her knuckles more often as she drove, just to hear that cute little giggle. Crazily, it somehow reminded him of Meredith and he found it even more endearing.
"Is there any resemblance of civilization nearby?" Carolyn asked amused and almost amazed by the steady wall of evergreen trees and orchards along the street.
"A few miles down the road from here, otherwise it's the small shop at the docks or Seattle" Derek grinned widely, pleased.
"We're in town basically every day. It's not a big deal Carolyn. We're almost home" Meredith added, sensing a little concern in her tone.
"Isn't it a bit far from work? Is it practical during emergencies?"
"Hunt knows we live a bit far, he will call me in advance when he can or otherwise he can ask the on-call fellow for a consult until I'm there. Meredith now can schedule her shifts better so it will be fine for her too" Derek explained, seeing the last house before their property.
"It's still twenty to thirty minutes away"
"Totally worth the hike, Carolyn. Totally worth every single gallon of overpriced gas" Meredith smiled softly, sighing as the picture of her house flashed in her mind.
When Meredith turned the car towards the graveled road leading to their property, Derek was almost bouncing in his seat.
"You can change whatever you want if it's not good enough. Especially the mud room" Meredith stated, still worried despite Derek's giddiness.
"Mud room?" Carolyn frowned
"It kind of rains every day here, so there's an entire room to put our soiled clothes and boots when we come home so I won't have to clean up pools of water every single night" Meredith explained a little roughly what Derek had defined 'the best room this house has, after the bedrooms'. "Apparently a hallway wasn't enough" she smirked and Derek chuckled.
"Should have had it with Mr. Treeclimber here" Carolyn grinned at the memory of a seven-year-old Derek and his adventures in the nature.
"Hey, it was Mark who wanted to launch water balloons on the head of the girls passing under our oak" Derek frowned, defending his pride
"But you were the one who stomped on the stairs with mud under his trainers" Carolyn fueled the teasing, making Derek groan.
"I wanted to build a tree fort. He didn't" he almost pouted
"Aw, Derbear" Meredith teased him with a mischievous grin.
"I should kill Amy for teaching you that" he muttered under his breath and when the women laughed out loud, Zola obviously joined them, making Derek sulk all the way to their paved driveway.
The house came into view immediately as the gravel turned to nice smooth stones and Derek beamed while Carolyn gasped.
"That's..." she started, unable to finish the sentence.
"Home" Derek completed, turning towards Meredith and smiling brightly at the small tears gathered at the corners of her eyes.
Meredith stopped the car under the wooden three-walls shed, letting the engine die and envelop the car in silence. Zola was the first one to break the quiet with a tiny yelp, noticing that everybody was simply staring around as the car didn't move.
"I'll get Zola. You have the keys, right?" Meredith snapped out of the moment quicker than the other adults, turning to Derek for an answer.
"Should we get in from the mud room or the main entrance?" he asked
"Main entrance" Carolyn grinned, opening her car door and stepping on the stones, similar to the driveway, paving the way to a simple wooden door, preceded by a granite step. "I just want to take a good look at the house from outside" she said simply, stepping on the path leading up to the front door and tracing her fingers on the stony wall, admiring the colored pots of flowers on top of it.
"I made this" Derek said proudly, touching the wall as he followed his mother on the deck. "I tried to build the deck too but I had to give up"
"It wasn't even!" Meredith bellowed as she held Zola on her hip, making Carolyn giggle and Derek turn a little pink.
"I called out here all the guys from the hospital, just to blew off some steam after a long day at work and well, it was indeed a little askew" he chuckled, the memory funny but bittersweet at the same time.
"Your father would have been proud" Carolyn whispered gently, her fingertips finding the cushioned porch swing and moving to the wooden table right opposite to it, perfect to enjoy a nice dinner out during the rare warm evenings. There was also a barbecue grill and pizza oven, made especially for Meredith so she could finally enjoy homemade cold pizza the morning after.
"This house is magnificent, Derek" Carolyn said simply "You showed me the bare land last time, but this is beyond every wild dream I had for a house here"
"We just put on paper what should and what shouldn't be in our new house and went accordingly to budget"
"That's a lot of budget"
"Not as much as you think it is" he grinned, thinking about the multiple trips to Ikea he had to endure as soon as Meredith stepped foot in the place for the first time, after having the blueprints approved. The main rooms had been furnished by a local, renowned craftsman, but the rest was all durably cheap.
"Om!" Zola squealed as soon as she heard the tingling of the keys in Derek's hand.
He beamed at her, watching as her face split in a grin "Right Zo, we're home"
He put the key in the lock and turned it twice, feeling the wooden barrier give in.
"You're not mad I'm incapable of carrying you through the threshold, right?" Derek smirked to Meredith, whose eyebrows shut up in mock surprise.
"Derek, don't you think we're past the traditions?" she motioned to herself, holding Zola and clearly, he could see the faintest hint of her pregnancy in her body and mostly in her smile and eyes.
"Just checking"
The door opening revealed a secluded foyer with coat hangers and umbrella holders, opening up to the open-space living room and kitchen floor through a little wall, similar to the one leading to the deck, this time topped with wood instead of granite.
"Wow" both Carolyn and Derek breathed out together and Meredith smiled nervously.
"It is fully furnished, even if we're not moved in" she explained, blushing a bit.
"When did you do all this?" Derek turned toward her with a wide, dreamy smile.
"Well, I looked at some stuff before the boards, while I traveled, then I went out and bought the stuff missing. With you" she smirked.
"I mean this, the setting up?"
"I had Cristina's help. And Jackson helped. April probably arranged the kitchen nicely and in some kind of order I wouldn't know because I will never use the kitchen -"
"What?" Carolyn finally intervened "You won't use that kitchen?" she yelped, almost horrified, her eyes wide when she noticed the beautiful stoves and the central island and bar stools.
"It's an amazing kitchen. You can have fun with it as long as you're here" Meredith shrugged.
"Nope, we are having fun"
"Say goodbye to the nice, pricy kitchen" Meredith giggled and they all joined her.
She perched Zola on the island and took off her coat and tiny trainers, allowing her to wander barefoot around the house.
"We'll get to the cooking later" Carolyn smirked at the diversion
"At the end of the hall there's a bathroom and right behind that door there's a office, but that room is still a work in progress. Wanna see upstairs?" Derek beamed and Zola, almost hearing him, ran right through the living room towards the wooden stairs at the end of it, hiding a broom's closet right next to the pantry, closed by a sliding door.
After two short flight of stairs, lit up by natural light filtering from the windows placed strategically, on the first floor there were five bedrooms and two bathrooms, one en-suite one for the master bedroom while the other four rooms shared a bathroom in the middle of the hall.
"This is the guest room" Derek pointed at the one with the door right in front of the stairs. "You can put your bags here and get comfortable"
"I wanna see all the rooms before I get comfortable" Carolyn grinned
Derek opened the door to a mustard-colored room, the style essential and yet elegant. The furniture looked solid and the comforter went along perfectly with the colors of the room, the walls and the light wood of the bed set, wardrobe and dresser.
"This is very nice" Carolyn commented "Did Meredith choose the fabrics?"
"April found the right magazines for inspiration" Meredith smiled, peeking in the room as she held Zola once again at her hip, then it died a little on her lips when she added "Lexie helped me pick the best one, since she was sure she'd use it at some point" she sighed poignantly, biting her lip and Derek locked eyes with her, knowing that it was going to be okay, soon.
"I think it's a great guest room. I'll see the bathroom later" Carolyn smiled softly, reassuring Meredith.
"I might have forgotten to put towels in there" Meredith blushed
"Oh, don't worry dear, I never remember the towels. Or the toilet paper"
"There's a dispenser with five rolls for a reason" Meredith smiled again and Derek laughed out loud.
"I knew that was for the guest room!" he commented, remembering her excitement at seeing the object during their furniture hunt.
"We have one in our bathroom too" she snorted, pretending to be offended.
"Your room is the one at the end of the hall, right?" Carolyn wondered, as they went out in the corridor again and Meredith let Zola scramble into her room.
"Yeah. Zola's room is the one in the middle. The room next to yours is still empty, just like the one next to ours"
"We were thinking about a smaller playroom or another office"
"What about a nursery?" Carolyn smiled knowingly
"Oh, we..." Meredith swallowed thickly "Maybe" her forced smile was a thin line on her lips and her eyes met Derek's while her hand moved to her stomach automatically.
"You can keep this room for storage at the moment or use it whenever you need space for a project. The idea of a playroom is nice"
"The official playroom is in the attic, with a view on Seattle. There's a big TV, stereo hi-fi and bookcases for the adults and a lot of space for Zola to play freely, but maybe she can keep some of her toys down here too, right?" Meredith wondered out loud, smiling at Derek.
"We'll see" he grinned "We still have a couple of rooms to furnish after all"
They peeked into Zola's room and they smiled when they saw her sitting on her beanbag pretending to read out loud one of her books.
There were many soft toys scattered on the hardwood floor next to the cherry wood crib and matching changing table, the whole room painted in a green forest theme with the typical animals of Malawi drawn there, the linens and padding covered with more jungle animals while a leaf covered the bed.
"Gosh, this looks like something from a catalog" Carolyn commented right away.
"Even the baby uh?" Derek smirked
"Especially the baby" Meredith grinned "She likes jungle animals and I thought it would have been nice to bring a little piece of Malawi to her. We even got around to find Malawian lullabies now" she sighed, sadly remembering their first night together.
"This is great" Carolyn was still a little stunned.
"I really like how everything is placed Mer" Derek beamed at his wife with pride.
"She'll outgrown the crib soon, I thought it would be nice to have a room made for that already"
"She's already this big?" Derek wondered with a sigh.
"They grow up right under your nose, get used to it" Carolyn smiled softly. "What about the master bedroom?"
"Tan tones, dark wood furniture" Derek smirked "It brought out the blue post-it and the framed draw underneath"
They left Zola in her beanbag, opening the door to the master bedroom revealing the framed post-it and spinal cord tumor right above the four poster bed, exactly like they had in the room they used to share at Meredith's house, but this time they were both framed.
"I love this place, really, it's simple and very...you" Carolyn grinned "This whole house is amazing"
"We still have to bring up things for the attic so we'll show you that later, okay?"
"Still, I'm sure it's amazing as well"
"It took us long enough to get here, the least we could do is get a reward" Meredith smiled softly.
"You deserve all kinds of rewards"
Lexie was mentioned a couple of times, more or less directly. I haven't forgotten about her, don't worry!
Well, they moved in the house in the woods! I had waited for so long for them to live there and I have to admit, the house Shonda wrote in exceeded my expecation. I'd live there in a heartbeat. Have you seen how much natural light it might have?[Silly, I know.] And the deck? Wow! They did a pretty good job with that, even if it took them ages to build it. I wrote this house before I actually saw the real one, so any similarities are pure coincidence. It was hard to remember what I had in mind as I edited without their new house popping in my head, though. I really hope I gave justice to the dream house. If not, just say so.
I don't know when you can expect the next chapter, but the weather has taken a turn for the worst so well, if I'm not busy planning my next year overseas and juggle my classes, I'll see what I can do before next weekend!
Thank you for stopping by!
