'Daddy, daddy, time to wake up."

Derek opened his eyes and saw his daughter had jumped on the trundle bed and was pulling on his hair. "Chrissy, don't pull Daddy's hair. It's not nice to pull hair."

"You need to get up. I'm hungry. I need breakfast."

"Okay, I'll get up and feed you. Just give me a few minutes."

"Mommy also likes a few minutes. Do all grown-ups like a few minutes?"

"I think so," said Derek, smiling. When he agreed to sleep in Chrissy's trundle bed, he wasn't expecting that she'd be waking him in the morning. The heavy doses of chemo had left her exhausted for most of the hospital stay. He hadn't expected her to bounce back so quickly and act like a mischievous child. He was so happy that she was able to wake him up and even happier that she was hungry. It has been so difficult to get her to eat in the hospital, but now she was eager to eat. He was amazed at how well she was doing at home. It was as if they were two different children, Chrissy in the hospital and Chrissy at home. He had only known Chrissy in the hospital, so it was a joy to get to know her when she was feeling better. "What do you want for breakfast?"

"Can you make pancakes?"

"Sure, pancakes are easy."

"Mommy can't make pancakes. But Aunt Izzie makes yummy pancakes."

"I know Aunt Izzie is a great cook. I think she had to work today."

"Mommy has to work today, too. Can you play with me today?"

"Sure. I'm on leave from my job in New York. Unless there's a special patient who needs my help, I'm here to play with you."

"Okay. Let's play Tinker Toys after breakfast."

"Okay. You are bossy, just like your mom."

"I love my mommy."

"I know." But Derek thought, " I love her, too."

"Are you ready to get up now?"

"Yes. Let me weight your first, and then I'll take you downstairs, and you can watch a little t.v. while I get dressed and then make pancakes." They had put the hospital scale in the bathroom in Meredith's room, so it would be easy for Chrissy to use, given that Alex, George, Izzie, and now Derek were sharing the hall bathroom. Derek weighed her.

"Did I gain anything?"

"You've gained about three-quarters of a pound since you've come home. You're doing very well." At this rate, she was gaining more than a pound a week, so she could easily meet the doctor's goal of at least five pounds in four weeks, if it continued.

"Will Mommy be happy?"

"Sure she will. Three-quarters of a pound is great."

Derek carried Chrissy downstairs and turned on the t.v. Chrissy loved Sesame Street. He noticed the house was unusually quiet; Meredith and the other residents had already left for work, and his mother wasn't coming until lunchtime today. She was running errands this morning. He was excited to have the house to himself and Chrissy for the morning. They hadn't had much time alone yet. He quickly made chocolate chip pancakes and brought them into the living room so Chrissy could eat and watch t.v. "Here are your chocolate chip pancakes."

"I love chocolate chips. Thank you so much, Daddy." Chrissy dug into the pancakes.

"If I'm having breakfast, do the fish need their breakfast, too?"

"After you eat, we'll feed the fish." Derek was glad to see that Chrissy was being responsible for her fish.

"Your pancakes are yummy," announced Chrissy after a few bites.

"I'm glad you like them."

"Can you make waffles?"

"I could if you have a waffle iron in the house."

"Aunt Izzie makes waffles."

"Well, then you must have a waffle iron. What does Mommy make for breakfast?"

"Fruit loops. Sometimes grilled cheese. Sometimes pizza." Derek smiled. Meredith's taste in breakfast food hadn't changed even though she became a mom.

"But Aunt Izzie usually makes breakfast. Sometimes Uncle George and Uncle Alex make breakfast. Mommy only makes breakfast if she's the only grown up here."

"That sounds like a smart plan. Your mommy is wonderful, but cooking is not her thing."

"And now you're here, you can make my breakfast."

"That's right. I like making breakfast for you. Do you want more pancakes?"

"No. I want to feed the fish." Derek enjoyed feeding the fish with Chrissy.

"Daddy, can we visit the trailer?"

"Not today. Grandma is coming soon, and Susan Grey is going to visit, too."

"Let's play Tinker Toys. I'll build a tower, and you can build one, too."

"Okay." Derek sat down and started working building a tower slowly. He wanted Chrissy's tower to be taller than his. He liked watching her play with the toy. As they were playing, Carolyn Shepherd came in with groceries. "Derek, I have five more bags of groceries. Can you get them from the car? I'll go wash up while you do that."

"Sure, Mom. Chrissy, I'll be back in a little bit. I have to help Grandma with the groceries."

"Okay. I'm going to build a very tall tower."

"You already have a very tall tower. But I'd love to see one even taller."

Derek made three trips and brought the rest of the groceries into the kitchen. He started unpacking them and putting them away while his mom showered. When she entered the kitchen, he greeted her. "Mom, you really went to town in the grocery store."

"You did give me your credit card, Derek, and we're feeding six adults and one child, as well as occasional guests."

"I think Meredith's roommates could buy their own food."

"Derek, we're all eating together whenever we can. Izzie, George, and Alex are Chrissy's family."

"Okay, Mom, if you want to cook for everyone, go ahead."

"I do. It's great for Chrissy to have her family and friends together."

"I was glad to have her to myself this morning."

"I know, sweetie. But Meredith's roommates are gone much of the time; they work an 80 hour workweek. And when Mark and Lexie came over, they all went out to give you some privacy. And Chrissy loves them."

"I know."

"And I don't know why you rented a three bedroom apartment if you're going to spend all your nights sleeping in a trundle bed. I'm sure it's not very comfortable."

"I never thought Meredith would let me stay here, Mom. Actually, it's Chrissy who wanted me here. The money doesn't matter to me. And when the sisters come, they can stay at the apartment rather than a hotel. And the trundle isn't that bad. I just didn't expect Chrissy to wake me up by pulling my hair."

"She is mischievous now she's at home. That's good. You're very lucky; she's a terrific kid."

"Mom, if I were lucky, she wouldn't be sick."

"If she wasn't sick, you'd probably still be in New York.

"I don't think so. Meredith had planned to tell me about Chrissy before her third birthday. I would have come out as soon as I heard about her. I've always wanted to be a dad."

"I never understood why you and Addie didn't have children."

"The timing was never right," Derek. "Not that Chrissy was planned. But I'm so happy Meredith chose to go through with the pregnancy."

"That girl loves you, Derek. And sometimes the best things in life aren't planned. Although sometimes they are." Carolyn smiled. "You were planned, after all. You go play with Chrissy. I'll make some tuna fish salad for lunch. Susan's coming for lunch, so I picked up some tomato soup at Whole Foods. I didn't have time to make my own."

"That's fine, Mom. We don't expect you to spend all your time cooking and shopping. You need to have some fun playing with Chrissy, too."

"Just watching you play with her makes me so happy. You remind me so much of your dad. He loved playing with all of you."

"And we loved playing with him. And playing with you, too, Mom."

"Thanks, Derek. You were always a terrific son. And I'm so happy to see you as a dad." Carolyn had worried if she would ever see Derek as a father.

"That makes two of us."

"I think more than that. Meredith is very happy to have you here."

"Thanks, Mom." He left and went into the living room to join Chrissy, but just as he arrived, the doorbell rang. He went to the door and found a friendly woman in her late 50s with light brown hair. "Susan Grey?" he asked.

"Yes, I'm Susan, and you must be Derek."

"Glad you could come. We're asking guests to wash up and don robes and gloves. You're here for lunch, so a mask is not necessary unless you get very close to Chrissy."

"That's fine."

"I'll show you the way."

"That's great." She smiled as she walked past Christy and her enormous Tinker Toy tower. "Hi Chrissy, you've done a great job on that tower."

"Thanks. Daddy only made a small tower, Susan."

"That's okay. I'm sure he loves watching you build a very tall tower."

"Yes, he watches me. He should be building, not watching."

"Watching is good for parents. I'll be back in a few minutes," said Susan.

Derek sat down next to Chrissy and started working on his tower.

"Good job, Daddy."

"Thanks, Chrissy," Derek smiled. Just sitting and playing Tinker Toys was so much fun. Getting another chance to play with toys is a great part of being a dad, he thought to himself. They sat quietly playing.

"You've both done a great job with your towers," praised Susan, after emerging from the restroom with her gown, a mask, and gloves. "Can I play, too?"

"Sure," said Chrissy. Susan began to build a tower as well. They played wordlessly for fifteen minutes. Then Carolyn came out and said, "It's lunch time, everyone." They had a polite lunch, with Chrissy and Carolyn carrying the bulk of the conversation. After they finished she finished her tuna fish, Chrissy said, "Can we swing now, Daddy?"

"Sure, Chrissy." The two of them left to go outside.

Susan turned to Carolyn, "He's a great dad."

"He's his father's son. Michael was an amazing dad. He would have loved to see Derek with Chrissy. He missed out on his grandchildren."

"Grandchildren are great. I feel lucky to have Chrissy and Laura."

"Chrissy has enjoyed skipping with Laura."

"I miss her so much. It's hard with Molly and Laura being abroad. But they'll be back for Lexie's wedding."

"Lexie is a delightful girl."

"Yes, she's amazing. Mark seems like a good guy."

"Mark is like a son to me. He really loves Lexie. It was great to see the two of them together."

"I hope you'll be able to come to the wedding."

"If I'm invited, I'll be there," promised Carolyn with a smile.

"Lexie wants all the Shepherds to come, and Meredith, too."

"We'll have to see."

"Lexie wants to wait until Chrissy can participate."

"She's very sweet, but I would recommend going ahead as soon as possible. Your time with the person you love can be limited, and you shouldn't waste a minute."

"It's a different generation, Carolyn. They're living together."

"You're right about that. Let's go outside and watch them."

"Okay." But as they got up to go out, they saw Derek come in carrying Chrissy. "It's naptime," he announced. "She fell asleep in my lap." He proceeded to carry her upstairs to her bedroom.

"Poor dear. She tires so easily," murmured Carolyn.

"But she's in great spirits," whispered Susan. "I should probably go. Maybe I can persuade Thatcher to come next week."

"Don't worry about it," said Carolyn. "Chrissy has a lot of people in her life. It was my idea to get him involved. Meredith hasn't said anything about her dad. She enjoyed meeting Lexie. It was a lot of fun watching Lexie introduce Chrissy to the Etch-a-Sketch."

"Lexie's a whiz on the Etch-a-Sketch. And she's been a great big sister for Molly and a great aunt. She's delighted to have a big sister and another niece."

"And you're a great help, too, Susan. And Thatcher's not your responsibility. He makes his own choices. And right now, it's up to him if he wants to visit. If he comes, he'll be welcome. But right now, we have to focus on what's good for Meredith and Chrissy."

"Thanks for the good ideas. I'll get going now. Say good-bye to Derek for me."

"I will. See you next week."