160. Flag Football

Disclaimer: I don't own MerDer, but I do share custody of Lilly and Jellybean with them. ;)

Special thanks to Jenn (two_harts) for Lilly's new diaper talent in this chapter. As always, thank you all for your patience!

October was upon them, which meant the first annual Seattle Grace flag football tournament to raise money for breast cancer research. It was a new initiative organized by the oncology department, and even though Meredith's currently occupied uterus made her persona non grata on the football field, she and Lilly were still attending to cheer on Derek and the rest of Team SGH.

Lilly admired herself in the sliding glass door that led to the patio, decked out in her pink fundraiser t-shirt that matched her parents', pink leggings, pink hair bows, and pink shoes. It may have been pink overload, but she looked so adorable that even Meredith was okay with all the pinkness.

"Pitty, Ma," Lilly told Meredith as she finished packing the diaper bag.

Meredith laughed at the way she posed, pleased with herself. "You look very pretty, Peanut."

Derek walked into the kitchen, freshly showered and wearing his jeans and pink t-shirt. Even though they were already running late, Meredith couldn't help but take a moment to track him from head to toe. "Just so you know, I fully intend on riding you when we get home later, so be prepared," she murmured in his ear.

"Okay, then. Thanks for the heads up," Derek grinned, his eyes drawn to the bump under her pink shirt. "Jellybean is on full display now, huh?"

"Fifteen weeks, the size of an orange, and pressed against my bladder already. Right on target," Meredith teased, tossing Lilly's cereal puffs into the side pocket of the diaper bag. "At least my boobs are huge, so it balances out the belly."

Derek smiled, pressing a kiss to her temple. "Hmm, I happen to love the boobs and the belly. And I have it on good authority that you're still the hospital's number one ranked MILF."

"Is it weird that I'm kind of flattered by that?"

"You've earned it. Celebrate it. Right, Lilly?" Derek asked her.

"MILF," Lilly echoed proudly.

Her parents froze when the word left her mouth, and they looked at each other in resignation. "She's too smart and chatty for her own good," Meredith sighed amusedly. "Just promise you won't repeat that word in front of Uncle Mark, or we'll never live it down."

Lilly's eyes lit up at the mention of Mark's name, which she'd come to associate with her much cherished best buddy. "A Lolo?"

"Yeah, we're gonna see Lolo today. Lolo, Aunt Bridget, everybody is going to be there playing flag football. Except me, which is probably better for everyone," Meredith said.

"You're good with balls," Derek complimented, unable to say it without a smirk tugging at his lips.

"There's only one pair of balls I enjoy playing with, and I save those skills for grown-up time with you," Meredith replied. She stood on her tiptoes and kissed him, grazing her hand over the front of his jeans. "And like I said... later, I'll show you."

Derek shivered at the sensory overload, but forced himself to keep his composure for the sake of his daughter nearby. "Inappropriate."

"Fine, I'll stop. But only because Lilly's here. If she wasn't, we'd be doing it on the counter top," Meredith said.

"Now you're just being evil and inappropriate."

...

Despite the cooler October air, the sunshine warmed the park where the fundraiser was being held, and as soon as Lilly spotted not only all the pink, but the grown-ups who always made a fuss over her, she was delighted as could be.

"Hey. About time you got here. I thought I'd have to be team captain alone," Mark said, already wearing his yellow flag belt.

"The only reason you two are team captains is because you're the only two that volunteered on the sign-up sheet," Meredith reminded them, passing Lilly over to Mark for a hug.

"You can take Derek's place, Grey. You're not playing anyway because of that McNugget in the oven. You can man the team from the sidelines," Mark said.

Meredith laughed and shook her head. "It's a tempting offer, but I'll pass. Lilly and I will be cheering you on from the blanket," she replied as Mark handed Lilly to Derek.

"Can I have a good luck kiss, Princess?" Derek asked her.

Lilly planted a kiss on his cheek, and Derek kissed her back, her parents reveling in her laughter over the tickle of his stubble on her skin. "Lub, Dada."

"I love you, too," he echoed, setting her on her feet. He smiled when Lilly raised her arm and Meredith lowered hers, their hands gravitating toward one another out of instinct.

"Good luck. And don't mind me staring at your ass the whole time," Meredith murmured close to his ear while she pressed a kiss of her own to his cheek.

"I heard that, Grey. You're a terrible whisperer," Mark butted in.

"Good. Then I'd appreciate if his A-S-S was in my line of vision the whole time. Design some plays around that," Meredith suggested as she and Lilly walked over toward the blanket where Bridget was sitting with Charlotte in her lap.

"Lolo!" Lilly cheered, toddling as quickly as she could toward her.

Charlotte's blue eyes went wide in fascination over the toddler that seemed to admire her. She smiled when Lilly sat in front of her, and made a happy gurgling sound that made Meredith miss Lilly's babyhood, but grateful that in just a few months, there would be a new giggly, gurgly newborn in the house.

"Look at you, all cute and pregnant. That little bump of yours wasn't there last time I saw you," Bridget greeted.

Meredith laughed, sitting down on the blanket next to Bridget. "You know, I thought it was a myth that you show faster with your second baby. Turns out, it's not a myth."

"Well, aren't you lucky," Cristina said as she walked over to the blanket, begrudgingly securing the yellow belt around her waist. "That baby in there gets you out of everything, doesn't it?"

"Kinda, yeah," Meredith admitted. "I'm surprised you decided to play in the first place."

"I didn't. Sloan signed me up in place of you. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for the fundraising. But flag football is not my sport," Cristina said with an eye roll when Mark waved her over to the team huddle.

"Just pretend all of the Mercy Westers are interns. Remember that one a few weeks ago who didn't know how to put in an IV? Channel all of your pent up rage into scoring some touchdowns. Or you know, making some kind of effort," Meredith said in her best attempt at a pep talk.

"Hmm, fine. I'll try," Cristina sighed, trekking back to the team a few feet away.

"You guys won that Mother's Day softball game a few months back. Think you'll win this, too?" Bridget asked.

Meredith laughed, shaking her head. "This? I doubt it. The only ones with football backgrounds are Mark and Alex, and Alex already has a beer in his hand. At least it's best out of three. Maybe we'll win one."

"Good to know you have confidence in the team, Mer!" Derek called out as he and the others got in position for the first play of the game.

"You look hot! That's all that matters!" Meredith replied, giving him a thumbs up in support.

Within seconds of the referee blowing the whistle to start the game, Alex punted the ball to Lexie, who threw it to Derek. Before the Mercy West team was able to react, Derek quickly weaved his way through all of them without getting any of his flags stolen, and ran the ball back to the end zone for a touchdown.

Meredith's mouth dropped open in surprise. "Lilly, Dada got a touchdown!"

"Dada!" Lilly cheered, clapping her hands together in celebration.

Derek blew her a kiss before tossing the ball to a member of the Mercy West team. "That was for you, Lillybug!"

Meredith bit her lip as she watched him bend over to fix his shoe, and Bridget caught her staring at him like an animal in heat. "You know, if you wanted to have a quickie behind the oak tree over there, I'd be more than happy to watch Lilly," she teased.

"I swear, the stupid pregnancy hormones are taking over my brain. Derek was folding laundry the other day while Lilly was napping, and I got so turned on that we did it on the couch. And now the touchdown... I might have to take you up on that oak tree thing," Meredith said, clapping again when Lexie scored the extra field goal point.

Now that Mercy West had possession of the ball, Arizona swapped places with Izzie, who joined Meredith, Bridget, and the girls on the blanket. "Hey, quitting already?" Meredith joked.

"The rule is to switch out players after every touchdown, so I'm technically following the rules, even though I only played for thirty seconds," Izzie shrugged. "Besides, I need to talk baby stuff with you."

"Baby stuff?"

"Yeah. You're finding out the gender in a few weeks, right?" Izzie assumed, pulling a stack of Post-Its and a pen from the pocket of her jeans. "I know you already have all the girl stuff, but if it's a boy, you'll need at least a sprinkle."

"A what?" Meredith asked.

"A sprinkle. You know, a mini baby shower, usually when the second baby is a different gender than the first," Izzie explained as though the answer was common knowledge.

Meredith braced herself for what she knew would be an unpopular response, but nonetheless knew she had to break the news at some point. "Actually, uh, we're thinking of keeping the gender a surprise this time."

"You mean until the birth?"

"Yeah. Well, maybe. For now at least, until I cave," Meredith said as she handed Lilly her sippy cup. "Besides, it's probably a girl anyway, so we're covered."

"Okay, but what if it's a boy, and all you have is a house full of pink and purple?" Izzie pointed out.

"How about this? If you insist on throwing me a sparkle—"

"Sprinkle," Izzie corrected.

"Sprinkle, whatever, then just tell whoever you invite to get us gender neutral stuff, with some boy clothes mixed in just in case. And if it's a girl, then we'll donate the boy stuff to the hospital nursery," she suggested.

Izzie considered the idea for a moment before nodding in approval. "Fine, I can accept that."

"Thank you," Meredith said. She scooped a few of the cereal puffs from the container and onto the yellow lid, setting it in front of Lilly. "Here you go, sweetpea."

"What if your third is a boy?" Bridget asked as she handed Charlotte to Izzie to hold.

"How many babies do you think I plan on pushing out of my vagina?" Meredith retorted playfully.

Izzie laughed as she gently swayed Charlotte in her arm. "Fine. Your vagina, your business. As long as you're on board with the sprinkle, I'll start figuring out the date."

"I'm due at the end of March, which means she'll come in April, because my babies enjoy late checkouts from my uterus," Meredith said with a smile, which faded when she saw Lilly shoving cereal puffs in her mouth. "Oh, Lilly, no no. One at a time, okay?"

Lilly opened her mouth to reveal two cereal puffs in each cheek, and Meredith had to laugh when she saw. "Are you a squirrel, storing away food for winter?" she joked, scooping out the puffs in her left cheek with her finger and flicking them onto the grass.

"Skirrel," Lilly smiled.

Out on the field, a member of the Mercy West team was in the midst of catching the ball when he accidentally bumped into Derek, sending them both onto the grass. They all watched as the scene unraveled, and though it was just a minor mishap, Lilly's lower lip quivered in sadness. She scrambled to her feet and toddled over to the field as quickly as her little legs would take her.

"Dada!" she yelled.

Derek caught her as she ran into his arms, and when he saw how upset she looked, he smiled in immediate reassurance. "Daddy's okay, Lilly. It was just an oopsie," he cooed to her, wiping the tears on her face with his shirt sleeve.

"Want me to call a timeout?" Mark asked.

"No, it's fine. I'll just tag out for a minute," Derek replied as he picked Lilly up and walked to the sideline where Meredith stood waiting for them. "She's fine. I think she just got scared when she saw me fall, that's all."

"Dada just fell on his hiney. He's okay, baby girl," Meredith said, rubbing her hand over Lilly's back.

Lilly looked up at Derek and put her hand on his cheek. "Dada 'kay?" she asked.

The compassionate concern etched all over Lilly's face warmed her parents' hearts, and Derek pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Dada's okay," he echoed. "Come on, let's go feed the ducks, and then we can have lunch with everyone once this game is over."

"What about the game?"

"There's two more to go. I can sit the rest of this one out," Derek said.

Meredith retrieved the crackers they'd packed from the diaper bag, and Lilly, content that her dad was okay, rested her head on Derek's shoulder as they walked toward the duck pond. It was only a short stroll a few yards away, and Lilly wiggled with excitement when Derek set her on her feet.

"A ducky!" she said.

"Yeah, the duckies are hungry. They want you to feed them," Meredith said, opening the Ziploc baggie full of crackers and handing her one.

Lilly tossed it into the water, and a flock of ducks swam up to the water's edge in search of food, which quickly resolved any of Lilly's lingering upset over Derek's fall. She threw cracker after cracker to her duck audience, delighting in the way they raced to every snack she offered.

Meredith and Derek stood next to her as they watched, and he wrapped his arm around her shoulder. "So, if I wasn't getting S-E-X before, I'm definitely getting it now since I'm wounded and all, huh?" he chuckled.

"A grass stain on your pant leg doesn't really qualify as a wound, but yeah, you are. Probably a few times, since you being all athletic is making me really horny for you. Stupid pregnancy hormones," she repeated for a second time.

"Not stupid at all. Natural. Welcomed," he offered instead.

Meredith bumped her hip with his. "Uh huh. You're just saying that because you like all the S-E-X you've been getting," she said with a smirk.

"Well, yeah. It's really a win-win for both of us," Derek reminded her.

"Quack, Ma!" Lilly said, mimicking the ducks gathered in the water.

"Yeah, they're quacking for more crackers. The duckies love you," Meredith said as she snapped a quick picture of Lilly on her phone.

"Duck lub," Lilly echoed. She tossed crackers with both hands in an attempt to make sure every last duck got one, though her parents were certain that after the whole sleeve of crackers had been distributed, the dozen or so ducks had been well fed.

Derek knelt down next to her. "Very good, Princess. You just fed them all lunch, so now they can go play," he praised. "How about we go eat lunch now?"

"Yunch," Lilly agreed, grabbing hold of Derek's left hand, and Meredith's right.

Meredith smiled at her immediate enthusiasm. "Lilly may look like you, but she got her appetite from me. Lunch trumps all, right Peanut?" she said before catching a glimpse of Derek's ass as they walked past the oak tree, remembering how eager she was to mount him. "Well, almost everything."

...

The first game ended, and by what was surely a stroke of luck, Team SGH won by a touchdown. Now the second game was well underway, but despite their best efforts, they were losing. The outcomes of the game didn't matter anyway, because all of the money raised went to the same charity, so Meredith was just enjoying the view.

She was so caught up in watching Derek run back and forth across the field that she barely noticed how he'd intercepted the ball from Mercy West. "Lilly, Daddy caught the ball!" Meredith said in surprise.

Lilly paused her game of peek-a-boo with Charlotte to glance over at her dad on the field, clapping for him like everyone else was. Derek got to the ten yard line when a Mercy Wester stole one of the flags from his belt, ending the play.

"Crap. So close," Meredith said.

"Dada yay?" Lilly asked.

Meredith laughed, twirling one of Lilly's curls with her finger. "No yay. Dada's going to try again."

Charlotte cooed at Lilly in search of her continued adoration, and Lilly was happy to switch her attention from the boring football game back to her baby friend. She covered her face with her hands then swiftly moved them away after building the suspense for a few seconds. "Boo, Lo!"

Charlotte broke out into a fit of giggles, kicking her legs in enjoyment as she waited for Lilly to do it again, and Bridget smiled at their interaction. "That baby in your belly lucked out getting Lilly as a big sister. She's a pro," she complimented.

"Yeah, we're just hoping it stays that way and the fad doesn't wear off after a week," Meredith said. "Having to share the spotlight with a crying, pooping baby might be slightly less fun than she thinks."

"It's good that they'll be so close in age. She's still so young, so she won't even remember being an only child. Every memory your kids have will include each other. Kinda cool if you think about it," Bridget said.

Over the years, Meredith had heard hundreds of Derek's childhood stories, and she didn't recall even one that didn't involve at least one of his sisters or Mark. As an only child growing up in a lonely house, she always wondered what that would be like. She smiled, grateful that her own kids would have what she always wanted.

"Like a built-in best friend," Meredith said, draping a hand over her belly.

"Yeah."

"Yay, Dada!" Lilly cheered, which alerted Meredith and Bridget back to the football game where Derek just scored another touchdown.

"Oops. At least one of us saw that. Good job, Lilly," Meredith praised.

Lilly used Meredith's knee for support as she rose to her feet, taking another pause in her peek-a-boo game. "Poo, Ma," she announced.

With no nearby tree for her to stand behind for the privacy she liked, Meredith pulled a spare paisley blanket out of the diaper bag. She shook it out to unfold it, then held it up next to her like a curtain. "Here you go, sweetpea. How about you stand behind this, so no one can see you?" she suggested.

Lilly smiled in thanks as she crouched behind the blanket, and Meredith laughed as she turned toward Bridget. "She's not shy about telling us she's pooping, but modest enough that she needs privacy."

After the touchdown, Derek and Mark tagged themselves out to give Owen and Bailey some field time, and walked over to the blanket on the sidelines out of breath. "Hey, taking a break?" Meredith asked.

"Yeah, we figured we should share the glory," Mark joked.

"You mean the team can survive without its fearless captains and their clipboards?" Meredith asked playfully.

"I think they'll manage," Derek said, taking a long sip from his bottle of water. He glanced at Lilly behind the blanket, and smiled when he saw her squatting, staring off into the distance. "Is she answering nature's call?"

"Yeah. She requested privacy, so we had to improvise with the blanket," Meredith said.

Once she was finished, Lilly reached into the diaper bag and retrieved a fresh diaper and the pack of green wipes from inside, then handed them to Derek. "Poo, Dada."

Derek blinked as he tried to process her amusing act of courtesy. "That's very nice of you, Princess. Thank you," he said, taking the diaper and wipes she offered.

"I think that's her subtle hint that she wants you to change her, not me," Meredith decided before giving him the changing mat from the bag.

"Does she always do that? Hand you the diaper stuff after she poops?" Bridget asked.

"I'd have to say it's a first," Derek said with a smile. "I guess after so many diaper changes, she knows the drill. Uncle Mark loves changing diapers, too, Lilly. Next time, you should give him the diaper and wipes," he whispered in her ear.

"I heard that," Mark said, watching as Derek unfolded Lilly's changing mat right on the blanket. "Wait, you're changing her here?"

"Why would we go anywhere? Here is fine," Derek said.

Meredith handed Bridget the paisley blanket. "Would you hold this up for us?"

"Sure," Bridget said, holding the blanket in front of Lilly once again to maintain her privacy.

"Thanks."

While Derek shimmied off Lilly's pink leggings, Meredith prepped the supplies as though it were a surgical field. New diaper with the adhesive tabs unfolded; a stack of fresh wipes at the ready; and the opened tube of diaper cream. Mark and Bridget watched as Lilly's diaper was changed with seasoned skill in record time. Less than a minute passed before a new diaper covered Lilly's bottom, her pants were back on, the old diaper was sealed in a disposable bag, and the changing mat, wipes, and cream were back in the bag.

"See? No muss, no fuss," Meredith shrugged.

"I feel like I watched that in fast forward," Mark said in awe. "You two should be in Guinness for that. You know, along with your world record for most sexcapades had in an on-call room in one afternoon."

Meredith smiled, squirting Purell into Derek's hands, then her own. "I'll take that as a compliment, so thank you."

...

With two games won and only one lost, the day was deemed a success for Team SGH, though given that only a handful of the team members actually put in effort, it seemed more fitting to call the wins a minor miracle.

Meredith watched as Derek proudly displayed the trophy on the mantle above the fireplace, baby monitor on her lap. "How did you convince Mark to let us keep that at our house?"

"Until the hospital builds a trophy case, which won't happen, we agreed on joint custody. It's the closest thing either of us will ever get to a Heisman," Derek grinned. He took a few steps back from the mantle to make sure the trophy was centered, and once he was satisfied, he dropped down onto the cushion next to Meredith's. "Did you have fun today?"

"I got to hang out with my two favorite people. Of course I had fun," Meredith said, smiling when he swung her legs over his lap. "Oh, before March rolls around and I forget to mention it, we're having a sprinkle."

"A what?" he asked.

"A sprinkle. Apparently, it's a scaled back baby shower for people who already have kids. Izzie insisted on it," Meredith said.

"I take it you broke the news about keeping the gender a surprise, then?"

"Yeah, I didn't really have a choice after I dropped that bomb on her. At least now on the off chance it's a boy, we'll have some supplies," Meredith shrugged, smoothing her t-shirt over her belly. "Isn't that right, Sebastian?"

Derek raised his eyebrows in amused concern. "Sebastian Shepherd? It's a bit of a mouthful."

"Fine, how about you give me a name, so I can shoot it down?" Meredith teased him.

"What about Phillip?" he suggested.

Meredith scrunched her nose. "Lilly and Phillip? Too rhymey," she said. "I still like Jack."

"Me, too, and if we had any other last name, I'd be on board," Derek said.

"Stupid LOST connection, haunting us for life," Meredith sighed. "What about girl names? Lilly was easy to pick, but I'm stumped this time around."

"I've always liked Violet."

Meredith laughed, unsure if it was a serious suggestion or a joke. "Really?"

"What?"

"Lilly and Violet, Derek. A little too much flower power," she countered.

"Oh. Hadn't thought of that. What about... Caroline? Wasn't that on our name list last time, too?"

Meredith smiled. "Yeah. It's still one of my favorites."

"Mine, too. So that's one contender for Baby Shepherd. It's a start," Derek said, scrawling it out on Lilly's Magna Doodle.

"I say we quit while we're ahead, and make good on my sex promise," she said as she straddled his lap.

Derek grinned at her eagerness, more than willing to help her satisfy the pregnancy hormones that drove her crazy. "Hmm, yes, dear," he hummed into her neck. "Are we doing it here?"

"Why not? The team MVP needs a treat," Meredith said as her hands went to the fly of his jeans. "Besides, Charlie is already sound asleep in our bed."

"Okay, then. Here works for me," Derek laughed, snaking his hands up the back of her shirt.

Meredith arched into him as his fingertips touched her skin, and she pulled her shirt over her head. When she felt his lips pressing kisses above the lacy fabric of her bra, she pushed him onto his back.

"Ditching the foreplay?" he asked, a shiver going down his spine when she unzipped his pants.

Meredith smiled as she leaned down to kiss him. "You showed me your athletic talent today. Now I'm going to show you mine."