Disclaimer: Oh how I wish Grey's Anatomy was my own. Oh the fun I could have. Instead I write fanfics.

Thanks for all the great reviews! I love having fans. And I promise to keep updating as quickly as I can, hopefully at least one chapter a night. Even though I should be sleeping …but sleeping is highly overrated. Besides this fanfic is going to get a little on the lengthy side . . .so I should rush to get it done.

And this chapter is going to be the cutest chapter EVER.

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Meredith's POV:

"Hi," I said shyly as I opened the door and let Derek into the house. My heart thudded in my chest. Today was the day that would really change everything. Our daughter was going to spend time with her dad. "Emily said she'd be down in a second. She's fixing her hair." I said rolling my eyes.

"Fixing her hair? She's five. And going fishing." Derek said sounding a little worried.

"Izzie's fault. Izzie did her hair yesterday, and now Em wants to look like that everyday."

Derek laughed and opened his mouth to say something else, when small footsteps sounded on the stairs. I turned around to see my daughter twiddling her hair, looking as terrified as she had the first day of school. Just like then I wanted to pull her close, tell her she could stay home if she wanted. But just like then I couldn't. She needed this. Derek needed this. I needed this.

Still thinking of something to say Derek interrupted my thoughts. "Hey Emily, I'm Derek, remember me?" Emily just nodded her head in a silent response, and headed closer to us and hiding behind my legs. Derek knelt down to her level. "So you went with the red cast? It matches your outfit very well. Can I sign it later?"

Again Emily just nodded her head in silence. "Emily, go get your jacket, you two should get going." I suggested, silently hoping that she would open up more when they were alone together.

Emily looked pensive for a moment. "I've never had a daddy before," Emily said, looking nervously at Derek. "But all my friends do, and I've always wanted one. I never told Mommy that, I didn't want to make her sad. But Derek, you're my daddy right?"

"Yeah, I am." Derek said. We hadn't discussed what we were going to tell Emily, but I was glad Derek made that decision in that moment. It was good she knew, she needed to know.

"Well," she said, running her fingers through her hair, like I had watched her daddy do a million times before. "Can I call you daddy?"

"Oh, sweetheart, of course you can." Derek said. He still smiled. He still looked normal. But I could hear the tears in his voice.

And I felt the tears prickle my own. I watched Emily grow up with just me. I watched her first steps, watched her learn to talk, watched everything. Alone. And I kept telling myself that that was okay. That that was for the best. But now watching her with Derek, seeing the love in his eyes and the silent happiness in hers, my heart felt overwhelmed. It was a perfect little scene, the scene I had always dreamed of. This trip was taken under the saddest of reasons, but the outcome was worth it.

Emily ran off to get her jacket. "Wow," Derek whispered. It reminded me of that first surgery together, the amazement of what we had done together.

"Yeah. Wow." I responded.

Before we could go any further with the conversation Emily darted into the room, full of energy. Her shyness of earlier was all but forgotten. "Let's go Daddy!" she yelled and was out the door without a word of goodbye to me.

"I'll take care of her today, I promise," Derek said, leaning over to give me a kiss goodbye on the cheek. I looked at him, and felt tears form in my eyes. I knew he was the dad, that he should spend time with her, and I was happy. I just wasn't quite used to sharing. Derek read my thought like he always had. Wiping a tear from my cheek he finished, "I know, this is hard. Sharing after having her to yourself for so long. But we'll make it work Mer."

With that he was out the door.

Butterfly kisses after bedtime prayer

Stickin' little white flowers all up in her hair

"Walk beside the pony daddy, it's my first ride."

"I know the cake looks funny daddy, but I sure tried."

Oh, with all that I've done wrong

I must have done something right

To deserve a hug every morning

And butterfly kisses at night

"Where are we going fishing daddy?" my daughter asked from the seat beside me.

"At my place. I live near the water so I figured we'll go there. And then have fish for lunch and if we're lucky maybe some for supper too." I answered.

"Good. I like fish."

I looked over at her, thankful that she seemed to be adapting so well to such a big change. She was mine. She was Meredith's. And she was remarkable. I had always figured that I would never love anyone more than I loved Meredith, I hadn't thought of the children we would make together. I was stopped at a red light, so I gazed at her, watching her bob her head to the music.

"Do you like this music?" I asked, wondering what kind of 5 year old likes The Clash.

"I do. But mommy doesn't." Meredith had always liked The Clash, I thought to myself. "Sometimes at night I hear her listening to it, and she cries."

"Your mom cries when she hears this band?" I asked making sure to clarify things. I loved children, but sometimes they were confusing.

"Yep." The answer made me want to cry. To know that year and year after we had split she still cried when she heard a band that I liked was overwhelming. It made me want to weep for all that we had lost. And gave me hope for all that could still happen.

"Daddy? Why aren't you and mommy together? Why do you live here, and we live far away in a place you need to take a plane from?"

By this time we had pulled up to my trailer and I reached over and stroked her hair. "Kiddo, you know what? That's a pretty long and complicated answer. And I don't know quite how to answer it. Maybe we should wait till we can talk to mommy about that too?"

"Okay." she smiled at me. And looked at our surroundings. "Daddy, where's your house?" I laughed and pointed to the trailer. "Why does your house have wheels?"

I swooped down and picked her out of the car and into my arms. "Well, silly, it was in case your mommy called me to come see you. I wanted to make sure that I could bring everything with me, and live wherever you were."

Emily nodded solemnly in a way that was beyond her years.

I carried her out of the pond, smelling the hair and realizing she must use the same hair stuff as her mother. My nose filled with the scent of lavender. I had carried children before, plenty of nieces and nephews, but none of them felt quite like this. To carry the life you created in your arms, there was no words I could think of to describe it.

Reaching the lake I put her down and handed her the children's fishing pole I had picked up the day before. She looked at it, contemplating something. "What is it, honey?" I asked, hoping she didn't already hate fishing.

"Uncle George said that I'd have to touch worms. Is he right? Because I don't think I want to touch worms." She gave me a look I had seen her mother give me plenty of times before, the look of disgust and begging for me to fix the problem. The look her mother had given me when I first took her fishing.

"Now you sound like your mommy. She doesn't like the worms either, so I touch them for her. How 'bout I do that for you?"

She nodded, a smile lighting up her face. Meredith was right, she had my smirk.

We spent the rest of the day out by the water, splashing each other and she filled me in on all I had missed in her life. She was Meredith's child to be sure, her outlook on life reflected things I had always seen in Meredith. She was strong, smart, fast witted, and just perfect. Not many fish were caught, but it was the best day of my life.

"Eww," I heard her exclaim behind me as the sun started to set. "It's slimy." I turned around to find her hand in the fish bucket.

"Slimy? And to think your mother was just telling me you wanted to be a brain surgeon. Well I am a brain surgeon, and let me tell you, brains are so much slimier than fish." (Author's note …I really don't know if brains are slimy at all . . .but I like to think they probably are)

"You're a brain surgeon?" my daughter asked me looking at me like I was super man. "That so cool! Does mommy know?"

"Of course Mommy knows."

The conversation quickly turned into one all about brain surgery, her asking dozens of questions and me trying to downplay the answers. I knew Mer thought she was too young for this stuff, and I needed to respect that. We ate dinner outside, watching the sunset and swatting away mosquitoes. After we were done, to my surprise and thrill, Emily crawled onto my lap.

"Daddy, do you love Mommy?" she asked in a drowsy voice.

"I do. I love her very very much."

"Good. Does mommy love you?" My daughter sure had a way for asking the right questions.

"I like to think she does. But you're going to have to ask her."

"I will."

She grew silent for a while, and I just sat there watching the fireflies dance over the water, thinking she must have fallen asleep.

"I like this place." she quietly said. "Can we move here? Can mommy and I live in your house on wheels?"

I looked down at her, amazed that she suggested it, hoping that her mother would go along with it. Hoping her mother would agree to live anywhere with me. "Of course you can honey, Nothing would make me happier. But if you do much here, I may give up the wheels."

She gently nodded her head into my chest. "I think I love you daddy." She reached up and gave me a kiss on the cheek, her eyelashes tickling my face. Soon she settled into my arms and with the rhythm of her breathing I knew she was asleep. I picked her up, carrying her to the car to take her home.

"I think I love you too," I told her as she woke up as I sat her in the seat.

We drove back to Meredith's in silence. I carried her upstairs and placed her in her bed. I gave Meredith a quick kiss on the cheek good bye, wanting everything to say goodnight the same way I had to my daughter. I drove away.

It would come. The time would come.

Just to clear things up . . .that "the time would come" thing is referring to telling Meredith he loves her. And I think the chapters are getting longer. Though I feel like this one was crap . . .maybe I'm just tired. So yeah please review!

Btw, don't expect a Mer/Der reuinion too soon. Obviously they still love each other, but yeah . . .things have to happen. Lol. And also don't worry . . .Derek is not going to do anything jerkish. I know he has been a jerk a lot on the show . . .but this is my world. And in my world McDreamy is perfect.