"Good morning, mom," Derek cheerfully answered to his mother. "You're very early."

"Like you don't know me," Carolyn chuckled. "Am I disturbing?"

"Not really," Derek answered. "We're preparing the breakfast and Morgan has this weird mood swings this morning."

"What do you mean?" Carolyn sounded a little worried.

"She first squeals and claps her hands and then she starts crying."

"Why does she cry?"

"Because Meredith had to left earlier for work and now because I left the kitchen to answer the phone."

"Oh Derek," Carolyn laughed. "She just feels like she doesn't spend enough time with you two. If she squeals now, it means that her teething is getting better."

"It's much better," Derek answered.

"That's good. And please spare the poor baby of lectures and critics because of the crying. You were much worse than her when you were little," Carolyn answered with a chuckle. "All the teachers from your kindergarten knew when I was dropping you there."

"I never cried after you and dad," Derek groaned.

"How do you know? Can you remember?" she asked knowingly.

Derek rolled his eyes. "Ok, so I was the worst baby."

"Now don't be so harsh," Carolyn replied teasingly. "Mark came back from Seattle," she added, not talking in a more serious tone.

Derek sighed and nodded. "He did." He hadn't had the chance to tell his mother about how Mark's visit to Seattle went. "He met Morgan and he even had the chance to hold her. Morgan also had the opportunity of throwing up on him."

Carolyn chuckled, but Derek could tell that she had found that information slightly funny. "He didn't come to visit me and he didn't want to tell me anything on the phone when I called him."

"I guess that says everything about our future," Derek pointed out.

"It does. I am very happy for your new life there, Derek. Mark… he's… He is no longer Morgan's father."

"He never was," Derek replied.

"He never was," his mother agreed.

Derek took a deep breath, now ready to tell his mother the big news. "Meredith and I decided to make our relationship official. I proposed and she said yes."

"Oh," Carolyn gasped and Derek's couldn't tell if that was a gasp of disappointment or joy. "I am happy she agreed. Congratulations, Derek."

Derek sighed with a relief and the smile returned on his face. "Thank you. We didn't set a date yet and there won't be a wedding very soon, but we took this first step."

"That's good. You still have a lot to talk about. Like adopting Morgan. You want to adopt her, don't you?"

"I do and I know. We'll talk about everything. I proposed her last night so we didn't have much time to discuss the future. We discussed though about moving in a new house. One of our own."

"You could build one on that land you have," Carolyn suggested.

Derek chuckled. "That is the plan."

"Now that's the good news to start the day with," Carolyn laughed. "You need to bring Meredith and Morgan to visit us and meet your family. Bring her soon. She's old enough now to travel. We could go to Hamptons to beach. She hasn't had her first bath in the ocean yet, has she?"

"Who?" Derek laughed. "Meredith or Morgan?"

"Morgan, you silly," his mother started laughing too.

"Now take it easier with this because we have jobs here."

"I am sure you can take a weekend off and pay us a short visit," Carolyn wasn't going to drop the subject until she didn't get a promise. "Your sisters are anxious to meet Meredith and Morgan."

"Do they know about Mark?"

"No and I am still thinking if they should know or not," she answered.

"They shouldn't. What's the point? Mark even refused to take a picture of Morgan with him. Besides, they will start with the critics and scenarios."

"Ok, ok. I wasn't going to tell them myself anyway. How is everything else going there? How's Claudia?"

As Carolyn asked that, Derek heard Morgan crying in the kitchen. "Claudia is fine. Probably struggling to feed Morgan. Morgan's crying so I'd better go and check on her."

"Ok. I will try and call Meredith now," Carolyn stated.

"Mom."

"A quick congratulatory call. If she can talk."

Derek shook his head, but he was less worried now. His mother seemed to like and accept Meredith and she would know what to tell her without making Meredith feel embarrassed. "Don't tell her anything about the visit. I will talk to her first."

"Ok. Have a nice day, Derek."

"So do you. Goodbye, mom."

"Goodbye, Derek."

With that, Derek hung up and hurried back to kitchen to see what the problem was now. Morgan was getting hungry and impatient to eat something. Derek let Claudia feed her while he finally finished their breakfast.

--------

Later that day, Meredith finished the chart she was writing. She shut it and took a moment of breathing, leaning over the counter at the nurses' station. Her ring caught her attention and she slowly started playing with it around the finger.

"Did you know that Mama asked me to return the ring?" Cristina said dryly as she dropped her chart on the counter. She took Meredith's left hand to give a better look at ring. She gave a short look only before she let go of her hand. "Congratulations," she said, non-sarcastically this time, and smiled at Meredith.

"Thanks," Meredith answered, unsure. "Are you ok with this?"

Cristina shrugged, ready to be herself again. "I will have to find new obsession now that Dr. McDreamy is taken."

Meredith smiled, relieved to see that Cristina wasn't much disturbed by her engagement. It was her after all that talked Cristina out of her wedding.

"I want to see it too!"

Cristina and Meredith turned as they heard Izzie approaching. Without permission, she grabbed Meredith's hand, beaming. "Fabulous. This looks so beautiful. It's simple, but yet elegant and expensive." She sighed, having a huge smile on her face. "I envy you. I really do. You have such a perfect family now."

"Hey, why don't we go out and have a drink tonight?" Cristina suggested. "I know you have a baby, but you can still get free a couple of hours to have a drink," she said to Meredith.

"Uh…" Meredith smiled apologetically. "I am not sure I can. I think Derek said something about having dinner with a friend. But I don't know. I will ask him. It's been long since I last went out."

"I definitely can't," Izzie grinned at them. "Alex is taking me out tonight."

Meredith and Cristina looked surprised at her. "But we don't like Alex Karev," Cristina pointed out.

Izzie let out a chuckle. "You two don't like him now, but I do. He is a very nice, sensitive guy, actually. Funny too. You should reconsider your opinion about him. He deserves a chance. Anyway," she added and turned to Meredith, "Do you need help with the wedding? I'd be more than happy to help you."

"Not just yet," Meredith apologized.

"So you're not hurrying?" Izzie asked, a little disappointed.

"I have confidence. I am not scared," Meredith stated.

Izzie nodded, impressed. "That's good then. Let me know when you're ready to start planning it. I have to go finish my work now," she smirked at them and then sprinted down the hall.

"This makes me consider keeping the wedding date secret," Meredith watched with uncertainty Izzie's excitement toward her wedding.

As she was waiting for approval from Cristina and as Cristina was late with it, Meredith looked at her friend. She saw her staring blankly ahead, with a look that Meredith had never seen at her. Depressed.

"I will talk to Derek and tell him I can't go with him to this dinner," Meredith said.

Cristina rolled her eyes, unimpressed with Meredith's help. "Me and my tequila will do just fine. I was engaged once, so I don't envy you," she stated. She turned on her heels and walked away, absent-minded, passing past Derek and not answering to his salute.

"What's wrong with her?" he asked as he stopped by the nurses' station.

"She's depressed, I think," Meredith answered with a sigh. "Derek, I can't come with you tonight at that dinner. I hope it's not something important."

Derek seemed to have other things on his mind, so he didn't pay much attention to what Meredith was saying. "Yeah, ok," he answered, distracted, hurrying to tell her what he had on his mind. "I have two questions; simple questions. I need answers."

"Ok," Meredith nodded, expecting some medical related questions.

"Are you ok with me, being Morgan's father?" he asked. Meredith gave him a puzzled look as that was a topic they had talked about frequently. "I'll rephrase that," he said. "Is it ok if … uh…" he sighed, frustrated. "I don't know how to say this. I want to be Daddy and not Derek anymore. You and me should be Mommy and Daddy and not Mommy and Derek."

Meredith was a little confused at first, but she finally understood what he was rambling about. "I am ok with it. But I thought we cleared this up already."

"We did?" Derek asked, confused. Meredith nodded firmly. "Oh. Ok," he answered, still unsure. "So I can talk to Morgan like… adding 'Daddy' at the end of a sentence when I talk to her… right?"

Meredith nodded her head, still staring at him as if he was suffering of amnesia. "You proposed to me last night."

"I did," it was now Derek's turn to be confused.

"Say that again," Meredith asked.

"I did," Derek nodded.

"Oh," Meredith nodded. "I thought that was a rhetoric question. I am ok with whatever you want to ask me."

"Good," Derek smiled with relief. "Now there's one last question."

"Ok," Meredith was waiting.

"After we get married- whenever that will happen- I can adopt Morgan, right?" he asked.

Meredith shook her head, disappointed. "We talked about this as well. What's going on, Derek? Are you backing out already?"

"What? No. I just wanted to be sure."

Meredith shook her head again, disappointed with the lack of trust he was showing. "Let me say it this way," she told him. "If I die or something happens to me and I can't take care of Morgan anymore, I would want you to raise Morgan. I wouldn't choose my mom or anyone else. We might get divorced at some point. You never know. I am sure you'd still be Morgan's father. I trust you. Because it's kind of sucks not to have a Daddy."

"I am sorry," Derek apologized sincerely. "It's just that… you have mood swings. Just like Morgan."

"I do not," Meredith disagreed and Derek gave her a known look. "Rarely and not this drastic," she admitted. "You're overreacting."

"Maybe I am," Derek chuckled. He put his arm around her waist and pressed his lips against her temple. "Now about dinner… I wanted you to come and I wanted to ask you to have the dinner to our house. Or your mom's house," he added with an odd chuckle. "We need to fix this soon," he muttered. "Anyway… that's ok if you can't. I have an old friend from the med school visiting Seattle for a consult and I wanted to introduce you to him."

"How old is he?" Meredith asked him, suddenly interested.

"My age," Derek answered, confused. "Why?"

"Is he married?" she asked.

"No," he answered.

"Committed?" she asked then.

Derek narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "I am better looking than him. Believe me."

Meredith giggled. "I am not interested in him."

"You sound like you are," he pointed out.

"Not for me," she cleared up the misunderstanding. "Is he committed?"

"I don't know, but what's with all these questions?" Derek insisted.

"Is he alone in Seattle?" Meredith continued.

"Meredith," Derek replied with a groan.

"Just answer,"

"I think he is," he answered, frustrated.

"Then find out and if he is, we can have dinner at our house… my mother's house," she sighed. "Our house for now. But you are going to cook."

"Can I know what this interrogatory was about?"

"Cristina. She's single and I think she's also depressed. She needs to spend time with people. Meet people. Date people. Preferably men."

"I am not sure," Derek disagreed. "Owen might not like her."

"You don't know that. He's also a doctor?"

"Trauma doctor, yes," Derek nodded.

"Invite him and I will invite Cristina."

Derek was still not sure with Meredith's plan. "She's single because of us," she reminded him.

"Because of you," Derek disagreed. "You took her from the wedding, while I was waiting for her together with the groom."

"Still… I feel sorry for her," Meredith insisted.

"Ok," Derek finally gave in. "But I am not sure that he's not committed. We haven't talked in a while."

"It doesn't matter," Meredith shrugged. "Oh and your mom called me this morning."

"I told her not to," Derek sighed.

"Why?" she asked him, looking as if she didn't like what he was thinking. "She wanted to congratulate me."

"Did she tell you something about a visit?"

"She mentioned something, but I was in a hurry so she couldn't tell me what was about. Why? Who's visiting?"

Right in that moment, Derek's pager went off. "We'll talk later about this," he gave her a quick kisses before he hurried to answer the call.