149. Lilly's First Birthday

Disclaimer: I don't own Grey's. But I do co-parent Lilly with Meredith and Derek, and because this is her first birthday chapter, writing it made me more emotional than I'd like to admit. My baby is growing up! Anyway, enjoy!

They had prepared themselves for this day for a year, but that still didn't make it any less bittersweet when the day finally arrived. It was June 5th, Lilly's first birthday. And as they stood over her crib, it was almost impossible to fathom just how fast the last twelve months had gone by.

Lilly lay sleeping in her Finding Nemo pajamas with her favorite doll, whom she'd affectionately named "Bay," cuddled in her arm while she sucked her thumb. Her dark hair was a wild mess of curls, and her little belly rose and fell with each breath she took.

Derek wrapped his arm around Meredith's shoulder, kissing her temple. "God, she's beautiful," he said softly.

Meredith smiled at her daughter, who scrunched her nose in her sleep. "Yeah, she is. I can't believe she's one. Or, you know, will be at 3:47 this afternoon."

"I remember the second she came out. There's no other moment in my life that can even begin to compare to it," Derek said.

Meredith sniffled, bumping him with her elbow. "I'm already a mess, and you're not helping," she managed to laugh.

"Sorry," he chuckled. "Still true, though."

Lilly's eyelids fluttered as she woke up, and she stretched her tiny limbs in all directions. When she saw her parents standing over her crib, the smile on her face was immediate. "Mama Da!" she said in delight.

"Good morning, Lillybug," Meredith said, leaning over the crib to pick her up. She held Lilly close and pressed kisses to her cheek. "Happy birthday, baby girl."

"How's it feel to be one, Princess? Do you feel sophisticated?" he joked, getting in a few kisses of his own.

"One," Lilly said.

"That's right; you're one. The most eloquent one year old I've ever known," Derek praised her.

Meredith bounced Lilly in her arm, walking her over to the changing table. "That's because you're so smart. And you're going to look so pretty for your party today in the purple princess tutu Grandma sent you all the way from New York," she said as she changed her diaper.

"Gotta say, I never thought I'd hear you get excited over a purple princess tutu," Derek admitted.

"Me either. But she looks so cute in it," Meredith said. She tickled Lilly's belly with her finger. "You made me girly."

"That's okay. The Finding Nemo theme balances out the princess stuff. Lilly, can you say Nemo?" Derek asked.

"Meemo," Lilly echoed easily.

Meredith blinked at her in awe, comb in hand. "Did you seriously just say Nemo?"

Lilly smiled, sitting on the changing table as she waited for Meredith to tame her curls. "Meemo," she said again.

"We watch Nemo at least once a week. Of course you can say it, right Lilly?" Derek said with pride.

"This time last year, I was in labor and you were still in my uterus. 365 days later, you're this smart, funny, beautiful, little genius. How did that happen?" Meredith asked her, distracting herself from tears by concentrating on Lilly's hair.

"Good genes," Derek answered. "Seriously, we could turn baby making into a career."

Meredith laughed, securing a hair tie around Lilly's tiny ponytail. "Hey, as long as you can find a way to house them then push them out, I'm all for it."

...

Lilly looked at herself in the glass door that led out to the back patio, twirling in circles and giggling in delight when her purple tutu flew up. Meredith and Derek watched her as they finished decorating her Nemo cupcakes, so enamored by her laughter that they paid little attention to the frosting and sprinkles.

"I can't even handle her. She's cracking herself up over there," Meredith said.

"Apparently, poofy tutus are very entertaining," Derek teased, crafting his icing Nemo on the cupcake top.

Meredith leaned over the counter to get a look at his handiwork, and she rolled her eyes. "Are you sure you're not a part time pastry chef? Because your cupcakes put mine to shame."

"What do you mean? Yours look good," Derek said as he surveyed her completed row of cupcakes. "Well, this one's eyes look a little scary, but all in all, not bad. Besides, the only thing Lilly cares about is the piñata, which she's too young to smash anyway. Remind me why we bought it again?"

Meredith looked over at Lilly, who was still doing her ballerina spins. "Lillybug, where's Nemo?"

Lilly toddled over to the large, empty piñata sitting on the floor, then knelt down to hug it. "My Meemo," she cooed, as though it were a pet.

"That's why," Meredith answered. "She did the same thing in the party store. I didn't have the willpower to say no."

"I wouldn't have either," Derek admitted. "At least Nemo gives Charlie a break from being used as a pillow and a pony."

Meredith pushed her remaining plate of cupcakes over to him, so she could dump the party snacks into bowls, a task which was more her forté. "He's a good big brother. Aren't you, buddy?" she said, tossing him a chip.

There was a short knock at the front door, and Charlie quickly finished his treat before taking off. "And a good guard dog," Derek added. He picked Lilly up, following Meredith into the living room. "Who's your first party guest, Princess?"

Meredith opened the door when she saw Cristina and Owen standing on the other side, a mountain of gifts stacked so high his face was barely visible. She stepped aside to let them through. "Please tell me all of this isn't for Lilly. She would be just as happy with the boxes and wrapping paper."

"Those are the result of online shopping and a boring night on call," Cristina said, holding her arms out for Lilly. "How's my birthday girl?"

Derek kissed Lilly's cheek, then handed her over to Cristina. "She's pumped for her Nemo party," he said.

Cristina's eyes scanned the living room, covered from floor to ceiling with Finding Nemo decorations. "I thought you were doing an Elmo theme?"

"I'm surprised you remember that," Meredith said, impressed. "We were going to go with Elmo, but then Lilly got a hold of the party catalog, and when she saw the Nemo stuff, she loved it. Her tastes have become more sophisticated over the last few months."

"And the tutu?" Cristina asked.

"Have you seen her? She looks adorable," Derek replied.

"She does. And she works the pigtails better than anyone," Owen added as he set Lilly's presents on the floor in front of the fireplace. "You two did all this decorating yourself?"

"Yeah, Derek and I were up late finishing it all," Meredith said. There was another knock on their door, and she glanced into the foyer. "Come in!" she called out when she saw Mark and Bridget.

The two entered with their own mountain of gifts to add to Lilly's stash, all of which were wrapped in Nemo printed paper. "Hey, thanks for coming," Meredith smiled. "Four guests, and already a dozen gifts. I think someone is spoiled, Lilly."

"Hey, as her godfather, I reserve that privilege," Mark defended. "Even coordinated the gift wrap with the theme."

"You have too much time on your hands," Cristina told him.

"That's what I said. Oh, the presents wrapped in green are from Callie and Arizona. They both had to work today, so they gave Mark their presents yesterday," Bridget said as she peered around the room. "You even have the seagulls. I want a birthday party like this for myself," she joked.

"They're my favorite, too," Meredith said, looking over at her daughter. "Lilly, what do the seagulls say?"

"Mine!" Lilly shouted happily.

Derek grinned with pride and extended his palm. "That's my girl. High five!" he praised. "We've been practicing that."

"Oh my God, she's the cutest baby," Bridget said, glancing down at her belly. "So are you; don't worry."

Lilly wriggled in Cristina's arm in an attempt to be put down, and Cristina complied, setting her on her feet. She quickly walked over to her toy box by the window, and both of her parents knew what was coming.

"Uh oh. She's in her poop corner," Derek said.

"Her what?" Owen asked.

Meredith laughed, kneeling down in front of Lilly to shimmy off her tutu to be safe. "Lilly, tell them what you're doing."

"Poo," Lilly answered. She waited until Meredith was finished taking off her tutu before she turned her attention to the glass window and knelt down, her signal to be left undisturbed.

"She likes privacy, so she goes over there to poop. She's a classy lady," Derek nearly beamed.

"Classy like Mommy," Meredith teased, walking over to the front door when she saw Alex and Izzie walking up the path from the driveway. She opened the front door for them and stepped to the side, making room for Alex's armful of gifts, and Izzie's armful of desserts. "Hi, guys. Lilly would've greeted you, but she's a little preoccupied at the moment. You didn't have to bring all this, by the way. We have plenty of food."

"It's not much. I had this weekend off, so I spent last night making little Nemo inspired treats. A lot of it's made from fruit, so Lilly can eat it, too," Izzie said. "I'm going to go set it all down in the kitchen, then I need to hug my birthday girl."

"Happy birthday, beautiful," Alex said, kissing Lilly's cheek after he added to her quickly growing gift pile.

Lilly gave him a quick smile that told him she wanted to be left alone. "I poo," she explained, returning her attention back to the window.

"Oh, my bad. Carry on," he laughed. "You know this is good blackmail for when she's a teenager, right?"

"I'm already on the verge of an emotional breakdown over the fact that she's one. Talking about her teenage years will break me," Meredith joked, though given her already unstable emotional state, it was only a matter of time before there were tears.

Rather than tempt the waterworks, Derek steered the conversation in a different direction. "There's food and drinks in the kitchen, and the patio is set up outback. We figured we'd take advantage of the sunshine."

Lilly emerged from behind the toy box and walked over to Meredith, holding up her arms. "All finished? Okay, let's get you changed," she said, picking her up. "We'll meet you guys outside in a few minutes."

Derek led everyone into the kitchen while Meredith changed Lilly's diaper, and when Mark saw the Nemo piñata on the floor, he furrowed his brow in curiosity. "That thing is bigger than Lilly. Are we supposed to smash it open with a stick?"

"Unless you want to suffer Lilly's wrath, no," Derek chuckled, as they all took food off the table to take outback. "She saw it at the party store, and now they're inseparable. I swear, if it fit in her crib, she'd want it in there."

"Well, I guess that's a good backup until the next one comes along, right?" Izzie hinted, walking out onto the patio with a tray of cupcakes.

"You mean Mark and Bridget's? Yeah."

Bridget dropped down into one of the chairs, immediately kicking off her flip flops. "I'm pretty sure she's talking about a Shepherd sibling."

"Oh, I know. I was just diverting the topic," Derek said with a grunt as he moved the cooler closer to the table. "The Shepherd sibling is planned, just not actively being made yet. After the boards and Mer starts her fellowship, we're gonna..."

"Get down to business," Mark said, raising a beer in a toast.

"For lack of a better expression, yes," Derek agreed.

Meredith and Lilly walked out onto the patio, George, Lexie, and Laura trailing close behind. "Look who we found at the front door with more presents to add to the collection," Meredith said.

"Hey, thanks for coming," Derek greeted the trio. "Have a seat; help yourself. There's beer and juice boxes in the cooler."

"I'm watching Laura overnight, and George in on call tonight, so no beer for us," Lexie said. "Oh, and Dad will be here later on. UDub graduates today, so as one of the research professors, he was required to attend. But he's going to race over here as soon as it wraps up."

"Okay, good," Meredith said, grateful that he wanted to be included in his granddaughter's birthday.

"Hey, Laur. Thanks for coming to Lilly's party," Derek said, kissing his niece's cheek.

George smiled at Lilly, who was enjoying the small piece of cupcake Meredith gave her. "We couldn't miss the birthday girl's party. You look so pretty, Lilly."

"Pitty," Lilly echoed, licking vanilla frosting off her fingers. She pointed to the fish decorations hanging from the awning and tree branches nearby. "Fishy," she told the group.

"Yeah, lots of fishies. Dada spent many hours decorating the house with fishies last night," Derek chuckled.

"I noticed the sliding glass doors have the fish tank fish from the dentist office on them. Very clever," Bridget complimented, peeling the paper off one of the Nemo cupcakes.

"That was Mer's idea. Good, right?" Derek said in agreement.

Cristina looked over at her friend in disbelief. "You?"

"Well, it's hard not to come up with ideas when I've literally watched the movie at least a hundred times. I could probably quote the entire thing from start to finish at this point," Meredith shrugged, smoothing her fingers through Lilly's pigtails. "Some residents study for their boards; I watch Finding Nemo with Derek and Lilly, and we share Cheerios."

Lilly finished her snack, eager to play with Laura on the grass. "Pay?" she asked, looking up at Meredith.

"You want to go play?" Meredith asked. She took off Lilly's sandals, then set her on the grass. "Have fun, Lillybug. We have the little blow-up pool, too. If you girls want to go in, just let me know, okay?" she told Laura.

"Okay," Laura nodded, taking Lilly's hand. The two walked over to the small playhouse a few feet away, and Meredith bit her lip, willing herself to keep the tears at bay.

Derek squeezed her hand under the table, and once again tried to take her mind off Lilly's new found one year old maturity. "In between Nemo and Cheerios, we've had a few intense study sessions," he reminded her.

Izzie winced as she got an inkling of what that meant. "For some reason, I imagine that involves something vaguely porny."

"Oh, not vaguely," Meredith countered. "If you want, I'll let you in on how I memorized the steps to a corpus callosotomy. Hint: I was on all fours at the time."

Owen shook his head and took a swig of his beer. "I... have no comment for that."

Derek managed a smile, despite the crimson color of his cheeks. "Okay, who wants pizza?"

...

Tiny drops of water beaded on Meredith's legs as Lilly splashed her hands on the surface of the pool. She wore her orange, polka dot bikini that showed off her rounded belly and dumped a cup of water onto her mom's feet.

"Thank you, peanut," Meredith said, sitting next to the pool that was only big enough to hold Lilly and Laura. "Can you wet Aunt Lexie's toes, too?"

Lilly refilled her water cup, then poured the contents onto Lexie's feet. "A baf," Lilly said, laughing in delight when Lexie wiggled her toes.

"You're right. It is like a bath," Meredith agreed. She leaned in and fixed the clasp of Lilly's top when it came loose. "Oops. Can't have you flashing your baby boobs," she teased. "Daddy's already panicked by the fact that you have a bikini."

"Right now, it's innocent. Just wait until she's walking out the door with a whale tail when she's eighteen," Lexie said.

Laura looked up at her aunts in curiosity. "What's a whale tail?" she asked.

"Oh. It's um... uh... it's when you can see your panties above your pants," Meredith said, trying her best not to bring up thong slang in front of her five year old niece.

"Oh," Laura said, appeased by the explanation.

Derek walked over to the kiddie pool during a break from manning the pizza oven, and took a seat on the patio next to Meredith. "Hey. Having fun over here?" he said.

"Spash?" Lilly requested almost instantly, already geared with a full cup of pool water.

"Uh oh. You wanna splash Daddy? How about my toes?" Derek said. He kicked off his flip flops and put his feet close to the pool's edge where Lilly could reach. "Okay, go for it."

Lilly dumped one cup over his feet, followed by a second and third, effectively lowering the already low water level in her pool. But she seemed unfazed, too focused on her current task. Once she was satisfied with her work, she looked at Derek with a smile. "Keen!" she announced.

"Squeaky clean. Thank you, Princess," Derek said, pressing a kiss to her forehead.

"She's so verbal. I swear, every time I see her, she's learned a dozen more words," Lexie said in awe.

"And she's got some of your DNA in her genes, too. Lexipedia 2.0: Lillypedia. Right, Lilly?" Derek grinned. "Did you tell Laura and Aunt Lexie what the seagulls say?"

"Mine!" Lilly said with exuberance.

Laura gasped in recognition. "That's just like in the movie!"

"Lilly gets a kick out of it every time we ask, so we ask her all the time," Meredith said. "We've even been teaching her brain lobes. The first time she actually pointed to them on her own head, I nearly fell off the couch in shock."

"Lilly, wanna play the brain game?" Derek asked her.

Lilly looked over at him in excitement, always eager to show off her talents. "Pay!"

"Okay, where's your frontal lobe?" Meredith started off.

Lilly patted just past her hairline, smiling when her parents clapped for her. Lexie's mouth dropped open and she turned the small group scattered around the patio. "Can you guys come over here and listen to this, so you can tell me I'm not hallucinating?" she asked.

"What?" Cristina asked.

"Just watch," Lexie said.

Derek looked at his daughter. "Lilly, where's your temporal lobe?"

Lilly pointed above her ears with her fingers, much to the astonishment of the others, who watched in silence. While Lilly was focused, Meredith continued on. "And where's your occipital?"

The baby reached around to touch the back of her head several inches above her neck, and Derek grinned with pride. "Very good," he praised. "Okay, last one. Where's you parietal?"

Lilly touched the spot between the occipital and frontal easily, clapping for herself for a job well done. "Do!" she said, wiggling her tiny bottom in the pool.

"Yes, you did!" Meredith smiled.

"Good. Now that I know she's old enough, I'll start her on cardio stuff," Cristina said.

"How long did it take her to learn that?" Izzie asked.

"A day or two," Derek shrugged. "We got her a puzzle with the spine levels for Christmas, so we're gonna work on that over the summer."

"At this rate, preschool will be a joke for her. The other kids will be finger painting, and she'll be stitching up stuffed animals," Mark said in compliment of his niece.

"Our plan is getting her into med school by the time she's twelve, so Mer and I can retire early, and Lilly can support us," Derek joked.

"Well, if any kid has the chance, it's probably the offspring of two neurosurgeons," Mark pointed out. "How about some pizza, baby genius? Did you work up an appetite after the talent show?"

Meredith reached for Lilly's towel draped over the chair. "Pizza sounds good. I'll get her changed, then we'll be back," she said, glancing at Derek. "Wanna come with me?"

"Sure."

After Meredith picked Lilly up out of the pool and wrapped her in the towel, they went into the house to put her clothes back on. Meredith sat Lilly on the floor and gathered her party outfit while Derek stripped off her wet bikini.

"You know why I wanted just the three of us in here, right?" Meredith asked.

Derek glanced at his watch, and an immediate smile came over his face. "Countdown is on. Three minutes until her birth moment."

"Soak it in. Three minutes from now, we'll have a one year old under our roof," Meredith said as she patted Lilly dry.

"This time last year, I think Lilly's head was emerging," Derek recalled.

Meredith managed to laugh through her wince. "Thank you for the visual image of that," she teased. "I wouldn't change a single thing about her birth. Even the pain was worth it."

"Mommy spent fifteen hours in labor. She was like Superwoman," Derek told Lilly, fastening a diaper around her waist. "And she didn't even poop on the table."

"Thank God. It was mortifying enough being in the stirrups with three pairs of eyes all up in my hoohoo," Meredith said. "Well, not Daddy's eyes. He's seen it many, many times before. That's why you exist, peanut."

Derek shook his head at her in amusement, but she just waved it off. "What? It's the truth," she reminded him.

He slipped Lilly's shirt back on, followed by her tutu. Lilly twirled in a circle upon being redressed in her frilly skirt, and Derek smiled at her. "You really are a Princess. Do you know that?"

"3:47," Meredith said as soon the digital clock on their entertainment center changed minutes. She squished Lilly in a hug and breathed her in. "Happy birth moment, baby girl."

Derek wrapped his arms around both of them at once, getting in on their hug. "We love you so much, Lillybug. We love you more and more every day."

They each kissed one of Lilly's cheeks, and Lilly giggled at the tickle of Derek's stubble on her skin. "Lub!" she echoed.

"Okay, how about we go outback and eat some pizza, then we can open presents before we sing to you and eat Nemo cake?" Derek suggested.

"Meemo!" Lilly nearly cheered in a sing-song voice.

"Uh oh. A finger full of frosting, and she's already sugared up," Meredith said.

Derek laughed as he picked Lilly up. "She's just a Nemo enthusiast. Right, Lilly?"

Lilly shrieked in delight when Derek put her high up on his shoulders. "Meemo!"

After the pizza had been eaten, Lilly was antsy to dig into Gift Mountain in the living room. It wasn't so much what the wrapping paper and boxes contained as much as she loved the wrapping paper and boxes themselves, brightly colored and decorated with bows. So far, she'd gotten through half: stuffed animals, clothes, toys, books, and movies galore. There were even presents from Bailey and Richard, who had stopped by during dinner and added to the pile, and ones that Derek's mom and sisters had sent all the way from the East coast. And she was still going strong.

Lilly pointed to a large box covered in glittery, pink paper. "Dat," she told Derek.

"Alright, let's see," Derek said as he pushed it toward her. "This one's from Grandpa."

Lilly eagerly ripped off the wrapping paper with the help of her parents, wrinkling her forehead in confusion when she was met with a cardboard box. Meredith laughed as she reached for the scissors, cutting through the masking tape that sealed the top. "Hang on, peanut. Let me get the tape off."

After Meredith finished, Derek opened the flaps, and they both smiled when they saw what was inside. "Ooh, Lilly. Look at this," Meredith said, stepping aside so Derek could pull the gift from the box.

He set the wooden rocking horse on the floor, and the second she saw it, Lilly's eyes lit up in excitement. "Neigh!" she gasped, her code word for horse.

"That's right. It's a neigh-neigh," Derek said. "Isn't it pretty?"

"I don't know if you remember, but you had one just like it when you were growing up. You actually got yours for your first birthday, too," Thatcher chimed in.

Meredith smiled at the memories that flooded back, some of the happiest of her less than happy childhood. "I remember. Buttercup, right?"

"Yeah. You named him. Man, you loved that thing," Thatcher said with nostalgia.

"I'm sure Lilly will love hers, too. Thank you," Derek said. "Want to give Grandpa a hug, Lillybug?"

Lilly toddled over to Thatcher and hugged his leg in a warm embrace. "Oh, well you're very welcome. I love you," Thatcher said, leaning over to give her a kiss and a hug.

Meredith watched the two of them interact, and was surprised by how much it affected her. This was the kind of relationship she'd wanted to have with him her whole life, and knowing Lilly would have that chance made the pain of his years of absence hurt less and less every time she saw her daughter and her father together.

"That was really thoughtful. Thank you," Meredith said sincerely.

Lilly climbed onto the rocking horse, unprompted, and began rocking back and forth leisurely. She pointed to one of the presents wrapped in the Finding Nemo paper with her pink, polished finger. "Dat," she requested.

"Yes, your majesty," Derek joked. He grabbed the gift from the pile and inched closer to her on the floor, so she wouldn't have to get off her horse. After peeling off some of the paper to get her started, Lilly easily pulled off the rest, but was once again met with a box.

"I think someone got a Build-A-Bear," Derek said, recognizing the blue and white pattern on it. He popped open the lid, then held it out to her.

Lilly pulled the stuffed animal from inside, her blue eyes wide in awe. "Skirl!" she shrieked with joy upon seeing the brown, stuffed squirrel toy that wore navy scrubs, OR booties, and a customized ferryboat scrub cap. She smiled so big that her cheeks dimpled. "Skirl, Ma!"

"You got a squirrel? I love it," Meredith said enthusiastically.

"After finding out she's an avid squirrel watcher when she's in her poop corner, I figured she'd appreciate it," Mark grinned.

"Even when she was a newborn, we'd put her in the swing and let her look out the window. Hours of entertainment; way better than TV," Derek said, scratching behind Charlie's ears. "Both of our kids love squirrels."

Lilly pressed a kiss to the squirrel's face and hugged it tight to her chest. "Lub," she cooed.

"Nice touch with the scrubs," Izzie said.

"Only your kid would prefer a stuffed squirrel over a doll," Cristina teased, biting the head off her Nemo cookie. "As long as it's a cardio god squirrel, I guess it's okay."

Lilly took off the squirrel's scrub cap and pointed to the top of its furry head. "Bain," she taught the group.

"Very good. That is Dr. Squirrel's brain," Meredith praised her.

Derek gave Cristina a playfully smug look. "Forget cardio. Lilly's the third member of our neuro dream team."

...

Meredith sat with her legs draped over Derek's, both of them vegging out on the couch after a long, happy day. Lilly lay snoozing on Meredith's chest, her new squirrel cuddled in her arm, dressed in a second pair of Finding Nemo pajamas.

"Someone's pooped," Derek said, taking the 365 Days of Lilly album and setting it between them.

"It's a hard life, being showered with gifts," Meredith laughed. She ran her fingers through Lilly's hair, still damp after her bath. "She's really one, Derek. A year ago, she was just learning how to nurse, and was practically swimming in her hospital onesie. Now, she walks and talks and tells us she loves us."

Derek squeezed Meredith's foot gently and smiled at her. "Bittersweet, huh?"

"Yeah. It is."

Derek opened the photo album and flipped to the last page to put in the three hundred sixty fifth picture. It was one of Lilly from today, sitting on Meredith's lap as she blew out her candle after they sang Happy Birthday to her. "Wanna do the honors?" he offered.

"I don't want to splash tears on it. You should do it," Meredith insisted.

"You sure?"

"You're the reason this book exists. The least I can let you do is put in the last picture," she said, patting Lilly's diapered bottom gently with her hand.

"Okay."

Derek slipped the picture into the last remaining plastic slot in the album, Day 365 written underneath. After twelve months of adding photo after photo to the book, finishing it felt oddly surreal but also gratifying. He let out a long, happy sigh, feeling the weight of the book as he held it in his hands.

"This thing is heavy. Chock full of memories," Derek said.

"I've loved every, single second," Meredith said honestly. "The first little smiles, the teething, the poopy diaper changes in the dark, the kisses and the hugs. All of it."

"And the good news is that we get to do it all over again when I knock you up this summer," Derek said with a raise of his eyebrows.

Meredith laughed, letting Lilly grip onto her finger in her sleep. "We got lucky last time with me getting pregnant so fast. Don't jinx us."

"Don't worry; we practice enough. My swimmers know the drill," he said with feigned arrogance.

"Well, don't we sound confident," she teased him.

"Hey, when my sperm and your egg rendezvous, incredible things happen," Derek pointed out.

A small smile stretched across Lilly's face as she slept, and she mumbled the word "skirl," hugging the stuffed animal closer to her body.

"Case in point: our beautiful, little squirrel enthusiast," Derek chuckled, leaning over to kiss Lilly's forehead.

Meredith put a hand on his cheek when he raised his head. "Hmm, and lucky for you, I've almost forgotten the pain of pushing Lilly out, so I'm letting you make another baby with me."

Derek smiled, his lips pressed to hers. "Hey, I watched you push her out. I'm still thanking my lucky stars that you even let me kiss you after that."