This Life

Chapter 6

Breakfast in the Shepherd household was a messy occasion on this particular morning.

Derek had decided that he would let Beth help him make pancakes. Ten minutes later and he had regretted that decision as there was probably more pancake batter on Beth than what there was in the pan. Meredith could not but help but laugh at the sight in front of her. Beth was currently up to her elbows in pancake mix while Derek was in between trying to stop the pancakes from burning and preventing Beth from making even more mess.

Meredith walked over, still giggling "you save breakfast and I'll clean Beth"

By the time she was finished Meredith was nearly covered in as much pancake batter as Beth. When they both came back into the kitchen the pancakes were ready and the kitchen was a bit more presentable.

"Don't worry I'll clean up later when she is sleeping" Derek said as he took Beth from Meredith and sat her on his lap and gave her breakfast. The highchair was completely covered in pancake mix and would need to be cleaned via a garden power hose, Derek thought.

"So do you have any plans for today?" Derek asked Meredith who was now on to her third pancake and maple syrup.

"Um, yes" Meredith answered "I'm going to meet with Adele at the nursery and have a look around. That is if you don't mind. If you would prefer..."

"Meredith – it's your dream. As I said last night I am happy with whatever you decide. How about Beth and I come and meet you afterwards – we could all go to the park together?"

"Sounds perfect" Meredith answered as Derek reached over and kissed her gently on the cheek.

"Good that's a date then." Derek smiled.

Meredith helped clear up the kitchen before getting ready to leave. She was standing under the shower enjoying the feel of the warm water hitting across her shoulders and her back.

It had been a long night for both her and Derek between the dinner party and their heart to heart afterwards, neither of them had had much sleep, but truthfully Meredith had never felt better knowing that Derek knew the truth about her family that and was still amazed at the fact he wanted to be with her.

She finished in the shower and went into her room and dried her hair and decided for a change to straighten it – it would look more professional she thought.

However she could not decide what to wear – she thought a suit might be to formal as was not an interview as such and realistically she would not be wearing a suit when working in the nursery but at the same time jeans looked too informal.

She finally decided on a smart pair of black trousers and a plain purple top. She grabbed her purse and jacket and hurried down the stairs to find Derek and Beth waiting for her. Derek insisting on kissing her goodbye for luck – Meredith could not help but roll her eyes as Derek stated that it was all Beth's idea.

Once Meredith had left Derek placed Beth in her play pen and tided the mess in the kitchen – although at one stage he thought the term explosion was closer to the truth than mess. He decided to wait a while before allowing Beth to help with breakfast.

A short while later both Derek and Beth were dressed and ready to go out. They would go and do some shopping and then meet Meredith at the park after she had finished meeting Adele at the hospital. Secretly Derek really wanted her to take the job as he would be able to sneak away during breaks to come and visit her and Beth in the nursery. He would probably see more of them there then what he does now. But the decision was Meredith's to make and he did not want to influence her in any way.

It was just shortly after 11am when Meredith arrived at the hospital to find Adele waiting for her.

"Meredith welcome! Now before we get started I just wanted to thank you again for last night both Richard and I had a wonderful time. We will have to return the favour soon!" Adele spoke.