Meredith sighed as she opened the front door, stepping into her house and dropping several shopping bags onto the floor as she leaned against the now closed front door. It was two days after Christmas, and Derek's sisters had insisted on taking her shopping for maternity clothes during the post holiday sales. She had been shopping for the past three and a half hours, and although she was in her second trimester already, her back was killing her and her completely swollen stomach was straining as the muscles started to lengthen.

"Mer?" her husband's voice called as he came out of the kitchen, smiling widely. "Hey, how was shopping?"

"Good," she nodded, moving to lean her weight against him instead of the door. She pressed her lips against his before resting her head against his chest. "Although your sisters are evil."

"I've been saying that for twenty eight years," Derek laughed. "They weren't mean to you, were they?"

"Of course not," she rolled her eyes. "Just…they think they know everything about having babies. But none of them have had twins. And when Kath was in her second trimester she was barely even showing."

"Hmm," Derek sighed. "They're know it alls. Sorry. I can talk to them if you want me to."

"It's okay," she sighed, rubbing her stomach gently.

"Are the babies okay?" Derek asked, moving to his knees in front of her and lifting her shirt.

"They're good," Meredith nodded, smiling as he pressed his lips to each side of her stomach. "My stomach's just…growing."

"That it is," he smiled softly. "Hi guys. Daddy missed you today. I hope you were good for Mommy."

"What did you do today?" Meredith asked as Derek stood again and took her hand, kissing her gently.

"Went into the hospital this morning," Derek shrugged. "Then just came home, set up the office a little more."

"Hmm," Meredith nodded, leaning against him as he led her into the kitchen. "Derek," she gasped when she saw dinner sitting on the table, soft candlelight illuminating the room. "What is this?"

Derek smiled as he kissed her quickly. "We're in the second trimester now," he smiled. "You've been amazing, Mer, putting up with morning sickness and everything else, but you're feeling a lot better now, so I figured we could celebrate. Dinner, movies, whatever you want."

Meredith smiled softly. "Thank you," she whispered, pressing her lips to his. "We love you."

"I love you too," Derek said, running a hand over her bump. "All three of you. So much."

"What are we having for dinner, Daddy?" she giggled as she sat down and reached for a piece of garlic bread.

"Well, I wasn't sure what the cravings would be today," he laughed. "But I figured steak was a safe bet."

"Definitely," she giggled, reaching eagerly for a knife and fork as she dug into the plate Derek had set in front of her.

"So since you're feeling better," Derek said as he started eating as well. "I was thinking that now would be the best time to start getting ready for the babies. Or at least thinking about it."

"What do you mean?" she asked, reaching for the glass of sparkling grape juice Derek had offered her in lieu of wine.

"There's a pretty good chance you'll be put on bed rest," Derek pointed out. "And even if you're not, by the end you're going to be exhausted, Mer. Carrying two babies isn't easy. I'd really feel better if we did everything we could together, when you're still comfortable."

"Oh," she nodded, a smirk playing on her lips. "Okay." She bit into her steak again, smiling slightly at him.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Derek asked.

"I feel like I was just lectured by Dr. Shepherd," Meredith giggled. "You were using your doctor voice."

"I was not," Derek rolled his eyes. "What do you think?"

"It's a good idea," she sighed. "I don't…there's so much to do. But we have to find out the sexes first. Unless we want gender neutral stuff."

"We should paint the nursery a neutral color," she nodded. "In case it's one of each, or when we have more, we don't want to repaint it."

Derek laughed slightly. "You've been thinking about this," he said as he reached for her hand.

"I have," she blushed. "I mean, school let out a week ago and you were at stupid work until Christmas Eve, so I had lots of time to think."

"What else were you thinking about?" Derek asked, running a hand over her wedding rings.

"Well, white cribs," Meredith said. "White is happier than brown or wood or whatever. And I think we'll only need one changing table. And we should wait to fill the playroom, because they won't really be able to play with real toys for a couple years. But I want… bears."

"Bears?" Derek asked with an amused smile.

"Mmmhmm," Meredith nodded. "Teddy bears. I had a collection when I was little, but when I was six my mom threw them all out, said I was too old to play with stuffed animals."

"Oh Mer," Derek sighed, squeezing her hand.

"I don't…" Meredith looked closely at him for a moment before she said. "I don't want to be my mom, Derek."

"You won't," Derek said, shaking his head. "Meredith, you're already the most amazing mother."

"Really?" she asked, biting her lower lip.

"Really," Derek smiled. "Don't think I don't notice when you sneak onto my laptop and look up each week of your pregnancy. Or that my obgyn text has suddenly gone missing. And my favorite is the way you look down at your stomach, stroking it softly when you think no one's looking. You have this incredible secret smile, like you're sharing something with your babies, something that only the three of you know."

Meredith smiled softly as she shifted to sit in his lap. She kissed him gently, her hand moving through his hair before she whispered, "Our babies."

"Hmm?" Derek asked, looking up at her with a soft smile.

"You called them my babies," Meredith whispered. "They're ours."

"I know," Derek said with a smile, reaching out to rub her stomach softly. "God, Mer, this is so incredible."

"What?" she asked, curling her fingers around his hair.

"My babies," Derek breathed. "They're…inside of you. I've seen pregnancy a lot, Mer. I'm a doctor, I see pregnancy all the time. But it's so different when I think about the fact that my babies are inside of you, the woman I love."

Meredith smiled softly. "I know," she whispered. "It's like…I have part of you with me wherever I go."

"You do," he smiled. "You're taking care of my babies."

"They're safe, Derek," she said, holding his hand against her stomach. "They're definitely growing."

"Hmm," Derek nodded. "You know what they're doing this week?"

"What?" she asked, smiling softly.

"Their eyes are forming," Derek breathed. "And so are their vocal chords. And pretty soon they'll both have kidneys and intestines."

"Wow," Meredith breathed. "Our babies have kidneys."

"They do," Derek laughed.

Meredith sighed in contentment, leaning into her husband for a moment before she whispered, "When do you have to work again?"

"Tomorrow," he sighed.

"Oh," she nodded. "Okay."

"My next day off is the first," he sighed. "I got Christmas off, which apparently means that I have to work New Year's."

"That sucks," Meredith frowned.

"Believe me, I know," Derek sighed, leaning into her. "I'll only be on call, but…I hate the idea of not ringing in the new year with you."

"I'll probably just sleep," she sighed, rubbing her stomach. "But at least I won't be alone."

Derek laughed as he leaned down to her stomach. "You guys need to keep Mommy company on New Years," he said. "Because Daddy's job is completely stupid, and he has to work. So you have to keep her company."

"They're kind of always keeping me company," Meredith giggled.

"Shh," Derek frowned up at her. "I'm trying to have a conversation with my children."

"Who can't actually hear you yet," Meredith giggled. "Because they don't have ears."

"Doesn't mean they don't understand me," he laughed. "I'm their daddy."

"I know you are," Meredith sighed. "I'll find a way to deal with the fact that my children have an idiot as a father."

"I'm going to let that slide because you're carrying my babies."

"Good," Meredith giggled. "Can we go somewhere more comfortable?"

"Of course," Derek said, letting her stand up and following her to the hall. "Bed or couch?"

"Bed," Meredith nodded. "I don't want to move for the rest of the night."

"Are you sure you're okay?" Derek asked with a frown.

"I'm fine," Meredith said. "I have two babies inside of me, Derek. And your sisters dragged me all over Seattle to find stupid fat people jeans, so I'm tired."

"Okay," Derek nodded. "Go on up, and then I'll bring desert up to you."

"Thanks," she smiled, kissing him softly before she moved towards the stairs.

When she reached their bedroom, she dumped her newly purchased clothes on the bed and began folding them, looking down at them with a frown. "Stupid fat clothes," she muttered. She sighed as she pulled her shirt over her head, turning to look at herself in the full length mirror that hung from the back of the bathroom door. She wasn't huge yet, definitely pregnant, but she had a sinking feeling that she was going to pop very soon and then be a completely fat person.

For now, though, her stomach was swollen, and her breasts were two entire cup sizes larger. Apparently having twins meant more milk, which meant even bigger breasts, much to her husband's pleasure. She ran a gentle hand over her stomach as she turned sideways to look at herself, wondering why people hated being pregnant. Sure there had been the morning sickness and the mood swings and the getting fat, but…she loved her babies. She was willing to let them attack her body for a little while if that meant that they would be completely healthy and perfect.

"You know you're beautiful," her husband's voice came from the doorway, causing her to look at him with a wide smile.

"So I've heard," she said with a smile.

"You are," Derek said, pushing himself off the wall and moving towards her. He reached out to take her into his arms, gently rubbing her stomach. "And you're all baby."

"For now," Meredith sighed.

"You will be," Derek nodded. "You're beautiful, Mer."

"You really think so?" she whispered.

"I do," he nodded, running a hand through her hair. "These are huge," he said, running a hand over her breasts. "And amazing."

"One track mind," Meredith rolled her eyes.

"Definitely not," Derek said, running his hands down to her baby bump. "This beautiful belly is taking care of my babies." He smiled as he pressed a kiss to the right side of her stomach. "Hi Baby A," he murmured, moving to her left side and kissing that side as well. "Hi Baby B."

"They need names," Meredith murmured.

"We need to find out sexes first," Derek sighed.

"Three weeks."

"If they're not stubborn like their mother."

"Because their father is the most compliant person in the world."

"Of course," Derek nodded. "I'm perfect."

"Next time I need a good laugh I'm going to remember you saying that," Meredith said as she moved to collapse on the bed. "Where's my desert?"

"I'm not sure I want to feed you if you're just going to be mean to me," Derek said.

"Well…I don't want desert," Meredith shook her head.

"You don't?" Derek raised an eyebrow.

"Nope," Meredith shook her head. "But our babies do. And if you're going to deny your children the simple pleasures in life, that's okay. I guess."

Derek rolled his eyes as he handed her a plate of chocolate cake. "You're very good at the whole guilt trip thing," he sighed. "But you know I would never deny you anything. Especially when you're pregnant."

"I know," she giggled around her fork. "Which is why I don't feel bad asking you to get me some milk."

Derek laughed as he moved closer to kiss her quickly. "I'll be right back," he said.

"Thank you," Meredith called after him.

She smiled as she looked down at her stomach. "Your daddy's going to spoil us," she whispered. "And I'm going to take complete advantage of it, because after you're born he probably won't even remember I exist."

"That is so not true," Derek announced as he came back into the room, a tall glass of milk in his hands.

"Hmm?" Meredith asked, gulping the milk down.

"I'll never forget about you," Derek said, running a hand through her hair as he sat down beside her again.

"Really?" Meredith whispered. "Because we're going to have two babies and you're going to be a resident, and…"

"Mer, you're always going to be important," he whispered. "Our kids…they'll probably be number one, I'm not going to lie about that. But we'll still find time to be husband and wife. We can't be Mommy and Daddy all the time."

"Good," she whispered. "I'm sorry I'm going crazy."

"You're not crazy," Derek said, pulling her into his arms. "You're pregnant. And you've been handling it amazingly well."

"Well, I have an amazingly supportive husband," Meredith smiled. "Who's going to be an amazing father."

"I hope so," he sighed, shifting to rest his head against her stomach. "I love them so much."

"I know," Meredith whispered, running a hand through his hair. "I love them too. And that's what matters. We can do this."