Going back to school was one of the hardest things Meredith had to do. She wanted to spend all her days with Grace but she knew it wasn't feasible anymore; Grace was 5 months old and coming into her own and Meredith had med school to conquer. Sighing as she woke up at 6 am, she spent her sweet time with Grace in the nursery, quietly nursing her and spending as much time with her as she possibly could before she and Derek had to leave for class.
Throwing on leggings and a sweater she pulled up her hair in a ponytail, pouring herself a huge mug of coffee and stirring in her usual cream and sugar and Derek got ready in the bedroom. Carolyn had moved in for spring semester and was more than happy to spend her days with her youngest granddaughter. It broke Meredith's heart to spend her days away from Grace, but she knew in three years when she was a doctor it will have been worth it. She just hated it now as she rushed around the house, tossing her textbooks into her messenger bag and eating a granola bar, pouting at Gracie's sweet baby face.
"Hey princess," she smiled as she shrugged into her heavy coat and scarf, Carolyn holding her out to Mer, who all too eagerly took her.
"You're going to spend today with Nana. You're gonna spend all your weeks with Nana, and mama and daddy will be home for dinner, okay? And it's because we're going to be kick ass surgeons someday like your aunts," she smiled, cradling her daughter and hugging her close before passing her back to Carolyn. Derek was grabbing his coat and tugging Meredith away now.
"Mer, come on, we knew this was coming," he said softly, and Meredith pouted as they walked out the front door into the freezing cold.
Class was class; it was challenging but not too crazy, and the pair were back home by 3 PM. Grace was napping but Carolyn had cleaned and Meredith gratefully hugged her as she flopped into the desk chair and started homework for Wednesday – they had Fridays off luckily.
"Was she good? Did she cry a lot?" Meredith asked, a naturally worried mom, and Carolyn laughed.
"She was perfect, Meredith. She's a good baby, she's charming and rarely cries," she smiled, and a calm feeling washed over her as she peeked at the baby monitor. Grace was sound asleep in her crib, the mobile still playing over her head and she had to look away, getting deep into her classwork for the night. She only stopped with the complicated work when Carolyn announced it was dinner and she came up for air.
Dinner was spaghetti, something easy to make when chasing after a baby all day, and after her own long day, Meredith scooped her up from the high chair to give her a bath, all smiles.
"Hey baby girl, I missed you all day," she cooed as Grace splashed in the water, Meredith gently washing her. She had missed her while she was in her classes and wished it could be different, but she was already a semester behind and now would be a year behind with her internship. Addison and Mark had promised her and Derek they'd stay behind a year and wait for them, which she loved. She loved their best friends to death. Hearing footsteps in the hall, she looked up to see Derek standing in the doorway and she smiled, lifting Grace out of the bath and wrapping her in a soft towel and drying her off.
"You want daddy to get you dressed?" she smiled, passing her off to Derek who looked happy beyond belief. She knew how happy he was to be a dad and how much he loved Grace. He carried her off to her nursery, still wrapped in her towel, gently drying her black curls on the way.
"Hey princess, I missed you all day," he cooed, as Meredith slowly gravitated towards the nursery. On the way she stopped in their bedroom, changing into black yogas and her favorite Dartmouth shirt before heading into the nursery. Grace was dressed in a fuzzy pink sleeper covered in lambs, a smile on her face as Derek snuggled her close. She really was the happiest baby ever, rival to Nancy's kids.
Taking her from Derek she sunk into the rocker to feed her, Derek falling into place at her feet with Luna crawling onto his lap, Meredith letting her head fall back as Grace fed herself to sleep. She didn't realize it but she fell asleep too, letting the weight of the baby in her arms drift her off to sleep, Derek and Luna falling asleep at her feet. Carolyn snuck in and took a picture of the tired family, before gently waking them up.
"Mer, get in bed, I'll tuck her in her crib," she said, and Meredith stretching lightly, shaking Derek lightly.
"Der, come on," she said, as he stood up and scooped her up in his arms, kissing her forehead lightly as they peeked in on Grace.
"She's perfect," Meredith whispered for the 1000th time as he carried her to bed, laying her down among the pillows and fluffy blankets. She grabbed a pillow and curled herself around it as Derek pulled her close, turning off the light.
The semester was hard and at times Meredith wanted to give up – she was lucky she had both Derek and Carolyn there for her, and Grace for when she needed to play with someone and smile. Every day was different with Grace and she was growing like crazy. By June, when school was over and they were packing up to move back down to NYC for the summer, Grace was standing on her own and moving around the furniture, getting into everything.
"Looks like somebody has to baby-proof the apartment," Carolyn teased Meredith as she packed up a box of clothes Grace had grown out of. Sighing, she looked down at her daughter, who wasn't so tiny anymore, with a smile.
"Hmmm, you think, Gracie-bug?" she grinned, Grace showing her toothy grin and waving her hand in the air. Derek came back in the house from loading some things in one of the cars and scooped up his daughter, her laughter echoing against the walls of the living room as Meredith continued to sort through what clothes to leave behind and what to bring with them for the summer. She would be one soon and was growing like crazy.
"Dada!" she squealed out, yanking fistfuls of Derek's hair and Meredith couldn't help but laugh as Derek pried his hair out of his daughters tiny fists, laughing along with her.
"She might be small but she has a really strong grip," he laughed, flipping her upside down for a moment before bringing her back into his arms as she squealed again. Meredith finished her task and grabbed the clothes she still fit in, packing them into a suitcase before closing it and putting it by the door before moving to Derek.
"You ready for a summer in the city with Mark and Addie?" she smiled. She was more than ready to have time with Addison and let Amelia or Lizzie watch Grace. She felt guilty, wanting to spend time with her friends and sisters, but she factored in the late nights she'd spent with her schoolwork, the snow days she'd spend with Grace, and all the weekends she'd spend with her, and concluded she needed time with actual adults her age. Amelia was going into her junior year at Harvard and was turning 21 in the fall, and suddenly it struck her that she had been a member of this family for seven years. As she dragged her own things out of the bedroom she must've looked dazed, because Derek caught her by the arm.
"Are you okay?" he asked, watching Grace crawl around the room and tug on Luna, who, to her credit, was no longer phased by her, the two having grown up together.
"It just hit me that I've been part of your family for seven years," she said. She had been a lost teenager of eighteen, and now she was an adult of 25, her birthday having just passed a few weeks ago. He couldn't help but smile and pull her close, dropping a kiss on her mouth.
"And my life has been a million times better for those seven years," he promised her, snaking an arm around her waist and pulling her closer. Carolyn had already left for New York, which left just their tiny little family with a few more things to put in the car and a long drive into the city.
"And mine as well," she grinned, locking him in another kiss before she went to grab Grace.
"Come on sweetie, we're getting in the car. I get you and daddy gets Luna," she smirked, setting the baby on her hip. She was dressed simply, in a clingy navy dress, looking like she'd never had a baby in the first place, and it made Derek smile. She looked just like the girl he'd met that August day – fresh and carefree – but Grace on her hip rounded out the look. She caught him staring at her and she tilted her head.
"What?" she asked, tearing Grace's hands away from her hair and plopping a kiss on her forehead.
"Nothing. You're just the most beautiful woman in the entire world," he smiled, watching her blush as she grabbed her car keys and headed outside into the sunshine.
"Liar," she smirked, green eyes shining as her and Grace's giggles mixed together.
So this chapter had a lot of Grace in it and I'd like feedback on that! Do we want a lot of Grace mixed in with MerDer or do we want more MerDer and less Grace? Let me know because I can absolutely accommodate everything!
Woohoo, school's out! Dean's list for me :P Hope everyone who's out of school already did great! I got a new computer which is so so so much faster which means faster updates because Word for Mac isn't freezing all the time! Love the new computer.
I don't go back to school full time until August 31st so I'll be updating frequently all summer! My goal is to get every story to 100 chapters by then but I don't think I'll be able to haha. Anyway read and review please!