13. Mothers

Disclaimer: If I owned Grey's Anatomy, Derek's middle name would be Michael, because that's what it is in every fanfic. And now four years of fandom have to be edited.

By the way...I sort of hate Derek Shepherd right now, and it took a lot out of me to make him McDreamy in this chapter.

Thanks to those that take the time to review. I really appreciate it.

Mothers. Meredith wasn't particularly fond of mothers. But she was hoping Derek's would be different. In the back of her mind, she knew not to get her hopes up. She knew there was no reason why Derek's mother would be any different than any other mother. But there was—because she had raised Derek, the love of her life. So she must have done something right. Right?

Derek had spent days trying to convince Meredith to relax. But Meredith couldn't help but worry. After all, she was the home wrecker. Addison was like their daughter, and she wondered if they blamed Meredith for the demise of Derek's marriage. And that had Meredith freaking out.

As though Izzie could sense what Meredith was thinking about, she spoke. "Happy thoughts, Mer. Happy thoughts."

Meredith snapped out of her trance. "What?"

"It's going to be fine. Stop worrying", Izzie said, popping a chip into her mouth as the five of them sat in the cafeteria during their lunch break.

"Oh…I know…I'm fine", Meredith lied.

"Right", Cristina said, seeing right through Meredith's act.

"Why are you so afraid?", Alex asked, shoving a bite of his turkey sandwich into his mouth.

"She's afraid McDreamy's mommy is going to kill her in her sleep", Cristina answered for her.

"I am not", Meredith rebutted.

"You are too", George said in a sing song voice.

Meredith leaned back in her chair. "I'm not good with mothers."

"Just un-invite her", Cristina shrugged.

"I can't just un-invite her. She's flying in tomorrow morning."

"How long is she staying?", Izzie asked.

"A few days", Meredith sighed.

"Are you taking off from work?"

"Yeah. Derek is too. And it sucks because I missed three days last week because I was sick", Meredith explained. "At this rate, I'll never get any OR time."

"What are you doing when she's here?", Alex asked.

"Being a good hostess. Begging for her approval. Things like that", Meredith told them.

"There's no reason for her not to like you", Izzie assured her. "Once she sees how happy you and Derek are together, she'll love you."

George nodded. "Iz is right. It's going to be fine."

"I hope so", Meredith breathed. Their conversation was interrupted by the sounding of Meredith's pager. "Gotta go." She stood up from her chair and made her way out of the cafeteria after throwing her trash in the trashcan.

"Hey", Derek smiled as Meredith met him in the on-call room.

"Hey", she said softly. "Why, um…are we here?"

Derek shrugged. "This morning you seemed a little off. I just wanted to make sure you were okay", he said, pulling her in for a hug.

"I'm fine", she said quickly.

"Mhm", Derek smirked, taking her wrist and pulling her down on the bed next to him.

"What? I am."

"Am I going to have to beg? Because I will", Derek smiled.

Meredith let out a heavy sigh and flopped back onto the bed. "Fine. I'm nervous."

"Nervous? About what? My mom coming?", Derek asked, brushing her hair out of her face.

Meredith nodded. "Moms tend to disapprove of me", she reminded him.

"Meredith", he said softly, lying down on the bed next to her. "It's going to be fine. I promise", he said before kissing her.

She moaned at the feeling of his lips against hers. "Der."

"Hmm?"

"Work."

"What about it?"

"I have a job."

Derek laughed against her lips. "Me too."

"I have to go", she moaned.

"No time for a quickie?"

"Nope", Meredith giggled. "I'm not going to be here for a few days, so I need to make myself useful so they don't fire me while I'm gone."

Meredith and Derek both sat up on the bed. "They would never fire you", Derek laughed, kissing her again.

"And how do you know that?"

"Because if they fire you, I'd quit. And then they'd be forced to re-hire both of us", Derek explained, causing Meredith to giggle.

"There it is", Derek smiled, hugging her again.

"What?"

"The giggle—the Meredith giggle", Derek said, rubbing his hands up and down her arms.

"Cheesy", she laughed again.

"Are you okay, Mer?", he asked, wanting to make sure she wasn't worrying about anything before they went on their days.

Meredith nodded. "Yeah. It'll be okay. Just...she's nice right?"

"Yes. She's nice. And she's going to love you", he assured her for the thousandth time.

"Okay. I trust you", she said, kissing him again before they left the on-call room hand in hand.

"Thank you", he smiled. "I love you."

"I love you too", she grinned as they unlinked hands and went their separate ways down the corridor.

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When they arrived home later on that night after their shift, Meredith and Derek cleaned the house. Again. Izzie, Alex, and Derek had told her numerous times that the house couldn't get any cleaner, but Meredith wasn't convinced. She cleaned the house from top to bottom, then did it all over again.

After vacuuming the carpet for the tenth time, Derek decided it was time to stop. "Mer", he called.

"Yeah?", she yelled from the kitchen, giving the fridge a once over. She was checking to make sure nothing was expired, and that it was well stocked. Izzie had baked muffins, cobbler, and pie for his mother's arrival. Meredith said having baked goods made the house look homier, so last night, Izzie baked her ass off, which Meredith appreciated.

"I think we're good…the house is clean."

"I just want to wipe off the baseboards one more time, and make sure everything is okay in the guest room", Meredith said as he entered the kitchen.

"Meredith, you did all of those things. And then you made me do them. And then you went back and did them again. I assure you, the house is clean. Even if it wasn't, my mom wouldn't care. She raised five kids…the house was never spotless", Derek smiled.

Meredith just stared at him with an adorable, pouty look on her face. "Derek."

"Meredith", he mimicked.

"Just let me dust the laundry room one more time", Meredith said, walking toward the door.

Derek caught her arm before she could escape. "Mer, my mom isn't even going to go in the laundry room, and I guarantee she won't care if it's dusted or not."

"I just—", Meredith rebutted before Derek could cut her off.

"Don't make me middle name you", Derek smirked.

"Do you even know my middle name?", Meredith giggled.

Derek paused for a moment. "No", he said sadly.

Meredith smiled and kissed him softly. "Aww, feeling bad now?"

"Yeah, actually. I am", he confessed. Meredith was the love of his life, and he felt like he barely knew her. "I'm sorry."

Meredith took his hand in her own and led him out of the kitchen, realizing the house was clean enough. She could always clean again tomorrow before Derek's mom arrived. "That's okay. I don't know yours either."

"How do we not know these things about each other?", Derek asked as they walked up the steps toward the bedroom.

"I don't know", Meredith shrugged.

"I feel bad", Derek said softly, pulling her into his arms.

"Elizabeth", Meredith smiled. "My middle name is Elizabeth."

"Hmm...Meredith Elizabeth. Beautiful name…", he said, kissing her softly.

"What's yours?", she asked as she shimmied out of her clothes and quickly changed into her pajamas.

Derek did the same, unbuttoning his shirt. "Christopher", he said, pulling off his jeans and pulling on some sweats.

"Really?"

"Really", Derek said as they pulled back the covers and got into bed. "Why?"

"I don't know. I just wouldn't have thought Christopher", she yawned, cuddling her body closer to Derek.

He wrapped his arm around her shoulder. "Why? What'd you think it was?"

"Not a clue", Meredith laughed. "How did I not know your middle name? I've known you all this time, and I feel like I know nothing about you."

"Me either", he smiled as he looked into her bright green eyes. He loved her eyes. It was one of the first things he noticed about her that night they met at Joe's. And ever since, he could tell exactly what she was thinking simply by looking into her eyes. They told her story…but he wanted to learn even more about her. "Tell me things."

"What?", she giggled.

"I just…anything. Tell me anything", he said, kissing the top of her head.

"About what?"

"You."

Meredith bit her lip. "Hmm…do you want to know my favorite novel or my favorite band?", she teased.

"Cute", he smiled.

"I don't know what to say", she confessed. "Should I start at birth, and work my way up?"

"I know your birthday—that's a start. July 29th", Derek smiled.

"Well, at least you know that much", she laughed. "And yours is April 2nd."

"Yep. I'm glad we know that. It might be helpful in the future, you know, when one of us has a birthday", Derek joked.

"True", Meredith agreed. "Oh, here's something…I wasn't due until mid-August."

"You were premature?"

Meredith nodded. "Yeah. I was fine though, just a little small…four pounds."

"Aww, Mer", he said, kissing the top of her head. "I bet you were the most beautiful baby in the nursery."

Meredith just rolled her eyes. "Yeah. Sure."

"What? It's true."

"Just out of curiosity…so I know what I'm getting myself into…how big were you when you were born?"

"How much did I weigh?"

"Yeah."

Derek shrugged. "I think I was almost nine pounds."

"Okay. That's a joke, right? You're joking?"

"No. Why?"

"Can a person come back from that? My God…", Meredith said, still trying to fathom the idea.

"Wait…why…?"

"Your beast children are going to ruin my vagina. Consider it ruined. And unusable."

"Meredith", Derek said as he attempted to hold back a laugh. "Think of it this way…you were tiny. I was big. Maybe that means we'll make average sized babies."

"I hope so. If I have to push a Thanksgiving turkey out of my body…a very small part of my body…a part of my body that you love for its…smallness…there's going to be hell to pay."

"It'll be fine. I promise. We don't have to worry about that for a while anyway", he assured her.

"Okay…I'll let it go for now" Meredith laughed. "And you probably had a full set of hair, right?"

"Dark curls from day one", Derek laughed.

"Good. I was born bald, so hopefully they'll get your hair genes."

"Well, they'll definitely be geniuses—brain surgeon material", Derek smiled.

" Obviously", Meredith joked. "Brain surgeons with God complexes as big as their father's."

"You're cute…with the teasing and all", Derek smirked, kissing her softly. "So what else should I know about you?"

"Um…" She thought for a moment. "I had pink hair in high school. And I wore a lot of black. And I didn't go to my prom."

"You didn't?"

"Nope…And I'm going to take a wild guess and say that you did."

"Uh, yeah. I did. I think I went to four of them actually", Derek laughed.

"Four?"

"Well, five. If you count the hospital prom", Derek grinned. "That was by far the most memorable."

"I bet it was", Meredith smirked. "So were you the charming, handsome, football player who went with captain of the cheerleading squad?"

Derek laughed. "No actually. I was in the band…I played the saxophone. I had acne…and an afro. Far from football player. My mom made me go with my sisters' friends."

"Hmm…who knew the pink haired, angry girl with the black nail polish would fall for the bank geek with the afro", Meredith giggled, looking down at the engagement ring on her finger.

"Yeah, we probably wouldn't have been friends in high school", Derek laughed as he kissed her.

"Mmm", Meredith moaned against his lips. "Probably not."

"I would have asked you to the prom", Derek smiled softly.

Meredith laughed. "And I would have said no…but thanks anyway", kissing him again.

"I would have convinced you", he murmured against her lips.

"You are very convincing", she giggled, running her fingers through his hair.

"I am", he said, nibbling on her earlobe. "Think I can convince you to have sex tonight?"

"I'm tired", Meredith sighed.

"Fine…I guess we'll just have it tomorrow then", Derek said casually, awaiting her reaction.

"There is no way we're having sex when your mother is across the hall", Meredith told him definitively. "That would be weird…and wrong…so wrong."

"Well then we'll have to wait three days."

"I…we've never gone that long without it—well, not for a while anyway", Meredith said, knowing she would give in to him. Three days was far too long for them to go without.

"Which is why I think we should probably have some mind blowing sex now…you know, to make up for the lost days", he explained as he began to suck on that sensitive spot on her neck.

"Hmm…maybe you're right", she moaned, tilting her head back so he could have better access.

"Told you I was convincing", he breathed. His hot breath on her neck sent chills up her spine. And when he ran his tongue over the spot behind her ear, she lost it.

"Oh God", she moaned, pulling him on top of her, running her nails down his back. "I blame it on your tongue."

"My tongue", he laughed, pressing his lips against hers once again.

"Mhm…very talented", she giggled.

He wrapped his arms around her, and flipped them over so she was on top of him. "That's not the only talented part about me", he smiled, running his hands down her body, memorizing every curve of her small figure.

"True", she said softly, kissing him again. She could already feel his erection growing beneath her.

Derek looked up at her and smiled. "I love you."

"I love you too", she whispered.

"I guess we'll finish this "getting to know you" conversation tomorrow", he laughed, slipping his fingers into her panties.

"I have pictures I'll show you. That'll make up for it." She kissed him again, gasping when she felt his warm hands rubbing her ass.

"Looking forward to it."

"But now—sex."

"Sex." He wrapped his arms around her, gently rolling her onto her back. He kissed her again, slipping his tongue into her mouth. Passion radiated between their bodies. Their love for one another growing deeper with every caress.

They spent the night making love to one another, only stopping when physical exhaustion took over and their bodies begged for sleep. Derek pulled her naked, sweaty body close to his, and together they slept for the few remaining hours until the alarm clock would wake them up for the start of a new day.

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"You're going to be late", Meredith said from the bathroom doorway. She was standing there in Derek's tee shirt with her toothbrush in her mouth, her sex hair still all over the place from their late night under the sheets.

"You're the one who insisted we go four rounds last night", Derek laughed, buttoning his shirt.

"You weren't exactly protesting", she reminded him with a mouthful of toothpaste.

"You were naked. I can't say no when you're naked."

She spit into the sink. "Hmm…I sort of remember you being naked too…now go."

"I'm going." Derek walked over to her and kissed her cheek. "You smell like sex."

"I'm getting in the shower in a minute", she laughed. "Go…I don't want you to be late."

"Going", he said, walking out of the room. "I love you."

"Love you too", she called back before making her way across the hall. Hopefully a shower would help her clear her head. She needed to be on top of her game when Derek's mom arrived. Looking post-coital was never a good thing when meeting your future mother-in-law.

After showering, she put on a pair of jeans and a long sleeve shirt. It may not have been Addison-classy, but Meredith didn't want to pretend to be somebody she wasn't. She was going to be herself when his mother was here. She was going to be the Meredith that her son fell in love with.

She went downstairs and made a pot of coffee. After pouring herself a cup, she grabbed a muffin and made her way to the living room, occasionally peeking out the window to see if they were here. Yesterday after talking with Derek, she felt better. But now, with each passing minute, she was starting to freak out again.

"Hey", Alex said, appearing in the archway of the living room, Izzie standing next to him. They walked over and plopped down next to her on the couch.

"Hey. I thought you guys had work today", she yawned.

"We're on-call tonight so we don't have to be in until noon", Izzie explained.

"Ready for judgment day?", Alex joked, earning him a nudge in the arm from Izzie.

"No. I'm not", Meredith laughed before turning serious. "I just want her to accept me for me, you know? I can't be…Addison. I'm just…me. I snore, I don't cook, I put my hair in a ponytail every day. And that's—"

"—Why Derek loves you", Izzie finished for her. "He loves you because you're you. And that's all he expects you to be. Okay?"

"Okay", Meredith smiled. "And thank you for the pep talk. It helped."

"Good", Izzie said with a nod.

"Crap…they're here", Meredith said, standing up from the couch.

Alex patted her back. "Deep breaths, Mer."

"Right. Okay", Meredith nodded. "I can do this."

Derek and his mother approached the front door. At first glance, Meredith had to admit that there was nothing frightening about the woman. She was around 5'4", and had shoulder-length brown hair, 

nothing like her son's dark curls. She actually looked…friendly. "Hello, dear. You must be Meredith", Mrs. Shepherd said with a warm smile, pulling Meredith in for a hug.

"Hi, Mrs. Shepherd", Meredith said shyly, wringing her hands together.

"Oh, sweetheart, call me Linda…or mom…whichever you're more comfortable with", she said kindly. "And who are these two?"

"Oh, um…these are my friends, Izzie and Alex", Meredith said, pointing to each of them. "They live here with me."

"Pleasure to meet you both", she said, hugging both of them. Apparently, Linda Shepherd was a hugger. Meredith wasn't used to the whole affectionate mother thing, but she could definitely get used to it.

"You too", Izzie said politely. "Well, I guess we'll be going…leave you guys alone. Alex and I had plans to go out to breakfast anyway."

Alex looked at her confusedly. They had no intention of going out to breakfast, but Alex went along with it. "Right, yeah. We uh…I guess we'll see you later", he said with a smile.

"Have a nice time. It was very nice to meet you both", Linda said with a smile.

"You too", Alex smiled. Izzie grabbed the keys off of the table, and together she and Alex made their way out of the house. Meredith secretly wished she could join them, but she knew she had to do this. She had to do this for Derek, for their relationship, for their future.

"Would you like some coffee, Mom?", Derek asked, taking off her coat and putting it onto the rack.

Linda smiled. "I would love some, dear."

The three of them made their way into the kitchen. Meredith and Linda sat at the table while Derek got coffee for each of them. "It's so nice to finally meet you, Meredith. I'm glad my son finally decided to call me. The least he could do was tell me he was engaged", Linda laughed, shaking her head.

Derek sighed. "Sorry, mom", he said, walking over to the table with their mugs. He took a seat next to Meredith and kissed her cheek, letting her know that he was there for her.

"Oh, I know how it is. The hospital keeps you busy", Mrs. Shepherd nodded, glancing over to Meredith. "You're awfully quiet, dear."

"Oh…sorry. I um…I'm sorry", Meredith said, nervously biting her lip.

Linda reached across the table and squeezed Meredith's hand. "Honey, please don't be nervous. I'm not going to bite. My son obviously adores you. I've only been here for ten minutes, and I can see that."

Meredith smiled. "I love him too."

"So Derek tells me you're building a house", Linda said happily.

"We are", Meredith smiled. "It's…the land is amazing. We're really excited about it."

"That's wonderful, dear. It's about time Derek moved out of that trailer Nancy told me about."

"Don't listen to Nancy. The trailer is great", Derek laughed.

"Whatever you say, dear", Linda laughed. "So Meredith, what do your friends do?"

Meredith nodded. "They work with me, actually. So we're sort of always together, but it's nice. We're all close friends."

"It's always nice to be friends with those you work with", Linda agreed. "You're living here too, right Derek?"

"Yeah. Unofficially, but yeah. I live here", Derek nodded.

Meredith felt her cheeks burning. She knew that both she and Derek were adults. And yes, they were engaged, but something still felt weird about the fact that Mrs. Shepherd knew they were sleeping together. She didn't know how strict she was about such things, or if she thought it was improper to sleep together before marriage.

Almost as if Linda was reading her mind, she laughed. "Oh, Meredith. Don't be embarrassed. This is 2008. I know you're both sexual beings. Don't feel like you have to explain…"

"Oh God", Derek groaned. This conversation suddenly took a turn down the path of awkwardness.

"Oh hush, Derek. I'm just saying, I know. And I don't mind. You're getting married. And you're clearly in love with each other", Linda explained.

"Calling your son a sexual being—definitely a good ice breaker", Derek joked, resting his hand on Meredith's thigh.

"Good. Now that we've gotten that out of the way, I think it's time for you to leave us alone so Meredith and I can talk."

"Oh…I…he…", Meredith said, clearly in a state of panic. She didn't want Derek to leave. But deep down, she knew that she and Mrs. Shepherd would eventually have to talk without Derek there. It was like a cardinal rule of meeting the future mother-in-law.

"Okay. I have to call the hospital to check on some patients anyway", Derek said with a smile. He leaned over and kissed Meredith's cheek. "Relax", he whispered into her ear.

Meredith smiled at him and nodded. Derek stood up and made his way out of the room. "Go easy on her, mom", he joked.

Linda glared at him. "Go", she smiled, shooing him out of the room.

There they were. Meredith and her future mother-in-law sitting at her kitchen table. Without Derek. Meredith looked at the woman and smiled. This should be fun, she thought to herself.

I know this was short, but I didn't want to cram Mrs. Shepherd's visit all in one chapter. I really want her and Meredith to talk about things. And I made Linda a nice mom, not Ellis-like. She's actually based on my sweet neighbor that I've known all my life. :)

Please review. I'd really appreciate it.