108. One Week Part 1

AN: This chapter revolves around 4.8 (Forever Young) and 4.9/4.10 (Crash Into Me). I tried something new with chapter, which I think I like enough to maybe try again in the future; it's almost like several mini-chapters in one. Unfortunately, the length grew far greater than I expected (over 20k words), so I had to cut it into two long chapters as opposed to one massive chapter (this half is by far the longest chapter so far in this story). The second half is almost finished; I'm just playing around with a few scenes. I can't guarantee it'll be up tomorrow, but I would expect it by Tuesday. As usual, when I follow the show so closely, I just wanted to mention that I have borrowed characters and dialogue from the show. Lastly, there's a short amount of dialogue in this chapter that relates to a 'sore spot' for many Meredith/Derek fans. I'm sure you will recognize it, but I wanted to be pre-emptive in reminding everyone reading that this particular storyline has no bearing on my story. It will not be mentioned past this chapter.

Thursday

Meredith walked by the open door to the small conference room with her head held parallel between her shoulders, pretending not to glance at the figure sitting with her back to the door. She stopped several feet past the door, turned, and repeated the exercise in the opposite direction. The figure hadn't moved; not that Meredith expected her to. She had been repeating this behaviour for the better part of ten minutes, and the dark haired intern doing charts at the table had barely moved at all.

After turning around again, Meredith paused in the doorway, trying to force herself to simply walk through the door and say what she had come to say. It had been a week since she had last spoken with her half-sister, and she knew it was time to say something. Five somethings, actually.

Lexie meant well, and wanted to be Meredith's sister. She had put herself out there – several times, in fact – and now it was time for Meredith to do the same.

Losing her nerve, Meredith stumbled away from the open doorway and paused to take a breath.

"Come on, Grey," she hissed at herself. "You can do this."

After three confidence building breaths, Meredith squared her shoulders and marched into the conference room.

Lexie didn't look up from her charts.

Meredith hesitated, wanting to turn and leave, telling herself that Lexie would never know, but instead forced herself to pull out a chair two down from Lexie and take a seat.

Lexie looked up, and her shocked expression told Meredith she had expected another intern to be joining her and not the half-sister who had pretty much been avoiding her for three and a half months.

Meredith held up a hand before Lexie could say a word. "I hate Chinese food," she started. She had spent the last week trying to come up with five appropriate things to say to her half-sister in response to Lexie's list; hatred of apples, Etch-A-Sketch artistry, playing of the trombone, enjoyment of math, and the hand thing that they shared in common.

The younger Grey looked surprised at Meredith's words, but remained silent as understanding dawned on her face. She knew what Meredith was doing, and with it, knew the significance of the older Grey extending this olive branch.

"I love strawberries," she continued, "Especially strawberry ice cream."

Lexie smiled softly, meeting Meredith's eyes.

Meredith swallowed, struggling to maintain her resolved of get in, say the five things and get out. She looked down at the table for a moment before meeting Lexie's eyes once more. "I'm not artistic, like, at all. I can't draw or paint or whatever to save my life. Seriously, I can't even draw a freaking stick figure." She paused. "I also can't cook. I'm not even allowed to cook at home. Things just happen when I'm in the kitchen. Things get set on fire, things burn, things just don't turn out like they're supposed to, even with supervision. Seriously, Derek's given up trying."

Lexie laughed.

"And five; you said that you noticed that we both do the hand thing... Well, I noticed that we both do the rambling thing, too, so that's about us, and because you used an 'us' thing, I thought I should, too."

Having finished her small rant, Meredith exhaled shakily, now realizing she had not thought this through because she now had no idea of what to say. Lexie was staring at her with hope, and Meredith was fighting the urge to simply stand up and run from the room. It had taken her a long time to build the nerve to take this step, and an even longer time to decide to make an attempt with Lexie. She was still scared of being hurt again, but she'd realized now that was no way to live. Susan had died, and Thatcher had just about shattered her, but that didn't mean she couldn't try with Lexie. That didn't mean she shouldn't try with Lexie. She had a chance to add to her family.

Seconds ticked by painfully slowly, and Lexie said nothing. She just stared.

Meredith played nervously with the watch on her wrist. "Okay, I think I should add a sixth thing," she began unevenly, now trying to speak off the cuff and not from the mantra she had been preparing in her head for a week. "I find it really hard to trust people. There are very few people in the world that I trust...because I've been hurt a lot. So, I can't promise you that I'll ever be able to trust you. And I can't promise you we'll ever be...sisters, or whatever, but maybe we could work towards being...something."

Lexie nodded. "Okay."

Meredith nodded as well. "Okay," she echoed.

Lexie smiled.

Meredith smiled back, before standing. "I should...go. I have patients to check on." She may be giving in to the feeling of running away now, but it was okay. She had just made a huge leap forward.

"Okay."

"Okay," Meredith echoed again, before leaving the room. Once back in the flow of the hospital, she headed for the stairwell, which she took to the floor housing Derek's office. He had expected to being working on paperwork all morning, so she hoped he was still in his office now.

His office door was ajar, and she pushed through without knocking.

Derek looked up from his desk. His facial features immediately softened when he saw her.

"I did it," she announced as she collapsed onto the visitor's chair opposite his desk.

"Did what?"

"The thing."

He pursed his lips thoughtfully before shaking his head. "What thing?"

"The Lexie thing," she clarified.

"Ahhh," he drawled. "The thing you were going to do a week ago."

She mock glared at him. "Shut up."

His eyes sparkled as he stifled a laugh. "Why is it you always tell me to shut up when you know I have a point?"

She bit back a smile. "Shut up."

This time he did laugh. "Point proven."

She laughed as well.

"So, how did it go?"

Meredith shrugged. "Awkward, but good, I think. I remembered my five things."

Derek nodded, knowing what they were. He had helped her pick them.

"And I added a sixth. I told her I found it hard to trust people. And I told her I couldn't promise we could be sisters, but that maybe we could be something."

He smiled. "That's good. That's a good start."

"I hope it's enough for her. I just can't do the sister thing right now. I have no idea how to do the sister thing." The thought of a positive relationship with someone she was actually related to was appealing, but she wouldn't allow herself to get her hopes up. She would try, but she wouldn't let herself be disappointed if it failed.

"You'll have some practice with the sister thing next week," he pointed out. They were flying to New York the next Thursday for his sister's wedding.

"That's right," she agreed, before making a face. "That's really only a week away?"

He nodded.

"Wow, it seems so...soon."

He cocked his head at her tone. "What are you worried about? My family loved you."

"I loved them, too," she said softly. "I'm just... Are you really sure they're okay with how we got married?" It was something that had been plaguing her thoughts as the trip to New York got closer. She loved her husband and she loved their wedding, but she didn't want his family to be upset with them. She didn't want anything to create a distance between her and Derek, and the rest of his family. And she wasn't fluent enough in 'family' yet to know if the Shepherds really were okay with being left out of the wedding.

"Meredith, yes, I'm sure," he reassured.

"I don't like how you say that without thinking about it."

"I don't have to think about it. I know they're okay with it."

"But we just...got married. Without telling them. Without inviting them. Aren't normal families upset about things like that?"

Derek stood and held out his hand to Meredith. She smiled softly as she took his hand, and allowed him to pull her to her feet and over to the couch, where they sat together.

"My family loved you," he repeated once they were curled up together on the couch and his arms were wrapped securely around her. "And they're happy for us. There's no reason for you to worry about them being upset they weren't invited."

"But Lauren is having a big wedding next week that everyone's invited to. And your family seems really excited about it. And I just don't want them to think-"

"They don't think anything, Mer," he said, cutting her off. He paused to brush his lips against the side of her head. "If we'd had a wedding and invited them, they would have been happy to come and celebrate with us, but they respect the way we wanted to get married. And they're happy for us. In fact, Meg even told me she was extra happy we didn't have a ceremony because it meant she didn't have to buy us a present."

Meredith laughed at the comment. Derek was close to all of his sisters, but had a different relationship with each. He and Megan definitely shared the same sense of humour. He was closest with Lauren, probably because of everything Lauren had been through and Derek's role in helping her. With Nancy, they shared a very stereotypical brother-sister bond for griping about what each went through growing up. Derek spent a lot of time comparing his childhood to that of Nancy's only boy, who also had four sisters. Nancy spent a lot of time mocking her brother, and vice versus, but both were very honest with each other when they needed to be. They could be angry at each other one minute, and then perfectly fine the next. With Kathleen, Derek shared his unyielding sense of optimism.

"So, they're really not mad?"

He pressed a kiss to the side of her head. "Really."

She smiled. "Okay."

"Crisis averted," he said jokingly.

Meredith laughed and elbowed Derek in the abdomen.

After shifting to protect himself from future attacks, Derek tightened his hold on her.

"We still have to get your sister a wedding present," Meredith announced.

He nodded. "I know. Maybe we can look for something on Sunday?" They were both scheduled to be off on Sunday, and had already made plans to shop for the furniture and appliances they would need for their new home. They took possession just after they returned from New York.

"Sounds good. Any ideas?"

He shook his head. "None."

"You're not very helpful," she mocked.

"Well, it's a present from us, so I shouldn't be alone in choosing it."

"But she's your sister," Meredith pointed out.

"And she's your sister-in-law," Derek countered.

Meredith had to smile at his comment. "Whatever. I only met her once."

Derek chuckled. "You are incredibly stubborn. Have I ever told you that before?"

She lifted her head from his chest to meet his eyes. "Once or twice."

He smiled as he leaned in to kiss her. "How long until you need to be back on the floor?"

Meredith glanced at her watch, and then made a face. "Probably now. With Bailey as Chief Resident now I have a lot less leeway." Bailey had replaced Callie in the Chief Resident role over the past week. The reason hadn't been made public in any official way, but it was obvious to all that Callie had struggled with the responsibilities that Bailey found natural.

Derek kissed her again before releasing her. "You better get back out there, then. You don't want to have Bailey renege on your Sunday off and leave me shopping by myself."

Friday

Having hoped for an easy day and not gotten her wish, Meredith was exhausted. A bus filled with high school juniors had crashed on route to visiting college campuses, taking up the ORs and the attention of the attendings. Ironically, the supervising teacher was a man Bailey had gone to high school with, which had inhibited Bailey's ability to supervise the residents.

After a year as the woman's intern, Meredith was surprised to see Bailey flustered and distracted for the first time ever. George, who was working in the ER, had told Meredith that Bailey had had a crush on the man when they were in high school together. Although it was amusing to see Bailey like this, it was also annoying, because the organization of the residents was falling apart. Many who had been assigned to specific areas, after realizing Bailey wouldn't notice, jumped on surgeries, leaving those not in surgery, like Meredith, running around trying to fill all the holes. She had been paged back and forth between the ER, the surgical floor and the OR too many times to count. And she was exhausted.

It was early afternoon now, and she hadn't stopped since she had arrived that morning.

Derek had offered her a spot in his OR when he operated on a kid with a pencil in his optical orbit, but her knowledge of the thinly spread residents had made her decline; a decision she was now regretting.

After rounding on two departments worth of post-op patients, Meredith sighed as she handed back the pile of patient charts she had just lugged around for the better part of an hour. "Anything else for me?" She asked the nurse, Claudia, who, thankfully, shook her head. "Thank god," she muttered, choosing the lean forward onto the counter. "I've never been so tired."

Claudia offered her a small smile. "If I had a nickel for every time I'd heard a resident say those words, I'd be a rich woman."

Meredith laughed. "I don't know what's worse; that I feel like I need this counter to remain upright, or that I actually believe you."

Claudia laughed as well. "I'd say it gets better, but I'm not sure I've ever actually seen proof of that..."

"How very motivational of you," Meredith said dryly.

"You know you love it here," Claudia countered.

Meredith made a face, but shrugged. "I really do."

Claudia smiled.

"Do you mind if I take over this section of your counter for a few minutes?" Meredith asked, not making a move to stand upright.

Claudia shook her head. "Take your time."

Meredith buried her face in her hands and closed her eyes, allowing herself a few minutes to just...be. She would eventually need to leave the counter in search of food, or at the very least, some coffee, but right now she needed a breather.

After several moments of peace, Meredith began to feel eyes on her. She lifted her head and looked to the left. Lexie was standing at the counter, chart in hand, staring at Meredith. The younger Grey flinched at being caught staring.

"I'm sorry," she said immediately. "I wasn't stalking, I swear. I was just...I was going to say something, but then you looked so tired that I wasn't sure. And I've only been here for less than a minute. I promise."

Meredith offered her a comforting smile as she pushed herself off the counter to stand upright. "It's okay. If it makes you feel any better, it took me a good ten minutes of pacing in front of the conference room door yesterday to actually go in and talk to you."

"Really?"

Meredith nodded. "And that was after avoiding you for a week."

Lexie smiled. "Oh."

Meredith shrugged, having accepted her own limitations on the family front and knowing the important thing was that she was trying now. "So, do you need help with something?" She asked, motioning to the chart in Lexie's hands.

"No, I was actually going to say...uh...I don't like it when people don't like me."

Meredith sighed. "I told you; it's not that I don't like you, Lexie. It's just really hard for me to-"

"Trust people," Lexie finished for her, taking Meredith by surprise. "You said five things, and then you added a sixth; that's it's hard to trust people. This is my sixth. I don't like it when people don't like me. It makes me a little crazy and it makes me work really hard to make them like me, which is probably a negative feedback loop, because it just makes me look like a stalker and makes them not like me even more, but I can't help it. And I'm sorry if that, you know, upset you these past few months, but it's who I am. I can't help it."

Meredith nodded slowly. "Oh," she said, "Okay." This was Lexie's limitation, so she would need to keep that in mind in the future.

Lexie smiled. "And, in the name of progress, I'm adding a seventh thing. I love being a doctor. I may only be an intern and have no idea what I'm doing and be terrified like ninety-five percent of the time, but I really love being a doctor. So, that's seven."

"Thank you."

With another smile and a nod, Lexie turned and left the area.

"Hmm," Meredith hummed to herself. Apparently this meant she had to come up with some new items. Pushing herself away from the desk, she turned to leave the unit, only to gasp as she came face to face with her Chief Resident.

"Dr. Bailey," she stammered, taking a step back.

"Grey, do you care to tell me why you're on the General Surgery floor when you were specifically assigned to Neuro post ops today?"

"I...uh...there was no one here," she explained. "One of the nurses asked me to round on the general post op patients because no one had been through yet. I already rounded on the neuro post ops, and the nurses are going to page me with any problems."

"I heard you passed up a surgery today."

Meredith nodded, hesitating with her words. Bailey's demeanour left her uncertain as to whether she was mad or not. And the last thing she wanted to do was get on the woman's bad side. "Yes, Der- Dr. Shepherd offered to let me scrub in," she said, cringing at her almost-mistake in calling her husband by name, "But I had too much to do out here." She held her breath, waiting for Bailey to yell about professionalism, but it never came.

"I'm glad I have someone I can rely on to get some work done," Bailey said. "The rules have been too lax for too long. People ignoring instructions and jumping on surgeries the moment my back is turned. Can you imagine?"

Meredith quickly shook her head. At this point, she would agree to anything to keep out of Bailey's bad books.

"Where are you off to now?"

"I was just going to grab something to eat, but I can skip that if you need me somewhere else."

"Have you had a break today?"

Meredith shook her head.

Bailey nodded approvingly. "I don't want to see you with a patient for at least a half an hour, do you hear me?"

Meredith nodded.

"Good, and Grey?"

"Yes?"

"I suggest you take your break outside by the side doors. Your husband is sulking on the bench and it's very unbecoming."

"Okay." Meredith hurried from her Chief Resident before Bailey changed her mind, her thoughts on Derek. He must have lost his patient to put him in a dour mood, as he'd been happy the last time she had seen him. She hurried to the mostly empty cafeteria, ordered some food and two large coffees, before heading outside to find her husband.

As Bailey had announced, he was sitting alone on a bench by the doors. His form was hunched and tense as he stared into the distance.

"Hey," she said softly, announcing her presence.

Derek seemed to snap out of his trance and offered her a soft smile as she sat beside him on the bench. "Hey."

"Bailey said you were out here sulking."

Derek shook his head. "Absolutely nothing gets past that woman."

"Nope." She passed him a cup of coffee.

"Thanks," he murmured, leaning in to press a kiss to her cheek before taking a sip of coffee.

"So?" She prompted.

He sighed wearily. "My patient's in a coma and he's never going to wake up. Seventeen years old, and he's never going to know that life gets better after high school."

"I'm sorry." She reached for his hand.

"Me too," he said, squeezing her hand.

"You did everything you could."

"I did," he agreed. "I just hate the days where my best isn't enough."

"I know. You're a good man, Derek Shepherd, but sometimes I think you care too much."

He offered her a tender smile. "I love you, have I told you that today?"

"I love you, too," she murmured, leaning in to kiss him.

"Thank you for the coffee."

"I have food, too," she announced, dropping his hand to reach for the small tray she had placed beside herself on the seat. She opened the small sandwich container and passed him one half. "Bailey told me to take a half hour break, and I can't think of a better way to spend that time than with my husband."

Derek thanked her for the sandwich. "Is this your first break today?"

She nodded as she took her first bite.

"Me too."

"I'm freaking starving," she explained as she took a second bite.

"Now I feel bad for eating half of your sandwich..."

She shook her head. "I bought it for us. In return, you can feed me tonight."

"Sounds good. Do you want to go out?"

"We're probably going to be here pretty late. Maybe takeout? Italian?"

"I think I can get on board with that."

Meredith smiled and laid her head on his shoulder as they each finished their sandwich half. With their hectic jobs, it was nice that they could share a few moments of peace together.

"How was your day, other than your patient?"

Derek shrugged, and said wryly, "Brought back a lot of unwanted memories from high school..."

Meredith giggled. "Me too."

"I promised my patient life got better after high school, but he's never going to know."

She reached for his hand again now that they were both finished their lunch.

Derek shook his head. "Anyway..." He turned to Meredith. "Do you think the hospital is cliquey?"

"Cliquey?" She echoed. "I, uh...never really thought about it. Why?"

"Izzie was in surgery with me. I told her I promised the patient life got better after the cliques of high school, and one of the scrub nurses lectured me on cliques; said surgeons that are cliquey and the hospital was no better than high school."

"I guess the hospital can be cliquey," Meredith ventured, "But not like high school."

"Do you think people see me that way?"

"What way?"

"I don't know...cliquey? Arrogant. Excluding."

"Oh, Derek, no," she murmured, knowing how tough high school had been for him, especially after losing his father. The last thing he wanted now was to be seen as anything like the high school kids who had made his life miserable. "Absolutely not. Everyone loves you. You're kind and caring and patient, with everyone. No one thinks anything bad of you."

"Yeah?"

She nodded. "Yeah. In fact, most of the female staff hate me just because you married me. They're very jealous."

He chuckled and dropped her hand to swing his arm around her waist. "I know that's not true, but I appreciate the effort."

"It is true," she insisted.

He chuckled and changed the subject. "How's your day been?"

"Busy. And I talked to Lexie again."

"Really? With only a day in between? What progress," He mocked lightly.

"Shut up," she said as she laughed.

"What did you talk about?"

"Well, apparently, I need your help coming up with a seventh and eighth thing to say to her."

"Seven and eight?"

She nodded. "Apparently, we're doing a thing..."

Saturday

The hospital was much quieter than the day before. As it was the weekend, there were very few scheduled surgeries, and there hadn't been much activity in the ER, leaving the hospital staff some much needed time to recover from the previous day.

It was ten to one, and Meredith and her friends had agreed to meet at one for lunch. It had been months since all five of them had been able to share a meal at the same time, and she was looking forward to it.

On her way to the cafeteria, Meredith spotted a familiar form waiting for the elevator.

"Getting something to eat?" She asked as she came to a stop next to her half-sister, smiling to herself at how much easier this was already. Just days ago, she could barely speak to the younger Grey, and now she was initiating conversations.

Lexie looked over in surprise and shook her head. "On my way to the clinic."

"Ah, that sucks."

Lexie shrugged. "At least today I won't feel like I'm missing something."

"That's true."

Meredith nodded, and then cleared her throat. This was getting easier, too. "Uh, seven, in response to your seven; I didn't always want to be a doctor. I was determined not to be a doctor, actually, and I took a lot of years off between college and med school, which you can probably guess by the fact that we're only a year apart in the program. It took my mother getting sick to convince me to go to med school, but I did it, and now I can't imagine doing anything else. So, we have that in common, too."

Lexie nodded, appreciative of the information. "Where...where did you go to school?" She asked quietly. It was a first for them; not only volunteering information, but requesting it.

The elevator dinged, announcing its arrival on their floor. Meredith and Lexie stepped on. Meredith pressed the ground floor button and then turned to face her sister. "Dartmouth. For college and med school."

"I went to UW for college and Harvard for med school," Lexie offered.

Meredith nodded, although she had already known that information through Molly and Susan. "And eight," she continued, "I'm a dog person. Love dogs; always have. I always wanted one growing up, but my mom wouldn't let me have one. I was too busy when I was in school, so now I can't wait until my schedule is quiet enough that I can get a dog."

Lexie smiled. "I'm a dog person, too. I hate cats."

Meredith laughed. "Me too."

The elevator arrived on the ground floor, and the doors opened. The two Grey's exited and headed in different directions, but they each parted smiling.

Meredith bumped into George on the way to the cafeteria. "Are you ready to do this?" She asked.

He nodded. "Thanks for waiting until I could be there to tell her..."

Meredith smirked. "My pleasure."

They got in line for food, and once they had paid, joined Alex, Izzie and Cristina at the table.

"Do you realize this is the first time we've all been able to sit together since we were interns?" Izzie spoke up brightly.

"It's been a long time, Iz," Meredith agreed.

"I feel like so much has changed," Izzie said. "I mean, we're residents now. We have our own interns."

"That's nothing new," Alex pointed out. "We've been residents for three and a half months."

"And we've so busy during that time that we haven't had a chance to sit down together, the five of us."

"We have better things to do, Tinkerbell," Cristina spoke up. "You know if there was a single surgical cardio patient out there I'd blow you guys off in a heartbeat, literally," she said, before laughing at her own joke.

"That's not very friendly," Izzie told her.

"When have I ever insinuated that I'm a friendly person?" Cristina countered.

"Not ever," Alex answered before Izzie could.

"Shut up, Alex," Izzie hissed.

Meredith laughed at the interaction.

"I just want us all to have a nice lunch together," Izzie continued. "Too much has changed, and we need to start making time for each other or we're just going to grow apart."

"No one's going anywhere, Iz," Meredith offered, "We've just been really busy with our interns, you included."

"You're going somewhere," Izzie said.

"No, I'm not."

"You are. You and Derek are moving out."

"Oh, that... Well, we're married. We should be living together, just the two of us. But it doesn't mean I'm going anywhere. You'll still see me here all the time."

"Yeah, until you lose yourself in your dreamy husband and forget about us," Izzie said jokingly.

Cristina dropped her fork with disgust on her face. "Izzie, come on, we're trying to eat. Please don't refer to Shepherd as dreamy; it makes me nauseous."

Izzie glared at her.

"I second that," Alex spoke up.

Izzie turned her glare towards Alex.

Meredith laughed. "My husband is dreamy. So, you guys don't get to pretend he's nauseating."

"You two together are extremely nauseating," Cristina countered. She turned to Izzie. "I'd been grateful they're moving out. At least this way you and Evil Spawn can get a full night of sleep."

"Cristina!" Meredith hissed.

Cristina shrugged. "You and Shepherd have loud sex. It's not a secret."

Meredith shook her head. "Shut up."

"Cristina's right," Izzie said to Alex, "We will get more sleep. A lot more."

Alex nodded and sent a leering glance towards Meredith.

Meredith buried her face in her hands to cover the sudden redness in her cheeks. "I hate you guys."

"You know you love us," Izzie insisted.

"I love her," George spoke up, nudging Meredith's shoulder, "She's giving me a place to live again."

Meredith sat up and bit back a smirk. She and George had been preparing for this conversation for two weeks.

"You're moving back in?" Izzie asked, and then continued without waiting for an answer, "Yay!"

Alex huffed. "Great, I'm going to be stuck with the two of them."

Izzie swiped a hand at Alex as she smiled at George. "I'm so excited. When are you moving back in?"

"As soon as Mer and Shepherd move out."

Meredith nodded her agreement as she pasted a smile on her face and bit back a laugh. "I promised George he could have my room the moment Derek and I move into the new house."

"What?" Izzie screeched as her happy smile fell away. She turned to Meredith. "You're giving him your room? The big room? With the on suite bathroom? And the tub? And the big closet?"

Meredith swallowed her reaction and tried her best to look surprised. "Oh, you mean you would have wanted it? I didn't realize..."

"Meredith!" Izzie demanded. "I can't believe this. Do you know how hard it's been to share a bathroom with him?" She asked, pointing a finger at Alex.

Alex huffed at the comment, but smirked at Meredith. He obviously knew exactly what Meredith and George were doing to Izzie. So did Cristina, for that matter, who was laughing openly at Izzie's reaction.

"I'm sorry, Iz," Meredith continued, trying not to laugh as she felt George fighting off a laugh beside her, "But I promised George."

Izzie turned her attention to George. "Please? Please, can I have the bedroom? I'll do anything."

"Hmm, like what?" George asked.

"I'll do your charts for a month."

"Hmm," George hummed, pretending to think about it.

"Two months," Izzie updated.

"Ask her for money," Alex suggested.

"Alex, shut up," Izzie hissed, before turning back to George. "Come on, George, you're my best friend. You want to do this for me, right?"

"Make her give you surgeries," Cristina spoke up. "Your pick of, let's say, five surgeries."

"That could work," George said, pretending to be considering it.

"Fine," Izzie agreed.

"Combined with charts for two months."

Izzie hesitated before nodding. "Fine."

"And make her do something embarrassing in front of the Chief," Alex added.

"And Bailey," said Cristina.

"You two shut up," Izzie demanded.

"And make her take your interns for a week," Meredith added.

"Meredith, you stay out of this," Izzie stated. "This is your fault. If you hadn't promised George the good room in the first place, none of this would be happening."

Meredith couldn't stifle the laugh that resulted from Izzie's desperate words. She clamped her hand over the mouth, but her reaction was obvious to Izzie, who quickly took in the expressions of everyone else at the table. "You...you didn't promise George your room?"

Meredith shook her head.

"You set me up."

George nodded.

Izzie huffed. "I hate all of you."

"Oh, come on, Iz, that was freaking hilarious," Alex said.

Izzie glared at him as she stood. "Figures you'd be in on this." She huffed again. "I have patients to get back to," she said as she turned and strode away from the table.

George swung an arm around Meredith and laughed as he watched his best friend walk off in a huff. "She's going to be pissed for a while, but that was totally worth it. Thank you for letting me be here for that."

"Thanks for letting us all be here for that," Alex added, lifting his water bottle up.

Meredith laughed as she lifted her water bottle and 'clinked' it against Alex's. "Cheers."

Cristina laughed as she lifted her own water bottle. "You know what? Izzie was right; I did miss these lunches."

"Cheers to that," George said as the four of them 'clinked' their bottles together.

Sunday

"My feet are freaking killing me," Meredith complained as she and Derek wandered the furniture displays of what felt like the hundredth store they'd been in today.

"And yet, you've been so pleasant about it all day," he countered dryly.

Meredith laughed and bumped his shoulder as they walked together, hand in hand. "I would complain less if I felt like we were actually accomplishing something. Do you feel like we're accomplishing something?"

"We're seeing what's out here," he pointed out. "And we have some paint ideas."

She rolled her eyes as she hefted her now heavy purse in front of them. "A million paint chips isn't 'some' ideas." They had gone a little overboard and picked out stacks of paint chips to choose from; different colours for different rooms. Her purse was filled with the many, many possibilities. "How are we ever going to choose any?"

Derek chuckled. "I have no idea."

Meredith laughed as well. "You realize we're screwed, right? We get the keys a week after we get back from New York. We should have the colours and the furniture picked out by now."

"We don't have to have everything ready right away, Mer," Derek offered.

"But..."

Derek slid to a stop and hooked his arms loosely around her waist. He brushed his lips against hers before meeting her eyes. "We'll pick our paint colours by next week so we can have the paint ready when we get the keys. We probably don't want anything delivered until after that anyway, right?"

Meredith sighed. "Right."

He kissed her on the forehead. "You're over thinking. Slow down and enjoy the process. We're getting ready to move into our new home. It should be exciting, not stressful."

Meredith smiled up at her husband. "You're right. I'm just worried we're never going to have everything ready in time."

"There's no timeline," he reminded. "We can take as long or as little time as we want to move in. We'll want to wait a few days after we paint, anyway. In that time we can have the essentials delivered."

"I guess we don't need to have every room furnished when we move in."

He shook his head. "Just the essentials; fridge, stove, maybe a kitchen table. Dishes. Some lamps. Throw rugs..." The floors were all hardwood, so they would be buying some throw rugs.

"You're forgetting one very important thing."

Derek smirked, obviously knowing exactly what she was talking about. "And what would that be?"

"Our bed," she whispered as she hooked her fingers into the collar of his shirt and pulled him down to her level to kiss him.

"Excellent point," he agreed. "In fact, we should go pick one out right now."

Meredith laughed as her husband threaded his fingers through hers and led her to the mattress department.

"Its mattress-palooza," she announced at the many rows of mattresses.

Derek chuckled. "It's a good thing we have the whole day off."

"Can I help you?" A smiling salesman asked.

"We're looking for a new mattress," Derek explained.

Meredith left Derek to talk size, brand and price with the salesman and wandered down the nearest aisle about half way before she stopped on a whim and collapsed onto the left side of the closest mattress. It was here that Derek and the salesman found her two minutes later.

"This one," she announced, lying on her back with her legs crossed at her ankles.

"Really? The first one you tried?" Derek sounded unconvinced.

She nodded. "Seriously. This is the most comfortable bed ever. Come and try." She patted the mattress to her left.

Derek instead walked up the left side of the mattress and nudged her. "You're on my side."

She giggled and shook her head. "I'm comfy here. You get the other side."

He chuckled and nudged her again. "The other side is your side."

With a fake huff, she slid to the center of the mattress, leaving Derek room on 'his' side. He lay beside her with a sigh. "You're right. This is the most comfortable bed ever."

Meredith reached for his hand and threaded their fingers together. "I'm sold."

"Do you want to try any others?"

"You can. I'm staying here."

He laughed. "Helpful."

"You just don't want to admit that I found the right bed on the first try."

"How do you know it's the right one if you won't try any others?"

"I just know." She rolled onto her side, her head propped up on her right hand. She reached her free hand to rest on his shoulder. Derek covered her hand with his, and she smiled when their rings clinked together. It was moments like this that she felt truly married, even if they were lying on a mattress together in the middle of a department store with an eager salesman at the foot of the bed.

"Well, she's the boss," Derek joked to the salesman.

Meredith laughed. "You like it, too."

Derek nodded and sat up. "I do." He addressed the salesman again, "If we order it today, can we wait to have it delivered for about two weeks?"

The salesman nodded. "We'll hold for up to sixty days."

"Perfect. We'll take it."

The salesman nodded. "You know, I've been working here for five years, and I'm pretty sure you're my easiest customers ever."

Monday

Monday morning was dark and rainy, making it extra hard to return to work after a day off. Meredith had gotten soaked running through the parking lot from her car to the hospital when she arrived. Derek had had an early surgery, so he had left hours before her, taking with him the umbrella and raincoat she kept stashed in his car.

"What the hell happened to you?" Cristina asked as Meredith stumbled into the Residents' Lounge with five minutes to spare until she had to meet her interns.

"It's raining," Meredith announced. "Pouring, actually. How did you not get wet?"

Cristina shrugged. "I was here last night. I haven't been outside in thirty-six hours."

Meredith made a face as she tried to run her fingers through her damp hair. "I hate rain."

"You shouldn't live in Seattle, then. Or, you should invest in an umbrella."

"I have an umbrella."

"Then you should us it."

"Thank you for that ingenious piece of advice," she said sarcastically.

Cristina raised an eyebrow. "Someone's in a good mood."

Meredith sighed as she peeled her wet jeans off and replaced them with scrub pants. "I just don't want to be here today, you know? Yesterday was a good day, but I still feel like there's so much to do. We're going to New York in three days, and then we get the new house a week after we get back."

"You're not planning on moving in right away, though, right?"

"I was hoping we'd be able to move in by the end of the month. We really just have to paint first."

"Have you chosen colours?"

Meredith pulled a stack of slightly soggy paint chips from her purse. "No, but we have the colours narrowed down to only about a thousand..." She said dryly. She and Derek had gone through the many, many possibilities the night before while they ate dinner. They had made considerable progress narrowing down the choices by room, but still had decisions to make.

Cristina laughed. "Yeah, good luck with that. Why don't you just hire a decorator or something?"

Meredith stared at her best friend. "I'm sorry. I don't understand what you just said." The last words she ever expected Cristina Yang to say was a suggestion at hiring a decorator.

"It's the California in me," Cristina said as explanation.

Meredith laughed. "We want to do this ourselves." She pinned half a dozen beige paint chips to the back wall of her cubby. "We've narrowed the living room colour down to these."

Cristina sidled up to take a look at the paint chips as Meredith exchanged her damp shirt for a scrub top.

"I like the third one," Cristina announced after examining each option. "It's soft enough that you can accent it with anything."

Again, Meredith stared at her best friend. "Okay, seriously, who are you and what have you done with Cristina Yang?"

"My mother redecorates for fun. Some of it had to rub off."

Meredith turned her attention back to the paint chips. "So, the third one?"

Cristina nodded.

"I liked it, too."

"I'm repainting," Cristina announced. "Did I tell you that?"

"No."

"I'm painting the bedroom walls red. Like blood. It's comforting."

Meredith laughed. "See, now I recognize you. Do you need help?" She gave up trying to work her fingers through her damp hair and simply pulled it back into a pony tail.

Cristina shook her head. "Nope. I think it's something I need to do myself. Burke was so anal about everything being just the way he wanted it. He'd freak if he knew I was painting his very neutral walls bright red. It makes me happy."

"Well, that's good, I guess. What does Callie think?" Callie had moved in with Cristina recently. She was crashing on the couch in the living room. Meredith definitely hadn't seen their living arrangements coming, and wouldn't have thought it would work out, but had to admit that Cristina and Callie were doing well as roommates. She wondered if their success had anything to do with their recent shared experience in failing relationships.

Cristina shrugged. "She's still trying to convince me to let her clean up."

"You should let her clean up a little," Meredith suggested, "At least in her area."

"Maybe."

Meredith pulled her pager from her purse and then shoved her purse into her cubby. "Ready?" She asked as she attached her pager to her waistband.

Cristina nodded.

They left the Residents' Lounge together and made their way towards the intern locker room.

"So, did you and McDreamy find everything you were looking for yesterday?"

"Yes and no. We ordered a mattress and a bedroom set. And we found a living room set that we think will work. We just want to see what the paint looks like before we buy it. And we picked out kitchen appliances, fridge, stove, dishwasher, we just need to measure to make sure they'll fit. We also narrowed the washer and dryer down to two sets. Again, we need to get into the condo to measure. But all of the appliances can be delivered within a week of ordering, so we're not too worried."

"So, a lot of maybes."

"Yeah, but strong maybes."

"That's good."

"Yeah. Derek pointed out that we don't actually have to have everything when we move in; just the basics. We can always add stuff after we move. And a lot of the stuff will be easy to pick up quickly."

"That's true."

"Yeah, and- Crap!"

"What?"

Meredith sighed. "We forgot to buy a freaking wedding present for his freaking sister. Crap. I'm telling you; there's just too much to do."

"What are you going to get her?"

"I have no idea. She's Derek's sister. He's supposed to have some ideas."

Cristina shrugged. "Men are useless."

Meredith laughed, but didn't have a chance to respond as they reached the intern locker room. Only a couple interns were waiting in the hall.

"I've got this," Cristina said, letting herself into the locker room. Meredith could hear her lecturing all of the straggling interns about being on time.

"Hi," Lexie said quietly, approaching Meredith. She had been one of the interns waiting in the hall.

"Hi," Meredith responded, smiling to herself at how normal this was starting to feel. She could get used to having a sort-of-sister to talk to.

"I didn't see you yesterday."

Meredith nodded. "I was scheduled off and actually took the day off."

"That must be nice."

"Yeah, it was, though I hate having to come back today." She paused, debating how much to share. Lexie was her half-sister and Meredith was officially trying. And progress was being made. "Derek and I bought a condo and we take possession at the end of the month. We spent yesterday looking for furniture and stuff."

"That's really exciting."

"Yeah, it is."

"Were you living together before you got married?" Lexie asked quietly.

Meredith nodded. "Unofficially for a lot longer than officially. He moved in with me, which is why we have roommates. He has a trailer in the middle of nowhere. It's beautiful, but far."

"A trailer?"

She smiled. "Yeah. He bought a piece of land when he moved here, and it came with a trailer. Then he met me, so he never needed more. We're planning on building a house on his land one day."

"Wow, that must be really nice, to have such a plan."

"It is," Meredith said honestly. After a lifetime of uncertainty, it was truly comforting to be able to plan so far into the future. She'd never been able to look into the future and know what she wanted for herself before. Now, she looked into the future and she saw her and Derek together, with kids, working at the hospital. She saw herself as a successful surgeon, but one who made time for her family. She saw family trips to New York to spend with Derek's family. She saw her friends acting as aunts and uncles for her kids.

Maybe Lexie, too. They were making progress, after all.

Lexie smiled, though it was quiet and seemed forced.

Meredith cocked her head, taking in Lexie's appearance. The younger Grey seemed awfully tired and tense. Dark circles hugged her eyes. "Are you okay? You look tired."

Lexie hesitated before nodding. "I'm fine. Just adjusting to being an intern, I guess." She offered another forced smile and continued before Meredith could say anything more. "Anyway, uh, eight, slightly embarrassing, I love reality television. Love it. Could watch it all the time."

Meredith laughed at Lexie's embarrassment.

"And nine, I have an eidetic memory."

"Wow, that's lucky. I'm officially jealous."

Lexie smiled and opened her mouth to respond, but the door to the intern locker room swung open and Cristina strode out, with the straggling interns trailing her. "One, Two, Three, let's go," she commanded as she headed down the hall without looking back.

Meredith bit back a laugh at her best friend's behaviour and the now somewhat terrified expression on her own intern's face. "Don't worry, I'm not going to number you," she said, "Unless you piss me off." Confident that her interns looked suitably nervous, Meredith nodded. "We've been assigned to work with Dr. Shepherd today." After yelling at her nosy intern in front of the other two only a week into their internship, none of the three of them had ever brought up Meredith's personal life or relationship with Derek again. She felt more scrutinized by them when she was working with her husband, but they did their best to keep it from her notice, especially the nosy one.

After leading her interns to the neurosurgical floor, Meredith instructed them to pre-round on the patients. As Derek had been in surgery early, neuro rounds were being held later than usual.

"Anything I should know about?" Meredith asked the senior floor nurse behind the desk.

"Nothing remarkable. No changes with the patients."

Meredith nodded. "Good."

"And Dr. Shepherd called from the OR. He said he'd be here in about fifteen minutes for rounds."

"Thank you."

Meredith left her interns to pre-round on the patients and headed to the closest coffee cart. She hadn't had a chance to get coffee that morning with the rain and the bad mood. Now, she ordered two large coffees and headed back to the neuro floor.

Derek was reviewing a chart at the Nurses' Station when she returned.

"Dr. Shepherd," she greeted, placing a coffee onto the counter and sliding it towards him.

He smiled warmly at her. "Dr. Grey-Shepherd," he responded, reaching for the coffee she was offering, "Is this a bribe?"

Meredith laughed. "Yes."

He took a sip. "Thank you."

"How was your surgery?"

"Routine."

"That's good."

"Mmm-hmm," he agreed. "How was your morning?"

"Well, you stole my umbrella, so I got soaked on the way here..."

"I didn't steal your umbrella."

"You did," she insisted. "I started leaving it in your car because we drive in together so much. So, even if it wasn't on purpose, you stole it." She smirked.

Derek chuckled. "I remembered that it was in my car-"

"So, you stole it on purpose?"

"So, I left it in the front hall for you this morning," He corrected.

"You...what?"

He smirked. "And here I was thinking I was a good husband, and you don't even appreciate my efforts."

"You left it in the front hall? Really?"

He nodded.

She made a face. "I was in a hurry. I didn't even notice." She sighed. "Thank you for the effort."

He bumped her shoulder. "I try."

Meredith laughed. "You know what we forgot to get yesterday?"

"A wedding present for Lauren?"

She nodded. "You remembered, too?"

"In the middle of my surgery."

"What are we going to do?"

"We'll think of something. We still have time."

She rolled her eyes. "You know, your eternal optimism is really annoying at times."

He laughed. "We have three days. And worst case scenario, we can pick up something once we get to New York."

Meredith sighed. "We're horrible people."

"No, we'll be horrible people if we completely run out of time and give her a check on her wedding day."

She laughed. "We definitely can't write her a check."

"We'll think of something."

"Why couldn't she just register like a normal person?"

"We didn't register," he pointed out. "Are you saying we're not normal?"

"We didn't have a ceremony. We never expected, or got, any presents. She's having a ceremony; she should register."

Derek smiled and shook his head in that way that said he was amused by her explanation. "We'll figure it out," he reassured. "Worst case scenario, we can get her a gift card."

"How is a gift card better than a check?"

He shrugged. "It's one step above tacky."

"The distant cousin or high school friend can get away with money or gift cards. We're family. We should get her something more personal."

Derek smiled at her.

"What?"

Despite the lack of privacy, he leaned close and pressed a kiss to her cheek. "You said we were family. We, not just me."

Meredith shook her head at the realization of what she'd done. She made a face. "It's your fault, you know. You're making me into this warm, gooey, family oriented person. And your stupid optimism is starting to rub off."

He rolled his eyes in good nature. "Sorry," he said dryly.

"You should be."

Derek laughed and bumped her shoulder. "We'll think of something suitable for our sister in time for her wedding."

Tuesday

Meredith was much more upbeat when she arrived at the hospital Tuesday morning than she had been the day before. It wasn't raining, so she arrived dry, which was an improvement on the previous day. She and Derek had driven in together, and had discussed a few wedding present options for his sister. They hoped to get out after work that night, buy a present, have dinner and get home in time to start packing.

Arriving early for their shifts, Meredith and Derek took the time to stop at the coffee cart by the front doors of the hospital.

"I'm sorry you're not still on my service today," he said as they waited in line for the best coffee in the hospital.

"Me too, but at least I'll have a quiet day." She was floating between post ops and the ER. With any luck, she would get out on time and their scheduled evening would work out.

They reached the front of the line and ordered their coffees. Meredith put lids on the cups as Derek paid.

"Thank you," he said as she passed him his coffee.

"Thank you," she countered.

He ducked his head to press a kiss to her cheek. "I'm excited about this weekend."

Meredith smiled. "Me too."

"You're not still worried?"

She shrugged as they made their way to the central elevators. "Maybe a little."

"Mer..."

She offered him a warm smile and reached for his hand. "I'm new to the family thing," she reminded. "My anxiety about your family has nothing to do with your ability to convince me everything will work out. I think I just need to get there to realize it will be okay."

He squeezed her hand. "You know, technically, they're our family now. You even said so yourself yesterday..."

She felt her eyes sting at his words, but in a good way. A happy smile fluttered to her lips. "Sometimes I can't believe I'm actually doing this."

"The family thing?"

She nodded. "I did well with your family. And I'm actually making progress with Lexie and it's not completely freaking me out." She smiled. "I'm doing this."

"You are." They reached the elevators and stepped onto the busy car.

"Do you want to try and grab lunch today?" She asked, knowing he had a quiet day as well.

He nodded. "Sounds good. I'll page you?"

"Okay." The elevator stopped on the second floor. "I'll see you in a few hours."

Derek leaned in to kiss her as he released her hand. "See you."

Meredith stepped off the elevator and made her way to the Residents' Lounge with a smile on her face. With any luck, she would have a quiet day, share lunch with her husband and get a host of chores done that evening.

Unfortunately, as usual for Meredith, things didn't go as planned. Only a few hours after arriving, Alex paged her to the ER, and as soon as she saw the page she just knew her day was going to get worse. Alex hadn't paged her to a particular room; he had paged her to find him.

"Hey, you paged?" She greeted as she arrived in the ER. Alex was making notes in a chart by the central desk. He looked up and shot her an apologetic glance before speaking.

"Yeah, your dad's here."

She blinked. "What?"

"Your dad's here," Alex repeated. "He's drunk, he's noisy and you need to take him off my hands. I have patients to get back to and interns to supervise."

Meredith floundered and shook her head. "Call Lexie. I'm not his babysitter." She turned to leave, wanting nothing to do with Thatcher Grey, but Alex continued.

"I called Lexie. She's not coming. And the next person I'm going to call is the cops, because the guy's ready to get out of here and there's no way he can drive."

Meredith turned back to face Alex. "But..." She may be making progress with Lexie, but she wanted nothing to do with Thatcher. He had caused too much damage, and she feared how she would react if he hurt her again.

Alex shot her a knowing look. He obviously didn't want to dump this on here, but had no choice.

"Meredith!" Thatcher shouted from across the ER, drawing the attention of Meredith, Alex and pretty much everyone else in the area, and destroying any possibility Meredith had of making an escape. Alex's intern was working with him, trying to calm him down, but Thatcher ignored him. "Gosh, it's good to see you!"

Meredith hesitated, wanting more than anything to just walk away, but Alex's look stopped her. And wasn't she just talking to Derek about her ability to do the family thing? She could do this. If nothing more, she could prove she was a bigger person who could rise above the situation. She would be cordial, she would deal with whatever malady had brought him to the ER and she would send him on his way. There would be no drama. If he pulled anything, she would walk away.

"See, that's her. Meredith Grey," Thatcher was saying to Alex's intern as Meredith approached. "That's my daughter."

Alex's intern sent Meredith an uncertain look, obviously uncomfortable. Meredith held out her hand for the chart, and then waved the nervous intern away.

She opened the chart. "It says here you cut your hand? How did you do that?"

"I broke a window," he admitted, obviously drunk as he slurred his words, not that his inebriation hadn't been obvious with the shouting. "It was an accident."

"I'm sure it was." She put the chart down. "Can I see it?"

He lifted his hand to her, and she carefully removed the bandage. The wound was clean cut. It would require only a few stitches. She nodded to herself, grateful this was something she could deal with and something she could deal with quickly. There would be little time for Thatcher to inch his way under her skin.

"How long ago did you do this?"

"Oh, an hour or two. I tried to clean up before I came in, but with it bleeding this much, I thought it better to just come in now and clean up later."

Meredith nodded. "I'm going to have to clean it first and then put in some stitches, okay?"

"Whatever you say, I trust you, Meredith. That boy that was here, he tried, but I said no, I want my daughter to do it."

Meredith said nothing. She didn't feel like the man's daughter, not after everything that had happened between them. Thatcher had had the chance to have her as a daughter when she was a kid, and then again months earlier. She would even have overlooked the slapping thing had he acted like a decent person towards her afterwards, but things hadn't turned out that way. He had abandoned her and his duties as her father, he had taken his anger out on her, and he had blamed her for Susan's death and alienated her from his 'real' family. And he had never shown any sign that he regretted any of it. She could only hope Thatcher would let her fix his hand and then send him home without causing any problems.

"I'm sorry, you know," Thatcher said, taking her by surprise.

Meredith looked up, meeting his eyes. Though he was drunk, he looked sincere. She blinked, unable to find suitable words. The last thing she had expected from the man was an apology.

"I'm sorry. I really, really am," he repeated.

"I'm sure you are," she said, turning her attention back to Thatcher's wound as she reminded herself of the reality of the situation. This was still the man who had hurt her. An apology didn't change anything, especially after so much time had passed.

"Not just for this," he continued, apparently not diverted by her lack of engagement in the conversation. "The last time I was here I said some terrible things to you. Telling you not to come to Susan's funeral? That wasn't your fault; what happened to her. I know that. I know you did everything you could."

Meredith looked up again. Did he really mean what he was saying?

"You're a good doctor, and a fine person." Thatcher shook his head. "You didn't deserve what I said to you. I'm sorry, Meredith. I am. What I said to you that day? I'll regret it until the day I die."

"I, uh..." Meredith stammered, feeling the need to say something, but not what. It felt like one of those moments where you were supposed to know what to say because it could change things.

"I wasn't fair to you, Meredith. I've done wrong by you too many times. Not being around when you were growing up. Blaming you for Susan..." He shook his head. "I've done a lot of things I regret, but I regret this the most. I'm sorry I said those things. And I'm sorry I hit you." He looked away, as if ashamed.

Meredith was silent, unable to find the right words as she focussed on cleaning the cut. She had never expected an apology or anything from Thatcher Grey, so now that she was getting it, she didn't know how to proceed. And she definitely never expected to feel a spark of hope reignite within herself.

"And I'm sorry I didn't know you when you were growing up," he continued. "I've regretted it every day, not knowing you. Not being there for you. Sometimes I still worry about you, but other times I think, you know, maybe it's what made you so strong. Not an excuse for me; not at all. But you are so strong, Meredith. You're stronger than Lexie."

Meredith swallowed hard. "I don't know Lexie that well yet," she admitted.

"You will, I hope, one day," he slurred. "I really want for us to be a family. We should have been from the start, and we would have been if I had been around. But again, maybe that's why you're so strong." He paused. "And the drinking," Thatcher rambled onward, "It's unacceptable. I know that. I know. And I...I don't usually, but today..." He trailed off as his voice cracked. "Today is Susan's...birthday and I..." Tears welled in his eyes and Meredith was suddenly uncomfortable.

"Should I got get Lexie?" This felt like one of those family moments that he would want to share with his daughter.

Thatcher shook his head. "No. Just you. I just want you."

"Okay," Meredith said softly as they fell into silence. Thatcher was grieving his late wife and just wanted her there with him. That was a lot to absorb. She finished cleaning the cut and administered the freezing. Thatcher didn't flinch.

"I'm really sorry about Susan," she offered as she waited for the freezing to take effect. "She was a remarkable person and I really, really liked her."

"She liked you," Thatcher responded, "You and, uh...Darryl?"

"Derek," Meredith corrected gently.

"Derek, of course. I knew that. Seemed like a nice man. You were engaged?"

"Yes," she agreed. "And we, uh, we got married a few months ago."

"You did?"

"Yes."

Thatched smiled sadly. "When you were a little girl, I used to dream of walking you down the aisle on your wedding day."

Meredith reached for the sutures, not knowing how to respond.

"I'm sorry I wasn't there for you, Meredith. I'm sorry I haven't been there for you. You've had to do everything yourself. All by yourself. I should have made sure you were okay. I should have been there to make sure this man is good enough for you."

Meredith smiled softly as she began the stitches. "I'm okay now," she comforted. "And Derek's a good man."

"You're happy?"

"I am."

"Good. That's all...all I ever wanted for you, Meredith, was for you to be happy. You're a very impressive person, Meredith. And I'm so proud of you. I'm a...lifetime's worth of proud."

Meredith felt her eyes sting, but she blinked away the sensation. "Thank you," she said quietly.

00

After she finished with Thatcher and put him in a cab to send him home, Meredith received a page from her husband, directing her to the bench they had shared a meal on a few days prior. She found him waiting with food.

"Hey," she greeted as she sat beside him.

"Hey," he echoed, leaning over to kiss her before passing her a bottle of water and a salad container.

"Salad, huh?"

He smirked. "It has chicken in it."

"You're a bad influence."

He chuckled. "No, I'm a good influence. You're the bad influence."

She laughed as she opened the container and took a bite. Despite her griping to him – which she doubted she would ever stop doing just because it was fun – she knew her diet was changing for the better. And, surprisingly, she actually enjoyed the salads that he pushed on her – not that she'd ever admit it.

"How's you had going?"

He shrugged. "Quiet. A repaired a shunt."

"Exciting."

"They can't all be exciting days."

"True."

"How about your day?"

"My dad was in the ER," she announced.

"What?" He looked over at her, immediately concerned.

She smiled to tell him it was okay. "Cut his hand; needed some stitches. He's not bad company, actually. He's quite funny and charming...and drunk."

Derek sighed and reached for her hand. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay," she said honestly. "He said some things to me that were nice to hear, so..."

"Like what?"

"He apologized for everything, said he was proud of me, stuff like that."

Derek frowned. "Meredith..."

"Is it weird that I like my drunk dad better than my regular dad?"

"I don't think you should like either," he said honestly, clearly still upset with Thatcher's treatment of her months earlier.

"I'm trying to do the family thing," she reminded, "So I'd really appreciate it if my husband could help me with that."

He squeezed her hand. "I'll support you no matter what, but after everything that happened..." He reached his free hand to cup her cheek and met her eyes. His gaze was filled with apprehension.

Meredith laid her hand on his, knowing he was remembering watching Thatcher strike her. "It's okay. I'm okay," she told him. "He didn't do anything damaging; just came in drunk and I stitched up his arm. And he said some things that were nice to hear. I'm not saying he's suddenly my father or that I trust him or anything. I'm just saying maybe I shouldn't completely write him off."

Derek brushed his thumb across her cheek. "It's not that I don't want you to have a father, Mer. I just know you deserve better than him."

She smiled. "He said the same thing, actually, after acknowledging everything he's done wrong."

"What else did he say?"

"That he was proud of me. He said he was a lifetime's worth of proud."

Derek's eyes pinched.

Meredith offered him a comforting smile, knowing he was only concerned because he loved her that much. "I love you," she whispered, "And I appreciate how much you care, but this isn't a catastrophe. I'm okay, and even if nothing more ever happens with him, I'll still be okay."

He hooked his arm around her and pulled her close. "I love you, too. And I know it's not a catastrophe," he chuckled at her term, "But the last time he was here..." He sighed. "I just don't want you to have to deal with him. You deserve to not have to deal with him.

"This isn't like last time," she stated as she pressed close to him. "I'm not going to let him hurt me again."

Derek said nothing as he ran his hand up and down along her spine.

Meredith lifted her head to meet his eyes. His were filled with anxiety. "Hey," she murmured, "I'm okay. I don't have my hopes up and I won't let him hurt me again."

"Okay." He kissed her.

"Okay," she echoed, before offering him a warm smile. "I feel okay about this; the whole family thing. Your family. Lexie and Thatcher. I'm actually doing this."

He offered her a smile, but his eyes betrayed his true feelings.

She sighed. "Derek..."

He kissed her again. "Just...know that I'm here."

She laid her head on his shoulder and threaded her fingers through his. "Thank you."

Several hours later, Meredith was still in a good mood. Her day had stayed relatively quiet, and there was no reason to believe she and Derek weren't going to get off work on time. They had parted after her lunch break was up, with plans to leave together in the afternoon. Derek had smiled and kissed her, but the anxiety had still been lining her eyes. She assumed he was just worried for her, which was a fair concern after everything he had helped her through. She would have to convince him she really was okay.

Still in a relatively upbeat mood about her interaction with Thatcher that morning, she smiled when she spotted Lexie at the Nurses' Station. The sister thing was getting easier and easier, and maybe the Thatcher thing would offer another bonding moment.

"Hey," she greeted as she passed her pile of post-op charts back to the nurse behind the counter. She had been preparing her ninth and tenth items to tell Lexie all day.

Lexie barely looked up from the chart she was notating.

Meredith frowned as she took him Lexie's tense stature. "Everything okay?"

"It's fine," Lexie snapped.

"See, now, that's a Grey thing, too. We like to say we're fine when we're really not," she said lightly.

Lexie dropped her pen and turned an annoyed look towards Meredith. "Is there something you need?"

Meredith stammered for a moment, uncertain of how to respond. Lexie had rarely been anything but enthusiastic and friendly towards her, but Thatcher's earlier words filtered into Meredith's thoughts. Susan's Birthday. She sighed. Lexie must have had a hard day. She should know she wasn't struggling alone. "Your, uh, dad was in the ER today."

"I know."

"He was drunk and put his hand through a window."

"Yeah, anything else?"

Meredith resisted the urge to react to Lexie's tone, reminding herself that Lexie had every right to be in a bad mood today. "I know it was Susan's birthday today," she said quietly, "And I'm sure it was a very hard day for the both of you. I'm sorry."

Lexie's eyes flashed, causing Meredith to continue, wanting to make the younger Grey feel better. "And he wasn't actually a problem. He was kind of charming, but he seemed very sad," she continued, wanting Lexie to know she wasn't alone, "And I'd hate to see it happen again. So, maybe you should think about keeping a better eye on him. Maybe you could spend some more time with him?" She offered Lexie a smile, but was shocked by the reaction she got.

"Every day is my mother's birthday," Lexie hissed. "My mother was born in March. He lied to you. He's a liar," she said angrily. "And I'm glad, really, glad that you found him charming. I'm sure he was delightful. He's a blast after five drinks. Not so much after nine, though. He gets a little weepy and mean."

"I..." Meredith tried to come up with something to say, but Lexie's angry expression coupled with the shock of the information left her speechless.

"He's a drunk, Meredith," Lexie announced, leaving no room for misinterpretation. "He probably came in and told you how wonderful you are, or how sad he is that he doesn't get to spend more time with you. I know because I've heard it all and I know he doesn't mean any of it."

Meredith shook her head, not wanting to hear more as the hope she'd stupidly allowed herself to have came crashing down around her.

Lexie continued, unhindered, "You know, yesterday he said that I was his favourite daughter. The day before, I was an ungrateful bitch. The week before, he wrote me a check for twenty-thousand dollars because he said I deserved everything life had to offer, because he was so proud of me; a lifetime's worth of proud." Her voice cracked at the last statement.

Meredith felt like she'd been slapped again, but she couldn't make her feet work to leave the area. She'd really thought he'd been sincere. She'd really thought he was sorry.

"So, you can't listen to anything he says, because it's not about you. It's about a pint and a half of Dewar's. So, thank you, for letting me know I have to keep a better eye on him. Thanks," Lexie practically spat before pushing past Meredith and storming down the hall.

Meredith felt the breath leave her lungs as she stumbled back against the wall. It felt like before all over again. Thatcher slapping her. Thatcher screaming at her in front of the whole hospital. Thatcher blaming her for Susan's death and banning her from the funeral.

She'd been so determined not to let Thatcher cause anymore damage that she hadn't even seen it coming from Lexie.

Her eyes stung, but she was determined not to cry. Not here. Not now. Not with everyone staring. Again. She tried to breath, but it hurt. Her chest was tight and wouldn't co-operate.

"Meredith," the Chief said quietly, appearing beside her.

As much as she tried, she couldn't respond. She could barely acknowledge his presence.

He said something, but she couldn't make sense of his words. She was breathing too fast, and knew she was on the verge of a panic attack. She shut her eyes and shuddered.

"Meredith," the Chief tried again, but she just couldn't respond. It was all she could do to remain upright as she struggled to retain some control of her breathing.

He took her arm, and suddenly he was guiding her down the hall. She stumbled numbly beside him until they reached his office, and allowed him to seat her on the couch. She pulled her knees to her chest and closed her eyes again.

The Chief said some things to her as he puttered around the room, but she ignored him and focussed on calming her breathing. Being away from prying eyes was helping. Her chest was loosening its hold on her breathing.

Tears welled in her eyes, but she refused to let them fall. She was better than this. She may have been stupid to allow herself to have hope on the family front, but she would not be weak about it now. "I'm okay," she managed to say.

"I know," the Chief said quietly. "I'm just giving you a moment to collect yourself."

She nodded, and managed to inhale an entire breath, hold it and then slowly exhale. Progress.

"Thank-thank you," she stammered.

"Don't you worry about this. Just focus on breathing."

She did. The pull to hyperventilate gradually lessened. She opened her eyes and dropped her feet to the floor so she was sitting normally. She sniffed. "I'm sorry about all this."

"Meredith, please," the Chief said. He was sitting opposite her on the coffee table. "You have nothing to apologize for. Nothing at all." He offered her a glass of water.

"I'm keeping you from doing your job," she said flatly, accepting the glass, but not taking a sip yet. Instead, she held it in her lap with both hands wrapped tightly around the cool glass. Her throat still felt too thick and raw to handle any liquid.

He smiled. "This is my job. At least part of it. Think of it as the principal's office, only I'm the nice principal."

She smiled at his attempt to make her feel better. "Thank you."

"Anyway, I promised your mom I'd take care of you."

"I told you that you don't have to do that."

"I know I don't," he sighed. "But I do."

Meredith sighed.

"I'm not interfering anymore. I promise. I just want to make sure you have what you need to be okay."

As if perfectly timed, there was a knock at the door. "Chief, you paged?" Derek said as he pushed open the door.

Meredith looked up at the familiar voice, grateful that Richard had known to page her husband.

Derek's curious expression immediately morphed into concern when he met Meredith's eyes. "What happened?" He let himself into the office and hurried towards her.

The Chief stood. "I have to get back to the floor. Just close the door when you leave."

Derek took Richard's spot on the coffee table. He took the glass out of her grasp and then reached for her hands. "Are you okay?"

She sniffed and shook her head. "No, not really."

He moved to sit beside her on the couch. "I'm here," he whispered.

"Lexie yelled at me," she said quietly, ignoring the pain caused by the memory. She and Lexie had been making progress. She sniffed as tears that she couldn't keep contained welled in her eyes. "You were right. I shouldn't have gotten my hopes up."

Derek sighed and pressed his forehead against the side of her head. "Oh, Mer, I'm sorry."

Meredith grasped onto his arm and closed her eyes, allowing her husband to hold her and remind her of what she had.