Kick, Kick, Kick.
"Meredith, stop!" Ellis's sharp voice cut through the air as the car turned into a medium sized, suburban house.
"Sorry, mommy…" Meredith mumbled turned to look out the window at the changing surroundings.
"Movers will be here soon, I have to go to see a doctor later and you will have to come with me until I find a nanny" the car shut off as she went to grab stuff out of the back and Meredith unbuckled her seatbelt, assuming they were now at their destination. Ellis grabbed as much as she could with her slightly swollen stomach before entering the house quickly.
"Okay mommy" the girl nodded hopping up the stairs of the house.
Ellis set down her belongings before reaching for her phone. The doorbell then suddenly went off, Meredith's mouth perked up.
"Mommy, doorbell!" She called, her mother held her hand over the microphone before telling her to grab the door herself. The small girl pulled open the deep colored wooden door.
"Hi, sweetie" a woman with medium brown hair said, 4 small children surrounds shed at her feet.
"Hi! We just moved in" the small girl twisted her long deep blonde hair around her finger.
"I know, I'm Mrs. Shepherd. What's your name? Is your mommy or daddy home?" She asked crouching down slightly.
"I'm Meredith Grey" she grinned, showing her toothy smile, just then Ellis came up behind her.
"Hi, I'm sorry if she was wasting your time, I'm sorry. I'm Ellis Grey, you are?" She asked without looking down at her daughter.
"Carolyn Shepherd. I was just going to tell Meredith that I have 5 kids, do you have any brothers or sisters Meredith?" She asked sweetly.
"She does not" Ellis answered quickly.
"Oh well, this is Kathleen, she's 10 and is about to start 5th grade, this is Lizzie, she is 9 and starting 4th grade, this is Nancy, she's 7 and starting 2nd grade and this is Amelia, she is 6 and starting 1st grade this year" she said pointing to the three dark haired girls.
"I'm 6 years old too! I go to first grade soon!" Meredith's eyes brightened at the smallest girl.
"It was really nice to meet you Carolyn but I have a doctors appointment to get to and I have to drag Meredith with me til I can find a nanny" Ellis rolled her eyes putting her hands on Meredith's shoulders. Carolyn rose an eyebrow at her phrasing before smiling sweetly.
"Why doesn't Meredith come stay over for awhile? You can meet my son." Carolyn leaned down to speak to Meredith.
"You have more kids? You are soooo lucky! Can I go, mommy?" She looked up at her mother's face for approval.
"Fine, I have to go anyway" she grabbed her purse and put her jacket on, causing her stomach to protrude and Carolyn took notice.
"Yay! Let's go!" The 4 girls grabbed Meredith and lead her to the house next door.
"Thank you for this, do I need to reimburse you?" Ellis asked pulling her hair out from under her jacket.
"Oh no, this is a very tight knit area. Lots of kids, it's no big deal. Robbie Stevens, she works 3 jobs to pay for her house and her daughter who starts first grade, and the Sloan's are very busy and our sons seem to get along..he's actually probably over right now...well I'll give you the rub down another time but I just want you to be aware that it is never a problem to watch Meredith" Ellis smiled quickly before walking past her.
"Well thank you anyway, she can be a handful. It gets irritating so just let me know if she gets to be too much" they stepped down the stairs together.
"Well is there any information I should know?" She asked as Ellis walked to her car.
"No, she should be fine" she called before sliding into the drivers seat, Carolyn sighed as she saw the blonde little girl across the street giggling with her daughters.
"Hey Meredith, did you meet derek and Mark yet?" Carolyn asked as she reached the house.
"Ummm no" Meredith said shyly.
"Oh please, come on, love. Derek! Mark! get down here!" She called into the house, a few minutes later 2 boys came running down the stairs shoving each other gently.
"This is Derek, he's 8 and starting 3rd grade soon and this is Mark, he lives on the other side of us."
"Hi! I'm Derek" he stuck out his arm and Meredith took it shyly before dropping it quickly.
"I'm meredith, I just moved in over there" she pointed.
"Hey Meredith" the other boy waved before walking past them.
"Okay, I'm going to start dinner, Mark are you staying or are your parents back?" Carolyn asked, she still asked even though they never were.
"I think I'm staying" Mark nodded as the boys ran outside.
"We're playing soccer outside, Meredith...if you wanna play" Kathleen said as the other girls went out.
"Okay!" She ran after them, as grin covering her face. She had been so worried for the future, she was moving far away. Her mom and dad had gotten a divorce and they had moved across country where a friend of Ellis's had found a job for her. She left everything she knew behind, but it seemed to be looking up so far.
