The Littlest Shepherd
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Adorable Deed # 1 - Sick Dada
"Are you sure you're alright?" Meredith asked once again as they walked towards the car. He's been sneezing all over the place since last night and he refused to admit that he was sick.
"It's just a cold," Derek told her for the umpteenth time.
"Maybe you should just skip the day, Der," she advised him.
"I'm not about to skip the day because of a cold, Mer," he replied. He looked down at the half-asleep toddler in his arms and gently shook him. "You go to Mommy, Brae."
"Nooooo," Braeden shook his head, snuggling deeper into Derek's arms.
"Dada has a cold and he doesn't want you to get it, okay?"
"We goin' to hospwial?" Braeden asked sleepily.
"Yeah, buddy," Derek nodded as Braeden finally let himself be handed to Meredith.
"Ex-Dada there?" Braeden asked from Meredith's arms.
Meredith looked at Derek who was gritting his teeth again at the mention of Ex-Dada. Braeden has been skipping lunch with Derek for almost a week now ever since Mark came to town.
"Yeah, sweetie," Meredith nodded, placing a kiss on his soft curls. "Ex-Dada will be in the hospital."
"Lunch date," Braeden murmured sleepily as he went back to sleep.
Derek's incoming rant about Mark was set aside by the sneeze that came from him for the tenth time that morning.
"Just a cold, Mer," he cut Meredith out knowing what she was just about to say.
By the time noon came, Derek's cold has spiked into a fever that made him cancel all his meetings and OR time.
"Derek?" Meredith entered his office to find him splayed across the couch, his arms on top of his eyes, shielding the light that was coming from his glass panes. Meredith reached over and touched his forehead to check his temperature. "You're burning up. I told you to stay at home."
"I should have listened to you," he mumbled and groaned. "I feel like shit."
"I'll be out by 4 later, can you hold on till then?" she asked as she ran her hands on his hair gently. "Or do you want me to have someone take you home now?"
"No," he shook his head. "I'll just wait for you. I don't think I want to move anyway."
"Okay," she nodded, leaning over to place a kiss on his forehead. "I'm gonna go check on Braeden. Mark might not be there to take him."
"Kill him for me," Derek murmured. "A dying man's wish."
"Derek!" Meredith lightly slapped his arm that he was using to cover his eyes.
"Hey!" he removed his arm and glared at her. "Stop hitting the dying man, Mer!"
"You're not dying," she rolled her eyes, giving him another light slap, this time on the biceps.
"I am, can't you see?" he dramatically sighed.
"You're worse than Braeden when he's sick," she rolled her eyes once again.
"Does that mean I can cuddle with you all day long?" he asked with a smirk, knowing that their son was inseparable from Meredith when he was sick.
"You're too big for me to be carrying around, Der," she joked with him.
"That's too bad," he murmured, closing his eyes again.
"I'll go check on Brae now, okay?"
Derek just nodded and Meredith left his office and walked to the daycare. She found Braeden playing with a couple of other kids and she called out to him.
"Mommy!" Braeden greeted her enthusiastically as she knelt down and gave him a hug.
"Is your Uncle Markie around, Brae? Dada surely can't have lunch with you today, sweetie," Meredith told his son.
"Dada?" Braeden asked Meredith.
"He's sick, baby," Meredith told him.
"Sick?" Braeden asked. "Boo-boo?"
"He's got a fever,"
"Boo-boo?" Braeden asked again.
"Yes, sweetie," Meredith nodded in defeat, Braeden was never going to get what fever meant. "Dada has a boo-boo."
"Boo-boo..." Braeden echoed.
"Oh hey," Meredith pointed at Mark who just entered the daycare. "Look who's here."
"Hey, lunch buddy," Mark knelt down and greeted the boy. "You ready for our lunch date?"
Braeden just looked at him without saying anything.
"Is Derek alright? I heard the nurses talking that he cancelled all his OR time and meetings," Mark looked up at Meredith who already stood up from her place.
"He's really not feeling well, he's cooped up in his office for now," she replied. She looked at her watch. "You got him?"
"Yeah," Mark nodded. "Lunch date with Uncle Markie."
"No!" Braeden shook his head furiously, stepping away from Mark. "No lunch date! I want sick Dada. Please, Mommy? Pleaseeee."
He turned around and wrapped his arms around Meredith's legs as he looked up at her with begging eyes.
"You want to go have lunch with Dada?"
"Uh-huh," Braeden nodded eagerly. "Dada! Dada!"
"Guess I just lost my lunch date," Mark stood up. He gave Braeden an affectionate pat on the head. "Tell Derek I wish him well, Mer. Bye, kid!"
Braeden didn't even notice Mark as he left the room as he continued on persuading Meredith to take him with her.
"Okay then, let's go to Dada, sweetie," Meredith motioned for him to follow which he did eagerly.
"Dada! Dada! Dada! Dada!" Braeden chanted as he stomped behind Meredith towards Derek's office. Meredith gave a little knock before opening the door. Derek shifted on the couch and looked at his visitors. He gave a little smile as he saw Meredith and his smile got a bit bigger when Braeden's head popped from behind Meredith's legs.
"Hey, buddy," Derek greeted his son.
"Dada?" Braeden's eyes got wide as he saw Derek on the couch. He stepped from behind Meredith and approached the couch. He ran his small hand across Derek's arms in a soothing manner. "Dada alwight?"
"I'll be okay, buddy, nothing to worry about."
Braeden suddenly climbed the couch and situated his self on top of Derek, laying his head on Derek's chest. "Bwaeden love Dada, Dada."
"Does he think I'm D-Y-I-N-G?" Derek let out a small chuckle as he patted his son's back and looked at Meredith.
"All he knows is that you have a boo-boo," Meredith let out a small chuckle too as she watched her son cuddle against Derek.
"Bwaeden kiss boo-boo, all betta!" Braeden kissed him all over the place, earning a laugh from both his parents.
"Yes, buddy, all better," Derek murmured as he ran his hand through his son's back.
"Maybe I should take him, wouldn't want him to get what you have," Meredith gently reminded him.
"Just give me a few more minutes, Mer," Derek softly said as he smiled down at his son, his son who was at all times mischievous was doing something incredibly adorable, and he didn't want it to end just yet.
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WOW. I just realized it's been more than a year since I updated this. WOW. That's all I can say for now... WOW.