A/N- Alright you beautiful people, here's another one. Christmas day, and only four days late, so I'm not doing too badly. Enjoy!
After taking advantage of the empty house, and Meredith's festive lingerie, the pair snuggled in Derek's no longer virginal sheets, holding each other tightly, both incredibly excited for what the following day would hold. Meredith knew that presents were simply a bonus to the day and the real gift was the time the family got to spend together, especially now that it was more than work that got between them all being together. Knowing that the sisters weren't due to descend until almost lunchtime, the pair had had plans to sleep in a while, but by 7 am the phone had rung at least twice, and Meredith could sense eyes on her. Knowing that Derek would continue to watch her sleep until she woke up, she reluctantly rolled over, opening her eyes to meet the dazzling blue orbs of her future husband, who was now facing her, propping himself up on his elbow.
"Morning," He said with a dreamy smile before kissing her softly on the lips. "Merry Christmas."
"Mmmm," she agreed. "Merry Christmas. D'you think Santa came?" Derek giggled at the childish look on her face, unable to resist the urge to kiss her again and again.
"I know he did." He informed her, a sly grin on his face. "More than once if I recall." She giggled, kicking him gently in the shin.
"We should be going downstairs, your mom probably has half a feast prepared by now."
"No," Derek groaned, "Stay in here with me. We can just have sex all day and skip everything else." Meredith giggled again in total disbelief that her fiancé could possible need more sex after the previous night.
"We came here to see your family, if all you wanted was sex we could've stayed at home. Now come on get up, I'll share a shower if you hurry." Derek didn't need to be told twice, he quickly followed her to the bathroom. They emerged a short while later looking much more refreshed, and ready for the onslaught of excited children and adults later in the day.
Having heard the pair get up and out of bed, Carolyn whipped the pair some Christmas tree shaped pancakes, and some cinnamon infused coffee, laying it on the table as they entered the kitchen, damp haired and refreshed.
"Merry Christmas sweethearts." Carolyn greeted, "Did you sleep well?"
"Wonderfully, thanks mom. And Merry Christmas to you too." Meredith smiled as she tucked into her pancakes ferociously.
"Merry Christmas mom," Derek followed, "No Mark this morning?"
"Amy was called into the hospital, and Brad didn't want her driving alone on the ice at night, so if they're not home in time, Nancy is going to pick him up on the way through." Derek nodded at the explanation and started on his own pancakes before Meredith got there before him.
The oven timer went off and Carolyn quickly pulled out a steaming tray to lay on the counter. Unsticking the contents, she lifted one of the gingerbread men and placed it on Meredith's plate. She gasped at the gesture, standing up to give Carolyn a hug.
"Thank you," she said softly into her shoulder before returning to Derek's side and picking up the gingerbread man to sample his head, then offering Derek a bite.
"I'll ice them when they've cooled a little, but I thought you might like to enjoy your tradition nice and early in the day." Meredith bit her lip at the word tradition, clearly a little overwhelmed by just how much Carolyn cared about the tiny detail of her childhood. Derek pulled her close, kissing her hair. It was easy to forget that it wasn't simply Meredith's first Christmas with him, but really her first Christmas, at least the first she might actually want to remember.
"Does your favourite child get one too?" Derek asked his mother childishly as Meredith continued to nibble her cookie.
"She's already got one dear," Carolyn joked, laughing at the aghast expression on her son's face before dropping a gingerbread man on his empty plate. Derek huffed slightly, making light work of the gingerbread pushing his plate away when he was finished. Carolyn caught his playful childish expression and tutted at him. "Oh come on you daft thing, take this beautiful girl in the living room and we can get started on presents."
He didn't need to be asked twice, taking Meredith's delicate hand and leading her into the sitting room, grabbing a cushion from the sofa and sitting her on it, placing another kiss on her head as she giggled at his 'knight in shining whatever' routine. Carolyn came to join them in their present circle, another Shepherd tradition. One that had grown bigger and smaller as the family expanded and began making their own family traditions away from their childhood home. As much as he missed the big family circles, having just Meredith and his mother there was pretty special.
"So who's first?" Carolyn announced as she pulled the pile of gifts out from under the tree and into piles in front of the recipients. "Your sisters thought best to leave your gifts for you to open this morning, so we don't get in a muddle this afternoon when you hand the kids your gifts."
"I think Meredith should go first." Derek grinned as he handed her a small gift from her pile. Meredith tore off the paper revealing a small black box. She opened the lid and smirked at the contents.
"A unicorn? Seriously?"
"It's all part of the happily ever after." he grinned clipping it onto the bracelet he'd brought her that she always wore on special occasions. Carolyn looked slightly puzzled at the reference so Meredith began to explain.
"A patient of mine drew mine and Derek's castle after her appy and she told me that i had to have a pet unicorn. Derek has the picture tacked up in his office, along with my ring picture and Izzie's wedding picture, and he's totally convinced that he can make it all happen. He did the ring, so he's trying to do the rest, its signature Derek cheesiness." she explained to Derek's mother as she examined the tiny platinum creature. "I love it." she smiled as Derek leaned in for a kiss. "Mom's turn now though." she said reaching for the gift she'd picked out for Carolyn when she was finished after a night on call.
"It's only small, but I thought it was nice." She tried to justify of her present as Carolyn removed the paper to reveal a five year, line a day memory book. "If you hate it, I can switch it for something else."
"Sweetheart, I love it." She said cupping Meredith's face with her hands and planting a kiss on her forehead.
"Really?" Meredith said, a small smile forming on her lips.
"Of course. It's a wonderful gesture, and I'm sure the next five years will give me plenty to document. I'd like to think your wedding and anything that comes after will feature heavily in here, and when I'm old and senile I can look back and remember just how lucky I was to have things to fill the pages. Thank you darling, it's perfect." Derek smiled at their interaction, knowing Meredith was still adjusting to the feeling of people being grateful to her, particularly when it came to mothers, never more grateful that his mother had always offered an abundance of love.
Derek's turn came next, Meredith plucking a flat square package from his pile and laying it in his lap, her eyes wide in expectation. He stripped the sellotape away piece by piece, increasing Meredith's anticipation of his reaction. Finally he pulled the paper away, his eyes widening and his mouth dropping open when he saw what was inside.
"Oh my god Meredith." He exclaimed, pulling her towards him and kissing her hard, her beautiful giggle floating around the two of them.
"You like it." She said gesturing to the signed copy of The Clash's first ever album. It had taken her a long while, and a pretty intense eBay war to get her hands on it, but it was worth it for his reaction alone.
"I love it." He grinned stroking the signatures with his fingers, "And I love you. This is incredible. You're amazing, you know that?" Carolyn smiled, reaching for another gift for Meredith, Izzie's name on the tag. She pulled off the paper, her hands going to her face at the contents.
"Oh god," She groaned, looking at the puzzled expressions on Derek and Carolyn's faces. "Izzie's been obsessed with all things hen night since we got engaged. The other week she was telling me about this place that does novelty t-shirts and stuff for going out and apparently she wanted to try them out." She held up a pale pink shirt boasting the words 'Property of Dr. Derek Shepherd M.D F.A.C.S.' and a picture of Derek looking slightly angrily towards the camera, clearly not wanting his picture taken. Derek laughed, taking the shirt into his hands.
"I like this, you should definitely wear this every time you go out from now on." Meredith frowned before pulling out the second part of the gift.
"You think it's funny, well she got you one too." The second shirt was pale blue, and larger, this time boasting the words 'Property of Dr. Meredith Grey M.D.' and sporting a picture of Meredith the morning after a night out, her hair dishevelled, and an angry expression on her face, one hand reaching for the camera Izzie was poking in her face. Izzie had sworn she had deleted it, but not it seemed, before making a copy. "You can wear this whenever you're out with Mark looking for girls then, so everyone knows what they'll have to face if they so much as even try to hit on you." Carolyn smiled at the pair, as they laughed about their roommates joke. Derek was happy, and Meredith was revelling in the family life she'd always wanted. There were a multitude of other gifts to be opened, her children and grandchildren never failing to spoil her, but seeing the pure joy on her son and future daughter-in-law's faces was without a doubt the best gift she'd ever received.
Meredith couldn't remember a time where she'd ever been so spoilt. As well as the clothes and bits and bobs she'd picked out for Derek to give her, he'd brought her three pairs of converse, a tiny engagement ring charm for her bracelet, and an infinity symbol with the word family inscribed on it. George had gotten her a picture frame with her engagement picture one side, and space for a wedding picture the other which she was thrilled with. Alex had gotten her a simple gold chain, with a note to say that she could hang her ring on it when she was in surgery instead of worrying that it would go missing every time she was forced to leave it in her locker. Cristina had gotten her a scarf, as the label had professed, to 'hide the hickeys', which had made her blush in front of Carolyn. Carolyn had gotten her a willow figurine, insisting that now she was practically a Shepherd, she too should be collecting them. The 'daughter' label not going unnoticed by Meredith. Derek's sisters had each given her matching jewellery, the jewellers name being familiar even to Derek. What had choked her up the most though had been from her future nieces and nephews. The label saying 'To Aunt Meredith' and each child having signed their own name by the looks of things. Inside had been an ornate model of a tree, and several tiny picture frames, each containing a picture of part of her new family, all waiting to be hung amongst the branches. A picture of Meredith, Derek and Carolyn outside the space needle ready to take pride of place at the top of the tree. The tears had come easily for her, the sense of belonging and love unlike anything she had ever experienced. She watched as Carolyn opened gifts from her children and grandchildren, perfume, and clothing, things for her garden, jewellery, and additions to her own willow collection and of course the brooch that Meredith had picked out on their Christmas shopping expedition. Her hands however kept straying to the front cover of her memory book, as though itching to begin filling it with moments from the last few days, documenting the fact that, aside from any future grandchildren, her family was at last complete.
Derek had adored everything that Meredith had given him, but not even his 'Neuro God' scrub cap or his Lego dinosaur could top Meredith's acceptance of his proposal. He had loved his sweater, pulling it on as soon as he had opened it, and thanking Meredith with a kiss as he had done with each of his presents. His sisters and nieces and nephews had delivered a lot of Yankees memorabilia, and a very nice bottle of scotch, which he couldn't wait to crack open and sample. Carolyn had, with Meredith's assistance, assembled a large box of fishing supplies, with the promise to ship them immediately after Christmas, as the box was a little large to take with their luggage. She knew how much it had meant to both him and his father to be able to take fishing trips every now and again, without the girls of the house, and seeing the land and the lake, she wanted to try and give him back that little bit of magic, which had seemingly disappeared once his father died. Meredith was all for Derek fishing again, when they were at the trailer he would catch the occasional trout for breakfast, but now they were at the house it was less regular. As much as she loved spending her free time with him, she really wanted him to have something that was just his own, time to think and be free from whatever the world was throwing their way. And for that Derek couldn't be more grateful. His life was exactly as he wanted it, he had the job, the girl and the supportive family. He knew that he'd look back on this day as the first time he realised that it might actually be possible to have it all.
They had barely disposed of the wrapping paper before they heard the door, and Mark strode in, a huge grin on his face, a small bundle of parcels in his arms.
"Merry Christmas Mark sweetheart." Carolyn greeted, graciously accepting the parcel he handed her, unwrapping it to see a pair of ugg slippers, which Mark had paid to have 'World's best Mom' embroidered onto. "Oh these are lovely," She smiled before spotting Meredith's feet. "Ooh, snap!"
"Any similarity to anything in Grey's wardrobe are purely coincidental, and hers don't have a message of love on the side,"
"Only because she probably brought them herself, right Meredith?" Amy said as she walked into the room, Brad following close behind.
"Oh yeah, want to be able to wear them in public. Merry Christmas by the way, thank you so much for my earrings."
"Oh no worries, I just got a call from Nancy informing me that we were buying the set for you and I was to get my money to her immediately. She does have exquisite taste though. I am awful at presents. I have to be chaperoned when I'm buying for other people. I dread to think what you'd've had to open if it had been me choosing."
"Nancy?" Meredith said raising her eyebrows.
"Yeah, she pulled rank because she was the only one who'd actually met you. And she gets to see a lot of pretty things at work when guys give their baby mommas presents. The rest of us weren't even allowed to look. I love her, really I do, but trusting her with the present that will evermore define our first meeting was a little daunting." The pair laughed, and looked over to her mother who was still delighting in her family's acceptance of Meredith.
"Pies are in the kitchen, mom. Merry Christmas." Carolyn followed her into the kitchen whilst Mark gave out his gifts to Meredith and Derek.
"Shepherd," He said passing Derek a small squishy parcel and a larger box. "And Grey," He passed her a large squashy gift and an identical box. "Boxes first, together." Both pulled the paper from their presents, each containing a mug. Meredith's said 'Dr. Shepherd does my dishes' whereas Derek's professed the words 'Dr. Grey does my dirty laundry.'
"Why do I get the feeling these are supposed to be dirty?" Meredith questioned him, one eyebrow raised.
"I'm simply stating that you take equal roles when it comes to household chores, if you want to make it dirty, I'd be happy to renew your membership to the dirty mistresses club. Now, open the other one."
"Shepherd's personal goddess?" She said pulling the hoodie from its wrappings. "I'm not sure whether to be offended that it makes me sound like a sex slave or flattered that you picked goddess. Thanks though, Mark. It's sweet, I think."
"Anytime. And goddess, you most certainly are. I thought that right before Derek laid me out. I think you'll like Shep's present a lot too." Derek eyed the two of them, knowing that whatever Mark had gotten him was not going to be good for him. Slowly he removed the paper, unrolling the black fabric to reveal a pair of boxer shorts.
"Thanks Mark," he said, his brow furrowed in confusion at why his friend had brought him plain black boxers. Mark grinned.
"Turn them over." Derek did so, Meredith bursting into a torrent of giggles as he did so.
"Whipped by Dr. Grey." Derek groaned. "My mom is in the next room."
"What? She knows you have sex, she probably got out of the house last night to give you a little alone time. She couldn't really miss your eyes on Grey's ass the entire time we were skating yesterday. I thought you were going to…"
"Merry Christmas guys." Came Lizzie's voice, clearly trying to protect her children from whatever was going to come out of Mark's mouth next. Mark looked at the ground as the children began to filter into the room, followed by Nancy and then Kathleen and their families. The Shepherd family Christmas was officially in session.
Dinner became an all hands on deck situation with everyone being given a job to do, even Meredith, who was peeling the last of the vegetables. Derek couldn't help himself and sidled up behind her, pressing himself up against her, as he took her hands in his to help her peel.
"You can't keep your hands off her!" Nancy called across the kitchen, "Mom, Derek isn't helping!" Carolyn glanced round at her son, who was nuzzling Meredith's neck, peppering little kisses along the way.
"Derek, go and lay the table, leave the poor girl alone. She's not going anywhere." Derek pouted before leaving the room, Meredith going back to her vegetables. She felt a tug on her pants as she was slicing the carrots and looked down to see Madison, dressed in a red faux-fur trimmed dress looking expectantly up at her.
"Up," She requested raising her arms. Meredith put down her knife and placed the little girl on the chair that stood next to where she was working. "It Christmas today." Madison informed her.
"It is Christmas." Meredith agreed. "Did Santa bring you something nice?" The little girl screwed up her face as if she was thinking.
"Minnie mouse house." She grinned, clearly thrilled at the gifts she'd received so far, even if she didn't quite grasp the concept just yet. "I help," She reached for the knife Meredith was using, but Meredith gently grabbed her hand before she could reach it.
"Oh no honey, that's all sharp, it'll give you a nasty owie, and we don't want that do we?" She pulled a face at the little girl so she didn't think she was being told off. "Should Auntie Meredith finish up while you go play?" Madison nodded and Meredith helped her down from her seat, quickly running to join her cousins in the living room. Kathleen shot her mother and sisters a look that said exactly what they were all thinking. Meredith was quite possibly the best thing that had happened in the Shepherd chronicles. She was the missing piece of their jigsaw, and with her around, things could only get even better. They knew she'd be the one to give Derek the children he craved, and they couldn't wait.
The buffet at Kathleen's had been organised chaos, ensuring that everyone got a fair pick of the food without the kids arguing. Christmas dinner was practically a military operation. Each of the younger children sat by an adult who could help them with their food, whereas the older ones filtered in and filled the gaps. Dishes were passed around, each person filling their plate with all of the goodies that were on offer. Chatter broke out across the table, a buzz of Santa-fuelled excitement, leaving Meredith utterly enthralled.
"So big brother, what did Santa drop in your lap this year?" Lizzie asked as she passed Meredith the mashed potatoes in return for the cranberry sauce.
"She agreed to marry me." He boasted, "And brought me a signed original LP from the world's greatest band."
"The Pet Shop Boys. Nice choice little sister." Derek nearly choked on his mouthful at Lizzie's comment. As Meredith grinned at the illusion of being someone's younger sibling.
"I said greatest band Lizzie, The Clash are way better than anything you ever listened to. Meredith knows that, clearly."
"Honey, I love you, but even so much as imply that I like The Clash, and I'll send you to live in the trailer. Duran Duran, eurhythmics, the go-gos those are your bands. The Clash are more, 'I'm so drunk I'll dance to anything.'" It was Lizzie's turn to laugh then as Derek pouted into his dinner, reaching to help Lizzie's son, Jayden with his knife.
Lunch continued in this manner, the banter flying between the siblings as it had done twenty and thirty years before. There were many complaints of being full and not being able to manage so much as a single bite until dessert was brought out and suddenly they all found room again. The kids, knowing that Derek had wanted to see them open their gifts, were anxious to see what they had gotten, and so the entire Shepherd clan descended on the sitting room, waiting patiently for their presents.
"Before you get mad, Meredith picked the presents so if you hate them it's all her fault." Derek announced to the room before Carolyn came in with the sack they'd given to her for safekeeping.
"Derek!" She exclaimed, i asked for your help you were too busy playing with the toys to help properly, but if you do love them, remember uncle Derek didn't help." Carolyn came in and put a Santa hat on her head, ending their bickering.
"Meredith can be Santa." she smiled. Meredith's cheeks flushed, this was new territory for her. She'd managed the present circle, but this was a lot more people, and therefore a lot more pressure.
"So how do i do this?" She asked Derek quietly, knowing he'd have a solution.
"Everything's in the bag, pull them out one at a time, so everyone can see."
"Okay," Meredith breathed as she stuck a hand into the sack Derek was holding. She pulled out a blue snowflake wrapped gift. "Madison," she smiled passing on the gift. the little girl tore off the paper, squealing when she saw Minnie mouse beneath the paper, grinning up at Meredith as she held it up, Kathleen pulling the aqua doodle out so she could see that too. Madison put both arms around the doll and squeezed it to her chest, Meredith grinned and looked at Derek who was looking adoringly between his niece and his fiancée. "Next one?" she asked pulling out another blue wrapped gift. "Paige," she said passing the gift to Lizzie so she could help Paige open it. Paige's eyes widened as she saw the bright animal blocks that Meredith had chosen pointing out the different animals to her sibling who were sitting behind her. Doug released the frog from its paper prison and passed it to his daughter who grinned at it before taking it and putting it in her mouth making the room laugh. Next came the scalectrix and the princess chests, causing squeals of delight as Carolyn gathered the paper together and put it to one side to leave room for everything. No one had expressed a dislike yet, which Meredith took to be a good thing, and Derek squeezed her thigh, reassuring her that she was doing a good job. She began passing jewellery bags to the girls, each one gasping at the contents and asking sisters and aunts to fasten things whilst Meredith handed presents to the boys, all very excited at their future Lego projects, sulking when Kathleen and Nancy said they had to wait to open them so as to avoid losing the pieces. Meredith handed Derek the envelopes for Dylan, and his sisters' husbands, each revealing tickets for various sporting events much to their delight. Mark roaring at the prospect of a Yankees game with Derek after so long without them. His smile only wavering when Meredith also passed him a scrub cap covered in various parts of Barbie and Ken's anatomy, the words 'Mr Plastic.' Printed on the front.
"I know who to send Christmas shopping for me next year." Lizzie joked as Brooke and Riley showed her their presents for the tenth time, Paige knocking the bricks together with a huge grin on her face. Meredith passed each of Derek's sisters a gift bag from the jewellery store and another for Carolyn, not wanting her to be left out of the merriment despite having given her presents that morning. Nancy and Kathleen sat wide eyed at the fact that Meredith had located their perfumes without needing to ask them, Amy nodding her head in appreciation of her own earrings. "Wow," Lizzie gasped pulling out her earrings.
"Meredith had them made with the kids' birthstones," Derek added in making Meredith blush.
"Oh my god Meredith," Lizzie gasped pulling her in for a hug and placing a kiss on her cheek. "They're absolutely gorgeous. You've put so much thought into everything. How you managed to find Kath and Nancy's perfumes I'll never know. You made a damn good choice Derek." she praised her brother as she let Meredith go, Amy leaning in to show her appreciation, followed by Doug and Brad, Warren, Ryan, Kathleen and finally Nancy. The kids quickly followed suit bundling around Meredith, choruses of 'Thanks Auntie Meredith, we love you', causing tears to well in her eyes. Derek pulled her out from the middle of the children pulling her into his arms and kissing her hard on the lips.
"Definitely the best aunt ever," he grinned at her wiping away her tears. "It's like you've always been part of the family."
Carolyn pulled the attention away from Meredith by putting in a film, as was the tradition, this year choosing 'Miracle on 34th Street.' Madison took her place on Meredith's knee, pushing Derek away when he tried to get close. Jayden seizing the opportunity to jump into his uncle's lap. As the credits rolled, the kids begged for another film, and everyone happily obliged, it being incredibly rare for all of the kids to be quiet at one time, even in their sleep. Madison soon drifted into slumber, her head on Meredith's chest, her arms wrapped around Minnie mouse. Meredith kissed her head rocking her gently, catching Derek's sparkling eyes watching her. He reached out an arm, needing to hug her, and she leaned in, breathing in his scent, never having been happier than in that very moment.
Paige began to whinge after a while and Lizzie decided to get her home and off to bed, it'd been a busy day, and even Brooke was trying to stifle a yawn. She said her goodbyes making sure to thank Meredith profusely again as she left. Promising to call and talk to her properly once everyone was back into routine after the break. She was going to miss Boxing Day, having promised to go to Doug's parents for the day. At the disruption, Madison began to cling and cry so Kathleen too headed home taking Amy and Brad with them.
"Well slutty intern," Nancy smiled, "seems I underestimated you, the kids love you. Mom's smitten and Derek is Derek again, so thank you. Christmas is only going to get better i think." she hugged Meredith, a genuine smile on her lips as she left, taking Mark home and leaving Carolyn with her son and his fiancée.
She pulled them both in for a hug, kissing Meredith on the cheek as a thank you for her presents and the joy she'd brought upon the house that year.
"I can't wait to call you my daughter in law for real," she said. "You made every Shepherd extension in that room very happy today, thank you sweetheart. It means a lot that you went to such effort for us all. And don't think we won't be paying you back in a few years when you have your own little ones. The girls are very protective of my young man so to have the claws kept in you're definitely doing something right. I'm off to see Dad now for a little while, help yourselves to something for dinner."
Derek's smile drooped a little at the mention of his father. She knew that a part of him would be in agony today, being home making the feelings far more raw than usual. She kissed him on the forehead, pulling him into her chest.
"I miss her today." She admitted. "Really, she's been gone for years, but part of me feels guilty for not heading to Roseridge, calling someone else 'mom'. Family is wonderful, but it doesn't stop it hurting when one of them isn't there." She ran a hand through his dark curls, pretending no to notice the tears that he wiped away. It was nice to have just a little time alone to dwell on the not so happy part of Christmas, and there wasn't anyone either would rather spend it with.
"Will you visit me on Christmas if something ever happens?" He whispered softly, not knowing how he wanted her to answer.
"If you'll visit me when I can't even remember that it's Christmas." She countered, causing a slight smile to grace his lips.
"Always." He said wrapping his arms around her. "I'm so glad I found you, Thank you for coming to meet my family."
"Thank you for giving me one." She answered. He looked deep into her eyes, a thousand words slipping between them. Both dumbstruck at the thought that this might just be part of their happy ever after, wishing that Christmas never had to end.
A/N- Aw, I do love me a bit of Christmas! Boxing Day next, then it's back to reality for them all, but never fear, I have lots in store for them! Let me know what you thought. And if I don't update before, Happy New Year! May 2014 be healthy and prosperous for all of you!