AN: Hey you guys, I'm back with the newest installment of my story. Sorry for the delay, but work is too busy at the moment. Bailey's birthday is finally here and so is the appointment with Connie. Thank you, as usual, for your continuous support. You guys are the absolute best! Enjoy chapter 14.

God put a smile upon your face

After an entire week at work, even if it had mostly been part-time, Meredith was more than ready to spend the weekend at home, hosting Bailey's second birthday party. His actual birthday had been on Tuesday, but they had decided on having the party on Sunday, that way more people would be able to attend it. Derek and Meredith had given him a brightly colored tricycle, the boy had been longing for one seeing how much Zola loved biking, and some jungle themed books. Zola had given him the stuffed animal she had gotten when she went shopping with her mom. Carolyn had bought him art supplies along a new plastic table to be placed in the playroom, this way Zola was included in the present as well. Amelia got him a big set of Lego blocks that he could share with Zola as well. Meredith and Derek both appreciated them for their thoughtfulness, but Zola wasn't actually jealous about her little brother. She had proved it to her parents by telling them "I hope Bay gets lots an' lots of pwesents an' we can also share" she grinned brightly when he was done opening gifts and the entire family bursted out laughing.

Meredith had ended up working really late on Wednesday, spending fourteen hours in the OR and getting home way after dinner. She had gotten home later than she was supposed to on Friday as well, but it was only 4 in the afternoon, she had even found the time to go shopping for last minute's supplies for the party. When she entered the house she found Derek busy playing dress up with the kids in the playroom and Carolyn reading in the living room.
"Hello dear, how are you?" her mother in law placed the book down on the coffee table and turned to look at the younger woman as she re-entered the room.
"Hi, I'm great... happy to be home for the weekend" she smiled "how are you?"
"I'm grand" Carolyn's smile reached her eyes and lit up her entire face, she took a good look at Meredith and added "I'm just so grateful to be here with you guys"
"Don't even mention it..."
"No Meredith, I insist" she smiled again and went on "it's been so nice to be able to stay here with you guys, enjoying my littlest grandkids and spending time with my only son, along with getting to know you better and see what a wonderful family you guys make... I don't think I can thank you enough"
Meredith felt at a loss of words, was this woman really complimenting her? Thanking her for being able to spend time with her family? The same woman who never really liked Addison and didn't think that she had been right for Derek. She was definitely not used to this.
Carolyn recognized her deer-in-the-highlights look and patted the younger woman warmly on the shoulder "you're also giving me the chance to spend some time with Amelia and that's another thing I should be thanking you for..."
"Well...you, you're family" she stuttered nervously.
"I'm very happy that we are" she agreed.
"And, for the record, Amy is my favorite between Derek's sisters" she added, a small smile gracing her features.
"I kind of had a feeling about that"
"Well, to be honest, I never had the chance to meet Kathleen and my encounter with Liz was really brief..."
"And I've heard that Nancy wasn't too fond of you when she came over" Carolyn grinned at her, thinking about how tough her oldest daughter could be.
"You've heard right" Meredith grimaced at the thought.
"Nancy can be hardheaded and difficult to please, plus she's always been a big friend of Addison" Carolyn tried to defend her daughter "I know she was surprised when the two of them broke up, we all were because we never had any suspicions that something was wrong" she paused for a little while and took Meredith's hand into hers "I'm sure she'll change her mind once she comes visit and sees how happy you guys are"
The younger woman swallowed slowly and gave a weak smile "do you really think so?" her voice sounded small.
"Yes I do, I've been here for almost two months already and I've seen the two of you together. You two complete each other and you are also amazing parents. I know it's hard work with the demands of your jobs, but you're doing an awesome job. I'm so proud of you both, I just wish Christopher could have met you..."
"I know Derek and Amy miss him terribly" it was Meredith's turn to take the other woman's hand into hers.
"So do I..." Carolyn dried a lone tear with the back of her sleeve and smiled once more "it's been 30 years already..."
"Yeah, Derek told me..."
"I never even thought about finding someone else, you know?"
"Why? If you don't mind me asking"
"At first I was just too busy, you know? Five kids, I restarted working full time and then...well, then I just got used to be by myself. I still don't sleep on his side of the bed"
"You clearly loved each other very much, Derek showed me a couple of pictures...I hope our bond is just as strong"
"I'm sure it is, as I already told you I've been looking at you and your deep affection for one another is evident, I'm really happy he came over here and found you"
"I'm happy too" Meredith paused, unsure about how to go on "for a very long time I wasn't sure I would have the chance to have a family of my own...with my family history" she scrunched her nose, scratching it with her hand "but then your son waltzed in my life and everything changed" she grinned, reminding their first meeting.
"I'm really glad dear" Carolyn gave her a one armed hug and then she changed the subject "did you find everything we need to make cupcakes and cookies?!"
"I sure did"
"Did someone mention cookies?!" Derek entered the living room with the kids in tow.

"Aren't you supposed to be a health nut?!" Meredith was quick to chastise him.

"Well...I might be, but still love my mom's cookies"

"An' so do we mommy" Zola grinned sweetly at the two women, Bailey nodding by her side.

"We're going to bake cookies and cupcakes for the party on Sunday" Carolyn explained to the kids.

"Yay, my pawty?"

"Yes, your party Mister... I still can't believe you're already two years old..." Meredith mused out loud as she looked at her two kids.

As expected Sunday morning proved itself to be quite hectic with all the party preparations to complete. After breakfast Meredith, Carolyn and Amy started baking the cupcakes and cookies, with Zola's help. Alex came over to pick up Derek and Bailey in order to go get the cake they had ordered at a bakery downtown and grab something the seven of them could have for a quick lunch. Callie, Arizona, Sophia, Jo, Bailey, Ben and Tuck arrived at 1 o' clock to help out with the party preparations. It was a gorgeous day, the sky was clear and blue and the air smelled sweet and summery; the kids were going to be able to play outside for the entire afternoon. When the party started, at 2:30 p.m., Bailey was already busy running around with his sister, Sophia and Tuck, playing tag.

"Bailey, sweetie, come say hello to your friends" Meredith came over to call him and the two-years-old happily obliged. All the kids that he had invited from daycare had come to the party, including his best friends Daniel and Nicholas. Meredith and Derek had also invited some friends of Zola, and Sophia, and soon the group of 15 kids was having lots of fun playing in the area of the garden that they had set up as a playground. The oldest ones were taking turns on the swings and the slide, while the youngest ones were playing in the sand box and the merry-go-round. Laughter could be heard all over the garden as kids with ages ranging from 2 to 9 ran around and played hard. The adults took turns to check up on the kids, making sure than nobody was getting hurt while playing and that none of the kids was playing too rough.

"Mama, can we go swimmin'?" Zola's question to Meredith came sort of unexpected and the woman turned around to find her little girl and Sophia both sporting identical pleading looks in their eyes.

"Sweetie I'm sorry, but we told you and your brother that the pool won't be ready for another week" Meredith reminded her.

"Oh, that's right..." Zola looked sad, but cheered up almost immediately "does that mean that Soph can come over nex week'nd?!"

"We should ask that to her moms" it was Derek who answered, pointing to Callie and Arizona.

"Pwetty please?" both kids wore that same pleading look they had worn moments before.

"What are you guys up to?" Arizona grinned at the pair.

"Can I come swim with Zola an' Bay next week'nd?" Sophia gave both of her moms her best smile.

"I'm on call next weekend, so it's really up to you" Callie reminded her ex wife.

"I don't see why not" Arizona gave the girls her infamous smile and the two of them high-fived.

"Let's go back on the swin" Zola took Sophia's hand into hers and the two of them ran away grinning.

"I hope it's fine by you" Arizona added turning to face Meredith and Derek.

"More than fine, don't worry...if the day is nice we might to another barbecue" Derek gestured to the grill where they were going to grill for an early dinner followed by birthday cake.

"Sounds fun" Callie smiled.

"You're welcomed to come, as soon as you're done at work"

"I might take you up on that"

By four o' clock some of the kids were beginning to get tired with all the running around, so the adults called them up to the table in order for them to get a drink and pick between a cupcake or a cookie to have as a snack. After they had all eaten they were divided in two teams to play a game of treasure hunt. Each team picked an adult captain. Bailey and his team chose Owen, while the other team, that included both Zola and Sophia, picked Alex. The game kept them well occupied for almost an hour and, by the time Bailey's team had won, it was time for the birthday boy to open his presents. While he busied himself with the brightly wrapped boxes, surrounded by his guests, the men started the grill and got ready to barbecue. Alex, Owen and Jackson prepped the meat and the bread while Derek, Ben and Richard cut up vegetables and prepped the veggie burgers. As soon as Bailey was done opening presents, Meredith sent him in the house with a couple of his friends and Amy to place the presents in his room. In the meantime she picked up the trash while Carolyn, Callie and April set the table. Dinner was ready at 6 and all kids decided to have a picnic on the blankets that had been set up by Arizona and Jo, leaving the adults room to eat quietly at the table. When everyone was done eating, Meredith and Carolyn went to get the birthday cake. It was decorated with a big number 2 and the writing HAPPY BIRTHDAY BAILEY. Everyone sang to him and, when they were done, he blew on the candles with his parents' help as Amelia snapped tons of pictures.

"Did you make a wish buddy?"

He nodded at his dad as his mom was cutting the cake and his sister had come over to give him a fierce hug that was captured by Amelia, just like the rest of the party had been. When his friends left it was around 8 and he stood there handing out party flavors. It was a paper bag containing a cupcake and a cookie, both homemade, along with Madagascar themed stickers and a set of crayons.

"Did you like your party, Bay?" it was Meredith who asked him once they were in the living room; Callie, Arizona, Sophia, Richard, Owen, Alex and Jo were the only ones left.

" 'twas the bes mama" he yawned

"Are you sleepy kiddo?" Amelia asked the obvious.

"Yeah" he yawned once more and everyone in the room laughed.

"Come on, let's go take a bath and then mama and I will read you a story" Derek got up and Bailey followed him without protesting.

"He must be really exhausted, I've never seen a two-years-old so willing to go to bed" Callie snorted humorously.

"He's been awake since 9 this morning and he didn't take any nap" was Meredith's answer.

"Makes sense"

"You're next, miss. When daddy is done with Bailey you're taking a bath as well" Meredith looked at Zola, engrossed in a conversation with Sophia.

"Okay" she agreed, stifling a yawn, much like Sophia was doing.

"Soph, we should get going to" Arizona said, looking at Callie who just nodded.

All their friends left, leaving Carolyn, Amelia and the family of four. When Derek was getting Bailey ready for bed Meredith took Zola for her bath and then the four of them snuggled on the king sized bed of the master bedroom to read a story together. The day had definitely been perfect.

The following Tuesday, at 11 a.m. Meredith and Derek were nervously waiting for her name to be called for the appointment with Meredith's OB-Gyn to confirm her pregnancy.

"Dr. Grey" Connie's assistant called them "Dr. Ryan will see you now" she pointed to the room behind her desk and the two of them got up and hurried to the office.

"Hi Meredith, Derek..." Connie smiled at them and gestured to the two empty seats in front of her "how are you recovering from the accident?" she turned to look at Derek as he tried to settle down comfortably on the chair.

"Better everyday" he smiled back "the leg still bothers me a little, but I'll get rid of this cast soon enough"

"Glad to hear that... how are the kids?"

"They're both doing great, Bailey just turned two years old"

"Wow, two already. Seems like yesterday that he decided to come into this world during that dreadful storm"

"Let's not remember that, shall we?" Meredith still felt nervous whenever she thought about that. Connie started the visit by weighing her and taking some notes about how she was feeling. After they were done a nurse came and drew her blood "I'm going to call you up tomorrow so we can discuss the results" she said as the two of them nodded "why don't you take off your clothes and put on the gown while I write you down the prescription for the prenatal vitamins?"

Meredith went behind the curtain and emerged dressed in the white hospital gown, she sat on the bed and placed her legs in the stirrups. Derek got up and went to sit by her side, right in front of the ultrasound machine.

"Ready to take a peek at your baby?" Connie asked as she went to stand by Meredith's other side.

They just nodded, both feeling nervous all of a sudden.

"Remember that the gel is going to be cold" Connie said before spreading the substance on Meredith's abdomen. She soon followed with the transducer and shuffled it around her stomach until she settled on a spot and a woosh-woosh sound filled the entire room.

"This is your baby's heartbeat" she told them, but they were not even listening, both of them were too engrossed in the screen showing them the life they had created together.

"Looks like Bailey wasn't your only miracle after all" she quietly added as Meredith and Derek's eyes filled with happy tears "let me print you a copy"

Derek just stared at Meredith's happy face and closed the distance between them "I love you much"

"So do I Derek..."

So here was chapter 14, I hope you enjoyed it, I think this was my longest chapter so far. I will do my best to update before the end of this week, hopefully work will slow down a little. Drop me a line and let me know what you thought of this update.