106. Welcome Home

Disclaimer: If I owned it, Meredith and Derek would be given decent screen time and a storyline that wasn't so insulting and frustrating. And it wouldn't be the Callie Hour of Endless Whining.

So, so sorry for the lack of updates lately. I suck. But I only have one day of college left, and will finally have more time to write. (Also, I turned 22 yesterday. Reviews are awesome gifts. Just saying.) ;)

Derek pulled the car into the driveway of the house and cut the engine. The ride home had been peaceful, Lilly sleeping the whole way in the backseat, Meredith next to her. Despite the balloons bobbing him in the head from their place in the passenger seat the entire time, it was a successful trip, and now they were finally home, with Lilly on the outside now.

"Welcome home," Meredith said softly, stroking Lilly's cheek. She unbuckled the car seat and scooped the baby's tiny body from it. Lilly's eyes blinked open as she was pulled from her sleep. "I didn't mean to wake you up. But it's probably good that you're awake, because now you can get the full tour."

"I think you're supposed to keep her in the car seat, Mer," Derek laughed, his arms and hands full of all their gifts as well as their bags.

"That thing is so heavy. I'd rather just hold her," Meredith said. She scooted out of the car holding Lilly, then shut the door. The warm sun beat down all around them and Meredith shielded Lilly's eyes as they walked to the front door of the house. "Bright, sunny, and warm. Even for June in Seattle, this is pretty rare, Lilly."

Derek smiled, fumbling with his keys in his occupied hands before finding the right one. "That's because she's finally here. Mother Nature is in a good mood this weekend."

"Cheesy."

"Still true," Derek said, pushing open the door.

Meredith walked in and turned Lilly around so she could scope the place out. "This is where we live," she said. Lilly stared around the room, her blue eyes looking back and forth in curiosity.

"She's speechless," Derek joked. He set everything down in the foyer then joined Meredith and Lilly in the living room. "Okay, we've got the couch, coffee table, TV, your swing and bouncy seat, a few of Charlie's toys. Charlie is your big brother. You'll meet him sometime tomorrow. He'll probably try to lick your face, but don't worry, we'll protect you from the slobber."

"Right through there is the kitchen. Then there's the office, and your playroom," Meredith said. "We designed this house ourselves, and even though you didn't exist back when we built it, we were already thinking about you."

"Upstairs, you have a nursery, and a bedroom for when you're older. There's actually two extra bedrooms up there, and because you're the firstborn, you get first dibs," Derek said. "Wanna show her?"

"She's very into all of this," Meredith teased, smiling when Lilly blinked up at her, the baby's hand holding onto her finger.

Derek laughed as they headed for the stairs. "It's a big adjustment. Yesterday, she lived inside you. And now she has a whole house. Fun fact about the house, Lilly. You were actually conceived in it. We're pretty sure," he said, following Meredith down the hall toward the nursery.

Meredith glanced back at him and smirked. "Derek."

"What? It's true."

They walked into Lilly's nursery, pink walls and white furniture, clothes, stuffed animals, and pictures, the room they designed just for their daughter. "Your paint color is called Sexy Pink. We knew you were a girl, so we didn't do any of that gender neutral stuff."

"Let's just hope that next time we have a baby, you have a little sister so I don't have to paint this room again," Derek joked.

"Notice how silly your dad is, already talking about a future sibling even though I pushed you out of me just yesterday," Meredith said in a cooing voice, leaning down and kissing the top of Lilly's head. "Yeah, he's a funny man."

"Hmm, what can I say? We made a very pretty baby." Derek picked up one of their framed sonogram photos off the shelf and showed Lilly. "When we first found out about you, we called you Blueberry. Even then, when you were just a little blobby baby with a heartbeat, you were beautiful."

"And now you're here," Meredith said. "And you're even prettier in person. We might be pumping up your ego by saying that so much, but it's the truth, so I don't care."

Derek ran a hand through his hair and laughed. "Parenthood made us corny."

"You were always corny," she pointed out. "Apparently being married to you, getting pregnant, and giving birth made me that way, too."

"Not so dark and twisty," Derek said, putting his hand on the small of her back as they walked out of the nursery.

"Not so much." Meredith leaned into him and kissed him, Lilly in between. "Wanna go eat? Breastfeeding makes me hungry."

"Yeah, come on. I'll make something," Derek said. He smiled at Lilly. "Now's as good a time as any to show off my cooking skills to you."

"Yes, he's very skilled in the kitchen," Meredith joked, carefully walking down the stairs holding the baby. "And clearly, another room in the house where we probably made you."

Derek grinned. "Now you're pumping up my ego. Thanks for that," he said. "I'll bring her swing into the kitchen so we can eat."

"Okay," Meredith said as she went into the kitchen. She stopped in her tracks when she saw the mountain of Tupperware containers lining the countertop. "Wow. Okay, well, Izzie was obviously here..."

Derek followed in behind her with the pink and yellow baby swing and set it down. "Izzie was here, huh?"

"I think so," Meredith laughed, scanning the baked goods. "Muffins, cookies, raisin bread, cupcakes. We need to have babies more often."

"Usually a care package is a meatloaf. We struck the motherload," Derek said, unbuckling the cloth seatbelt on Lilly's swing.

"Yes, we did." Meredith gently put Lilly in the swing, making sure she was propped up and her head and neck were supported. Lilly stared back at her with an unsure expression on her face and they both laughed.

"Don't be scared. It's fun. I wish they made these in adult size," Derek said, kneeling down next to Meredith. He kissed her forehead then buckled her in. "There we go."

Meredith turned the dial for the mobile and the little bumblebees and butterflies started rotating in a circle. Lilly's eyes were immediately drawn to them and she looked up. "I think she likes it," Meredith nodded in satisfaction. "Should we turn the swing on?"

"Yeah, maybe just on low. She's been so used to living inside you for nine months that movement comforts her," Derek said, recalling something he'd read. He turned the swing to the lowest speed setting, and it began rocking gently from side to side. "Is that fun, princess?"

"We could probably fit two of her in there. Think we should put pillows around her?" Meredith fretted as she fixed the front of Lilly's dress.

"Nah, she's fine. She's not gonna be doing any gymnast moves," Derek said. He slid the swing closer to the counter so they could keep a close eye on her, then walked over to the fridge. "Alright, well, we have an entire restaurant's worth of food here," he chuckled. "Any requests?"

"What do we have?" Meredith asked as she hopped up onto the stool. She winced when her butt hit the wooden chair. "Ouch."

"You okay?"

Meredith nodded, reaching for a piece of raisin bread from the plastic container. "Yeah, just sore. I'm fine. It could be worse. I could have stitches," she said. She smiled over at Lilly next to her. "You're a little peanut, but those shoulders? Holy crap..."

"Yeah, your nails dug pretty deep into my palm during that part... not that I'm complaining. I'll take that over giving birth any day," Derek said.

"Was that a compliment?" Meredith asked.

Derek laughed. "Are you kidding? There's no way I could have handled childbirth. I still can't believe how tough you were."

"Thank you."

Derek opened the freezer, and was met with more containers of food in Izzie's signature Tupperware containers, complete with labels. "Whoa, there's more," he said.

"Really? What's in there?" Meredith asked excitedly.

"Let's see. We've got... chicken cutlets. Green bean casserole. Some kind of stir fry. Lasagna," Derek said, examining the containers one by one.

Meredith shook her head in awe, impressed by her friend's culinary talent. "Seriously, I barely have time to make a sandwich most days. When does she have time to prepare, cook, package, and deliver a lasagna?" she joked.

"Beats me. But I'm glad she did," he said. "There's also hamburgers. Macaroni and cheese..."

"Ooh, that," Meredith interjected, taking another bite of her raisin bread. "Izzie makes the best macaroni and cheese. It's not the box kind. She actually boils pasta and melts cheese like a chef. She made it for me after I had my appendectomy, and I swear, I ate the whole pot."

"That good?" he asked, pulling it from the stack in the freezer.

"Yes." Meredith looked over at Lilly and gasped. "Derek, look. She's sucking her thumb."

Derek peered over the counter, his smile reaching his eyes when he saw Lilly with her tiny thumb in between her lips. "Since when do you suck your thumb? You're just full of surprises, huh?"

"She didn't do it at all in the hospital," Meredith said. "She hasn't done that since we got that sonogram picture." She smiled at the baby. "You are so cute. Derek, take a picture."

Derek pulled his phone from his pocket and snapped a photo of Lilly and her thumb sucking. "This is adorable. You're going to be the only background, wallpaper, and screensaver I ever have," he grinned.

"Which reminds me, we need to start emailing baby pictures to people. Especially your mom. And we'll mail her one of Lilly's newborn pictures, too," Meredith said.

"Yeah, we will," Derek nodded, taking the lid off the macaroni and cheese and putting it into the microwave to defrost. "Hey, didn't you suck your thumb?"

"Yeah, I did. Until I was six, actually."

Derek set two spoons on the counter and slid one over to her. "She's just like you."

"As long as she doesn't inherit my penchant for sleeping with inappropriate men and chugging tequila on porches during parties, I think I'd be okay with that," Meredith laughed, her heart thudding a little faster in her chest when she looked at their baby, who was still contentedly watching her mobile spin.

"Am I one of those inappropriate men?" Derek asked.

"We had sex in public and got caught. So, yeah, you kind of were. Plus, you were my boss," Meredith said.

Derek smirked. "Technically, I still am your boss."

"We have a kid together. Kid trumps employee rank," Meredith said, smiling. "Right, Lilly?" Lilly yawned and closed her eyes. "She agrees with me."

...

The sun was slowly setting, with daylight lasting longer and longer as summer approached, and despite the few streaks of orange sunlight that shone through the windows, it was approaching bedtime. For Lilly, anyway. After both Meredith and Derek showered, thinking ahead and going through as much of their nighttime routine as they could, considering Lilly would be up on and off all night, it was her turn to get cleaned up.

Derek filled the pink plastic basin they'd snagged from the hospital with warm soapy water from the bathroom sink, slung a soft bath towel over his shoulder, and grabbed a wash cloth from the shelf. He carried it all back into Lilly's nursery where Meredith was stacking a cushy layer of towels on top of the baby's changing table, Lilly cradled in her left arm.

"Ready?" Derek asked as he set down the water basin.

Meredith handed Lilly over to him and smiled. "Yeah. I just want to get her clothes ready before we start," she said, walking over to Lilly's dresser. "Can you undress her?"

"Sure." Derek laid Lilly down on the changing table and pulled off her socks, followed by her dress, and finally her diaper. He tossed her old clothes into the hamper. "Should I put her diaper in here?" he asked, gesturing to the fancy disposal system they'd received from Izzie and Alex at their baby shower.

"In that genie thing? Yeah, that's fine," Meredith shrugged.

Derek did so, then picked Lilly up and held her to his chest to keep her warm while he waited for Meredith to find pajamas for her. Lilly rested her head by his neck and he kissed the top of her dark, fuzzy head.

Meredith set a fresh diaper, yellow footie pants and a matching pajama shirt down on the dresser. "Okay, all set."

"Okay." Just as Derek was about to lie Lilly down on the changing table, he felt something warm and wet running down the front of his tee shirt. "Why am I wet?" he asked.

Meredith put the pieces together before Derek did, and she smiled, dropping the wash cloth into the basin so she could take the baby from him. "She peed on you," Meredith said, laughing.

"She did?" Derek asked. He looked down at his shirt and started laughing, too. "You were only naked for thirty seconds. Were you cold, princess?"

"Be glad she didn't poop on you. Right, Lilly?" Meredith said playfully, gently laying her on the changing table. "Go change your shirt."

"Alright, I'll be right back," Derek said, tickling the bottom of Lilly's foot as he walked out the door. "I told you that just because we weren't having a boy that we'd still get peed on..."

Meredith leaned down and kissed her. "Thanks for peeing on Daddy. I mean, you're welcome to pee on me, too. I wouldn't mind. But, yeah. That was awesome," she said, patting the wet wash cloth over Lilly's hair. Lilly wriggled on the towel, and her forehead scrunched as the water hit her skin. She let out a cry of protest. Being naked and wet was clearly of no interest to her. "It's okay. Don't cry, Lillybug. It won't take long."

Derek reentered the room with a new shirt on, and frowned when he heard the baby crying. "You're okay. We just want to get you all cleaned up before bedtime," he said softly, rubbing Lilly's leg with his fingers. Her crying escalated when Meredith started washing her arms and chest, her eyes squeezing shut as she moved all of her tiny limbs.

"You're gonna make me cry with that sound," Meredith said, cleaning Lilly off as quickly as she could so bath time would be over. When the crying turned constant, and started being accompanied by hiccups, Meredith dropped the cloth into the basin. "I can't do it. I have to pick her up," she said, wiping away her own tears with the back of her hand, then scooping a wet, clean-from-the-waist-up Lilly into her arms.

"Are you crying?" Derek asked gently, aware that her hormones were on overdrive, and would be for some time.

"She's been inside me for the past nine months. Seeing her upset physically hurts me," Meredith defended, holding Lilly to her chest, her own shirt now soaked through with water. "It's just stupid hormones. I can't help it."

Derek smiled. "Don't apologize. I understand," he said. "How about you hold her while I do the rest?" He handed her a soft terrycloth towel and helped her wrap it around Lilly's body. He bathed her lower half without objection from Lilly, who settled down in the comfort of Meredith's arms and started sucking her thumb again. Once he had finally made his way down to her miniature toes and washed them, he dropped the cloth back into the basin. "All done."

"Thank you," Meredith said, leaning in to kiss him.

"Wanna dress her in our room?" he asked. "I'll clean up, then meet you in there."

Meredith folded a corner of the towel over Lilly's wet head and smiled. "Okay," she said. "Can you bring her clothes in?"

"Yeah."

She walked into their bedroom and sat down on the king-sized bed. After spending so many hours on a hospital bed with Derek that was half the size, as well as half the comfort, being on her own bed again was nothing short of glorious. Meredith leaned back against the padded headboard, Lilly cradled to her chest. "Mommy is tired," she said. She glanced over at the digital clock on her nightstand. "7:54. It's not even 8:00 or dark outside, and I could fall asleep. Mommy is also pathetic. Are you sleepy?"

Lilly looked up at her, a content expression on her tiny face. Meredith hugged her closer. "Yeah, you look tired. I'll feed you, then you can sleep, okay?"

Derek came into the bedroom with Lilly's diaper, clothes and her bottle of lotion. "Everything's cleaned up in her room. Maybe next time, she won't mind it so much," he laughed, dropping down next to Meredith on the bed. "God, I've missed this bed. We were only gone one night, but still. That bed at the hospital sucked."

"Right? We should have just curled up on that icky peach couch together. Probably would have been more lumbar support," Meredith giggled, laying Lilly between both of them so they could get her dressed. She unwrapped her from the towel and squirt some of the lavender baby lotion into her palms.

She rubbed her hands together, then lathered Lilly's skin in it, from her neck to her toes. "There we go. All moisturized. We don't want your skin getting dried out," Meredith said, rubbing Lilly's feet with the lotion then kissing the soles of them.

Derek watched as she interacted with the baby, completely comfortable and happy and mommy-ish, not the bar-hopping, boy-hopping person she was when he met her. He loved that free-spirited, adorably freaky girl. But this Meredith, the one who kissed her daughter's little feet and couldn't bear to see her cry, he was pretty sure she amazed him even more.

"Do you think she'll poop again tonight?" Meredith asked.

"Well, she already emptied her bladder out all over my shirt, so we're good in that department," Derek laughed, sliding the diaper under Lilly's bottom.

"She hasn't pooped since this morning. I just don't want her getting backed up," Meredith said. "A constipated newborn would be bad news."

"You're cute when you're worried," Derek said before kissing her. "She'll poop. Her plumbing works. We don't have to send her to the repair shop."

They fastened the adhesive to the diaper front, and Meredith smiled at him. "Okay."

Lilly yawned widely, stretching her arms over her head and extending her legs toward them, then she let out a little sigh. Derek grabbed her yellow footie pajama bottoms and pulled them up her legs and around her waist. "She's sleeping with us, right," he asked.

Meredith nodded, slipping the yellow shirt over the baby's head. "Yeah. We have that safe sleeper thingy. We just put that between us, and Lilly sleeps on it," she said, putting Lilly's arms through the sleeves and tugging the shirt over her belly. "I don't want to put her in the bassinet just yet. I read that a lot of open space can overwhelm her."

"I want her with us, too," Derek said. He picked Lilly up off the bed and kissed her forehead. "Mommy snores a little, but you get used to it."

"You haven't used earplugs in years, so it can't be that bad," Meredith said, inching closer to him on the bed. "He exaggerates. Don't listen to him, Lilly."

Lilly took Derek's finger in her small hand when he offered it, and looked up at both of them. "Can you believe they just handed her to us and let us go?" Meredith said. "That she's actually ours?"

Derek smiled. "I know."

"This still doesn't feel real." Meredith leaned down and kissed Lilly's nose, then kissed Derek. "You know what's weird?"

"What's weird?"

"We started trying for a baby on Lilly's due date. It was May 29th of last year," Meredith remembered. "I didn't even think of that until now."

Derek looked over at her. "Did we really?"

"Yeah. I remember I went wedding dress shopping with Izzie, her mom, and Cristina. I was horny the whole day because I was ovulating. And when I got home, we tried for the first time." She laughed. "I think we had sex four times that night. Maybe more. My head got kinda cloudy after all the orgasms."

"Hmm, one year and one week later, and she was born," Derek said.

Meredith rested her head on Derek's shoulder. "We tried very hard for you, peanut. It was fun trying, though."

"We even scheduled a few surgeries around trying," Derek chuckled, Lilly looking at him as though she was invested in the conversation. "Surgery, twenty minute on-call room break, then another surgery."

"Paid off," Meredith said. She wrapped her arm around Derek's torso and hugged him. "I love you."

"I love you, too," he said softly. "Do you want to nurse her? She looks like she's ready to fall asleep."

"Yeah, I want her to eat first," Meredith replied, propping a pillow behind her back and putting another one on her lap for Lilly to lie on while she nursed. She lifted up her shirt and Derek handed Lilly to her. "How about you eat a little bit?" she said.

Lilly yawned into Meredith's breast before latching on, and rested her hand atop it as usual. When Meredith was satisfied that she was sucking, she smiled. "Good job, Lillybug."

"Not hurting, right?" Derek asked.

"No, but she's strong, though. For as little as she is, she's pretty powerful," Meredith laughed, watching as Lilly eagerly sucked. "She's a good eater."

"She is."

Meredith looked over at him. "You don't feel left out, do you? I mean, I got to carry her for nine months, and now I'm the one that feeds her. I know if I were you, I might feel a little left out and I-"

"I don't feel left out," he promised, wrapping his arm around her shoulder. "You just have the uterus and the boobs. That's biology, not you hogging her," Derek chuckled.

"Okay," Meredith smiled. "Just checking."

"She's already my little girl," he said. He took hold of Lilly's foot. "And when you're old enough, you'll be my fishing buddy, Lilly. I know you'll have Mommy for all of those girly things like bras and boyfriends, but I'll always be there for you. You can even talk to me about that stuff. Well, boyfriends, anyway. I have four sisters, and grew up in the middle of Girl-Land, so I'm pretty qualified. And when it comes to proms and your wedding, I'll be there for that, too."

Meredith couldn't help but smirk. "Just don't do what Daddy and I did at the prom."

"Yeah, panties stay on at the prom, got it, princess?" he said, feigning sternness. He kissed Meredith's temple. "Maybe we should keep that between us. Lilly doesn't need to hear about our sexcapades."

"No, definitely not," Meredith shook her head. "There's a lot of stuff we need to make G-rated for her."

"You mean when she asks us how you and I met, we leave out the part where we had several rounds of wild, dirty sex on your living room floor?"

Meredith laughed. "Yes, like that."

"Agreed," Derek said, trying to stifle a yawn as the exhaustion of the past two days seemed to envelop all three of them. "Is it weird not being pregnant anymore?" he asked.

"Very. I was waiting for her little kicks this morning when I woke up, but then I remembered that she was in the isolette, not in me. I miss that," Meredith said, running her finger over Lilly's cheek. "I can't believe those little feet could kick me so hard. Or that she could fit inside me in the first place."

"Hey, at least you get to sleep on your stomach tonight. You haven't been able to do that since you were, what? Four months pregnant?" Derek said.

Her eyes widened and she smiled. "Holy crap, you're right."

"One of the many perks of having her on the outside," he said.

"I don't think I've ever been more excited for bedtime," Meredith joked. "Her eyes have been closed for a while. She'll probably be finished eating soon. Then you can have burping duty. She already peed on you. What's a little spit up?"

Derek laughed. "You think it's funny now. Just wait until she does it to you."

"Oh, I fully expect her to poop on me at some point. But tonight, you seem to be the lucky one," Meredith said. Lilly pulled away from Meredith's breast, satisfied now that her stomach was full.

"All done?" Derek asked.

Meredith gently glided the baby from her arms to his. "Give us a few burps, then you can sleep, okay?" she said to Lilly before getting up out of bed to change her shirt, which was still wet after Lilly's bath. "You think she's eating enough, right?"

"Yeah. She always eats when she's hungry. And she picked up on breastfeeding right from the start," Derek said, propping Lilly over his shoulder and rubbing her back with his hand. He cocked his head at her. "I like this side of you."

"What side?" Meredith asked after changing her shirt. She pulled back the covers on the bed and rolled on her stomach for the first time in months. "Oh, God. I missed this so much."

"Make you glad Lilly is on the outside?"

She sighed happily into her pillow. "Yes," she said. "What side?"

"The side of you that worries about how much she poops and eats. I love it," Derek said, leaning over to press a kiss to the back of her head.

"I have mom brain. It's kind of freaking me out. Stupid estrogen," Meredith sighed. She sat up against the headboard again, and saw Lilly looking at her, her head resting on Derek's shoulder. "Hi, peanut. Can you burp? Maybe one or two?"

Lilly smacked her lips together and nuzzled her face into Derek's shoulder as though it were a pillow. Before she actually fell asleep without burping, Meredith patted Derek's thigh. "Try sitting her on your lap."

"Alright," Derek said, gently moving Lilly from her place against his chest to his lap.

"Make a C-shape with your hand, and put it under her chin. Yeah, like that," Meredith said. She grabbed a burp cloth and set it on his thigh in case she spit up. "There. Now try. I read that helps sometimes."

Derek started patting Lilly on the back, and within seconds, a small half hiccup-half burp escaped from her mouth. "That's it. Have another one for me?" he said.

"Even one out the other end would be fine," Meredith said, smirking at Derek.

"That works, too. Whatever you need to—" Derek stopped when he felt something warm running down his hand and arm. "Aah, first pee, now spit up," he laughed.

"That's how she shows her love, by excreting bodily fluids on you. Right, Lilly?" Meredith said with a smile.

"I'm flattered," he joked, taking the burp cloth and wiping Lilly's mouth and chin before cleaning himself off.

When Lilly gurgled out a final burp while yawning, Derek picked her up and kissed her cheek. "Okay, we'll let you sleep now."

Meredith caught the baby's yawn, and lay down in bed on her side. "And we can sleep, too."

"It's not even nine o'clock," Derek chuckled as he laid Lilly down in her safe sleeper, a mini-bed with padded sides for her to sleep in between both of them.

"I gave birth this weekend. Nine o'clock is just fine with me," Meredith teased. She caressed Lilly's hand with her finger, and let Lilly grab hold of it. "I'm right here, peanut. Boobs and all. When you're hungry again, you let me know, okay?"

Derek shifted under the covers and onto his side so they were both facing inward at the baby, her long, dark eyelashes fluttering as she chased her sleep. He let Lilly hold onto his finger, too. "Hmm, yesterday, she was in your uterus, and now, she's lying between us in our bed."

"And holding our fingers," Meredith said softly, smiling at her husband across from her.

"And holding our fingers," he echoed. "I love you, princess."

Meredith leaned over Lilly to kiss him, then she kissed Lilly, who was already sleeping. "I love you, too."

Derek twisted around and turned off the lamp on his nightstand, Lilly still keeping his finger hostage in her tiny hand. "Bedtime?" he asked, the third to catch the circle of yawns.

"Mhm," Meredith hummed, resting her head close to Lilly's. "Goodnight, Lillybug."

"See you in a half hour when she wakes us up."

Meredith laughed softly. "Yeah, see you then."