167. Santa with a Side of Stomach Bugs

Disclaimer: It belongs to Shonda.

Broken record time: Thank you for your patience! I hate going a month between chapters. But the good news is that I'm finally a registered nurse! And now that summer is here, I should have more time for writing in between job hunting. Enjoy the update!

For most people, the holiday season meant hanging decorations, making gingerbread houses, and cozying up by the fireplace. But for those who worked in hospitals, it meant a constant overflow of holiday injuries rolling into the ER: bloody ice skating mishaps, falls off roofs while stringing lights, frostbitten fingers, and enough hernias for each resident in the surgical program.

As a non-pregnant intern way back when, Meredith used to appreciate the chaos of the ER, amidst the blood, gore, and sutures. Now though, as a very pregnant attending, the fad had worn off some, and she found herself fantasizing about her bed that she'd crawled out of far too early this morning.

"Time of death: 7:32 AM," Meredith said, leaning against the wall in defeat. "Keep him in here until the family is notified. Page me or Dr. Hunt when they get here," she told the residents, who nodded in understanding.

Meredith pulled off her bloodied gloves and tossed them in the trash before leaving the trauma bay. The smell of coffee hit her nose like a cruel joke, and when she realized Cristina was the culprit, she resisted the urge to hurt her.

"Yikes. You look like crap. Have you been here all night?" Cristina greeted.

"Half hour. My shift started at seven. Already called a time of death," Meredith said, pulling her hair into a ponytail. "Between that and this stomach bug, it's already a great day."

"Well, if it helps, I got you green tea. Decaf," Cristina offered as she handed her the disposable cup.

Meredith smiled at the small token of kindness, each of them taking a seat behind the nurses' station. "Thank you."

"So, why are you here if you're sick? Go home. Owen can page someone else to work in the pit," Cristina shrugged.

"Can't. I need to work today, so I can have off Christmas Eve. It's okay, though. Everyone down here is sick anyway, so I'm just joining in on the fun," Meredith said, taking a sip of her tea with the hope that it would soothe her stomach.

"Are you here all day?"

Meredith shook her head. "No, just until three. Derek's bringing Lilly in for Santa pictures at the daycare, then I have my ultrasound," she said, the prospect of seeing her baby the only thing distracting her from the nausea.

"Lilly doesn't even go to daycare," Cristina said in confusion.

"The Santa pictures are for all the employees' kids. We still have to pay, but instead of going to the mall, Mall Santa comes to us," Meredith explained. "Bridget's bringing Charlotte in, too, so the girls can get a picture together. Oh, speaking of Santa, I need you to help me at lunch."

"With what?"

"Wrapping Lilly's Christmas gifts in the attendings' lounge. Derek's wrapping as many as he can today at home while Lilly naps, but I have a car full of presents, too. I already recruited Iz to help me wrap, and Alex to haul the stuff in from the car," Meredith said.

Cristina sighed, but knew that if she came up with an excuse, Meredith would just guilt her with the godmother card. So instead, she jumped to the only acceptable response. "Fine. I'll help."

"Thank you."

"You know, as long as you survive until lunch. You're looking kind of green... in a sickly, pale, about to puke kind of way," Cristina observed.

"I'll be fine. I'm keeping myself hydrated and I'll take breaks if I need them," Meredith promised, proving her point by taking another sip of tea. "Besides, I once worked for two hours with appendicitis. I can handle a little vomit and a day in the pit for Christmas Eve spent with Lilly at home."

Somewhat unconvinced but knowing better than to argue, Cristina simply patted Meredith's shoulder in support. "Okay, then. I'm gonna go before you infect me, too. I'll see you at lunch."

"Okay."

"Dr. Grey, we've got an ambulance rolling in. Second degree electrical burns to the hands, arms, and torso from Christmas lights; likely two broken wrists," one of the ER nurses told her as she hung up the phone with the EMTs. "ETA is five minutes. Trauma two is being prepped now."

"Okay, page Torres and Sloan. Crap, he's not here today. Page anyone from plastics, and call up for a portable X-ray, please," Meredith requested, stopping one of the residents when she walked by. "Smithson, there's a second degree electrical burn coming in. We need a bag of LR, a large bore IV kit, silver sulf., and morphine in trauma two."

The resident nodded, eager to participate. "Got it," she said before taking off for the supply room.

With her stomach already doing flips, and about to be inundated with the scent of burned flesh, Meredith lathered on her minty chapstick to help mask the smell. She pulled on a trauma gown and gloves, then headed outside into the ambulance bay. She was so focused on the refreshing, cold air hitting her face that she didn't hear Owen and Callie walk up beside her.

"Hey, Patient Zero," Callie said.

Meredith jumped in surprise, and her eyes sprung open. "Very funny."

"Don't mock the sick, pregnant lady," Owen advised.

"It's just a twenty-four hour stomach thing. I hope. Otherwise, I might die," Meredith said as the ambulance pulled into the bay, backing up toward them.

"What've we got, Nicole?" Callie asked the paramedic.

As Nicole rattled off all the vital patient information, Meredith took in a last breath of cool air before following the gurney back into the ER. Once they made it into the trauma room, she and the others began trying to stabilize patient.

"Once we get the IV line in, let's start him on morphine. These burns need to be debrided," the plastics fellow said.

"Smithson, let's get an EKG. We need to make sure the electric shock from the lights didn't throw him into any dysrhythmias," Meredith requested as she inserted the patient's IV.

After securing the IV line, Meredith was setting the rate on the infusion pump when another wave of nausea rolled through her. She concentrated on the numbers on the screen, punching them in with her thumbs until the rate was set, then pointed to the door. "I need to, um..." she said before pursing her lips.

Owen must have noticed her pale, nauseated expression, because he nodded immediately. "Go, Grey. We've got this," he said.

Without another word, Meredith left the room, walking as quickly as she could to the restroom down the hall. She pulled her gown and gloves off on the way, and tossed them in the garbage bin nearby. When she made it to the restroom, she pushed the door open and veered left into the nearest open stall where she vomited without delay.

Once she was finished, certain there was nothing left in her stomach, she left the stall to wash her hands and splash the cool water on her face. Rather than rejoin the others in the trauma room so soon, and with an awful taste in her mouth, Meredith took the elevator upstairs to Derek's office, where she kept a toothbrush to use for nights on call.

"I don't know about you, Jellybean, but I'd much rather be home with your dad and big sister right now," Meredith said as she unlocked Derek's office door.

She gathered her toothbrush and toothpaste from the drawer, smiling at the collection of pictures Derek kept on his desk: the two of them on their wedding day, Lilly when she was first born, a family picture from Christmas and one from Lilly's birthday, and an ultrasound picture of Jellybean.

"Think anyone would notice if we hid out in here all day?" Meredith asked her belly.

Before she gave into temptation and took a nap on the pullout couch, she went across the hall to the attendings' lounge to brush her teeth. As soon as the minty taste of the toothpaste met her tongue, she finally began to feel somewhat human again, and the queasy feeling in her stomach dissipated slightly.

"Mama feels like a new woman, Jellybean," Meredith said when she put her toothbrush and toothpaste back in Derek's desk drawer a few minutes later.

Her phone chirped when a text from Derek came through, and she pulled it from her scrub pocket. Hope you're feeling better. Call when you can, he sent, along with a picture of Lilly in her duck pajamas.

"Okay, well, I can't ignore that, can I?" Meredith said, taking a bottle of water from the mini fridge. After dropping down on the couch, she FaceTimed Derek, so she could see Lilly instead of just hearing her voice over the phone, and when the other end of the line answered, Lilly's was the first face she saw.

"Hi, baby girl," she said, waving at the screen.

"Mama!" Lilly said excitedly, her curls sticking out in all directions.

Derek smiled from behind Lilly, who was sitting on his lap. "How are you feeling? Any better?"

"I was, sort of. Then the smell of charred flesh made me throw up again. That's when I came up here to brush my teeth and let my stomach settle. I'll be okay," Meredith assured him.

"Are you drinking enough?" he asked, his attempt to mask his concern unsuccessful.

Meredith held up her bottle of water. "I am, I promise. Before I go back downstairs, I'll make some toast in the lounge, too," she said.

"Ma topes?" Lilly asked.

"Yeah, Mama's going to have some toast. Did you and Daddy have breakfast yet?"

"We had oatmeal with blueberries and bananas. She ate as much as I did," Derek chuckled, kissing the top of Lilly's head. "Fruit and fibery, right, Lilly?"

Meredith thought back to her intern days of Derek bugging her about breakfast habits, and the memory made her smile. "As long as you don't make our daughter eat Muesli, I can handle the fruit and fibery breakfasts."

"Deal."

"Oh, I washed Lilly's dress for Santa last night. It's on her dresser. I forgot to tell you before I left this morning," Meredith said.

"Yeah, I saw it. I'm gonna iron it while she's napping," Derek replied.

"That makes me wish I were home even more right now," Meredith sighed playfully.

Derek cocked his head in curiosity. "Why?"

"You being all husbandly, manning an iron? I'd M-O-U-N-T you right then and there," Meredith told him, spelling out the word for the sake of Lilly's ever-expanding vocabulary.

"Hmm, really?"

"Really," Meredith said with a raise of her eyebrows. "Oh, and I put her white pantyhose and the shiny, white shoes on top of her dresser, too. You think that's dressy enough for Santa pictures, right?"

"She's gonna look beautiful," Derek said.

"A ho ho!" Lilly clapped, wiggling her tiny bottom on Derek's lap.

Meredith laughed at Lilly's term of endearment for Santa, which she'd been saying for weeks. "Yeah, you're going to see ho ho today, and get your picture taken," she said. "Santa's going think Lilly is calling him a ho, isn't he?"

"Probably, yeah. But she's cute; she can get away with it," Derek teased.

Meredith's pager beeped, and she unclipped it from her pants. "Crap. My DOA's family just got here. I have to go," she said regretfully, much preferring to hide out talking to her husband and daughter than give a family bad news.

"Okay. We'll see you this afternoon. Keep eating and drinking, and take breaks if you feel sick," Derek urged.

"I will," she promised. "I'll see you later, okay, Lillybug?"

"Bye, Ma!" Lilly said, blowing a kiss at the screen.

Meredith blew a return kiss and smiled. "Bye, baby girl," she said. "Love you both."

"We love you, too. See you later on," Derek said before they ended the call.

Lilly slinked off his lap and onto her feet, Derek's phone in her hand. "Bye, Da," she said.

"Where are you going, silly girl?" he asked.

"I tex," Lilly answered.

"You're gonna go text?" Derek chuckled, watching as she toddled over to her toys. "Uh oh. I'm in trouble when you're a teenager."

...

After delivering unpleasant news to her pit patient's family and subsequently vomiting up her toast, Meredith was relieved when lunchtime came, and she could focus on wrapping Lilly's Christmas presents, away from the chaos of the ER.

"You should go home, Mer. You look like the angel of death," Alex said, flinging a piece of unruly scotch tape off his hand.

"You can't wrap a present to save your life. You go home," Meredith countered.

"Neither of you are Martha Stewart when it comes to gift wrapping," Izzie butted in. "Seriously though, Mer, are you sure you're okay?"

Meredith nodded as she folded penguin gift wrap over a box of foam blocks. "Yeah, I'm good. Just gotta make it until three," she said, forcing herself to eat a saltine from the sleeve of crackers. "See? I feel great."

"Hey, sorry I'm late. Angioplasty ran long. I swear, the guy had cheeseburgers in his arteries," Cristina said, sitting down on the floor next to Meredith.

Meredith's stomach gurgled at the mention of cheeseburgers, and she shook her head. "Please, no talking about food."

"Still feeling like death warmed over?" Cristina asked as she surveyed the large pile of unwrapped presents. "Damn, how many presents did you buy?"

"They're not all from Derek and me. His mom and sisters gave us stuff at Thanksgiving, and they've been sending stuff to the house ever since. It's going to be twice as much next year," Meredith said, writing To: Lilly, Love: Santa on the gift label.

"Hopefully half of it's boy stuff. I'm covered in glitter from all this girly crap," Alex said as he tried to wrap a glittery, pink tutu, with a matching tiara.

"You have an ultrasound today, right? Maybe you should just find out. Then I could start planning your sprinkle," Izzie suggested.

Meredith rolled her eyes in amusement. "Very subtle. But no, we're holding out until the baby is born. I mean, we've made it six months. What's three more?"

"Fine. But I'm going to need your name selections at some point," Izzie requested as she curled some ribbon around a wrapped gift.

"Just wait until you have kids. Picking a name is more exhausting than pushing a baby out of my hoo-hoo," Meredith said, taking a sip from her water bottle. When the cold water hit her stomach, another wave of nausea overcame her, and she groaned. "Seriously, I'd pick labor over this," she said as she crawled up onto the couch.

Izzie stretched out Meredith's arm, and put her fingers on her wrist. "I'm checking your pulse."

"It's a stomach bug; not the plague," Meredith said.

"You're pregnant with my godchild. Shut up and lie still," Izzie said.

Meredith sighed. "You're going to guilt me with the godparent card forever, aren't you?"

"Yes," Izzie answered, giving Meredith her wrist back. "Pulse is 77."

"See? I'm fine. I just need to lie here for a few minutes," Meredith assured them, hugging the throw pillow to her chest. "Keep wrapping. Once I can keep down solid food, I'll buy you all lunch."

"Is this fake bacon?" Alex asked, flipping one of the gifts around in his hand.

"Yeah. Lilly loves playing grocery store. She's been using stuff from our cabinets, which usually ends with cereal all over the carpet, so we got her a ton of fake food," Meredith said before attempting another bite of a saltine.

"How about we go find you a bottle of unrefrigerated water, ginger ale, and some graham crackers? Maybe that'll help," Izzie suggested.

"Worth a try; thanks," Meredith nodded.

Izzie reached into her pocket and pulled out a five dollar bill, holding it in front of Alex and Cristina. "Here, which one of you wants to get it for her?"

"Why us?" Alex asked.

"Because let's face it: of the four of us in this room, I'm the only one that knows how to wrap a present," Izzie said, gesturing to the one Alex was currently wrapping, covered in crumpled paper with far too much tape.

Cristina shrugged and took the money. "I'll do it. It's probably a good idea to get away from Typhoid Mary for a few minutes, anyway," she reasoned.

Meredith lifted the pillow off her face, scowling at her friend. "I heard that."

...

Lilly laid on the changing table as Derek fastened a new diaper around her waist, getting her dressed for her Santa pictures. "Alright, Lillybug, Mommy insists that you wear these pantyhose, so I need you to promise not to poop until we get home later; otherwise, changing your diaper will be a three-person ordeal."

"My Dada," Lilly said as she pointed up at him.

"I'll take that as an agreement," Derek chuckled, shimmying her white pantyhose up her legs.

"Mama?" Lilly asked.

"Mama's with Santa at work. As soon as we get you dressed, we're going to go see them," Derek said as he sat her up on the changing table. He slipped her purple dress with white polka dots over her head, and smoothed out the bow on the front of it. "You look gorgeous. Now how do we do your hair? Mommy left that up to me. I'm thinking pigtails."

Lilly smiled at him, playing with the bow on her dress. "Pig."

"Pigtails it is," he decided as he began brushing her wavy curls, parting her hair down the middle. "What are we gonna do if Jellybean is a boy, Lilly? Dada is so used to dresses and pigtails and tea parties. Not sure if I'm equipped to have a son after almost two years of living in girl world."

"Dada tea?"

"We can have a tea party with Mama when we get home later. How's that sound?" Derek asked as he secured one pigtail. "And before that, we get to see Jellybean again."

Lilly pointed to her stomach inquisitively. "Mama tum?"

"Yeah, Jellybean's gonna be in Mama's tummy for a few more months until she's big enough to come out and play with you," Derek said, finishing off the other pigtail.

Derek's phone rang, and he pulled it from his back pocket, expecting to see Meredith's name on the screen. But when he saw that Mark was FaceTiming him, he cocked his head in curiosity. "Hey, did you mean to dial my number?" he asked after answering the call.

"Yeah. Why?" Mark asked.

"Because you and I have never once FaceTimed," Derek chuckled. "What's up? Everything okay?"

"Yeah. I need your help picking Charlotte's outfit for Santa. Bridget's at work, and she left me in charge. Figured it would be easier to video chat than describe each dress option to you in detail," Mark said, waving to Lilly, who Derek set on her feet. "Hey, beautiful."

Lilly waved back at her uncle in delight. "Hi."

"How many dresses are we talking?" Derek said when he noticed Charlotte's open closet in the background, filled with at least a dozen choices. "Any reason you called me for this?"

"Well, I would've called Bridg, but her kindergartners are putting on their Christmas pageant, so I didn't want to bug her. Then I thought of calling Meredith, but she's at work. I landed on you by process of elimination," Mark explained.

"Happy to be your third choice," Derek said, leaning against Lilly's crib. "Alright, what are the choices?"

"Hang on, let me see Lilly again. I need to use her for reference," Mark requested.

Derek turned the phone toward Lilly, who was on her rocking horse next to him. "Uncle Mark wants to see your pretty outfit, Lillybug," he said as he panned the phone from Lilly's pigtails down to her shiny shoes.

"Pitty," Lilly agreed, spotting Charlotte siting in Mark's arm. "Lolo!"

Charlotte smiled when she saw Lilly, her pink pacifier falling from her mouth. She babbled back at her friend, more interested in seeing her than the outfit dilemma her father was solving. "Pantyhose, too, huh?" Mark asked.

"Meredith insisted."

"Alright. Looks like you're wearing pantyhose, too, Lolo," Mark said as he handed her the pacifier. He pulled a green dress from the closet, showing it to Derek. "What about this?"

"Pretty," Derek said.

"I'm gonna need more feedback than that," Mark said. "First, I thought the red dress, because it's Christmasy; then I realized she'd blend in with Santa's suit, so I nixed it. But is green too expected?"

Derek sighed, trying to decide which response would end the conversation fastest. "Green is good. Lilly wore green last year."

"Okay, we'll put that in the 'maybe' pile. What about this blue one? Too much?" Mark asked as he held the frilly dress against himself.

"I think it would look better on Charlotte, but yeah, give it a try. It would bring out your eyes," Derek joked.

"Very funny."

"Blue is a good color. I say go with blue. And it's got the bow like Lilly's dress has, so they'll match in their picture together," Derek said.

Mark paused as he contemplated Derek's pitch for the blue dress, finally nodding in agreement. "Okay, sold. Now what about shoes?"

"White shoes and white pantyhose. It's festive and wintery; can't go wrong," Derek replied, trying to speed up the process for the sake of time.

"And hairdo?"

"If she has enough hair, pigtails. If not, I'd do a blue headband to match the dress," Derek said.

"Damn, you're better at this than I thought," Mark said, gathering the supplies Derek suggested. "But for the sake of your balls, I hope the next kid is a boy."

Derek rolled his eyes as he tossed a spare outfit and some diapers into Lilly's travel bag. "I've just had more practice. You're the one fretting over a baby dress."

"I'm not fretting."

"You're fretting," Derek argued. "Go get Charlotte ready. We'll see you at the hospital. And no more mentions of my balls. It creeps me out."

"Fine. Still true, though," Mark said before hanging up.

Derek put his phone back in his pocket, then scooped Lilly off her rocking horse and onto his hip. "Ready to go, Princess?"

"Balls," Lilly said with a smile.

"Oh, jeez. I should've known Lilly, the Human Sponge, would repeat that," Derek sighed, slinging Lilly's bag onto his shoulder. "Just do me a favor, and don't say that to Santa, okay? But if you do, we're blaming it on Uncle Mark."

...

The tune of Christmas carols echoed down the hallway that led to the daycare, which served as a pleasant distraction to the long line of parents and eager children waiting to see Santa. Derek stood with Mark, Bridget, and the girls, who seemed more interested in the decorations than Santa, himself.

"Fake, Dada," Lilly pointed, sitting on Derek's hip.

"Yeah, there's a lot of pretty snowflakes, aren't there?" Derek said.

"Is Meredith coming up?" Bridget asked.

Derek nodded. "Yeah, she should be here soon. I texted her when we got here, but she hasn't responded yet."

"I saw Hunt on the way up. He said the pit's been getting traumas rolling in every five minutes. She probably just lost track of time," Mark said as Charlotte tried to stick her fingers in his mouth.

"Yeah, probably. I'll try calling her once we move up some in line," Derek said, just as his phone rang. When he saw Cristina's name pop up, not Meredith's, he quickly answering, figuring if anyone knew his wife's whereabouts, it was Cristina. "Hello?" he greeted.

"Hey, are you here?" she asked.

"Yeah, we're waiting in line for Santa. Is Mer stuck in the ER?" Derek assumed.

Cristina paused on the other end, and the lack of an immediate response put a nervous pit in Derek's stomach. "Okay, before you panic, she's fine, so don't freak out," Cristina prefaced, which only succeeded in escalating Derek's fear.

"Cristina, what happened?" Derek asked.

"We were in the attendings' lounge wrapping Lilly's presents, and Mer was on the couch. When she went to stand up, she got dizzy and fell. She's been throwing up all day, so she's probably just mildly dehydrated," Cristina said.

"She passed out? Where is she now?" Derek asked as the color drained from his face, Mark and Bridget looking at him with matched worry.

"She never passed out. She's just lightheaded. We took her up to Exam Room 4 in OB. I'm on my way to the OR, but Alex and Izzie are with her now," Cristina explained.

"Okay, I'm going up there now. Thanks, Yang," Derek said before ending the call. "Meredith's up in OB. She got lightheaded and fell. Can you take Lilly?"

Bridget nodded, reaching for Lilly without a second thought. "Absolutely, yeah. Is she okay?"

"I think so. They're checking her out now," Derek said, trying to keep his face calm for Lilly's sake.

"Go. We're fine. We'll get her pictures done," Mark promised.

"Thank you. Daddy will be back, okay, Lilly? I love you," he said as he began to walk down the hall toward the OB wing on the other side.

Derek walked as quickly as he could without arousing suspicion, trying to keep his composure. He didn't know what to expect when he walked into the exam room, but sensed that Meredith would be more worried about the baby than herself. The two of them were all he could think about as he rounded the corner that led to the OB wing, and he made a beeline for Room 4, where Meredith was trying not to flinch as Alex inserted an IV into her arm.

"Cristina called me," he said, walking over to the exam table. He took Meredith's hand in his and squeezed. "What happened? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, I promise. Where's Lilly?" Meredith asked.

"Mark and Bridget have her. They're waiting in line for Santa," Derek said. "What are your vitals?"

"Her BP is on the lower end of normal, and her heart rate is up slightly. She hasn't been able to keep anything down all day, so I'm starting her on some fluids. Other than that, she's looking good," Alex said as he put tape on her IV site.

Derek helped Meredith pull up her scrub top, so Izzie could squirt the ultrasound gel on her belly. "Has the baby been kicking as much as usual?" he asked.

"He's been kicking all day, which only added to the nausea," Meredith said, her eyes focused on the monitor. When the baby's tiny body appeared on the screen, along with a strong heartbeat, she let out a breath. "Oh, thank God. He's okay, right?"

"Baby looks good. 142 beats per minute, which is in the expected range," Izzie assured them both. "Any abdominal cramping, or signs of contractions?"

Meredith shook her head. "No."

"Okay, good. Even still, I'd recommend you stay here for a few hours of observation. I don't want to take any chances," Izzie said.

"But I'm getting IV fluids," Meredith replied.

"I know, but I still want you to stay and be monitored. A dehydrated mom can cause an unfriendly uterus that likes to contract," Izzie upheld as she recorded the baby's heart rate in Meredith's chart.

"Did you just call my uterus unfriendly?" Meredith asked.

Derek patted Meredith's hand. "You're just getting stuck on the word."

"How would you feel if she called your penis... angry or snide?" Meredith retorted.

"I'm gonna go," Alex said, choosing not to get caught in the crossfire of their uncomfortable conversation. "Take it easy, Mer. If Iz says stay, then stay."

"Fine, I'll stay."

"Tell you what, since you're already here and having an ultrasound today anyway, how about I do it now? That way you can just hang out waiting for your IV to run in, have some new pictures to look at, then go home," Izzie offered.

Meredith smiled, a hand over her belly. "Thanks, Iz."

"I need to grab some more paper for the printouts. I'll be right back," she said before exiting the small exam room.

Derek dropped down in the chair next to the exam table, flooded with relief. "God, I was so worried about both of you."

"We're okay, Derek," Meredith said, rubbing her hand over his arm. "I really wasn't feeling that bad. Cristina got me ginger ale and graham crackers for lunch. I laid on the couch and ate, and when I went to stand up, it felt like the room was spinning. By the time I went to balance myself, it was too late, and I was on the floor."

"I didn't realize you felt that sick when you left this morning. You could've stayed home, or called me to come pick you up," Derek said.

Meredith sighed, shaking her head. "I needed to stay."

"Why?"

"Otherwise, I'd have to work Christmas Eve. It's bad enough I couldn't be there to get Lilly ready to see Santa, and now I'm missing her pictures, too. I wanted to tough it out until the end of my shift, so I could be home with her for the holiday, something my mom never did for me," she said.

"Meredith."

"Don't get me wrong, I'm so grateful to you for being there when I can't. I just love her so much. I want to be there for everything, even Santa pictures she'll roll her eyes at when she's a teenager. I never want her to feel like she's shortchanged," Meredith said.

Derek smiled and shook his head. "You had Lilly's Santa outfit picked out and laying on the dresser before I even got home last night. This morning, you got up before the alarm to pump, so she would have extra bottles. And you spent hours running yourself ragged at work, so you could spend Christmas Eve home with her. How could she ever feel shortchanged?"

Meredith reached for a wad of tissues from the box next to her. "I really needed to hear that. Thank you."

"Any time," Derek said, kissing her cheek.

"Was she scared when you left her just now?"

"No, she was fine. She and Charlotte were entertaining each other," Derek promised.

"Okay, good," Meredith sighed, closing her eyes for a few seconds before they popped open. "Oh, crap."

"What?" Derek asked.

"Izzie's gonna see the sex. No wonder she offered to do the ultrasound. Twenty-five weeks' worth of bribery muffins weren't cutting it, so she played the convenient OB card," Meredith deduced.

Derek smirked. "Interesting conspiracy theory, but I think she was just being nice."

"Okay, all set," Izzie said as she walked back into the exam room with a stack of paper. After loading it into the printer, she reached for the bottle of gel. "Ready to get started?"

"Almost. But first, you need to turn the screen toward you, so we don't see the sex. And I swear, if you see boy or girl parts, you cannot react in any way. Got it?" Meredith asked.

"Got it," Izzie agreed

"Okay, then," Meredith nodded, giving her the go ahead to begin.

Izzie turned the screen toward herself, then squirt some more gel onto Meredith's belly. After rubbing it over her skin with the wand, she located the heartbeat and once again, the powerful, rhythmic sound echoed in the room. "There it is. Still strong and steady," she said. "Aww, look at this."

"If it's a penis, don't show me," Meredith said.

"I didn't even look there yet. I mean this," Izzie said as she turned the screen around. "You've got another thumb sucker."

Derek grinned when he saw the baby, sucking his or her thumb, just like Lilly did. "Look at that."

"We make perfect babies," Meredith said softly, forgetting all about the stomach bug and stress of the day when she saw her child.

A text from Mark came through on Derek's phone, and he opened it to find a picture of Lilly smiling on Santa's lap. The happiness all over his daughter's face was mirrored on Meredith's when he showed her the photo, reassuring her that neither of their children would ever feel less than completely, unconditionally loved. "Yes, we do."