Author: MeredithMcSteamy
Warning: None
Spoilers: All seasons, just to be safe. Mentions of "A Better Man Than I."
Genre: Romance/Family/slight Angst
Relationship(s): Mer/Mark, reminiscent MerDer, Der/OC, other secondary pairings
Rating: Pg - PG13
Image: made by Freaky, can be found on profile page!
Summary: Future-fic; sequel to A Better Man Than I. At a company picnic, Derek witnesses the evolution in the Grey-Sloan relationship and knows deep down that it was supposed to be them all along.
Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to Grey's Anatomy or the characters involved.

It Was Meant To Be

-

"You've gotta know when love is over
You've gotta learn to carry on
And with the world upon your shoulders
You walk away when hope is gone
When your golden road has reached the end
You find a way to start again, you know
There's a time for love; a time for letting go."
- Michael Bolton, "A Time For Letting Go"

-

Derek Shepherd found himself sitting at a worn picnic table in a large spread field at Victor Steinbrueck Park where Seattle Grace Hospital was having their annual staff picnic. It was carefully scheduled but everybody knew that there was a large possibility they could be called back in at any time. Still, the doctors and nurses enjoyed the luckily sunny afternoon to the fullest. Derek had a juicy hamburger in front of him, steam still coming off the thick circle of meat between the lettuce and condiment smothered bun. Families and coworkers were all around, friends and colleagues chatting happily.

The newest interns looked a little uncomfortable in a cluster off to the side, sitting on the grass, tugging it up and tossing it around as they talked to each other. It brought images of a group of interns that had long ago become residents and now attendings. Ten long years had only left them better in their decided course of medicine. Karev had found a comfortable place in Neonatal, as well as Stevens, while O'Malley was working happily in Orthopedics and Yang was in her element in Cardiothoracics. Grey was a welcomed face in Neurosurgery, learning under Derek and growing a workable friendship. Derek, though he often wished he could be closer to Meredith, knew it was best for him not to continue a close relation with her outside of work.

Most of the former interns, and now widely acclaimed doctors, were standing in their own self-proclaimed cluster that the new interns looked on at, lacking subtlety in their desire to be just like them, or better. Shepherd turned to his wife as his side, smiling at her as she rubbed her rounded stomach and ate a yogurt heartily, already eyeing the platter of meats and cheeses ahead of her. She was six months along and doing beautifully, according to Stevens. Her dark hair was pulled in a half ponytail, leaving it to fall across her bare, freckled shoulders. She was wearing a wispy sundress that did nothing to hide her proud stomach and Derek felt his mouth pull in a smile as he looked down at the protruding evidence of his son or daughter. He reached out absently, his hand stroking the side with the curve of his knuckle as he listened to the noise of various voices combining in the air as everybody talked about work or home or family.

His wife Emily, a nurse that had started working at Seattle Grace seven years prior, was nodding her head to something her friend Anne was saying as she sat across from her, motioning wildly with her hands. Derek knew it was gossip, it always was. He accepted that there was nothing he could do to escape it and labeled it as something he'd simply have to deal with having married a nurse.

A loud laugh caught his attention; one he knew well. His eyes ventured up and landed on the man far off from him, having no idea that Derek's gaze was following him. Mark Sloan was lounging on a dark blue blanket, sunglasses covering his eyes and a smirk twisting his mouth as he nodded at the woman to his right. His hair had a few more grey strands, but for the most part, he still looked as young and attractive as ever. Derek knew his own hair was greying much quicker, what with the responsibility and long hours he worked as Chief, it was unavoidable. Mark was one of their best surgeons, name known far and wide and clients pouring in for him from all ends of the country. Seattle Grace was well known for its incredible surgeons and while Derek was proud, he was a little jealous all the same.

In Mark's lap sat a bundle of yellow, drooling and waving her small arm around erratically. Mark's daughter Michelle was a beauty, even at only a year and a half. She had her mother's green eyes and her father's dark brown hair. Pink cheeks and a smile that could melt anybody, she was a vision of innocence and beauty. She was small and happy, always giggling and waving at people. Her yellow dress was bright and already stained with whatever she'd been eating earlier. Her small feet kicked out, showing off matching yellow booties that made Derek excited for when his own child would be born. So tiny, frail, and innocent.

Derek recognized the ease Mark had with his daughter, the way he held her in his lap, one hand braced against her stomach gently, the other stroking her brown hair and rubbing her cheek absently. Derek could only hope that it would come naturally when his first child was born. Of course Mark had practice, he already had a young boy running around the park just that minute. At six years old, Josh was a rambunctious and friendly little guy that had an interest in meeting every woman that crossed his path and making her find him adorable. Derek figured it was a gene passed down from his father. The kid might not know that later on in life he would want women to be more than just someone to tell him how awesome he was, but he was content just having them coddle him as it was. He was a mama's boy though, always calling out for her approval on everything.

"Look mom! MOM! Look at me! I'm doin' a cartwheel! LOOK!" Derek could hear the excited six year old shout.

"I am looking," his mother called back, smiling at him indulgently.

Josh had already made three cartwheels, but he paused now to make sure her attention was solely on him. Mark turned to watch too, leaning down to tell Michelle that her brother was a dork, though he smiled proudly at his son as he flipped his legs over his head and landed with a thump on his feet. Josh grinned at them, waving his hand.

"Good job," his mom told him, clapping her hands. Derek was sure Josh had shown her his cartwheel many times before, but like any good mother, Meredith simply went along with it, smiling all along. "Have you shown your aunts and uncles?" she asked, her lips twitching with a smile.

He nodded his head, but then turned and started running toward Alex and Izzie as they stood near a table of refreshments talking. "Uncle George, Auntie Izzie, Uncle Alex, wanna see somethin' real cool?" he could be heard shouting.

Derek watched Mark turn back to his wife of eight years, grinning at her. Meredith rolled her eyes before popping a grape into her mouth and shaking her head at him as he nodded at her to feed him one. Mark laughed but persisted while she teasingly leaned away from him, taking her paper plate with her so as to keep him from grubbing her grapes. Trading his hands on Michelle's waist so he could reach out with the arm closest to Meredith, Mark caught her hand and tugged her back toward him. Relenting, Meredith moved closer, her mouth moving to say something Derek couldn't hear from so far away. Mark laughed and his face broke out in a contentedness that Derek, in the past, wasn't sure he'd ever see in his old best friends expression. Meredith popped a few grapes into her husband's mouth and then leaned forward to rest her head on his shoulder, her gaze directed down at the top of her daughter's head. Her hand rose to stroke Michelle's cheek before running down her arm and taking her little hand between her fingers, smiling gently as the toddler gripped her mother's finger tightly and shook it around excitedly.

Mark's head leaned to the side, leaning against Meredith's but his eyes were off watching his son as he made a few cartwheels for his aunt and uncles and then sidled up to a woman who was chatting with a nurse. Derek watched the amused and mildly smug expression cross Mark's face as he witnessed his son work his magic and gain the praise of complete strangers. Like his father, Josh had the ability to make just about any woman find him charming. Over the years, Derek had seen a change in Mark though. Previously, he'd been a creature of habit; a man who simply wasn't satisfied with just one woman. But it seemed Meredith had changed that for him, molding him into a one-woman man, happily. Derek had been invited to the wedding, though he faked a business trip so he wouldn't have to be there. Some part of him was happy that Meredith had found her happily ever after, but he'd always wondered if maybe her faithful husband wasn't so true to his wife. He'd never witnessed any suspicious behavior between Mark and the nurses or doctors or patients, but his eyes were always watching, as if waiting for him to slip up. Ten years later he realized it was never going to happen.

Like any normal couple, Mark and Meredith had their problems. They fought and disagreed and whether or not Derek was there to witness it, he could feel the discomfort between the two when they were at work. No matter the situation, however, they fixed it and stayed together. He'd never known their marriage to be on the rocks or heard of infidelity on either part. He'd seen them together around the hospital and run into them while outside of work. They were a rather quiet couple, the type that purposely tried to stay out of the spotlight. He figured that was because of all that had happened when they first started at Seattle Grace. Stuck with drama and heartbreak, they didn't want to repeat the process. They worked hard to keep their lives their own and he valued that, hoping to have it some day himself. Having dated and married a nurse, Derek knew it wasn't that easy for him. Mark and Meredith were able to take themselves out of the gossip eye. They were still watched, still talked about, but it was never as dark and dramatic as before.

"DAD!" Josh's voice called out across the field, loud and excited. "Look! Ice cream!"

Smiling, Mark shook his head. "You have your allowance," he called back before passing Michelle over to Meredith as she sat up.

Despite the distance, Josh continued to shout instead of moving to closer to talk to his father. "But I'm saving it for a race car!" he called back, half-whining.

Chuckling, Mark walked towards him, "So I'm supposed to give you an allowance and still buy you everything?" he asked, lifting a brow.

Josh's face curled in thought before he nodded slowly, smiling. "Yeah!"

"Not happening, buddy," he told him, patting his head as he met him. "Did you bring your allowance?" Josh nodded sadly, sticking his hands in his pockets. "We'll go halfsies." Lighting up, the six year old nodded excitedly. Taking his father's hand, they walked off toward the ice cream cart, getting only a few steps before Mark turned back. "You want anything, Mer?"

Looking up from Michelle who was tugging on her mother's hair, Meredith thinned her eyes and turned her head up in thought. "If they've got popsickles, sure."

Nodding, Mark followed Josh down to the cart and Derek turned his attention back to Meredith. She was a natural mother, or at least from what he could tell she appeared to be. She held Michelle with a tenderness only a mother could project, her hands carefully cradling the baby in her lap and tipping her head down, talking to her in a hushed voice, as if to show her she was the only one in the world who deserved her attention. In response to whatever Meredith was saying, the smiling baby giggled happily and reached out, her chubby hands touching her mother's face adoringly.

Derek watched with a soft expression covering his face, his ears blocking outside noise from interrupting his thoughts. As Mark and Josh returned, they sat down on the blanket and Meredith was passed her popsickle. Crosslegged, Josh sat eating his ice cream with gusto, his mouth already surrounded by a chocolate coating. Michelle reached out to him, letting out a loud giggle. She obviously admired her brother and with the same affection, Josh held her hand and grinned at her. Michelle crawled out of her mother's lap and moved to lean against her brother's leg, her hand reaching out for his ice cream. Not bothering to ask his parents, but keeping an eye out to see if he'd get in trouble, he lowered his chocolate dessert and allowed his sister to rub her mouth in it, her tongue peeking out to taste it. Her hand reached up, rubbing at her lips and trying to push more of the chocolate ice cream into her mouth. When Josh brought it back to his mouth, both of them had sticky hands and messy mouths, but they were smiling all the same.

Meredith had unwrapped her pink popsickle and held it in her hand absently as she talked to Mark who had laid out on the blanket again, his head propped in her lap. He had a drumstick in one hand while the other was entwined with hers on his chest, fingers fiddling with one anothers. Meredith's hair hung down, concealing Mark's head from either side, though Derek had the perfect view of them. They were talking quietly, so much so that he wasn't even sure their children could hear them, though they were occupied with playing with Josh's toy cars and eating the quickly melting fudgesickle. Mark lifted his ice cream for Meredith to have a bite and when she was done, smeared some on her mouth and chin. He leaned up on one arm, catching her laughing mouth in a kiss and licking away the vanilla ice cream from her chin. While the kiss wasn't long, given their surroundings, Derek admitted to himself that there was no less passion than what he'd seen ten years prior. Their faces were still close together as their mouths broke apart, whispering words to one another and smiling as if they had a secret only each other knew. He kissed her once more, brief but no less loving and then laid his head back down in her lap.

Meredith occupied her mouth with her popsickle, her eyes turning off for a moment, catching sight of Cristina who was making her way over to the family, Burke following behind with their four year old son. Michelle turned away from her brother to crawl over to her dad, hand reaching for his ice cream and a shrieking giggle escaping her as Mark lifted her up onto his stomach. Meredith's attention was drawn back to her son as he held a car up to her and she praised the toy as if she hadn't seen it a million times before. He scooted closer to her, bringing his toys with him and her hand moved to run over his hair affectionately. He leaned into her more, though he didn't say anything to let her know how much he enjoyed her attention. He continued playing with his cars, making noises to match them and paid no attention to the ice cream as it melted over his hand except to slurp it away every once in awhile.

"Derek?" Emily's voice interrupted his thoughts. "Sweetie, do you remember if I brought that bottle of papaya juice? I'm really thirsty."

He nodded at her, turning his attention to searching through the bag they'd brought and finding her current craved drink. She smiled at him thankfully and guzzled a great deal down, pecking his cheek before she turned back to the conversation she was having with her friend Anne. He felt a spark against his cheek from where her mouth had been and a smile lifted his mouth. While there were times in the past that he'd wondered if he'd ever really find that one to occupy his heart like Meredith had, Emily had slipped into that place almost unnoticed. When he realized just how much he loved her, it had surprised him. But she was smart and funny and she left nothing to be desired in their relationship. She had her dark periods, but she was never as twisty or depressed as Meredith had been. They didn't have dramatic or extreme relationship, but found a comfortable flow between them that he valued beyond measure.

Derek's attention soon returned to the Sloan family once more, the three Burke's approaching quickly. He watched as Mark played with his daughter, his head still held up by Meredith's thigh. Josh and his mother talked about his very cool cars until Burke's son came over to take over Meredith's position and began playing with Josh instead. Cristina nodded absently to her husband as Burke offered to spread out their blanket, paying most of her attention to Meredith who she was kneeling next to and talking with avidly. Mark lifted a hand in greeting to the couple and turned his head to Burke as he moved to talk to Mark and admire Michelle as she turned and happily waved at the newcomers.

In that moment, as Derek watched the family in their comfortable life, unknowing or caring of the eyes that watched, he realized just how much had happened in the ten years that had passed. They'd all moved on, just like he assured himself they would. Ten years ago, after seeing Mark and Meredith making love in one of the empty surgical rooms, he remembered being heartbroken and torn. He'd been angry and upset, despite the fact that he'd left her nine months prior and put all of himself into his job. It had been after he was tired of being alone that he went in search for her, only to realize that she wasn't simply waiting around for him, but moving on and falling in love. With Mark she had found the stability and love that Derek simply couldn't have given her. Their relationship had been up and down and side to side. It was never truly still and happy, there were too many problems going on. But she'd found her middle, she'd found her forever.

Maybe she had loved Derek in that 'pretend to like his taste in music, let him eat the last piece of cheesecake, hold a radio over her head outside his window, unfortunate way that makes her hate him, love him' but that was then and she'd evolved to something less highschool. He liked to believe that what they had may have been able to survive; could have made that journey and become that all encompassing love. But when he looked at Mark and Meredith, really looked at them, it dawned on him. This was how it was supposed to be. Her and him. Them. Parents and spouses. A happily married couple with a family and an inspiring career. They were the epitiome of the American dream; that family that people aspire to be. Derek even wanted to be like them; to have that love and that family.

He'd been jealous for years, waiting for a slip up or a glimmer of break up between them. He almost wanted them to fail; wanted them to realize they weren't meant to be together. But he knew now, that fate had brought them together in a weird backlash of bad mistakes. They were with the wrong people; pining and loving the wrong people. And when the smoke cleared from the rubble of the burning and broken relationships they'd been in, they were able to piece themselves back together and find a new beginning with each other. All those years he'd spent waiting and watching were for nought.

Burke picked up Michelle, smiling at the giggling baby as she waved her arms around and garbled random words with her nonsense. Josh and the Burke boy moved to play with one of his other toys in the grass, leaving a space open for Cristina to sit in beside Meredith. Mark's arm snaked around Meredith's waist while his free hand tangled with hers as she rested it against his chest once more. Her other hand moved to slip through his hair, absently playing with it as she nodded her head and talked comfortably with Cristina. Mark kept up a conversation with Burke as he tickled Michelle and sat on his blanket; the two having struck up a friendship over the years due to work and their wives. Derek felt a pang of remorse that he didn't have any close male friends to hang out with, his being Chief rather hindered that.

Emily's hand slipped into his, as if she somehow knew where his dour thoughts were heading. She squeezed it lightly, her fingers tangling with his. He turned, smiling at her warmly and catching the loving glint in her eyes as she grinned back. The faint scent of her vanilla body spray wafted over to him, relaxing something inside of him automatically. She returned to her conversation, her hands till held tightly in his and his eyes moved back to the families ahead of him once more. There was something undeniable about the picture Mark and Meredith portrayed; a certain perfection and rightness that he knew was somehow destined. Whatever reservations he had about them, whatever concerns he'd had over whether they'd work or if their love was truly as deep as it seemed, vanished. Without a doubt, seeing them that day, he just knew. It was meant to be.