If that's what it takes

58

Derek's voice caught in his throat as he heard his stepmother thinking to herself over the line, trying very carefully to choose her words. He wanted to be the first one to say something, yet there was just something about her pause that made him stop. She could feel the tension over the line, her interest obviously piqued as she waited patiently for an explanation. It wasn't that she felt that she deserved one, but she knew Derek, and she knew how his mind worked. He hated people talking about him behind his back, and if he avoided this, he knew that her questions would only go to his sisters.

"Derek?" She said again, unsure of his mood, unsure of exactly what he was thinking. "Are you alright, sweetheart?"

"I... I'm alright... I'm alright, how are you?" Derek asked awkwardly, his voice was polite and soft as he listened for her reply.

"I'm doing alright, dear." She said in return, her response coming off her tongue strangely as she tried to remember why she had called him.

"Did you talk with Sarah?" Derek asked, figuring that the reason she had called was because of the message that his sister had left for her, he could sense that she was recovering from the initial surprise of the little girl answering the phone.

"Oh! oh, yes... Sarah... she called me this morning." Marjorie nodded her head as she listened to her own voice for a moment, noticing the nervousness in it. "She said that you wanted to have Thanksgiving at your home this year?" She asked softly as she waited for Derek's response.

"Yeah... yes... I talked to her earlier about that... I want the whole family to come out here to Seattle. You all can see my new house and my land... I could show you guys around the hospital or something... visit the space needle... we could..."

"Maybe get an explanation or a name for the voice of the child answering my bachelor son's telephone..." She asked quickly, hearing silence on the other line. "Derek?"

"Um..." He paused, sucking in his breath, he released it quickly. "Can you hang on a minute, Mom?" Derek asked.

"Sure." She said, making sure that the amusement in her voice was evident.

Derek held his hand over the telephone receiver and watched Zoey as she stared at him with a wide eyed expression, her eyebrows raised in an almost expectant look as Derek almost laughed out loud. "My mom wants to know who you are." He whispered as he watched her jaw drop and her little butt wiggle as she covered her mouth with her hand.

"Oh my goodness, she does?" She asked.

"Yes..." Derek said, watching as Zoey shook her head, her hand still over her open mouth.

"Well, tell her!" She said, her smile and energy shining through.

"What do I tell her?"

"Tell her the truth!"

"But how do I tell her?"

"Gimme the phone..." She said, holding her hand out to the telephone, Derek shook his head. "Come on, DD... gimme the phone... I"ll tell her who I am." Zoey said with a confident sigh as Derek smiled slightly and handed her the phone.

"Hello?" Zoey said softly into the line as she looked to Derek.

"Well hello, again..." Marjorie said into the line, having heard Derek's conversation with her, she was smiling at his interaction, but also extremely curious who the little girl was.

"Hi, are you DD's mommy?" She said into the line, waiting for a response.

"DD?" She asked with a slight question in her voice. "Yes... yes, I'm his mommy..."

"But not his real mommy?"

"Um..."

"Skip that part..." Derek said quickly, wishing to avoid an awkward situation.

"I'm Zoey Grey and Just Derek is my DD." She said with a smile.

"Really?" Marjorie said with a friendly voice as the little girl immediately began to gush.

"Uh huh..." Zoey nodded. "He rescued me... He rescued me and he let me live in his house. He takes care of me and makes sure I have food to eat. He takes me to school and makes sure my nightmares stay away. He gives me hugs and kisses and loves me very much. He said that we could have a swingset if I do good in school and am a good girl, and he let me help with the dishes and he lets me visit Sleeping Beauty... he helped me not be afraid of the airplane when I came from New York and he liked my pink shoes, he said they're just like his pink sparkly shoes, but he says they're in the shop right now. DD is a great guy. But you probably already know that since you're his almost mommy. Did you know he's a great guy? Did you know that?" She asked as she paused for a moment, listening for Derek's mother's response.

"It sounds like he is quite a guy..." Marjorie agreed as she listened to the little girl take a deep breath.

"Yep, he sure is! He sure is a great guy... and he's going to let me have ice cream for dessert tonight. What's your favorite kind of ice cream?"

"Oh, I like chocolate..." Marjorie smiled at the little girl's enthusiasm.

"Mmm... chocolate... I like chocolate too... Hey, DD... your almost mommy likes chocolate ice cream just like me!" She said as she pulled the phone from her ear and spoke to Derek's grinning face as he shook his head and laughed. She put the phone to her ear and watched Derek as her face turned serious for a moment. "Would you like to talk to DD?" She asked as Derek nodded and held his hand out.

"I would love to talk to him, sweetheart." Marjorie replied with a slight chuckle. "It was very nice talking to you."

"It was nice talking to you too, DD's Mommy... what's your name so I can call you that?" She asked as Derek put his hand down for a minute.

"You can call me Nanny, sweet pea. That's what all the little ones call me." Marjorie said into the phone.

"Okay... Okay, Nanny..." Zoey smiled as she looked up at Derek with a bright grin, her eyes sparkling like he had never seen before. "You're my family now... is that okay?"

"That sounds absolutely delightful, sweetheart..." She said sincerely as Zoey giggled into the line.

"Here is DD... bye, Nanny..."

"Bye, sweetheart."

"I love you." She said as she handed the phone to Derek and hopped around at his feet as he lifted the phone to his ear.

"Hello?" Derek said cautiously as Zoey continued to giggle and bounce about.

"I don't know what you've gotten yourself into, Derek Shepherd..." She said in an amused, yet stern voice.

"Mom..."

"But whatever it is... it sounds to me like you're handling it just fine." She said as Derek sighed in relief as he looked down at the little girl.

"Mom... can I call you back in about ten minutes... let me... scoop her ice cream and get her settled down, and I'll call you back and explain all of this." Derek said softly.

"That's fine, Derek." She said as she listened to the giggling little girl.

"Ten minutes... please... please don't tell anyone just yet, I want this to be a surprise." He begged as he watched Zoey dance around him.

"Oh... this will be more than a surprise, I'm guessing." Marjorie replied. "I'll be waiting for your phone call."

"Thank you." He replied as he hung up the phone on the wall and turned quickly, scooping the little girl right off the floor mid skip. She squealed and laughed as he lifted her above his head. "You, little miss... are going to get me into trouble!" He exclaimed with a laugh as she giggled at him and wiggled in his arms. "Who is ready for ice cream?" He asked as her eyes opened wide and her mouth opened surprise.

"Me! Me! I want ice cream!" She exclaimed as Derek scooped her to the floor and watched as she ran for the table, sliding onto the chair, she grinned as Derek walked toward the cupboard for a bowl.

"I don't know what I'm going to do with you..." Derek said with a chuckle as he watched her smile.

"Keep me forever." She grinned.