Please excuse my horrendous grammar in this chapter. Okay, so maybe it isn't actually that bad, but I'm annoyed with this chapter. In more positive news, I now have several chapters-including a Christmas one-banked. The problem lies in that I can put the Christmas chapter either after this chapter OR after the next one. Either way, it fits the story line. I will say that I think it's very cute. So if you guys wouldn't mind, let me know when you'd like to see that part! Thank you, as always, for reading and reviewing!
"Der?" Meredith asked as they stared at the array of paint chips the store they were in had to offer.
"What's up?" he wondered.
"Should we design this nursery for a little girl and always let this be Tater's room, or should we make it more neutral? You know, so the next baby can have the same nursery," Meredith explained.
"And we'd just move Tater to a different room?" he asked.
Meredith nodded.
"That might not be a bad idea. That way we won't have to deal with redoing two rooms possibly at the same time in the future," he agreed.
"Okay…so a gender neutral room. But not yellow," Meredith stated.
"What's with the aversion to yellow?" Derek chuckled.
"Everyone is all yellow is gender neutral…but it's yellow. I refuse," she shrugged.
"No yellow. Do you have any idea what you do want?" he asked.
"I want our baby to have a happy room."
"And how do we achieve that?" he stepped closer and laid a gentle hand on her back.
"When I lived in Seattle as a kid, my room was all beige and plain. And then when we moved to Boston, my mom never let me decorate. She said it would decrease the resale value. I want our kids to have happy rooms that they like," she admitted.
Derek was slightly taken aback. It hurt him inside a little every time he caught a glimpse of how awful Meredith's childhood had been, "They'll have happy rooms. Happy lives, too."
She kissed his cheek, "Thank you."
"What about green?" Derek considered, pulling out a few softer shades.
"Green would be good…it could have a jungle theme," Meredith smiled.
"Jungle theme would be very happy," he agreed.
Tears suddenly came to Meredith's eyes.
"What? What's wrong?" Derek was quick to jump in.
"Nothing," she choked out, "absolutely nothing is wrong. We just made a decision about our baby. And you know I can't control my stupid emotions anymore!"
"Let's just take the paint chips with us and we can do some research on jungle rooms. In the meantime, I'll buy you whatever you want for dinner," Derek offered.
"You always know just what to say," she giggled, taking his hand to leave the store.
Derek and Meredith were snuggled up on the couch, watching a movie. She was lazily playing with the curls at the back of his neck while he rubbed her belly lovingly.
"Mer," he gasped, stilling his hand.
"What?" she wondered, attempting to sit up.
"Wait, no! Don't move," he requested.
"Derek, what's going on?" Meredith demanded.
"Did Tater just move?" he asked.
"Yeah, a minute ago…wh—did you feel that?" she caught on.
"I…I think I did," he breathed, awestruck, "it was barely there, but it was something."
"Here," Meredith exclaimed, moving his hand to the other side of her belly.
He gasped again, "That one, too! It's not much, but I feel it!"
When Meredith met Derek's eyes, there were tears there. The sheer emotion in his expression brought tears to her own eyes.
"She'll get stronger," she whispered.
Derek immediately showered her abdomen with kisses before moving up and sweetly planting one on her lips.
"I love you so much, Mer. This…this is just…wow," he tried.
"I love you, too. We both do," she giggled, moving his hand back down, just in case.
The next morning, Meredith was surprised to find herself needing a size medium scrub top. She was, obviously, a very tiny person, and even with the baby she'd fit a small fine until now. In fact, just yesterday she'd fit a small. Luckily, she had the medium on hand just in case this happened.
Pulling on her lab coat, she left the lounge in search of her best friend. She needed a consult on her aneurysm patient who'd been having some minor chest pain. It was likely nothing, but it never hurt to double check.
"Hey Cristina!" Meredith called when she spotted her turning a corner near the nurses' station.
The heart surgeon spun around to face her, "What's up Me—holy crap!"
"What?" Meredith asked, looking around in an attempt to locate the cause of her outburst.
"You look…pregnant," Cristina informed her.
"I am pregnant," Meredith rolled her eyes.
"No, I mean you popped. You LOOK pregnant," she stressed.
Meredith looked down. She could barely see the toes of her shoes. When the heck had that happened? She was pretty sure this wasn't the case yesterday. Then again, she knew enough to know that most women popped at some point, and it was usual very sudden. Derek hadn't mentioned it, but he'd been paged in early this morning—she'd groggily kissed him goodbye before rolling over and going back to sleep.
"I…I popped," she met her friend's eyes with a shocked expression before a giant, sappy grin overtook her features and her hands moved to her abdomen by their own accord.
Cristina smiled at her, "You really look the part now. I've always heard that women tend to pop almost overnight, but you literally popped overnight."
Meredith nodded, "I'm gonna have a baby…."
"Well, that part isn't new," Cristina pointed out with a raised eyebrow, "How many weeks has it been now?"
"Twenty-two. But it suddenly feels even more real. Not that it wasn't already, because she moves…and she's a she, but now it…I don't know," Meredith rambled in response.
"Is this like a crisis? Should I get Derek?" Cristina questioned carefully.
"No, no I'm good. This is so good," she said, her voice taking on a reverent tone.
Cristina placed a supportive hand on her friend's shoulder, "Congratulations. You're going to be a great mom."
"You really think so?" Meredith asked.
"I wouldn't bother lying to you if I didn't," Cristina assured her.
"Thanks," Meredith smiled.
"Oh, did you need something? Like something work related?" Cristina asked, remembering that she'd never learned the reason Meredith stopped her.
"Yeah, I need you to consult on my aneurism patient. She's been having some minor chest pains lately. Probably nothing, but I want to be sure before I take her to the OR," Meredith explained.
Cristina glanced at her watch, "I have time now. Lead the way."
A few hours later, Meredith had successfully clipped her patient's aneurism. It was a routine procedure, almost boring in the eyes of a surgeon. As for the chest pain, she'd been right. It was just a little acid reflux. Cristina had prescribed her some antacids and deemed her fit for surgery. She'd just informed the family that things had gone well, and was leaning against a counter updating a chart when her husband approached.
"Hey," he smiled as he sidled up behind her.
"Hey," she replied without looking up from her charts.
"I haven't seen you all day," he stated.
"We've both been in surgery," she finished her notes and snapped the chart shut, turning to face him.
Derek laid his hand on her, suddenly, very swollen abdomen. It took him a moment to register how much bigger the bump was. He met her eyes, shock and elation evident in his expression.
"It seems I've popped," she smiled.
Placing his hands on her hips, he stepped back and took her in, "Oh Mer."
In spite of their very public location and their tendency to stray from PDA, he pulled her into a long kiss right then and there.
"Derek," she blushed once they pulled away.
"I'm sorry, I couldn't help it. You just…you're perfect," he breathed.
"So you don't think I'm fat?" she bit her lip.
"No! You're gorgeous. And adorable. It looks like you shoved a basketball under your shirt," he promised, running his thumb along her cheekbone.
She stepped closer and stood on her toes so that she could whisper in his ear, "So then you wouldn't be opposed to meeting me in an on call room?"
She offered him a coy smile as his eyes darkened.
"I would never turn down such an offer, Dr. Grey," he practically panted.
"I'll see you in five minutes, Dr. Shepherd," she quickly walked away from him, throwing a wink over her shoulder.
Derek stood dumbfounded. His wife never ceased to amaze him.