101. Baby Time?

Disclaimer: I own nothing. I'm just a fan.

So sorry for the wait! School was even more of a pain than usual this week. Anyway, these next few chapters will be long and detailed. Obviously, big stuff is happening, and I wrote my little heart out. But we're all MerDer fans here, so I don't think anyone will mind; at least, I hope not. Enjoy! :)

Meredith laid in the dark of their bedroom, breathing slowly. The dull pain that wrapped around her torso from back to front dwindled after a few seconds and she glanced over at the clock on the nightstand. 12:09. Then she waited.

Belly burn was a possibility. Or even stiff joints. Maybe indigestion. She'd half convinced herself it was nothing and closed her eyes again when the pain came back. Meredith looked at the clock again. 12:19. Ten minutes.

When the feeling came again at 12:29, she exhaled slowly, waiting for the pain to pass. It wasn't sharp yet, but definitely significant enough for her to notice. She rubbed Derek's arm. "Derek," Meredith whispered. "Der, wake up."

"Hmm?" he murmured into his pillow.

"Derek," she said, a little louder this time.

Derek finally opened his eyes and looked at her. "Yeah?" he asked.

"I think," she breathed. "I think I'm in labor."

"What?" He disentangled himself from her and sat up, snapped out of his sleep without a second thought. "Are you having contractions?"

"Yeah, I think so," Meredith said. "I've had three so far. Every ten minutes."

"Are you alright?" Derek asked, reaching for her hand.

Meredith nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. I just… these aren't Braxton Hicks." She smiled at him, trying to keep him calm. "I'm okay, Derek," she said softly.

Derek leaned in and kissed her. "Okay," he said. "Your water didn't break?"

"No. Just the contractions. They're not that bad yet," Meredith said, smoothing her hand in circles over her belly.

"Are you having one right now?" he asked.

Meredith looked at the clock. "No. I probably won't have another one for a few minutes."

"What do they feel like? Sharp or dull?"

"I don't know," she laughed softly. "Not excruciating, but not really pleasant. Like bad period cramps, but different."

He grabbed his phone off the nightstand. "I'll call the hospital."

"Wait." Meredith took his hand when she felt another contraction happening. She focused on him as she breathed in and out.

Derek squeezed her hand and rubbed his thumb across her knuckles. "Okay. Breathe." He did it with her, inhaling and exhaling, until her pain tapered off.

Meredith let go of his hand and rested her palm on his cheek. "Thank you," she whispered.

"Team sport, remember? Anything you need, I'm here." Derek kissed her forehead. "God, I love you so much."

"I love you, too," she said. She saw the tears in his eyes and smiled. "Don't cry. If you cry, I'm gonna start crying…"

"Can't help it," he grinned. "We're gonna have a baby today."

"June fifth. Lilly finally picked a birthday she liked," Meredith said.

"June fifth," Derek echoed.

"Let's just hope I push her out within the next twenty-three hours," Meredith giggled.

"You will. Today's the day, Mer." He reached for his phone again. "I'll call the hospital, let them know we're coming in."

"Okay," she agreed.

While Derek was making the call, Meredith went over the checklist in her head. Her bag, Derek's bag, Lilly's bag, waiting by the front door. The car seat had been ready to go for weeks. She shuffled out of bed and walked over to her dresser for clothes.

Charlie watched from his bed as the two busied themselves with getting ready, and Meredith smiled at him. "I think it's baby time, buddy," she said, changing into a tee shirt and shorts. "Mark or Bridget will be by later to pick you up. They're gonna watch you for the next day or two while we're at the hospital."

The dog simply yawned at her in response, and Meredith laughed. "Okay then, I'm glad you're on board with that plan."

Derek hung up with the hospital and tossed his phone onto the bed. "The nurse on the phone said to come in. She's paging Dr. Halloran."

"Holy crap," Meredith breathed.

"What?" he asked nervously.

"Nothing," she said. "This was just… unexpected. And we're calm. The scene in my head was a little different. Me screaming like a ranting maniac, you losing your keys and having to deliver the baby yourself because we'd be stranded out here…"

"Wow. Quite the imagination," Derek chuckled. "Calm is good. Let's aim for calm," he said, pulling on a pair of jeans.

Another contraction came over her and she breathed through it. "What time is it?" she asked.

"Having another one?" he asked, running his hand comfortingly up and down her back.

"Yeah. What time is it?"

"It's, uh… 12:48," Derek said. "Nine minutes apart."

"Nine. Okay," she nodded, waddling toward the bathroom. "I need to pee, then we can go."

"Okay."

While Meredith was in the bathroom, Derek quickly made the bed as a way to stop pacing around. Keep calm. That was the motto of their birth plan. And he was determined to follow through on it. Labor, contractions, pushing, all of it. He smiled at the latest picture of Lilly's sonogram on his nightstand. A tiny fist tucked under her chin and what looked like a small smile on her face. His breath caught in his throat. Today was the day that he and Meredith would finally get to hold the little person they made nine months ago. To call that feeling thrilling didn't seem like enough.

"Hey," Meredith said as she emerged, a hand over her belly. "You should call your mom and your sisters once we get to the hospital."

Derek put his hand on the small of her back as they walked out of the room and into the hall, Charlie trotting close behind. "I will," he said.

When they passed by the nursery, Meredith smiled. "We'll finally get to use that room now."

"And all of the headbands and bikinis and dresses," he laughed.

"Crap. I forgot her hair bow." Meredith turned around and walked into the nursery, flicking on the light switch.

Derek blinked in shock. "Meredith, you're in labor."

"I'm aware of that," she said. "But I have a purple hair bow to match with the outfit we're bringing her home in. I meant to pack it in the diaper bag but I forgot." She rummaged through Lilly's dresser drawer and found it, holding it up to show him. "Got it."

"Good. Ready?" he asked, practically ushering her out of the nursery and through the hall toward the stairs.

"We have time," Meredith assured him.

"Your water could break any second. And your cervix could already be dilating," he said.

Meredith dropped the hair bow into her bag when they reached the bottom of the stairs and knelt down to kiss Charlie goodbye. "Until there's a baby between my legs, we're fine."

"Still, I'd rather not have to deliver my daughter in the backseat of the car," Derek smirked, slinging all three bags over his shoulder.

"Okay, let's go," she said. "We love you, Charlie. Next time you see us, we'll have Lilly."

"Mark will be by for you later, buddy," Derek smiled at the dog. "Be sure to drive him crazy," he joked.

"Have you called him yet?" Meredith asked as they exited the house.

Derek locked the front door and they walked toward the car in the driveway. "I will. Actually, I think he's on call tonight, anyway."

"Okay," Meredith said. Just as Derek was opening the car door for her, another contraction hit her and she leaned into him, resting her head on his shoulder. "Right on schedule…"

"Only a few more seconds," Derek whispered into her hair. "Almost over."

She exhaled slowly as it passed. "Wow, those suck."

"You okay?"

Meredith nodded. "Yeah," she said, slipping into the passenger seat.

"Okay." Derek quickly walked around to the other side of the car and into the driver's seat, starting it up and backing out of the driveway in record time.

"Lilly picked a nice, warm day to be born on," she commented, turning the air on full blast. "Seriously, how often does Seattle hit eighty in June… at one in the morning? I'm sweating my ass off."

"That could be from the contractions," Derek suggested.

Meredith felt his forehead. "You're not sweating?"

"No," he chuckled. "Nervous, but not sweating."

"Don't be nervous," she said confidently, one hand draped over her belly.

"I really need to videotape this night," Derek grinned, finally pulling off the land.

"Lilly's entrance will not be videotaped for posterity," Meredith laughed. "The camera stays above the stirrups."

Derek reached for her hand. "Not that. I mean for how… relaxed you are. You could make Guinness for this."

"I'm awkward and freaky, remember?" she joked. "Plus, I've only dipped my toes into labor. I could easily turn into a bad movie cliché without warning."

"You're allowed to be cliché today," Derek said. "I think pushing a baby out of your body warrants that."

"Okay, good."

Fifteen minutes and one contraction later, and they reached Seattle Grace. Derek pulled into the employee parking lot and managed to get a VIP spot near the entrance. He gathered the various bags, took her hand, and they walked through the main doors of the lobby.

"It's weird coming here to be the patient, not the doctor," Meredith said.

Derek pushed the button for the elevator. "It'll be even weirder to leave with a baby in our arms," he chuckled.

The doors to the elevator opened and Mark stood inside, a chart under his arm and a coffee in his hand. "What the…?" His eyes widened in realization. "Grey, you're in labor?"

"Yeah, I am," Meredith replied as she and Derek stepped inside the elevator.

A grin spread across Mark's face. "Damn, I thought this day would never come. Congrats!" he all but cheered, clapping Derek on the back.

"Thanks," Derek nodded, smiling.

"Your water break yet?" Mark asked.

"No, just contractions so far. Nine minutes apart," Meredith said. "Today's the day."

"Could you stop by to pick up the dog later? His stuff is sitting by the front door," Derek reminded him.

"Yeah," Mark said, following them off the elevator.

Meredith laughed. "What're you doing?"

"I'm her godfather. I have entitlement here." When they looked at him blankly, he smirked. "Relax, I'm kidding. I'm going into surgery in ten minutes. Just running out the clock. Besides, you're like my little sister. That would just be weird."

"I agree," Derek said.

They reached the nurses' station in the Labor and Delivery wing, and approached the desk, where a nurse whose name was Stephanie waited for them. "Dr. Grey, I hear you're finally in labor," she said cheerfully. "Dr. Halloran is on her way in now."

"Thank you," Meredith smiled.

"If you could just fill out some paperwork first, then I'll take you to your room," Stephanie said, setting a clipboard and a pen on the counter.

"I got it," Derek offered.

While he filled out form after form, Meredith felt another contraction creeping up on her. Rather than grab for Derek's hand and delay the process of freaking getting to sit down in her hospital bed already, she reached for Mark's and squeezed.

"Mer, are you okay?" Derek asked.

Meredith waved dismissively at him as she gritted her teeth. "Just fill out the damn forms," she winced.

"Alright, breathe through it," Mark coached, stepping in as Derek frantically scrawled information and signatures on the endless stack of papers. "Want me to sing your birth song? Do you two have one of those?"

Meredith managed to laugh despite the pain running through her body. "No, we don't," she replied.

"Okay then, uh…" Mark stalled as he grappled for a song. "Those flashing lights come from everywhere. The way they hit her I had to stop and stare. She's got me love stoned. Man I swear she's bad and she knows. I think that she knows..." he said, completely out of key.

"Okay, what qualifies Love Stoned as a birth song?" Meredith asked him, cutting him off from singing any more.

Mark shrugged. "I don't know. It was the first thing I thought of."

"That's a terrible song, Mark," Derek commented, still signing the paperwork as quickly as he could.

"And now it's gonna be in my head all day," Meredith said. The pain dwindled down and she let his hand fall limp at his side. "It's over. Thank you, Mark," she breathed.

"So those things are a pain in the ass, huh?" Mark joked.

"More like a pain in the back, abdomen, and crotch," Meredith corrected. "Sorry if I hurt your hand."

Mark shook his head. "It's fine," he said. "See, now aren't you glad I was here?"

"Yes, you're a hero… with an impeccable taste in music," Meredith deadpanned. "No, seriously though. I appreciate it."

Derek handed Stephanie the phone book-sized stack of paperwork back. "Here you go; all finished."

"Okay, great," Stephanie smiled. "Dr. Grey, would you like a wheelchair?"

"No, I'll walk," Meredith replied, lacing her fingers through Derek's.

Mark's pager went off and he pulled it from the clip on his pants. "Alright, I have to go. I'll be back later. If you need anything, let me know, okay?"

"Thanks, Mark," Derek said sincerely.

Mark headed toward the elevator with more pep in his step than they'd ever seen, and Meredith couldn't help but smile. "He's excited, huh?"

Derek adjusted the three bags still slung over his shoulder. "Very," he agreed. "I should be videotaping that, too."

Stephanie finished filing the paperwork into Meredith's patient chart, and got up out of her chair. "Alright, all set," she said. "You'll be in room 3605."

Derek kissed Meredith's temple as they followed Stephanie down the hall toward the room. "Hmm, that's Lilly's birthday. Six-O-Five," he said.

"If she weighs six pounds, five ounces, we need to play the lottery," Meredith told him. "Clearly, that's our lucky number."

"I'd say so," Derek chuckled.

They reached Meredith's room and Stephanie opened the door, ushering them inside ahead of her. "Okay, your hospital gown is on the bed. Closet is in the corner. Make yourselves comfortable. I'll be back in a few minutes to get you all set up, okay?"

"Alright; thank you," Meredith said softly.

Stephanie closed the door on her way out and they both stood there, looking around like they'd been dropped there by a spaceship. "Does this feel real to you?" Meredith asked.

"No," Derek confessed, setting the bags down on the couch. "No scrubs, no pagers, no lives to save. Just… two people here to have a baby."

"That's weird." Meredith took her hospital gown from the bed and walked toward the bathroom. "I'm gonna go get changed."

"Okay," he said.

While Meredith was changing in the bathroom, Derek remembered to shut the blinds to her room. They didn't need any nosy coworkers looking in. Nearly everyone in the hospital knew Meredith was pregnant, and the news that she was finally in labor would probably catch peoples' attention. And he knew Meredith wouldn't really want an audience today.

"Derek," she called out.

"Yeah." Derek walked over and opened the bathroom door, and saw Meredith gripping the edge of the sink as she stood in her bra and panties. "Contraction?"

"Mmhmm," she hummed through her nose. She turned around and rested her head on his shoulder. "Please don't sing Love Stoned."

"I won't," he laughed. "Stuck in your head, too?"

Meredith nodded. "Stupid Mark."

"We packed your iPod," Derek reminded her. "Here, I'll help you." He took the hospital gown she had squished in her hand and shook it out. "Keeping your bra on?"

"Yeah," Meredith breathed, letting her weight fall into him while she relaxed after the contraction ended.

"Okay."

She held her arms out and Derek slipped them through the arm holes, then tied the back by her neck.

"Panties?" he smirked.

"Very funny," she said dryly, reaching under her gown to pull them off. She kicked them down her legs and Derek gathered all of her clothes into a pile.

He tucked them under his arm and quickly snapped up the back of the gown for her. "All done."

"Thank you," she said softly before leading the way out of the bathroom. "And thank you for shutting the blinds."

"Figured you wouldn't want paparazzi," Derek said, tucking her clothes back into her bag.

Meredith laughed. "No, I really don't." She sat on the edge of the bed and swung her legs onto it, leaning back into the pillows. "Oh, thank God," she sighed.

Derek pulled a chair over and sat beside her. "Tired?" he asked, reaching for her hand.

"A little," Meredith said. She smiled at him. "I love you."

"I love you, too." Derek leaned in and kissed her. "I know this sucks for you, but I'm…" He swallowed thickly. "Thank you, Meredith."

"I can do this," she whispered.

Derek smiled. "You can do this."

There was a knock at the door and Dr. Halloran poked her head in. "Can I come in?" she asked.

"Yeah," Meredith nodded.

"Seven days later, and here we are," Dr. Halloran laughed, setting Meredith's chart down on the tray table and washing her hands. "She's finally coming, huh?"

"Based on the pain, I'd hope so," Meredith replied. "My contractions were ten minutes apart but now it's more like eight or nine. My water didn't break yet."

"That's a good sign. Labor seems to be progressing," the doctor said encouragingly. "I'm just going to check your cervix to see if you're dilating yet, then Stephanie is going to get you hooked up to the fetal monitor, okay?" she said, pulling on a pair of gloves.

Meredith leaned her head back and nodded. "Okay, that's fine," she said.

"Alright, just relax your legs for me. That's it," Dr. Halloran said.

Meredith focused on Derek while Dr. Halloran examined her, and she squeezed his hand as she tried not to flinch at the discomfort.

"Okay, you're one centimeter and about ten percent effaced. Baby's head is low, which is a good sign. All of that pressure should speed up your dilation," Dr. Halloran said, pulling off her gloves and readjusting Meredith's gown.

"Okay," Meredith replied.

Dr. Halloran checked her watch. "It's a little after two. We'll give your water a few hours to break on its own. After that, labor usually picks up speed very quickly. If I had to guesstimate, I'd say you'll probably deliver sometime this afternoon; maybe a little later because this is your first baby, and first time births tend to take a little longer."

"Definitely today though?" Derek asked.

"Oh, absolutely. You'll be holding her by the end of the day today."

Meredith squeezed Derek's hand in excitement. "Okay."

"Alright, I'll be back later. If you need anything, just page me," Dr. Halloran said, smiling at both of them. "And congratulations. It's a big day."

"Thank you," Derek grinned.

Stephanie came back in and hooked her up to a fetal monitor to track Lilly's heartbeat as labor progressed. And Derek called home to tell his mom that grandchild number sixteen, granddaughter number ten, was on her way.

He hung up his cell phone and set it on the nightstand next to Meredith's bed. She saw the tears in his eyes and smiled. "You okay?" she asked.

"Yeah," he said, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand. "My mom. She's just, uh… I don't think she could've been any happier."

"She can come out here if she wants," Meredith said.

"I know," Derek replied. He laughed. "She's actually calling the airline now to see what dates are available to fly out."

"Tell her to come whenever. We have space at the house," she said, moving over in the bed to make room for him.

"Probably in a few weeks. She wants us to have time to get settled in with Lilly first," Derek said. "I'll sleep on the couch, Mer. It's fine."

Meredith patted the empty space on the bed. "No, I want you here."

Derek smiled. "Okay." He kicked off his shoes and shuffled into the bed next to her, wrapping his arm around her shoulder. "She said she'd call my sisters."

"Okay, good," Meredith yawned.

"We should both try to get some sleep," Derek said, catching her yawn and running a hand through his hair.

"Yeah." Meredith draped her arm over his torso and rested her head on his chest. "Lilly's heartbeat is really strong," she commented.

"Hmm, strong and perfect," Derek said. "So, no IV?"

"Dr. Halloran said I didn't need one unless I need Pitocin, which is good. I hate needles." She bit her lip when a contraction came and reached for Derek's hand. "I hate these more," she winced.

"You can yell at me, curse my penis if you want, if it'll make you feel better," he offered.

Meredith smiled weakly, fighting through the pain as she waited for it to end. She exhaled slowly. "I'm saving that," she said. "No castrating threats yet."

"Okay," Derek said amusedly.

She closed her eyes and felt the thud of Derek's heartbeat under her ear, and let the wooshing Lilly's heartbeat on the fetal monitor lull her. "Please come out today, Lilly."

"She will," Derek said, putting his hand on her belly. "No rush, but sooner's better than later, princess."

Meredith closed her heavy eyelids and resettled against Derek's body, hospital bracelets around both of their wrists. "Freaking Love Stoned won't leave my head."

"Want me to get your iPod out of the bag? I also take requests."

"You'd really sing to me?"

"Do you want me to sing to you?"

She laughed. "No, thanks. I'm good."

"If you change your mind, let me know."

"Okay, I will."