I planned a whole big, giant chapter for the birth, then I decided to split it. It's not a perfect half, but here it is. I hope you like the idea.

I struggled with the title. I was just going to use the same one again, and then I decided on this line from To Build a Home, by The Cinematic Orchestra and Patrick Watson. I know it has been used already, in chapter two or something, but I think it's better than December Baby 2.0, right?

Enjoy!

Part 19 – This Is A Place Where I Don't Feel Alone

A mother takes twenty years to make a man of her boy,

and another woman makes a fool of him in twenty minutes.

Robert Frost

I placed Alice gently in Carolyn's arms as Derek walked out. She wrapped her way better than I had. I couldn't take my eyes off of her, still not believing that she had grown so beautifully inside of me. She was in there yesterday and yet she was just like an early Christmas present, all wrapped in white and pink. Maybe she wouldn't ever wear much pink throughout the rest of her life, but pink made her dark hair pop even better. It was already messy and fluffy, just like Derek's. She had his cheesy, chubby cheeks too, even if the nose and her lips were mostly like mine.

"So this is Alice Greta..." Carolyn said

"Yeah."

"It's so weird the first time, right?"

"Kind of. She looks too perfect to actually be real."

"It happened the same with me when I first had Kathleen. But it keeps happening now too, I can't help it. They're so new, but you're already so in love with them it seems nearly unreal." I just sighed, admiring her bold simplicity and knowing firmly where Derek got it from.

"You are a great mother." A simple statement, but she blushed slightly.

"It comes naturally."

"Not to everybody," I sighed, meaning every single word of my sentence.

"It's inexplicable, but you'll know what to do most of the time," she said.

"I've been raised to be extraordinary. I got lost between my teens and my twenties, but I'll do my best to raise my daughter extraordinarily."

"She doesn't need to be extraordinary for you to love her. When she fails, loses everything or disappoints you somehow, you'll still love her because you'll know that you did the best you could to make her reach the top. I love my kids even if I preferred that Derek and Amelia didn't move to the other side of the country, or that Nancy actually relieved her father's shop when she thought about it, but they've somehow managed to never fall short. You'll realize on the way, that nothing will be less than you expect, it's usually the opposite, that she will marvel you with something you couldn't even imagine"

I don't know why, but when Alice was back in my arms, a tear silently made its way down my cheek. Carolyn smiled, and I smiled back.

"I'm afraid I'll let her down at some point," I said.

"Of course you will. But she'll always forgive you. You forgave your mother, right?"

I nodded.

She was right. That was something between me and my mother, and my daughter should be left out of the argument. My daughter.

Alice fussed in my arms, stretching her arms above her head and her legs straight, a big yawn materializing on her face. I chuckled.

"Derek used to wake up like that throughout his elementary school years. Every single day," she laughed.

"I wasn't easy to wake up either, believe me," I grinned, somehow liking how much my mother hated to wake me up every morning.

"The ultrasound Derek mailed last month, the thumb-sucking, it's from you, right?"

"Yeah, that's from me, but Alice hasn't showed it off again yet"

"You seized the moment, uh?" she smiled brightly and I could only imagine how proud she was of her already.

"Pretty much luck, I think."

"You should use it in birth announcements or holiday cards," she said.

"It would be a great year to start sending them, yeah..."

"You've never sent holiday cards?" I shook my head and she seemed puzzled

"My family wasn't very fond of Christmas," I explained, "A couple of times my mother didn't even take the day off. I was in college and she was far away, I didn't mind. After I came back to Seattle and began my internship, Christmas got better." She hadn't taken the day off since I was eight and I realized Santa Claus didn't existed, but I didn't wanted to scare Carolyn too much.

"Christmas is about people, you're right..."

"George would have loved this Christmas."

I thought I'd only said it in my head, but I must have babbled it out loud, because she immediately asked "Who's George?"

"He began his internship with me. He died two years ago jumping in front of a bus to save a woman's life. He was the kindest friend and a cheerful roommate, despite Izzie's craziness around December to decorate my whole house."

"I think I heard those names from you last Christmas."

"They might have slipped into some kind of conversation, yeah. The day George died we decided to sign the post-it. Well, about that, I'm sorry about the wedding."

"I know you didn't celebrate much, it's ok for me if it is for you. Derek told me you're not the puffy-dress kind of girl and I didn't question him further."

"Still, I should have invited you when we actually signed the real papers."

"Whatever. Who you are is what matters, not some sheet of paper."

I couldn't help but smile then, as I looked at Alice. She had completely opened her eyes, resting a little heavier in my arms and leaning closer to my chest. I know my ranting was keeping her calm. "Hi there," I whispered to her, rubbing her nose. She looked deeply into my eyes, melting away all of my further approaches of conversation for that moment.

"How's Makena doing?" I finally managed to tear my eyes off Alice

"She's due in early January, she was so excited when I told her that I was coming to Seattle to see your baby. She told me to remind you how blessed that baby is, and I have to agree with her statement." I blushed

"Is she really ok?"

"Yeah. I'll call you when she has her baby. It's a girl too."

I smiled widely, looking at the little girl in my arms staring back at me.

When Derek came back, the Chief was with him and I was still sitting quietly with his mother at my bedside. Alice was silently communicating with me in my arms, opening her mouth rhythmically and squinting her eyes. The uncertain shade of them, made her looks so interesting and captivating. I couldn't look away from her, she was just so beautiful. Our little girl.

"So, you came to meet Alice Greta, right?" I asked the Chief, smiling widely. It was so easy to say already, so perfect.

"Sounds like..."

"My mother, yeah." His face darkened only at the thought of Ellis Grey. "You wanna hold her?" I diverted his attention.

"Actually, I'd love to but I have to scrub in for a spleen repair."

"Some other time then," I said, before he walked out. Then he stood at the door, lingering.

"Your mother would be proud," he added, before leaving me there with my thoughts and our brand new baby girl.

AN: I didn't write about Cristina and the others because I wanted this bonding moment with mother-daughter-mother. Honestly, I loved Carolyn in the single episode she was in, so I can't help having her around.

I hope you liked it, I'll update sometime soon and I'm still sorry for the long wait... Bye!