You're Like Coming Home

22.

Derek stood dumbfounded in the middle of the banquet room of the pub, completely thrown off at seeing his entire family gathered there.

"What..." he started, his eyes darting from his sisters to his parents to his girlfriend. "Did you...?"

Meredith giggled as she watched Emma move forward to hug Derek. "Happy birthday sweetheart," she said. "You have quite a special girlfriend."

Derek smiled as he looked at Meredith again. "You planned all this?" he asked.

"Well, it was my idea," she shrugged. "Your dad helped a lot."

Derek reached out to pull her into his arms. "Thank you," he whispered. "God, I love you so much."

"I love you too," she whispered, pressing a kiss to his lips before she pushed him towards his family.

"Happy birthday, son," Michael said, pulling Derek into a hug before pulling back. "Come in, stay awhile."

Derek laughed as he moved into the room, hugging his sisters as Meredith followed him in, Mark and Addison in tow. After everyone had greeted one another, they settled down at the long banquet table, Derek at the head of the table, Meredith cuddled close to him, and Michael on the other end.

"So, Derek," Emma said, her eyes shining. "Do you know why this is where Meredith wanted us to meet you today?"

Derek frowned as he looked down at Meredith before returning his gaze to his mom. "No," he said. "Is it special?"

"Yes," Emma said, sliding a paper across the table. "This is the pub your grandfather Maloney opened when he first traveled to America from Ireland."

"Really?" Derek asked.

"It's where I proposed to your mother," Michael nodded, a soft smile on his face.

Kathleen laughed. "Which time?" she asked.

"The time it counted," Michael rolled his eyes.

"I told Meredith about it at Thanksgiving," Emma continued. "She seemed to think it would be a good birthday surprise for you."

Derek pressed a kiss to the top of Meredith's head. "It was a wonderful birthday," he nodded.

Meredith smiled as she cuddled closer into Derek's arms. "I thought you would want to see your family," she whispered.

"It's perfect," he nodded. "I can't believe you were able to get everyone together, especially Kath and Nance."

"It helps that it was a weekend," Nancy said.

"And Daddy would never have accepted no as an answer," Kathleen added.

Michael shrugged. "I like having us all together," he said. "Plus, you should want to see your brother on his birthday."

"They should want to see me every day," Derek corrected.

"Stop being obnoxious, Der," Meredith rolled her eyes.

"This is why we like you, Meredith," Kathleen laughed. "You can't get in trouble for being mean to Derek."

"She's just keeping him in line, dear," Emma laughed. "You'll be the same way when you find your someone."

Kathleen smiled. "Speaking of which..." she started. "Chris said he was going to have a certain talk with you soon, Daddy."

Michael groaned. "I'm not old enough to have children getting married," he stated.

As the rest of the family began to laugh, Derek pulled Meredith to her feet and lead her to the corner of the room. She looked up at him curiously for a moment before he pulled her into a hug, wrapping his arms tightly around her as he squeezed her tightly. "Thank you," he whispered. "Thank you. God, thank you so much."