Untouchable face

32.

"How many kids?" Meredith gasped and Derek laughed as her eyes widened. He wasn't sure how long she had been sitting with him but he was getting to know all of her reactions and he loved them. He was pretty sure his doctor was the most adorable person alive.

He shouldn't be thinking that. It was entirely wrong and he got that. He was her patient, she had operated on him and he had a girlfriend waiting for him at home but Meredith Grey made it pretty impossible to deny. She liked to act all tough but she really was adorable. "You heard me."

"That's not possible, Derek," she shook her head. She had taken her hair out of the ponytail and the blonde waves framed her face perfectly. Which only served to bring out the gold flecks in her eyes. He wasn't supposed to be noticing any of this.

"Except it clearly is," he laughed. She made it impossible not to notice though. She was the kind of pretty that he would bet she didn't have any make up at all on and she still caught his eye in the way a lot of girls paid money for. She was just so naturally attractive.

"Nineteen kids is...excessive. Past excessive. It's like...morally...weird." And she was damn easy to talk to, funny and smart and a good listener. He wasn't sure he had ever had such an easy conversation with anyone.

"Morally weird?" he raised an eyebrow. It's not like tonight was the first night they had talked. But it the first time they had had the freedom to really fall into a conversation and it was amazing. Derek couldn't believe how relaxed he felt.

"Yes."

"What does that even mean?"

"It means it's weird to have nineteen kids."

"Well yeah."

"And really wrong. Why hasn't she castrated him yet?"

"Meredith!" he gasped.

"Why?"

"She doesn't need to castrate him, just...surgery would work."

"Castrate."

"That is definitely a little extreme."

"It's extreme after five kids. After nineteen, it's the best course of action."

"My mom had five," he shrugged.

"And it would have been extreme if she had castrated your dad," Meredith nodded.

"They would have had more if my dad hadn't died," he breathed, even though he had no idea where it came from as he never talked about his dad.

"Really?" she murmured.

"Hmmm..." he nodded. "Dad wanted a big family."

"Oh."

"I don't think nineteen though."

"Would your mom have done more than five?"

"Probably, yeah," he nodded. "She loves her babies."

"I can tell," Meredith giggled. "But nineteen?"

"No, I think she would have stopped before she hit the double digits," Derek laughed.

"You'll have to ask her."

"I will," he nodded.

"I bet she says she would have castrated your dad."

"I can imagine my mom even threatening that," he laughed.

"That's what she'll say," she nodded firmly.

"I will have to ask her."

"You will."