Knowing she hadn't slept much the night before; Derek kept a watchful eye on his girlfriend as she curled up on the couch with their daughter close against her side. He felt the swell in his heart as he watched them together, in disbelief that he could be so lucky as to have them both in his life. Only five months ago, he didn't think he stood a chance of getting Meredith back in his life, and not only did he have her, he also had the pure joy of being a father for the first time. He'd forgotten how much he'd wanted to be a father until it was actually happening.
His sisters were due in the next hour, and his mom had retreated into the kitchen to get dinner started. The credits started to roll on the screen as Zola's film ended. He found it fascinating how her obsessions changed week-on-week, although for the past two weeks she had been fixated with watching Frozen, both films.
He stood up from the arm chair and moved to sit on the couch beside his girls. He pulled a giggling Zola into his lap and she squealed slightly, "Daddy!"
He leaned over to press a soft kiss to Meredith's cheek, "Let's go sit outside while the weather is still nice."
"Good idea," she gave him a small grin in return, and she stood up from the couch as he did, holding Zola on his hip.
He led the way through to the kitchen, speaking to this mother who was stood over the stove, "We're going to sit outside, Ma, let Zola run off a little steam."
"Okay, I'll bring out some fresh juice in a moment, it's still warm out there," his mother offered.
"Thanks," Meredith said to her as she followed Derek outside into the back yard. She'd never lived anywhere with such a large grass area, preceded by a patio deck area. A swing-set sat near the back of the garden by the fence, and Meredith admired the well-kept flower beds as she sat on one of the patio chairs.
Derek found a football for Zola to play with before going to sit beside Meredith as they both watched her kicking the ball around the grass. Meredith's head leant against his shoulder as their hands joined together resting on her lap as she released a soft sigh.
Derek turned his head to press a kiss to the top of hers as he spoke, "What's up?"
"I never thought I'd even want kids before I met Zola, and now I'm sat here wishing she at least had one sibling to play with," she said in a quiet voice, playing with his fingers in her lap.
He enveloped her fingers with his, giving them a gentle squeeze as a hint of joy laced his tone, "You want to have a baby?"
She looked up at him, a hint of a blush in her cheeks, "I mean, I know we've only really been together for five months, and we're still waiting on the finalisation of Zola's adoption… we haven't even spoken about marriage, and you want to build us a house…"
Her words were cut short as Derek pressed his lips to hers, unable to stop grinning at her ramblings. When he pulled back, he still couldn't stop grinning as he spoke, "There's no specific timeline we have to follow, okay?" His lips moved close to under her ear, "and for the record, I would love nothing more than to be your husband, Meredith Grey."
A shiver ran down her neck at his words and she couldn't help but smile at the warmth she felt inside her. She looked over at Zola again who was happily running around on the grass, kicking the ball around. Feeling Meredith's gaze on her, Zola turned around to grin wide at her, waving, "Mommy, play!"
She laughed softly and stood from her chair, releasing Derek's hand as she pressed a kiss to his cheek, "I've been summoned."
Derek chuckled as he sat back in his chair, watching Meredith and Zola playing together in his mother's garden. He had never felt so lucky in his life and, as he did every day, he felt privileged that she had given him a second chance after he had hurt by going back to Addison, however short-lived that was.
His thoughts were interrupted when his mother came through the patio doors, a tray of glasses with a jug of fresh juice in her hands. She set it down on the table before taking a seat, her watch on Meredith as she lay on the grass holding a giggling Zola in the air. Derek reached forward to pour himself a glass of juice as Carolyn spoke, "I'm so glad you found them, Derek. I'm glad you've found your true happiness."
"Me too, Mom," he grinned, feeling proud of them as he took a sip of his juice, watching as Meredith lifted Zola into her arms and approached them on the patio to rehydrate Zola and herself.
Dinner with the rest of Derek's family was unnerving to say the least. Only three out of his four sisters could attend, Amelia being the only one unable to, and thankfully they hadn't brought their husbands, or the many nieces and nephews Derek had told her about. The dinner itself had been amazing, and she could see where Derek got his cooking skills from.
All three of them were charmed by Zola, although she had been shy to start with, she soon became more comfortable around his sisters. Meredith, on the other hand, was still trying to gauge their opinion of her. She knew Derek's family, and their opinions, meant a lot to him, even if he said they'd love her. She just couldn't get a good read on them; she had never been around family like this before.
Eventually, the night came to an end and the three sisters had to get going. Zola had long since fallen asleep against Derek's chest as he held her there. Meredith watched as he said goodbye to them, still keeping Zola still against him, and then offered her own goodbye to them. All of a sudden, she was feeling quite tired herself, and after wishing his mother goodnight the three went up to Derek's childhood bedroom that had been made ready for their arrival.
Derek's arm tightened around her slightly as they lay in the bed together, thankful his mother had set up the camp bed in the room for Zola so that she didn't need to sleep in the bed with them. He lowered his lips to hers a moment in a soft kiss, cupping her face with his hand. "You know they all loved you, and Zola."
"I know they loved Zola," she murmured with a slight laugh, smirking up at him, "We just come as a pair, so they don't really have a choice about me."
"Hush," he pressed another kiss to her lips, "They love you regardless. You make me happy, and they can see that. They just like to make things difficult."
"I'll just take your word for it," she whispered, sliding one hand in-between then locks of his hair.
"Hmm," he pressed a few more kisses to her lips, noticing the extent of her fatigue as her eyes started to flutter closed, "Sleep, baby, you barely slept last night. You're okay, Zola's okay, I'm okay." He'd come up with the small saying a few months back, having picked up on her little anxieties as she would start to sleep, wanting to triple check on Zola before she went to sleep, who was usually sound asleep and off in her own dreamland.
"Thank you, I love you," she murmured, burying her face against his shoulder and he felt her breaths soften and slow down as she drifted off to sleep against him, his hand gently rubbing up and down her back as he followed her into sleep himself.
Meredith's eyes flew open, and she didn't know whether the noise had woken her, or if it started after she woke, but the sound of quiet sobbing in the room her had her up in seconds. She moved over to the camp bed where Zola had been asleep, finding her curled up in the small blanket with a mess of tears on her face. She reached down and lifted the small girl into her arms, holding her close on her hip and rubbing her back gently and murmuring, "Shh, Zola, I'm here, Mommy's here."
A few hiccups left Zola's mouth as she melted into her mother's embrace, burying her face against her shoulder. She looked over, feeling eyes on her, to see Derek sat up in the bed, his face scrunched up with concern as he spoke quietly, "Is she okay?"
Meredith nodded as she paced the room a little with Zola in her arms, bouncing her slightly as she did so and spoke quietly herself, not wanting to wake Carolyn, "Go back to sleep, it's okay." She gave him a small smile before pressing a kiss to the top of Zola's head, who was still trying to calm down from whatever has caused her crying. "I'm just going to take her down, she'll be wanting a drink."
Derek nodded and watched as she walked quietly out of the room, almost as if Meredith was clinging on to Zola for dear life, but he wasn't about to go back to sleep until he knew they were both okay, so he figured he'd give them ten minutes before he went down himself.
Meredith went quietly into the kitchen, keeping Zola held against her as she masterfully used one hand to make a small cup of water for her, having does this many times before, knowing it would help calm her daughter down. She went through into the living room and sat in the arm chair with Zola in her lap, still buried against her. She spoke quietly to her, "Come on, Zo, I got some water."
Zola blinked a few times, looking up at Meredith before taking the small plastic cup in both of her hands, sipping at the water as Meredith rubbed her back gently, whispering soft comforts to her. After a moment, she stopped drinking and murmured softly, her voice slightly hoarse and thick with sleep, "Nana's house?"
"Yeah, Zo, we're at Nana's house," she confirmed, realising being in an unknown place when she woke up was the reason for her upset.
"Thought you gone," Meredith took the cup back from Zola as she buried her face into her chest again, her little arms going around Meredith's middle.
Meredith set the cup down on the small table beside the armchair before wrapping her arms around Zola in a close hold, "I'm right here, baby, I'm not going anywhere. I'm never leaving you; I promise."
A movement by the door caught Meredith's eye as she continued to comfort Zola, and she looked up to find Derek stood watching her with a soft smile on his face, seeing them together in the armchair. He moved over to them as their eyes met, running his fingers through Meredith's hair before pressing a kiss to her forehead, and then pressing a kiss to the top of Zola's head, who turned at the contact, grinning when she saw him there.
"My Mommy," Zola mumbled, gripping on to Meredith's pyjama top adamantly, causing both Meredith and Derek to laugh softly.
Derek nodded and ran a hand over Zola's back, "Yes she is, Zola, your Mommy."