91. Ten Weeks to Go

Disclaimer: I don't own TV shows; I'm just a poor college student.

It seems like interest in this fic has dwindled recently. So if you leave a review, could you just let me know if you're interested in me continuing this beyond the pregnancy? I could stop there if people would prefer, because that could work as an ending. But if you'd like me to go on beyond the birth, please let me know. I just want to get some opinions so I know whether to wrap things up sooner rather than later. Anyway, hope you enjoy the chapter. :)

Meredith smiled at her sleeping husband, resisting the urge to reach out and touch him. She would have if he were awake, but he just looked so adorably peaceful with his mouth slightly ajar as he breathed, the blanket rising and falling with each inhale and exhale.

She glanced over at the clock. 10:30. They'd still been at work twelve hours ago, dealing with a trauma that rolled into the ER around eight. A lovely group of drunken teenagers that decided to go for a Friday night joyride down the highway. Meredith shook her head and sighed, glancing down at her belly. There's no way in hell Lilly would ever do that, she already knew. By the time they'd walked through the door and had just enough energy left to shower and crawl into bed, it was after one in the morning.

Resting her head against the headboard, she shut her eyes. Trying to go back to sleep now was useless. She'd been up twice to pee in the last hour, and anytime she tried in vain to get a few more hours, minutes, anything resembling sleep, Lilly jolted her awake again with tiny but distinguishable kicks to her ribs. So now, Meredith was just waiting for Derek to wake up. She considered getting up and putting on a pot of coffee, but knew that without her weight and warmth in the bed next to him, Derek would know she wasn't there and would get up, too. And she wanted him to sleep, because today was the Saturday he and Mark were going to paint Lilly's nursery.

Charlie sleepily stretched out and yawned from his doggie bed under the window and hopped up onto their bed, snuggling his way into Meredith's lap. Or whatever lap she had left because of the bump in the way. "Hey, buddy," Meredith whispered, scratching him under his chin then behind his ears. "Your sister is insisting that I stay awake."

Derek peeked his eyes open, getting used to the light in the room, then smiled at her. "Hey."

"Hey." Meredith leaned over and kissed his forehead. She combed her fingers through his hair, smiling back at him. They didn't get nearly enough days to sleep in, so whenever they did, they relished in it as long as they could. "Tired, huh?"

"Hmm, what time is it?" he asked, yawning.

"Almost eleven."

Derek chuckled. "Yeah, guess I was. Why are you awake?"

"Lilly," Meredith said. "I think she's using my bladder as a pillow."

"Bouncing around in there?" Derek asked, propping himself up on his elbow and kissing her belly.

"She's very busy today," Meredith told him. "I think space is getting very limited."

"Ten more weeks, then you can come out," he told his daughter.

"Ten weeks. Is it bad that I wish it was May 29th already so we could just meet her? I'm getting impatient," she giggled.

"Me, too. But we'll make it," Derek said, smiling at her. "She still has ten more weeks' worth of growing to do."

Meredith swallowed thickly and made a face. "I can't imagine pushing her out at the size she is now."

"Your body was designed to do it. You'll be fine," he tried to reassure her.

"Only a man would say that," she said, rolling her eyes playfully at him. "Expect a lot of cursing and yelling, that's all I'm saying."

"I can handle that." Derek pulled himself into a sitting position and glanced over at the clock. "Wanna get a shower before Mark gets here?"

"Is that code for sex? Because I'm pretty sure shower sex is impossible now," Meredith said amusedly as she gestured to her belly.

Derek shook his head. "Not sex. Just a shower."

"Yeah," Meredith agreed, rubbing the last of her tiredness from her eyes. "A shower would be good."

"Can I still feel you up?" he grinned.

Meredith whacked him lightly with her pillow, but he looked too adorable with his bed head hair and pajamas to say no. "Hmm, fine."

...

"Okay, that shouldn't have taken a half hour," Meredith reprimanded her husband, smirking at him as he finally turned off the shower knobs.

Derek got out first, then took her hand so she could step over the ledge, too. "As I recall, you enjoyed all the kissing."

"Yeah. I did," she admitted. She handed him a towel and took one for herself. "But still. Think of how much water we wasted."

"Hmm, worth it," Derek pointed out, leaning in and kissing her.

They walked into their bedroom, and Derek saw his phone blinking, signaling a new text. He swiped it off the nightstand and read the message on the screen. "Mark's down in the kitchen," he said, a slightly confused look on his face.

"What?" Meredith asked.

"I don't know. He texted me. In your kitchen. Used the key. Don't be alarmed," Derek read. He looked up at Meredith. "We gave him a key?"

"For emergencies," she nodded.

Derek chuckled. "Was a bear chasing him?" he said, amused. "Whatever. At least he warned us."

Meredith saw him typing on his phone and cocked her head. "What're you doing?" she asked, shedding her towel and pulling a pair of panties up her legs.

"Telling him to start breakfast," Derek shrugged. "May as well make himself useful."

"It's almost noon," she reminded him. "Well, we did ask him to be here around lunchtime. It's... 11:43."

"Of course, the one and only time he's prompt, we're making out in the shower," Derek couldn't help but laugh.

"At least we weren't having sex. Our shower echoes. He would've heard us."

"Well, we were doing a good bit of moaning in there today," Derek said. "He might have."

Meredith blushed. "Crap."

"Who cares? You and I are married. We don't have to be ashamed. He's the one that let himself into the house and is currently helping himself to our Captain Crunch," Derek chuckled as he pulled on a pair of boxers.

"He better not be eating the Captain Crunch. Lilly and I were going to have a breakfast date with him," Meredith giggled. "It's one of the few cereals that doesn't get soggy that fast. Soggy cereal makes me nauseous," she said, her stomach churning even thinking about it. Before getting pregnant, it didn't bother her in the slightest; now, the cereal had to be crunchy when she ate it, or else.

"I bought two boxes when I went shopping the other night. Crunch Berries and the peanut butter kind," Derek said.

"You did?"

Derek grabbed a pair of old sweats from his closet, ones he didn't mind getting paint on, and hopped into them. "Yeah. I knew we were running low, so I stocked up."

"If Mark wasn't downstairs, you'd get sex for that," Meredith smiled, putting on her own pair of yoga pants.

"For buying cereal?" Derek chuckled. "Damn. If I knew that, I would've told you the night I bought them. By the way, you look really hot in those pants," he said, rolling deodorant under his arms, then reaching for an old tee shirt.

Meredith rubbed cocoa butter over her belly and breasts, quickly glancing at herself in the mirror. "You still think I'm sexy?"

"Of course I do. Why wouldn't I?" Derek asked.

"Because my boobs are already engorged, and I've gained about twenty pounds in my ass," Meredith said, latching her bra in place. "See? They're practically spilling over the top."

"Meredith," Derek sighed, admiring her soft, glowy pregnant body. "You're just as sexy as you were the day we met. I'll still think that, even when we're both old and wrinkly and incontinent."

She giggled at his ability to put a dorky, charming spin on everything, smiling at him. "Okay."

"You sure we can't have a quickie? Mark would never have to know..." Derek bargained with her.

"Later," Meredith said, watching as he coiffed his hair to perfection. Even watching him do that turned her on. Before she could change her mind, she fished through her drawer for one of her camisoles and slipped it over her torso, smoothing it out over her bump. "A quickie would just make me horny for more. I want to have you all to myself for hours. You know, once Mark leaves."

Derek kissed her cheek as she brushed out her damp hair in the mirror. "Okay, then."

They went downstairs and into the kitchen, both of them smiling when they saw Mark sitting at the counter with a cup of coffee and a cheese danish. He heard their footsteps and looked up from the newspaper. "Morning, lovebirds. Well, afternoon. It's... 12:03. Nice of you to answer the door when I knock."

"Nice of you to help yourself to coffee and pastries," Derek shot back jokingly, pouring himself his own cup of coffee.

"I made that coffee you're drinking," Mark said. "The least you can do is say thank you."

"Thank you," Derek said, rolling his eyes.

"Hey, Grey," Mark greeted.

Meredith got a bowl from the cupboard and the box of Captain Crunch from the cabinet below. "Hey," she returned.

"How's baby Grey?" he asked.

"She's good. And she's been wide awake for two hours now," Meredith said, smiling down at her belly. "Kicking me a lot."

"Maybe she knew Uncle Mark was coming today," Mark said boastfully. He shoved some more danish into his mouth and pointed to the kitchen table. "By the way, that's for you."

Meredith picked up the small, pink gift bag and looked to Mark curiously. "What's this for?"

"Bridget went shopping with her sister yesterday. She got you something - said she couldn't resist," Mark said. "She asked me to give it to you today."

Meredith pulled out the white tissue paper and reached into the bag, smiling. "This is so cute," she all but gushed. She held up the tiny terrycloth bath robe with a duck face on the hood. "Derek, look."

"That's really cute," Derek grinned. "Tell Bridget we said thank you."

"We wanted to get one of these, but we couldn't find it in the newborn size. And now she has one," Meredith said happily, holding the outfit out in front of her to admire it. "I love it; thank you."

"Damn, Grey. Look at you. You're all... girly," Mark said, taking a sip of coffee from his mug.

Meredith narrowed her eyes at him and shook her head. "I am not."

"Yes, you are," Derek chuckled. "It's adorable."

"Okay, well, savor my... adorableness," Meredith warned them both playfully. She tucked the robe back into the bag and set it on the table, then went back to pouring her cereal. "Because when I'm in labor, I won't be."

"Who's gonna be in the delivery room? Am I invited to witness the miracle of life?" Mark joked.

"Sadly, no. Only me and Derek. And my doctor, obviously. The last thing I want is a room full of people watching me deliver a baby," Meredith laughed. "Not even Cristina gets to see that. We're close but not that close."

Mark considered this for a few seconds before speaking. "Oh, by the way, how close are you with Addie?"

"What? Why?" Meredith asked before shoveling a spoonful of cereal into her mouth.

"I was talking to her the other day. She asked how you guys were, and I told her about the baby," Mark said. "I assumed she knew already, but I guess not. Anyway, she asked me to send her congratulations."

Meredith smiled. "She did?"

"Yeah. She's really happy for you. I gave her your address; she wants to send you a gift," Mark told them. "Hope you don't mind."

"No, we don't," Derek replied as he reached for a bowl in the cabinet. "You told her we're having a girl?"

"Yeah," Mark said.

"That means we should probably expect a Gucci dress in the mail," Derek teased.

"It's sweet that she wants to send a gift," Meredith said, running her hand over her belly. "And that, you know, she doesn't hate me."

Derek poured some Muesli into his cereal bowl and Meredith slid the milk across the counter for him. "Why would she hate you?" he asked.

"Do I really need to regale you with the whole story?" she giggled. "Seriously though, I appreciate it. It's very thoughtful."

"Did you invite her to the baby shower? Derek asked sarcastically. "Or are you waiting for Izzie to sign off on it?"

"No, I didn't. Thought that might be a bit much," Mark said. "Oh, and she said Halloran is one of the best. You guys are lucky to have snagged her."

"You discussed Mer's OB/GYN?" Derek chuckled. "Nice to know nothing is off limits."

"Hey, she wanted to make sure you guys got someone good. She was looking out for you. Shame she moved. She could've been your OB," Mark said as a grin spread over his face.

Meredith rolled her eyes. "Oh, yeah. Because my husband's ex-wife examining my nether regions wouldn't be awkward or anything."

"Okay. New subject," Derek prompted, halting his hands in front of him. "This conversation is officially encroaching on creepy territory."

"I agree," Meredith said, dumping her soggy cereal into the sink and replacing it with a fresh handful. "So do you two think you'll be able to finish painting today?"

"It's only a nursery. Aren't those usually small?" Mark asked.

"One of the perks of building our own house is making big bedrooms," Derek said, gloating in jest. "This is a top quality nursery. But yeah, we'll finish today."

"Alright, let's get started then. Knicks game is on at seven, and I thought I'd hang out here and watch it," Mark said as he hopped off the stool and placed his coffee mug in the sink. "Bridget's doing wedding stuff with her sister and bridesmaids, so they're taking over the living room."

"That's fine," Meredith said. "Baby clothes are taking over our living room. I'm tackling that project today since I'm apparently not allowed to help paint..." she teased, making sure Derek caught the smirk on her face.

Derek laughed. "It's not good for you to be breathing in paint fumes. Or to be climbing ladders," he reminded her as the three of them exited the kitchen. "Forgive me for wanting to protect my pregnant wife."

"That's okay." Meredith stood on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek. "You can make it up to me later on."

"I can do that," Derek grinned, running his hand over the small of her back.

"Okay," Meredith giggled, pulling her snug-fitting camisole over her belly. "I'll just be down here folding clothes with Ben and Jerry."

"You'd rather spend time with those two than with me," Derek teased.

"Just because Lilly and I have a thing for Chunky Monkey doesn't mean we don't love you."

Mark leaned against the banister and glanced at his watch. "Tick tock... you two can save the banter for the bedroom."

"Fine," Meredith said. "Go. Have fun. And be careful not to drip any paint on the carpet. It's brand new," she warned them, thinking of how there'd be hell to pay if splotches of pink paint dripped onto the soft yellow carpeting they had put in a few weeks ago.

After the two of them went upstairs to get started, Meredith continued with her own project. Baby clothes. Washing, drying, sorting, folding. They hadn't even had the baby shower yet, and already, there were mountains of clothes everywhere. Socks, onesies, dresses, baby jeans, tee shirts, booties, bibs, and more. Once settled on the couch with her latest fresh laundry load and her pint of Chunky Monkey, Meredith's cell phone rang and she reached for it, a purple onesie draped over her stomach.

"Hello?"

Cristina's voice came through on the other end. "Hey. It's me."

"Hey," Meredith returned. "Are you home?"

"Yeah. Bored out of my mind. I'm probably going to head to the hospital to troll for surgeries. You in?" Cristina asked.

"If you'd asked me that a few months ago, I'd say yes. But my feet hurt today. I swear, I'm going to start waddling soon," Meredith sighed.

Cristina stifled a laugh. "Yeah, well, you're the one who got herself knocked up," she said jokingly. "So that's a no?"

"No, I'm good just sitting on my ass, being lazy," she said, spooning ice cream into her mouth. "If you want, you could come over here."

"What're you doing?" Cristina asked.

"Folding baby clothes and watching bad Lifetime movies. Fun times." Meredith finished folding the onesie and placed it on top of a growing stack of them next to her on the couch. "Derek and Mark are painting, so I have nothing to do."

"Tempting, but I'll pass," Cristina laughed.

Meredith shrugged. "You're missing out."

Cristina heard Meredith glomping on something over the phone and smirked. "More Chunky Monkey?" she assumed.

"Yes," Meredith said before swallowing. "Lilly likes it, which is good, because I don't know what I'd do if she didn't. Derek brought home Cherry Garcia one time, and my stomach was not happy."

Cristina shuddered. "Makes me glad I don't want kids."

"You say that now. But one look at my baby, and you'll change your mind," Meredith said assuredly.

"Oh, I'm gonna be a kickass aunt. I'll have her suturing bananas by the time she's in kindergarten. But I have no intentions of being a mommy, or pushing a kid out of my body," Cristina maintained.

"Clearly, you've never had pregnancy sex," Meredith smirked, smoothing a yellow sundress over her belly then neatly folding it. "Seriously, one of the reasons I want another one is for the sex."

"That good?"

Meredith leaned back against the couch cushion and smiled. "Yes."

"Okay, on that note, I think I'll hang up now," Cristina laughed. "Last chance: you're sure you don't wanna troll with me?"

"I'm sure," Meredith said. "If you get anything good, let me know."

"Okay," Cristina promised. "Have fun with your housewifery."

Meredith shoveled another scoop of ice cream into her mouth. "Oh, I will."

...

Upstairs in the nursery, Derek and Mark laid the plastic tarp down over the carpet, making sure it stretched all the way into the corners, covering every inch of rug so no paint could accidentally splash onto it, which would surely result in Meredith's wrath.

Mark picked up the paint can and read the label on the lid. "Sexy pink? Really?"

"Mer and I like it," Derek chuckled. "It's a really nice color."

Mark wedged off the lid with a screwdriver and poured some into the paint tray, nodding in agreement when the pink liquid poured out. "Pretty."

"Told you," Derek said. He assembled two roller brushes and handed one to Mark. "It's good for a little girl's room."

"I still can't believe you're gonna be a dad," Mark said, shaking his head. "Getting old, man."

"We're the same age," Derek reminded him as he rolled his brush through the paint tray. He tapped off the excess, then pressed the brush to the wall, rolling it up and down in even strokes. As soon as the pink paint covered over the white walls, his heart jumped in his chest. No longer a blank canvas, or a room they'd built nearly two years ago for a one-day-down-the-line baby they'd have. But for his daughter's nursery. "Mer's gonna love this."

"Queen Meredith of the Darkside really picked this? I don't know if I believe that..." Mark grinned.

Derek laughed. "A few years ago, I wouldn't have either. She's even nesting now. You should see my office at work. She bought me a potted plant, and she organized my desk drawers."

"Damn," Mark said. "We should get video footage of that."

"Yes, we should," Derek agreed.

"So is the sex really as good as they say it is?" Mark asked conversationally, starting on the adjacent wall with his own roller.

"Mark."

Mark rolled his eyes. "Oh, like Grey doesn't dispense sex details to Yang and Stevens."

"I know she does. I just choose to block that out," Derek said. "But if you must know, then yes. It is."

"How do you guys, you know... do it? With the belly in the way?" Mark asked.

Derek glanced over at his friend in amusement. "Are you seriously asking me that question?"

"Medically speaking," Mark modified. "How do you have... intercourse?"

"Oh my God," Derek said in disbelief.

Mark shrugged. "Fine. Don't tell me. I just thought that as your best friend, we could talk about stuff like this."

"Use your imagination," Derek told him.

"She's on top?" Mark guessed, grinning. "Quite the view, huh?"

"We're standing in the room where my sweet, innocent daughter is going to sleep. Every time I walk in here, I'd rather not think of this conversation," Derek chuckled. "Please, can we find a new topic?"

...

"This is hazardous," Meredith pointed out as Derek led her down the hallway, his hands over her eyes. Six hours and two coats of paint later, he and Mark were finally finished the nursery, and Derek didn't want her to see it until she was standing in the center of the room.

"Almost there," Derek said. He gestured for Mark step aside so he and Meredith could enter, and he smiled at the back of Meredith's head. "Okay, you can look now."

Meredith opened her eyes, and the second she saw the nursery, she smiled. "I love this," she said, taking in the cheerful, pink color on the walls, and the clean, crisp white they'd painted the windows, baseboards, and closet doors. Against her will, annoying tears filled her eyes and blurred her vision of the room. "Damn hormones. But yeah, I love this," she giggled, swatting them away.

Derek wrapped his arms around her from behind and kissed her neck. "Me, too," he hummed against her skin. "I think Lilly will be very happy with our color choice."

"I think so," Meredith whispered, leaning into her husband. "Thank you for helping, Mark."

"No problem," Mark said. "I only take cash."

Meredith smirked. "How about pizza? I already ordered it."

"That'll do," Mark agreed. He patted Derek's shoulder and smiled. "I'll be downstairs helping myself to your expensive beer," he told them.

Once they were alone, Meredith spun around in Derek's embrace, pressing her lips to his. "I love you."

"I love you, too," Derek said softly. "Feels more real now, doesn't it?"

"Yeah," Meredith nodded. "It does. And it'll be even weirder when we have all of her stuff set up. Her crib and blankets, and the changing table stacked with diapers."

Derek grinned at the thought. "A few more weeks until she's here."

The sound of the doorbell chiming from downstairs broke through their short-lived moment of quietness, and Meredith pulled back from his embrace. "Pizza's here."

"What kind did you get?" Derek asked.

"Pepperoni and sausage on one. Hawaiian on the other," Meredith said.

"You really love that, huh?" he chuckled as they walked toward the stairs.

"Hawaiian pizza and Chunky Monkey, Derek. That's all it takes to make me happy. Oh, and sex," she said, placing a protective hand over her belly as they descended the stairs and into the foyer where Mark was greeting the pizza guy.

Derek went to reach for his wallet from its usual spot in his back pocket, but when he remembered he was wearing his sweats, he glanced at Mark. "I'll pay you back?"

"Fine." Mark pulled a twenty from his wallet, and a few one dollar bills for a tip, and accepted the two boxes from the college-aged delivery guy. "Thanks," he said with a wave, then closed the door.

"Thank you, Mark," Meredith said, walking ahead of them to clear off the coffee table which was currently strewn with baby clothes. "Can you get plates and drinks, Derek?"

"Yeah." Derek headed off to the kitchen and Mark stood in the archway of the living room, his eyes scanning over Baby Palooza.

"Damn," he murmured. "She's got quite the wardrobe, huh?"

Meredith laughed as she scooped up her piles of unfolded laundry and dropped them into a nearby basket. "I think she has more clothes than Derek and I combined."

Mark picked up a tiny orange baby bikini still on the hanger from the couch and eyed it curiously. "What is this?"

"A bikini. Izzie spotted it a few days ago when she was birthday shopping for Alex, and she bought it for us. Well, for Lilly. It's newborn to three months in size, so she should be able to wear it during the summer," Meredith said, smiling. "Isn't it cute?"

"I didn't even know they made clothes this small," Mark said.

Derek couldn't help but chuckle when he saw Mark holding up the tiny bikini in amazement. "Yeah, I don't know about that outfit..." he said as he set the plates and drinks down on the coffee table that Meredith had cleared off.

Meredith waved in dismissal of their comments. "Oh, relax. It's adorable. It even has little frills on the butt."

"You won't think it's so cute when she's sixteen," Mark pointed out, plopping down on the couch with a slice of pizza in his hand.

"I guess I'd rather her wear that now than when she's older," Derek shrugged as he turned on the basketball game.

Meredith took a slice of Hawaiian pizza from the box, and picked up the bottle of water Derek got for her, then settled onto the other couch. "It's not like she's gonna have cleavage. You know, other than baby fat."

Derek grabbed his own piece of pizza and sat down next to his wife, lifting her legs so they draped comfortably over his lap. "She'll look beautiful no matter what outfit she's in, even if it's a onesie covered in bodily excretions," he chuckled.

"You two are strange," Mark commented before taking a swig of the expensive imported beer he'd swiped from the fridge.

Meredith licked some sauce off her finger, smiling. "Yeah, we know."

"Although, I've gotta hand it to you, Grey. You were voted the top MILF of Seattle Grace," he attempted to compliment.

Derek nearly choked on his beer. "Can I ask whom you polled for this?"

"Hospital-wide," Mark said, raising his beer in the air. "Congrats."

Meredith laughed. "Thank you; I'm flattered."