Meredith had the weirdest sensation as she woke up the next morning. Her hand was holding a warm, hairy arm, a strong body warmed up her back and a warm breath was brushing against her neck. As her eyes adjusted to the daylight and her brain woke up as well, Meredith remembered. She had called Derek the previous night but she fall asleep. She closed her eyes again and enjoyed the moment. It felt so right and heavenly to be in his arms and in the same time, it felt wrong and like hell. She had slept with his best friend- his brother, as Derek had described his relationship with Mark- and she was having his child without Derek knowing anything about it. Meredith kept telling herself that Mark was part of her past now; a past, which would never return. He had signed the papers for giving Meredith the full custody of their daughter, so he also signed his exit from her life. Mark wouldn't tell anyone about the baby and Meredith was too afraid of losing her only friend because of her mistakes. She didn't want Morgan to lose her only friend.
Soft lips reached for her cheek and kissed her. "You're awake," Derek's soft voice greeted her.
Meredith closed her eyes and smiled as the kiss lingered on her cheek. Then she remembered. Her eyes popped open and she stood upright. She couldn't let Derek be more than her friend.
"What are you doing here?" she asked him, now also wondering how he had gotten into her bed.
"You called me last night," Derek explained, confused.
"I know I called you but what are you doing here?" she asked.
Derek looked at her suspiciously. "You asked me to come here. Meredith, have you been drinking?"
"No," she snapped, horrified by his presumption.
"Then why do you keep asking me what I am doing here?"
"What are you doing in my bed?" she asked him, frowning.
Derek chuckled, ashamed. "I don't think I have a good explanation for that," he answered with a hopeful smile.
Meredith wanted to smile back, but she forced herself not to. She couldn't look angry either or scold him for his gesture; she couldn't do that for a thing she had enjoyed herself with. Meredith drew the blanket upper over her body and looked away quickly as Derek got out of the bed and revealed his almost-naked body.
"I thought you were a doctor," Derek chuckled teasingly at the embarrassment in her eyes.
"Don't be a smart ass," Meredith grumbled. She stopped from glaring and listened. Something was not right.
"What is it?" Derek asked her as he noticed her sudden change.
Meredith looked at him, terrified, getting off the bed in the same time. "Morgan."
"What about her?" Derek asked, confused.
"Did you wake up last night to calm her down? Or this morning?" Meredith asked as she slipped in her slippers.
Derek thought about it for a second and then he shook his head. "No,"
"Oh God," she whimpered, stomping out of her room.
"Meredith, what's wrong?" Derek panicked and followed her into Morgan's room.
Meredith sighed with relief as she looked inside the crib and saw Baby Morgan smiling and wriggling her legs and arms. She smiled and leaned down to pick her up into her.
"What happened to you?" Meredith asked her, carefully rocking her back and forth and looking at her, analyzing each part of her. "What happened to her?" She asked Derek.
Derek shrugged, clueless. "I guess she has found out how great it feels to sleep at night instead of during the day," he laughed. "Or maybe she slept better because she knew I was here," he added, smirking at Meredith.
Meredith rolled her eyes, smiling. "You love yourself too much," she went and sat down in the rocking chair, cradling Morgan to her chest. "Leave the room or turn your back," she told Derek.
"Why?" Derek frowned.
Meredith glanced up at his still almost-naked body and quickly looked back at Morgan. "You're not dressed decent for baby girl," she muttered.
"She's only a few weeks old," Derek laughed at Meredith's statement.
"Go put some clothes on you, Derek," Meredith insisted. "You've also stared enough at my breasts."
Derek grinned smugly. "I will be right back," he said and walked out of the bedroom.
"Derek?" Meredith called after a while, when she noticed that Derek wasn't hovering around her anymore. "Derek?" she called again, a little louder this time. No answer came from Derek.
Baby Morgan was done with her breakfast, so Meredith burped her. "Where is Derek?" Meredith wondered. She would have wanted to change Morgan's diaper first and give her clean clothes if Derek's disappearance wasn't such a mystery.
Meredith walked out the bedroom, carrying a cranky Morgan in her arms, and went into her bedroom. There was no sign of Derek. Meredith walked out in the hall and listened. Some muffled sounds were coming from downstairs. "Breakfast time for Mommy," she smiled at Morgan and gave her a kiss. "Our weird friend is making me breakfast. I hope," muttered and headed downstairs.
Walking in the kitchen, a sweet smell of pancakes greeted her. Baby Morgan seemed thrilled with the smell too as she giggled and forgot about whatever had made her cranky earlier.
As he heard Morgan's voice, Derek turned from the oven and smiled at them. "Hi. Breakfast will be ready in five minutes."
The smell was too dazzling for Meredith to scold him or glare at him. "Pancakes?"
"Blueberries," Derek smirked and turned back to the oven.
Meredith grimaced as she heard that. "I am not really a fan of blueberries," she admitted.
"What?" Derek looked at her, surprised. "How can you?"
"I have my reasons," Meredith shrugged. "I will go dress Morgan," she said and turned to leave.
"You are going to love my pancakes!" he announced proudly, receiving only a giggle from Meredith as answer.
Derek held Morgan in his arms, playing with her and glancing from time to time at Meredith. "I thought you said you don't like the blueberry pancakes," he said, smiling as he watched Meredith licking her plate.
"I don't," Meredith shrugged, mouthful.
"Then save the plate," he laughed teasingly.
Meredith wriggled her nose, smiling at him as she stood up and picked up her plate. "My dad used to make me this," she said quietly, turning to the sink.
There were still so many things he didn't know about Meredith.
Though she had her back turned to Derek, Meredith could feel his gaze on her. She turned on the water and the water spray streamed over her plate. "He left me when I was little," she muttered, answering this way to Derek's questioning stare. "Bad memories," she sighed and turned off the water, placing the plate in the dryer. Meredith rolled her eyes as she turned and met Derek's compassionate smile. "I am over it," she grumbled and walked over to him, taking Morgan from his arms.
"You ate my pancakes so … I can see that," he answered with a smile.
"Aren't you going to be late for work?" she asked him.
"No. I have the day off," Derek answered.
Morgan put her head down on her mother's shoulder and started sucking on her thumb as her mother swung her slowly. Meredith leaned against the counter and gazed out the window. It was her first sunny morning in Seattle and the first sunny morning in Morgan's life.
"It looks perfect for a first walk outside," his voice made her start as he came beside her.
She looked at him and smiled as she nodded in agreement. "We could do some shopping too, couldn't we?" she smiled at Morgan. Morgan smiled and kept sucking her thumb. "I guess you want to come," she said, looking at Derek.
Derek smiled smugly. "I came with the idea."
Meredith giggled, but her smile quickly became thoughtful. "My mother was here last night. That's why I called you," she said.
"She was?" Derek frowned, thinking she might have had another conflict with her mother. "What did she want?"
"She wanted some papers," she answered, gently rubbing her hand against Morgan's tiny back. "She also met Morgan."
Derek could tell from the confused look in her eyes that the visit hadn't gone that bad. Probably it had been better than anyone expected. "You're ok?" he asked her.
She gave him a faint smile and nodded. "What were you doing in my bed?" she asked him, not wanting to let go that topic. Although, she had her suspicions as Derek's kiss at the end of their dinner and the embrace she found herself wrapped in that morning were speaking more than any word.
Derek made a step closer to her and gently brushed his hand against her cheek as he looked into her eyes, smiling. He leaned down and his lips barely brushed against hers, yet they left their flavor on hers.
Meredith closed her eyes and shuttered as she felt the strong sensation inside her body, like a quake. "We should get ready for the walk," her voice murmured as she tried to shake that feeling. She didn't need any answer and her suspicions were real. Morgan had her fist into her mouth and decided to poke her Mommy with her finger and help her came out of her thoughts. "Baby," Meredith whimpered and caught her fist before Morgan could poke her again. "The stroller is in the closet by the front door," she told Derek, who had started cleaning the table. "It's unwrapped," she warned him and walked outside, taking Morgan with her.
"Your Mommy likes to spend money she doesn't have," Derek told Morgan as he walked into her bedroom, carrying her. It was later that day and Derek had bathed Morgan. He had her wrapped her in a tiny white bathrobe, whimpering in his arms.
Meredith was Morgan's room, piling up the clothes she had bought for her baby that day. Dresses, pajamas, different costumes, hats and pairs of shoes and sandals were coming out from a bunch of shopping bags. She chuckled as Derek walked inside and said that. "I still have some funds. Besides, it was our first day out so we had to celebrate it somehow."
"You bought a dress which might not fit her tomorrow," Derek said as he put Morgan down on the table Meredith had for changing her diapers and dress her.
"You're point is…" she rolled her eyes sarcastically as she started gathering all the empty shopping bags, to shove them into a bigger one.
Derek shook his head smiling. He knew there was no point in arguing with Meredith over that subject. He also loved everything she had bought for Morgan and most of those things had been his suggestion. Derek smiled down at Morgan and loosened the robe. Morgan whimpered and wriggled her body as she met the colder air from the room. "Be patient," Derek whispered to her. He put the diaper between her legs and carefully turned her from one side to another to wrap it around her waist. As he turned her on her left side, something from her waist caught his attention. A small red spot looked like a birthmark. It seemed to have the shape of a flower or a star. Derek ran his finger across it, whitening it as he pressed but regaining its red color instantly. That sign looked so familiar to him; its shape, the place it was located. As he stared at it, Derek knew why it looked familiar. His best friend Mark had a similar sign in about the same place. Shocked by the discovery, Derek slowly took her into his arms and looked closly at her face. Now he also knew why her features were familiar to him; she looked a lot like her father. Then he understood everything; Mark's reaction at their conversation about Meredith, Meredith's refuse to talk about Morgan's father and about the problems she had had with Mark Sloan. Morgan was Mark's daughter.
"Morgan has a small sign on her waist," he said, hardly keeping the control over his voice. He wanted to be angry, he wanted to be upset, he wanted to yell, but he couldn't.
Meredith came to them and looked at Morgan's waist, without noticing Derek's stone posture yet. "I think it's a birthmark," she said. "It has started showing a few days ago."
"It is a birthmark," Derek assured her and his voice sounded reproachful.
Meredith looked at him as she heard the tone of his voice. She looked into his eyes as she processed herself their last words. She remembered too. As she understood that Derek knew about Mark, Meredith took Morgan from Derek's arms, avoiding the eye contact. She put her back down on the table and started dressing her, while Derek held his gaze on her. She felt the ground unsteady beneath her feet as she could feel his gaze was a reproachful glare. She swallowed the limp she felt stuck in her throat and tried to stay composed as she dressed her baby.
"Why didn't you trust me?" Derek asked her, his voice sounding softer than the glare in his eyes.
Meredith couldn't dare to look at him or say anything. She closed the buttons to Morgan's pajamas and took her in her arms.
"She's Mark's daughter," Derek continued, his voice turning a little harsher now.
"She's not," she retorted, glaring.
"She is," Derek contradicted. They tried to calm down as Morgan started whimpering, scared of their shouts. "She is his daughter," Derek repeated and held up his hand as Meredith wanted to say something. "She is part of him so she's his, no matter what the law and you say now… or what he says."
"I don't want him in our life," Meredith looked away as she mumbled.
"See? Here's the problem; you don't want him, but how do you know he won't change his mind. I think you have taken a rush decision when you sent him the papers for Morgan's custody?"
Meredith looked at him in disbelief. "You believe he would ever want to be Morgan's father?"
Derek sighed and brushed his hair with his fingers. "Mark… he's impulsive. He acts without thinking at consequences, but… he is not a bad man, Meredith."
Meredith understood what he was saying. He wanted her to go back and try being with Mark… for Morgan.
Besides the anger and disappointment, Derek also felt a sharp pain in his heart. He had hoped he would have Meredith and Morgan for himself, but finding out how Mark was involved in their story, he knew he had to give up on that hope. "Why didn't you tell me?" He asked her, his voice was reflecting the pain in his voice now.
"What was the point…" Meredith wiped the corner of her eye as her eyes started tearing. "Mark does not want her. You say he could change his mind. When? When Morgan will go to college? Are we supposed to wait for him until then? Life moves forward for us. We don't wait for him."
Derek walked over to the window where Meredith and Morgan were and caressed Morgan's blond hair. He leaned to Meredith and kissed her on the forehead. "You should reconsider your decision. Talk to your lawyer and give him some time. Maybe you two won't end up together, but it's not just about you two here," he said and kissed Morgan's head before he turned his back on them.
Tears were streaming down her cheeks now. She wiped her cheek, glaring out the window. "We're not even friends now?"
Derek stopped in the doorway and looked back at them. "We're still friends," he reassured her. "Call me if you need anything," he said and walked outside.
Meredith stayed at the window, crying as she gazed outside. Despite everything that had happened in only a few minutes, Morgan was calmly sucking her thumb while watching her Mommy with curious eyes. Meredith watched him leaving the house and heading to his car, catching just a glimpse of him as he glanced up at her window. When the car disappeared from her sight, Meredith sniffled and wiped her eyes. "It's just Mommy and Baby Morgan again," she smiled and kissed her daughter's forehead as new tears streamed down her face. "Just you and me again," she sobbed. "But we'll be fine."
Playing with her hands in the air, Morgan's fist brushed against Meredith's cheek, which felt like the most soothing touch.
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N/A: Just a warning... I may not be able to update this often all the time, but I will do my best to do it a couple of times each week. Thank you so much for reading and especially for reviewing. Dana xx
