The Seventh Sense is Love

The Seventh Sense of Love

Derek awoke to Ian's crying and Meredith trying to get up and get him. He reached over and ran his fingers down her arm. "Get comfortable," he said sleepily. "I'll get him."

Meredith smiled gratefully at her wonderful husband. She watched as he got out of bed and picked their tiny boy up from his bassinette. He cradled him close and spoke softly to him. Derek walked with Ian toward their bedroom door and said, "We'll be back after a diaper change, Mommy."

She smiled and closed her eyes - hoping for a few more minutes of sleep before starting the day. Ian was one week old, and it felt like they were already starting to establish a family routine. She could hear Derek speaking faintly to their son in the nursery next door to their room. She got up and went to see her boys. Meredith stopped in the doorway as she heard Derek say to Ian, "Mommy's the best. You know we are very lucky to have her."

Ian kicked his feet and made the most adorable little cooing sound. Meredith's heart literally felt like it was going to burst with all the love she felt for both of them. She must have made her own little sound because Derek turned and smiled at her. "I thought you were staying in bed. Hey," he said as tears started leaking from her eyes and rolling down her cheeks. He picked up Ian - freshly diapered and zipped back into his pajamas - and walked over to Meredith. Derek pulled her to him with his free arm and kissed her head. "What's wrong?"

Meredith shook her head and mumbled around her tears, "Nothing."

"Then why are you crying?"

"I love you," she replied, and felt like she was going to cry even more. "Both of you, so much," she said and kissed Ian's cheek. Then she did indeed start crying even harder - so much so that she couldn't even talk now.

Derek just held her close and smiled so she couldn't see him. He'd been prepared for something like this. He absolutely believed that Meredith loved him and Ian - just as she said - but her hormonal levels were also all over the place. Plus, Kathleen and Molly had warned him to expect extreme emotions from her. "Come on, let's lie down for a while longer," he said and turned her gently toward their room. This made her cry a little more. And Ian chose that moment to start squirming in Derek's other arm. Then he opened his mouth and started wailing right along with his Mommy. Oh crap, Derek thought. This, he hadn't been expecting. He got Meredith and Ian into their bed and tried to get him to have some breast milk, but he wasn't having it. The more Meredith cried; the more Ian cried. Neither seemed to be calming down. In fact, he thought it was getting worse. Part of him thought this should be comical but it really wasn't. It was heart breaking.

"Mer," Derek asked softly, "what do you need? What can I do for you?"

She held up her palms and tried to answer, "D - don't know," she sobbed, trying to catch her breath, to no avail. "C-c-can't s-stop."

"Okay, all right," Derek said and rubbed her back. Then he picked Ian up from the bed and said, "I'll just calm him down."

Meredith shook her head yes but as soon as Derek moved Ian from her - their little baby wailed louder. "Hey, hey Ian, it's okay," Derek said as he put him up on his shoulder and patted his back. "Mommy's going to be all right. She's just going through a girl thing."

She scowled at him and he said to Ian, "Scratch that last part, Sport. Daddy was only teasing. Sorry Mommy, bad time for a bad joke."

For the next half-hour Derek did everything he could think of to calm Meredith and Ian down, but nothing was working. Ian was a little calmer when Meredith was holding him but they both just laid on the bed and cried. Finally, feeling a bit freaked out, Derek went into the kitchen with his phone and made a call. He felt bad because it was only seven in the morning, but he needed help.