Three years passed. Emily had kept to her word for awhile. She came back for a week to see her sister and called when she could. But as time went on, the more infrequent the calls became. Part of Meredith wanted to believe that she was too busy fighting for her life to call instead of the fact she was just too high or busy as a model to call. But she knew it was probably the latter. Things had changed, as they always did. She was happier than ever with her life. But at the same time any time something happen, something was missing because Emily wasn't there.

A week after Emily left town, Meredith and Mark admitted to each other their true feelings. From then on, their relationship had been blissful.

Her shift had ended. It had been a long shift too filled with never ending patients that had never ending complaints. And she was tired. Walking though the lobby, she smiled when she saw him sitting there busying himself on his cell phone. Glancing up, he smiled at her and stood up as she approached him.

"Ready to go?" He asked and stood up from his seat quickly placing a kiss on her lips.

"Definitely." She had been at work for nearly forty-eight hours straight. Since on-call rooms hardly gave her the rest she needed and cafeteria food left her craving real food, she was ready for her own bed and her own kitchen.

"Alex said that he dropped Sadie and Emma off with Izzie before he came back here." He told her as he wrapped his arm around her waist and led her towards the hospital entrance. Nodding, she yawned and rested her head on his shoulder absently walking along side him.

They got back to their home fifteen minutes later. The lights were on in the front room, but the house was nearly still when they walked up the porch to the house. Izzie was stilling on the couch with a tube of Ben and Jerry's resting on her pregnant belly. She glanced over but didn't bother standing when the couple walked in.

"Hey, Izz. Thanks for coming over." Meredith said as she hung up her coat.

"No problem. The girls are in bed." She said returning her eyes to the TV. She took the last bite of ice cream and struggled to her feet. "I'm going to pop soon. I can feel it."

"Don't be in too much of a hurry. Labor is no walk in the park." Meredith told her.

Mark nodded in agreement. "My hand… hurt for days."

"Shut up. You got the easy part."

"Well, I better go." Izzie giggled. "Mike will be home soon."

"You want Mark to drive you home?"

"Nah, I'm fine." She shrugged.

"Ok, see you later." Izzie waddled out of the house with her hand still protectively resting on her oversized stomach. "I'm going to go check on the girls."

He nodded and sat down on the couch as Meredith started up the stairs. Quietly, she walked down the hall and opened the door to Izzie's old room. The beige walls were now painted pink and toys spilled out across the floor. Two large cribs sat about five feet apart. She crept across the room and peeked into each crib. A little girl slept in each. Their faces relaxed and dirty blonde hair pressed against their cheeks. Smiling, she reached down and adjusted the blanket in each crib.

It had been a year since they confessed their love for one another. Their relationship was blissful even when they hit unexpected road blocks. Nothing too major… until now. Now that she was faced with such a MAJOR decision, she didn't have any idea what to do. She looked at it again and staring back at her was that fateful blue cross. She shuddered at the thought. Pregnant. That was something she didn't expect to be. A knock shook her from the daze.

"Mer, Babe, you okay?"

"Yeah." Her voice came out ten times higher than normal.

"You sure? Come on. Open the door."

"I'll be right out." She said looking frantically around the bathroom trying to find some place to stash the evidence. Quickly, she stuffed it into her toiletry bag and threw it in the cabinet under the sink. Sighing, she leaned over the sink and looked at herself in the mirror. The panic was still evident in her eyes even as she splashed cool water on her face.

"Mer?" He pounded on the door again as she dabbed her face with a towel.

"Coming." She called back and looked around quickly. Deciding that everything was in order, she opened the door and gave him a small smile. "Morning."

He looked down at her curiously. "Good morning."

She lifted up onto her toes and kissed his cheek before walking into the bedroom. Cautiously he followed still confused by her mood. "Are you okay?" He asked carefully.

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"You seem… off."

"Nope. I'm perfectly fine. I have to hurry, now. I don't want to be late for the meeting."

"Yeah." He watched as she changed in a quicker manner than usual. "You sure you're okay?"

"Yeah, of course. I'll see you later." She said as she kissed his cheek again and hurried out. He stood there for a few more minutes until he heard the front door shut before shrugging it off.

She told him about the baby the next evening, and he was scared but thrilled as ever.

Sighing, she leaned over and planted a kiss on both her twin daughters' cheeks before walking out leaving the door slightly cracked. Their bedroom light was on when she walked in, and the crack under the bathroom door glowed. She could hear the shower running as she sat down on the bed. Her eyes settled on the wedding picture by the nightstand.

"Are you sure you can't come?" She cried into the phone. She hoped to be able to keep it together, but it didn't seem like much of an option.

"I'm sorry, Mer. I really, really wish I could." Emily said quietly.

"No, I… I understand." She said taking slow deep breaths.

"Mark is… a great guy, Mer. He won't hurt you."

"I know."

"I love you, Mer."

"I love you too."

"Tell Mark I said… 'Welcome to the family.'"

"Okay." She giggled.

"I better let you go. Break a leg, Mer."

"I'll talk to you later." With a light sigh, she hung up.

"Mer, we have to go. Are you okay?" Izzie asked.

Turning, she gave her friend and bridesmaid a small smile. "Yeah. I'm fine. Let's go."

She tried not to think about Emily again while the hairdresser slaved over her hair. After what seemed like forever, she stood up and looked in the mirror. It was curled loosely and sprayed until every stand was in the absolute perfect place. Izzie did her makeup and helped her into her white dress. The whole day seemed to rush by her and somehow she was standing in the parlor. Izzie scrambled around her fixing her veil and fluffing her skirt. Christina was giving her last big pep talk was all but necessary. She stood in silence touching the embroidery of her dress with delicate fingers. Taking a deep breath, she let it out slowly and beamed a smile into the mirror. Christina stopped her sentence short then looked at Izzie.

"She's ready." She said with a proud smirk.

"Why wouldn't I be? I marrying Mark!" She beamed another smile at her friends as she twisted around to face the door. Izzie rushed to untangle the train from around her ankles before she tripped and broke her neck on her wedding day. "Is it time yet?" She ran her hand over her baby bump that was hardly noticeable under her dress but pretty noticeable when she wore usual clothes.

"Just about. Let's get lined up." Izzie told her.

They out of the room and walked down the short corridor to the big double doors.

"Need a last minute boast of encouragement?" Christina asked just to be sure.

"I'm perfectly fine, Chris." She surprised herself with the lack of nerves in her stomach. Sure, there were those little butterflies that fluttered within her whenever she thought about it. She was becoming a Sloan. She was getting exactly what she wanted. And for that she was that happiest woman alive.

The music started filling the air outside. The butterflies strengthened in her stomach. She almost blamed that babies going crazy in her stomach. Rubbing her hand over it, she smiled.

"Ready?" Izzie asked.

"Yes." She said confidently. Two ushers pulled the double doors open. The courtyard was beautiful decorated with beautiful white and light pink flowers in full blossom. Small candles flickered in the breeze lighting the dimly light sunset sky. The white chairs were lined up in perfect rows on either side of the aisle. At the end of the aisle, a gazebo decorated with flowers and glowing lights. He glowed under the light with a nervous smile playing his lips. Izzie sent a quick smile back at her before walking down the aisle. Christina followed. She tightened her grip around her bouquet and took a deep breath. She was walking herself down the aisle since she had nobody to give her away. While it was slightly saddening, she didn't let it ruin her big day. Her eyes locked with Mark's as she stepped out into the cool night air. His face light up as his smile grew. She could see the love in his eyes. A smile crept on her lips trying to restrain herself from running down the aisle to him. The aisle seemed like it would never end. Finally, she reached him and it was like the rest of the world didn't exist. She was going to be Meredith Sloan at the end of the day, and she couldn't be happier.