74. First Ultrasound

Disclaimer: I don't own Grey's, nor do I own the information referenced in this chapter in regards to the pregnancy. The websites own that info. I'm just borrowing it.

Yes, Meredith is really pregnant. And because a MerDer baby is my biggest wish for the show, I'm going to write to my heart's content (I literally have pages upon pages of notes and ideas), about everything. Pregnancy, birth, parenthood, all of that. I hope you'll come along for the ride. :)

Derek lifted up his sleeping wife's tee shirt and pressed a kiss to her belly. It was still early, and normally, on a day off, he'd be sleeping, too. But today was the day Meredith had her first doctor's appointment since they found out she was pregnant, and he couldn't focus on anything else. If being pregnant didn't make her so tired, Derek knew she would probably be awake. But apparently, their baby was calling all the shots, from what she ate to how much she slept. Over the past week, he'd noticed how she was starting to look a little fuller, not pouchy yet, just...different. And glowy, and beautiful. And he loved every second of it.

"I love you," he whispered quietly, giving her belly another kiss before moving up her body to kiss her lips. "And I love you."

Meredith's eyelids opened slowly, and she smiled against her husband's lips. "Hmm..." she hummed sleepily. "What are you doing?"

"Saying good morning," Derek grinned. He brushed some waves of hair from her face and Meredith wiped the sleep from her eyes.

"Good morning." She splayed her fingers over her stomach, like she'd been doing nearly every minute of every day for a week. "Today's the day," she said.

"I can't wait," Derek said softly. He lifted her shirt up again and kissed around her belly button a few times, causing Meredith to giggle.

"How many times have you kissed my stomach in the past five days?" she asked.

Derek grinned, without shame. "Millions. And that's not stopping any time soon."

"Good," she smiled back. Eventually, she knew it would become annoying, but for now, it was kind of adorable. The Daddy in him was already in full swing.

"How're you feeling today?" he asked curiously, lying back in the bed with her. "Nauseous? Hungry? I can make you something..."

"I feel good. A little bloaty, but not too nauseous." She smiled and looked down at the still flat plane of her abdomen. "Mostly, I'm just happy."

He nuzzled his nose into her neck and breathed her in. "Me too."

"I'm tired," she yawned.

"Baby wants you to sleep, huh?" Derek asked with a chuckle.

Meredith nodded, rolling over and spooning against her husband, both of their hands finding their way to her belly like a magnet. "I love you," she whispered.

Derek kissed the back of his wife's head. "I love you, too."

--

They arrived at the doctor's office promptly at one o'clock, opting to have their appointment in Meredith's personal OB/GYN's office, instead of going to Seattle Grace. Her doctor, Dr. Halloran, was an obstetrician that worked at the hospital, and after they told their friends that they were expecting, it would be more convenient to just schedule appointments where they worked, but for now, they just wanted to keep it between them.

After filling out piles of paperwork, and reviewing the medical histories of both of their families, they were finally taken back to an exam room. As she hopped up onto the table in her hospital gown, the paper drape beneath her bottom crinkled, and she swung her legs back and forth nervously.

Derek smirked at his wife, hoping he could ease her jitters. "You look cute in a hospital gown," he chuckled.

"Haha," Meredith said wryly. "Funny guy."

"Remember the last time you were panty-less in a gown on an exam table?" Derek asked, flashing her an amused grin. "That was fun."

Meredith shook her head and laughed. "Okay, if you ever want to look at what the doctor is about to look at, ever again, shut up. Now," she joked.

Derek got up from the chair against the wall and walked over to her. "Nothing to be nervous about," he assured her, taking her hand.

"Easy for you to say. You're the guy. No one pokes and prods you," Meredith giggled. "All you have to do is knock me up."

"You know I'm grateful," he whispered into her hair before kissing the top of her head. "And I love you."

Meredith leaned into her husband and let out a contented sigh. "I know."

Dr. Laurie Halloran, a woman with brown hair and a friendly face knocked twice, then entered the room, smiling at the two of them. "Long time, no see," she joked, having just seen them a few minutes beforehand when they reviewed their medical histories. She set Meredith's chart down on the desk and began washing her hands. "I know you were in here for a visit back in May, but I'd like to do a quick pelvic exam, just to make sure everything is looking good, then we'll take a look at your baby. We should be able to see the heartbeat today," Dr. Halloran told them.

"Okay," Meredith nodded, squeezing Derek's hand in anticipation. He squeezed back and didn't let go. This was a team effort, and he planned on being there every step of the way.

Once Meredith was situated and Dr. Halloran began the exam, she kept up the conversation to make Meredith more comfortable. "I know it's still early, but are you noticing anything yet, as far as signs or symptoms...changes in appetite or physical appearance?"

Meredith nodded, one hand draped over her belly. "I think I'm starting to fill out a little," she managed to giggle. "No cravings yet. Peeing a lot."

"That's good. Your uterus is expanding and making room for when the baby grows, which puts pressure on the bladder," she said encouragingly. "Not that you weren't aware of that, being surgeons. Technically, we're all co-workers," Dr. Halloran laughed.

Derek chuckled, too. "Eventually, we'll switch over to having appointments at Seattle Grace. But it's still early, so we want to wait a few weeks before making anything public," Derek explained, his hand still holding onto Meredith's.

"Oh, not a problem. I completely understand," she nodded. "Just let me know when you wanted to switch, and we can schedule visits over there."

"Okay," Meredith agreed.

"So how far along do you think you are?"

"Well, my last period was in late August, so I'm guessing around seven weeks or so." She looked up at Derek and smiled when he nodded in confirmation.

"Based on the look and positioning of your cervix, I'd say that's about right," Dr. Halloran concurred.

"So everything looks good?" Derek asked hopefully, trailing his fingers along Meredith's arm.

"It does," she nodded. "Now for the fun part."

Meredith turned her head to Derek and smiled. Seeing their baby for the first time. Even though he or she was no bigger than a nickel. It was thrilling. Derek bent down and kissed her forehead. "Ready?" he asked softly.

"Yeah," Meredith breathed, trying to keep her tears at bay as the anticipation got the best of her.

"At this stage of pregnancy, an internal ultrasound will give us a much better detail of everything inside, and we should be able to see exactly what's going on. Is that okay?" Dr. Halloran asked.

Meredith nodded, just eager to see what they'd created together. "Yeah, that's fine," she replied.

After setting up the equipment and inserting the transducer, Dr. Halloran flicked on the monitor, and blobby 3-D images appeared on the screen. "Okay," she began. "Here's your cervix. Above it is your uterus. Normally, it's the size of a fist, but every day, it expands. See how it's starting to push against your bladder?" she pointed.

Meredith and Derek studied the screen carefully, taking in everything. They'd both administered ultrasounds before, but now, being on the other side, was a completely different experience. Now, it was more than just a bunch of organs. Their baby was in there. "Yeah," Meredith said.

"Ovaries and tubes look good. Everything is very healthy," she nodded encouragingly. "Okay, I'll zoom in now for the main attraction," Dr. Halloran laughed, pressing a few buttons and clicking the mouse to focus in on Meredith's uterus. "Alright, here we are..."

A small but prominent little human in a sea of black flashed over the screen, and the minute they saw it, tears flooded both of their eyes. "Der," Meredith whispered.

"Here's the embryonic sac," the doctor pointed. "It's implanted on the right side of the uterus." Dr. Halloran turned to them and smiled. "Congratulations, there's definitely a healthy, viable embryo in here."

Meredith reached up with the hand that Derek wasn't holding and gently pulled his head toward her so she could kiss him. Derek pressed his lips to hers, their tears mingling as their cheeks brushed. "I love you," Meredith whimpered.

Derek smiled widely as happy tears fell from his eyes. "I love you, too," he echoed.

"Here's the head. Good size, too," Dr. Halloran pointed. "And the back and the bottom, which lead into these tiny little legs and feet." She traced her finger over the monitor and smiled. "Little arm buds, waving at you. Looks happy and healthy to me."

"Oh my God," Meredith whispered, and an even more overwhelming sense of love flooding over her as she watched their baby from the inside. It was incredible.

Derek brushed the tears away on his face and raised Meredith's hand to his lips. "Thank you, Meredith," he said, nothing but genuine gratitude and euphoria present in his voice.

"And here's the heartbeat. It's too early to hear it, but you can definitely see it." Dr. Halloran focused in solely on the embryo and an even clearer image of their baby came over the monitor. "See the white flicker?"

"Oh my God," Derek gasped in awe, running a hand through his hair. "Look at that."

"You're about seven to eight weeks along. Heartbeat is very strong for this short period of gestation, which is great. About one hundred fifty beats per minute," Dr. Halloran explained.

Meredith couldn't do anything but stare at the screen in front of her. It was like she forgot how to speak and could only watch. The constant, rapid thud-thud-thud flickering on the screen was the most beautiful thing she'd ever seen.

Their baby. The one made out of love. Their true-to-life little son or daughter inside of her. If miracles existed, that was it.

She let out a breath and wiped away her tears with the sides of her fingers. "Oh my God," Meredith murmured. She could watch it forever.

"I'll print you plenty of pictures," the doctor offered. "Would you like a video on DVD, as well?"

"Yes, please," they answered immediately, in sync.

"Okay." She patted Meredith's knee as a signal that she could sit up now and smiled. "I'll be right back."

As soon as the door clicked shut, Meredith reached for Derek and he wrapped his arms tightly around her. "We really did it," she said, the wonderment and thrill of it all spiraling around them.

Derek ran his hand up and down her back, dropping his head down on her shoulder. "I can't even..." he stammered. "Wow."

"Oh God." Meredith let out a shaky breath and let the tears flow freely down her face. "We made a person, Derek," she said in disbelief, trying to wrap her mind around the enormity.

He looked from his wife in front of him to the freeze-framed image of their baby on the screen and grinned widely. "We really did."

Dr. Halloran entered the room again, holding a stack of photos and a square case with their DVD inside. She handed them to Meredith and smiled. "These are for you."

"Thank you," Meredith said graciously.

"My pleasure," she replied. "So based on my measurements and the number of days since your last period, I would estimate that you conceived around September fifth, give or take a few days, which means your due date is May 29th."

Meredith smiled and placed her hand over her gown-covered belly. "Okay."

"And everything is good, right? Healthy?" Derek double-checked, absentmindedly running his fingers down his wife's back.

Dr. Halloran smiled reassuringly. "Everything is perfect. Just keep doing what you're doing. Getting enough folic acid, drinking plenty of water. Limit strenuous activity. Maybe try to cut back on work hours, if you can. I know that's easier said than done, but doing so, even just a little bit, will really help with the fatigue," she explained. "Morning sickness will probably be showing up soon, and cravings too. If you notice a little, light spotting, don't panic. It's completely normal. And sex is absolutely fine, just nothing too rough or jostling."

"Okay," Meredith responded with a nod.

"Don't hesitate to call, ever. And I'll see you in a few weeks. We might even be able to hear the heartbeat next time," she said, patting Meredith's shoulder kindly. "And congratulations to both of you."

Derek kissed the top of Meredith's head as pure relief and joy washed over him, and she leaned into him. "Thank you."

This was better than any high surgery could ever offer.

--

Meredith watched as Derek stood in front of the fridge, and proudly clipped one of their ultrasound pictures to it with a magnet. The smiles hadn't left either of their faces all day, and they were fighting the urge to shout their news from the rooftops.

She wrapped her arms around him from behind and hugged her husband. "Our first baby picture," she smiled happily as they both looked at their baby. Half him, half her. The tiny little miracle that they were completely in love with.

"Hmm..." Derek hummed, a perpetual grin on his face. "Our baby is beautiful."

"I think so, too," she whispered into his neck and then kissed him there. They continued staring at the picture for a few moments before Meredith spoke. "Do you wanna call your mom?"

Derek turned around. "We can wait if you want. It's up to you," he shrugged.

She smiled, running her fingers through his hair. "She's your mom. She'd want to know," Meredith said.

"It's not tempting fate?" he asked.

"We can't think like that, Derek," she said softly, playing with the curls on the back of his neck. "This baby is safe and sound inside me, and I'm not gonna let anything bad happen. Mommy instincts, remember?"

Hearing Meredith call herself a mommy gave him goosebumps, and she felt chills run over his body. "God, I love you," he whispered, pressing a kiss to her forehead.

"And I love you," Meredith said before standing on her tiptoes to kiss him. "And our baby." She brought her hand down to rest on her belly and Derek placed his hand on top.

"We can call her tonight. I'm sure she's probably busy with the grandkids right now," Derek chuckled. Meredith's confidence put him at ease, and he found himself letting go a little of the fear he'd had. He had always been protective of Meredith, but now that she was carrying their child, he felt even more responsible for both of them.

"I'm sure she'll be ecstatic to find out that number sixteen is on the way," Meredith smiled at him.

Derek's heart caught in his throat just thinking of how his mother would react. The fact that her only son's wife was pregnant--that she was finally getting a grandchild from them--was going to thrill her. "I'm sure she will."

She gently squeezed his hand. "I'm hungry," Meredith said, wondering how long it would take for Derek to respond. She was pretty sure that he'd be willing to go to the ends of the earth to fulfill her food wishes.

"What would you like?" he asked immediately. "I'll cook you something."

She smiled sweetly at her husband, then giggled. "I'm so milking this for the next seven months..."

"Taking advantage of me?" Derek smirked, opening the fridge and searching for something he could make for her. "How about cheeseburgers? Or chicken? Steak? We could order pizza..." he rattled off.

"I'm kinda in the mood for French toast." Meredith bit her lip and pondered. "But a cheeseburger sounds good, too."

"French toast and cheeseburgers, coming right up," he grinned, kissing her temple before grabbing the frying pan off the rack above the island.

Meredith laughed. "You don't have to make both. We can agree on something."

Derek looked to her as he cracked eggs into a bowl, an amused expression on his face. "You are my pregnant wife. I'll do anything for you, even cook two meals."

"Will you at least let me help?" Meredith asked, as she grabbed the peanut butter jar. She sat down at the island and took a heaping spoonful into her mouth.

"Peanut butter craving?" Derek assumed, smiling.

She glanced down at the jar in her hand then looked back up at him. "A little, yeah," Meredith confessed, a slight, embarrassed blush shading her cheeks.

"I love pregnant you," he chuckled.

Meredith ran her hand over her belly again. It had already become second nature to her, her way of letting their baby know he or she was safe. Loved. "Good, because I kind of love this whole pregnant thing."

--

"So..." Derek began. "What were we doing around September fifth?"

The two sat on the couch with their wide array of food choices, including the jar of peanut butter, which Meredith was sporadically spreading on her French toast. The first little wave of cravings had definitely kicked in. "Each other, obviously," Meredith giggled.

He laughed and took another bite of his cheeseburger. "I'm trying to pinpoint the sex we had, so we know how to do it to make the next kid," he winked at her.

"Well, the fifth was a Saturday," Meredith said. "So it's very possible that we had sex multiple times that day..."

"True. Days off usually involve marathon sex," he smirked, watching as she dipped a fry in syrup and popped it into her mouth.

"Oh God, that's good. Why didn't I try that before?" Meredith asked rhetorically. "Here. Try one. It's salty and sweet," she said excitedly.

Derek had no choice but to accept the fry, and was surprised that it actually wasn't terrible dipped in the syrup. "Not bad," he agreed.

"It could have been that Friday night. Or Sunday," Meredith pointed out. "We have a lot of sex, huh?" she giggled.

"Yes, we do," he agreed amusedly. "Well, at least we know the baby was conceived in our bed. Or at least our house."

"And not at the hospital?" she laughed. "So am I. We have a lot of sex there, too."

"That we do," Derek said. He reached for his drink on the end table and noticed the Pregnancy Week by Week book sitting on top of the TV Guide. Derek grabbed it and smiled. "Wanna read up on what's happening in the world of your uterus?" he asked with a chuckle.

Meredith took her French toast and cheeseburger plate and set it on her lap, sidling up against her husband. "I do," she said softly.

Derek wrapped his arm around her shoulders then began reading. "During the seventh week of pregnancy, your baby will grow tremendously, reaching the size of a large blueberry. Your baby also has prominent facial features, although they are virtually undetectable on an ultrasound. The tongue is forming, and the eyes are nearly fully formed already, and now have the retina and lenses attached. The brain, pancreas, and pituitary gland are growing, and the muscular system continues to develop. By now, your baby also has his or her own blood type," he read.

"Maybe AB like both of us," Meredith smiled.

"Maybe," Derek agreed, mirroring the grin on her face. "Your baby's movements are uncoordinated at best, but rest assured, your little one is already squirming around inside," he said. "Our baby is moving around, Mer," he said happily.

She placed her hand over her belly and rubbed it gently. "Can't feel the little blueberry baby yet," Meredith giggled.

Derek laughed and hugged her closer. "My sisters all said it feels like guppies swimming around."

"Well, when I feel the guppies, you'll be the first to know," she joked, kissing his cheek. Meredith wondered if it was the surge of pregnancy hormones that made her want to constantly be snuggled up next to her husband, or if it was just the bliss they both were feeling. Probably a little of both.

"I'd hope so," he chuckled softly, continuing on. "Little webbed fingers and toes have formed by now--which we saw today--and the baby is already learning to wiggle them around."

Meredith tried to hold back the urge to 'aww' at that, but she couldn't. It melted her into a puddle of goo. "That's so cute," she said in a sing-song voice.

"I know," Derek beamed. "I'm proud of our blueberry. Only created seven weeks ago, and already so accomplished."

"We have a genius baby," Meredith teased, forking a piece of her French toast.

"Future neurosurgeon," he added boastfully. "...Teeth have already started forming in your baby's gums, and thin veins are visible beneath the skin. Your baby's appendix and intestines are fully formed by seven weeks, and the liver is hard at work, producing red blood cells. Though the genital tubercle is already formed, it's impossible to tell whether your baby is a boy or a girl yet."

"Wow. I'm very impressed," she spoke to her belly. "Keep up the good work."

"Aah, it says you might start seeing more of the pouch soon, Mer," Derek read from the book.

She lifted up her shirt a little and they both peered at her belly. "Not yet," Meredith laughed. "Although my jeans actually do feel a little snug. But mostly in my ass."

Derek smirked at his wife. "Your ass is not big," he assured her. "But you're tiny, so you'll probably show a lot sooner than other women. All of my sisters are petite like you, and they started showing at three months."

"Oh God, I'm gonna need to go shopping for maternity clothes soon," she said, eyes wide. "I'll need the stretchy waistband jeans. And scrubs."

"If I keep eating syrup-dipped fries, I'm gonna need some," Derek pointed out humorously.

Meredith smiled cheekily at her husband. "That makes me feel a little better."

--

Later on that night, after they were settled into bed, Charlie resting on Meredith's lap, Derek dialed his mother's phone number and pressed the button for the speaker phone, so they both could talk with her. After two rings, she picked up the phone, and Derek felt the butterflies in his stomach already.

"Hello?" she answered.

Derek smiled. "Hey, Mom."

"Derek, dear! How are you doing? How's Meredith? I miss you two..." Linda said excitedly upon hearing her son's voice.

"We're doing really well. Mer's on the phone too, actually," he said.

"Hi," Meredith greeted.

"How are you, sweetie? It's so nice hearing from you," she smiled into the phone.

"I'm...great," Meredith replied, taking Derek's hand and squeezing it. She nodded encouragingly for him to get down to the real reason behind their call. They needed to tell someone or else they'd burst at the seams.

Derek's heart pounded away in his chest in anticipation. "Actually, Mom, we, uh...we have some news," he said, swallowing a lump in his throat. "Meredith is pregnant."

Linda gasped into the other end of the phone line and Derek could tell his mom was already starting with the waterworks. "Oh my God!" she breathed. "That's...oh my goodness, that's wonderful!" she said, the genuine joy shining through in her voice.

"We just had our first ultrasound today. I'm seven weeks along," Meredith replied. Again, her hand went to her belly. Their baby was always on both of their minds now. "Everything looks good, baby is healthy."

Derek's mother was audibly crying into the phone by now, and he couldn't hold back the tears that filled his own eyes. "You're the first person we told," he said, wiping away a few tears that rolled down his cheeks.

"Finally, I'm getting a grandchild from my only son," she managed to laugh. "Oh, I need pictures..."

"Ultrasound pictures will be in the mail first thing tomorrow," Meredith assured her, smiling. "We have about a hundred of them."

"Were you able to see anything? Hands or feet or..." Linda asked, eager to know everything about her in-utero grandchild.

Derek grinned proudly. "Yep. And the head and back and arms and legs...beautiful, perfect baby."

"Well, of course it is. It belongs to the two of you," she complimented. "When are you due, hun?"

"May 29th," Meredith said, smiling. Her new favorite date. Whatever day their baby was born would be the best day of her life.

"Oh, a spring baby! That's so nice. Derek is a spring baby," Linda said excitedly. "The best kind there are..." she laughed.

"I think so, yes," Derek teased, much to Meredith's amusement.

"How are you feeling, Meredith? Has the morning sickness kicked in yet? Ginger ale and graham crackers in the morning always helped me," Linda suggested, the doting mother in her coming through.

"I'll definitely try that," Meredith giggled. "I've been feeling a little queasy in the mornings for the past few days, but nothing that has me hugging the toilet yet."

Linda laughed. "Maybe you'll be one of the lucky ones that won't suffer through it. But in the end, it's worth it."

"Definitely," Meredith agreed softly, her hand still protectively over her lower belly.

"You two have just made my year. I love you both so much," Linda said as the tears started flowing again.

"We love you, too," Derek smiled sincerely, kissing the back of Meredith's hand.

Meredith studied her husband's face, and felt tears sting her eyes when she noticed how happy he was. She was that happy, too.

Only in existence for seven weeks, and the little life inside of her was bringing them joy they'd never felt before.