"You've had a long day, and Chrissy is finally asleep. You should both go over to the apartment for dinner. I made salad and lasagna for dinner for the two of you. You can heat the lasagna up in the oven. You'll also find my famous brownies for dessert," recommended Carolyn. She knew both Derek and Meredith had been drained first by their meeting with Dr. Barkley and then by devoting themselves to giving Chrissy a fun afternoon and evening.

"That's very sweet. But I like to stay with Chrissy when she starts a new round of chemo," said Meredith.

"You can come back after dinner. You need a break. I'll call you if she wakes up and asks for you. The apartment is just across the street; I think it's closer than Joe's."

"Come on, Meredith, you need a break, and my mom's lasagna is terrific."

"I know. She's made some for me. Okay."

Meredith accompanied Derek across the street. She was curious about the apartment. When Carolyn first arrived, they had spent some time pouring over home decorating magazines and brochures when Chrissy was sleeping. But Carolyn had never told her about her final decisions.

Derek had the penthouse apartment, on the 16th floor, and, after walking through a small hall decorated with what appeared to be Shepard family photos, they entered the living room, which had a great view. Meredith noted that Carolyn had chosen the furniture Meredith had liked, some from Pottery Barn and some from Pomponoosac Mills, and that posters of illustrations from children's books and Disney movies were plastered on the walls. She saw that Carolyn had blow up Derek's first selfie with Chrissy to poster size and hung it on the wall above the fireplace.

"I see you have a great view here."

"It was the only apartment available in this building, and I thought it would be great to be right across from the hospital." Derek went into the kitchen and put the lasagna in the oven to warm up. He took out the salad and placed it in serving bowls, and then put it on the table.

"I notice your Mom set the table for two."

"Yes, she was thinking ahead."

"Well, you were lucky the penthouse was available and not just a studio apartment."

"Yes, I was lucky. By the way, the building does allow pets."

"Derek, I've read the literature on pets and chemotherapy, and medical professionals don't recommend getting a new pet when a patient is in treatment. So I wouldn't dream of getting a pet until Chrissy is done with her treatment."

"She's going to have to stay out of school for a long time after she finishes treatment. It might be nice for her to have a pet to keep her company."

"I'm sure she would love a pet. And I'd be happy to get one for her, if Dr. Barkley says it's safe. My first concern is her health."

"I know, and I agree."

"Besides, the only time we shared a pet, it didn't work out so well."

"Doc was a great dog, but he was an older dog. I would get Chrissy a puppy or a young dog."

"Puppies are a lot of work. As a single mom, I've found dealing with just one child to be tough."

"Now you have me to help."

"Derek, you've taken a three month leave. You have a job in New York. You can't walk the dog and live in New York."

"Meredith, I took the leave because I wanted to be here with Chrissy, and spend as much time as possible with her. And with family leave, my insurance continues. But it's possible that I'll stay here when my leave ends."

"Possible?"

Derek smiled. "Well, I did have another idea for making Chrissy happy."

"What is it?"

"Well, it's up to you," he said shyly. "But I think she would like to see her parents get married. She'd be a beautiful flower girl."

"You're being ridiculous, Derek. I'm not getting married just to make my daughter happy, no matter how sick she is." Meredith was shocked.

"We could win the bet. I understand that there's a bet that we'll be together by New Year's." Derek said with a smile.

"And I'm not getting married because of a bet."

"How about because I love you?"

"Derek, don't be ridiculous. You only came back here for Chrissy, not me." Meredith said firmly.

"I should never have left. I should never have chosen Addison."

"Even after you were divorced, you stayed in New York."

"True. Addie told me to go after you; she knew I still loved you. But I was embarrassed. I had made a bad decision, and I was afraid you'd reject me. Maybe you found someone else."

"The only person I found was Chrissy."

"I still can't believe no one told me about her. I looked for you at conferences. I saw Shadow Shepard a couple of times at neuro conferences, and I even asked about you, but he said nothing about Chrissy."

"What did he say?" said Meredith. Shadow Shepard had reported to her about these encounters with Derek.

"He said that if I wanted to know about you, I should speak to you myself." All of a sudden, Derek realized that Shadow Shepard had been giving him a clue. "And I guess it's my fault I didn't follow up and speak to you myself."

"True that."

The buzzer rang, indicating that the lasagna was ready. Derek got up to get the lasagna, and he served it to Meredith and himself.

"Your mom is a great cook," said Meredith after having a few bites.

"Yes, I was really lucky. We had a home-cooked meal for dinner almost every night. I'd say that my mom would be a reason to marry me, but I think she's already adopted you as a daughter."

"That's what she's told me. She has been a great help with Chrissy."

"She's a terrific grandmother. We're very lucky."

"Well, Susan would do more if I let her. She's a pretty decent step-grandmother. But Ellis would have been a terrible grandmother if she lived, and Thatcher still hasn't shown up for Chrissy."

"My dad would have been wonderful," said Derek, sadly.

"I'm sure he would have been," said Meredith.

"And you are a fabulous mother."

"I'm sure that Addison would be a great mother, too," said Meredith.

"Yes, she will be," Derek said with a smile. "She's remarried and she's pregnant. I'm happy for her, but we weren't working as a married couple. Our problems started before I met you, so it has nothing to do with you. But I fell in love with you, madly and passionately."

"And you chose Addison."

"I'm so sorry. And I was so wrong. I've always tried to do the right thing, but I hurt you and I hurt Addison and I hurt myself. And I hurt Chrissy. She deserved having a mom and dad together from the start. But we can fix it now. I love you." He looked Meredith in the eyes, and he went to kiss her. He started kissing her slowly, but she responded and they kissed for several minutes. "I love you Meredith, and I want to marry you," he said softly.

"Derek, we had two great months together more than four years ago. That doesn't mean . . ."

"Yes," Derek interrupted, "but we still feel passion for each other, can you deny that you that?"

Meredith looked at him and stayed silent.

"I didn't think so. We have great chemistry together. We should be together."

"But right now we have a sick child."

"I know, Mer."

"But what if"

"Don't go there," said Derek, knowing what she was going to say. "No matter what happens, I love you, and we belong together." He got up and cleared the table. "And now it's time for Mom's brownies. Let's go in the living room." He went into the living room and sat on the couch, putting a plate full of brownies on the wooden coffee table. Meredith sat next to him, and he put his arm around her. "I know the next few months are going to be difficult, and we're not guaranteed the outcome we want. But it will be easier if we're together, and we're going to need each other no matter what the outcome."

"Is this really a proposal?"

"If you say yes, yes. If not, I'll work a better proposal."

Meredith looked him in the eyes for a few minutes. "Okay, then do some more work on your proposal. I'm not going to say no, but I'm not ready to say yes."

"That's good enough for me," said Derek, smiling. "Now we can eat the brownies."