162. Halfway There

Disclaimer: I still don't own it.

So, so sorry for the month long wait. This last stretch of nursing school is kicking my butt. Thank you as always for your incredible amounts of patience with me!

There were a lot of things Meredith loved about being pregnant, and if she had to make a list, sex would definitely be in the top five. So when she got the opportunity for lazy morning sex, Derek was more than happy to oblige.

"Hmm, we need to do this every morning," he murmured against her lips, his arms cradled under her shoulders as he hovered over her.

Meredith smiled at the idea, running her fingers over his back. "I'm going to hold you to that promise," she said, the end of her sentence melting into a moan when he picked up the pace. "Oh, keep doing that!"

Derek smirked when he felt her legs wrap tighter around his waist. If he could make her feel as good as she felt to him, he was only too eager to satisfy her request. "Yes, dear."

He thrusted hard and fast, snaking his hand between them to bring her closer to the edge. Meredith moaned even louder at the added sensation, and was about to kiss him again when the baby decided to kick at the most inopportune of times. She rubbed her belly with her palm in an attempt to soothe the tiny kicks, causing Derek to freeze in place when he saw.

"Is the baby kicking?" he asked, nearly out of breath.

Meredith nodded, but waved it off. "Yeah, it's okay. Keep going."

"What?"

"Keep going. It's fine. It happens sometimes," she said, rocking her hips in an attempt to encourage him.

The look of horror that spread over Derek's face would have made Meredith laugh if she weren't so frustrated that her mind-blowing orgasm was being delayed. "It's happened before?" he asked.

"Yes, it's happened. Lilly did it when I was pregnant with her, and now this baby's doing it. It's no big deal," Meredith repeated.

"Do you think I'm... invading his space?

"No. I mean, you're very... well endowed, but Derek, sex during pregnancy is nothing new. You're fine; I promise," Meredith said, kissing his neck, hoping it would help distract him, but to no avail. So she had no choice but to use the last weapon in her arsenal that she knew would guarantee her orgasm. "Derek, I swear, if you stop now, my legs are closed to you until the six week celibacy after the baby is up."

That was all the motivation Derek needed to snap back into action, and he continued the headboard-banging thrusts that eventually sent them both into oblivion mere minutes later. He lay with his head on her chest as their breathing returned to normal and the spotty fog of release started to dissipate.

When his brain had dibs on the blood supply, Derek gently rolled them over, so her head rested on his chest instead, her arm draped over his torso. "I really needed that," Meredith smiled, happily sated.

"Me, too."

She hugged him to her, one hand on her belly. "You know that 'no sex' thing was an empty threat, right? I could never go that long without it."

"Me either," Derek chuckled. "Still kicking?"

"Yeah, kinda. Our kids are both morning people like you, so it's technically your fault," Meredith teased.

Derek put his hand next to hers, rubbing his thumb over her warm skin. "One of my genetic gifts, Jellybean," he told his in-utero child.

Meredith laughed. "It's no fair. I need to pee fifty times a day, get kicked during sex, have to push them out of my hoo-hoo, and our kids are still your clones."

"I think Jellybean will look more Grey than Shepherd. Think about it: I'm a planner, Lilly was planned, and she looks like me. You're more spontaneous, and Jellybean was spontaneous, so wouldn't it make sense that she looks like you?" Derek reasoned.

"As scientific as that was, five bucks says she comes out looking just like you and Lilly," Meredith wagered playfully.

Derek shook her hand in agreement. "And my five bucks says you get the genetic glory this time."

"Deal."

"So, are we still firm on keeping the gender a surprise at your ultrasound today?" he asked, tucking her hair behind her ear. "It's up to you. I'm happy either way."

"Yeah, I think so. My willpower might fizzle out when I see Jellybean on the screen, but for now, that's the plan," Meredith said.

"Hi, Mama Da!" came Lilly's voice over the monitor, effectively ending their post-sex laziness.

Derek kissed her cheek before sitting up and swinging his legs over the side of the bed. "I'll get her. You and Jellybean can rest a little longer," he said, reaching for his discarded boxers on the floor.

Meredith watched as he hopped into them, the sight of it enough to make her want to go for an encore round of morning sex. Derek caught her gazing at him and he grinned.

"What?" he asked.

"Nothing. Just getting the image in my head. You and Lilly have the same butt, so if we see Jellybean's today, I want to compare. Even if he does end up looking like me, I want him to get the Shepherd hiney," Meredith said, biting her lip in admiration.

"That's the weirdest thing you've ever said to me after sex," Derek said as he leaned down to kiss her.

Meredith smiled, splaying her hands on his cheeks. "The baby already kicked during it. How much weirder could it get?"

...

Lilly sat on Derek's lap in the OB exam room, her blue eyes intensely focused on the poster of the female reproductive system hanging on the wall. When she decided it was too perplexing to comprehend on her own, she pointed to it inquiringly. "Dat?" she asked.

Her parents glanced over at the poster she was pointing to, then exchanged looks with each other. "You're the one with the girl parts. You need to explain this one," Derek said.

Knowing she wasn't going to win that argument, Meredith gave in and chose the simplest answer possible. "That's called a uterus," she told Lilly.

"U-tus," Lilly echoed.

"Yeah, that's where Jellybean lives. In Mommy's uterus," Meredith said as she patted her belly.

"Bean seep?"

"Yeah, that's where Jellybean sleeps and eats, and where she'll grow until she's big enough to come out and meet you," Derek said, bouncing Lilly on his knee.

"Me u-tus?" Lilly asked.

"Yeah, you have one, too. But if Dada has any say in the matter, no little beans in your uterus for many, many years," Derek requested.

There was a brief knock at the door before Dr. Halloran entered the exam room, Meredith's chart in her arm. "Hello, again. It's good to see you guys," she greeted with a smile. "Hi, Lilly. Every time I see you, I can't believe how big you are."

"I know. I keep telling her to stay little forever, but she won't listen," Meredith teased. "So I guess it's good that we'll have another squishy newborn to hold in a few months."

"Twenty weeks now, so you're halfway there," Dr. Halloran said, setting Meredith's chart on the counter. "Any thoughts on finding out the sex of this one?" she asked as she washed her hands.

"Actually, we're thinking of keeping it a surprise. We found out with Lilly, so we wanted to test our willpower this time around," Meredith explained.

"Wow. Kudos to you guys. Not many people opt to keep it a surprise these days," Dr. Halloran replied.

Derek chuckled, standing next to Meredith with Lilly on his hip. "We're not sure how long we'll be able to hold out, but we're determined to last as long as we can."

"Here's what we'll do then. When it comes time to examine the lower half of the baby, I'll turn the screen toward me and check things out. If you'd like, I can print a 'between the legs' picture and put it in an envelope for you. That way, if you ever decide you want to know, all you have to do is open it. I've done that with patients in the past. Some choose to look, some don't; but at least you have the option," Dr. Halloran suggested.

Meredith turned toward Derek, who nodded in agreement. "Sounds good to me. Up to you, Mer," he said.

She pondered for a moment before she nodded, too. "Okay, yeah. Let's do that."

"Okay," Dr. Halloran said, flipping open Meredith's chart. "So, how have you been doing? Feel any kicks yet?"

"Yeah, we felt the first kicks last week on Halloween. Baby hasn't stopped kicking since," Meredith smiled, her eyes flicking to Derek's as they both recalled the interrupting kicks this morning during their grown-up time between the sheets.

"My bean," Lilly proudly told the doctor.

Dr. Halloran laughed warmly at Lilly's enthusiasm over her sibling. "You're already a great big sister. That's a very lucky baby in Mommy's belly. What do you say, should we take a peek?"

"Bean!" Lilly answered.

"Okay, let's get started," Dr. Halloran said. She reclined the exam table for Meredith, then turned on the sonogram machine, typing in Meredith's patient information.

After Meredith lifted up her shirt, she grabbed hold of Derek's hand, and he squeezed it in support. "You sure you want to be surprised?" she asked one last time.

"Yeah. You?"

"Yeah," Meredith echoed.

"Sorry if the gel is a little cold," Dr. Halloran said, rolling the bottle in her hands before squirting a few dollops of it on Meredith's skin.

She pressed the wand to Meredith's belly, and within a few seconds, the 4-d image of the baby appeared on the screen. And though only in existence for twenty weeks, Jellybean was already the perfect, little human. Chubby cheeks, button nose, and a tiny thumb in his or her mouth.

"Hey, you," Meredith whispered, her mommy hormones getting the best of her already. "Derek, look at her."

"Hi, baby. You look just like your big sister. Already a thumb sucker like Lilly, too," Derek told the small person on the screen.

Lilly stared in awe at her in-utero sibling, mesmerized by his or her movements. "My bean?" she asked.

"Yeah. That's our Jellybean, Lilly," Derek said, wiping his eyes with the tissue Meredith handed him.

"Baby does look like Lilly. You two make beautiful kiddos," Dr. Halloran complimented as she took measurements of the baby's head. "Looks to be right on track gestationally, too."

Meredith kept her eyes on the screen as she counted to ten, then let out a breath. "Okay, good. Ten fingers."

Derek couldn't help but laugh at her relief. "Were you expecting more or less than ten?" he asked.

"Shut up. I have obsessive, nervous mommy brain," Meredith smirked, nudging his hip gently with her elbow. Her face softened again when she turned her attention back to their baby on the screen. "So everything looks good, medically speaking? I mean, I already know the baby is perfect, but I might be a bit biased," she said.

"Everything looks perfect," Dr. Halloran assured them. "Amniotic fluid level looks just fine. There's no evidence of growth restriction, placental or umbilical cord issues. You've got a happy, healthy baby in there."

Derek leaned down and kissed his wife, smiling against her lips. "Hear that? Happy and healthy."

"I can't believe how big she is already," Meredith said.

"Measuring right on the mark at ten inches. About the size of a banana," Dr. Halloran told them.

Lilly cocked her head in fascinated curiosity. "Bean nana?"

"Yeah, Jellybean is the size of a banana. Isn't he cute?" Derek said.

"How about we take a listen to the heartbeat?" Dr. Halloran suggested. She turned on the volume and clicked the region over the baby's heart, and seconds later, the baby's strong, loud heartbeat filled the room.

Lilly gasped at the powerful sound, her mouth forming a small 'o' shape. "Bean beep?" she asked.

"Yeah, Jellybean's heartbeat. That's tied with your laugh as the best sound in the world," Derek replied, tickling Lilly's belly with his finger.

"That's a good heartbeat, right? Derek and I listen to it on our doppler every week, and the heart rate from a few days ago was 146, which is normal for twenty weeks," Meredith rambled, much to Derek's amusement.

"Right now, it's 148 beats per minute, which is perfect. Strong, healthy heartbeat," Dr. Halloran nodded.

Meredith smiled, rubbing her hand over a non goo-covered part of her belly. "Good job, Jellybean."

"Would you like me to examine the lower half? Once I'm done, I'll make sure the privates are out of view, so you can get a peek at the tiny toes," Dr. Halloran said.

"Yeah, that's fine," Meredith consented. She turned her head up toward Derek and Lilly when Dr. Halloran turned the screen out of their view. "Okay, this is torture."

"Jellybean is our unplanned, one in a thousand chance warrior baby, remember? If he or she can beat the odds, we can beat the temptation," Derek said in his best attempt at a pep talk.

Meredith scrunched her nose at him. "Hmm, fine. But you might have to give me that spiel every day from now until the birth," she leveraged.

"I can do that," Derek promised.

"So, do you know what it is?" Meredith asked the doctor.

Dr. Halloran smiled reassuringly at all three of them. "Yes, I know. Everything looks great."

"So, normal... parts?" Derek clarified.

"Normal parts. Baby cooperated, so I knew right away," Dr. Halloran said. Once she moved the transducer away from the private parts and onto the baby's feet, she turned the monitor back toward them.

Meredith gasped when she saw the baby's wiggle its toes, her preoccupation with not knowing the gender temporarily forgotten. "Lilly, look at Jellybean's little toes!"

"Toes!" Lilly giggled.

"Oh, is there a way to get a butt picture without revealing the gender?" Meredith requested. "I'm hoping this one gets Derek's butt like Lilly did."

Derek blushed at her uncensored question, but decided to roll with it. "We have a five dollar bet at stake, so an accurate butt picture is critical."

"Absolutely. I'll get you a good one," Dr. Halloran played along, turning the screen again in search of the desired photo.

"Thank you," Meredith smiled.

"You want me to win the butt bet, right?" Derek asked.

"Yes. Shepherd butts are a must."

Derek brushed her hair away from her forehead and kissed her again. "Okay, just making sure."

"Baby is quite the wiggle worm, but I got a nice butt picture for you," Dr. Halloran said as the sonogram pictures piled up in the printer. She picked out the gender revealing one from the stack and set it aside, then handed the remaining photos to them. "There you go. Butt one is on top."

It took only seconds for Meredith to figure out that Jellybean had luckily inherited the Shepherd behind, and she bit her lip in joy. "Your butt for sure. Look at those little cheeks," she gushed.

"Bean butt?" Lilly asked.

"Yeah, that's Jellybean's butt. It's cute and tiny, just like yours," Derek said, he and Lilly admiring the pictures while Meredith wiped the blue goo off her belly.

Once she fixed her shirt, Derek helped her sit up on the table, and passed half the photo pile to her. "Thank you for printing all of these. We love them," Meredith said.

"My pleasure. And here's your envelope. I sealed it, so you wouldn't lose the picture inside," Dr. Halloran replied before giving the envelope to Meredith.

"How long before Izzie tries to bribe us into opening that?" Derek joked, though he knew the chance of bribery was likely.

Meredith laughed, tucking the sacred envelope into her bag. "Oh, she way ahead of you. There's already a Tupperware container of chocolate scones sitting in my locker."

...

After retrieving said scones from the attending lounge and changing Lilly's diaper once the appointment ended, they walked down the hall toward the elevator, Lilly sitting atop Derek's shoulders.

When she spotted the princess castle on the other side of the glass in the daycare center, she let go of her hold on Derek's hair and pointed to it with enthusiasm. "Tassel!"

"What?"

"She means castle," Meredith clarified, cocking her head toward the daycare. "You like the castle, Lilly? Maybe Santa will bring you one for Christmas."

"I pay?" Lilly asked.

"We're leaving now, so we can play when we get home. How's that sound?" Meredith compromised.

Derek pulled his pager from the pocket of his jeans when it beeped, sighing when he read the message that scrolled across it. "Hold that thought. Bus crash victims are coming in. ETA is 10 minutes. Did the pit page you?"

"Probably, but I left my pager at home. We're off today. How do they even know we're here?" Meredith asked in frustration, her mind already going down the checklist of potential babysitters for Lilly.

"There are eyes everywhere," Derek said, taking Lilly off his shoulders. "You can hang out with Lilly if you want, and I'll go down there. If there's not any serious neuro cases, I'll pass them onto the residents."

"If would be quicker if we both went, but I don't know if anyone can watch her while we're down there," Meredith said.

"Oh, you know what? I think Mark is here. Today is Bridget's first day back at work, so Mark brought Charlotte with him, so he could catch up on paperwork," Derek said as he typed a quick text to see if Mark would be available.

Meredith raised her eyebrows at the idea. "Can he handle two babies by himself?"

"Yeah. Charlotte can't crawl yet, and Lilly's one going on sixteen. Piece of cake," Derek shrugged, checking his phone when Mark responded. "Mark said it's no problem; he's in his office down the hall."

Without any other options available, Meredith gave in, hoping Derek's optimism was accurate. "Okay, then. Want to spend some time with Uncle Mark and Lolo, Lillybug?"

"Lolo!"

"Can you stay this easy-going when you're a teenager?" Derek asked Lilly as she toddled down the hall.

Lilly looked back at him and smiled. "Kay, Da."

After rounding the corner where Mark's office was located, Lilly pushed the door open without knocking, eager to see her favorite baby friend. "Hi," she greeted Mark before walking over to Charlotte, who sat in her bouncer.

"Hey, you," Mark returned. "So, how'd the appointment go? Penis or no penis?"

"No idea. We didn't find out," Derek replied.

"Really? I thought for sure you'd crack under the pressure," Mark said honestly.

"Nope. But the baby has Derek's butt, so that made me happy," Meredith said, showing Mark the ultrasound picture for proof.

Mark grinned from ear to ear when he saw the photo. "Look at that tiny hiney. Cute on the baby; not sure how cute it is on you, Derek."

"Believe me, it's a cute butt," Meredith defended, much to Derek's mortification. "Lilly has it, too."

Lilly temporarily paused her game of peek-a-boo with Charlotte to chime into the conversation. "My u-tus," she informed him, pointing just below her belly button.

"Did your one year old just say uterus?" Mark asked.

Meredith sighed in amusement. "She did. Just go with it."

"You have a uterus? That's very cool," Mark played along, giving Lilly a high five.

"Okay, we have to head down to the pit. Hopefully it's nothing major, so we can get out of here," Derek said as he and Meredith leaned down to give Lilly a kiss. "Love you, Princess."

"We'll be back soon. Love you," Meredith echoed.

Lilly pulled them in for a group hug, kissing each of their cheeks. "Lub."

"Thanks, Mark. We appreciate it," Derek said.

"No problem. With Lilly here to entertain Charlotte, I'll actually be able to make a dent in that," Mark said, cocking his head toward the stack of charts sitting on his desk.

"She's happy to help. Put her to work," Derek teased. "I'll text you when we make our escape."

"Have fun. Oh, and if you decide to sneak back up here for a quickie, remember we share an office wall, and our children will be able to hear you," Mark reminded them.

Meredith waved off the idea, a hand draped over her belly. "The baby kicked during S-E-X this morning, and Derek's still trying to get over the trauma of it. So no office quickies, we promise."

"Oh, jeez," Derek murmured, blushing at her usual pregnancy-induced lack of filter.

"What? It's true, isn't it?" Meredith upheld. "Okay, we'll see you. Thanks again. Love you, Lilly."

Once Meredith and Derek left Mark's office, he sat back down in his desk chair and flipped open a patient chart. Just as he was about to scrawl his signature on the page, he noticed Lilly crouching behind Charlotte's bouncer. "What're you doing, Lilly?"

"I poo."

Mark nodded in defeat, reaching for her diaper bag. "Of course you are."

...

An hour into the unexpected afternoon of working in the pit was making Meredith wish she had taken Derek up on his offer to hang out with Lilly upstairs. Since Derek volunteered to oversee a fourth year with his first ventriculostomy on one of the bus crash patients, that left her to man the minor neuro cases. Normally, she didn't mind the hum drum stuff like sutures, because it meant she got to sit, taking the pressure off her tired, pregnant feet.

Except now, she would have happily traded with Derek, because suturing a drunk man's scalp was not how she wanted to spend what was supposed to be an afternoon off.

"You're hot," the man said in a poor attempt at flirting, the banana bag IV in his arm not working fast enough for Meredith's liking.

Meredith rolled her eyes. "If you don't hold still, I'm going to call an intern over here to do this instead. And believe me, you don't want them putting needles in your head."

"I'm just saying. It's a compliment."

Meredith paused her suturing to show him her left hand. "That's sweet, but there's a wedding ring under this glove, given to me by my husband. A husband whose baby I'm carrying, in case you didn't notice."

"Lucky guy," the man replied.

"I think so, too," Meredith said, sighing in relief when Alex walked over to her. "Oh, thank God. Please tell me you're here to rescue me."

"You look like you could use a break. Figured I could help," Alex said as he took over the sutures. "I just saw Sloan in the cafeteria with the girls. Lilly ran over to me, hugged me, and told me she had a uterus."

Meredith laughed. "Yeah, uterus is her new favorite word. She saw a picture of one during our appointment today, and she's been saying it ever since."

"So, what's the verdict? Another girl?" Alex asked.

"Probably, but we didn't find out," Meredith said, rubbing the side of her belly when she felt the baby kick. "And now, she's hungry. If I don't eat once every two hours, she reminds me until I do."

"I'll finish up. Just sign the dude's chart over to me," Alex offered.

"Seriously?"

Alex shrugged, threading another line of suture on the needle. "I'm just running out the clock until Iz finishes up in surgery. Go feed the fetus."

Meredith quickly scribbled her loopy signature on the patient's chart before Alex could change his mind, then patted his shoulder. "Fetus loves her Uncle Alex. Thank you," she said, making a beeline for the vending machines in the lobby outside the ER.

No sooner did she take the first bite of her cereal bar when an ER nurse tracked her down, an armful of clipboards. "Dr. Grey, we have a concussion coming in. Possible brain bleed needs to be ruled out. Are you available?"

As much as she wanted to say no, she did what any good doctor would do. "Yeah. Call ahead to CT and get me a spot in line. After I do an initial neuro assessment, I'll take him up."

"Thank you," the nurse said, already dialing CT on her phone.

Meredith shoveled the rest of her cereal bar into her mouth, so Jellybean would be satisfied for the next couple hours, then trudged back to the pit to await the incoming ambulance. "Just think of the upside, Jellybean. The more hours I put in now, the longer I get to stay home with you and Lilly once you're born."

The baby gave a tiny kick under her hand, and she smiled. "See? Daddy's attempt to make me an optimist isn't a total lost cause."

...

Four hours later, they finally left the ER and celebrated their escape by picking up a pizza on the way home, per Meredith's craving for pepperoni. And after managing to cover herself in pizza sauce, Lilly continued her fun in the kitchen sink during her bath.

"Baf!" she said as she splashed the surface of the water with her chubby hands.

"Are you gonna help Mommy and Daddy give Jellybean a bath?" Derek asked.

"Bean baf," Lilly nodded, turning toward Meredith, who sat next to her on the countertop. "Bean u-tus."

"That's right. Bean is still in my uterus," Meredith nodded before glancing at Derek. "She's never gonna stop saying that word, is she?"

Derek grinned, wiping a drop of water off Lilly's forehead with his shirt sleeve. "I saw Bailey in the scrub room as I was scrubbing out. She said she saw Lilly in the cafeteria, and she told her she had a uterus."

"She told Alex the same thing," Meredith said.

"My u-tus," Lilly joined in, pointing to her belly beneath the water.

"You're so smart, Lillybug. You know that?" Meredith praised as she tried to stifle a yawn.

"Tired?"

"Yeah. Being pregnant and running around the ER? Not the best combo. But at least it took my mind off that envelope that's already taunting me," Meredith said, cocking her head at the envelope on the kitchen table that contained the answer to Jellybean's gender.

"It's fun, isn't it?" Derek said in an attempt for her to see the silver lining.

"No."

Derek chuckled, combing his fingers through Lilly's wet curls. "It'll get easier. Once we get used to seeing the envelope sitting there, the temptation will wear off. Besides, I remember someone telling me once that the waiting is fun..." he teased.

Meredith narrowed her eyes at him. "Using my own words against me?"

"Yes, but it's true. Doing it differently this time around is fun. New baby, new experiences. Pregnancy, birth, all of it," Derek said.

"I have one addendum to that. I didn't poop on the table last time, and I'm determined not to do it this time, either. Some things are better left unchanged," Meredith pledged.

Lilly looked up at her. "Mama poo?"

Meredith laughed at her daughter's concern. "Nope, Mama's not going to poop when she has Jellybean. Because if I do, I'll never be able to look Daddy in the eye ever again."

"We made two babies together, and I watched you give birth. I've pretty much seen it all, Mer. So, poop or no poop, I'll still love you," Derek said, leaning over the sink to kiss her.

"Daddy's so romantic, Lilly," Meredith murmured against his lips. "Seriously, though, you have to hide that envelope from me."