Disclaimer: Basically, if you recognize them from the show, they're not mine.

I'm thinking of making this into a series of oneshots documenting the lives of the Shepard clan over the years. Other Grey's characters will most likely make an appearance as well. Let me know what you think!

Time passes. Without our realizing it, days turn into weeks and weeks turn into years. The dreams of youth have passed us by, and we see that nothing has turned out the way we planned. And you know what? That's ok with me.

"…And so I told Katherine to tell Jimmy that my dress was lavender and that I thought orchids would look absolutely gorgeous as a corsage. And Heather showed me a picture of her dress and it's not nearly as pretty as mine, and we finally got the limo reservation taken care of, thank goodness…"

Meredith Grey-Shepard half listened to her daughter's chatter as she began to prepare for the evening meal. It was hard to believe that Caroline was already approaching her high school graduation. In just over a month she could officially call her self an alumnus of Seattle's Jefferson Senior High School. Standing in front of that important milestone, however, was an even bigger one: the senior prom.

For the past three months Meredith had watched in amusement as Caroline and her friends had meticulously planned every detail of what they were sure would be the most important night of their young lives. Dates had been found (not without the usual drama!), dresses had been shopped for, the after-party had been planned, and now the big night was just a week and a half away.

As Caroline winded down her monologue and began setting the table for dinner, Meredith watched her with both pride and a hint of sadness. This daughter of hers, so dear to her and Derek, was the complete opposite of what she had been like at age eighteen. Caroline was bubbly and popular, but she had a stable head on her shoulders. She had lived the typical teenage life, full of parties and boyfriends and plenty of time for gossip with her girlfriends.

In just a few months, however, that would change. For while Caroline's high school years had been social ones, they were also years spent studying and earning a nearly 4.0 grade point average. Her hard work had paid off, and in the fall she would be heading across the country to attend New York's Columbia University in the hopes of one day becoming a journalist. So as much as Meredith enjoyed these rare afternoon conversations on her days off from work, it was starting to hit her that her only daughter, her only child for that matter, would soon be off on her own.

"I'll be in my room, Mom…call me when dinner's ready?" Caroline tore Meredith from her reverie as she finished setting the table. At Meredith's nod of acknowledgment, she headed out of the kitchen towards the staircase leading upstairs. At the same time, Meredith heard the front door open announcing Derek's return home from his shift at Seattle Grace. She smiled as she heard father greet daughter, and moments later heard her husband's footsteps heading towards the kitchen.

"Hey hon," Derek said, flashing her that famous "McDreamy" smile. Even after almost twenty years of marriage, it still made Meredith go weak in the knees.

Meredith greeted her husband with a slow, lingering kiss. That was another thing that hadn't changed in the last twenty years, as much as Caroline tried to deny it.

As they pulled apart, Derek noticed the look that still remained in his wife's eyes from her earlier daydreams.

"You alright today, Mer?" He asked as she turned back to stirring the pot of spaghetti sauce that was sitting on the stove.

"Hmm?" Meredith pretended to be absorbed in her task, not wanting to bring her feelings out in the open, but Derek knew her too well.

"You have that look in your eyes today. What's going on?"

"It's nothing, really."

"Mer," Derek was insistent as he gently placed his hand on her shoulder. "Turn around and talk to me."

Sighing, Meredith obliged and locked her grey eyes with Derek's piercing blue ones. At this point in their marriage she knew it was useless to try and hide her emotions. He had learned long ago how to read her, and as much as she resisted, she loved him more every day for it.

"It's Caroline," she finally spoke. "She was talking to me about prom today, and it hit me that this is it. She graduates next month, and I don't know if I'm ready to let her go. She's still my little girl! Maybe if she'd chosen a school in state or closer to home it would be ok, but Derek, she's going across the damn country, and I hate it! I'm not ready to say goodbye." Emotions that had been hidden deep inside for some time finally made their way to the surface, and Meredith started sobbing as Derek pulled her close.

"It's hard for me, too, babe. She's our angel and we'll miss her like crazy, but she's ready for this. You know that. We did good with her, and she'll make us proud. Remember that."

Meredith sighed as her tears subsided. She knew exactly what Derek was saying; she just didn't know if she was ready herself. As they stood together in the quiet of the evening, memories of the daughter they'd raised ran through Meredith's head. Forgetting about the sauce simmering on the stove, she traveled back to a time over nineteen years ago, to a time before Caroline Elisabeth Shepard made her entrance into the world…

Should I continue? Read and Review, no flames please!