MerDer: Make Your Heart Feel

She is the one

Meredith's POV: 8:30 AM Friday morning.

I am awoken by a small hand gently patting my cheeks. I slowly open my blurry eyes and am met with a pretty pair of baby blues. Except these baby blues are not the ones that I have come accustomed to. These belong to Lidia, who is the splitting image of her mother, all except those eyes that I am now beginning to think must have first belonged to Derek's father.

"Wake up Meredith" Her little voice whispers.

"I am awake" I smile and she lets out a giggle.

"I'm hungry" she looks at me expectantly.

"Lets go see what's downstairs, but we have to be very quiet, everyone is still sleeping" I whisper and she looks at me very seriously  nodding her head.

we slide carefully out if bed not wanting to disturb Derek. I help her crawl off the bed and reach for her small hand but she just shakes her head and reaches bother her arms up opening and closing her tiny fists signaling that she would prefer to be carried. I reach down scooping her up easily.

We make our way down the stairs her arms wrapped tightly around my neck. We enter the kitchen to find that we are not alone in our search for food. Amelia is down there ruffling through the fridge looking for leftovers from the wonderful dinner last night. She turns around startled by my footsteps, but her startled look is soon replaced with a genuine smile.

"Good morning Meredith, good morning Lidia" she says slightly singing the last part.

"Good morning Auntie Amelia" Lidia sings right back.

"Good morning" I smile at her "Lidia was hungry, does she have any dietary restrictions?" I ask not wanting to feed Lidia something she could be allergic to.

"Nah, she isn't allergic to anything, but nancy doesn't like them having lots of sugar, there is some Wheaties in the cupboard over there" Amelia points with one hand while using the other to shove her food into the microwave.

I shift Lidia onto my hip using one arm to hold her and using the other to grab a bowl and the cereal from the cupboard. I poor her what I think is a decent amount for a kid her size and then I head to the fridge for the milk. I get her milk poured and carry her bowl and her spoon to the kitchen counter taking a seat with her on my lap.

"You know you are pretty good at that" Amelia smiles as she grabs her now heated leftovers and takes a seat beside us.

"Good at what?" I ask her as Lidia quietly munches on her cereal.

"The whole mom double tasking thing, do you have nieces or nephews?" she asks.

"Thanks Amelia" I blush at the odd compliment "and I have one niece, but me and my sisters are half sisters and we didn't grow up together, so I don't really know them very well"

"Well if you and my brother stay together you will have a whole horde of sisters and nieces and nephews" Amelia laughs before continuing  "also, you can call me Amy"

We share a small smile and then she goes back to eat her food and I go back to being lost in my own head. Her words echoes in my mind. I could have sisters and nieces and nephews. I could have a family.

Derek's POV: 3:00 PM

I think my family might love Meredith more than I do. Even Nancy has stopped making jokes about the huge age gap. I'm sitting on the couch just watching her and Amelia playing with all my nieces and nephews and I cant wipe the smile off my face. Meredith has Lidia sat on one knee and Liz's youngest Tommy sat on the other. She laughs as Tommy reaches up grasping her blonde hair in his tiny baby hands. She coos at him and he coos right back.

"hey Auntie Meredith, can you hand me that block" Jared Kathleen's son asks her and the entire room goes quiet.

Meredith looks around for help unsure of what to say, how to approach the situation.

"Jared honey, Meredith isn't your aunt, she is just Uncle Derek's special friend" Kathleen tries to explain to her eight year old son.

"But Meredith and Uncle Derek kiss just line Aunt Nancy and Uncle Richard?" he looks at his mom confused.

"Yes they do.." Kathleen laughs awkwardly "But they are just special friends, they aren't married like Aunt Nancy and Uncle Richard."

"And that is why she isn't Auntie Meredith? she is just Meredith?" He asks.

"yes honey that is correct" Kathleen smiles at her son.

"Okay" he says slowly processing "Just Meredith will you hand me that block"

Everyone laughs at his silliness, I love how kids are so literal. She reaches for the block and goes to hand it to him but she cant quite reach his outstretched hand.

"Amy can you hand this to him?" I ask Amelia and once again the entire room goes dead silent.

"Its okay, I told her it was alright" Amelia smiles looking around at all of us.

"Derek can I please talk to you" My mom says smiling tightly standing up from her chair.

"Yeah sure" I smile following her to her office.

She paces nervously around her office "shut the door Derek"

"Mom what is going on?" I ask reaching out to stop her pacing.

"I have something I want to give to you" she looks at me smiling and then shuffling to her desk and opening the top drawer.

She pulls out a tiny black box, but I already know what is in there.

"Mom, we haven't been dating that long" I look at her shaking my head vigorously.

"Derek, you love her. I like her. Derek Amelia let Meredith call her Amy.." she looks at me with tears in her eyes "She hasn't let anyone call her Amy since your father died..."

"I know..." I look at her feeling just as shocked by the situation.

"You don't have to give it to her now, but Derek, you love her, she loves you. And the whole damn family loves her. You don't have to do it now but Derek if you don't marry her I am convinced that Amelia will" My mom looks at me opening the little velvet box.

The ring glitters brightly in its place, the same exact ring that my father used to propose to my mother, the same ring that his father gave to my grandmother.

"Why now? why not before?" I ask as she closes the box placing it in my hand.

"Addison wasn't the right one for you." she looks at me seriously "Meredith, she is the one."