97. Closer Every Day

Disclaimer: If I owned Grey's, Thursday's show would have ended differently.

Meredith leaned against the wall of Lilly's nursery with a spoon and her pint of Chunky Monkey ice cream, watching as Derek pushed the crib to the designated spot between the two windows. The ice cream was helping to distract her from how ridiculously sexy her husband was as he arranged the nursery furniture and worked up a sweat while doing so.

"This a good spot?" Derek asked, wiping the perspiration off his forehead with the back of his hand.

She spooned more ice cream into her mouth and cocked her head. "Hmm… yeah. I like it there."

"Okay," Derek nodded. "What about the changing table?"

"I guess we can put that… where I'm standing. On the opposite side of the crib, by the door," Meredith suggested, moving out of the way so Derek could push the white changing table that matched the crib to the right spot.

After Derek finished lugging it over, he leaned against the wall, smiling at Meredith when she handed him their bottle of water. "Thanks."

Meredith ran her fingers through his hair and kissed his cheek. "I think you need a shower."

"I do," Derek chuckled. "If I knew how heavy baby furniture was, I would've called Mark and asked him for help."

"I could help you," she offered.

Derek glanced over at her. "You're thirty-eight weeks pregnant. You should be sitting."

"I'm not having quints, Derek," Meredith pointed out. "Dr. Halloran doesn't even think she'll be more than six or seven pounds."

"I know. I just worry, that's all," Derek said, capping the water bottle and handing it back to her.

Meredith wrapped her arms around him and hugged him, despite his sweatiness. "I know. And I appreciate it," she murmured into his chest. "But I promise, Lilly and I are just fine."

Derek noticed her missing wedding ring, and he frowned. "Where's your ring?"

"I'm planning to go clubbing later, and I don't want any of the hot guys there to know I have a husband," Meredith teased him.

He smirked. "Clubbing, huh?"

"Oh, yeah. Belly and all… every guy loves an available pregnant girl," she giggled. "No, my fingers are just swollen. Damn water retention. I'm all bloaty."

"You don't look bloaty," Derek assured her.

"You're lying, but I appreciate the love behind it," she smiled. "Okay, get back to work. The sooner we finish, the sooner we can take a bath together."

"Bath?"

"Yeah. Why?" Meredith asked, returning to her ice cream.

"Is that safe?"

"That's an old wives tale. Pregnant women can take baths right up to delivery day. They're supposed to help with backaches, too," Meredith said, recalling what she'd read in one of their pregnancy books.

Derek moved the rocking chair over into the corner of the room, smiling. "Hmm, we haven't taken a bath together in a long time."

"I know. Which is why we need one," Meredith said. "Okay, I'm going to put this back in the freezer. Want a beer or something?"

"Yeah, thanks," Derek said, loose tendrils of sweaty curls sticking to the back of his neck.

Meredith weaved her fingers through them and bit her lip. "I have to tell you, I'm kinda turned on."

"Everything I do turns you on," Derek reminded her. "Folding laundry, shaving, cleaning out the fridge…"

"Hmm, you're walking sex," Meredith said, patting his ass. "If we weren't standing in our daughter's nursery, I'd probably just mount you, right here, right now."

"Cruel."

Meredith smiled as she walked out of the room. "I know."

When she returned minutes later, she was holding a laundry basket full of baby clothes, his bottle of beer tossed on top. Derek looked at her in practical horror, his eyes wide in disbelief.

"What?" she asked, setting the basket down on the dresser.

"Mer, you're not supposed to be lifting anything heavy," he said as she handed him the beer.

Meredith rolled her eyes. "The basket weighs, like, two pounds. I didn't lug a piano up the steps," she said, opening the closet doors and pulling out a hanger. "After the baby shower yesterday, there's tons of new clothes I have to wash. I want to put all of these away so I don't mix anything up."

Derek blinked. "Wow."

"What?"

"You," he chuckled. "You're covered in mommy."

Meredith hung one of Lilly's dresses on a tiny pink hanger and smirked at him. "Shut up."

"Just saying…"

"That's because I'm stuck here all day, surgery-deprived, with nothing better to do than wash baby clothes and alphabetize the cereal cabinet," Meredith said, taking a handful of folded socks and dropping them into a dresser drawer.

"I'm not making fun. I think it's adorable," Derek grinned. "You really alphabetized the cereal cabinet?"

"Apple Jacks, Captain Crunch, Cheerios, Honey Bunches of Oats, Lucky Charms, Mini Wheats, Muesli, Raisin Bran, Total," Meredith listed.

Derek nodded proudly. "Very impressive."

Meredith flung one of the baby-sized headbands at him and laughed. "Okay, the mocking? Uncalled for."

"I'm serious." Derek leaned down and picked up the flowery, yellow headband off the carpet. "How many headbands does she have?"

"Your sisters sent some. And Izzie got us some. And then I bought some. So… a lot," Meredith said, smiling. "I even have a dark gray one to match the coat Addison got her. By the way, we need to call her. And your mom," Meredith said. "Oh, and all your sisters."

"Bath first; calls later," Derek said, wiping some sweat from his brow.

"You just want to get me in the bathtub," Meredith said, hanging a purple sundress in Lilly's closet.

Derek smiled, his beer raised to his lips. "I thought that was implied in the statement," he said. "Is that it for the furniture?"

Meredith surveyed the room, looking everything over, then nodded in satisfaction. "Yeah. Now it's just the little things. We need to line the closet shelves in that pink and yellow paper, put all of her bedding in the crib, organize the changing table, decorate the shelves with pictures, and…"

Derek walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her waist. "How about we do all of that later?"

"Because we're on a roll," Meredith said. "What if she's born before you get around to lining her closet shelves?"

"I'm sure she'll forgive me," Derek chuckled. "Come on, do it for me. You should be resting, anyway. Remember what Dr. Halloran said about cervical pressure?"

"That's the least sexy thing you've ever said to me," Meredith giggled. She put her palms on his cheeks and kissed him. "But fine, you win. We can finish this later," she said, setting down the hanger in her hand on a pile of yet-to-be-hung baby outfits.

Derek sighed audibly in relief. "Thank you."

"Bath now?" she asked.

"Yes." He had his shirt off before they left the nursery, and flung it into the hamper as soon as they entered their own bedroom. "Mind if go rinse off in the shower first? I don't want to contaminate the bath water with my sweat."

"Jeez, you're just full of sexy comments today," Meredith teased him. "Yeah, that'd be good. Wait, unhook my bra first?" she requested.

"Yeah," Derek said, walking over and easily undoing it for her.

Her swollen breasts fell free, and she rolled her shoulders, practically humming in pleasure. "Thank you," she said. She gently ran her hands over her chest. "I always wondered what it'd be like having a D-cup. Surprisingly not a fan…"

Derek kicked off his jeans, smiling sympathetically at her. "Sore?"

"Very."

"The bath should help," Derek said.

Meredith bit her lip admiringly when he shuffled his boxers down his legs, leaving him naked in front of her. "Well, this helps too," she giggled, gesturing to his body. "Thank you for stripping in front of me."

Derek laughed. "You're welcome."

"Okay, go get in the shower before I pin you down on the bed and have my way with you," she said, trailing her fingers down his back then grabbing his ass.

He jumped as her nails gently pressed into his skin. "Okay, okay. Going."

She let go and smiled. "Good."

While Derek was quickly rinsing off in the shower, Meredith tiptoed into the bathroom. She saw the small scattering of candles lining the tub, grabbed a pack of matches from the cabinet, and lit them one by one. Considering this was likely to be their last bath together before the baby was born, pulling out all the stops seemed like a good idea.

She shed the rest of her clothes and tossed them into the hamper on top of Derek's just as the shower shut off. Steam fogged the mirrors as soon as he opened the glass door, dripping wet and delicious looking. Meredith tugged on her bottom lip with her teeth. "Wow."

Derek wiped some wet curls of hair off his forehead and grinned at her. "All for you, dear."

"Shut up," Meredith said, rolling her eyes. She turned on the nozzles and warm water began filling the tub, cascading violently out of the spigot until it was full.

Derek stepped in first to turn off the water, then reached out his hand. "Careful," he advised, helping her step over the lip of the tub. When he knew her feet were planted firmly on the floor, they sat down together, slowly, his hand never leaving hers.

"I'm not a frail old lady," Meredith said playfully once they were settled in the warm water.

"No, you're pregnant. That's even scarier," Derek upheld. He pressed his lips to her shoulder and she leaned into him, her back against his torso. "It's my job to keep you and Lilly safe."

Meredith took his hand and put it over her belly, the top of it barely covered by the water. "I know Dr. Halloran said she's tiny, but I swear, she must weigh ten pounds," she said.

"No, you're just tiny, too. You started showing at three months," Derek reminded her, twirling a few pieces of her hair between his fingers after it slipped from her clip.

"I don't know how women walk around with twins inside them, let alone seven or eight." She shuddered. "I've been watching a lot of Discovery Health lately… fertility pills are no joke."

"Honestly, I was sweating it out at our first ultrasound. Twins run in the Shepherd lineage. I know fraternal twins are genetically determined by the mother, but still. I knew if there were two little embryos in there, you'd blame my penis," Derek chuckled.

Meredith smiled at him. "Yes, I probably would have."

"Well, Lilly has Shepherd DNA, which means she could have twins one day," Derek said. "And if we have another daughter, she could too. You and I might have an army's worth of grandkids, Mer."

"Not for many, many years." She looked down at her belly. "Not until you're at least thirty. And married. And have a good career so you can take care of your parents when we're old."

"You mean you don't want her to pick up a guy at a bar, take him home for sex, and fall in love with him?" Derek asked, grinning at her. "Because that worked out pretty well for us."

"If he turns out to be the love of her life, then fine. I'll make that exception. But not sex. They can get to know each other over a casual cup of coffee in public," Meredith giggled.

"Agreed," Derek said, reaching for the loofah.

Meredith handed him a large purple bottle of soap. "It's Lilly's. Or it will be. Dr. Halloran said to use really mild soap to avoid infections. I don't want my you-know-what to be all you-know-what when I have to push out a baby in two weeks."

"Okay," he laughed softly. He squirt some of the lavender-chamomile soap onto the loofah and massaged it in with his fingers until it got bubbly. "This smells really good."

"It's what our daughter is going to smell like. I have bedtime bath, too. Oh, and body lotion for her," Meredith said, dropping her head forward as Derek ran the sponge over her neck and back. She sighed contentedly. "Hmm, you're really good at that."

"Happy to do it," he said. "Is your back always sore?"

"Just when I stand for a long time. I used to be able to handle fifteen hours in the OR on my feet. Even thinking about that makes me tired now."

"Imagine how tired it'll make you when we're up all night with a baby," Derek said.

"That's why I'm glad you get paternity leave," she laughed, tapping the surface of the water with her fingers. "I'll have no idea what the hell I'm doing. I need you here with me."

Derek ran the loofah over her shoulders, smiling when he saw her skin prickle with goose bumps. "I've never been a parent before. I have no idea either."

"Yeah, but you've been around babies for years. How many diapers have you changed in your life?" she asked.

"I dunno. Hundreds?" he shrugged.

"Exactly. Between Kyle and Laura, I think I've changed a whopping seven diapers."

"You can singlehandedly remove an aneurysm. After Lilly's first diaper, you'll be a pro," Derek assured her.

Meredith spun around to face him, looping her legs around his waist. "I'm glad I get to be a parent with you," she said softly, smoothing her hands over his shoulders. "I wouldn't want to do any of this with someone else. I actually can't imagine doing this with anyone else."

"Me either."

She rested her forehead against his and closed her eyes. "I'm due in fourteen days. Two weeks from right now, we could be at the hospital."

"Maybe even sooner than that," Derek said.

Meredith splashed water on him and laughed. "Don't even say that."

"What? Thirty-seven weeks is technically considered full term, and you're already thirty-eight weeks," he reminded her. "I'm just saying, we might be meeting her sooner than you think."

"I know; I guess I just want her to cook a little longer, especially if she just hit the six pound mark. Most babies are almost seven pounds by now," Meredith said.

"Mer, she's completely healthy. She's just tiny. She takes after you," he said.

"The rational part of me knows that. But my irrational mommy brain can't stop worrying about her…"

"Guess what?"

"What?"

Derek smiled. "That's what moms do."

"Well, how would I know that?" Meredith smirked at him.

"Aah, right. Unstable childhood."

"Yes," she agreed.

"She's happy as a clam in your uterus," he chuckled. "Happy and safe and warm. Remember the ultrasound picture where she was using your placenta as a pillow, sucking her thumb? It's a charmed life in there."

Meredith looked down at her belly under the water. "She's kind of amazing, isn't she?"

"She really is," Derek said, pressing his lips to her neck and trailing the tips of his fingers down her back, still covered with bubbles.

Meredith arched into him, her belly pressed to his torso. "We can't have sex in here."

"I'm not trying to have sex," he laughed against her skin. "I'm just helping you relax."

"Hmm, well, it's working," she smiled, resting her head on his shoulder while he rubbed her back. "Keep it up and I'll probably fall asleep in here."

"Tired?" he asked.

Meredith tapped her fingers against his back and smiled. "Lately? Always. And horny. And hungry."

"We can have sex first if you want. Afterward, you could take a nap while I make dinner," Derek offered. "Will that work?"

"What's for dinner?"

Derek shrugged. "Anything. What do you want?"

"Spaghetti," she said almost instantly, always well in tune with her cravings.

"Okay."

"Then yes," Meredith said. "That works."

…

Meredith had read in a book once that sex dwindled towards the end of pregnancy. Wrong. Her hormones amped up her desire for sex to indescribable levels, so much so that it took two rounds to satisfy her. "Crap. I. Yeah. Wow," she panted, resting her head on his chest.

Derek kissed her forehead, trying to regain his breath. "Yeah."

"That's just the kickoff party to the next fourteen days."

"Yeah?"

Meredith pressed her nose into his neck and nodded. "Mmhmm," she hummed. "To make up for the fact that I'm off sex for six weeks after."

"That's only forty-two days," Derek said.

"Have we ever gone more than five or six days without it?" she asked. "Since we've been back together, I mean."

Derek pursed his lips. "No," he admitted. "We won't even be thinking about sex anyway. Just Lilly and sleep."

"Oh, I didn't mean for me. I meant for you. You're the insatiable one," Meredith said.

"Me?"

She laughed. "Yes, you."

"And what about you?" he smirked.

"You really think I'll want sex after I push a baby out of my body? I'll be lucky if I can walk without looking like I just got done riding a horse," she teased.

"Just because I'm not doing the pushing doesn't mean I won't be too tired for it either," Derek defended. "This is a team sport. You just happen to be the one with the girl parts."

Meredith trailed her fingers through the soft hairs on his chest and hugged him to her. "I know," she yawned. "And I appreciate it. You're a good teammate."

"Believe me, I appreciate what you have to do in two weeks," Derek said as he kissed along her hairline. "I mean, you're already the strongest person I know. But seeing you give birth to our daughter…"

"Hmm, just don't pass out on me. 'Cause I need you, okay?" she giggled. "Cristina wouldn't be a very good labor coach."

"No passing out," Derek promised. "I'll be right there, the whole time. Just us." He paused. "Cristina didn't reserve floor space in the delivery room, right?"

Meredith laughed, shaking her head. "No, she didn't. When it comes time to push, all visitors will be banished to the other side of the door."

"Good."

She felt Lilly kick, and rubbed her hand over her belly slowly. "I know it's tight in there. Just a couple more weeks. I promise, it's a lot roomier out here."

Derek glanced down at her belly and his eyes went wide when he saw what looked like a footprint from the inside. "Holy crap. Mer, look!"

"What? What's the matter?"

"Her foot," Derek pointed in awe. "I can see her foot."

"What?" Meredith looked down at her belly and gasped, quickly sitting up against the headboard. "Holy crap."

"That's what I said," Derek laughed. "We need to get a picture of this."

"Derek, I'm naked."

Derek reached for his phone off the nightstand and shrugged. "Just your stomach, nothing else. Please?"

Meredith smiled. "Okay."

After he snapped the picture, he showed her. "Look. Pretty cool, huh?"

"Send that to your email so we can have it blown up bigger," Meredith said, her eyes trailing back to her bare belly. Lilly kicked again, harder now, and pressed her foot into Meredith's skin. "Oh my God, I can see her toes this time. Derek, get a picture!"

Derek took the photo, and proudly set it as his new background image. "We have the coolest baby ever."

Meredith traced her finger over Lilly's foot indentations against her skin and bit her lip, trying to hold back her tears, but with no luck. "Look how tiny, Derek," she whispered.

"I know," Derek breathed. He, too, traced his finger over the imprint Lilly was making, awestruck. "God, she's like… this perfect little person."

She saw the love for their baby stamped all over her husband's face, and Meredith smiled. Only she knew how he felt, and only she knew how he would feel on the day she was born, when they could actually see those little toes for real. Meredith leaned into him. "Yeah."

Yeah, that stuff happens. YouTube it. ;)