If you were here

Chapter 13

Derek had got called in on a 911 during the day, much to his dismay. He didn't want to leave Meredith alone with 3 kids. He was worried about Meredith.

"Alright guys, please be good for mommy. If you are I'll give you all a cookie." Derek begged quietly before he left.

Right now, the kids were all content eating their lunch and watching doc McStuffins. Meredith smiled as she watched her 3 kids focus so intently on the show, and couldn't help but smile when she imagined them all as doctors in 30 years. If they weren't doctors, Meredith wouldn't mind.

As long as her kids were happy and healthy, she was happy. "Mama, come watch!" Zola begged. Meredith chuckled and limped over. She first picked up Ellis out of her baby seat and carried her over next to the older two.

Meredith sat down next to them with Ellis resting on her mother's chest, peacefully sucking on her pacifier. Bailey curled up under her left arm, while Zola cuddled under her right. "Mama okay?" Bailey asked. Meredith chuckled lightly at her sons loving and protectiveness, all from Derek. "I'm okay Bails. You don't have to worry about me, okay bud?" Meredith asked softly. "Okay mama." Bailey said.

At work, Derek was quickly trying to get his surgery done so he could go home. "How's Grey?" Bailey asked as she repaired the patients abdomen. "Good. She's with the kids right now." Derek replied as he dabbed up the bleeders in his patients brain. "And you want to get home to make sure they aren't being difficult?" Bailey guessed. Derek nodded sheepishly.

"They're good kids Shepherd, and Meredith is fully capable of watching them. A little limp isn't gonna hurt that." Bailey said. "I know. I just don't want them to give her a hard time. She already feels incompetent." Derek said with a sigh. "She's Grey. Just let her be and be there when she needs you. Give her some space when she needs it." Bailey replied.

"Thank you." Derek replied. Bailey muttered sometning and went back to work.

After his surgery, Derek quickly scribbled a few post op notes and tried to leave, when Richard and Callie stopped him. "How's Meredith?" He asked. "She's doing well." He replied shortly. "What about the leg?" Callie asked. "Still a limp, but it's not too bad anymore." Derek replied. "She should be good to come back to work soon then. Bring her in one day and we'll assess her and see if she can come back." Richard said. "I'll talk to her, but I gotta get home. Merediths alone with the kids." He said. "Okay. See you." Callie said.

Derek got home and walked inside the dream house only to see all three kids and Meredith sitting on the couch, watching TV. "Hi daddy!" The two older kids exclaimed as Derek walked over and sat down. "Hey!" He said with a smile. "How are you?" He asked softly. "Good." She replied. "And how were these kiddos?" Derek asked. "We was good daddy!" Bailey screamed.

"You were?" Derek asked in fake surprise. "Yeah!" Zola yelled. "I guess I have to follow through on our deal then." He said with a smile as he stood up and walked to the kitchen. He soon returned with 3 chocolate chip cookies and a big smile. "You bribed them to be good?" Meredith asked with a giggle. "It worked." Derek said triumphantly as he handed Bailey and Zola a cookie, and ate part of Ellis so it wasn't too big for her.

"How was your surgery?" Meredith asked. "It was good. Everything went well. I actually bumped into Bailey and Richard earlier." Derek replied. "And?" Meredith asked. "Well, they want you to go in and get checked out to see if your ready to go back to work." He said. "Really? I can go back?" Meredith asked happily.

"If everything checks out well. Are you sure-" Derek started. "I'm losing my mind here Derek. I love being home and spending time with you and the kids but mama needs to cut." Meredith said in exasperation. "Okay. We can go in tomorrow then." Derek said soothingly.

"Mama, we go outside?" Bailey asked. "Sure. Want to go for a walk or the backyard?" Meredith asked. "Backyard." He replied. The family of 5 made their way outside and Zola and Bailey made a beeline to the swing set Derek and Mark had managed to build while Derek held Ellis. "I never thought I'd be the type of girl with a white picketed fence and a huge dream house with three kids." Meredith admitted as she watched the kids play.

"I thought I'd end up alone, like my mother did." She said. Derek wrapped his free arm around her and kissed the side of her head. "Until you came around, I really thought I'd be alone." She said. "I knew you'd come around to it soon enough." Derek replied with a chuckle. "I love you Derek. And I love our family." She said. "I love you too Mer. All of you." He replied.

Hey guys! Hope you enjoyed this chapter and  if you have any ideas for future chapters feel free to drop them! Hope your all doing well!