You've got a Way

44.

Derek was nervous. It was late at night and Derek was going to pick up his daughter from Susan and Thatcher's house. Meredith was working late at her new job and Derek was exhausted and glad to be heading home from work. That wasn't what he was nervous about. He had decided that while he was at Emma's grandparents house, he would ask them about proposing to Meredith. He had already asked her a few times, and gotten a no, but he was determined that one time she was going to say yes, and he wanted to be sure that Meredith's family, the only family she had besides him and Emma, were okay with it.

"Okay..." Derek took a deep breath ,trying to calm himself down as he stood on the door step and rang the doorbell of the old style house.

"Derek..." Susan Grey smiled as she opened the door to the now dimly lit house, tightening her nightime robe over her pajamas. "Come in."

"Thank you..." Derek breathed. 'I'm sorry it's so late."

"Oh don't even think about worrying about it." Susan closed the door to the house and Thatcher came out of the den with a book in his hands.

"Is that Derek?" Thatcher walked in, taking his reading glasses off.

"I...yeah...Hi sir." Derek said. He wasn't in high school but he was nervous enough to call his girlfriend's father sir.

"Sir? You know you don't have to call us anything fancy." Susan waved, as they walked towards the kitchen. "I have to tell you...Emma is going to have a bruise in the morning."

"Nothing too serious." Thatcher added, putting the book down. "She walked into the book shelf, because she was running away with my remore." Thatcher chuckled. "She was fine once we put ice on it and she got some ice cream."

"Of course. Ice cream always works." Derek laughed nervously.

"Of course she was exhausted after all of the playing...she's been asleep for four hours already."

"It's getting late. When will Meredith get home?" Susan asked, looking at the clock which signaled it was twenty until midnight.

"Oh...not until four probably." Derek sighed.

"It worries me with her being out so late." Susan sighed, stiffling a weak yawn. "I loved her receptionist job because we knew when she would get back to the apartment but this night job at the Emergency room makes me so nervous."

"She said she was checking in patients and doing paper work." Thatcher explained. "I bet the nights are busiest there."

"Yeah." Derek nodded. "I just told her to call me when she was leaving if it means waking me up."

"When she dropped Emma off she looked tired." Susan sighed.

"Emma woke up her up at five."

"She's a sassy little girl." Susan laughed, sitting down at the table where Emma's things were packed.

"So...Derek. How was the um...surgery today?" Thatcher asked awkwardly, sitting next to his second wife.

"Oh...um...It was successful." Derek smiled.

"Good good." Thatcher nodded, cleaning his throat.

"I was...I had something...to ask you guys." Derek said, taking a deep breath.

"Alright." Susan smiled.

"Well..." Derek cleared his throat, looking aorund the room. "You both know...Meredith and I have been together...for awhile...and we...you know before..."