24. Playing House

Disclaimer: I wish.

A few weeks had passed since spreading the remainder of Ellis's ashes on the land of their backyard, and Meredith found herself finally at peace with her dead mother. They were also a few weeks closer to the wedding. Thankfully, they were having a small wedding as well as reception on their land, which took a lot of stress out of wedding planning, and more time for the two of them to spend together.

For the next four days, they would be spending some well deserved quality time with each other. The hospital had been exhausting them lately. Both Meredith and Derek had scrubbed in for more surgeries last week than they could count. Apparently spring time brought in almost as many surgical cases as the holiday season did. So they considered this a spring break of sorts. It was a time set aside every year for some of the Seattle Grace surgeons to attend conferences and seminars held all over the country. Back in New York, Derek had always attended these events, but he opted to refrain from doing so this year. He wanted to spend the rare four day holiday with Meredith.

Only they wouldn't be alone for the entirety of their little vacation. They would be spending a full two days babysitting Meredith's niece, who would soon be Derek's niece too. Lexie was taking advantage of her four day vacation by going to Spokane with Molly and Eric. When Meredith found out, she eagerly volunteered her and Derek to babysit the ten month old little girl. They enjoyed spending the day with her the last time, and were excited to watch her again. The three of them would be dropping her off soon, and would pick her up on Saturday morning, which meant Laura would be spending three nights with them. Derek and Meredith would still get to spend all of Saturday and Sunday together.

"Der!", Meredith called from Izzie's bedroom. Izzie was nice enough to offer up her room for the baby while she shared her room with Alex.

She heard him making his way up the stairs. "Yeah?", he said as he entered the room.

"I can't get this damn portable crib to open", she said, clearly frustrated with the thing. After their shift for the day was over, Meredith got all of the things they would need to babysit from Lexie's car, and together, she and Derek had transported them back to her house.

Derek got down on his knees next to her and easily unfolded the little white crib. He looked over at her and smirked.

"Don't", she pointed at him, wiping some hair off her face.

"I didn't say anything", Derek said amusedly, throwing his hands up in defense.

Meredith glared at him. "You were going to…"

"I was not", he laughed, kissing her cheek.

"Ass", she whispered.

"You can't use that language when the baby gets here", he reminded her as they moved the crib next to Izzie's bed.

"I wouldn't say that in front of the baby", she sighed, rolling her eyes at him. "Just so you know, we're not having sex while she's here either. These legs are closed to you."

"Why?"

"Because. We're…loud. And that could be traumatizing for a baby to hear", she explained as they put the little pink blanket on top of the matching sheet.

"You, my dear, are the loud one", he grinned.

Meredith giggled. "I know I am. But you can get pretty loud yourself."

"What's going to happen when we have kids? Are we going to go to a hotel every time we want to have sex?", he asked jokingly.

"They're going to have to learn to live with the fact that mommy and daddy are loud", she shrugged.

Derek cringed. "That's…slightly disturbing."

"Fine. We'll just have to take it down a notch or two when there's kids down the hall", she reasoned, a slight smile tugging in the corners of her mouth.

"Deal", he grinned, pulling her up against him and kissing her.

"Ready to play parents?", she grinned.

Derek smiled genuinely. "Looking forward to it."

"Me too", she agreed. "This'll be good practice…help us decide if we're cut out for this whole having kids thing."

"You and I are going to be great parents one day", he said softly, kissing her forehead.

Meredith rested her head against his chest. "Hmm…you think so?"

"Absolutely", he said with a nod.

"Love you", she yawned.

"I love you, too." He tilted her chin up and kissed her softly. When their lips parted, Meredith let out another yawn. "You're not going to fall asleep and leave me hanging, are you?"

"No", she yawned again. "I'm just a little tired. Low blood sugar. I haven't eaten yet today."

"Mer, its six o'clock", Derek said in shock. "Why didn't you eat anything?"

"I was in surgery all day. And then we had to come home and set up everything for the baby", she told him as they walked into their bedroom to make sure the baby monitors were working.

"Why don't you go eat something? We're all set up now."

Meredith shrugged. "We can eat once the baby gets here."

"We can play house", he teased, brushing her hair back with his fingers before kissing her.

"Mmm…", Meredith moaned against his lips. "Sounds like a plan."

"Hmm…when are they getting here?"

Meredith wrapped her legs around his waist. "Soon", she murmured against his lips.

"Do we have time to...?", he asked. He eased her back onto the bed and proceeded to suck on her neck, knowing all of her sensitive spots that made her moan.

"Yeah", she breathed, spreading her legs apart slightly so he could lie between them.

"Good. Because I wasn't going to stop", he teased. His hot breath fanning against her neck caused her skin to erupt into goose bumps.

"I didn't think you were…", she giggled. Thanks to their frequent on-call room quickies, they were used to having rushed sex. It just made the slow, intimate love making all the better. But right now, they had to make it fast. And that was fine by both of them.

--

"Okay, that wasn't as fast as it could have been", Meredith said as she attempted to fix her sex hair and zip her jeans at the same time.

Derek laughed. "But it was worth it."

"Of course it was", she giggled, tossing him his shirt.

"Thanks." Derek caught the shirt and quickly pulled it over his head. "It certainly made up for the next three nights."

"It was some very good sex…", she whispered, kissing him softly.

"There's no such thing as bad sex between the two of us…", he grinned, rubbing her back with his hands.

Meredith smirked. "Are you trying to take advantage of me again?"

"How much time do we have?", he teased.

"Not enough", she yawned again. Her post coital mind coupled with her empty stomach certainly didn't help with the exhaustion of working all day.

"You need to go eat something", Derek chuckled as they walked out of the room.

"I think they're here", Meredith said, glancing out the window after they descended the stairs. They opened the front door and waited for the four of them to enter the house. Once inside, they chatted for a few minutes about the baby, and what she would and wouldn't eat, some tricks to get her to sleep, or what to do if she got fussy. By the time Lexie, Molly, and Eric left, both Meredith and Derek felt confident that they could handle three days with Laura.

Until they pulled out of the driveway and Laura began crying. "Ma", she whimpered, clinging to Meredith's shirt with her little fists.

"Mommy will be back, I promise", Meredith soothed, rubbing the tiny baby's back. She may have been ten months old, but she was still small for her age, much like Meredith was when she was a baby. However, despite Meredith's attempts at trying to calm the baby down, Laura continued to wail. "Da…", she cried, struggling to be set free of Meredith's arms.

"Here", Derek said softly, reaching for the upset baby. Meredith handed Laura to him and he held her against him so that she was looking over his shoulder. He bounced her up and down slightly and patted her back.

Meredith swore her heart fluttered at how calm and gentle Derek was with the baby. She stood there in amazement at how quickly Laura relaxed into his arms. She laid her head on his shoulder and whimpered softly, her tiny thumb finding its way to her mouth.

"It's okay. Uncle Derek has you", he whispered, kissing the top of Laura's head. Meredith couldn't fight the smile that tugged on the corners of her mouth. She didn't think it was possible to love him any more than she did, but she found that seeing him with a baby had that effect on her.

"You were here before, remember? That wasn't so bad, was it?", Derek asked in a soft voice. "You such a big girl now, aren't you? Yes you are. The three of us are gonna have fun while you're visiting. Aunt Meredith said that she and I can't have our fun though. Isn't she mean?", he teased, glancing to Meredith.

Meredith smirked. "We had our fun a half hour ago."

"Yep, she's so mean to me, Laur…", he sighed, tickling the baby's belly to cheer her up. Laura let out a giggle and nuzzled her face into Derek's neck.

"All better now, Princess?", he asked cheerfully, propping the baby up in his arms and kissing her cheek.

Meredith's growling stomach could be heard over Laura's laughter and Derek looked over to his fiancé. "You", he pointed to her. "Need to eat before you pass out", he said as he began walking into the kitchen with Laura.

"What are you gonna make for me?", Meredith asked with her sweetest smile, grabbing the diaper bag off the table and following him into the kitchen.

"I'm holding the baby. So the question is…what are you making for me?", he teased, kissing her cheek.

Meredith cocked at her head at him and scrunched her nose. "Fine", she said, walking over to the fridge. "We have some left over grilled cheese…"

"Delicious", he joked. He decided to hand Laura over to Meredith who cuddled the baby close to her. Laura's little thumb popped out of her mouth and she grabbed a fistful of Meredith's hair. She immediately put it into her mouth and began sucking on it.

"Does that taste good?", Meredith giggled as she walked over to the fridge and stood next to Derek.

Derek glanced over at the baby. "I think she's hungry too", he laughed.

"I think so", Meredith agreed. "Are you hungry, sweet pea?"

Laura glanced up at Meredith and smiled; all traces of her tears long gone. "Foo?", she asked with her wide green eyes that were identical to Meredith's.

"Yep, food", Meredith laughed. "Let's see what you have in here", she said, propping the baby on her hip and looking in the tote bag for food.

"You look cute like that", Derek commented with a grin as he looked through some take-out menus.

Meredith glanced back at him. "With a baby on my hip?", she giggled.

"It suits you", he said with a smile. "Very mommy-ish."

"Ma?", Laura asked, looking back and forth between Meredith and Derek.

Derek attempted to avert another crying fit at the mention of the word "mommy" by quickly changing the subject. "That's Aunt Meredith. Can you say Meredith?", he asked excitedly.

"Meh?", she asked, pointing to Meredith.

"Yep. Meh", Derek chuckled.

"And this is Uncle Derek", Meredith said with a smile, pointing to him.

"Deh", she squealed, bouncing a bit in Meredith's arms.

Meredith smiled and looked at the baby, who was still sucking on her hair. "She's cute."

"I still can't get over how much the two of you look alike, especially after seeing your baby pictures", Derek remarked as he studied both of them.

"Yeah, I guess she does", Meredith agreed.

"I hope ours look just like you", he said warmly as he helped Meredith put Laura into the high chair.

After Laura was seated comfortably, Meredith wrapped her arms around Derek's neck and kissed him softly. "What if they're boys?"

"I already told you we're having girls", he said with a knowing grin.

"Uh huh", she laughed. "And how do you know this?"

"I just know", he shrugged. Meredith looked at him incredulously. "I've guessed the sexes of eleven of my nieces and nephews correctly."

"Seriously?", Meredith asked incredulously.

Derek grinned. "It's true. Ask Mark. Or call my mom."

"I'm not going to call your mom, Derek", she laughed.

"I'm telling you. Girls", he said as he picked up a menu for a pizza shop. "How's pizza sound?"

"That's fine. Can we get the Meat Lovers?"

"You're ruining my diet", he teased.

"It's meat, Derek. Learn to live a little", she mocked, Velcro-ing Laura's bib around her neck in preparation for whatever they decided to feed her.

Laura smiled at Meredith and began clapping her hands. "Foo?", she asked again excitedly.

"Yeah", Meredith nodded. "Let's feed you."

After Derek ordered their pizza, he joined Meredith at the kitchen table. "She definitely has your hearty appetite", he teased, kissing her quickly.

Laura pressed her palm to her lips and blew them a kiss, mimicking their kiss with each other. "You want a kiss, Princess?", Derek laughed.

"Kith!", Laura squealed, kicking her feet against the high chair.

Derek and Meredith leaned in and kissed either side of Laura's cheeks, causing the baby to giggle in delight. "Aren't you a happy girl", Derek said with a smile.

"Foo", Laura clapped.

"Okay. Let's feed her. I don't want her to get cranky like you when you don't eat", he teased.

"And you say I'm the mean one", she sighed, rolling her eyes.

"You know I'm kidding", Derek laughed. "Okay, let's see some of your food options, shall we?" He pulled out several of the Gerber Lil' Entrees from the bag and showed them to her.

"How about creamy chicken, noodles, and vegetables?", he suggested with a smile.

Laura shook her head. "No."

"Okay, then", Meredith laughed. "How about mashed potatoes, chicken, and gravy?", she asked, handing Laura the little package of food so she could look at it.

"No", Laura said definitively, dropping it onto the tray of her high chair.

Both Derek and Meredith laughed. "Okay. How about the cheese ravioli? Mmm, that sounds yummy…", Derek smiled.

"Teef", Laura giggled, pointing to several of the little teeth in her mouth, seeming to forget all about her food selections.

"You have teeth? Let's see", Derek said enthusiastically. Laura gave them a big smile, causing her slightly chubby cheeks to dimple.

"You have very nice teeth", Derek laughed. "You use teeth to eat, don't you?"

Whether or not she understood what Derek was saying, Laura nodded her head and began twisting some of her dark blonde hair that matched Meredith's in her fingers.

"Ooh, Laur, how about some macaroni and cheese?", Meredith said excitedly.

Laura shook her head again. "No", she laughed.

"Oh, you think this is funny, huh?", Derek chuckled, poking the baby's belly. "Your tummy is hungry."

"I don't think she wants any of this", Meredith giggled, digging around in the diaper bag for anything else Laura could eat. "There's little snacks in here, but I want her to eat something besides those."

They continued to get Laura to eat something, each time followed with "no." A few minutes later, they heard the doorbell ring, signaling the arrival of their pizza. Derek walked to the front door and got the pizza from the college-aged delivery guy, tipping him generously. Derek delivered pizza during college, so he always made it a point to give a nice tip, knowing what a thankless job it was.

"Here we go…a box of clotted artery pizza", he joked, setting the pizza down on the table and getting plates and drinks for them.

Meredith opened the box and grabbed a slice, not even bothering to wait for a plate. "Mmm, but it's so worth it", she sighed, taking a bite.

"Dat", Laura pointed to Meredith's pizza.

Derek joined the two of them at the table and poured drinks for them. "You want some pizza, Laur?"

"Derek, I don't know…can she eat that?", Meredith asked. Molly had mentioned that Laura was a picky eater and getting her to eat might be a bit of a challenge, but she wasn't so sure pizza was an okay choice.

"We can just give her some cheese", Derek shrugged, picking off the meat and pulling some cheese off his slice, blowing on it slightly too cool it off for her.

Derek handed it to Laura, who looked at it for a moment before putting it in her mouth and chewing it. After swallowing it, she opened her mouth, waiting for more.

"The cheese seems to be a big hit", Meredith giggled, taking some off her own slice and feeding it to the baby.

Derek laughed. "Yep. Definitely your niece. Choosing pizza cheese over a meal…"

"Shut up", she giggled. "Should we give her some apple juice or something?"

"Yeah. Just make sure you put some water in with it", Derek told her, seeing if Laura would eat some crust softened with sauce.

"Okay", Meredith nodded, doing as Derek had instructed. After filling up her bottle, she set it down on her tray. "You're hungry, huh?", she giggled as she took her second slice from the pizza box.

Laura picked up the bottle with both hands and took a sip before waiting for one of them to feed her more. "Foo", she squealed happily. Meredith and Derek just laughed, surprised at what a good eater she was. By the time she was finished, they were surprised that she's actually eaten a good bit of it.

"She's a mess", Meredith giggled as she got the baby from the high chair and propped her on her arm so Derek could wipe some of the sauce off with a dish towel.

"Someone needs a bath", Derek nodded as he wiped off the baby's chin.

Laura gripped Meredith's finger. "Baf?", she questioned with wide eyes.

"Yes. Bath", Meredith laughed. "Der, could you get her bath stuff from the living room and I'll meet you upstairs?"

Derek nodded. "Yep." He gathered up all of the things they would need and met Meredith in her room to find her standing over the bed taking off the little polka dot outfit she was wearing.

"Think you can handle the diaper while I go set up this little tub seat for her?", he teased, kissing her temple.

"It's just pee. I think I can manage", Meredith giggled.

Meredith wrapped the baby in her little terrycloth towel and carried her into the bathroom where Derek had already filled the tub with a few inches of warm water. "Are you ready, Princess?", Derek asked as Meredith took the towel off the baby and slipped her into the little bath seat.

Laura splashed her hands and feet in the water excitedly. Clearly, she was one of the few babies that actually enjoyed bath time. Derek and Meredith knelt on the side of the tub and began pouring some water on her little body so they could clean her off.

As Meredith was lathering some baby shampoo into her hair while Derek entertained her, Alex entered the bathroom. "Hey", he greeted.

"Hey Alex", Meredith smiled. "We're just giving her a bath."

"I can see that", Alex laughed. "I just wanted to know if that pizza was reserved for Mer's breakfast or not."

Meredith smirked. "I hardly eat pizza for breakfast anymore."

"Sure you don't", he teased. "So can I have some?"

"Yeah. You and Izzie are welcomed to eat it", Derek replied as he began washing off the baby with some lavender and chamomile baby soap.

"Alright, thanks. We're going to Joe's once Iz gets out of the shower but I'm starved", Alex yawned. "By the way, you two look adorable with a baby…", he smirked.

"You think so?", Meredith asked with a giggle, attempting to scratch an itch on her nose with her soapy hands.

Alex grinned, laughing slightly. "I'm proud."

Izzie made her way into Meredith's room wrapped in her bath towel. "Mer, I'm borrowing your lotion", she called out before looking into the bathroom. "Well, hello there", Izzie said in a baby-like voice. "Are you Miss Laura?"

"La", Laura squealed excitedly, pointing to herself.

Izzie walked over to the tub and watched as Meredith and Derek continued to clean up the baby. "You two are naturals", she beamed.

"Thanks", Derek laughed.

"Oh, this is too cute. Alex, isn't this the sweetest thing you've ever seen?", Izzie gushed, squatting down to tickle Laura's wet belly with her finger. The baby let out a laugh and began splashing some water as she moved her hands and feet.

"Oh you are just adorable. Mer, she looks exactly like you", Izzie commented.

"Derek said that too", Meredith giggled as she and Derek rinsed the soap off her body.

"She looks like she could be your daughter…", Izzie said with a smile. "You two are going to have the cutest kids."

Both Meredith and Derek looked over at Izzie and smiled. The thought made both of them smile. Spending this time with Laura made them both look forward to the day when they would become parents to their own little ones. "Aww, that's sweet, Iz", Meredith said warmly.

Izzie stood up from her spot at the side of the tub. "It's true. And we're going to babysit, right Alex?"

"Right", Alex grinned.

"Okay, well, I'm going to go get dressed. See you guys later. If you have trouble putting her to bed, call me. I'll help", Izzie offered as she and Alex made their way out of the room.

"Thanks, Iz", Derek called back. "She's right, you know", he whispered to Meredith.

"What?"

"We are going to have the cutest kids", he grinned. "Daughters."

"What if you're wrong about this whole having girls thing?", Meredith asked with a giggle as she picked the wet, slippery baby out of the tub and handed her to Derek, who wrapped her in her towel.

Derek held the baby close to his chest to keep her warm, not caring if his own clothing got wet in the process. "I have a hunch", he shrugged.

"Okay", Meredith laughed as they laid the baby down on the bed and dried her off.

"You make fun of me now…", he smirked, kissing her cheek softly. "I'm going to make a bottle for her. I'll be back."

"Okay", Meredith said with a soft smile as Derek left the room, leaving Meredith alone with the baby.

"You are really cute", Meredith whispered as she powdered Laura's bottom and fastened a diaper on her. Laura just looked up at Meredith and giggled as she played with her little Minnie Mouse stuffed animal.

"Meh", she said happily, giving Meredith a smile.

"You're a smart little girl", Meredith giggled as she finished putting on Laura's yellow duck pajamas and picked her up.

Laura held her little Minnie Mouse in one hand and sucked the thumb of her other hand, resting her head on Meredith's shoulder. Apparently the bath had made her tired. Meredith hoped they wouldn't have any trouble getting her to sleep tonight.

"Look at you", Derek grinned as he froze in the doorway holding a bottle. "You look…"

"Weird?", Meredith asked with a giggle.

Derek walked over and pressed a kiss on her forehead. "I was going say beautiful."

"Don't get too attached. She's not our baby", Meredith laughed through her yawn.

Derek chuckled. "I know."

"So this is what families do? Watch their nieces and stuff?", she asked as the two of them settled down on the bed against the headboard.

Derek took a seat next to her and handed her a bottle. "Generally, they do stuff like this. Yeah."

"Hmm…this family thing might be okay", she said with a smile, cradling Laura in her arms to feed her.

"You and Lexie have gotten to be good friends. That's a start", Derek pointed out.

"They're all really nice. Lexie said they want to take us out to lunch for watching her since I refused to let them pay us. It could be kinda nice to have sisters..."

"I'm sure you guys could be close. We're already babysitting . They must trust us or else they wouldn't have left their daughter with us", Derek reasoned.

"That's true", she said, nodding her head slightly.

"You okay?"

Meredith looked up at him. "Oh. Yeah. I just…this is nice. I never would have pegged myself for this person—the one who'd rather be here babysitting with you than out drinking with my friends and getting all horny for you", she giggled tiredly.

"As much as I love drunken, horny Meredith, I love this Meredith just as much", he grinned as he leaned in to kiss her.

"You're so cheesy", Meredith yawned.

He laughed. "It's true."

"Hmm. I love you", she said softly, leaned her head on his shoulder.

Derek kissed the top of her head. "I love you, too. So much." He wrapped his arm around Meredith's small frame and just enjoyed their time together. He knew this was only temporary, but he couldn't help but enjoy the time they were spending with their little niece.

Having four days off was rare, and some may have called them crazy to spend two of the four days babysitting. But to them, this was fun. If anything, it helped them realize just how much they wanted to be parents in the future. As Derek watched Meredith feed the bay with ease, he couldn't help but get excited for when they would be blessed with a little miracle of their own.

I know, I know. Probably too fluffy. I had no intention of making this chapter so long, but I couldn't help myself. MerDer and babies turn me into a big sap that writes twelve pages worth of fluffy goodness. And there's still more fluff to come.

Reviews make my day. :)