161. Halloween: Take Two

Disclaimer: I don't own TV shows.

Once again, thank you for your endless patience. This week marks 6 years since I started this story, and I'm so grateful to still be writing it after all this time. Also, happy 2014, which I've dubbed The Year of Jellybean. Enjoy!

In hindsight, Meredith realized that picking up a shift in the pit on Halloween was a probably bad idea. But because it meant she could get out of work on time to go trick-or-treating with Lilly later on, she was willing to do it. She tapped her fingers over her belly as she read over the OR board, making mental note of which surgeries could be bumped in case any Halloween horrors rolled through the ER doors.

"Hey, you're working today?" Cristina asked, strolling up next to her with a cup of coffee in her hand.

Meredith got a whiff of the forbidden drink she craved, trying to ignore how much she yearned for even a sip. "Hey. Yeah, I'm working in the pit until three."

"Damn. Manning the pit on Halloween when all the crazies come out, and being... wait, how far along are you now?"

"Nineteen weeks," Meredith said. "I know. It was the only way I could get out of here in time for trick-or-treating tonight. She's being Snow White. You should stop by and see her, because she looks adorable in the costume."

"Of course I'm stopping by. She's my bestie. Besides, I need proof that Meredith Grey actually let her daughter be a princess for Halloween," Cristina teased.

Meredith laughed as she pulled her phone from her pocket. "She loves it. We let her wear it for a few hours yesterday, because she wouldn't stop staring at it on the hanger. Look how cute she is."

Cristina smiled when she saw the picture of Lilly posing in her costume, complete with the red hair bow. "I have to say, she pulls off a princess costume well."

"We showed her the catalog every day for a week, and she chose the Snow White costume every time. And when we went to the store, that's still what she wanted. She put it on as soon as we got home," Meredith said. "Lilly requested more poof, so Derek is sewing another layer of tulle into the bottom of the dress today."

Cristina put her hand on Meredith's rounded belly and patted it gently. "For the sake of your dad's manhood, I'm really hoping you're a boy."

Meredith rolled her eyes playfully, glancing at her watch. "Shut up," she said. "I have to go down to the pit before the interns kill someone. Six o'clock at the old house."

"I'll be there," Cristina said as they parted ways down opposite ends of the hall.

The hustle and bustle of the pit was audible before Meredith even stepped through the door, and she braced herself for what she might witness on the other side. Chainsaws, amputated fingers, Halloween pranks gone wrong, blood and more blood; even at nine o'clock in the morning, the possibilities of a Halloween-themed ER ran the gamut.

Meredith tied on a yellow trauma gown, took a deep breath, and opened the door. Before she could even walk toward the nurses' station, an intern sprinted past her holding three severed fingers in a bag of ice, which sent her gag reflex into overdrive. Normally, something like that never fazed her, but now that she was pregnant, her stomach was slightly less adept at handling the sight of severed limbs.

She was about to ask the charge nurse if there were any neuro cases she should consult on when she saw two interns standing outside Trauma 2 with a textbook between them. "What are you doing?" Meredith asked as she walked over to them.

"Oh. We have a pregnant patient who's crowning, but the baby is posterior. We've never done a posterior delivery before, so we just wanted to make sure we knew the technique," said one of the interns.

Meredith blinked at them in disbelief, but rather than go off on a lengthy rant, she gave them the shortened version. "Rule number one of working in the pit: there's no time to thumb through a textbook. If you don't know something, you page for help. A doctor, a nurse, anyone. What's the patient's name, and is she full term?"

"Lauren Beckett. She's thirty-nine weeks."

"Okay. Now go away," Meredith said, shooing them out of her path.

She pushed open the door to Trauma 2, and quickly introduced herself before pulling on a pair of gloves. "Hi, I'm Dr. Grey. Mind if I check you, Lauren?"

"No, it's fine. I just need to push," Lauren said through gritted teeth, gripping her husband's hand tightly.

Meredith sat on the stool at the foot of the table, and when she looked under the blue drape, she saw that Lauren was in fact crowning and the baby was posterior. "Okay, if you need to push, go for it. Ten seconds each, and try for three in a row. But once the contraction is over, stop and relax," she coached. "Is this your first baby?"

"Our third," the woman's husband Greg answered.

"Third? Well, this shouldn't take more than a few pushes, then," Meredith said, watching how the baby began to emerge even after the first push. "Okay, maybe even less than a few. Keep going; you're doing great."

By the time the contraction ended, Meredith was suctioning out the baby's mouth and nose and unwrapping a loose cord from around its neck. Without a fetal monitor attached to check the heart rate, she felt somewhat in the dark, but with the head delivered, there was no turning back.

"I need to push again," Lauren said, pushing on instinct even before Meredith could respond.

Meredith carefully maneuvered the baby's shoulders, and within moments, the baby was out. "It's a girl," she announced, cradling the baby in her arm as she suctioned out her mouth and nose again.

"It's a girl?" Lauren asked.

"Yes, it is. She's beautiful, Lauren," Meredith said as the baby let out a loud cry. With her free hand, she took the scissors from the table and handed them to the woman's husband. "Pink and squirmy with a good set of lungs. Ready to cut the cord, dad?"

"Yeah." With a shaky hand, Greg cut the baby's cord, and smiled at her. "You look so much like your big brothers."

Meredith laid the baby on Lauren's chest, and watched the parents soaked in their first moments with their newborn daughter. It was a moment she shared with Derek when Lilly was born, and even the memory of it made her emotional, pregnant self mushy and weepy. But before she could let her hormones get the best of her, Izzie walked into the trauma room.

"Hey, an intern paged an OB attending down here. Guess I'm a few minutes late," Izzie said as she scanned the room.

"First good decision the interns made today," Meredith murmured, standing up and letting Izzie take over. "Baby girl, born at thirty-nine weeks gestation. 9:08 AM. One minute APGAR was 10. Placenta hasn't been delivered yet."

"Okay."

Meredith removed her gown and gloves, and tossed them into the trash. "I'll call up to OB to make sure they have a room available. I'll page a nurse in to come help you, too," she said, giving the couple a small wave. "I know we only met ten minutes ago, but it was a pleasure meeting you both."

Lauren smiled, the baby snuggled on her chest. "Thank you, Dr. Grey."

"You're very welcome. Congratulations," Meredith said before excusing herself from the room.

After alerting the OB floor and making sure a nurse was in Trauma 2, Meredith managed to briefly escape the ER with a handful of Halloween cookies she'd swiped from the nurses' station. She went outside and took a seat on the bench in the ambulance bay, then called Derek, who was home with Lilly.

She bit into a pumpkin-shaped cookie while she waited for him to pick up, smiling when she heard Lilly answer on the other end. "Hi, Ma!" came her little voice with its usual morning liveliness.

"Hi, Peanut! You're such a big girl, answering the phone. Where's Daddy?" Meredith asked her.

"Dada oat."

"Oh, he's making your oatmeal for breakfast?" Meredith said, fluent in Lilly language. "You're so sweet for taking his calls. Did you just wake up?"

"Jammies," Lilly replied, pointing to her pumpkin pajamas as though Meredith could see them.

Meredith smiled as she remembered the image of Lilly sleeping in her crib this morning and kissing her before she left for work. While she knew working Halloween day was the only way to get Halloween night off, she still wished she could be home with her daughter, eating breakfast in their pajamas.

"You have fun with Daddy today, okay? Save me some oatmeal," Meredith said.

Lilly blew a kiss to the air with one hand while holding Derek's phone with the other. "Lub, Ma."

"I love you too, Lillybug," Meredith echoed.

"Wanna swap, Princess? I have your oatmeal," Derek said as he put the pink bowl on her tray table.

Lilly handed him the phone in exchange, and wiggled excitedly in her high chair at the prospect of her apple cinnamon oatmeal. Derek tucked his phone under his ear as he dropped down in the chair next to Lilly's, feeding her the first bite.

"Hey," he greeted. "Lilly was playing with my phone to occupy herself while I made breakfast. She must have seen your face pop up when you called, so naturally, she had to answer."

"She's very impressive."

Yes, she is. So how's your day been? Anything good?" he asked.

"Let's see... I drank some orange juice, delivered a baby, and now I'm eating pumpkin cookies. You know, the usual," Meredith said as she brushed some of the orange sprinkles off her lap.

"Delivered a baby?"

"Yeah. These idiot interns were looking up childbirth in a textbook. Before they decided to consult. Dr. Wikipedia, I kicked them out and delivered the baby myself. What are you guys up to?" Meredith asked.

Derek smiled, waving the spoon up and down until it reached Lilly's mouth. "When she woke up, we read a book, and after we eat, I need to get started on sewing the tulle into her dress. Then Lilly and I have a tea party scheduled in the living room. Busy morning over here."

"I'm jealous."

"I'll save you a buttered scone. I know they're your favorite," Derek joked.

"Thank you," Meredith played along. "Oh, I thought of another name I like. What about Claire?"

"Claire, huh? I love that. I'll jot it down," Derek grinned, scrawling it on a Post-It note.

Meredith's pager beeped just as an ambulance rolled into the bay outside the ER, and she reached for it in her pocket. "Pumpkin carving knife to the eye just rolled in. I have to go. Give Lilly a kiss for me."

"Okay, I will. Love you."

"I love you, too. Bye," Meredith said, ending the call to tend to the incoming ambulance.

Derek set his phone back on the table, and scooped another spoonful of oatmeal. "Mommy is going to operate on an eye. Isn't that neat?"

Lilly pointed to her eye with her tiny finger. "Eye," she said smartly.

"That's your eye. Very good," Derek praised. "And while she's at work, you and I are going to operate on your Snow White costume. It'll be all ready to wear tonight for Halloween."

"Ha-yeen," Lilly echoed with a mouthful of oatmeal.

"Yeah. We're gonna go get candy with Lolo," Derek said, giving Lilly her sippy cup.

"Lolo!"

Derek laughed at her usual enthusiasm over her little cousin. "Yeah, Lolo is being a strawberry for Halloween. You two are gonna be the prettiest Snow White and strawberry on the block."

"A bean?" Lilly asked.

"Jellybean has to spend this Halloween in Mommy's belly. But next year, he or she will dress up and get candy with you. You'll be the big sister, so you can show Jellybean how it's done," Derek said before taking a sip of coffee from his mug. "What's your vote, Princess? Is Jellybean a boy or girl?"

"Boy bean," Lilly answered without hesitation.

"You sound pretty confident," Derek chuckled, wiping the corners of her mouth with her bib. "That's how I was with you. As soon as Mommy and I found out you existed, I knew you were a little girl; but Jellybean has me stumped. I guess we'll see in a few months right?"

Lilly smiled at him, licking oatmeal off her sticky hand. "Boy bean," she repeated.

"Alright, then. I'll take your word for it."

Once breakfast was finished, the kitchen table was turned into an OR table for Lilly's Snow White costume. He adjusted the loupes and headlight that he borrowed from the hospital, her costume, the layer of tulle, a needle, and thread set out in front of him.

"Gammy used to do this for mine, Uncle Mark's, and your aunts' Halloween costumes, Lillybug. She'd spend weeks making princess costumes, superheroes, cowgirls, even scary stuff. Everything I know I learned from her," Derek said, expertly threading the needle on his first try.

"Gammy?" Lilly asked from her special spot on top of the table.

"Yeah, only Gammy used a sewing machine. Since we don't have one, I have to do it by hand. But don't worry; Daddy knows what he's doing. My surgeon skills transfer to princess costumes," Derek chuckled. He made sure the waist hem of the dress was in line with the tulle, then made the first stitch, double knotting it after pulling it through.

"One stitch down; a hundred to go," Derek said as he started on the second one. "Are you gonna get lots of candy tonight?"

Lilly looked up from busily scrawling on her Magna Doodle. "Snow?"

"Yeah, in your Snow White costume. You were really little last Halloween, but we all had fun. Mommy never got to go trick-or-treating as a little girl, so she loved getting to share her first time with you," Derek said smiling at his daughter. "Mommy and I have always wanted to give you what she never had, and so far, I think we're doing a good job, right?"

"Good," Lilly assured him with a pat on his shoulder.

Derek leaned in and kissed the top of her head. "Thank you, Lillybug."

...

It had been a few years since Meredith had lived in her old house, but whenever she visited, it felt like she'd never left. She still remembered eating cereal in the mornings with Derek during her intern year, and making fun of his love of Muesli. Or sitting at the counter, watching as he cooked them pasta for dinner while she was tasked to dumping ready-made salad into two bowls. And how washing dishes managed to turn porny, and led to sex on the kitchen table on more than one occasion.

Now, Lilly sat on the countertop in the old kitchen, wearing her newly poofy Snow White costume, as Meredith adjusted the red bow in her hair. "Mama yip-tick?" she asked.

"Lipstick? When did you learn that word?" Meredith giggled, fastening the bow in place with two bobby pins. "I guess you can have some cherry lip gloss. Just don't tell Daddy."

"I still can't believe Meredith Grey, Child of Darkness, let her daughter be Snow White for Halloween," Izzie said, echoing Cristina's earlier disbelief.

"Before I know it, she'll be sixteen, and want to be a sexy pirate for Halloween. Trust me, I'm all for Snow White," Meredith replied as she dabbed a small amount of lip gloss over Lilly's lips. "You look beautiful."

"Uh oh. Daddy's gonna have to keep those boys away from you tonight," Derek chuckled, noticing Lilly's lip gloss when he walked into the kitchen.

Meredith handed Lilly the mirror, and Lilly happily admired herself, puckering her lips in awe of their red tint. "Pitty," she said.

Both of her parents smiled at her self-confidence. "Very pretty," Derek agreed.

Lilly was the first to notice Mark, Bridget, and Charlotte enter the kitchen, and the pointed to them in excitement. "Lolo!"

"Hey, you guys. Just in time," Izzie greeted. "Hi, Ms. Charlotte. You're just the cutest strawberry I've ever seen."

"We thought she might put up a fight about the costume, but she loves it," Bridget said, Charlotte sitting perched in her arm. "You look gorgeous, Snow White."

"Now we know what Derek would look like in a princess gown," Mark joked.

Derek sighed in amusement as he scooped Lilly off the counter and into his arm. "On that note, who's ready for candy?"

"Do they give out good candy in this neighborhood? Or is it a bunch of old people who hand out pennies and lozenges?" Mark asked.

"Lilly got some good stuff last year. I would know, since I ended up eating most of it," Meredith admitted, tucking Lilly's jacket into her purse in case it got chilly while they were trick-or-treating.

"Go snag some before the high school kids get it all," Alex said before biting into an Almond Joy from the candy bowl. He held out his hand and Lilly gave him their usual high five. "You're gonna share the stash with your favorite uncle, right?"

"I sare," Lilly promised.

Alex laughed, high-fiving her again. "I always know I can count on you, kiddo."

"Cristina and George get off work soon, so they should be here by the time you get back," Izzie said. "I ordered a pizza, and there's pumpkin muffins in the oven for when you get back."

"I told you not to spoil us. You did all of that stuff last year, too. We really appreciate it," Meredith said.

Izzie smiled, practically shooing them out the door. "I'm going to do it every year, so get used to it."

"Thank you, Iz," Meredith conceded. "Okay, we'll be back."

"Have fun. Get lots of pictures!" Izzie waved as they walked down the steps and onto the sidewalk.

Lilly's eyes went wide with fascination when she saw all the trick-or-treaters across the street. "Kitty, Ma!" she squealed, pointing to a toddler dressed in a gray cat costume.

"Yeah, isn't the kitty cute?" Meredith said as Lilly reached for her hand while Derek took the other. "You were just a baby like Lolo last Halloween. Now you get to be a big girl and show her how to trick-or-treat."

The first house they visited was the Bartletts' who lived next door, and Mrs. Bartlett nearly gasped when she saw Lilly. "Look how big you are now! It's good seeing you all again," she said.

"You, too," Meredith said, feeling Lilly's grip on her hand grow tighter. "It's okay, peanut. Go get some candy."

Lilly buried her face in Meredith's leg. "Dada do?" she asked.

"This is the first house, so she's a little shy," Derek said, holding out Lilly's pumpkin bucket for the candy.

Mr. Bartlett smiled as he dropped a Hershey bar into the bucket. "That's okay. By the time you get to the end of the block, she'll be a pro," he said, waving to Charlotte. "And who's this pretty, little strawberry?"

"This is Charlotte," Mark said, waving the baby's tiny hand. "We're friends of theirs."

"Oh, you must be Mark and Bridget. Whenever I run into Izzie, she always gushes about Charlotte and Lilly. It's nice to finally meet you," Mrs. Bartlett said, putting a chocolate bar into Charlotte's bucket, too.

"It's nice meeting you," Bridget returned.

"And it looks like you'll have another little one joining the girls next year," Mrs. Bartlett hinted, noticing Meredith's rounded belly under her shirt.

Meredith nodded, hand splayed over the ever-growing bump. "Yeah, I'm due at the end of March. We're so excited."

"Another girl?" Mr. Bartlett asked.

"We're planning to keep it a surprise, but probably, yeah," Meredith giggled.

Lilly decided to end her shy streak when she felt the need to speak up for her sibling. "Boy bean," she interjected.

"Oh, well if Snow White says it's a boy, then we'll take her word for it," Mr. Bartlett joked, just as another group of trick-or-treaters arrived. "It was great seeing you all. Have a fun night."

"Thanks; you too," Derek said, waving goodbye before the group of them walked toward the next house.

"So you think Jellybean is a boy, Lillybug?" Meredith asked.

Lilly looked up at her mom and smiled. "Boy, Ma."

"She said that earlier, too. Seems pretty unwavering. Well, for today at least. She might switch to girl tomorrow," Derek chuckled.

With her new burst of bravery, Lilly reached for her pumpkin bucket that Derek had been holding, and extended it to the neighbor giving out candy on her porch. "Tick teet," she greeted.

Meredith nudged Derek's arm with her elbow. "Derek, look at her."

"She's so grown up," Derek grinned, both of them watching as the neighbor put a lollipop in her bucket, complimenting her on her princess costume.

"Tank you," Lilly replied mannerly, gesturing toward Charlotte to make sure the baby got her candy, too. "Lolo some?"

"Of course she can have some. Here you go," said their neighbor as she added candy to Charlotte's collection.

"Thanks so much," Bridget said.

"You really think you're gonna be able to wait until the birth to find out the sex?" Mark asked.

Derek shrugged in amusement, taking Lilly's hand as they crossed the street. "That's the plan. I guess we'll see how it goes."

"We have our twenty week ultrasound next week. It's going to take all the willpower I have not to sneak a peek between the baby's legs," Meredith said truthfully.

"Lilly insisted on keeping us in suspense when we went to find out what she was. All we saw were her butt cheeks, so we had to come back the next day. Always keeping us on our toes, right Princess?" Derek asked Lilly, who was too busy choosing a piece of candy from the bowl at the next house to answer.

"I still love those little butt cheeks. They match her Daddy's," Meredith said with a smile.

"Oh, God," Derek said, feeling his face blush at the comment.

Meredith slinked her arm around his waist and sneakily patted his ass with her hand. "What? It's the truth."

...

Back at the house an hour later, Lilly felt even more like a princess surrounded by her kingdom of candy. "Choc, Mama!" she said with excitement. "Mama some?"

"I'd love some. Thank you, Lillybug," Meredith said as she reached for a pack of Reese Cups.

"Uh oh. You better hide those unless you want Mommy to eat them all," Derek teased, he and Meredith sitting next to Lilly on the floor.

Cristina laughed, sprinkling a handful of Skittles into her mouth. "Oh, yeah. Pregnant Mer and peanut butter are a dangerous combo."

"Hey, I can't help the cravings. Blame Oliver," Meredith countered as she bit into the Reese Cup.

"Who's Oliver?" George asked.

"I've been testing out baby names. Derek and I keep vetoing each other, though," Meredith said.

Derek kissed her cheek in a prefaced apology. "Sorry, I'm vetoing Oliver, too. Not a fan."

"See? Told you," Meredith said with a small smirk.

"What are your name contenders so far?" asked Izzie, who was burping Charlotte over her shoulder.

"Caroline and Claire."

"Quite the extensive list," Mark teased, rummaging in Charlotte's bucket for a piece of candy. "Better hope it's a girl then, huh?"

Lilly looked up from the piece of Hershey bar she'd been eating, donning a spider ring on her thumb. "Boy bean."

"Damn, she's not letting up on that," Alex said.

When Meredith finished the Reese Cups, she bit into one of the pumpkin muffins Izzie baked. She moaned when the sweet taste hit her tongue, and tapped her fingers over her belly. "I miss all the baked goods I used to get when I lived here," she said with nostalgia.

"If you find out the sex of the baby, I'll bake you muffins every day from now until your due date," Izzie attempted to bribe her.

Meredith rolled her eyes playfully. "Don't tempt me. My resolve is already shaky at best, so I might just give in."

"Pee, Ma," Lilly said, pointing to her diaper under her dress.

"You peed? Okay, let's go change you," Meredith said, using Derek's knee for leverage to stand up. "Do you want to change into your Snow White jammies, too? You can put your costume back on tomorrow if you want."

"Jammies," Lilly answered.

"I'll help you get her changed," Derek offered.

"You can use our room if you want," Izzie said.

"Thanks, Iz."

Derek scooped Lilly into his arm while Meredith retrieved the diaper bag, and they walked upstairs to get her changed. As soon as Derek set Lilly on her feet once they reached the landing, she ran into her parents' old room at the end of the hall, which had since become Alex and Izzie's room.

"Why did she bolt toward our old room?" Derek asked in amusement.

"She likes the clawfoot tub, because that's what Ernie uses on Sesame Street," Meredith said. "That's what she told Izzie a few weeks ago when she watched her that day."

"She's so smart," Derek beamed, both of them stopping when they reached the doorway of their old bedroom.

While Izzie had redecorated it slightly, the setup was the same, and in some ways, it felt like it still belonged to them. Meredith rested her head on Derek's shoulder and smiled. "Do you ever miss this room?"

"Sometimes, yeah. Lots of memories in here... most of which involve nudity," he said fondly.

"Hmm, lots of that went on in here."

Lilly walked out of the bathroom after admiring the tub she loved, then patted the bed with her hand. "Up?" she requested.

"Yeah, let's get you changed," Derek said, lifting her onto the bed.

"This used to be Mama and Dada's room, Lillybug," Meredith said as she pulled Lilly's Snow White costume over her head.

"You seep?" Lilly asked.

Derek nodded as he laid the changing pad down on top of the comforter. "Yeah, we slept in here. This is also where we got lots of practice that came in handy when we made you," he couldn't help but add to see Meredith's reaction.

She narrowed her eyes at him, but was unable to keep from smiling. "Very funny."

"But very true," Derek upheld, handing her the pack of wipes.

Meredith peeled back the tabs of Lilly's diaper, wiped and dried her, then fastened a new diaper around her waist. "There we go. All dry," she said, standing her up, so Derek could get Lilly dressed while she washed her hands.

"Are you gonna change Jellybean's diapers, Lilly?" he asked.

"I do," Lilly said.

Derek laughed, shimmying her pajama pants up her legs. "You will? Okay, then. We'll have to get that in writing," he joked.

"If she's right, and Jellybean really is a boy, I'm leaving the whole P-E-N-I-S explanation up to you," Meredith giggled as she rejoined them in the bedroom.

"Why just me?"

"Because you have the P-E-N-I-S. I'll handle the period talk and the bra talk with Lilly, and you get the boy... stuff. Condoms on cucumbers and all that," Meredith compromised, each of them weaving an arm into Lilly's pajama top.

Derek sighed in resignation. "Fine. I guess that's fair."

"You look beautiful in your jammies, Lillybug," Meredith said, combing her fingers through Lilly's curls. "Want to go back downstairs and show—" she started to say before she stopped and her hands flew to her belly.

"Meredith, what?"

"The baby kicked," she said, grabbing hold of his hand. She put his palm over her belly, and watched the look on his face when the baby kicked again. "Feel it?"

Derek smiled in awe of the kicks he felt thudding under her skin. "Yeah. Yeah, I do," he whispered.

"Lilly, give Mommy your hand. Jellybean wants to say hi," Meredith said, swapping out Derek's palm for hers.

When the baby kicked again, Lilly gasped, her mouth forming an 'o' shape. "Hi, Bean."

"Yeah. Jellybean is kicking with her little feet," Derek explained, wiping his eyes with the sleeve of his shirt. "On Halloween, huh? Baby picked a good night to surprise us with that."

"Maybe she knows she's in the room where all that practicing for her happened way back when?" Meredith teased.

Derek put his hand next to Lilly's on Meredith's belly, both of them waiting for more tiny kicks. "Hmm, she's a smart, little girl, just like her big sister."

Lilly looked at her parents and smiled. "Girl bean."