82. Finding Out

Disclaimer: I wish I could say I owned it, but sadly, I don't.

This chapter picks up later on that night. ;)

"I like Adam," Meredith said, as she paged through the baby name book Bridget had gotten for them, her feet propped up on a kitchen chair while Derek pulled all the makings for ice cream sundaes from the fridge and various cabinets.

She had an urgent craving for maraschino cherries the minute they left work, so after heading to the grocery store to buy a jar, the craving escalated into a need for a full-blown ice cream fest. And Derek was graciously gathering all the ingredients.

"Adam…" Derek considered, retrieving the sprinkles from the cabinet. "I like that."

"Yeah?" Meredith asked. She uncapped her highlighter and ran the fluorescent yellow marker across the name. "That's a possibility."

"Maybe the fact that our baby was stubborn is a good thing. Now we can think about boys and girls names, not just one or the other," Derek pointed out.

Meredith sprinkled a few walnuts into her mouth and smiled. "True," she agreed. "Oh, what about Brian?" She paused. "Ha. Get it? Like that TV show?"

"Very clever," he chuckled. "But the name's kind of outdated," Derek said, taking the ice cream from the freezer, a carton of chocolate and a carton of strawberry. Meredith had insisted on having both.

"Yeah, you're right."

"Matthew?" Derek suggested. He got two bowls and two spoons, and slid them across the counter to her, then grabbed the armful of supplies and walked over to the chair beside her.

Cherries, sprinkles, whipped cream, walnuts, gummy bears, caramel, and hot fudge. Derek was convinced that he would gain more weight than she would during this pregnancy. Meredith could easily out-eat him these days, and not gain a pound. The only part of her that was growing was her belly. And of course, her boobs, which he had to admit, he loved.

"I like Matthew," she replied, scooping some chocolate ice cream into her bowl. "Can you mark that, Der?"

She slid the book over and Derek flipped through the pages until he came across the name, then highlighted it. "Matthew Shepherd. Adam Shepherd," he pondered. "I like both of those."

"Me too," Meredith smiled, pouring a generous amount of maraschino cherries overtop her ice cream, and every single one of the toppings she'd already added.

When she covered all of the contents with a generous amount of whipped cream so that it blanketed everything in her bowl, Derek smirked at his wife. "Wow, you weren't kidding."

"About what?" she asked.

"Your ice cream craving. Intense, huh?" he asked with a grin as he made himself a considerably smaller sundae, a heaping spoonful of chocolate and a small scoop of sprinkles.

Meredith licked some caramel sauce off her fingers and nodded. "Yes, very."

Derek scooped a spoonful into his mouth and paged through the book, trying to find another name possibility. "How about Connor?"

"Oh, I like Connor," Meredith said enthusiastically. "Highlight that one, too."

"Okay," Derek said. He searched for more and after a few minutes, he sighed amusedly. "You know, there's a downside to being the last in my family to have kids. All of the names are taken."

Meredith laughed, spooning out a cherry and a gummy bear floating in their fudgy sea in her bowl. "Like what?"

Derek shrugged. "Pretty much every boy's name in this book," he teased. "Kyle, Robert, Timothy, James, Andrew, Justin…the staple names of every baby name book."

"We'll find one," she assured him. "Oh, how about José? He brought us together in the first place," she giggled.

"Cuervo could be his middle name," Derek winked. "That can go on the short list."

"Sounds good." She moved a little closer to him so they could look through the book together, then flipped to the section with the girl names. "Let's look at some of these."

"Okay," Derek agreed. "Ooh, Abigail. I like that."

Meredith smiled, watching as her husband highlighted it. "Abby for short," she said. "That's pretty. We'll keep that in mind." She scanned the page in search of more possibilities and smiled. "You know, I actually do like the name Addison."

Derek glanced over to her with a dry grin on his face, and she just laughed. "I mean, obviously, we never would. But I'm just saying…it's a pretty name. If we didn't know anyone with that name, we'd be highlighting it."

"I'm sure Addison would be flattered," Derek teased. "Naming our baby after my ex-wife…we'd get some kind of Guinness record for that one."

"Probably," Meredith giggled, turning to another letter at random. "Emily?"

"There'll be ten girls named Emily in her class. It's pretty, but way too overused," Derek said.

Meredith tapped her spoon against her lips as she searched for something else. "Yeah, you're right," she granted. "What about…Emmeline?"

"Emmeline," Derek echoed. "Like Emily and Caroline…combined? That's really cute. I've never heard that name before."

She highlighted it happily and smiled. "This is weird."

"What's weird?" he asked, fighting back the brain freeze from the ice cream in his mouth.

"Thinking about baby names," Meredith replied. "Before you came along, I never in a million years thought I'd be pregnant and highlighting from a book of baby names."

Derek squeezed her hand gently and grinned at her, his smile reaching his eyes. "Me either."

She leaned into him and kissed him, soft and slow, letting their lips linger on each other's before sliding her tongue into his mouth. Meredith tasted the chocolate on his tongue and moaned. "Hmm…maybe we should…"

"Hmm?" Derek murmured, threading his fingers through her hair, his mouth still pressed to hers.

Meredith fumbled for the whipped cream on the counter. "Here or upstairs?" she managed to ask, despite the cloudiness her brain was experiencing as her husband kissed her.

"Up to you," he said, snaking his hands under her shirt and trailing his fingertips up and down her spine. When Meredith's hand found its way into his boxers, he gasped for breath. "Here is fine," he groaned in pleasure.

"Thought so," Meredith said breathlessly, shrieking in laughter when Derek scooped her up and carried her over to the kitchen table, the whipped cream still in her other hand.

Pregnancy sex was still as spontaneous and fun as regular sex, and whenever they had whipped cream on hand, they put it to good use.

Both of their ice cream sundaes melted into milkshakes before they got back to eating them.

...

Derek smiled, watching as Meredith slept soundly next to him in their bed, a hand protectively draped over the small bump that was their baby inside her. She was beautiful. "Mer," he whispered.

Meredith shook her head into her pillow. "Sleeping," she replied.

"Today's the day," Derek reminded her gently, brushing some soft wisps of hair off her face then kissing her forehead.

Her eyes opened a little and she smiled up at him. "Hmm, yeah," she said. Meredith rolled onto her back, stretching her sated, sexed out body, gasping a little in surprise when Derek lifted up her shirt and cold air hit her skin. But when his warm lips touched her, she sighed. He kissed her belly every morning since finding out she was pregnant, without fail.

"I love you," Derek told her slightly swollen belly, then lifted up onto his elbow to kiss Meredith. "And I love you."

Meredith smiled against his lips. "We love you, too."

"We should probably get ready soon. Our appointment is at eight. It's already…" Derek glanced over at the clock on his nightstand. "Almost seven."

"Fine," Meredith sighed, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. "All of that sex last night wore me out."

"You're the one who wanted more after we washed all of the whipped cream off in the shower," Derek chuckled as they both left the comfort of their bed and began making it, fixing their pillows and smoothing out their comforter so it lay smoothly on top.

Meredith bit her lip guiltily. Just because he was right didn't mean she was going to admit it. "Pregnant, remember? Hormone-palooza going on. I can't help it," she giggled.

"Don't get me wrong, I'm all for the sex," he smirked.

"Good," she said, pointing to her belly. "Because once this grows to be the size of a basketball, you're on your own."

"That's what you say now," Derek winked at her.

Meredith rolled her eyes playfully. "You really think I'll be horny when there's a baby about to shoot out of me?"

"I never underestimate you, Mer," he replied, laughing when she tossed a throw pillow at him.

She smirked at her husband. "That's really sweet of you."

...

They made it to the hospital by a quarter to eight and we're up in the OB wing, waiting to be called back minutes later. Because of Derek's magical neurosurgeon powers, he managed to bump their scheduled surgeries back an hour today in case their appointment ran long. Given their baby's apparent stubbornness, they wanted to reserve extra time in case he or she decided to be mysterious again today.

Meredith tapped her fingers against her belly anxiously. Thoughts of pink or blue, boy or girl ran through her mind on a loop. They didn't prefer one over the other; all they wanted was to know.

"Meredith? Derek?" Dr. Halloran said, Meredith's chart in her arms as she appeared in the waiting room.

They both stood up from their chairs, and Derek took Meredith's hand. "Hi," he greeted.

Dr. Halloran smiled, leading them back to an exam room, the first appointment of the day. "Long time, no see, huh?" she joked.

"Yeah," Meredith laughed, her heart beating away in her chest as she hopped up onto the exam table for the second time in two days. Dr. Halloran reclined the table and Meredith lay back, lifting up her scrub top. She smiled when she saw the tiny bump underneath; that always soothed her nerves.

"Second time's a charm," Derek said as he kissed the back of her hand.

"Hope so," she replied, her skin prickling with chills when the doctor squirted the gel on her abdomen.

Dr. Halloran spread the gel over Meredith's belly with the wand and zeroed in on her uterus, all three of them watching as it flashed over the screen. "Okay, here's the baby..."

Both of their breaths caught in their throats upon seeing him or her again. The reality of it all was incredible. "Still sucking the thumb," Derek chuckled, pointing over at the screen.

"Can I have a tissue, Der?" Meredith requested. One glimpse at their baby, and she was a sobbing ball of hormones, and she knew that finding out the sex would only spur more tears.

Derek pulled a few from the box sitting on the countertop and smiled at his wife proudly before his eyes traveled back up to the screen. "I could watch this all day with a bowl of popcorn in my lap," he chuckled.

"Exciting, isn't it?" Dr. Halloran said. "Okay, looks like the legs are...open today. Baby is indeed cooperating," she announced happily. "Let's just zoom in a little down here..."

And then they knew.

"Derek, look," Meredith gasped, her eyes never leaving the screen. This had just topped every moment in the entirely of her life. All she felt was genuine joy.

A grin came over Derek's face that reached his eyes and a few tears slipped over his eyelids. "Baby girl!" he cheered, leaning down and kissing his wife.

Meredith's hands splayed over his cheeks and she kissed him with all she had, their tears mingling together on both of their faces. "I love you," she murmured against his lips. The doctor's presence wasn't a blip on their radar right then; they'd made a beautiful baby girl and they were celebrating their moment.

"I love you, too," Derek whispered. "So much."

"Oh, God," Meredith breathed, handing Derek one of the tissues and patting her face with another. "Definitely a girl," she said as she studied the screen again.

Dr. Halloran smiled at the two of them. "Congratulations."

"Thank you," Derek replied, his fingers laced through Meredith's. "All of her...girl parts...they look good then, right?"

"They do," the doctor nodded, pointing to the screen. "Very clear, healthy girl parts."

"Oh my God," Meredith giggled through her tears. "Derek, we're having a daughter."

"She's beautiful," he said, brushing her tears away with his thumbs and kissing her again.

Meredith smiled. "She really is."

...

They weren't sure how their feet were functioning as they walked through the hall toward their friends, who were all waiting by the nurses' station for the big announcement. Somehow it felt like gravity should have excluded them from its grasp as both of their hearts and minds were on complete overdrive with happiness. Their baby was a girl. A perfect, blessed, beautiful girl that they'd made together. No longer their gender-mysterious blueberry. Their girl.

Meredith felt the tears spring to her eyes again as she saw her friends' faces, their eyes wide in anticipation. She never thought she'd have people in her life that cared so much about her and Derek, and now their baby. It was incredibly sweet, and not a second went by that they didn't appreciate it.

Izzie clasped her hands together in excitement when Meredith held up the ultrasound from halfway down the hall. "What is it?" she called out.

"It's a girl!" Meredith replied, the thrill in her voice carrying through the hallway.

"I knew it!" Mark said, clapping his hands as the rest of the group expressed their congratulations. This baby had turned into the talk of Seattle Grace, at least among their circle of friends, and if Meredith and Derek had to guess, their daughter would always be wrapped around not only their fingers, but their friends' as well.

"Let's see," Alex requested, holding out his hands as he waited for the ultrasound pictures.

Meredith handed off the stack to him and Derek kissed her temple. "Pretty good, huh?" he said into her ear.

"Yeah," Meredith breathed, leaning into him, a hand over her belly.

"Oh my God, look at that," Lexie said in awe. "Guys, she's beautiful."

"Thank you," Derek grinned, full of pride. His daughter, no bigger than an apple, had become his little girl, unquestionably and forever.

Cristina studied the ultrasound photo and smiled. It took a lot for Cristina Yang to show emotion, but this was one of those times where happiness for her person broke through on her face. "She cooperated today, huh?"

"Yes she did," Meredith agreed. "Knees apart, ready to show us that she was a she."

"We're not encouraging that, by the way. In the future, you know, when she's eighteen, knees closed. Always closed," Derek said seriously, but unable to hide his smile.

Meredith smirked at her husband, already overprotective. "Yes, always closed," she echoed.

"Now Iz can plan the baby shower," George joked, earning him a gentle nudge in the arm from Izzie.

"I'm already planning it. Now I know the color scheme," Izzie said. "When you choose a name, let me know so I can have stuff printed up."

Derek chuckled amusedly. "Mer barely has a belly yet," he pointed out.

"She's got the boobs though," Mark chimed in.

"You're engaged. Why are you even looking at my boobs?" Meredith giggled. Leave it to Mark to draw attention to her...growing assets in front of a group of people.

Mark shrugged, taking a sip of coffee. "How can I not notice them?" he asked rhetorically.

"Are you guys working today?" Lexie asked, quick to change the subject.

"Yeah," Derek answered, as all of their ultrasound pictures were collected and handed to Meredith.

Alex couldn't help but laugh. "Good luck with that."

Getting through their shifts that day was a challenge, to put it lightly. All they wanted to do was shout the news of their daughter from the hospital rooftop. Normally, they tried to maintain some level of privacy, separating their personal lives from their work lives. But this was something that was hard to keep tight-lipped about. Derek told Richard when he passed him in the hall on the way to surgery; and Meredith shared their news with Bailey in the scrub room. Parental pride was in full swing, and the off-switch wasn't anywhere to be found. And apparently, it came with an endorphin rush, one that gave them the energy they needed to work efficiently and quickly, their subconscious attempt to leave work and celebrate as soon as they could.

"Hey," Derek said, walking into the resident lounge after their shifts ended, just as Meredith was pulling her bag and coat from her cubby.

Meredith turned around and smiled at him. "Hey," she said, her pregnant belly prominent beneath her long sleeved red shirt, which was getting a little snug in the midsection, like the rest of her clothing. "Ready to go see Betty?" she asked, referring to their patient from yesterday.

Derek nodded, extending his hand as she walked over and took hold if it. "Yeah," he replied. "I'm sure she can't wait to find out," he chuckled.

She stood up on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek. "Baby girl, Derek," Meredith said, still a little breathless at saying that out loud. With every new discovery, the reality became a little clearer. A little better.

"Baby girl," Derek echoed, grinning from ear to ear. Even saying it out loud was awesome.

When they reached Ms. Eisell's room, Meredith gently knocked then entered, Derek following in right behind her. "Betty?" she greeted softly, so as not to startle the woman.

"Oh, come in," Betty said, muting her TV and waving them forward. "I've been waiting to see you all day."

Meredith saw the pink blanket folded neatly on Betty's nightstand and bit her lip in curiosity. Betty saw her looking at it and laughed. "Oh, yes, this is for you," she said.

"What?" Derek asked. "I...wait, how did you know?"

"This morning when I woke up, I just knew," Betty said simply. "So I told my son to pick me up some pink yarn on his way to visit me. And I spent the day knitting this for you. You both have been so good to me; I wanted to show my thanks."

The two of them stood there, stunned and appreciative at the same time. Meredith took it when Betty handed it to her and placed her hand over her belly. "You knew it was going to be a girl?"

"I told you I had instincts about these things, didn't I?" Betty teased.

"Yes, you did," Derek chuckled. He wrapped an arm around Meredith's waist and smiled. "We'll be sure to tell her where it came from."

"She's going to be a beautiful child," Betty complimented. "Congratulations, dears."

"Thank you," Meredith said softly, holding the fuzzy, pink blanket close to her chest. A blanket that would one day belong to their little daughter inside her.

...

They sat curled on the couch after dinner, a large throw blanket draped over them as the fireplace crackled behind them. Derek was sidled up next to Meredith on his left and Charlie on his right. It was a cozy December night, and the perfect end to an already kind of perfect day.

"I love her so much, Derek," Meredith said in awe as she admired their ultrasound photos, which they hadn't been able to put down all day.

"Me too," Derek whispered, pressing a lingering kiss to her temple.

She wiped away a tear that fell down her cheek. "We made a baby girl. It's...I can't even wrap my mind around that. We made her."

"I bet she'll look just like you," he said. "She's already beautiful." Derek traced his finger over the baby's face and smiled.

"I think she'll look like both of us," Meredith replied, mirroring the smile on his face. "She'll definitely come out with a head-full of your hair."

Derek chuckled softly. "Hmm...you think so?"

"I hope she does. I was born bald...only blonde peach fuzz. And I'm pretty sure the Shepherd hair is the dominant gene," Meredith giggled.

"I think she'll be the perfect mix of both of us," Derek grinned.

"So you were right all along, huh?" Meredith said, running her fingers lightly over her belly. "Baby girl."

Derek laughed. "I would've been happy with a boy or girl," he answered honestly. "But I'm so thrilled that we're having a daughter. As soon as we saw her...girl parts, it's like...I don't know. My whole life just shifted. I'm gonna be a dad to a baby girl. That we made. Forever."

"Changes a person," Meredith said as she wiped away a tear that was ready to spill down his cheek. She knew that joy. That rush. She felt it, too.

"Really does," Derek agreed, resting his head against hers.

"Now it'll be even...two guys, two girls," she pointed out, scratching under Charlie's chin. "Hear that buddy? You're having a sister."

"Hmm..." he hummed, the ever-present smile still etched on his face. "Lots of pink and dress-up clothes and dolls."

"And weaseling us into letting her stay out late and use the car when she's eighteen," Meredith added playfully.

Derek sighed, amused. "Well, if she's anything like you, it won't take much to win me over."

"True," she agreed, biting her lip. "But we still have a while before she's an adorably manipulative teenager. First is sleeping through the night and dirty diapers and spit-up."

"Can't wait," Derek said, his heart thudding a little faster as he thought about it. In a few months' time, they'd be parents to a newborn baby girl, and it was...thrilling. He studied the ultrasound photo closely. "God, to think that fifteen weeks ago, she didn't even exist. And now, she's..."

"Our whole world?" she offered, smiling at him.

Derek leaned down and kissed Meredith's belly. "Yeah," he whispered breathlessly. "Our whole world."