"Mer?" Derek asked, walking down the stairs and rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. He frowned as he saw her sitting on the couch, curled in a ball as tears streamed down her face. "Mer, what's wrong? Are you okay? Is the baby okay?"

"I'm going to mess him up," she whispered.

"What?" Derek frowned, moving to sit next to her on the couch.

"I'm a horrible mother."

"Meredith," Derek breathed. "That is so not true. What's going on?"

"I…I couldn't sleep," she choked out on the words. "And you…well, you've already read all these books, which makes you a better parent than me already. But I figured I would read them since I couldn't sleep. And the baby…"

"Meredith, you have to calm down," Derek said softly. "Take a deep breath and tell me what's going on?"

"The baby's not growing," Meredith whispered.

"What?" Derek asked, trying not to panic at the thought that there was something wrong with the baby. "How do you know? Are you in pain? Do we need to go to the hospital?"

"No," Meredith shook her head, sniffling slightly. "I just…I'm supposed to have gain weight by now."

Derek frowned for a moment, then reached out to take the book from her hands. "Mer," he sighed. "Every woman is different. You're only seven weeks pregnant, it's completely normal that you haven't gained weight yet."

"But I've lost three pounds," Meredith whispered. "Derek, I can't even grow our baby, how am I supposed to be a good mother if my baby can't even grow when he's inside me?"

"Oh Meredith," Derek laughed slightly, pulling her into his arms. "You're going to be an amazing mother. Pregnancy is different for every woman. And you haven't been eating a lot. That combined with your morning sickness is enough to make you lose a couople of pounds."

"But I'm supposed to be gaining weight," she whispered.

"I'm going to remind you of this when you're eight months pregnant," Derek laughed.

"Derek, I have no idea how to be a mom," she said. "I don't…how am I supposed to know if the baby needs to be changed or fed or held? My parents were horrible, and I have no idea how to do this."

"Mer," Derek sighed, pulling her into his arms. "You can't do this to yourself. It's instinct. You're going to be an amazing mother."

"How do you know that?" Meredith asked, sniffling slightly as she looked at him closely.

Derek smiled softly as he reached out to lace their fingers together, bringing her hand to his lips for a gentle kiss. "I remember when you told me that you wanted to start trying to have a baby," he said softly. "You weren't even pregnant, and the look on your face…I'll never forget it, Mer. You were just so excited at the possibility of even having a baby. And ever since we've found out, I've seen the way you just touch your stomach and look down at it with that gorgeous secret smile. And that's what makes me know that you're a fantastic mother. You care about this baby."

"That's really enough?" Meredith whispered. "Because I don't know anything about babies. And I'm really terrified that I'm going to completely screw up our baby."

"You won't," Derek smiled, reaching out to kiss her softly. "All babies need are love. And you have plenty of love to give. I know you're going to love him or her with every ounce of your being, and that's all you need. You'll figure the rest out as you go."

Meredith sighed as she leaned into him. "You don't think anything's wrong?" she whispered.

"You'd know more than me," Derek sighed. "But losing a couple pounds is okay. You'll gain them back before you know it. And then you'll wish that you hadn't."

"No I won't," she whispered. "I want to be fat."

Derek laughed slightly as he wrapped an arm around her. "You do?" he asked.

"I do," she giggled. "I want to be completely fat and feel our baby kicking. I want to be pregnant, Der, really pregnant."

"You will be," Derek assured her. "It's still early, Mer, some women wouldn't even know that they're pregnant yet."

Meredith giggled. "Really?" she asked. "People miss the sore boobs and the constant sickness?"

"Liz didn't realize that she was pregnant until twelve weeks," Derek pointed out.

"But she was living in denial," Meredith said softly. "That's different."

"You're going to be an amazing mother," Derek assured her, smiling softly

"What's going to happen when I go back to school?" Meredith asked. "Or when we start working? Derek, we totally didn't think this through."

"Oh, Mer," Derek whispered. "We have talked about this. And we don't have to worry about that for over a year."

"Derek, who's going to watch him?" she asked. "We can't just leave him with a nanny."

"Alright, Mer, you've got to calm down," Derek said softly. "You need to make sure that the baby's getting enough air."

"Baby," she breathed. "Air…for baby."

"Air for the baby," Derek said softly. "Good, just calm down."

Meredith inhaled deeply, reaching for the tissues on the table. "I'm sorry," she whispered softly. "I'm just…I guess I'm freaking out."

"It's okay, Mer," he said softly. "We're going to be fine. Mom said she'd watch the baby whenever we need her to. And Beth and Nathan can watch him for a couple hours. We'll trade and watch their baby too."

"Okay," she whispered. "That…we can do this?"

"We can," Derek nodded. "I know it's scary, Mer. I'm scared too. But we can do this. Because we love each other and we both love our baby. That's all we really need, we'll figure the rest out."

She smiled softly as she leaned into him. "I do love you," she whispered.

"I love you too," he whispered, pressing his lips to her forehead. "Are you ready to go back to bed?"

Meredith smiled softly as she leaned closer to him. "Bed sounds…amazing," she breathed in his ear.

"Oh really?" Derek asked, pulling her onto his lap.

"Mmmmhmmm," she murmured, nibbling on his earlobe. "I may still be able to fit into some of that lingerie you love so much."

Derek shook his head as he scooped her into his arms. "We don't need that," he whispered. "I just want you."

XXXXX

Meredith stared at Beth's stomach, wondering why she was completely jealous of her friend's slightly swollen stomach. She knew it was stupid, Derek had been right when he'd told her that her stomach would get bigger very soon, and then she would wish she was skinny again.

But she couldn't help staring at Beth's stomach as she sat next to her on the couch, rubbing her hand over her stomach. She couldn't wait until she had a bump like Beth did, so that everyone could know that she had Derek's baby safe inside of her.

"Mer?" Beth frowned, looking at her closely. "Are you okay?"

"What?" Meredith asked, snapping her head up to look at Beth's face.

"You were a million miles away," she said. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Meredith smiled, shaking her head slightly. "Sorry."

"I was just saying that we should sign up for a prenatal yoga class," Beth said. "My doctor said it's a good way to relax, and to ensure that we stay fit without any rigourous activity."

"Sure," Meredith nodded. "That sounds perfect."

Beth sighed as she stretched slowly, running a hand over her back. "God, my back is killing me," she sighed. "They should warn you about all this stuff before you get pregnant."

"Well, Derek's sisters did warn me," Meredith giggled. "But they said it's worth it. And Nathan will give you a backrub when he gets back."

Beth rolled her eyes. "Nathan will crash as soon as he gets home," she said.

"Really?" Meredith frowned. "Derek gives me backrubs whenever I ask."

"Yeah, well…not every husband is perfect like Derek."

"Derek is not perfect," Meredith rolled her eyes.

"Trust me, Mer, you're spoiled rotten," Beth laughed. "And Derek is whipped."

Meredith giggled. "I guess he is," she sighed. "I just…I thought he was doing what all expecting fathers do."

"Trust me, there are very few expectant fathers who wake up in the middle of the night to sit on the bathroom floor with their wives who think they might be sick," Beth replied. "Ask Derek's sisters if any of their husbands have ever done that."

Meredith shrugged. "It's who he is," she said. "He likes taking care of me."

"That I do," Derek announced as he walked into the apartment.

"Derek," Meredith smiled. "You're home."

"I'm home," Derek nodded, leaning down to kiss her quickly. "Hi Beth."

"Hey Derek," she smiled.

"I brought company," Derek laughed, gesturing to gesturing to Caitlin and Liz.

"Hey," Meredith said jumping off the couch to hug her sisters in law. "I didn't know you guys were coming over."

"We were shopping downtown and ran into Derbear," Caitlin replied.

Liz smiled as she lowered herself into a chair at the table. "We insisted that we come home with him," she said. "And now he's surrounded by women in every stage of pregnancy."

Derek's eyes widened as he whipped around to look at his youngest sister, his eyes darkening with anger. "Caitlin, I swear to God," he started.

"Not me," she shook her head. "I believe she was referring to your wife."

Meredith rolled her eyes as she turned to Derek. "We're horrible secret keepers," she said.

"It's only because neither one of you can keep your hands off her stomach," Beth replied.

"That and the fact that Derek was asking me way too many questions about my own pregnancy," Liz replied.

"I was just being a good brother," Derek replied. "You're due in a week, I wanted to make sure everything was okay."

"You wanted to know what to expect with Mer," Liz rolled her eyes.

Derek rolled his eyes as he turned back to the kitchen. "Crazy pregnant people," he muttered under his breath.

"Excuse me?" Meredith asked, causing him to swallow hard as he turned back around and look into the living room.

"I…" Derek trailed off as he stared at the three pregnant women in front of him, all watching him expectantly as they waited for an answer to Meredith's question. Caitlin stood the the side, an amused expression on her face as she waited to see how Derek would get himself out of this one. "I love you?" he suggested.

Meredith rolled her eyes a she dropped down onto the couch. "Whatever," she said. "Just make dinner."

"What do you want?" Derek asked, hoping that she would forget whatever she was mad at him for.

"Hmmm…tacos."

"No tacos," Liz shook her head. "Salmon."

"Oh no," Beth shook her head, resting a hand on her stomach. "Chinese."

The mere mention of Chinese food was enough to cause Meredith to jump off the couch and sprint towards the bathroom. "Damn it," Derek groaned, running after her.

"Personally, I'm in the mood for pizza, Derbear!" Caitlin giggled as she watched her brother run up the stairs.

Derek ignored her and made his way towards the bathroom where Meredith was clutching the toilet, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. "Mer," he sighed, moving to sit beside her on the ground. "Are you okay?"

"Fine," she nodded. "Just…no Chinese."

"Defintely not," he nodded. "I'm sorry I brought them home, do you want be to send them home?"

"No," she shook her head. "I'm fine, I just don't really want to eat anymore."

"We'll try some crackers," Derek nodded, helping her to her feet.

"Sure," Meredith sighed, resting her head against his shoulder as they walked down the stairs. "Sorry," she said to the girls who were sitting around the kitchen table.

"Don't worry," Liz said. "If there's one thing we understand, it's morning sickness."

"Alright," Derek said, pulling a chair out for Meredith. "How does chicken soup sound to everyone?"

He received a nod of approval from each of them, then planted a kiss to the top of Meredith's head. "Chicken soup coming up," he nodded. "And some giner ale for Mer."

"Back rub later?" she whispered against his lips.

"Of course," he nodded, causing Liz to roll her eyes.

"Mer," she said, leaning in close as Derek walked into the kitchen. "Never tell him I said this…but your husband is perfect."