99. Come and Gone

Disclaimer: I down own it. I just really wish I did sometimes.

Thanks for your patience! I've been sick on and off for the last half of January, so I wasn't as productive as I could have been with writing. I'm still doing my best to bank chapters, though. Enjoy. :)

May 29th had finally come.

And gone.

The calendar had officially been switched to June now, and they were waiting anxiously for Lilly to finally make her grand entrance. Any day now, she'd be arriving… at least, they hoped so.

Derek rolled onto his other side in bed, careful not to wake Meredith up from her sleep. With her belly as big as it was, it was hard for her to get comfortable lying down, so he tried his best not to jostle her. But when he felt the wet sheet through his clothes, his eyes went wide and he shot up into a sitting position, quickly turning on the lamp on his nightstand.

"Mer, wake up," Derek said softly, gently tapping her shoulder.

Meredith groaned into her pillow. "Hmm, what?"

"The sheet is all wet. Did your water break?" he asked.

"What?" Meredith rolled onto her back and blinked as her eyes adjusted to the light. She felt the wetness that had seeped through her pajamas. "I… what the hell?"

She got out of their bed and Derek flung back the covers, both of them relieved to see that it wasn't blood. "Amniotic fluid is usually clear," Derek said. "This is… yellowish." He paused. "Mer, did you… pee?"

"What?" Meredith leaned down to investigate further, and she was overcome with the scent of urine filling her nostrils. "Oh my God." Her face went crimson and she covered it with her hands.

"Mer, it's fine. Be glad it's just pee," Derek said, trying not to laugh.

Meredith caught the not-so-hidden look of amusement on his face, and she resisted the urge to hit him with her pillow. "Do not laugh at me. This is humiliating."

"It happens," he shrugged. When Meredith looked at him incredulously, he smiled. "It happened to Kathleen when she was pregnant. No biggie."

She groaned in mortification, shimmying out of her wet pajama shorts.

Derek began stripping the sheets and blankets on the bed. "Lilly is pressing right against your bladder. Even the tiniest little kick, and boom, you pee. You were asleep. You couldn't have known," he reminded her.

"I'm incontinent, Derek. Like a ninety year old woman that needs to wear diapers," Meredith said.

"You're not ninety. You're pregnant," Derek said, rolling up the soiled laundry into a ball. He saw the small smile on her face and grinned. "Come on, admit it. It's funny."

"Is not," Meredith upheld. She reached for the laundry pile in his arms. "I'll do those, Der. You have to get up for work in a few hours."

Derek shifted his arms out of her reach and shook his head. "I got it. Besides, I don't have to be in until noon. I'm just scheduled for consults today. Go take a shower. I'll put a new sheet and blanket on while you're getting cleaned up."

"But you're covered in pee," Meredith said, scrunching her nose.

"Soon enough, I'll be covered in baby pee. May as well get used to it. Actually, do you wanna give me your wet clothes? I'll just toss them in with the sheets," Derek offered.

"If I'm getting naked, so are you," she leveraged, pulling her wet tank top over her head.

Derek dropped the bundle of laundry onto the floor and smiled. "Fine," he said. He kicked off his boxers, removed his tee shirt, and tossed them into of the pile.

Meredith flung her panties on top, and she couldn't help but giggle at the absurdity. "Okay, least sexy moment of our marriage…" she said, glancing at the clock. "2:53 AM on June second. Mark it down."

Derek laughed. "You're always sexy to me," he said, picking up the heap of laundry off the floor.

"We're only naked because I wet the bed."

He kissed her cheek. "I love you… and your pregnancy-induced incontinence."

As he left the room, Meredith tossed a throw pillow at him, hitting him in the back of the head. When Derek turned around, his mouth agape in amusement, Meredith just smiled satisfactorily. "You deserved that."

…

When morning finally came, it wasn't a blaring alarm or Charlie licking her face that woke Meredith up. It was the belly burn. She flopped onto her back with a grunt and lifted up Derek's tee shirt that she was wearing, her outfit of choice these past few weeks.

"Apparently, you love the five star accommodations of my uterus, but it'll be just as nice out here too, Lilly," Meredith said softly as she rubbed her hands over her stomach. "So whenever you're ready."

Her stomach grumbled with the need to eat, and she hoisted herself into a sitting position before swinging her legs over the side of the bed. Derek was awake, judging by his absence on the other side of the mattress, and Meredith only hoped he was downstairs cooking breakfast.

She got up, peed, and waddled slowly down the steps. When she reached the landing, Meredith could smell the bacon Derek was cooking, and sighed contentedly.

"Another benefit of being born: your Dad can cook," Meredith said to her belly.

When she walked into the kitchen, she smiled. "Hi."

"Hi," Derek echoed, cracking a few eggs into a bowl and whisking them with a fork.

"What's all this for?" Meredith asked. She gripped the ledge of the island for support, then hopped up onto the stool.

"I just figured Lilly is getting tired of all the Count Chocula every morning," Derek smirked.

Meredith reached for a crispy piece of bacon off the plate and bit into it. "That's because most mornings when I wake up, you've already left for work. Cereal, watching daytime TV, and cleaning out of boredom. It's what I do now."

"You know, most moms-to-be enjoy maternity leave," Derek pointed out.

"I enjoyed it… for a while," she shrugged. "But there's only so much Tyra I can watch, Derek. I know more about that woman than I ever wanted to. And oh my God, don't even get me started on The View…" she ranted.

"Why are you watching those shows then?" Derek asked, laughing.

"Usually it's because the remote is halfway across the room and I don't feel like getting off my ass," Meredith admitted. She reached for his glass of orange juice and took a sip. "By the way, I'm going into work with you today."

Derek looked up from the frying pan, puzzled. "What?"

"I can't sit at home today. Even Charlie is getting sick of me. Aren't you, buddy?" Meredith asked their dog, tossing him a strip of bacon.

"I know you're bored, but you're forty weeks pregnant. Technically you're supposed to be on bed rest," Derek said.

"I was forty weeks pregnant. Now I'm forty and a half weeks pregnant. I'm overdue. And Dr. Halloran said walking around is a good way to induce labor," Meredith argued, determined to win this battle.

Derek smiled and crossed his arms over his chest. "You're serious?"

"Damn straight," Meredith nodded. "Can you put cheese on the eggs, please?"

"Mer, Bailey would kick your ass if you showed up at the hospital and weren't in labor," Derek said. "American cheese?"

"Yeah," she replied. "And she would not kick my ass. She had Tuck in the OR gallery when he was two weeks old. She gets it."

Derek wracked his brain for other reasons to dissuade her, though he knew it was probably futile. "Okay, well, what about cervical pressure?" he asked.

Meredith laughed. "Okay, now you're just grasping at straws. Cervical pressure leads to labor. Labor leads to birth. And birth leads to…" she raised her eyebrows at him.

"Lilly. I know," he chuckled, draping a layer of cheese over her scrambled eggs. "Fine. I can't stop you. But if anyone asks, it was your idea."

"Fine."

"So, what are you planning on doing while you're there?" he asked curiously.

"You said you have consults all day. Maybe I'll just hang out with you something," Meredith shrugged. "And after work, we can curl up on the couch, and do nothing all night."

"Okay," Derek grinned, leaning across the island to kiss her. "As long as you don't go into labor before then…"

Meredith smiled against his lips. "I wish."

…

The automatic front doors of Seattle Grace opened with a woosh, and as soon as the familiar hospital smell hit her nose, Meredith thought she might cry tears of joy, even if it was only for a day, and she technically wasn't supposed to be there at all.

"It's so good to be back," she sighed happily.

Derek pushed the button for the elevator and smirked at her. "You're not back. You're sneaking in illegally."

"Same thing," Meredith shrugged, stepping onto the elevator with him. "Seriously, it's like going to Disney World. I don't know what I want to do first."

Derek laughed. "Yeah, because this is just like the Tower of Terror," he teased her.

"Shut up." Meredith nudged him with her hip. "I'll go get changed into my scrubs, then meet you, okay?"

"Alright," Derek agreed. "If you see anyone from HR, run in the opposite direction."

"If they tattle on me, they'll only tell the Chief, and I'm not afraid of him," Meredith stated bravely, stepping off the elevator.

Derek just smiled at her in amusement. "Oookay."

Meredith waddled down the hall toward the resident lounge, catching the glances of confused coworkers staring at her. When Callie spotted her, her eyes went wide and she quickly flipped her chart closed, handing it off to an intern.

"Oh my God, are you in labor?" Callie asked.

"No, just trying to induce it," Meredith said. "I'm tagging along with Derek all day doing consults."

"Grey, are you in labor? Where's Derek? You should've called," Mark said frantically as he caught up with them.

"Not in labor, don't worry," Meredith assured him.

"She's being proactive," Callie explained.

"I'm four days late, and my OB said Lilly hit the six pound mark. I'm ready and she's ready. All we need is labor," Meredith said.

"So you're really not in labor?" Mark had to clarify.

Meredith shook her head. "No, I am not."

Bailey rounded the corner and stopped in her tracks when she saw Meredith standing there. "Grey, what are you doing here?" she asked.

"Crap," Meredith whispered under her breath. She smiled, acting casual. "You know, just… visiting," she shrugged. "How are you?"

"I'm wondering why you aren't sitting in a wheelchair on your way to labor and delivery," Bailey replied. "Does Derek know you're here?"

"Yes, he does. But—"

"Zzzt." Bailey raised her hand in a halting motion. "I'm not getting involved. You wanna break the rules, that's your business. That said, don't get caught."

"I won't," Meredith promised. She felt Lilly kicking her foot in what she assumed was an attempt to get comfortable, and rubbed her hand over her belly. "Lilly says hi."

"Is she kicking?" Callie asked. "Can I feel?"

"Yeah," Meredith said. She took Callie's hand and placed it beneath her ribs, where Lilly was still thudding away with her feet. "She used to be a lot more gymnast-ish, but since she ran out of room, she just stretches every once in a while."

"Oh, Bailey, you should feel this," Callie said.

"Don't tempt me, Torres. I'm not involved," Bailey reminded her.

Mark grinned. "Come on, you know you want to," he coaxed.

"She's going to be born soon. Last chance," Meredith said. "Well, probably not. Lilly seems to enjoy living in me, so you probably have time. Still, feel."

"Fine." Bailey replaced her hand over the spot where Callie's was, and smiled when she felt the baby's movements under her palm. "Hmm, incredible, isn't it?"

"I'm going to miss that once she's born," Meredith said.

"You mean being kicked in the ribs by the tiny human inside you?" Mark joked.

Meredith just smiled. "Yeah, I really am."

"Alright, back to work," Bailey instructed, turning to Meredith. "And Grey, take it easy. If I catch your name on the OR board…"

"What if there's an emergency and I'm desperately needed?" Meredith bargained.

"Then make sure it's a neuro surgery so you can blame your husband," Bailey said.

Meredith nodded. "Deal."

…

It had been a while since Meredith had donned a pair of scrubs, and her belly had only gotten bigger in the past few weeks. She sighed in annoyance as she pulled the tight scrub top back over her head. There was no calculable way it would fit anymore, not until after Lilly was born.

"Damn, stupid…" Meredith huffed, brushing her messy bangs away from her face.

The door to the resident lounge opened, and Derek walked inside, biting back a grin. "Hey. Everything okay?"

"No," she said. "I can't fit into my scrubs."

Derek gave her his 'I told you so' look before finally letting a smile grace his lips. "Hmm, I wonder why…"

"I guess I'll just rummage through the other cubbies until I find a pair that fits," Meredith shrugged.

"Like Goldie Locks?" Derek chuckled. He glanced at his watch. "Hang on. I'll go find you a pair."

"Where?"

"I'm friends with the guy in charge of laundry service," Derek replied.

Meredith rolled her eyes playfully, dropping down onto the bench. "Of course you are."

"Do you want the scrubs or not?" he laughed.

"Yes, please."

"Alright, I'll be back," Derek said, kissing the top of her head. "I saw Bailey in a patient room down the hall, so stay put."

"Oh, I already saw her," she said, waving it off. "She just told me to blame you if I get caught."

Derek sighed, amused. "Of course she did."

When Derek returned with a pair of scrubs a few minutes later, Meredith narrowed her eyes at him, confused by what he was handing her. "Those are dark blue," she said.

"Yeah, that's all Fred had," Derek explained.

"Fred?"

"Laundry guy," he said. "Apparently, all the light blue are on back order until the new group of interns comes next month. So you get to be an attending for the day."

Meredith bit her lip and smiled. "I can do that." She shimmied out of her lounge pants and hopped into her dark blue scrub pants, then pulled on the top, smoothing it over her belly. "How do I look?" she asked.

"Weird," Derek chuckled. "I like you in the dark blue scrubs. Very professional."

"Yeah?"

"I'm kinda turned on," Derek admitted, leaning against the table while she hung her tote bag up in her cubby.

"Maybe I'll take them home with me tonight," Meredith hinted.

Derek raised his eyebrows. "You wanna play doctor?" he asked. "That could be fun."

"After she's born, I'm celibate for six weeks. So until my water decides to break... sexathon," she said.

"Sounds good—but only if you're up for it," Derek said.

"If I'm not, you can be on top. Or we can do that spoony thing," Meredith said, taking his hand so she could swing her leg over the bench. "Ha. See? If I can still do that, I should have no problem riding you."

"I've missed working with you," Derek grinned.

"I know."

…

"Sounds like Lyme disease to me," Alex said, taking a bite of his cheeseburger.

"How did you get into this program?" Cristina asked. "It's just a rash."

"It's definitely more than a rash. The patient has—oh my God, Meredith! What are you doing here?" Izzie asked as Meredith walked to the cafeteria table holding a tray full of food.

Meredith dropped down into the unoccupied chair between Alex and George. "Hey."

"Why are you here?" Lexie asked. "Are you in labor?"

"No," Meredith replied for the umpteenth time that day. "Just rebelling against maternity leave."

"More importantly, why are you in attending scrubs?" Cristina asked.

"Because there's no light blue ones that'll fit me. Do I look important and powerful?" she laughed, cracking the seal on her water bottle and taking a sip from it.

"You look… really pregnant," George replied. "Are you allowed to be here?"

Meredith shrugged. "They're not gonna kick me out."

"I'll kick you out," Izzie countered. "You should be at home resting."

"No, I can't rest anymore. That's why I'm here. All I do is sleep. And eat. And clean. Yesterday, I spent two hours arranging Derek's closet out of boredom. Then I made him dinner," Meredith said. "I've turned into June Cleaver."

"Holy crap," Alex muttered.

Meredith stole a fry off his tray and smiled. "Exactly."

"Since when do you cook?" Lexie asked.

"Since all I do is watch the Food Network," Meredith replied. "I made a cake, too."

Izzie's eyes widened in awe. "You did? Oh, Mer, I'm proud."

"I'm scared," Cristina said.

"Shepherd's okay with you being here?" George asked.

Meredith sighed and a slight blush crept over her cheeks. "He kind of… had no choice," she said, tap-dancing around elaborating further.

"Why? Sex bribe?" Izzie assumed, peeling off her yogurt lid.

"I wet the bed this morning," Meredith confessed. "I played on his sympathy for me."

"Dude," Alex laughed. "That's awesome."

"Wait, you peed? Like 'forgot the training pants' peed?" Lexie asked.

Meredith forked a hunk of her tuna salad and took a bite. "My bladder is serving a dual purpose as Lilly's pillow," she reminded them as she chewed. "She must've moved around while I was asleep, because the next thing I know, Derek is waking me up, asking if my water broke."

"Only in your bedroom would something like that happen," Izzie said.

Alex gave Meredith a friendly pat on the back. "Impressive."

"Peeing in bed is impressive?" Meredith giggled. "Last I checked, it was mortifying."

"Better than crapping in bed," Cristina pointed out.

Meredith rolled her eyes. "Yeah. That's the silver lining. Anyway, I figured coming here would give me a chance to walk around, maybe kick-start labor. I love being pregnant, but I just want to see her already."

"Sex is supposed to induce labor. Semen contains prostaglandins that help the cervix to ripen. And orgasms produce oxytocin which causes contractions," Lexie informed them, looking down sheepishly when the rest of the table stared at her blankly.

"Lexipedia has a point," Alex said. "Creepy, but still."

"We've been having sex a lot these past few days pretty much for that reason," Meredith divulged. "My water just refuses to break."

"If she doesn't come soon, your OB can induce you, right?" Izzie asked.

Meredith nodded. "If I don't go into labor within the next few days, I'm being induced. But Lilly is still only in the six to seven pound range, so Dr. Halloran isn't concerned about her getting too big. She can hang out a little longer. But yeah, her nine month extended lease is up next week," she laughed.

"I would've given myself a C-section by now," Cristina said, popping a chip into her mouth.

When Meredith rubbed her hand over her chest and swallowed thickly, George frowned. "You okay?"

"Yeah. Just heartburn. I've been getting it really bad these past few weeks. They say that's a sign that your baby will have a lot of hair, which, considering Lilly is half Derek makes a lot of sense," Meredith laughed.

"His stupid, perfect DNA is backfiring on you, huh?" Izzie joked.

"Kind of, yeah," Meredith sighed, smiling. "I do all the work; he gets all the glory."

"Where is he? In surgery?" Lexie assumed.

"Yeah. An emergency patient came in during consults. Derek offered to let me scrub in, but I was hungry," Meredith said, glancing back to the lunch line. "Speaking of that… which one of you wants to get me some pudding?"

Alex laughed. "Why can't you get it yourself?"

"Because I'm like a beached whale. Do you know how much effort it takes just to get up out of this damn chair?" Meredith replied, reaching for a five dollar bill in her pocket. "Whoever gets me the pudding can get one for themselves. My treat…" she bribed.

Cristina reached for the money Meredith waved in the air before anyone else could. "I'll be your lunch whore. Chocolate or vanilla?"

"Chocolate, please," Meredith requested. "And thanks for being my… whore."

Cristina patted Meredith's shoulder before heading towards the lunch line. "No problem."

…

After lunch, Meredith decided that she would watch the rest of Derek's surgery from the OR gallery. It was a routine procedure, so she knew it would be empty, and on the plus side, she could sit. Her swollen feet combined with back pain and heartburn were not exactly a welcomed trifecta for working today.

She propped her feet up on the ledge under the gallery window and leaned back. "Daddy is suctioning the clot now," Meredith told her belly. "I know you can't see it, but he's very impressive."

"Meredith?"

Meredith turned her head and saw the Chief standing next to her. She straightened up in her chair and smiled. "Chief."

"Uh…" he stalled. "Aren't you supposed to be on maternity leave?"

"I, um… yes," Meredith admitted.

Richard chuckled, taking the seat next to her. "Getting restless?"

Meredith laughed. "Yes, very. I swore she was going to come before my due date, but I guess she has other plans. You're not gonna rat me out, right?"

"No, no," he promised, waving it off. "Secret's safe."

"Thank you," Meredith replied. She paused, biting contemplatively on her lip. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Well, sure."

"Did my mother ever talk to you about… me?" she asked.

"What do you mean?"

"It's just… ever since I found out I was pregnant, every decision I make—that Derek and I make—we make it with Lilly in mind. And lately, I've just been wondering, you know, if my mom did that, too," Meredith said. "Did she ever do that?"

Richard smoothed out the stubble on his face with his hand, mulling over what she'd said. After a few seconds, he turned to her. "She did. As much as she could, she did," he said. "It was a different time then. A female surgeon with a baby… she had to fight harder to prove herself. And because of that…"

"Yeah," Meredith said in understanding. Because of that, she got the short end of the stick, and they both knew it.

"But things are different now. And you are not your mother. I see that every day," Richard said. "You're the spitting image of her, and you have her talent, but you learned from her mistakes, and you want better for your daughter than what you had. That should tell you everything you need to know."

Meredith looked down at her belly, blinking back the tears that stung her eyes. "Thank you."

"Just telling you the truth," he said.

"I, um… I want you to be in Lilly's life," Meredith said softly. "You knew my mother at her best—and probably her happiest. And I want Lilly to know about her, the happy side of her, too…who she was, what she was like; not just my version of the story. She and I didn't have the easiest relationship, but I want Lilly to know she was someone important, because she was."

Richard cleared his throat and smiled. "I'd be honored, Meredith."

"Thank you," she said.

Derek glanced up to the gallery after one of the scrub nurses removed his headgear, signaling the end of his surgery. Meredith smiled down at him in recognition. "Well, I uh, I guess I should go. Derek's done now, and I'm pretty sure he thinks my water is going to break at a moment's notice."

"I'll walk down with you," Richard offered.

"That's okay. I'm fine," Meredith said, using his shoulder for leverage as she stood up from the chair.

He reached for her arm while she found her balance, and smiled. "No, no. I insist. I want to make sure you really leave this place. You may not be Ellis Grey, but you're still her daughter…"

"I'm leaving, I promise," she said as they walked down the stairs and into the hallway. "You won't see me again until I'm in labor."

"Walking around this place all day ought to help with that."

Meredith sighed, amused. "That's the plan."

…

Derek unlocked the front door and stepped aside, letting Meredith enter first. As soon as she entered the foyer, her shoes were immediately tossed aside, and her bag was set on the table.

"I still can't believe you wore those scrubs home," Derek commented, dropping his own bag next to hers.

"Too tired to change," Meredith said as she tried and failed to stifle a yawn. "Besides, these are comfy."

"Tired?" Derek asked.

"Yes, very," she admitted. "We still need to have sex though."

"Why do we need to have sex?" he laughed, following her into the living room.

Meredith dropped down onto the couch next to Charlie. "Prostaglandins, remember?"

"We've tried that," Derek reminded her, leaning over the couch to kiss the top of her head. "Clearly, my sperm is only good at putting a baby in you, not getting her out."

"Still," she upheld. "It's worth a try."

Derek sat down next to her, draping her legs over his lap. "You can barely keep your eyes open," he chuckled.

"I don't use my eyes for sex," Meredith said, yawning again. "You got me pregnant with your stupid boy penis. You have to help me get her out. Only fair."

"Mer…"

"Derek, I wet the bed this morning. Do you really want to deny me?"

"Fine, we can have sex," Derek relented, knowing he wasn't going to win that battle. "But dinner first."

"Deal," she agreed. "Can we have tacos?"

"Sure." Derek kissed her cheek and got up off the couch. He turned on the TV, handing her the remote. "At least humor me by sitting here and doing nothing," he teased her.

"Hmm, fine."

"Thank you."

After the meat was cooking on the stovetop, he took the various jars of salsa from the fridge, debating on which one to choose. Salsa con queso, regular salsa, pineapple salsa, and barbecue salsa, all of which she could eat straight from the jar these days. Rather than risk picking the wrong one and suffering Meredith's craving-fueled chastising, he walked into the living room to ask her preference.

"Which salsa do you want, Mer?" he asked. When he got no response, he peeked around the side of the couch, smiling when he saw her sound asleep in her dark blue scrubs, remote in hand, with Charlie's face resting on her lap.

Derek gently tugged the remote out of her grasp and set it on the table, careful not to make any noise. He leaned down and kissed her belly. "Try to keep the kicking to a minimum tonight, Lilly," he whispered. "Let's let Mommy sleep. This might be the last nap she takes before you get here—which, I don't know if we've mentioned this, you're welcomed to do at any time…"