A/N: So here it is, the wedding! I combined the wedding with a scene from the honeymoon to make it a little longer, so I hope you all don't mind. Also, I hope you're all still enjoying this story.

Chapter 24

Derek awoke with a smile as the alarm blared, turning it off and rolling back towards Meredith. Today was the day, he was getting married.

He felt Meredith stir next to him, and her breathing became irregular, signaling that she was awake. He kissed the top of her head, and she sighed contently. "We're getting married today," he murmured into her hair.

"We're getting married today," she smiled, even though her eyes were still closed. She rolled over, burying her face into his chest before she spoke again. "Are you nervous?"

"No," Derek responded confidently. "I've been waiting four years to marry you."

"Four years?" she said incredulously, looking up at him. "Seriously?"

"Yes, seriously. Since the end of your freshman year I've wanted to marry you, because I realized how difficult it was to try to live without you over the summer."

"You are so corny," Meredith teased, but her eyes sparkled.

"Shut up," Derek said, leaning down to kiss her.

Meredith laughed. "You need to leave," she said pushing Derek out of bed.

"What, why?" Derek said, though he knew exactly why.

"Don't play dumb. You're lucky your mom even let you sleep here last night. Your sisters and my friends are coming at ten, and they want you gone before they arrive. I need to get ready."

"Fine," Derek sighed, pulling on a pair of pants and a t-shirt before heading into the kitchen to make breakfast. Twenty minutes later, they were sitting together over omelets when Meredith's head suddenly shot up.

"You're okay with everything in the wedding, right?" she asked, seeming nervous.

"What? Of course I am; this is the wedding we want, why wouldn't I be happy?" Derek asked incredulously.

"I don't know. I just wanted to make sure," Meredith said, seeming embarrassed.

"Meredith, today is perfect. I promise you that everything will be perfect," Derek said as he stood. He pressed a kiss to the top of her head as he washed the dishes in the sink before coming back to her. "Alright, I'm going to head out before my sisters attack me for staying too long," he smiled as she laughed at him. Derek pulled Meredith close to him and kissed her deeply. He heard her moan before he pulled away. "I love you so much Meredith," he whispered. "I'll see you at the altar."

"I love you too," she responded, pulling him back in for another kiss before he stood up and grabbed his tux out of the closet.

"See you soon Meredith," Derek called as he opened the door.

"Bye!" She shouted back as the door slammed.

XXXXXX

Three hours later, Derek was standing in the vestibule, a small room by the altar, fidgeting nervously. The wedding was due to start in about fifteen minutes, and he couldn't help but pace. He wanted this to be over; all he wanted was to be married to Meredith. He looked out into the church, which was only about a third of the way full. Though they couldn't invite many people to the reception, Derek's mother insisted that he at least invite his entire family to the wedding. Almost every member of his extended family had decided to attend; meaning his side of the church was much more full than Meredith's. Though he knew that Meredith could probably care less, his heart had still broken when he first saw her sparsely populated pews, and insisted that his sisters and their families sit on the left side of the church to even things out.

He watched as Mark led his mother down the aisle, and he knew he would have to go out their soon and wait for Meredith to come to him. He was lost in his thoughts when he suddenly heard his ringtone. His phone was in a duffle bag in a closet, and he considered ignoring it, but decided better of it. Reaching it just in time, his brow furrowed as he read the name on the display.

"Amelia? What's going on?"

"It's Meredith," Amelia said, her voice concerned. "She's freaking out, and the only person who can calm her down when she's freaking out is you, so I told her she could talk to you quickly."

"Put her on," Derek barked. He hoped Meredith wouldn't back out of their wedding. He knew she loved him, but he didn't think he would be able to bear it if she said she couldn't go through with this. He wanted to be married to her; he needed to be married to her.

"Der?" Meredith gasped, panic evident in her voice.

"Meredith? What's wrong?"

"I-I-I don't know," she said softly. "I'm worried that this won't be enough for you. You had all these great ideas for the wedding and I shot down half of them because I wasn't comfortable with them and you just agreed. And the big one was the vows. You really wanted us to write our own, but we didn't end up doing that. I said that I didn't want us to write our own vows, but you're really romantic and you probably had them all planned out, and you invited your whole family so you may want them to hear them but I can't come up with sappy romantic vows on the spot. But I don't want you to resent me and I don't know what to do and-"

"Meredith, Mer!" Derek silenced her; he could only hear her sniffling. "Do you want us to write our own vows?"

"There isn't time, I'm not creative!" Meredith snapped at them.

"We can make them up right now, it can be our own private thing," Derek said, trying to calm her down.

"Yeah, we could," Meredith said slowly. "But we wouldn't be able to remember them, and I want to remember them."

"I'm sure I can find something to write on," Derek's voice trailed off, frantically searching the vestibule. Finally, he found a stack of blue post-it notes and a pen. What a weird thing to find in a church, he thought to himself as he grabbed them. "Okay Meredith, I have post-its."

"Will that work?"

"Of course it will. What do we want to promise each other?" Derek asked, his pen poised on the post-it.

"Umm," Meredith thought for a second before he could hear a smile in Meredith's voice. "That you'll love me, even when you hate me."

"To love each other, even when we hate each other," Derek repeated, scribbling quickly. "No running, ever. Nobody walks out, no matter what happens."

"No running," Meredith affirmed.

"What else?"

"That we'll take care of each other when we're old and smelly and senile," Meredith said cautiously.

"To take care of each other when old, senile, and smelly. This is forever."

"This is our wedding, a post-it?" Meredith asked, laughing a little.

"Well no, we're still getting married in about three minutes," Derek laughed. "But these are our vows, our commitment, a contract. And they will be if you sign after the ceremony."

"I'll sign," Meredith promised. "I love you."

"I love you too. I'll see you in a few," Derek answered, hanging up his phone as Mark entered the room.

"Come on Derek, they're about to start the processional; we need to get out there," Mark said, pushing Derek towards the door and the altar.

"Alright Mark, I'm going!" Derek laughed, taking his place at the right side of the altar. The organ began to play, and he watched in anticipation as Amelia, then Izzie, and then Cristina, made their way down the aisle. Finally, as the music swelled, the doors opened, and Meredith entered the church.

Derek had never seen anything so beautiful. Meredith looked stunning in her dress; it was as if it was made just for her body. She looked nervous at first, and Derek knew it was because of how much she hated being the center of attention. However, as soon as their eyes met, all fear and anxiety drained from Meredith's face. She smiled at him as she moved closer to him, and he found himself walking those last few steps towards her to meet her, giving them a somewhat private moment, though everyone was staring.

He laced both of their hands together, and pressed his forehead against hers. "Hey," he whispered.

"Hi," Meredith replied. "How do I look, is the dress as good as you imagined?"

"No," Derek admitted. "The reality is so much better."

"Good," she said.

"Okay, you ready?" Derek asked.

"I am."

"Okay then, let's get married," Derek said, releasing one of her hands and stepping back slightly. Meredith simply nodded as they made their way toward the priest.

The wedding passed in a blur. Derek felt as though he hadn't even been paying attention, too captivated by Meredith to focus on the priest's words. After what seemed like a lifetime, he heard the priest conclude the wedding.

"I now pronounce you husband and wife, you may kiss the bride." Derek didn't need to be told twice as he pulled Meredith into a searing kiss.

"I love you," he said against her lips.

"I love you too," she breathed. "Married."

"Married," he said nodding, as if confirming that the ceremony had taken place.

Though they didn't rent a limo, Derek insisted on hiring a town car and a driver for the wedding. As soon as the driver closed the door behind them, Derek pulled Meredith into his lap, kissing her deeply.

"God I love you," he moaned into her mouth. "Mrs. Shepherd."

"Grey," Meredith corrected. "You know I'm not changing my name."

"You may be a Grey to the rest of the world, but you'll always be Mrs. Shepherd to me."

"Fine," Meredith sighed. "But only if it's Doctor Shepherd."

"Oh, you can absolutely be Dr. Shepherd," Derek said, running his fingers through Meredith's hair.

XXXXXX

The reception was perfect. The event planners at the Plaza had managed to transform the room to a corporate meeting room into a beautiful reception hall, and Meredith and Derek couldn't have been happier. Everyone important to Meredith and Derek came; even Ellis, though she only stayed for the ceremony and congratulate Meredith before skipping out on the reception. Despite the small size of the wedding, Izzie had insisted that Meredith and Derek have a first dance, so as the opening chords of the acoustic version of The Light (by Sara Bareillis), Derek pulled Meredith to the center of the room, pressing her closely to him.

"Having fun Mrs. Shepherd?" he whispered as the forty guests watched them spin around the room.

"Surprisingly, yes," Meredith replied." I thought I would hate the reception, but it's been kind of fun. Plus, watching Mark try to pick up Addison is pure entertainment."

"It is," Derek laughed. "Though I'm not sure whether Addison is completely shutting Mark down, or if she's just oblivious."

You were the air in my breath filling up my love soaked lungs
Such a beautiful mess intertwined and overrun
Nothing better than this, ooh, and then the storm can come
You feels just like the sun
Just like the sun

The turned slowly for a minute before Derek began whispering the lyrics into her ears. "Never mind what I knew, nothing seems to matter now. Who I was without you, I can do without," he whispered to her, squeezing Meredith's waist.

"Derek?"

"Yeah?"

"When can we go home?" Meredith asked, an almost wicked look in her eyes. "I want to be alone with my husband."

"Well, we can leave anytime we want," Derek said. "But we aren't going home."

"What do you mean? We aren't leaving for France until tomorrow."

"I know, but we're having the wedding reception in this hotel, don't you think we should stay the night?" Derek grinned at her.

"Wait, we're staying here tonight?" Meredith was in shock. "But how? I don't have other clothes, and I can't leave in a wedding dress tomorrow morning. And our suitcases are at the apartment."

"Meredith, don't worry, I took care of everything. Kathleen brought your suitcases here on the way to the church. You have everything you need."

"Derek, you are amazing, thank you!" Meredith exclaimed, pulling Derek close to her so that they were no longer dancing, just hugging. Derek lifted her up and spun her around just as the song ended, and the couple was met by applause from their family. Breaking apart, they headed over to Carolyn, who was beaming at them.

"Mom, Meredith and I are going to head upstairs," Derek said, hugging his mother.

"Congratulations sweetheart," Carolyn said, pulling them both into a hug. "You too Meredith, the two of you are very lucky to have each other. Have a wonderful time in France."

"Thank you so much for everything," Meredith responded. "We'll call you the moment we land."

After similar goodbyes, Meredith and Derek headed for the elevators, travelling up to the eighth floor. Upon reaching the room, Derek swept Meredith into his arms, carrying her across the threshold.

Placing her down gently, Derek kissed her deeply, his hands moving to her back. He unzipped the dress easily, and Meredith let it fall away, carefully stepping out of it. As they slowly undressed each other, Derek walked Meredith backwards towards the King sized bed, his lips never leaving hers. As he feathered kisses along her neck and shoulder, he snaked a hand down her body to stroke her, eliciting a moan from his wife.

"Derek," she whined, beginning to writhe beneath him.

"I love you so so much Meredith," Derek said, his lips against her clavicle as he kissed and nipped at the bone gently.

"Please," Meredith begged, lifting her hips off of the bed to signal that she was ready. "Please."

Derek eased into her gently, savoring every small, slow thrust until he entered her completely. They stayed perfectly still for a moment, kissing passionately to show their love for one another. Finally, Meredith shifted beneath him, and Derek pulled out before moving back in, allowing them to find the perfect rhythm.

They rocked together slowly, their fingers intertwined above Meredith's head. Their moans and gasps became louder and more desperate as they reached their peak, powerfully climaxing together after some time. They caught their breaths as Derek rolled off of Meredith, silent for a minute. Meredith shifted to lay on top of Derek, kissing him and sliding her tongue into his mouth.

"I love you," she said softly. "This entire day has been amazing."

"I love you too," Derek whispered. "We're finally married. Forever."

"Forever," Meredith repeated, kissing him again.

XXXXXX

"Meredith, that cannot be a breakfast food," Derek said, looking at Meredith's plate in disgust. They were sitting in a Parisian café on the second to last day of their honeymoon, supposedly eating breakfast. Not that Derek could call what Meredith was eating breakfast.

"What?" Meredith said, looking up from her food. "It's a crepe; it's just like a pancake, and everyone eats them for breakfast. Look, the people two tables over from us are eating them!" Meredith said indignantly, not understanding the problem with her breakfast.

"That type of crepe is not a breakfast crepe," Derek laughed.

"Since when do they have designated meal crepes? And there are bananas in here, just like banana pancakes."

"Yeah, but you also had our waiter load it with nutella and brown sugar, and top it with chocolate sauce and whipped cream."

"Because it's so good!" Meredith insisted. "You should seriously have a bite, it tastes delicious."

"I will not have a bite," Derek shook his head. "Maybe if you had gotten that in the afternoon, but not at nine in the morning. That is not breakfast, that is dessert."

"Whatever," Meredith rolled her eyes. "It's our last full day on our honeymoon; I'll eat what I want."

"Mer, I never said you couldn't eat what you want," Derek said, hoping that Meredith hadn't taken offence to his comment.

"Well, I would like to enjoy my last meals in France without judgment," she snapped, but smiled a little.

"Fine," Derek smiled, relieved that she thought this was all in good fun. "No judgment."

"Thank you," Meredith said, taking a large bite of her crepe. Once they finished eating, Meredith and Derek decided to take a walk around Paris in order to fully experience their last day in France before they went home.

After they asked someone to take their picture on the Eiffel Tower, Meredith and Derek walked around the lawn adjacent to the park. As they strolled, hand in hand, they saw a couple playing with their children. The couple in front of them, presumably the children's parents, were laughing and playing right along with the kids. They appeared to be in their early forties, and completely in love with each other. The three kids were all blond, and looked like the happiest kids in the world. Derek couldn't help but imagine that those kids belonged to the two of them; they looked a little like Meredith, and could not wait to have children with her.

They wrangled their children together just as Meredith and Derek passed the family, and asked if they would be willing to take a picture for them. Derek smiled as the family posed, and he hoped that this would be Meredith and himself in ten years. They had never really breached the topic of babies, it had always been a sensitive subject due to Meredith's past and their pregnancy scare when she was in college, but he wanted kids, he desperately wanted them. He didn't need to have them now, Meredith was still and school and still very young, meaning that they had plenty of time to have a family. But he did want them, in the future, and he started to think that maybe he and Meredith should fully discuss it. Soon.

He stared at Meredith with a stupid grin on his face while she took several shots of the family. After a minute, she handed the camera back to the couple, who said their thanks, and Meredith and Derek continued their walk, hand in hand. Unsure as to how to broach the conversation, but wanting to test the waters, Derek searched for something to say.

"Nice couple," Derek observed. "And they have cute kids."

"Yeah, but not as cute as ours will be, but cute," Meredith agreed, surprised when she was pulled back.

Derek had stopped walking suddenly, unable to believe what he had just heard. She said a thing about babies, he thought. Like babies were a totally ordinary idea. She's not afraid. Meredith hadn't seemed to notice Derek's abrupt stop, for she continued walking, her hand clasped in his, until his arm couldn't stretch anymore and she was pulled back. Turning around to face him, she stared quizzically for a moment before smiling hesitantly.

"What?" she asked.

"Nothing," Derek shook his head smiling faintly.

Meredith looked at him like she didn't believe him before they continued walking in silence. Derek kept stealing glances at Meredith, but his face must have given something away, because she kept giving him more and more confused looks before finally confronting him.

"What is going on with you? Because you have been acting like a basket case for the past two hours!" Meredith exclaimed. "And don't tell me it's nothing, because it is clearly something."

"I um… I mean, uh," Derek stuttered. "I'm sorry Mer, but can we not talk about it now? We're on our way to lunch, so can we talk about it then? Once we both sit down and can really talk, not in public." He looked at her, silently pleading with her.

"Fine," she muttered, but she disentangled their hands, walking towards the restaurant they were going to for lunch. Derek had to practically run to keep up with her, and once he reached her, she kept shooting him death glares. Derek began to get nervous, Meredith must think that he was about to admit to something horrible, or she wouldn't be so upset.

When they reached the restaurant, Derek requested a secluded table in the back, and after ten minutes of completely awkward silence, they were seated. After the waitress brought them their drinks and took their orders, Meredith looked up at Derek expectantly. "Well?" she said, her voice clipped, annoyed. "What's bothering you so much?"

Derek tried to find the right words for this conversation, but failed. "Kids," was all he could choke out.

He watched as Meredith instinctively gripped her wine glass tighter, her eyes growing wide as her thoughts moved a mile a minute. "What about kids?" she finally managed to ask.

"We've never talked about it. Not once, since the scare your freshman year at NYU. And we should probably talk about it, since we're married now and all," Derek smiled, trying to lighten the mood.

"Oh, yeah. That makes sense," Meredith nodded resolutely, seeming a little less panic stricken.

"So, do you want kids?" Derek asked, trying to sound nonchalant.

"Yes," Meredith said hesitantly. "No. I don't know."

"You don't know?"

"Well, can I have more details?" Meredith said exasperatedly. "Because you obviously want kids; you're like the world's most perfect uncle, so you would also be a perfect dad. But I don't think I can give you that now, or anytime soon. Because I'm still in med school, and I have another two years of that before residency. And I definitely don't want a baby when I'm an intern, but maybe during residency I could have one, if that's okay with you-"

"Meredith," Derek cut her off. "Forget the timeline and school and everything and just think about us. In ten years from now, how do you picture us? Is it just the two of us, or is there a baby or two thrown in?"

"But what do you want?" Meredith started.

"I would love to be a dad," Derek admitted. "But it's not a deal breaker. You are important to me. When I look ten years into the future, I definitely see the two of us, and sometimes there are kids and sometimes there aren't. This is a decision we need to make together, whether or not we want to be parents. So, what does our future look like to you?"

"Ten years from now," Meredith said quietly, and Derek nodded. Meredith thought hard for a second before speaking. "I see a child, maybe two. But not a lot of kids, and they aren't that old," she paused as she looked at him. "I don't think I could have a baby right now Derek, or anytime soon. Would you be willing to wait a little while? I know you don't want to be an old dad, but do you think you can wait maybe five years? I'd be in my third year of residency, if I graduate a year early, so I should have a more flexible schedule."

"We can wait Meredith," Derek said gently.

"But what if we have another incident like before?" Meredith said suddenly. "Only, it isn't just a scare but an actual pregnancy. What do we do then?"

"Let's not jump to different potential situations," Derek said, reaching for her hand. "Why don't we just say that whatever happens, happens, and we'll cross that bridge if we come to it, and we'll do it together."

"Together?" Meredith said tentatively.

"Together," Derek repeated firmly, leaning across the table to kiss her lightly just as their waiter brought their meals.