56. Thanksgiving

Disclaimer: I don't own it. I just wish I did.

I know I suck at updating. I have about three chapters banked, but that's not enough to be able to post every week. I'm trying my best though; I promise. :)

Thanksgiving was a holiday for families. At least, that was Izzie's mantra. And because Meredith and Derek were her unofficial family, celebrating the holiday together was a requirement. Tradition...or whatever. Watching football and eating so much food until literally passing out on the couch. Derek had been to countless Thanksgiving dinners in his time; Meredith though, the girl who came from a crap family, didn't really partake in the normal festivities. But now that she was a grown up, it seemed only right that she and Derek trek on over to the old house and do the whole Thanksgiving thing. Even if it meant getting up somewhat early on a day off.

As Meredith pulled on zip-up jacket over her camisole, she had to smile. Derek was excited about today. He hadn't celebrated a true Thanksgiving since he lived in New York, and she knew that if there was one thing he was thankful for today, it was that they were together. Married. Happy. She watched as he pulled a cranberry colored sweater over his head. Very Derek-y and adorable. Seeing him happy almost made up for the fact that they had to leave the warm comfort of their bed earlier than they would have liked, but not before they had a Thanksgiving quickie, per the rule that every holiday requires sex.

Meredith ran a brush through her waves, letting it fall softly on her shoulders. She put on her usual make-up, no muss, no fuss, then slipped on her Ugg boot slippers. Derek laughed when he noticed her footwear, but she just shrugged. "Izzie said to dress comfy. And I plan on lounging around on the couch all day while you and Iz slave away in the kitchen," she giggled.

"I didn't say anything," he chuckled, defending himself. "You look adorable."

"Uh huh," Meredith smirked. She wrapped her arms around his waist, tucking her hands in the back pockets of his jeans. "I know you were going to make fun of me."

Derek tipped her chin up with his fingers. "Was not," he said before kissing her.

"So were," she murmured against his lips. "That's okay. I make fun of you a lot, so it all evens out..."

"Hmm...true."

Meredith pulled back from their embrace and smoothed out the shoulders of his sweater with her hands. "And if it rains, you can carry me to the car."

Derek laughed. "I'd love to."

"Ready to go? Izzie is going to be pissed if we're late," Meredith said.

"Yep, let's go. Come on, Charlie," Derek called.

Charlie hopped out of his dog bed under the window and trotted along behind them out of their bedroom. Bringing him along may have seemed weird to anyone else, but Charlie was a member of their family, and they couldn't leave him behind. A day out would be fun for him.

"Is the wine in the fridge?" Meredith asked as they entered the kitchen.

Booze was Izzie's request for them to supply. Tequila wasn't on the list, but things like wine and beer were asked of them. The lack of tequila was no great loss. Meredith hadn't had a sip of it in nearly a year, and really had no desire to ever have it touch her lips again. It reminded her of the dark place, where things were bleak and miserable. She was past that. Now she was just...happy.

Derek knelt down and hooked the dog's blue leash to his matching collar. "Yep. The beer is in the trunk. It's just the two bottles on the shelf," he said.

"'Kay," she nodded, pulling out the glass bottles and setting them on the counter. "Is that everything? Charlie, wine, beer--oh! Napkins," she rattled off. Meredith took the bag of napkins from the cabinet and put them next to the wine. "I think that's it. If she needs anything, I'll run to the store when we get there."

"Okay."

Derek locked the front door behind them after they left the house, then they walked to the black sedan in the driveway. After putting the items in the trunk, Meredith scooped Charlie up in her arms and opened the passenger side door, depositing the dog on her lap. Charlie enjoyed car rides, and he was always well behaved when they took him along somewhere. Derek took his place in the driver's seat and they began the short trek over to the old house. The roads were fairly empty; most people were still tucked away in bed thanks to the holiday. The drive was easy and they made it there within twenty minutes.

He pulled into their old driveway, parked the car next to Alex's, and cut the engine. "Surprised Karev didn't sneak off to the hospital," Derek joked as they exited the car.

Meredith laughed, setting Charlie down on the ground. "Iz would kill him."

After retrieving the things from the trunk, they walked up the steps. Meredith smiled when she noticed the scarecrow on the porch and various pumpkins lining the wall. Izzie could always be counted on in the festivity department. Derek pushed open the front door without knocking first. There really wasn't any reason to, seeing as it still felt like home. Peach cobbler was the first smell that could be detected, then gravy, followed by something that vaguely smelled like cinnamon. A nice Thanksgiving medley.

"Hey, you're here," Izzie greeted, her hair in a messy ponytail and an apron tied around her waist. "Alex is in the living room watching football, Mer."

"Kicking me into the living room already?" Meredith asked playfully. She unhooked Charlie's leash and the dog ran off into said room, probably eager to make himself comfortable on the furniture. It's what he did best.

Izzie took hold of the wine bottles Derek was carefully balancing on top of the case of beer and smiled. "Thanks for coming early. There's just...a lot of food to cook and I wanted to have an extra set of hands. And Mer always says what a good cook you are..." she rambled. "I hope you don't mind."

"Happy to help," Derek interrupted, giving her a pleasant smile before looking to his wife and smirking. "You brag about me?"

"I like to make them jealous." Meredith winked at him to show that she was teasing, then kissed his cheek. "Go. Cook. Bond, whatever. I'm gonna go hang with Alex. Keeping me away from the kitchen is probably the safest option."

"Hmm...probably," Derek agreed, earning him a playful nudge on the hip.

Meredith walked off into the living room, thankful that she wore her hard-soled slippers. If this is what her day entailed, being comfy was key. She spotted Alex on the couch, feet propped up on the coffee table, watching a football pre-game show, drinking a cup of coffee. Charlie was happily sitting next to him on the middle cushion. It was an adorable little snapshot, actually.

"Hey," she yawned, dropping down onto the remaining couch cushion. "Happy Thanksgiving."

Alex looked over at her and smiled. "Hey."

"You look like you're already in a turkey coma," Meredith teased.

"I wish. I was on call 'til two in the morning. Remind me never to volunteer myself for a holiday shift ever again," he said, rubbing at his eyes with the underside of his wrists.

"At least they're not making us help cook," she giggled. "Derek gets nervous every time I use the toaster."

Alex laughed. "I would too."

"Shut up." Meredith rolled her eyes jokingly. Her cooking had dramatically improved since meeting Derek. It wasn't anything a chef would call a masterpiece, but she wasn't half bad. "I surprised Derek the other night with spaghetti and meatballs. And he loved it so much that we ended up having sex on the counter," she announced proudly.

"TMI, Mer," Alex said amusedly, taking another sip of coffee from his mug.

"Aww, jealous?" Meredith asked. "I could give you some sex details."

He whistled and shook his head. "Hot, but I'll pass. My beast gets fed regularly too," he grinned. "So is there gonna be a baby Meredith here next Thanksgiving?"

Meredith smiled at his question, wondering for a moment if she'd be pregnant this time next year with a baby belonging to her and Derek. "Maybe inside me, not born. Unless, you know, I get knocked up within the next month or two, which isn't the plan by the way."

"Hmm...just can't picture dark and scary Meredith with the spit-up rag over her shoulder bouncing a baby on her hip," Alex teased.

"You gonna babysit for me?" she asked with a laugh, getting a whiff of the cooking turkey from the kitchen. Her stomach growled; the only think she'd consumed today was a cup of coffee. Waiting until three in the afternoon for dinner was highly unlikely. Handouts would be absolutely necessary.

"I'm marrying Iz. I think that's a given," Alex said humorously.

Meredith rested her head on the back of the couch and looked over at him. He was a lot like her. The ones with the crappy childhoods who knew what the dark side looked like. "Ever think we'd end up here?"

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know...happy?" she asked.

She knew he knew what she meant.

Alex laughed slightly. "No, not really."

"Me either."

"So I'm thinking of asking O'Malley to be my best man," Alex blurted out. "Iz got all teary eyed when I mentioned it to her. But I dunno...do you think he'd do it?"

Meredith bit her lip and smiled. "Yeah, I think he'd be honored."

"Yeah?"

"Yes," she said definitively.

Alex downed the last of his coffee before speaking again. "I was gonna ask you, but Iz said she'd already claimed you as her maid of honor."

"Me?" she asked softly. Meredith hadn't been expecting that one, although, it made sense. Unrelated twins or whatever.

"Yeah. You were the first one who thought of me as more than just an ass. The only one I could talk to. You'd be a good best man," Alex complimented, gently patting her shoulder.

"Thank you, Alex," she whispered, smiling softly at her friend.

Derek appeared in the doorway wiping his hands with a dish towel. "Hey, Iz wants some more opinions on the sweet potatoes. You two in?" he grinned.

Meredith popped up off the couch faster than a piece of toast from the toaster. The prospect of food was too good to be true. "Hell yeah," she giggled.

"Me too," Alex agreed, grabbing his empty mug off the end table.

With Charlie following behind, the three walked back into the kitchen. Bowls and spatulas and pans littered the counters and table, along with tons of vegetables chopped precisely the way Izzie needed them to be. Meredith surveyed her former kitchen with wide eyes. This room of the house had always been Izzie's, but was especially Izzie-ish today.

Meredith took a seat at the island. "What time did you get up today?" she asked, taking a small piece of carrot from a bowl and popping it into her mouth.

"A little after six. I had to make sure the turkey was thawed before I stuffed it," she said before scooping up a pile of chopped celery and dropping it into a colander.

Derek went back to work at the stove, stirring in various vegetables and seasonings into the pot containing the gravy. He caught Meredith smirking at him and he smiled. "My mom's recipe," he said. "Want to try some?"

"Yeah," she nodded. Anything from the Shepherd family cookbook was sure to be delicious, seeing as Derek was highly skilled with his cooking. He retrieved a small saucer and spooned some into it for Meredith.

As soon as it touched her tongue, she moaned in satisfaction. Derek grinned smugly. "Good?" he asked.

"Yes," she laughed, eating some more. "Let them try some."

Derek obliged, spooning out small bowls for Izzie and Alex try some as well. Alex nodded in approval. "Good stuff, Shepherd."

Izzie nearly squealed in delight when she tasted it. "This is better than my grandma's. And that's saying a lot," she said.

"See how talented I am?" Derek asked Meredith boastfully.

She tossed the dish towel at him. "Yeah, you're a genius. We know," she giggled. "When is everybody else coming?"

"George is working until one. Cristina is waiting for Owen's shift to end at noon, then they'll be over. Did you ever ask Lexie if she was coming?" Izzie asked.

Meredith filled up a cup of coffee for herself, swallowing a sip of the hot beverage. "She's going to Molly and Eric's. She invited Derek and me to join, but my dad is going to be there and I...well, I just figured this should be a happy holiday, so I politely said we already had plans here," she rambled. Bringing up her father on Thanksgiving? Probably not the best move. She chalked it up to the tryptophan in the air, making her brain all cloudy with turkey happiness.

"Oh. Okay," Izzie said with a simple shrug. "I guess it's just going to be seven of us then."

"How's your dad doing?" Alex asked candidly, earning him a gentle smack on the arm.

"Alex," Izzie hissed.

Meredith rolled her eyes playfully and smiled. "It's fine. He's uh...better, I think. Out of rehab, getting himself back on his feet. It's good...that he's doing better. You know, Laura is little and she should get to know him and..." She was rambling and she really wanted to stop. "So...sweet potatoes you said?"

Derek gave her a sympathetic smile, as if to say take a deep breath, it's okay. Being the good husband he is, he decided to steer the conversation back to the food. "Yeah, Iz used this marshmallow-walnut topping and wanted to know if it was too sweet. I figured you'd enjoy it," he winked.

"I'll scoop you both some onto a dish," Izzie said, grabbing two small dishes off the shelf in the cabinet and giving them each a sample of the sweet potatoes. At this rate, all of the food for Thanksgiving would be eaten before dinner. That didn't stop them though. The food looked too good to pass on.

"Oh my God. These are the best sweet potatoes anyone has ever cooked," Meredith complimented while she chewed.

Izzie smiled widely. "Really? Not too sweet?"

"Nope, perfect," Alex smiled, leaning over to kiss her cheek. "Anything else you wanna give us?"

"There's peach cobbler on the table," Izzie said as she turned her attention back to the oven to check on the turkey inside.

"Sweet." Alex hopped off the stool and cut himself a piece. After refilling his coffee mug, he made his way for the exit of the kitchen. "You need any help? Or can I go watch the game?"

Izzie shook her head and sighed amusedly. "No, we're good. Go."

Meredith laughed as she cut her own slice of the dessert on the kitchen table. "So my only option here is to go back in the living room and watch sports with Alex?"

"You can help," Derek offered. Izzie looked to him worriedly, as if the mere suggestion were dangerous. Meredith plus kitchen gadgets didn't exactly go hand in hand.

Meredith noticed Izzie's expression of fear and rolled her eyes. "Thanks for the vote of confidence, Iz," she giggled.

"How about she makes the dough for the pie. That's easy enough," Derek proposed, looking to Izzie for an agreement.

"Ooh, that'll save me some time," Izzie nodded enthusiastically. She grabbed the flour, shortening, salt, and some cold water she had chilling in the refrigerator. "You'll need these. And I have my mom's recipe written out on this index card. Very straight forward, very hard to mess up," Izzie instructed.

Derek grinned at his wife. Even the thought of her making a pie from scratch was amusing to him. Of course, he had no doubts that she could do it thanks to the directions, but Meredith wasn't exactly Betty Crocker. "Don't even say it," Meredith said, waving a spoon at him.

"I didn't say anthing," he grinned.

Meredith narrowed her eyes at him. "You were going to."

"Was not."

"You wait and see...this pie is going to kick ass," Meredith said confidently, studying the index card briefly before she went to work on the dough. The way she mixed the ingredients and kneaded them together with surgical precision made Derek smile. She bit her lip in determination, intensely focused on her task.

He leaned over the island and kissed her forehead. "You're adorable."

"Yeah, okay," she said dryly, looking up briefly from her doughy mixture to smirk at him.

"What? You are," he laughed. "I can't wait to eat it."

"If this conversation is going to lead to sex, it's not happening in this kitchen. It's bad enough we caught you two with your pants down in here before. So if you feel the need to do each other, you know where the bedrooms are," Izzie said plainly, chopping up bread for her stuffing.

Meredith looked to Izzie incredulously. "We're not going to have sex," she sighed. "We already had sex this morning before we got out of bed."

"Meredith," Derek couldn't help but chuckle, turning a light shade of red at her admission. Sometimes she was a little too free with their sex details.

"What? Iz knows we have sex. We used to live here, remember?" she asked with a smile.

"I finally got rid of the earplugs now that the live porn moved out of the house," Izzie laughed.

Meredith gasped, setting down her ball of dough. "We were not live porn..."

"The walls aren't as thick as you think, Mer," Izzie said humorously. "Even George could hear the headboard banging against the wall. And he was at the opposite end of the hallway."

"Fine, we were loud," Derek admitted. "Now that we've established that, who wants to find a new topic?"

"Oh relax. It's funny now that I don't have to listen to it," Izzie pointed out. "You guys ever miss living here?"

Meredith rolled her dough out on the counter, making sure it was nice and squishy, but not too firm, just as the directions had dictated. "Not really," she answered. "We're so used to the new house."

"Now you just need to fill it with kids," Izzie said, almost like it was her own personal request.

Derek laughed; he knew that of all their friends, Izzie would be the most excited when they had a baby. The one that would volunteer herself to decorate the nursery and knit endless piles of socks and hats and sweaters. "We're getting there," he said.

Meredith smiled at her husband. He looked cute like that, standing there cooking, talking about babies. "I love you," she mouthed.

"I love you too," Derek mouthed back.

She never would have guessed, but Meredith found that Thanksgiving was actually fun so far.

--

By the time Meredith's pie was baking in the oven, Cristina and Owen were knocking at the front door. Derek quickly went to let them in, greeting them with a smile. "Hey."

"Happy Thanksgiving," Owen said politely, patting Derek's shoulder. "I uh...I brought a spice cake. Cristina wasn't sure what you were making, so I'm hoping no one made this," he said, handing it to Derek.

"Thank you," Derek nodded. "It looks delicious."

Cristina and Owen removed their coats, then followed Derek into the kitchen. Meredith was busily chopping an onion, sniffling occasionally in an attempt to hold back tears. When Cristina saw her friend actually contributing to making dinner, she looked to her strangely. "Oh God."

"What?" Meredith asked, wiping her eye with her shoulder.

"Please tell me you're getting this on tape," she said incredulously, wasting no time in getting a beer for her and Owen from the refrigerator.

Meredith pretended to be offended by her remark. "Excuse me, I know how to do things. That pie in the oven? All me."

"You made a pie?" she asked.

"Yes I did." The way she said it with such confidence made Derek smile. Apron-clad Meredith really was the most adorable thing he'd ever seen.

"Smells good," Owen complimented. "You guys cooked everything from scratch?"

Derek leaned against the counter and nodded. "Yep. After Mer is done with the onions, we just need to add them to the stuffing, then let it cook. Dinner should actually be on time," he joked.

"Impressive," Cristina nodded, watching as Meredith added the onions to Izzie's bowl with her cutting board and knife. Very Iron Chef.

Meredith saw Cristina trying to suppress a smile and rolled her eyes. "Okay, I'm standing right here. At least have the decency to mock me in the other room."

"Not mocking," she corrected. "Just...shocked."

"Mer is doing a good job. I'm proud," Izzie said in her friend's defense.

Meredith untied the apron and set it over the stool. "Thank you, Izzie."

"Hey," George said upon entering the kitchen, Alex following behind him. He too looked a bit tired from his shift like Alex did, but there was no way he'd miss the holiday either. Even if he wanted to, Izzie wouldn't let him.

"Hey George," Meredith smiled. "How was work?"

"Good--busy, but good. Lots of freaky stuff...knife accidents and victims of corn eating contests. Fun stuff," he teased. "So when do we eat?"

"Uh...two hours-ish," Izzie said, glancing at the timer on the oven. "I'll put out some appetizers to munch on. I know we're all starving."

Derek looked to Meredith and gave her a grin. This was what holidays were all about. Food, friendship, and spending time in the presence of people that had become family.

--

Dinner was served promptly at three o'clock, no doubt a result of Izzie's precise timing and meticulous determination of planning when to cook what so everything could be set on the table together. They talked about all sorts of things, mostly work related, seeing as they all shared the similar passion. George's description of the holiday idocies were undoubtedly making Cristina wish she'd gone into work, and everyone else thankful that they didn't have to deal with it.

Nearly all of the food was eaten. Turkey, vegetables, mashed potatoes, stuffing, salad, yams, and biscuits, along with the beverages Meredith and Derek had brought along with them. By the end of the meal, Meredith was feeling a little like a beached whale. Her eyes were obviously bigger than her stomach when she began eating, and now she wondered if Derek would have to carry her over to the couch.

"Full?" Derek asked as he squeezed her hand gently on the table top.

"Yes," Meredith giggled. "I don't even know if I have any room left for my kick ass pie."

Derek laughed, leaning in and pressing a kiss to her temple. "You have to try it. I've been looking forward to eating that all day."

"It didn't look too bad when Iz took it out of the oven," Meredith shrugged.

"It looks like it was professionally made--and I'm not just saying that to flatter you, you know..." he said with a smirk. "It looks delicious."

Meredith rested her head on his shoulder, relaxing into her husband. Derek was always so nice to cuddle up to, especially now that the tryptophan from the turkey was running through her veins and making her feel all warm and happy. "Hmm...thanks."

"I love you," Derek whispered into her ear. His breath tickled her, making her erupt into chills.

She smiled at him. "I love you too."

"Want to sneak off to the bathroom? We could probably get away with a quickie?" he kidded. Holiday or not, family time or not, Derek was always intent on getting in her pants. Actually, holidays were all the more reason to have sex.

Just as Meredith was about to give in and let him ravish her against the bathroom sink upstairs, Izzie walked into the dining room with Meredith's apple pie in one hand and the spice cake Owen had supplied in the other. "I have dessert," she announced. "There's ice cream and pastries in the kitchen. Alex, could you get those please?"

"Yeah." Alex stood up from the table and did as Izzie requested, bringing in a stack of bowls, spoons, a large carton of ice cream and a fancily adorned plate full of baked pastries. The desserts looked too good to pass up, so Meredith patted Derek's knee.

"Dessert first. Then sex," she giggled.

Derek pretended to be offended by her comment. "Pie trumps sex?"

"On Thanksgiving," Meredith nodded, passing the plates around the table. "No offense. I just like pie."

"And you wonder why I think you're adorable," Derek chuckled, tucking some hair behind her ear.

"You two may as well do each other on top of the table," Cristina said with a mouthful of cake. "You're practically undressing each other with your eyes..."

Meredith gasped as she quickly removed her hand from Derek's thigh. "We are not."

"You kind of are," George agreed with a laugh.

"They're in love. Leave them alone," Izzie scolded. She handed Meredith a knife and slid the pie in front of her. "You made it. You get the honors of cutting the first piece."

"Okay..." Meredith said slowly. She took the knife from Izzie's hand and carefully cut into the apple pie, making sure to keep it looking nice. If it sucked, she could at least say it was beautifully presented. She set the slice on her plate and took a small bite.

Derek smiled at her. "Good?"

"Yeah, I guess," Meredith said as she chewed. She thought it was actually quite tasty, but in a room full of honest critics, the opinion could be a bit different.

Derek wasted no time in cutting his own slice, no doubt wanting to praise Meredith's pie making skills, even if it happened to be terrible. He put a forkful in his mouth and immediately nodded. "Mer, this is great," he lauded, pressing a kiss to her cheek after he swallowed. "I love it."

"You have to say that," Alex teased. Meredith shot him a glare and he laughed. "Kidding, kidding. I'm sure it's good."

Once the others had received their own slices, even Cristina had trouble finding something to nitpick. Meredith's pie was indeed a success. "Meredith, this pie is wonderful," Owen said kindly.

"It really is," Izzie concurred.

"I'm a fan of it," George said as he chewed.

"You can barely toast a Pop-Tart. How did you manage to make a pie?" Cristina asked amusedly. "Anyway, it's good. I'll give you credit."

"Thanks," Meredith smirked. "...I think."

"It's delicious," Derek beamed. He wrapped his arm around his shoulder and kissed the crown of her head. "Thank you."

"Nice job, Mer," Alex said before taking a sip of his beer. "I'll never doubt your baking skills ever again," he joked.

Meredith smiled at her friends around the table. "Thank you."

Dessert was consumed quickly, at least for both Meredith and Derek. Sex was on the horizon, so eating hastily seemed like the obvious thing to do. No one else at the table seemed to notice, as everyone had branched off into conversations. When Meredith gave the okay, Derek nonchalantly took both of their plates. "I'll meet you upstairs," he mouthed as he stood up.

Meredith nodded subtly so no one would notice and took a sip of her coffee. After a few moments, she carefully planned her exit, hoping to be seated once again with Derek before anyone noticed they'd left the table. She gracefully removed herself from the group and walked out of the room. So far, so good. Once she was out of eye-shot, she made a dash for the stairs, bounding up them two at a time.

She found Derek waiting for her in the bathroom across from their old room, already removing his belt. "Hey," she giggled, locking the door behind her. "We have to make this fast. Like, quicker than a quickie," Meredith said as she shimmied out of her jeans and panties and dropped them to the floor. "Shirts on. It saves time."

"You mean I get no boob action?" he asked with a grin, hoisting her up onto the bathroom sink. He pulled a condom from the cabinet below her. They'd kept a stash down there before they moved out, and it still sat in its same place, next to the shampoo and shaving cream.

"When we get home, I'll show you the boobs," Meredith smirked. "Now hurry up..."

Derek leaned in and kissed her fully, just as he thrust into her waiting body. "Sneaky holiday sex is fun..."

Meredith moaned in pleasure, smiling back at him as they quickly found their rhythm. "Happy Thanksgiving."

"Hmm..." he murmured. "You too."

I know there's a lot of mixed feelings about Izzie; some love her, some hate her. But she's always been one of my favorites. George too. That's why there's Fab Five stuff in this chapter. I have a feeling next season is going to be full of sad stuff, as far as that storyline is concerned, so it was nice writing the intern family in this chapter, along with Derek and Owen, who I think would be invited to Thanksgiving for obvious reasons. And no holiday is complete without a little MerDer sexing. Anyway, hope you enjoyed the chapter.

Reviews make my day! :)