Their time spent at Ellis' house never lost it's hint of awkwardness. Meredith just hadn't done Christmas before, and it was clear her mother hadn't either. They sat through lunch together, and the main topic of conversation seemed to just be medical research and talking about Meredith's recent research of her own that she was undertaking with the help of Dr Miller back in Seattle. Unbeknownst to Meredith, her mother had been following the trial from afar, which was surprising considering her mother had always been against her pathway into neurosurgery.
Surprisingly, neither had to mention the engagement to Ellis, because as soon as they both walked in the door she had realised something had changed and knew exactly what it was, offering both of them their congratulations. Other mothers would probably be immediately planning the wedding the second they walked in the door, but in true Ellis style it wasn't mentioned again.
They were now on their way to Derek's family home, having been given her mother's blessing to spend Christmas Eve and Christmas morning with them, and despite the fact she had already met Derek's parents, she still felt very nervous to be going.
"What's wrong?" Derek asked, his hand gently squeezing Meredith's thigh as he drove, "You haven't said a word since we left your mother's house."
"I can't shake these nerves," she said with a short laugh, "It's different meeting your parents as your girlfriend than them knowing me as Ellis' daughter."
"I know this won't help, but there's nothing to be nervous about," he leaned over to press a kiss to her cheek when he stopped at a red light.
"Or, we could hide out at your apartment for Christmas?" She said with a soft grin, capturing his lips with her own a moment before he started driving again.
"As much as I'd love that, if we don't turn up a search party will be sent out," he said with a soft chuckle as he pulled up in his parent's drive.
She groaned softly as she took her seatbelt off and then climbed out of the car, Derek joining by her side and taking her hand with a gentle squeeze.
"It'll be okay," he said, kissing her cheek again, "By the way, when I propose later on pretend you don't know."
"What?" Meredith said, looking at him with slightly wide eyes, "Why?"
"Because I told my mom I was proposing to you tonight and I haven't told her I jumped the gun yesterday and did it already," he said quickly as they approached the door and he rang the doorbell. Before Meredith had a chance to respond, the door flew open as Carolyn greeted them with a grin.
"Come in, come in, out of the cold, both of you," she said, ushering them inside and closing the door behind them as they took their coats off.
"Hey, Mom," Derek greeted as he gave Carolyn a kiss on the cheek and a quick hug.
"Everyone is in the living room," Carolyn said as she led them through, and Derek's arm slid around Meredith's middle as they followed her into the room.
Apparently, the whole Shepherd family had come to Christmas this year, including all four of his sisters and their kids. The adults sat on the couches while the children played around, going in and out of the room presumably to the basement and back.
"Hey, guys," Derek said as they moved over to an empty spot on the sofa, sitting beside one another with Derek's arm still around Meredith.
"Der!" His nephew was the first one to greet him, his head popping out from behind the doorway with a wide grin.
"Hey, Noah," Derek grinned back at him with a soft chuckle which was mirrored by a few of the other adults.
"He's been asking when you'll be here all day," Nancy said with a soft laugh as Noah came into the room and Derek lifted him into a hug on his lap.
Meredith watched along with everyone else as Noah babbled away to Derek, who paid close attention and interacted with the young boy before setting him on his feet again.
"Go and play with your cousins, Noah, we can talk about it later," Derek said, giving the boy a playful wink and he giggled before running off again.
"Are you scheming with my son again?" Nancy asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Never," Derek joked with a grin on his face, his arm wrapping around Meredith, "Anyway, what have we missed?"
"Oh, the usual," Amelia, Derek's youngest sister informed them.
"Amelia," Derek's mother warned as she walked into the living with drinks for both Derek and Meredith.
Amelia simply rolled her eyes and returned to doing whatever she was doing on her phone.
"Thanks, Carolyn," Meredith said with a smile, taking her drink.
"It's no bother, Meredith," the older woman said, "Derek, can I borrow you a moment?"
"Of course," he said, pressing a kiss to Meredith's cheek before standing up off the couch, giving her a reassuring smile before leaving the room with his mother into the kitchen.
"When is it happening? Where? We want to be ready," Carolyn said as soon as the kitchen door was closed.
"Well, I was going to let her get settled in first at least, Ma," Derek said, sipping at his drink and nosying around the food that cooked on the stove.
"Get away, Derek, let it cook. Before or after dinner?" Carolyn asked, trying to get an answer from him as his dad sat at the island, chuckling softly.
"Probably after," he told her, leaning against the counter, "Now if you keep asking questions she might overhear and I don't want to spoil the surprise."
"You're right, go on, out," Carolyn said as she shooed him away from the cooking food.
"I'm going, I'm going, hey Dad," Derek said as he passed his dad with a grin before leaving the kitchen and heading back to the living room, laughing softly to himself. He probably should've just told her, but it was more a present for his mom than Meredith at this point.
After they had eaten dinner, and Meredith was feeling more comfortable, Derek took her out into the garden that was blanketed with snow that had freshly fallen through the afternoon.
"Derek, you know it's absolutely freezing, right?" She said as they stopped in almost the centre of the garden, facing each other.
"I know, but this won't take long, I promise," he said, taking her hands in his to try and give her some warmth.
"Just, don't be getting down on one knee or anything," she pleased with him, "I'm pretty sure I can already feel your whole family's eyes on us."
"Remember to act surprised, okay?" He said with a soft grin, feeling the chill from the evening winter air himself now.
"When? Now? Or are you actually going to propose again?" She asked, furrowing her brow.
"You're killing my nerves here, Meredith, my whole family is watching," he said with a soft chuckle, pressing a kiss to the top of her head before releasing her hands.
"Okay, I'll be quiet," she said, grinning back at him.
"Meredith Grey," he began, his hand going into his pocket a moment before pulling out a small black box that she actually hadn't seen before, and she could feel tears starting to well in her eyes as she watched him.
"I've wanted to do this ever since I saw you on that beach in Hawaii. I'd say the hotel, but that might be a bit too over the top," he said with a soft chuckle, and she laughed softly in return, "I have spent every single day loving you, and I want to be able to continue spending the rest of my life loving you, looking after you, and making you happy."
"Oh, Derek," she murmured softly as he opened the small box to show the small, silver ring inside.
"I'm so madly in love with you. And I want to marry you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I'm not asking for you to marry me tomorrow, I want to make this promise to you. You're it for me. You're my everything," he spoke softer now, repeating the words from the previous day, cementing them in her mind.
"I'm so madly in love with you too," she responded, her voice breaking slightly with emotion as she spoke even though he'd already said the words once before, "I want to make this promise to you, too. I want to marry you."
His face broke out into a grin, almost as though he was unsure of her answer even though he already knew it. He took the ring and slid it on to her finger before capturing her lips with his own in a firm kiss, warming up her cold lips. His arms slid around her and held her tight, a laugh escaping her lips as she heard the faint applause from inside the house.
"You're so cheesy," she said, unable to keep the grin off her face as he lifted her up and her legs wrapped around him.
"Would you have me any other way?" He asked, pressing his lips to hers again.
"Absolutely not," she confirmed, returning his kiss.
Later that evening, after rounds of congratulations and one or two glasses of champagne, they lay in bed together in Derek's childhood room. Meredith's head rested against Derek's bare chest, his arm around her, holding her close as their hands entwined on his abdomen.
"Are you ever going to tell your mom?" Meredith asked with a soft laugh, looking up at him.
"Tell her what?" He asked, not quite catching on to Derek's train of thought.
"That you proposed to me yesterday in Times Square," she said with a soft laugh and his arm gently squeezed around her with a grin on his face.
"Maybe in a few years, I'll let her enjoy it for now though," he said with a chuckle, pressing a kiss against the top of her head.
"I think this year might change my mind about Christmas," Meredith mused, pressing a kiss against Derek's collarbone.
"I hope it does, and I'll make sure every Christmas going forward is just as enjoyable for you," he said, tangling her hair in his fingers, "You know, it's a good thing I actually proposed yesterday."
"Why's that?" She asked, looking at him with a raised eyebrow.
"Because," he said, before gently but swiftly flipping her on to her back, hovering over her and pressing kisses to her neck, "We were able to celebrate all night, and I doubt you'll let me repeat last night's events in my mother's house."
"You make a valid point," she said, a slight moan escaping her lips as she tangled her fingers into his hair, "but maybe we could be really quiet."
"I know I can, but can you?" He said in a soft voice, raising an eyebrow with a smirk on his lips before he began to slowly kiss down her body, disappearing under the sheets.