165. Thanksgiving III

Disclaimer: Still not mine.

So, so, so sorry for the very long wait! Between finishing finals and 12 hour shifts, my life is extra busy right now. But summer is coming, which hopefully means more writing time! Thank you endlessly for your patience!

It was Thanksgiving day at the Shepherd household, but instead of dreaming about the pending feast turkey and mashed potatoes, Derek was dreaming of his bed back home. It was king-sized, pillow-topped, and spacious enough for the whole family, quite the change from the full-sized bed in his old bedroom which was currently occupied by three people, plus the grapefruit-sized one in Meredith's belly.

Lilly, who had no interest in the port-a-crib, lay sprawled out next to Meredith on the mattress, leaving Derek with a mere few inches of space. He carefully rolled onto his back and lifted Lilly's tiny body on top of his. He panicked when her eyelids fluttered briefly at being moved, but instead of waking up, she simply put her thumb in her mouth and fell back to sleep, her head on his chest.

"There we go," he whispered, a hand draped over her back.

Just as Derek was dozing back to sleep, finally comfortable, there was a short knock on the door, and he sighed. "Come in," he said softly.

"It's 9:00. You're still asleep?" Mark asked in a whisper, Charlotte sitting in his arm.

"Lilly wasn't a fan of the port-a-crib, so she's been with us all night. Not exactly restful—for me, anyway. Lilly and Mer look pretty comfy," Derek yawned.

"Mom is downstairs cooking, so Bridg and I wanted to make good on the deal before breakfast. Twenty minutes, the same as you got," Mark said, setting Charlotte on the bed between Meredith and Derek. "She just ate, so she's in a good mood. Have fun, Lolo. Make sure Uncle Derek entertains you," he teased.

Knowing he had to hold up his end of the bargain, Derek nodded in agreement. "Yeah, yeah. Go have your twenty minutes," he said.

"Oh, I intend to," Mark said. He waved to Charlotte, who was happily playing with Meredith's hair that fanned out over her pillow, then left the room.

When Lilly heard the baby's cooing sounds, her blue eyes popped open, all traces of sleepiness instantly forgotten. "Lolo!" she cheered.

"And we're up," Derek said, sitting up with Lilly in the bed and placing her next to Charlotte.

"Hmm, what?" Meredith murmured into her pillow. She peeked her eye open and smiled when she saw her daughter and her niece, both with bed head and clad in their pajamas. "Good morning."

"Hi, Ma," Lilly said, leaning in and kissing Meredith's cheek. Then as she did every morning, she pressed a kiss to her belly. "Hi, Bean."

"Hi, baby girl. Hi, Lolo," Meredith said as she sat up. She brushed her hair off her face and glanced at the clock. "Let me guess: Mark is collecting on the deal?"

Derek nodded, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "Yeah. Kinda wish he'd saved it for later in the day. I could've used another hour of sleep."

"Didn't sleep well?" Meredith asked.

"I woke up with Lilly's foot on my face and your leg across my stomach at one point. You two know how to hog a bed," Derek said playfully. "The only one who didn't kick me was Jellybean."

Meredith laughed, patting his shoulder in empathy. "Jellybean saves all the kicking for me. She's actually kicking right now, probably because she smells breakfast. Is that French toast?" she asked.

"I don't smell anything."

"Really? All I smell is French toast and syrup. Eggs, too, with a peppery smell. Omelets, maybe?" Meredith guessed.

"Gigi?" Lilly asked.

Derek chuckled at her pronunciation, one of her parents' favorite Lillyisms. "Yeah. Do you want some gigis and French toast for breakfast?"

"Gigi topes," Lilly clapped eagerly.

"Gigis and topes it is, then," Derek agreed.

"How much longer until... all deals have been sealed?" Meredith asked.

Derek glanced at the digital clock on his nightstand. "About fifteen minutes."

"Do we wait? Because judging by the kicking going on in here, Jellybean can't hold out for eggs and French toast that long," Meredith said.

"Gigi topes!" Lilly repeated with the same vigor.

"There's our answer. Let's go eat," Derek said, scooping Lilly into one arm and Charlotte in the other. "I hope you're right about what's for breakfast; otherwise, Lilly's gonna be very disappointed."

Meredith swung her legs over the side of the bed, a hand over her belly. "My super-smelling pregnancy powers are always on point. That and the twenty-four-seven urge to mount you."

Derek smiled at her unapologetic lack of filter, another gift of her pregnancy. "After you and our kids, that's what I'm most grateful for this Thanksgiving."

...

Once breakfast had been eaten, the Shepherd army of nieces descended upon Lilly and Charlotte, eager to get in quality time with the smallest members of the family.

Meredith sat on the couch next to Bridget, both of them watching their daughters soak up the attention they were being given. "I think she's finally getting used to all the noise... which is good, because once this baby comes, there's going to be a slight disruption in the peace."

"How did the baby get in your belly?" their five year old niece, Morgan, asked.

Meredith froze, biting her lip as she tried to come up with a child-friendly explanation of reproduction. "Well, Uncle Derek and I, we love each other very much. And people who love each other have babies, so that's what Uncle Derek and I did," she rambled.

Audrey, an eight year old niece, decided to provide a more succinct answer to her little sister's question. "They had intercourse," she said wisely.

"Oh, my God," Meredith murmured, feeling her face heat in a blush.

"Hey. Pumpkins are all set up," Derek announced as he walked into the living room.

"Thank God," Meredith sighed, relieved when the group of nieces took off into the dining room to get first dibs.

Derek noticed her reddened cheeks and cocked his head in curiosity. "What?"

"I was about five seconds away from having the sex talk with them, so thank you for saving me from that," Meredith said as she scooped Lilly into her arm. "Are you ready to carve pumpkins with your cousins, Lillybug?"

"Pumpins!" Lilly echoed.

"Mom set out paint and paper, so the little kids can make hand print turkeys, too," Derek said.

"Ooh, do you want to make a hand print turkey, Charlotte?" Bridget asked her daughter. "I'm sure Daddy's already in there scoping out the best pumpkin in the bunch for himself."

Derek laughed. "He is. He says it's for Charlotte, but that's just a cover story."

"That's what happens when you have a crap childhood. All of that kid stuff is fun," Meredith said.

"You've never carved a pumpkin either, have you?" Derek guessed.

Meredith shook her head. "Nope."

"Well, then, go pick a pumpkin," Derek grinned, taking Lilly from her. "Are you gonna help Mommy and Daddy scoop out the pumpkin brain?"

"Bain," Lilly nodded.

"Okay, good."

Derek set Lilly on the newspaper-covered tabletop, and took a seat in the chair behind her, saving the one next to him for Meredith. He smiled when she came back with a pumpkin slightly smaller than her current pregnant belly, carefully setting it on the table next to Lilly.

"Good choice."

"Thanks. Mark already carved the hole in the top for us, so we just need to scoop it out," Meredith said as she sat in the empty chair reserved for her. "Ready to scoop, Lilly?"

Lilly wiggled her bottom, eager to join in on the fun all the kids around her were having. "Coop!"

"You think she's gonna stick her hand in there?" Amy asked.

Before Derek could vouch for his daughter, she stuck her hand in the pumpkin, yanking out a tiny fistful of slimy, stringy, orange goo. "Bains, Ma," she announced.

"Very good, Dr. Lilly," Meredith praised.

Derek's face lit up in pride. "That's my girl. She's fearless. Future neuro god, right Princess?"

"Wow, I'm impressed," Amy said. "Kyle still refuses to gut the pumpkin."

"We started her young. She's been watching surgery tapes since birth. Spinal decompressions, valve repairs, cholecystectomies," Derek continued to boast, much to the amusement of Meredith and his sisters.

"As much as I hate to vouch for him, it's true. I took her to the gallery a few months ago to watch their glioblastoma resection. The new crop of interns got squeamish as soon as the skull flap was removed. Lilly didn't flinch. Blood, brains, gore. She watched the whole thing," Mark said, holding Charlotte's hand still while Bridget slathered her fingers and palm with brown paint for her turkey.

"Is she going to be in the delivery room with you?" Nancy asked.

"I don't know. I'd love her to be in there with us for that moment, but I don't want her to see me in pain. I'm pretty sure I screamed last time," Meredith recalled.

Derek laughed as he helped Lilly in her mission to scoop the pumpkin. "You never really screamed. Just a lot of moaning and groaning, and squeezing my hand so tight that it went numb," he amended.

"I really didn't scream?" Meredith asked in surprise.

"No. You were way calmer than I'd thought you'd be, actually," Derek confessed.

"But this time, I'll know what's going on. Not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing," Meredith said, brushing Lilly's hair away from her face.

Lizzie nodded in support. "Oh, definitely a good thing. Every birth is different, but at least you'll know the gist of what to expect."

"Whatever you decide, we need pictures right away," Amy instructed Derek. "Put us all in a group text while Mer's in labor, that way when the baby's born, you only have to send the pictures once and we'll all get them, just like last time."

"Will do," Derek promised.

"Dada do," Lilly echoed, patting his shoulder with her slimy, pumpkin-covered hand.

Derek kissed her cheek as he reached across the table for a napkin. "See? Lilly has faith in me. Thank you, Princess."

When Lilly spotted Charlotte's hand print turkey on the table, she pointed to it in delight. "Gob gob!"

"That is a gobble gobble. Very good, Lilly," Meredith praised.

"She's been practicing gobble gobble for a week," Derek explained with an unconcealable grin. "Next week, we're going to start on Santa Claus. She was pretty good for her Santa visit last year, but she was only six months old. We're bracing ourselves for a freak out this year now that she's older."

"If she can handle watching a gory surgery, she'll be a pro with Santa," Bridget predicted.

"Me gob gob?" Lilly asked when the pumpkin's inner contents had been scooped out.

Meredith smiled, grabbing a blank piece of paper. "Good idea. We can make your turkey while Daddy carves a face in our pumpkin."

"What kind of face am I carving?" Derek asked.

"Bean," Lilly answered.

"You want Dada to carve Jellybean's face into a pumpkin? I'm not sure I'm that talented, but I'll give it a try," Derek chuckled.

Amy paused her focused pumpkin carving and looked across the table in curiosity. "Are you gonna carve the sonogram picture into it? Uterus and all?"

"Let's leave my uterus off the pumpkin, please," Meredith requested.

"U-tus!" Lilly repeated, pointing to her belly.

"Is that your favorite word, Lillybug?" Meredith asked as she dipped a paintbrush in the brown paint.

"Who knows? Maybe she'll be like her Aunt Nancypants and join the vagina squad," Mark said.

Derek waved his hand in a halting motion. "Let's keep that word out of the conversation; otherwise, she'll be saying it over and over."

"If it's a boy, she'll be saying P-E-N-I-S by the time we take him home from the hospital. Which anatomical term is more inappropriate for a toddler to say?" Meredith asked playfully.

"Most toddlers don't know anatomical terms," Liz pointed out.

"Ours does," Derek boasted, helping Lilly press her painted hand onto the paper. He pulled it up carefully to keep it from smudging, and when Lilly saw her brown hand print, she smiled in delight.

"A gob gob!" Lilly cheered.

"Your very own gob gob. It's perfect," Meredith said. She drew eyes and an orange beak on the thumb, and her amateur art made Derek smile. "You married a surgeon, not an artist," she said in her own defense.

Derek laughed. "I didn't say anything."

"Uh huh. No making fun of me until you're finished carving our second child into the pumpkin."

...

For Meredith, being pregnant on Thanksgiving was as good as winning the lottery. It was the only time she could satisfy her endless food cravings in the name of celebration, and not be judged for the amount of calories consumed during one meal.

"Are you sure I can wear my stretchy, pregnant lady jeans to Thanksgiving dinner?" Meredith asked as she hopped into them one leg at a time.

"When Kathy was pregnant with twins, she wore pajamas to the table. No one batted an eye. Your pregnant lady jeans are fine," Derek promised.

Lilly stood in front of the mirror and twirled in a circle, laughing when her purple dress flew up with each spin. "Pitty, Ma," she said.

"You look beautiful, Lillybug," Meredith agreed.

"Both of you do," Derek said.

When he bent down to get one of Lilly's bibs from the suitcase, Meredith bit her lip in admiration, unable to keep herself from staring. Derek caught her before she could avert her eyes, and he smirked. "I feel slightly violated with you looking at me like that, Dr. Grey," he joked.

"If Lilly weren't in the room, I'd mount you right now," Meredith admitted as she applied some lip gloss. "Think we could strike up another deal with Mark? Twenty minutes for us, twenty minutes for them?"

Derek cringed. "I'm still traumatized from the last conversation."

"I'll ask him. He's Mark. He'll go for it," she said, kissing Derek's cheek as she walked by. "You can thank me later when I'm on top of you," she whispered for the sake of Lilly nearby. "Until then, let's go eat. Mama needs mashed potatoes."

"Ma 'tato," Lilly said, raising her arms in the air when Meredith picked her up.

"Yeah. Let's go show the Shepherds how much the Grey girls can out-eat them," Meredith teased.

"Uh oh. Which one of us gets to change that diaper tomorrow?" Derek asked as they walked out of the room and into the hall.

Meredith glanced back at him and smiled. "I vote for her Uncle Mark."

"I like that idea."

When they reached the dining room downstairs, Meredith was once again taken aback by the volume of people and food. As an only child with an absentee mother growing up, Thanksgiving was nothing special at her house; but for Derek's family, the sheer magnitude of a single dinner was the norm.

"Unca' Derek, can you sit near the kid table?" Morgan requested, tugging on his pant leg.

Derek bent down and kissed the top of her head. "I'd be honored. Lead the way."

Morgan grabbed his hand, guiding the three of them to their places at the end of the long table, flanked across from Mark, Bridget, and Charlotte. "So you've been summoned to the kiddie end, too, huh?" Mark asked as he fastened Charlotte's bib.

"Good conversation, the latest kindergarten gossip, right in front of the mashed potatoes. These are the best seats in the house," Derek grinned, pulling out Meredith's chair before taking Lilly. "Want to sit in Daddy's lap, Lillybug?"

"Mama's lap is slowly running out of room," Meredith said as she sat down. She nearly moaned when she saw the sweet potatoes drizzled with mini marshmallows, forcing herself to keep composure. "And after I consume five thousand calories during this dinner, there's going to be even less room."

Lilly settled herself in Derek's lap, surveying the table while Derek put on her bib. "Bean bean, Da," she said.

"You want some green beans? You got it," Derek said as he scooped a spoonful onto her small dish.

Before Derek could even put the serving spoon back in the bowl, Lilly picked up a green bean and began munching, much to Mark's amusement. "She's not wasting any time, huh?"

"She may look like Derek, but she got her appetite from me. Girl can eat. Right, Peanut?" Meredith asked, rolling up the sleeves of Lilly's dress.

Lilly held up a green bean from her plate. "Ma bean?" she offered.

"I'd love one; thank you," Meredith said, barely able to get the words out before Lilly put the green bean in her mouth. "These are so good. I may forfeit those twenty minutes to sit in this chair and eat instead."

"What twenty minutes?" Bridget asked.

"The same twenty minutes we negotiated yesterday... regarding alone time," Meredith said, censoring herself for the sake of her young nieces and nephews sitting mere inches away.

Mark reached across the tray of cranberry sauce and shook Meredith's hand. "Deal."

"Really? At Thanksgiving dinner? Next to the kiddie table?" Derek asked, his cheeks blushing in embarrassment.

"Twenty minutes of alone time is why those kids exist," Mark reminded him.

Derek visibly cringed at the mental image, shaking his head. "Let's not discuss my sisters'... alone time, please."

"Fine. But I have an addendum to the deal. Bridg and I go first, and you two give the girls the baths tonight," Mark leveraged.

"I guess that's fair," Meredith agreed. The baby gave his or her tell-tale kicks requesting to be fed, and she rubbed a hand over her belly. "This one has my appetite, too. Food's coming, sweetie."

Mrs. Shepherd stood up at the head of the table, gaining the attention of vast group of people in front of her. "I know we're all anxious to eat, but before we say grace, I just wanted to thank you all for coming, especially my boys down at the other end of the table who come all the way from Seattle every year," she said, much to the amused annoyance of her daughters.

"Each year, more family members join the table, and I couldn't be more grateful. This is the first Thanksgiving for our Charlotte, and next year, we'll have another little one at the table," Mrs. Shepherd said, glancing at Meredith warmly. "I love all of you, and even though Dad isn't here, I know he does, too."

At the mention of his father, Meredith reached for Derek's hand and squeezed, smiling when he squeezed back. The absence of his father would always be felt, no matter how many years passed, but Meredith had a way of making him feel better without even trying. And when Lilly offered him a green bean, the loss faded even more.

Once grace was said and the meal got underway, Meredith, like Lilly, didn't waste time in chowing down. She lathered a homemade biscuit in butter, calories be damned, then took a bite.

"Oh my God, can we take your Mom back to Seattle with us? Our oven would pay for itself in one meal," she said.

"I've seen you use an oven. I remember because at first, I thought I was hallucinating," Mark teased, letting Charlotte eat some sweet potatoes off his finger.

"Heating up a frozen pizza doesn't count," Meredith said. "Plus, I'm pretty sure I burnt it and the smoke alarm went off."

"Does the baby like pizza, Aunt Meredith?" Morgan asked.

"The baby loves pizza. Uncle Derek has to make it at least once a week," Meredith said, feeding Lilly a small spoonful of mashed potatoes.

Sammy, their seven year old niece, pondered the logic of that answer for a moment as she chewed. "So, if you like pizza, and the baby likes pizza, does that mean the baby is a girl like you?"

"Maybe, yeah. We're not sure. Only the doctor knows, and she's keeping it a secret," Derek explained.

"How does the doctor know?" Morgan asked, always inquisitive.

Meredith froze, once again faced with explaining human anatomy to young children. "Well, you know how boys and girls are different? The doctor could tell if the baby had a..." she stammered, patting Derek's thigh. "Any time you want to jump in, Uncle Derek."

"Right. Well, the doctor had to look between the baby's legs to find out if it was a girl or a boy. Lucky for us, the baby cooperated, and now the doctor knows. But Aunt Meredith and I are going to wait until the baby is born to find out," Derek said, hoping the explanation sufficed.

"But how will you know what to call it if you don't know if it's a boy or girl?" Carly asked.

"Excellent question, Carly," Mark seconded as he forked a piece of turkey.

Meredith decided to let Derek handle answering the question while she fed Lilly some carrots. If she could tap dance her way out of a sex talk earlier, he could handle basic questions about their in-utero child.

"That is a good question," Derek echoed. "Maybe one of us can say he, one of us can say she, and we're covered."

"Well, no, because then it's going to be born thinking one of us is always wrong," Meredith interjected.

"Lilly's name was Blueberry before we chose her name, and she turned out just fine, didn't you, Lilly?" Derek chuckled.

"If it's a girl, you should name her Rapunzel, like in the movie," Sammy suggested.

"Rapunzel is a very pretty name," Meredith played along. "Have any boy names for us?"

"Shane," Sammy said without hesitation.

Derek cocked his head in curiosity. "That was fast. Who's Shane?"

"Her boyfriend," Morgan answered in a sing-song voice.

A blush crept over Sammy's cheeks, and she covered her face with a napkin. "I told you not to say anything!"

"Uh oh. Is this what I have to look forward to in a few years? Secret boyfriends?" Derek asked, bouncing Lilly on his knee. "Promise me no boyfriends until med school. Capiche?"

Lilly smiled up at him as she licked mushy carrots off her hand. "'Peesh."

"Thank you, Princess."

...

Holding up their end of the bargain, Meredith and Derek knelt over the tub bathing the girls. Charlotte sat contentedly in her bath seat while Lilly was using up the last of her energy, splashing the water surface repeatedly.

"How did you get pumpkin pie in your hair, Lillybug?" Meredith asked as she lathered the top of Lilly's head with shampoo.

"She's a pie enthusiast. I think she ate more than I did," Derek said, wiping a water droplet off Charlotte's forehead. "You're so tiny. I remember when your cousin used to be your size."

"Right? Lilly looks like a preschooler next to Charlotte. Imagine how much older she'll look when the baby comes," Meredith sighed. "Can't you stay little forever?"

Lilly giggled as she squished soap suds between her fingers. "Bubs, Ma."

"Yes, just like that. Laughing at bubbles and splashing in the tub," Meredith smiled at her.

"Ma tubby?" Lilly asked.

"Mommy can't fit in there with you and Lolo. Maybe when we get home, we can take a tubby together," Meredith said, rubbing Lilly's shoulders with the wash cloth.

Derek smirked as he washed Charlotte. "If she gets a tubby with you, I want a tubby with you, too."

"Tubbies with you are the reason Jellybean exists," Meredith reminded him.

"Indirectly, maybe. But Jellybean was the result of some intense study sessions for your boards... which you passed with flying colors, by the way," Derek said.

"Board certified and knocked up without trying. I'd say it was a successful year," Meredith agreed as she rinsed Lilly's hair.

"Yes, it was."

When Derek checked his watch and realized Mark and Bridget's twenty minutes were almost over, he reached for the girls' bath towels on the shelf. "Ready to get out and put your jammies on, ladies?"

Lilly held out her arms, and Meredith picked her up, handing her to Derek. "You two really do have identical butts," she said.

"You say that every time we get her out of the tub," Derek chuckled as he wrapped Lilly in the towel.

"Because it's true. And from the looks of it, Jellybean does, too," Meredith said, scooping Charlotte into the other towel. "That's one of the things I'm thankful for this Thanksgiving. The Shepherd hiney."

"Does that mean you and I can have that tubby when we get home? I wouldn't want to deprive you of something you love," Derek tried again.

Meredith smiled, getting a glimpse of his backside as she followed him into the hall. "As long as you stop calling it a tubby, then yes, we can."