A/N: We're inching closer to the wedding! But first, I wrote a little Christmas fluff for you, though it's about a month late. I hope you enjoy it anyway. Please enjoy and review!

Chapter 22

"Are we going to hear about any new developments in your wedding this time around?" Carolyn asked immediately as Meredith and Derek entered Derek's childhood home on Christmas Eve.

"Yes you will Mom," Derek laughed as he hugged his mother. "Once everyone gets here we'll give you all the details."

"Good, I'm glad," Carolyn nodded. "However, I am upset that the two of you won't be staying for Christmas morning."

"That's my fault Carolyn," Meredith piped in. "My friend Cristina, who goes to Stanford for med school, came home for her winter break. I invited her over to our place for Christmas day and a couple of days after because she's Jewish, but I spaced on the fact that we always stay over for Christmas."

"It's fine," Carolyn answered. "I'll just give you your presents tonight after dinner. You'll just have to tell your nieces and nephews that Santa is bringing your presents to your new house."

"I can do that," Meredith smiled. "You don't have to open our gifts to you tonight though; I can just put them under the tree and you all can open them tomorrow morning."

"Feel free to leave them wherever you find space," Carolyn said as she ushered them into the living room. "We will probably open them tonight when you open yours; it'll get the kids excited about tomorrow."

"Like they need to be more excited," Derek said sarcastically as they entered the room to a chorus of "Uncle Derek! Aunt Meredith!" from the eight children playing on the living room floor. The seven adults in the room looked up from their conversation, smiling at the new arrivals

"Hey stranger," Nancy said first, walking over to hug Derek and then Meredith.

"Hey Nance," Derek replied. "Sorry we've been busy. Fellowship applications and med school can be pretty time consuming."

"It doesn't matter, we're just happy to see you," Kathleen said as the couple made their way closer to Derek's sisters and brothers-in-law, receiving a round of hugs and handshakes.

They chatted over drinks for a little while before Carolyn called them for dinner. The adults sat in the dining room while the kids sat at a table in the kitchen, which was visited every five minutes by one of the parents to make sure the all behaved.

"So, tell us about this wedding that you're planning," Kathleen asked, rolling her eyes. "It's about time you two started planning, we didn't think that you would remember to plan anything until the middle of July."

"Thanks Kathleen, that's really encouraging," Derek laughed, shoving his sister playfully.

"But seriously, we started taking bets on when you guys would actually get it together, or whether you would just decide to postpone it for another year," Amelia piped in, looking up from her plate and smirking.

"Seriously?" Meredith laughed, feeling a little embarrassed about how unprepared they were. "Well, who won the bet?"

"I did," Liz smiled. "I said you would have something done by Christmas, even if it isn't much."

"Thanks, that's really encouraging," Meredith said sarcastically.

"Hey, I was the nice one!" Liz exclaimed. "Kathleen bet that something would be done by Valentine's Day, Nancy said you would be scrambling in June to throw a wedding together by August, and Amelia thought that the entire summer would go by and you wouldn't remember that you were supposed to get married until next Thanksgiving."

"It was a joke!" Amelia insisted, her eyes sparkling.

"So, what do you two have done," Carolyn said, speaking over her children to get their attention.

"Right," Derek nodded, turning to Meredith. "You want to tell them the date?"

"Um, sure," Meredith said, facing the Shepherds. "We decided to get married June second. We'll have it at Saint Catherine's by our apartment at two o'clock, because no one else was getting married then."

"Oh, that's nice, just like all of us!" Kathleen smiled. "What about a reception?"

"Well," Derek began. "Despite our proper lack of preparation, we were able to get a function hall at the Plaza."

"Really?" Nancy said, obviously surprised. "That's wonderful!"

"Yes, the rooms in the Plaza are large, so you can invite your aunts and uncles, and your cousins" Carolyn began to ramble. Meredith flashed Derek a panicked gaze, causing Derek to intervene.

"Unfortunately Mom, I'm not a miracle worker. I got us a reception hall, but it was the last one available, and due to the short notice, it will only hold about forty people. We wanted a small wedding anyway, so we decided to take it."

Carolyn nodded before speaking again. "So Meredith, have you decided how big of a wedding party you want?"

"Yeah, Cristina will be my Maid of Honor, and Izzie will be a bridesmaid. I also wanted to ask Liz and Amelia if they would be bridesmaids too," Meredith said, glancing at the two women. "You all have been so great to me, and I would want you all in my wedding, but I think it would be easier if just the two of you were in the wedding because you guys don't have kids." She looked at Kathleen and Nancy, who nodded their approval, not appearing angry with her decision.

Derek jumped in next. "Mark will be my best man, and I was thinking that my groomsmen could be Dave from Bowdoin, Meredith's friend Alex, and James, if you're willing."

"Sure man," James nodded.

"Meredith, that sounds really great, but I think I'm going to have to bow out," Liz said, turning red.

"Oh, okay," Meredith said quietly, failing to hide the disappointment in her voice.

"It's not that I don't want to, because I would love to be in your wedding," Liz said quickly before taking a deep breath. "It's just that…" she paused again, looking at her husband David quickly before continuing. "I don't want to be eight months pregnant and waddling down the aisle."

"Wait, you're pregnant!" Nancy cried, getting up and running to hug her sister. Kathleen and Carolyn followed, hugging Liz before she could explain.

"About seven weeks," Liz nodded, her eyes filling with tears. She grabbed David's hand, who was grinning just as widely. "We were going to wait another month or so to tell people, but I didn't want you to think I was being a total bitch by refusing to be in your wedding Meredith."

"It's okay," Meredith smiled, turning to Derek.

"Congratulations Lizzy," Derek said softly. Meredith saw a flash of jealousy and wanting in his gaze as he spoke, and Meredith felt her insides clench. She knew Derek wanted kids; he was great with his nieces and nephews, and he would be the most amazing dad. But she never realized that he would want kids so soon. She wanted them too, with Derek, but she didn't think she would be ready until she at least finished med school. It made sense that Derek would want kids soon. He was old enough to be ready, and she was sure he wouldn't want to be an old dad. But she wasn't sure if she would be able to give him what he wanted just yet.

XXXXXX

The alarm went off at nine the next morning, and Derek rolled over to turn it off before rolling back into Meredith.

"Morning," he said as he kissed her neck, his voice still filled with sleep. "Merry Christmas."

"Mhmm," Meredith murmured as she rolled into Derek, placing her cheek against his chest. "Merry Christmas."

"What time is Cristina coming?"

"Her train gets in at twelve thirty," Meredith mumbled, slowly waking up.

"We should get up now," Derek said softly. "Do presents and stuff before she gets here."

"Fine," Meredith sighed, sitting up and pushing her hair out of her eyes. Pulling a pair of Derek's boxers and a sweatshirt over her frame, she stumbled clumsily after Derek into the living room. They had a small fake tree, about three feet tall, placed on a coffee table with a couple of presents placed around it. Derek plopped onto the couch closest to the tree, and pulled Meredith onto his lap. She giggled as she collapsed on top of him, and he pulled her close to him and kissed her.

When she pulled away, her face was scrunched in the most adorable way. "You really need to do something about that morning breath," she chuckled as Derek's smile faltered for a second.

"Fine," Derek responded, a smirk once again framing his features. "I won't kiss you until I brush my teeth."

"Thank you," Meredith nodded, swiping at him playfully. "Open your presents."

"You want me to go first?" Derek said as he reached for the four wrapped gifts on the table, two for each of them.

"Yes. I went first last Christmas, now it's your turn."

"Last Christmas we were at my mother's house, it was different."

"Just shut up and open your presents Derek," Meredith rolled her eyes.

"Bossy," Derek muttered as he unwrapped the larger box first. It contained two sweaters, the ones Derek had mentioned liking when they went shopping together a few weeks ago. He leaned in to kiss her in thanks, but remembered his promise, and simply smirked as reached for a gift bag. Taking out the tissue paper, he saw a square of different shades of blue. Pulling it out, he held a piece of blue fabric, realizing as he unfolded it that it was a scrub cap. Not just any scrub cap, but a ferryboat scrub cap.

"I know the hospital provides them," Meredith began what Derek could only assume was a long winded explanation. "And that you really don't need it. But my mom has a special scrub cap, and I know that lots of surgeons do, so I figured you could have one when you start your fellowship. It can be your lucky one or something."

Derek just smiled at her, shaking his head. "Meredith Grey, I would kiss you if you would let me."

Meredith laughed. "You cannot kiss me on the lips until you brush your teeth. However, I wouldn't be opposed to you kissing me on the cheek."

Derek did just that, breathing her in as he did so. "Thank you so much, I really appreciate it Mer."

"You're welcome," she said simply. "My turn."

"Your turn," Derek repeated, handing her a box. In it was a new phone, causing Meredith to shriek with joy.

"Thank you, my phone is a piece of crap, and I really needed a new one!" she exclaimed.

"I know, I really don't appreciate your battery going from one hundred percent to dead in the middle of a conversation with you," he teased.

"How do you know I just don't hang up on you?" she shot back.

"Mean," Derek responded, reaching for the other present. Meredith unwrapped the long, thin rectangle, revealing a folder. Opening it, she saw two tickets and a packet, and after scanning them for a few moments, she looked up at Derek in shock.

"You're taking me to Paris?" Meredith managed to choke out.

"Actually, we'll only be in Paris for three days. The majority of the time will be spent in Marseille, it's a city in the south of France, right on the Mediterranean," Derek clarified. "We're really only flying in and out of Paris, but I thought it would be a nice stop."

"But… why?" Meredith asked, trying to force the tickets back at Derek. "You need to take them back, it's too much."

"Meredith," Derek said, holding her shoulders and forcing her to look at him. "This present is as much for me as it is for you. This is going to be our honeymoon. Three days in Paris, a week in Marseille, and four days to go to anywhere in Europe you want. Please, let me do this for you so we have an amazing honeymoon."

"Honeymoon?" Meredith repeated, not sure if she believed him.

"Yes."

With that, Meredith cupped Derek's face, and pulled him towards her, kissing him hard. He smirked when they finally pulled away. "You broke your own rule," he teased.

"Shut up," she said softly. "Thank you so much Derek, this is amazing and I love it. I love you."

"Love you too," he said, lifting her up so he could place her on the couch. He stood up and turned to her, meeting her confused gaze. "I'm going to go brush my teeth now so I can kiss you again."

"Good," Meredith nodded. "Because I really need to thank you for my Christmas presents."

"Yeah you do," Derek flirted as he moved into the bathroom.

XXXXXX

"So, you two finally settle on a date?" Cristina asked later that afternoon as she took a sip of wine. Derek had left the apartment to give Meredith and Cristina time to catch up, deciding to head to a bar with Mark.

"Yup, we're getting married June second," Meredith responded. "The ceremony will be at a church down the street and the reception will be at the Plaza."

"June second? Seriously Mer? When were you going to tell me, the week before?"

"No, I'm telling you now," Meredith rolled her eyes. "And you'll be my maid of honor."

"You want me to wear a big poufy dress and stand in a church? No way!"

"Come on Cristina, do it for me! You are my person, please? The church thing is important because it's where Derek's parents and sisters got married, and I can promise you that the dress will not be poufy."

"Fine," Cristina sighed. "Not big and poufy?"

"Nope," Meredith shook her head. "Knee length and close to your body."

"No pink?"

"No pink. Green actually."

"Good," Cristina nodded before changing the subject. "So, I slept with Collin Marlow before I went on break. Want to hear about that?"

"Ewww, why?" Meredith screamed. "He's like sixty!"

"Fifty-five," Cristina corrected. "I needed a good grade in his class. Plus, now he's letting me help him with research and assist him on a journal article he's working on."

"Still, it's gross," Meredith shuddered. "Does he use Viagra? I bet he does."

Cristina didn't answer, so Meredith looked at her expectantly. "Are you seriously not going to tell me? You brought up the fact that you had sex with someone old enough to be your grandfather, and you said we could talk about it, and you won't answer my question? That's just mean."

Finally, Cristina sighed. "You know, if you want to keep screwing Derek like you do now for the rest of your life, you will one day be very thankful for that little blue pill," she snapped.

"I knew it!" Meredith exclaimed, laughing. "But I seriously don't understand how you can do that. I've seen pictures, he looks old. He's not one of those fifty year old men that can look thirty-seven or something, he looks fifty five. No grade is worth that."

Cristina simply shrugged. "Well, he's not that bad once he gets going. If I close my eyes, and don't think about the fact that it's an old man, but just Collin Marlow, 'Cardio-God,' it's actually an enjoyable experience. He's really not that bad in bed."

Meredith wrinkled her nose in disgust, but laughed. "Can we please talk about something else now?"

Cristina laughed, but started talking about her other classes and the weekend she went up to visit Izzie in Washington. Meredith sat back, enjoying the idea of catching up with her best friend for a few days.