Whew…last chapter before the very short hiatus and it's a doozy. I'm really happy with how it turned out because I had this idea in my head of how I wanted this particular relationship to go, but no idea of how I would get it there. Then suddenly it clicked a few chapters ago and I was like "ah that's how it must be done" which means this story is coming to a close. Obviously I won't leave Wyatt in the hospital, so we'll have several more chapters after this one, but be warned it's getting close. As far as plans for after it's done, I think I'll probably play around in the "How Did We Get Here?" world for a while and then eventually come back to do another story in this series. So don't fear, you will eventually get to see Wyatt, Jacob, Christopher, and Ainsley again.

Mark sent a quick text to Derek, as they sat at a red light waiting, informing him of their pending arrival. Meanwhile, Ainsley was becoming increasingly more nervous the closer they got to the apartment. She played quietly with Sean in the seat beside her and hummed quietly, trying to distract herself from the task at hand, but as with any little kid, the distraction didn't last long. When they finally pulled up to the apartment, Mark turned in his seat.

"I assume you need to talk to them by yourself," he said as his eyes surveyed her face for a clue.

"Yeah," she replied starring back at him.

"Alright, I'll take you up there, and then Sean and I are going to raid Callie and Arizona's fridge. If you need me, you know where to find me," he explained as he started to unbuckled his seat.

Ainsley nodded unbuckling herself and slipping from the car into parking garage. Mark unbuckled Sean and situated him on his hip before leading the little girl to the elevator and watching as she automatically pushed the button for his floor. She rocked back and forth on her heels, her hands tucked firmly into the pocket on the front of her hoodie and an unreadable expression set on her face. The elevator dinged, signaling their arrival, and Ainsley didn't even wait for Mark before bolting toward the door. Mark caught up with her and knocked quickly, listening as he heard shuffling from behind the door. When the door opened, Derek stood before them looking slightly worn, but with a bright smile on his face.

"Hi baby girl," he greeted as he pulled Ainsley into his arms.

"I'll leave you to it," Mark murmured from the hallway before turning to the door across the hall and banging loudly.

Derek only just saw an extremely annoyed Callie open the door before he closed his door and ushered Ainsley inside.

"So, Uncle Mark said you needed to talk to us about something," Derek said as he sat on the couch, pulling Ainsley into his lap.

"Where's Meredith?" she asked glancing around the apartment for any sign of her.

"She'll be just a minute. She wanted to change clothes after we got home from the hospital," Derek replied, noting that Ainsley had ignored his question.

"Is Wyatt big now?" she questioned, stalling so that she could talk to the person she actually needed to.

"You mean since the last time you saw him yesterday?" he chuckled, "no he's still just little Wyatt."

"Oh, but he's bigger than he was right? Because Nonna said that he has to be big and strong before, so that he can start getting better," Ainsley recalled.

"Yup. He's gained quite a bit of weight since he was born, are you still worried because he hasn't gotten out of the hospital? Is that what you want to talk to us about?" Derek tried again to figure out the reason behind the impromptu visit.

"No. Uncle Mark explained it to me. He has to keep getting better, so we don't know how long he has to be there," she replied once again looking around the apartment.

Suddenly, the bedroom door opened and Meredith emerged in a pair of pajama pants and a t-shirt. She walked over to them falling onto the couch a looking at Ainsley intently.

"So, I'm told you really needed to talk to us," Meredith started as Ainsley slipped from her father's lap into the space on the couch between her parents.

She turned so that she was facing Meredith and took a deep breath before finally starting to explain what was weighing on her mind.

"At school, Jackson Spader told me that I didn't have a mommy because she was dead, but I told him I did have a mommy because I had you, but he said it didn't count because you aren't my real mommy. So I wanted you to be my real mommy, so I called you mommy because I thought that might work, but you didn't say anything about it and Jackson Spader said that you could only be my real mommy if you 'dopted me. So can you be my mommy?" Ainsley rambled quickly before her eyes dropped to her hands and her cheeks turned pink.

"Woah," Derek spoke first before looking at Meredith in shock.

Meredith's eyes had gone wide and every thought she had disappeared from her head. The silence lasted for several minutes until Meredith knew if she didn't do something, Ainsley would get her feelings hurt. She threw out her hands gathering the little girl tightly into her arms before starting to sob loudly. Derek wiped the tears that had started to make their way down his cheeks and smiled brightly at Meredith as she rocked the little girl in her arms. They rode out the moment; simply revealing in the fact that Ainsley was finally really accepting her role in the family before Meredith straightened herself up and sat Ainsley back on the couch in front of her.

"Okay. First off, Jackson Spader does not know what he is talking about. Whether I adopt you or not, you are MY child, which means I am your mother. Second, do you know what adoption means?" Meredith asked.

"It's like when a mommy and a daddy find a baby that they want so much that it doesn't matter if they belong to them or not. And then they sign some papers and the baby gets to go home with them," Ainsley explained the adoption process to the best of her knowledge.

"Yeah, pretty much, but if I adopt you, our relationship won't change. You realize that right? I love you already, no matter what a piece of paper says. So if you don't really want to do this, we don't have to do this," Meredith said and then noting the sudden sadness in Ainsley's eyes added, "But I would really like to. I'm not saying I don't. I just want you to be comfortable with it."

Ainsley's eyes sought each adult's face before turning back to Meredith.

"If you adopt me, I can still call my mommy, my mommy right?" Ainsley asked.

"Honey, I don't want to take the place of your mommy. If I adopt you, you just get to be one of those lucky kids who got to have two mommies," Meredith explained.

Ainsley seemed to be in deep thought once again before she finally broke into a big smile.

"I think I like that idea. I got to have two mommies and a daddy, she said excitedly, "When you adopt me that means I can call you mommy right?"

"You can call me whatever you want baby," Meredith smiled.

Derek who had been watching the whole exchange through a steady stream of tears seemed to be unable to hold back anymore. He scooped up the little girl, plopping her onto his lap and wrapping his arms tightly around her before showering her head with kisses. He finally stopped and gave her one more squeeze before speaking.

"I love you so much," he said.

He reached his hand up and motioned for Meredith to join their little pile before he settled back into the couch, excitedly at the future for his family and happy to have his two favorite girls in his arms.

Ahhhh…I died. I'm pretty sure after I wrote that I had cavities. It was just too ridiculously sweet and fluffy. It's a good chapter to have before the hiatus I think because it just makes you feel good about the story. Hopefully it will tide you over until August. Review because it makes me feel good. Thanks for reading and for sticking with this story!