Meredith and Derek were somehow still asleep when there was a knock on the door to her hospital room. They'd had a long night with Leila, who overall was a good newborn, fussing only a few times and mainly only when she wanted food or needed a diaper change. Stirring in her hospital bed, Meredith slowly opened her eyes and groaned a bit – at least the knocking didn't wake up the baby or Derek.
"Come in," she said softly, and in a moment Amelia was slipping into the room. She had a slight moment of déjà vu because to when Ellis was born over a year ago but she smiled, raising the back of the bed so she could sit up and she smiled sleepily.
"Hey," she said to her sister, rubbing at her eyes, and Amelia smiled back at her, eager to see her new niece.
"Hey, you look better than last time," she smirked, and Meredith had to contain a laugh. Last time she'd had a baby she had lost half her blood volume and almost bled out on her kitchen floor.
"Hey that's not fair," Meredith laughed with a roll of her eyes.
"It went perfect, Addison is proud. Textbook c-section for once," she smiled, before reaching over to the bassinet and picking up the baby.
"You should probably sit down. Not because you're going to drop her but just. Sit down," she said with a smile, cradling her sleeping newborn and looking down at her with a smile. Amelia quirked an eyebrow but dragged a chair over and sat down on the other side of the bed. Meredith gently passed her to Amelia, who smiled down at the newborn. Mer knew Amelia longed for a baby, especially after what she went through with her own son so many years ago.
"Her name is Leila," Mer said quietly, before looking over at her.
"Leila Amelia Shepherd," she said, looking towards Amelia whose eyes were rapidly filling with tears as she drank in her sweet baby smell, the way she opened and closed her eyes, her tiny fists that broke free of her swaddled blanket.
"You named her after me?" she said tearfully, taking off her cap and examining the dark curls that covered her head, the trademark Shepherd curls, and she pulled her closer, kissing her soft forehead. Meredith smiled and touched her shoulder.
"Of course I did. She's a fighter. She's a Shepherd. She looks just like you. And even though you're a pain in the ass, I love you dearly, and Derek loved it right away," she smiled, Amelia crying openly now as she gazed down at Leila.
"We want you to be her godmother too, she said softly. Maggie was Ellis's godmother, and she felt it was time that Amelia have more responsibility with the kids.
"Really?" she said, sounding surprised. She of no care in the world, of no responsibility, running around screwing everything up, nicknamed Hurricane Amelia, was suddenly responsible for a little girl should anything happen to Meredith and Derek.
"Really. You and Owen. We talked about it and we want it to be you two," she smiled, Amelia looking up at her, still teary-eyed.
"Oh Mer, you have no idea how much this means to me," she said, looking down at her niece's sweet face. She was all Shepherd, with dark curls and blue eyes, seemingly sleeping forever.
"I do," said Derek, waking up on the other side of the bed, smoothing down Meredith's hair and kissing her forehead.
"Good morning, beautiful. And good morning, Amy," he said, walking over to the other side of the bed and hugging his sister, gazing down at his daughter.
"Hello Miss Leila," he grinned, stealing her from Amelia and snuggling her into his arms. She looked even tinier in his arms; she was only 6 pounds 4 ounces, 18 inches long, and Derek managed to make her look smaller.
"Careful!" Meredith chided, but she laughed just the same.
"Oh Mer, you say that with all of them, I'm not going to break her," he grinned, settling back down in his chair for from daddy-daughter time, and Meredith leaned back in the bed, suddenly exhausted again.
"I can go if you guys want, I was just stopping in on my way to work," Amelia said with a smile. Meredith could tell she was just emotional that they named Leila after her, essentially, and Meredith grabbed her hand, reaching up to hug her.
"You're going to be the best aunt to her, you're the best aunt to all your nieces and nephews," she grinned. Amelia smiled back before leaving the room, on her way to the lounge to change for surgery.
Meredith woke up a few hours later to another knock at the door but this time Derek answered it; she couldn't help but smile as the three older kids rushed in the room with Maggie, who looked frazzled.
"Oh my god, Mer, I don't know how you two do it! Three kids and they all want to do something different and then I have to worry about screwing them up all the time and it's just crazy!" she said, collapsing into a chair as Zola and Bailey climbed onto the bed, and Derek put Ellis on the bed, who crawled up next to Mer.
"Mama!" she cried out, and Meredith kissed her blonde curls.
"Hey baby girl," she smiled, as Derek settled Leila in her arms.
"You all have to be really really careful but look, this is your new baby sister," she smiled. Zola, at 7, was a seasoned pro with new baby siblings and she smiled at Leila, touching her hand.
"Mama she looks just like daddy," she declared, and Meredith had to laugh; it was true. Leila was all Derek, from her black curls to her blue eyes, right down to her facial features. Oh well, Bailey and Ellis looked exactly like she did, it was bound to happen.
"Mommy, is she coming home to live with us? I have enough sisters, yuck!" Bailey said, hardly glancing at her, and Derek picked him up with a laugh.
"Yes she is coming to live with us, sorry Bails. But being the only boy is fun! I'm the only boy with lots of sisters, and you have Henry to play with all the time," he smiled, ruffling his son's hair.
"Baby," Ellis said proudly, hovering over Leila. She knew what a baby was from being around Addison's new daughter and Meredith smiled, giving her a kiss.
"Yes Ellie, baby. She's going to come home with us in a few days and then in a year you'll have a sister you can play with," she smiled. Ellie kissed Leila on the forehead which Meredith thought was adorable and Mer sat back in the bed, looking to Maggie.
"Mags, do you want to hold her?" she asked, and Maggie looked up from her phone with a smile.
"Of course I do," she said, and Meredith gently passed her the baby before Zola and Ellie snuggled up to her. They both chose a side and Meredith cuddled up to them, rubbing their backs gently, loving that she could just be a mom in this moment without any other strings attached. Derek had Bailey and he was gently talking to him about being a big brother to his little sisters, she was snuggling her older girls, and one of her sisters was snuggling the newest member of the family. Closing her eyes, she took a few deep breaths, hardly daring to believe that this perfection was her life.
So I love where this story is going and wanted to update again! I look back and can't believe I was blocked all those times!
I just wanted to say I'm debating taking down anon reviews because of a quite nasty one I received last night. I am well aware that as a writer, I put myself out there by publishing my things, but it's not okay to bully me behind a computer screen because you think you can get away with it. I DON'T want to have to do this but if things continue in the vaguely threatening way they have been, I might have to for a little bit (and I don't want to because most of my reviews come from people who don't have accounts). People make mistakes and get mad. I am only human. My favorite quote is "don't judge someone for the chapter you walked in on" and I'm going to extend that towards an Authors Note I wrote when I was being called out for writing something wrong when I wasn't wrong.
If you have any further questions you can PM me.