You see there's the thing about weddings; there always has to be a morning after!!

I rolled over the next morning and groaned as my arm hit Charlotte before Derek. I opened my eyes and smiled.

"What are you doing…?" I whispered.

She giggled.

"I want a cuddle…" she answered. "And Uncle Mark is snoring on the couch!"

I pressed one finger to my lip and then to hers.

"Daddy's sleeping," I said quietly. "Did you go downstairs already?"

"Aunty Izzie is making bacon and eggs!" she replied.

I sniffed the air.

"Mmm, I can smell that! So, Uncle Mark is still asleep? Where's Aunty Lex?" I asked her.

"On my floor…" Charlotte whispered to me.

I giggled.

"Let's go and wake her up," I smiled.

We climbed out of bed and walked into Charlotte's room where I came face to face with a very funny scene of throw cushions serving the purpose of a bed for Lexie.

"Lex…" I whispered.

She groaned and rolled over.

"Lexie…" I said, a little louder.

She opened her eyes and smiled.

"Hey…" she said sleepily. She squinted from the light and groaned as she raised her hand to her head. "Oh…"

I laughed.

"Oh, I know that post-tequila feeling all too well Lex," I told her.

She groaned and sat up as she proceeded to climb into Charlotte's bed. Charlotte and I joined her under the covers where Charlotte sat in my lap and Lexie rested her head on my shoulder.

"This is so gross…" she said as she sniffed the air. "Do I smell…?"

"Bacon and eggs, and probably hash browns and tomatoes, mushrooms and lots of fatty hearty hangover food!" I told her.

My cell phone buzzed in my hand, I flicked it open to read a text from Cristina.

- Oh god

- Tequila?

- U should know the feelin

- B&E at mine

- Give me 10

I turned to Charlotte and smiled.

"Aunty Cristina is coming over for breakfast," I told her.

"Cool!" she exclaimed climbing out of the bed.

I turned to Lexie.

"Think you can get up?" I asked.

"I'll try…" she said.

I laughed and gave her a gentle head butt.

"Thanks for being there last night sis," I said.

"Love you," Lexie answered.

"Love you too," I smiled as I got up and walked to the door. "I'm going to wake up Derek for breakfast,"

I walked into the bedroom where Derek was starting to wake.

"Hey you," I smiled.

He opened his eyes.

"Good morning Mrs. Shepherd," he said softly as I climbed onto the bed. He leaned up to kiss me. "Mmm, how are you this morning?"

"Great!" I answered.

"Me too…aside from the hangover," he said with a chuckle.

"I think Lexie is feeling it too!" I told him. "Mark will be too, if he ever wakes up!"

Derek laughed.

"See, this is why I stopped drinking with Mark!" he told me.

I giggled and kissed him again.

"Izzie is making breakfast," I said.

"Smells good," he commented.

"It does, and Cristina will be here soon so I am going downstairs," I said.

He nodded and sat up.

"What time did Charlie come to bed?" he asked.

"I'm not sure," I answered. I peered into the nursery to see Riley's little feet squirming in the cot. "Baby boy is awake!"

I walked into the nursery.

"Hello my little honey," I smiled.

Riley smiled back.

"Come on, let's take you downstairs for some breakfast!" I told him.

"Mmm…let me take him," Derek reached out from the bed and took Riley in his arms. "Hey buddy,"

Riley giggled excitedly as he went into Derek's arms.

"Oh, who is daddy's big boy?"

Riley was growing chubbier as he grew bigger.

"He is a big boy," I commented. "And big boys need their breakfast, so let's go,"

We walked downstairs with Riley in Derek's arms. Izzie looked up from her cooking and smiled at us.

"Well good morning Mr. and Mrs. Shepherd!" she said happily.

"Hey Iz," I smiled.

Lexie immediately walked over and grabbed Riley.

"Hello beautiful boy!" she cooed. "My you're getting big…" she looked over at me with wide eyes. "What are you feeding this boy?"

"It's the rice cereal!" I cried. "He just keeps getting bigger…"

"He's certainly big!" came Cristina's voice as she entered the kitchen.

"Well, look who surfaced!" Derek chuckled.

"Hey, I'm not the one still passed out on your couch, lying in a big pool of his own drool and snoring up a storm that could rival this one!" Cristina pointed at me.

"Well, aren't we cranky this morning," Izzie mused. "It must have been all the tequila…and the vodka…"

"And the champagne…and the bourbon," I added.

"God, she's a fountain of booze!" Derek chuckled.

"Oh, I am not the one sucking back doubles of scotch, whiskey and tequila!" Cristina reminded him.

Derek laughed.

"What can I say, I am a total pro!"

I flashed him a cranky glare.

"Joking honey," he smiled.

A thud sounded in the lounge room and a loud, sore and frustrated groan followed.

"Uncle Mark!" Charlotte squealed excitedly. She ran in and jumped on Mark, who was now sprawled awkwardly across the floor.

"Oh, Charlie babe, Uncle Mark has a very sore head…" he groaned. "Go and cuddle your dad!"

I walked in and laughed.

"Good morning," I chuckled.

Mark flared a tired and steely glare.

"Hmm…" he said with a gnarly groan.

"Breakfast!" I told him.

We entered the kitchen to find an array of breakfast dishes spread out across the table where everyone was beginning to eat their food.

"Well lookit here…it's the night of the living whore!" Izzie commented.

The entire table burst into fits of laughter.

"Mommy, what's a whore?" Charlotte asked curiously.

That caused another fit of giggles amongst the table and my eyes darted across to Izzie as I stared at her furiously.

"Izzie!" I cried. "You wanna take the reins and explain what a whore is to your five year old niece?"

Izzie giggled and put her arms around Charlotte.

"Well, it's a very, very naughty word that Aunty Izzie should not have been using, but basically it means that Uncle Mark drank too much coke is not feeling very well!" she explained to a wide eyed Charlotte.

I sat down at the table and stared across at Cristina who was resting her head in her hands with a very painful gaze.

"Cristina…would you like some more coffee?" I asked with a chuckle.

Cristina shook her head.

"Oh god, I can't even think about that!" she groaned. She eyed the plate of bacon and eggs and pushed them to the side. "Ugh, I feel ill…"

"You know where the bathroom is…" I smiled sarcastically.

"Shut up!" Cristina hissed.

Charlotte walked over and sat on Cristina's lap and wrapped her arms around her.

Cristina's eyes darted up to me and gave me a helpless look.

"Since when do I cuddle?" she whispered.

"Since you told her last night that she was your favourite niece," I laughed.

"No," she shook her head. "Cristina does not have favourites!" it was also unlike Cristina to talk in third person.

"Drunk Cristina does!" I told her.

Cristina patted Charlotte's back and smiled as sincerely as she could.

"Kid, what did I say to you last night?" she asked.

"That I was your favourite niece!" Charlotte beamed.

Cristina groaned.

"And you also said something about Barbie and Bambi…Aunty Cristina, how do you know Barbie and Bambi?" Charlotte asked excitedly.

Everyone at the table knew the Cristina name substitutions and erupted in giggles as Cristina tried to explain herself.

"Um…I was speaking to them on the phone and they're both really busy in Los Angeles at the moment!" she covered her tracks.

Charlotte shrugged.

The phone rang and I reached over to answer it.

"Hello?"

"Grey!" came Bailey's voice. "We need everyone in here now!"

I stopped and frowned.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"There was a chemical explosion in the high school science lab and I've got five dead and twenty five injured fifteen year olds!" Bailey said frantically.

Everyone's pagers started beeping.

"Of course, we'll be right there," I told her breathlessly. I wasn't sure what we meant, but everyone was one step ahead of me.

Yes, Mer will be joining them at the hospital! What happens, i can't tell you!!