The rest of the day had been pretty slow. They had spent it indoors since it was raining, but everyone seemed to be having a great time playing various board games and card games, or even just catching up with the people that they hadn't seen much of that week. Meredith found herself on the ground doing a puzzle with Laura and Alyssa.

"Auntie Meredith, why were you sad this morning?" Laura asked in her innocent little girl voice.

Meredith smiled at her. "I was sad because your Uncle Derek was sad."

Laura just nodded. "When my daddy's sad, I'm sad too. Will your baby be sad when Uncle Derek is sad?"

"Maybe, but we won't know for a while."

They went back to concentrating on their puzzle.

"I finished Ariel's head!" Alyssa exclaimed.

Meredith smiled. "Good job!" Why can't it be this easy for us to just forget about our worries?

Alyssa jumped up from where she was sitting to go tell her mom about her accomplishment.

"Hey, are you hungry? We can go grab a snack, take a little break if you'd like."

Laura nodded and the two of them stood up. She grabbed Meredith's hand which only warmed her heart even more.

"What would you like? There's granola bars and apples and yogurt…"

Laura grabbed a granola bar and a glass of water. They then headed over to the table where Natalie and Amy were sitting with Ashley and Daniel.

"You want to come sit over here Laura?" Natalie asked her daughter as she approached.

She shook her head. "I'm going to sit beside Auntie Meredith."

Natalie smiled. "Okay then."

Amy giggled. "What about your Auntie Amy?"

Laura just shrugged. "I'll sit with her tomorrow."

The three women laughed at her response. Kids, they made everything much easier.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

Derek had been sitting with some of his cousins and his brother-in-laws. They were playing a game of poker, but Derek didn't seem to be making much progress. He decided to give up and just watch as the others played the game they seemed to know so well. His eyes drifted across the room and when he spotted his wife with his nieces on the ground, he couldn't help but smile.

She seemed like a mother already. And she was, in a way. She had that motherly instinct in her. She was caring and she treated all of the kids as if she knew them all of their lives.

"Your wife is going to be an amazing mother," his cousin Brody said as he noticed that Derek was no longer focusing on the game, but on Meredith.

Derek nodded. "I see that."

"And it looks like I've just lost my daughter," Cory said with a laugh when Meredith and Laura headed over to the snack table, Laura clutched onto her hand.

"It looks like you may have to leave her here," Mark said with a laugh. "I'm sure she wouldn't mind. And I know that Mer and Derek definitely won't."

Derek smiled. "We'll give her back eventually."

"You guys I'll have your own kid to raise soon. You may want to save your energy. There can be some very long, and I mean very long, sleepless nights," Stanley warned him.

"I know," Derek answered. "But it'll all be worth it. I still can't believe it's actually happening."

"Me neither," Mark added. The men laughed. "But the two of you guys will be amazing parents. I know it."

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

The rest of the day had sort of stayed the same. But the rain cleared just before supper time and the sun came out. They decided to stay inside to eat supper, but after the sun set, the campfire wasn't even debatable. If they could start it, they were having it.

Everyone grabbed a chair from the courtyard and after wiping them off, brought them down to the beach where the fire had been started. The kids were roasting marshmallows and the adults were discussing future get-togethers.

"I'm in Seattle for a convention in November," Dylan told Derek. "Maybe we could meet up for coffee or something."

Derek nodded. "Sounds good."

On her side, Meredith was exchanging cell phone numbers and email addresses with her new sisters. Lexie was just as bombarded with information.

"And you guys need to come home for Thanksgiving or Christmas," they informed them.

"I might not be able to," Meredith answered.

"Oh shush, Derek will give you time off," Nancy answered.

"No," Meredith shook her head. "My due date is December 16th, right before Christmas, but right after Thanksgiving. I won't be able to fly if I'm that pregnant and I'm not bringing a newborn across the country."

The girls had all forgotten about that. They all just nodded.

"We'll figure something out," Natalie decided.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

"Done!" Cristina exclaimed after bringing her last box into a storage closest. She had been unpacking for three days now. It seemed to have taken longer than when she had actually packed the stuff. That's because I was in a rush, she thought.

"Finally," Jackson exclaimed as he wrapped his arms around her waist. "I thought it would never end."

Cristina laughed. "But it did. And now we can just relax."

They walked over to the couch and dropped down, exhausted from the last few days. After the wedding, they had both done nothing but work and unpack, except for their one outing to Joe's the day before. They had needed a break to be able to make it through all this unpacking.

"I still can't believe this," Cristina said as she leaned down onto Jackson's shoulder. "Anybody else, it would have taken me months to even think about moving in together. But everything just seems so much easier with you."

Jackson kissed the top of her head. "Maybe it's because I'm awesome," he said with a laugh.

"I love you," Cristina said, willingly.

"I love you too."

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

Izzie was up and on the go early the next morning. It was Saturday. And Alex was off. They decided they'd do something as a couple. Like a date. They had the day to themselves, and Izzie couldn't wait.

She had told Alex about Meredith being pregnant, which reminded her that she still needed to talk to Meredith about the fact that she didn't tell her. But that could wait. After his initial shock, Alex just smiled.

"Good for them," he said as he kissed Izzie. "Maybe it'll be our turn someday."

Izzie gave him a shocked look and he laughed. "I peed in a cup for you and our future babies. I think we deserve them."

Izzie wrapped her arms around his neck and jumped into his arms. "Seriously?" she asked, still a little to in shock.

"Seriously," he replied, a smile on his lips.

They just stood there staring at each other until Alex finally realized something.

"Crap," he said.

"What?" Izzie asked, a little worried about his sudden attitude change.

"I just lost twenty bucks," Alex said with a grunt. "I hate Cristina."

Izzie just laughed when she caught on to what he was saying.

"Are you ready to go?" Alex asked as he walked into the room. Izzie nodded and the two of them headed out the door.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

"We'll see you soon," Natalie said as she hugged Meredith. Only the four sisters and their families were left in Seattle. The other Shepherd's had left earlier that day after their goodbyes with all their families that they might not see for another year. It had been a sad day.

"Call anytime, and don't forget to email us," Kathleen said as she hugged her brother. She turned to Meredith and Lexie. "It's been so nice meeting you guys. I'm really glad our brothers found such amazing woman." The three of them hugged.

"What about me," Mark said as Kathleen turned to him.

"I'll miss you too I guess."

They all laughed.

They finished their goodbyes and headed towards their terminal leaving only Derek, Mark, Meredith, Lexie and Carolyn in the main part of the airport, surrounded by others saying their goodbyes to their loved ones.

"Let's head over to the house for supper," Derek suggested as the group headed out the main doors.

"Then will you show me this infamous trailer of yours?" Carolyn asked as she gave her son a funny look.

Derek laughed. "We've got all day tomorrow."

Carolyn smiled. "And will you guys be joining us on our adventurous journey?" she asked Mark and Lexie with a laugh.

"Can't," Mark answered sadly. "We've got to be back at work tomorrow."

"Right, the hospital calls," Carolyn said with a sigh. But she knew better than anybody that her children were saving many more lives than she could ever imagine. She was glad she knew so many amazing doctors. If ever she ran into a health problem, one of her children would surely know what to do. She looked at Derek and Meredith. "When do you guys have to be back to work?"

"Monday afternoon," Derek answered. "But I was thinking of maybe showing you around the hospital Monday morning if you'd like."

Carolyn nodded. "That sounds like a plan."

They reached their cars and headed to the house. But they were surprised when they noticed there was another car in the driveway.

"It looks like Alex's car," Meredith said as they got out.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you…" Derek started but he didn't get to finish before Izzie came out of the front door.

"You didn't tell me!" Izzie said when she was only a few feet away from Meredith.

"You found out?" Meredith asked, not sure if she should be happy or scared.

"Uh hmmm. If you're trying to keep it a secret, you should probably hide the pregnancy books better."

"Oups," Meredith said. "But now you know."

Izzie smiled. "Congratulations. I'm proud of you two." She gave Meredith a great big hug and the two of them laughed.

"I thought I was the one who was supposed to have mood swings," Meredith said.

Izzie laughed.

Mark, Lexie and Carolyn, who had followed Meredith and Derek back to the house, pulled into the driveway just at that moment.

"Would you like to stay for supper?" Meredith asked Izzie as she remembered that was what they were back at the house for.

"No, Alex and I have reservations." As if on cue, Alex came out of the house talking to Derek, who had gone in as soon as Izzie had attacked. He couldn't handle her again.

The two of them said bye and headed to their car.

"Sorry I didn't forewarn you," Derek said as he kissed Meredith on the head. She leaned into him.

"She's not mad. At least not anymore."

Once Lexie, Mark and Carolyn joined them in the yard, the five of them headed into the house.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

Richard enjoyed being chief again, but he had to admit to himself that the hours he was working now weren't what he was doing when he was actually the chief. He left the hospital at reasonable times, and had even surprised Adele when he came home in time for supper on a few occasions.

"Looks like we have company," he said as he walked in that evening.

Sitting at the table with his wife were Miranda and Tucker.

"I invited Miranda over for supper, not thinking you would be home. But you can join us if you'd like," she added with a laugh.

"Sounds like a plan," he said as he took his usual seat.

"So how's work?" Adele asked, catching Richard off-guard. She never asked about his work. She always complained about how he was spending way too much time in the hospital.

"I've realized that I don't miss being the chief. Sure, it feels good to be back where I was, but definitely not something I want to go back to."

Adele and Miranda both smiled.

"Derek seems to be doing a good job at it anyway," he added.

"And he knows how to balance work with the rest of his life," Miranda added, looking down. "Something I should have learnt so many years ago."

"Me too," Richard added.

"Speaking of Derek," Adele changed the subject, "has anybody heard how the family reunion went?"

Richard nodded as he took a spoonful of his soup. "Callie told me something about how the Shepherd girls had all been at Joe's the other night. She said that she talked to Meredith and that she said it was going really well. It's good to see Meredith has found all this family in so little time."

Miranda nodded. "Four new sisters, and four brother-in-laws, nieces, nephews, plus an amazing mother. And on top of that she's found Jackson and you guys. And her hospital family has gotten much bigger since the beginning of all this wedding thing. She needs all these people. It's going to be a long few months."

They all nodded and went back to eating their soup that was slowly getting cold.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

"I didn't know you could cook Mark," Meredith said as they finished their supper. It had been very good, prepared by the men and Carolyn. Meredith and Lexie had just sort of watched in amazement as they made their way around the kitchen like real cooks.

"I spent most of my life with Carolyn as a mother. If you didn't know how to cook, you didn't belong. Everyone in that house knew how to cook."

Meredith nodded. "Looks like I may need some guidance. I'll need to be able to make something if I don't want our children to starve when Derek's not around."

"Grilled cheese sandwiches will get boring after a while," Lexie added with a laugh.

"Hey, don't diss the grilled cheese sandwich. It got me through most of my life."

They laughed and finished up supper. After loading the dishwasher, Derek showed his mother to her room, one of the many rooms that had been used as intern dorms for the last four or five years. He left her to settle in and joined the other three in the living room.

"Remember that night where you guys came home to this room filled with stories of our past?" Mark asked suddenly.

Meredith and Derek both nodded, not knowing where this was going.

"That was the night we decided we were organizing you guys a surprise wedding."

"It had been a pretty interesting evening," Lexie added. "I still can't believe it worked."

"I still can't believe you guys were able to keep it a secret that long," Meredith said. "Izzie, of all people."

"I just hope she can keep the baby a secret," Derek added.

"I think she will," Lexie said. "I mean, if she needs to talk to someone about it, she can talk to a bunch of us. It's not like nobody else knows."

Derek nodded. "True."

Carolyn entered the room and sat down on the couch next to Meredith.

"This is quite the place you guys have," she said.

"It was my mother's," Meredith said as she looked around. "But I guess it's been mine for a few years now. Well, it's been a lot of peoples home."

Lexie nodded. "It was almost like an animal shelter for surgeons."

They laughed. "That's pretty much what it's been. All five of Bailey's interns lived here at some point, then you two have both lived here, Callie was here too. Mark, you stayed a few nights too. Oh and Sadie."

"Surgeon home," Derek added with a laugh.

"But it won't be for long," Mark added. "What are you guys going to do with this place?"

Meredith shrugged. "I haven't quite decided yet. But something will come to me."

"It's getting late," Mark said as he got up from his seat. "Lex, you ready to head home?"

Lexie nodded as she got up. "We'll see you guys on Monday." They waved and headed out the door.

"Mark's right," Carolyn said as she got up. "It is getting late and I need to get some rest to make up for this weekend."

"Goodnight mom," Derek said as he kissed her on the cheek.

"Goodnight you two."

"Goodnight Carolyn," Meredith added.

Carolyn smiled and shook her head. "That's mom to you too."

Meredith smiled. "Goodnight, mom."

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

"Home sweet home," Mark said as he opened the door to their apartment.

Lexie laughed. "Happy to be back?"

Mark shrugged. "I'm definitely going to miss the Inn. That place started growing on me."

Lexie thought about what her and Izzie had talked about the week before. "You know, we won't be able to stay here forever. Once kids come into the picture…"

Mark's eyes lit up at the mention of kids. "What are you thinking?"

He pulled her against him and kissed her softly before she answered.

"We'll need a bigger place, but nothing too big," Lexie started. Mark nodded. He knew there was more to it. "And you know the cottages at the Inn are great, and they're the perfect size for a small family and their homey, and the view is amazing and they're for sale and –"

Mark cut her off with a kiss. "Let's buy ourselves a house."

Lexie smiled. "Really?"

Mark nodded. "Of course! You're absolutely right. And besides, I'm tired of having neighbors complain about the noise. The cottages are in the middle of nowhere."

Lexie laughed. "Our nowhere."

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

Once Carolyn had gone to bed, Meredith and Derek had decided to stay up a little bit longer.

"All this house talk brings back memories of my first night in this house," Meredith said with a smile.

"Mine too," he replied as he kissed her.

"It all started with a one night stand Derek. Look at us now."

Derek nodded. "I know. I still can't believe that we made it this far. I can't imagine my life if you hadn't of been in the right place at the right time."

"Do you ever think about what would have happened if we hadn't of both ended up at Seattle Grace?"

Derek smiled. "I would have sat in your driveway on my first day off and waited for you until I had a chance to ask you out."

"But then, with Addison, and Mark and everything else. It wouldn't have been near the same as it ended up being."

Derek just pulled her back so that she was lying her head on his lap. He stroked her hair. "The "could- have-been's " don't matter. Let's just focus on where we are today."

"Married," Meredith said as she looked down at her hand where there were now two rings.

Derek kissed her. "Married."

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

"You mean to tell me you lived in this thing!" Carolyn exclaimed.

Derek laughed. "Yup."

Carolyn shook her head. "What about the year Addie was here too."

Derek pointed to the trailer. "Home sweet home."

"You mean to tell me Addie lived in this thing!"

Derek and Meredith both laughed.

"It's not as bad as it seems," Meredith argued, as she for one really like this place. It brought back some very good, and also bad, memories. But the good ones were the only ones she cared to remember. "It's a nice place to get away too."

"Yeah, but actually live in?" Carolyn was still shocked.

"Mom, it's not any worse than the trailer we spent the summer in when I was like, 6," Derek said, as he remembered a very interesting childhood summer.

"Oh yeah," Carolyn said with a sigh. "You and your three sisters at the time, plus Mark and your father and me, in a trailer not much bigger than this."

Meredith's jaw dropped. "How did you manage to fit everyone?"

"Well, Kathleen and Nancy were old enough to stay in the tent outside, so they didn't stay in the trailer unless it wasn't very nice out. Derek and Mark shared the bunk beds. Natalie was only little so we set up her crib in our room and Amy wasn't born, so that was one less person. It was definitely an interesting summer."

"Yeah, a month in the woods. Dad, Mark and I loved it. The girls, not so much," Derek said with a laugh.

"And it sounds like you'll be spending the rest of your life in the woods," Carolyn said as they exited the trailer. "Are you going to show me where your new home is going to be?"

Derek smiled. "Actually mom, they've broken ground by what I've heard." Derek hadn't been here since his and Meredith's last picnic, when nothing had started yet. But in those short few days, he got a phone call informing him that they had started to dig the ground for the foundation."

"Well what are we waiting for?"

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

Cristina had been working on diagnosing the problem for one of her cases, one that nobody seemed to understand, when she noticed someone she hadn't seen around the hospital for a few days.

"Lex! Wait up."

She caught up with Lexie and walked with her to the elevator.

"Cristina, what's up?" she asked, not sure why her sister's best friend seemed so excited to see her.

"I was just wondering how you enjoyed yourself at the Shepherd hoedown?"

Lexie looked at her old resident with a shocked expression.

"We're friends, right?" Cristina asked her when she didn't answer.

Lexie laughed interiorly. When did this happen? She knew that she was getting along much better with her sister's person now that she wasn't her intern, even to an extent that she considered them friends. But she never thought Cristina saw her like that.

"Yeah, sure," she said with a smile. "It went well. Really well actually."

Cristina smiled. "That's good to hear."

Their elevator arrived and they both jumped in, running into Addie and Callie.

"Good to see you back Grey," Callie said with a sincere smile.

"It looks like the Shepherd's haven't damaged her too much," Addie said with a laugh.

Lexie laughed. "Not completely."

"Meredith and Derek not back to work yet?" Addie asked.

Lexie shook her head. "When they took their time off, they were planning on flying home today, but because of the fact that there never was any flying involved, they ended up with an extra day off."

She nodded.

"They'll be back tomorrow," Cristina added.

"That is if they haven't died of exhaustion after the week they had," Addie said.

"What a week," Lexie added as she thought about the days that had gone by since the arrival of their guests.

"What a wedding," Callie said as she joined back into the conversation.

"That was definitely a wedding that will go down in Grace's books," Cristina added. "It'll never get old."

The three others nodded their heads.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

"What a view!"

Derek and Meredith smiled. "That's why we picked this place."

Carolyn was blown away with the beauty of the land Derek had bought. She hadn't had much time to visit all of this when she had come to visit the year before. She just wanted time to check up on her son, and when she saw that he was doing fine on his own, she knew that she wouldn't need to stay around to make sure he didn't screw up big time. But he had been far away from screwing up.

"And to see that things are already getting in motion. It's only been a couple of weeks since you've decided to start building, right?"

Derek nodded. "The plans had been drawn up a few years ago, but they never were really put into action." He looked at Meredith as he remembered the morning in her kitchen where he had told her it was going to be their house. Meredith smiled as if she knew exactly what he was thinking about.

"I hate it when you guys have those silent conversations," Carolyn said in a frustrated tone. "Your sisters and their husbands aren't nearly as bad as you two."

"Derek was just thinking about the day he showed me the house plans, a few years back," Meredith answered. Carolyn looked up to her son who smiled in response.

"I swear mom! She can read my mind!" Derek answered and Carolyn let out a chuckle.

"Anyway, I hadn't taken it like he had expected it –"

"Although that's what I should have expected," Derek cut in.

Meredith hit him in the arm which made Carolyn laugh." – because even though he had been ready for all of this stuff - the house, marriage, the family - I wasn't."

"But look where we are," Derek said with a mocking smile.

Meredith smiled. "I wouldn't have said this five years ago, but I'm glad this is where I am."

"I'm just glad I've gotten my son back and an amazing daughter on top of that. And more grandkids of course."

Derek laughed. "Who said anything about grandkids, plural?"

"Mother's instinct."