Meredith Grey was adorable.

That was all Derek could think as he lay in his childhood bedroom on Christmas morning, his head propped up by his hand as he watched his girlfriend sleep beside him.

Her hair was curling gently around her face, and a soft smile played over her lips. Her nose scrunched slightly, and her chest rose and fell slowly as she breathed deeply. It was all he could do not to get out of bed to grab the camera that lay across the room on the desk.

But that required moving, which was something he definitely didn't want to do right now. Moving was bad and horrible, and he just wanted to watch his perfectly amazing girlfriend sleep beside him. Especially since he knew in about five minutes it would be time to wake up and she wouldn't look so cute and innocent anymore.

Unable to resist touching her any longer, Derek reached out and rubbed her stomach softly, letting his fingers play against the soft skin beneath his T-shirt that she had worn to bed. She was about to experience her first Christmas, and he didn't want to wait any longer to show her the amazing feeling of spending Christmas with the Shepherds.

"Meredith," he whispered, leaning down so his mouth was next to her ear. "Wake up."

"No," she mumbled, rolling closer to him and burying her face in his chest. "Too early."

"You know, teachers are supposed to like waking up early," Derek laughed. "It's part of their job."

"Says who?"

"Me."

"You're an idiot."

"I'm offended," Derek laughed, moving his lips to her cheek, then to her lips as he rolled on top of her. "Wake up."

"No," Meredith giggled slightly, even as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Merry Christmas," Derek whispered, running a hand through her hair.

Meredith smiled slightly as she reached up to run her hands through his own thick curls. "Merry Christmas," she replied. "What time is it?"

Derek smiled as he reached down to lace his fingers through hers. "You're going to hate me," he said softly.

Meredith frowned. "What time is it?" she repeated.

"Five."

"In the morning?"

"Does anyone actually sleep until five in the evening on Christmas?" Derek asked. "Or well…ever?"

"I'm going back to sleep," Meredith rolled her eyes, turning onto her side, effectively pushing him off of her.

"But it's Christmas."

"It will still be Christmas in three hours," Meredith rolled her eyes. "Or five."

"You can't sleep until ten," Derek insisted, pulling her back over to him so he could look into her eyes. "Presents."

"Are you five?" Meredith asked. "Normal people can wait until morning for presents."

"If I was five, you'd be in a lot of trouble," Derek laughed. "And I think you know I'm not."

Meredith rolled her eyes, but before she could say anything, the door burst open. "Merry Christmas, Derbear!" Liz cried, quickly covering her eyes. "Oh, I don't want to see that."

Derek laughed as he rolled off of Meredith and slid out of bed. "It's okay, Lizzie," he said. "Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas, Mer," Liz smiled over Derek's shoulder as Meredith sat up in bed, a confused frown on her face.

"Okay, it's the middle of the night," Meredith sighed. "What's going on?"

"I told you," Derek smiled, pulling her out of bed. "Shepherds wake up early on Christmas."

"Shepherds are stupid," Meredith muttered under her breath as she reached for one of Derek's sweatshirts.

"I'd be offended if you thought that was true," Derek laughed, grabbing her hand. "Come on."

Meredith couldn't help but smile at Derek's obvious enthusiasm for the holiday. As a teacher, she'd always tried to fake a love for Christmas, but ever since college she'd usually spend the day in front of a fire with a good book. It had always been her own personal celebration, but she was quickly beginning to understand why her students always became so excited come December. And she couldn't help but grin at the way her boyfriend seemed to bounce with every step he took, the grin on his face allowing her to glimpse at the adorable little boy he must have been.

"Well, it's about time," Michael laughed as he looked up from his place on the floor beside the tree. "Never thought Derek would be the last one up on Christmas."

"I had a pretty girl in my bed," Derek laughed. "I got distracted."

"Oh, gross," Caitlin rolled her eyes. "Can we have our presents now, Daddy?"

"Of course," Michael laughed, handing a present to Nancy. "Michael gets the first present."

Nancy smiled as she unwrapped the baby blanket from its paper, running her hands over the finely stitched words, Michael's First Christmas. "It's beautiful," she said. "Thanks, Mom."

"It's Mer's first Christmas too," Derek announced, tugging on Meredith's hand. "She should get the second present."

"I don't…" Meredith started, completely taken by surprise when Michael handed her a neatly wrapped present. "Oh."

"It's from Santa," Emma explained with a warm smile. "He knew you have a lot to catch up on."

Meredith ran her hands delicately over the paper for a moment before she gently tore at it, revealing a black jewelry box. She glanced at Derek for a moment before she cracked the box open, revealing a simple silver necklace with an M dangling from the bottom. "What…this is too much," she shook her head.

"It's really not," Emma smiled as she leaned forward. "Each of my daughters got a necklace with their initials on it for their sixteenth birthday. I know you're not officially a daughter yet, but with the way my son looks at you, it won't be long before you're a Shepherd."

Tears sprang to Meredith's eyes as she fingered the simple chain that meant more to her than any of the diamond earrings her mother had sent her secretary out to buy for Christmases when she was a teenager. "Thank you," she whispered. "I love it."

"Here," Derek murmured, taking the necklace from her hands. "I'll put it on you."

Meredith held her hair up so he could clasp the chain gently around her neck, pressing a quick kiss to her neck as he did so. "It looks beautiful," he laughed.

The family soon became lost in a whirlwind of wrapping paper and presents, and Meredith leaned into Derek's warmth as he laughed at Liz's reaction to the sweater Caitlin had picked out for her and awed over his father's new tackle box. This was amazing, completely amazing, and she ever wanted it to end.

"Here's one for Derek," Michael smiled offering Derek a present. "From Meredith."

Derek smiled as Meredith shifted off of him, wanting to watch him open the present. He quickly tore the paper off, breathing in deeply when he saw the silver watch resting in the box in his hands. "Mer…" he whispered.

"Do you like it?" she asked, biting her lower lip. "I thought about getting gold, but then I thought that you're more of a silvery person even though you don't really wear any jewelry because you're a guy, but…you like it?"

"It's perfect," Derek smiled as she slid the watch out of the box and hooked it onto his left wrist.

"And I set it to Meredith time," she giggled. "So I won't yell at you anymore."

"I'm sure you'll still find something to yell at me about," Derek laughed, leaning forward to kiss her. "I love it, thanks."

"What's Meredith time?" Matt asked as he held his son gently against his shoulder.

"Derek's always stupid early to pick me up for dates," Meredith giggled. "So when we make plans he has to ask me if the time is based on Meredith time or Derek time. And I set this watch to Meredith time so he can forget that Derek time even exists."

"Except for the fact that the rest of the world operates on Derek time," he laughed. "It's not my fault that Meredith time operates fifteen minutes behind the rest of the world."

"Shut up," she rolled her eyes.

"Hmmm," Derek smiled, slipping an envelope into her hands. "From Santa."

Meredith frowned as she opened the envelope, her eyes widening as she read the words on the rectangular pieces of paper in her hands. "Derek…."

"Tickets to Europe," Derek nodded. "Because this is my last summer, and I have three months in between graduation and the start of my internship, and as soon as school's out you're not Meg's teacher anymore. What better way to celebrate than going to Europe?"

"I…Derek, are you serious?" she breathed.

Derek smiled as he leaned closer to her. "I'm serious," he nodded. "Six weeks in Europe. Wherever you want to go, we're there."

"Thank you," Meredith whispered. "God, Derek, I don't…this is too much."

"It's not," Derek replied. "We'll talk about it later, but I want to do this for you, Mer. Please, just let me give you this."

"Okay," Meredith nodded, leaning forward to kiss him. "Thank you."

"My pleasure," Derek laughed, wrapping an arm around her. "I love you."

"I love you too," Meredith sighed, settling comfortably against his chest as she watched his family continue their Christmas celebration, finally understanding exactly what it felt like to be apart of a family.

XXXXXX

"This was…the best Christmas ever," Derek breathed as they walked up the sidewalk to her house later that night, Meredith's hand clutched tightly in his.

"You're just saying that," Meredith rolled her eyes as she began to dig through her purse for her keys.

"I am not," Derek laughed as he followed her into the house. "Having you there as apart of my family, being able to give you your first real Christmas….there's nothing that I have ever enjoyed more."

"Oh really?" Meredith raised her eyebrows as they reached her room. "Nothing?" she asked, her fingers trailing over the hem of her shirt, inching it up slowly.

"Well…not nothing," Derek swallowed hard.

Meredith giggled as she turned towards the bathroom. "Good," she said. "Are you staying tonight?" she called through the door a few minutes later.

"I don't think leaving is actually an option," Derek laughed as he kicked his shoes off and reached for his pajamas.

"Good," Meredith smiled as she came back into the room, clad in one of his white button downs, and slid into bed beside him. "Hi."

"Hi," Derek laughed, reaching for her hand.

"Derek," she said softly. "Are you…the trip to Europe….it's a lot."

Derek smiled as he leaned in to kiss her softly. "I want to do it, Mer," he whispered. "I love you, and I want to spend my last summer with you. In the fall I'll be an intern, and time won't really be mine anymore. Any time I do have will be devoted to you, but… it kills me that there will be days when we won't be able to see each other. And having those two months in Europe with you will get me through lonely nights in on call rooms."

Meredith smiled softly. "I've always wanted to go to Europe," she said softly.

"My only request is Ireland," Derek said softly. "My grandpa came over from there, and I really want to see the town he's from. Our tickets fly into Dublin, but we can spend as much or as little time in Ireland as you want. London, Spain, Germany…whatever you want, Mer, it's yours."

"No," Meredith shook her head. "I don't want it to be mine."

"Mer, I know you're not used to being spoiled, but…"

Meredith shook her head, reaching out to press her hand against his lips. "That's not what I meant," she said softly. "I meant I want the trip to be ours, not mine. So we can both decided on places we really want to see and figure out a route from there."

"Oh," Derek laughed. "Okay."

"I want you to see things that you want to," Meredith sighed. "It should be our trip."

"Our trip," Derek nodded, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. "I like that."

"Me too," Meredith sighed.

"Mer?"

"Hmmm?"

"You don't have plans for New Year's right?"

"Actually," Meredith giggled. "Since I spent Christmas with you, I told my other boyfriend, you know the one I like better, that I'd spend New Year's Eve with him."

"Not funny," Derek rolled his eyes.

"I think it's cute when you're jealous," Meredith giggled.

"I don't get jealous," Derek said quickly.

"Yes you do," Meredith giggled, resting her head on his chest as she wrapped her legs around his. "And it's adorable."

"You know, I was going to invite you to the party Mark and I are playing at on New Year's Eve, but now you're just being mean and I'm not sure I want you there," Derek said, looking down at her with a sparkle in her eyes.

"Playing?" Meredith frowned. "Playing what?"

"The guitar," Derek laughed. "Remember, it's how I got you to fall for me."

"That's so not why I fell for you," Meredith rolled her eyes. "And how come I didn't know that you and Mark are in a band."

"My other girlfriend's a groupie, I thought that might be awkward," Derek smirked.

"Not funny."

"We're not really in a band, anymore at least," Derek explained. "Some guys we went to college with are going to be back in town for New Year's, so we figured we'd mess around a little bit."

Meredith smiled as she tilted her face up to his. "I can't believe I'm dating a musician," she purred. "It's very hot."

"A doctor and a musician," Derek smiled, his hands going to her hips. "So do you want to come?"

"Definitely," Meredith smiled, moving to rest her head against his chest again. "I need to make sure no one hits on my rockstar boyfriend."

"How come I feel like you're mocking me?" Derek asked.

"I would never do that!" Meredith giggled. "And I'm insulted that you would accuse me of that."

Derek laughed as he tightened his arms around her. "Mer?"

"Hmmmm?"

"This really was the best Christmas ever."

Meredith grinned as she traced the outline of Derek's new watch against his skin. "Mine too," she whispered. "I love you."

"I love you too." Derek smiled as he gently ran his fingers through Meredith's hair, watching as she drifted into a deep sleep. She was amazing, and today had been one of the best days he could remember having in a long time. He'd finally helped Meredith to see what Christmas as all about, and he couldn't wait to share more firsts with her.