Chapter 11
Disclaimer: I do not own Grey's Anatomy; if I did, I probably wouldn't be finishing this on Mother's day because I would have time earlier.
Author's Note: Ugh 11x21 was a struggle to get through there were individual scenes that I kind of liked, but everything was so choppy and just… not Grey's. I wish the show would have just ended, in a good place with no more death and less predictability. (Totally called the whole pregnancy story-line along with everyone else)
Anyway; chapter 11, holy crap. I didn't think that I would get to this point, I honestly thought I would stop at maybe 2 or 3 for my first time out.
Read, review, and enjoy! (I want to know what you want to read!)
Expect the unexpected. Hope for the best, and prepare for the worst. You never know when the last time you seen someone will be THE last time. Life has a way of throwing curveballs whenever possible and it isn't until you've experienced one or two of them that you truly begin to understand: You have no control over any of it.
My wife is beautiful. She has been since the day we were just a girl and a guy in a bar, and she will, undoubtedly, be until the day she's 'old and smelly'. Though, physically, she is beautiful, there was a different kind of beauty that struck me at first. A beauty derived from, confidence, sincerity, sarcasm, and the look in her eyes that told me there were untold layers of beauty to uncover. From train-like snoring and childhood tragedy, to lavender and selflessness.
Not long after we had begun the second movie of the night, she had fallen asleep wrapped around me as I lay on my back with an arm around her waist and the swell of our baby supported by my abdomen, and I couldn't stop staring at her, from top (as far up as I could manage) to bottom. My mind had been drifting between memories and feelings non-stop and I had chalked it up to being in the trailer once more. Every place I glanced, though different now, held the same memories. Within, it held memories of sex marathons that occurred both on the bed and in the shower - most likely both- the time Meredith nearly burned down the place trying to make dinner, long hours of talking that led to knowing each other better than we had ever imagined, and fighting – specifically after she nearly drowned in Elliot Bay. On the outside, were memories of a ring that was batted into the woods and a deck covered in empty beer cans, the first time I had ever brought her here – afraid of what she would think of a world-class neurosurgeon living in a trailer in the middle of the woods, and the mornings spent in an attempt to teach her how to fish. There was so much history in such a small tin can and I treasure every moment that I was able to spend here with her. She's my best friend, the love of my life, and her beauty amazes me every day.
A loud ringing from the nightstand pierced my thoughts and caused Meredith to groan as I reached around her to grab it, "Shut it off."
"Go back to sleep," I whispered as I snatched the phone and rolled out from under her, exchanging my body for a pillow, only causing her to groan louder, "Derek Shepherd," I spoke into the receiver as I jammed the phone between my shoulder and my chin, slipping on my shoes and grabbing a jacket before heading out the door. As Dr. Vidrate from the board of my initiative began to speech urgently, I paced the length of the deck, "I'm not due back until Tuesday; is there any way you can hold off until then?" Running a hand through my hair slowly, I sighed, knowing that considering the threats I had (half-jokingly) handed out before leaving D.C., he wouldn't have called if he wasn't serious. Just as Dr. Vidrate finished urging me to return, I heard the trailer door open and turned to see Meredith, squinting sleep out of her eyes, hair all over the place, and wrapping her arms around herself as the cold night air hit tirade, "ok, ok, you know what? It's getting late here, I'll get back to with the specifics in the morning. Have a good day."
"What was that all about?" Meredith questioned in the midst of a yawn, leaning against the door frame and placing a hand over her stomach as it began to sprinkle.
Shoving my phone into the pocket of my coat, I walked up to her and rubbed my hands over her arms, feeling the goosebumps as they formed under her thin shirt, "Come on," I whispered as I grasped her hips and turned her into the trailer, shutting the door shut behind us, "You're freezing," I stated, smiling down at her and pulling her into a hug tightly.
Meredith didn't melt into me like she usually did, this time she stiffened and her voice grew louder and more demanding as she pulled away and crossed her arms over her chest defensively, "Derek," she gulped, "You're leaving already, aren't you?"
Sighing heavily, and rubbing a hand over my face I responded, "Probably, I told him I'd let him know by morning- Seattle time and unless I can come up with a way to fix the problem from here, I'll have to leave early, yes."
A pierced, angry look made its way on to her face, "God, Derek," she began, exasperated, "Are you sure you didn't marry the freakin' President while you were there?"
"Meredith," I forced.
"I don't… I don't want to hear it, ok?" she made her way around the trailer, to gather her things.
"Meredith, you know I don't like this anymore than you do, but it's only for a while longer," I pleaded, "They need me over there, and as much as I wish I didn't, I have an obligation to them."
"We need you here!" she snapped, as angry tears began to fill her eyes, "I can't keep doing this by myself, Derek. I'm so close to being burnt out completely and…" her breath hitched as she shoved her fingers through her tangled hair, "You have an obligation to us too you know, me and the kids. You have an obligation to your family too."
"I know, Meredith, trust me, I know, I hate living on the other side of the country and not here in Seattle with you and the kids, I hate watching my kids grow up through a computer screen. Every time I come home you're more stressed out, worn down and leaving you like that? Like this, it's killing me, Meredith," I retorted, watching as she plopped onto the bed and stared up at me with watery eyes, sniffling, "You hate me right now, I get that, and I deserve it, but I can't do anything about it, not now. Seven weeks, that's all I have left until I'm home for good, I promise."
Meredith shook her head and snorted, "Right, seven weeks," she replied, placing her hands on her thighs, locking her elbows, shutting her eyes and taking a deep breath before releasing it.
Smiling sadly at her from a few feet away, hands shoved in my pockets, I responded, "Seven weeks, we can do it, Meredith."
"Can we just go home?" she asked in a broken voice, "Just take me home, please."
"We should wait until it stops raining, maybe even stay the night just to be safe," I quipped, knowing that she would protest, but hoping she would agree.
"I don't care about a little rain, Derek. I promised Bailey I would tuck him in, and Zola wanted to tell me a story before she went to bed. Plus, you should see them before you leave again." I watched as she shuffled toward the door to slip on her coat and shoes, throwing her back over her shoulder, "And I am not going to be the one to tell them," she muttered under her breath.
"Yes Dear," I conceded, groaning internally, quickly dumping the half empty ice cream containers and throwing the spoons in the sink, before grabbing the rest of my things and walking out behind her. We made the trek back home in silence.
Less than ten minutes later, we were walking up to the front door and could hear crying coming from the other side. Opening the door for Meredith, I allowed her to walk in first, fighting the urge to rub her back as I noticed her wince slightly and place a hand on it.
"Mama, Mama, Mama!" Bailey's tiny voice wailed as Cristina, who looked utterly annoyed, held him in her arms, pacing the living room.
"What's wrong baby?" Meredith cooed tossing her bag onto the chair and walking over to the pair and Bailey whined to her once more, stretching his arms toward her as far as he could. As I hung up my oat and kicked off my shoes, I watched her take him into her arms and hug him tightly to her chest, just above her bump, swaying back and forth as she whispered in his ear. Bailey's cries had lowered to whimpers and he snuggled as close to her as possible, shoving his face into her neck and clinging to her, "You really are a monkey boy, huh buddy?" I heard her murmur.
"Seriously?" Cristina cried, "An hour of crying and you shut him up in .5 seconds?!"
"He's a toddler, Cristina, they cry," Meredith chuckled, rubbing a hand up and down his back tenderly, "You just missed your Mama, right Monkey?" she received a tiny giggle in return as her fingers danced across his side.
From my spot at the kitchen counter, I moved my eyes from my phone, on which I was checking the emails I had gotten in the last few hours regarding the 'emergency' in D.C., to watch her walk toward his room.
"This is why I don't babysit, I don't do tiny drunk people!" Cristina called after her, "Alright McDreamy, spill. What'd you do this time?" she questioned, moving around the couch and taking a seat on the stool next to me, "Her eyes are red, her voice is scratchy, and she looks like someone whose puppy just got run over."
Chuckling slightly, I replied, "You know I think I might have missed you, not having someone constantly intervening was getting old," when she scowled at me, I gulped and continued, "I got a call from one of my colleagues while we were at the trailer, apparently there was some 'crisis' they won't fully disclose that I need to return immediately to tend to."
"You're gonna have a personal crisis on your hands if you don't fix things here, pretty quick," she snorted.
"I already have a personal crisis on my hands," I groaned loudly, "Which is why I've been trying to think of a solution that wouldn't require me to leave since I got the damn call, but I can't figure this fucking thing out if I don't have all of the information I need. The information that they 'can't give over the phone'." For the millionth time that night, I rubbed my hands across my face roughly, "I never should have taken this damn job in the first place."
"Well it's about damn time you realize it," she scoffed.
Angrier than before I replied, "This isn't an epiphany, Yang. I realized it months ago, but I can't get out of this damn contract!"
"Can't or won't?" she remarked pointedly, "You know you could, if you pushed hard enough. Find a reason they can't ignore, hell, tell them Meredith went into pre-term later and you have to stay home to take care of her and the kids."
"Don't even joke about that," I snapped, glaring at her, "Besides, how do you think I got them down from a year to 6 months?" I asked, flipping my phone around, "I told them my wife was pregnant and all they did was cut down my contract to I could be home by the time she was in her third trimester."
"So basically you're screwed." Cristina concluded, nodding her head and getting up from her seat to grab a bottle of wine.
"Well, when you put it that way, it makes it so much less frustrating," replying sarcastically
As I got adjusted and switched on the computer, I could hear Cristina rustling around in the kitchen, grabbing the corkscrew, a wine glass, and popping the cork, "You know," her voice came through, piercing the air, "Meredith is knocked up and all full of hormones right now, she'll calm down. Once the munchkins are in bed for the night, and she's had a chance to breathe, she…she'll clam down."
Sending a tired smile her way I replied, "I appreciate it, but I doubt it'll happen that quickly." Turning back to the glowing screen and scrolling through pages of flight options, within minutes I found one. It was expensive, not that I was expecting anything reasonable so last minute, but it took off at 10 am from SeaTac and there were limited lay-overs. As I purchased the ticket and had the information sent to my phone, I thought of Bailey and Zola, I had promised them a trip to the zoo tomorrow and Meredith had pulled some strings and gotten the day off to go with. How was I supposed to break another promise to Zola? How was I supposed to give Bailey one more reason to cling closer to Meredith? Hundreds of questions flew through my mind before I decided to go talk to Zola about tomorrow, Meredith hadn't come out of Bailey's room yet and I knew that Zola wouldn't let herself fall asleep without saying goodnight.
I made my way toward my little girl's room and stared at the letters gracing her door for the second time that day, before opening the door slowly.
"Mama?" came a tiny voice from the lump on her bed.
"It's Daddy, sweetie," I whispered as I made my way over to her bed, "Scoot over," I continued, watching as she giggled a little but moved over and allowed me to crawl in next to her.
"Daddy," she giggled, "You don' fit!"
"I do too," I replied with fake defiance, "So, listen, Daddy has to tell you something, Zo."
"Hmm?" she hummed in the way Meredith always says reminds her of me and curled into my side, resting her head against my chest and clenching my shirt in her hand.
"I know we talked about going to the zoo tomorrow, but Daddy has to go back to D.C. for a while," I whispered hesitantly, "Something big happened and they're keeping it a secret, they'll only tell me if I go back."
Zola sat up on her knees in front of me and pulled Gi-Gi into her arms, jutting her bottom lip out slightly, "But we was gonna see s'more Gi-Gis!"
"I know and we still can, just not tomorrow, ok?" My heart ached as I saw tiny tears begin to form in her eyes, "Zo-Zo," I said softly, "You know I love you a whole lot, right?"
"Yuh… ea," she sniffled, nodding her head, her flop of untamed hair moving with her, "but I weally don't like D.C. at all, Daddy."
My chuckle came out watery as I stroked her leg, "I don't either, I'll come home as soon as I can though, OK?"
"Ok," she said firmly.
"Hey," came a quiet voice from a silhouette at the door.
Zola perked up and turned around, "Mama! Bailey done cryin' yet?"
Meredith laughed and pushed herself off of the door-frame, walking toward us and sitting on the edge of the bed, "Yes he is, he was just tired," she finished with a smile as Zola crawled toward her and laid her head in her lap, right next to Meredith's tiny bump where, within seconds, Zola's head shot up again and she stared at Meredith's stomach.
"Was that my baby?" she asked excitedly, nearly bouncing causing Meredith and I to laugh.
"Yeah," Meredith began, bringing a hand to her stomach and motioning Zola with the other, "Come here, do you want to feel it again?"
Zola curled into Meredith once more, this time with both of her hands on her stomach and when she felt the thump again replied with a firm nod, "Bailey tired, but da baby not," the tail end becoming muffled as she yawned widely.
"Looks like someone else is tired too, huh?" I asked lightly, rubbing a hand up and down her back, "I think it's everyone's bedtime."
"Nuh-uh," she retorted, shaking her head just as another yawn erupted from her tiny mouth, clutching Meredith tighter.
"Yuh-huh," Meredith joined in, "Daddy's right, Zo, it's a big day tomorrow."
"But we not goin' to da zoo no more," she stated.
"We can still go we'll just have to go again when Daddy gets back."
"No," Zola whined, "I jus' wanna go with Daddy too, Mama."
I sighed heavily, "You don't have to wait for me you'll have fun Mommy and your brother." I watched closely as Zola huffed.
"Why don't we go to the park instead? That way we can still do something special but save the zoo for when Daddy comes home," Meredith bargained and surprised me by reaching over and rubbing my leg softly.
Zola's eyebrows cinched together as she contemplated the proposition for a moment, "Can I go down the big kid slide with Bailey?"
Meredith giggled, "Only if I'm at the bottom and you hold on tight," she said, rolling her eyes.
A large grin graced Zola's face, "Ok!" she replied loudly.
"But," Meredith began as Zola yawned yet again, "That means it's bedtime."
"For little girls with their mouths wide open," I added, reaching over and tickling her feet, eliciting a deep giggled, "Come here," I growled playfully, pulling her up the bed by her legs.
"Daddy! Mommy, save me," she giggled as I flipped her around, holding her over top of me at arm's length and bringing her down to kiss her nose, "Your face itchy," she remarked once she was finished flailing her limbs in the air, scrunching her nose.
I saw Meredith laugh from her spot on the bed before getting up, she reached over me, grabbed Zola and plopped her on her back softly, her head colliding softly with her pillow and as I climbed out of the toddler-sized bed, she pulled the covers up to Zola's chest, grabbed her Gi-Gi and smoothed back her hair, kissing her forehead, "Goodnight, Lovebug," I heard her whisper.
Zola smiled and snuggled into her soft blankets, "Night, Mama," she replied as I switched spots with Meredith to kiss Zola's cheek and whisper the same, "Daddy, you really gotta shave," she giggled through her sleepy haze.
Laughing, I followed Meredith to the door, "Love you Zo, sleep tight."
"Wuv," she whispered as I closed the wooden door.
After tucking Zola in together, Meredith went off to catch up with Cristina as I went toward the room, showered, dressed, and climbed into bed with some paperwork. Less than an hour later, the bedroom door creaked open slowly revealing a tired-looking, but still beautiful, Meredith. Glancing up from my paperwork I said, "Hey," tentatively, hoping that she wasn't about to kick me out of the bed.
However, she didn't look angry at all, she just looked sad as she responded with a quiet, "Hey," before moving to sit on the edge of the bed next to me.
"What's wrong?'' I questioned, looking up from the papers in my hands.
She took a deep breathe, tilting her head toward the ceiling for a moment before meeting my eyes, "I'm sorry," she began, her voice cracking slightly, "I was really hard on you earlier and I said some things I shouldn't have said. I know you care, Derek, and I know that you would do anything for me and the kids, I… I'm sorry that I made you into the bad guy. Because you aren't, you're really, really good and I know that you have worked really hard to get your contract shortened to what it is and you're stressed out and I'm not helping at all," her breathe hitched and tears ran down her face as she continued, "I… I'm really, really sorry."
I tilted my head slightly and smiled sadly at her, "Meredith… come here," I whispered, tugging on her hand and helping her lay down facing me, one arm on her waist to keep her steady, our faces inches apart, so close I could feel her breathing, "I love you," I said, leaning in and kissing her forehead, I took a deep breath and reveled in the scent of her lavender conditioner and wiped away a few tears before pulling away.
"I love you too," she croaked, her hand against my chest lightly as she picked at my shirt, "The last couple days have been really nice, almost like it used to be and I-I miss it, you," she shook her head, "I miss you a lot. I'm just not used to it, even now that you've been gone for a while, I'm not used to sleeping alone and getting the kids ready alone. I mean… I can do it without you and I've gotten pretty good at it, juggling everything, but I don't want to do it alone, I want you here, I always want you here," Meredith smiled tenderly before finishing, "Plus, you're the only person I can have my hormonal freak-outs on that won't yell back, run away, or make me cry so…" she laughed.
Chuckling with her, "Ooh, brownie points, I need some more of those. Want to freak-out right now?" I responded quickly, wiggling my eyebrows at her, eliciting another giggle and scrunch of her nose, mirroring Zola's earlier.
Meredith sighed, moved closer to me, so she could place her head in the crook of my neck, and closed her eyes, "What time are you leaving?" she whispered tentatively.
Leaning my cheek against the top of her head, I matched her volume, "My flight leaves at 10, so I have to leave here by 8 at the latest, I'm…"
Meredith cut me off abruptly and said, a little louder, "Don't you dare say you're sorry, it's my turn to feel guilty and say sorry."
I couldn't help but snort a laugh, "Is that how it works, we're taking turns now?"
"Yes," she said sternly, "You didn't do anything wrong, I knew that this could happen, but I got angry anyway. After all it's not your fault that you're superman," she finished with another roll of her eyes.
"Knight in Shining Whatever, we've been over this, Mer," I began, "I'm your Knight in Shining Whatever."
"You're gonna have a shiner in a second if you don't shut up," she retorted, smacking my shoulder."
"Oh no! Not the tiny ineffectual fists," I groaned dramatically, "However will I survive?" chuckling, I grabbed her hand as she went to slap me again and placed a kiss on her palm.
Meredith made a face, "You really do need to shave. See, this is why you need me, you probably walk around looking like a lumber jack in D.C."
"Meredith!" I laughed, "I'm a grown man, and I can shave without my wife."
"Right," she said, unconvinced with a small smirk, "Seriously though, how do you remember to shave when Zola and I aren't there to complain about your prickly kisses?"
"I don't, I just can't survive without out you," I sighed, "It's been proven, I fail to groom myself when you're not around."
"Well, at least I know that there aren't any lab assistants throwing themselves at your stinky, unshaven self," she confirmed.
"How did you come to the conclusion that I stink too?" I questioned, in an offended tone.
"You just said you fail to groom yourself!" she giggled.
Rolling my eyes at the top of her head and growling slightly, I wrapped my arm around her even tighter and pulled her flush against my chest, only to feel slight thuds from her stomach, "The baby is still kicking?"
She groaned into my neck, "She hasn't stopped since we were at the trailer."
"She so you think it's a girl?" I questioned with a smirk.
"I don't know, I'm testing it out, she'll probably be a boy in the morning." Meredith stated matter-of-factly.
"Hmmm," I hummed, "Do you want another boy or another girl?"
She was quiet for a moment, contemplating her answer, "I… I don't know. Honestly, I don't think I care, I'm just happy that we're having another one, plus we already have one of each so at this point either way it throws off the boy to girl ratio."
"Unless we're having twins."
"Take that back!" she nearly yelled, pulling away from me to look me in the eye "I do not want to shove two kids out of my body in the same day, Derek Shepherd." Laughter erupted from my gut once again, only making her angrier, "I'm serious, Derek, I'm nervous enough about having to do it once."
As my laughter died down slowly, I pulled at her to bring her closer again, but she simply glared and restrained, "You did great when you had Bailey, you're going to do fine, Meredith."
"That is so not the same, I had a C-section in the middle of a freakin' super-storm that turned into a splenectomy!" she replied urgently, "Oh my god, what if I fall down the stairs again and something happens to the baby?"
I watched as tears built up in her eyes, "Mer, that was a freak accident, it's not going to happen again. The baby is going to be fine, 5 months from now, we'll be in the hospital with 3 perfectly healthy kids, ok?"
"Promise?" she croaked.
"I will do everything I can to make sure nothing crazy happens, I can promise you that, but you know just as well as I do that I can't promise you anything more."
"Right, but every freak accident that ever could have happened has happened to us," she groaned.
"We have survived an unusual number of very bad things, but we're here, in this perfect house with 2, almost 3 perfect kids. So, just let it happen, whatever happens, we'll get through it, ok?" pulling her closer to me once more, this time without restraint from her, I kissed her deeply.
As we pulled apart she nodded, "Whatever happens, happens," and kissed me again.
"You know what should happen right now?" I whispered, "Make-up sex."
Meredith laughed and rolled on top of me, "Make-up cheeseburgers," she stated, "You need to practice saying that so you don't slip up in front of the kids."
"Fine,' I laughed, "Make-up cheeseburgers, which sound very fattening by the way."
"Shut-up and kiss me, health nut."
It was nearly 7:30 the next morning and after Meredith refused more se… cheeseburgers and threw the baby monitor my way, I threw on some clothes and made my way Bailey's room, snatched him from his crib, snuggling him close as he calmed down before moving toward his changing table to rid his bottom of the stink and change him out of his pajamas. Once we were finished, we moved to Zola's room, Bailey perking up as we heard Meredith and Cristina talking in the kitchen, "Mama 'ome," he babbled in my ear.
"Yup, Mama's home, buddy. Cristina's still here, too," I replied as we walked into his sister's room to find her sitting on the floor with GI-Gi, Ellie, and countless other stuffed animals lined up in front of her, talking away to them, "Hey Zo-Zo, it's time for breakfast, do you want to get dressed now or later with Mama?"
"Ummm," she thought dramatically for a moment, with a finger to her chin and her brow furrowed in concentration, "Right now!"
"Alrighty," I said, moving to her dresser, Bailey still sleepy and snuggled into my side with his head on my shoulder. As I began to look through her drawers and out an outfit together for the day, she interrupted me.
"Daddy," she said sternly, sounding just like her mother, "I can do it all by myself!"
"Are you sure?" I asked.
"Yes," Zola rolled her eyes, "Go 'way."
Chuckling at her tone and eye rolling I out my hand up in defeat, "OK, just yell if you need help."
"I won't," she said assuredly. I watched for a moment as she hopped up off of the ground and bounded toward her dresser, looking through her clothes with determination and wondered how she had grown up so darn fast.
Walking out into the hallway, I looked down at Bailey and said, "Don't grow up, just be a baby forever, ok?"
He lifted his head up off of my shoulder and looked at me, "No baby," he said firmly, "Mama baby," he continued, pointing to his stomach.
"That's right, buddy. Mommy has a baby in her tummy," I sighed happily and smoothed my hand through his blonde head of hair, bouncing him up and down a little, eliciting a giggle.
We walked into the kitchen where Cristina was hovering over the coffee pot, seemingly urging it to brew faster and Meredith was setting a plate full of fruit and a sippy cup on Bailey's high chair. Meredith and I reached the highchair at the same time and I kissed her cheek and threw her a wink as Bailey reached out for her, "Mama!" he shouted.
"Hey Monkey, did you have a good night of sleep?" Meredith asked as she shifted him onto her hip to move his highchair tray to the side.
"Mama baby," Bailey nodded, reaching down to pat her stomach.
Meredith laughed, "Yup there's a baby in there; are you hungry?"
As she lowered Bailey into his highchair and slid the tray closed, I snatched a piece of toast from her plate and began to move toward the desk in the living room in search of my flight information, "Hey Mer, was my flight information on the counter this morning?"
"I didn't see anything," she replied, "Don't you usually send it to your phone though? Why do you need it?"
I listened to her reply from my perch at the desk, filtering through papers and taking small bites in between, "I was gonna leave it here for you, so you'll know when I take off and when I land, but I can't find it anywhere."
"Did you check the end tables?" she asked, "Or you might have shoved it in your pants last night," she concluded as she placed Zola's plate full of food and special cup full of milk on the counter before heading over to Bailey and wiping smashed fruit from his hair, "How did you get that there?" she muttered.
Huffing in defeat, I moved toward the kitchen once more, grabbing my coat from the back of the chair as Zola bounded around the corner and Meredith helped her up into her chair, "I've got to get going," I said, checking my phone and noticing I was already 5 minutes late. Moving over to Bailey quickly, I kissed his head, "See you later, Monkey, be good for your Mama ok?" I tickled him softly, eliciting a tiny giggle.
"Buh-bye," he giggled.
"Daddy, I need a huggy too!" Zola yelled from her chair.
I turned around and wrapped my arms around her tight from where she was kneeling on her chair, "I could never forget my princess," I whispered in her ear, "I love you, I'll talk to you tonight before bed, ok?"
Zola nodded before her eyes got wide, "Phone or 'puter?"
"I don't know, we'll have to see, ok sweetie?" I asked, kissing the top of her head, grabbing a strawberry from her plate and moving toward Meredith, who was looking more nervous than she had been 10 minutes ago.
"Call me right when you land, ok?" she asked, straightening the lapels of my coat, "From the plane if you can."
"I will," I said softly, smiling down at her.
"Promise?" she forced.
"I promise," I said looking at her with a concerned look, "What's wrong, Meredith?"
She bit her lip and looked me in the eye, "I just… I have a weird feeling and I… It's probably nothing, just morning sickness or something," she finished, shaking her head.
"Ok," I replied, worry lacing my voice, "I wish I had that paper for you, I have no clue where I put it, I guess I can just text it to you."
Meredith moved closer and ran her hands in and out of all my pockets, stopping at the back pockets of my jeans and squeezing for a second, "Oh, you wanna go again, huh?"
She rolled her eyes and shoved her hands into my coat pockets, I heard the crinkle of the paper as she pulled it out of my pocket and held it in front of my face, "What would you do without me?"
"Die, probably," I laughed slightly, "Best wife ever," I whispered.
I pecked her lips and drew her close before moving to the door as Cristina shouted, "I'd be surprised if your kids weren't scarred for life already!"
"Shut it, Yang!" I yelled over my shoulder.
"Daddy, dat not nice!" Zola scolded.
Cristina nodded at Zola, giving her a high-five, "You tell him munchkin."
Meredith laughed as she followed me to the door, "Hey," she said before I walked out, "I'd die without you too. I… I wish you didn't have to leave so soon, or I could go with you, or… I don't know, but I have to stay here."
I tilted my head, smiling at her, "You have to… stay here, don't move, wait for me," my smile grew and my heart swelled as she smiled back at me widely, I pulled her into a deep kiss before kissing her a couple more times
"Get a room," Cristina groaned.
"I built this house, you can leave," I said over Meredith's shoulder as I rocked her back and forth a couple times, "I'll be back before you know it," I whispered, kissing her softly again and walking out the door.
"You invited me, McDreamy!" Cristina shouted after me. As I closed the door and made my way to my car, I shook my head and chuckled to myself, wondering how I had gotten so lucky and in that moment I thought back to what Cristina had said last night, "Can't or won't. You know you could, if you pushed hard enough," was she right? Could I try harder? It wasn't a matter of whether or not Meredith and the kids were worth it, there was no doubt in my mind that they were more than worth it. I just knew, from experience, that being a presidential program, it was harder said than done.
Life's ups and downs are what make it so rewarding, so frustrating, and so unreliable. No one knows what will happen in the next few months, days, or even hours. Nobody knows where they might end up. Nobody knows.
This chapter was crazy long, like over 6,000 words and that probably will never happen again, but for now I hope you enjoyed it!
Thank you so much to those of you who have continuously read and reviewed, I appreciate it so much more than you know, so thank you. J
There will be a few more twists and turns in the next few chapters, I'm excited and I bet you are too, sorry if this story has been too anti-climactic. hahaha
