Family life

This isn't fair

Derek was exhausted. Actually at this point, he was past the stage of exhaustion, he wasn't even sure how he was still going at this point.

As he sat in the hospital waiting room, his hands running through his hair.

"Derek!" Addison's voice rang through the room.

He looked up, his head feeling too heavy for his shoulders as he met the eyes of his two best friends.

"Derek, what's going on?" Mark asked as he bounced Eva on his hip, as Addison sat next to him, her arms wrapped round his shoulders.

"Where's Meredith? The kids?" Addison asked, completely oblivious to what had happened.

"The kids are with mom." Derek said, his head dropping to the floor. "Meredith's sleeping." He said, holding back a sob.

"Shep." Baileys voice interrupted them, causing Derek's head to rush up. "Meredith's awake, she's asking for you." She smiled at him, as best as she could.

He stood up and followed closely behind Bailey, Mark and Addison not far behind, wanting to give them privacy but also needing to know what was going on. Derek froze at the door.

"You can go." Bailey encouraged, watching as he hyped himself up before finally entering the room.

"Hey." Derek said, as he walked over to the bed watching as Meredith turned to face him, a tired smile on her face.

"Hey you." She replied as she reached up to take his hand, squeezing it tight.

"How are you feeling?" He asked, sweeping her hair out of her face.

"Exhausted. So ready to go home and climb back into bed with you and the kids." She smiled up at him.

"We are definitely going to have our hands full when this one comes along." He said as his hand drifted down to her stomach, quickly joined by Meredith's.

"I was so scared Derek. Just the thought, I just, I don't know how I would have coped." Meredith replied, her voice wobbling slightly.

"Hey, look Arizona said that they are going to monitor you closely, but the baby is perfectly happy in there. It was just some spotting, you're both going to be ok." He leaned down and kissed her quick, reassuring her.

"I know what she said, but I didn't have this with either of my pregnancies with Oscar or Willow, so my brain panicked and automatically thought miscarriage. I'm sorry." Meredith said as she looked up at him with guilty eyes.

"You have nothing to be sorry for, if you have feeling or symptoms that don't feel right, you tell me and we will be right here. I don't mess around when it comes to you and the kids, alright?" He said, watching as she nodded her head.

Behind them they heard a gently knock at the door and found Mark and Addison standing there, hesitating to come in. They waved them in and filled them in on what had happened. Addison wrapped them both in her arms at the excitement of becoming an "auntie" again. Mark slapped Derek on the back before kissing Meredith on the cheek, whilst Eva squealed, joining in on the excitement.

Mark and Addison didn't stick around for long, seeing that the both of them needed some rest. Once they were gone, Derek climbed into the bed with Meredith, pulling her into his body tight.

"Is this even allowed?" Meredith giggled as she turn to rest her head on his chest.

"I work here, it's allowed." He said shaking his head and shrugging his shoulder.

"What even if Bailey comes in?" Meredith asked raising her eyebrows, watching as Derek's eyes went wide. "Thought so." She giggled again before yawning and cuddling back into his side.

"Sleep Mer." He kissed the top of her head. "I love you." 

"I love you too." Meredith replied before drifting off to sleep.

The next day, Meredith was finally released from the hospital. Heading to pick the kids up before heading home, desperately craving some family time. So there they sat on their porch, as Oscar ran round the garden, Willow desperately trying to keep up with him, attempting to walk but constantly falling down.

Meredith sat and watched, her hands glued to her stomach.

"Here." She turned and took the mug off Derek, as he took a seat next to her. "One hot chocolate for you and a coffee for me."

"Thank you." She smiled at him quick before turning her attention back to the kids. "They're so happy."

"They are, aren't they." Derek smiled at his children before taking a sip from his coffee.

"It's all I've ever wanted for them. It's all I wanted when growing up, was to be happy and have someone. Like their bond is everything and I can't wait for this one to join them." Meredith said, happy tears coming to her eyes.

Derek turned to look at his wife, hating that she had such a awful childhood but it made her who she was today.

"They're that happy because of you Mer." Derek said, as Meredith turned to him. "You love them kids more then anything, even more then me." He said as she laughed, no denying his point. "I'm thankful everyday to wake up and to have you by my side, not just as my wife but as my best friend."

Meredith reached up and ran her thumb across his cheek, before leaning in and pressing her lips to his. Taking in this moment.

"Mamma! Dadda! Play pease!" Oscar shouted, as he ran up to him, his face red and sweaty from running round.

"We are wanted again." Derek pulled away as he rested his forehead against Meredith's.

"We certainly are, let's go." Meredith stood up and reached for Derek's hand as they moved down towards the kids.

Derek was quick to chase after Oscar, as Meredith sat down next to Willow who was investigating the flowers. As the soon began to set, they sat together, wrapped in one another's arms, grateful for another day and another chance.

This was a family. This was the Shepherd family.

*A/N*
Had to get one more cliffhanger in before I wrap this story up! It's bitter sweet but I want to end this story on a good note before it gets dragged out and boring so only 1 more chapter left now and it's going to be more of an epilogue!