I Wanna Be Yours

"Chapter 12"

Never in a million years Meredith figured she'd step foot in Toys R Us, and yet, she's lost in aisle six, looking for the perfect present for David Shepherd.

She should have declined. The Shepherd eyes will be the death of her.

And David's aren't even the eyes that worry her the most. When Derek looks at her, she turns into a pile of goo, and that is so not professional.

She's trying to keep her emotions in check around him, but Derek has a power over her. Meredith is spellbound whenever he walks into a room, and she hates that feeling.

Nobody ever made her feel like that, and she's scared to death to figure out what it means. Why she can't stop thinking about his hands on her hips or his tongue in her mouth. Why he makes her so nervous and yet gives her immense clarity when they are together. Why he fills her thoughts at the most inappropriate of times.

She takes a deep breath and decides that she should push aside her feelings for Derek now, and think about his son's present.

What in the world does a five-year-old boy likes?

She was sneaky and asked a couple of her younger patients what she could buy, but nothing they suggested seemed appealing. She knows David is a special boy, and he needs a special gift.

She's a terrible gift-giver. How could she be good at it when she has virtually nobody to give gifts to? Her parents are easy to please, her sister Maggie is even easier, but a little boy? She's out of her element.

The aisles are filled with all kinds of incredible gifts and she groans at the thought that she's spending her only morning off in the week to buy a stupid gift. Maybe she should just buy David food and a juice box and pretend she has no idea presents are customary. It's not like she has celebrated many regular birthdays, both her parents are busy surgeons.

They tried – of course they did – but the fact that her birthday is so close to Thanksgiving doesn't help. The hospital had to come first, and if they had to pick between taking her birthday off or Maggie's, she was the one left stranded. She loves Maggie, but she knows their mother loves Maggie a little more. Richard is also wonderful, but at the end of the day, she's not his daughter. It gets lonely at times, but she has learned how to cope. She has always felt like the odd one sticking out in their family.

Her eyes widen when she sees a special aisle of the store dedicated to educational and sensory toys, and she knows she'll find her perfect gift right there.

She walks out of aisle seventeen with a box in her hands and a smile on her face. A smile that slowly disappears when she walks by the baby aisle, and her heart clenches.

David definitely brings back memories.

She was a lot younger last time she had gone through the aisles of a toy store, looking for gifts for a baby boy. She had walked out with a teddy bear, that time.

She has a party to get to.

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David is bouncing off the walls by the time she gets to Derek's house.

The two-storey home is decorated everywhere, starting from the front yard and the porch. Balloons and streamers lead the way for all the guests, and by the time she knocks on the door and Derek opens, she realizes that it's chaos inside.

She can't exactly count them, but there are about twelve kids running around the living room and the foyer, a few adults mingling in the kitchen and what looks like the den.

"Hi!" Derek greets her, his hair a little wilder than usual, but his eyes are sparkling blue. He's dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, and he's gorgeous. She hopes she's not drooling by the time she smiles back and says hi.