It Came Upon A Midnight Clear

70.

Derek held Meredith's hand and Richie with the other as he walked her up the large porch wrapping around the one half of the house. Her mouth was agape with amazement as she saw the hanging bench on the porch. "That's for summer evenings on the porch..." Derek said with a smile as he watched her glance to him, her eyes still wide with surprise as turned to face the door. The door was a dark wood with stained glass side panels that she couldn't help but reach out and run her fingers along. He unlocked the door and swung it open, sending out a whiff of freshly sanded wood and pine sol. "Welcome home!" He exclaimed as he grinned at her, stepping into the house. He turned around and she was still on the outside of the doorway, staring inside.

"Derek." She mumbled as she stared in at the hardwood floor with the oriental welcome mat and the runner down the hall. The entryway was painted in a deep red with white trim, bringing out the brass fixtures.

"This is the entryway..." He grinned. "Just wait until you see the rest of the house." He said as he grabbed her hand and carefully set Richie's seat onto the floor. Meredith finally stepped inside and just stared around at the room. Derek crouched down and unclipped the seatbelt around his son, watching as he yawned a big yawn and closed his eyes again, his tiny forehead wrinkling as he was lifted from his seat. "Let's go see the rest." He said with a smile. "To your left... is the formal living room..." He said with a grin. "We don't have to keep it formal if you don't want to... it can be a play room if you prefer... anything you like... for now, we set it up as a living room. He said as he cuddled the baby against his chest, holding his bottom with one hand as he nestled against his father.

Meredith stepped into the living room, looking around at the furniture that was placed around it. Everything was new and untouched and her eyes traveled around the room. "Where did you get this?" She asked as she walked quickly across the room, her face turning to look at Derek as she touched the frame of a picture on the wall.

"Your mother." Derek replied.

The picture was one of Meredith as a little girl, a bright smile on her face, her nose wrinkled in the grin as her eyes sparkled. She was wearing a winter coat with fur around the hood and her hands were up as if she were showing off her brand new red mittens. "My mother gave this picture to you?" She whispered.

"Yes..." He said as he shook his head. "There are a few things that your mother contributed..." Derek said as he tilted his head, walking up alongside her. "You were such a cute little girl." He said as he looked up at the picture, leaning over for a kiss. She stood on her tiptoes and kissed him softly, her lips moving down to her son, who was sleeping against his daddy's chest. "You'll recognize a few things..." He said with a smile.

"Next stop... family room..." He said as he reached out and took her hand, leading her back towards the entryway. As he lead her in, he discussed other details of the house that just made her beam. "There is a built in surround sound system... you can play music and hear it just about anywhere... you can control where you want the music playing... how loud in each room... it's a pretty remarkable system."

"You're pretty remarkable." She giggled as she walked into the family room. As soon as she stepped into the room, she gasped. Not only was the room filled with comfortable furniture, painted in a deep, soothing blue, but the fireplace on the one wall caught her eye, the mantle was large and ornate made of dark mahogany. The carpet was soft on her feet, her toes melting into the threads, and in the large bay window at the front was a large artificial Christmas tree, decorated and looming above them. "Derek..." She laughed as she stepped up to it. "Derek, it's June..." She laughed.

"So?" He shrugged as he stepped over to the wall. He flipped the light switch and suddenly the tree was lit up brightly, sending colors throughout the room and across their faces, their features, accentuating the beauty that he had fallen in love with such a long time ago. "I wanted you to see our new home in the same light that I see you in." He smiled. "I wanted to show you the full potential of where we live... under the lights of the Christmas tree, under the lights that I first found you." He said as he pulled her closer, cradling the baby against him, she enveloped both of them in a hug as he kissed her head. "My little grinch..." He whispered with a smile. "You stole my Christmas..." He mumbled into her hair as they stood beneath the tree, the three of them. Together, and never alone again.