Dreams On Fire

Marry You

Meredith was going crazy with the plans for renewing their vows. They had been married by a Catholic priest for the real wedding, so she tracked him own again, thank goodness. He had been more than happy to see her, and even more pleased to know they had three children. Meredith was set with the priest then; she needed a venue for the renewal and then somewhere for the reception. Zola and Sofia would be her little flowergirls, with Bailey as their ring bearer.

After much consideration, she decided that they vows would take place on the beach. There weren't too many people coming and they could accommodate. The reception was a no-brainer: it would take place at the house. Once all of that was taken care of, she checked them all off the list and set to finding a caterer, a florist, etc. This was going to be the death of her.

At the end of her day off, everything had been booked and Meredith was pleased. All she needed was something for her and the girls to wear, as well as Bailey. She knew Derek was responsible enough to take care of his own outfit; besides, this wasn't happening until June and it was still April. Meredith was just antsy and wanted to plan as much as she possibly could when she could.

She dragged her notebook along with her at work, planning whenever she got a spare moment, which wasn't often. She was always rounding, charting, or in a surgery with Amelia or Derek, which she didn't mind at all, and it kept her busy. Going home to her three kids was the best part of her day, though, snuggling up with all three of them and Derek in bed made her deliriously happy and she couldn't imagine a better ending to her days.

She and Amelia had agreed to go out and find Meredith a dress when they had a mutual day off, and Meredith was excited. She wanted something white, but short. They found a bunch Meredith liked, but her favorite was a vintage looking dress, with a strapless satin bust, and a tulle skirt flaring from her waist. It buttoned completely up the back and Meredith was completely smitten. She left her measurements at the shop and paid in full, before they headed off to one of the upscale malls to find shoes.

Heading into Neiman Marcus, the girls made a beeline for the wedding section, where Meredith eyed a blue pair of Manolo Blahniks. After trying them on and walking around in them, gazing at herself in the mirror, she decided that the shoes were the perfect pair and were her something blue. Afterwards they had lunch and chatted about the vow renewal, which was quickly coming up. Meredith dared broach the subject of Amelia and Owen.

"So how are you guys?" she asked her, nervous to get an answer. Amelia smiled coyly though and shrugged her shoulders.

"It's actually going a lot better than I thought it would go, actually. He's...nice. He's damaged, but aren't we all damaged in one way or another? He's still coming down from his time in Iraq again but he's not as damaged from it as he was when he first came to the hospital. He's...It's been over a year but I think I'm finally falling in love with him," she admitted, picking at her salad and blushing a bit. Meredith felt guilty encouraging it because of Cristina but she was glad to see Amelia happy. She deserved all the happiness in the world after the crap she'd been to. Amelia reminded herself of her a lot; they both came into the world and had their worlds crumble at the age of five, as if they never had a chance.

"That's good though," Meredith said as she stabbed a piece of chicken with her fork. "You deserve to be happy, Amy, and if it's with Owen then I fully support you. You're my sister," she said with a smile, as the pair finished their meal and headed over to the hospital for their shifts.

Meredith didn't get off until midnight, and she and Amelia drove home together, completely dead. Derek had been home for hours and had luckily cleaned up the house, which was nice for her. He was in bed reading and, after eating a piece of cold pizza, she slipped into their bedroom and smiled at him.

"Hey you," she grinned as she leaned over and gave him a kiss.

"Hey gorgeous," he smiled as she pulled away, grabbing a new pair of pajamas out of her drawer and changing, before sliding under the covers and snuggling up to him.

The weeks passed by quickly and soon it was June. Seattle was warm and sunny most of the time, with the kids playing outside. Ellie was trying her best to sit up and talk; she wanted to be with her brother and sister. Meredith and Derek silently passed the anniversary of Derek's accident, grateful that he was alive and well this year, and they'd gone most of the year without anything bad happening. The Shepherds were getting ready to descend upon them again, but this time they were staying in a hotel. The vow renewal was that Saturday, and Meredith was stressed enough.

On Saturday, Meredith was glad she had Maggie and Amelia with her. Arizona and Callie were there with Sofia, getting her, Zola, and Ellis dressed in their matching dresses. Maggie and Amelia were her bridesmaids though. Standing in her bedroom they did her makeup; her hair had been done at the salon earlier in the day. After lacing her into a corset they helped her into her dress, standing back to admire her.

"Mere you look gorgeous!" Maggie grinned as she looked at her older sister. Meredith caught sight of herself in the floor length mirror and she smiled. Her hair was pulled back in a French twist, her nails were done in a French manicure, and Amelia had done her makeup flawlessly. All that was left were her shoes, which she slipped her feet into. The sisters took endless photos of her as she giggled.

"Come on guys! We got married five years ago, it's just us resaying our vows," she laughed, the three of them heading to the living room. Zola looked up and gasped.

"Mommy you look so beautiful!" she smiled, looking up at Meredith. To her credit, Meredith managed to squat down in both four inch heels and a tight corset, holding Zola's hands.

"No Zola, you look beautiful!" she smiled, admiring her daughter in her white dress with the blue sash that matched her shoes perfectly. She looked up at everyone in the room and smile.

"Are we all ready?" she asked, and they nodded, as they made their way out of their house and piled into two cars. Meredith sat in the front seat of her car as Amelia drove towards the waterfront. Once they arrived they got out, and Meredith was ushered into a tent where the Shepherd women were. They all fussed over her and Carolyn took Ellis so she could sit with her. Soon it was time to start and all of the sisters sat down. Maggie sent Sofia and Zola down the isle with their pomander balls of flowers, holding hands, before Amelia went down after them. Maggie went next as Meredith's sister, and then it was Meredith's time.

She fluffed the tulle of her skirt and made sure she looked okay, before she walked down the simple boards of the aisle. The ocean was in the background and she smiled happily as she walked towards Derek, who had a huge smile on his face as he watched his wife walking towards him. When she reached him, she passed her flowers off to Maggie and grasped his hands, letting the priest talk. It was a simple ceremony and the pair had written their own vows, which of course left everyone in tears. It wasn't long before they kissed and the ceremony was over, their children surrounding them and Meredith crying.

Back at the house, the reception was in full swing. They had moved furniture down into the basement for tonight, so the living room was free for dancing and mingling. Food was spread on the long dining room table, and the kitchen island was used as a wet bar, with a bar tender. Despite having gotten married three times already, they'd chosen a wedding song. They danced to 'You Give Me Something' by James Morrison, before all of their friends and family joined them for dancing and fun. At one point Meredith held baby Ellis in her arms, smiling and giddy as she and Derek danced, before Ellis was put to bed by her Nana.

She couldn't believe the day had gone so well, and after awhile Derek took her hand and led her outside. It was 8:30 and the sun was just setting over the cliff; Meredith had stumbled through the grass before removing her coveted shoes.

"Come here," he smiled, tugging her down into the grass at their favorite spot. The sunset was absolutely stunning, a mix of blues, purples, and pinks, and Meredith lay back in Derek's arms to watch it.

"I've married you four times now, each better than the last," she giggled, looking up at him with a blissful smile. That was definitely how to describe her day – blissful. She would marry Derek again and again if she could.

"You were so beautiful today. Your dress...it's perfect," he smiled, touching her skirt. She couldn't help but giggle.

"Amelia and I found it one day and I just knew it was the one," she smiled. She'd been drinking and she was giggling more than usual but she didn't care. She was happy and no one could take that away from her.