Disclaimer: If we owned Grey's, we never would have let Meredith fall into the ocean. Burke, yes. But Meredith? Meredith would be falling into on call rooms with Derek.
Two weeks after my talk with Lucas, I was in my office waiting for the doctor to drop Dillon off with me. I scrolled through my e-mail as I waited, a smile on my face. Life was good. Life was perfect. Meredith was now two and a half months pregnant and Dillon was still talking about his new little brother non stop. I had never imagined six months ago that I would be apart of a perfect family.
Dinner with the family this week had been strangely cancelled tonight, but that was okay. We were getting close to the time of telling them all about the baby and I could tell Meredith was getting nervous about it. It was kind of cute seeing nervous Meredith again, she very rarely made an appearance now so now it was just cute. But stress wasn't good for the baby, so nervous Meredith was bad. I tried massages and bubble baths, but Meredith also had the tendency to snap at me when I got too worried about her. She told me she had been pregnant before and had done just fine, so she'd be fine this time too. I couldn't help but be happy that this time, I was with her. This time, she had someone. "Daddy Derek!" Dillon came running into my office, Sam in his arms, Lucas behind him.
"Dillon!" I shouted, standing up and throwing my arms out for a hug.
"Hey, Derek," Lucas smiled from behind Dillon.
"Hey Lucas," I smiled back at him. Things were still strange between us but it was definitely going to work out. "Did you guys have a good weekend?"
"Daddy and I watched movies," Dillon nodded. "And, we got something for my baby brother!"
"You did?" I asked.
"Yeah!" Dillon nodded and then reached into his backpack that was hanging from Lucas's hand, pulling out a shirt that said, "My big brother loves Me". "See!"
I had to blink back tears at the seeing the shirt. I didn't not have to cry in front of Lucas. "It's wonderful, bud."
"It should be good for a girl too," Lucas smiled as he ruffled Dillon's hair.
"Thanks for that," I laughed. Obviously Lucas had been made aware of the situation with him not accepting the concept of a sister.
"Hey, Dill pickle, why don't you color for a few minutes?" Lucas smiled at his son. "Remember, Kimmy wanted a picture from you?"
"Need to talk?" I asked, walking closer to him as Dillon sat down where his pencils sat.
"Actually," he sighed, "this might be a little awkward, but uh, Kimberly was wondering if you and Meredith were free for dinner tonight."
"Really?" I asked, trying to keep the shock out of my mouth. "We are free, actually. My mom usually has us over but she cancelled tonight."
"I know it's last minute," he apologized. "And finding a babysitter might be tough."
"I'm sure we can get Mark or Cristina to watch him," I offered.
He laughed, "Not Cristina by herself. That's dangerous."
I laughed along with him. "She definitely can't be trusted."
"Okay, well, you ask Meredith and give me a call," he said, a little awkwardly. "Unless you, uh, think it's not a good idea."
"No, it sounds good, it does. Awkward but good," I nodded.
"Okay," he nodded and then turned to Dillon. "See you later, Dill pickle. Love you."
"Love you too Daddy!" Dillon shouted, not bothering to look up from what he was doing.
"Give me a call, Derek," he said and then walked out of my office, leaving me alone with Dillon, who was coloring intensely.
"More fish?" I asked him. We still hadn't managed to get him to draw anything else but Lucas had said he'd give it a try so maybe we had gotten something resembling a pink pony or something.
"Yep," he nodded. "And a dolphin. Kimmy said they're not fish. They're mamamles."
"A dolphin is a step in the right direction," I said giving him a quick kiss on the top of his head. "Miss your mom and I?"
"Yeah," he said. "Is my brother here yet?"
I laughed. "Remember bud, what we talked about? You still have to wait another 6 months."
"My brother sure is taking a long time," he sighed. "Doesn't he want to meet me?"
"He or she can not wait to meet you. But right now he or she is still too tiny," I tried to explain making sure to put an emphasis on the she.
"What's he look like?" he asked me, putting his crayon down and crawling into my arms.
"We don't know. But your mommy has a doctor's appointment later this week and maybe we'll get a picture then," I told him.
"Is he smaller than Sam?" he looked up at me.
"Yep, right now it's very tiny. It's in your mommy's belly and we can't even tell. When it gets bigger so will mommy's belly," I explained.
"He needs to get here soon," he insisted. "Really soon. I want to show him his fishy room."
"Dillon, it might be a sister," I reminded him yet again.
"Do you think he'll like his fishy room?" he ignored me.
"I'm sure he or she will love it. And we need to get home. Your mom and I are going out tonight. Want to stop by Uncle Mark's office to see if he wants to hang out with you?" I asked as I walked back over to my desk to grab my jacket.
"Yeah!" he exclaimed and grabbed Sam and his backpack. "Unless he has to share a pickle. Then he can't."
That stopped me in my tracks. "What? What did you just say?"
"Sometimes Uncle Mark has a pickle and he shares it," Dillon explained. "With a girl. He told me."
"He told you about that, did he?" I said as we started to head down the hall hand in hand. "I think I'm going to have to talk to your uncle Mark about what he should and should not say to 6 year olds."
"It's just a pickle, Daddy Derek," Dillon rolled his eyes.
"It's a tiny pickle. Next time your Uncle Mark talks about his pickle make sure to remember to call it tiny," I laughed.
"Okay," he nodded. "Do girls like pickles, Daddy Derek? Should I share a pickle with Becky?"
I was going to kill Mark. I was going to cut off Mark's pickle. "Girls do like pickles but that's not something you have to worry about till your much much older. Right now just share cupcakes with her."
"Okay," he nodded and then smiled as the devil himself came around the corner. "Mr. Mark!"
"Just the man we were looking for," I greeted him.
"Hey, kiddo," Mark grinned. "What's up with my formerly cool friend?"
"Meredith and I are going out for dinner tonight and Dillon was wondering if you want to hang out," I told him, ignoring his comment on the state of my coolness.
"Unless you have to share a tiny pickle with a girl," Dillon chirped from my side.
"Tiny?" Mark asked, actually looking insulted at the comment. "Who said anything about tiny?"
"Daddy Derek," Dillon smiled.
"You tell my son about sharing pickles with girls, I tell him the truth about the size of the pickle," I shrugged.
Mark stared at me and then looked at Dillon. "Hey, kiddo, just so you know, Daddy Derek shares really tiny pickles. Even tinier than mine."
Dillon looked up at the two of us, a completely confused expression on his face. I decided to change the subject. "So are you free tonight or not?"
"Yeah, I'm free tonight," Mark nodded. "Hey, any idea why Mom canceled dinner?"
"No clue, it's unlike her," I responded.
"Maybe Mom has a date," he winked at me.
"Mom? Date? She's never gone on a...no way could she have a date," I argued.
"Derek, your dad's been dead for thirty years," he said, the tone of his voice changing a little. "Would it be so weird if your mom wanted some companionship?"
"She's your mom too," I pointed out. "And yes. Not that I wouldn't be happy for her, but it would be weird. Don't you think it would be weird?"
"Maybe a little," he admitted and then sighed. "Okay, kiddo, what are we gonna do tonight? Cruise for girls?"
"What's cruising for girls mean?" Dillon asked looking up at him.
"It means we're gonna find us some girlfriends," Mark grinned. "Cause Mr. Mark needs a girl to share a pickle with."
"Not when you are watching my son," I ordered him. "And Cristina will be helping, hopefully. If anyone can keep you in line it's Cristina."
"Yang?" Mark grinned. "Now there's a fiesty one."
"She's terrifying. Meredith adores her," I told him.
"You think she'd like a taste of the pickle?" Mark asked as we walked towards the elevator.
"You could offer, but I think she might bite it," I laughed.
"Ouch," Mark winced. "So what time do I need to watch the rugrat?"
"Seven I guess," I answered him.
"Excellent," he nodded and then grinned at Dillon. "See you later, kiddo. You bring Sam and I'll bring the root beer and cards, okay?"
"Okay!" Dillon answered sounding excited at a night with his unofficial uncle.
"See you, Shep," he said. "Hey, how's Meredith doing? And when do I get to tell Mom that I'm going to be an uncle?"
"We're telling the rest of the family in two weeks," I told him. "And she's good, worried about the family telling, but she's good."
"She shouldn't be worried," Mark laughed. "Mom's not scary. Just...clucky."
"It's not that...it's just...Meredith's complicated. Beautifuly complicated. Telling makes it real, she's not ready for that yet," I explained.
"And this is why I just share my pickle," Mark nodded and then looked down as his pager went off. "All right, I'll see you at seven."
"Bye," I told him and then turned to Dillon. "Ready to go home, bud?"
"Yeah," he nodded. "I gotta put my brother's new picture up in his room."
I rolled my eyes and didn't even bother correcting him. There was no way he would ever think differently. I had a feeling we could hand him a perfect little girl dressed all in pink and he'd still be wondering where his brother was. "Let's go."
We drove to the house, Dillon talking a mile a minute about everything he had done with Lucas and Kimmy through out the weekend, and I listened with a half smile on my face. Dillon seemed to like his two families, and he didn't seem to be very dark and twisty. Dillon was, all in all, a pretty well adjusted kid. It always surprised me how happy he was, how normal he was. Meredith had grown up without parents, she had no way of knowing how to be a good parent. And yet she had done an amazing job with Dillon, she was an amazing mother. With her it had come naturally, completely naturally. And it made me hope, hope that I would do just as well with my life as a dad.
When we got home, Dillon jumped out of his car and ran towards the front door. "Mommy! Mommy!"
"Hey Dillon!" Meredith exclaimed wrapping her arms around him. "Have a good weekend?"
"Yeah!" he nodded. "Did you miss me and Sam?"
"Of course I did. The house is really quiet without you two," she told him, ruffling his hair in the habit she had picked up from me.
"Did my brother miss me and Sam?" he asked.
"Dillon, you know it might not be a brother," Meredith told him gently.
"But did he miss me?" Dillon pushed, choosing to ignore yet another reminder that he could get a little sister.
"Yes," Meredith said rolling her eyes and giving me a quick kiss.
"Mommy, Mr. Mark is coming tonight and we're gonna cruise for girls," Dillon smiled at her as he went inside the house.
"We now have dinner plans," I answered her confused look. "So Mark's going to babysit. With no girl cruising, I was thinking Cristina could come over to help Mark out."
"Dinner plans?" Meredith asked as she grabbed Dillon's backpack. "I thought your mom canceled tonight?"
"She did. Kimberly and Lucas invited us out," I explained.
"Kimberly and Lucas?" Meredith stared at me. "As in my ex boyfriend and his fiancee?"
"Those would be them," I nodded.
"But...why?" Meredith asked.
"I don't know," I shrugged.
"Fine," she sighed. "You go shower and I'll call Cristina and get ready."
"Are you okay?" I asked her, gently rubbing her cheek.
"I'm fine," she nodded. "Just...tired. And, well...no, I'm fine."
"Mer, what is it?" I asked, holding her close to me.
"Nothing," she insisted. "Seriously. I'm fine. Go get in the shower. You smell like hospital."
"Fine, I'll shower. But if you decide you want to talk, you know where I am," I told her, starting to walk away.
"I'm fine, Derek," she said again.
I gave her one last concerned look. "Love you," I said.
"You too," she said as she got out her cell phone. "Now go. Shower. Now. And no cologne."
"Bossy," I jokingly complained as I headed towards the stairs.
"You like it," she laughed after me.
"Oh I do," I agreed laughing.
"Shower!" she laughed, as she dialed Cristina's number.
I bounded up the stairs trying not to worry about her. Something was obviously bugging her and it was obviously something she had no desire to talk about. It was probably just the idea of supper with Lucas and his fiancee, but still I worried. She was the love of my life, and she carrying my first child. And she would carry my second. And my third. I had a right to worry about her.
I took a quick shower and then went into our bedroom where Meredith was now standing in her bra and underpants, throwing clothes all over the place. She held a black dress up to her and then threw it aside, mumbling under her breath as she rejected the offending article of clothing. As I watched her, I tried very hard to ignore the fact that she was in her underwear and focused on her nervousness. "Meredith, hun, what's wrong?" I asked her as she threw another dress to the side.
"What's wrong?" she turned to me and put her hands on her now fuller hips. "Seriously? Seriously. What's wrong? What's wrong is that you got me pregnant and I'm getting fat and you agreed to go out to dinner with my ex and his probably gorgeous and thin fiancee. That's what's wrong, Derek."
"You're not fat," I frowned, looking at her still perfect body.
"I am," she sighed, throwing yet another dress to the side. "And my bras don't fit anymore, Derek. They don't fit."
"I like the bigger breasts," I frowned again, walking up to her and resting my hands on her shoulders to hold her still. "Meredith Grey, you look absolutely beautiful. Not only are you not fat, but you are just as beautiful as the day I met you. Actually more beautiful. You have that pregnant glow, it's breathtaking."
"Pregnant women don't glow," she rolled her eyes. "We vomit and we're tired and we have swollen ankles and we get fat. We don't glow. Beautiful big boobed blondes named Kimberly? They glow."
"You," I kissed her. "Are absolutely glowing. And Kimberly has nothing on you, nothing."
"You haven't seen her," she mumbled.
"But I've seen you, and no one compares," I smiled at her.
"I have nothing to wear," she whimpered as she fell against my chest.
"Go naked. I definitely vote you go naked," I laughed, holding her close to me.
"You're not helping," she giggled a little.
"I made you giggle, so I have to disagree. Wear whatever Mer, you look gorgeous in everything," I shrugged.
"You're such a guy," she rolled her eyes.
"You love it," I laughed, walking over to my side of the closet to pull out some nice pants and a shirt.
She stared at the pile of clothes on her bed and finally chose a black dress that fit perfectly on her curves. She looked absolutely beautiful, and she was definitely glowing, even if she didn't believe me. She put on a pair of heels and then stared at herself in the mirror, a frown on her face. "I swear, if Kimberly is gorgeous and thin, you're sleeping on the couch."
I walked behind her, now dressed for the evening and wrapped my arms around her. "You've never looked more beautiful."
She turned around and kissed me, her tongue slipping into my mouth, her fingers tangling themselves in my hair. "Hmmm," she moaned a little.
"Hmm.." I pushed her back. "None of that right now."
"Why not?" she giggled as she took another step towards me, reaching for the buttons on my shirt.
I grabbed her hands in my own and lowered them to our sides. "Because we have to go meet your ex-boyfriend and his drop dead gorgeous, very thin fiancee."
"Are you mad at me or something?" she said as she turned around, grabbing her purse.
I laughed and pulled her close, giving her a quick kiss. "No, just pointing out the facts."
"Mommy! Mommy!" Dillon came running into the room. "Mr. Mark and Aunt Cris are here!"
"Good," Meredith nodded, giving me a slightly dirty look. "I guess that means we can go."
"Daddy Derek?" Dillon took my hand and started dragging me down the stairs.
"Yeah, bud?" I asked following him.
"What does manwhore mean?" he asked.
"Where did you hear that term?" I asked him, wondering which best friend needed to be killed.
"Aunt Cris said it to Mr. Mark," Dillon replied.
"It means that Mark shares his pickle with a lot of girls. It's not a good thing," I told him seriously and then turned to look at Meredith who was behind us. "We need new friends."
"I know," she laughed. "Okay, Dill, be good. And remember, eat a real dinner. Not cookies and ice cream. And be in bed by eight thirty."
"Yes Mom," Mark came into the room.
"Seriously, Mark," Meredith glared at him, "Cristina won't do it. But he needs to eat a real dinner. Can you cook?"
"I can call people that can cook," Mark shrugged, giving her the smile that usually led to women jumping into bed with him. Meredith was immune thankfully.
"At least tell me you can make macaroni and cheese," she said.
"I think I can manage that," Mark nodded.
"Good," she nodded and then kissed Dillon the forehead. "Be good, Dill."
Dillon nodded quickly as I leaned forward to give him a quick kiss and a hug goodbye. "Do everything in your power to drive Mark crazy," I whispered in his ear.
"I will," he giggled. "Sam and I are gonna beat him at poker."
"You know how to play poker?" I looked at him confused.
"Aunt Cris taught me," he nodded.
"Mer, I know they say it takes a village to raise a child. But I think we need a new village," I told her, my tone dead serious.
"Don't insult the village, McDreamy," Cristina said as she came into the room. "And what's up with the manwhore babysitting? Doesn't he have a nurse to be doing?"
"Cristina, little ears," Meredith warned her.
"Hey, Dillon, earmuffs," Mark grinned at Dillon as the little boy put his hands over his ears and then winked at Cristina. "Works everytime."
"Maybe we do need a new village," Meredith smiled at me.
"Will you guys go already?" Cristina rolled her eyes. "And go have your crazy dinner with your ex boyfriend and his bimbo? And if you get the chance, poison his food. Jackass stole a surgery from me."
I laughed and grabbed Meredith's hand, leading her out of the house. "Later, guys."
We drove to the restaurant in silence, Meredith's hand nestled in mine. I gave it a sqeeze from time to time to calm her down. She was obviously nervous and tense and I was worried, again. "I can't believe you said yes," she sighed as we were parking the car.
"Meredith, what choice did I have? He's your son's father, and yes this is going to be awkward but we need to get through this. Dillon needs us to do this," I said squeezing her hand.
"Fine," she said, getting out of the car. "I just wish we could have done this when I wasn't pregnant."
"You don't need alcohol," I laughed.
"I do," she nodded. "Tequila. And lots of it."
"No tequila for a very long time," I gently reminded her.
"I know, I know," she said, taking my hand as we walked towards the restaurant. "I'm just saying, it's going to be very difficult to get through this without tequila."
"You have me. I'm better than tequila," I told her.
"Tequila doesn't accept dinner dates with my ex and his fiancee," Meredith shot back.
"Tequila also doesn't give you screaming orgasms," I pointed out.
"Meredith? Derek?" a brown haired woman standing next to Lucas smiled at us as we walked in.
"You must be Kimberly!" I greeted extending my hand, not quite trusting Meredith to be polite.
She nodded and took my hand, shaking it confidentally. She was beautiful and thin, but she was also not a blond bimbo. She was dressed conservatively in a teal dress and wasn't wearing a lot of make up at all. "It's great to finally meet the famous Daddy Derek," she smiled. "Dill talks about you all the time. He adores you."
"We've heard all about you too," I told her while silently nudging Meredith with my foot for her to speak up.
"Hi," Meredith said, reaching out her hand. "I'm Meredith. Dillon's mom."
"Nice to finally meet you," Kimberly said. "And I'm sorry for all the headaches Lucas here has caused. I kept telling him just to talk to you and Derek, figure things out. But you know men never listen."
Meredith stared at her for a second and then looked at me before looking back at Kimberly. "Yeah, I know," she finally managed. "They just don't listen. Ever."
"So we should go sit," I said, clapping my hands together and taking Meredith's small arm in my own.
"Definitely," Kimberly smiled. "Oh, and Meredith, congratulations on the baby. Dillon was talking all weekend about his baby brother. I tried to tell him it might be a girl, but all he could talk about was his baby brother. He's so excited."
"Thank you," Meredith smiled. "He's ecstatic, and completely unwilling to listen to anything other than it being a boy. It's the men don't listen thing again."
Kimberly laughed. "They start young, don't they?" she sat down in the seat that Lucas was pulling out for her. "But he's such a great kid. You did a great job with him."
"Thank you. Lucas was a big help," Meredith smiled at her ex.
"You know," Lucas said from his own chair, "Kimberly and I were wondering if Dillon would be the ring bearer at our wedding."
"I'm sure he'd be thrilled to be," I answered.
"Sam too, of course," Kimberly laughed. "That little bear is every bit a part of our family as Dill is."
"If you didn't include Sam I'm pretty sure Dillon would refuse," Meredith laughed, squeezing my hand under the table. I was glad to see she had relaxed.
"I still say he's getting too old," Lucas sighed but quieted himself with a look from Kimberly.
"He'll outgrow it soon enough. My nephew Sullivan had the same attachment to his bear, he's nearly 8 now, and he's starting to separate himself slowly," I reassured Lucas.
"I think it's adorable," Kimberly said as she opened her menu. "The way he treats him like it's his brother. Absolutely adorable. I'm sure when the baby is born he'll tear himself away from Sam to spend time with his little brother."
"If it's a boy, if it's a girl I think we might have a nightmare on our hands," I laughed.
"I'm sure he'll be happy with a sister," Kimberly grinned. "It will take some getting used to. But I believe if we continue to show him he's loved, then he'll adapt easily. He's a smart kid."
"I hope so," Meredith nodded. "He's so excited to have a little brother, I don't want him to be disappointed."
"How are you feeling?" Kimberly asked. "My sister just had a baby and she was sick the first three months. Couldn't stand it when her husband wore cologne. That's why I told Lucas he had to stay away from it tonight."
"Oh thank god, Derek's cologne is getting me everytime. Besides that I'm not as bad as I thought. It's easier than it was with Dillon," Meredith told her,
"I've heard the second is easier," Kimberly nodded sympathetically. "Of course, I can't wait to have kids. I'm so fortunate to have gotten practice with Dillon. I'll admit, at first, I didn't know what to expect. But he's an angel. I can only pray that my own kids will be so wonderful."
"They'll have good parents," Meredith said smiling at the two of them. I was so proud of her right now. She had been so nervous about coming and yet everything was going smoothly. She was giving Kimberly a chance.
Lucas grinned at me, a completely changed man around Kimberly. "Are you feeling like a third wheel?" he joked to me.
"I must say I am," I laughed to him.
"We should talk about something manly," he nodded. "Surgeries. Racing. Football."
"Do you have time for any racing or football with surgeries? Because I sure don't," I shook my head sadly.
"I wish," he sighed. "Though, I did have a patient come in who needed a humpty dumpty surgery Thursday. That was one hell of a surgery."
"That is. Is that the case you stole from Yang? She was complaining, something about wanting us to poison your food." I told him.
"I didn't steal it," Lucas rolled his eyes. "Yang was operating on an aortic aneurysm. She can't be in two places at once."
"I'm sure in her mind she can be," I told him, actually believing what I had just said.
"Probably," he laughed. "Yang has one hell of a God complex. That I'm afraid she's passing onto my son."
"You've noticed it to?" I asked him.
"Yang has been brainwashing him since the second he was born," Lucas replied. "I remember he told me when he was three that surgery was hardcore."
"That's what I figured. I need to find a way to keep the next one away from Yang. And Sloan," I half joked. We ordered our food and had friendly chit chat for a while longer, Kimberly and Meredith talking like old friends, Lucas and I talking about the hospital. It wasn't nearly as awkward as I thought it would be, and I actually found myself having a good time. But halfway through dinner, Meredith quieted a bit, and she wasn't eating as much. "Mer, you okay?" I asked, leaning over to whisper in her ear.
She looked at me, her skin a little pale and nodded. "I'm fine."
"No you're not," I told her. "What's wrong? Is it the baby?"
"It's just...the food," she sighed. "I don't want to ruin dinner."
"You're not ruining anything. Do you need to go home?" I said, brushing some hair out of her face.
She grimaced a little and nodded. "I really don't want to ruin dinner," she said again. "It's just..."
"No problem," I whispered squeezing her hand slightly before pulling away. "Guys, we hate to leave early, but Mer's a little tired so I'm going to get her home."
"Oh," Kimberly nodded, "it's completely okay. Really. I'm sure Italian is just a little heavy for the baby." She stood up and hugged Meredith. "It really was nice meeting you. You should call me. I'll decorate the baby's nursery, entirely for free."
"That would be nice," Meredith smiled. "Thank you so much for inviting us. It was nice, it really was."
"It was great meeting you, Derek," she smiled, giving me a hug as well. "Give Dill a kiss good night for me when you get home."
"I will, wonderful meeting you too," I said as I pulled away and offered my hand to Lucas. "See you at work tomorrow."
"Definitely," he nodded, shaking my hand before turning to Meredith. "Mer, I'm sorry about everything. Let's try this again, okay? The friends thing we talked about after Dill pickle was born."
"I'd like that Lucas. We'd like that," she said, grabbing my hand again.
"Have a good night," Lucas nodded. "And, Derek?"
"Yes?" I asked him.
"Take care of her," he lowered his voice. "I didn't last time."
"I will," I told him, nodding my head.
"Great," he nodded. "All right, good night. I'll call Dill pickle tomorrow."
"We'll let him know," Meredith smiled.
We walked out into the night air, my arm around Meredith's waist as we walked to the car. Her face was still pale and she stopped for a minute, taking a deep breath, in and out. I rubbed her back soothingly, wishing I could do more for her. "You okay, Mer?" I asked her soothingly.
"Just nauseous," she replied carefully. "I'll be fine."
"Okay," I said, pulling her close as we headed towards the car.
"That wasn't as bad as it could have been," she said. "And Kimberly is, well, she's great."
"She is. It was a nice night," I nodded.
"I'm sorry I ruined it," she sighed, getting into the car.
"You didn't ruin it, Mer," I reassured her again.
"Okay," she murmured as she rested her head against the headrest. "You know, somewhere down the line, you have to be flawed. You have to be dark and twisty. You're too perfect for your own good."
"I'm not perfect, Mer. There's plenty of exes that would be happy to list my flaws. It's just with you...we fit. My flaws work with you," I sighed.
She opened her eyes and stared at me, a smile on her face. "That was a little cheesy, Dr. Shepherd," she giggled.
"You love it when I'm cheesy," I smiled at her.
"I do," she nodded and then closed her eyes again. "Hey, Der?"
"Yeah?" I asked.
"Remember when you asked me to marry you?" she said softly.
"Yeah?" I asked, feeling my heart beat triple.
"We could, you know," she said. "We could get married. If you want. If it's still on the table."
How I managed to not crash the car I don't think I will ever know. "You...you want to get married?"
She nodded. "We're going to have a baby in seven and a half months. We both know it's going to happen. So, yeah. I think so."
"Okay. Okay," I nodded. "But we're doing this right. I'm picking out the ring by myself, getting down on one knee. I'm doing it right."
"Such a romantic," she giggled and then stopped. "Der, pull over."
"What?"
"Your baby," she said. "Just pull over so I don't vomit in your car."
I pulled over quickly, letting her out and getting out myself to rub her back as she heaved into the bushes. It was weird. As I held back her hair and rubbed her back, the only emotion coursing through my veins was extreme happiness. We were getting married, Meredith and I were getting married. She was pregnant with my baby. We were finally getting along with the parents of her first child. And we were getting married. Everything was perfect. Life was perfect.
"Now my world is filled with a whisper of love and a promise of tomorrow…"