172. A Taste of Having Two

Disclaimer: Not mine.

Very sorry for the wait! Enjoy!

Derek poured coffee into his travel mug, letting it fill to the brim before twisting on the lid. "Are you sure this is a good idea?" he asked for the dozenth time that morning.

"Yes, I'm sure," Meredith assured him. She sat next to Lilly at the kitchen table, the two of them sharing a plate of waffles. With a beach ball sized belly under her shirt, she decided that the calories no longer mattered, anyway. "I'm thirty-nine weeks pregnant, bored out of my mind on maternity leave. Even Lilly is sick of watching me nest and clean all day."

"Mama keen," Lilly agreed, her face covered with flecks of waffles and syrup.

"See? She agrees with me. Yesterday, the two of us spent the afternoon organizing your closet by color and pattern," Meredith said.

Derek chuckled. "I noticed that this morning. Thanks, by the way."

"You're welcome," she replied. "Seriously, though, I'm only watching Charlotte for a few hours. Besides, spending the day with two babies will be good practice for when Jellybean comes. May as well dip my toes in the water before jumping in the deep end, right?"

Knowing better than to argue with his very stubborn, very pregnant wife, Derek simply nodded in resignation. "Okay. But remember, I'm just a phone call away if you need me at any point. Even if I'm in surgery, I'll answer."

Meredith smiled at his concern as she fed Lilly a piece of waffle. "I know, and I appreciate it."

"Top of the morning to you," Mark greeted, walking into the kitchen with Charlotte in his arm.

"Is that your leprechaun voice?" Derek asked.

"I practiced it the whole way over," Mark nodded.

Derek laughed, patting his friend on the back. "Needs work."

"It's St. Paddy's Day. Where's your Irish spirit?" Mark accused. "Sorry we didn't knock. It just started raining, and I didn't want Charlotte getting wet."

"It's no problem," Meredith said. "Look who's here, Lilly."

Lilly looked up from her waffle plate, her eyes lighting up when she saw her best friend. "Lolo!"

Charlotte smiled wide, her pacifier and a line of drool falling from her mouth and landing on Mark's arm. "She's been excited since last night," Mark grinned, wiping the drool on his pant leg.

"So have we. We're gonna have so much fun," Meredith said, reaching out for Charlotte.

Mark's jaw nearly dropped to the floor when he saw just how much Meredith's belly had grown since he'd last seen her. "Holy crap, Grey. I know I said there were twins in there before, but now I may bump that bet up to triplets."

"I'm a whale, I know," Meredith sighed. "Thirty-nine weeks and one day. Six days left to go. I went for my last prenatal checkup yesterday. I'm officially one centimeter dilated, my cervix is softening and starting to efface, but my water is still intact."

"As is her delightful lack of filter," Derek added.

"Delightful," Mark echoed with an uncomfortable wince.

"Jellybean has the all clear to come at any time, has a strong heartbeat, and the chubbiest cheeks you've ever seen," Meredith gushed, showing Mark a copy of the sonogram photo that sat on the kitchen table.

"Looks like Lilly," Mark said as he studied the photo.

"Yeah, she does. Or he does. Either way, Meredith and I make cute babies," Derek boasted.

"Still no names yet?" Mark asked.

Meredith regretfully shook her head. "Nope. We've tried out a few, but nothing feels right yet."

"Well, you still have a week to figure it out," Mark shrugged. "Maybe less if your water breaks today while you're chasing the girls around the house."

"Not funny," Derek scowled. "I'm on my way to having a panic attack as it is."

"I am fine. And not fake fine, but actually fine. We're just going to have a fun girls' day. Watching a movie, eating cereal puffs, maybe we'll make some Irish potatoes. You know, if I don't manage to screw up the recipe. Nothing grueling and labor-inducing," Meredith promised.

"Thanks again for watching her today. Usually, Bridget's sister watches Charlotte when we're both at work, but her kids all have a stomach bug, and we didn't want her getting anywhere near that," Mark said.

Meredith kissed the top of Charlotte's strawberry-blonde head, breathing in her baby scent. "You and Bridget have helped us out so much with Lilly. We're happy to be able to return the favor. So, what do I need to know?"

"Bridg wrote out her schedule," Mark said, handing Meredith a piece of paper. "Pretty much the same routine Lilly has. Nap around 11:00; lunch around 12:30. All of her food is in the bag, along with bottles, diapers, spare clothes, all of that. I left her car seat in the foyer, too, just in case you needed it."

"Sounds like an easy day," Meredith nodded. "Okay, take my husband to work before he handcuffs himself to the chair and refuses to leave."

"We're leaving. We should be home no later than five," Derek said, kissing Lilly's cheek. "I love you, Lillybug."

Meredith tilted her chin toward him and kissed him, lingering for a few seconds longer than usual. "Have a good day. And I promise, if I feel even the slightest ping of labor coming on, I'll call you. But that won't happen, so I won't need to."

"Okay, I'll take your word for it," he chuckled.

"Have fun with Lilly and Aunt Meredith today, cupcake. Dada loves you," Mark told Charlotte.

Lilly waved to them with her syrupy hand as the two men exited the kitchen. "Bye bye!"

"Bye, Princess!" Derek called out.

After the front door closed behind Mark and Derek, Meredith smiled at both girls, who looked at her in anticipation. "Okay, you two, what should we do first?"

"Go poo," Lilly answered, wiggling around in her high chair.

Meredith laughed as she got up from her chair, which was easier said than done with one baby in her arm and another in her belly. "Perfect way to start girls' day, with a trip to the poop corner."

...

While the pit was already overrun with St. Patrick's Day incidents, ranging from the usual bar brawls to alcohol poisoning, Derek found himself distracted by his phone. Not a single call or text from Meredith had come through since leaving the house this morning. He knew that rationally, the silence was a good sign. But as an anxious husband to a very pregnant wife, the irrational part of his brain was busy concocting all sorts of worst case scenarios, like Meredith needing to deliver the baby herself, because Lilly accidentally dropped her phone in the toilet, and there was no way of getting a hold of him.

Derek was so wrapped up in his paranoid thoughts that he hadn't even felt Cristina tapping his shoulder. "Shepherd!" she practically yelled.

"What? Sorry," Derek said as he snapped back to the present.

"Took you long enough. I was about to do a cartwheel to get your attention. Everything okay with you?" Cristina asked.

"Yeah, just worried about Meredith. She's six days away from her due date, at home with Lilly and Charlotte. You haven't heard from her, have you?" Derek asked as he checked his phone again.

Cristina shook her head. "No. But isn't that a good thing? If anything were wrong, she'd call you; you know that," she said, confirming what the rational part of his brain was telling him.

"You're right. I know," Derek admitted.

"Of course I'm right," she echoed. "Anyway, my guy in bed three needs a neuro consult. He was admitted complaining of chest pain, so we did a workup. Turns out, it was indigestion from the corned beef and cabbage-eating contest at the bar. Some kind of stupid St. Paddy's tradition, I guess. But now, he's complaining of a headache and blurred vision."

"Alright, I'll examine him," Derek said, glancing at his phone once more before regretfully putting it in his pocket.

Cristina couldn't help but roll her eyes, but then touched his shoulder in support. "Mer's fine. Stop worrying," she assured him. "If I hear from her, I'll let you know."

"Thanks, Yang," Derek said gratefully before taking the clipboard from her. He walked over to bed three and pulled back the curtain, smiling at the patient. "Good morning, I'm Dr. Shepherd."

Mark dropped his chart down next to Cristina's at the nurses' station, both of them watching Derek as he assessed the patient. "Is his phone still glued to his hand?" he asked.

"Yeah. He's gonna need a paper bag before the day is through," Cristina predicted.

"Paper bag?"

"To breathe into when he eventually hyperventilates from stress," Cristina explained.

"Good idea. I'll keep one handy. Gotta deliver him back home later, preferably without a souvenir from a visit to the psych ward," Mark said. "Really, I don't know how Grey puts up with all the hovering."

Cristina laughed, scribbling her signature on a patient form. "I remember the days when the only hovering she enjoyed was the literal kind in bed. I mean, obviously, she still enjoys that, because she's gotten pregnant twice in two years. But the 'worried, hovery husband' thing would drive me crazy."

"He may have had a reason to today. Grey can't see her feet anymore. I don't know how she's managing with two babies by herself, plus the one pressing against her slowly-effacing cervix," Mark said with a slight cringe.

"Mer updated you on her cervical progress, too, huh?" Cristina assumed, having gotten the same information in a text message the night before.

"Yeah. Nothing like a disturbing mental image to go along with my morning coffee," Mark sighed.

"I got the overly detailed version that included words like ripening and prostaglandins," Cristina informed him. "Be thankful that's all she told you."

...

"Okay, then we just add in the coconut," Meredith said as she dumped two cups of the fluffy, white stuff into the mixing bowl. She stirred the Irish potato ingredients together with one hand, and fed Charlotte a cereal puff with the other. "Mmm, is that good, Lolo?"

Charlotte smiled at her from Lilly's high chair, babbling as she chewed. Other than the strawberry blonde hair and sprinkle of freckles on her nose that she'd gotten from Bridget, Charlotte was the spitting image of Mark. And with Lilly next to her in the booster seat, the spitting image of Derek with the brown ringlets and bright blue eyes, even Meredith was weirded out by the power genetics.

"You two are the tiny girl versions of your dads," Meredith said.

"Dadadada," Charlotte repeated, licking some peach yogurt from her hand.

"My Dada," Lilly giggled as she munched on her pasta wheel.

Satisfied that the batter was mixed well enough, Meredith scooped out a small spoonful and rolled it into a ball. After sprinkling it with cinnamon, a flashback from last year came to mind, and she bit her lip.

"Last St. Paddy's Day, Uncle Mark compared these things to a certain part of Uncle Derek's body. It creeped me out at the time, but now, it just makes me want to... play with him and his body parts," Meredith said, censoring herself for the sake of the girls.

Lilly reached for the small snack in interest. "Me Ma?"

"Yeah, you can have the next one," Meredith promised. "Let Mama eat this one, so I can throw it out if it's gross. I followed Aunt Izzie's directions exactly, but there's still a good chance I missed a step and botched the whole recipe."

Meredith bit into the Irish potato, smiling when she realized it was actually edible. "This is pretty good. I think Aunt Iz would be proud if she were here right now," she said as she rolled a small potato for Lilly.

After sprinkling some cinnamon on it, she handed it to Lilly, who eagerly ate it. "Ummy," she said in approval while chewing it.

"Thank you, Lillybug," Meredith said, continuing to scoop, roll and sprinkle in a pattern to keep her mind focused on the task. Otherwise, her thoughts would inevitably wander to Derek's naked body, which seemed inappropriate given her current company.

"I do?" Lilly asked.

"Yeah, you can help," Meredith nodded.

She gave Charlotte another spoonful of her peach yogurt, then scooped out some of the Irish potato batter onto Lilly's dish. It would end in a mess, but if it would occupy Lilly enough to let Meredith finish making the dessert, she was willing to take the risk.

Sure enough, Lilly mushed, squished, and squeezed the batter between her fingers, playing with it like Play-Doh, while Charlotte happily watched. The girls were behaving so well that even Meredith was suspicious.

"I thought taking care of two kids would be way harder than this. So, either all hell is about to break loose, or you two are just really that good," Meredith pondered aloud.

When her phone rang, she didn't even need to look at the display to know it was Derek. She quickly wiped her hands on a paper towel, then answered it, knowing if it went to voicemail, Derek would panic and assume the worst.

"Hey," she said.

"Hey, how's it going over there?" Derek greeted, the hustle and bustle of the hospital muffled in the background.

"We're making Irish potatoes, which is supposed to be a kid-friendly activity, but all I can think about are your B-A-L-L-S," Meredith said as she got up from the table in case something inappropriate and repeatable slipped from her mouth by mistake.

Derek smirked on the other end of the line. "Really?"

"Really," she echoed. "What are you up to? Am I missing anything good?"

"Nothing too exciting. I'm about to evacuate an epidural bleed. Should be pretty straightforward," Derek said. "So, you're sure you're okay with the girls?"

"Yeah. They both pooped, they napped, then they played. Now they're both eating, chatting with each other, like little old ladies at Sunday tea. They're the most well-behaved babies on the planet. I'm kind of... bored," Meredith admitted, tossing a dirty bib into the laundry room hamper.

Derek laughed. "You're thirty-nine weeks pregnant. If bored keeps you from going into labor while I'm at work, I'm all for bored."

"It's sweet when you hover. Annoying, but sweet," Meredith teased. "I guess bored is okay, as long as I can use all of that pent-up energy to actually play with your B-A-L-L-S later on instead of just thinking about them."

"Whatever you want," he agreed.

"Deal."

Derek's pager beeped and he pulled it from the waistband of his pants. "My patient just got to the OR. I need to go scrub in. Have fun with the girls."

"I will. Talk to you later," Meredith said before they ended their call.

When she turned around to rejoin the girls at the kitchen table, she was met with a mess, one that felt like karmic revenge. "This is what I get for saying I was bored," she sighed. "I was on the phone with Dada for a minute. What did you two do?"

"Ummy, Ma," Lilly said, caked in sticky Irish potato goo and a layer of cinnamon. She licked a glob of it from her shirt, then offered it to Meredith. "Ma 'tato?"

Meredith chose to laugh instead of cry as she pulled her hair back into a ponytail. "You look like a giant Irish potato. How did you even do that to yourself?" she asked.

Charlotte, who had followed Lilly's example, was covered in peach yogurt from her hair to her clothes, happy as a clam. "You're a mess, too," Meredith said as she tried to figure out the best way to clean them without making it worse.

Rather than waste a whole roll of paper towels trying to wipe them off, she was left with a more practical option. "Okay, who wants a bath?"

Lilly bounced in her chair, nothing short of thrilled about the idea. "Baf! Baf!"

"Okay, let's go," Meredith said as she unbuckled them.

She picked Charlotte up first, then swung Lilly onto her other hip as best she could. The weight of each girl, plus the full term baby in her belly made finding her balance a challenge, and she waddled slowly toward the stairs. With one foot, she managed to kick open the baby gate, then began trudging up the steps one by one.

"Let's not tell Dada I did this. If he knew, he'd need to be defibrillated," Meredith said with a grunt as she shifted Lilly higher to keep her from slipping out of her hold.

After miraculously making it to the upstairs landing, Meredith took the girls down the hall to the bathroom. Once inside, she set Lilly on her feet and Charlotte on her bottom, then quickly closed the door before either could escape.

"Phew. Okay. We made it," she said in relief, getting a glance at herself in the mirror above the sink. "Now we're all covered in food. Remind me to wash my shirt with your stuff," she told the girls.

Lilly toddled over to the tub and plucked two rubber ducks off the ledge. She handed one to Charlotte to play with, and the gesture made Meredith smile. "That was so sweet of you to share with Lolo," Meredith praised as she rummaged in the bathroom closet for Lilly's old bath seat for Charlotte to use.

When she spotted it on the top shelf, she sighed. "Of course Dada puts it way up there where I can't reach it," Meredith said, dragging the stool over from its place next to the sink. Very cautiously, she climbed on it, and was able to reach the bottom of the bath seat with her fingertips.

She held it up in victory once she'd gotten it out, then placed it in the tub, securing the suction cups to the floor of it. "Okay, good. Now we can let the tub fill while I get you two out of those sticky clothes," she said as she turned on the faucet, making sure warm water was pouring out.

As carefully as she could, she peeled Charlotte's peach-covered shirt off, along with her matching shamrock pants. "I promise by the time your dad comes to get you, these clothes will be washed, dried, and put back on. He'll never know about the peach incident," Meredith told the baby, who was much more interested in the rubber duck than her dirty clothes.

Once Charlotte's onesie and socks were added to the laundry pile, Meredith stripped off Lilly's leprechaun outfit, much to Lilly's chagrin. "Yeppa-kon, Ma," she said.

"I know, sweet pea. I'm going to wash all the goo off your leprechaun outfit, and it'll be good as new," she promised, turning off the tub faucet.

After checking the temperature again, Meredith took off Charlotte's diaper and placed her in the bath seat. Then she did the same with Lilly, tossing her diaper in the trash, then setting her on her bottom in the tub. The girls splashed the surface of the water with their rubber ducks, and Meredith dropped in more from the tub ledge to keep them busy while she bathed them.

"So many rubber duckies in this house," she said as she sat on the stool, since kneeling and leaning over the tub were out of the question.

Lilly glanced up at Meredith, a rubber duck in each hand. "I pee."

"Wait, you're what?" Meredith asked.

"I pee."

"You're peeing? Crap, uh, okay..." Meredith said, swiftly pulling a towel off the shelf. She hastily wrapped it around Charlotte and picked her up out of the tub. "Hopefully I got you out of there in time," she told the baby, whose look of confusion made Meredith laugh. "If you knew what Lilly just added to the bath water, you'd be thanking me."

Once Lilly was finished, Meredith scooped her out of the tub, too, so she could refill it. By now, her own shirt was soaked through with pee water, and both girls were toddling around the bathroom naked. But still, she ran a hand over her belly and smiled despite her exhaustion. "This is the fun you have to look forward to once you're born," she told the tiny boy or girl who was kicking her from the inside.

...

When Mark and Derek pulled into the driveway at 5:00, Meredith was certain that a day spent in the OR was no match for the day she'd spent with Lilly and Charlotte. The girls sat on the floor playing with blocks while Meredith shimmied their freshly laundered clothes back on them. Lilly was delighted when she looked down and saw the leprechaun on her shirt, the one that had been previously caked in batter and cinnamon.

"Yeppa-kon!" she said, pointing to him.

"See, I told you he'd be good as new after a quick trip to the laundry room," Meredith said, fixing Charlotte's green socks.

Derek and Mark walked into the living room, both of them surprised when they were met with a quiet calm. "Hey. How'd it go?" Derek asked.

Lilly ran over to Derek when she saw him, and wrapped her tiny arms around his neck. "Dada!"

"Hey, Princess," he greeted.

"Gotta admit, I expected to walk in the door and see a puddle of amniotic fluid, and you coaching yourself through childbirth on the couch," Mark teased as he knelt down next to Charlotte. "I missed you, kiddo. Come here."

"Nope, no amniotic fluid. Lilly did pee in the bath, though. So technically, there was a puddle all over the bathroom floor while I refilled the tub," Meredith shrugged.

"Uh oh. Did you pee in the tub?" Derek asked Lilly.

Lilly nodded proudly. "I peed."

"They were so good. So good that I now have unrealistic expectations of what having two will be like," Meredith admitted.

"My mom always said going from one kid to two wasn't bad. The jump from two to three was the hardest, because then my parents were outnumbered," Derek said.

"You're baby number three," Mark reminded him. "Which means you brought the chaos into the Shepherd home."

"I brought nothing but joy to the Shepherd home. I was the golden child," Derek boasted playfully.

"Was?" Meredith echoed. "You're still the favorite."

"My point is, it'll be two parents to two kids. It may be tough at first, but we can handle it," Derek promised, adding blocks to Lilly's tower.

Mark patted Meredith's shoulder in support. "He's right. You guys will be fine. But as a way to say thank you for watching Charlotte, Bridg and I want you to know that if you ever want us to take Lilly for the day, even overnight, just ask. And a few weeks from now once the baby is born, and you two need a date night, we'll take the baby, too. We mean it. Just give us a call, and we'll be right over."

Meredith smiled at the kind offer, and nodded in agreement. "Thank you, Mark. That means a lot."

"We're gonna hold you to that," Derek chuckled. "You're a good friend. Thanks."

"Oh, we made Irish potatoes. I put a Tupperware container in Charlotte's bag," Meredith said, reaching for the plate off the table. "Here, taste one."

"You made these?" Mark asked in disbelief.

"I did."

Derek waited until Mark put one in his mouth to speak. "Do they still remind you of my balls?"

Mark choked at the recollection, and forced himself to swallow the small, doughy dessert. "Oh, God. That's gonna come back up."

Derek grinned in satisfaction, clapping Lilly's hands together. "Waited a year to say that, but it was worth it."

...

St. Paddy's Day was winding to a close, but not before Lilly got her obligatory tea party, which was becoming a part of her pre-bedtime routine. She poured pretend tea into Derek's purple cup with all the graciousness of a host. "Dada sip," she instructed.

Derek held the cup to his lips and took a sip of the tea. "Best tea I've ever had. Thank you," he replied, adding a pretend scoop of sugar to it.

"Mama tea?" Lilly asked.

"Yes, please," Meredith nodded. She watched as Lilly poured her a cup of tea, wearing a blue tutu over her Finding Nemo pajamas. When Lilly had gotten the pajamas for Christmas, the pant legs were too long and needed to be rolled up. Now though, just three months later, she'd grown so much that the length was just her size.

Derek noticed the sad smile on his wife's face, and he handed her a plastic muffin. "You okay?"

"Yeah. It's just hitting me, how big she's getting. Seeing her with Charlotte all day, she seemed so much older. Last St. Paddy's Day, she said Mama for the first time. This year, she can hold a full conversation," Meredith said, accepting the tea Lilly gave her. "Thank you, Lillybug."

"Crazy," Derek said softly.

"I just want to soak in these last few days with her while she's still the baby. I mean, she'll always be our baby, but she won't be the baby in the house anymore. You don't think she'll feel left out, do you?" Meredith asked.

"She's been a part of this baby's life since the start. She was at the first ultrasound, and saw the grainy blob on the screen the same time we did. She kisses your belly, feels the baby kick, gives us name input, and she's gonna be there when you give birth. This baby is just as much hers as it is ours. Right, Lilly? Whose baby is this?" Derek asked her.

Lilly looked up from her teapot and smiled. "My baby."

"See? Nothing to worry about."

"Cone?" Lilly offered.

"I'd love a scone. Can I have butter on it?" Meredith asked.

"Bubber," Lilly nodded, spreading fake butter onto the pastry.

Derek laughed. "What other toddler knows what a scone is?"

"Clearly, she hangs out with Izzie too much," Meredith said. Lilly gave her the buttered scone, and she took a fake bite from it. "Mmm, did you bake these yourself? They're so good," she played along.

"Oben," Lilly pointed.

"You baked them in the oven?" Derek echoed. "Yeah, Aunt Izzie's rubbing off on you."

"She's never seen me use the oven. Had to be Izzie," Meredith agreed.

As Lilly poured milk into Derek's tea, Meredith felt a dull ache wrap around her back all the way to her abdomen. It was a familiar pain, one she hadn't felt since June 5th almost two years ago. She looked down at her belly, exhaling slowly through pursed lips.

"Derek."