A/N: back to the present time. Derek pov. Italics are flashbacks. This should explain more of the closeness between halle and her dad.

Still don't own anything.

Love the reviews 

Seattle 2032

The first thing I realize when I wake up is that I'm alone. I reach over and grab Mer's pillow, inhaling her scent. Three knocks and then the door opening pause my recollection of last nights fond memories.

"Did you not come home drunk at some ungodly hour last night, wait, no, let me rephrase that, this morning?" I ask her as she walks in the room.

"Maybe..." She says, her voice trailing off and a smirk crossing her face.

"How are you awake right now? And better yet, how are you not hungover?"

"I'm young...I can do that." She says, grabbing a pair of socks out of the laundry basket. "Time to get up," she tells me, tossing the socks and hitting me square in the face.

"You can't be serious."

"Oh but I am...come on, three miles. Doctor's orders."

"I am a doctor," I tell her, pulling the covers tighter around me. "And I order some sleep for myself."

"Ok then, mom's orders. You don't want to question that do you?" She asks, giving me that smirk again.

"Speaking of," I ask, "Where is she?"

"Early surgery."

"What time is it?"

"7:30. She left two hours ago."

"And you were up at 5?" I ask her, knowing that she may be many things, but a morning person isn't one of them.

"Umm..."

"Will had to leave?" I finish for her, knowing she's embarassed I know he was here.

"Yeah, had to go pick relatives up or something with his mom." she says, her voice trailing off and turning a light shade of pink.

"It's ok," I tell her, "you're 25, you're getting married in a few days, God Halle, you've grown up."

Laying in Mer's bed, listening to the rain, it all still seems surreal. It's been three days since Halle and I got back to Seattle, and I still can't believe it. I can't believe I'm back in Seattle, I can't believe I'm a father, most off all, I can't believe that Meredith is back in my life. It's like I have to keep touching her to believe she's really there, I think to myself as I pull her sleeping form closer to me, dropping a kiss on her forehead. She whimpered slightly in her sleep before settling against my chest. I reach down and move a stray lock of hair out of her face and place it behind her ear. As I do, her eyes flutter open.

"Hi." She whispered.

"Hi," I say, placing a soft kiss on her lips. "Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you."

"It's ok," She told me, cuddling into my side. "I missed you."

"I missed you too." I tell her, squeezing her against me. I hear her take a sharp breath, "Sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you. It's just...I can't believe you're laying here with me. I'm afraid that if I let go, you'll be gone."

"Not going anywhere..." She says sleepily.

"Go back to sleep, Mer," I whisper as lightening flashes and thunder crashes outside. I chuckle when she doesn't flinch.

"What?" She asks.

"You...you didn't flinch. I just remember nights in the trailer, before...before everything, how you'd curl into me, and hold on for dear life."

"I grew up. You'll see why in...five...four..." the sound of thunder interrupts her counting. "Three...two..."

"Mommy!" We hear Halle scream from the room next door.

"Not a fan," I question as Mer moves to get out of bed?

"Petrified."

"Stay." I tell her, climbing out of bed, "I'll get her."

"You're going to have to bring her in here. I don't think she'll calm down unless I'm with her."

"You worry too much," I tell her, leaving the room and walking toward my daughter's room.

"Hey baby girl," I say, walking through her door and over to her bed. I can see her huddled form, shuddering with sobs under the blankets. "Hey, hey," I say to her softly, running a hand through her dark hair.

"Mommy?" she asks through her tears, before another clap of thunder sends her into my arms.

"Sure baby, I'll take you to her," I say as her arms latch around my neck.

"I...I..."

"Don't like the thunder." I finish for her, worried that she's going to hyperventilate again, "ok baby, let's go see your mom." I tell her, lifting her off the bed. "But do one thing for me," I say, looking into her blue eyes. She doesn't respond, just meets my gaze and nods her head. "Breathe for me. In and out, slowly, just like the hotel."

"Ok dad," she says softly, before burying her face in my chest as the thunder claps again.

I've been called dad for a few weeks now, and really, I don't think I could ask for a better name. I can feel Halle's raspy breath as I carry her down the hall, "Mommy..." she whimpers slightly as we enter Mer's room.

"We're here," I tell her, laying her on the bed. Noting the softened look Mer gives her small daughter as she sits up and opens her arms. I don't think I've ever seen Meredith look more beautiful than in that moment.

"Mom..." Halle said as she crawled into Mer's embrace.

"Oh, sweetie..." She says, planting a kiss on Halle's head. "It's ok, you're ok. Mommy's here. Daddy's here too," she says, motioning for me to get back into bed. I sit back down on the bed, and watch in awe as Mer calms Halle down, despite the storm raging outside.

I crawl back under the covers, and settle Meredith's back against my chest. I rub soothing circles on her back as she does the same to Halle, who she has settled on the other side of her. Once I'm sure they're both sleeping, I lay my arm protectively over both of them. I smile as I realize how complete my life has become in a matter of weeks.

Just as I'm about to drift off, I hear Meredith's whisper, "I love you, Derek." At that point, I know my life is complete.

"It seems that I have," she responds, "but you still need to get up. Come on, it will be like old times." She says, moving closer.

"Ok, ok," I tell her, sitting up, "I'll get up, but you go get ready. I'll meet you downstairs in five."

"I am ready." She says.

"You don't have shoes on. So unless you have a date with the ER later..."

It's then that she gets my hint, "Ahhh...right. I should have known...well, I think I did know...wait," she says, putting her hand up, "I'm not going to analyze." She tells me as she leaves and pulls the door shut behind her.

Once the door closes, I get out of bed, keeping the sheet firmly wrapped around me, just incase anyone else wants to barge in. As I dig out my running clothes, I think back to last night and how I wouldn't have gotten through it, or anything else without Mer. God, I miss her already. Damn early surgery, I was looking forward to waking up with her...and spending the morning with her...

"Dad!" Halle's voice from downstairs jarrs me from my thoughts and brings me back to reality. And really, I don't mind. Mer...well...I'll pick up with where we left off later, right now, I'll spend sometime with my baby girl. Fully dressed, I sit back down on the bed to lace up my shoes.

"Dad!" Halle calls again, this time from outside the door.

"You can come in. I'm just putting on shoes."

I watch the doornob turn and she comes in and sits down next to me. "I thought you stood me up."

"Who me? Never. I was...I was just thinking."

"About how this all started."

"Yeah...and how much I love you guys. And how I came so close to losing all of it."

Complete Renal Failure. I never realized how much three words can change your life, until now. God knows I've said those words...countless times. But I've never been on the receiving end, until now. And...I can't even describe...it's different when it's you. It's been three days, and I'm still not sure that it has completely sunken in yet. I'm not so sure it ever will.

As I sit on the couch, leaning against Mer, watching my girls lay under the Christmas tree, I can't help but wonder if this is the last time I'll see this. I'd heard the doctor loud and clear. I needed a transplant to survive. And my blood type, rare as they come. So rare that neither Meredith nor my sisters matched. Hannah had gotten last week, but was also not a match. Not that I'd let her go through with the surgery, not during her senior year of high school. Halle had gotten tested before she left Boston, not that I'd let her go under the knife either, not a year into college. If anything ever happened, I'd never forgive myself.

Meredith runs her fingers through my hair, and a smile crosses my face, God, I love her so much. I hear crinkling of wrapping paper, and my attention turns to my girls, laughing as Mozart gets tangled in our mess of paper from earlier. It's great to have them under one roof again, Halle, home from her first year of college, after graduating early, as Valedictorian. And Hannah, graduating this May, and I'd be surprised if she wasn't Valedictorian as well. I'm so proud of them...and I can't stop thinking about how much of their lives I'm going to miss, Weddings, graduations, babies, the list is endless.

"Whatcha thinking about?" Mer asks me. I can't formulate a response, I just sigh, and pick up her hand, bring it to my lips and kiss it.

"No. It's Christmas Eve, you're not allowed to be sad tonight. Forget the world." She tells me. She has been amazing. Somehow, despite everything, we're having Christmas. In between surgeries and dialysis and naps and kids, she managed to pull Christmas together as if nothing was wrong.

"I love you." I say to her.

"I love you too," she says back, kissing the back of my neck.

"Ewww..." I hear Hannah say.

"Ewww..." I hear Halle agree.

The tears get harder to hold in at this point. It's moments like this I'm going to miss. The simple stuff, my teenage daughters thinking about their parents having sex and finding it gross...making love to Mer. I take a deep breath and swallow, determined to keep the tears in until I can shed them in private.

"Ok. I was...I was going to wait." Halle begins, getting up, "but...but I think we all need this now." I'm unsure of what she's talking about, we exchanged our Christmas Eve presents already, so I'm interested to know what she's fishing out from under the tree. She comes over to the couch and I sit up off of Mer, making room for her. "Dad," she says, "this...this is for you." She hands me a small box, and I'd swear there were tears in her eyes.

I look at her and then at my wife, who nods for me to open the box. As I do, I feel Meredith's hand on my knee and Halle's hand on my opposite shoulder. I pull the paper off the box and open it, unfolding the tissue inside, revealing a kidney bean.

"What..." I ask her, having a pretty good idea of where this is going.

"It's...it's a kidney. Well, more specifically, my kidney. I...I got tested before I left Boston. And...and you gave me your crazy blood type," she says, pulling me into a hug.

"Oh...baby...I...I..." I can't find words to say to her as the tears I had tried so desperately to hold in were now falling down my cheeks. "I can't ask you to do that." I told her.

"You didn't. You saved my life last year." She said, tearing up as well. "The least I can do is return the favor."

"But...but what about college?" I ask her.

"I'm a year ahead already. And I'm going to take summer classes at UW. I'll be fine. I can make up school. But...but I can't get a new dad. And...and I'm not ready for you to go yet. You need to walk me down the aisle and I need to make you a grandpa and you need to watch me become a doctor."

"Oh Halle," I say, pulling her crying form into me, sharing her tears. Soon Mer and Hannah have joined us in a family hug. We sat there, watching Christmas Eve become Christmas Day, loving each other and knowing that we'd get through this, together.

"But you didn't" She says, standing up and outstretching her arm to help me up. I take her hand and let her lead me out of the room, down the stairs, and out the door.

As we run, I notice that neither one of us has fallen out of fitness. We ran everyday that summer she was home after the transplant, and then when she was home for holidays, and the times that we couldn't, we'd check in on the phone. But, I have to say, it goes much quicker when we're together.

"You know," she says as we turn up our street, "running is much more fun when we do it together."

"I'd have to agree." I respond. "Where's Hannah this morning?" I ask as the house comes back into view.

"Ummm..."

"Halle."

"She...well...we..."

"Halle, you're rambling." I tell her.

"Keith surprised her last night at the bar. Apparently his parents are in town for a consult. And he tagged along so he could see Hannah...and apparently his parents want to have dinner with us."

"What?" I ask, pretty sure I heard the last part, but not wanting to believe it.

"His parents want to have dinner with us." She repeats as we slow to a walk once we reach the driveway.

As we walk towards the house, I run a hand through my sweaty hair...welcome to hell, I think to myself.