AN: Here's the next chapter, some important things happen in it, but it's kind of short. I'll try to get the next one up soon, probably before Christmas. I think I'll move this forward in time a couple of months for the next chapter, but we'll see.
Derek woke up in the middle of the night to Meredith's voice. It took him a minute to register that it was coming from the baby monitor on his bedside table. It had been a month since they had brought Katherine home, but he hadn't bothered to move it. If Meredith had to wake up in the middle of the night, so should he, although her voice was so soothing to him, he often fell asleep long before Katherine.
"Rock a bye baby, in the treetop." Katherine's cries continued. She'd already woken up once tonight, twice was unusual.
"Oh, Katherine, please sleep." Meredith replaced the singing with begging. "Shhh, baby, shhh. Go to sleep."
Meredith was silent for a time, though Katherine was continuing to cry. Derek felt guilty. He should be helping; after all, Katherine was his daughter.
"If the wind blows . . . Katherine, I have to wake up in two hours, please go to sleep."
Her last sentence really hit home to Derek. She was an intern, working ridiculously long hours, and still was willing to wake up in the middle of the night to sing to a baby that wasn't even hers.
Finally guilty enough to get up, Derek dragged himself out of bed. It was good timing too, as Meredith's frustrated voice registered. She was clearly exhausted and reaching the end of her patience.
He entered the room quietly, not wanted to upset Katherine more. "Meredith." He had startled her, and that made him feel worse. She hadn't even expected help. "Let me take her. Go to sleep, you have to work."
"You do too. I'm fine." She sounded drugged she was so exhausted.
"Go to bed. I'll do it." He took Katherine out of her arms.
She didn't leave the room, opting instead to settle into the rocking chair. He could feel her watching him, and it was slightly unsettling. Ignoring it, he held Katherine close, and whispered soothing things to her.
"Katherine, don't cry. Sleep."
After a few minutes, the baby followed his first command. The cries stopped, and she relaxed in his arms, staring up at him with her alarmingly blue eyes, actually seeing him for the first time. In that moment, in the poorly lit nursery, at three o'clock in the morning, Derek fell completely in love with his daughter. He had always been distantly affectionate, but the way she gazed at him, with utter trust and love, had melted the cold spots in his heart. Suddenly he understood why Meredith lit up the way she did when Katherine was placed in her arms, why she would feed the baby in the middle of the night without complaint.
As Derek's mind struggled to comprehend this newfound realization, Katherine fell asleep. Derek was disappointed that he had lost the eye contact they had maintained. It had been the first time his daughter at actually focused on him. He held her for a little longer, not quite ready to let go.
When he finally did, he laid her in the snowy white crib with the utmost tenderness, covering her with a light blanket. "Goodnight, Katherine Rose. Daddy loves you."
He stroked her dark hair one last time, before turning to leave the room. As he did, he himself was startled when he realized that Meredith was still in the room. He had honestly forgotten she was there. She had fallen asleep in the rocking chair, her head on her hand in a way that was sure to give her a sore neck in the morning, and her loose hair lay across her face.
With a smile, Derek gathered her into his arms, holding her against him in much the same way that he had just held Katherine. She hardly stirred when he picked her up, evidence of her exhaustion. She folded against him, their bodies finding the perfect fit they had always shared.
He carried her out of Katherine's room, her tiny body no real burden. He had an aching desire to carry her into his own room, and lay her in his bed. A cold bed was not something he enjoyed, and he had always slept better with Meredith in his arms. Ignoring this urge, he carried her to her own room, her own bed. He used his foot to nudge the door open, and walked into the room, mindful of her head and the doorframe.
She woke up when he laid her down, ending his plans to kiss her.
"Derek?"
He stroked her hair instead, soothing her. "Go back to sleep."
She reached her arms out to him. "Come with me. I sleep better with you."
Clearly, she doesn't like a cold bed either. Against his better judgment, he lay down beside her, gathering her close against his chest. He knew it would be awkward in the morning and that he could not have her yet, there was no way she'd date a newly widowed man, but at that moment, he didn't care. All that mattered was that he was holding Meredith now. All that mattered was Meredith.
He held her to him, stroking her hair, and rubbing her back. She nestled in close, to the spot where she had always fit, falling asleep without moments, making him wonder if she had really been awake when they had talked.
Once he was sure she was asleep, and that it wouldn't wake her, he whispered, "I love you, Meredith Grey."