"Meredith."
"Go away," she swatted at the soft voice tickling her ear two mornings later. After a moment, she felt the hand return to her hip.
"No."
"Sleeping," she argued.
"But it's Christmas," her twenty seven year old fiancé whined.
"Seriously?" she asked, burrowing further into the covers. "You're whining. More than my students."
"But it's Christmas," Derek repeated, pulling the covers off of her.
"It's still dark," Meredith murmured.
"Okay, you haven't even opened your eyes," Derek said. "It could be ten o'clock."
"But you always wake up stupid early on Christmas," Meredith said.
"It's Shepherd tradition."
"Shepherds are stupid."
"Next Christmas you will be a Shepherd," Derek said, rolling her onto her back and pinning her beneath his body.
"Next Christmas you'll still be an idiot," Meredith said, wrapping her arms around his neck.
"Which means you'll be married to an idiot," Derek whispered.
"Hmmm...at least he's hot," Meredith smiled.
Derek laughed as he pressed his lips against hers. "Merry Christmas," he whispered.
"Merry Christmas, Der," she replied. "I love you."
"I love you too," Derek breathed.
"Presents?" Meredith whispered against his lips.
"I thought you said presents could wait until noon," Derek laughed.
"Well, if you're going to wake me up in the middle of the night, I might as well get presents out of it," Meredith sighed.
"Right," Derek said. "You'll get presents."
Meredith smiled. "I'll be right back," she said, kissing him quickly before she slid into the bathroom.
As she ran a hairbrush through her hair, she stopped for a moment and looked at herself in the mirror. A year ago she'd spent Christmas here in the same way, waking up in Derek's arms and arguing about it being too early. She knew what to expect from a Christmas with the Shepherds, but there was something different about this year. Now she was engaged to Derek, she was sure that she would be with him forever. She smiled as she ran her thumb over the engagement ring, knowing that this Christmas would be even better than last.
"Mer?" Derek's voice came from the other side of the door. "Everything okay?"
"Yeah," she smiled as she opened the door and pressed her lips against his. "Let's go have Christmas."
Derek smiled as he took her hand and pulled her into the hall. "You're excited about Christmas," he said.
Meredith shrugged. "I am," she said. "This is my first real Christmas."
"You were here last year for Christmas," Derek frowned.
"I know," she nodded. "But it was different. Now we're engaged, and I'm going to be here every Christmas for the rest of my life. It's different than it was last year. So I'm more excited."
She looked up at Derek as he gazed down at her through hooded eyes. She loved the way he looked at her like this, and she couldn't help the way her hand automatically moved into his hair as she pulled his lips down to meet hers. He kissed her softly, nothing more than a kiss that she knew said everything that he didn't have the words to say to her. He held her gently against him, his kiss soft and gentle as she felt completely welcome in his arms, in his home. He rarely kissed her like this, taking the time to just kiss her without the promise of anything more, but she loved it. She loved the gentle way he cupped her cheek in his hand before he moved it to gently move her hair out of her face, his lips all the while working against hers in a soft kiss that told her how much he loved her.
"Wow," Meredith breathed a moment later as she pulled back.
"I like kissing you," Derek smiled, lacing his fingers through hers again."
"I like kissing you too," Meredith blushed.
"Good," he said. "More kissing, I say."
"You'll get more kisses," Meredith promised.
"Christmas kisses?" Derek laughed.
"Yes, Christmas kisses," she rolled her eyes. "Now let's go have Christmas."
Derek pulled her the rest of the way down the stairs to the living room where his family was already gathered. "Merry Christmas," he smiled as he wrapped his arms around his mom."
They were met with a chorus of Merry Christmases from the rest of the family, and Meg turned to look at Michael with wide eyes. He laughed as he moved to sit under the tree. "Yes, we can have presents now," he promised.
Meredith smiled as Derek sat down in his father's armchair, pulling her to sit in his lap. She rested her head against his chest, enjoying the feeling of all the Shepherds together. She didn't think she would ever have a Christmas or Thanksgiving where she didn't take a moment to take in how close they were, how wonderful it was to be apart of this complete craziness. They were constantly yelling at each other and teasing their siblings, but she loved it. She knew none of them really realized what it was like to be alone, but she was almost glad that she'd spent the first years of her life alone, because now she knew how lucky she was to be marrying into this amazing family.
"Mer?" Derek's voice interrupted her internal thoughts. She turned to him with a smile as she took the offered package from his hands.
"Who is this from?" she asked.
"It's from Michael and I," Emma said. "I hope you'll like it."
Meredith smiled as she tore the paper off the box, lifting the lid and freezing for a moment as she laid eyes on the soft tulle sitting inside the box. "What..." she breathed, looking up at Emma with wide eyes.
"It's the veil that every woman in my side of the family has worn when she's gotten married," Emma said softly, reaching for the veil and settling it onto Meredith's head. "My grandmother was the first to wear it, and both my girls wore it. Liz and Caitlin will as well. I know you're not wearing a traditional wedding dress, and if you don't want to wear it it's alright..."
"I do," Meredith nodded, tears filling her eyes as she fingered the soft fabric that fell to the middle of her back. "It's perfect. Thank you." She pulled herself out of Derek's lap to hug Emma tightly.
"Come look at yourself," Emma murmured, guiding Meredith to the small mirror that hung beside the front door in the mirror.
Meredith smiled softly as she looked at her reflection in the mirror. The veil was simple, a small tiara holding the single layer of tulle to her head as it fell to the middle of her back, just below her shoulder line. "It's beautiful," she whispered.
"I suppose it's too fancy for your wedding," Emma sighed. "I'll understand if you don't want to wear it."
"I do," Meredith nodded, turning to look at Emma with wide eyes. "I definitely do. Thank you, Emma. This means so much to me."
"You're welcome," Emma smiled, pressing a kiss to her cheek. "And you know, now that you're marrying Derek, I think it's time you called Michael and I Mom and Dad. If you're comfortable with that, of course."
"Oh," Meredith blinked in surprise, feeling more tears prick her eyes. "Okay...Mom."
Emma smiled as she took Meredith's hand gently. "Let's get back to the presents," she said softly.
Meredith followed Emma back into the living room, smiling widely at Derek as she slid back into his lap. "You okay?" he asked softly.
Meredith smiled as she leaned into him. "I'm perfect," she said, pressing a kiss to his cheek.
Derek smiled as he ran his fingers over the soft fabric of the veil. "You make a beautiful bride," he said.
Meredith giggled as she reached up to take the veil off. "It's just the veil," she said. "I don't even have a dress yet."
"You'll still be a beautiful bride," Derek said. "My bride."
"Your bride," Meredith nodded.
"Hmmm," Derek smiled. "I've got a present for my bride."
"Your bride likes presents," Meredith giggled, reaching for the box in his hands. She tore the paper off and smiled softly as she opened the book in her lap. "It's our Europe pictures."
"I had them bound," Derek said. "I know you hate getting your pictures taken, but during those couple months, you were happier than I had ever seen you before. And I had to capture that."
"I love it," she said, leaning forward to grab another present from beneath the tree. "This is for you."
Derek smiled as he opened his present, smiling as he pulled a piece of paper out of the envelope. "Mer..."
"It's the deed to my land," she said.
"And it has my name on it," Derek smiled.
"There's more," Meredith smiled, resting her head against his shoulder.
Derek pulled more papers out of the envelope, raising his eyebrows. "An architect?" he asked.
"I know you want to live in the city for another few years," she said, taking the papers from his hands. "But I thought we could at least start thinking about what we want for our house. It takes a long time to build a house, and we can at least think about rooms and get plans made."
"I love it," Derek smiled. "You got me a house, Mer."
"I got you a house," she breathed.
Derek smiled as he pulled her close, looking at the rest of his family as they continued to open presents.
"Your parents want me to call them Mom and Dad," she whispered as she watched Emma open a necklace from Michael.
"You're their daughter," Derek smiled. "A Shepherd sister at heart."
"I am," she nodded. "It's nice. To have parents."
"Hmmm," Derek nodded, watching his father pull the watch out of its box, looking at Emma with wide eyes. "I want to be them."
"We will," Meredith smiled. "Your mom seems convinced of it."
"She's usually right," Derek laughed.
Meredith smiled as she leaned back into his arms. "I really hope she is this time," she said.
"She will be," Derek nodded. "Mer, we're going to get married. We're going to build a house, and we're going to have babies. And we're going to die in each others arms when we're one hundred and ten."
"One hundred and ten?" Meredith giggled. "You're certainly very optimistic about your life span."
"Got to stretch out my time with you," Derek laughed. "And that's the last time I ever try to be romantic with you."
"No it's not," Meredith giggled. "Besides, I like it. You're completely corny. But I love it."
"Good," Derek nodded, falling silent as he tightened his arms around her. Meredith smiled as she opened the book Derek had gotten her, her eyes carefully examining each of the pictures he had selected. She could remember the moment each of them had been taken, from the time, she had giggled at his insistence to pick her up at the door to the castle in Germany to the time he'd posed her on a bridge in Venice.
"This is amazing," she murmured.
"I'm glad you like it," he replied.
"And I have to tell you...there's more waiting for you at home," she murmured in his ear.
"Why didn't you bring it here?" he frowned, causing Meredith to roll her eyes. He was completely dense sometimes.
"Because," she whispered, biting his ear quickly. "It's more of a...private present."
"Oh," Derek smiled, shifting her on his lap, causing her to giggle slightly as she felt him twitching beneath his pajama pants.
"And it's a very...dirty present," Meredith continued to whisper in his ear. "Because you're such a naughty boy.
"Mer," he hissed. "You have to stop."
"Why?" she whispered, reaching to cup him through his pajama pants. "It seems like you're enjoying this conversation to me."
Derek swallowed hard as he tried to think of anything besides Meredith's hands on him, and she giggled slightly She moved her lips to his neck as she reached around them for the blanket on the back of the chair, spreading it over both of their laps before moving her hand into his pants. She stroked him gently, keeping a completely straight face as he tried to keep the pleasure off of his face. He bit onto his lower lip as she squeezed him gently and she giggled, knowing that he was trying to stay quiet.
"What do you think Mer?" Liz asked, turning to look at them.
"Oh, I...what?" Meredith asked, stilling her fingers over Derek.
"Mom was saying how she heard about a sale at a wedding store downtown. They have less contemporary ones too, and that's what you want, right?"
"Hmm," Meredith nodded, her hand moving over Derek again. "That is exactly what I want." She smiled at Liz as she continued to ramble on about the wedding, all the while stroking Derek hard. She giggled as she heard him grunt slightly behind her before he slid an arm around her waist, squeezing her tightly. She couldn't believe that she was doing this, especially after she had sworn to him that she would never have sex with him in his parents' house.
"Mer," he groaned loudly, unable to control himself as he began to release into her hand.
"Are you okay, Derbear?" Caitlin asked with a frown.
"Yeah," Derek breathed, sweat building on his forehead. "Yes. Yes."
"Are you sure, dear?" Emma asked, ignoring her husband's smirk. "You look flushed."
Meredith giggled as she pulled her hand out of his pants, reaching for a tissue with her clean hand.
"I'm fine, Mom," Derek promised as he felt himself come down, still unable to believe that Meredith had just done that.
"If you're sure," Emma said slowly, turning her attention away from him. "Alright, who wants breakfast?"
"You are so going to pay for that tonight," Derek whispered into her ear.
"I have no idea what you're talking about," Meredith said sweetly as she pulled out of his arms and stood, moving to follow Emma and Liz into the kitchen. "I'm going to go help your mom." She smiled slyly over her shoulder before she disappeared out of the room. She giggled slightly as she moved down the hall, knowing that Derek was going to give that same torture back to her as soon as they got home that night, and she couldn't wait. This really was the best Christmas ever.