A/N: Sorry for another long wait! Hope you enjoy :)
With Or Without You
Chapter 11
~x~
3 years later.
"Meredith, are you ok in there?" Mark called out as he knocked lightly on the door to the bathroom.
"Just a second" Meredith called out shakily, he heard the toilet flush and the taps turn on and off before Meredith opened the door.
"Mer you look uh..." Mark started tentatively.
"Like crap" she grumbled.
"Do you want me to call in sick for you..."
"No" she sighed "I'm fine it, it passes by 10"
"But Mer..."
"Mark, it passes by 10" she said giving him a look.
"Wha...are you saying...are you..."
"I'm not sure but, I skipped a period" she said biting her bottom lip a little "And this isn't the first morning I've thrown up, we, we could do a test at work"
"Are you, happy that you might be?" he asked carefully.
"Well we were going to try eventually so, yeah, yeah I am" she said with a small smile "Chris is 4, I think, I think it's time so, so if I'm not maybe, maybe we should try"
"Ok" Mark smiled "If you're not, we'll try"
"I really love you, y'know?" Meredith whispered as she brought her arms up and around his neck.
"I know" Mark smirked, he reached down to kiss her but before he could Meredith pushed him back and went back into the bathroom to throw up again.
~x~
"So..." Mark said quietly as Meredith walked out of the bathroom in the hospital room they'd hijacked "What's the verdict? Did I knock you up?"
"Do you have to put it like that Mark? Really?"
"Have we made a baby?" he asked with a small smile, kissing her gently, she sighed a little, took a beat and looked down at the test "Mer?" he prompted.
"We made a baby" she whispered before looking up at him "We made a baby Mark"
"We made a baby" he repeated with a big smile, a second passed before he kissed her hard on the lips, both of them grinning uncontrollably, Meredith laughed a little as he kissed her nose and got to his knees, pressing his lips on her stomach "Hi baby" he whispered.
"Y'know he can't hear you yet"
"He?" Mark smirked.
"Or she" she shrugged.
"I love you Mer, so much" he breathed out as he stood and kissed her again.
"I love you too" she smiled gently.
"Marry me" he said quietly.
"Mark" Meredith said with surprise "I thought we said..."
"I know, and you don't have to say yes but, I, I want to be able to call you my wife, I want to introduce you as, Meredith Grey-Sloan, I don't want a big fancy wedding or anything like that, I just want us to be married"
"Ok" Meredith whispered "Ok, we'll get married"
"Ok" Mark smiled.
"On the land" she said quietly "Just our friends and family, and Lexie and April can plan it for us, they're better at that kind of stuff than either of us"
"We'll spend a weekend at a fancy hotel, just you and me, instead of a honeymoon because I know you could never leave Chris for that long"
"In the next 3 months" she smiled "Because I don't want to wait until the baby's born, and I don't want to be so fat I waddle down the aisle" she laughed.
"I'm gonna buy you an engagement ring, and you're gonna wear it..."
"As long as you promise to wear your wedding ring, so all the nurses and girls at Joe's know you're really mine" Meredith said with a slight grin.
"Deal" Mark smirked "Now, can I lock that door and have my way with you?"
"I thought you'd never ask" she murmured as she reached up to kiss him.
~x~
"Hey" Meredith smiled as she walked up to her friends in the cafeteria, putting her tray on the table as she sat down, all of them replying with some form of a greeting "So uh, I have news"
"Yeah?" Cristina questioned.
"Well, Lexie, April, how would you guys feels about, planning a wedding" Meredith said with a small smile.
"A weddi...oh my god" Lexie stuttered "You mean you and...really?"
"Yes, really" Meredith said with a slight laugh "I know we said we probably weren't going to get married but, well things change, we're thinking we're gonna do it out on the land at the back of the house, just all you guys, the Shepherds, Addie and Sam, Richard and Adele, nothing too fancy"
"Mer this is great, congratulations" April smiled, giving her a tight hug "Can we dress Chris up in a suit? Please? He'll look adorable..."
"Sure" Meredith chuckled lightly "So, Cris, Alex? Is this, ok?"
"I'm happy for you Mer" Alex said, standing to lean over the table to kiss her cheek "Really, I am"
"Thank you" Meredith smiled.
"Are you gonna make me wear a stupid dress?" Cristina asked.
"It's going to be pink with lots of frills and you'll have a bow in your hair" Meredith said seriously.
"Liar" Cristina smirked.
"You can wear scrubs if it'll get you to stand up there with me" Meredith laughed.
"Well then, I guess I'll see you there" Cristina said with a small smile before giving Meredith a hug "Congratulations Mer"
"Thank you" Meredith smiled "He makes me happy"
"Well duh" Cristina snorted, Meredith laughed and they all got back to eating their lunch.
~x~
"I'm home" Meredith called out as she walked into the house that evening, she kicked off her shoes, put her coat on the hook and ran up the stairs, finding Mark and Chris in the bathroom, Chris in the bathtub, laughing as Mark splashed water at him "There you are" she smiled.
"Hi Mommy" Chris beamed "Did you save anyone's brain today?"
"Yeah honey, I did" she said with a soft laugh, she walked closer and kissed his forehead gently before pulling up the chair they kept in the bathroom "How was daycare today? Did you do anything fun?"
"Me and Michael had a competition to see who could build the tallest tower, I won! But then it fell down"
"Oh no" Meredith laughed "Well did you build it back up again?"
"Uh-huh" he smiled "But I missed you Mommy, and Daddy, I wish we could stay home more"
"We'll get a few days off soon buddy" Mark smiled "Come on, let's get you all washed up and ready for bed, I've got a real special story for you tonight"
"Cool" Chris grinned, he finished his bath and Mark took him to change into his pyjamas, Meredith brought him some warm milk and they all cuddled up on his bed.
"Ok buddy, now this isn't so much as a story, cuz it's gonna happen" Mark smiled "Chris me and your Mom, we're going to get married, in a few months time we're going to have a wedding right here at the house"
"You are?!"
"We are" Meredith smiled "It's going to be the 3 of us, Sloane, all of your Aunts and Uncles, Grandma Carolyn and Grandpa Thatcher, is that ok?"
"Yeah" Chris grinned "I never been to a wedding before"
"Well you went to Aunty Addison and Uncle Sam's wedding, but you weren't even 2 years old bud" Mark smiled "You're gonna remember this though, you're gonna be the best man"
"Well what does the best man do?" Chris questioned thoughtfully.
"You're gonna stand with me at the front waiting for Mommy, and if you want to you can make a speech to everyone, but only if you want to bud"
"I really want to do that Daddy" Chris beamed "But I might need some help"
"Uncle Alex would love to help you honey" Meredith smiled.
"Ok" Chris yawned "I'm happy you're getting married Mommy" he whispered as he cuddled her.
"Me too Chris" she whispered back "Now come on, time to get some sleep"
"Mmhmm" he nodded, he snuggled into his bed and his parents kissed his forehead, leaving him alone to sleep.
~x~
"Hey kid" Mark smiled as Sloane walked into the kitchen later that night "You staying here tonight?"
"My stupid room mate has her asshole boyfriend over again, Dad why can't you just pay for me to have my own apartment?" she whined.
"I'm sorry, did I just walk into my kitchen 3 years ago?" Meredith smirked.
"Room mate troubles" Mark chuckled lightly "Sloane you'll be out of there soon enough, once you've graduated you'll be able to get a well paid job and you won't need a room mate"
"I guess" Sloane sighed.
"How about, we order in a pizza and sit and get fat on the sofa?" Meredith asked as she wrapped her arm around Sloane.
"Sounds like a plan to me" Sloane smirked "What's got you two all happy anyway"
"Well, how would you feel about going to a wedding in a couple of months?" Mark asked.
"No way" Sloane laughed "You guys are getting married?"
"Yeah" Meredith smiled "And we really want you to be there"
"Of course I'll be there" Sloane smiled "So, why now? Did you knock her up or something" she smirked, Meredith and Mark both gave each other a look "Holy crap you did knock her up"
"Ok he did but nobody knows and you can't tell anyone yet" Meredith said quickly "Please, we wanna wait until I've had a scan and everything's ok, please Sloane"
"I won't say anything but, wow guys, this is, great, this is great" Sloane smiled softly "I'm happy for you, you'll make a cute baby, and Chris will love being a big brother"
"I hope so" Meredith sighed.
"He will babe" Mark smiled "You two go and get comfy on the sofa, I'll order the pizza"
"Pepperoni and cheese with extra pepperoni" Sloane smiled.
"I know" he smirked "You two order the same every single time"
"It's our favourite" Meredith laughed, she kissed his cheek and headed off into the living room with Sloane, Mark smiled at the sound of his daughter and future wife laughing together.
Chapter 12 to follow…..