So…hello again. This chapter was hard to write, to put it mildly. Heh… It's got a lot of people in it, which I always find tricky, and it's less angsty than I'm used to. For some reason, angst is just easier on my brain. I don't know why… Anyway yeah, I feel like I've been writing this chapter forever. And ever, and ever, and ever. And I have been, so…sorry it took awhile. I've been very frustrated with the chapter. Grrrr…and all that.

But yes, in other news, thank you so much to those of you who've taken the time to review. I know I always say it makes me happy, but really…it does. So much. So thank you for that. And…what else. Ooh! This chapter takes place four days after the last one. And hmmm…that's about it. Glad people enjoyed the Mer/Der at the end of the previous chapter. They needed something nice and sweet after all the pain they'd been through. And this chapter has more of them…woohoo? I guess. I'm feeling the urge to just ramble and ramble, so I'm going to preemptive strike my rambling, and just go straight to the story. Enjoy!

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You sighed, and I was lost in you
Weeks could've past for all I knew
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"Shhh quiet," hissed George, tiptoeing across the room as he glared at Cristina. "You're going to wake her up."

"I'm not," she replied flatly, her chair scraping loudly against the floor. The grating sound stopped abruptly as the chair reached the bed, and she leaned forward in her seat, reaching out to poke Meredith in the arm. She didn't stir, and Cristina turned and shot George a smug glare. "See? She's out cold."

"I'm just saying," he continued. "We're already breaking rules one and three. We don't need to break two as well."

"Oh will you guys cut it out," snapped Izzie, her whispered voice full of annoyance. "George, go reposition the flowers over there for me. They should be in a straight line, not like that."

George frowned at her, but crossed over to the windowsill. "You two could help too you know," he muttered, tilting his head towards Cristina and Alex as he poked absently at the several vases of flowers Izzie had brought in.

"Dude, not a chance," said Alex, glancing up from the stack of post-op notes he'd brought with him. "But go ahead. Do your thing. Keep playing happy housewives with Iz."

"Guys," she whined, shaking her head as she tied a balloon to the foot of the bed. "Seriously, George is right. You could help me."

Cristina let out a disbelieving laugh, her dark eyes incredulous as she looked back over her shoulder to study the room. "Mer isn't you," she scoffed, smirking as she yanked a balloon down to where she sat. "She's not exactly a balloons and flowers sort of girl. I have no part in this." Her face contorted into a disgusted frown as she studied the butterfly shaped balloon she was holding, before quickly letting go, and allowing it to drift back towards the ceiling.

"Oh come on," said Izzie, her hands on her hips. "She's pregnant, so she'll probably be all gushy and in love with the flowers. Besides," she added, her voice turning slightly defensive. "My flowers are nice. They're almost as good as my muffins. You guys are just jealous you didn't get any."

"Right," continued Cristina, shaking her head. "If I woke up to find you'd turned my room into freaking Disney Land, I would not be happy." She leaned back in her chair once more, adding, "You would be dead though."

Alex groaned, resting his chin against his hand. "Just wake her up already, before one of us gets paged."

"We can't," protested George, still fussing hopelessly at the windowsill. "Rule number two, remember?"

"Oh get over yourself Bambi," snapped Cristina, reaching a hand out to poke Meredith again. "She's done nothing but sleep for the past four days. Waking up isn't going to kill her."

Finally giving up on the flowers, he crossed back over to where the others were sitting. "I'm just saying," he began, only to have three pairs of eyes rolled simultaneously in his direction. "Fine, go ahead," he continued, holding up his hands. "Wake her up." Meredith stirred slightly as he spoke, and everyone instantly froze, turning to watch her intently.

"Okay quick," hissed Izzie. "Help me finish distributing the balloons first."

Cristina snorted in disbelief. "Seriously?" she asked, not moving an inch.

"Fine. Whatever," huffed Izzie, flopping down next to the others. She glared around the now brightly colored hospital room. "They're distributed." She was practically scowling at her friends, but as Alex leaned forward and nudged Meredith's foot, her expression morphed into an eager smile. "She's going to be so excited," she continued. "We have to tell her right away."

George turned around and frowned at her. "We already agreed no telling her," he said sternly, but Izzie just made a face.

"She'll want to know," she replied.

"But she's supposed to get to find out first," he countered. "And get to come and tell us, and have us act surprised."

"Bambi's got a point," agreed Alex. "We're not supposed to know." Izzie just shrugged and started to reply, but was cut off by Cristina waving her arm vaguely in their direction as she shushed them. Their voices trailed off as they all turned to focus on Meredith. She was rubbing her eyes, looking slightly dazed and sleepy as she blinked several times, adjusting to the light of the room.

"Huh?" she stammered, suddenly taking in the sight of her friends gathered around her bed.

"You're awake," announced Izzie delightedly, very nearly cheering as Meredith propped herself up on an elbow to stare at them.

"Umm, yes…" she began. "I am. And you're all…"

"Visiting you," supplied Izzie, still grinning.

"Oh…right." Meredith smiled at that, nodding her head, as she added, "I was wondering when you guys were going to come and see me."

"Yeah sorry, Bailey's on the warpath again," groaned Alex, still scribbling absently at his post-op notes.

"She is?" asked Meredith. "Why? What did you guys do?" She looked around eagerly at her friends, only to find her question met with a string of mumbled half-coherent replies, as four pairs of eyes turned towards the floor. "What?" she pressed curiously, shifting so that she was sitting up in bed. "Seriously, what'd you do?"

"Oh you know," said Cristina at last. "Sat back, and let you get away with your mind numbingly stupid idea to hide McFetus." She smirked and rolled her eyes. "Bailey went all sunshine and butterflies when she found out we knew."

"Sorry," muttered Meredith apologetically, before frowning down at her stomach, her eyes growing worried. "Wait…Bailey's mad? About the baby?" Bailey had been nothing but kind to her about the her pregnancy, however, Meredith was pretty sure that she deserved whatever had been said to her friends…and then some. She spoke apprehensively, asking, "Is she gonna come yell at me too?"

"Nah…relax," said Alex with a shrug. "You're safe."

"I am?"

"Yeah. Almost going into labor is apparently the new get out of jail free card," said Cristina, her voice surprisingly gentle.

"Oh," said Meredith softly, wincing at the memory. Despite the fact that she had done well the past few days, it was still too recent for her to think about calmly. Her hand drifted reflexively down to rest against her belly, and she chewed on her lip, having to actively remind herself that she felt fine and things were okay now. "Right…" she concluded at last, still not moving her hand from where it rested above her child. The room grew suddenly silent; the others studying the faint frown that lingered on her face, and finding themselves not exactly sure of what to say. Finally, George cleared his throat and looked back up.

"And we kind of got banned from your room. Until they were sure you were stable," he admitted sheepishly.

"Banned?" echoed Meredith incredulously, the strange statement serving to jar her from her thoughts. She shook her head, puzzled by just how much seemed to have happened in the four days she had been stuck on bed rest, weak and recovering. "Seriously?"

"Those three went postal when they heard about you," said Alex simply, waving an unimpressed hand in the direction of the other interns.

"Shut up Alex," snapped Izzie. "You freaked out too."

He started to reply, but was interrupted by Meredith. Her frown had vanished, and she was grinning at them, shaking her head in disbelief. "You guys freaked out?" she asked, the idea behind their concern filling her with a warm comforted feeling.

"Bambi's the one who lost it," corrected Cristina. "The rest of us were just worried."

"I did not," spluttered George defensively. "You were the one who yelled at that nurse."

Cristina's reply was simply dismissive. "I always yell at the nurses."

"Aw you guys," continued Meredith happily, still smiling at them. She leaned back against her pillows, feeling suddenly more like her old self than she had in a long time. "You were…" she continued, but her voice trailed off as her gaze finally zeroed in on the sheer abundance of balloons and vases overflowing with flowers littering her room. "You decorated…" she finished at last.

"Izzie decorated," said the other three immediately.

Izzie just nodded her head. "I did," she agreed, her voice growing eager and excited. "What do you think?" Meredith's smile had faded into a slightly overwhelmed frown, but she did her best to pull it back up, nodding as she pursed her lips together.

"It's very…nice," she said weakly. Both Cristina and Alex snorted at her reply, but Izzie seemed oblivious. She simply leaned forward and tweaked some of the bows tethering balloons to the bed.

"I know it's kind of a lot," she said, her voice turning apologetic. "It's just you're okay, and the baby's okay. It seemed like a good thing to celebrate."

That time Meredith's smile was genuine. "It is," she agreed warmly.

Izzie nodded, eyes suddenly widening in an expression of excited remembrance. "Ooh," she very nearly squealed. "We know…" Her words were cut short by a swift elbow to the ribs from George.

"So um…" continued Alex, clearing his throat and finally looking up from the stack of charts in his lap. "How're you doing Mer?" he asked loudly, partially succeeding in covering up the hissed argument that was taking place between Izzie and George. Meredith looked skeptically back and forth at her friends before answering.

"Good," she said simply. "Much better than before." Wrinkling her nose unhappily, she added, "I'm starting to go crazy from just laying her though." She trailed off and turned to stare at George and Izzie, watching in confusion as they argued in whispered undertones. "What are you guys talking about?" she asked, and they simultaneously whirled around to face her.

"We're talking about…" began Izzie, only to have George slap his hand over her mouth, effectively silencing her. She twisted around to look at him, glaring as she yanked his hand back down. "She asked, George," she said pointedly, before returning her attention to Meredith. "We know what it is," she blurted out, grinning broadly at her.

"What it is?" echoed Meredith, her eyebrows drawing together into a confused frown.

"Yeah," continued Izzie. She nodded vigorously, keeping a firm grip on George's struggling hand. "What you're having. We know the sex of the baby."

"You do?" asked Meredith. "How? I haven't found out yet."

"Yes Izzie," added Cristina, her voice full of mingled sarcasm and amusement. "How did you find out?"

Izzie just shrugged. "Seriously, it's not a big deal," she said. "There's a whole bunch of scans in your file from the ultrasound Addison did. And I asked her if what I thought was right was…and, she said yes," she concluded proudly, flicking her hair over her shoulder as she beamed at Meredith.

"Why didn't Addison tell me about…" began Meredith, but she promptly trailed off, finding the answer to her own question in the memory of just how distraught she had been during the actual ultrasound. "How'd you get to see my file?" she continued, her voice growing incredulous, and her confusion over how Izzie had found out serving to distract her from the actual question of the baby.

"Oh, I'm on your case now."

"My case?" echoed Meredith. "But I'm not surgical." She paused, the pale green of her eyes darkening with sudden concern. "I'm not surgical…right?"

"No, you're not," answered Cristina quickly, reading Meredith's unease faster than the others.

"No," agreed Izzie a moment later. "They just thought you might like having someone you knew checking on you, since you have to stay a few more days. And…Addison said one of us could join, if we wanted. So…" Izzie paused, flicking her hands out to the side as if she were on display. "Here I am. Or, you know, I'll be here later. Again."

"Oh…" echoed Meredith, nodding slowly.

"You do realize you gave up perfectly good OR time to play the buffer between Mer and McWife," stated Cristina dryly.

Izzie turned around indignantly. "I did not," she said. "You're just bitter because you lost twenty bucks."

"Um…twenty?" began Meredith questioningly, finding it somewhat difficult to follow their conversation.

"Yes that…the twenty you dropped the other day," answered George quickly. "Right Cristina? Fell out of your…wallet, right into the…um, the street." Alex snorted loudly as George concluded with what he hoped was a convincing nod. However, it simply served to fit the missing pieces of the puzzle into place in Meredith's mind, and her expression grew rapidly incredulous.

"You bet on my baby?"

"Well, no…not bet," began Izzie.

"No. Sort of a friendly competition in the spirit of…the miracle of life," agreed Cristina.

"You bet on my baby," repeated Meredith, her voice much more confident this time. "Seriously people? On my child?"

Cristina relented with a slight shrug. "Okay fine. But it was a small bet."

"Yes," agreed George earnestly. "Small. Teeny. Miniscule. Not even worth mentioning."

They were all watching Meredith apprehensively--apologies waiting just beyond their lips--as she frowned at them for a moment. However, her expression soon dissolved into a smile; shaking her head, her words coming out mingled with the sound of laughter. "Who won?" she asked. Glancing downward, she smoothed her hands over her protruding stomach, adding, "And what is it?"

"You sure you want to know, Mer?" asked Alex.

"Umm…" She ran her fingers through her loose wavy hair, frowning softly. "I think so… I hadn't actually thought about that yet. Maybe I should ask…" But she trailed off as the door to her room swung open, and five heads swiveled to find Derek walking in. "Him," she concluded, her voice turning into a pleased murmur as he nodded to the others and made his way over to her bed. "Hey…"

"Hey," Derek answered, bending down and kissing her; his lips a gentle pressure against hers as his hand reached up to cup her face. "Good morning to you," he said softly as they pulled away, smiling happily at each other. "And good morning baby," he added, bending down and pressing a kiss to her stomach as well.

Cristina groaned, her head falling forward to rest in her hands. "This is worse than the balloons," she muttered, but Meredith just laughed, her fingers running easily through Derek's hair.

"How do you feel today?" he asked as he straightened back up.

"Better." Meredith smiled proudly, gesturing to the pillows she was propped up against. "I've been sitting up this whole time, and nothing hurts." She swayed slightly from side to side, grinning up at him from over her shoulder, her smile turning into a pleased smirk.

Derek nodded, his expression thoughtful as he reached out, unable to keep from running his hand down the length of her messy hair. The monitors she was hooked up to had greatly decreased in number, and she no longer looked as weak and fragile as she had; some of the color had returned to her complexion, and a warm light was once again brightening the green of her eyes. "Good," he said softly, knowing that one word fell far short of how utterly relieved he was to see her smiling and sitting up, capable of moving about without clinging to him while she whimpered in pain.

"Yeah," murmured Meredith. They started drifting back towards each other, Meredith scooting over and Derek sitting down on the bed beside her. His arm slipped easily around her slender shoulders, pulling her close to him. She was halfway to tilting her lips up to his again when she remembered they weren't alone. Turning away, she smiled apologetically as she took in the awkward silence that had settled over her friends. "Um so," she continued, nudging Derek with her elbow.

Reluctantly, he tore his eyes from her. "Your friends are here," he observed, sounding slightly dismayed by their presence.

"They are," she agreed. "And…they decorated." She waved a hand at the heavily festooned room, and Derek just nodded again.

"They did." Meredith smirked as she tilted her head back once more, her eyes meeting Derek's. She was halfway to laughing, and her smile was mirrored in the depths of his own gaze, brightening the deep blue of his eyes. "Nice of them," he added, the corner of his mouth pulling up into a smirk as well. She just nodded, burying her head against his chest to keep from laughing over the balloons. The past four days had been filled with a lot of that; the wonderful sensation, something light and happy, that comes the moment before bursting into laughter. It was like a bright thread that had been woven through the darker fabric of her own fear and pain, marking a path to some place safer…some place where she wasn't broken in two anymore. And as she nestled in the crook of Derek's arm, his hand resting against her stomach protectively--in a manner that had, after only four days, become nearly second nature--she knew it was entirely due to him. Somehow, Derek made it easier to breathe again, easier to simply have faith in things turning out alright at the end. "So what were you lovely people talking about?" continued Derek, and Meredith grudgingly lifted her face from where it had been tucked against the warmth of his body.

"The sex of the baby," she said with a sudden grin.

"Oh." He frowned softly, eyebrows drawing together. "I didn't know you'd found out yet."

Meredith just wrinkled her nose, turning to stare at her friends. They all looked vaguely apprehensive--averting their eyes and aiming for a casual innocence. "I haven't," she said smugly. "They have."

"They all know what we're having?"

"Yep," answered Meredith, smirking as she nodded her head. "Want to guess? It's apparently profitable."

George groaned, his head falling into his hands as he turned to look at Izzie. "Great," he muttered in a half whisper. "If Shepherd flips out and kills us all over this, it's your fault. I want that on my tombstone Izzie. My tombstone, okay ?"

She just waved her hand at him. "They don't look mad," she said airily, tilting her head towards Meredith and Derek.

"They look disgusting," corrected Cristina, narrowing her eyes as she watched the two of them speak to each other in low whispered voices, their faces barely an inch apart. "They need to make up their damn minds and either kiss already or separate."

"It's probably a strategy," said George warily, his voice full of largely false concern. "Their plotting our deaths for profiting off their child."

"Yours maybe," said Alex as he shrugged. "We're not the ones who made forty bucks."

"I just…" continued George, turning slightly more apprehensive. However, Meredith finally moved away from Derek, clearing her throat as she looked back at her friends.

"Seriously people, relax," she said, shaking her head. "George, it's fine. I don't care. Go ahead and amuse yourself with my uterus." Still grinning, she turned back to look at Derek, twirling a strand of her hair tightly around her finger. "So…" she continued to him in a low voice.

"So," he answered, tilting his head to the side, and simply staring at her for a moment. "Do you want to know?" he asked at last. "Or did you want to wait?"

"Umm…" Meredith's expression grew thoughtful, absently drawing shapes on the bare stretch of his arm with the curve of her fingernail. She was chewing on her lip, trying to make up her mind. "I don't know," she mumbled at last. "What do you want?"

Derek just grinned at her. "Whatever you want," he said immediately, prompting Cristina to groan and roll her eyes.

"I'm suddenly wishing I were stuck in the pit," she muttered as Meredith turned to look over her shoulder, making a face at her.

"We don't need them to tell us," said Meredith lightly, as her gaze moved to take in Izzie's satisfied, almost gloating, smile. "We have self-control. Don't even," she added, cutting Cristina off just as she started to open her mouth. "We do. We can wait…" Her voice faltered slightly, and Derek raised an eyebrow.

"We can?" he asked inquisitively. "Until it's born?"

"Umm…" Meredith glanced down at her stomach again, suddenly filled with the desire to know whether her child was a girl or a boy. She hadn't really given the question much thought--it would be what it was. But now, she found her mind swimming with a thousand thoughts; names popping up unexpectedly as she tried to guess whether she would be buying pink clothes or blue clothes, whether she was having a daughter or a son. She frowned, and amended her original idea. "Until the next ultrasound," she said hastily.

"Okay," he agreed, leaning forward and resting his chin on her shoulder. "We'll find out then." And at that, Meredith could only beam. While her first ultrasound had been far from perfect, filled with both pain and fear, her second was filled with the promise of having Derek beside her, his hand laced closely with her own.

"Okay," she murmured back in response, doing her best to ignore the looks her friends were exchanging.

"So," continued Derek after a moment, breaking the comfortable silence they had started to settle into. "How'd you all find out before us anyway?" Izzie stiffened visibly; not exactly eager for one of her bosses to learn how quickly she'd shared what was supposed to be confidential medical information about his child.

"It's no big deal," said Meredith quickly, shooting her a reassuring smile. "Izzie's on my case now." She twisted back around, smirking up at Derek. "You know, because apparently your doctoring wasn't enough."

"My doctoring?" he echoed incredulously, smiling crookedly back at her. His voice was full of mock hurt, but his eyes shone warmly, piercing straight into her own. "Since when do you have complaints about my doctoring?" he asked, lowering his voice slightly so that it turned into a husky whisper, his lips brushing against her ear as he spoke. Meredith shivered reflexively, shaking her head, her body leaning even closer into his.

"No complaints," she said softly, her slender fingers curling possessively around his wrist.

"Twenty bucks says if we all close our eyes, they're just gonna go ahead and start getting naked," muttered Cristina.

Izzie laughed and nodded her head. "Thirty," she replied, as Meredith pulled apart from Derek once more, scowling at them.

"We are not getting naked," she snapped, folding her arms over her chest. "Right Derek?" she asked, turning back to look up at him. He just tilted his head to the side, grinning at her.

"You should get naked," he said evenly, his voice as utterly nonchalant as if he were remarking about the weather.

Meredith rolled her eyes, but the corners of her mouth turned up into an amused smirk. "Try and say something that isn't dirty, for once in your life," she said lightly. "If you even can."

Derek's grin simply deepened, but he obliged with a nod of his head. "So, you did an ultrasound?" he asked, turning to address Izzie.

"Oh…no," she said, frowning uncertainly. "I didn't. Your um, your…" She trailed off, looking questioningly at Meredith.

"She saw the one your wife did," supplied Cristina, placing a peculiarly sharp emphasis on the word.

"Right," said Derek flatly. His voice came out more strained than usual, and Meredith frowned as she felt his body tense slightly. She tilted her head back to look at him, and found herself staring into a pair of eyes that had darkened from their usual blue to a stormy navy; a medley of emotions woven tightly into the irises.

"Derek…?" she began, her voice low and questioning.

He didn't answer, just gave a slight nod of his head, seemingly lost in thought. "Um," said Izzie, interrupting the suddenly tense silence. "I just saw the scans from when she…yeah." She shrugged her shoulders, lapsing back into the silence that seemed to center around Derek and Meredith, and radiate outwards. Meredith was still studying his face intently, a slight confused frown taking residence on her brow, while Derek was staring past her, his thoughts apparently existing far beyond the borders of the small room.

"Derek," she repeated quietly, this time nudging him. "What is it?" Derek shook his head, jerking himself back from wherever he had drifted to.

"Nothing," he said, his voice unusually short. His gaze landed on Meredith's puzzled expression, and he shook his head again, a brief smile flashing across his face this time. "Sorry…I just remembered something."

"Okay," she agreed warily, her own eyes growing shadowed as well. Turning her head slightly, she caught sight of the steely expressions on the faces of her friends. They were all staring fixedly at the newly repaired couple, their eyes tinged with everything from skepticism to outright disapproval. "So…" she continued, growing both tired and uneasy of the thick silence hanging like a fog throughout the room.

"I have to fix…there's something I need to take care of," said Derek abruptly. His voice was oddly determined, and he shifted away from her, moving to stand up again. "Will you be okay if I leave for a bit?" he asked, studying the quietly troubled air that draped around Meredith. His eyes were boring straight into hers, and Meredith found herself filled with the strangest feeling; as if he were simultaneously asking more than his words suggested, and begging her to agree to what was unspoken. But Meredith found it disconcerting, and shook it off as best she could.

"Sure," she murmured, nodding slowly. "Yeah…whatever you need to do. I'll be fine." Derek nodded, the motion of his head as fast as hers had been long and drawn out, and before Meredith could fit in another word, he had reached down and pulled her face to his. Meredith gasped into his mouth as his lips pressed against hers. Teeth were scraping and pulling as tongues met in a kiss that felt strangely urgent; the sheer strength and intimacy of the moment at odds with the large number of people in the room.

"Okay," he agreed when he had pulled away, leaving Meredith breathless, and blinking up at him in confusion. "Take good care of her," he added over his shoulder as he walked out of the room, the door closing loudly behind him, and plunging the five interns into a long and awkward silence. Meredith had slumped back against her pillows, and was still frowning, a finger tracing absently along her slightly swollen lips. The others were alternating between exchanging pointed looks and simply studying her uncertainly.

"Well, I'm just going to say it," said Izzie at last, laughing awkwardly. "That was weird."

"Seriously," agreed George instantly, relieved that someone had finally broken the heavy spell that had hung over the room.

Cristina looked up, nodding as well. "Yeah, what was that, Mer?" she asked.

Meredith simply shrugged. "What was what?"

"That," said Cristina flatly as she waved a hand towards the bed. "You two, with the kissing and the McFreakin' Happy Couple thing, and then the flying out of the room."

"Nothing…and he didn't fly," muttered Meredith, once again crossing her arms over her chest. "He's a doctor. He's a busy man."

"Dude's overcompensating," said Alex with a shrug.

Meredith just frowned in confusion. "What?"

"He was an ass, and you got sick," continued Alex flatly. "So now he's trying to make it up to you." But Meredith shook her head; a sharp, suddenly frustrated gesture.

"We're just being happy," she snapped. Her eyes flashed intensely even as they narrowed, and she straightened up again, glaring at them. "What's so wrong with us being happy?" she demanded loudly.

"Nothing Mer," said George instantly, his voice growing anxious. "Happy is…good."

"No. They're clearly not…" began Cristina, only to be cut off almost immediately by George.

"Rule number four," he muttered under his breath, tilting his head towards Meredith flushed face and the frustrated frown that still lingered quite plainly there.

"Right…um," continued Cristina, her voice filling with fake enthusiasm. "Way to go with the…happy thing. It's normal. Not at all twisted or messed up." Meredith shook her head--noting the obvious contradiction between Cristina's tone and words--and her frown deepened as she took in the same half apprehensive, half encouraging smile mirrored in all their faces.

"Rules," she began skeptically. "You guys have rules?"

Alex shrugged, rolling his eyes. "Bailey has rules," he said bluntly.

"She does?"

"Rules for visiting you," explained Cristina, smirking as she leaned back in her chair.

"What?" continued Meredith, losing her previous train of thought. She shook her head incredulously, racking her brain to come up with possible rules. Finally she simply asked, "What are they?"

"Number one," began Cristina loudly. "Only visit her during actual visiting hours."

"Stupid rule," interjected Izzie, shaking her head. "We're doctors. Since when does our free time magically align with visiting hours?"

Meredith shrugged, but Cristina continued on as if there had been no interruption. "Rule number two, don't wake Meredith up if she's asleep. That went well. Rule number three…" She trailed off, frowning as she tried to remember just what came next.

"Don't be idiots," supplied Alex around a mouthful of the granola bar he'd just unwrapped.

Izzie made a face, stretching her hand out to block his mouth from view, adding, "Gross. And four was to not upset you."

"Okay," said Meredith slowly, pushing her hair out of her eyes. "I have rules…"

"There was one more," said Cristina thoughtfully, suddenly giving a jerk of her head. "Right. No telling you there are rules."

"Of course," agreed Meredith, giggling slightly. She shook her head, smiling at her friends. George looked somewhat sheepish, but the other three simply looked amused. Cristina looked particularly pleased that all five rules had been broken. But as she smiled, Meredith's mind drifted back to the suddenly empty half of the bed next to her. The sheet still felt warm beneath her outstretched hand, and she bit her lip--her smile fading and turning into a vague shadow of a frown. "But Derek…" she continued slowly. "What…you guys think he was being weird?"

"No, he was being very Derek," said Cristina instantly, as Izzie nodded her head in agreement. "And you were being very…" she trailed off, shrugging. "Whatever."

"Wait…I was being what?"

Cristina shrugged again, her expression growing bored. "Very Meredith."

"Well I'm me," replied Meredith indignantly. "Seriously, what are you talking about?"

"He's not even divorced yet, right? And already, you two are all sex-happy."

"We are not sex-happy," snapped Meredith, choosing to bypass the first question completely.

"Right," said Izzie, laughing slightly. "You two were all over each other with the rest of us sitting here. Now, completely alone for four days with no sex?" She just grinned incredulously. "Whatever you say Mer."

"Seriously. With the groping and the kissing," agreed Cristina, raising an eyebrow as her expression slipped into a slow smirk. "Shepherd looked like he wanted to throw us out."

Meredith rolled her eyes, quickly growing annoyed as she thought back to just how sore and wretched she had felt for the majority of the past four days. "No," she replied, glaring at them. "There has been no sex. I'm stuck here because I almost went into labor, remember?" Izzie's expression grew quickly apologetic and Cristina's smirk faded. "I probably can't even have sex now," she continued, her voice full of an understated but definite longing. "And, even if I could, I'll never know. So just…stop talking about it," she concluded, flopping back against her pillows with a heavy sigh.

"Umm…what?" asked Izzie. Her brown eyes had widened in confusion, her mouth falling open into a perfect o-shape. "You'll never know?" she echoed, her voice coming out just as puzzled as her expression.

"Addison's currently my doctor," muttered Meredith blandly, staring down at the printed fabric of her hospital gown.

Cristina just shrugged. "So? Ask her."

"I'm not asking her if I can sleep with Derek," said Meredith, her voice coming out strangely high and thin. "Just no. That is wrong. Very, very wrong."

"Well don't include Derek in the question," suggested Izzie helpfully.

Meredith simply rolled her eyes again. "You think?" she snapped.

"Hey relax," said Alex, shrugging absently. "She already knows you want in Shepherd's scrubs, and he wants in yours. The whole hospital knows. It's not going to be surprising."

"It's just…" began Meredith, feeling her face flush slightly. She hesitated for a moment, as if contemplating speaking with Addison, but promptly shook her head, groaning as she said, "No. I can't ask her when the implied other half is her husband."

"Fine. I'll ask her," volunteered Izzie almost mischievously. "I'm on your case now too, remember?" She rocked back on her heels, looking very pleased with herself as she pulled her hair up into a ponytail.

"No you won't," hissed Meredith as Cristina's expression darkened, and she stared disbelievingly at Meredith.

"Back up," she said flatly. "The whole McMarried thing. How long is that lasting?" There was a sharp edge to her voice that made Meredith wince, turning to focus intently on her folded hands as she gave a small shrug.

"I don't know."

"What?" spluttered George incredulously.

"Seriously Mer," said Izzie, her tone as shocked as his. "Haven't you talked about it?"

"Of course she's talked about it. She wouldn't be that big of an idiot to act like she's dating Shepherd again without ever bringing up the matter of the wife," answered Cristina, but her tone was vaguely mocking, filled with her own frustrations as she correctly interpreted the suddenly guilty light in Meredith's eyes.

"It's just…we haven't really talked about her. At least, not since the first night." Meredith shrugged again, chewing anxiously on her lip, and trying to ignore the doubts that had been forced to resurface. "It's complicated," she continued, struggling to rationalize for herself why neither of them had brought up his marriage, or just what the two of them were doing now. They had simply been living in the moment; relishing each other's company, and not bothering to step back and figure out how to straighten out the mess that surrounded their lives. Meredith shook her head, her hand coming to rest against her stomach. "She saved my baby, so…" It wasn't a good excuse, but it was at the heart of why she hadn't demanded explanations about Addison the way she would've before. She shrugged and trailed off, her eyes imploring her friends to understand.

"So you're being an idiot," snapped Cristina.

"No," moaned Meredith, shaking her head more forcefully this time. "He's leaving her. It's implied. Seriously, it's been implied." She straightened up, finding reassurance in the memory of what they'd said to each other when she had first woken up to find him there in her room, of the feelings that had filled every touch and every word since. Nearly every moment that he hadn't spent in surgery had been spent at her side. "Look," she continued, her voice growing stronger. "I know you guys hate him, but Derek wouldn't kiss me like that if he were staying with Addison. He wouldn't say the things he's said…if he were."

Alex just snorted. "It's not that we hate him Mer," he said. "He's got a history. That's all."

"A history?" she echoed, tugging nervously on the patient ID bracelet snapped around her wrist. "Of…?" The word trembled slightly, hanging awkwardly in the air, and not quite needing an answer. Finally, Izzie cleared her throat, and spoke softly.

"Of leading you on, Mer."

"No…he's not," said Meredith, trying to turn angry over their doubt, but instead simply feeling shaky and uncertain. She curled back into the pillows, pulling her blankets up close to her chest; suddenly desperate for warmth. "Everything's fine."

"Of course it is," said George earnestly, and she knew he meant well--that he was just being George--however, when coupled with the silent and doubtful looks that marked the faces of her other friends, Meredith couldn't help but find it completely condescending. She groaned and turned away, not meeting their eyes.

It was Alex who finally spoke; shattering the stiff silence that had fallen over them. "All I'm saying is, Shepherd has no right to ask you to take anything on faith," he said, a gentleness that Meredith wasn't used to hearing filling his voice. "He has everything to prove, so demand some proof."

She nodded her head reluctantly, knowing that he was right…that they couldn't keep pretending that the world reached only as far as the door to her room. There were other things, complicated things…she didn't even know if Derek had talked to Addison yet. There was a marriage and a child, and problems that weren't simply soothed away by staring deep into each others eyes for hours; murmuring stupid pointless things in low whispers between lazy kisses. That alone wasn't a foundation, and Meredith knew they had to start building a real one if everything that had been implied was to cross the gap from murmured promises and into reality. The resolute cheerfulness of the balloons and flowers surrounding her suddenly seemed painfully out of place; she found herself feeling overwhelmed in a way she thought the past four days had helped her forget. Meredith slumped down in bed, staring blankly at her friends. She had to truly talk to Derek, and yet…she wasn't sure how to go about shattering the perfect golden bubble that they'd found each other in again.

-----

So yeah, a lot happened in the chapter. I'm still feeling the overwhelming urge to ramble on and on, so…just a warning. I may ramble. Hmm…the interns. So, yes…we didn't actually see how they responded when they heard about Mer and the baby. But they did respond. They freaked out, each in their own special way, and Bailey was none too pleased with them for helping Mer out with her terribly stupid and unhealthy plan. So, this was their first chance to see Meredith as she's doing substantially better than she was. And Izzie brings balloons and is just very Izzie about decorating Mer's room for her. And, they all know the sex of the baby. And you know, they bet on what it was. George guessed right, Cristina and Alex guessed wrong. And Izzie thinks Mer will be thrilled by what it is. And yeah, there actually is a definite answer to what sex it is. Who lost the bet wasn't just assigned arbitrarily, but yeah…if you can tell what it is based on their guesses…I will be very impressed. (Okay, actually only mildly impressed because you do have some pretty good odds.) But Mer is going to wait until she can find out from a newer better ultrasound with Derek instead of just having them tell her, so yes…that's that. McFetus still is sexless.

And hmm…Mer/Der. So, for the four days we skipped past, they were together a lot. Mer was still pretty sick a lot of the time, but, they were very much doing their happy together thing the way they were at the end of the previous chapter. They've been isolated in a way from everything else because Mer was stuck in her room, and Derek was consequently in that room every free moment he had, and…there just wasn't a lot of exposure to the outside world. It was very much their little cocoon of rekindled love and whatnot. However, they haven't had any sort of talk beyond the first one. They've just been enjoying being with each other, but haven't addressed the actual logistics of the issues that need to be solved…badly. And you see, Addison saved their baby. In a way, that's holding Meredith back from just flat out demanding Derek to tell her what's going on with Addison, and how he's handling things. She's hesitant to even bring the other woman up because she feels in her debt now, yet there she is in Derek's arms, and to Mer…the whole thing just feels very complicated. And so, she's been avoiding the issue, and Derek hasn't brought it up yet either. (I'll refrain from rambling about him here since there was very little written inside his head this chapter. That comes next chapter.) They've just been letting themselves ignore everything save each other and their immediate happiness, and…they could do that in their little cocoon.

However, this chapter they get more interaction together with other people. All of Mer's friends are there, and Cristina has no problem bluntly referencing Addison as the wife. And Derek reacts weirdly to that. And Mer is suddenly getting opinions beyond her own on what's been going on. She's excellent at just letting herself get wrapped up in Derek, but her friends haven't really moved past the fact that they find him to be an ass. And so, they kind of push Mer back to her senses, pointing out that just existing in happy limbo really isn't the best plan. They have to move past that despite the fact that it may seem tough and unpleasant and perhaps even scary compared to just pretending everything is fine and ignoring everything other than the fact that she's back in Derek's arms.

So yep, I guess that's about all I have to say. See…I said I was in a rambling mood tonight. Hee. Anyway, I'll try to write some more soon. I have a new exciting plot for a new exciting story floating around in the back of my mind, so, as much as I don't want this story to end (in a while still heh)…I am excited about my new exciting idea. (I have now thoroughly overused the word exciting.) And yeah, thanks so much for reading!