I Wanna Love Somebody Like You

Epilogue

Meredith smoothed the material of her white silk dress in front of her, taking in her reflection in the mirror and unable to believe it was really her own reflection that she was staring at.

It was finally her wedding day, and she couldn't wait until she could finally call herself Derek's wife.

It had been three and a half years since Ethan had been born, and their baby boy was more amazing than she had ever imagined he could be. He was a little version of Derek in every way possible, and was starting to develop his own personality. He loved fishing with Derek and playing with Meredith and their new puppy, a black lab named Mikey who had joined the family a year ago after Doc had succumbed to cancer.

Today was the day. The day she finally became a Shepherd. She and Derek had been too distracted with Ethan to think about planning their wedding, but when they had gone to New York the previous Christmas to visit Derek's family, his sisters had started peppering them for details about the wedding that they had yet to think about. That had led to a late night discussion in the safety of Derek's childhood bedroom about marriage and whether it was really necessary. They had lived as a married couple for three years and they didn't think that they needed to have a wedding to prove their love for each other. But then Derek had seemed to want the celebration, to have their family and friends present to celebrate their love for each other. And when she'd thought about it, she wanted to have that too. She wanted to share their love with Ethan and show them how much it meant to be in love and respect another person the way people in marriages were supposed to. She hadn't had a good example of marriage when she was growing up, but she was determined to show Ethan that there was love in the world so he would turn into a wonderful man just like his father.

So they had decided to have a wedding and today was the day. Derek's family was mingling outside their house in the makeshift tent they'd ordered, and Ethan was bouncing back and forth between their bedroom and the downstairs guest room where she knew Derek was getting ready and most likely trying to ignore Mark as he tried to offer him alcohol.

"Mama!" the door burst open and she couldn't help but smile at the vision of her baby boy, who wasn't really a baby anymore, in his tiny tuxedo. He really was a miniature version of Derek, the only thing he had inherited from her being her nose.

"Hi sweetheart," she giggled as she leaned down to pick him up and settle him on her hip. "You're looking pretty handsome."

"Mama pwetty."

"Thank you, Ethan," she smiled as she straightened his bow tie. "Did Daddy help you get ready?"

"Yep," Ethan nodded. "Here."

Meredith raised an eyebrow as she took the long jewelry box from her son's extended hands. "Is this from Daddy?" she asked.

"No, me," Ethan said proudly, offering her the smile that he had inherited from his father, the smile that she could never resist.

"Oh, well thank you little man," she smiled. She set him back on the ground before she cracked open the box to see a small diamond resting on a white gold chain. "It's beautiful. I'll wear it right now."

"Kay," Ethan smiled.

"Meredith?" Kathleen knocked on the door and smiled as Ethan ran towards her. "We're ready if you are."

"Okay," Meredith breathed, fastening the necklace and standing to look in the mirror one last time. "I look okay, right?"

"You look amazing," Kathleen smiled as she approached, Ethan settled on her hip. "It's just the family, Mer, there's no reason to be nervous."

"I know," she sighed. "I just want him to think I look beautiful."

"He will, Mer," Kathleen smiled. "He thought you were beautiful when Ethan had the flu and you didn't sleep or shower for three days."