A/N: Here is the penultimate chapter for this story! Enjoy!
"Are you sure about this?" Cristina asked her, combing her fingers through Meredith's hair as she stood behind her, both of them in front of the full-length mirror.
"I'm sure, Cristina, stop asking," she said with a soft laugh, smoothing out the front of her blouse. "We're only going to the court house."
"It's still a big thing, Meredith," Cristina said with a laugh herself.
Both of them turned when they heard a giggling from the hallway and Meredith placed one hand on her hip as she grinned, "Zola, would you like to come in?"
Zola's head peeked around the corner, a big grin on her face and her eyes widening as she saw Meredith, "Mommy, my hair!"
"Come on then," Meredith told her, sitting on the bed as Zola joined her. She pulled Zola on to her lap, picking up the brush and pulling it through her hair gently. Cristina nodded to Meredith before leaving the room, leaving mother and daughter alone.
"Mommy, look pretty," Zola grinned up at her, reaching her hand to Meredith's cheek.
"Thank you, baby, but you look prettier," Meredith grinned and pulled Zola closer against her, laughing with her as she giggled.
"Mommy!" she squealed as Meredith lay back on the bed with her, pulling Zola on top of her, "Mommy your hair!"
Meredith moved on to her side and Zola cuddled up next to her, "My hair will be fine, ZoZo. I have a secret to tell you."
"Secrets bad, Mommy," Zola said with a serious look on her face.
"You're right, Zola, secrets are bad. This is a surprise for Daddy," Meredith clarified, feeling chastised by her own daughter.
"Surprise?" Zola's brow furrowed in confusion.
"You remember Auntie Lexie is having a baby?" She started to try and explain, and Zola nodded, "Mommy is going to have a baby, Zola. And you're going to be a big sister."
She watched Zola processing the information, and when there was still a frown on her face after a moment, Meredith started to become a bit worried, but then Zola spoke again, her lips in a pout, "Me baby."
"You'll always be my baby, Zola," she tried to reassure her, her arms wrapping around her to pull her close and Zola's face buried against her chest.
"Baby in Mommy's belly?" Zola asked, looking up at Meredith again, "Like Lex?"
"Yeah, like Lexie," Meredith smiled, running her fingers over Zola's hair gently.
"Okay, Mommy," Zola nodded and snuggled back against her, "When tell Daddy?"
Meredith laughed softly, pressing a kiss against the top of Zola's head, "When do you think we should tell him?"
"Now, Mommy! Daddy likes babies," she said with a confident nod of her head, making Meredith laugh softly again.
"Not right this second, princess. We need to get going or we'll be late," she hugged Zola closer a moment, suddenly feeling nerves washing over her.
A knock on the door confirmed the thought that they were running out of time and she heard Cristina's voice on the other side, "We need to go in five minutes."
They arrived at the courthouse with only five minutes to spare, Zola insisting on walking from the car into the building as she held a tight grip on Meredith's hand. As soon as she saw Derek stood by the entrance to the building, she let go of Meredith's hand and ran straight to him, hugging his leg tight. He chuckled softly and crouched to greet her, pulling her into a proper hug.
"You look beautiful, Zola," he commented as she grinned and shook her head.
"Not me, Mommy!" She insisted, looking back to Meredith who was approaching them now.
He looked up with a grin, lifting Zola into his arms as he stood up and carrying her on his hip, "Mommy is beautiful. But so are you," he told her, pressing a kiss to the side of her forehead.
Just as Meredith came into earshot, Zola giggles and whispered into Derek's ear, "Mommy has secret."
"Does she now?" He grinned still, a soft chuckle escaping his lips as he looked to Meredith, "What's your secret, Mommy?" He said for Zola's benefit, whose head was leant on his shoulder, still giggling softly.
"It's not a secret, it's a surprise," she clarified, leaning to kiss the top of Zola's head in amusement.
"We like surprises," he said, keeping one arm holding Zola firmly as he slid the other around Meredith's waist, pressing a kiss to her lips in greeting, "Feeling better?"
The morning before, Meredith had been woken by a bout of sickness, and while this indicated possible pregnancy to herself, Derek thought she had just picked up a stomach bug.
"Much better," she gave him a reassuring smile, "Let's go."
The three of them walked in, closely followed by Cristina and Mark who had come along as witnesses. They didn't need a big wedding, they just wanted to be married, and doing it at the courthouse was the best solution for them.
The ceremony was short, but sweet and Zola clapped as Meredith and Derek sealed their vows with a kiss, making everyone laugh. Zola walked at Derek's side holding his hand with a gentle tug as they walked outside, apparently to slow for Zola's liking.
"What's the rush, Zola?" Derek said with a soft chuckle.
"Surprise, Daddy!" She exclaimed, a grin on her face and Meredith felt a slight blush on her cheeks as she laughed softly at her daughter's excitement. If anything, Meredith was nervous to tell Derek and she wasn't even sure why.
Cristina caught Meredith's eyes with a knowing grin, having overheard her talking with Zola earlier, and had been the one getting the pregnancy tests for Meredith the night before, "I'm surprised Zola hasn't said anything yet."
"Cristina," Meredith chastised, shaking her head amusedly, "Let's not give her any ideas, hm?"
"Now I'm very intrigued," Derek said, eyeing Meredith he just pressed her lips together as though she knew nothing.
Zola was practically jumping up and down at this point, "Mommy, please!"
Meredith released her hand from Derek's as went to scoop Zola up into her arms, "When we get home, okay? I promise, you can tell Daddy."
Zola pouted but nodded, only to smile again when Meredith pressed a kiss to the top of her head before strapping her into her car seat. She closed the door and Cristina came up to her to give her a hug, which was rare for Cristina to instigate.
"I'll see you later on with everyone else," she said, referring to the party that had been planned for them later on that evening with the rest of their friends and family, "I'll get a ride from Mark. Oh, and congratulations, you deserve all of this, remember that."
"Thanks, Cris," she said with a grin as they released each other from the hug, "I'll see you later."
She watched as Cris said goodbye to Zola, who had actually started to drift off to sleep from the excitement as she sat in her car seat. Meredith climbed in the passenger side of the car, where Derek was waiting to set off back to their new house that had been finished pretty much the day before.
"Ready to go, Dr Grey-Shepherd?" He asked with a soft grin, pleased to be able to add his surname on to hers now.
"I'm ready," she said with a grin, equally happy to hear it. He leaned over to press a soft kiss to her lips before he set off driving.
Zola was still asleep when they arrived home, and Meredith unfastened her and lifted her into her arms, balancing her on her hip as she started to wake a little. She looked over the finished property, and although she had already seen it, it was like she was seeing it for the first time.
"Shall we go in?" Derek asked as he walked up beside her, "I want to know what my surprise is."
She laughed softly, "I really want to tell you now, but I promised Zola she could tell you."
"Partners in crime, you two," he grinned softly, pressing a kiss to her cheek before walking ahead of her to open the front door.
She walked in, talking softly to Zola in an attempt to wake her, "Zo, we're at our new home now. Do you want to see?"
Zola merely grumbled and buried her head into Meredith's shoulder, gripping on to the lapel of Meredith's overcoat tighter as she was determined to stay asleep. Meredith sat on the couch with her as Derek went to put a drink together for her, a known tactic for easing Zola awake. Meredith had another idea to get her awake though.
"It's time to tell Daddy his surprise," she murmured softly, and laughed as her lifted, looking up at Meredith.
"Now Mommy?" she said, still sleepy and rubbing her eyes, but now determined to wake up as Meredith nodded. Derek walked back over across the room with Zola's cup in hand to give to her and she spotted him, a grin on her face as she reached to him, "Daddy!"
"Hi, Zola. Mommy says you have a surprise for me," he said, setting the cup down on the table as he sat on the couch beside them, Zola immediately moving over into his lap.
Zola nodded, sitting in Derek's lap now with a grin on her face, completely awake, "Mommy says I'm a big sister now, and Mommy has baby in belly like Lex does, but Zola always Mommy and Daddy's baby," she rushed out with an affirmative nod when she had finished talking, and then looked up at Derek, "You like babies, Daddy!"
Meredith grinned softly at Zola's excitement and Derek looked at Meredith with slightly wide eyes, tearing up a little, "You're pregnant?"
Speechless, Meredith could only nod with a grin, and Zola who just noticed the juice that had been left for her, climbed off Derek's lap to drink from the cup, and Derek wrapped his arms around Meredith in a close embrace.
"That's why you were sick," he murmured softly against her hair and she nodded with a soft laugh, "I love you, so much."
"I love you too," she murmured as she pulled back a little to meet his kiss, pulling back again when Zola patted her leg
"Mommy, can I see my room?" Zola asked, holding her cup in her other hand.
"Of course, baby," she grinned softly, and Derek released her so they could both stand up and she took Zola's hand, leading her to her new room with Derek following close behind them.
Zola let out an excited squeal as soon as she saw her room and released Meredith's hand to explore her new bedroom. Derek's arms wrapped around her from behind, his hand resting on her abdomen as his chin perched itself on her shoulder, both of them laughing softly at Zola's reaction.
"Thank you," he murmured softly, pressing a kiss to her cheek as he spoke.
"What for?" she murmured softly, still watching Zola play.
"For my surprise, I love it," he said with a soft chuckle.
She tilted her head against his slightly, a wide smile on her face, "Yeah?"
"Mhm, when did you find out?" He asked, not in an accusatory way, just curious to know.
"Last night, I realised it was a possibility at like 9pm and had Cristina run out to get like five tests," she said with a soft laugh, "We worked it out, I'm almost two months along."
"So, the night we got engaged?" He asked, raising an eyebrow, also keeping his gaze on watching Zola exploring her new room.
"Most likely," she said, grinning softly and closing her eyes, comfortable in Derek's hold. Everything just felt complete now, and she would fight anyone who tried to take this all away from them.