Okay, so this will probably be the last update for a couple weeks. I hope that you guys can be patient until the end of the month and continue to read the story later. I'm going to try and write a little on the train and such, so there may be a significant amount of updates as soon as I get back. Have a great month, and enjoy the next couple episodes of Grey's!

"Derek Christopher Shepherd, it's about time that you remembered you had a family," Emma exclaimed as Derek walked into his parents' kitchen for dinner. She wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tightly for a moment. "That's because I missed you," she said. "And that," she said, reaching to smack the back of his head. "Is because you've cancelled for the past two weeks."

"Sorry, Mom," Derek laughed as he moved towards his dad. "Hi Dad."

"Don't worry about your mother," Michael said as he pulled Derek into an embrace as well. "It's good to see you."

"So I spoke with Kathleen," Emma said as she pulled Derek away from his father. "She said something about a girlfriend. Are you dating someone? Is it serious? Do we get to meet her soon?"

"Mom," Derek groaned. "Yes, I'm dating someone. Yes, it's serious. And I can't take her home with me, because…she's Meg's teacher."

Emma blinked in surprise. "You're dating your niece's teacher?" she asked.

"Mom, it's not a big deal. Kathleen knows, and she's okay with it. And we agreed to keep this from Meg until she's not her teacher anymore. But Mer and I…she's amazing. And I love her, Mom."

"Oh, Derek," Emma smiled. "That's wonderful."

"Thanks, Mom," Derek laughed as he pulled a beer out of the fridge.

"The girls are in the living room," Emma said. "They're going to want to hear all about her."

"Okay, Mom, please don't make a big deal out of this," Derek sighed. "I'm glad that you're happy for me, but I really don't want to make a big deal out of this. Not until Meg's out of Meredith's class."

Emma sighed as she moved back to the stove. "I suppose that makes sense," she sighed. "I wish it wasn't so far away."

"That makes three of us," Derek laughed.

"Come help me on the grill, Derek," Michael laughed as he pulled a plate of chicken into his hands.

"Grill?" Derek frowned. "It's November."

"And Nancy is pregnant," Emma laughed. "She wants grilled chicken."

"If there's one thing I know, it's never to turn down a pregnant woman's craving," Michael laughed. "Especially a Shepherd woman."

Derek laughed as he moved to open the back door for his dad, following him onto the patio.

"So you're pretty much head over heels," Michael commented as he tossed the chicken onto the grill.

"I am," Derek nodded. "She's amazing, Dad. She's had such a horrible past, and I want nothing more than to just show her how wonderful she is. And to give her a real life, full of anything else she wants."

Michael tilted his head to the side. "What are you not telling me?" he asked.

Derek shook his head as he took another pull of his beer. He'd never cease to be amazed at how well his father could read him. "She doesn't have any family."

Michael frowned. "What do you mean she doesn't have family?" he asked.

"Her mom is back on the east coast," Derek shrugged. "Mer doesn't talk to her. She did horrible things to her, so Mer moved out here and doesn't talk to her. Her dad walked out on her when she was five. She has two sisters, lives with one of them but refuses to go home with her. Says that Lexie has a dad but she doesn't."

Michael shook his head as he moved to flip the chicken. "I never understood why some people have children," he sighed. "I'm glad you're taking care of her. That's the man I raised you to be."

"Yeah," Derek sighed. "And I…the holidays are coming up. And she refuses to go to her father's house and she can't exactly come here, so I was thinking…"

"You want to spend the holidays with her," Michael nodded.

"Yeah," Derek breathed. "I really want to. But Mom…it's not that I don't want to be with the family. You know that I love you guys more than anything, no matter how annoying those stupid girls are."

"They're not stupid," Michael laughed. "Schemers, yes, but not stupid."

"Yeah, well, they're nice to you."

"I'm their father," Michael said. "Look, Derek, I'll try to talk to your mother. We'll miss you, but…you're all growing up now. You've got your own lives now, and I'll try to help her see that."

"Thanks, Dad," Derek said in relief. "It just breaks my heart to think that Mer's going to be alone for the holidays. I would kill to bring her here, but…we can't."

"Hmmm," Michael nodded. "You love her."

"I do," Derek nodded. "And I think Mom will understand that. Especially if you talk to her."

Michael laughed as he moved the chicken back onto the platter. "You're living in a fantasy world if you think I can tell that woman to do anything," he said. "But I'll try. Lord knows she's wanted you to date someone for years."

"I have been dating," Derek frowned.

"Derek, you're my son and I love you," Michael said, clapping him on the back. "But Rose…not one of your best choices."

Derek rolled his eyes. "So I've been told," he said. "Ready to go in?"

"Yes," Michael laughed.

Derek opened the door to the kitchen, smiling as he saw that his sisters had moved into the kitchen, along with Matt, Chris, and Meg.

"Uncle Derek!" Meg cried as she jumped into his arms. "Guess what!"

"What?" Derek asked, his eyes wide.

"I'm going to have a baby boy cousin!"

"You are?" Derek asked, his eyes traveling to Nancy, who was rubbing a hand over her swollen belly. "Well, that's a very good thing. Because you can still be my number one niece."

Meg giggled as she wiggled out of his arms and ran towards the living room. "I gotta go back to finish Dora!" she cried.

"No running!" Kathleen yelled after her. "Hi Derbear."

Derek rolled his eyes. "I see none of you have gotten less annoying in the past couple weeks."

"Oh, no, we've been saving it until you finally came to dinner," Caitlin giggled. "We hear you've got a new girlfriend, Derbear."

"Yes, and please tell me she's not anything like any of your previous girlfriends," Liz rolled her eyes.

"Not that it's any of your business, but…she is," Derek smiled. "She's completely perfect, even if she doesn't think so. She rambles and she's bossy and…completely amazing."

"Awww," Liz smiled, reaching out to ruffle Derek's hair. "Derbear's in love. That's so cute."

"Don't touch my hair," Derek rolled his eyes, struggling to get away from his sister's grasp.

"I've met her," Kathleen announced. "He's like a lost little puppy, follows her around everywhere."

"Okay that…is so not true," Derek rolled his eyes.

"Why does Kath get to meet her?" Caitlin frowned.

"Because she's my daughter's teacher," Kathleen replied, rolling her eyes.

"You're dating Meg's teacher?" Nancy raised her eyebrows. "Is that even allowed? You're family."

"It's not like I'm her dad," Derek shrugged. "And Mer's being sure not to treat her any differently. And Meg won't know until after the years over." He'd lost count of how many times he'd had this conversation over the past month, and he was beginning to get tired of defending his relationship with Meredith.

"Alright, that's enough about Derek," Emma announced as she opened the door to the dining room. "It's time for dinner. And I expect you all to be adults and be nice to your brother."

"Yeah, be nice to your brother," Derek nodded, pressing a kiss to Emma's cheek as he walked into the dining room.

"Nice Shep," Chris laughed as he pulled a chair out for Kathleen.

Derek rolled his eyes. "I don't know why I even bother coming here," he said. "It's probably not healthy to accept this much abuse."

"We're just kidding, Derbear," Liz giggled as she reached across him to grab the mashed potatoes.

"Right," Derek sighed as he looked around the table, honestly happy to be spending time with his family. But he couldn't help imagining how well Meredith would fit in with his sisters, how perfectly she would get along with his parents, and how amazing it would be to sit at dinner in his parents' dining room with the love of his life at his side.

XXXXX

"Thanks for dinner, Mom," Derek smiled as he stood at the front door with Emma a couple hours later, his coat already on and leftovers clutched in his hands. "It was wonderful."

"I'm so glad you were able to come tonight," Emma smiled, reaching out to rest a hand on his arm. "And I'm glad you're happy."

"Thanks, Mom," Derek said. "And thanks for understanding why I can't exactly bring Mer home with me."

"Your father told me about her past," Emma sighed. "And as much as we'll miss you, I think it would be very wonderful if you spent Thanksgiving with her."

"Really?" Derek asked, his heart tightening at the thought of spending Thanksgiving at Meredith's house. "Thanks, Mom. It means a lot to me."

"You've turned into a wonderful man, Derek," Emma said softly. "So much like you're father. And I'm very proud of that."

Derek smiled as he leaned down to press a kiss to her cheek. "You did a good job, Mom," he said. "With me anyways. The girls I'm not so sure about."

"You love your sisters," Emma laughed.

"If you say so," Derek sighed. "I'm going to get going. Thanks again for dinner. I love you."

"I love you too," Emma smiled. "And since you're not coming for Thanksgiving I want you to be here next Sunday for dinner."

"I will be," Derek nodded. "Bye Mom."

He walked out the door, making his way to the car as he looked down at his watch. It wasn't too late, but Meredith had to work early in the morning and he wasn't sure that she would appreciate him stopping by at nine-thirty.

With a sigh, he pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and quickly dialed her number as he settled into the driver's side of his car."

"Hello?"

"Hey Mer," he said with a smile. "How was your evening?"

"It was fine," she said. "Just planned some lessons for this week, watched a movie with Lex. How was dinner with your family?"

"It was good," Derek said. "I missed you though."

"Derek, you were over here this afternoon," she giggled. "It's been like…five hours since you saw me."

"Doesn't mean I can't miss you," Derek laughed. "What does your week look like? Do you have time for dinner with your favorite boyfriend?"

"Well, I have time for him," Meredith said. "But I'm not sure if I'll be able to squeeze you in."

"Very funny," Derek said. "Seriously, Mer."

"I don't know," she sighed. "I've got parent teacher conferences on Tuesday Wednesday and Thursday nights, and I'm going to be getting ready for them tomorrow. I don't know if I'll have time until Friday."

"Okay," Derek sighed. "I guess I can understand that."

Meredith giggled. "Just consider it payback for all the times you're on forty eight hour shifts when you're an intern," she said.

Derek smiled into the phone. He loved that she was secure enough with him that she could talk about their future for a year from now. "I guess that's fair," he said. "Even if I don't like it."

"I'm sorry," Meredith offered. "I'll make it up to you."

"You better," Derek laughed as he pulled into the garage below his apartment.

"Hmmm…maybe on my way home on Friday I'll make a little detour to Victoria's Secret," Meredith said, her voice low.

"I like that," Derek said huskily.

"By the way," Meredith giggled. "We've had some complaints."

"Complaints?"

"Apparently we're very loud," Meredith giggled. "Izzie offered to buy me a padded headboard."

Derek laughed, walking into his apartment and collapsing onto the couch. "I can't say that's a bad idea," he said. "And I like the sounds you make."

"I bet you do," Meredith giggled. "You're not exactly quiet either."

"I never said I was," Derek said. "It's not like I can actually help it. You're hot. It makes me lose control."

"So I've heard," Meredith sighed. "Listen, Der, I have a long week coming up, so I think I'm just going to make some tea and go to bed."

"Okay," Derek said. "See you Friday?"

"Definitely," Meredith said. "I'm looking forward to it. Especially since I'll be waiting for you in my bed….completely naked and waiting for you. Or maybe I'll even start without you."

"Oh God," Derek swallowed hard. "I love you."

"I love you too," Meredith sighed. "Good night."

"Night, Mer."

Derek sighed as he snapped his phone shut, leaning back into the cushions. He knew he was pathetic, but he was going to miss seeing her this week. They'd only been together for a couple months, but he'd already realized how completely necessary it was to have her in his life.

"Get a life, Shepherd," he muttered under his breath as he moved towards his bedroom. Mark would call him completely pathetic if he saw him right now, but he was sure he'd never felt this way before.

He loved Meredith. He loved her more than anyone else he'd ever been with, and he was starting to think that this might be the real thing. It was soon, completely too soon to be seriously thinking about marriage, and he knew that Meredith would completely freak out at him if he suggested it. But at some point in the past two months, it had become completely clear to him that his future was unimaginable without Meredith there to experience everything with him.

He collapsed onto his bed, smiling at the faint scent of lavender that washed over him as he buried his face in her pillow. He had to wait, he knew he had to wait a long time before she would be ready to even talk about that, but he felt sure that he was going to spend the rest of his life with Meredith Grey. And that was the best feeling he'd had in a long time.