109. First Father's Day

Disclaimer: Not mine.

"Do you know where the syrup is, Lilly? Because I can't find it," Meredith said to her daughter as she rummaged through the fridge. "You know, this is Daddy's first Father's Day. Lucky for him, he gets to celebrate it two weeks after you were born. I have to wait a whole year. But that's okay. That gives you and Daddy a year to plan," she joked, finally spotting the syrup bottle hidden behind the carton of orange juice.

She closed the fridge with her elbow and set the syrup on the counter. The French toast in the frying pan was golden brown and not burnt, which was more than she thought she was capable of. She glanced at the clock. 9:05. Derek would be coming downstairs soon, which gave her a small window of time to make this breakfast look presentable. She poured coffee into his mug and set it in front of his place at the island counter, then reached for two plates, one for each of them.

After putting the French toast on their plates, she chopped up a banana and some strawberries, and put the bowl between each of their plates. "Daddy is kind of a health nut, Lilly. When I was pregnant with you, he made sure every meal included a food from each food group. He's friends with the produce guy at the supermarket. You probably think I'm kidding, but I'm not," she said.

Lilly looked at her, a peaceful expression on her face as she sucked her thumb, happy to be in her swing, looking out the sliding glass door in the kitchen that overlooked the backyard.

"Good morning," Derek said as he walked into the kitchen, showered and dressed for the day. When he saw the food on the counter, he stopped and smiled. "What's all this?"

"It's Father's Day," Meredith said. She walked over to him and wrapped her arms around him. "Lilly and I wanted to do something nice for you, so we cooked you breakfast."

"Thank you," Derek replied, leaning in and kissing her.

Meredith smiled against his lips. "Happy Father's Day."

"Thank you," he whispered. He kissed her forehead, and spotted Lilly in her swing. "Thank you, Lillybug."

"You're welcome," Meredith said.

Derek walked over and scooped Lilly up out of her swing, and held her to his chest. "Good morning, princess. Thank you for the breakfast... even though Mommy made it," he laughed. He surveyed the counter and nodded, impressed. "You really made French toast?"

"Yes, I did. The first batch burnt, and the second batch tasted kind of egg-y, but I think I succeeded with this batch," Meredith said, taking a seat next to him at the island. "Want me to hold her?"

"No, I've got her," Derek said. He kissed the top of her fuzzy, dark hair. "You're the reason I get to celebrate Father's Day, you know that? Without you, this would just be a boring Sunday." He bit into a piece of French toast on his plate and chewed. "Wow."

"Wow?" Meredith echoed. "Good 'wow,' or 'wow, this is terrible?'"

Derek chuckled. "Good 'wow.' We can add French toast to the list of things you can cook," he said as he forked another piece.

"That extensive list that includes cereal, bagged salad, Pop-tarts, and canned soup?" Meredith asked sarcastically, smirking at him.

"Yes, and that list now includes French toast. And you sliced fruit," he noticed.

"I know you like fruit with breakfast. Plus, I figured this was safer than me scrambling eggs. I don't do eggs," she reminded him, thinking of the countless times she tried that ended up with the smoke alarm going off, or having to pour soupy yolk down the drain.

Derek patted her arm in playful encouragement. "One day, Mer. You'll get it."

"Shut up."

"So, what do you and Lilly have planned for today?" he asked, gently bouncing Lilly who was cradled in the crook of his left arm.

"That goes along with your gift. Well, one of your gifts," Meredith said.

"There's gifts? I thought Lilly was the gift."

"She is. But we had to get you something for Father's Day. It's just little things," Meredith said before taking a sip of her orange juice. "Want them now?"

"Can I?"

Meredith rolled her eyes playfully and hopped off the stool. "Well, they're your presents," she said. "I'll be right back."

"Okay," he said. He looked down at Lilly and smiled. "Mother's Day isn't for eleven more months, so you and I have almost a year to make sure that we impress Mommy."

Meredith came back into the kitchen, holding two presents in blue paper. She wrapped her arm around Derek from behind and kissed his neck, smiling against his skin when he leaned into her.

"I'm holding our daughter," Derek reminded her, laughing.

"I know. I just happen to find you incredibly sexy. Blame the hormones," she defended. She retook her seat, and put the gifts next to his plate. "Happy Father's Day."

Derek opened the first present with his free hand, his smile creasing his eyes when he saw what was hidden by the wrapping. A framed picture of the three of them on the day Lilly was born, both of them smiling, sitting on Meredith's hospital bed, Lilly curled into Derek's arm, looking up at him. The first family picture taken of them. He swallowed the lump in his throat, and felt the tears sting his eyes. "Thank you," he whispered. "This is... thank you."

Meredith kissed him, and rested her head on his shoulder. "I figured you could put it on your desk at work, next to our wedding picture. I got another copy for our house, too. And a lot of smaller copies."

"I love this picture," Derek said. He leaned over to examine it more closely. "God, Lilly already looks older than she did two weeks ago." He looked down at Lilly, who was mid-yawn. "Stop growing up so fast," he chuckled.

"I know," Meredith giggled, tickling the bottom of Lilly's foot. "So you like it?"

"I love it. Thank you, both of you," he said, tilting her chin up with his finger and kissing her. "I love you." He propped Lilly over his shoulder and kissed her cheek. "And I love you."

"Open the other one," she prompted, taking Lilly from Derek.

"Hey."

Meredith smiled, resting Lilly's head against her chest. "Sorry, I couldn't help it. I needed a turn," she said.

"Hmm, fine," he agreed as he took the second present off the counter. He peeled back the blue paper and grinned. "You really got her this? I don't believe it."

"Yes, I did. It took all I had not to buy a Red Sox one instead, which should prove how much we love you," Meredith said, speaking for Lilly and herself.

Derek held up a tiny, navy and white Yankees dress with matching ruffly bloomers to put over Lilly's diaper. "You'll really let me dress her in this, even though Mark already got us the Giants outfit, too?"

"I know we agreed to let Lilly choose which one she roots for, but since it's Father's Day, and she's two weeks old and doesn't care, I decided that she can be a Yankees fan for the day," Meredith explained. "And since there's a Yankees-Red Sox game on today, I thought it was appropriate."

"I'll wear my Yankees tee shirt too, Lilly. Father-daughter Yankee fans," he said proudly.

"Mhm," Meredith smirked, watching him revel in the victory she let him have. "Mark and Bridget are coming over later to watch the game, too. They're bringing all the food for a barbecue or something. So I thought before that, the three of us could take a ferryboat ride across the bay and go to lunch at that little café near the hospital. You know, the one with the fountain, where we went for our first breakfast date, or whatever."

"Back when we first met?"

"Yeah."

"And Lilly gets to wear this?" he asked, holding up the outfit.

Meredith feigned a dramatic sigh and smiled. "Yes, she can."

"You really planned this whole day for us?"

"Yeah. You've only been a dad for two weeks. Well, technically, you've been a dad since we conceived her, but still. You're so amazing with her. You get up with me three times a night when I nurse her when you could be sleeping, you change diapers, give her baths, make sure we both get to shower at least once a day," she laughed, reaching for his hand. "We're both just really lucky to have you, and I want you to know that."

Derek wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her closer to him. "You know, this is the first Father's Day in... twenty-five years that I'm actually happy to celebrate. I woke up this morning, and the first person I thought about was Lilly."

"You usually think about your dad?" Meredith asked.

"Hmm," Derek hummed in agreement. "Ever since he died, I usually tried to just ignore it. I mean, I always call my mom. It's a hard day for her. When we were little, she always had something nice planned for him. We would all go play baseball at the park near our house. Mark always came along, and we'd play four against four. Then we'd go home, and have a cookout. She always baked him a pineapple upside-down cake because it was his favorite. My dad worked six days a week at the hardware store. I don't remember him ever taking a sick day. And he never complained about it. He did what he had to do because he loved us."

Meredith smiled sadly and looked down at Lilly, rubbing her hand soothingly over the baby's back. She and Derek didn't have to struggle the way Derek's family did, but Meredith knew that if they did, Derek would do the same thing. Work hard every day, with a smile on his face, and he'd do it for her and Lilly. Meredith kissed his shoulder. "Yeah?"

"Yeah. But now that Lilly's here, I feel like I can be happy on Father's Day again, you know? I know it's just a greeting card holiday that Hallmark invented, but it means something now. Now, I'm a father to this beautiful, perfect, little person," Derek said, smiling when Lilly looked up at him, her head resting comfortably on Meredith's chest. "Holiday or not, I'm her father."

"Yeah."

"Hear that, Lilly? You're stuck with me," he chuckled, his mood already brightening, like it always did when he talked to Lilly.

"Her Yankee loving father," Meredith said playfully. "Don't worry, peanut. That'll be the last Yankees outfit you'll ever have to wear."

Derek laughed. "Why are you assuming she'll be a Red Sox fan?" he said before pausing. "And since when do you care about baseball?"

"I don't. I just like messing with you. That, and I've got Boston in my blood. The fact that I even married a Yankees fan is enough reason for me to be shunned from the city altogether."

"Good thing we live in Seattle, then," he smirked, grabbing the tiny Yankees dress from the counter. He gently took Lilly from Meredith and cradled her in his arm. "Speaking of which... let's go get you dressed, Lilly, then we can go on your very first ferryboat ride. Seattle is surrounded by water on three sides, you know," he told her.

Meredith smiled. "Daddy has a thing for ferryboats, Lilly. He told me that while waiting for an elevator one day," she said.

"Then Mommy and I made out in that elevator," he added as he walked out of the kitchen. "Because Mommy has no self-control," he whispered within Meredith's earshot.

Meredith caught up with them as he headed toward the stairs. "I heard that, Derek," she called out.

...

Meredith leaned against the rail of the ferryboat and brushed her hair away from her face. Derek stood next to her, holding their daughter. Both with dark hair, blue eyes, and wearing Yankee pride. She smiled at the two of them.

"Isn't this fun, Lilly? If it were up to me, Mom and I would take the ferryboat into work every morning," Derek said, letting Lilly sit on his arm so she could scope out the view.

"Remember back when I was like two months pregnant, it was warm for a November morning, and we took the ferry into work?" Meredith asked as she fretted with Lilly's yellow sunhat, making sure her face was shaded.

"And you threw up over the side," he finished for her. "Yep, I do. Fond memory."

Meredith made a face at him. "Haha," she said wryly. "You were the size of a lima bean, Lilly, but you were a powerful, little embryo. I used to just throw up. All day long," she laughed. "Daddy didn't even get his special grown-up time with me— not that I'm complaining. I would have suffered through hurling forty weeks straight if it meant we got to have you."

"Don't worry. Around month four or five, grown-up time was back and better than ever," he said, grinning at her.

"And I could actually ride the ferryboat again," Meredith said. She wrapped her arm around Derek and leaned into him. "Do you think she's cold?"

Derek laughed. "It's seventy-five and sunny. And she's wearing a sweater. I think she's good."

"Shut up. I have mom brain. I can't help it," she defended. "Do you like this, Lilly? You're a Seattle native like me, and are related to your ferryboat-loving father, so you should," she teased, making sure Derek caught her smile.

"She loves it," Derek said, chuckling when Lilly's eyes went wide as she watched the blue water sloshing next to the ferry. "Are you gonna be outdoorsy, like me? 'Cause I could really use a fishing partner other than Mommy. She used jellybeans for bait once. Then she got bored, and fell asleep with her head on my lap."

Meredith smirked at him. "You knew when you married me that I possessed no MacGyver skills."

"No, but I still got you to live in a house in the woods," Derek pointed out boastfully.

"Exactly. A house. Not a tent or a fort built out of tree bark," she laughed. She kissed the top of Lilly's hat-covered head. "I'm only outdoorsy to the extent of not peeing behind a bush. Although, I did birth a pony once. So that's nature-adjacent."

"You birthed a pony?"

"Yes," Meredith said. Derek looked at her blankly so she decided to elaborate. "When I was dating Finn."

"Aah, right," Derek said. "Well, I guess that's one wooing style. Tuna salads, pony births. Personally, I'm more of a 'dinner and a movie' kind of guy. But you know, to each his own. Right, Lilly?" he teased, leaning his back against the railing.

"Your wooing style was a cliché come-on mixed with alcohol," she reminded him.

"And yet, you still took me home for sex," Derek grinned. "And married me."

"And had your kid," Meredith said, rolling the sleeve of Lilly's sweater so her hand wasn't covered by it. "It was never any competition anyway. It was always you. Even though it took us a while to get it right, it was always you." She stood up on her tiptoes and kissed him, smiling against his lips. "You and I should birth a horse, though. It was actually kind of awesome."

"I watched you give birth. You even watched yourself give birth. How does that even compare?" Derek chuckled.

Meredith smiled and nudged his hip with hers. "My point is, it's something everyone should do," she upheld. "See? I'm not entirely indoorsy."

"I never said you were. I said you didn't like fishing," Derek said.

"You implied it."

"Fine," he relented. "All I'm saying is that I want Lilly to be my fishing buddy. She clearly loves the water," he said, looking down at Lilly as she continued staring out into the water like it was the most fascinating thing she'd ever seen. "She has a thing for ferryboats."

"Uh huh," Meredith played along. "I'm sure she does."

...

"Here you go," Meredith said, handing a diaper, wipes, and changing pad to Derek, who was sitting on the couch, waiting for the baseball game to begin. "Lilly's all fed, and she has a surprise for you," she said. She kissed Lilly's nose, then swapped the baby from her arms to his.

"You're making me change a dirty diaper? On Father's Day?" Derek asked amusedly, though he didn't mind. He changed diapers with a smile on his face, day or night.

"I'm reminding you of your fatherly duties, one of which is cleaning baby poop," she replied, heading toward the stairs. "I need to freshen up before Mark and Bridget get here."

Derek smiled at her. "I'm kidding. I'm happy to do it," he said, lying Lilly on top of the changing mat on the couch cushion. There was a knock at the front door, and Charlie hopped off the couch next to Lilly and ran toward the foyer, barking at whoever was on the other side. "I got it, Charlie," Derek said, picking Lilly up and following the dog.

He turned the knob and smiled when he saw Mark and Bridget on the other side of the glass door. "Hey," he greeted.

"Sorry, I know we're early. Mark insisted on getting here before the game started," Bridget explained, holding a bag full of food.

"No, that's fine. Mer's just getting dressed, and I was about to change Lilly's diaper," he said.

Mark saw Lilly's outfit and a grin spread over his face. "No way. Grey actually let her wear this?"

"Meredith bought it," Derek corrected. Mark looked at him in surprise and he laughed. "I know. Her Father's Day gift to me," he said, reaching for the bag from Bridget with his free hand.

"I got it. I'll go put it in the kitchen," Bridget said. She leaned down and kissed Lilly's hand before walking toward the kitchen. "She got even cuter since the last time I saw her."

"So, how's Father's Day been so far?" Mark asked.

"We took the ferryboat over to the city and had lunch. Lilly loved it. She was awake the whole time," Derek said, smiling down at his daughter. "And now we're going to watch our first Yankees game together. Pretty great day," he boasted. They walked into the living room, and Derek laid Lilly on the cushion again so he could change her. "Alright, Lilly, let's see what you've got for me."

Meredith came down the steps wearing a fresh shirt with her hair pulled back, smiling when she saw that Mark and Bridget had already arrived. "Hey," she said. "Thanks for coming."

"Damn, look at you. Did you really have a baby two weeks ago?" Bridget said as she walked back into the room.

"Oh. Thank you," Meredith replied, smoothing out the front of her shirt. "Breastfeeding helps. One feeding is like running five miles."

"You're still Seattle Grace's top-rated MILF. Just thought you'd like to know," Mark informed her. "By the way, this..." he said, gesturing to Lilly's outfit. "Gold stars."

"Well, it's Father's Day. I figured I could be nice to him," Meredith said, taking a seat on the couch next to Lilly, who was still lying on the cushion, contentedly sucking her thumb as she looked around. Meredith peeked into the back of her diaper and rolled her eyes playfully. "Daddy hasn't changed you yet?"

"I'm going to right now. I got sidetracked," Derek said.

"You know, technically, a godfather is kind of like a father. Today isn't just a day to celebrate Derek," Mark said. "Every other day is already a 'let's celebrate Derek' day," he teased.

Derek laughed, tossing the clean diaper at Mark. "Fine, you change her, then, since you're her godfather," he challenged.

"Fine," Mark said as he caught the diaper in mid-air before it hit his face. He looked at Lilly and paused, hesitant. "Number one?"

"Both," Derek replied, taking Mark's unopened beer and twisting off the cap. He leaned back on the couch and raised the bottle at him. "Cheers. Have fun."

Mark knelt down in front of the couch and turned Lilly toward him. "Okay, kid. Let's impress your parents," he said. He pulled off the little, white bloomers and tossed them next to her on the couch. "You seriously want me to change her on the cushion?"

Meredith shrugged. "We've done a lot worse on this couch."

"Eww, was she conceived on it?" Mark asked, opening the pack of wipes in preparation for changing her.

"Maybe," Meredith admitted, smiling at Lilly when the baby turned her head toward her upon hearing her voice. "It's okay, peanut. You can trust him."

"Of course she can. I'm her uncle," Mark said. "Is this gonna smell?"

"Oh, my God. Just change her freaking diaper before she gets a rash," Meredith laughed.

"Fine," Mark replied. He peeled off the adhesive on either side, and pulled down the front of the diaper.

Just as he grabbed a wipe and held up her legs to clean her bottom, Meredith felt the need to chime in. "Front to back," she reminded him.

"That's the second time you've told me that, Grey," Mark said, feigning offense. He shook his head at Lilly as he cleaned her. "Your mother thinks I'm a moron, Lilly."

"No, I don't. I just…" Meredith bit her lip. "I'm a mom. I can't help it."

Mark pulled out the dirty diaper from under Lilly's bottom, rolled it up, and handed it to Derek. "Here."

Derek rolled his eyes. "Thanks, Mark," he laughed.

"Well, I didn't want to put it on the sex couch," Mark shot back as he slid the fresh diaper under the baby.

"Just because we've had sex on it doesn't make it a sex couch," Meredith corrected, watching as he delicately sprinkled powder on her daughter's bottom. It wasn't often that she saw the sweet, parental side of Mark, and it made her smile.

"It kinda does," Mark upheld, fastening the sides of the diaper together. He weaved each of her legs through the bloomers and pulled it up to her waist. After readjusting her dress, he scooped her up off the couch and kissed her cheek. "All done, Lilly."

"Wow," Bridget said, her arms crossed over her chest as she stood perched behind him.

"I know. I'm impressive," he boasted, walking off into the kitchen holding Lilly, presumably to get another beer since Derek took his first one.

"Doesn't that make you want to have a baby with him?" Meredith asked Bridget. She folded up the changing mat, and picked up the pack of wipes, setting them on the end table. "He's gonna be a good dad someday."

"I know he is," Bridget said. "He's so good with Lilly. When we visited your family in New York, he was so good with all of the kids. But he's different with Lilly. I guess because she's yours. I know how close you two have always been, Derek."

Mark walked back into the living room with Lilly, and a new beer in his hand. "I know you're all in here talking about me. Don't even try to pretend you weren't," he said when the conversation landed to a halt when he approached.

"We were just complimenting your parenting skills. Well, godparenting skills, I guess," Meredith said, smiling when Mark handed Lilly to her. "Hi, peanut," she said softly. Lilly looked up at her, then curled into her chest, squishing the fabric of Meredith's shirt with her little hand.

"When can we expect a baby Sloan?" Derek asked.

"We haven't even been married for a month. Give us some time," Mark laughed before taking a swig from his bottle. "But hey, if we have a boy, he and Lilly could get married. The Shepherd-Sloan wedding. Then the four of us could be in-laws."

"What do you say, Lilly? Does that sound like a plan?" Meredith asked, looking down at the baby. Lilly yawned and stuck her thumb in her mouth. "I think Lilly's on board."

The noise of Meredith's stomach growling interrupted the conversation, and the other three turned toward her. "Damn, Grey? Hungry?"

"It's the breastfeeding. I need to shovel food into my mouth every ten minutes. I'm like a freaking battery operated machine or whatever," Meredith joked.

Derek kissed her temple before getting up off the couch. "Well, let's feed you then. Wanna start grilling?" he asked Mark.

"Yeah," Mark said, following Derek into the kitchen. He turned around and gave Meredith a thumbs up. "Your rack, though? Amazing."

Meredith shook her head amusedly at the compliment. "Thank you, Mark."'

"Did you really just say that to my wife?" Derek asked him.

"What? It's true. She could model lingerie with those things," Mark upheld.

"You probably could, Mer," Bridget admitted, picking up a pair of Lilly's booties that fell off the couch when she stood up.

Meredith looked down at her chest and smiled. "They've got a point. I could."

...

"Oh, come on! That was a strike!" Mark practically yelled at the TV.

"No, it wasn't. He didn't swing," Meredith argued, taking another bite out of her cheeseburger, the gurgling of her stomach finally settling once she ate. She licked some ketchup off her finger and laughed at the frustrated looks on both Derek's and Mark's faces. "Just because the Yankees are losing doesn't mean you need to be mopey."

"We're not being mopey," Derek said, Lilly napping in the crook of his arm.

"You totally are," Bridget laughed. "It would actually be cute if it wasn't so pathetic."

"You're not from New York. You don't get it," Mark said before shoveling a forkful of potato salad into his mouth.

Meredith took a sip of water from her glass, washing down the taste of pickles from her burger. "You're from Washington, right?" she asked Bridget.

"Born and raised. My family lives in Tacoma. I moved to Seattle after college because I got a job at Brightwater."

"That's top-notch, right?" Derek asked. "I mean, I know it's a little early to think about schools, but Lilly deserves the best."

"It's one of the top schools in the state. Preschool through eighth grade. And because Lilly is basically my niece, I'd make sure you had a spot— you know, if you wanted one."

"Is this the place five blocks from the hospital?" Meredith asked, smiling when Bridget nodded. "Then yes, we'd like a spot. Can you pencil us in three years from now?" she laughed.

"You got it," Bridget agreed, stealing a chip from Mark's plate.

"Have you two picked a date for the christening yet?" Mark asked, not peeling his eyes from the TV as a Yankee member went up to bat.

Meredith's eyes went wide and she nearly choked on her burger. "Oh, crap."

"What?" Mark asked.

"Derek's mom is coming this week. We should do it while she's here," Meredith said. "I don't want her to have to fly back out here in a month or two. And I'd rather get her baptized while we're both still on leave; otherwise, we'll never find the time to do it."

Derek smiled at her, a look of calm reassurance on his face. "Mer, it's fine. We'll figure something out."

"We don't even belong to a church, Derek. We're screwed," Meredith replied, running her fingers through her hair.

"Relax, relax. I can help," Bridget cut in. "One of my brothers is a priest. He can do it."

Meredith whipped her head toward Bridget and blinked. "Seriously?"

"Yeah. My oldest brother, Tim. He's a priest over at St. Mary's, that little chapel not too far from here. I'm sure he'd be happy to help you out."

"So, you're basically giving us an 'in' at a private school for Lilly, and providing us with a priest and a church for her baptism?" Derek clarified. He shook his head in astonishment and relief. "You have no idea how grateful I am that you married Mark."

"You should be," Mark chimed in. "Hell yeah! Home run!" He remembered the sleeping baby cradled in Derek's arm and glanced over at her, her blue eyes looking back at him. "Oops. Sorry, Lilly. Didn't mean to wake you," Mark said. "Your team just got a home run."

Meredith took Lilly from Derek so he could finish eating. "The Yankees are not your team. Uncle Mark is just spouting off nonsense," she said. "Thank you, Bridget. If I knew how to bake, I'd make you a thank you cake."

"It's no problem. I love you guys. And Lilly. I want to help," Bridget said, smiling at Lilly who yawned into Meredith's shirt. "I'll call him when Mark and I get home. I'm sure he can plan something short and sweet for this Saturday."

"Holy crap, that's six days from now," Meredith said. "Okay, uh... we can go get her a little, white dress tomorrow after we take her for her two week checkup. And while we're at the hospital, we can tell people to keep a few hours open this Saturday. That's... what else?" she asked Derek.

"That's all. We don't need to have a big party. My mom will want to cook. Stevens will volunteer her baking skills. Depending on who's working, a few people can come back to the house afterward. Lilly will be baptized. Mission: accomplished," Derek chuckled.

"When's Mom getting in?" Mark asked.

"Thursday afternoon. I'm picking her up from the airport at three," Derek replied.

"You might wanna tell her about this impromptu baptism before then," Mark suggested. "I'm sure she wants to come bearing gifts and pictures of baby Derek in his christening outfit..."

Meredith laughed. "How have I never seen those pictures?" she asked. "Yeah, you should call her."

"I will," Derek said. "And the reason you haven't seen those pictures is because they're embarrassing."

"Oh, stop," Meredith said, rolling her eyes in amusement, trailing her fingers down Lilly's back. "You were an adorable baby."

"Cute as a button," Mark smirked. "Like the boy version of Lilly. Only, you know, with a little bit of Grey tossed in the gene pool."

"She does look a lot like you when you were a baby," Meredith told Derek, kissing the top of Lilly's dark head.

"I can't wait for my mom to meet her," Derek grinned. "She's never going to put her down."

"Well, that should give you two some time to... you know," Mark hinted, failing to sound subtle in what he was implying.

"I won't even be cleared for sex for another month. There's only so much we can do, even without clothes on," Meredith said.

Derek looked over at her and raised his eyebrows suggestively. "Oh, there's plenty. And I fully intend make the most out of whatever alone time we get."

"Oh, really?" Meredith said, smiling.

"Really."

"With the way you two are, I'm surprised baby number two isn't already on the way," Mark said. "And I'm only half joking when I say that."

"Derek and I go to bed at 8:30 these days," Meredith said, glancing at Derek's watch. "Which means our bedtime is in about an hour. Even if we could have sex, I think sleep would trump the orgasm."

"Does Lilly sleep well during the night?" Bridget asked.

"Most of the time," Derek answered. "She usually only wakes up when she's hungry. But if there's a thunderstorm, forget it. May as well start breakfast, because she's not going back to sleep," he teased.

Meredith smiled at her daughter, who was starting to fall asleep, her tiny thumb tucked away in her mouth. "That's because she's a light sleeper like Derek."

"God help you when it comes to having sex then," Mark pointed out. "You two are like a porno movie, even in the on-call room."

"Bet you didn't know we had sex in the upstairs bathroom at the old house during the Christmas party," Derek said.

Mark nearly choked while taking a sip of his beer. "You what?"

"A quickie on the bathroom counter," Meredith elaborated. "See? We can be quiet."

"Your parents are unbelievable, kid. Have fun sleeping down the hall," Mark said to Lilly. "But your mom did let you wear a Yankees outfit, so I guess that makes up for their sexcapades... for today, at least."

"Home run! Up by three!" Derek cheered softly so as not to disturb Lilly. He leaned over to kiss Lilly's cheek. "My six pound good luck charm," he said.

"I guess I wouldn't mind if she were a Yankees fan," Meredith admitted. She smoothed out the ruffles on Lilly's white bloomers over her diaper and smiled at Derek. "Plus, she does look really cute in this."

Derek picked up Lilly's tiny hand and gave her a high five. "Hear that, Lilly? We have majority over Mommy now. Best Father's Day ever," he said proudly, making sure Meredith caught the smirk on his face.

"Hey, I was being nice. There's no need to gloat," Meredith laughed.

"I wasn't gloating."

Meredith smiled at him. "Whatever you say, Derek."