144. Derek's Birthday

Disclaimer: Shonda owns Grey's. Nursing school owns me. I own nothing.

Sorry for the very long wait! Enjoy!

Derek stretched his tired limbs, sated after a night of pre-birthday celebration sexing that Meredith surprised him with as an early present. He rolled onto his side and smiled when he saw her sound asleep next to him. Years later, and he still loved watching her sleep, soaking in the chance whenever he could.

He wrapped his arm around her hip, pulling her against him. Meredith shuffled beneath the blanket and peeked her eyes open. "Hmm, hey," she said softly. "Happy Birthday."

"Thank you," he whispered, kissing her forehead. "Didn't mean to wake you up. Go back to sleep."

Meredith trailed her hand down his torso, making a slow descent south. "Doesn't the birthday boy want sex?" she asked, stroking him lightly with her fingertips.

"I'm going to need sex if you keep doing that," Derek groaned, blood already being shunted to his groin at her touch.

"Well then." Meredith rolled on top of him, the sheet pooling around her waist, leaving her naked above him. "Maybe I can help you with that."

"What if Lilly..."

Meredith leaned down, pressing her lips to his jawline. "I checked on her an hour ago when I got up to pee. She's still happy as a clam, sound asleep in her crib."

"Slept through the night in the crib again," Derek said.

"I know. Two weeks in a row," Meredith smiled with both pride for her daughter, and gratitude for her sex life. "Which is why you and I haven't been sleeping through the night."

Derek chuckled, his hands roaming on her thighs. "Hmm, for fun reasons."

"Very fun," she said, moaning when she felt his fingers right where she wanted them. "You're really making your birthday happy for me, too."

"We did all my favorite things last night. It's the least I can do," he smirked.

"Your favorite things also happen to be my favorite things. Trust me, I was happy to do it. Or if we're being technical, do you," Meredith said, grinding her pelvis into his. "How do you want me, Derek?"

Derek easily flipped them over, so he was on top, then combed his fingers through her hair. "You did a lot of work last night. I'll give you a break," he said, curling his arms under her shoulders.

She bit her lip in anticipation when she felt him hard and throbbing, pressing against her. "Wow, someone's ready," she giggled.

"When it comes to you? Always."

And after their long, lazy round of morning sex under their cocoon of blankets, Derek rested his head on her chest as they caught their breaths, Meredith's heart thudding against his ear. "God, I love you," he panted.

Meredith kissed his forehead, smiling against his skin. "Love you, too."

"This is the best birthday ever."

"Your first birthday with Lilly here," Meredith said.

"I know. That's why I'm really tempted to call out of work today," Derek chuckled, finally rolling off of her and onto his back.

Meredith leaned into him and draped her arm over his torso. "Good thing you don't have work today, then."

"I have follow-ups scheduled from eleven to three," Derek said, narrowing his eyes at her. "Did you get me the day off?"

"Maybe."

"Wait, how?" he asked.

"I rescheduled the follow-ups for yesterday, skipped lunch, and Nelson took over the brain biopsies I was supposed to do. I wanted to get everything done, so you wouldn't have to go in," Meredith shrugged.

Derek stared at her and smiled, in quiet awe of the gesture. "Did you really?"

"I did," she said. "Which means we can do whatever you want... and keep in mind, we have a baby now, so we can't stay in bed and have sex all day like we did last year."

"Last year, you were seven months pregnant. The 'sex all day' thing was your idea," he reminded her.

"And if your sperm do their job, I'll be pregnant again on your next birthday," Meredith said.

A grin came over Derek's face that reached his eyes. "I hope so."

"Me, too," she said softly, kissing him before sitting up. "Okay, let's go wake Lilly up. I need to kiss our already existing baby, so I don't let you knock me up with another one today."

Derek laughed as he swung his legs over the side of the bed, walking toward his dresser. "What are we doing instead, then?" he asked, putting on a pair of boxers.

Meredith sighed as her favorite part of him became concealed by clothing. "It's your birthday. Up to you," she said as she, too, got dressed.

"If it's warm enough, maybe we could walk over to the clearing by the water and eat lunch. Lilly could splash her toes in the water. Charlie could run around," Derek suggested, slipping a tee shirt over his head.

"I'd like that," Meredith said.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. We've never had Lilly out at the water before. It'll be fun," she smiled, the two of them walking out into the hall toward Lilly's nursery. "Besides, I've been looking for an excuse for her to wear her sunglasses. Once summer comes, I'm breaking out her bikinis, too."

Derek sighed. "Oh, jeez. I forgot about those."

"What? It's not like she's wearing a thong, or has boobs to fill out the top," Meredith pointed out. "If it makes you feel better, I'll wear mine, too."

"Hmm, that would make me feel better."

"Okay, then," she said. She opened Lilly's door and they both stopped when they saw her standing up, holding onto the crib rail as though she were waiting for them.

"Mama Da!" Lilly greeted them, reaching out her arms.

Derek picked her up and hugged her to him. "Morning, Princess. Just hanging out in here?"

"I think someone actually likes her crib now," Meredith said before pressing kisses to Lilly's cheek. "Either that, or she's just pumped that it's Dada's birthday. Right, Lillybug?"

Lilly nuzzled her face into Derek's chest and smiled. "A dada," she said, bouncing in his arm.

"Yeah. And we can eat some of the banana ice cream we made later on, too. How's that sound?" Derek said.

"When did you guys make ice cream?" Meredith asked as she took a fresh diaper from the stack on the dresser.

"Yesterday when you were at work, getting me the day off," Derek chuckled, laying Lilly down on the changing table. "I found it in the baby recipe book Liz sent us. Sugar free and full of all this natural stuff. We taste-tested it. It's pretty good, actually."

"Ma, nanas," Lilly chatted, looking up at Meredith.

"You are so smart. Do you know that?" Meredith asked her.

Derek watched the exchange as he changed Lilly's diaper, smiling at the two of them. Before moving to Seattle, his own birthday didn't mean much to him. Another year older, another day on the calendar. But now, he couldn't imagine spending it with anyone else. "I really owe you for the day off. Thank you, Mer," he said.

Meredith reached for a bow from Lilly's bin of hair supplies. "You can make it up to me tonight."

"Oh, yeah? How?"

"I'd rather not say in front of our daughter," Meredith said, raising her eyebrows at him.

Derek laughed. "That's all I need to know, then."

...

Lilly held her parents' fingers in her tiny hands as she walked in her sandals on the grass. She was minutes away from walking on her own, as much as Meredith and Derek just wanted her to stay little. She giggled when she felt the grass tickle her toes, and the happy sound made them smile.

"Well, it was a fifty-fifty chance, but by some stroke of luck, Lilly inherited my nature-loving gene," Derek said proudly.

"Hey, I like nature," Meredith defended. "I agreed to move to the wilderness with you, didn't I?"

"Yes, you did. And I'm still wondering how I managed that one," he teased, both of them stopping when Lilly knelt down.

She plucked a dandelion from the grass and handed it to Derek. "Fa, Dada," she offered.

"Thank you, Princess," Derek praised her. "Hey, what about Mommy?"

Lilly pulled another of the wispy, white flowers, holding it up to Meredith. "Fa, Mama."

"Thank you, peanut. I love it," Meredith said. "How about we sit here, so you can pick all the flowers you want?"

"Yeah, this is good. We can walk up to the water after we eat," Derek agreed.

He knelt down next to Lilly and pulled the blanket from the bag he'd been holding, shaking it out. Meredith grabbed the other side and they smoothed it over the grass. Derek placed Lilly close to the edge, so she would have access to her small patch of flowers, then Charlie sprawled out behind her, always the protective big brother.

"Good boy," Meredith said, ruffling his fur with her hand. She took off her shoes and Lilly's, both of them stretching their toes. "This is the life, isn't it, Lillybug?"

Derek sat down on the other side, so Lilly was between them. "Sleeping in, morning S-E-X, warm, sunny day with my favorite girls. Nothing better," he said, pressing a kiss to the top of Lilly's head, covered in ringlets of curls. "Her hair's getting a little lighter. I think she's gonna have your color when she gets older."

Meredith combed her fingers through Lilly's hair and smiled. "It does look lighter in the sun," she said. "See? There is some Grey in her."

"Good. She can keep Mark Sloan Jr. in line," Derek chuckled.

Meredith reached for the bag of food sitting behind them, quickly turning her head. "So it's a boy?" she asked in surprise.

"Oh, I don't know. The kid still won't give them a 'between the legs' shot at any ultrasound, which sounds like some kind of prank Mark would pull, so it probably is a boy. I'm just saying, Lilly can be a ballsy, badass blonde like you."

"Dirty blonde," she corrected him.

Derek smirked, taking the sandwich she handed him. "Yes, I'm aware your dirtiness," he said. "Big fan, actually."

"Good."

"Dududs!" Lilly squealed, pointing the water in front of them.

They both looked to where Lilly was pointing and saw a small family of ducks in the shallow water. "You see the duckies, Lillybug?" Meredith asked.

Lilly wiggled her tiny bottom in excitement as she watched the ducks swim by, lined up in a row, and Derek scooped her onto his lap, so she could see them better. "Yeah. There's one, two, three, four baby ducks, and the one in the front is the mommy duck," Derek told her.

"Ma dud," Lilly repeated.

"That's right. Aren't they cute?" Derek said.

Meredith pulled her phone from her pocket and hit the camera button. "Lilly, smile for Mommy," she said once the ducks swam away, so Lilly would be willing to look at her without distraction.

Derek pressed his cheek against Lilly's, the tickle of his stubble on her skin making her laugh. Meredith snapped the picture of the two of them smiling, immediately saving it to her phone. "Okay, I take back the Grey comment. She looks like your clone in this," Meredith said, handing her phone to him.

Derek grinned when he saw it, both of them cheesing it up for the camera, matching curly hair and blue eyes. "God, she's beautiful. I may have said this before, but seriously, who needs work? I say we quit and make babies full time," he joked.

"We're very good baby makers," Meredith said, taking Lilly when she reached her chubby arms out.

"Well, we're getting lots more practice, now that Lilly sleeps in her big girl crib," Derek said. "Not to mention all of the practice we get at work. Faking urgent consults was a great idea, by the way."

"Sometimes, I just need to get laid... urgently. And frequently. Especially when I'm bored and have twenty minutes to kill," Meredith said before taking a bite of her own sandwich. "If we had work today, there would have been an urgent birthday consult in the on-call room."

"That's okay. You made it up to me this morning," he smirked.

"And I'm not done. Bendy thing, counter top, you name it," Meredith said, spooning some puréed peaches into Lilly's mouth.

"Really?"

"Really."

Lilly clapped her hands as she chewed her peaches, opening her mouth for more as soon as she swallowed. "Is it yummy?" Derek asked her.

"Mmm," Lilly smiled.

"So, what did you want to do tonight? Izzie's been begging to watch Lilly for weeks, so if you wanted to, you and I could go out somewhere. We could be home before the Yankees-Seahawks pre-season game thing comes on, and you could open your gifts," Meredith suggested.

Derek broke off a piece of his sandwich and tossed it to Charlie. "Sure, sounds good," he said. "How about it, Lilly? Want to spend some time with Aunt Izzie tonight?"

"Zee," Lilly echoed, happily accepting the Cheerio Meredith handed her.

"Okay. I'll call her and let her know you're on board with that, peanut," Meredith said. She smiled when Lilly took a break from her lunch to continue picking the clustering of flowers at the edge of the blanket, her tiny hands gripping the stems before pulling them out with gusto. "Remember when we came out here the morning after you first showed me the land?"

"Hmm, yeah. I think we sat right around here, actually. Did we sleep at all the night before?" Derek chuckled.

"Maybe a catnap or two between the many rounds of trailer-rocking sex," Meredith recalled, shuffling over on the blanket to lean into him. "And I wanted to see the mist rise off the water at sunrise."

Derek wrapped his arm around her shoulder. "I remember. We gathered up the blankets off the bed, and trekked out here."

"And we split a cinnamon raisin bagel and that travel mug of coffee," Meredith added.

"God, I can't believe that was almost six years ago."

"I know," Meredith said. She put her hand on her cheek and kissed him. "I loved you way before that night."

"I loved you, too."

Lilly crawled back to them with a small bouquet of flowers squished in her hand, and she dropped them on the blanket. "Mama Da," she offered, wiggling her way between the two of them.

"More flowers? How did we get lucky enough to make the cutest, most generous baby there is?" Derek asked.

"I love how she squishes our names together, like we're one person," Meredith giggled, cleaning off Lilly's hands with a wipe. "Lilly, where's Mama Da?"

Lilly pointed to both of them and smiled. "Mama Da," she said simply before turning her attention to the Cheerio Derek gave her. "Duds?"

"I think the duckies went home, Lilly," Meredith told her. "Do you want to take a walk down to the water, so you can splash your toes?" she asked, tickling the sole of Lilly's bare foot.

Lilly shrieked with laughter as she pulled her foot away, then tried to stand up on her own, only to land with a soft thud onto her bottom. "Almost got it. A little more practice," Derek said.

He and Meredith each took one of Lilly's hands and helped her stand up. Once she found her footing, she started toddling toward the water, her parents walking on either side of her. "Seriously, who needs the beach when we've got all this to ourselves?" Meredith said.

"Lilly's a fan," Derek said, their daughter fascinated by the feel of the squishy, sandy mud between her toes as they reached the water.

Meredith gasped slightly when the water rose an inch or two over their feet, and she stepped back. "Ooh. Cold!"

"Clearly, you've never been fly fishing in November," Derek teased her, unfazed by the temperature. Lilly fussed when the water hit her feet, and her lower lip pouted out, always a sign of pending crying. Before it escalated, Derek quickly scooped her up and held her in his arm. "You, too? I need to take both of you fly fishing."

"Not a chance."

"Oh, come on. It's way more fun than fishing off the dock," Derek said.

"Yeah, but we can have sex on the dock," she pointed out. "Can't have sex in rubber suspenders in the middle of a lake."

"Are you mocking my rubber suspenders?"

"Yes. But I admit, you still look hot in them, so I can deal with it."

"Hmm, I don't know what you got me for my birthday, but I think Lilly and I know what to get for yours," Derek hinted.

Meredith laughed, fixing Lilly's sunglasses. "Derek Shepherd, don't you dare get me a pair of those things."

...

Izzie bounced Lilly on her hip as she rummaged through Meredith and Derek's kitchen cabinets in search of baking supplies. She thought she may have hit the jackpot when she discovered the cookie jar from the old house, and she took it from the shelf.

"Let's see what we've got," Izzie said, taking off the lid. She peered inside, and all she could do was roll her eyes. "Seriously, they still stock condoms in this thing?"

"Hey," Meredith said as she entered the kitchen with a bath towel and a pair of Lilly's pajamas. She noticed the open cookie jar on the counter and a blush came over her cheeks. "Oops, forgot about those."

"You've still got the glow-in-the-dark ones? When's the last time you looked in here?" Izzie asked in amusement, taking one out.

Meredith set the towel and pajamas on the counter next to the cookie jar, jogging her memory for the last kitchen quickie that would have required a condom from their stash. "Um... we haven't even used condoms in almost two years, so they're at least that old," she said.

Lilly took the condom packet from Izzie and flipped it from front to back in curiosity, just as Derek walked into the kitchen, and he froze in his tracks. "Why is my daughter holding a condom?" he asked.

"I think she likes the neon green wrapper," Meredith said. "Wait, were you going to bake something? Is that why all the cabinet doors are open?"

"I don't see a birthday cake for Derek, so I figured while you two went out, Lilly and I could make one," Izzie explained.

"You don't have to do that, Iz. Lilly's too young for cake anyway, so Derek and I were just planning to split a dessert at whatever restaurant we go to," Meredith replied, gently prying the condom out of Lilly's hand.

"Well, then you can eat it during the week. I already promised Lilly a baking lesson. Besides, now you can sing to him," Izzie upheld.

"Fine, go for it," Meredith said in resignation. "Okay, so here's Lilly's bath stuff. You don't have to give her a bath, but if you get bored or if she gets fussy, it usually does the trick. Oh, and she's a pretty fast crawler, so if you turn your back for five seconds, there's a very good chance she's already in another room. She cruises the furniture, too."

"Diapers are in the bin under the end table. Bottles get heated for twenty seconds. She likes to eat Cheerios when she watches Doc McStuffins. Got it," Izzie finished for her, kissing the baby's chubby cheek. "Tell your parents to go have fun."

"Okay, okay. We're leaving," Meredith promised as she stole Lilly away for a goodbye kiss.

"Thanks again, Stevens. We really appreciate this," Derek said sincerely as they walked into the living room toward the foyer.

"It's no problem. Alex is on call tonight anyway, so there's nothing more I'd rather do than hang out with my Lilly. Just go out and have a good time. Joe's, a fancy restaurant; hell, go back to the old house and have some sex, if that floats your boat," Izzie shrugged. "Oh, but if you do, just don't do it in my bed, because that would be weird."

Meredith laughed, handing Lilly to Derek, so he could give her a kiss, too. "Okay, you got it," she played along.

"We love you. See you in a little while, Lillybug," Derek said before kissing Lilly's forehead and handing her back to Izzie.

"Can you wave bye-bye?" Izzie asked.

"She can do you one better. Lilly, blow kisses," Meredith said, doing it first, so Lilly would mimic her.

Lilly sloppily kissed her palm, then outstretched her arm like they taught her. "Muah!" she returned, smiling at both her parents.

"Jeez, smart cookie," Izzie praised her.

"She's a genius," Meredith agreed as she opened the front door. "Oh, and speaking of cookies, you know how there were condoms in the jar? I think there's some in the end table drawer, too. So, you know, you may not want to open it."

"Thanks for the heads up," Izzie said. "Take your time, and have fun."

"Okay. Bye, Princess. Be good," Derek waved, closing the door behind him after he and Meredith walked outside. "A few rare hours to ourselves. Where do you wanna go?"

Meredith shrugged, slipping into the passenger seat of the car. "Doesn't matter to me," she said. "Joe's?"

"The game's coming on in a few hours. It'll probably be crowded," Derek said, both of them pulling on their seat belts. He put the key into the ignition and started backing out of the driveway. "Canto?"

"No reservation."

"Oh. Forgot about that. Uh... IHOP?" he suggested. Meredith glanced over at him with raised eyebrows, and he laughed. "I'm kidding," he said. "We should just go to a hotel. Order up room service, have some sex."

"Or..."

"Or?" Derek echoed.

"Or we could take Iz up on her offer," Meredith said, smiling when Derek raised his eyebrows at her this time. "What?"

"You're serious?" he asked.

Meredith shrugged. "Why not? It's like a hotel, only it's free, and the food is better."

"Well, when you put it like that," Derek agreed. "Do you still have the key?"

"Yep." Meredith pulled her keys from her bag and reached for the one that opened the front door of the old house. "So, what do you say? Wanna go have some hot sex?"

Derek grinned as they finally drove off their land, and he started heading in the direction of the house where they once lived. "This birthday just keeps getting better."

It didn't take long before they arrived at Alex and Izzie's house, and within thirty seconds of entering through the front door, Meredith was already kicking off her boots. Derek watched in amusement as she began to unzip her jeans. "Wow. Not wasting any time, huh?"

"Nope. Get naked."

He put his hands on her ass and easily picked her up. "Let's at least move away from the full glass door, then."

"Good thinking," Meredith said, wrapping her legs around his waist before kissing him. "This seems slightly familiar."

"Hmm, what?" he murmured against her lips.

"You carrying me into the living room, having more orgasms than I can count, and me waking up naked on the couch the next morning before I kicked you out," she said, her hands nimbly working to undo the buttons on his shirt. "Don't worry. I won't kick you out this time."

"I'd hope not, since we don't even live here anymore," Derek smirked, setting her on the couch.

"True." Meredith flung her shirt off to the side, then shook out the blanket draped over the back of the couch. She smoothed it out on the floor and dropped some pillows on top. "There. Not as good as a mattress, but it'll do."

Derek laughed, tossing his shirt next to hers. "You're sure Stevens was serious about this, right?" he said, though any fleeting worry he had was derailed completely when Meredith reached around and unhooked her bra.

"Even if she wasn't, would you want to stop?" Meredith asked as she shimmied out of her jeans and panties at the same time.

Derek tracked her body from head to toe, his smile growing when she pulled him down onto the floor next to her. "No," he answered.

"Good. Me either," she said, both of them working as fast as they could to remove the bottom half of his clothing. When he was finally naked, too, she pulled him on top of her.

Meredith gripped the blanket beneath her when she felt him push inside her. "Derek!" she gasped.

"Damn it. Meredith," he sighed, the feel of her enough to send shivers through him. He leaned down and nibbled at the skin on her neck, a secret spot he'd found years ago, one that drove her crazy every time.

She smiled at the tickle of his stubble on her skin combined with the feeling of him inside her, igniting every nerve ending she had. "Hmm, Derek."

"Harder?" he asked, not waiting for her to respond because he already knew the answer.

Meredith cupped his cheeks in her hands to kiss him. "Mmm, yes," she moaned. She clenched around him, retaliating with something she knew drove him crazy.

Derek groaned deep in his throat, her muscles gripping him so hard he could barely move. "Evil," he choked out.

Meredith wrapped her legs around his waist to pull him even deeper inside her. "I happen to think giving you lots of dirty sex is very, very nice."

"Hmm, how's this for nice?" Derek said, slipping his hand between them to rub her with the pad of his thumb.

Her toes curled in pleasure and she arched her back. "Ahh!" she hissed. "Keep doing that."

When she released her hold on him, Derek started pistoning in and out, and Meredith held onto his shoulders for leverage. They still had plenty of time for long and languid later in their own bed, because once they picked up the rhythm, slowing down was almost an impossibility. They continued for as long as they could hold on, their breaths becoming more rapid with each passing minute.

"Close?" he asked, kissing her clavicle, his lips moving to her breasts.

"Very," Meredith moaned.

All it took was one thrust, and she was a goner. She tugged her fingers through his hair, riding out wave after wave of her orgasm. The sensation of her spasming around him was more than Derek could handle, and he buried his face in her neck as he felt his own release rocketing through him.

For minutes afterward, they laid there in silence as they recovered. Memories of their first night together made Meredith smile, and she ran her fingers through his hair. "Even after all these years, living room floor sex never gets old."

Derek laughed, the vibration of the sound tickling her chest. "Sex with you never gets old, no matter where it is," he said. He wrapped his arms under her shoulders, pulling her on top of him. "This really is the best birthday ever."

"Good," she whispered, rocking her hips back and forth, ready for round two.

Derek felt himself begin to harden as she moved above him. "Wanna go again?" he asked.

"I suppose so," Meredith said nonchalantly, reaching behind her and gently tugging, which was ranked in the top five on his list of favorite things. "But only if you make me pancakes after."

He blinked up at the ceiling as he tried to comprehend what she'd just said, his mind only able to focus on what her hand was currently doing to him. "I... what?"

"Pancakes," she repeated, giggling at the blank look he gave her. "Ever since you mentioned IHOP, I could really go for some."

"Huh? Oh, pancakes. Yeah," Derek sputtered. At this point, he'd fly her to freaking Paris for dinner if that's what she wanted, anything to relieve the ache zinging through him.

Meredith decided to stop teasing and she sank down on top of him, smiling coyly in satisfaction at the look of bliss that came over his face. "Just so you know, I expect sneaky, dirty sex on my birthday."

"Yes, dear."