As per the timeline I wrote out, Jacob is 5 which is way too old for how I've been writing him so I'm once again throwing out when he was born and inserting a new one. I think I'm just hesitant to let him grow up. He's only a year younger though so not that big of a change. Anyway, the grandparents have landed, so on with the story.
Derek walked through the doors to the hospital and immediately made his way to the surgical floor to check the board for Meredith's name. However, he didn't make it far before he found her pulling off her scrub cap as she stepped onto the elevator.
"Hi," she said brightly, "I didn't expect to see you today. Did you get the yard finished?"
"Uh. Yeah," he replied, dropping a chaste kiss to her cheek.
"You look nice," she noted, her eyes roaming over the slacks and buttoned shirt he had on.
"I'm burning up," he shrugged fiddling with the sleeves he had rolled up to his elbows, "I just want to make a good impression."
"Derek, you'll be fine," Meredith sighed reaching up pat his cheek lovingly.
"I'm just not looking forward to doing this without Ainsley there as a buffer," Derek sighed.
Meredith noticed a distinct glimmer in his eye and raised her eyebrows suspiciously before speaking.
"Well this is the last day of day camp, Christopher and Ainsley are excited for the party they're having. We agreed it was better to take her instead of keeping her home," she reminded him.
"I know. I was just thinking I would go ahead and pull Jake and Wyatt out of daycare for the day and take them with me. Cute babies work as nice buffers," he replied, cocking his head and displaying his best McDreamy smile.
"I can't believe you," Meredith feigned annoyance, shaking her head, "go I guess. Remember to remind the daycare they won't be in next week."
It seemed to take Derek a moment to register what she had said before he smiled widely and kissed her roughly. He waved goodbye and bounded away in route to the daycare, knowing he would need to hurry because showing up the airport late was not an option. He picked up the boys quickly, grabbing bags and snapping Wyatt into the carrier as fast as possible before practically running from the hospital to the van. He had already moved car seats around so there was more room in the front of the van, which meant he had to crawl into the third row to buckle in Jacob. However, by the time that both boys were buckled in and he had hopped into the driver seat, he was only running a few minutes late. He drove to the airport as fast as he dared with his two children in the back and pulled into a parking space. After jumping out and grabbing the boys, he made his way into the baggage claim area to meet Ray and June Martin. He found out that the flight had not yet landed and breathed a sigh of relief before finding a place to wait that would be out of the flow of traffic. They had been waiting for nearly half an hour and the boys were starting to get restless. Wyatt seemed to be moments away from a full blown meltdown, and Jacob was refusing to stand, preferring for Derek to hold him. He was juggling a boy on both hips and attempting to calm Wyatt's cries when Ray Martin found him.
"Letting those kids get the best of you?" Ray Martin asked, glaring at Derek.
"We were waiting for a little longer than I anticipated. They're just a little restless," Derek replied, once again trying to shush Wyatt's cries.
"Oh hush Ray," June chastised as she stepped forward, "can I take this little cutie off your hands?"
Derek relinquished is hold on Wyatt and watched as the woman expertly quieted his cries before turning his attention to the whines coming from Jacob.
"How old is he?" June asked, motioning to Wyatt.
"Wyatt is 7 months and Jacob over here just turned 4," Derek answered, "I guess we should head over there to get the bags?"
They made their way toward the baggage conveyor where Derek finally convinced Jacob to walk so that he could grab one of the bags. They made their way back to the van and left the airport in route to the day camp where they would pick up Ainsley and Christopher.
"So where is that granddaughter of mine?" Ray asked from beside Derek.
"Uhhh…she's at a day camp until 3. Today is the last day so they're having a big party. She was so adamant about going that we decided to let her go instead of keeping her home to come with me to pick you up, but we're headed there now to pick up her and Christopher now," Derek explained, attempting to shake off the tension that was building in his body.
They settled into an uncomfortable silence for a few minutes before finally June made her presence known.
"So Derek, how do you like having four children now? We only ever had Renee so it amazes me that you are able to run after all of yours. Especially with them all being so young," she asked.
"I absolutely love it," Derek replied, barely able to contain the smile that broke on his face, "it amazes me that they're all so different. Ainsley is so nurturing and helpful. Christopher is wild and adventurous. Jacob is shy and reserved. And then Wyatt is just loud and giggly. But is does get a little crazy sometimes."
"It seems like you have everything under control," June smiled from the backseat.
Suddenly Derek phone rang and he apologized before answering it.
"Hello?" he greeted.
"Hey. So Ma refused to sleep on mine and Lexie's bed because she doesn't like the idea of us sleeping on the pullout," Mark said with a dramatic flourish as if the sky was falling.
"Okay?" Derek replied, failing to see the problem when he had plenty of space at his house.
"I can't pick up Ma," Mark said suddenly, obviously having saved the worst news for last.
"Why not? I told you three weeks ago that I needed you to do this," Derek sighed, barely controlling his annoyance with Mark.
"Emergency surgery. And Lexie is already in the OR and she won't be out for at least a couple of hours," Mark explained.
"Okay. I figure is out. Don't forget, dinner is at 7," Derek sighed before hanging up the phone.
He immediately scrolled to Meredith's number in his contacts and put the phone back to his ear, waiting as the rings sounded through the line.
"Hey. I was just about to call you. I invited Alex to dinner. He just broke up with that girl, so I figured he needed someone to save him from going to Joe's and doing something stupid. I hope that's okay. I guess I should have asked you first. Do we even have enough food for him to come? Although there is a big chance that he won't come anyway," Meredith rambled across the phone.
"Mer?" Derek interrupted, trying to stop her before she really got going.
"Yeah?" she replied.
"Is there any chance that you can get off early and go pick up Ma? Mark apparently has some emergency surgery and Lexie is busy," Derek asked.
"I only have an hour left here, so I can probably asked Owen if I can duck out early. It shouldn't be a problem," Meredith answered.
Derek breathed a sigh of relief before quickly getting off the phone, feeling increasingly uncomfortable on the phone in front of his guests. They pulled up to the day camp just as a swarm of kids burst through the door looking for their rides. Ainsley held Christopher's hand as her eyes scanned the crowd, finally finding Derek where he stood on the sidewalk in front of the car. She ran toward him, dragging Christopher behind her before grabbing his waist in a hug.
"Hi daddy," she greeted.
"Hey Princess," he returned before turning to Christopher, "hey buddy."
"Hi," Christopher gruffed obviously tired from a long day of sugar and physical activity.
"There are a couple of people in the car that are excited to see you," Derek said, turning to open the door to the back of the van.
Ainsley looked inside and immediately smiled before reaching up to hug the woman in the seat in front of her.
"Hi Oma," she said brightly before seeming to notice the man in the front seat, "hello Opa."
"Hello Ainsley. You've gotten big," the old man greeted, his rough exterior immediately cracking at the sight of the little girl.
After everyone finally settled into their seat, Derek pointed the car toward the house, relieved that Ray Martin was no longer focusing on him.
Apparently Ainsley's grandparents have German ancestry. I literally was typing along and Oma and Opa were the first grandparent names that came to mind, so that's what we got. Next chapter involves everyone under one roof. Also you'll notice that this chapter is up quickly. The reviews definitely helped me want to write and update quicker, so you know what to do.