You're my favourite escape in the city,
And I don't feel right unless you are here with me,
All that we are is the greatest of victories.

The house was silent, and all the lights had been turned off when she returned in the early hours of the morning. Being as quiet as she could, she went through to the kitchen and dropped her bag down on the table before grabbing a chilled bottle of water from the fridge. She kept the downstairs hall light on so she could see where she was going as she made her way up to the bedroom, not wanting any lighter bright to potentially flood into the upstairs bedrooms.

As she passed Zola's room, she looked in, confused to see her bed empty and started to panic slightly. She immediately went into her own room, and her heart almost stopped at the sight of Derek and Zola before her in the bed. A grin spread across her lips and she moved over to the side Derek was lay on, leaning to press a kiss to his forehead, watching as he stirred a little and looked up at her.

"Mer?" A soft mumble escaped his lips as his eyes squinted to see her better.

Her fingers brushed through his hair a little as she spoke quietly, "I just got back, it's early, go back to sleep."

He responded with a low hum and his arms moved around her waist, pulling her down beside him and she laughed softly, aware of Zola asleep still on his other side as she whispered her protests, "Derek, I need to change."

He sighed softly and gave her a playful smile before pressing a soft kiss to her lips and murmured, his voice thick with sleep, "Don't take too long."

His arms loosened their hold around her and she climbed back up off the bed, pulling her phone out of her pocket. She used the dim torch setting to find her cotton pyjama pants and ratty Dartmouth tshirt, setting the phone back down as she changed. She moved back over to the bed, now stood next to Zola's side to put her phone on charge.

She crouched beside the bed, her eyes on Zola's body as she lay there in a deep sleep. Her fingers tips brushed across her soft cheek as she felt eyes on her. She shifted her gaze up, grinning softly as Derek watched her and she spoke in a quiet voice still, "How was she?"

"Perfect, Meredith," his hand reached forward and took hers in it's grasp, giving a gentle squeeze as he spoke, his voice staying at a whisper, "Thank you."

Meredith raised an eyebrow, momentarily confused, "What for?"

"Letting me be a part of your life, and Zola's life," he raised her hand to his lips, planting a soft kiss in her palm as a grin spread across her lips, which he mirrored, "Come to bed, we'll be up in a few hours."

She nodded and paused a moment, trying to figure out the logistics of getting in the bed with him without waking Zola. Derek tugged her hand to get her attention before releasing it and moving off the bed, gesturing for her to come round and climb in his side. She walked around and pressed a soft kiss to his cheek before climbing into bed beside Zola, facing her as Derek followed, his arms circling Meredith's waist from behind.

She grinned as he pulled the duvet back around them, and she tucked Zola in a little more where the sheets had dropped. Meredith's eyes closed as Derek's face nuzzled against the back of her neck, pressing soft kisses to her skin. She felt his hot breath tingle her skin as he whispered, "Goodnight, I love you."

She whispered softly in return, not even sure if he'd already gone back to sleep or not, "I love you too."

A few hours later, she was awoken to little fingers poking her cheek and a small voice, "Mommy, wake up."

She blinked a little as she woke to see Zola's face close to hers and she grinned softly, her arm reaching to pull Zola closer to her. As she hugged her to her, she realised Derek was no longer in the bed with them. She rolled on to her back and pulled Zola across her chest, causing her to squeal in delight, "Good morning, baby girl, where's Derek gone?"

Zola giggled and shook her head as she moved to sit up again beside Meredith, and Meredith sat up a little with a confused look at her daughter whose hands were covering her mouth. She lifted her at the waist and sat her in her lap, "What is it, Zo?"

"Derek is daddy now!" Zola exclaimed, still giggling to herself and Meredith couldn't help but laugh with her, tickling Zola's sides a little causing her to giggle more.

She stood up off the bed, holding Zola on her hip, "Shall we go and see where Daddy is then?"

Zola nodded enthusiastically as her arms wrapped around Meredith's neck, Meredith's arms securely holding her in place against her side as she walked down to the kitchen. As she approached the room, the strong smell of coffee invaded her nostrils, bringing a grin to her face.

Derek was speaking with someone on the phone, but this didn't stop Zola reaching for him with excitement, "Daddy!"

Meredith kept a hold of Zola, seeing that Derek was still on the phone even though he was grinning and held Zola's hand, but she was still wanting Derek to hold her. Meredith spoke quietly, "Daddy's just on the phone, Zo."

When Zola shook her head, insistent still on Derek holding her, his eyes widened a little and he held the phone between his ear and shoulder, still listening to whoever was on the other end and took Zola in his arms, holding her securely with one arm before holding the phone to his ear again, "Mom, I've got to go, I'll call you later."

Meredith raised an eyebrow as she realised who he was speaking to, hearing a slightly raised voice on the other end of the phone but not quite able to decipher what was being said. She moved over to the coffee machine and poured herself a mug of the freshly brewed coffee.

"I promise, Mom, I will, okay?" Another pause, "Love you too, Ma, goodbye." He ended the call and put the phone down to give Zola his full attention now, as she had been babbling to him about, what he assumed to be, her dream from last night. "Okay, Zola, what's for breakfast?"

Meredith watched them, leaning against the counter as she sipped at her coffee, engrossed in their interaction as he set her in the chair at the table and poured her milk and cereal, pouring some milk into a plastic cup for her. Her eyes flickered to the clock on the front of the oven, not having realised the time. She finished off the coffee and set it in the sink as Derek walked over to her, standing in front of her as her arms snaked around his neck loosely, "I have to go get ready, I'm due at the hospital in an hour. Your Mom called?"

Derek nodded and pressed a soft, quick kiss to her lips, "She wants us to go visit soon, spend a weekend there," he said as his arms circled her waist, "I hadn't quite got to the whole, you're a grandma again part when you guys came down."

Meredith laughed softly at his playful expression, "I'm sorry, a grandma again?" She raised an eyebrow, momentarily confused by the use of the word 'again'.

Derek shook his head with a small laugh, "No, I don't have any secret children. My sisters' kids."

"Oh, yeah, sorry my head is… I'm tired," she laughed softly as he kissed her again. He pulled back from her as she moved over to where Zola sat, "Zo, day care today, okay?"

Zola nodded, still eating away at her cereal as she grinned up at her mother. Derek poured himself another mug of coffee as he spoke, "I've showered already so I'll get her ready, if you want."

"Thanks, I won't take too long. She'll pick her own clothes," she gave them one last look as Derek sat in the chair beside Zola before heading up the stairs to get ready. As nervous as she was now feeling at the prospect of meeting Derek's family, she was filled with happiness for the first time in a long time.

You're my personal best,
My personal best.

Personal Best. – Maisie Peters