Can't Help Falling in Love

81

A soft cry ripped through Derek's unconscious state, and he sighed as he rolled over to look at the clock. Five thirty. Both of his daughters had actually managed to sleep for almost three hours at the same time. This had to be a sign that they were getting better, that they would soon sleep through the night.

"Becky needs to be fed," Meredith murmured without opening her eyes or lifting her head from the pillow.

"I know," he nodded. "I'll get her. I have to be up in a half hour to get ready for work anyways."

"Hurry before she wakes Mel."

"Going," Derek laughed before he leaned forward to kiss her cheek quickly.

"Hi Butterfly," he whispered as he entered the nursery a moment later. His daughter stared up at him with wide eyes, her cries stopping as she reached for her father. "Come here before you wake your sister," he murmured. "Let's go downstairs and get you something to eat before Daddy has to get ready for work."

He couldn't believe that it was already time for him to go back to work. The past six weeks had flown by, filled with play times, visitors, dirty diapers, and a lot of tears, both from Melanie and Becky, as well as he and Meredith.

Learning to care for twins hadn't been easy, and he wasn't even sure how exactly they'd done it. But Meredith, his amazing wife who had completely broken down five minutes after they'd brought the girls home, had somehow become Super Mom. For the first week or so they'd traded babies, making sure that they each got enough time with both of their daughters, but eventually things had fallen into a pattern. Meredith learned the value of pumping milk so Derek could help with night time feedings, she'd realized that it wasn't the end of the world to let one baby cry until she was finished changing the other's diaper, and they had both realized how to tell the difference between each girl's various cries.

His daughters had grown a lot in the past six weeks as well. They were both smiling constantly, and when Meredith had realized that music would stimulate their brains, there seemed to always be a radio on in the house. He smiled as he carried Becky into the kitchen and reached for the CD player. "Let's listen to the Clash," he murmured. "That's your favorite, isn't it, hun?"

Becky smiled as the sounds of Clampdown filled the room and Derek smiled widely as he pressed his lips to her forehead. "That's my girl," he smiled. "You've got to have a talk with that sister of yours. I think Mommy's already poisoned her against the Clash. But we know the truth, don't we?"

As he reached into the fridge for the fresh bottle of milk, Becky nuzzled her head against his neck and he smiled. Both of his daughters were completely cuddly, and he loved moments like this, where he could spend quality time with just one of them, just Daddy and his little girl.

"I love you, Becky," he murmured into her hair.

Becky stared up at him for a moment as the microwave heated her bottle, a wide smile gracing her lips before she cuddled back into Derek's chest.

"That's my girl," he murmured as he pulled the bottle out of the microwave and moved back towards the stairs. "Let's have breakfast upstairs. But you have to be really quiet, because Mommy's sleeping for the first time since you two were born."

He gently pushed the door open, surprised to see Meredith laying in bed, Melanie cuddled tightly against her chest. "Hey," he said, moving towards the bed. "I didn't hear her, I would have taken care of it."

"It's okay," Meredith smiled, running her hand over Melanie's curls. "She wasn't crying, just whimpering. I figured you'd bring Becky up here and we could have some family time."

"Before I go back to work," Derek sighed as he sat down on the bed and offered Becky the bottle, which she eagerly began to suck on.

"It will be good, Der," Meredith sighed. "You can think about something besides dirty diapers and breast milk."