"Derek Christopher Shepherd!"

Derek cringed as his wife's accusig voice traveled down the stairs and to his ears. Obviously he had done something that was going to bring an end to the world. Just like the night before when he'd folded her laundry and put it away. Apparently his idea of helping her meant that he thought she was incapable of doing anything, and he had no respect for pregnant women because he didn't think they could do anything for themselves.

"Yes, Mer?" he called, hoping he sounded cheerful enough.

"What the hell is this?" Meredith demanded as she walked into the kitchen and threw their toothpaste tube at his head.

"Umm…I bought the wrong toothpaste?" Derek suggested.

"You squeezed it from the top," Meredith snapped. "You know I hate when you do that."

Derek nodded. Even if he had no idea what she was talking about, he had learned quickly that nodding was the best thing to do in this situation. "Sorry Mer."

Meredith stared at him for a moment before she shrugged. "It's okay," she said before turning to walk into the living room, flipping on the TV.

Derek stared after her for a moment, wondering how no one had told him the severity of her mood swings. She got mad at him for pretty much everything he did, which either resulted in him apologizing profusely and her throwing his favorite bottle of cologne out the window or him apologizing profusely and her asking him what he was apologizing for. Apparently the mood swings were Meredith's strongest symptom of pregnancy so far.

"Do you want some milk?" Derek asked. "How's your heartburn."

"It's fine," she snapped. "If I needed milk, I'd get it myself. Honestly, Derek, I'm not incapable of doing anything."

"Sorry, Mer," Derek replied automatically. He sighed as he went back to making their sandwiches, carrying the plates towards the couch. Hopefully she would at least eat and they could enjoy a few minutes together before her next mood swing struck.

"Lunch," he announced, sitting down beside her.

"Yummy," Meredith giggled, reaching for her plate and causing Derek to exhale in relief. He chewed on his own sandwich as he concentrated on the TV, turning to Meredith when he heard her sniffle loudly.

"Mer?" he asked. "What's wrong? Are you okay? Is baby okay?"

"We're fine," she nodded, sniffling slightly. "This commercial is just so horrible. That little girl just lost her balloon. And now she's the only one at the birthday party without one. She's so sad, and now no one wants to be around her because she doesn't have a balloon."

"Oh Mer," Derek sighed, pulling her into his arms. "It's okay. She gets a balloon at the end of the commercial."

"But she doesn't have any friends," Meredith whimpered.

"I'm sure that once she gets a balloon she'll get friends," Derek assured her.

"What if that's our baby?" Meredith sobbed. "What if I'm such a bad mother that I can't raise my baby to be nice enough to have any friends, and then she'll be the girl at the party with no balloons and no friends!"

"Well…she wouldn't be invited to any parties if she didn't have any friends," Derek pointed out.

Meredith stared at him for a moment, tears filling her eyes. "You think our baby isn't going to have any friends!" she exclaimed.

"I didn't say that," Derek denied quickly.

"But you think that," Meredith insisted. "I'm going to mess up your baby and then you're going to hate me because I can't even get our baby any friends."

"That's so not true," Derek breathed, pulling her into his arms. "Meredith, you're going to be an amazing mother. And I know that my baby is going to be perfect because you're its mother."

Meredith swallowed her tears as she looked at him with shining eyes. "Really?" she asked.

"Really," Derek promised.

"That's the sweetest thing you've ever said to me," she whispered, throwing herself into his arms.

"Oh," Derek laughed, pulling her closer. "Hi, Mer."

"Hi," she whispered, resting her forehead against his before kissing him gently. "I love you."

"I love you too," Derek said.

"I know I'm acting crazy," she sighed as she settled against his chest. "I'm sorry, Derek."

"Hey, it's okay," Derek smiled softly, running a hand over her slightly more pronounced stomach. "You're taking care of my baby. I can handle the sudden mood swings."

"You're the most perfect husband ever," she whispered. "And an even better father."

"Well, I'm glad to know that," Derek said, kissing her softly. "Just doing what I love."

Before Meredith could respond, there was a knock on the door, and she sighed as she climbed off of him and moved towards the door. "We'll continue this later," she called over her shoulder. She pulled the door open, her smile quickly fading when she saw Kathleen standing in front of her, her eyes slightly red. "Kathleen," she said, surprised.

"Hey Mer," she said meekly.

"Are you…what's…I can leave," Meredith said quickly. "I know you're not…and I'm… so I'll go. And you can talk to Derek. Without me here."

"No, Mer," Kathleen said softly, shaking her head. "I want to see both of you."

"Oh," Meredith said, wrapping an arm over her stomach and trying to hide her slightly swollen belly. "Come in. And I know you probably want to forget about what happened, but I'm really sorry. I can't imagine…"

Kathleen smiled softly, pulling Meredith into a tight hug. "Thanks, Mer," she whispered. She pulled back slightly, moving a hand to rest on her sister in law's stomach. "I wanted to come see my little niece or nephew. Make sure his daddy's taking care of his mommy."

"His daddy's being amazing," Meredith smiled. "But Mommy's worried about Aunt Kath."

Kathleen sighed as she set her bag on the floor and reached to take off her coat. "I'm doing okay," she shrugged. "It's…it's still hard but I've accepted it now. I've just got to start to heal. It'll take awhile, but I'll get better with time."

"Good," Meredith nodded.

"Hey baby brother," Kathleen smiled softly as she moved towards the couch and Derek wrapped her tightly in his arms.

"Hi Kath," he whispered. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Getting there," she sighed. "I want to talk to you guys."

Meredith frowned as she moved to sit beside Derek, a hand resting on her belly. "Is everything okay?" she asked.

"Yeah," Kathleen nodded, reaching for her bag. "I didn't really want anyone to know this, but when the doctors ran the tests at the hospital, they found a burst fallopian tube. Chris and I aren't going to be able to have any more kids."

"Kath," Derek breathed. "I'm so sorry."

"Is there anything we can do?" Meredith whispered. "I know we really can't, but if you need anything…we'll do it."

"Thanks, but this is something we just have to work through," Kathleen sighed. "But um, since we won't be using any of our baby stuff anymore…we want you to have it."

"What?" Meredith breathed. "We can't take your stuff. Hailey still needs it."

"For now," Kathleen said. "But by the time your baby's born she'll be out of her crib. And when baby shepherd's ready to sit in a high chair, Hailey will be using a booster seat. And we'd really like you to have them. And her clothes, if it's a girl."

"Thank you," Derek whispered, reaching for her hand.

"And…I know that you guys think this baby is a boy," Kathleen said softly, reaching her into her bag. "My baby…the one I lost was a boy. So I want you to have this." She pressed a blanket into Meredith's hand, watching as she spread it over her and Derek's laps.

"Kathleen," Meredith breathed, tears springing to her eyes as she ran her hands over the soft blue material. In the middle of the blanket, yellow words spelled out the words Michael Christopher.

"Kath," Derek breathed, turning to his sister. "What…"

"I made it after I found out it was a boy," Kathleen whispered. "I wanted to name him Michael after Daddy. And Christopher…well, obviously that was partly because of Chris, but I also wanted it because you've been amazing, Derbear. And Michael Derek doesn't really sound right. So…Michael Christopher. That's what I was going to name my son. So if your baby's a boy…I'd be honored if you'd take this name."

Meredith sniffled loudly, reaching for the tissues on the table. "That's…" she choked. "I don't…" she swallowed hard as she looked up at her sister in law. "Thank you," she whispered.

Kathleen smiled softly as she stood and leaned forward to hug Meredith. "Hormones," she said softly. "I know what that's like."

"We'd be honored to take your son's name," Meredith whispered. "Thank you. I know it's not enough, but…thank you."

Kathleen smiled as she turned to look at Derek as he stared down at the names written on the blanket. His eyes were wide and his face pale, and his hands were gripping the edge of the blanket so tightly that his knuckles were white. "Derbear?" she asked softly. "You okay baby brother?"

"I…I don't know," he whispered. "Michael. Michael Christopher. Kathleen, I can't."

"Derek," Kathleen sighed, sitting down on the arm of the couch and taking his face in her hands. "I just want to give you the name. Because you've been amazing, especially since Daddy died. And this is the perfect way to honor you and him. Michael Christopher Shepherd. It fits, Derek."

"It's your son's name," Derek whispered.

"Derek, I'm not going to have a son," Kathleen whispered, tears filling her eyes. "And you…I know you won't really know the sex of the baby for a couple months, but you've been saying he since you found out you're pregnant, so I think it's a boy. And if it's a girl, then you can save it for when you do have a son."

Derek blinked back tears as he pulled his sister into his arms. "Thank you," he whispered. "You're the best sister ever."

Kathleen giggled slightly around her tears. "I'll be sure to tell the rest of the sisters that you said that," she said.

"You wouldn't dare," Derek laughed.

Katheen smiled as she glanced down at her watch. "I've got to go," she sighed. "Hailey wants to have some Mommy daughter time tonight."

Meredith wiped her tears away as she stood to hug her sister in law again. "Thank you," she whispered. "I wish there was something more we could say. But thank you."

"I'd be honored to have my nephew have that name," Kathleen smiled as she pulled her jacket on and opened the door. "I'll see you guys soon."

"Bye Kath," Derek smiled as the door closed behind her. Meredith inhaled shakily as she turned back to Derek, making her way to the couch and sitting down next to him, pulling the blanket over their laps.

"Michael Christopher," she whispered, pulling his hand to her stomach.

"The next Michael Shepherd," Derek whispered, tears pooling in his eyes.

"Derek," Meredith whispered, turning to sit on his lap. "I love the name. You know I love the name. But we can't start calling Baby Michael yet. Because if it's a girl and we called her Michael…I just couldn't forgive myself for that."

"Of course," Derek nodded. "We'll keep the name in mind. If the baby's a boy."

Meredith sighed as she rested her head on his shoulder. "Am I driving you crazy?" she whispered.

"Of course not," Derek whispered, his arms tightening around her. "You're my wife."

"But my hormones are going crazy," Meredith whispered. "I don't like yelling at you all the time."

"I know," Derek laughed. "And I can't complain. My baby's in there."

"Your baby says hi Daddy."

Derek smiled as he eased her off of his lap and leaned over to pull her shirt up and press his lips against her stomach. "Hi baby. Daddy loves you."

"Baby's growing," Meredith whispered, smiling down at her husband. "There are hands and feet. And elbows and knees."

Derek laughed softly against the skin of her stomach. "He's going to move soon."

"The book says that he's moving already," Meredith said. "Just not enough for me to notice."

"Wow," Derek breathed. "I can't wait until I can feel it."

"Me either," Meredith sighed. "It will be real then."

"Because it's not real now?" Derek asked.

"That's not what I meant," Meredith giggled. "I just can't wait until I can feel the baby moving. Then I'll really know that he's in there, and he's okay."

Derek smiled as he pressed his lips against her stomach. "And then I'll actually be able to feel him," he whispered. "Start having a connection with my baby."

Meredith sighed as she looked down at him. "Derek?" she asked.

"Hmmm?"

"Why didn't you get me any milk?"

Derek sighed as he got to his feet. He could definitely do without the mood swings.