-1

It was well past midnight when Meredith finally got home from the bar. The lights were still on and she was surprised thinking Derek would have been in bed by then. Even in the dim glow of the foyer she could spot the mud stains that made a trail into the kitchen.

Following them she stepped into the kitchen only to cringe. It looked like a bomb had went off with dirty dishes and stains littering the floor. She was surprised, because Derek was usually the clean one...always making sure the house was in order before she got home.

Curious to find Derek and check on the kids she made her way up the stairs only to stop in utter disbelief as Ava's room came into view. The room which had been "cleaned" by Tyler and Ava looked worse then ever. On top of the already turned over book shelf there were dozens and dozens of clothes strewn across the room. The falling shelf instantly worried her along with the empty bed and no sign of the kids.

With nervous anticipation she began checking the guest rooms and bathroom until she came to her room and found Ava and Tyler curled up in her bed. The scene was utterly cute but anger pushed through her again when she saw the tv still on playing a horror movie neither of them should have been watching. Moving closer she found that both children were covered in mud and chocolate. A half eaten gallon of ice cream sat on her bedside table melting down it and the carpet beneath it.

She stomped out of the room in a sudden wave of anger not understanding where Derek had been to let this happen. Though Meredith was usually the enforcer with Ava, it was usually only because she worried, a lot. Derek was more mellow but usually kept a watchful eye on his daughter at every minute. "Derek Shepherd, where are you? I swear to god if you don't stop spoiling that child I'm going to kill you." She called to the empty hallway listening, and getting no response.

She was frustrated now, after being at work all day and out all night, and having to be in a wedding the next day, she was tired..and not at all in the mood to clean up the disaster of a house. She made as much noise as possible, using her stiletto heels she had borrowed from Addison to stomp down the steps.

Instead of searching all the rooms she swaggered right into the family room ready to freak out at her husband. The lights were low and the tv was running on low creating a dim noise in the background. She could see his figure laying on the couch and grew even angrier wondering why he had gone to sleep and left the kids to themselves.

She moved to stand directly in front of him only to have her breath hitch in her throat as she took in the site of Derek, who was deep into sleep with Peyton curled onto his bare chest. His one arm wrapped loosely around the girl and his other fell down the side of the couch where his shirt lay clearly discarded.

She stood, silent, watching the gently rhythm of his chest moving in and out in time with the babies. All her anger disappeared, and in his sleep he seemed to frown and then wrap his arm more protectively around the child. She smiled, at the memory of finding him many nights in the same exact position when Ava was an infant. Derek had taken a few weeks off when she was first born, and for days, the only place Ava would sleep was on her Daddy's bare chest.

Meredith flicked off the TV and instinctively ran her hands through his dark waves. For the first time since realizing she was pregnant, she could see them having another baby together. It made her happy, thinking that maybe telling him wouldn't be such a bad thing after all. Derek jerked awake at Meredith's touch causing Peyton to let out a whine, but not enough to wake her up.

Still groggy from sleep he took in her form standing over him. He thought it was a dream not used to waking up with her anymore. Without saying a word he let her gently take Peyton out of his arms. He gazed at her, not able to take his eyes off her sexy form. She had on a black tight halter dress that accentuated her curves in all the right places. Like a horny teenager he glanced at her exposed cleavage as she bent over to put the baby in the playpen.

He shook off his porny thoughts as she looked up and he sat up quickly, rubbing his eyes. "Sorry, I didn't mean to fall asleep where's Addy?" He asked searching around for his t-shirt. Her eyes took in his muscular chest and instantly wanted to touch him."Um..." She stuttered trying to get the imaged of a naked Derek out of her head. "She was too tired to drive all the way out here so I said we'd keep the little one for the night. You look tired, how did it go?" Derek sighed and settled back down onto the couch pulling his shirt on over his head.

"Well...as soon as Mark left Peyton turned into Rosmary's baby and wouldn't stop crying...I'm kind of glad we only have one now...because 3 against one is just not fair." Meredith's frown went unnoticed by Derek and she tried not to dwell on the fact that he could not want more children, but was too tired to dwell on that.

Seconds later Derek shot up suddenly remembering he had not put the kids to bed. The look on his face was pure panic and he bolted up out of his seat. She giggled and watched him walk out of the room not sure if she should just let him worry for himself. Thinking it would be too mean she ran after him, stopping him at the steps.

"Derek, they're sound asleep in our bed...you have a huge mess to clean up tomorrow..." He stopped abruptly and turned towards her moving incredibly close. "So...it's still "our" bed then?" his voice rough and raspy from sleep. She watched as he looked her up and down desire suddenly taking over.

Meredith met his gaze and his eyes turned dark. "Of course...it's always going to be..." She couldn't even finish her sentence because his gaze was so intense. He leaned in to kiss her and moaned deep in his throat at the sudden feel of her soft lips.