164. Reminiscing & Race Car Sheets

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

Endlessly sorry for the endless wait. I hate letting a month pass between chapters. Despite my best intentions, life gets in the way of writing. Thank you for your patience. Enjoy!

Pulling into the driveway of his first home always filled Derek with a sense of happy nostalgia of his childhood. Summer baseball games in the street, the rows of daffodils his Mom planted every spring, apple cider and pumpkin pie all autumn long, and snowball fights with Mark against his mutiny of sisters every winter. Glimpses of his past that stayed with him into his adulthood. And now that he got to share the trips back home with his wife and daughter, the memories were made even sweeter.

Lilly must have sensed that they'd reached their destination, because she began wiggling in her car seat with joy. "Gammy?" she asked.

"Yep, we're finally at Gammy's," Derek said, glancing back at her after parking the rented SUV, big enough to fit all six of them.

"Gammy!" Lilly clapped in delight.

"Okay, let's go see her," Meredith said as she unbuckled herself and Lilly. "I hope you're ready for the thousand kisses and hugs that are coming your way, peanut."

"And I hope you're ready for everyone kissing, patting, and talking to that belly of yours, Grey," Mark warned, opening the car door.

"Oh, I am. I've been preparing myself for a month," Meredith laughed. She got out of the car, then planted Lilly on her hip, keeping her close in case the swarm of unfamiliar relatives besides Mrs. Shepherd was overwhelming at first.

Derek and Mark slung as many bags over their shoulders as they could before gathering the first round of suitcases, much to Meredith's amusement. "I can help, you know. I'm pregnant, not old and frail."

"Seriously, we have arms," Bridget chimed in.

"We've got it. You and Bridg are carrying the girls," Derek said, closing the trunk with his elbow.

"They walked up the small path to the front door, and before they could knock, Mrs. Shepherd already opened it for them, arms outstretched. "You're here! Come in, come in. It's cold," she said, ushering them all into the foyer.

"Hey, Ma," Derek said before kissing her cheek.

"Hi, sweetheart," she said, returning a kiss on his cheek. She placed subsequent kisses on Meredith's, Mark's, and Bridget's cheeks, saving Lilly and Charlotte for last.

Lilly reached for her grandma, and Linda scooped her into her arm while Bridget placed Charlotte in the other. "My sweet girls. You're both so beautiful. Gammy missed you so, so much," she said, breathing in Lilly's dark curls.

Meredith looked at Derek and Mark, both grinning from ear to ear at the sight of their mother holding their daughters. "Pretty good, huh?"

"I've been looking forward to this for months," Linda said. "Next year, I'll need to find a way to hold all three babies. How are you feeling, dear? Twenty-three weeks now, right? All baby, like you were last time."

"Yeah, I feel great," Meredith nodded.

"Bean," Lilly pointed.

"Is that your bean in Mommy's belly?" Linda asked.

Lilly smiled proudly at her grandma, all too happy to spread the word about her sibling. "My bean."

"They're here!" Amy called out, running into the living room with Adam on her hip. "It's about time. Mom's been peeking out the window into the driveway every five minutes since this morning."

Adam looked at the babies in Linda's arms, studying them with his bright blue eyes that matched Lilly's. "Bay?" he asked.

"Yeah, these are your cousins. The one that looks just like you is Lilly," Amy pointed. "And the littler baby next to her is Charlotte. Wave hi, Adam."

Adam waved to his cousins, and Lilly politely waved back. "Hi," she smiled.

"It's crazy how much they look alike. No shared DNA, but they could pass for brother and sister. He was meant to be in the Shepherd family, weren't you, buddy?" Mark said, fascinated by their resemblance.

"Fifteen months old now, and he looks more like a Shepherd every day," Amy said, bouncing him in her arm.

Liz, Kathleen, and Nancy barreled into the living room, just as eager to see the last six family members that completed the Shepherd clan, plus the one that currently resided in Meredith's uterus.

"The golden boys have arrived," Nancy teased, giving her brothers a hug.

"And look at you two. Prettiest mommies around," Kathleen complimented before reaching out her hand to touch Meredith's belly. "Oh, may I?"

"Of course, yeah. Baby's kicking, so you're in luck," Meredith said, placing Kathleen's hand under her ribs.

Kathleen gasped in awe when she felt the baby's kicks thudding under Meredith's skin. "Those little kicks are powerful, huh?"

"Very. Lilly's kicks used to wake me in the middle of the night. I'm waiting for this little guy to do that, too," Meredith said.

"Little guy," Liz echoed. "Are we thinking boy? Because this family needs more boys."

"We swear we don't know. Only our OB does, and the envelope on the kitchen table at home," Derek said to his whole brood of sisters, so he wouldn't be nagged the entire trip.

"Isn't that torture?" Amy asked.

Meredith laughed as she took off Lilly's coat. "Yeah. It's a daily struggle not to tear it open every morning."

"Well, if you're looking for name suggestions, we all have some for you," Nancy said.

"Looking forward to that," Derek teased, noticing how Meredith was shifting her weight from one leg to another, her pregnant pee dance. "How about we go put our stuff upstairs, then you can share all of them with us."

"Okay, dear. I'll put out some snacks, and we can catch up," Linda said, handing Lilly back to Meredith.

Meredith looked at her husband with gratitude, and smiled at him as he gathered their bags. "Thank you," she mouthed.

The three of them trekked upstairs and down the hall to Derek's old bedroom. Lilly spotted a framed picture of a young Derek on the wall, and she pointed to it with interest. "Me?" she asked.

Derek looked at the picture, grinning at how much his daughter resembled him. "That's Dada when he was little like you."

"Holy crap," Meredith said softly, her full bladder temporarily forgotten when she glanced back and forth between Lilly and the photo. Same blue eyes, dimpled cheeks, and dark hair with little, curly ringlets. "Are my eggs even involved in the baby-making process, or does your sperm just overpower my gene pool entirely?"

"Crazy, isn't it?" Derek agreed.

"You two are so cute. We need a copy of this for our house," Meredith said, snapping a picture of the framed photo on her phone. "If I keep staring at it, the stupid pregnancy hormones are going to make me cry."

Derek turned the knob on his bedroom door, and gestured for Meredith and Lilly to enter first. "I happen to love those stupid hormones," he argued.

"Because I give you oodles of S-E-X?" Meredith asked.

"Yes."

"Kib?" Lilly asked when she saw the port-a-crib.

Meredith smiled, setting Lilly down on the bed. "Yeah, Gammy set up a crib for you to sleep in. Wasn't that nice of her?"

"Seep bed," Lilly countered.

"You can deal with this argument. I need to pee," Meredith said, patting Derek's arm, then going into the bathroom to relieve her ready-to-burst bladder.

Derek sat down on the bed next to Lilly, certain that if he rested his head on the pillow, he could sleep until the following morning. "But if you sleep here with Mommy, where will Daddy sleep?"

"Kib," Lilly replied.

Derek laughed, scooping her into his lap before he began tickling her. "You're a comedian, huh?" he said over Lilly's loud fit of giggles. "You may look like me, but you got Mommy's laugh."

"Ma waff."

"My favorite sound in the world. You think Jellybean will get Mommy's laugh, too?" Derek asked her.

Lilly looked up at him and smiled. "Bean waff."

Meredith emerged from the bathroom looking visibly more relaxed, and she dropped down onto the bed next to Lilly and Derek. "Feel better?" he asked.

"Much. And now that my bladder is empty, I have nothing to distract me from your Mom's stories about you. That's my favorite part of coming here. You know that, right?" Meredith said.

Derek smirked. "You delight in my pain."

"Oh, come on. I love those stories. Plus, she raised you. If Jellybean is a boy, I need some of her wisdom," Meredith said, setting Lilly on the floor, so she could play with the basket of toys that Linda had placed next to the crib.

"Wisdom?"

"Yeah. We have a girl. I'm clueless when it comes to boy stuff. Penises and all that," Meredith explained.

"You want to chat about penises with my mother?"

"Not in a creepy way. Just basic info... peepee teepees, how to position it in the diaper, benefits of circumcision," she shrugged. "Who better to ask? Look how great your penis turned out."

Derek looked at her with an equal mix of horror and disbelief. "You're going to discuss mine?"

"Of course not. Talking about my husband's penis with his mother crosses the line, even for me," Meredith assured him, cringing at the thought. "But seriously, we made two babies together. She knows you've had sex."

"Yeah, I try not to think about that. Ever," Derek replied.

"Gammy?" Lilly asked, a teddy bear in each arm which she'd taken from the toy bin.

"Yeah, let's go see Gammy," Derek said as he picked Lilly up. "Maybe you and I can sneak off for some food while Mommy talks to Gammy about topics that make Daddy uncomfortable."

Meredith laughed, patting his arm. "See? There you go."

The three left the quiet of Derek's bedroom and rejoined the Shepherd family fun going on downstairs. All of the people and chatter was vastly different from what Lilly was used to at her own quiet home, and she kept herself glued to her parents while she got used to the new environment.

"In a few minutes, she'll be dancing around the room. She just needs to warm up. Right, Princess?" Derek asked, Lilly sitting on his lap.

"I can't get over how big she got—or that you'll have another one in March," Amy said as she bounced Adam on her knee.

"Neither can we. I mean, we always knew we wanted two, but this one sort of took us by surprise. Best surprise ever, though," Meredith smiled.

"You're due on the 23rd, right?" Kathleen asked. "If he or she decides to come a little early, you might get a St. Paddy's Day baby."

Meredith nodded in support of the idea. "Hey, I'm all for that. If this baby is anything like Lilly, I'm anticipating a late checkout. She was due in May, and born in June, so I'm expecting this one to make her appearance in April."

"April babies are wonderful," Mrs. Shepherd said fondly.

All of Derek's sisters rolled their eyes in unison. "Derek is the only April baby in the family, which is what makes April oh so wonderful," Liz teased.

"Oh, hush. Not just Derek. My dad was an April baby, too. He knew I was going to marry your father before I did, you know," Linda shared.

"What? You never told us that before," Nancy said.

"It's true. I was a sophomore and your dad was a senior when we met. Before our first date, your dad came to my house to pick me up. He shook my parents' hands, told them we were going to the movies, and promised to have me home by ten o'clock. He even showed them his license. He was the perfect gentleman," Mrs. Shepherd recalled, spinning her wedding ring around her finger out of habit.

"So we went to the movies, shared popcorn, and he had me home by ten. He opened the car door for me, walked me up my front steps, and only kissed my cheek. When I went in the house, my dad smiled at me, and he said 'Honey, you're going to marry him some day.' Sure enough, he was right. A few years later, I did."

Amy smiled, wiping her eyes with her sweater sleeve. "Grandpa Will was a romantic, huh?"

"Yes, he was. He won my mom over on their first date, too," Linda said.

"Now I know where Derek gets it from. I loved him after one date, too," Meredith replied, deciding not to mention that their first date consisted of multiple rounds of hot sex on her living room floor.

"Oh, yeah. William Maloney and Jim Shepherd live on through him. I see so much of both of them in you, sweetheart," Linda told Derek sincerely.

"Dada?" Lilly asked.

Linda smiled at her granddaughter. "Yeah. And I see so much of your Dada in you."

"We saw that picture hanging in the hallway, the one of me in the overalls when I was Lilly's age. Mer wants a copy for our house," Derek chuckled.

"Oh, I love that picture. Every time I pass by it, I see Lilly's face. I'm sure I have copies in your baby books; I'll find one for you," Linda said.

"And you wonder why we say Derek is your favorite," Amy said lightheartedly, letting Adam play on the floor.

The baby curiously toddled over to Lilly who still sat in Derek's lap, and he handed her his Buzz Lightyear toy. "Pay?" he asked.

Lilly glanced up at her parents, seeking their approval of the little person talking to her. "Go ahead, Princess. You can play with him," Derek encouraged.

"Her usual playmate is Charlotte. She hasn't had much exposure to boys, except our dog," Meredith said.

"I'm gonna try to keep it that way until she's finished med school," Derek added as he set Lilly next to her cousin. "At least he's good practice if she ends up getting a brother."

"Does she have a preference?" Kathleen asked.

Derek shook his head. "Nah, not really. I'm sure if she were a few years older, she'd demand a sister. But she's still so little, so every memory she has will include the baby, anyway. We're hoping for a smooth transition... or as smooth as it can be with an almost two year old and a newborn."

"Lilly's great with Charlotte. Boy or girl, she's got the big sister role covered," Bridget said.

At the mention of Charlotte, Lilly took Adam's hand and led him over to the baby, who was sitting on Bridget's lap. "My Lolo," Lilly introduced, patting Charlotte's foot.

Adam waved to Charlotte, fascinated by her strawberry-blonde hair that didn't match the rest of his cousins' usual dark curls. "Hi," he said.

"Say hi, Lolo," Bridget said, waving Charlotte's hand. Eager to join in on the fun, she wiggled her tiny bottom, reaching for the two.

"You want to play with them? Hang on, I'll grab your boppy seat from the suitcase," Mark said before trekking off to retrieve it.

"It's weird without all the kids here. This house is never quiet," Derek observed, snagging a homemade cookie from the table.

"Yeah, since we do all the cooking on Thanksgiving, they guys offered to take all the kids to the movies. Their gift to us, so we could spend some time with our sweet, little nieces," Liz said. "And since Adam was too little, he's an added bonus."

After Mark reentered the living room with the boppy seat, he set it on the carpeted floor in front of the couch, then placed Charlotte in it. "There you go, pumpkin. Now you can play with your buddies."

"Good. Time to talk names. We all flipped through a baby name book and wrote down our favorites," Liz said, leaning forward in anticipation.

"Okay, but just so we're clear, all final decisions will be made by the two people who made the baby," Derek interjected before the conversation started.

"Fair enough," Nancy agreed, pulling her own list from the pocket of her jeans. "Okay, first one: Harrison."

Derek sighed as he leaned back, wrapping his arm around Mererdith's shoulders. "No."

"Vivian?" Kathleen suggested.

"What baby name book did you get these from? One that was published in 1912?" Mark asked.

"Hey, those are strong, solid names," Nancy argued.

"What else?" Derek chimed in to avoid any potential bickering.

"I was going to share my girl list with you, but I don't want to give them away if I ever have a girl," Amy said.

Derek smiled at his youngest sister. "You want a third, Ames?"

"Oh, yeah. After two boys, I need a girl. I love all the trucks and bugs, but I'm ready for dolls and tea parties," Amy said eagerly.

"You just described our living room," Meredith giggled. "If this one is a boy, he better get used to attending daily tea time and being pushed around in a play stroller."

"Kathy and Lizzie did that with Derek. I remember a few days after we brought him home, I went into the other room to get a diaper, and when I came back, they had him in the tiny crib that came with Kathy's Cabbage Patch doll," his mom recalled.

"Do you have a picture of that?" Meredith asked.

Linda nodded. "Of course. I'll make a copy of it for you."

"I'd like one, too," Mark requested.

"Sure, dear."

"Great," Derek played along.

In the midst of playing with her cousins, Lilly suddenly got up off the floor and looked around. When she spotted a semi-secluded area of the living room between the couch and the window, she walked over to it and squatted down. Meredith and Derek smiled when they realized what she was doing, which was a mystery to the others.

"Is she okay?" Amy asked.

"Oh, yeah. She just scoped out her temporary poop corner," Derek explained. "Good choice, Princess."

"That brings back so many memories. Derek, you used to do that too, sweetheart," Linda told him, her nostalgia trumping any awareness that the tidbit might embarrass her son. "We called it your poo-poo place."

Derek dropped his head onto the back of the couch, his face heating in a blush. "Really, Ma? In front of my wife?"

"Oh, shut up. You watched me give birth. I get to hear about your poo-poo place," Meredith decided.

"You would always squat down between Dad's recliner and the bookshelf. We even put some of your little picture books on the shelf to keep you occupied while you did your business. It was the sweetest thing," Linda said fondly.

"So that's where Lilly gets it from," Meredith said.

"He was the only one of the kids that had a poo-poo place. The girls just went wherever they pleased," Linda added.

All four of Derek's sisters groaned in embarrassment, and this time, it was Derek's turn to laugh. "See? Not so funny when it's happening to you, is it?" he asked.

"I poo," Lilly announced to her parents once she was finished.

"Never been so happy to change a diaper. Come on, Lillybug. Daddy will change you," Derek said as he picked her up, eager to get a reprieve from the nostalgic blackmail his mom loved sharing with everyone.

"I can't get over how verbal she is. She's a smart cookie," Kathy said.

"Thank you," Meredith said, smiling at the compliment.

"When she comes back in, ask her where Jellybean lives," Mark added.

Meredith laughed, tapping her fingers over her belly. "Oh, yeah. She learned a fun, new word at my ultrasound a few weeks ago. Derek and I still aren't sure how we're going to have the... boy anatomy talk with her if she gets a little brother," Meredith admitted. "I know it's best to teach her the right terminology, but then she'll be sharing her new word with everyone."

"Jim and I weren't sure how to approach that when Derek was born either. But after the first time Kathy and Liz helped me change Derek's diaper, they got over the penis curiosity, and it wasn't a big deal," Linda said.

Meredith peeked into the other room where Derek was still out of earshot changing Lilly, and she smiled. "I'm glad we're having this conversation when he's not in the room. I don't think it's possible for him to blush any more than he has in the last ten minutes."

"Before he comes back, I have to ask. Are you sure you didn't sneak a peek in that envelope? We swear we'd never tell him," Kathy promised.

"No, I haven't. Not yet anyway. I didn't think I'd make it this long without looking, so I'll consider it a personal victory if I keep it sealed the whole time," Meredith teased.

Lilly toddled back into the room ahead of Derek, and made a quick pit stop to see Meredith on her way back over to her cousins. "I keen," she said.

"You're all clean? Good job, peanut," Meredith praised before kissing Lilly's forehead.

"Lilly, where does Jellybean live?" Kathy asked.

Lilly quickly pointed to Meredith's belly. "Ma u-tus," she answered.

"Oh my God, she knows the word uterus. I love her even more now," Amy said.

"Seems like you might have a future OB in the family, taking after her Aunt Nancy-Pants," Mark told Derek when he came back in the room.

"We'll see about that," Derek challenged. "Lilly, where's your temporal lobes?"

Lilly pointed above her ears without hesitation, and the pride was written all over Derek's face. "That's my girl. She got the poop corner from me, her beauty from her mother, and her neurosurgeon genes from both of us."

Liz reached over and patted Derek's shoulder. "And there's the best part of Thanksgiving: our arrogant neurosurgeon brother."

...

The long day spent traveling across the country was winding down, but Lilly's energy was holding surprisingly strong. She stood on the bed in her diaper, spinning in circles and laughing every time she fell on her bottom.

"This time difference is making her loopy. I thought for sure she'd be asleep by now," Meredith said as she sat on the edge of the bed, using herself as Lilly's guardrail.

Derek chuckled as he rummaged through the suitcase on the floor. "A bath should tire her out. If not, we're in trouble," he said, pulling out her bag of bath supplies, and two pairs of footie pajamas. He unfolded them, then held them on display in front of Lilly. "Which ones to you want to wear after your bath, Lillybug? Kitty or moo-moo?"

Lilly paused her bed bouncing momentarily to consider her choices. "Moo-moo," she decided, pointing to the ones with the cow print.

"Moo-moo it is," Derek said before tossing the pajamas to Meredith.

There was a short knock at the door, and Meredith turned her head in interest. "Come in," she called out.

"Everybody decent?" Mark asked as he tentatively stepped into the room.

"Yes, we're decent," Meredith assured him.

"Okay, just had to make sure. I've walked in when your boobs were out too many times in the past," Mark said.

Meredith rolled her eyes and gestured to the t-shirt she was wearing. "My boobs are safely in my shirt. What's up?"

"Bridg and I are about to give Charlotte a bath. If you'd like to cash in on your S-E-X favor now, we'll give Lilly a bath for you. But I expect you to return your end of the exchange in the morning," Mark offered.

"Seriously?"

Mark shrugged. "A deal's a deal."

Meredith looked at Derek and bit her lip, which told him she was interested in the proposition. "I can't believe I'm participating in this sex deal, but yeah, we'll take you up on the offer," Derek agreed.

"Good. You've got twenty minutes," Mark said. He smiled at Lilly, who was too busy doing her twirls to know what her parents and uncle were discussing. "Hey, kiddo, want to take a bath with Lolo?"

"Baf!" Lilly clapped.

"Yeah, we'll get you all clean while your parents get nasty in the race car sheets," Mark said.

Meredith looked at him, her face the same shade of red that Derek's had been earlier. "Mark, don't tell her that."

"Oh, like you two have the moral high ground right now," Mark pointed out, picking up Lilly, her new diaper, and cow pajamas. "Come on, beautiful."

Derek smiled at his daughter, who was all too happy to have extended play time with Charlotte. "Have fun, Princess."

"Thanks, Mark," Meredith said.

Mark waved as he and Lilly left the room. "Twenty minutes!" he repeated before closing the bedroom door behind him.

"This feels wrong on so many levels," Derek said, watching as Meredith pulled back the comforter on the bed after locking the door.

"Think of it as multitasking. Lilly gets a bath and we get grown-up time. Win-win. Now get naked; we only have nineteen minutes," Meredith said as she shimmied out of her pants and panties, then her shirt.

It took Derek's brain a few moments to catch up with his hands at the sight of her standing naked before him, but when it did, his clothes joined hers on top of the pile, and she pushed him swiftly onto the bed.

"You wanna be on top?" he asked.

"You mean do I want to ride you in the race car sheets? Yes," Meredith answered, leaning down and kissing him.

Derek grinned. "Then let's make the most of the next nineteen minutes."