"Hey!" Meredith exclaimed with a smile as her husband entered the bedroom. She'd heard him unlock the front door, but stayed with her washing, knowing he'd find her, and that she still had piles and piles and piles and piles of clothing still to fold.
"Hi-" He greeted back, pausing in the door way with his eyes a little wide. "Uh- what happened?"
"What do you mean what happened?" Meredith inquired, confused.
"Why are you...smiling?" He asked as he pushed himself to her, pausing beside their bed.
"Am I not allowed to smile?"
He smiled himself, something that he was aware of from the irony of the action. "Of course. It's just...you know, with the screaming baby and all, you haven't been smiling so much. So...what's going on?"
"Bailey came round to talk to me about work."
"So you're high on surgery talk?" He assumed. Made sense. They were both addicted junkies. In fact, he was a little upset that he wasn't there.
"No. Yes. Well- we did talk about surgery, and it was incredible- but- she also gave me-" She paused, leaving him hanging in suspense as she stood, walked across the room and picked something up from the side cabinet. It was half a dozen pieces of paper, stapled together, but he only had to read the first few words to understand why she was so excited.
"Gave you?" He pushed.
She hurried back to the bed, and handed the paper to him. "-this!"
"How long until you're back at work Grey?" Bailey pondered.
"I'm not really sure." Meredith shrugged.
"Can I offer you something that might speed your return up?"
Meredith smirked, "If you can show me some research papers that suggest something to oppose the hundreds I've seen that say the less time you spend with a child, the worst their- well, like every aspect of their life is, then yeah, great, I'll be in tomorrow bright and early."
"I don't have that, but I do have a new contract."
"For what?"
"Chief of General Surgery?" He said, looking up to her with a dropped jaw after reading the title. His wife...Chief. Of. General. Surgery. Chief.
"I told her I'd take it as soon as I got back to work. That's okay...right? I mean- I was kind of too excited and I didn't want to say no but then, now that I think about it, I probably should have-" She paused when he took his t-shirt off. "What- Derek, what are you doing?"
"Sex?" He recommended with a hungry smile before his hands hugs her knees, then slid to her thighs. He had his smile. His stupid, stupid, hot, sexy McDreamy smile.
Her eyes dropped to follow his hands as they moved across the her. She moved her hands to go on top his, ready to push him away. "I'm talking to you about being offered Chief of General Surgery and-"
"And I know that all you want is sex to celebrate." He finished simply for her with a smile. "Because this is a celebration...because you, Meredith Grey, are really freaking incredible."
She looked at him, dumbfounded for a second before she grinned so hard her muscles pulled. God, he knew her so well. Her hands didn't push him away, but held them instead. "You're okay with me taking the job?"
"I'm not okay, I'm proud." He corrected as one hand left her thigh to brush some fallen hairs behind her ear before kissing her quickly. It wasn't one that would develop into a session (they had to wait until he was on the bed and they were both naked first) but he knew he'd get that very, very soon. "Now...Chief Grey...I believe we have an achievement to celebrate?"
Now that gave her flashbacks. She walked into the conference room to find him working. She sat on the table, and kicked her shoes off. Then, before she knew it, he was leaning over her, and she was panting 'Chief Shepherd' with every thrust.
But she didn't really need a flashback when he was there right in front of her, and her bra and t-shirt were gone before she even acknowledged that his hands were at her waist.
"Chief."
"Mmm-" Meredith breathed back, smirking at her new nickname. She liked this. She liked this a lot. "You okay?"
"Fine, Chief." He smirked. "Just wanted to know if you wanted some more sex."
"If? If I wanted more?" She repeated before snorting. That wasn't a question he ever needed to ask. Of course she did. Always. With McDreamy as a husband, the answer was always going to be yes.
"Guessing that would be a yes?" He pondered as she pushed herself up on one hand, and placed the other on his hip. Her thumb brushed the scar that ran across his leg - or rather one of about seven scars on his entire leg, not counting the dozen small dents in his leg from an external fixator - but neither of them spoke of it.
"You guess-" She paused to kiss him. "Correctly."
"What's in that brilliant mind of yours?" He asked as he analysed her.
She sighed. She couldn't even hold a thought in for ten minutes without him realizing there was one bugging her. "How do you...feel?"
"A little dizzy. Always am when you do that...you know, that thing you do with your-" He trailed off as he thought about it. His wife was hot, and skilled in the bedroom.
She giggled, and kissed him again. "No- I mean about me getting offered this job."
"Because I'm a proud, egotistical man who can't take the idea of my wife having a prestigious job?" He assumed.
"Uh...yeah." Meredith breathed.
"What happened to me being run over making me less of an asshole, huh?" He pondered, recalling one of their frequently mentioned memories.
"I would understand if you were...uh- I don't know, jealous. I suppose I was, as well as just generally pissed, jealous about the fact that you got such a fancy job in DC. I'd get it if you felt...jealous, mad, upset- whatever."
"You'd be mad, but you'd get it?" He asked. "How'd you figure that out?"
"Are you going to answer my question or not?" She pushed, seeing as he still hadn't answered her initial question.
"The most important thing to me- in work, I mean, is to help people. I could help people as an intern (although I'd probably kill like half of them, knowing interns) or I could help people as a Chief of Surgery. Either way, I'd be happy with my life. And if you being a department head makes you happy, then that makes me happy. What is it- happy wife, happy life?"
She took a moment to let that set in before asking, "No bottling?"
He shook his head against the pillow. "No bottling. Promise. Happy wife, happy life."
"And one pancake for the Chief." Derek announced as he removed the plate from his lap and placed it on her placemat.
"Derek-" She sighed as she watched him move to his own seat. Well, space at the table. He transferred across chairs for dinner because they were sat for longer, but barely got to finish a single pancake before he was off to help one of their kids, changing diapers or brushing teeth or swapping clothes or whatever else their masters needed in the morning. That's what Meredith had learnt about having three kids. They weren't parents anymore, just slaves to their children, yet she wouldn't trade it for anything.
He asked, pausing. "What?"
"Are you going to call me Chief forever?" She asked. He hadn't said her real name in about a week now.
"I'm just reminding you how amazing you are." He said with an infectious smile.
"Daddy says you gotta be super good at surgeoning to be chief." Zola said.
"Exactly." He agreed.
"I think you've just forgotten my name." Meredith muttered.
"Forgotten your name? I could never forget your name uh- oh- damn, I thought I knew this, uh- Merida or Margaret or...something like that, right? Definitely begins with an M...maybe begins with an M." He said, making two out of his three kids giggle. Unfortunately, he had to wait two or three more years for Elle to get old enough to understand what he was saying, nevermind any jokes. "Do either of you remember?"
"Mommy?" Bailey recommended.
"Right!" He exclaimed. "Thank you Bailey! Mommy, that was it!"
She sighed. That was just worse than chief.
"You do know Mommy has two names, right Bailey?" Zola asked with one of her know-it-all grins.
"Two?" He echoed.
So, Zola knew. Although he wasn't surprised, seeing as Zola always knew absolutely everything. "But you guys are only ever going to call her Mom- or whatever version of Mom you wish to use."
"You don't call Mom Mom."
"Well that's what I call my own mom. Nana Carolyn is my mom." Derek explained. "I guess I could call her wife."
Meredith sighed. Chief wasn't sounding so bad anymore. "Please don't call me wife."
"Why not...wife?" He asked, making their two oldest children giggle.
"Because it's weird...husband."
"Okay. Fine. I'll call you by your real name...Gwendalin."
"Gwedalin? What kind of name is Gwendalin?" Meredith exclaimed.
"That's your name." Derek replied simply.
"No it's not!"
"Yes it is." Derek replied before turning to his children. "Zola, Bailey- your mother's real name is Gwendalin."
"Hey- no, stop it. This isn't funny. Kids, my name is not Gwendalin."
"But Daddy said it is." Bailey replied.
"Well you can't believe everything that Daddy says."
"I believe Daddy this time."
"Would you believe me if I told you Daddy's real name was..." She paused to think. What was the most ridiculous, old-timey name she knew for a man? "...Hildebald?"
"Oh c'mon, that's a terrible name!" Derek exclaimed. Worse than Gwendalin. He had a feeling she'd do it back, but he wasn't expecting Hildebald.
"Well, Hildebald, it's the one your mother gave you." Meredith muttered.
"No, Gwendalin." He shook his head insistently. "It is not at all the one my mother gave me."
"Hildebald?" Zola called.
For some stupid, stupid, stupid reason, Derek looked at her when she called that name.
"Can I have some orange juice?"
"Oh! Gwendalin can I have apple?" Bailey requested, seeing as his sister was having a drink too.
Great. Now they'd done it. Gwendalin and Hildebald were stuck with the names forever.
"Happy first day back!" Bailey said as she entered the attending's lounge.
"Hey, Chief." Meredith greeted before turning her head to her husband and muttering, "Actual chief."
"Actual chief?" Bailey pondered, hearing Meredith's side note.
"Derek called me chief for like a week after I got the job because, apparently, it was just so funny."
"It was, Gwen." He returned with a grin.
Her eyes flickered between the pair. "I'm just going to assume that this is the loopiness I was being told about."
"We are not loopy."
"Apparently, you two are loopy. According to...Amelia, Jackson and April, Maggie, Arizona...and me, when I came to see you. I know you love surgery and all Meredith, but you were a little too excited to hear about the guts, if I'm honest."
"What surgeries did you do yesterday?"
"Uh- started with a tumour remo-"
"Where was the tumour?" She asked, not even waiting for her to finish.
"Stomach, but it-"
"Cancer?" She suggests before continuing without any confirmation, "Where were the mets?"
She didn't answer for a second. "Meredith...are you okay?"
"Fine."
"You're not going to Bundy on me, are you? I remember you following bodies around as an intern for surgeries but- I mean, Meredith, the light in your eyes-"
"I don't get light in my eyes anymore. There is no light. Just nappies. Everywhere. They are absolutely everywhere. So, please. Let me go Bundy on you. Tell me about the guts and the blood and-" She sighed. "Tell me about something other than babies, please."
She smiled. "Okay. Fine."
"We are not loopy." Meredith insisted again. Lied again. "We're just parents. Again. For the third time."
"As a parent myself, I have to disagree. I adore him, but Jesus, he drives me up the wall at least a few times a day. I couldn't imagine having three if them."
Meredith sighed. "I think I am imagining it. It's so unbelievable that I think I've been in some kind of dream since Bailey's birth so..." She smiled. "Okay, maybe I am just a little, tiny, tiny bit loopy."
"I hate this." She muttered, pulling off her right shoe and dumping it on the ground.
"I know you do."
The other one hit the floor with a bang, rather than a soft clatter. "I actually, truly despise this."
"Yes, Miranda, I know."
"Did Richard wear heels? No, he did not. Did Hunt wear heels? No, he did not. Every single chief before me was a man, and none of them ever had to subject themselves to this torture. So why the hell do I?" Bailey exclaimed.
"Sexism." Ben answered, knowing that that was what she wanted from him. She was ecstatic about be coming chief (apart from the fact that she had to wait two months for Meredith to return from maternity leave so they could all move up a level) but not about the shoes.
"Sexism!" She repeated at a shout. "I can't walk because of these flipping shoes, but all those men who came before me, all those men who were chief before me, all those men who didn't have to wear high-freaking-heels can walk. Explain to me- explain to my feet how that-" She paused abruptly when her husband covered his mouth. That action in itself was fine, but not when she noticed that it was a smirk he was covering. "Benjamin. Warren. Are you laughing at me?"
"No." He answered, through a laugh.
She frowned. "You are."
"No. No, I promise, I'm not." He reassured her, shaking his head. He'd just about managed to get himself under control, so it wasn't a lie now. It was, however, a lie when she first asked.
"Then what is so funny?" She pressed.
"Nothing."
"Benjamin Wa-" She tried.
"Turn around, Miranda." Ben said as he finally caved. He didn't want to receive another scolding call of his name.
"What?"
"Just..." He sighed. "Turn around."
She followed his instruction, only for her eyes to widen.
"Oh, no, don't mind me: an ex-chief who can't walk. It must have been those high heels I wore in secret, Meredith was always telling me it would screw up my feet."
"Derek-"
"Not like I'd trade this for walking in high heels for the rest of my life or anything..." He said before sighing sadly as he looked at his chair, waiting by the bench where he was sat. "I mean, at least you can actually walk, even if it hurts."
Her heart sank further into her chest. Discrimination on her first day as chief. Great. How in the world could she be so insensitive? "Derek- I'm sorry. I didn't know you-"
He couldn't hold it in. Not when he was watching Ben try so hard not to laugh too. It was like he was a little kid again and made eye contact with Mark when the teacher was telling the class off. They couldn't hold it in. They could never hold it in.
"Oh, come on!" She exclaimed, looking between the men.
"Sorry, sorry-" Derek apologized between laughs.
"That's not funny."
"It kind of is." Ben muttered, only to get a hateful death glare from his wife.
"I actually thought I offended you, you almost gave me a heart attack."
"Hey-" Meredith said as she walked into the attending's lounge, only to pause, both verbally and physically. "What you laughing at?"
"Bailey was complaining about how hard it is to walk in high heels." Ben explained.
"It is though." Meredith returned simply, confused about why they were laughing about that. Sure, she understood the irony, but not the comedy. High heels hurt. Luckily, with a husband of...well, she didn't actually know how 'tall' he was now, but he was definitely shorter than her sat down, she had no need for high heels to threaten him with her height.
"What- harder than walking with a spinal cord injury and a dud leg?" Derek asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Okay, maybe not that difficult- but it is difficult." She replied as she walked over to her husband to peck him on the cheek.
"No, but seriously, I'd love to swap just to prove you women wrong." Derek said, examining the shoes as Bailey collected them and dumped them on the bench.
"You women? I'm your wife." Meredith corrected.
"Hey, Chief, how was your first surgery back?" Derek asked with a cheeky smirk as he located his wife, presumably doing some charting for her first patient.
"If you call me Chief one more time, you'll be walking home." Meredith threatened. "But it was good, thank you."
"Okay, considering the fact I can't walk, I think you meant to say a different verb."
"Nope." Meredith shook her head. "You'll be walking. All the way."
"You're my chief." He reminded her with a smirk, taking a chance. She'd be mad, but she couldn't actually make him walk home.
"And you- mister, as I said, are going to be walking home." Meredith said as she picked up her bag and slung it over her shoulder.
"Yeah, definitely- hey, no, no, no-" He gasped as she grabbed the back of his chair, and walked out the room, dragging it with her.
"Bye-bye, love you." She called down the hall as she left, leaving Derek sat dumbfounded, mouth open.
"Meredith? Meredith! Meredith, this isn't funny, come back! Meredith!" He shouted back. "Meredith!"
Bailey smirked. "Told you she's gone loopy."
A/N: ! I know some of my readers are here for Derek, some are here for Mer, and some are here for Merder generally, but I will be getting to Meredith as soon as possible. Timeline wise, although I'm putting the fire between Megan's surgery and the award ceremony for angsty reasons, Meredith gets her spotlight later on as that's ~2017, and it's still 2016 here (although, as I mentioned, there are a lot of time jumps).