Chapter 16 – It's a Darren
Her back was arching, her stomach was growling and she was about to start crying when Derek walked into the exam room.
Alarmed by the pain on her face, Derek hurried to the table. "What's wrong, Mer?" he asked, gently rubbing her back.
She moaned softly and leaned into him with her back, for his magical fingers.
"Is it your back?"
She nodded slowly. "And I don't even have such a big belly. It hurts so badly sometimes," she whined.
Soothing her pain, he rubbed her back, knowing exactly the spots that hurt the most. "Where's Doctor Adam? Is she done? Was I late?"
Meredith looked over her shoulder, smiling at him. "Did you choose the suit for the interview?"
Derek smiled guiltily. "Well… I was… Yeah," he finally admitted. "I am nervous. But where's your doctor?"
"She should be here any minute," she reassured him.
Derek sighed with relief. He put his hands on her shoulders and gently lowered his fingers down her shoulders and down her back.
"This feels good," she closed her eyes, moaning.
"I've heard that before," Derek laughed. He turned more serious, then, "I want you to look at the suit I picked and tell me your opinion."
"Derek," she sighed. "You should worry about all the information you have to give them. It's not that important how you look like."
Derek made a face, not very happy to hear that. "It's my first interview in the medical annals," he pointed out innocently, trying to show his modesty.
Meredith started to laugh. She shook her head. "Maybe you'll get just a small picture in the corner of a page and that will be the picture of your face."
"Seriously?" Derek smiled smugly. "We treated tumors that couldn't be operated on."
She rolled her eyes, again. "The Chief is going to give you the head of neurosurgery, now," she stated matter-of-factly. She turned to him when his fingers stopped on her back. "What?"
"Do you know anything about this?"
"No, but you've done some pretty great surgeries since you arrived here. I'd say he should."
Derek just smiled. "I don't think I want it anymore. I can be a rock star without being in the lead of my department."
Meredith looked at him, smiling pleased with the change she saw in Derek.
"Seriously," he felt the need to reassure her, misunderstanding her expression.
"I believe you," she smiled.
Doctor Adam walked into the room just then. After a short conversation about Derek's interview, she proceeded with Meredith's check.
It felt like a déjà vu for Meredith, now; all the emotions she was living, praying for her baby to be healthy.
For Derek though, this was new; he was asking questions, even he knew the answer to most of them. It was still exciting for both of them to see how much their baby had developed.
"What do the parents wish for it to be?" the doctor asked them, when she was about to show them the baby.
"It… doesn't really matter," Meredith admitted and looked over at Derek.
"I'd say a girl, but it doesn't really matter to me, either," he stated, smiling down at Meredith.
Dr. Adam chuckled. "There it is and it's a …"
"Boy!" Meredith and Derek gave the answer before Dr. Adam.
"Sorry, Daddy," Dr. Adam laughed. "Maybe next time."
Derek showed Meredith a grin as Dr. Adam said that.
"Maybe," Meredith giggled.
"He looks perfect for 22 weeks," Dr. Adam stated. "Is there anything else you need to tell me or you want to ask me?" she looked at Meredith and then at Derek.
"No. I don't think so," Meredith answered.
"Alright then. You can always page me if you need anything."
While Dr. Adam wrote in Meredith's chart, Derek helped Meredith get dressed.
"Nervous about the interview?" she asked Derek as she was about to leave.
"It's just an interview," Derek tried to look cool about it.
Dr. Adam chuckled at his modesty. Doctors from Seattle Grace had learned a little about Derek, and he wasn't always modest.
"Congratulations for it, anyway," she smiled. "And for your son," she smiled at Meredith, too.
"Thank you," Meredith smiled.
As Dr. Adam left, Meredith turned to Derek. "I am sorry if you're disappointed," she smiled sympathetically.
"Seriously?" Derek chuckled, lovingly stroking her cheek. "I am going to have a son. Any men would be proud to have so many sons. There are so many things we can do together now. I won't have to worry about neglecting Danny."
"That's a good point," Meredith agreed. "I'd eat something. Do you have some time?"
"I do," Derek grinned. "Let's go."
They left from the exam room and headed together to the elevators. They were about to step in, when Dr. Webber called Derek's name.
They turned around to see the Chief coming to them with a middle age man.
"Derek, this Mr. Bennings. He's here for the interview."
"Nice to meet you Dr. Shepherd," the man shook Derek's hand.
"Hi," Derek smiled.
"Did you have the check?" The Chief asked as he noticed Meredith there.
"It's a boy," Derek answered quickly before Meredith.
"Congratulations!" The Chief smiled, patting Derek's shoulder.
Mr. Bennings looked back and forth at Meredith and Derek, questioning with his eyes.
"This is my fiancé," Derek remembered to introduce Meredith. "Meredith Grey."
Meredith's face froze when she heard him introducing her as his fiancé, because, as far as she could remember, they hadn't even talked about marriage.
Noticing the expression on Meredith's face, Derek realized what he had just said. He smiled at her and then looked at Mr. Bennings as he talked.
"Related to Ellis Grey?" he asked Meredith.
"I am her daughter."
"I've heard about her," he stated.
Meredith just smiled. She wasn't really interested in having a conversation about her mother. Something else she had in mind.
"Actually, Dr. Grey here came with the idea," Derek stated, wanting to have Meredith's name mentioned in the interview.
"Like mother, like daughter," Dr. Webber told Mr. Bennings.
"Would you like to take part to the interview?" he asked Meredith.
Meredith couldn't give him an answer, right away. Derek came in her help, telling them, "We'll be with you in a minute."
"You'll find us in my office," Dr. Webber told them.
Derek nodded and took Meredith aside where they could talk in private.
"Your fiancé?" she questioned. "Since when? Or is it to look good in front of this guy?"
"What?" Derek laughed. He took a deep breath and became serious. "I didn't want you to find out like this. It just slipped out."
Meredith was looking at him. "Are you serious?"
"Can we not talk about this right now? It's not the place or the moment. I had something completely different in my mind about this," Derek asked. "And yes, I am serious. Now, do you want to make them wait so we can eat something?"
"No. I am good. Let's get rid of this guy."
Derek cupped her face and kissed her softly on the lips. "Don't freak out because of my intentions, ok? Don't even think about it until I don't ask you."
"You don't want me to think about your intention of proposing?"
"Meredith, please," Derek sighed. "I don't have the ring with me. I can't do it like this."
Meredith didn't know how to feel about this. She loved Derek and they made a great couple and good parents for Daniel. They were great as family, but somehow she hadn't thought about marriage.
"You haven't put your suit on," she smiled at him.
Derek chuckled, caressing her cheek. "You used to say I looked sexy in scrubs. How come you don't say that to me, now?"
Meredith laughed. "First of all, I don't think I said you looked sexy. I said you looked good in scrubs. And second of all…" she stopped as she realized she didn't know what to say. "I don't want you to get smug about it."
"Right," Derek chuckled. He took her hand and started off together to the Chief's office.
…
Meredith sat down on the floor, beside the couch and watched as Daniel played with his toy cars. Her life wasn't perfect and she didn't want it to be. She was happy just to see the bond that Derek and Daniel shared, to have Derek in her bed on nights and she was also happy just to have one more son.
She felt a soft kick in her belly and she started circling it with her hand, smiling dreamingly.
She stirred a little when Daniel crawled to her, questioning, "What is it?" He looked down at her belly, which she was still rubbing.
"The baby is moving…."
"Where?" he asked, very curious.
Meredith giggled. "In here," she answered, pointing to her belly. "Do you want to feel it?"
Daniel shook his head, but he had fixed his eyes on her belly as if he was expecting to see it moving.
"Come here," Meredith brought him by her side. "Sit here with me," she smiled down at him, wrapping an arm around him.
She put his head on her chest, still looking at the belly.
"We didn't tell you… You're going to have a baby brother," Meredith told him.
Daniel just smiled at his mother; he wasn't very excited with the idea, but he really wanted to share his mother's excitement.
"It won't be that bad," Meredith reassured him, running her fingers through his hair. "Look at the bright side… you will get more toys to play with. Besides, with two boys, you can convince your dad to take you in the woods more often."
"Why is the baby there?" he asked.
Meredith wondered how come he hadn't asked this before.
"Because it grows there … while he's a tiny baby," Meredith explained.
"How did he get in there?" he asked, very curious.
"He has always been there. Sometimes a baby decides to grow up," she found herself explaining and even surprised herself with how easy she had said it. It wasn't difficult to continue from there. "Sometimes, when Daddy is around, the baby starts growing and then it comes into the world."
"You need surgery?" he asked.
Meredith smiled. "Kind of. Yes. I need to go to the hospital; to help him come out."
Daniel smiled pitifully. "It hurts?"
Meredith wanted to laugh. "It does. A little," she lied.
Daniel watched for a moment and then smiled knowingly. "Daddy said the baby is a seed you ate."
Meredith froze, staring at Daniel. She didn't know that Derek had had this kind of talk with their son. And a seed?
"I didn't," she managed to mutter, while Daniel was patiently waiting for more explanation. "He doesn't know anything. The baby grows in me, so I know better."
Daniel listened to his mother and, in the end, approved her with a firm nod.
Meredith ran her fingers through his hair, laughing.
They heard the front door opening and Daniel jumped up on his feet.
"I am home!" Derek called from the door.
"Did you bring cheese cake?" Meredith shouted.
"It's fresh!" he answered with a chuckle.
Meredith looked at Daniel and told him, "Go bring the cheese cake."
Daniel nodded and took off with a run.
"You came to help me?" she heard Derek chuckling.
"Where's the cheese cake?" Daniel asked.
"There you go. You can take this," she heard Derek saying. "Hey…" Derek called after Daniel, who was already hurrying back into the living room, smiling widely as he brought the pack with cheese cake.
"Thank you!" Derek shouted sarcastically. "And you also missed the room!"
"Bring it in here, Derek!" Meredith told him.
It wasn't a proper manner of having dinner, but she felt so good on the floor that she thought they could make an exception, just tonight.
Daniel sniffed deeply at the box, making Meredith's stomach growl. And her appetite for cheese cake was so big… "I wouldn't recommend plastic forks, but just this time," she told Daniel, taking two forks out of the box.
Daniel grinned at his mother. Dessert before dinner was any child's dream. She motioned to him to sit down beside her, while she opened the box.
Its smell as she opened the box hit them both straight in the stomach. It wasn't nice what they were doing, but Meredith, at least, couldn't resist it.
That's how Derek found them when he came to call for their help in kitchen, devouring the cheese cake.
"Seriously, Meredith?" he scowled at her. "What's this?"
Meredith grinned. "Cheese cake?"
"You're eating it!"
"Just a little," she smiled innocently.
"This is good," Daniel stated, with his mouth full.
"And you're going to miss it if you don't join us now," Meredith smiled.
Derek stared at her, for a moment, but then he walked up to them, shaking his head with disapproval. He sat down on the floor and used Meredith's fork to take the bite. "And you're eating straight from the box."
Meredith giggled and kissed him on the cheek. "Just this time. We promise."
Derek wiped the corner of his mouth and handed the fork back to Meredith. "What am I going to do with you?"
"You'll manage," she giggled. She wanted to take another bite, but stopped before putting it into her mouth, grinning at Derek.
"What is it now?" he laughed.
"You didn't put the ring in, right? Because we might have swallowed it," she looked at him, smiling.
Derek chuckled and shook his head. "There's no point with…" he sighed and looked into the pocket of his pants. He took out a velvet box and opened it before Meredith, revealing a beautiful diamond ring. "Will you?" he asked simply.
"I will," she giggled.
Derek kissed her on the cheek and took out the ring. He took her left hand and the ring slipped smoothly down her finger. "I love you," he smiled, looking into her eyes.
She cupped his cheeks, giggling, and kissed him on the lips. "Love you, too."
He put an arm around her and held her closer, kissing her softly. For a few moments, both of them forgot they weren't alone in there. But Daniel was eating all the cheesecake, trying to hide his embarrassment from his parents.
"Did you tell him?" he asked Meredith.
"I did."
"Are you excited to have a baby brother?" Derek asked him.
Daniel nodded. "I think so. When is he coming?"
"We have to wait for a few more weeks," Meredith told him. Then she looked at Derek. "Seriously? I ate seeds?"
Derek blushed with embarrassment. "Like you would have done it better."
"I did, actually," Meredith laughed.
"Dinner, anyone?" Derek asked them.
Meredith put her head on his shoulder. "I am full."
Daniel shook his head.
"I thought so," Derek sighed. "I promise the wedding will be more romantic than this proposal."
"This is romantic," Meredith reassured him. "And how you introduced me to that reporter without me knowing that I was your fiancé… It was romantic. It was," she reassured him, when he didn't want to believe her.
