Hi guys, here's the next chapter. It is also very unlikely that I'll be updating tomorrow so enjoy this one (hopefully). And… MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Enjoy! :)
Disclaimer: I don't own any of Grey's Anatomy. Not the characters. Not the plot. Not anything. Nor do I own anything to do with the NHL. At all. But it would be pretty cool if I did.
Aiden was at school today so Derek had got his chance and drew up to the local ice rink happily. Today he would teach Meredith to ice-skate. No matter how long it took (she told him profusely that she wouldn't be any good).
"I'm serious Derek, you'll laugh at me."
"I won't. I promise," he smiled.
"I know that smile Derek Shepherd. I'm not getting out," she pouted and crossed her arms.
"Oh come on Mer," he grinned, "It'll be fun."
"How do you know?"
"You do realise I skate as a profession, right?"
She gave him a withering glance.
"Okay, well, I'll hold your hand the whole time and even if you do lose your balance, I'll catch you. Either that or I'll take the impact. You're really light, I promise you won't get hurt."
"Fine," she conceded.
He grinned in victory and dragged her towards the doors.
He had brought his own skates, but Mer had to hire her own and he had to help her strap them on after she had told him she was an independent woman and didn't need help.
"I just can't get them tight enough," she complained.
"Uh huh," he smiled, tying the laces tighter.
"Shut up," she laughed.
"Come on then," he took her hand and dragged her onto the ice. She wobbled immediately but caught her balance.
"Don't you dare let go Shepherd," she kept her eyes on the ice.
"I won't. Look up, focus on me."
Warily, she glanced up at him and was caught by the brilliant blue eyes. They looked different here, maybe it was the lighting, maybe it was just the place, but they were somehow brighter.
"That's it." He skated backwards, guiding her gently.
"Okay try and push off with your feet."
She took a minute step forward, looking back at her feet.
"Keep your eyes on me, it'll be easier," he said.
She did so and tried again, she found she moved more and smiled childishly.
"Yes Mer!" he grinned, "Do it again."
She did and she went forward still, the glint in her eyes making Derek's heart melt. She was so adorable, wrapped up in her scarf and bobble hat, he wouldn't mind spending the rest of his life teaching her how to skate. She gained more confidence throughout the public skate, occasionally being dragged out the way of out-of-control skaters, keeping her upright. However, that could only work so many times as she was propelled forwards after (clearly) a hockey player whooshed past her. She stumbled forwards, landing straight in Derek's arms.
"I told you I'd catch you," he smirked.
"Shut up," she slapped his chest. Noticing her rosy cheeks, he kissed each one before kissing her nose. She scrunched it up and he couldn't help but do it again. It was too cute! They spent the rest of the skate going slowly around the edge, hands locked together like they would never separate.
xxxxx
Aiden was practically bouncing. Meredith could understand why, they were at what was potentially the last game of the Stanley Cup Final. The Flyers were leading 3-1 and Derek said he was confident that they would win today. He had insisted on her wearing one of his own jerseys for 'good luck' as he called it, but she was more than happy to take it. It was surprisingly comfortable and smelled like him, she might have to steal it for herself after today. But for now, she had to get Aiden to sit still.
"Calm down Aiden!" Mom laughed.
"But Mom," he giggled, "the Flyers could win today. And Derek and Uncle Mark are playing. We can't lose!"
"I never should have let you have that cotton candy," he heard her mutter under her breath.
He giggled silently to himself and pressed his nose against the glass, observing the players as they skated round. From across the rink, he spotted Derek, who in turn spotted him and gave him a dazzling smile and a wink. Aiden tried to wink back but he hadn't quite perfected it and ended up blinking instead. So, he did their special handshake which Derek joined in on, Mark gave him a virtual fist bump and then the game had to start.
Aiden didn't move from his spot for the entire first period, it was tense all around the arena, Dallas were putting up a good defence and so far, the Flyers had yet to pierce the net. Thankfully, the Flyers goaltender was as solid as Dallas', so it was still a shutout for both sides. After returning to the second period, Aiden was even more eager for a goal. It was the alternate captain who took one of the first shots of the period, hitting the pipe and bouncing off towards the boards. Once the team realised they were close, the shots started flying in. Shots just kept lining themselves up, but none of them would go in. The goaltender was being stubborn, it was annoying. Aiden was simultaneously watching Derek and the puck until eventually the two of them collided in the perfect place. Mark had given him a saucer pass, Derek's stick bent back and released at a whiplash speed, heading straight for the goal like a cork out of a bottle. The goaltender stood no chance.
The crowd erupted in cheers and applause, various objects thrown upwards, fists banging on the glass. Derek skated round, a massive grin on his face, raising his stick towards the crowd. As he coasted around the edge, he arrived in front of Aiden and Meredith. He did the little handshake and Aiden reciprocated eagerly, then the goal scorer leaned forward, "Love you guys," he mouthed.
"Love you too," the two of them mouthed back, Aiden full out grinning while Meredith gave a more muted, loving smile. Derek smiled back and let the team surround him before they reset for another puck drop.
xxxxx
Derek was ecstatic, he had just scored in (what was possibly) the last game of the Stanley Cup Final 2021. The manager took him off for a bit towards the end of the last period, they were up 2-0 due to his teammate's earlier goal. He awaited the last horn eagerly as he watched Mark give top class defending against the oncoming forwards. It was a safe lead with only a minute to go. For the last 60 seconds, it was kept past their offensive blue line and he practically leapt over the boards as soon as the horn went. Skating madly towards the rest of his teammates, he was tackled by Mark, who was hitting him roughly on the back. Derek did the same thing back, a gleeful expression on his face.
"We did it man! We actually did it. We won the fucking Stanley Cup Final!"
"Hell yes we did!" Derek remarked back.
"Hey guys…" he waited for the suspense, "We won the Stanley Cup!"
The team erupted in cheers once again, although they were largely drowned out by the sheer volume that the fans were emitting. He wouldn't be surprised if the roof legitimately came off! The massive group hug was all consuming and he received countless pats on the back and tousles of the hair after the helmets and gloves had been thrown behind them. Ones which he was all too glad to repay. Sticks littered the floor as teammates were drawn into hugs and Derek's eyes twinkled as he watched the scene in front of him.
Once they had calmed down enough, their captain led them through the customary handshake and Derek paid his respects to the team that had held up a good fight. They were as deserving as them, they should at least have the respect.
The Stars skated off the ice so that only the cameramen, AV and the team were left on the ice. The Philadelphia Flyers. He spent minutes being attacked with leaping players, as well as Mark whose grin was mimicking his.
xxxxx
By the time the trophy was being presented, all of them had Stanley Cup Champion caps on their heads and they put an arm around each other as the captain went forward. The miniature fireworks went up as he held the cup to the sky. He grinned through his beard and the rest of them reached to touch it, to hold it. Eventually, he was handed the sacred trophy and held it above his head. The rush he felt was incredible, he was barely halfway through his career and he was holding the Stanley Cup. He was about to pass it on when he caught sight of Meredith who was holding up her phone with a smile. He gave her a goofy grin and then a silly expression for her and passed it to a teammate.
The reporters came after him but this time he was all too happy to reply.
"How does it feel?" They stuck a microphone in his face.
"It's incredible. There's no other feeling like it."
"What were those last few seconds like?"
"It was insane. The rest of the team on the bench were right on the edge of their seats. When that whistle blew, I don't think I've ever moved faster."
"Any last shoutouts you want to make?"
"I know you're out in the stands somewhere right now," he glanced behind him.
"But I love you Meredith. And you Aiden. You're the best mascot I've ever seen," he winked at the camera.
"And I want to thank my family for supporting me and pushing me to do my best. And of course my teammates, I couldn't have done it without them."
"Alright then, go and enjoy the celebrations."
"I will, thank you," he smiled, and skated back to the centre of the ice.
xxxxx
After almost an hour, Derek was almost out of the changing rooms. He had rung Meredith once he had got in to say that he was going out with the guys but would be back as soon as possible. She agreed and told him that Aiden would end up waiting for him. He couldn't help but smile at that, then stuffed all of his stuff in his bag, chasing one of his friends out the door.
"Come on old man," the man called.
"Watch it buddy, I'm not much older than you, you know," he chuckled
"Whatever, we won the Stanley Cup, I can say what I want."
Derek grinned and slapped him on the back.
"That we did. That we did."
xxxxx
Derek got back around 10:30, although he really couldn't be blamed seeing as they had only escaped the arena at about 9:00. He unlocked the door and crept silently through the house. He found Meredith reading a textbook with Aiden's head on her lap. His even breathing evidence of slumber.
"Hi," he whispered.
"Hey," she smiled.
"You're not mad right?" he asked tentatively.
"Of course I'm not Der," she giggled quietly, "you deserve time with your team. You won the Stanley Cup!"
"You know I still can't believe it," he shook his head as he sat down next to her.
"Well you should, I'm proud of you," she told him.
He grinned for what had to be the millionth time today and drew her in for a long kiss.
"I love you."
"I love you too," she smiled, kissing him again.
"You know, I would help you celebrate right now but Aiden told me that he wouldn't go to bed before you got home," she stroked her son's head.
"Hmm, well I would love to celebrate with you, but I guess I should put his mind at ease," he smiled.
"Hey Aiden," he got off the couch, crouched down next to the boy, and shook him slightly. There was no response, and he shared a loving look with Mer. He tried again.
"Hey bud."
Aiden was shaken awake and once his brain registered that Derek was in front of him, he leapt from his position and sent Derek toppling backwards. Aiden landed on top of his chest and he laughed.
"Derek!"
"Aiden," the man grinned.
"You won the Stanley Cup!" he screeched, "the Philadelphia Flyers won the Stanley Cup!"
"They did. Did you have fun?"
"Uh, yeah! Obviously! No game will ever be better than that. It was like, cooler than Jayden's train set!"
"So it was super cool?"
"Yeah! You were the best, Uncle Mark was good too, but you were better."
"I'll be sure to tell him that," Derek chuckled. He sat back up and kept Aiden in his lap.
"I bet you'll play like that one-day bud," he ruffled his hair.
"I hope so. It would be awesome," the little boy grinned.
Meredith couldn't help see the resemblance between the boys in front of her, even if they weren't really related. Their excited smiles were so similar and Aiden looked up to him so much. They were both whispering about something she couldn't hear until she decided that Aiden really needed to go to bed.
"Come on sweetie, it's time for bed."
"But Derek just got here," he whined.
"Well I can tuck you in if you want, and I'll hang out tomorrow." Derek offered.
"Please," Aiden gave him his puppy dog eyes.
"Deal, but only if you go to bed now," he stood up.
"Okay," Aiden smiled, holding up his arms so that Derek could carry him.
He rolled his eyes in fake annoyance, scooping up her son easily, his muscles rippling through the shirt.
"Let's then," Derek started up the stairs.
Aiden was wrapped into the covers fairly quickly as the both of them sat on the end of the bed.
"Sleep well sweetie," Meredith kissed his head.
"Night Mom."
Derek did the same, brushing back his hair, "See you tomorrow bud."
"Night Derek."
Meredith closed the door quietly and led her boyfriend by the hand towards her room. Upon entering, she pinned him against the door and kissed him breathless.
"I want to give you a celebration present, but you have to be quiet," she warned.
"I'm not the one you need to worry about," he smirked, kissing her senseless and leading her towards the bed.
xxxxx
Two weeks later, Derek and Mark were back in Philadelphia, packing all of their things up to go to Seattle. The team had taken them out last night, to wish them well in Seattle and to thank them for years with the team. The brothers had got emotional with the alcohol in their system and promised they'd keep in touch, and that they would always come back when they felt like it. They had agreed unhesitatingly.
Now, they grabbed their duffel bags and trudged out to the car. The rest of their stuff was travelling by road to get to their respective housing situations. Derek had bought the land but was moving in with Meredith while Mark had found an apartment near Amy's house.
"Goodbye old apartment," Mark saluted.
"It was a good place, I'll miss it."
"A good place? It was an awesome place. The amount of times that bed got me laid," Mark shook his head.
"Lovely," Derek rolled his eyes. "I'm gonna miss this place. Philly is a great city."
"Damn right it is. But Seattle will be great, granted it rains a lot, but it'll be good for us."
"It will. God, it will," Derek's eyes glazed over thinking about Meredith and Aiden.
The couple's hope for him to be moved in by the start of October was halted slightly when Derek realised how much he had to pack. They were taking an early afternoon plane, so they'd get there around 10:00 in the morning Seattle time. Unfortunately, Aiden would be at school, but Mer said she'd be there to pick him up.
xxxxx
They got to the airport in time and the flight went relatively quickly, though Mark ended up snoring on his shoulder which was a slight inconvenience!
He left Mark at the hire car centre at the airport, wishing him luck, those things could take ages. Then he headed towards the pickup area, scanning the crowd trying to find his girlfriend.
"Der!" he heard from his right. He swivelled round and found Mer rushing towards him. He hoisted her up and span her round. Setting her back down, he kissed her desperately.
"I missed you."
"It was a week and a half," she giggled.
"Still missed you," he chuckled. "Are you saying you didn't miss me?" he asked into her neck, kissing it tenderly.
"I missed you don't worry," she laughed.
He grinned at her.
"Ready to go home?"
"Mmm. That sounds great," he agreed. Home. Meredith's house was home. It had been for a while, but it was official now. It was crazy. He had known her for a total of nearly five months, but it was so natural and easy it was worrying sometimes. But then he just thought about what it felt like to be with her, and he just felt happy. This was exactly where he was meant to be.
"Do you know when the rest of your stuff is coming?" She asked as she got in the car.
"I think they said the end of the week. A lot of it will just be clothes and stuff. I mean, there wasn't really much point bringing furniture," he laughed.
"True," she grinned, "I'm glad you're moving in," she said quietly.
"I'm glad I'm moving in too," he grasped her hand. "If I ever move too quickly, just tell me, because I can slow down."
"No Der, it's okay. I want you to move in. And it is fast, but it just… I don't know, it feels right. Do you get that?"
"Yeah. Yeah, I do," he breathed. "I love you."
She turned away from the road and smiled at him, "I love you too."