I know I'm posting early. I wasn't sure I'd be able to post altogether, so I posted a few hours before the usual, since the chapter was already all wrapped up and ready to go. Technically, it's Sunday in Italy. For once, you gotta love the time zones.

It's an unconventional chapter, I warn you, and you can definitely commit me after you read it, because I'm probably going insane, but there's shirtless Derek to look forward to in the second part! Oh, and Zola is being pretty talkative in the first scenes, so it makes up for the insanity levels in the second part.

Enjoy!


Chapter 52


The end-of-April morning air was filled with expectations for the upcoming summer and residues of the heavy showers of the night before. It smelled fresh, and brisk, and a sweater was required to go out, but it was the perfect way for Meredith to relax when Evelyn kept waking her up on and off every three or four hours every night and when it was finally morning, Meredith felt like a truck had run her over.

She felt a small hand wrap around hers, then a little tug for her attention. She looked down at Zola, her fuzzy pigtails framing her bright smile, her eyes sparkling in the mid morning sunlight.

"We gonna see fishies?" She asked with hidden hope, as they walked on the trail to the lake where Derek went fishing, taking their time to enjoy some of the magnificent nature their land had to offer.

"No, we are not going to fish like you do with Daddy. We are going to take a walk and bask in the sun, just you and me." Meredith smiled, showering Zola with a look full of love, to which Zola replied with a loud giggle.

"Daddy hospital?"

"Yes, he is. He's gone back to work now."

Zola sighed, clearly disappointed. "You no go back?"

"No ZoZo, I get to stay with you until September comes. We have the whole summer to spend together." Meredith smiled brightly.

Her request for maternity leave had been...unconventional. Maybe the fact that the Chief of Surgery was a friend had helped her to get time off, but the board didn't make a fuss when they hired a replacement for her, giving her all the time she wanted to be with her daughters.

She had thought long and hard how much time she really wanted to spend with Evelyn and Zola, and she had argued that she had took virtually no time off when they got Zola, so the board members didn't really have the ground to complain or reject her request. Derek of course had supported her fully, and he intended to spend his two weeks vacation time in September caring for the girls as she settled back into work. It was the first time he took vacation days since she had known him, and if the past weeks were any indication, he would have been on a leave of absence until the girls were in school. He was only allowed to reduce his workload though, delegating most of the administrative work as department head to Clemmings. According to Cristina, the guy was basking in the fake power, and Meredith knew she was probably right.

"Daddy fix bwains?" Zola asked, still walking alongside Meredith, her hand firmly tucked into her mother's as she closed the distance between them.

"Yes, he does. He's pretty good at it, you know. A lot of people need his help every day, so he can only stay with you and Evvie in the evening, or give you a good morning kiss." Meredith explained, watching Zola process the information.

"Whatcha fix, Mama?"

"Well, I fix a lot of stuff, but mainly any organ that is in the belly."

"Stomach!" She grinned, proudly.

"Yes, the stomach is in the belly." Meredith confirmed, a little flabbergasted at her daughter's statement.

"It growls when I hugry." Zola giggled. "Grr, grr."

"It does." Meredith laughed, watching how her daughter's face lit up.

"Evvie was in belly." Zola's eyes lit up. "You fix babies?"

"Usually not. Babies have their own special doctor, because they are special little people. Everything is so tiny when you have to do surgery on a baby."

Zola nodded in understanding. "Evvie gots tiny feet."

Meredith laughed. "She does. And they are all wrinkly and chubby." Zola giggled with her, hopping on a rock and using Meredith's hand for balance. "You know, her heart is this big." Meredith explained, showing the measure with her thumb and index finger. Zola's eyes widened.

"My hart?" Zola asked, her curiosity prevailing over the wonder.

"Make a fist. That's more or less how big your heart is." Meredith felt Zola let go of her hand, then stare raptly at her fists, studying it closely. She was so engrossed that she almost fell face first on a rock. "Careful, baby."

"You hart this big too, Mama?" Zola questioned, holding up her fist to her.

"No, my heart is as big as my fist."

"Oh," Zola sighed, then grabbed Meredith's hand again, flexing her fingers and going over her knuckles, then comparing the two fists. "Where's hart?"

Meredith moved her hand over her chest, leaving her fist there a little askew, and Zola stopped walking, studying the position. "Not in belly."

"No, the heart is not in your belly, it's in your chest. Good job, Zola." Meredith beamed at how perceptive her daughter was. "You wanna feel something funny?"

Zola grinned, nodding. Who was she to say no to funny?

Meredith took her hand in hers, then moved her index and medium finger over the column of her chubby neck, right under her jaw. "Okay, now stay still and be quiet."

Zola giggled after a few seconds, her eyes widening. "What this?"

"Do you feel the thump thump?" Zola nodded eagerly, her fingers still on the spot. "That's your heart beating."

"How come?" She frowned. "Hart here." She pointed at her chest.

"You know how the heart pumps blood to make the body work?"

Zola agreed proudly. "Auntie Cris told me."

"Well, your blood goes around your body inside the arteries and the veins. They are almost like roads for the blood. They reach every little part of your body. Under your fingers there's a big artery, where it passes so much blood that you can feel it."

Zola's eyes widened, her fingers pressed firmly under her neck. "You too, Mama?"

"Here." Meredith looked around, then sat on a rock. She brought Zola on her lap, and the girl wrapped her legs around her waist. Meredith took Zola's hand in hers, then brought it over her carotid, and watched how Zola's wonderment came back on her face.

"Feel it, Mama."

Meredith hummed in response, wrapping her other arm securely around Zola, rubbing the girl's back and relishing their closeness. She had less and less opportunities to be alone with Zola, now that Evelyn needed her undivided attention, so she basked in the moment, enjoying the way their bodies fit seamlessly. She was made to fit in her arms, just as perfectly as Evelyn fit.

They kept staring at each other for a long time, Meredith's heartbeat making Zola smile, and sit incredibly still. Meredith could feel the warmth radiating from Zola's touch, the way the breeze twirled the few untamed curls at the back of her head and brought the scent of her watermelon shampoo to her nostrils, her solid weight on her lap.

Her little girl was almost three.

The spell was broken when Zola's stomach rumbled, and the girl giggled. Well, she practically fell over against Meredith's chest in laughter, the growl being so loud.

"Let's go back and feed you, before you starve."

Zola kept laughing as she climbed down her lap, then she sprinted down the trail, eager to get back home.

"Slow down!" Meredith called out, speeding up her pace as the trail rounded around the hill and Zola disappeared from her sight. She sighed knowingly when she saw her little girl sprawled on the ground, her outfit a blob of color on the slightly wet earth.

Zola rolled on her side as Meredith hurried closer, fat tears already streaming down her cheeks, as Meredith crouched down to her.

"Mama," she cried out, her hands held out.

"Let me see." Meredith soothed gently, brushing away the tears as she put Zola in a sitting position. She winched herself, the crouch uncomfortable for her healing uterus, so she sat on the ground in front of Zola, not caring for a bit that her pants were going to be covered in dirt, then she brought Zola to sit in between her legs. "I told you not to run on the trail. There are rocks on the path, we need to walk here. Understood?"

Zola nodded, her tears probably due more to the scare of the fall than the scrapes on her palms and the dirt on her knees.

"It's okay, baby. It's just a scratch. We're gonna go home, clean it up and it won't hurt anymore." Meredith smiled gently, kissing Zola's hand, then her forehead. "Are you ready to go back?"

Zola nodded, but her eyes welled up with tears again as she stood up. "Carry, Mama?"

Meredith gave in at her sad eyes. They had taken a ten minutes walk, she could carry Zola home. She picked up the girl, faked a groan, then let her settle on her shoulder. In a reflex similar to Evelyn's, Zola grabbed the collar of her sweater -well, Derek's Bowdoin sweater to be precise- and held onto tightly, leaning limply against her.

"You're getting so big, baby girl."

"I three."

"Yeah, you're almost three."

Meredith kissed her forehead lovingly, bouncing her a little to settle her hold, then she began walking back, Zola's tear forgotten as she talked about all the fun stuff she could do as a three-year-old.

Meredith listened patiently, leisurely walking back home, smiling and answering when needed, as Zola lead the conversation. It was a delight to hear her talk; the way she processed the world around her, or how she saw people was endearing. It might be tiring, caring for her while Evelyn took so much energy out of her, but Zola was relatively low maintenance now that she was reclaiming her independence.

"I gotsa have pink cakes, pizza an' sparkly dress for da party!"

Meredith frowned, only then processing what her daughter was requesting.

"A sparkly dress?"

"Like pwinses!" She grinned, the scratch on her elbow forgotten. "You gotsa have sparkly dress too, Mama. Daddy gonna love it."

Meredith giggled, knowing that she would only tease Derek if she wore a cocktail dress to a birthday party. Knowing they couldn't act on it for at least three more weeks, she figured a dress was out of the question.

"Evvie gotsa have sparkles!" Zola shouted excited, cupping Meredith's face to get her full attention, as the house appeared in the distance.

"What do you say if tomorrow we take Nana and Evvie shopping for a sparkling dress? Does Nana need sparkles?"

Zola looked pensive at her, making a face, then she lit up. "Sparkles, but no pink, 'cause Nana no little girl anymore." She nodded pleased at her solution. "You no girl too, Mama."

"I'm not a girl either?" Meredith grinned, pretending to be offended. "I'm old?"

Zola shook her head, almost horrified. "You Mama! Bestestest Mama. Mommies no get pink sparkles."

"What if Daddy likes pink?" Meredith argued, a sly smirk on her lips. She knew for a fact Derek didn't like pink, unless it was that sexy maternity nightie she had bought when she thought she could be all pregnant and sexy and seduce him. He had definitely loved the pink that night.

"Daddy's a boy. Boy no likes pink." Zola stated, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Daddy likes blue. You pretty in blue sparkles, Mama."

"You think?"

"Daddy goes all fishy-face on Mama." Zola shrugged, cringing a little at her statement, and Meredith laughed loudly at that, almost losing her balance as they reached the porch and she fished the key out of her pocket. Zola was right, Derek did kiss her a little inappropriately in front of Zola when the blue dress was involved. He always sneaked his fingers under the fabric on her back, tracing the shape of her spine, then dipping -

Okay, the blue dress for Zola's party was out of the question too.

They needed to have an afternoon, laid-back birthday party or she wouldn't be held responsible for her actions. Not that she was really desirable now, all covered in mommy, nor they could actually do all the dirty things she had in mind either.

Meredith flung open the door, depositing Zola on the floor, so she could take off her shoes on her own as Meredith undid her laces.

"Okay, let's go clean up those hands." Meredith prompted, and Zola looked at her puzzled, before she remembered her scrapes and she gave her a small smile. Meredith shook her head amused. Apparently, it hadn't been a tragedy that required tears after all.

"How was the daily walk? Seen any bears?" Carolyn appeared in the hall, drying her hands on her apron.

"You gotsa have sparkles for my party, Nana!" Zola announced seriously, staring down her grandmother, ignoring her small talk.

"What kind of sparkles?" Carolyn played along, then.

"On your shirt, Nana!" Zola sighed, a little indignant that she was misunderstood.

"Everybody needs sparkles?" Carolyn fueled, watching as Zola nodded emphatically. "Even the boys?"

"No boys."

"What about Daddy? Can't he come to the party?" Meredith grinned. "He has to be there so he can see me in the sparkly dress and go all fishy-face on me, right?"

"Ew, no fishy-face at my party!" Zola retorted, then she made a face. "Daddy can have da pwinses hat." She shrugged, beaming at her own idea. "That sparkles."

"Your princess crown?" Zola nodded, and Meredith had to smile at that. "He really does look dashing with it."

"I ask?"

"Well, you can try and ask him tonight, when he gets home. Remember to say please, Zo."

Zola nodded, then disappeared in the bathroom, leaving the two women staring at her empty spot in the foyer with grins on their faces.

"You should be aware, your son does wear princess crowns when he plays with Zola." Meredith couldn't help but divulge, a smirk on her lips.

"His sisters dressed him up as a girl when he was a baby and played house. I know all about his girly side." Carolyn laughed, and Meredith could just imagine the embarrassment on Derek's face if he was here. "I remember one time, probably he was younger than two, when they made him wear Nancy's old flowery dress and put barrettes in his hair. Michael couldn't stop laughing when he came home from the store."

"I can imagine." Meredith laughed along with Carolyn at the memory.

"I have pictures, back home. Better than any tale."

"Pictures?"

"There's a lot of blackmailing material you haven't seen, dear." Carolyn giggled. "Keeping dirt on your kids is in the job description." She winked, and Meredith realized that she was probably doing that too. They were surely going to show the bathtub photos with crazy hair to a potential boyfriend of Zola, someday. If Derek didn't Kevorkian him on the porch the first tome Zola brought him home.

Speaking of dirt...

"I have to go and clean up Zola; she fell on the trail and scraped her palms."

"I'm almost ready with lunch, you do your thing."

"How was Evvie?"

"An angel. She barely opened her eyes the whole time you two were gone."

"I think I'll feed her before lunch, but if it's ready you and Zola can start."

"We can wait." Carolyn smiled warmly, the smile Meredith had dubbed the Derek smile, even if it was probably the other way round.

Obviously, as soon as she reached the bathroom, Zola was already trying to climb on the counter to reach the band-aids. Meredith wrestled her back on the toilet lid and brushed away the residual dirt from her scrapes with cotton and disinfectant.

As Meredith predicted, Zola barely remembered the scratch for the rest of the day while she played with her toys in the living room or hopped around Evelyn, trying to play with her. The best Evelyn could do though was make faces at her and yawn in her face, so Zola was quickly bored. She roped Carolyn in a long tea party, she begged Meredith to read a story, and she was even allowed to watch a cartoon right before dinner, much to her delight.

Her biggest smile though was reserved for Derek, as soon as he walked through the door.

She jumped into his arms in a run, she showered him with kisses and let him tickle her endlessly. Clearly, she was buttering him up.

"Daddy, you gotsa have sparkles for da party."

Derek turned towards Meredith with a puzzled expression, but she simply sat there with a grin, Evelyn nursing contentedly in her arms.

"You no gots sparkly dresses, cause boys no likes sparkles, but you gotsa have it for me."

"Should I go out and buy a sparkly tie?" Derek grinned amused, but trying to mask it under his serious, businesslike face.

"No, you take da pwinses hat."

Derek grimaced, but he disguised it as a smile, warm and fake. "Sparkles are required?" He wondered, wishing there could be an out. "Even for boys?"

"You only boy at da party, 'cause you my Daddy." Zola replied evenly, almost as if it was an obvious, world-renowned facet, squeezing his cheeks lovingly as they stared deeply into each other's eyes.

Meredith saw him give in. "I guess I'll get your princess crown, then." He kissed her forehead, muffling Zola's excitement. "But what about Uncle Mark? Can't he come too? Or Uncle Alex. They told me they are really excited for your party, do I have to uninvite them?"

Zola looked perplexed for a moment, then sighed. "They gotsa have sparkles." She stated simply, then wriggled out of Derek's hold, scrambling towards the playroom, clearly in search of more sparkling gadgets for her uncles.

Derek finally turned towards Meredith then, who was now laughing openly, her amusement helping Evelyn to burp. Derek moved closer, a wide smile on his lips, then he placed a sweet kiss on top of Meredith's head, before he stole Evelyn from her hold.

He curled Evelyn's little body on his chest, cradling her close as his arms engulfed her, breathing her in, his eyes closed in bliss. He would have done the same with Zola, if she wasn't such a wriggly little creature.

"Your daughter wants a dress code for her birthday party." Derek hummed then, re-opening his eyes and staring at Meredith.

"She's very firm on the sparkles." Meredith suppressed a giggle, as she stood up and leaned into his space for a kiss. She wanted it to be quick and gentle, just to welcome him home, but as soon as his free hand cupped her cheek, quick and gentle didn't cut it anymore.

She teased him with her tongue, as she pressed her body close, careful not to squeeze Evelyn too much between them, her kiss deepening. Her knees wobbled a little as he released her to breathe, and they both looked a little more scruffy and flustered than before. Derek groaned in the back of his throat, and Meredith smiled longingly, leaning her forehead against his free shoulder, trying to steady herself.

"You're a tease." He murmured in her hear, and she whined in resignation, wishing they could follow through.

"Zola doesn't want fishy-facing at her party either." Meredith added, trying to divert her thoughts from the quickest way to have Derek shirtless in the middle of their living room.

Derek laughed, kissing Meredith's temple. "I just need to stay five feet from you, then."

"Oh, poor baby." Meredith grinned, but she remained in his embrace. "You're probably right though, because Zola wants me in the blue dress."

Derek groaned, "She wants to kill me. It's her revenge for me going back to work full time." Derek whined, then turned slightly towards Evelyn, his lips barely above her ear. "You're gonna be good to your Daddy Evvie, right?"

Evelyn's response was a wide yawn and a look of fullness in her eyes, as she blinked back the sleep, fighting to be awake and spend time with her Daddy.

"I'm on Bird bath time duties tonight, right?"

"Yeah, but Zola will probably ask for a story too." Meredith smiled. "How was your day?"

"It got ten times better when I walked through the door."

Meredith rolled her eyes at his cheesy statement, though fully aware of how conflicted he felt when he was at work, doing the thing he loved the most, but without having his family close. She went to call Zola for dinner, knowing that they just had to adapt, and grateful for having a few more weeks to start worrying about it herself.

Of course the meal was spent for the most part trying to convince Zola not to give Mark her sparkly bracelet for tea parties, nor Alex her plastic diamond necklace. They did have to come up with other sparkling stuff to replace them, and it almost ended up in a tantrum.

Bath time distracted Zola enough from the sparkles, the duckies engrossing her in a complex made up game, as Meredith supervised her from the lid of the toilet, sometimes joining in the storytelling when Zola required her help.

Derek on the other hand was away from the shrieks and the splashes, relishing the coos and the quiet in the master bathroom, bathing Evelyn in a basin on the counter. She merely blew bubbles at him, as he stroked clean her skin with a cloth and massaged her mop of hair with the most delicate shampoo they had found, which happened to be lavender scented and remind him of Meredith.

"You know, we should borrow a ducky from Zola next time. Do you think your big sister will give you a ducky?" Derek grinned at Evelyn, not really hoping for an answer, but he saw her face change.

"Oh no." He muttered between himself, frantically looking around the bathroom in a panic. Evelyn's frown deepened. "Oh no no no, baby girl. Don't poop just yet."

He calculated the distance between the basin and the toilet, which of course had the lid down, then he cursed his house plans for putting them so far away. Why did they need such a huge bathroom anyway? There were two full steps between them and the safe confines of the toilet, but for Evelyn they were still too much.

He had barely made one step, and he was practically in the middle of the bathroom, when Evelyn decided that it was the perfect place to relieve herself. And Derek was not quick enough to at least put her at arm's length.

He recoiled, grimacing in horror as the warmth spread on his arm, mixing with the water droplets he was splattering on the floor, since Evelyn was not just covered in poop now, she was also dripping wet.

"Tell me you didn't do this, sweet girl. I told you we had to stick together."

Well, her poop was definitely sticky. And it was all over him.

She looked at him with a content, almost smiling expression on, and he wanted to burst into tears. How could this happen to him? He didn't sign up for this stuff when he wanted to become a parent!

"Meredith," he boomed, but his voice cracked in the middle. He felt helpless. Well, and gross, but mostly helpless. "Mere!" He called out a little louder, cursing again his house plans that put the bathrooms so far away from one another.

"I'm taking ZoZo out of the bath, I'll be there in a second." Her faint voice reached his ear, and he almost felt the tears bubble out in relief. "What do you need?"

"You." He he shouted back. "I need you."

"Dirty boy!" She called out in laughter, and he groaned at how accurate it was her blind description of him.

He stood in the middle of the bathroom, frozen on the spot, halfway between the tub and the toilet, the lid still down, brown splatters now marring the gray tiles.

Evelyn, not baffled by the fact that she was swimming in poop, she kept cooing happily, her tongue sticking out, her fists gripping Derek's soiled t-shirt tightly, luckily in a spot that was still clean. He tried to stretch and grab a towel to cover her, since she was still stark naked, but it was out of his reach. She seemed blissfully happy to be in her father's arms, so he didn't bother much. His hand was big enough to cover half of her back, and the poop was definitely warm under her bottom.

"What I'm gonna do with you, Bird?"

Evelyn replied with a slight hiccup, a deep breath, and spit up on his shirt.

"You know, now you can pee too if you want. There are no more bodily fluids you can dump on me. Except vomit, but I'm not keen on you vomiting." Derek shook his head, resigned.

He was grateful when the door opened a crack, because the smell was starting to permeate the room. He was sure he'd never get rid of the reek.

When Meredith burst into laughter one step into the room, he wished he had figured out a way to move away from the bathroom and finish cleaning up Evelyn by himself.

"I'll tell your mother to keep Zola away from here," Meredith said, trying and failing to keep a normal expression on her face.

"Mere, -" he began, the plea in his voice evident.

"I'm not telling her that you're covered in poop, don't worry." She giggled once more, giving him one last look, then she disappeared.

"Your Mama is gonna mock me endlessly for this. Endlessly. It's not very nice to be mean to Daddy, baby girl."

Evelyn grunted and hiccupped again, more spit up smearing his shirt, then she cooed happily at him, wriggling in his hold.

"Okay, there are two options." Meredith reappeared, a stack of clothes in her arms and a perpetual smirk on her lips.

"Mere," he pleaded, and he would dig a hole and hide there forever, if he could.

"It's either me removing Evvie from you, finishing her bath while you shower, or you strip, get in the shower, and I can help you wash her."

Derek groaned, his eyes closing as he looked up at the ceiling.

"I suggest the shower." Meredith's eyebrows rose suggestively "Quick, because she's shivering."

"Shower it is." He groaned, letting out a shallow breath.

When he reopened his eyes, a flash blindsided him, before he heard a click of a shutter.

"No, you didn't!" He growled, his cheeks turning red instantly. "You didn't!"

"Blackmailing Evelyn starts early, apparently." Meredith beamed, waving the camera in front of him triumphantly.

"Meredith, you're blackmailing me!" He whined, much like Zola when she threw a tantrum.

"If I wanted to, I'd threaten you to stick the photo on my locker."

"Mere, -" He flushed even redder, groaning, almost in tears.

"I'm kidding, Derek. This will never leave the house, I promise." Meredith smiled. "Now, give me the baby."

"This is a conspiracy." He mumbled to himself as Meredith picked up Evelyn from his hold, an absolutely gross sound accompanying the detachment. Meredith grimaced, wrinkling her nose as the smell diffused in the room.

"I liked this shirt, Evvie." Derek complained, as Meredith held a cooing Evelyn at arm's length, torn between amusement and disgust as she watched the real damage on Derek. Half of his upper torso was brown now, the splatters evenly spread on his leg as well. "And the pants. They were good sweats. Soft and warm, but not too much. You owe me an outfit, Pigeon."

"Derek!" Meredith retorted, but she couldn't help but giggle at the new term of endearment.

"Hey, I'm just being specific here. If she poops on me, I can totally call her Pigeon for the rest of her life."

"People will start wondering."

"Let them wonder." He growled, surveying the damage on his arm. "Not even after a night in jail I smelled this bad."

"I agree."

"She has a little toxic lab inside of her, this is not normal. Are you sure she's exclusively breastfeeding, and she doesn't like to slurp chemical gasses for dessert?"

"You're being dramatic, now." Meredith smiled, watching as he slowly untied his sweatpants with disgust.

"Meredith, I have poop on my boxers, I'm definitely not being dramatic here!" His voice rose of an octave, and Meredith had a hard time not to laugh.

"Strip." She ordered, and he whined, taking off his shirt.

"I need a gas mask under here!" He pretended to suffocate, emerging from the t-shirt and tossing it on the ground unceremoniously, avoiding the splatters of poop on the floor.

He took Evelyn in his arms again, shifting her to the non poopy arm, then he was careful she kept her hands away from the poop evenly spread on his body. He stepped into the shower and waited for the water to turn warm enough, sighing in relief.

Meredith grabbed the detachable shower arm and immediately rinsed Evelyn's back, the girl making surprised and perplexed faces as the warm water rolled down her body. Meredith decided that silence was best in this occasion, so she kept rubbing away the poop from Evelyn's every crevice of her lower body, marveling at how much damage such a tiny little thing could do when she found sprays of poop even on her neck.

"This is not how I envisioned our shower time tonight." Derek groaned, holding out Evelyn for the last rinse, sighing in embarrassment.

"Derek she totally farted in my face two days ago."

"But I wasn't there to witness it!" He blushed again, turning Evelyn a little.

He and Meredith exchanged the baby for the shower arm, and she gave him a sad smile, while she wrapped Evelyn in her towel.

"I'm going to clean up the rest of it. Give me the boxers, I'll see if I can wash them." Meredith calm voice was a welcomed relief, just like the brown-green substance disappearing down the drain.

He finally stripped fully, and Meredith smirked a little at his naked form, the glint in her eyes appearing there before she could even process it.

"You are desperate." Derek finally laughed then, grabbing the shower gel from the rack as he settled his curls with his clean hand. "You want me, even covered in your daughter's poop."

"Hey, I'm still a fat cow, and you ogle me whenever I change in front of you. We make a great pair."

"You're not fat. It took your body nine months to adapt to Pigeon growing inside of you, it's just normal that it takes you a little while more to get back in shape. Not that I don't love the new curves, eh."

Meredith shook her head, her turn to sigh. "Your stuff is on the toilet lid. I'll settle Evvie downstairs then I'll come back here to clean the tiles."

"I'll do it. I'll smell like poop for days anyway."

Meredith's smile reappeared, even if briefly, at the remark, then she closed the shower door.

Derek kept trying to rinse away the poop, his turn to be amused by the predicament he had found himself into. He lifted his eyes when he heard Meredith sigh deeply, then the fastening of Evelyn's diaper around her. Not even using cloth diapers had prepared them to clean all this poop, and that was saying something.

"Mere," he called out softly, peeking again from the shower door. "This is Vegas."

"What?"

"Not a word to anyone about this, okay?"

"If you promise not to tell how she farted on me."

"I promise." He chuckled. "Come here, seal the deal." He encouraged then, and Meredith frowned at him, as she picked up Evelyn and started drying her hair with a towel.

"My pinkies are a little busy."

"No need for pinkies." Derek grinned, wrapping his wet hand around her wrist and pulling her closer, then he cupped her cheek and kissed her, slowly and thoroughly, their tongues battling each other lazily as their bodies relaxed.

Meredith was a little breathless when they pulled away, and she sighed, feeling bereft at the loss of closeness. She was smiling though as she closed the door of the shower in his face.

"I want more fishy-face time later!" Derek called out, and he heard her laugh in the corridor.


Okay, now that he's more or less all cleaned up, I really want to give Derek a hug. In the sketched plot, Evvie was supposed to poop in the tub, not go full on pigeon on her Daddy. Oh, well. I am now sure I won't drop the nickname Pigeon anytime soon, especially when Derek interacts with her ;)

I hope you enjoyed this very parenting-oriented chapter. The plans for Zola's third birthday party are in motion, and remember, sparkles are required! ;) Speaking of birthdays, shentog made me realize that I posted chapter 51 exactly one year after chapter 1, so Hope is officially 1 year old. I'm a proud mama, and the guys who were here from the start get a slice of cake. Okay, it's probably big enough for all of you, so help yourself!

Happy Grey's premiere week you all! :D

P.S.: Not that Hope is nowhere to be finished -I will probably encompass Evvie's full first year if I can work around everything I want to add here and I have enough time to write-, but I was wondering how much would you all be interested in reading more. I'd probably skip a few years and move along, but I was thinking about doing a...follow up to all this. The progression of their happily ever after, which sometimes is not happy and full of sunshine, but it's surely forever. I have all the characters sketched out in my head, and they won't stop bugging me, so I'm just throwing it in the open, see what the response might be. I have to plan this in detail, be careful not to fall in overused clichés, but there's definitely potential to expand this story. I know it's still early to decide if you're done with Hope or you want The Hope Series, but I just wanted to let you all know that this universe might not be completely done after this story finishes. Let me know what your opinion is, you have plenty of time to decide!