Two months had passed since Derek had retracted his resignation. He had been given a warning by the board and divorce proceedings between him and Addison had begun. He and Meredith were still living in his trailer and as every week passed, Meredith had started to show. The alarm went off, filling the trailer with the sound of buzzing and ringing. Meredith sleepily opened her eyes and stuck her head under a pillow while Derek got out of bed and turned the alarm off. He climbed into the shower and proceeded to get ready for work.
"Derek…" Meredith's muffled voice came from under the pillow.
"Yes?" he replied as he sat down on the edge of the bed to put his shoes on.
"How are things with Addison currently?" Meredith asked.
Derek stopped and turned round. Meredith still had her head planted firmly under the pillow. "Well, we're currently in the middle of divorce proceedings because I ended our 11 year marriage for a woman I fell in love with while still married to her, and you may be having my baby while she is unable to conceive naturally. She is in a relationship with Mark, and I have hardly spoken to them since she told me not to quit my job. I don't think things are so great. Why are you asking me this anyway?" Derek asked, continuing to get ready.
Meredith brought her head out from under the pillow. "Because I have a scan with her today, and I'm nervous."
"Ah," Derek replied. "You didn't mention the scan before."
"Well, I didn't think you'd want to come - at this moment in time the baby could be yours, could be Finn's, the only thing that I'm 110% certain about is that it's mine." Meredith finished, smiling slightly.
Derek climbed back onto the bed until he was hovering over her and looked into her eyes. "Regardless of if this baby is mine or not, I'm still going to be in his or her life. Even if I'm not their real dad I will love them," he said, smiling and leaning down to kiss Meredith. "It will be fine, Addison is extremely professional - it may be awkward but she won't do anything to you."
"I hope not," Meredith replied. "Or I'm holding you responsible."
Derek playfully hit Meredith with his pillow and then crawled off the bed. "I'm off to work, I may see you there later," and with that, he lifted his stuff and left the trailer. Meredith threw her head back onto her pillow and closed her eyes and was soon fast asleep again.
Meredith walked into the hospital nervously - she'd only seen Addison once since Derek had left her and it had not gone well. Now she would be alone with her while she treated her medically. She went to the correct floor and was taken straight to Dr Montgomery.
"Afternoon Meredith," Addison said, her voice cool and not giving anything away. She forced a smile which was not in the slightest bit sincere, but Meredith recognised it as her way of saying that they were doctor and patient and any personal issues were not going to get in the way. "Can you lie on the bed please?"
Meredith did as she was asked and lay back on the bed as Addison prepared to do the scan. "This may feel cold," she warned Meredith. "Ok, here we go."
Addison studied the screen pressing buttons every so often. "Good strong heartbeat," she said, turning the screen to Meredith. "And there's your baby. Would you like a print out?"
Meredith nodded, as Addison cleaned her up and allowed her to sit up. Without saying anything she set about getting Meredith a print out of the scan and handed it to her.
"Thank you," Meredith said, taking it and tucking it into her purse. "Listen, Addison…"
Addison held up a hand to stop her. "I am your doctor, I will treat you in the same way I treat any other patient, I will not discriminate against you because you stole my husband. But we're not going to talk about it, do I make myself clear? This is my workplace."
Meredith nodded and picked up her belongings. "I understand."
As she was leaving the hospital she bumped into Cristina. "Meredith, what are you doing here?" Cristina asked, hugging her.
"Baby scan," Meredith replied.
"Oh - wasn't that awkward?" Cristina asked, leading Meredith over to some seats.
"It was awkward, but not unbearable. She's a professional woman, she's not going to let this affect her work." Meredith replied, reaching into her purse and bringing out the picture. She showed it to Cristina.
"Oh, is that it?" Cristina asked, peering closely at the scan. "Cool."
Meredith laughed at her friend - Cristina wasn't very good with dealing with sensitive issues.
"What are we looking at?" a voice behind them caused both women to jump.
"I better get back to work, see you later Meredith! Dr Shepherd.." Cristina called as Derek sat down beside Meredith. Meredith handed him the photo and smiled again.
"It's cute," Derek said looking at it and then at Meredith. "Just like you."
Meredith rolled her eyes and took the picture back. "Meredith!" a voice called, causing Derek and Meredith to look up.
"Finn?" Meredith asked, standing up. "What are you doing here?"
"I had a check up on my foot, and Lexie let slip that you had your scan today," Finn said, looking quite sheepish. "I should have called first before just turning up, I'm sorry.." he nodded a hello in Derek's direction.
"No, it's alright," Meredith said, handing him the scan. "Well this is it - this is my baby."
Finn looked at the picture smiling. At that point Derek stood up and kissed Meredith's cheek. "I'll give you two some time alone, I'll see you later."
"Want to go and get a drink?" Meredith asked, taking the picture back from Finn.
He nodded and he and Meredith headed off.
"So, how are things going?" Meredith asked Finn as she sipped her juice.
"As well as can be expected," Finn replied, playing with a napkin. "Listen Meredith, I wanted to talk to you about the baby."
Meredith nodded. "I think it's a good idea that we do talk."
"I know that there is no way of knowing whose it is until after birth, but until that moment there is every chance that it is mine, so I can't just walk away," Finn started off, ripping the napkin into shreds. "But, if it turns out it's Derek's baby, I will stay well clear, but I'd like to be involved in the pregnancy and maybe, even if it's not mine, we could still be friends?"
Meredith stretched forward and took Finn's hands. "I'd like you to be involved, and I would like to, over time, still be friends."
They smiled at each other and then continued to drink their drinks.
Later that night, as they were lying in bed, Derek rolled over onto his side and propped himself up on his elbow. "So, tell me to butt out if it's none of my business, but what did Finn say?"
Keeping her eyes closed Meredith answered. "He wants to be involved with the pregnancy, he would like it if we could still be friends, and if the baby turns out to be yours he will take it in his stride and back off."
"Seems fair enough," Derek replied. "But if it's his baby, do I have to back off?"
Meredith opened one eye and looked at Derek. "No Derek, you will not have to back off."
"So, if it's his, you two aren't getting back together are you?" Derek asked, running his hand up and down Meredith's arm.
With both eyes closed again Meredith replied. "No Derek, if the baby is his we are not getting back together."
"Good," Derek replied, rolling so he was on his back again looking up at the ceiling. "Hey, Mer?"
"What Derek?" Meredith asked, sighing.
"I have been thinking - a trailer isn't really a suitable place to raise a baby, we should maybe look for somewhere else." Derek said. "Or we could build our own house on all this spare land I have."
Meredith sat up and looked down at Derek. "Derek Shepherd, I love you, I won't be getting back together with my ex when the baby is born regardless of who the father is, and no, the trailer isn't suitable for raising a baby in, so yes, we will have to look for alternative living arrangements. I quite like the sound of building our own house, but it's late, I want to sleep - so enough with the questions?" she said, lying back down again.
Derek kissed her and then wrapped an arm around her showing her that he was ready to sleep. They lay in silence for about 5 minutes until Derek whispered "Meredith?" In response he got a kick in the shin. He laughed. "Goodnight."