Chapter 7 – You're in trouble

"Damon?" Meredith was surprised to see Damon at the hospital. The only times he came were with Daniel visiting his Mommy. Nothing wrong had happened, she told herself as Damon was standing at the nurses' station, looking as if he was having a nice chat with Cristina.

Damon propped his elbow on the counter as he turned and waited for her to approach. "Someone has guests!" he beamed.

"And someone's too indiscreet," she copied the tone of his voice, laughing in the end. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to see if I can return home or not."

Meredith smiled ironically. "You know you have no other place to go, so I won't beg or even ask."

Damon just returned the smile.

"When is he leaving?" Cristina asked.

"I don't know," Meredith shrugged, drawing imaginary lines with her foot.

"You didn't ask?"

"I did, but he said he wanted to stay a couple of days. He didn't say how many days."

"Interesting," Damon mumbled meditatively.

"Don't play smart, Damon," Meredith frowned.

"Doesn't he have a girlfriend with a ring on her finger and planning a wedding?" he asked.

Meredith sighed. Derek's gestures had confused her, lately. "She must be very understanding. And probably a good step-mom for Daniel."

"But you two haven't..." Cristina suggestively lifted her brows, "you know... yet."

"No!" Meredith frowned, as if that thought was disgusting her.

"But you'd like it, wouldn't you?" Cristina seemed to challenge her to get into intimate details.

"Why are we talking about me?" she managed to avoid the answer. "How was your Christmas?" she asked Damon.

"Boring," he answered, bored. "So I ate a lot. How was yours?" he asked back and a crooked smile crept on his lips.

"Cristina?" Meredith turned to her friend.

"It was... ok. It could have been more exciting, but... I am not complaining. How about yours?"

Meredith sighed. "It was g... good," she didn't dare to admit it had been great. "They played with the train all day and I watched them."

"What else..."

"Just a second," Damon interrupted Cristina. "I bought Danny a train, too."

Meredith chuckled knowingly. "Not the same with Derek's," she reassured him.

"Yes, well, I am not a neurosurgeon." He rolled his eyes back.

"I am not sure if it was still working last night. Derek fussed around it for almost an hour. Danny will like yours, too."

"What else happened yesterday?" Damon insisted. "Because if you just watched them as they played, then you had a boring Christmas, just like us, but you said it was good, though you wanted to say 'great' at first, so something 'good' must have happened."

"And here we are talking about me, again."

"You're the one that has a kid whose father showed up like a knight in the sunset," Cristina pointed out.

Damon moved closer, his arm suggestively rubbing against hers, asking her nicely to tell.

"Ok," she gave in. She needed to talk about this to someone, anyway. "We kissed. I mean we kissed like... kissing, once. But he keeps kissing me on the cheek and he rubs my arm and hugs me as if we're a couple. Isn't it strange?" she asked. "What is he doing?"

Damon and Cristina looked at each other.

"Do you think he still has feelings for me?"

"Or he tries to impress you and melt you somehow to make up for the time he was absent," Damon answered.

"Or he tries to test you and see if you still have feelings for him." Cristina added.

"Or maybe he's just a loving guy. He was loving to you when you were together, wasn't he?" Damon asked.

Meredith looked back and forth at her friends. "Or I just need to tell him to stop, other way I will send Damon to kick his ass."

"Or you can do that," Damon nodded, and Cristina agreed with him.

"How about you?" he asked her.

Meredith glanced towards him and took a moment before she answered, giving the others time to make an idea of her answer. "Me? I... I am emotionally unstable," she stuttered a little and then looked ashamed at her friends, whispering, "I haven't had sex for a while now."

"So?" Cristina encouraged her.

"I wouldn't mind taking care of a baby girl, too," Damon replied jokingly.

As encouraging her friends were and as tempted she was, Meredith knew it was wrong. She shook her head, stating, "I need to start dating."

Her friends laughed at her.

"You should try it. It's interesting," Cristina declared.

Thoughtful, Meredith just nodded. "I don't want to get into trouble with Derek. I need to get back to work and get my thoughts off him," she stated. She nodded, approving herself and turned to leave, aimlessly waving to her friends.

Immediately she realized something. Cristina never dated, so how could she know that dating was interesting. "Cristina," she stopped and turned around to ask her friend a few questions, but she was shocked to see that neither Damon nor Cristina were anywhere in the sight. "How did they vanish like that?"

---

"Oh no!" Daniel came by Derek's side, taking his hand as they looked at the pieces of broken window. "You're in trouble," he told Derek, looking up at him.

"Me?" Derek asked, amused with the serious look on his face. "We played together with the ball, Danny."

Daniel became a little worried. "But I am not my fault."

Derek sighed, nodding. "It's not your fault, because I let you play inside." He ran his fingers through his hair, trying to figure out what he had to do now. He had to keep Daniel away from the broken glass and, spotting the sun outside, he suggested, "Go take a ride with the bike outside, ok?"

Daniel nodded. His father dressed him and brought the bike in the backyard, letting Daniel play outside while he cleaned the mess and looked for a carton to cover the window with, to keep the cold coming inside. Luckily, they hadn't disposed the cardboard from Daniel's train, yet, and Derek found the perfect temporary solution to his problem. Of course, he also had to find the best explanation to give Meredith when she would see that.

He had just finished covering the window when Daniel rode in on his bike, leaving trails of dirt on the clean floor. "Daniel," Derek saw him getting off and leaving the bike parked in a corner.

"Done," he smiled contently at his father. "I am hot," he winced as he pulled the hat off his head.

"Daniel," Derek sighed as he walked up to him, to help him undress. "Why did you bring the bike inside. Look at the mess. Whose fault is it now?"

Daniel looked at the trails made with the bike and then smiled innocently at Derek. "I clean all."

"Do you?" Derek asked, amused.

Daniel nodded convincingly and ran off once his warm clothes and shoes were taken away by his father.

Derek let out another sigh. They had started the morning so smoothly, with Daniel crawling in bed with him and snoozing together a few more minutes, they had breakfast together and Derek told him stories from his childhood, as well as Daniel told stories of him and Tuck, and they had had a fun morning, until now, when he seemed to lose control over handling Daniel. He took Daniel's bike back outside, leaving it there for later to clean. Sending Daniel outside after 2 days of rain, hadn't been that smart of him, as playing football inside wasn't either.

He was walking back into the house when another sight stirred him. Daniel had brought a soaked rag to clean the floor with.

The boy smiled proudly at his father as he stopped at the dirty place. He knelt and the rag splashed the floor with water, making a puddle in that spot.

Derek nodded, resigned. "Let me do it, Danny," he offered. "You can go and play. Preferably on the couch, where I can see you."

Daniel stood up, wiping his hands on his clothes.

Derek nodded again. Of course he had to do that. "Actually," he said, standing up, too. "Let's clean you and settle you somewhere." He took him upstairs and changed his clothes, making him choose a few toys to take with him downstairs, and after he put Daniel on the couch, he returned to the unfinished work. He had to get the house clean, at least; a broken window was a disaster enough.

He managed to wipe the floor, clean the bike and pull the curtain over the window. He sat down in the couch, beside his son, exhausted. This was his first day alone with his son and he managed to mess everything up. Derek smiled as he watched Daniel wheeling a car between them. Daniel was a good son, he just had to be handled with care.

Derek checked his watch. It was a little until lunch time, but enough for doing something with his son. "What do you want to do now?" he asked him.

Daniel looked up and stayed thoughtful for a moment only, because he smiled as an idea struck him. "Let's race," he suggested.

"Race? Danny, I don't know if running around the house is a good idea."

"No, no. I have cars," he answered and climbed down to run out.

Derek had no other idea what to do, but wait and see what exactly Daniel had in his mind.

"Daddy!" he heard him calling from upstairs. He got up quickly to go and see what he was doing.

Daniel was still in his room, with two big cars on the bed and two remote controls. "Are those your racing cars?" Derek asked.

"Yes," Daniel smiled. He picked one of the cars, tucked it in the curve of his arm and took the remote control, too. "Take," he held them up to Derek.

"Is this mine?"

"Uh-huh," he nodded and ran back to the bed to pick his. "Ready?" he smiled, excited.

"Ready," Derek approved.

Daniel giggled, delighted with the new game to play with his father. They went downstairs and there they decided over the start and finish line. When everything and everyone was set, Derek announced the start. Daniel's car went ahead, while Derek's stayed behind because he had to get used to the remote control first. At the first curve, Derek's car hit the wall and rolled over. Daniel stopped suddenly, looking accusingly at his father.

"Play nice," he scolded.

"Sorry," Derek apologized, rolling back his eyes at Daniel's tragic expression.

Daniel went to put carefully the car back on the wheels and then ran back to Derek's side, ready to start over. They returned at the start line and the cars drove away in the same time. The race was tight until they left the leaving room, but Daniel's slowed down a little on the hall when one of the wheels hit the carpet. Derek noticed the frustration on his son's face, but also his determination to win.

Derek's car reached the finish line, at the front door, first. Daniel was a little behind him and stopped his car when he saw his father winning. He picked his car and turned around, pouted for losing.

"Danny," Derek went after him. "It was a race."

Daniel frowned at him. "Again," he mumbled.

Derek smiled and accepted another race. They returned at the start line and the race started. This time, it was tight for a longer distance, but Derek seemed to control the car better in curves and so he managed to leave Daniel behind, again.

This time, Daniel didn't wait to see his father finishing first. He stopped his car and picked it up, going back in the living room.

Derek stopped his car, too, when he saw Daniel leaving. "Don't tell me you're upset," he laughed. "What's wrong?" He found Daniel sitting beside the couch, pouted for losing again. "You didn't even finish the race."

"Go away," Daniel mumbled grumpily.

"Danny," Derek sat down beside him, ready to have a talk to his son. "You can't quit when the race is still running or when things don't go very well. Let's have another race."

"No," Daniel seemed to be listening to his dad, but he wasn't fully convinced.

Derek noticed that and tried harder. "It's shame to lose quitting. You need to fight until you cross the finish line. Do you know who people laugh of? Of people who quit, not of those who finished last."

Daniel looked up at his dad, with sad eyes. "Let's race again," he said quietly.

Derek smiled, proud of his son's decision. "And remember, we still have fun even if we don't win, ok?"

Daniel nodded. This time, to encourage him and prove his words were right, Derek let Daniel win the next race. Now that he finally managed to win, Daniel didn't want to play more, so Derek let him do what he wanted while he went to prepare lunch.

When he came back to call him to lunch, Derek found Daniel sitting in front of the TV, watching cartoons. "Danny, come. Let's eat something."

Daniel made a grimace and glanced at his dad, hesitating. The cartoons were captivating and didn't feel like trading them for food.

"Come," Derek held out his hand.

"But..." Daniel mumbled, pointing to the TV.

"No, but. Lunch is ready. We have to eat. Come," Derek called him again.

Daniel knelt on the couch and turned to look at his dad, with pleading eyes. "I am not hungry."

"Daniel, we're not arguing over this," Derek told him, but then he made the mistake, "Are you coming or not?"

Daniel looked at him as he asked that and waited a moment before he answered with a shake from his head. He sat back down and turned his attention to the TV, now that he won against his father.

Derek stared bewildered at his son. He hadn't seen him misbehaving like this before. "I am waiting for you in the kitchen," he told him softly. He didn't want to yell at him or start a fight, because their relationship was still fragile and he didn't want to break what he had managed to build so far.

He went back in the kitchen to put food in plates and waited for Daniel to come in. He hoped he would show up and he wouldn't have to go after him, again, because that meant he had to do something about that.

Derek gave Daniel 5 more minutes, but since he didn't seem to show up any time soon, Derek went back to him. Daniel was still in the couch, watching the same cartoons.

Derek folded his arms across his chest, adopting a superior attitude toward his son. "Ok Daniel. You know that if you don't come right in this second to eat, you won't eat anything until dinner."

Daniel looked at his dad, very relaxed. "I am not hungry," he repeated.

"Ok. Then you won't eat anything until dinner," Derek stated and also walked up to the couch. He picked up the remote control and turned the TV off. "And you're not allowed to watch TV either."

Daniel furrowed his brows, glaring at him.

"Do not frown at me. I told you something and you have to listen to me."

Daniel shook his head.

"Yes, you do," Derek contradicted. "Because I am..." he stopped before saying the words 'your father'. He anticipated how everything could go after that and the last thing he wanted was to hear his son disowning him as father. "You're grounded. Go to your room," Derek told him.

Daniel stared at him for a moment, while the glare turned into sadness. And to Derek's surprise, Daniel got off the couch and left the room, to go upstairs. He couldn't be that upset, Derek hoped.

Derek sighed and sat down. He was exhausted and the day wasn't over, yet.

---

Meredith had a hard, exhausting day at work. All she wanted was to get home, spend a little time with her son and then take a bubble bath.

When she arrived home, Meredith didn't notice the silence and the poor light inside, at first. But when Daniel didn't show up running to her, Meredith started to pay more attention around her.

"Hey," Derek came to greet her, instead.

Meredith smiled and looked around. "Where's Danny?"

"Upstairs," he answered. "Tired?"

"Exhausted," she nodded.

"Come in the kitchen. I made tea."

Meredith nodded and slowly followed him. "Why are the lights off?" she asked.

"Economy," Derek answered.

Meredith smiled, curious with his answer. "Is Damon home?"

"No."

"No? Strange," she muttered.

They walked in the kitchen and Derek held a chair out for her.

"You're very helpful this evening."

"Doing my best," he smiled genuinely.

"How was your day?" she asked before she sipped from her cup of tea.

"Exhausting."

Meredith smiled and nodded knowingly. "What's he doing upstairs?" she asked about Daniel.

Derek played with his cup and watched it as he answered quietly, "Sulking. He's grounded."

"He's what?" Meredith almost spit the tea. "Why?"

"We had a little fight at noon when he didn't want to come and have lunch."

Meredith shook her head, disapproving. Derek still had a lot to learn about Daniel.

"And..." Derek said hesitatingly.

Meredith looked up, already horrified.

"There has been a small accident," he admitted quietly.

Meredith turned pale. "Why is he in his room?" she demanded.

Derek noticed the color on her face, just then. "He's fine. Nothing happened to him. He's grounded, so I sent into his room.

Meredith furiously punched him in the shoulder. "Then speak up like a grown-up, Derek."

"I broke a window," he said quickly.

She stared at him, bewildered.

"He was pretty handful today," Derek tried to excuse himself, taking advantage of Meredith's silence. And he went on with all the events during the day.

In the end, Meredith stared for a moment longer before she punched him in the shoulder, again.

Derek whimpered and rubbed the spot, but he didn't dare to protest.

"Seriously, Derek. I wasn't expecting you to do it well, but I thought you had the minimum of knowledge of how to take care of a child," she scowled at him. She wasn't shouting, but she was nervous. That wasn't the evening she had hoped for.

"I don't know what was wrong with him today," Derek replied.

That put an end to Meredith's calm. She punched him again and started lecturing, "There isn't anything wrong with him. You're the one with problems. Daniel is a kid and therefore he's always handful, but of course you don't know that because you weren't here."

"Mer..."

"Do not 'Mer' me!" she spat. "You have to right to call me that. I am not your anything. Did you know that a couple of months ago, Daniel found out how fun it was to draw on the walls? Damon had to re-paint the whole house."

Damon's name didn't do very well to Derek, either. "And again, Damon. Sweet Damon," he replied sarcastically.

"What is your problem with Damon?"

"My problem is that you always have to bring him up in our talk. Even..."

"Of course I am doing it, because he's been here in all this time and he knows more about Daniel than you do."

"I don't want to argue with you," Derek realized that a fight wouldn't ease the situation. Besides that, nothing bad or serious had happened to Daniel and Meredith was just nervous after a hard day.

Meredith looked away, slowly calming down. "There's another drawing of Daniel's behind his closet, because the next day after the paint dried, he drew again on it. This time we decided to cover it with the closet. So, we can expect him to do worse, any day. That's what he does. But he's not mischief and I never had to ground him. He doesn't always come to dinner when I call him, but he knows that he has to so he shows up, sooner or later. If you argue with him and don't stay firm, he knows he might have a chance to win over you; which is exactly what I think has happened with you today. If he doesn't show up at dinner, you just pick him up and bring him at the table. You will see he doesn't fight or argue. He sits and eats." She took a deep breath and ran her fingers through her hair. "So he hasn't eaten anything since this morning?"

"I took lunch in his room," he answered quietly.

"And playing inside with the ball, Derek?"

"I will replace it tomorrow," he reassured her.

"Of course you will. I assume that you didn't go and fix the plumbing to the other house."

"Tomorrow, I promise."

Meredith shook her head. In that moment, she felt like she had two little boys in her care.

"I am sorry," he apologized sincerely.

"I am sorry, too," she apologized back. "And please get over your problem with Damon. He won't go away just because you showed up."

Derek remembered what Tucker Bailey had told him the previous day and just then he realized what he could mean with those words. "What happened a few months ago?" he asked her, determined to find out.

"What?" she asked confused.

"Something happened with Daniel? Tucker said something..." he stopped as he saw that Meredith realized what he was talking about.

She sighed and nodded. "Danny is a smart kid and... I guess he knew not to ask for his daddy, but..." she paused again, looking for the right words. "He spends a lot of time with Tuck and his dad and I think you know how smart he is, already. Damon told me everything."

They heard little steps walking slowly on the stairs and coming to the kitchen. He stopped in the doorway and looked guiltily at his mother.

Meredith smiled softly and motioned for him to come to her.

Daniel quickly ran into his mother's arms. "I heard something about you and I am not happy. Is it true?"

The boy looked down, guilty.

"Did you apologized to daddy for not listening to him?"

Daniel shook his head and glanced towards Derek, muttering, "Sorry."

"Apologies accepted," Derek smiled reassuringly.

"You know you have to listen to the people that take care of you," Meredith told him.

Daniel nodded slowly.

"You're still grounded for this, so no TV and no bedtime story tonight."

Daniel played with his fingers, pouted, and accepted the punishment without any comment.

The spirits calmed down during dinner time and they even managed to laugh at the events during the day, because despite Meredith's outburst, nothing serious had happened. After a little time spent together, it was time for Daniel to go to sleep.

While Meredith tucked Daniel in, Derek made sure he made up to Meredith for the broken window and for how he handled Daniel. When she returned into her room, Meredith heard the water pouring in her bathroom and Derek's shadow as he walked around.

"What are you doing in my bathroom?" she asked, visibly frustrated. "We need to talk," she stated seriously.

Derek looked at her, puzzled.

"Don't give me this confused look, because you know what I am talking about," she frowned accusingly.

Derek was still clueless.

"You need to stop being charming with me. You're no longer McDreamy to me. You can't be."

"But I didn't... do anything," Derek seemed not to know what she was talking about.

"How about all the kissing and the hugging? And this?" she pointed to the bubble bath.

Derek understood just then. "I... don't know what to say about that."

That wasn't the answer she had expected. "Then..." but she had troubled finding the words for a reply.

"I won't do it again," he said. "If it bothers you."

Meredith nodded slowly.

"You still haven't told me what happened a few months ago," he reminded her and he really wanted to find out.

Meredith shut the water. They heard a car stopping in front of her house.

"Damon is home," she told herself.

"He found the way back home," Derek stated quietly and disappointingly.

She looked at him with a glare.

"I am joking," he said quickly, showing a genuine smile.

"Daniel decided Damon to be his daddy," Meredith told him. "But that lasted a day only, because we explained him the situation." She noticed the frustration on Derek's face. "So ever since, Damon is his best friend. None said it would be easy for you, Derek. I told you this, already."

"I know," he admitted.

A short silence fell between them.

"Thanks. For the bubble bath."

Derek squeezed her hand, smiling.

"See?" she pulled her hand back. "This is what I am talking about."

Derek became aware of his gesture. "Yeah. I don't know. Sorry," he mumbled.

"It's fine," she forgave him.

"I leave you enjoy your bath, now. I will be guarding your bedroom door."

"Derek," Meredith laughed.

"Sorry. Again," he chuckled.

"Do you still love her?" Meredith froze as she realized she had let the question slip out.

Derek turned to her, surprised. He allowed himself a moment of thinking and admitted in the end, "I don't know." He smiled and waved at her before he walked out of the bathroom, closing the door behind him.