84. Chapter 84

Caught by surprised on his way down the stairs, Scott grabbed onto the banister to balance himself as he was nearly bowled over by his daughter and her cousin.

"Claire. Katie. You need to be careful on the stairs."

"Sorry, Daddy," Claire said quickly, tilting her head and raising her shoulders as she smiled sweetly at him.

"Sorry, Uncle Scott," Katie echoed, mirroring her cousin.

Scott sighed in defeat as he met his daughter's eyes – the ones that looked exactly like his wife's. He couldn't say no to those eyes. "Its okay girls; just be careful next time. Especially around the younger kids." Both girls were six, only a few months apart, and there were several younger cousins that could be hurt on the stairs.

"We will, Daddy."

"Yeah, we promise."

"Good." He smiled, taking in the matching sparkle in their eyes. "What are you two up to?"

"We gonna wake up Uncle Derek!" Katie said brightly. "He missed cartoons this morning."

"I, uh, don't think that's such a good idea, girls," he said quickly, minding the fact that his brother-in-law's girlfriend had shown up the night before and he definitely didn't want his innocent six year old walking in on something. "We should let Uncle Derek sleep. He was very tired last night."

"But Grandma Jane said we could," Claire pouted. There was a policy at 'Grandma's house' that the kids were not allowed to open closed bedroom doors without permission.

"Grandma Jane didn't know how tired Uncle Derek was."

"Please, Daddy?" Claire pushed, giving him the eyes again.

He felt his heart tug at her expression, and wished for the millionth time that he could say no to his girls. "Leave Uncle Derek alone," he managed to repeat, and then off of his daughter's fallen expression, added, "But you can go and wake up Mommy."

"Yay!" Both girls shouted as they continued up the stairs.

Scott continued down the stairs, shaking his head. He would pay for that later. It was a little after nine, and his wife liked to sleep much later than this when she had the chance.

Once on the ground floor, Scott made his way through the living room and into the kitchen, which was alive and busy at this time of the morning. The scent of brewing coffee hit his nose first and he made a bee-line to the coffee maker, before popping a bagel into the toaster. "Morning," he greeted.

"Morning, dear," his mother-in-law greeted him as she passed him a plate on her way to the table, where she joined her husband, daughter and son-in-law.

Once the bagel was toasted, he added some cream cheese and joined the family at the table. "Where are the kids?"

"We sold them to the circus," Tim quipped.

"Ah, good. I thought it was nice and quiet."

Kathleen rolled her eyes at her husband and brother-in-law. "Most of them are out back. The older ones are supervising."

He yawned, and then flinched as he heard the kitchen door open behind him and familiar footsteps approach. And when the hand smacked him across the side of the head, he wasn't the least bit surprised.

His wife then plopped herself down in the seat next to him, reached for his mug of coffee, and glared. "Why would you send the girls in to wake me up?"

"Because they were upset when I stopped them from waking up Derek."

She rolled her eyes. "Honey, you have to learn to say no to them."

"That's easier said than done," he responded, even as his wife now slid the plate with his bagel over to the space in front of herself.

Suddenly without anything for breakfast, Scott sighed and stood, heading to the counter for a second time.

"We told the girls it was okay to wake him up. It's after nine; it's should be a problem," Kathleen spoke up, laughing at her sister for stealing her husband's breakfast.

"Oh, it could be a big problem," Scott said, pouring himself a new cup of coffee. "His girlfriend showed up last night. He looked quite happy to see her, and I don't need my six year old daughter walking into the aftermath of whatever may have happened last night."

"Meredith is here?" Jane asked in surprise. "When?"

"Late," Meg answered. "Around midnight. The poor girl had been calling, but Derek left his phone downstairs. It's lucky we were still up."

"What's she like?" Kathleen asked.

"Nice. Pretty-"

"Maybe a little crazy," Scott added.

His wife shot him a look.

"What? I didn't know it was possible to say that many words in such a short period of time. I still don't know most of what she said."

"She was exhausted; must have been travelling for more than a day to get here. So she rambled a bit. I'm sure it's not something normal for her. Plus, she puts up with Derek; that would make anyone crazy."

Kathleen laughed, as the two sisters shared a moment of making fun of their brother.

"Be nice to your brother, girls," Jane said lightly, although she laughed as well.

"At least someone in this house stands up for me," Derek spoke as he entered the kitchen, dressed in jeans and an old college tee shirt. He helped himself to a cup of coffee before joining his family at the table. It wasn't until he was sitting down and lifting the mug to his lips that he realized everyone was staring at him. He paused and then set the mug down onto the table. "What?"

"Where is she?" Kathleen asked.

"Sleeping," he responded, not needing to be told who 'she' was. "It took her more than a day to get here and it's a little after three in the morning for her...or a little after six, seeing as she probably wasn't in Hawaii long enough to adjust to the time change."

"I thought she was with her friend."

"Cristina was doing better than expected, and Izzy had everything under control."

Kathleen continued to stare intently at him.

"What is it you really want to ask?" He asked, knowing the psychiatrist in her would never let this go.

"It's just...we thought that maybe you two had broken up, and that was why she wasn't here."

"What? No. I told you; her best friend's fiancé left her on her wedding day."

"You did tell us. But you also seemed more than a little upset. You barely spoke to anyone but the kids the whole time you've been here so far."

"It doesn't matter," he responded. "All that matters is she's here now."

"Okay," Kathleen said, in a way that told him she would drop it for now, but didn't believe it.

He sighed, knowing he needed to deal with this now, and not when Meredith was thrust into the picture; she already felt guilty enough. "Fine; I was upset that she couldn't be here. It's been a very stressful couple of weeks, and we didn't get a chance to deal with everything."

"How stressful?"

"I'm not your patient, Kat."

"No, you're my brother, and I'm allowed to worry about you."

"There's nothing to worry about. She went through some really horrible family things, had her exam and then her best friend got left on her wedding day. All in less than two weeks. It's been very stressful, and I was upset that we were going to be apart for so long without being able to deal with everything. But now everything is okay. So, please, drop it."

Kathleen considered his words for a long moment. "What kind of family things?"

"Nothing that we need to talk about. And nothing that she needs to be questioned about, okay? Please leave her alone about it."

"We just want to know she's good for you, Der," Kathleen responded.

"Yeah, we're your sisters, it's our job," Meg added. "What if you decide to marry her? There are things we need to know first."

Derek made a face, but as quickly as he tried to cover it, he knew he was caught.

"Derek Christopher Shepherd!" Meg spoke up sharply. "Is there something you haven't told us?"

**

Meredith swallowed hard before holding her breath and very carefully turning the knob and pulling the bedroom door open a few inches. Just enough to see down the hallway, which was, thankfully, empty.

She had woken up alone about ten minutes earlier. The sheets beside her were cold, so she knew Derek had been gone for some time. The alarm clock beside the bed told her it was ten in the morning. After pulling on some clothes, she had waited for as long as she could for Derek to come back and rescue her, but she desperately had to use the bathroom.

The only problem was she didn't know where the bathroom was, or what unknown people she may bump into in her search.

With a resigned sigh, she pulled the door open far enough to fit through the gap and tiptoed out into the hallway. It was a large house; that much she had surmised the night before, even in the dark. From what she could guess, the upstairs hallway was in the shape of a large, squared 'C', and she was starting at the bottom of the 'C,' right before the first corner.

Slowly making her way to the first corner, she paused as she regarded the closed door beside her, and then craned her head to glance down the rest of the hallway leading from the corner. All of the doors were closed.

"Come on," she muttered under her breath. This was ridiculous. Where was Derek? Was this punishment? Abandoning her in his mother's house? She didn't know what she would do if she bumped into an unknown family member without him.

Probably panic and ramble like she had the night before.

Eventually deciding not to bother with the first door, Meredith padded down the hallway and paused again, now standing between two doors facing each other. Taking into account the space between the doors along the walls on both sides, she determined the door on the left was most likely a bedroom. However, the door on the right was wedged close to two other doors. It would be a perfect place for a bathroom.

She knocked her knuckled very quietly against the door, and then a little louder. No response. That was promising.

With a silent prayer to whoever may be listening, she turned the knob and pulled open the door, before sighing heavily at the sight the greeted her.

The good news was she hadn't walked into someone's bedroom.

The bad news was she had not found the bathroom, but a storage closet.

With a huff, she closed the door and continued forward. The next set of doors seemed to be bedrooms, but right before the second corner of the hallway, there was a door on the left that was just slightly ajar.

She knocked lightly again, and then held her breath as she pushed open the door.

Relief washed over her; she had found the bathroom.

Quickly stepping through the door way, she closed the door behind herself and locked it. Safe.

Meredith used the toilet and washed her hands, before stopping to stare at her reflection in the mirror. Her eyes were red from the night before, but the dark circles that had plagued them for days were significantly lessened; a product, no doubt, of finally getting some decent sleep in Derek's arms.

She ran the taps and splashed some cold water on her face, willing the redness to lessen before she had to meet Derek's family. After everything that had happened, she had to make a good impression.

"You can do this, Grey," she whispered to her reflection, not even caring that she was talking to herself. "You got here; that was the hard part. Now you just have to meet everyone else."

She sucked in a deep breath and exhaled slowly. She would go back to Derek's room, would find something in her suitcase to wear that was suitable for New York and not Hawaii, and would find the strength to go downstairs on her own.

Derek would be down there; waiting for her. She had to believe that.

She could do the family thing.

She could.

Really.

Pulling open the door, she stepped into the hallway, only to freeze at the sight before her.

Oh, god...maybe she couldn't do this...

Two young girls stared up at her. Both had long, dark hair, one straight and one curly, and blue eyes.

They stared at her. She stared back at them.

For a long moment, no one said anything.

"Who are you?" The girl on the right finally asked, looking slightly worried.

"I, uh," Meredith stammered, her heart racing in her chest. She had to say something before the kids went running to their parents; because that would be bad. Very, very bad. She didn't need to create a scene. "I..." No words came to her mind. She was stuck; silent and stammering for something to say.

"This is Meredith," Derek's soothing voice sounded from behind her, triggering a wave of relief to wash over her. His hand landed on her back as he stood beside her and smiled at his nieces. "She's going to be your Aunt Meredith soon."

Meredith felt her heart skip a beat as she processed both important parts of his statement. Aunt Meredith. It denoted acceptance and permanence; which was both scary and very much wanted at the same time. Soon. That meant...well, soon. She would be their Aunt Meredith soon, which meant she would be his wife soon. And that was a pretty incredible realization; especially since two days earlier she was half way around the world, depressed, scared and without him. Together, the two parts of the statement, and the fact that Derek was now standing beside her, gave her strength. And words. "Hi," she managed to stammer.

"And Meredith, this is Katie and Claire."

"Hi," they said in unison.

"Uncle Derek," the one on the right – Claire – continued, "You're finally awake! We were gonna wake you up earlier, but Uncle Scott wouldn't let us!"

"It's a good thing you didn't," Derek said smoothly, "We were very tired."

"Will you get up to watch cartoons with us tomorrow?" Katie asked.

Derek smiled. "We'll see."

That seemed to appease the two young girls, who turned and hurried off down the hall.

Meredith watched them go, and then turned to Derek and offered him a smile. "Hi."

He kissed her. "Is that all you're capable of saying this morning; hi?"

She laughed. "They caught me by surprise. Now they probably think I'm a lame ass loser."

Derek chuckled. "They're six. They probably won't remember the conversation in an hour. And you are definitely not a lame ass loser."

Returning his offered smile, she reached her hand to his chest and splayed her fingers across the soft material of his tee shirt. "I was a little worried when you were gone when I woke up."

His hands snaked around her waist and he shimmied close to her. "Sorry. I haven't been gone long, and I was just coming back up now to check on you. I thought with the travel and the time change that you'd sleep into the afternoon."

"So, you weren't abandoning me to meet your family on my own?" She asked quietly, cocking her head. She didn't really think he would have abandoned her, but hearing him say it would still make her feel better.

He pressed into her space and kissed her again. "Absolutely not."

"Good."

It was his turn to cock his head. "Are you ready to meet them now?"

"No." She quickly shook her head.

"No," he echoed, frowning.

"I...look at me," she stammered, stepping back and waving her hands in front of her. "I'm a mess. I need to look somewhat presentable and-"

"You look beautiful."

Meredith rolled her eyes. "You have to say that."

"Says who?"

"Everyone!"

He laughed. "I think you're going a little overboard..."

"No, Derek, I'm not. I need to make a good impression here, okay? Because I've already made a fool of myself in front of enough members of your family. This might be my last chance."

"You haven't made a fool of yourself."

"Nancy caught us coming out of the shower together at the trailer. You let me call your mother when I was high on morphine and completely uninhibited. And I was so tired and desperate last night that who knows what I said to your sister and brother in law..."

With an amused sigh, Derek hooked an arm around her waist and led her back to his room. When the door was shut behind them, he pulled her against him and hugged her tight. "You have nothing to worry about, Meredith. Meg and Scott understand you were exhausted last night. Mom is dying to meet you. And Nancy isn't even here yet."

"She's not?" Meredith whispered against his chest.

"Nope. It's just mom and Brian, and Meg and Kathleen. Plus husbands and kids. Lauren and Nancy won't be here until this afternoon." He paused. "You look perfect. They're going to love you, so there's no need to freak out."

"I'm not freaking out... Well, not much. You're here now. That makes things much better."

"I'd never expect you to do this by yourself."

She bit down on her lower lip as she contemplated her situation. "What did you tell them?" She finally asked.

He didn't have to ask to know what she was talking about. "I told them you were helping your friend."

"Thank you," she murmured, tears stinging the backs of her eyes. "Thank you for understanding..."

"Hey," he whispered, hugging her close again. "I get it. I do."

She lifted her head to meet his eyes and offered him a smile. "I want to be able to do this regularly."

"Do what?"

"Come to New York to see your family. I want to get along with your family and feel comfortable coming out here with you whenever you want to visit...even for holidays and stuff."

He brushed his lips against her. "Good. They want that too. I want that too."

"And that means I have to make a good impression now," she continued. "And you're biased, so you don't get it."

"I am not biased."

She giggled. "You so are. I could be wearing a paper bag and you'd say I looked fine."

"So?"

"So, your family isn't going to see me the same way you do."

"They're going to love you," he murmured, settling his hands on her lower back. "And with the crazy things my family has already done, you won't even hit their radar."

She hooked her hands around the back of his neck and smirked. "Are you calling me crazy?"

"Absolutely. But I actually meant the things you think you've already done. Mom will probably bring up the whole calling her while on morphine thing in the future, several times, but just as a laugh that you called her. She's not going to tell anyone any embarrassing things you said." He paused. "About you, anyway. She's already told my sisters that you told her my nickname at the hospital..."

Meredith laughed. "Good. It's your fault for leaving your phone."

"How could I have possible known you were going to call her?" It was an argument they had had countless times.

"You just should have."

He huffed, before turning serious again. "They're going to accept you, Mer. They're not going to try and embarrass you or anything. Trust me; that's all saved for me."

She laughed again. "Okay."

"Okay?"

"Yeah." She nodded and leaned in to peck his lips. "Just...let me have a shower and get dressed. After not coming with you, and then showing up at midnight last night, and sleeping in today... I just want to look like I'm trying, you know?"

"I get it. But don't shower."

"But-"

"No one else has showered yet." He smiled at her, looking perfect and dreamy as he cocked his head ever so slightly. "Get dressed. Something simple. Jeans. Then come down with me."

"But-" She tried again, only to be cut off by his finger coming down on her lips.

"It will make you fit in more," he assured. "No one else has showered yet. Everyone is hanging out in the kitchen, dressed very casual."

Her heart fluttered at his hopeful expression. He really was trying to make this as smooth as possible for her. "Okay."

"Okay," he echoed.

With one last kiss, he released her and backed up to sit on the bed as she moved towards her suitcase. Pulling the top open and digging through the minimal contents, she frowned to herself. She had only packed for Hawaii. And even then she hadn't packed much because she had been rushed. She really only had the jeans she had worn the day before and one pair of nice pants.

Sighing, she pulled out a fresh top and picked her jeans off of the floor. "I don't really have much clothes with me..." She admitted, turning back to Derek. "I looked into flights that would lay-over in Seattle, but it would have taken another day to get here..."

"It's okay," he said quickly. "We can go out today and get whatever you need."

"There's nothing planned or anything?"

He chuckled and shook his head. "It's a very un-regimented week. I'm sure we'll have a big dinner one night, but that's it. We can come and go as we want."

"Okay." She quickly replaced her pajama pants with her jeans and pulled on her top. "How's this?"

"I think you're wearing too much clothes."

She rolled her eyes at his expression. "Didn't you see enough last night?"

He smirked. "Never."

Not wanting to fuel him onwards, she said nothing and dug through her suitcase until she found her make up bag and hair brush. Her hair was unruly, but she managed to make it look relatively presentable. And she applied just enough makeup to take the emphasis off her red eyes.

Staring at herself in the mirror above the dresser, she took a deep breath, and reached her hand upwards to find the chain around her neck.

Turning back to face Derek, she bit down on her lower lip for a long moment before speaking. "Should I wear the ring?"

"Your call."

"I know, but...should I?"

"If you want."

"You're not being very helpful."

With a sigh, he stood and approached her. "They're not going to judge you if you wear it or not. It's your call."

"I think...I think I kind of want to."

His lips curled up into a warm smile as he reached his hands around her neck to unhook the necklace and free the ring. "So, you still want to marry me?" He asked, with a soft voice and a smirk.

She giggled and nodded. "Yes."

Continuing to smile, his eyes sparkled as he slid the ring onto her finger.

"Crap," Meredith spat out without thinking, as a thought hit her.

He raised an eyebrow. "Not the response I was expecting, but I guess I'll have to live with it. At least you said yes first this time..."

She laughed. "I'm sorry, I just... we were supposed to tell them we were engaged, right? You wanted to tell them in person. Should I maybe not wear it until we tell them?" She paused at his expression. "They know."

He nodded. "I got caught this morning. I didn't actually tell them; they figured it out. Well, I told mom, but the rest figured it out."

"So, they know..."

"I'm sorry."

Her forehead creased. "Why are you sorry?"

"Because we were going to do it together."

"I'm not sorry," she said gently, hoping he would take it the right way. "I know you were excited about telling them, but after everything... I think I'm glad they know. It would have been a little overwhelming to be there."

"I hate to break it to you, but you're still going to be the center of attention for a little while."

"Yeah, but it's different. If they didn't know yet, there be the whole 'when do we tell them' thing until we did, and then there'd be that awkward pause and then..." She trailed off. "I'm assuming they were happy, seeing as you haven't warned me otherwise, and I...don't really know how to react to that. At least now it's not going to have just happened."

"That was almost a full blown ramble."

She laughed and buried her face against his chest. "I had to stop myself."

He kissed the top of her head. "They are happy," he confirmed. "And you're going to get congratulations and hugs. But no one is expecting you to react any particular way, okay?"

"And you're going to be there the whole time," she stated, standing upright again, only half-asking.

"And I'm going to be there the whole time," he confirmed.

"Then I'm okay."

"And I'm okay if you're okay."

She scrunched up her nose. "Corny."

"Maybe, but you're stuck with me."

Meredith hooked her hands behind his neck and leaned back slightly, trusting him to hold her. "You're stuck with me, too."

"Hmm, good," he murmured, leaning towards her, his lips finding hers.

"I mean it," she whispered when he pulled away. "I'm not going anywhere; not again."

Brushing the hair from her face, he tucked it behind her ear, before settling his palm against the side of her neck, his thumb brushing along the edge of her chin. For a lone moment, he simply stared at her, silent, taking a moment. Taking her in. Then he spoke, "Okay." There was something new about his tone; something that told Meredith it really way okay. What she had done had been wrong, but she had made up for it. She may have been a day late, but she showed up. He still loved her, just as much as before. He still wanted her, just as much as before. He had forgiven her, completely. And now they were back on track. They had talked. Things could only get better from here. She felt safe again; she was exactly where she belonged.

"If you're okay, I'm okay," she whispered back, tears just welling in her eyes.

The look of contemplation disappeared from his face as his lips curled upwards into a grin. "Thief."

She giggled. "Freedom of speech."

He rolled his eyes. "Still... I said it first."

She pecked his lips. "So..."

He raised an eyebrow. "So...?"

"Are we going to...do this?"

"Are you ready?"

"Probably not." She laughed nervously, before sucking in a deep breath. "But I think the longer I wait, the more I'm going to freak out."

With a breathy chuckle, Derek dipped his head and pressed a kiss to her cheek. "No more freaking out. They're going to love you. I promise."

She nodded and reached for his hand. "Okay. Let's do this. I...I'm ready."

He smiled and pecked her lips one last time, before leading her to the door.

She squeezed his hand, and smiled as he squeezed hers in response. As long as he was beside her, she could do this. As long as he was beside her, she could do anything.