Can't Help Falling in Love

64

Derek sighed and ran a hand through his hair as he stared down at the papers spread on his desk before him. Meredith was at work, and he'd taken advantage of that opportunity to start figuring out some of their finances. He didn't want her to worry about things like that, but he was starting to wonder exactly how they were going to support two children when they were trying to pay off building a brand new house. He just had to figure this out.

"Derek?" Meredith's voice called as the door slammed closed, and a moment later she appeared in the doorway to his office, smiling widely as she dropped her bag on the floor. "Hi."

"Hey," he sighed, faking a small smile. "How was work? Did anything exciting happen?"

"Good," she sighed. "I talked to them about leaving in May. They were pretty understanding about it, but I might just not come back after spring break in April if I don't want to. I get three months of paid maternity leave, so it doesn't really matter when I leave."

"That's good," he nodded as he turned back to the papers spread in front of him on the desk.

"Hey," Meredith frowned, moving to sit on his lap, wrapping her arms around his neck. "You didn't say hi to the babies."

A true smile spread across his face as he ran a hand over her stomach. "Hi guys," he murmured. "I'm glad you were good for Mommy today. Keep it up for the next few months.

"Mommy would like a kiss from Daddy," Meredith whispered, leaning into him with a smile.

"Hmm," Derek smiled, pressing his lips against hers softly. "Daddy likes kissing Mommy."

"Are you okay?" she whispered as she pulled back. "You seem...off. Sad or something."

"I'm fine," he nodded. "Just a long day."

"Did you lose a patient?" she asked, running a hand through his hair. "Have a hard surgery?"

"No," Derek sighed, resting his chin on her shoulder. "Mer, I'm..." he trailed off, wondering whether he should tell her about this. He wasn't even sure why he was freaking out.

"What?" she asked, looking at him closely. "You're okay, aren't you? Not like... freaking out?"

"Yeah," he sighed. "I'm definitely still excited for the babies. I'm just trying to figure everything out."

"What everything?" Meredith asked.

"Money," Derek sighed.

"Money?"

"Yes," Derek said. "Moving some stuff around, making sure everything's settled for them."

Meredith frowned as she slid out of his lap to lean against the desk. "Derek, I know we're not exactly rich," she said. "But we have enough money. And you'll earn more soon. We can do this."

"I know," Derek sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I just...we're going to be paying off the house for awhile, and I'm still getting a resident's salary, which is pretty substantial, but with you not working next year, I'm trying to figure out a way for us to have enough while saving for two college tuitions and paying off the house, not to mention our everyday expenses. Babies aren't exactly cheap, so I have to work things out."

"Derek..."

"And we have to figure out if we should start trust funds for them," he sighed. "I know it seems early, but we have to figure this out now so we can just...know. And if we start the funds right after they're born, the interest will be substantial by the time they have access to them."

"Derek."

"And then we have to decorate the nursery and buy cribs and high chairs and car seats. I don't want you to worry about this, Mer, because we can do this. We can, I just have to figure out where to move the money around, what accounts to open and when to open them."