Derek was running out of his office, excited to be heading to the daycare to pick up his kids for the evening. He figured that because Meredith was on-call, she would be home late, so he was anticipating a quiet evening in. His pace quickened as he thought about reading with his little boy, or dancing with his little girl. He stepped up to the desk at the daycare, and was surprised when the daycare employee told him that his wife had already picked up their kids. Derek shook his head, disappointed, and walked out to his car, a little bit of a sulk in his step. He loved the feeling of Christopher running to him, and seeing Kate smile when he held her for the first time in hours.
The drive home was quiet for Derek. He liked having Christopher chatter on about his day, or hear his little girl coo and babble. Now, it would seem, all he had was the radio. And that just wasn't the same as hearing his son recall a recent trip to the zoo, or listening to his daughter utter a word for the first time. As soon as he pulled into the driveway, he saw that his house was dark. Derek thought that that was odd, and worriedly, he got out of his car, and ran to the front door. It was that second that his phone rang.
"Derek?" asked Meredith, quietly. Derek felt his heart rate quicken.
"Meredith, where are you?" asked Derek, nervously.
"We made a detour on our way home." Said Meredith, vaguely.
"And where, may I ask, did you make this detour to?" asked Derek.
"The animal shelter." Said Meredith, waiting to hear Derek yell.
"The animal shelter." Said Derek, repeating the phrase to himself.
"Christopher and I were talking, and he told me that he would really like a dog." Said Meredith, glad that Derek was being calm.
"Oh, really. And how did he phrase this want?" asked Derek, curious.
"I think it was something along the lines of ' Mommy, tan we det a puppy?'" said Meredith.
"And you just said yes? You didn't even think to ask me?" asked Derek, sounding exasperated.
"We didn't get a dog, Derek. We just looked, and now we're on our way home. I just thought I'd tell you that your son would like very much to have a dog, and that I am not opposed to the idea." Said Meredith, as she continued to drive.
"Good to know." Said Derek, unlocking the front door and stepping inside. He turned on the lights, and walked into the kitchen.
"I'm hanging up now, so, bye. I love you." Said Meredith.
"I love you, too." Said Derek, hanging up the phone at the very same time as Meredith. He set his cell phone down on the counter, and opened the refrigerator door, pausing to decide what he wanted. He pulled out an already opened jar of marinara sauce, and set it on the counter. Closing the refrigerator, he walked over to the cabinet, and grabbed the box of spaghetti. He got out a large pot, filled it with water, and began to boil water.
He was straining the noodles when Meredith walked into the house with Kate in her arms, and Christopher at her side.
"Daddy!" shrieked Christopher, running to Derek. Derek set the strainer in the sink, and opened his arms to receive the little boy.
"Christopher." Said Derek, enveloping his son is his arms. He smiled as Meredith walked into the kitchen. She had Kate balanced carefully in her arms, and was whispering something into the little girl's ear. Derek walked over to Meredith and Kate, still carrying Christopher.
"Let me down, Daddy!" said Christopher, wriggling to get down. Derek obliged, and watched as Christopher went running up to his bedroom.
"So, no puppy." Said Derek, closing the space between him and his wife.
"No puppy." Said Meredith, as Derek wrapped his arms around his girls, and pressed a soft kiss to Meredith's lips, and then one to his daughter's dark hair.
"So, what happened to being on-call tonight?" asked Derek, taking the baby from Meredith.
"I traded with Izzie so that she could go to Disneyworld with Alex and Julia last month, remember?" asked Meredith, walking over to the sink to take the spaghetti out and place it in the bowl on the counter. She then took the sauce from the pan on the stove, and poured it over the top of the pasta. Finally, she splashed some olive oil onto the pasta.
"I'm glad you weren't on-call tonight." Said Derek, strapping the baby into her high chair.
"Me, too." Said Meredith, taking the bowl over to the dinner table.
"I'll go get Chris." Said Derek, heading out of the room and up the stairs. He came down two minutes later with Christopher at his side.
"Spahetti!" shrieked Christopher, excited at the prospect of having spaghetti for dinner.
"Are you hungry, Chris?" asked Meredith, picking her son up to place him on his booster seat.
"Yes!" shouted the little boy, as Meredith spooned some pasta onto his plate.
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The next morning as a Saturday, one of the few Saturdays that both Meredith and Derek both had off; and they planned on spending the whole day relaxing with their children. Meredith had awoken to the smell of French toast and bacon, and had enjoyed a wonderful breakfast with her family, courtesy of Derek. They had then chased Christopher around the house, trying to get him to get dressed. In the end, Christopher was fully clothed in a navy long-sleeved shirt, along with a pair of beige cargo shorts, and a leather belt. He had on navy moccasins on as well. Kate they dressed in a deep rose smocked, footie coveralls. All together, Meredith and Derek had very attractive children.
After they spent the morning in the house, Christopher was getting antsy.
"Daddy, we get puppy?" asked Christopher, pulling on Derek's sweater.
"Let me talk to Mommy for a little while, Chris." Said Derek, sweeping the little boy up in his arms. Derek carried Christopher over to the living room, and sat him down on the floor next to his younger sister.
"Can you do Daddy a big favor and play with Katie for a few minutes?" asked Derek, as he walked towards the library, where Meredith was working on some paperwork.
"Yes, Daddy." Said Christopher, giving Kate a sloppy kiss. Kate smiled and clapped her hands.
"Thanks, buddy." Said Derek, as he knocked on the door to the library, before entering.
"Take a break, Mer." Said Derek, pressing a kiss to her cheek.
"Okay." Said Meredith, turning around and kissing Derek deeply on the lips.
"Meredith, we need to talk about the dog." Said Derek, stepping back.
"The dog. So there is a dog." She said, smiling. Derek looked at her, exasperated.
"Meredith!" he groaned.
"Okay, okay. I know that there isn't a dog yet, but would it really be so bad. You loved Doc, and I loved Doc. And I know that Chris would love a puppy." Said Meredith.
"I know that he would like it, but I don't know if we have the time for two young kids and a dog. Maybe in a year or two, when Katie's a little bit bigger, we can get a dog." Said Derek, smiling.
"Chris doesn't ask for much, Derek, and I don't ask for much, either. We want a dog, and you know that you do, too. As for the kids, I know you plan on more than two, so a dog is like having a third kid. We can handle it, Derek. We always do." She said, looking directly at Derek.
"I know we do, but Mer, do we really need this stress?" asked Derek, sighing.
"Is that what Doc was to you? Stress?" asked Meredith.
"No. You know he wasn't. Doc was a great dog, but that was before I had kids." Said Derek.
"And we can still handle it now. A dog is good for kids. We can get a nice, calm dog." Said Meredith, trying to sway Derek.
"I suppose. When do you propose we get this dog?" asked Derek.
"Well, we have off today." Said Meredith, honestly.
"All right, then let's go get this dog." Said Derek, smiling.
"What made you change your mind?" asked Meredith.
"I remembered that Doc was the only thing that we shared for a while, and in the end, he kept us together. A dog keeps a family together." Said Derek, kissing Meredith softly.
"It will." Said Meredith, smiling.
"Let's go tell Chris." Said Derek, opening the door to the library. He held it open, as Meredith walked out ahead of him.
"Christopher, guess what?" asked Meredith, as she knelt down next to her children.
"What?" asked Christopher, looking up at her.
"We're going to get a puppy, right now!" said Meredith, scooping the little boy into her arms. She stood up and spun him in her arms, and then stopped and kissed his forehead.
"Puppy!" said Christopher, excited. Derek bent down to pick up their daughter. They each had a child in their arms as they walked out to the car.
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They were led into a room full of puppies at the shelter. Christopher was in Meredith's arms, and he was pointing to every little puppy, his smile contagious. It was the very last cage that made Christopher stop. There was a tiny chocolate lab, a runt, as Derek so politely called it.
"I want dis one." Said Christopher, pointing to the puppy.
"He's very cute." Said Meredith, smiling.
"I guess it's the little lab." Said Derek, to the shelter attendant.
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They brought the dog back home, and had him in their living room. He was almost as big as Kate, but still a very small puppy.
"What are you going to name him, Chris?" asked Meredith, holding Kate in her lap.
"Camelot, just like Arthur, right, Mommy?" asked Christopher, referring to his favorite book, King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, which Meredith read to him often.
"Camelot is a lovely name, Chris." Said Meredith, smiling as the puppy jumped up and licked Christopher's face.
"He's a great dog, Mer, just like Doc." Whispered Derek into Meredith's ear.