Chapter 23

TEN YEARS LATER

Derek Shepherd stood in the doorway of his bedroom, holding his six month old son Dylan. In the middle of the room was a large king size bed, holding four of the five people Derek loved most in the world, the fifth being the baby boy in his arms. His wife, Meredith and their three daughters were sprawled out on his bed. There had been a storm the night before and the kids had gotten scared by the thunder and the had crawled into bed with them.

Three months after he had proposed, Derek and Meredith had gotten married on the land in front of their closest friends and family. They had built their home and were raising their family there.

Sophie, their eldest daughter was eight years old. She had Derek's black hair and Meredith's gray eyes. She was the bossy one, she always liked to organize her sisters and make them play the games she wanted to play. Although she was only eight Derek could already tell that she was going to cost him a fortune when she went to college and she would there was no doubt about it. Sophie had inherited Meredith's competitive streak and Derek's stubbornness. She had stayed in the garden for seven hours when she was trying to learn how to ride her bike, she had refused to go inside until she could do it.

Then there was Alyssa, she was five and the spitting image of Meredith. She had blonde hair, big baby blue eyes and the ability to wrap Derek and Uncle Mark round her little finger. She had just started kindergarten and was so proud of herself when she read her very first book to Derek just the week before. Alyssa was much more volatile than her big sister, and was more likely to lash at out and hit Sophie when they got into an argument.

Then there was Keira, she was two and half. She also had her mother's coloring but Derek's features. She was slowly becoming less of a baby and more and more like a little person every day, she was just learning her colors and now had a habit of telling everyone the color of everything she could see. Out of all the girls Keira was the biggest Daddy's girl, even when Derek was at work she made Meredith call him whenever she hurt herself even if it was just a little bump, more than once Derek had been in the middle of a craniotomy when he had to stop to sing the wheels on the bus down the phone because Keira couldn't sleep.

And finally his wife, the love of life and his best friend. Derek would never know how she did it, she was an attending, one of the best at Seattle Grace, she was a wife and a mother. She never missed a single event in the children's life, every dance recital and parents evening she was there and yet somehow she never showed any sign that any of it wore her out.

"Should we risk waking them?" Derek whispered to the baby.

"Don't think that just because you have someone else on your team that you're not still outnumbered," mumbled Meredith starting to wake up.

"I know I am," laughed Derek softly as he went over to the bed and sat on the edge of it next to where Meredith lay, careful not to wake his daughters. "I've been outnumbered my whole life."

"As long as you're not corrupting my baby," said Meredith taking Dylan and sitting him on her lap. "Don't think I don't know where you took him last week."

"I don't know what you're talking about," said Derek innocently.

"You took him fishing," said Meredith.

"Only to the lake."

"He's only a baby."

"He is the youngest and the only boy," Derek protested. "That is very traumatic for a boy."

"Sure it is," said Meredith rolling her eyes.

"Do you remember a time when we could wake up and not be surrounded by our offspring?" said Derek looking round. They had a huge bed and yet he was perched on the side of it, scared to move in case he woke them.

"That was a long time ago," said Meredith looking round. "It's all your fault though."

"My fault?"

"Yes your fault," said Meredith resting her head on his shoulder. "They all want to come in here so Daddy can protect them from the storm."

"Oh please," laughed Derek. "You were holding on to me just as tight."

"Was not!"

"You were too," said Derek leaning down and kissing her. "At least I have some use."

"Other than getting me pregnant every other week."

"Yes," said Derek kissing her again. "Are we sure about the whole no more babies thing? You're so much fun when you're pregnant though…I've never had so much sex in my life…"

"Yes we're sure," said Meredith. After Dylan was born they had decided that he would be the last baby, Derek was booked in for a vasectomy the next day and he was not looking forward to it.

"But can't we use condoms," Derek pouted.

"Daddy what is a condom?" asked a sleepy Alyssa.

"Uh…it's…well…it's like…" Derek stuttered.

"You'll find out when you're older," said Meredith cutting off Derek's uncomfortable rambling.

"No she won't," said Derek quickly.

"Morning Daddy," said Keira who had awoken when she heard voices, she sat up and crawled into Derek's lap. "Mummy that's a pretty blue top."

"Well done," said Meredith, tickling Keira's stomach. She was wearing one of Derek's old blue shirts.

"Sophie taught me indigo too," said Keira proudly.

"Fuchsia too," said Sophie sitting up.

"That's nice," said Derek. "How about I make pancakes for breakfast?"

"Yaaayyy pancakes," cheered Alyssa.

"Can I have chocolate chip?" shouted Sophie trying to be heard over Alyssa's cheering.

"Banana…banana," shouted Keira.

"Anything you want," laughed Derek picking up Keira and Dylan. "Come on, let Mummy get some sleep."

"Bye Mummy," said Alyssa as she crawled over Meredith to follow Derek out of the room.

"Happily ever with Prince Charming and the brood of Mini McDreamies," muttered Meredith falling back into bed.