Seattle expected them with its welcoming rain that evening. After a nap in the airplane, Meredith snoozed beside Morgan in the backseats all the way until home, letting Derek drive them safely through rain and thunders.
Derek was tired too. He had slept for a little while during the flight also, but now he had to be wide awake to watch the road. A smile lit up his face each time he glanced through the rearview mirror and watched Meredith sleeping with her head over Morgan's. The visit to his family went better than expected and no matter what disagreements Morgan had with Trisha and Anna, he was sure she had had a great time with them. Back in Seattle now, Addison was left in New York and in the back of his mind again, same as Nancy's issues, because his home meant this rainy city now and his family were Meredith and Morgan.
The wheels slid on the wet pavement of Meredith's driveway, shaking the car a little bit and waking up the backseats passengers. While Meredith and Morgan were coming out of their sleeping state, Derek looked at the house and noticed the lights on. Claudia must be there with Cujo.
"We're home," Meredith noticed, yawning sleepily.
"We are," Derek nodded.
"And it's raining," she sighed with a little wistfulness. "We're home, Morgan," she smiled at her sleepy baby.
Morgan started fussing in her car seat, leaning to her mother. Meredith unbuckled her and took her into his arms.
"And there's someone who can't wait to see us," Derek told them, glancing back at the house.
"Cujo!" Meredith beamed at Morgan. Morgan yawned and shook her head as if she was nodding.
Because the rain was pouring outside, Derek took off his jacket to offer it to Meredith and Morgan for protection. In the same time, Meredith was gathering Morgan's clothes and her bag, so neither of them saw when the front door opened and Cujo ran outside past Claudia, and all of them jumped a little when Cujo's paws hit Meredith's window.
Though scared at first, Morgan whimpered and leaned to the window from her mommy's arms.
"Great, he's all soaked now," Meredith grumbled.
Claudia hurried with the umbrella at Meredith's side. "Give her to me," she said and sneaked an arm around Morgan. She placed her as up on her waist as possible to keep her out of Cujo's reach- who was jumping all around them, greeting each of them.
"Hey!" Derek laughed when Cujo jumped on him. "Good thing we have a wash machine."
Meredith took the things from the backseat and went ahead with Claudia into the house, leaving Derek bring the rest of the luggage. Cujo went with the women, constantly jumping on Meredith and on Claudia to get to Morgan.
Though she didn't like wet dogs, Meredith was happy with Cujo's joy of seeing them and as they entered the house, she knelt down and Cujo lay down onto his back to be petted.
"Look who else is home," Claudia told Cujo and knelt with Morgan into her arms. Cujo jumped up right away and ran to them, sniffing Morgan all around.
Probably dazed by his constant running, Morgan just watched the dog, curious. Now that he was sniffing her, Morgan seemed to recognize her friend and she started giggling and slapping Cujo. He gladly received her slaps.
"How was the flight?" Claudia asked Meredith. "I know you told me about that boy."
"This time it was perfect. She slept during the takeoff and during the landing, so she didn't feel anything," Meredith answered.
"And how was the trip?" Claudia asked then and looking better at Morgan, saw her face was a little tanner now. "You got sunny weather I can see."
Meredith noticed that for the first time. "She's tanned."
"You're tanned too," Claudia pointed out.
"The weather was perfect. Until last night."
"Well, at least she got to spend some time on the beach."
"She did," Meredith smiled just remembering Morgan on the beach or walking with her and Derek on the shore.
"We didn't do much shopping, but look how much I have to carry," Derek chuckled as he walked into the house with bags tucked under his arms and in his hands.
Cujo left Morgan to run back to Derek and greet him once more. "Are you trying to be helpful?" Derek chuckled as he tried to keep the bags away from the dog. "Because you're not." And Meredith hurried to help him.
"We brought you something," she told Claudia, coming with two bags for her. "In here, you have Kathleen's cookies, Carolyn's cookies and David's brownies." Then she leaned to her and said, "Everyone cooks in his family."
Derek and Claudia laughed. "You have a lot of teachers then," Claudia teased her.
Meredith smiled. "Or I have Derek and he's enough. I don't eat that much anyway."
"Thank you," Claudia thanked her for the cookies and took the bag.
Derek saw Meredith wasn't going to give her the other bag, so he looked at her and glanced questioningly to the bag. Meredith looked at him, unsure.
"We also bought you something," Derek told Claudia, making Meredith pass her the bag.
"You shouldn't have," Claudia smiled. As she opened it, she took out a pink knitted sweater. "Thank you," she smiled, sincerely impressed.
Derek chuckled as he knew better. "That's not all," he stated, but as Claudia looked into the bag, there was nothing else.
Derek started laughing then and looked through other bags. He took out an identical sweater but in an infant size.
"Morgan has one too," Claudia laughed. "That's really cute."
"I know. Meredith thinks it's cheesy," Derek rolled his eyes. "But I know you better."
"Thank you," Claudia smiled at both of them. "I guess I have to wear it when I go out with Morgan, right?"
"Right," Derek approved.
"You don't really have to," Meredith giggled. "But we're glad you like it."
"I like the sweater and I also like the idea."
"Ok, I am taking these upstairs," Derek stated.
As he walked around the woman to leave the living room, Derek saw Cujo sniffing in Claudia's bag with cookies. "Those cookies are too good to be eaten by a dog," he stated.
Claudia saw Cujo just then and hurried take the bag from his reach. "I am sure they brought you something," she told him.
"We didn't," Meredith looked at him apologetically.
"That's ok," Claudia laughed. "He's still happy to see you."
Cujo fell down at their feet and watched them, happily wriggling his tail.
"We're happy to see you too," Meredith crouched down at him and started petting him. Cujo rolled onto his back, ready to be spoiled.
Claudia kissed Morgan and laid her onto her arms, rocking her slowly. Morgan enjoyed that as she stuffed her fingers into her mouth and giggled at her.
"She's crawling," Meredith announced proudly. "Like really crawling. She can even compete for a crawling race."
"Is that right, Morgan?" Claudia asked the baby, lifting her. Morgan giggled at her. "Yesterday she was teething."
"I know," Meredith agreed.
"Tomorrow you'll be walking and next week you'll be getting married."
"I don't think so," Meredith stated. "Walking, maybe, but getting married… not for the next couple of years."
"Daddy has allies," Claudia warned Morgan.
"I was talking about getting married, not about dating," Meredith giggled, rolling her eyes at Claudia's comment.
"And I was just kidding," Claudia laughed. Smiling at Meredith, Claudia also watched her carefully. "You look like you enjoyed this short vacation."
"It was nice," Meredith admitted and slowly her smile turned into giggles. "Derek and I didn't have much time for ourselves, but we had an interesting time with his family."
"Yeah," Meredith sighed with satisfied smile.
"Cool," Claudia chuckled and Meredith looked at her, amused. "I have a teenage niece staying over this weekend and she's obsessed with this word."
"Are you too?" Meredith laughed.
"No, but I think she imprinted it in my brain for life."
"Don't make me talk to Derek then," Meredith joked.
Claudia didn't have to ask more to find out about what a great time they had had with Derek's family. Meredith was glowing. If she didn't know about Meredith's decision of not having a baby any time soon, she would say she was pregnant. As she was still knelt, Morgan was having her hands washed by Cujo's tongue now. Morgan looked different too. It's been only two days, but Claudia could see that Morgan had grown a little.
After Derek came downstairs, they stood for a cup of coffee and filled each other with stories from Seattle and New York. Claudia didn't have much too say besides her niece as only two days had passed from their departure, but Derek and Meredith found some to tell her.
Derek – being Daddy Derek now- wanted to brag a little with what his little girl could do now. He gathered everyone in the living room, spread a blanket on the floor and put Morgan down on it. He also jingled a few toys at her and then set them down on the blanket, further from Morgan. Attracted by her forgotten toys, Morgan whimpered as she tried to reach with her hand to the toys.
"Come and take them," Derek encouraged her, jingling the toys.
Then Morgan fell on her knees and hands and slowly started dragging her body on the blanket. As that was exhausting, she stopped a little and watched the toys, focusing. She started crawling with more dexterity now, having everyone explode in applauses and laughs.
Morgan laughed at them, though she didn't know what the reason for their joy was, but she had the satisfaction to have reached to her toys.
Claudia excused herself, saying she had promised a snack to her niece.
"Cool!" Meredith giggled as she walked her to the door.
"Yeah," Claudia laughed. "Good night, Morgan!" she told Morgan and waved at her.
With her toys and her dog, Morgan just glanced up at her, throwing a hand in the air.
"I will see you in the morning," Claudia told Meredith before walking outside in the rain.
Meredith realized that her time with her daughter was about to end soon and that brought a shadow on her face. Derek tried to comfort her, tempting her with the possibility of performing outstanding surgeries the next day. He also told her that it was still early and their time alone with Morgan wasn't over.
They let Morgan down on her blanket with her toys and Cujo, and they nestled in the couch, into each other's arms. Meredith had her head down on his chest, holding her eyes closed while he slowly ran his fingers through her hair, breathing her scent in. With her in his arms like in that moment, Derek recognized a little from Morgan's scent and he couldn't help but wonder if he had Morgan's scent as well.
"Smell me," Derek told Meredith, suddenly deciding to answer to his curiosity.
Meredith looked up at him, lifting a brow.
"I know," Derek chuckled at her curious expression. "I want to see if I smell like Morgan."
Meredith narrowed her eyes, even more curious now.
"Please," he insisted.
"You don't smell like Morgan," she told him.
"You don't smell like her either, but if I breathe you in, you do. So breathe me in."
"Derek," she frowned.
"Please," he smiled sweetly.
Meredith rolled her eyes and smelled his shirt. "You smell like cologne," she answered right away.
"No," Derek whimpered childishly. "You have to breathe me in."
"Derek," Meredith whimpered too.
"Please," he insisted once more. "Smell my hair," he suggested.
"Don't you want me to smell your shoes too," Meredith replied sarcastically.
Derek frowned, not tasting her so called joke.
"Derek, she's been inside my body for nine months, and then I breast fed her and she burped on me and she slept with me. She's part of my body; of course I carry her scent."
Derek listened carefully to her explanation, visibly not entirely pleased with it. "But she burped on me too. She even puked on me."
Meredith sighed and nuzzled against his shoulder. She took her time with the breathing in and then looked at him. "You have a little scent from her."
"You're just saying that," Derek grumbled.
Meredith was surprised to see that he was affected by this for real. "Now you're so exaggerating. Has your testosterone gone wild?" she asked and stood up from his arms. "Here, take Morgan," she said and froze as she looked down at the empty blanket. "Where's Morgan?"
"She's…" Derek wanted to answer 'on the blanket', but as he stood up as well, he found the blanket empty and no sign of Morgan and Cujo. Only her toys were there. "Where is she?" he asked, both of them jumping on their feet and searching around the couch. "Did you lock the door?" he asked Meredith.
"Of course," Meredith retorted, not liking to be accused of such neglect.
"Are you sure?" he asked her, not completely trusting her.
That offended Meredith deeply. "I did! And she can't even reach to the doorknob."
Derek sighed and apologetically rubbed her arm. "She must be somewhere around here. She's crawling now."
"Why don't you follow her scent," Meredith smiled, finding the opportunity of mocking him for his previous jealousy.
"Maybe that's what I am going to do," he huffed.
"Good boy, Cujo," Meredith giggled, patting the back of his head.
Derek turned to Meredith suddenly. "Cujo. Where Morgan is, Cujo is too."
"Cujo!" Meredith called the dog. "Cujo!" she called louder as he was late arriving.
Meredith and Derek shared a concerned look. But they knew that had no reason of worry. The doors were locked so the baby and the dog must have fallen asleep somewhere.
Walking around the room, they saw Cujo's tail coming out from under the table, wriggling. As they got on their knees to look under the table, they were greeted by Morgan's laugher.
"Hide and seek, Morgan? At this age?" Meredith giggled. "Do you want to give Mommy a heart attack? Come here."
Morgan giggled, stuffing her fingers into her mouth.
"Morgan," Derek tried too.
Now they found out that Morgan started playing games too.
"Come here, Morgan," Meredith called her again.
Derek looked at Meredith and made her a sign to stand up. They stood up together and made a step back from the table. "Cujo! Let's go out for a walk." He told the dog.
Cujo was out in a second. Derek and Meredith took Cujo and walked further from the table, in all this time watching the table and expecting Morgan to come out any second now. Indeed, they saw her soon crawling out.
Coming out from under the table and seeing her parents and dog so far from her, she got on her seat and started whimpering.
"Do you want me to walk the dog?" Meredith offered.
Derek grinned at her. "If you don't mind."
Meredith giggled and grabbed the jacket and the umbrella, going outside with Cujo. Derek hurried to pick his daughter up from the floor.
"You're hiding from us, huh?" he chuckled, tossing Morgan up in the air. He laughed at her delightful laugh. "You're good at it, but please don't do it again."
Morgan opened her mouth wide and yawned. "Tired already? I guess it's the crawling. You like it, don't you? Yeah, the walking is even better. Let's get you ready and wait for Mommy and Cujo to tell them good night." And so Derek went upstairs with his little girl. They had a few minutes for a daddy and his princess moment before Meredith and Cujo were back.
