"Alright, I'm here, so you can all start thanking me for my existence now," Derek announced as he pulled Meredith into his parents' house the next week, ignoring the groans of his sisters.

"Please don't," Meredith giggled as they stepped into the living room where the family was gathered, a football game playing on the TV in the background. "His ego doesn't need to be fed."

"Keep dreaming baby brother," Nancy said without looking up at Derek.

"But…I'm me," Derek frowned.

"And I'm thankful that I no longer live in the same house as you," Caitlin said, rolling her eyes.

"Don't be mean to your brother," Emma laughed. "It's Thanksgiving. You should be thankful for each other."

"Exactly," Derek nodded.

"And Derek, dear, arrogance is very unflattering."

"Yeah, Derbear," Meredith giggled as she moved to hug Kathleen, settling beside her on the couch.

"Don't call me that," Derek frowned as he reached out to pull Meg into his arms. "You're thankful for me, aren't you princess?"

"Of course," Meg giggled. "Have you picked out a dress for me to wear to your wedding yet?"

"Nope," Derek sighed. "I think your mommy and Aunt Meredith should take you shopping for that."

"When?" Meg asked.

"Probably after Christmas and New Year," Derek said. "But definitely before your new brother comes."

"Sister," Meg giggled.

"Brother."

"Sister."

"Brother."

"Seriously?" Meredith interjected. "You sound like the boys in my class. The annoying ones."

"You can't call your students annoying," Derek said. "And you definitely can't call me annoying."

"I can when they're not here," Meredith said. "And I can call you annoying whenever you want."

"Maybe I won't marry you."

"I think you will," Meredith smiled.

"Apparently I'm annoying."

"Yes, but I picked out my wedding dress yesterday," Meredith smiled, standing and pressing a kiss to his cheek. "It's hot."

Derek smiled as he put Meg back on the couch to pull Meredith into his arms. "Good," he said. "But I'll want to marry you no matter what. Even if you lie and have an ugly wedding dress."

"Oh God," Liz groaned.

"Our brother's completely corny," Nancy sighed.

"I'm romantic," Derek argued. "Ask Mer."

"Hmmm….I say corny," Meredith nodded, giggling as she pulled away from him. "I'm going to go see if Emma needs help in the kitchen. Your ego is suffocating me, I need air."

"Don't touch any of the food," Derek said.

"I can cook," Meredith frowned.

"We're not having chicken parmesan for Thanksgiving," Derek nodded. "So stay away from my turkey."

"Fine," Meredith rolled her eyes. "Let's see what you're thankful for at the end of the night."

Derek laughed as he watched her walk away before he turned back to his sisters and father. "Alright, who's winning?" he asked.

Meredith smiled as she hopped onto the counter beside Emma as she mashed the potatoes. "Are you sure I can't help?" she asked, leaning over the stove as Emma poured some milk in.

"No offense, dear, but I'm not really sure that you have enough cooking skills to master Thanksgiving yet," Emma smiled softly.

"Don't tell Derek that," Meredith smiled.

"I won't," Emma laughed. "You'll learn to live with his ego eventually. I promise. I got used to his father's."

"I hope not," Meredith smiled. "It's fun to make fun of him. He's so cute when he pouts."

"Of course," Emma laughed. "Michael always thrives on my teasing."

"I hope Derek and I are like the two of you," Meredith sighed. "You're so happy, so in love. I really hope we can be that way."

"You will," Emma nodded. "My son is a carbon copy of his father. And he looks at you exactly like Michael used to look at me. You'll be just fine when you're our age."

"I hope so," Meredith sighed. "He keeps telling me we will be."

"Derek will never admit it, but I believe growing up with four sisters affected him in more ways than one," Emma smiled. "He's always wanted a family. And he's always wanted to fall in love. Now he has you, the rest will come. When you're both ready."

"I know," Meredith nodded, smiling as Derek walked into the kitchen. "Hi."

"Hey," Derek smiled. "Just making sure that you're not letting this one touch the food at all."

"I know better than that, dear," Emma laughed. "But while you're both here, I have something I want to show you."

Derek watched as Emma wiped her hands on a dishtowel, then moved to the laundry room in the corner of the room. She appeared in front of them a moment later, holding a heavy box out to him. "It's for your father for Christmas," she said. "I've spent the past two years saving for this."

Derek looked at her closely for a moment before he opened the box and looked down at it. "Mom," he said as he looked down at the fancy silver watch resting in the box.

"It's a Rolex," Emma said. "Completely too expensive, but he's always wanted one. He never bought it because there Liz needed braces or Kathleen wanted an expensive prom dress. But now…he can't exactly say no if I give this to him."

"It's gorgeous," Meredith breathed. "Michael will love it."

"Thank you, dear," Emma smiled, quickly grabbing the box from Derek's hands as she heard footsteps coming from the hallway.

"How's dinner coming?" Michael asked as he moved towards the fridge, pressing a kiss to Emma's forehead as he did so.

"Wonderfully," Emma nodded, turning back to the stove. "I've just got to put some finishing touches on the potatoes, and then we'll be ready to eat. Derek, why don't you and Meredith start putting the dishes on the table. And tell your sisters to help."

"Sure Mom," Derek nodded, handing Meredith a casserole dish before grabbing the turkey. Meredith followed him into the dining room, stopping for a moment as she admired the place settings, complete with folded napkins and already lit candles.

"Wow," she breathed.

"Hmm," Derek nodded, taking the dish from her hands and smirking as he turned back to face her. "Remember last Thanksgiving?"

"Yes," Meredith blushed. "It was dirty."

"It was very dirty," Derek agreed, wrapping his arms around her waist. "Best Thanksgiving ever."

"I think this one's better," she sighed. "I love dirty, you know I love dirty. But…this is special. This is family and fun and just…normal. This is what normal people do on Thanksgiving."

"It is," Derek nodded. "You're a normal person, Mer."

"I am now," she sighed, wrapping her arms around his neck. "And…we can do dirty later. At home."

Derek laughed. "Thanksgiving tradition?" he asked.

"We love dirty," she whispered against his lips.

"Hmm," Derek groaned, a hand wandering below her shirt.

"Oh gross!" Liz's voice interrupted as Meredith's hand traveled to Derek's hair, tugging slightly. "Do you have to grope each other in front of our dinner?"

"Sorry," Meredith breathed, pulling away from Derek.

"Just make sure your shirt's straight before Meg gets in here," Liz giggled.

Meredith blushed furiously as she tugged her shirt down, moving to sit in the chair Derek had pulled out for her. "Sorry," she murmured.

"Don't be sorry," Derek laughed. "It was a nice preview for the dirty."

"If you don't shut up there will be no dirty," Meredith hissed.

Before Derek could respond, Meg raced into the dining room, followed by the rest of the family, ending in Michael carrying the turkey.

"Alright," Michael said as he set the turkey on the table. "Before we carve this, Emma and I want to say how grateful we are for the new additions to the family. Kyle, our first grandson, and Kathleen's new baby are both very exciting, and we have our wonderful new daughter to welcome as well. We're so glad that Derek has found you, Meredith, and it's our pleasure to give you the ring that has represented our love and to include you in our family. Derek's happier than he ever has been with you, and we're thrilled that you have come into our life."

"Thank you," Meredith whispered, squeezing Derek's hand as she surprised herself with the tears building in her eyes.

"Well said, Dad," Derek nodded, leaning close to brush a tear from Meredith's eye. "I love you," he whispered.

"I love you too," she whispered back.

"Alright, now let's eat," Caitlin exclaimed, sensing Meredith's need to have the attention shifted off of her.

In that moment, complete chaos erupted throughout the dining room as Michael began to cut the turkey, Emma moved to pour the wine, and everyone began to yell across the table for various dishes and utensils. Meredith leaned back in her chair as she watched the Shepherds yell at each other, smiling softly as she absorbed the feeling of security and happiness that washed over her at the feeling.

She was home.

XXXXX

"You sure you're okay?" Derek asked later that night as they climbed the stairs to their apartment.

"I'm great," Meredith smiled. "Sleepy."

"Turkey does that," Derek laughed, squeezing her hand. "Too tired for dirty?"

"Never," Meredith giggled. "I just…need some time to feel sexy."

"You're always sexy," Derek promised.

"Whatever," Meredith rolled her eyes. "Let's just…be for a few minutes?"

"Of course," Derek nodded, pulling her into their apartment. Without a word, he settled onto the couch, Meredith sliding into his arms and sighing into contentment.

"Thank you," she whispered after a few minutes.

"For what?" Derek asked, his hands combing through the hair that he loved so much.

"For everything," Meredith whispered. "The fact that you're willing to share your family with me is so amazing. But more than that…you're going to marry me, you live with me. You love me."

"There's no need to thank me for that, Mer," he said softly. "I don't think I could stop loving you if I tried."

"Well, it's a big deal," Meredith nodded. "You don't get it. It's not a bad thing, it's actually a really good thing, but you don't get what it's like to be twenty four before you're loved. You're the first person who ever loved me, Derek, and you're really all I have. So that deserves a thank you because when I think about how I would be spending today if we'd never met…well, it's really depressing or something. So thank you. For being the first person to ever love me."

"Oh, Mer," Derek breathed, looking down at her. "You're welcome. But you make it easy to love you."

"I'm glad," she whispered.

"I think about it too, you know," he whispered.

"What?" she asked.

"Where we would be if you'd never broken up with Andrew," Derek whispered. "I tried, Mer. God, I tried so hard to get over you, to stop loving you. I really thought you were happy with him, so I tried to get over you. But now that you're here with me, now that I can hold you whenever I want…I can't even imagine how empty my life would be."

"I'm sorry," she whispered, reaching for his hand. "I hate that we lost that much time."

"Don't be sorry," Derek shook his head, watching as she played with his fingers. "As much as I hated the fact that we were apart, I think it made us stronger."

"You do?" Meredith asked, turning to look up at him.

"I really do," Derek nodded. "I missed you, Mer, so much. But I feel like now I know how much more I treasure you. Since I know how miserable it is to live without you I don't ever take you for granted anymore. Not like I ever did to begin with, but now…I make sure that I can always remember the details of our last kiss. I never leave you without telling you how much I love you. I can't just let this become routine, I love you too much for that."

"I love you too," she whispered. "Do you really do that?"

"I do," Derek smiled down at her.

"What were the details of our last kiss?" Meredith asked, a sparkle in her eyes.

"Hmm," Derek sighed, frowning as he pretended to think. "The details seem to be a bit fuzzy."

"Are they?" Meredith giggled.

"They are," Derek nodded. "Maybe we should…refresh my memory."

"I don't know if I want to kiss a man who doesn't remember kissing me," Meredith sighed dramatically.

"I think you do," Derek whispered, leaning his head down.

"I do?" she whispered, her lips millimeters from his.

"You do," Derek nodded as he pressed his lips firmly against hers, moving to lay over her on the couch.

"Hmmm," Meredith sighed against his lips. "Dirty?"

"Very dirty," he said, sitting up from the couch and pulling her to her feet. "Bedroom, Miss Grey?"

"Of course, Dr. Shepherd," she smiled as she followed him into the bedroom, laughing loudly as he threw her onto the bed. It was definitely good to be loved.