Irene's A/N: This is it, the final chapter of Eye of the Storm is here. It was quite a long journey, but we hope you enjoyed following us along!

Thank you for reading and reviewing, especially those who have been here from the beginning!

Chapter 43

Meredith doesn't like the space between her and Derek on Dr. Wyatt's couch.

Awkwardness has been a constant since their spontaneous sex in the passenger seat of Derek's car. Gone are the light touches and the semblance of intimacy they were building back. Now they're like two colleagues who had bad, drunken sex at the office Christmas party. Except the sex was good. It was amazing, and she had missed their connection. But sex is never the problem between them, is it?

This time though, they're not yelling or chewing their heads off; there's a strange quiet between them, a sort of lull that emphasizes their lack of communication.

She looks at Derek, fidgeting with the fabric of his scrub pants, his gaze fixed on a spot on the wall behind Dr. Wyatt's head, and she wonders if they have to rebuild everything from scratch.

Sure, it might not be the same rock bottom they were back when Eli passed, but it feels like a huge step back. And she's getting tired of this. She can take so much push and pull between them before she breaks for good.

"Okay, before we start, I have to say this: your cats are adorable." Dr. Wyatt is beaming, breaking the ice since they've been sitting there for over two minutes and neither of them has said anything beyond a greeting to their therapist. Meredith is grateful for the way she's easing the tension.

"Yeah," Derek says. "We just need to figure out how to keep Meredith from inhaling allergy medication if we want to keep them."

"The kittens are easier, she'll get used to them," Dr. Wyatt says, her smile a bit dimmer now. "That brings me to a question I wanted to ask."

Meredith is unsure why Dr. Wyatt looks so hesitant, but it's weird. Their therapist is usually very confident and unwavering, but maybe she has really bad news to deliver? Is she going to tell them they're a hopeless case? Or worse, did she hear them have sex in their driveway? Getting caught half naked by Dr. Bailey was mortifying enough for a lifetime.

"Would you mind if I took in Sunny Wyatt?"

Meredith's eyes widen. Of all the things, she never expected these words to come out of Dr. Wyatt's mouth. "What?"

Dr. Wyatt chuckles. "Well, Zola told me all about your cat's names, and I love cats. We had a cat when my children were little, but by the time they went off to college she died of old age. It's been a couple of years, and we never really wanted to get another cat. But with Sunny…"

Meredith nods. She knows full well how easy it is to love that cat. Even when she needs to invest in stocks of Benadryl.

"But I would be happy to take her."

"That doesn't sound half bad," Derek says. "Zola could still see the cat if we can arrange it. Or something like that."

"Oh, for sure!" Dr. Wyatt seems genuinely excited, and Meredith likes the smile on Derek's face at the idea.

"We'll think about it, okay? Thank you for offering." Meredith shares a small smile with Derek, before they fall into silence again.

Their postures are on alert again, and she can feel her shoulders stiffening as the silence grows uncomfortable. They should be able to start a conversation, but Meredith's head is so full of arguments, she doesn't know where to start. So, quiet it is.

"How was camping?" Dr. Wyatt asks, clearly pushing them now. She cannot blame their poor therapist for trying. She knows sometimes an honest conversation between her and Derek feels like pulling teeth.

"Disastrous?" Meredith replies, while Derek says "Not bad?" in the same breath.

Meredith groans.

"We got rained on and raccoons stole our food. You call that not bad?" She can't help the snapping, and she sees her words hitting him, sharp. He winces, then swallows.

"I liked spending the whole weekend with you and the kids. We never get to spend all that time together."

He's not even looking at her now, and she feels horrible, because he's right, that part was nice. Even when Derek drove her crazy, it was somewhat nice.

"He did apologize for not locking the cooler," Meredith says, giving in.

Derek is still not looking at her though.

"The kids are still too young to camp, though. I should have planned it differently. Maybe in a cabin or something." His gaze drifts outside, to the timid sun peeking from the windows, and Meredith knows it's his way to give in, too.

Camping disasters are not their main issue, though, and they both know it. It fueled everything, but it's not the issue that has kept them floating in their house for the past day or so.

"We had sex!" Meredith blurts, biting her tongue when she realizes how deeply personal she's going. Yet, Dr. Wyatt knows all about their sex life, how Derek's tongue in her mouth makes it hard to concentrate, and how much she loves sex with him. Yet, Derek was blissfully ignorant of this fact so far, and he doesn't look pleased. She can almost see his eye twitch at how not pleased he is.

Dr Wyatt doesn't say anything, but a simple look is prompt enough to push Meredith to share more. Except Derek beats her to it.

"Well, we fought and then we fucked."

"We fucked?" Her eyes widen at his blunt tone, at how unaffected he seems by the whole thing.

"It was the passenger seat of my car, Meredith. Not exactly the most romantic of spots."

She exhales, clenching her fist and closing her eyes as she tries not to snap. Dr. Wyatt always reminds them to think before speaking hurtful words, but damn if she wants to just shout obscenities in his face.

"It's not the first time we made love in a car, Derek. We have quite a few fond memories of car sex."

"Well, it's the first time that you're thinking of birth control before I can even pull out."

Her cheeks flush. She hates how blunt he's being now, how callous each sentence comes out of his mouth. She folds into herself, elbows on her knees, and buries her face in her hands.

She admits that she'd been insensitive, but her brain just went there, post-coital haze be damned. It hasn't made her hazy at all, just a swirling mess of thoughts of potential infants that might die. She surely could have worded that better.

Before she can apologize though, he's speaking again, delivering another blow.

"Your Plan B is still on the bathroom counter, by the way."

Derek might be staring at the carpet, but she can't meet his eyes either. Because he's right, she never took the pill when he brought it back, nor any time after. They both know that ship has basically sailed.

"Okay, let's back up a little." Dr. Wyatt's calm voice interrupts the tense silence between them. "So, you two had sex after the camping trip, and Meredith asked for emergency contraception. Derek, you bought it, but Meredith never took it?"

They both nod, their eyes glancing to separate corners of the room.

"Can I ask why, Meredith? You asked for the pill."

"I...I don't know." And she doesn't really. Because she's scared shitless of getting pregnant again, but she couldn't bring herself to take the Plan B pill anyway.

"Alright. Derek, you seem upset that Meredith asked for emergency contraception, and yet you're also upset she didn't take it?" Dr. Wyatt asks, deflecting the attention from her, much to Meredith's relief.

Derek's pose stiffens, he straightens his back, but he doesn't reply right away.

"I would have all the babies in the world with Meredith. All of them. A gaggle of children with her eyes and her strength." He almost smiles. Almost. His eyes shift to stare down Dr. Wyatt. "But what if I lose her this time? What if she has another complicated pregnancy and this time she doesn't make it?"

He lets out a shaky breath, swallows, pinches the bridge of his nose. Her heart is hammering under her ribcage.

"Derek –"

"I'm scared out of my mind at the thought of losing you, Mere." His voice is soft, now, and his eyes are filled with tears. She can barely see him through her own tears. "You heard Addison, the risks…"

"I know," she says, trying to control her raspy voice, making it sound less shaky than it actually is. She's abysmally failing. "I don't know if I can go through a pregnancy again, either. That's why I asked for Plan B."

"But you didn't take it."

"Because I would like a gaggle of your children, too. Or maybe not a gaggle, but maybe one more." She can't believe she's even saying this, but apparently Derek has made her a baby person. And honestly, the more Zola and Bailey grow, the more she likes them. So maybe she's not a baby person, but she's leaning towards being a children person, especially if they're her children. Their children.

"We can't risk this. Mer, I know you put your hands on bombs and stand in front of guns, but this...You're braver than you know and others find you an inspiration, but you just scare the crap out of me every single time. I don't know if I can hold my breath every time."

You're braver than you know and others find you an inspiration. The words sound familiar in her head. Very familiar. There's a larger issue to tackle here though, before she gets to that.

"I don't want to die," she says, because after her liver transplant and surviving HELLP she vowed she would live. She's making a mess of her second chance (or third? maybe even fourth chance), but she's still here, and she wants to fight. Not with Derek, she doesn't want to fight Derek anymore, but she wants to fight for the best life she can have, the best life they can share together.

Derek nods, his gaze clearer now, the tears in his eyes a faint memory. They're almost sparkling again, his shoulders less tense.

"Ok, this is great progress," says Dr. Wyatt, relaxing the atmosphere. "You both need to remember how to communicate better though, and be honest with one another."

Meredith sighs, knowing she has to come clean about the grief forum to Derek. She's not sure how he will react to talking to strangers about their dead son, but she wants a clean slate again, and maybe it comforts her to know they can fight about this in a controlled environment, before they crush their little bud of relationship that is growing again.

"I joined an online grief forum," Meredith says. A quick glance to Derek reveals how his body hums with tension again.

Derek exhales loudly, combing his fingers through his hair. "I know."

Meredith's eyes snap up to his, and frowns. "What?"

"You left your laptop on. I saw the page. Accidentally."

Meredith blushes. She feels naked now, ashamed that maybe he read the public posts she made, even though most of them were chiefly medical advice and not much else. She hopes that the page he saw wasn't the private message box with JackCohn.

"I've been talking with people there. About Eli."

"I know. I signed up, too."

"What?" The word is out of her lips before she can stop herself. She watches Derek's cheeks color with embarrassment.

"I'm JackCohn, Mere."

Her cheeks are on fire, and Derek cannot meet her eyes.

Silence stretches, as Dr. Wyatt gives her time to process it, though the shock of it probably requires much more time than what they have left in their session.

"Why?" Meredith asks, finally finding Derek's gaze, holding it, staring deep into his eyes to understand, because right in this moment, she has no idea what possessed him to impersonate someone else.

"Because I couldn't reach you." Derek sighs. "I'm ashamed, but I couldn't figure out a way to talk to you that didn't involve us yelling, and when I saw the forum, I saw my opening. I was a coward."

"Derek, you betrayed me. You –"

"I don't deserve you, Mere. Because even though I knew that you were upset with me, and when things were awful between us, Jack was there for you. Yet, you pulled back, you never let it go much further than the screen. Every time I read your messages, it felt like going back in time, before we got married, before the kids, before DC."

Meredith is already overwhelmed, but she can't stop listening to him. "Me, too."

"I realized then that Eli's passing only emphasized the problems we still had, the ones we were able to hide under the rug. I took you for granted, Mere. You, the kids, our family, our love. I was selfish and self-centered, and I did it again, I –"

"Derek, I'm not Addison." She can't help but sit closer to him, rest her hand on his back.

"I know. And your exchanges with JackCohn are proof of that."

"I'm glad you're Jack, Derek. Because some days JackCohn was my only comfort, and I'm glad it was you. That's why it helped me, because you know what to say to me when I'm upset, you know me Derek, sometimes better than I know myself."

"You, too. Even when we fight and I sleep on the couch, I feel better if we're home together, if we're sharing space."

Derek takes her hand into his, squeezing it, his firm fingers giving her strength, stopping her tears. She leans even closer and melts into his arms, as he wraps her against his chest, their hips touching as they stretch and bend to accommodate one another.

It's still a seamless fit. As always.

"I'm sorry I had to hide," he whispers against her temple.

"I'm sorry I was so hard to deal with that you needed to hide in the first place. I'll try to be better."

"Me, too." His lips find her temple, and she squeezes Derek just a bit tighter, relishing the warmth, the safety, of their renewed embrace.

There's a soft ding from the session timer, and they're startled out of their moment. They turn to see a gentle smile on Dr. Wyatt's lips.

"Sorry for the interruption, but your time is up. Great progress today, I'm really glad you worked out your problems here. You are almost ready to walk unassisted again."

Meredith feels a weight on her chest disappear, and when she turns to Derek, he looks much more relaxed, too. She knows they will probably need to continue their sessions for a while longer, maybe even forever, but she hopes they will never be this broken again. Especially since she's not sure they'll be able to pick up the pieces again.

"Kintsugi," Dr. Wyatt says, putting a frown on both their foreheads. "It's a Japanese art that uses gold to repair broken objects. That way you're not hiding the flaws, but making them into something beautiful."

Meredith feels tears in her eyes again, and Derek squeezes her tighter.

"Own this. Own the pain of losing a child, of almost destroying your marriage, and fix it with gold to remember. I'll see you next week."

Dr. Wyatt closes her clipboard with a smile, before she exits the office.

It takes them a few moments to get up and go to work, but neither says a word as they exit the daze of Dr. Wyatt's office, their brains processing all the words they have exchanged, and the suggestions Dr. Wyatt has made.

Meredith does her rounds in a haze, glad that she can have some breathing room, some space to think and evaluate what they discussed in therapy today.

She's glad she's mostly working on charts and paperwork, getting ready for bigger surgeries and doing consults this morning, since her headspace is so busy.

Her pager beeping makes her jump in her seat.

She jogs to the ER quickly, praying it's a big emergency that can keep her brain busy enough that she can shelf her thoughts about Derek for a later time.

"Whew, I made it!"

Meredith turns around at the comment to see her slightly out of breath husband grabbing a protective gown and gloves as they both stand at the entrance of the ER.

"What have you got?" he asks, helping her tie her own gown before she reciprocates the favor.

"Car crash. It's a kid, though."

"Oh, so it's the same case, I guess. Ten-year-old, ploughed into by a semi who lost control of the brakes at a stop sign?"

She's not sure if it's a good idea for them to work together now, when they're so raw, but she's also secretly glad she gets to work with Derek. She loves working with him, and lately they never get enough time together as colleagues. She hopes today they can bring in a solid win.

Meredith sighs, a shiver running down her spine. "Yeah."

Derek nods, his smile dimming. "Jesus."

They don't say much, standing in the comfortable silence, waiting. Her head is filled with thoughts of their commute to work, their children in the backseat, what would happen if they got ploughed into by a semi. But she shrugs off the idea, knowing their children are safe in school and daycare and her brain must focus on this kid to save his life. Because if the worst would happen, she would like the doctors treating her kids to be one-hundred percent committed to saving their lives. Hence why she also tries not to think about Derek.

By the time the ambulance pulls into the ER and the doors open, she's wearing her game face on, and Derek is stoic and focused next to her.

The paramedic rattles the child's stats, and Meredith watches as the gurney slides into their view a boy with multiple cuts on his arms and legs, as well as glass embedded into his fuzzy, dark hair. He's looking around frantically, clearly scared, his chocolate eyes wide and filled with dread.

"It's okay, can you hear me? Can you answer some questions for me?" Derek jumps in, penlight in hand, as he checks the boys' pupils.

"I'm okay, I will be fine," the boy says, struggling to stand up. Meredith almost winces at how familiar the words are. He could have been her at his age.

"Hey, what's your name?" Meredith decides on a soft, gentle, motherly approach, also knowing that Derek needs these answers anyways.

"Wade. Wade Frazier." Some of the fight drains out of the boy as they wheel him into a triage bed in the ER. They transfer him onto one of their gurneys, and the boy groans.

"How old are you, Wade?"

"Ten and one third."

Meredith smiles at the answers, then gently pushes up his very formal button-down shirt, checking for apparent signs of internal bleeding. She sees a bruise on his abdomen, and gently presses her fingers there, making him wince.

"When was your birthday?" Derek asks, while he performs his own reflex and reaction tests.

"July. July 15."

Derek smiles at him, grinning. "My sister was born on the fourteenth. You're almost birthday twins. Do you have siblings?"

Wade looks confused, hesitant, groaning again as Meredith progresses with the assessment of his injuries. Meredith frowns, wondering if there's some brain injury they're missing. A look from Derek tells her he has the same fear.

Before they can ask more questions or consult on his treatment further, a flurry of movement and the swishing sound of the curtain being dragged open distracts both her and Derek.

They turn around to see a middle-aged couple, both of them with terrified looks on their faces, cuts and bruises and some shards of glass on their bodies, too. The man is tall, lanky, he's wearing a nice suit, now rumpled and ruined, and he keeps pushing his cracked glasses over his nose, as well as messing with his dark blond hair. The woman is in a pinstriped suit, the white blouse underneath smeared with blood, her chestnut hair falling in a tangle over her shoulders. Her blue eyes are looking around frantically, and she suppresses a gasp with her hand as soon as she sees the kid on the bed.

"Wade?" she murmurs, her eyes filling with tears.

"I'm okay," Wade says, blinking at the sight, shrinking even further on the bed. "I'm okay, please don't send me back. I didn't mean to…"

The woman almost laughs, tears shaking her as the man pulls her into an embrace. Meredith is confused by the kid's statement.

"Oh, Wade, are you kidding?" The man smiles softly at the boy, their eyes locking, chocolate crashing with forest green. "You know what the surprise was? Why we were all dressed up today?"

"You said it was a special day?" Wade swallows thickly, and Meredith is engrossed in their conversation, as she keeps her assessment of the boys' injuries.

She knows he needs a CT, she's not sure if Derek wants an MRI just to be sure, but aside from a broken femur, Wade seems to be doing okay. She can let them talk for a minute longer.

"We were going to court this morning." Wade gasps. "For your adoption. Permanent."

Wade's eyes are bulging out of his head, and Meredith locks eyes with Derek, a memory of their own court days for Zola fleetingly passing in the back of her mind.

"F-Forever?" Wade stammers.

"Forever, Wade. We want you to be our son, forever." The woman's eyes are filled with tears, just like Wade's.

"But what about Chris? You already have a son."

"Chris will be your brother. I know he's small and a bother most of the time, but he's going to be your brother, if you want."

"But why me? I…"

"Because you're so special, Wade. We can't imagine our lives, our family, without you in it. And we hope we can reschedule our court date soon, if you want."

Wade bursts into tears, then, a sob shaking his frame, and Derek instinctually leans back, taking the stethoscope out of his ears and rubbing the boy's back, instead.

"It's a good thing," Derek whispers to Wade, smiling down at the child, then at his adoptive parents.

"But nobody ever wanted me," Wade says, breaking Meredith's heart. Zola was too little to know she had been abandoned, but maybe this child has been bounced around many foster homes, and finally found a good one. She can't imagine what that could be, even though she can picture the neglect and solitude of those places.

"We want you, Wade." The man says, stepping further. The woman next to him nods, and both Meredith and Derek step further away to give the two adults room to hug their child.

Derek locks eyes with her as they step out of the curtain, and he sighs, his voice low as he speaks. "I'd like a CT at least to rule out any bleeding, but he seems okay."

"I'll order a head and abdominal CT, then we'll reassess?" Meredith smiles, glad that the boy is faring much better than their predictions.

"I'll call down Ortho to make sure they take a look at his femur, but I think he'll be okay."

"Oh, he'll be more than okay," Meredith muses out loud, a small smile on her lips as she watches the little family gathered around the hospital bed.

"I'm glad he found good parents. He seems like a good kid." Derek sighs, taking off his gloves and disposing of them in the trash.

"They seem like a good family, too. Do you think they got checked out at the scene?" she asks, watching the adults with a more critical, medically trained eye.

"Would you have?" Derek grins, shaking his head. "If it had happened to us on our way to court to adopt Zola, would you ever have stopped to get checked out?"

She tosses her gloves as well, sighing. "I probably would have walked to the ER if it meant getting to her."

Derek grins, squeezing her shoulder. "I'll ask a nurse to keep an eye on them. Maybe Hunt can convince them to get checked out while Wade is getting his scans."

She smiles at him, relishing the warmth of his hand on her shoulder, the twinkle in his eyes. It's comforting, easy like before. Working together always helped them diffuse the tension, and she's glad they're on good terms, in spite of everything that has transpired between them in Dr. Wyatt's office.

"See you at lunch?" she asks. They don't eat together often, but she wants to make an effort. They're trying, and when they sit down and talk about the weather, it feels like they're doing better, that the weight of grief between them is easier to carry.

He sighs. "I'm heading into surgery at noon. I won't be out until two most likely."

"You're off at six, right?" she asks.

"Yeah. Maybe we can ride the ferry together tonight."

Meredith grins, looking forward to that. "Sounds like a plan."

"Oh, wait, we're picking up Zola first, from Callie's house."

"Right!" she says.

Derek's pager beeps, and he looks at the screen. "Can you…?"

"I'll update them and take care of the rest. Go, I'll see you later."

"Later. Love you!"

The casual way he says that warms her from the inside out. They will be okay. They are mostly okay, now. It still flares up – the anger, the sadness – but they're back, they're in a good place again. They will still see Dr. Wyatt, but they can smile together again, they can ride the ferry without wanting to murder each other, and they can be a family again.

"Love you, too."

Derek has always liked filling charts and paperwork in an empty OR gallery. He's disappointed Meredith has nothing scheduled or he'd unabashedly sit there and let her voice soothe him, but Amelia's surgery looked interesting enough to distract him from the boredom of paperwork. His own surgery was rescheduled because of an emergency, so it means he can at least try to catch Meredith for lunch.

Hopefully he won't be eaten alive by the mounds of paperwork by his side.

There's only an intern in the back, taking notes and slurping coffee, until the door opens and Owen enters the gallery. Derek gives him a small smile, and Owen sits right beside him, on the chair void of charts.

Aside from a brief greeting, Owen sits there quietly, hands in his pockets, fidgeting. He looks on edge.

"Is everything okay?" he asks, casting aside the pen and looking at the man staring down at every move Amelia is making. "Is something wrong with the kid Meredith and I treated in the ER?"

Owen shakes his head. "It's not about work."

Derek waits for Owen to gather his thoughts. The trauma surgeon paces back and forth between the gallery chairs, before he takes out a small, velvet box from his pocket. Without words, Owen opens it, revealing a beautiful solitaire diamond ring, sparkling under the neon light of the hospital.

"I know we're on much better terms, but you know I'm already married, right?" Derek teases, trying to diffuse the tension.

Owen gives him a tense smile, though he looks too nervous to laugh.

"I wanted to ask you if it was okay. I…"

"Owen, you make my sister happy. Really happy. And I know we haven't seen eye-to-eye on many things –"

"Understatement of the century," Owen murmurs, pulling another smile from Derek.

"You are good for Amelia. I'm glad you found each other. How do you plan on doing it?"

Owen exhales, shaking his head. "I have no idea. How did you propose to Meredith?"

"She said no the first time. Took me a bit to convince her. But when she said yes we were here. In an elevator." Derek smiles at the memory. It's another hurdle they faced and overcame together. Another time when they were almost to the brink of an ending, and they got their forever instead. "I know it seems spontaneous, but I planned it, I swear. Though spontaneous is good."

"Yeah?"

"Listen to your heart, Hunt. You'll know what to do." Derek gives him a smile he hopes is reassuring, then signs his last chart and sighs in relief. "I'm off to the cafeteria to find my wife. Would you like to join us? Maybe get her perspective?"

Owen agrees and Derek sees him visibly relax. He is happy Amelia found Owen, and she knows these two can be happy together, if they let themselves enjoy it.

Meredith sits down at one of the round tables, knowing that so far it's just her and Maggie, but she knows someone is bound to join them for lunch. She always seems to attract people, and now she plans accordingly every time.

She starts digging into her sandwich as Maggie opens her salad and sprinkles the dressing in it, tossing it enough to make it edible.

"Okay, I need a totally unbiased opinion," she tells Maggie, who turns to her with a curious look.

"Medical?"

"Personal." Meredith sighs. "Do you think it's selfish if Derek and I adopt another kid?"

Maggie stares at Meredith for a long second, then laughs. Meredith frowns, thrown by the unexpected reaction.

"Meredith, really, adoption is the least selfish thing the two of you can do. I'm grateful every day that my parents adopted me and didn't leave me in an orphanage."

"You're also grateful you weren't raised by Ellis Grey, uh?"

Maggie shakes her head. "I wish I'd known you sooner, for sure, but I have no regrets when it comes to my adoptive parents." Maggie stabs her salad and chews a bite before she continues. "What spurred this on?"

"Kid in the ER. Car crash. They were on their way to his adoption hearing. The kid was so scared they'd send him back, while they were going to make his presence official. Makes me wonder how many kids feel that way. Or if Zola feels that way."

"Zola doesn't remember her birth mother. You are her mother. An older kid will know. It would be honorable and difficult to adopt an older kid, but if anyone can pull it off is you and Derek," Maggie says, and Meredith is taken aback by the certainty in her sister's gaze.

"You don't think three kids is too much?"

"Meredith, do you think three kids is too much?" Maggie grins when she asks.

"They weren't when it was Eli." Meredith stares at her sandwich, gulping some water as Maggie's expression sobers up. "Maybe Derek doesn't want to adopt anymore. Maybe I'm just running in circles." Meredith sighs.

"So talk to him, he will know what to say, and then you'll know where to go from there."

Meredith nods, feeling marginally better. She still needs to find the words to bring up the topic with her husband. Maybe she'll wait for their next session with Dr. Wyatt to do it. A mediator would be helpful to simmer down the tension, help them choose their words more accurately.

When she lifts up her gaze, she sees Amelia scanning the cafeteria for a spot, so she waves. Her sister-in-law smiles and waves back, gesturing for the line, and Meredith wordlessly tells her she'll save her a spot.

Before Meredith can resume her lunch though, she also spots Owen, who is walking with determination toward Amelia, clutching something in his hand. Trailing behind him there's Derek, with a worried look on his face. He's sending looks around the cafeteria, and when his eyes lock with hers, she can see a slight panic there.

Meredith understands his worry when she sees Owen drop on one knee right in front of Amelia, palm upturned and holding a dark velvety box. Onlookers are gasping and aww-ing, Amelia looks frozen in her spot.

When Amelia comes back into her senses, she grabs Owen's elbow and lifts him onto his feet, quickly dragging him away from the pleased crowd, in the direction of Meredith's table.

"What were you thinking?!" Amelia says, shoving Owen into a chair across from Maggie.

Owen opens his mouth multiple times, but no answer comes out.

"You couldn't have waited any other moment? It was humiliating, Owen!"

"Are you still going to say yes?" he asks, his blush matching his hair.

"Of course!"

Amelia lounges for Owen and grabs his face into her hands, kissing him passionately, slightly too much for a crowded cafeteria. It's Derek who clears his throat, and Owen springs away from Amelia.

Meredith shares an amused look with Maggie, who is trying to hide her grin behind forkfuls of salad.

Owen takes out the ring and grabs Amelia's hand, but she holds him in place, for a moment her eyes filling with tears.

"You're not doing this because you found the pregnancy tests, right?"

Owen looks flabbergasted, but the rest of the table is not faring any better.

"P-pregnancy tests?"

"Oh, God!" Amelia slides away from Owen and buries her head in her hands, her breathing ragged.

"Are you…?" Owen gulps, as Amelia nods firmly, her whole body rocking on her chair. "Holy crap!"

Maggie cracks a smile, and Meredith as well, though she feels the tiniest stab of jealousy for Amelia. It's over in a second, but Derek sees it. He walks closer to her, squeezes her shoulder, and doesn't say anything, he just shares a look and the smallest of smiles with her. It tells her how far they have come, indeed, how the air has been cleared and they have an understanding again.

Owen and Amelia retreat to a quieter corner of the hospital, and Maggie sighs loudly, smiling.

"Well, that was quite the lunch break," she says, gathering her salad.

Meredith and Derek smile, too, as Maggie says her goodbyes and leaves them by themselves. Derek grabs his own sandwich, and Meredith waits for him, sitting in his space, content to talk about nothing with him, like they used to, simply the beauty of sharing their precious time.

Derek inhales the salty breeze as he stands on the ferry, on their way back home. Bailey is perched on his hip, pointing at some sailboats, though he's mostly half-asleep. That kid needs to either be fed on the dot or he needs a nap to recharge.

Meredith is standing next to them, one of her hands running along his spine in a soothing motion, her eyes scanning the deck where Zola and Sofia are chasing one another, giggling and winning a lot of gentle smiles from other ferry riders.

The sky is turning a deep orange and pink, and Derek feels like this scene is out of a dream.

"I can't believe Owen proposed," Meredith says, a smile on her lips.

"He asked for permission before lunch, so I thought he'd at least take her to dinner? I don't know what happened there."

Meredith giggles at his attempt at humor, stepping even closer to him, their hips now kissing. She runs a hand through Bailey's growing curls, sighing when she sees their little boy is now asleep.

"I'm really happy she's pregnant, too." Meredith's voice is barely audible over the roar of the wind and the waves and the ferry engine, but her lips are close enough to his ears that he hears every drop of mourning there.

"You can be sad, too," he says, not looking at her, but feeling her hand still on his back. "I am not one hundred percent happy, either."

"For a second, I was so jealous," she says, squeezing her eyes shut, now her fingers gripping his shirt.

"Me, too." The admission is easy on his tongue, though it took his heart a while to dismiss it.

"She deserves happiness, too."

Derek nods, unable to contradict her, though there's not much he can say either. "Wade Frazier also got his happiness today."

Meredith smiles at him then. "I'm glad he found a good family to adopt him."

His eyes flicker to Zola, running carefree, laughing with her best friend. They did this for her, too. They changed her life just as much as she changed theirs.

"Do you want more?" Meredith asks, her eyes tentative. "I know you said you're scared of me being pregnant, but maybe we can go a different route?"

"Adoption?"

Meredith sighs and nods. "Maybe an older kid, like Wade. Someone who deserves another chance. Like we did."

Derek's chest expands at Meredith's words. She is so full of compassion, of love, so ready to take in people and expand her family. He wishes he could pull her into the tightest of hugs, but he doesn't want to wake Bailey, so he simply nudges her forehead with a kiss, lingers there, smells the lavender buried under the smell of antiseptic.

"We should look into it. See if we can even do it. I mean, we have Zola, it shouldn't be too much of a stretch, right?"

Meredith's smile blooms on her lips, even if he can't really see it. He feels her body relax, the tension seeping out of her.

"You don't think three's a crowd, right?" Meredith asks, and he can't help the chortle.

"Mer, I told you. All the kids we can fit in our house, and in our hearts. I can quit my job and become a house-husband."

"No, Derek, you won't. We'll be surgeons and parents, and we'll make it."

Her determination is something he never thought he'd hear again. He owes Dr. Wyatt his marriage, maybe she deserves more than their cat. He should buy her a retirement home or something.

"Of course we will," he echoes. "I love you, Mere."

"Love you, too, Derek."

They don't say much else as the ferry leaves Seattle behind, headed towards Bainbridge, with the sunset welcoming them home, signaling the end of their day, but the beginning of their next adventure.

Nicole's A/N: That concludes the second installment of Storm. Keep an eye out for the third installment, After the Storm, which will follow Meredith and Derek's next adventure. :-)