Derek sighed as he shifted in his sleep. He reached lazily for Meredith, frowning when he saw the empty bed beside him. A quick glance at the clock revealed that it was nine, much to early for his wife to be up on a Sunday in the middle of the summer. They'd finished finals two weeks before, and they each had more substantial jobs in the medical clinic for the summer to get ahead in the medical field, but Meredith wasn't scheduled to work today. Which meant that something was wrong.

"Mer?" he sighed, swinging his legs over the side of the bed as he reached for his boxers. The apartment was silent, and he frowned as he walked down the stairs. Meredith was standing in the kitchen, already working on some pancakes. "Hey," he said, moving towards her. "What are you doing?"

"Hungry," she shrugged, kissing him lightly. "There's a present for you on the kitchen table.

Derek frowned as he walked towards the table on the other side of the counter, reaching for the light blue card that sat in the middle of the table. His heart stopped beating as he pulled the card out of the envelope, reading the three words at the top of the card.

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY.

Derek swallowed hard as he realized what today actually was. Since neither one of them had fathers to recognize the holiday for, father's day usually came and went as any other Sunday in their lives.

Now, however, Derek felt that fact was about to change.

With shaking hands, Derek opened the card to read the message printed on the inside.

YOU'RE THE BEST.

Underneath the simple message was his perfect wife's handwriting. He blindly reached for a chair, knowing that he was about to get the best news of his life.

Congratulations, Daddy! I know your brain's probably in overdrive right now, so I'm just going to make this simple. You're going to be a father, Derek. I'm so ecstatic to be able to give you this, to have your baby safe inside my stomach. I know you're nervous, but we can do this, Derek, I know we can do this. I love you so much, and I can't wait to share this with you. We're going to be parents, Derek, and I can't tell you how much I love you for giving me this. You're going to be an amazing father, and I can't wait until we can meet our son or daughter. I love you, Derek. And so does your baby.

Love, Mer

Derek looked up to see Meredith staring at him from her place in the kitchen, nervously biting her lower lip. He stared back at her for a moment, and suddenly he was on his feet and beside her in a flash, pulling her tightly into his arms.

"Derek," she giggled as he swung her in a gentle circle.

"Meredith," he breathed, setting her down on her feet and pressing his lips firmly to hers. "God, Mer. We're pregnant?"

"We're pregnant," Meredith giggled. "You're going to be a daddy."

"And you're going to be a mommy," he whispered, leaning forward to kiss her again. "I love you."

"I love you too."

"I wasn't talking to you," Derek laughed as he sank onto his knees in front of her, pushing her shirt up and out of the way.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," Meredith giggled, reaching down to run her hands through his hair, smiling as he pressed a gentle kiss to the soft skin of her stomach.

"Hi baby Shepherd," Derek whispered against her skin. "I'm your daddy. And I love you a whole lot. Maybe even more than I love your Mommy."

"Thanks, Der," Meredith rolled her eyes.

"You shush," Derek sighed. "I'm having a moment alone with my son."

"Or daughter," she replied automatically.

"Or daughter," Derek agreed, running a gentle hand over her stomach. "Sorry Baby. Your mommy distracted me. I know you're not very big yet, but I know you're going to grow into a beautiful baby. And while you're doing that...try to get your mom's smile. Because she has the most beautiful smile in the entire world."

"Derek," Meredith said softly, trying to pull him back up to her.

"Okay," he nodded, pressing another kiss to her bare stomach. "I have to talk to Mommy now. I want to find out all about you, so I'm going to talk to her now. But we'll continue this conversation later."

Meredith smiled as she watched her husband press a gentle kiss to her stomach before standing and pulling her shirt back down over her still very flat stomach. "I love you," he whispered as he captured her lips again.

"Are you talking to me this time?" she giggled against his lips.

"Of course," he nodded. "Come here."

She smiled as he led her to the couch, settling down and pulling her into his lap. "When did you find out?" he asked softly.

"Friday," she sighed. "I was just...my period was only a couple days late, but I guess I kind of just knew. So I went to the clinic, and...it was positive. I can't believe that I kept it quiet until now."

"You know you could have told me," Derek laughed.

"I wanted to," she admitted. "And I wasn't trying to keep it from you, Der, I swear. I was just...I thought since Father's Day was two days later, I would be able to tell you that way."

"I loved it," he smiled, kissing her softly as a hand went to her stomach. "How are you feeling?"

"Great," she nodded. "I haven't been sick, my hormones aren't out of whack yet, the doctor said everything looks good."

"You saw a doctor without me?" Derek frowned.

"It's standard procedure," Meredith nodded. "I didn't get an ultrasound, I just got an exam, made sure everything was okay. And it is."

"Good," Derek nodded. "We have to hear the heartbeat together."

"It's too soon for that, Der," Meredith giggled.

"How far along are you?" he whispered.

"Three weeks," she replied. "Derek, the conception date was for our anniversary."

"Hmm..." Derek smiled. "We did have a lot of sex that day."

"Happy anniversary," Meredith giggled against his lips.

"Due date?" Derek whispered.

"March twenty first," Meredith said firmly.

"Perfect," Derek nodded.

"So I think...I'll take the spring semester off," Meredith whispered. "I know I'll be a semester behind, but if I took a couple weeks off after the baby's born it will be time for finals and I don't think going to school in the last trimester would be very fun, so...that's the plan."

"I'll do that too," Derek nodded firmly.

"Derek, no," Meredith shook her head. "Surgery's more competitive than pediatrics. You need to stay on track."

"We'll talk about it later," he sighed. "But...I want time to spend with baby."

"We can talk about it later," she nodded. "For now...let's just enjoy this."

"Hmmm..." Derek nodded. "So in two weeks we can hear the heartbeat."

"We can," Meredith nodded. "And see him."

"You think it's a boy?" Derek whispered.

"I don't...I'm not sure," Meredith said hesitantly. "Whenever I think baby, I think boy, but I don't know if that's because I really think it's a boy or if you've tainted me with your stupid demands for a son."

"You'd love a son," Derek laughed. "Especially if he looked like me."

Meredith giggled as she snuggled closer to him. "A baby, Der."

"I know," Derek smiled. "I can't wait."

"Me either," Meredith breathed, running a hand over her stomach. "My body's going to change."

"You're going to be hot," Derek laughed.

"Don't lie," she rolled her eyes.

"I'm not," Derek shook his head, placing her on her back on the couch and leaning over her. "These will get bigger," he breathed, running a hand over her breasts. "And then these..." he moved his hands down to her hips. "Will get wider. And your stomach..." he leaned down to press kisses along her belly button. "Will get nice and round."

"Fat," Meredith corrected.

"Big," Derek corrected. "My baby needs room to grow."

"Our baby," Meredith corrected.

"Our baby." Derek nodded. "You'll be gorgeous, Mer. Just like you are right now."

Meredith smiled as she ran her hands through his hair. "Derek," she whispered.

"Hmmm?" he asked, resting his head on her stomach.

"I don't..." Meredith trailed off, realizing that she didn't have any idea of what she wanted to say to him. "I don't know."

"I love you," Derek whispered, looking up at her.

"I love you too."

"We have to start getting ready," Derek laughed, pulling her up. "We have to call Mom and Mark and Addie and go tell Dad, because we should be the ones to tell him, not Mom. And we need a crib and a changing table and..."

"Derek," Meredith giggled, sitting up as she reached for him. "You're getting a little ahead of yourself. He's still an embryo."

"Don't call my son an embryo," Derek frowned. "And we've got to get ready."

"Can we just...Derek, three weeks," she said. "I'm three weeks pregnant, and I'm happy, really, I am. But I just want to wait. At least until we can hear the hearbeat and see him, make sure that everything's okay."

Derek nodded, fear suddenly rushing through his veins. He'd thought of nothing but happiness since he'd opened the Father's Day card, but now reality was setting in and he realized that there was a chance that things could go wrong, especially tis early in the pregnancy.

"Derek," Meredith whispered, reaching to cup his face in her hands. "Everything looks okay. I just want to keep this to ourselves for a little while, okay? Our secret?"

"Our secret," Derek nodded, pulling her close. "Can we at least get books?"

"Books?" Meredith asked.

"Expecting books," Derek nodded. "We need to know these things."

Meredith smiled at the excitement on her husband's face. "Of course," she nodded, kissing him quickly before moving towards the stairs. "Let's go."

"Oh," Derek laughed. "You want to go now."

"Well, I do need to know what to expect," Meredith laughed.

Derek watched her disappear up the stiars before turning back to the table where his father's day card sat. This card deserved to be completely displayed in somewhere amazing, somewhere where he could always remember how amazing it felt to know that he was going to be a father.

"Der?" Meredith called from upstairs. "You have to get dressed if you want to go!"

"Coming!" Derek called as he set the card back on the table, knowing exactly what he wanted to do with it. He smiled as he walked up the stairs and saw Meredith standing at the mirror in the bathroom, running a brush through her hair.

"Jack," he said.

"What?" Meredith frowned as she stepped back into the bedroom and watched him change into jeans and a button down.

"Names, Mer," he said.

"You want to name our son Jack?"

"Maybe," Derek shrugged.

"Hmmm...no," she giggled as he pressed a kiss to the top of her head and brushed a hand along her stomach as he moved into the bathroom and reached for his toothbrush.

"No?" he asked.

"We don't need to start talking about names until we know if it's a boy or a girl," she said. "I mean...I want to find out. You do too, right?"

Derek nodded, his mouth full of toothpaste.

"Good," Meredith nodded. "And even when we know...Jack is not an option."

"That's just not fair," Derek laughed as he reached for his cologne.

"It's totally..." Meredith's face fell as the scent of the cologne reached her senses and she clapped a hand over her mouth.

"Mer?" Derek frowned. "Are you okay?"

She pushed past him and ran towards the toilet, emptying her stomach as Derek rushed to her side, reaching for her hair. "Oh, Mer."

"Derek," she moaned, turning her head away from him. "Cologne...bad."

"Oh," Derek said, remembering how Shawn had complained that Liz had thrown up for days on end at the scent of her own perfume. Apparently smells were sensitized during pregnancy. "I'll get in the shower."

"Please," Meredith moaned before turning back to the toilet and throwing up again. "Baby, please don't make this a daily thing," she muttered as Derek stepped into the shower and she brushed her hand over her stomach. "Be nice to Mommy."