All of Your Life

An Argument

Derek looked over at Meredith, who snuggled into his side, leaned over, and pressed a chaste kiss to her head. He heard his cell phone vibrate and he quickly grabbed it, getting out of bed carefully and walked into the hall.

"Shepherd," he answered.

"Hey Der..."

"Liv its 6 in the morning. What are doing calling me so early?"

"I need to see you Derek... I'm in Seattle."

"I know. I saw you with Addison," he told her.

"I'm sorry Derek. But, you left me with no choice. The only way i knew what was happening was by talking to Addison since Ames..."

"Leave Amy out of this Liv."

"So who is calling you daddy Derek," she asked, getting straight to the point.

"I'm not discussing this with you over the phone Liv. I'll meet you this afternoon but, I suggest you call Amy."

"Der..."

"Do not Der me. Amy needed her family and you all abandoned her. Make it up with your twin Liv and I might consider letting you know what you want," he said before hanging up on his sister.

He sighed, running his fingers through his hair before brushing his teeth. Walking into Ava's nursery, he watched her quietly for a few minutes, playing with toys in her crib. She eventually noticed Derek standing in the doorway, watching her.

"Dada!" she called out, holding her arms up to be picked up.

"Morning, princess," he smiled, lifting her out of the crib. Derek placed a light kiss on her head, running his hands over the unruly curls.

"Mama...seepy?"

"Yeah mama's sleeping. So we've got to be very quiet."

Ava nodded. "Spon bob dada?"

"After breakfast."

"I want pan."

"Pancakes it is," he told her, checking her diaper before taking her down stairs to breakfast. Her new favorite toy, the seal from the aquarium, was wrapped tightly in her ams. Derek placed her in her high chair before starting on the pancakes. She babbled happily to him as he worked. Placing a plate in front of her, he heard his phone start to ring for the second time that morning.

"Hey Amy."

"Hi. I was wondering if you could watch Josh for me this morning. I've been called into the hospital and I can't find a sitter."

"Not a problem. I'm at Mer's."

"I need her address... Are you sure Dr. Grey won't mind?" she asked him.

"No, Meredith will be fine with it."

"Okay, I'll see you in 30 minutes,"she said before hanging up. He saw Ava watching him as intently as a two year old could.

"Do you remember Josh?" he asked her, Ava shook her head.

"Josh is your Aunt Amy's son, he's your cousin," he tried to explain to her but, she wasn't interested. "He's going to come and play with us today."

Ava nodded at him and returned to playing with her pancakes. Neither noticed Meredith standing in the doorframe.

__________________________________

Meredith woke to an empty bed, which wasn't a surprise. Derek was rarely in bed when she woke up. If it wasn't for their daughter she definitely would have thought he didn't want to spend time with her. But, she quickly batted those thoughts away. He missed out on two years of his daughter's life and she understood that he was just trying to make up for that. Derek loved her, she knew that.

Climbing out of bed she grabbed her robe and made her way downstairs, knowing that Derek would have made Ava breakfast. Standing in the doorway she watched as he cooked pancakes for Ava. She was about to announce her presence when his phone rang. She could hear him talking to his sister, telling her that she'd be fine with doing something. She was mad that he just made the decision for her, not bothering to ask her if it was okay. But,s he kept her mouth shut, not announcing her presence, until Derek started helping Ava with her breakfast.

"You know that she can feed herself," she said walking into the kitchen.

"Good morning," Derek smiled at her, watching her as she walked over to the coffee maker. Grabbing her first cup of coffee for the day, she ignored Derek, knowing that without her coffee, she was likely to snap. After a couple sips she walked over and kissed her daughter on the head before sitting down next to her.

"I made pancakes for breakfast."

"I'm not hungry," she told him, a little sharply.

"Okay. I told Amy that I would watch Josh today. Apparently she got called in to the hospital."

"Of course."

"Thee only thing is, I have an errand to run around lunch time so, I was hoping you wouldn't mind watching him for an hour or two."

"And you never thought to ask me, Derek?"

"What's that suppose to mean Meredith?"

"Forget it."

"No Meredith I want..." Meredith kissed him, shutting him up.

"I will watch Josh while you run your errand," she said definitively.

"Mer..."

"Derek, go take a shower. Won't Amy be here soon?" she asked, leaving no room for arguments.

"Mama...boo?" Ava asked as Derek walked out of the kitchen. Meredith grabbed a napkins on the table and started playing peek-a-boo with her daughter.

She was still playing it 10 minutes later when there was a knock on the door.

"Mommy, will be right back, sweetie," she told Ava, handing her her juice before jogging to answer the door. "Hi Amy"

"Thank you for taking josh today, Dr. Grey."

"Amy I've told you before, it's Meredith."

"Sorry, Meredith. I'm guessing Derek didn't ask you. He told me he did."

"Amy it not your fault," she assured, her, letting her walk into the foyer. "What time are you done today?"

"Six. I really do appreciate this, Meredith."

"It's alright. I know how hard it is to find a baby sitter at short notice."

"Still, thank you."

Meredith nodded. "Derek's in the shower," she told her. "Hi Josh, do you remember me? From the park?" Meredith asked him, bending down so she was at the same height.

"Ava's mommy," he said shyly, Meredith smiled at him and ruffled his hair.

"Ava's in the kitchen eating breakfast. Have you eaten your breakfast yet?"

"Nuh uh."

"Well what do you say when Uncle Derek comes down we get him to make you some pancakes?"

"Yes, please" he said, still feeling a bit shy. Meredith stood up, and turned to Amy. "He'll be fine."

"Thank you Meredith. Josh, I will see you tonight. Be a good boy for Uncle Derek and Meredith. I love you."

"I love you too mommy," he said giving Amy a kiss and a hug, before watching his mother leave. Meredith held her hand out for Josh to take before leading him into the kitchen.