134. Shopping & Santa

Disclaimer: I wish I owned it, but I don't.

Thank you, as always! Enjoy!

Mark sat at his desk in his office, doing research on his upcoming maxillo-facial surgery. Or he was trying to, anyway. But the noise coming from Derek's office next door was highly disruptive. And getting pornier by the minute.

Since Lilly was born and visited the hospital frequently, Derek had rearranged his office to make room for a port-a-crib. The couch that included a fancy pull-out bed had been moved to the wall of Derek's office that he shared with Mark, which meant he could always tell when one of their trysts was going on.

Mark looked at his watch and sighed. Today was one for the books. It had been going on for close to an hour now, and part of him wondered if the noise could be heard all the way down in the pit on the ground floor. He tried to tune out the porno movie going on next door, focusing his attention on the article he was reading.

"Derek, yes! Harder! Don't stop!" Meredith chanted from Derek's office. And judging by the way Mark's diplomas rattled on the wall incessantly, Derek had no intention of stopping.

"Oh God, Meredith. You feel. So. Good," Derek said with an animalistic grunt.

"Holy... yeah. You too!"

Mark dropped his head onto the keyboard. "How does Lilly sleep through this?" he murmured to himself.

The bed banging against the wall lasted a little while longer with growing intensity, until they both let out moans that lasted at least at least thirty seconds each. Then, all was quiet like the calm after a storm, and Mark could only hope it was over. He got up out of his swivel chair and centered the crooked frames on the wall like he did every time. Then he walked out into the hall and leaned against the door to Derek's office, waiting for the culprits to emerge.

When they finally did a few minutes later, sporting messy hair and flushed faces, not even the most deceiving excuse could fool Mark. Meredith was the first to notice him standing there, and she jumped back in surprise.

"Oh. Hi. Hey," she said, her voice flustered as she smoothed her fingers through her hair.

Mark grinned at both of them, arms crossed over his chest. "Well, you two look... satisfied."

A hot blush crept over Meredith's cheeks, and she buried her face in Derek's shoulder. "Crap."

"Mark," Derek acknowledged.

"Forty-nine minutes. That's impressive," Mark complimented as he clapped Derek on the back. "Jeez, Grey. I'm surprised you can walk. Whatever Derek was doing to you in there, I want him to give me notes."

Rather than submit to Mark's ribbing, Derek played along. "I'll be sure to do that."

"Did you really hear us the whole time?" Meredith asked, unsure of whether she really wanted the answer.

"I was trying to read a nine page article on maxillary reconstruction. I didn't make it past the second paragraph," Mark replied.

"Hey, we have a teething six month old whose gums decide to hurt at three in the morning. George and Izzie had free time, so they volunteered to watch Lilly for a while. There was an opportunity for sex, so we took it," Meredith defended. She stood on her tiptoes and kissed Derek's cheek. "And yes, Derek is very, very good at sex."

"Well, judging by the way my med school diploma was one more thrust away from falling off the wall, it would have to be," Mark seconded.

"Oh God," Meredith groaned.

"You said that a lot in the last hour," Mark chuckled. Meredith's face turned a deeper shade of red, and she averted her eyes out of embarrassment. "Oh, come on. I'm just messing with you. Gotta get my revenge while it's still fresh."

"Resorting to blackmail?" Derek assumed.

"Nah, that's tacky," Mark said, shaking his head. "But I do have a favor to ask. Well, not really a favor. More like an invitation."

Meredith raised her eyebrows in suspicion. "An invitation?"

"Yeah. Bridget already went overboard with Lilly's Christmas gifts, and wants to give her a few now. Otherwise, she'll be opening fifty of them on Christmas morning," Mark said.

"I told her not to do that," Meredith said amusedly.

"You should see our living room. She has these huge piles for each of her nieces. There's also a section for the gifts she gives her kindergartners. Pretty soon, I won't have a couch to sit on," Mark said.

"I guess we could," Derek shrugged, looking to Meredith, who nodded in agreement. "Mer and I are heading down to the OR in a few minutes. I'm overseeing her perform a shunt placement, then we're prying Lilly away from Stevens and O'Malley to get her picture taken with Santa and do some Christmas shopping. How's six sound?"

"Sounds good. I'll call Bridget and let her know," Mark said as he took his phone from his pocket. "Oh, and if at any point tonight, you feel to urge to tear each other's clothes off, just say the word. We'll watch Lilly while you two go bang one out in the guest room."

Meredith laughed. "Don't tempt us. I swear, we'll do it.

...

"Okay, Sing-a-Long Elmo or Rock 'N Roll Elmo?" Derek asked as he and Meredith stood in front of the Elmo display, Lilly happily sitting on Meredith's hip. Toys 'R' Us was the first stop on their agenda, and they hoped that by the time they were finished, they'd accumulate a majority of Lilly's toys for her to open on Christmas morning.

Meredith looked between both toys and bit her lip in contemplation. "No idea. They both kind of creep me out."

"Elmo isn't creepy. Lilly loves him. How about we sample both, and get whichever one she likes more?" Derek suggested. He squeezed Rock 'N Roll Elmo's fuzzy, red hand and the puppet began strumming the plastic guitar attached to it, accompanied by a jarring beat that sounded more like noise than actual music.

Lilly and Meredith made the same cute face of disapproval, and Derek laughed. "Okay, then. How about the Sing-a-Long one?"

"Can't be worse than the guitar one," Meredith shrugged.

Derek tested the Sing-a-Long Elmo this time, and it belted out a melodic version of 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star,' along with arm gestures. Lilly smiled in delight and let out a tiny giggle, listening intently all the way through.

"Sing-a-Long wins," Derek said, taking it from the shelf and putting it in the cart.

"I think so," Meredith agreed. She spotted a bag of large foam blocks and pointed to the shelf. "Oh, I wanted to get her these. Blocks help build motor skills, and they're injury-proof."

"Win-win. Do we want basic kind, or the ones that come with the advanced shapes?" Derek asked before shaking his head. "What am I saying? Our daughter is a genius. She's not threatened by cylinders and trapezoids."

Meredith laughed, always amused by Derek's parental bragging. Although, she was just as guilty, and she knew it. "I think she can handle it."

Derek pulled the bag of blocks off the shelf and dropped it into the cart, which was growing increasingly full. A puzzle box caught his eye, and he turned his attention to the other side of the aisle. "Mer, look at this."

"Human Anatomy Puzzle Collection for Children," Meredith read off the front of the large box. "Six colorful, creative, and kid-friendly puzzles, including the brain, spine, heart, large bones and muscles, and abdominal organs."

"Look, the brain puzzle is sectioned off into lobes; even the medulla has its own piece. And there's pieces for every spine level, from C-1 to S-5," Derek said, sounding like a little kid on Christmas morning.

"No reproductive system. I guess that would be the adult-friendly version," Meredith smirked, bouncing Lilly on her heels. "Would people make fun of us if we got anatomy puzzles for our six month old?"

"Probably. Just because she can't use them right now doesn't mean she won't grow into them. She can play with puzzles for years. Besides, people won't be making fun of us when Lilly's top of her class at med school," Derek pointed out.

"Okay, you convinced me. Put it in the cart," Meredith said, using her free hand to make room for it.

"I think we're more excited than Lilly is," Derek chuckled. "I promise, Christmas is fun. You're gonna love it, Princess."

Meredith stopped in front of a baby furniture display. "I think Lilly would love this, too," she said, admiring a baby recliner seat. She ran her hand over the sample that had soft, giraffe-printed upholstery, smiling when Lilly stretched her hand out toward it, copying her mom. "Do you like this, Lillybug?"

"Looks comfy," Derek said.

Meredith reached for the tag attached to the small seat and skimmed the description. "The Nap Nanny. Its contoured design cradles your baby in ultimate comfort... provides babies eight pounds or more the comfort they need well into their toddler years... foam core... maximum safety... easily washable."

"Jeez, I want one," Derek joked, scanning the shelf. "It comes in a lot of patterns. What one do you like?"

"I think Lilly is digging the giraffe one," Meredith said, smiling as Lilly touched the soft fabric on the seat.

"Giraffe it is," Derek said. He hoisted the large, square box off the shelf and put it next to the Elmo, puzzles, and other purchases in the cart. "Good thing Daddy makes fancy neurosurgeon money, because someone is spoiled."

Meredith pressed kisses to Lilly's cheek. "She's an only child for now. We can spoil her. Plus, we're putting her on Santa's lap for the first time today. It'll be good to have a toy available to prevent a possible meltdown."

"Those are the best pictures, though. The ones where the kids are flipping out and Santa just sits there with a smile on his face. Not that I want Lilly to cry, but even if she did, the picture would still be adorable," Derek said as they rounded the corner and walked down the next aisle.

Plush toys lined both sides, and Lilly's blue eyes went wide as she surveyed the long row of shelves. Derek took Lilly from Meredith to give her a break from holding her, and sat her on his arm, so she could look around. "I think we've hit the stuffed animal mother load, Lilly."

"Look, there's dolls, too. She doesn't have a doll yet," Meredith said, scrunching her nose at an ugly Cabbage Patch kid. "Not all of them are cute, though."

"This one cries and poops," Derek said as he looked at a lifelike doll that came with a pack of play diapers.

Meredith laughed. "We already have one baby that does that."

"Here's some for Lilly's age group," Derek said, walking a little further down the aisle.

Lilly's smiled at one of the dolls on the shelf, talking to it with her happy babble as she reached her hand for it. Meredith picked up the box containing the doll and held it closer to her, making sure it was the one Lilly seemed interested in. Lilly's smile grew and she gently patted its face with her chubby hand.

"Is this the baby doll you want, peanut?" Meredith asked her.

"Good choice. All soft and snuggly, and it won't spew things at us," Derek pointed out. He shifted Lilly to his hip, and held the doll box with his free hand so Lilly could amuse herself looking at it. "I can't wait to hear what she calls her. Maybe that's what she'll name her daughter, like you with your Lilly doll."

"Hmm, maybe," Meredith smiled. "My Dad said I just came out with the name Lilly one day. I guess I loved it, even when I was a toddler."

"Just goes to show you have good taste in names. Way better than my sister's. Amy had this doll growing up. She named it Gertie. No idea where that name came from. Probably a good thing she has two sons, so she couldn't name them that," he teased.

"Could be worse. I had a stuffed lamb named Kiki when I was little. If future fictitious baby number two is another girl, we could name her that," Meredith suggested.

Derek cringed at the thought. "I think I'd rather name her Gertie."

...

"Okay, we're next," Meredith said with anxious anticipation as they stood in the front of the line to get Lilly's pictures with Santa. She fixed Lilly's hair bow, so her little curls would be visible in the photos, then smoothed out the front of her green dress. "Do you think she'll freak out? I don't want her to get scared."

"Nah, it's only for a few minutes. We'll stay where she can see us," Derek said in an attempt to soothe Meredith's worries. "Right, Lilly? You're tough. You're not afraid of Santa."

"Okay, you can come on up," said the cheerful college-aged girl in an elf costume. She stepped aside so they could walk toward Santa in his oversized chair, the bells on her shoes jingling with each movement.

The jolly mall Santa waved at Lilly with his white gloves. "Ho ho ho! Who do we have here?" he asked.

"This is Lilly," Derek said, holding his breath as he sat Lilly down on Santa's lap.

"Hi there, Lilly. It's so nice to meet you," Santa said as he bounced Lilly on his knee. "First visit?"

"It is. We're a little nervous," Meredith admitted.

Mall Santa smiled warmly. "Oh, there's nothing to be nervous about. We'll just take some pictures. How's that sound, Lilly?"

"We'll be right over here, Princess," Derek said as he and Meredith slowly backed away toward the photographer who was also dressed like an elf.

Lilly looked between the fat, bearded man in the red suit to her parents, a curious expression on her face as she tried to make sense of the situation. The photographer elf held up a teddy bear with jingle bells around its neck and shook it from side to side, so Lilly would look at the camera. But Lilly had no interest in the bear, keeping her eyes on her mom and dad instead.

"Make her laugh," Meredith murmured to Derek, keeping her smile on with the hope that Lilly would mirror it.

Derek quickly went into action, making his reliable funny faces that always made Lilly happy. Lilly broke out in a fit of delighted giggles, giving one of her big, gummy smiles to the camera, and the photographer snapped the picture.

"Good girl!" Meredith cheered, clapping her hands in praise. "Keep doing it. It's working."

"Lilly, look at Daddy!" Derek called out before making a fish face at her.

The smile stayed on Lilly's face, and Meredith was determined to keep up the momentum by throwing peek-a-boo into the mix. She put her hands over her face for a few seconds to build the suspense, then pulled them away. "Peek-a-boo!" she shouted softly.

The photographer managed to take three more pictures during the round of entertainment, but just when she was about to take another, Lilly decided she'd had enough, and her lower lip quivered.

"Crap," Meredith whispered.

"Look at the face she's making," Derek couldn't help but laugh at his daughter's expense. "Can you get a picture of that?" he asked the photographer.

"Sure," the woman said, taking another photo of Lilly. "That's what parents call the post-smile, pre-meltdown shot."

Meredith rolled her eyes playfully, amused by Derek's request. "Okay, I think Lilly's finished," she said, walking over to mall Santa. "We got some great pictures. Thank you."

"My pleasure. You have a very Merry Christmas. I'll be sure to bring you lots of presents," he said as he handed her to Meredith.

Lilly sniffled back tears, the pending crying fit averted when she was back in the safety of her mother's arms. Meredith ran a soothing hand down Lilly's back. "Say bye-bye," she said, waving the baby's hand.

"Bye, Lilly," Santa waved back cheerfully.

Meredith walked toward the kiosk where Derek was already sneaking a peek at Lilly's pictures. He smiled when he saw her approaching. "Mer, you've got to see these."

She looked at the computer screen, her eyes scanning the photos, and she smiled, too. "Wow, they're all so cute."

"I know," Derek said, studying each one closely. "I think her smile in the fourth picture is the biggest. That was during our fish face, peek-a-boo combo. We pulled out all the stops for that smile."

"That's my favorite, too. You can really see her curls in that one."

"We get to choose two prints. I say we get that one and the pouty one. It's adorable," Derek grinned.

Meredith laughed, rocking her hips from side to side when she felt Lilly rest her head on her chest. "It really is. I love it," she said. "Although, I think Lilly probably has a different opinion."

"You did so good, Lilly. We got such nice pictures of you," he told her, ticking her belly lightly with his finger. "Wanna go with those two, then?"

"Yeah."

Lilly scrunched her nose at Derek as though she disapproved, and he chuckled at her always impeccable timing. "I know. We embarrass you, don't we? But I promise, you'll thank us one day."

...

It was almost six o'clock when they arrived at Mark and Bridget's house, Lilly much happier after changing out of her dress and being finished dealing with Santa pictures until next year. She stretched her tiny fingers in her mittens as they walked up the steps to the front door, wondering how she could free them in order to suck her thumb.

Meredith laughed when she noticed, and kissed the top of her hat-covered head. "We'll take them off in one minute, sweetpea," she promised.

Before Derek could knock, Mark had already opened the front door, stepping aside so they could enter. "Hey," he greeted, before reaching for Lilly. "Hi, beautiful." He pulled off Lilly's hat, coat, then mittens, and her thumb immediately found its way to her mouth. "How'd it go with Santa?"

Meredith shrugged off her coat and handed it to Derek, who put it on one of the wall hooks. "Good, actually. She was all smiles until the end; then she was over the whole thing. We got a happy one and a pouty one. I have copies for you guys in my bag."

"Naughty and nice?" Mark joked.

"That's a good way to put it," Derek said.

"Hey, you guys. Thanks for coming. Hi, Lilly. I missed you," Bridget said, stealing Lilly away from Mark so she could have a turn holding her. "Dinner is ready, and after we eat, Lilly has a few presents to open."

Meredith saw a pile of presents with Lilly's name on the tags, and she shook her head. "Bridge, I'm gonna kill you," she scolded playfully.

"Oh, it's not that much. I always go overboard for my nieces every year, and Lilly is my niece, too," Bridget said as they walked into the dining room. "I hope you're hungry."

"I'm sure they worked up quite an appetite after this morning. I got to listen to the soundtrack to their sex life," Mark said.

Derek took his seat at the table next to Meredith. "I should've known you were gonna bring that up again," he said.

"It's like live action porn," Mark upheld. "Don't get me wrong; it's hot. Just... disturbing. And kind of disruptive, especially after an hour."

"Hey, they have a baby. I say do it when you can, where you can," Bridget said, holding up her glass in support.

Meredith tapped her glass against Bridget's. "Exactly. Thank you," she said. She took a sip of her water, then reached for Lilly. "Come here, peanut. We'll feed you. Derek, can you get her bag? I packed applesauce for her."

"Sure," Derek said, getting up from his chair.

"She suffers through Santa pictures, and all she gets is applesauce? Poor kid," Mark teased as he scooped some pasta onto his plate.

Meredith laughed. "She loves applesauce. Definitely more than she loves Santa; but she'll love the presents he's going to bring her."

"Santa spent half his paycheck on those presents," Derek chimed in as he walked back into the room with Lilly's bag. "We may have gone a little overboard."

"Plus, the presents from you guys, Derek's whole family, my family, and all of our friends. We might need to have a second baby sooner rather than later, so she'll have a playmate to get use out of all of them," Meredith said, fastening Lilly's bib.

"If you're looking, we might have the perfect baby for that," Mark said.

Derek peeled off the lid to Lilly's applesauce, then dipped the infant spoon into it. "Oh, yeah? Who's that?" he asked interestedly.

Bridget took Mark's hand and smiled. "Ours."

Both Meredith and Derek looked up from Lilly as they began feeding her. "What?" Meredith said.

"We did it. We made a baby," Mark said with a grin that reached his eyes.

"Oh my God!" Meredith gasped, eyes wide in surprise.

Derek gave Mark a celebratory clap on the back. "Congratulations!" he said. "We're so thrilled for you guys. Hear that, Lilly? You're gonna have a cousin."

"We had our first appointment yesterday. I'm six weeks pregnant," Bridget said.

Meredith smiled, her mind flooding with memories of when she and Derek found out she was pregnant. She knew the happiness and the relief she felt when it finally happened, and it's a feeling she cherished, one she'd never forget. "Wow," she whispered. "Six weeks. So that means when you and I talked on Thanksgiving..."

"I was already pregnant, but didn't know it yet," Bridget finished, laughing slightly. "Here I was, worrying it wasn't going to happen, and there was a baby inside me the whole time."

"See? I told you," Meredith said, wiping under her eyes with her shirtsleeve.

"I'm still kind of in shock. When we got back from New York after Thanksgiving, I started feeling run down. I just chalked it up to jet lag from the trip; and there's always colds and stomach bugs spreading around in my class, so I figured I picked something up from one of my kindergartners. But then I was late so I—" Bridget explained before blushing. "Sorry, Derek. I know this is TMI."

Derek chuckled, shaking his head. "Believe me, I've seen and heard it all with Mer, and watched her give birth. Nothing fazes me," he assured her as he fed Lilly a spoonful of applesauce.

"It's true. And once you have a baby, all modesty goes out the window. Derek and I say the word 'poop' a hundred times a day. That'll be you guys in a few months," Meredith said.

"Looking forward to it," Mark joked.

"So then I told Mark, and he convinced me to take a test. And sure enough, we got the plus sign," Bridget said.

"That's the most incredible feeling," Derek smiled, leaning over and kissing Lilly's forehead. "And it only gets better."

"We got our first sonogram this week and saw the heartbeat. It still feels surreal," Bridget replied, her hand already drawn to her stomach. "Dr. Halloran said the baby looks healthy. We don't want to make the big announcement until at least January. No one knows except my immediate family. And we consider you guys family, so we had to tell you, too."

"I'm so glad you told us. Now we can start spoiling yours like you spoil Lilly," Meredith said. "So when's your due date?"

"July 21st," Mark said.

"Summer baby, huh? If he or she holds out eight extra days, Mer and the baby could share July 29th as a birthday," Derek said. "Think you're gonna find out the sex?"

"We haven't decided. I wanna be surprised, but Bridget wants to find out," Mark said, biting into a breadstick. "I'm sure I'll cave and she'll win."

"Derek and I didn't decide to find out until the night before, and even then, all Lilly showed us was her tiny butt at the appointment. We got twenty-four extra hours of suspense," Meredith giggled as she wiped Lilly's chin with her bib.

"Ours doesn't have a butt to show us yet, but we do have pictures. Want to see?" Bridget asked, not waiting for a response before she hurried into the living room to get them. She returned within seconds holding the small stack, and handed them to Meredith. "Here you go. I know we're biased, but he or she is pretty adorable."

"Cutest little blob you've ever seen," Mark boasted, looking to Lilly. "Tied with you, of course. You were a damn cute blob yourself."

Meredith hugged Lilly closer and smiled. "Yes, she was," she said. She set the pile down on the table and looked at the one on top. A tiny, blobby human in a sea of black, just what Lilly's first baby pictures looked like. "Oh, you guys made a beautiful baby."

"Really did," Derek complimented, flipping to the next picture. "Crazy, isn't it? How something so little can already be so perfect?"

"Yeah," Bridget said softly as Mark wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

Mark grinned. "That baby already looks like a Sloan."

Derek held up the sonogram picture and glanced back and forth between it and Mark. "You're right. The resemblance is uncanny," he joked.

"Isn't it?" Mark agreed.

"I can't wait until I'm further along, so we can really see the baby's face in the 3-D pictures. I remember when you showed us Lilly's, I couldn't believe how clear they were," Bridget said.

"That's how we found out Lilly was a thumb sucker. She used Mer's placenta as a pillow and just lounged around sucking her thumb all day," Derek said, wiggling the spoon out of Lilly's mouth after she bit down on it.

"Placenta pillow," Mark echoed. "Sounds comfy."

Meredith laughed, twirling some pasta on her fork with one hand, the other holding Lilly steady on her lap. "Yeah, I think that's why Lilly decided to camp out an extra seven days. Apparently, being inside me is quite nice."

"Well, if this morning is any indication, Derek sure thinks so," Mark smirked, still exercising his right to revenge after having to listen to them going at it earlier today.

Meredith cocked her head at him, her attention pulled from the sonogram pictures. "Seriously? Still?"

"Oh, come on. You walked right into that one," Mark pointed out.

Derek kissed her cheek in sympathy. "You kinda did, Mer."