Perfect strangers

Chapter 35

It still didn't feel real to Meredith that she was actually pregnant as she stared at her still flat abdomen in the mirror, trying to picture herself with a bump. But she knew she shouldn't get too attached to this pregnancy as she knew it could all be taken away so quickly. So she pulled her top down back over her stomach and headed back into the bedroom.

Derek was still fast asleep with the blankets laying at his hip leaving his chest bare to Meredith's eyes. Smiling to herself she moved round the bedroom as she grabbed her things to head out to work. Twirling on her heels, she accidentally knocked her bag onto the floor, making a loud bang as it hit the floor.

"Shit." Meredith whispered as she crouched down to pick up everything that had fell out.

"What time is it?" Derek grumbled from the bed as he rubbed at his eyes.

"It's 4:30, I'm sorry, I was trying not to wake you, I know you got in late." Meredith placed her bag back on the side and walked over to sit on the edge of the bed.

"It's ok, early start today isn't it?" He yawned as his one hand went to rest around her waist.

"Yeah, I owed Bailey a favour so..." she reached down and ran her fingers through his hair. "I shouldn't be home too late tonight so maybe we can go and grab some dinner somewhere."

"Yeah and maybe we can tell Lexie and Mark that you're pregnant..." Derek's smile dropped when he saw the look on Meredith's face. "Mer, what is it?"

"Nothing, I need to go to work." She stopped up quickly and grabbed her bad as she moved out of the room.

"Meredith wait." Derek shouted after her as he quickly ran down the stairs following her. "Mer, stop." He grabbed her arm and turned her round to face him. "Talk to me."

"It's nothing...honestly..." she reached up and dried her tears. Derek tilted his head and smiled softly at her. "I don't think we should tell anyone about the pregnancy until we've had our first scan, I mean just in case..."

"Ok." Derek cut her off, understanding where he reluctance to be so open about their pregnancy, especially after the heartbreak they went through last time.

"Thank you." She said softly as she leaned forward and brushed her lips against his. "I really need to get going now, I'll see you later."

"Bye." Derek held the door open for her and waved as she got in her car and drove off. Derek then shut the door and headed back upstairs where he collapsed back down onto their bed and fell back to sleep.

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Meredith was sick at the sight of paperwork, over the past few days it had been piled up on her desk. However, it meant that she could hide away  and eat whatever she wanted without any judgement.

"Dr Grey! Dr Grey!" Dr Edwards shouted as she came barrelling into her office.

"Dr Edwards, have you ever heard of knocking?" Meredith frowned as she crossed her arms over her chest and glared down at her.

"Sorry, right, sorry. It's just that Dr Robbins told me to come and find you. We have a 10 month old down in the ER, severe abdominal injuries and problems head trauma. Dr Robbins asked for you, she wants the best."

"Alright I'm coming." Meredith gulped back the bile in her throat as she pushed herself up, her own hand drifting to her stomach. Her baby was safe, so now she had to focus all her attention on the baby down in the ER.

She let her feet carry her as quickly as possible, as she slipped into a gown before flying into the ER room.  Little did she know that this case was going to change soo much for her.

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Derek was busy getting ready for their date night. After having the day off to sleep and catch up on emails, he couldn't wait to get out and finally have some proper time with Meredith. At first he started to panic when he hadn't heard off her all day, but quickly remembered that she taking over Baileys service today meaning she was going to be busy.

A set of headlights shined through the window which let him know that Meredith was finally home. He stood in the kitchen and kept sneaking glances at the front door, waiting for Meredith to walk in. After 20 minutes had passed and Meredith still hadn't come into the house, he moved towards the door and pulled it open.

As he walked closer to Meredith's car, he realised that she had her head resting on her steering wheel and her shoulders were shaking.

"Meredith." Derek pulled her door open and spoke quietly in order not to scare her. "Oh Meredith." He placed his hand on her back when he heard her sobbing before moving to undone her seatbelt and pulled her into his chest tightly.

"She was so young, she didn't deserve to die." Meredith sobbed as she reached to grip his top tightly in her hands.

"Shh, it's ok, I've got you." Derek ran his hand softly over her hair as he leaned down to press his lips to the top of her head lovingly. He didn't say anything else but he just held her as he let her get it all out, knowing she had probably been holding it in all day.

"I'm ok, I'm alright now." Meredith finally lifted her head off his chest and let her eyes meet his. As she wiped her own tears away, Derek tucked the hair behind her ears as he lovingly stroked her cheek.

"Do you want to go inside?" Derek asked as Meredith nodded her head, allowing Derek to wrap his arms around her lower back as they walked up to the house.

"Here, let me take your coat." Derek moved to pull her coat off her shoulders and hung it before guiding her to the living room. They took a seat next to each other on the couch and Derek waited for Meredith to speak first, not wanting to push her.

"We had a little girl come into today, she had just turned 10 months old, she was gorgeous." Meredith smiled sadly. "She was beaten so badly Derek, apparently it was the step father, I just can't..." she gasped as she struggled to find the words.

"Oh Mer, I can't even imagine..." Derek reached out and took her hand in his, squeezing it tightly.

"I just think, I mean how does someone do that to such a sweet and innocent baby. What if..."

"No Meredith, our baby is fine and healthy." He moved his free hand forward and placed it on her stomach. "No one will ever lay a hand on our baby, if they do then I will be spending a few years behind bars."

"Derek..."

"I'm serious Mer, you and this baby mean everything to me so I will do anything to protect the both of you." He leaned forward and brushed his lips against hers and then moving back so their foreheads were resting against one another's.

"Protective dad mode is already starting then." Meredith giggled slightly. "You're going to be an amazing father."

"And you're going to be an amazing mother, there is no one else I would rather be going through this journey with." He smiled back at her. "I love you."

"I love you too." She smiled but they both broke out into a fit of laughter as he stomach rumbled loudly interrupting their moment.

"Looks like I better get you fed." Derek shook his head and laughed, their plans of going out quickly forgotten. "Got to keep mommy and baby happy now haven't I?" Derek kissed her once more before standing up and heading into the kitchen.

This left Meredith alone on the couch as she moved to rest her hands on her stomach.

"Hey baby." She whispered. "We can't wait to meet you, but you need to stay in there and grow really big and strong, ok? Your daddy is already so protective of you, so I hate to imagine what would happen if you ended up being a girl. Mommy loves you so much little one." Her hands stroked gently over her belly before she pushed herself up and moved to join Derek in the kitchen.

In that Meredith made a promise to herself that she was going to enjoy every single minute of her pregnancy and not let herself dwell on the past. They would get through this together.