Is Forever Enough?

Chapter 92

"Daddy, she doesn't like me anymore." Ava stated to Derek after watching Ella's small arms and legs twist and flail inside her incubator. At Derek's insistence, a nurse had taken Caroline to a small corner of the room to be examined for any further swelling. Ella didn't seem to respond well to having her warm bed partner taken away, because she had done nothing but cry ever since.

"Of course she likes you....she's just sad that Caroline left." Derek told her, as he stuck his hand inside and gently stroked the baby's face. Her cry was soft, but very high pitched. Even at two weeks old, the girls had very distinguished cries. Caroline's was more like a whimper, a drawn out whine rather than a cry. Ella's cry, on the other hand, was high pitched and angry...it demanded attention, and it made Derek smile to think how very different they were already.

"But, I'm here." Derek's oldest responded, using her own unique voice to state her opinion. Ava couldn't comprehend why anyone would be sad with her there.

Ava was standing on a makeshift stepping stool a few of the nurses had put together for her. It allowed her to see into the incubator without Derek lifting her up, and it was something he greatly appreciated. Looking down at her he planted a small kiss on her forehead.

"I know, but she's used to having Caroline in there with her...I don't know, maybe she's cold."

"That's because she's naked, daddy." It was such a witty statement that Derek had trouble keeping his laughter at bay. She was naked, except for a diaper. Addison told him it was easier to monitor both girls that way. He wondered if she could be cold, but that seemed impossible.

His hand was inside, still stroking her soft skin, and he marveled at how warm and cocoon like the incubator felt. It didn't seem possible that she could be cold. "How come aunt Addie didn't buy her any clothes?" Ava asked, looking up at him with curious eyes. He had forgotten what they were talking about entirely, and he narrowed his eyes in confusion.

"Why would she buy them clothes?" His eyes shifted back to Ella, but then he noticed Ava's gaze was still focused on him, and he turned his attention towards her once again. It shocked him how easily he could make it seem like he wasn't focused on her, and he made a note to try and change his bad habit before it could even fully develop.

"She buys me clothes and I'm not naked...why not them? Maybe Cinderella's cryin' 'cause she doesn't have any pretty dresses." Her words came out fast, and he really had no idea how she could think and talk so fast...when he could barely keep track of what she was saying.

Once it clicked in his mind, he let out a deep chuckle. He had to, he couldn't help it. Glancing at Ella, he noticed she had finally succumbed to her crying streak and fallen asleep, so he took his hand out of the incubator and used it to help Ava down and off the stool.

There was a chair behind him, so he sat down in it and effortlessly pulled Ava up into his lap. She was up high enough that she could still see into the incubator, and her gaze had never left her baby sisters.

"Your aunt Addison buys you so many clothes because she loves you and is a shopaholic. Can you say that, Ava? Shopaholic?" He teased, knowing she would without a doubt say it to Addison at some point.

"Shobaholic!" Responded Ava, proud that she could do what her father asked. Laughter once again rumbled from deep in his chest and he almost missed what Ava said after that. "She doesn't love my babies?" Ava questioned with a serious tone of voice.

Confused once again, Derek's laughter stopped abruptly and he eyed his daughter. "Who doesn't?"

"Aunt Addison!" She said in exasperation, reminding him that she was her mother's daughter. Ava used her tiny knuckles to knock on his forehead, and he turned his head away in shock.

"What was that!?"

"I'm knocking...."

"I can see that, but why?" Derek rubbed his head as if it had actually hurt, when really he just wanted to laugh.

"Mommy said sometimes we gotta knock sense into you..." He didn't believe what she had said at first. It had to be the most clever thing she had ever come up with and he stared at her in shock. He couldn't contain it any longer, laughter burst out of his mouth, shaking his chest, and Ava in the process.

The little girl smiled in return, a full open mouth smile. She knew she had done something right, even if she had no idea what it was.

"What is going on here?" A familiar voice interrupted, and he had trouble stopping his laughter, even though Meredith was staring down at him in confusion.

"Mommy!" Ava exclaimed, not bothering to be gentle as she elbowed Derek in the ribs and stomach, and nearly launched herself into Meredith's arms. Since taking the pain medication the night before, Meredith hadn't been in as much pain and for once could hold the girl without cringing.

Ava's small arms wrapped around Meredith's neck like she was holding on for dear life. Focusing on Derek, Meredith crinkled her nose in curiosity. "Daddy's laughin' at me." Ava giggled, still elated that her father found her so amusing.

"I can see that. What's so funny?"

"Hmm...wouldn't you like to know?" Derek teased with a smirk in her direction. Fixing her gaze on him, Meredith's eyes twinkled in amusement. Looking up at her, it was hard for Derek to believe she had been angry at him hours before, but then again, that was how their relationship usually worked.

"I'm sure I can just get it out of Ava." Meredith concluded. "Ava, why is daddy laughing at you?" Ava's arms were still wrapped around her neck, but she lifted her head up to look at her mother.

"Cause' he's silly." Ava's matter of fact reply left Meredith clueless.

Glancing at Derek, who still had on a satisfied smirk, she asked, "I know...but why is he silly? Why was he laughing at you?"

"Cause' I'm funny, mommy!" The four year old didn't really even know why he had been laughing and got bored with her mother's questioning. Wiggling around, Meredith let her slide down before the girl's movements caused her any pain.

After watching Ava climb back onto her stool, she faced Derek once again with an arched brow. "Why do I get the feeling there's more to the story?" Standing up so that he could face her, he brushed the pad of his thumb against her cheek affectionately.

"According to our daughter, I need some sense knocked into me." Derek pretended to be offended, but on some occasions it was the truth, and he wasn't afraid to admit it.

With a sheepish smile, Meredith's cheeks blushed a deep shade of red that made the situation even funnier. "Oh....she told you that, huh?"

"Hmmm...it was a compliment, I enjoyed it...really." Rolling her eyes at his sarcasm she planted an apologetic kiss on his lips. Her lips were warm and moist against his, and he would have tried to deepen the kiss, had Ava's voice not interrupted them.

"She's looking at me!" Meredith turned to Ava instantly, leaving Derek with a frown on his face. He didn't have a chance at keeping her attention when the babies were involved.

"Oh...she is." Meredith nearly cooed, raising her voice a few octaves. Ella had woken up and instead of crying, she seemed to be just gazing up at her big sister. Meredith moved closer to get a better look over Ava's head, but she then realized Ella was alone, and shot a suspicious look in Derek's direction.

"Where's Cara?" She asked in an even tone, but the fear he saw in her eyes told him how she really felt. She didn't trust him fully, and the thought made him sad. But, he tried to brush the feeling away, knowing he had caused that distrust to develop.

Putting each of his hands on her shoulders, he gently turned her body so that she was facing the opposite direction. Pointing to the small examination table in the back of the room, he explained that he had wanted the baby to be examined.

Meredith's shoulders were tense at first, almost like she was forcing herself to assume he had kept things from her once again. But, at his words, her shoulders relaxed under his touch and he was relieved?.

"You're lucky." She responded as she turned around to face him. Meredith felt bad that she hadn't trusted him, but his soft features told her it was okay, so she didn't press the issue any further.

"I am very lucky." Leaning in, he captured her bottom lip with his, but just as she was about to respond to the kiss, Ava spoke once again. Sighing, he focused his attention on Ava, even though his thoughts were on his wife's soft lips. "She has an odd sixth sense...it's her life goal to eradicate love things." His response made Meredith smile, but she slapped him on the arm anyway.

"You'll have all night for love things." She implied, even though it was far from the truth.

"She's talking to me, mommy!" Ava told them again, ending their love thing conversation completely.

"Who is?" Asked Derek, stepping away from Meredith so he could stand next to Ava. The three of them peered down at the baby like giants, but Ella didn't seem to mind. She was not the screaming infant she had been earlier, instead, she was completely calm as she kicked her feet.

"Cinderella is."

"Honey...Ella's too little to talk. She doesn't know how to talk yet." Meredith told her, not even bothering to correct Ava's name mix up. Meredith was just grateful Ava was taking such an interest in her new sisters, she wasn't about to tackle the task of getting her to call them by their actual names.

"She is, mommy! She just told me she's cold...'cause she's naked and aunt Addie didn't buy her any clothes."

Meredith glanced at Derek, once again confused, and he just shrugged in return. "What didn't aunt Addison buy?" Addison asked from behind them. She had changed into sneakers and navy blue scrubs, and without the clack of her usual high heels, neither Meredith or Derek had heard her approach.

Flinching, Derek nearly jumped in surprise. "Jesus, Addison, when did you start sneaking up like that?"

"I wouldn't exactly call it sneaking." Addison responded dryly as she shared a look with Meredith.

"Aunt Addison....Ella's cold, can you fix her?"

Stepping closer to the incubator, the doctor looked in on the baby with a concerned expression. Even though Derek was shaking his head, telling her not to worry about it, she felt the need to stick her hand against the top of the incubator and see for herself.

"The temperature seems okay, she shouldn't be."

"She's not." Derek told her. Causing Ava to frown at him.

"Yes, she is, daddy, she was cryin' she's cold....and aunt Addie didn't buy her any clothes." The little girl's voice rose along with her confidence.

Meredith was confused, and looked back and forth between Ava and Derek trying to figure out what her daughter was talking about.

"Princess....we talked about this. She's not cold, she was sad because Caroline wasn't with her." Derek tried to assure his daughter, but it only seemed to infuriate Ava and she crossed her arms over her chest stubbornly.

Father and daughter stared at each other for several seconds, each playing a silent game of staring until Ava gave up and turned to her aunt.

"How come you don't love my babies, aunt Addie? They're very nice girls." Ava's sad eyes looked up into Addison's, and the older woman couldn't help but pull Ava close to her. The motion almost pushed her off her narrow stool, but Addison held on her arms, keeping her in place.

Meredith looked at her in apology, but Addison wasn't offended. It was an odd thing for Ava to say, but she was used to explaining things to the four year old. "I love your sisters." Addison responded. Ava was facing her, and she put her hands against Addison's expanded stomach.
It was a loving gesture, one that Addison hadn't been expecting. Her and Ava had always had an amazing bond, she loved her as if she were her own, and she intended for things to be the same way with Ella and Caroline.

"Ava, I love your sisters as much as I love you." Neither Derek or Meredith stepped into the conversation, part of what made them such good parents was that they allowed the people close to them to step in when necessary. Even though Addison was saying almost exactly what Derek had, it was different coming from her, and Ava seemed to respond to it better.

Ava looked up at her curiously, studying Addison's expression with interest. "But you didn't buy them clothes like me." Ava told her sounding so sure of herself. Her young mind tended to get fixated on one thing, even if it didn't really make much sense.

"Well....they're still little....I haven't had much time to buy them lots of clothes yet."

"And that's a good thing." Derek finally broke in, only half kidding. Addison narrowed her eyes at him before Ava spoke up.

"Daddy said you're a shobaholic." Ava blurted, not even knowing what it meant, but knowing it wasn't a good thing.

"Oh he did...did he?" The red head questioned.

"Yup, he did Aunt Addie, maybe that's why she'd cold." Ava told her, but the click of Meredith's tongue made Addison look up just as Meredith rolled her eyes at Derek.

"Derek, you didn't."

Smirking at her with the same satisfied smile he had on his face earlier, he opened his mouth to defend himself, but then thought better of it. Ignoring Derek completely, Addison used her hand to wipe Ava's long bangs out of her face.

"Daddy's silly don't listen to him. Guess what?" She asked her niece, knowing what she had to say would put the issue to rest entirely. Ava's eyes sparkled with excitement and she leaned in closer without even meaning to.

Taking her voice down to a low whisper, Addison smiled knowingly at Derek and then bent down slightly so she could tell Ava. "I bought the babies two really pretty dresses..." Before she had even finished telling her, Ava's eyes had lit up and she let out a gasp.

"They have dresses!!" Ava couldn't help but almost scream in her excitement.

"Yes, two very pretty white dresses. Do you want to come see them later?" Ava nodded her head yes without missing a beat. Looking up at her aunt with admiration, she awarded her with a smile.

"Now she wont be cold!"

"No, she will not." Addison assured, happy she had been able to put the issues to rest.