You're Like Coming Home

54.

Derek groaned as he was pulled out of his sleep to the ringing of a telephone beside him. He squeezed his eyes tightly and buried his face in Meredith's hair, hoping that if he ignored it, the phone would stop ringing.

And it did.

For about a minute.

Apparently whoever was calling was waiting until the machine picked up and then dialing again.

"Make it stop," Meredith mumbled into the pillow.

"You make it stop," Derek groaned as the phone started ringing again.

"Seriously, Derek, make it stop," Meredith snapped, pulling out of his arms and burying her head in the pillow.

Derek groaned as he turned onto his back and reached for the stupid ringing phone. "What?" he mumbled into the receiver.

"Derek Christopher, that is no way to answer the phone," his mother's voice came over the other end of the line.

"Mom?" Derek asked. "It's three in the morning. What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong," Emma smiled. "It just seems that I am now a grandmother."

"Seriously?" Derek asked, sitting up. "I'm an uncle?"

"You're an uncle," Emma laughed. "To a beautiful baby girl named Hailey Elizabeth."

"Wow," Derek sighed. "Everything went okay? Kath's good and the baby is okay and... everything's good?"

"Kathleen did wonderfully," Emma nodded. "I wanted to make sure that you all knew as soon as it happened."

"Thanks, Mom," Derek said, a smile plastered across his face. "Mer and I will be in tomorrow afternoon. Tell Kath I love her and I'm proud of her."

"I will," Emma said with a smile. "Give Meredith my love. Tell her I'm sorry for waking her."

Derek laughed. His mother knew his wife all too well. "I will," he said. "Bye Mom."

He hung up the phone and turned on his side to look at Meredith before he leaned over, his lips millimeters away from her ear. "Meredith..."

"Go away," Meredith mumbled.

"Mer, wake up," he whispered, pressing a kiss to her naked shoulder. "It's exciting, I promise."

"It can wait til morning," Meredith groaned.

"Meredith," Derek said firmly.

"Derek, seriously," she groaned. "We went to sleep like an hour ago. So what do you have to tell me? Just tell me so I can go back to sleep."

"Fine," Derek shrugged. "You're an aunt." He turned on his side, his back to her as he settled back under the covers.

"What?" Meredith asked, sitting up quickly as she turned on the light. "Kath...the baby... Derek, I need details!"

Derek laughed as he turned over to look at her. "You said you wanted to go back to sleep."

"That's when I thought it was something stupid like Mark calling you to tell you to divorce me because he missed hanging out with you," Meredith replied.

"That was one time," Derek rolled his eyes. "And he was drunk. He didn't really mean it."

"Whatever," Meredith rolled her eyes. "The baby's here?"

"She's here," Derek nodded. "Hailey Elizabeth. Mom said everyone's doing well, Kathleen's resting now and Chris is with her, but the baby's healthy. I told her we'd come in tomorrow afternoon."