Thanks to all of you for the reviews...I'm glad you're still enjoying the sweet baby anticipation! This chapter brings you more of the same!
And we're officially less than a month to the new season as I'm posting this...I'm hoping for the focus to be on MerDer this year, but I fear we may be disappointed yet again, based on some of the spoilers I've read. Time will tell...
28 -Painting & Baby Names
Meredith looked around the room they had designated as the future nursery. It was next to their bedroom, and had a large window overlooking the back yard, with a comfortable window seat below it. Right now they were in the midst of painting and then going to attempt to add a wallpaper border around the top of the walls. The color was soft peach, and the border was dancing teddy bears. She could just picture how it would look when it was all done...including the crib, and all the toys she had already started to accumulate on their shopping excursions.
"Are you just going to watch me paint, or help me?" Derek asked, from his perch on the ladder, interrupting her thoughts.
"Hmm...you seem to be doing a great job on your own. I had no idea you were such an accomplished painter." Actually, they had discussed not even doing this themselves, but Meredith had felt it wouldn't be right to have someone else paint their baby's room.
"I spent one summer painting to earn some cash," he admitted, with a smile. "And now just because I don't want you climbing the ladder doesn't mean you can't help."
Meredith giggled, picking up a brush. "I just had to stop and admire the view."
"It's coming along," Derek observed happily.
"It's not all I was admiring," she told him with another giggle. "Your ass in those jeans is looking pretty good too..."
"Compliments won't get you out of painting, honey..." Derek laughed.
"Yes, boss."
"I'll remind you of that later."
"Promises promises..."
For a while, they worked together in companionable silence, Meredith humming softly to herself. With her steady surgeon's touch, she was able to do most of the fussy detail work around the windows and doors, while Derek was using the roller to fill in the rest with broad sweeping strokes.
"So...we should think of names...?" she finally commented, as they were getting close the end of the last wall.
"I guess we can start to think on that. Any ideas?"
"Nothing bizarre, Cristina's already warned me against Apple or Zuma..."
"I think I can concur with that suggestion." Derek stepped away from the ladder and held his hand out to help her stand up. "You have paint on your nose, Dr. Grey. How did that happen?"
"Oh! I guess when my nose was itchy...didn't think about it..."
He took a damp rag and gently dabbed it over her skin, wiping away the smear. "There..." He cupped her face in his hands then, and kissed her softly. "Are you sure you really want to discuss baby names right now?"
"Mmm..." She surrendered to the playful touch of his tongue against hers, letting him take her thoughts away from the task at hand. "I guess it could wait."
"Are you quite sure?" he teased her, lowering his mouth to her again, this time more passionately, until she moaned softly against his lips.
"Tease…" she whispered, drifting her hand over his cock, so that he stifled a groan of his own.
"…want to see who lasts longer without making a sound?" he grinned at her, his palm over her erect nipple then. Meredith bit her lip, as he slowly raised the tank top she wore with her soft flannel pants, his fingers finding her skin. Raising little erotic quivers along her body, as he took her nipple in his lips, tongue lazily circling first one and then the other.
"…not fair..." she panted, as he continued to tease her. Somehow they eased down to the floor, finding a spot in the warm sun filtering in through the sheer curtains in the windows.
She shifted a little, moving side by side, reaching for his belt, undoing the zipper to his jeans, so she could slide her fingers along his cock without hesitation. Derek made a low sound in his throat, claiming her mouth, hot and urgent. He pinned her back onto the carpet, and she slid her arms around his neck, winding her fingers in his hair, urging him closer. Wordless soft sounds escaped her as he expertly found the tie to her pants, tugging it open, and easing them down her hips.
"…hurry…" she whispered, reaching down to free his cock, as she wiggled out of her own clothes. Exhilaration and urgency pulsed between them, as they lost themselves in the need for each other. His tongue thrust deep in her mouth, just as his cock thrust into her wetness.
Meredith whimpered, rocking against him, aching, drowning in the whirl of tangled tongues, hot breath and tremors of desire. Her climax spiked quickly, and she bit back another cry, wanting…needing...to make a sound.
"Oh…god...Der…"
"Shhh.." he murmured, "or I win…"
"I don't care… you win anyway…I win...whatever…it's so damn good…"
Derek couldn't help but laugh softly at her comment, before he lost whatever control he had as he surrendered to the tight heat that enveloped him. "It is damn good..." he muttered, as he cradled her in his arms, relishing the moments like this they shared. Spontaneous, exciting moments that he wouldn't give up for anything.
Sunlight fell across her face, and she smiled up at him. "I guess we won't be doing much of this after the baby is born..."
Raising one eyebrow, he smiled back. "Well, not right away at any rate."
"I meant the fact we're doing it on the floor here in the baby's room…"
"Oh, well when you put it that way…" He rubbed the round swell of the baby, before planting a soft kiss there. "How's our girl today?"
Meredith was caught in the look of tenderness that he gave her. "You're going to spoil both of us aren't you?"
"I intend to, honey," he replied happily. "Now, should we get back to the topic of baby names?"
Meredith sighed blissfully, touching her belly softly. "Now that you've had your way with me?"
"You have that effect on me, honey, can't help but get distracted," he confessed, winking at her.
"Well, as far as names go, I guess I was kind of fixated on boy's names before we discovered the true identity of this little one. Maybe I need to check some books..."
Derek tilted his head, as if considering. "Hmm...what about Roxie?"
Meredith rolled her eyes. "Didn't we already decide not to go that route?"
"Maybe I've reconsidered. How about Moonbeam?" Derek teased her, trying to keep a straight face. "Has a nice ring to it, don't you think? Moonbeam Shepherd?"
"Derek!" She tried to be serious, laughing despite herself. He ducked and grabbed her hands, wrestling away from her, and pinning her down. "Oohhh..I don't think so, honey." Meredith wiggled away from him, and settled herself across his legs. She picked up one of the smaller paintbrushes that hadn't been used, and trailed it down his torso, watching his expression change from playful to passionate. "Not if you ever want to make love to me again…"
"Okay, okay…" he sighed, surrendering to her. "You're the boss now."
"You got that right." She caressed his skin with the brush, moving lower, skimming along his cock. "I'm glad you see it my way…" Her soft fingers traced along the inside of his thighs, trailing over him again. Tracing and swirling around him, bringing him into hot arousal slowly. He watched in fascination as she teased him, leaning over to breathe warmly along his steadily growing erection. The brush caressed in combination with the little puffs of air. His hips rose, his arms lifted above his head, as the arousal pooled in his groin. Meredith dragged the brush over the throbbing head of his cock, touching her tongue to him as well.
She paused, and he groaned in total frustration. "Meredith...honey…what are you doing to me?"
"No weird names…right?"
"Never..." His body strained upwards, waiting, wanting more.
"Good, just checking, sweetie…"
As she grasped him again, he sighed in relief, and smiled seductively. "No Roxie or Moonbeam…I promise…just don't ever stop that…"
"I won't baby…" She ran her tongue around him, harder and longer, taking him deeper. "I could never stop anyway," she promised him.
As he got lost in the feeling of her soft mouth, he couldn't think of anything else. Baby names fled his conscious thought process, as she took him into shuddering heights again. Just as he called out her name, she let him go and sank down over him. His body convulsed at the sudden tightness of her pussy enveloping him, and she kissed him hard. Her breasts crushed against him, tender and full, her mouth claimed his, his taste on her tongue. She rode him slow and deliberate, loving the fullness of him, just loving every inch of him.
"I love you so much," she whispered, as they started to move faster. "So..so..much…"
"Love you too, honey," he murmured, his voice hoarse with emotion. He stroked the hair from her face, smiling into her eyes, rocking and thrusting, until everything else melted away, leaving them in a world of pleasure.
"Meredith..." George poked his head around the corner of the nurse's station where she was sitting, going over some charts. It was late in the day, and she felt tired and irritable and bloated. "Got a minute?"
"What is it?"
He lowered his voice. "Want to go to the nursery now?"
"Oh..." Meredith brightened at his suggestion, and he tugged her chair backwards, rolling it away from the desk. "I guess that would be a good idea..."
"Of course it is. You'll feel better." He pushed the chair forwards slightly.
"I can walk, George, seriously!"
"Are you sure?"
"George, I'm not about to pop my baby out any minute! I've been in surgery for five hours, and I feel tired and cranky, but I can still walk." Meredith protested, getting to her feet.
"If you say so."
By the time they reached the nursery, she was feeling happier already. The sight of the rows of little bassinets, with their warm little bundles snuggled inside, made her smile. "This is just what I needed, George, thanks."
"Pretty soon there'll be your little girl in there."
Meredith nodded. "Four months or so...hard to believe." She touched the swell of her baby gently, feeling another little flutter. "Oh!"
"What?" George looked over at her sharply.
"She just kicked, must've known we were talking about her."
"Cool. Does she kick lots?"
"Mmm...she's pretty active. Maybe she'll be a soccer player," Meredith joked.
"Well, Dr. Grey, Dr. O'Malley...what are you two doing here?"
"Oh, Dr. Bailey, we were just..."
"Just checking out where I'll be soon," Meredith finished.
"I understand. I come up here from time to time myself to get my brain to slow down. You did a full shift already, Grey, go home to your husband. Put your feet up and let him look after you. He seems the type to be able to do that."
"Yes ma'am, he is."
"And O'Malley...you are still on the clock...you have charts to do, don't you?"
"Yes, yes I do," he grinned, backing away. "See you tomorrow, Mer!"
"Night George."
"You really doin' okay?" Bailey asked as they looked at the babies for another moment.
"Yes, just getting a little worried sometimes. They're so tiny...what if I don't know what to do once she's here?" Meredith rested her forehead against the glass viewing window. She didn't know why she was confiding in Bailey, but sometimes late at night, she fretted about what she was getting into. Derek tried his best to give her confidence a boost, but even so she worried.
"It all comes together when they put that little bundle into your arms, and you look at her. Don't you worry; you'll be a great mother, Meredith. And the job will always be here for you. I think I came back too early, but Tuck seems to be adapting."
"We're getting someone to come in and help once I'm ready to come back."
"Good idea. And you know, you can always ask me anything. If there's a problem, I've probably dealt with it already!" Bailey laughed. "From diapers to bottles to dealing with cranky husbands..."
"Thank you...I appreciate it." Meredith felt like giving the shorter woman a hug, but she held back.
"Now, I hear Stevens is planning a baby shower for you, is that true?"
"Yes, next weekend. You coming?" Meredith put her hands in her lab coat pockets, as they strolled back to the elevator.
"I hadn't officially been invited," Bailey said dryly.
"Damn...well, I'm inviting you. I'll talk to Izzie about it." Meredith smiled to herself – it would be an interesting group, with her friends here at SGH to Addison and Callie. Her little girl would have a lot of strong role models that would be vying to spoil her.
"So I invited Dr. Bailey to my baby shower," Meredith told Derek later that evening. She was propped up on the bed, leafing through baby magazines while Derek was working on his laptop. "Oh, look, isn't that a cute crib?" She held up a picture for him.
"Very," he agreed with a smile. He closed his laptop and reached over to pull her against him, looking at the magazine with her. "I thought Izzie was looking after the shower?"
"She is, but somehow she didn't invite Bailey. We had a nice talk today about babies – she offered advice if I ever need any."
"Good, I realize this is new territory for both of us – no nieces or nephews to practice on, or parents to give sage advice," Derek mused. "But I can't wait for the moment we can hold our little girl and start the whole adventure." He kissed the top of her head.
"Me too..." She sighed blissfully. "What are you going to do while the ladies are here for the shower?"
Derek frowned again, confused. "Wasn't it going to be at Izzie's?"
"Try to keep up, honey...it was, but then we decided there was more room here, plus I don't need to transport a bunch of gifts around. They're bringing everything, I don't have to have to worry about anything."
"Hmm...well, I'll have to think of something. Mark's been bugging me to go golfing with him; it's his new addiction, maybe I'll take him up on that offer."
"Since when do you golf?"
"I've been out a time or two, not my forte, but still..."
"I can just picture you and Mark out there, charming all the ladies on the course," she giggled.
"But we're both madly in love with our women, so nothing to worry about," he assured her. "In fact...I think he's ready to propose to Izzie."
"What?" Meredith twisted around to look at Derek, her eyes wide. "Why didn't you tell me before?"
"I forgot, actually. Sorry." He shrugged easily, with that masculine unawareness of the importance of such news.
"Seriously, Derek...that's kind of interesting news. Well, I won't say anything. I'm not sure if she'll accept, but I hope she does."
Derek tossed the magazine aside, and pulled Meredith over him, her hair falling around her face. In the soft green silky nightgown, she was far too distracting to continue to discuss their friend's love life. "Let's not talk about them anymore, honey..." he murmured, and she found herself mesmerized by his smoky dark eyes, all the love and passion between them flaring into erotic need.
"No...let's not..." she agreed breathlessly, trailing her fingers down his chest. "Your pregnant, hormonal wife needs your full attention right now..."
