A/N: Hey there, readers! Welcome back! As I get back into the groove of writing (and finishing) all my fanfictions, I hope you can keep me motivated through this. I might not always be on time, but I'll try to work on this and BISY until the very end.

Even though I'm not super happy with this, I didn't want to hold out any longer. Enjoy!

Chapter 26

"Meredith –"

"Derek, breathe."

Meredith smiles when Derek inhales loudly, looking at her with puppy dog's eyes, then exhales just as loudly.

"It's just...I've never left him with anyone that wasn't my mother overnight. Ever. I'm freaking out more than him right now."

Meredith's smile widens at his admission. She feels entrusted with a precious gift right now, and while she is slightly scared herself, she needs to appear calm and confident so she doesn't freak out Derek more than he already is.

"Derek, I've been here for a couple of mornings in preparation for this. I know where his physical therapist works. I know to move the elf –"

"Shit, I almost forgot about Dash!"

Meredith grins. "See, I'm ahead of you."

"I swear, I need to put an alarm to move it these days. Too many things going on." Derek shakes his head sadly.

"Hey, you're killing this holiday season, so far. Thanksgiving was amazing, this house looks like the North Pole, and David is happy. He is happy. What more would you need?"

"I don't know," Derek says, sighing.

The way Derek said goodbye to David before leaving for work was almost heartbreaking, yet too cute to even put into words. David, of course, has not realized the magnitude of this until after dinner, when instead of Meredith leaving for the night, she tells him to get in the shower, get jammies on and brush his teeth.

"Meri, you're not leaving tonight? You having a sleepover?"

Meredith smiles. "Yeah, remember? Daddy is at work and I'll be here with you overnight."

David hums, nodding, a frown on his face. "Can you help me pick out jammies and a book?"

"Of course!"

David's room is full of dinosaurs and cars and trains, a true boy room, with a cartoon sharks comforter and blue tones all around. His selection of books is almost as wide as his selection of toys though, with two full bookshelves to choose from.

"These are my favorites!" David says, picking out two slim picture books. He giggles at one of these. "You know, before I knew how to read, Daddy used to read this to me and always said 'Are you my daddy?' instead of 'Are you my mommy?' isn't this silly?"

"A little bit," Meredith smiles, though she understands Derek's motivations. It's sweet that David can call him out on this now, though.

"See, it says 'Mommy'. Em-o-em-em-wye. Mommy!"

"Good job, David! I think you can read all this by yourself by now." Meredith laughs as he shakes his head.

"Noooo! I just know a couple of words. Mommy is easy. Lots of the same letters. Like daddy."

"That's true."

"Can you read it to me?"

"Certainly. Shower time and teeth brushing first, though."

"And jammies, or we'll read naked!" David laughs loudly, as he saunters to the nearby bathroom, shedding his clothes in the process.

Meredith feels a little awkward, standing there as David showers, but he keeps the conversation alive, and she just sits on the toilet lid, reminding him to wash his hair and rinse all the soap out. She doesn't want to touch him, especially not since he's so vulnerable like this, and she's glad she doesn't have to step in at any time. He even does a pretty good job of drying himself off and wearing pajamas, though the teeth brushing requires much more cajoling.

David is a master at cute and entertaining delays.

By the time they're actually ready to read, it's cutting it really close to bedtime, but Meredith decides that for once a few minutes more of reading will not hurt him.

She lays down beside him, with David already under the covers as she sits close to him. He's the one that snuggles into her side, his wet hair dripping on her forearm.

"Is there time for the whole thing?" he asks.

Meredith makes a show of glancing at her watch. "I think there is,"

"Yay!"

David is asleep before Meredith has read through half of the first book.

"This is gross." David blurts, pushing the plate away from his sight.

"David, please, eat your toast."

"I hate toast. I want pancakes."

While their evening had been peaceful and relatively uneventful, David seems to have woken up on the wrong side of the bed. Since he opened his eyes, he's been grumpy and impossible to please, and Meredith is almost at the end of her rope.

Meredith turns towards him with a stern look in her eyes, trying to go past the sadness and the hurt. "You have to eat toast this morning, until your Nana comes back from New York to take care of you and your Daddy is not at work."

"Daddy makes the best pancakes!" He kicks the table, making the plates and the silverware rattle.

"But Daddy is not here to make pancakes, I am. And I suck at cooking." Meredith exclaims, exasperated.

"Ya suck at a lot of stuff."

Meredith turns around and stares at David with a look that freezes the blood in his veins. David looks guilty for a second, but he does not apologize. He is so uncannily like Derek sometimes Meredith feels the urge to do a double take, if it weren't for his size.

"You know what, if you hate your toast, you can go to school without breakfast."

"Fine." He grumbles, stomping out of the kitchen.

Meredith takes a shaky breath as she braces herself against the counter. Her whole body is shaking. She bosses people around every day, but David always leaves her tired to the bone. She feels bad for yelling at him, but she knows he deserves it all the same, the conflict eating her alive.

When he comes back with his shoes on and carrying his backpack, she slides a granola bar to him, on top of his lunch box.

David takes it reluctantly, but he thanks her in a barely audible whisper.

"Look, David," she says with a sigh, crouching to be at his eye level. The boy stares at her with expectation, as she fixes the collar of his sweater. "I know you miss your Daddy, and I know I'm not as fun as your Nana, but you need to listen to me. We should be a team, so that when Daddy comes back from his shift, he'll be happy we are now even better friends. Do you want me to be your friend?"

David studies her. "How come you sleep on the couch?"

"Because you guys only have two rooms, and I can't steal Daddy's bed, can I?"

"But that's uncomfortable."

"I'll be fine, Nugget. It's just for one night."

David looks suddenly concerned. "You sure?"

"I am." Meredith smiles, squeezing the boy's shoulder. "I'll be there to pick you up this afternoon at three thirty, alright?"

David nods. "I have my games after."

"Right!" Meredith fake slaps her forehead, making him giggle. "I haven't forgotten about your funny games with Benny, silly," she winks, physically turning him around.

The boy giggles, as she squeezes him into the car, his smile still bright.

"Meri?" He sighs, as soon as the laughter has calmed down.

"What is it, D-Man?"

"You are the only one that touches me as much as Daddy."

Meredith's heart melts. "I can give you some burrito therapy tonight if you need more..."

"Really?"

Meredith smiles. "Of course. You only have to ask."

Meredith sees David smile from her rearview mirror. Then his eyes widen. "Meri!"

"What? Did you forget something?"

"Dash! I haven't seen him! Did he leave because I was being bad?" She can almost see David's heart racing at the mere idea.

"I didn't see Dash. Maybe he had a good hiding spot."

"Can we please go back? Can we? I need to find him!"

Meredith checks her watch, and she realizes that they still have a few minutes. They can still make it if he looks for the elf. "Yes. Let's go. We need to find him fast, though!"

"Can you help me?"

Meredith smiles. "You look on the ground floor, I'll look for him upstairs."

She knows exactly where Dash is, but she'll pretend. For David, she'll pretend. She already sent him in the right direction to speed up the process anyways.

She climbs upstairs and pretends to walk around, hearing David running from room to room on the main floor, until she hears him shout her name.

"I found him!"

Meredith smiles. She hurries downstairs, pulling up her best surprised face when she sees the elf dangling from a window in the dining room.

"Dash left some candy!" David smiles so widely it's contagious as he shows the two candy bars in his palm. "Can I have it after school?"

"If you promise to be good, yes, you may have it after school."

"I'll be the best boy in my class!"

Meredith laughs all the way to the car.

David of course got his candy, especially since he promised to save some for after his physical therapy too. He put in a lot of effort, and Benny involved her too in some of the exercises, to see how David would react to her presence there and not Derek's.

"He really trusts you." Benny had commented, which could only bring a smile to Meredith's face, yet make her freak out internally.

This glimpse of real life with David, not just seeing him for a few odd hours here and there, is making her brain run in circles. She likes the predictability, yet she wonders if it is really something she could handle twenty-four seven, three-hundred and sixty-five days a week. Can she trade some surgical hours for bedtime stories and arguing over toast? She's not sure.

She only knows she feels like she can exhale loudly when Derek walks into the door, looking worse for the wear but with a smile that could melt glaciers.

"And then we saw Benny and I ate candy and dinner and more candy and now you're here!" David is saying, as he monopolizes Derek's attention as soon as he has walked into the door.

"Breathe, D-Man," Derek says, and David makes a show of taking a huge breath and exhaling, tumbling into a fit of giggles.

"Was it fun with Meredith these past couple of days?"

David nods. "I like having her here, Daddy. But she needs to learn how to make pancakes."

Derek laughs, and Meredith blushes slightly. "We'll see what we can do about that, David. Maybe we can teach her?"

"Nana can teach her too! Christmas pancakes are the best pancakes to learn, and Nana always lets me help. Will you come and see Nana with us for Christmas, Meri?"

Meredith's eyes widen, her throat suddenly dry. How can she crush his happy little Christmas-enthusiast spirit?"

"David, maybe she already has plans with her mommy, you know?" Derek chimes in, much to her relief. He totally saw the panic in her eyes as he glanced her way, and she's grateful he already knows her cues so well.

"Her mommy can come too. It's okay. Nana likes having people."

"That she does." Derek sighs. "But it's her family, maybe they want to spend time together, you know?"

David deflates. "Okay. I understand. It would be fun, though."

Meredith swallows thickly, knowing she will regret this deeply, but she cannot resist David. "I'll see what my mommy says about Christmas, and if she's okay with this, I'll join you, okay? It surely sounds like a fun Christmas you're gonna have!"

David starts rambling on and on about all the presents and the traditions, and Meredith knows she should pay attention, but she can't bring herself to stop the swirling in her brain. Because yes, she has almost agreed to celebrate Christmas with David and Derek, aka meeting his family, and she's not sure she'll ever be ready for this. She knows – and likes – Carolyn, but all his sisters and husband and kids? She's probably not equipped to deal with such a humongous amount of family. Not now, not ever.

What the heck has she thrown herself into?

Derek's surprised, yet pleased, gaze and David's excited voice are the only sources of relief.

It is going to be a long, long Christmas season.

A/N: Unseasonal much? Probably. This event is as epic as the Royal Wedding though, so cherish it, even though I feel like it's a bit of a filler. I hate filler chapters, but sometimes they tide you over to the good parts. Sorry for this just filling empty space!

Again, thank you for reading this story, still. I appreciate each and every one of you, whether you review, favorite or simply lurk in the background reading.