A/N: Sorry for the very long delay. I was gone for the holidays and then I was sick. Now that I've watched a couple of new GA's episodes, it inspired me to write again.

Disclaimer: Only own the GA children

Chapter Ten

Let It Snow

Meredith looked at herself in the mirror before she turned to her sister. She gave her an annoyed look when she saw that Lexie wasn't paying attention. Instead, she was staring down at her list of baby names. She called out her name, but it had no effect. She tried again, but Lexie still didn't look up. She went over and grabbed the list from her. Lexie finally looked up, now annoyed with her. However, her sister was just as annoyed. "Lexie, how can you help me pick out the right outfit for my date when you're working on your baby list?" she exclaimed exasperated.

"Because Mark and I still don't have a name for our son," Lexie replied as she took the list back from her sister.

"Well, you still have four months before you have to decide. I only have a couple of hours," Meredith pointed out.

"I've tried telling you suggestions, but you keep throwing them down," Lexie reminded her. "So don't blame me if you can't find anything to wear."

"Why aren't you discussing names with Mark? After all, he is your husband, not to mention the father of your baby."

"Because Mark and I can't agree on the name," Lexie replied. "So I thought if you sided with me, then he would give in."

Meredith gave her a look. "I'm not getting in the middle between you and Mark. As much as I would love to help you name my nephew, you and Mark will have to work this out yourselves. After all, you two are having the baby."

Lexie corrected her. "No, I'm having the baby. Mark just has to stand there and hold my hand while I push our son out," she replied. She quickly stopped herself as Morgan walked into the bedroom. Lexie gave her a big wide smile. "Hey, do you want to help pick out a name for your cousin?" she asked hopefully. Morgan shook her head. "Why not?"

"Because he's a boy," Morgan replied. Her mother and aunt couldn't help laughing. Morgan then turned to Meredith, who was rummaging through her clothes. "Mommy, what are you doing?" she asked her curiously.

Meredith stopped for a moment as she tried to think of what to say. "I'm getting ready to go out tonight. So your Aunt Lexie is going to watch you, Katie and Christopher. Is that ok?"

"What about Derek?" Morgan asked.

"He has plans to hang out with Uncle Mark tonight," Meredith replied as Lexie frowned. Meredith ignored it as she focused on Morgan. "Now do you have any suggestions on what I should wear tonight?"

Morgan thought for a moment before speaking. "I think you should wear your red sweater with the sparkles."

Lexie was confused and waited until Morgan left the room to confront her sister. "What was that all about? Does Morgan not know about you having dates with Derek?" she asked her.

"No, I haven't told her yet," Meredith replied. Lexie waited to hear a reason. When she didn't get one, she gestured to her sister to go on. "Do you know what she asked for Christmas this year? A Daddy." Lexie smiled at the adorable request. "That's what she asked for. And I don't want to get her hopes up if things don't work out with Derek."

"They will," Lexie assured her. "You just need to let go of that pain and hurt that was caused by Finn."

Meredith gave her a look. "What are you talking about? I have let go of my past. Do you think I wouldn't be dating if I didn't?"

"If you were truly over your dark and twisty past, you wouldn't have asked for advice on dating Derek," Lexie replied. Meredith didn't respond as she headed into the bathroom. Lexie knew the conversation was over.

A few hours later, Meredith was finally ready. However, she was feeling nervous. She didn't why she was. She had gone out with Derek before. It just hadn't a real date. Now that it was, she didn't know if she was ready for it. She then reminded herself that it was just one date. It wasn't like they were getting married.

She jumped as she heard a knock at the door. She went to answer it and gave a wide smile to Derek as he stood in the doorway. He smiled in return as he looked at Meredith. "Wow, you look really nice."

Meredith turned red. "Really? You don't think it's too much?"

Derek shook his head. "No, it's perfect. I love that red sweater. It's very festive."

Meredith smiled at the compliment. "Thank you. Morgan picked it out," she replied as they went down the hallway and towards the stairs. "Now I have to warn you that I didn't tell Morgan that we were going out on a date."

"To be honest, I didn't tell Katie either. I didn't know how she would react," Derek replied. "But I think we should. Especially if we are going to continue to date." Meredith was about to protest when Derek didn't let her. "You know we are going to continue to date. Why do you think I asked you to go out with me in the first place? Because we've been going out for awhile and I thought it would be fun to go out on a real date."

"You're going out on a date?" asked an excited voice. The two parents turned to see Katie and Morgan. It was Morgan who had spoken. The two parents walked down towards their daughters. "We're going to be sisters?"

Meredith stopped her right there. "Whoa, Derek and I aren't even close to that," she said as she gave her daughter a gentle smile. "I know you asked for a Daddy, but it's not that easy. It's a long process from that first date to marriage."

Derek nodded in agreement. "That's right. And we're planning to take our relationship slow for you guys."

"You don't have to do that for us," Morgan said. "We don't mind if you go fast."

Meredith laughed. "You are too cute." She then embraced her daughter in a hug and gave her a kiss. "Now be good for Uncle Mark and Aunt Lexie."

"I will," Morgan promised as they watched Derek say good-bye to his children.

A short time later, Derek and Meredith were enjoying a nice dinner at a restaurant that Meredith had picked out. She couldn't help but admire the Christmas decorations around them. "It's been so long since I've been here that I forgot how pretty is at Christmastime," Meredith noted.

"How long has it been since you've been here?" Derek asked her. "Because the hostess didn't recognize you."

Meredith sighed. "I haven't been back here since Finn and I broke up. I always wanted to, but I was always taking care of Morgan or trying to save lives."

"You should get out more," Derek said. "There's a whole world out there besides your hospital."

"I know that," Meredith replied. "The summer after my high school graduation, I went backpacking across Europe." Derek was surprised, but impressed. "Well, I didn't know if I really wanted to go to college. So I just thought that I would see the world. It was so much fun. I would love to take Morgan there one day."

"I'm sure you will," Derek assured her. "I haven't been to Europe, but I have seen the Grand Canyon. It really is just a big giant hole in the middle of the desert."

Meredith laughed. "Really? I didn't know that."

As they continued to chat, Meredith started to forget her nervousness and just enjoy herself. She didn't know why she was so apprehensive in the first place. There was no awkwardness involved. They enjoyed each other's company so much that they didn't want to leave before having wine and dessert. So they picked out a few desserts for themselves, their children and the baby-sitters.

After they were finally done with their dinner and dessert, they headed back to the car. By then, it had started to snow. Derek gave Meredith a wide smile. "Well, I'm sure the kids will be happy. You know how they love snow."

Meredith sighed as she climbed into the front passenger seat. "Yeah, but it creates all sorts of accidents and sends people to the hospital. I'm surprised that my pager hasn't gone off."

Derek tried not to laugh. "You need a vacation," he told her. Meredith gave him a confused look. He then realized that he had to explain himself. "You never stop thinking about work. You never have any fun."

"What are you talking about? I was the maid of honor at Lexie's wedding. I went trick or treating with you and the kids," she reminded him. "We all decorated the house and tree together." She really didn't want to mention her New York trip, but she felt that she had to. "And I took time off to fly to New York so I could be there for you and your children."

Derek knew that she had a point. "True, but when is the last time you took a vacation for yourself?"

Meredith thought for a moment before realizing that she was right. She never had a chance to have a vacation since Morgan was born. All she did was work. "I guess it was right after Finn and I broke up."

"That's what I'm buying you for Christmas, airline tickets to your vacation destination. Just tell me where you want to go for the weekend and I'll make all the arrangements," Derek replied. Meredith was about to protest when he went on. "Don't worry about Morgan. I'll take care of her. And it's only three days. Besides, aren't you an attending now? You can leave the dirty stuff to your interns."

Meredith knew that he had a point. "That's true, but they never do anything right."

"Well, you have to give them a chance," Derek replied. "Otherwise, they will never learn."

"You're speaking from experience?" Meredith asked him.

Derek nodded. "I do it all the time for my students," he replied as they arrived at the house. There was an awkward silence before Derek spoke again. He gave her a wide smile. "I had a nice time tonight."

Meredith returned the smile. "Me too."

There was a short pause before Derek spoke again. "Look, I understand that you want to take it slow for Morgan. I want too. But I think it's time that we both swallow our prides and admit that we are meant to be more than friends." Meredith didn't want to admit it, but she knew that he was right. "Even our children think so."

"We should go in. We could freeze to death in here," Meredith said before she opened her door. She was relieved when Derek didn't say anything else. Instead, he climbed out of the car and followed her up to the house. She unlocked the door and they walked into the foyer.

They exchanged smiles with Lexie as she looked at them relieved. "Hey, I'm glad you guys are home. The snow is coming down pretty hard out there."

Derek nodded in agreement. "Yeah, it wasn't easy, but I managed to drive through it. How were the kids?"

"They were great, but they wore Mark out. He fell asleep on the couch before I sent him up to the guestroom," Lexie told them. "How was the date?"

"We brought dessert home for the kids," Meredith said, avoiding the question. She could see Lexie was disappointed. "And I managed to pick up a couple of pieces for you and Mark," she told her as she gave her sister the bag. "I know how crazy your cravings are."

"Thank you. You're the best," Lexie replied as she pulled out one of the desserts. "I'm sure Ben and I will love it."

"So you and Mark finally picked out a name?" Derek asked her.

"Well, we're trying it out," Lexie replied. "We're still playing around with names."

"I'm going to check on Morgan," Meredith told them before Lexie and Derek started a conversation about baby names. She walked upstairs and tiptoed into her daughter's bedroom. She smiled to herself as she saw her sleeping daughter.

As she gently walked up to her, Morgan suddenly opened her eyes and gave her a smile. "Did you have fun on your date?" she asked anxiously.

Meredith gave her daughter a stern look. "Morgan Ellis Grey, have you been up all this time?"

Morgan nodded. "I've been watching the snow fall," she replied. "Can we play in it tomorrow?"

Meredith managed a smile. "We'll have to see. Now you need to get to sleep. Otherwise, Santa might think you're naughty."

"But what about your date?" Morgan asked.

Meredith knew that her daughter wouldn't sleep until she heard the answer. "Yes, I had fun." She knew that Morgan would ask more questions if she didn't continue. "We sat around and talked about different things."

"Are you going to do it again?" Morgan asked.

Meredith sighed. "I don't know yet." She then helped Morgan snuggle back into the covers. "Now go to sleep." She then gave her a kiss and gave her a smile. "Good night, sweetheart. I love you."

Morgan smiled in return. "I love you too," she replied. Meredith was about to leave the room when her daughter spoke again. She turned to her, ready to listen. "Mommy, you should go out with him. He makes you really happy."

Meredith just gave her daughter a smile as she closed the door. She then jumped as Lexie appeared. "You know she's right," she whispered. Meredith didn't respond as she headed to her bedroom. "Derek told me about your date. Why didn't you give him an answer?"

"Because I needed time to think about it," Meredith replied. Lexie was about to respond when her sister didn't let her. "I'm really tired, Lexie. Can we talk about this in the morning?" she asked her hopefully.

Lexie sighed. "Alright, but I want your side of the story tomorrow. You don't mind if Mark and I sleep here tonight? I really hate to wake him. Besides, it is snowing really hard outside."

Meredith nodded. "Of course you can." The two sisters then told each other good night before Lexie headed to the guest room and Meredith headed back downstairs. She wasn't surprised to see that Derek had left the room. She knew that he was checking on his own children. She sat down on the couch and her thoughts started to drift off.

She soon heard footsteps coming down the stairs. Derek gave her a wide smile as he joined her on the couch. "The kids are fast asleep," he told her. "They really must have had fun today with Mark and Lexie."

Meredith nodded. "Yeah, I think that they did." There was a short pause before she spoke again. "Derek, you're right. I want to take that next step with you. I just didn't know if I was ready until now."

"So what are you saying?" Derek asked her. "Do you want to go out with me again?"

Meredith nodded. "Yes, I do." She then snuggled up close to him. "This is really cozy," she told him. "I think it would work better with a fireplace though." Derek just smiled as he wrapped his arms around her and they slowly drifted off to sleep.