A/N- I honestly can't apologise enough for how long it's been since I updated. The last ten months have completely flown by, and I find myself bringing work home with me far more than I'd like which makes writing difficult to fit in. As always, thank you so much to everyone that makes the effort to read and review and add me to their alerts. You are all wonderful. I also apologise in advance for this chapter being less polished than I'd like. It's been kicking around for a while and having left it for a long time it was pretty difficult to get back into. With a bit of luck, a new one shouldn't take quite as long to drop into your inboxes!

With check out not until four, both Meredith and Derek were able to enjoy a much needed lay in the morning after their wedding. Derek had been roused from his slumber a little before nine but his beautiful bride barely even flinched when he moved from his position on the bed. Her hands gravitated from his own to her swollen stomach, her face buried in the pillow that they had shared. But other than a sigh as his warmth left her, Meredith didn't seem to notice that he'd left her side. Derek's usual side of the bed had been empty, the pair sharing Meredith's when exhaustion finally got to them. Derek had wondered why they even had a king sized bed at times. They so often ended up a tangle of limbs that only occupied half of the space their bed offered. Meredith had wanted to be much closer to him in bed since she'd found out she was pregnant, which he loved as it meant that he got to hold her, always sure that she and their child were safe. Meredith liked to feel protected, particularly after sex and he was more than happy to make her feel that way. He loved the fact that their child had enabled her to bring her guard down even more than usual. She was always blissfully content in his arms and that made him incredibly happy.

Their evening activities had been energetic to say the least, with the pair of them managing four rounds before the exhaustion of having been awake close to an entire day, whilst being pregnant and getting married had gotten to Meredith, and she'd fallen into a peaceful slumber. Derek had smiled at her sleeping form, and wrapped his arms around her before succumbing to sleep himself, finally completely content with what life had given him.

He couldn't help but watch her sleep for a few moments that morning. She was so beautiful, and Derek could and had spent hours taking in every little detail of her. From the tiny scar on her lip from the day she'd totalled her mother's car, to the gentle swell of her stomach, keeping their baby safe until it was time for him or her to come out and meet them both. He had every detail committed to memory, and knew exactly which areas were more sensitive than others. He knew her inside and out, and there wasn't a single detail about her that didn't make him love her even more. He laughed softly as she took in a deep breath, batting her nose before snuggling back into the pillow. He debated simply getting back into bed with her, but for once it was his bladder that needed relieving so he tore his eyes away from his bride and headed to the bathroom. Once he had finished freshening up he pressed a kiss to Meredith's lips, but in her deep sleep, she didn't reciprocate, so Derek was confident that she would be sleeping for a while yet. He slipped quietly from the room to the dining hall where he was certain he'd find many of the wedding guests that had stayed the night.

He was surprised however to find just a few tables occupied by the guests. Nancy had headed to the space needle early, so that she would have enough time to see the family once more before her flight that afternoon. The rest of the sisters had each managed to get enough time off that they could stay an extra day but they too had each scheduled trips to various parts of the city for the early part of the day so Derek had been ambushed with a mixture of good mornings and goodbyes as they left for their various destinations. Mark had sent a text to tell Derek that he, Bailey and Webber had been paged to the hospital, as they had needed the extra attending surgeons after a freeway pile up early that morning. The residents had not been paged it seemed, judging by the sickly looking trio in one corner, each trying to make it through a round of dry toast without vomiting. Derek laughed as the waitress brought them a tray of coffees, the smell making Cristina heave slightly. He smiled and exchanged pleasantries with several guests who had opted to book rooms for the night before heading over to his mother who was immersed in the local paper, a cup of tea and a selection of miniature pastries in front of her.

"Mom," he greeted, and she dropped her newspaper and stood up to embrace her only son.

"Oh, good morning sweetheart. Did you sleep well?"

"Knowing I get to wake up every day to Meredith? I slept like a baby." He grinned at the mere thought.

"I'm so glad, sweetheart. Is my beautiful daughter in law up yet?"

"No, I'm letting her sleep. She's been working so hard to bank up time off and she was up for almost an entire day. She could do with the rest. I was gonna grab a coffee with mark but by the text I got, I figure he left pretty early."

"I think the accident was rather bad. He called me to let me know that none of your guests were involved so that's a relief. He was heading into surgery a few hours ago but he's hoping to be back this afternoon." As much as he loved the fast paced adrenalin rush of trauma, Derek was glad he didn't have to rush off to attend to the carnage, instead he got time off to spend with his wife. Wife. It felt so good to be able to call Meredith that. It wasn't a word he was unfamiliar with, but the feeling of pure elation, the feeling of excitement at the idea of spending his life with this one very perfectly imperfect woman was one that he had never experienced.

"Sweetheart? Would you like a drink? A coffee perhaps?" Carolyn prompts, looking up at the waiter that Derek hadn't even realised was there.

"Um, yeah please. Black, no sugar, thanks." He smiles politely before turning back to look at his mother.

"No prizes for guessing what you were thinking about, or rather who. I can read you better than you think. There's only one other woman who can read you better, the very same one you can't stop thinking about even though she's only a couple of floors away." Carolyn told him, a knowing look on her face.

"I just feel so lucky, mom. Part of me is expecting to wake up and realise it's all a dream. I didn't know it was possible to love anyone even half as much. I don't want to be away from her for a single second."

"And you know she feels the same way about you."

"Exactly. It blows my mind."

"She's your soulmate sweetheart. She also happens to be the real love of your life." Derek looked at the floor knowing he'd used those words before. "But you couldn't have known that until you met her. I thought I'd met the love of my life three times before I actually met him. Then he taught me that it's possible to have a six way tie for love of your life. It's a very different kind of love, but just as intense. But you'll find that out soon enough." Derek grinned again. He couldn't wait. He smiled and uttered a quick thank you as his coffee was delivered, taking a sip of the liquid that he'd learnt to depend on as a teenager. He sipped at the acrid black liquid, seeing his mother drift into her own daydream, the innocent joy in her eyes telling him she was thinking about her own husband.

"You're a lot like him y'know." She uttered after a moment or two. "As soon as we found out about Kathleen he walked around with this grin on his face. That's the one." She chuckled as her son mimicked the face unconsciously. "He loved his girls so much. He was the proudest father, not caring an iota about what people thought of him wearing a tiara and a string of beads at their tea parties. He painted these incredible pink and purple nurseries and made mobiles. Then we found out you were going to be a boy. His smile never faded again. He pushed his girls in their prams with his princesses either side and you on his shoulders for the world to see."

Derek smiled at the memory of watching the world from so high above. "And Mrs Oberman next door would always..." he started.

"Tell him off for running over the rhododendrons. And he used to smile at her and he only ever said…"

"If god wanted you to have rhododendrons Alice, he'd have given me fewer angels." Derek finished.

"That's it! I'm surprised you remember. She planted them every year yet in the twenty years she lived there I never saw them come to anything."

"That's because me and Amy used to go and jump on them when she wasn't looking." Carolyn burst out laughing at her son's confession.

"See, I told you. Exactly like your father." She glanced briefly at her watch, her eyes widening at the length of time she'd been sat at the table. "Goodness, if we want that room tidy by lunch time we'd best get a move on."

"I'd better check on Meredith. She'll probably not be best pleased if I let her sleep all day. I'll see you down there."

"Take your time sweetheart. I can get to know these bridesmaids even better." Derek chuckled, knowing that the three would soon be regretting their many many drinks even more than they already were.

He quickly headed back to the room, where Meredith was still sleeping. Her hands started to search the area a little, as they often did just before she woke up, checking to see if he were there. He took off his shoes and nestled in behind her, his arms enveloping her as her eyes fluttered open.

"Good morning, Mrs Shepherd." Derek greeted his wife as she woke from her slumber, her legs still tangled in the sheets, the way she'd fallen asleep after round four. Meredith's face broke into an enormous grin as she heard the phrase come from her husband's lips for the first time, loving how natural it felt already.

"Mmmm good morning Mr. Shepherd." She replied, titling her head to accept the kiss he was about to press to her lips. A kiss that was a mixture of coffee and minty freshness and not coupled with the smell of Derek's morning breath. "You brushed?"

"I've been awake a little while, and I know how you hate my morning breath." His grin matched hers as she let out a small giggle at the gesture.

"Good husband." Meredith complimented, her stomach beginning to rumble as they shared another kiss. "What time is it? I'm starving."

"I'm not surprised," Derek laughed. "Last night was pretty energetic." He slid his watch around his wrist to check the time. "It's a little after ten, but the restaurant isn't too busy so I'm sure they'd whip you up some breakfast or brunch, whatever you fancy."

"Whatever I fancy, huh? I have everything I fancy right here." she giggled, then frowned. "God that was cheesy. It's like I'm infected with your cheesiness."

"Not entirely my fault." He defended. "Even this morning, mom was saying that I get it from my father, and so it could be bee that's 'infecting you with cheesiness', as you so beautifully put it."

"Your spoke to your mom?" Meredith looked at her husband wide eyed. She was still getting used to having a family that cared enough to call or visit to check in.

"Yep, I went down to see if the girls had left yet, and to grab a coffee. I barely sat down for five minutes and she wanted to know where you were. Once I was finished she sent me back up here to wake you. My mom really does love you more than me. I understand completely, you're completely gorgeous, and smart and funny and talented. But there is something a little disheartening about having been replaced as favourite."

"Oh poor baby." Meredith pouted playfully, pressing kisses to Derek's sticking out bottom lip. "I still love you more than anyone in the world. Except maybe bee. But seeing as he or she is half you, I'd say you're still winning." Derek hummed in appreciation before bringing his own lips to the crook of her neck, nibbling at the skin there and breathing in her sleepy scent. Meredith giggled but pushed against his shoulders.

"We don't have time for this." She warned him, her words having no effect on him.

"We're newlyweds, they'll understand." He protested.

"But I have to pee." She giggled as he dipped his head into the valley of her breasts. Reluctantly Derek rolled away from her, resuming his pouting.

"Fine," he sighed. "But considering that we made bee in mom's house, I think she knows we…"

"Do not finish that sentence." Meredith warned from the other side of the door. "I don't care how obvious it is, I don't want to think about even the possibility that she heard us. It's mortifying."

"Mer, she has heard way more than you think over the years, and you know what she cares about more than all of that? That it lead to her grandkids. And you know how much she loves them."

"Do you promise?" Meredith raised an eyebrow as she left the bathroom.

"She spent the entire day running around after them, same as she does every day. This is her first grandbaby outside of New York, I'm betting she's just racking up time with him or her, and it's my baby so she loves them more than all the others." He ran a hand over Meredith's bump, her skin erupting in goose bumps at his cold touch. The robe she'd put on wasn't quite enough to contain it. Derek was rewarded with several kicks to his palm, which only made him grin more.

"See bee gets it." He boasted.

"Bee is hungry, like her momma." Meredith assured him. "We've normally eaten twice by now. She probably feels neglected."

"We did burn off a lot of calories last night, so I guess we should have something. We have almost two weeks off so you're going to need your strength."

The kitchen staff were more than happy to whip up a brunch for the happy couple, bringing them a platter of some of their best breakfast items and a few lunch samples. The pair spent much of the next hour trying to feed each other, with Derek placing various fruits and healthier items into Meredith's unsuspecting mouth, and in return getting a very sticky chocolate dipped donut forced against his own lips. The look on Meredith's face gave him no choice but to concede, swallowing quickly so that he could catch her lips with a kiss that made her groan, and left her panting as the wolf whistling from other tables calmed down. They quietly finished their meal, thanked the waiting staff and headed back to the reception hall, now devoid of their guests.

"It looks so much bigger today." Meredith marvelled, looking up at the ceiling, and at the artwork around the walls. "It seems so much prettier than when we visited."

"It does." Derek agreed. "There's definitely some kind of magic to the place. Or maybe it's you. Maybe you're just more beautiful since we last came, and it's just radiating."

"You definitely won't be saying that in a few months when I'm the size of a house and too exhausted and achy to give you sex."

"Even then you'll be beautiful. There's not anything you could do to yourself that would make me think you're any less beautiful, and sexy." He looked her deep in the eyes, a seductive expression on his face.

"Y'know, rather than mounting each other in the middle of the floor you could help." Cristina called from atop a ladder, a string of fairy lights in her hand.

"They're newlyweds, its sweet." Izzie defended as she untangled the lights, and put them back into their boxes.

"I feel sick enough from being hungover, without the two of them having eye sex where I can see. Lexie's packing stuff into the car and the manager guy said to stack the tables at the back. You can enjoy all the creepy newlywed stuff when I am not here." taking their orders, Derek began stacking the tables once Carolyn had cleared them of their various decorations and Meredith began taking piles of presents and the less heavy boxes out to the car with Lexie. She could feel Derek's eyes on her ass as she walked, knowing full well that it was he who had replaced her cotton maternity pants for her new, skinny, pregnancy adapted jeans. After a few trips, Derek had stacked most of the tables, and was leaning against one to take a breather. The smallest package wobbled off the top of Meredith's pile, so she took full advantage of it by spreading her legs as far as the jeans would let her and bending down with her butt in the air, pointing exactly in his direction. The expression on his face when she got back up and turned around made her laugh out loud causing everyone to look at Derek's embarrassed expression.

"That was mean." Lexie giggled. "I mean can you really blame him for staring? Have you seen your ass in those? He was probably looking at you because he can't get over how lucky he is that he got to be the one that spends his life with you. Some of us can only dream of having someone look at us that way."

"There is no way that you won't find someone. Half the guys here yesterday wanted you."

"Nice try. But all eyes were on you the whole night. When you see the pictures you'll see what I mean, you couldn't not look at you."

"It was all smoke and mirrors, and fairy lights. And the rest was courtesy of the pregnancy hormones. And anyway, there must be someone you have your eye on."

"Maybe. There's one guy, we met at Joes, and we flirted a little. He keeps asking me to meet him again but I don't know."

"Was he wearing a red shirt?" Meredith asked as she took the box Lexie handed her.

"What?" Lexie frowned before giggling. "No. he had a baseball jersey on. There was a game on the TV, so…"

"He picked you over the game? Seriously Lexie, marry him now. You know how many guys I dated that wouldn't even stop watching the game for sex? And I am pretty damn good in bed."

"Okay I heard enough about your sexcapades at the spa."

"Then I met Derek, who would sooner check the scores online and spend the night watching the sun go down over the ferryboats, or we watch it together and bicker about which team our kids will support. If a guy is clearly into sports but is into you more, I would at least want to see where it goes."

"God, I hate married happy you. Fine, I'll call him, I couldn't have had a sister that wasn't married with a baby, all bright and shiny." Meredith giggled.

"Is that the last of the boxes now?"

"Yeah, other than one Carolyn has."

"So we're nearly done already?"

"Yep. The hotel staff got rid of the plates and the glasses. The wedding party glasses are all washed and boxed up but they're not in the car yet, I know you wanted them for later make sure everyone had theirs to take home. And a couple of the kids left their cups so they're there too. All we had to do was sort the lights and what was left on the tables. And they have another event tomorrow so they said they'll take care of any cleaning that needs to be done. And dinner is being gotten ready for one. George says he and Alex might make it back. The attendings are all in surgery but there are loads of residents and most of the interns still."

"Well if I'd known it would all be so easy to clean up, I'd've let Derek make it as big as he'd wanted it."

"He wanted a bigger wedding? Half the hospital were there."

"You really underestimate the romantic cheesy side of my husband."

By one o clock, the girls and their families had returned, stowing their purchases in their rooms and in their cases ready to fly home with them. Derek's car was packed, Meredith's dress and his tux taking up most of the back seat. The tables in the dining area were set, each of the children sipping from the plastic wedding beakers the pair had had made for each of them as wedding favours. The groomsmen had each been given cufflinks for the wedding, each displaying the initials of the respective wearers. Each member of the family had been given a glass with their name, and for the wedding party, their role, but those that were left had been wrapped and packed away. Meredith had intended to give her own gifts the day before, but there hadn't been an opportunity to get all the women together in one place for longer than a few seconds. So before they sat round the table, Meredith was able to pass along the tiny bags for each of her new and old sisters, and her mother in law to open. As each woman unwrapped the box, they were presented with a tiny silver jigsaw piece, with their first initial engraved on the front and the date on the back.

"These are gorgeous Meredith," Lexie gushed, looking around at the other women who had similar expressions on their faces.

"I wanted a nice way to say thank you so when I saw a three piece jigsaw in the window of the jewellery store, I asked if they could make nine pieces to fit together, and they did."

"They fit together?" Amy raised an eyebrow, looking at Kathleen next to her and holding her box close to it.

"Mine is the middle, and the bridesmaids are the edges. And the rest of the sisters and mom are the corners. I thought it was a sweet way to represent my new family. Before Sadie bailed it was just supposed to be the nine of you but Derek thought it was a nice touch if I took one too."

"Then how come Kathleen doesn't just have Sadie's 'S'?" Izzie looked confused.

"Derek had them engraved when we were at the spa. I told him to pick them up, but he had them initialled while he was at the mall, like a while you wait kinda deal."

"Can we try it?" Nancy asked, almost in disbelief at the possibility. Each girl pulled her jigsaw piece from its box, laying them in front of Meredith, who gently slotted them together.

"Beautiful, right?" Derek commented as he came to stand behind his wife, not able to be apart from her for a moment longer. "My wife has impeccable taste."

"She's a Shepherd woman now, of course she does." Nancy told him, making Meredith smile even more brightly. "I just hate that we're going to be so far away from you all."

"Come with us." Liz pleaded. "Seattle can be your holiday home. Come live near us again, like old times."

"And have you coming over every five minutes to be nosey?" Derek quipped. "I think we'll stick to Seattle. It might be far away from you guys, but its home now. I couldn't go back after all that Washington's given me. And when we come it'll be all the more special."

"Fine." She conceded. "But you better come by more often. We barely saw you at all the year you moved here, and I'm betting Meredith had as much to do with you coming over at Christmas as anything else."

"I promise we'll try." Lizzie frowned at his answer. "We're having a baby in a few months. Once we're settled then we'll definitely come out and see you all."

"And you can always come visit if you're working nearby or fancy a vacation." Meredith reminded them.

"Then call more." Kathleen begged. "And let us know when you're around so we can call you."

"And Meredith, teach him how to skype so we can see that little bundle when he or she gets here."

Their conversation was interrupted when the waiting staff brought through their meals. They had pre-ordered to save a little time before checkout. The girls were heading to a bed and breakfast closer to the airport so they'd all be leaving the hotel in just a few hours.

The conversation flowed effortlessly between the Seattle and New York families, and As much as they'd wished it wouldn't, time soon caught up with them, and after all the plates were cleared everyone went their separate ways to get ready for checkout.

Meredith was quiet as she packed her things to go in the car, her hands faltering a little with the zip on her bag. Derek swooped in to press a kiss to her temple, holding her for a moment, knowing it was all just a little overwhelming.

"I'll miss them too." he admitted. "It's okay to be sad that they won't be around." Meredith half smiled at the sentiment, her tears falling anyway thanks to her hormones.

"This week has just been so perfect." She sniffed. "I just don't know if I'm ready for it to end, to have everything go back to normal. I like our little bubble."

"We have some time before we really get back to normal, and by the time we've gotten used to being back at work, you'll be almost ready to have bee. And until that day, we simply need to take every opportunity to have a whole lot of sex." Meredith giggled through her tears and reached up to accept the kiss Derek was offering. Right on cue, bee gave a swift kick between the two of them, bringing them back into the moment. They left the room, and headed to the lobby, where they'd agreed to meet one last time before checkout. Meredith's breath hitched a little as she saw the piles of suitcases waiting to leave, but there was a not insignificant part of her that couldn't believe her luck that she had such a big family to miss when they went back home.

Derek lost count of the number of people that had tears flowing as Nancy drove off to the airport in her rental car, her departure unofficially ending the wedding festivities. One by one Carolyn and the other sisters left, leaving just Meredith and Derek to settle the bills and head home themselves.

Izzie had requested that they lend her a key after lunch, so the pair had no doubt that she had some sort of plan for their arrival, and knowing how much Meredith hated to cook, or wait for Derek to deliver something to satisfy her cravings, there would undoubtedly be food involved.

Getting everything in the car with so many people to help had made the task seem positively simple, but as they pulled up to the house and looked into the back of the car, they knew getting it into the house would be a far more arduous task. Meredith got straight to work, pulling out boxes ready to take in. boxes that were quickly taken from her grip by Derek, so that she could bring something smaller and lighter. The car began to clear slowly, and the pile of gifts in the lounge grew larger. Meredith stopped to stretch her back, and Derek knew that it was time to stop for a while. He sent Meredith for a long shower, giving him time to bring in the rest of the gifts, and anything that couldn't be left in the car overnight. He heard the shower shut off, giving him just enough time to reheat one of the dishes that Izzie had left in their refrigerator. He knew Meredith loved Izzie's lasagne, and had eaten the leftovers for breakfast many times so he put it in the oven ready to pull out once he heard her on the stairs, which if it was anything like normal, would be in around fifteen minutes.

Fresh from her shower, Meredith was glowing as she walked in to join him in the kitchen as he plated up the lasagne, making sure to put plenty of salad on both plates. Meredith would inevitably pick the bits she wanted from both plates before tipping what was left onto his, but there wasn't a thing in the world he wouldn't share with her.

"Mmmm smells good." She complimented, a smile creeping across her face as she remembered this was their first meal at home as a married couple.

"I'd like to take credit for it but it was all Izzie." He confessed bringing the plates to the table. "All I had to do was add the salad." He grinned as he accepted the kiss Meredith had reached up for. "Did I mention how much I love her?"

"It's a little late for confessing your love for other women." Meredith mock pouted as she kissed Derek again. "You're stuck with me forever now."

"I couldn't think of anyone I'd rather spend forever with. My life is perfect right now. You and bee. I couldn't ask for anything more."

"Well bee is hungry, and even though I distinctly said no presents, there's a lounge full of them, and now that you're my husband, it seems we have to open them together."

"Well then, I shan't keep the two of you waiting any longer. Would you like water or soda? Or perhaps tea?"

"The green one you got me last week please." Meredith requested as she started to help herself to the salad from Derek's plate, swapping half of his lettuce for the tomatoes on her own plate.

"Anything for my wife." He grinned. "God I love calling you that. I've wanted to for so long that it feels almost wrong."

"Well get used to it, we're not going anywhere."

"Good. Because neither am i. this is it."

"It really is. Forever and always"

"Forever and always."