Even through the deep, all-consuming haze of sleep, Meredith knew she was being watched. A vague dream floated along her subconscious, enough to keep her active brain occupied during her body's need for replenishment, but not enough to keep her completely oblivious to the external world around her. And her sixth sense was slowly seeping into her subconscious, telling her she was being watched. Derek was fast asleep behind her, his chest heaving against her back with each deep, even breath he took. But, she would have known it wasn't him anyway. It wasn't his eyes that had settled on her sleeping form. He did enough night time staring that she had long grown accustomed to his soft gaze. This was someone else.
She sighed and shifted in his embrace and slowly opened her eyes, blinking twice to reduce the blur as three sets of familiar blue eyes came into focus, and for the second time in six months she found herself being scrutinized while waking in Derek's arms. Meredith exhaled sharply as the numbness of sleep dissipated immediately into the realization that Derek's sisters were all in their room, and for a vague, suspenseful second, she hoped that she was simply dreaming. She blinked again, longer this time, but they were still there, staring down at her.
"Wha-" Was as she could manage to verbalize as shock washed over her. Was this something families normally did?
"Out of bed, sleepy-head," Anna called. "You're coming with us."
The haze of sleep washed over her again as the shock began to wear off. It was early. There was no sunlight streaming through the window. Why would they get up in the early hours of the morning while on vacation? Was this some sort of newcomer initiation thing? Crap.
"Come on, Meredith," Kathleen wrenched her arm away from Derek's grip and gave it a gentle tug. "Up and at it."
"Where are we going?" She mumbled as she stretched her legs downward along Derek's and yawned. It was far too early to be awake. They hadn't headed to bed until after midnight, and she and Derek had definitely broken the rules twice before curling up together to sleep.
"Shopping."
"Shopping?" Her sleep muddled brain spun to make sense of what was happening. Seriously, there was a good chance she was dreaming.
Nancy nodded emphatically. "Black Friday. Now, get your ass out of bed."
Meredith blinked in confusion. Nothing was making sense. Really, they needed to let her sleep for a few more hours before they started using words like shopping. Meredith didn't go shopping. Meredith didn't like shopping. And she definitely didn't get up at god-awful early hours of the morning to go shopping.
"Okay," Kathleen stated. "Time for extreme measures." Meredith didn't have a chance to process her words before Kathleen had grabbed fistfuls of the comforter covering her and Derek, and flung it off of her.
As the cold morning air hit the bare skin of her arms and legs, Meredith became infinitely grateful she had demanded they cover up for their activities that night. Before going to sleep, she had tidied the piles of clothing flung suspiciously over the floor, and had pulled on a pair of sleep shorts and one of Derek's old tees that she loved to sleep in. Expertly ignoring his mumbling about her having far too many articles covering her body, she had tossed boxers and a tee shirt at him and refused to get back into bed before he dressed.
"You're far too paranoid," he had told her as he obediently pulled on the clothing.
"And you're far too lax. You're seriously lucky I relented."
He had smirked and pulled her close as she settled in bed beside him. "You weren't calling me lax half an hour ago."
"Derek!" She chastised with a laugh and swiped at his chest in the small space between them. But really, he was absolutely right. Even in her commitment to be perfectly quiet his hand and lips had both come down on her mouth many times to prevent someone else in the house from becoming aware of their activities
However, even though she was infinitely grateful that Kathleen had not pulled the covers back to reveal her brother and his girlfriend naked, Meredith was suddenly self-conscious of the fact that she was wearing a shirt that obviously belonged to him and every limb of their bodies were intertwined. "I, uh..." She trailed off, but none of them seemed to so much as blink at the sight. She tried to pull away, but Derek's grip closed around her waist and he buried his face into the back of her head and sighed as he resettled. Any other time, it would have been comical, and she would have laughed at his unconscious possessiveness, but this time his sisters were staring down at her. And she really needed him to let go.
"Derek, seriously..." she mumbled as her face turned red and she struggled to wrench his hands away from her middle. His hands came away with relative ease, but instead of releasing her from his hold, his fingers expertly twisted to find hers, and he re-closed his grip, effectively trapping her. "Crap..." She muttered as she struggled to pull her hands free. "Derek. Let go." Obviously deep in sleep, Derek mumbled something unintelligible and shook his head slightly. "Derek. Seriously." She had her hands free again, but he wasn't letting her go.
Kathleen laughed at her struggle and suddenly there was an extra set of hands prying her out of his grip. And as soon as she was free, she was pulled out of bed. Derek reached out for her body, swiped the empty sheets and few times, and eventually came upon her pillow. He pulled the still warm item to his chest and resettled. Meredith almost snorted at the sight. Apparently she was replaceable.
"Okay," Nancy announced, pointing to the open suitcase along the wall. "Clothes. Dressed Shopping."
Meredith nodded and obediently complied. It was far too early to be resistant. She pulled jeans and a simple top out of her suitcase, along with fresh underwear, and after a short pause, she realized she wasn't going to be left alone, so she turned and disappeared into the bathroom.
After brushing her teeth and changing, she stepped back out into the bedroom, smiling gently at Derek's still form, fast asleep and still clutching tightly to the pillow. One of his sisters had been nice enough to replace the blanket. "What do I need?" She asked quietly.
"All you need is a credit card," Nancy told her.
Meredith laughed and grabbed her purse and jacket off the chair by the door. "Should I tell him?"
Anna shook her head. "He'll know where you are. Come on, you're safe with us."
She followed Derek's sisters down the back staircase and was surprised to find Carol and Abby waiting in the front hall.
"Excellent," Carol said as she smiled at Meredith. She passed her a steaming travel mug that Meredith took happily.
"Thanks." She inhaled the wonderful scent of coffee bean and sighed. "I still only feel half awake; like I just fell asleep."
"Nonsense, child," Abby spoke up, surprisingly awake and clear minded. "You had at least four hours to sleep. That's more than enough for Black Friday."
Meredith felt her cheeks redden slightly and she only hesitated for a moment. "It feels like less," she said quickly, and looked away in the hope that her blush wouldn't be noticeable in the dark light of the hall.
Abby, thankfully, did not press the issue. Meredith swung her jacket on and slipped her feet into the sneakers she had worn from the airport and followed Derek's family out into the cool, damp morning air to the car.
000
It was several hours later that Derek became aware of the bands of sunlight slowly encroaching on his eyes. He blinked at the insult and buried his face into what he had assumed was the back of Meredith's head. But instead he found his nose buried in a soft, pluffy... thing, that only smelt vaguely of lavender. He blinked groggily and closed his arms, testing his grip, only to confirm that his girlfriend was no longer in his arms.
He rolled onto his back, leaving the pillow beside him, and stretched.
And winced.
He was definitely sore. His hands came to his upper torso and felt along the line of his ribs. The site that had impacted with Simon the previous day felt bruised. He moaned and rolled awkwardly out of bed, flinching with every step it took to get to the bathroom. His calves and hamstrings were crying out in agony. In previous years, it hadn't taken much out of him to spend a few hours playful touch football in his mother's backyard. But in previous years, he had always been in better shape; he'd jog a few times a week, and had a gym membership for lunchtimes. He'd given it all up, however, when he had moved to Seattle, and subsequently fell in love with a woman who despised all organized exercise plans. All Meredith had to do was smile at him in just that way and tell him that they got more than enough exercise together, and he'd find himself shedding his body of his jogging suit and falling back into bed with her. Apparently his new exercise routine was not quite as well rounded as he had been made to believe.
After a long, hot shower, he walked back into the bedroom in somewhat less agony than before. His muscles were slowly loosening up, allowing him to tenderly stretch them out. He pulled a fresh set of clothes out of his suitcase and shed his towel to dress. After drying his hair as best he could and hanging his towel in the bathroom, he glanced at the clock and wondered how long Meredith had been up. It was a little after eleven. She often woke up early, claiming it was her internal intern alarm clock, which she was still unable to shed after several months of being a resident, but it was unlike him to sleep so long. It was unlike him to sleep longer than her, period. His body would often refuse to go back to sleep without hers beside him.
He stepped gingerly down the stairs, his legs protesting with every increment, and shuffled into the kitchen. All three brothers-in-law and Mark were seated at the table. He nodded a weary 'good morning' and made a beeline for the coffeepot. Quickly filling a mug, he shuffled over to an empty seat and collapsed onto a chair between Mark and Dean. He groaned in relief as the chair took to supporting most of his weight.
"I hear you, man," Simon said with a nod and a gently smile. "I feel like I've been hit by a truck."
"Yeah, and that truck would have been Derek," Spencer said with laugh.
"Shut up, Spence," Derek found himself saying in unison with Simon.
He groaned. "I've never hurt this much before."
"That's because you're getting old," Mark said with a smirk.
Derek glared at him. "I'm younger than you."
Mark scoffed. "By a year."
"Fourteen months." He countered.
Mark laughed. "Always a competition..."
There was a scraping sound, and Derek looked forward to see Simon sliding a bottle of ibuprofen across the table. He reached thankfully for it and popped the top. "Thanks, man. I kind of love you right now."
"Sorry, bro, I'm taken," he countered, making a sweeping movement with his left hand and motioning towards the gold band around his fourth finger.
Derek shook his head and swallowed two pills. He groaned again and winced as he forced his legs to move. "This is what I get for not exercising. I really need to start jogging again."
Spencer smirked. "All the pain, and the added bonus of knowing we kicked your asses..." He laughed and got up to refill his mug, making it painfully obvious to Derek that he wasn't feeling any negative effects from the previous day's activities. Damn Spencer and his daily runs. Damn him.
"Whatever, we'll get you next year..." Spencer scoffed in response, and Derek sighed, knowing it was an empty threat. "Where are the girls?"
"Where do you think?" Dean said with a laugh. "Black Friday, man, they're out spending all our money."
Derek nodded. "Did Meredith go with them?"
"I assume so. They left before it was light out. I didn't exactly get up to check."
Derek snorted.
"What?" Simon prompted.
"It's just... Meredith doesn't shop."
"Nonsense, Derek, all women shop."
He shook his head. "No, really, she doesn't shop. Hell, it was all I could do to get her to come with me to any of the freaking toy stores I had to visit looking for your daughter's birthday present."
"So, this is what a toy store looks like from the inside..." Meredith had trailed off as she followed Derek through the double automatic doors of the large box store, staring wide-eyed at the rows upon rows of childhood items she had never seen, clearly taken by the vast variety, seemingly infinite quantity and brilliant colours.
He smirked and grabbed her hand to pull her along with him. He had been shopping in these stores for thirteen years now, and he knew the best strategy was to get in, get what you came for and get out. Hours could be lost if you got off track.
Meredith followed him passively, letting him lead while she took in the sights. "This place is..." she exhaled. "Wow. It's freaking huge. I always wondered why they looked so big from the outside. Why are the shelves so high? Isn't this supposed to be kid-accessible?"
Derek snorted. "No, it's supposed to be parent-with-credit-card accessible."
"Ahhh..." She laughed. "I get it now." Two young boys ran by, obviously brothers, toys in each of their hands, and smiles lighting up their faces. "I can see how this place would be cool for kids, though."
He nodded. "Ellis not much of a toy store frequenter?"
She laughed. "Are you kidding?"
Derek dropped her hand and wrapped his arm around her waist. "Don't feel too bad about missing out. They didn't have stores like this when we were growing up."
She snorted. "When we were growing up? Maybe not when you were growing up..."
He rolled his eyes. "Ha ha. I'm not that much older than you. And I doubt they invented box stores in those eight years."
She shrugged, her eyes sparkling with laughter. "You never know."
He simply shook his head gently and brought them to a stop, his eyes expertly flashing across the shelves, taking in and disregarding numerous Barbies, Barbie mansions, Barbie horses, Barbie cars... He sighed when he came across the sign regretfully informing him, the customer, that the new model was out of stock. "Damn," he muttered.
"Derek, don't take this the wrong way, but this place is a freaking maze. I'm a little concerned that you knew the direct path to Barbie land."
He mock glared at her before breaking out in laughter. "Nine nieces, Meredith. And I've been here for almost a year and a half. Trust me, I've had reason to be here before."
She laughed. "Well, which one are you going to get her?"
"They don't have the new one."
She shrugged. "Then get her another one. How about one with a horse?" She picked up a large, pink box housing a white horse with a long, silky mane and tail. "Girls like horses. Hell, I liked horses."
He shook his head. "No, I need to find the new one. Someone in this town has to have them."
"What's the big deal?" She returned the horse to its spot on the shelf, to wait for another chance to be purchased. "They're just dolls, right?"
He shook his head. "No, apparently not."
She furrowed her eye brow in concentration as she swept her gaze across the varieties. "Other than accessory things, I'm not really seeing a difference."
He kissed her cheek. "And that is why I love you so, but to Stephanie, there's a difference. And if I want to keep my spot as favourite uncle, I have to find it."
"Well, she's shopping now." Simon said with a laugh, pulling Derek from his memory. "I'm telling you, Derek, they'll corrupt her. I wouldn't even be surprised if they stole your credit card. They definitely got mine." He offered a wry what-are-you-going-to-do grin and shrugged good naturedly.
Derek laughed and sipped his coffee. He had always enjoyed the day after Thanksgiving in previous years. The men were always left alone with the kids while the women shopped, and the house seemed quieter. It allowed him to spend time with his brothers-in-law that he didn't normally get. And he hadn't realized just how much he had missed their presence until now. It had been nice when his sisters had started getting married, finally adding to the male ratio of the family.
"So," he prompted. "Anything new and exciting that I...we," he corrected, nodding towards Mark, "Have missed out on?"
There was a pause, but not an uncomfortable one, as Dean, Simon and Spencer thought back to the last two years.
"I don't think so," Simon said. "Though last Thanksgiving wasn't as good as this one. Without Mark here, it left Nance, Nat and Carol fighting over head chef duties." He shook his head. "Wasn't pretty. And the food wasn't as good."
"Thanks, man," Mark said proudly.
Derek laughed.
"And last Christmas was quiet," Simon said. "We were the only one's here." Each Shepherd family took turns between years of which in-laws to spend the holidays with. It wasn't however, an exact science, with trades and last minute things. But Anna and Spencer always spend the holidays with Carol. They weren't close at all with Spencer's family.
"Are you guys coming this year?" Dean asked.
Derek sighed and shook his head. "Mer and I aren't. Can't get any time off."
Mark nodded beside him. "Same. I've been there less than a year, apparently I don't get any special favours." He shrugged, as if mostly indifferent, with just a hint of resentment, as if the hospital should offer him time off. They were lucky to have him.
"That's too bad. But, we'll see you in June, right?"
Derek nodded with a smile. "Mom's birthday? Of course. It'll be the first time everyone is together in, what, three years?"
"Close to," Dean responded.
"So, anything else new?"
Spencer and Dean shook their heads.
"Oh," Simon said with a laugh. "Carly is pregnant again, if you hadn't already heard."
Derek laughed. "That'll make mom mad." Carly was Derek's first cousin. His mother and his Aunt Joyce had been in friendly competition about the number of grandkids they had ever since the first one was born. Joyce was a few years older than her sister, and had six kids, who together had granted her thirteen grandkids thus far, with fourteen apparently on the way.
Spencer snorted. "She was beside herself. She's managed to hold onto the lead for so many years..." There had been quite a few years where Carol would be up one, and then Joyce would tie, and Carol would get one more, and then Joyce would tie. "And she's, of course, lain into me and Anna. When are you two going to give me more grandbabies?" He rolled his eyes. "And you've only given me two, look at Nat, she's given me five. She's a better daughter."
Derek joined in the laughter of the table at Spencer's attempt to mock his mother.
Spencer huffed. "Honestly, man, it's not cool having your mother-in-law push for things like that. It's creepy."
"Hey, she's on me and Nancy, too," Dean said. "Apparently three kids in this day and age isn't enough." He shook his head and turned to Derek. "Be careful, man, I'm sure she'll start on you again soon enough."
Derek couldn't help the small smile that played across his lips. It had been years since his mother had stopped bugging him about grandkids, but the realization that he was closing in on a point where she would feel the need to start up again made his heart flutter, even if he knew kids were up in the air at the moment.
Simon caught the smile. "Have you talked about having kids?"
Derek exhaled and shrugged, internally warning himself not to say too much in this company. It was no secret that anything said to any of the brothers-in-law would reach his sisters, immediately followed by his mother. "Not really. Mer's really... hesitant about things like that. It may take her a couple years to make a decision."
"A couple years, huh," Dean spoke up. "So, there's been talk about other things..."
Derek smiled and nodded.
"You guys going to get married?" Spencer asked.
Derek almost laughed at the interested expression on all three of their faces. He almost felt like he was talking with his sisters. "Yeah," he said with a smile and a short nod. "We will."
"You're not engaged, are you?"
He shook his head. "Not yet."
"But soon, right?"
Derek simply shrugged and bit back a smile.
000
After he had gulped down two cups of coffee and made a small sandwich for breakfast, even though it was after noon, Derek sat on the front couch in the living room and reached for the portable phone resting in it's charger on the table beside him; saving himself from the effort of heading back up the stairs for his cell. The ibuprofen was doing a pretty good job, but he didn't want to risk anything. And the stairs were definitely off limits until it was time for bed.
He dialled her cell number from memory and smiled up at the empty space on the wall in front of him as he listened to the phone ring. One day soon there would be a picture there. The talk with his brothers-in-law had made him almost giddy. They loved her, and were quiet clear that his sisters loved her. And now, all he wanted was to hear her voice.
"Hello?"
"Hey."
"Hey, it's you," she said happily. "I didn't recognize the number." He smiled at her light tone, and he could hear a rush of noise and static from her background. It was certainly busy.
"Where are you?"
"I'm in a mall," she said with a giggle.
"A mall?"
There was a burst of static and he knew she was nodding. "Yeah, your sisters kidnapped me."
He smiled as he heard a series of argumentative statements in the background from his sisters. "Kidnapped you, huh? What time did you leave?"
She groaned. "Early. Too early. Seriously, normal people don't get up before dawn to go shopping."
He laughed.
"I'm so tired," she complained.
He smirked to himself. "Well, whose fault is that? You're the one who broke the rules."
She exhaled, but remained silent, her breathing creating a hiss of static with every exhale. "And they're standing right there, so you can't argue with me, aren't they?" He laughed.
"Shut up, Shepherd."
"Hey, I should take advantage now, of all the things I can get away with saying that you can't counter."
She huffed. "You know I'd find a way to get you back."
He laughed. "I'm sure you would. Are you having fun?"
"Yeah, surprisingly enough. I am. I mean, I'm shopping, but I don't think it's really about the shopping..."
He smiled at her confident tone. "No, I've always suspected that."
"Mmm," she responded somewhat distractedly. There was a shuffle and a bang, and the sounds of a shuffle. And he definitely heard a familiar 'owe' in the background.
"Derek, you're interfering with girl time," a voice told him when the line became clear again.
"Kath?"
"There's no communication allowed during girl time. She's ours right now."
Derek laughed. "I just wanted to check in, make sure she was actually with you."
"She's here and she's fine, Derek. And you'll see her again when we get home. Goodbye now." And the line went dead. He laughed and didn't bother calling back.
000
It was dusk when the sound of the front door opening filtered into the living room where Derek found himself drifting off on the couch, along with Simon, Dean, Spencer, Mark and nine kids. Instead of cooking something for dinner, they had opted to order pizza, and the kids had come up and convinced them all to watch a movie together. Spencer was sprawled on his back on the short end of the L-shaped couch snoring, his legs dangling over the edge and his three year old son asleep on top of him. Derek was at the other end of the couch, leaning against the arm rest, Megan in his lap, with Stephanie tucked in beside him, and Andrew on her other side.
Dean sat in one of the recliners, wide awake, with his five year old daughter, Haley, blinking off to sleep. Mark and Simon were sharing the short couch, with Anna and Spencer's daughter, Kim, between them, her head resting on Simon's knee, while her feet dangled over Mark's. Every few minutes, Mark would run his finger up her toes and make her laugh. And Tina, Kaitlyn and Jessica were squished together on the other recliner, giggling as they spoke through the movie in hushed voices and giggles. At nine, ten and eleven, they made up the closest subgroup of cousins present.
"Ahh," Carol said as she entered the living room first. "I see we've had a productive day."
"Hey, the kids are all clean, fed and alive, what more could you want?" Simon asked with a laughing smile.
Carol laughed as she and Abby headed through the room towards the kitchen.
"Look at my boys," Anna said softly as she wandered over to where Spencer and Spencer, jr, were fast asleep together, her expression soft and loving as she ran her hand over her son's back.
Derek smiled at the sight and glanced over to see Meredith in the doorway, also staring at the scene, her eyes taking on an unfamiliar expression. "Hey," he greeted softly when her eyes travelled over to him.
"Hey," she smiled warmly, her eyes tired but portraying a gentle happiness he was slowly becoming accustomed to seeing. She wandered over to his side of the couch and leaned in for a quick kiss, careful not to disturb the young girl in his lap. "I would have called you back, but they stole my phone," she said with a laugh. "And they still haven't given it back."
Derek laughed. "I'm telling you, Mer, they're mean sisters. You have to be careful with them."
Kathleen snorted as she entered the room. "Shut up, Derek."
"Mommy, that's not a nice thing to say," Megan called from Derek's lap.
Derek laughed. "Thank-you, Megan. Now, tell your mommy she needs to be nicer."
"Mommy, you need to be nicer."
Derek smirked at his sister.
Kathleen rolled her eyes. "How very mature of you."
Derek laughed as Meredith's hand found his shoulder and he covered her hand with his own, squeezing tightly. "You have a good day?"
She smiled and nodded. "Yeah. I did."
"Did they sucker you into buying a ton?"
She laughed. "A little," she admitted with a slightly embarrassed smile.
"Meredith," Stephanie said suddenly, pulling away from Derek's side. "Do you want to sit with Uncle Derek?"
Meredith looked surprised and then shook her head. "No, it's okay, Steph, you can stay there."
Stephanie smiled and stood up. "There's plenty of room."
"I, uh... okay," Meredith agreed and released her hold on his shoulder to walk around to his other side and take a seat between Derek and Andrew. Derek had barely closed his arm around her when Stephanie plunked herself down on Meredith's lap.
Derek smiled at her expression as she hesitated before gently wrapping one arm around the girl for support. She glanced at Derek, her eyes wide with surprise. He couldn't help but smile even wider and lean his head over to kiss her. "I love you," he whispered when he pulled away.
She swallowed and nodded. "I love you, too." She yawned and leaned into him, sighing with content when her head found a rest on his shoulder. "What are we watching?"
"I have no idea."
She giggled and snuggled closer, her body softening into his.
Derek tightened his grip around her waist and smiled as her breathing began to even out. He kissed the top of her head before resting his cheek against her and closing his eyes.
000
"Wake up, Uncle Derek!" The tiny voice was saying. "Wake up. The movie's over." The pressure in his lap shifted as his niece turned to face him. Her sharp six year old knees found the tops of his thighs and he jolted. Even her light weight was enough to send shock waves of pain through his devastated quadriceps. "Uncle Derek, you were sleeping!" Small hands found his face and he opened his eyes.
Blinking groggily, Derek met Megan's bright eyes as she laughed at him. He cleared his throat. "Megan, honey, you need to move your knees, you're killing me."
She laughed and did as she was told, shifting into more of a sitting position, still facing him. "Is that better, Uncle Derek?"
"Much." He smiled at the young girl. Glancing to his left, Meredith was still curled up beside him, tucked under his arm, fast asleep. Andrew had evidently vacated the couch at some point, and Stephanie had stretched out, half on the couch and half draped across Meredith's lap. "What time is it?"
Megan shrugged, her eyes sparkling.
He narrowed his gaze. "Megan..."
She bit her lip. "I think it's late."
"When did the movie end?"
"Which one?"
Derek groaned. "How many have there been?"
"A few."
"If it's late, why are you still up?" He tried another tactic.
"Cause Mommy went to bed hours ago, and Daddy fell asleep on the couch." She pointed over her shoulder, and sure enough, there was Simon, curled up on the short couch.
"That can't be good." He eyed his niece. "Why didn't you wake someone?"
She shrugged. "Cause I wanted to watch the movie. And I never get to stay up."
Derek shook his head and carefully dislodged his arm from his slumbering girlfriend. One glance at his watch told him it was well after midnight. Why hadn't someone woken them? He caught sight of Mark sleeping on the recliner the three girls had obviously vacated at some point. And, at the other end of the couch, Spencer was still fast asleep, with his son on his chest, but Anna had tucked herself into the corner, and pulled his head onto her lap beside her daughter. They were all fast asleep. That answered that one.
"Where's everyone else?" He asked, suddenly finding himself whispering.
"Gramma and Aunt Abby went to bed. And mommy, and Aunt Nancy and Uncle Dean. And Andrew went downstairs when the last movie ended."
"And your other cousins?"
Megan shrugged.
Derek bit back a laugh as he wiped his hand over his face. "Okay. We need to wake everyone up so that they can go to bed."
She laughed. "That's funny, Uncle Derek."
He made a face. "What's funny?"
She laughed again. "That we need ta wake them up to go to bed."
He smiled. "Well, we can't let them sleep here."
"Why not?"
"Cause it'll hurt in the morning."
She shrugged, and Derek chose to take that as an agreement.
"Okay, why don't you go and jump on your dad and wake him up?"
Megan smiled widely and her body seemed to tense as she nodded and sprang from Derek's lap. He laughed as she ran the few steps between the couches and jumped onto her father's sleeping form.
"Daddy! Wake up! It's time to go to bed!"
Simon made a series of unintelligible grunts, groans and grumbles as his hands expertly came up to support his daughter as she sat over him. "What time is it?"
"A little after one," Derek answered.
"What? Why are you still up?" He asked Megan.
"Cause you and mommy was sleeping!"
Simon sighed and gingerly rolled into a sitting position, forcing Megan to jump off the couch the face him.
"You're not mad, are you daddy?"
Simon smiled at his daughter and held his arms out. "I'm not mad, sweetheart," he told her warmly. "Just don't tell your mother."
Derek snorted. "Hey, Megan, why don't you wake up your Uncle Mark too?"
Megan bounced. "Okay!" And she ran across the room to launch herself onto her uncle as she had just done to her father. There was grumbling from the chair.
"Mer," Derek kissed her head and then gently shook her. "Mer, wake up."
"Nnnnn," was all the response he got as she burrowed her face into his shoulder.
He laughed. "Come on, Mer. You just need to wake up for long enough to crawl up the stairs. And I'd love to carry you, but I doubt I'll be able to get myself up the stairs without crawling..." He grimaced as he stretched his leg out in front of him.
She didn't respond verbally, but she sighed against him, and then slowly began to shift.
Stephanie awoke when the surface under her upper body moved. She blinked wearily at Derek.
"Hey, Steph, we all fell asleep. Do you want to wake up Anna and Spencer?"
She nodded silently and manoeuvred so she could crawl across the couch to her aunt and uncle.
"Well, the system broke down somewhere," Mark stated as he staggered into Derek's central vision.
Derek nodded.
"Well, I'm going to bed," Mark mumbled and turned for the back hallway.
"Me too," Simon said, and with a big effort, managed to push himself up. He winced and staggered a few steps. "Megan, are you going to sleep upstairs? Or downstairs with you sisters again?" She was just at the age where she was beginning to crave sleeping in the basement with the rest of her cousins, but not every night.
"Downstairs," she answered.
"Okay, come give me a hug, both of you."
Derek carefully pushed himself into a standing position, pulling his groggy girlfriend with him. She tucked herself under his arm and sighed. "Sleep..." She mumbled, being the first remotely coherent word since her awakening.
He laughed and kissed her head. "That's the plan."
Simon released his girls from a bear hug. "Okay, now say goodnight to your aunts and uncles."
"Goodnight Uncle Derek and Aunt Meredith," they said in unison. "Goodnight Uncle Spencer and Aunt Anna."
"Night girls," Derek joined the response as they left the room. Anna and Spencer, sleeping kids in each of their arms nodded a goodnight and headed for the stairs, Simon right behind them.
"Okay, stairs," Derek mumbled, turning for the back hallway. It meant less walking distance once he had gotten up the flight. With Meredith tucked securely against him, he stumbled through the living room.
"Are you okay?"
"Just a little sore."
She snorted. "Seriously? That game took that much out of you?"
He huffed. "It's not my fault my controlling girlfriend doesn't let me exercise..."
Meredith laughed. "Controlling, huh? And here, all this time, I thought I was offering you a better alternative. But don't worry, I'll make sure and stop."
"On second thought..."
She shook her head and pulled away from him as they entered the front hall. She picked up her purse and a number of shopping bags.
"I thought you said you only bought a little?"
She blushed slightly and shrugged. "Compared to your sisters, this was a little."
Derek laughed and couldn't help but smile at the expression on her face; apprehension and a touch of embarrassment at the revelation that she had been sucked in and spent some money. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her. "I'm glad you had a good day. I didn't know you were going with them."
She laughed. "I didn't know either, until I woke up with them staring at us this morning."
"What?"
"I knew I was being watched and I opened my eyes, and there they were, all three of them, staring down at us."
"Hmmm. I don't remember that."
She scoffed. "That's because you were dead to the world. Hell, Derek, Kathleen had to help me unlatch your arms so I could get up, because you refused to let go."
He laughed and closed his arms around her again. "I guess it was a good thing you demanded we get dressed."
"You think?"
He shook his head and kissed her. "I do love you, Meredith Grey."
She smiled up at him and kissed him one more time. "I love you too, Derek Shepherd."
He sighed and released her, letting her go first as he began the monumental task of making it up an entire flight of stairs.
He staggered through the door to his room and quietly shut it behind him. Meredith had already dropped her bags on the floor and collapsed onto the bed. He followed suit, but winced as he landed on something hard. He reached underneath himself and pulled out a small object.
"Here, I guess they gave it back," he passed Meredith her cell phone.
She laughed. "I can't believe they took it. I mean, seriously, they attacked me and stole it."
He nodded. "Yeah. They do things like that. I should have warned you."
She shook her head. "Okay, I gotta get ready for bed," she said as she placed the phone on her nightstand and rolled off the bed. After disappearing into the bathroom for a few minutes, she re-emerged and went to work pulling her pyjamas out of her suitcase.
Derek groaned and decided he too should make a trip to the bathroom.
When he re-entered the room, Meredith was sitting up against the headboard, legs stretched out under the covers, scrolling through her phone. He crawled into bed beside her, his head coming to rest against her side and his arms slinging around her waist. "What are you doing?"
Her hand came to rest in his hair, but she shook her head. Derek closed his eyes and shifted closer.
"Seventeen," she finally stated, dropping her phone wielding hand to her lap. "Seventeen."
"Seventeen what?"
"Numbers. They added seventeen numbers."
"What?"
She lifted her phone back up to eye level, and began reading off. "Anna cell. Anna home. Carol cell. Carol home. Dean cell. Dean work. Kath cell. Kath home. Kath work. Nat cell... seriously. They're all there, Derek. Seventeen numbers.
Derek smiled into her side. "Are you okay with that?"
The hand in his hair began intertwining his locks again. "Yeah. Yeah, I am, just... surprised."
He felt a wave of gratitude to his sisters at the tone of her voice, like a child at Christmas. I can't believe this is real. I can't believe this is happening. I can't believe this is all for me. "Lie down," he said gently, pulling downward with his arm as best he could from his flat-out position.
She did as he requested, sliding down in his arms. Derek adjusted to the difference and pulled her in close when she was still. "Pretty amazing, isn't it?"
She nodded, and he heard the faintest sniff.
"Meredith..." he shifted and kissed her cheek.
"They called me Aunt Meredith," she said quietly.
"Who?"
"Stephanie and Megan, when they said goodnight, they called me Aunt Meredith."
Derek blinked as he reached back in his memory banks. "Yeah, they did. I didn't even..." notice. He hadn't realized. "That's..." He trailed off.
"Yeah..." She agreed, knowing exactly what he was unable to verbalize.
"Yeah." He smiled.
She breathed in his arms. "Thank-you for bringing me here, Derek. And thanks for calming me down enough to actually get on the plane. I'm so glad I didn't miss out on this just because I was scared."
Derek smiled at her words, knowing that she meant more than just this weekend when she said she was glad not to have missed out. He felt a familiar welling of his heart and tightened his hold on her, sighing happily. "That's what I'm here for."