"You like it?" Derek breathed later that afternoon as he leaned against Meredith's desk in her empty classroom, smiling down at her as she studied the ring.
"It's beautiful," she breathed. "It's...it looks familiar."
Derek smiled as he reached for her hand, examining it with the new addition. He lifted it to his lips, kissing it gently before he smiled down at her. "It's my mom's ring," he said softly.
"What?" Meredith frowned, pulling her hand out of his grasp to look down at it. "No, this can't be her ring. Her ring's in the shop because the diamond's loose. And I can't take her ring."
"It is her ring," Derek smiled, taking her hand back, stroking his thumb over the diamond. "My dad told me when I was younger that I had to give that ring to the love of my life. So when I realized I was ready to propose, I went and got it from her. She wants you to wear it, Mer. I want you to wear it."
"Wow," Meredith breathed, looking down at the ring. "It's...it's even more beautiful to me now."
Derek smiled softly as he tugged on her hand, pulling her to her feet and into his arms. "You look even more beautiful wearing it," he breathed against her lips.
"Hmmm," Meredith smiled, wrapping her arms around his neck and stepping in between his legs. "You know what I've heard about getting engaged?"
"What?" Derek asked against her lips.
"That engagement sex is even better than make up sex," she breathed in his ear.
"Oh," Derek swallowed hard, squeezing her tightly. "I'd love to test that theory."
"Not here," Meredith giggled, pulling away from him and reaching for the vase of lilies that still sat on her desk. "At home."
"Hmm," Derek sighed, wrapping an arm around her waist as they stepped towards the door. She smiled up at him for a moment before she rested her head against his shoulder. They stood like that in complete contentment for a moment before Meredith pulled back and reached for his hand, smiling coyly as she led him towards the door.
"I have to tell Lexie and Izzie," she sighed as she rested her head against his shoulder. "They'll be so excited."
"Yeah um...Lexie kind of already knows," Derek said.
Meredith frowned up at him for a moment before she rolled her eyes. "That's how you got me out of the classroom?" she asked. "A phone call from Lexie?"
Derek laughed. "Well, see if you can think of anything better, and then I'll admit that the proposal wasn't good enough," he said, squeezing her waist.
"It was perfect," Meredith breathed, stopping in front of her car to press her lips against his. "I love you."
"I love you too," he smiled, returning her kiss.
"We're engaged," Meredith whispered, pulling back from him to stare at her ring.
"We're engaged," Derek nodded.
"I can't believe it," she whispered, wrapping her arms around his neck again. "And we really should go home so we can celebrate properly."
"I like that idea," Derek nodded, pulling her into a kiss.
"Home now," she said breathlessly, pulling back from the kiss.
"Definitely," Derek said, moving to the driver's side of the car.
Meredith slid into the passenger seat, staring down at her hand as Derek pulled out of the parking lot. "I can't believe your mom gave me her ring," she breathed. "I love it. I really thought you would bring home some huge diamond that would make it completely impossible to lift my hand."
Derek laughed. "My dad promised me I could give it to the woman I wanted to marry," he said. "Mom wasn't aware of that deal, but she liked the idea of you wearing it, so she gave in."
"She didn't want to give it up?" Meredith asked. "Why did you make her?"
"I didn't make her," Derek defended himself. "I just reminded Dad of his promise. He made her."
Meredith stared at him for a moment before she slid the ring off her finger. "I can't wear it if your mom's going to miss it," she said. "I don't want to spend the next fifty years having her stare at my hand longingly instead of actually talking to me."
"She said you could have it, Mer," he laughed. "She wasn't too happy with my dad for telling me that, but she realized it's important that you have it. And we'll give it to our son when he finds the love of his life."
Meredith smiled as she looked down at the ring. "It's the Shepherd family ring," she said softly.
"It is," Derek nodded as he pulled into their parking garage. "And you're a Shepherd."
"Not yet," Meredith giggled.
"Fine, not yet," Derek rolled his eyes. "But you will be soon enough."
"Hmm," Meredith nodded, getting out of the car and wrapping an arm around him. "Mrs. Shepherd."
"We'll be Dr. and Mrs. Shepherd," Derek smirked.
"That sounds so...grown up," Meredith sighed.
"Well, we are grown ups."
"Shut up," she rolled her eyes. "You know what I mean."
"I do," he nodded, unlocking the apartment door and shoving her inside. "And now... we have some very grown up celebrating to do."
"We do," she giggled, taking his hand and leading him towards the bedroom. She offered him a coy smile over her shoulder before she sank onto the bed, slowly unbuttoning her shirt, her eyes completely on his. "I think you're in for a long night, my soon to be husband."
Derek swallowed hard as he watched her reach behind herself to unhook her bra. "I think you're right, my soon to be wife."
Meredith giggled as he pounced on top of her, already pressing soft kisses to the skin of her neck. She was engaged.
XXXXX
"Wow," Meredith breathed a couple hours later as she collapsed on top of Derek. "I love engaged sex."
"Me too," Derek nodded, turning to look at her as he ran a hand over to trail over the skin of her stomach. She smiled up at him, her hand tangling in his hair, both of them laughing as her skin rumbled loudly under his hand. "Hungry?" he asked.
"Starving," she nodded.
"You're always hungry after sex."
"Well...that was the best sex I've ever had," she giggled. "I burned a lot of calories."
"And now you have to eat them all back," Derek laughed, pulling on a pair of boxers.
"I do," she nodded, reaching for his button down. "But I'm going to make it."
Derek froze, halfway to the door before he turned to look at her, smiling nervously. "Mer," he said. "I love you. A lot. And nothing excites me more than the thought of spending the rest of my life with you. But you really don't need to cook. Ever. I can handle the cooking."
Meredith rolled her eyes as she pulled his T-shirt over his head and pressed kiss to his lips. "Don't worry," she said. "Your mom taught me."
Derek frowned as he watched her move towards the kitchen, pulling a pan out from under the stove.
"My mom taught you?" he repeated, leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed over his chest.
"Yes," Meredith nodded. "Chicken parmesan."
Derek's face melted as he watched her pull some chicken out of the refrigerator. "That's my favorite," he said.
"I know," Meredith smiled. "So I asked her to help me learn how to make it. And I'm pretty sure that about five chickens had to sacrifice their life so I could learn, but...I finally got the hang of it."
Derek watched her carefully, amazed at how she was actually cooking. "I think my mom deserves a Nobel Prize for teaching you this," he commented.
"Probably in patience," she giggled. "I almost caught your house on fire. Twice."
Derek laughed as he moved to stand behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist and resting his chin on her shoulder. "I'll forgive you," he murmured.
"Good," Meredith smiled, leaning back into his embrace. "Because there's no way you're getting this ring back."
"Oh, is that all this means to you?" Derek asked, reaching for her left hand and running a hand over the diamond. "A pretty ring?"
"A very pretty ring," Meredith nodded. "And yes...it's the only reason I agreed to marry you."
Derek laughed as he pressed kiss to the back of her head. "Of course," he smiled, moving to lean against the counter. "I kind of like you being all domestic."
"Well don't get used to it," Meredith giggled as she stuck the pan in the oven and turned to him, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Just because you've convinced me to marry you doesn't mean I'm going to turn into some stupid trophy wife, even when you do become a big fancy doctor."
Derek smiled, pulling her close to him. "I'd never expect you to be a trophy wife, Mer," he said. "I love that you're independent."
"Good," she nodded, leaning in to kiss him. "When do you want to get married?"
"I have two weeks off after my intern test," Derek smiled, leading her to the table and pulling her onto his lap. "That leaves plenty of time for a wedding and a honeymoon."
"Oh, well I like that idea," Meredith said. "Where will we go on our honeymoon?"
"Somewhere with a beach," Derek nodded. "A private beach."
"You don't want a repeat of our little adventure in Greece?" Meredith giggled.
"Well...it's your fault for wearing that bikini," Derek frowned. "How was I supposed to keep my hands off of you?"
"That doesn't mean you had to take me on the beach and cause the neighbors to come see if everything was okay."
"You're the one that screamed."
"Well, I wouldn't have screamed if you had been able to control yourself."
"Fine," Derek rolled his eyes. "I'm sorry for the amazing beach sex in Greece. I'll be sure to never be that amazing again."
"I didn't say that," Meredith giggled. "But I like the idea of a private beach."
"Good," Derek nodded.
"Derek?" she asked softly after a moment.
"Hmmm?" he asked, his fingers running through her hair.
"Your family is really Catholic," she whispered. "And I know that church means a lot to your mom and she probably wants us to have a big fancy church wedding with lace and flowers and hymns. But I'm not that girl. I'm not that kind of bride."
"I know," Derek smiled. "My mom wants us to have whatever wedding we want, Mer. She wants us to be happy."
"Are you sure?" Meredith asked, biting her lower lip. "Because I stole her ring, and I'm marrying her son, and I don't want her to hate me if I don't want to be a fancy bride that wears a corset and a petticoat and looks like one of those idiots on top of a wedding cake."
Derek laughed as he ran his hand along her thigh. "She won't hate you," he promised. "And I don't want a fancy wedding either. I definitely don't want you in a lacy dress. It will take too long to get off. Or have my way with you during the reception."
"I will not have sex at my wedding reception," Meredith giggled. "You're just going to have to keep it in your pants until the night."
Derek sighed dramatically, resting his chin on her shoulder. "I guess I can wait if it means marrying you," he said.
"Yes, because your sex life is so horrible," Meredith rolled her eyes.
"Well, we could have sex more than we do," Derek nodded.
"We have sex almost every day," Meredith pointed out. "I've come to the hospital multiple times. I think you have enough."
"There's no such thing as enough," Derek said firmly.
"You're an idiot," Meredith informed him.
"So I've heard."
"What kind of wedding do you want?" she whispered, moving a hand to rest in his hair.
Derek smiled softly as he looked down at their entwined hands. "I want a small wedding," he said. "My family, your friends, maybe some people from the hospital. I think it would be nice to have it outside, but well...this is Seattle, so we should probably find a hall anyways. And I don't want to wear a suit, and I don't want you to wear a wedding dress. Simple wedding, so maybe khakis and a nice button down, and some kind of cotton dress or something for you. As long as it's simple. And white."
"Simple and white," Meredith smiled. "I like that idea."
"Good," Derek smiled, leaning in to kiss her cheek.
"Do you want to start a house?" Meredith asked, turning to look at him. "We have the land, so whenever we want, we can start planning and building."
"Hmm," Derek sighed. "Honest moment?"
"Of course."
"I'd rather stay in the city until the first couple years of my residency are done," Derek murmured. "I know it's selfish, and I really love the land. But it's so far away, and until I'm done working forty eight hour shifts and spending most of my nights at the hospital, I'd rather stay in the city. If we moved out there now, I'd spend more time commuting than I did sleeping."
"Good point," Meredith sighed. "I didn't really think of that. But we have a yearly lease on this place anyways, so we can wait until your hours are a little better to build the house."
"Thanks for understanding," Derek said.
"Of course," Meredith said sadly. "If there's anything I understand, it's the life of a busy doctor."
Derek looked at her closely for a moment before he squeezed her waist. "Mer, you know I'm not going to be your mother," he assured her. "I'm always going to be your husband before I'm a doctor."
"I know," Meredith smiled softly. "But if you're going to be a good doctor, you're going to have to sacrifice some things."
"I'll never sacrifice you," Derek promised, tilting her face to look into her eyes. "Meredith, you always come first."
"I know you think that," she smiled. "But when it comes down to choosing between some fancy surgery and listening to me ramble on about a bunch of six year olds, you'll want to choose the surgery."
"That's not true," Derek argued gently. "Meredith, I love listening to you talk about work. Your eyes light up and it just reminds me how much passion you have for life. And it tells me what an amazing mother you will be to my children."
Meredith smiled as she leaned into him, resting her forehead against his. "Thank you," she whispered.
"You're welcome," Derek whispered. He pressed his lips against hers, smiling as she jumped out of his lap in response to the ringing of the timer on the oven. "Dinner's ready," he laughed, unable to stop the smile that spread across his face as he watched her pull the chicken out of the oven.