You're Like Coming Home

79.

Derek sighed as he shifted in his sleep. He reached lazily for Meredith, frowning when he saw the empty bed beside him. A quick glance at the clock revealed that it was nine, much to early for his wife to be up on a Sunday in the middle of the summer. They'd finished finals two weeks before, and they each had more substantial jobs in the medical clinic for the summer to get ahead in the medical field, but Meredith wasn't scheduled to work today. Which meant that something was wrong.

"Mer?" he sighed, swinging his legs over the side of the bed as he reached for his boxers. The apartment was silent, and he frowned as he walked down the stairs. Meredith was standing in the kitchen, already working on some pancakes. "Hey," he said, moving towards her. "What are you doing?"

"Hungry," she shrugged, kissing him lightly. "There's a present for you on the kitchen table.

Derek frowned as he walked towards the table on the other side of the counter, reaching for the light blue card that sat in the middle of the table. His heart stopped beating as he pulled the card out of the envelope, reading the three words at the top of the card.

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY.

Derek swallowed hard as he realized what today actually was. Since neither one of them had fathers to recognize the holiday for, father's day usually came and went as any other Sunday in their lives.

Now, however, Derek felt that fact was about to change.

With shaking hands, Derek opened the card to read the message printed on the inside.

YOU'RE THE BEST.

Underneath the simple message was his perfect wife's handwriting. He blindly reached for a chair, knowing that he was about to get the best news of his life.

Congratulations, Daddy! I know your brain's probably in overdrive right now, so I'm just going to make this simple. You're going to be a father, Derek. I'm so ecstatic to be able to give you this, to have your baby safe inside my stomach. I know you're nervous, but we can do this, Derek, I know we can do this. I love you so much, and I can't wait to share this with you. We're going to be parents, Derek, and I can't tell you how much I love you for giving me this. You're going to be an amazing father, and I can't wait until we can meet our son or daughter. I love you, Derek. And so does your baby.

Love, Mer

Derek looked up to see Meredith staring at him from her place in the kitchen, nervously biting her lower lip. He stared back at her for a moment, and suddenly he was on his feet and beside her in a flash, pulling her tightly into his arms.

"Derek," she giggled as he swung her in a gentle circle.

"Meredith," he breathed, setting her down on her feet and pressing his lips firmly to hers. "God, Mer. We're pregnant?"

"We're pregnant," Meredith giggled. "You're going to be a daddy."

"And you're going to be a mommy," he whispered, leaning forward to kiss her again. "I love you."

"I love you too."

"I wasn't talking to you," Derek laughed as he sank onto his knees in front of her, pushing her shirt up and out of the way.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," Meredith giggled, reaching down to run her hands through his hair, smiling as he pressed a gentle kiss to the soft skin of her stomach.

"Hi baby Shepherd," Derek whispered against her skin. "I'm your daddy. And I love you a whole lot. Maybe even more than I love your Mommy."

"Thanks, Der," Meredith rolled her eyes.