76. A Day of Surprises

Disclaimer: Don't own it.

Thanks for the reviews! And thank you for being patient. This time of the semester is crazy, and sometimes, this fic has to get put on hold. But school ends in three weeks, so I should be able to post more often. Anyway, enjoy! :)

Derek rubbed the tiredness from his eyes as he walked down the hall, a large caffeinated coffee in his hand. Five AM surgery was always an early start to the day, especially when the night before had been spent having sex into the wee hours of the morning. Meredith's libido had gone through the roof, and it was rare if more than twelve hours went between rounds of sex. And horniness was definitely better than morning sickness, which had recently begun to wane a little. She still felt queasy most mornings, but after getting some food in her, Meredith's urge to vomit decreased significantly. He was still thanking his lucky stars for that, for Meredith's sake.

Just as he was headed for the nurses' station, Derek's cell phone signaled a new text and he pulled it from the holder on his hip. From Meredith, as usual.

911. Lounge!

A million horrible thoughts went through Derek's mind as he ran toward the resident lounge. Meredith's shift had just begun at seven, so she'd probably only arrived a few minutes ago. Being pregnant, he knew anything could happen at the drop of a hat, and he felt the bile creep into his throat as he jogged down the hall. Baby. Meredith. Baby. Meredith. He chanted the words over and over in his head.

When he made a halting stop outside the door, Derek quickly flung it open, expecting the worst. So when he saw his wife sitting on the bench in her jeans, which were becoming hard to button these days, and a gray sweater on, no trace of blood or horror anywhere, he cocked his head in confusion.

"Mer?"

Meredith turned around on the bench, clutching her scrub pants, her eyes full to the brim with tears. He dropped down beside her and frowned in worry. "What's wrong?" Derek asked, while he tried to catch his breath.

"They don't fit anymore," she whimpered. "I mean, they do, but my ass looks huge and the drawstring isn't long enough to tie over the bump." Meredith sobbed into his shoulder and Derek quickly wrapped his arm around her.

In addition to the horniness came hormones. Crying fits were a daily occurrence.

"That's why you paged me 911?" he chuckled, attempting to lighten her mood. Because really, she was adorable like this, though he'd never say it to her face. "Mer, it's no big deal. There's a growing baby inside you. It's a good thing..."

"I need to wear pants, Derek," Meredith cried, using her sleeve as a tissue to wipe her eyes.

"I'll go find you a stretchy pair, the kind with the elastic waistband," he offered.

Bad idea.

Meredith's crying escalated and she dropped her normal blue scrub pants to the floor. "Oh God, it's official," she sobbed. "I'm fat."

"Meredith," Derek sighed amusedly. "You're pregnant. You're carrying our child. Your body is just growing. And you're not fat," he assured her.

"I am," she countered. "And my boobs...they're all swollen and enormous."

Derek pressed a comforting kiss to her temple. "Meredith, you look beautiful. Your ass isn't big, and your boobs are growing because of...nature," he skirted. Somehow, he knew explaining the beauty of womanhood right now wouldn't be wise. He smoothed his fingers through her hair and smiled. "I've never been more in love with you."

"Yeah?" Meredith asked, running her hand over her bump, which was getting bigger each day. Thankfully, it was concealed enough under her scrub shirt that no one suspected it of being hidden under there. Or not yet, anyway.

Derek rested his hand over hers and nodded. "Yes."

"Okay," Meredith whispered as she leaned into her husband. She breathed him in for a few minutes, letting herself regain composure before she spoke. "Sorry, I'm a basket case."

"No, you're not." Derek shook his head. "A pants emergency definitely warrants a 911 page."

She giggled at the absurdity, though in the heat of the moment, it really did seem like a crisis. "It's rude to mock your pregnant wife," Meredith said.

"Sorry," he chuckled. "So...do you want pants?"

"Yeah, I should probably get dressed." Meredith looked to her old pants, pooled on the floor at her feet and sighed. "I'm gonna miss the normal pants."

Derek smiled amusedly. "Six months from now, you'll slip right back into them," he said. "But can we keep the boobs?"

Meredith rolled her eyes playfully and nudged his hip with hers. "Shut up."

--

After Meredith's mini emergency earlier that morning, she and Derek were eating breakfast in the cafeteria before their surgery started at nine o'clock. There were definitely perks to being on Derek's service. More time together, and the occasional free time, which was just as nice.

"Hey," Mark said, dropping down into the chair next to them.

Meredith spooned some strawberry yogurt into her mouth and smiled. "Hey, Mark."

"How's the...you know?" he said nonchalantly.

"Huh?" Derek asked.

Mark's eyes traveled down to Meredith's torso and he raised his eyebrows. "Oh," Meredith figured out. "Good. Growing. And finally letting me eat again."

"Good," Mark said, patting her shoulder encouragingly. He waited a few moments before speaking. "So...guess who got engaged last night," he grinned proudly, waiting for their reactions.

Derek looked to his friend in wide-eyed shock. "What?"

"That's right," Mark nodded. "I popped the question and Bridget said yes." He leaned back in the chair and reveled in his victory, taking a sip of his coffee.

"Why didn't you tell us you were proposing?" Meredith asked, biting into her cream-cheese covered bagel. Her appetite was definitely re-emerging, and she was loving it.

Mark shrugged. "I dunno. In case she said no."

"Congratulations, Mark," Meredith said sincerely. "Bridget is great. We're so happy for you." She squeezed his arm gently and smiled. Mark was still Mark, but the man whore in him had disappeared since Bridget came along. And she really was thrilled for him.

"That's great, man," Derek congratulated, smiling. "That was...fast, huh?"

"Nearly a year," Mark said. "But it's...I know she's the one. Honestly, you two are the reason I took the plunge."

Derek turned to Meredith and then Mark. "Us?"

"Yeah," Mark nodded. "You know, because of the baby and all. Moving forward. Change is good."

A smile came over Meredith's face and she laced her fingers through Derek's. "Good. I'm glad," she said supportively.

"Any wedding date set?" Derek asked.

"She likes the spring. I dunno yet. Maybe late April," he shrugged.

Meredith licked some cream cheese off her finger and giggled. "When I'm eight months pregnant? Okay, that's cruel," she teased.

"They sell maternity dresses, don't they?" Mark pointed out, causing Derek to stifle a laugh. Probably not the best thing to say, considering this morning's meltdown.

"Okay, I'm gonna pretend you didn't just say that." Meredith rolled her eyes playfully before taking a sip of apple juice.

"What?" Mark asked, confused.

Derek laughed. "You missed the emergency this morning."

Meredith pointed her spoon at him in warning. "If you ever wanna see my boobs again, that story stays between us," she joked with him.

"I would ask to see them, but I'm a marriage-bound man now," Mark grinned, standing up and grabbing his coffee from the table.

"Do you have a surgery?" Derek asked.

"Yeah. Paletal reconstruction."

Meredith slid Derek's muffin across the table and took a bite, much to the amusement of the other two. "What?"

"Nothing," Mark shrugged, lest he anger the pregnancy gods. "See you guys later."

Derek waved him off. "See you. And congrats!"

"Thanks!" Mark called back.

"We need to buy some of these for home," Meredith said, chomping down on the flaky blueberry pastry.

"Will do," Derek chuckled.

--

Right before Meredith pressed on the water pedal to scrub in on her surgery with Derek, she pulled her mint chapstick from her pocket and rolled a liberal amount on her lips. Bailey's suggestion had been a godsend. Since investing in a simple tube of chapstick, the cautery smell barely bothered her anymore, which was good, because it was typically frowned upon to vomit in the OR.

"I like that stuff. Tastes good," Derek chuckled while drying his hands off.

Meredith smacked her lips together and smiled. "Hmm...yeah?"

"Very." Derek tiled her chin toward him and kissed her, and she moaned against his lips. If they were at home instead of scrubbing in on a two year old's brain surgery, she'd be dragging him upstairs by now. Being horny twenty-four-seven was exhausting, but still fun.

They finished scrubbing in and walked into the OR, where Andrew, a two year old boy, was being treated for a tumor removal. Meredith swallowed hard when she saw the toddler's tiny body surrounded by surgical equipment. It was always difficult treating kids, but being pregnant made it even harder. She always unwillingly produced these horrible images of their own baby on the table and in need of a life saving operation. She knew it was just her irrational pregnant mind doing strange things, but still, it knotted her stomach every time.

Meredith trailed her gloved hand over her belly comfortingly. All three of them--Derek, the baby, and herself--were healthy and loved. That thought got her through tough surgeries like this one.

"Dr. Shepherd, would you care to handle the drill?" Derek asked.

"Sure," Meredith nodded eagerly, accepting the neurosurgical drill from her husband. "Drilling three burr holes along the parietal lobe," she announced.

Derek watched as she expertly drilled the holes into the boy's skull. "Excellent."

Once the holes were in place and the skull portion was removed, Meredith stepped to the side so Derek could stand directly over the open brain. "You're doing this," he said, nodding to the surgical field.

"Me? But it's...are you sure?" she asked.

"Absolutely," Derek grinned beneath his mask.

"Okay." Meredith released a breath and stepped back. "Penfield four, please?" she requested of the scrub nurse.

Derek watched as she maneuvered the instrument under the tumor gingerly so she wouldn't cause damage to the surrounding tissues, then carefully dissected the tumor out, inch by inch. When she stopped cutting briefly, he looked to her, confused. "What's wrong?"

"It's too close to this artery," Meredith pointed. "I don't want to nick it accidentally."

"You won't," he assured her, shaking his head. "It's pliable. Here, I'll slide it over so you can cut around it," Derek said.

Meredith nodded. "Okay."

With Derek's assistance, she cut out the remainder of the tumor with ease. It was an adrenaline rush every time he stepped aside and let her do everything. Her alertness was heightened so much that all the irrational thoughts disappeared, and it was just her and Derek and the surgery. And of course, the baby inside her.

"Very good," Derek hummed, examining her work. "No residual bleeding, good pulsation through the area. I think we're done here."

"That's all?"

Derek chuckled. "That's all," he echoed. "Dr. Smithson, would you mind closing him up?"

As they scrubbed out, Meredith couldn't help but smile. "Am I allowed to be doing all of that? I mean, that's okay, right?"

"What? Doing the surgery?"

"Yeah," she nodded.

"I'm right next to you the whole time. And besides, how else would you learn?" Derek pointed out, tossing his paper towel into the trash can.

Meredith giggled. "Okay, then."

"What?"

"I think someone is just letting me do all of that stuff in return for sexual favors," Meredith smirked teasingly.

Derek opened the door and they walked into the hallway, glancing around to make sure no one could hear their conversation. "I don't need to. You're the insatiably horny one."

"Oh, just me?"

"You're the one who jumped me last night while I was loading the dishwasher," Derek grinned, pulling off his scrub cap.

"You looked hot," Meredith said in defense of herself.

Derek laughed. "That turns you on?"

"Yes." Meredith admitted, taking off her own scrub cap and fixing her ponytail. "You being all...husbandly? Makes me want to drag you into bed. Every. Time."

"Hmm...yeah?"

"These days, everything you do makes me horny. I can't help it," she giggled. Meredith took his hand and squeezed it. "And there's a hundred percent chance of you getting lucky tonight, too."

Derek kissed her temple after they stepped into the elevator. "Horny you is much more fun than vomiting you," he chuckled.

"Anything is better than vom--" Meredith stopped abruptly and her hands flew to her belly. "Oh!" she gasped.

For the second time that day, Derek's heart nearly stopped beating inside his chest and his eyes grew wide in fear. "Mer, what?"

"Guppies," Meredith whispered. "Der, I think I feel something." She looked to her husband, tears already pooled in her eyes. "It's..."

"The baby," he finished. Derek smiled when Meredith reached for his hand and pressed it under her belly button, hoping for him to feel too.

"Right here," she said as she guided his hand. "Do you feel that?"

Though dull and tiny, Derek could make out the slight rippling going on. "Oh my God, Mer," he breathed. "That's our baby."

"It feels kind of like popcorn popping," Meredith described, focusing on nothing else but the feeling of their baby inside her. "Holy crap."

"That's incredible," Derek said in awe, pulling the stop button on the elevator panel so they could revel in their moment. Those in line for the elevator would just have to wait. This trumped...everything.

"I'm only eleven weeks along. It's...is that normal?" she asked. "I mean, you were married to an OB for eleven years. That's normal, right? Not just gas bubbles or something?"

A grin came over Derek's face, his hand still pressed to her belly. "It's normal. My sisters all started feeling movement around this time. It's small little vibrations in the uterus. Sometimes, when the baby wiggles, even the tiniest bit, you can feel it," he recalled. "That's definitely the baby."

"Derek." A tear slipped from Meredith's eye and she smiled at him.

"God, I love you," Derek whispered, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her close to him. When their lips touched, Meredith threaded her fingers through his hair and her heart thudded wildly in her chest.

"I love you," Meredith murmured against his mouth. "Hmm...Blueberry must be very busy."

He wiped a tear from his own eye and laughed. "Must be," Derek agreed, grinning. "You and Blueberry are very good at giving me conniptions on a daily basis."

"Sorry. I guess after the freak out this morning, and then this, you'll probably need some Xanax to calm your nerves," she joked.

"As long as the freak outs end up being good things, it's okay," he said, running his hand through his hair. "That was the coolest thing I've ever felt."

"I know," she whispered, leaning her weight into him. "I'm glad it happened here, and not in surgery. Then everybody would have known about it."

Derek pushed in the stop button and the elevator resumed its flight up to the fifth floor. "Our child has good timing."

"For now. When I'm nine months pregnant and my water breaks in the OR, not so much," Meredith giggled.

--

"Andrew's surgery went very well. There was no unexpected bleeding, and we were able to remove the entire tumor, so barring any complications, he should be good to go home in a few weeks," Derek explained to the two year old's parents.

"You got all of it? So he won't need a second operation?" the boy's mother asked.

Meredith shook her head reassuringly. "Dr. Shepherd and I maneuvered around all the major blood vessels, and cut everything out. Your son did very well," she nodded encouragingly.

"Thank you both, so much," Andrew's father said, wrapping his arm around his wife.

"Thank her," Derek said graciously, nodding toward Meredith. "She's the reason Andrew is going to live a long, healthy life."

Andrew's mother pulled Meredith in for an unexpected hug, and all Meredith could do was hug the woman back. "Oh. It's...my pleasure," she said softly. "I'm just glad he's doing well."

Derek smiled at his wife as they walked toward the nurses' station, and she elbowed him gently. "You didn't have to do that."

"What?"

"Give me all the credit. You taught me how to do the surgery in the first place," Meredith pointed out, handing him a pen from her pocket so he could scribble down some notes.

"You're the one who did it," Derek shrugged. "Of course I'd give you the credit."

"Thank you." Meredith stood up on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek. "I appreciate it."

Derek slipped the pen back in her pocket and smiled at her. "Go get changed. I'll meet you."

"Okay."

Meredith headed for the resident lounge, eager to get changed and go home. There had been a lot of excitement, and now, she was tired. And hungry. And horny. Pregnancy was quirky that way. "Hey," she greeted her friends, also getting ready to leave for the evening.

George scooted over on the bench. "Hey."

She took off her coat and placed it on the hook in her cubby, then grabbed her bag out from inside. "Any good surgeries today?" Meredith asked, as she absentmindedly began pulling her scrub top over her head.

"Hunt let me scrub in on a transhiatal--holy crap!" Cristina gasped, gawking at Meredith's belly, and the other three followed in line.

Crap. Crap Crap.

Meredith quickly pulled her scrub top back down, which had been static clinging to her red long sleeve shirt underneath. "I um..."

"Meredith! Oh my God!" Izzie all but flailed. "You're pregnant! How long has that been hidden under there?"

"I--" Meredith stammered. She was busted and she knew it.

"How long have you known?" Izzie asked as she rushed over and planted herself on the bench right in front of Meredith. "Can I feel it?"

"Feel what?" she asked.

Izzie grinned. "The bump. AKA, my little niece or nephew." She held out a cautionary hand, waiting patiently until Meredith gave the okay. When she nodded, Izzie's hand went right to Meredith's belly and she splayed her fingers over it.

"Congrats, Mer" Alex said, unclipping his nametag from his coat pocket.

"How far along are you?" George asked.

Cristina stared at Meredith and a small smile came over her face. "Holy crap," she repeated.

"Eleven weeks. We were gonna tell you guys, once I was into the second trimester. Really, we were. You have no idea how hard it's been to keep it a secret, but I just--" Meredith explained, as four pairs of eyes looked right at her.

"Mer, this is amazing," Izzie chimed in, a smile radiating from her face.

"When are you due?" Alex asked curiously as he rolled his eyes amusedly at Izzie, who was fascinated by the baby bump.

"May 29th." Meredith suddenly felt like she was on trial with all the questioning going on and she laughed. "Didn't know everyone was so interested..."

"Of course we are," Izzie said. "You're pregnant. Do you have any ultrasound pictures?"

"Yeah." Meredith reached into her bag and pulled one of the wallet sized ultrasound photos she always carried around with her. Whenever she looked at it, her heart always fluttered in her chest and she smiled. "Derek has some in his wallet, too. And there's a few on the fridge at home. And we each have a framed one on our nightstands," Meredith said with a giggle, as a sense of relief washed over her. It was actually kind of nice telling her friends.

They all gathered around to check out the picture, even Cristina, who was surprisingly interested in what was going on. Normally, baby talk bored her to tears, but Meredith supposed that when the baby in question belonged to her person, the topic wasn't so toxic.

"Oh my God, you can already see the teeny tiny little fingers," Izzie said in awe. When she looked up at Meredith, there were tears in her eyes. "I'm gonna hug you."

Izzie handed the picture to George, who seemed delighted to be able to take a closer look. She wrapped her arms around Meredith, careful not to squeeze her too hard on account of the baby between them. "Congratulations, Meredith," she said softly.

Meredith fought back the tears in her own eyes. This wasn't how she wanted her friends to find out, but as she was learning, pregnancy was full of the unexpected. And she really wouldn't want to trade these moments for anything. "Thanks, Iz."

"What's going on in here?" Derek asked curiously, setting his bag down on a chair and walking towards them.

Cristina held up the picture, waving it at him. "We're admiring your spawn," she said bluntly.

"They know?" Derek addressed his wife in shock.

Meredith shrugged. "Blame static cling."

"Congrats, dude," Alex grinned, patting Derek's back. "Cute fetus."

George handed him the photo back and Derek neatly tucked it back into the flap inside Meredith's wallet. "I think so, too," Derek chuckled.

"Only eleven weeks? You're already so big--not like that. You're tiny to begin with so obviously you would show early; but there's definitely a baby in there. It's just...how did we not see this?" Izzie asked, gently placing her hand back on Meredith's belly. Normally, Meredith would be annoyed by all the touching, but she knew it was just the excitement. And not a day went by where Derek didn't touch, kiss, and talk to her belly at least fifty times. She was used to it.

"Scrubs are very forgiving," Meredith joked. "But I'm in the stretchy pants now."

Cristina pursed her lips to resist smirking at that, but her attempt was futile, and she made a face anyway. "Don't even," Meredith warned playfully, pointing a finger at her friend. "Okay, everybody, there are to be no fat jokes. No commenting about my boobs or my ass."

"Yeah, not a good idea," Derek agreed. "Please be nice to my pregnant wife."

"Come on, that's no fun," Cristina rebutted.

Meredith eyed her friend seriously. "Not a word," she reiterated. She reached for her change of clothes and used Derek's shoulder for leverage as she pulled off her shoes. "Any questions?"

"Let me know a date for the baby shower. I'll plan it for you," Izzie offered, finally removing her hand from Meredith's abdomen.

"Probably not until spring," Derek smiled.

"Good. That gives me plenty of time to plan," she said enthusiastically. "Are you gonna find out the sex?"

"Aren't you glad they know?" Meredith asked Derek with a giggle, running a hand through her husband's hair.

Derek laughed amusedly. "Would've happened eventually."