Title: Four Mc Weddings And A Funeral

Author: Sara and Lizzie

Rating: T for language, and sex

Disclaimer: We don't own Grey's.

Summary: Sequel To 'Forever And A Day'. The funeral of a loved one. The weddings of Cristina and Burke, Izzie and Alex, Addison and Mark and George and Callie. They span cities, they encounter trouble, they meet people from the past. And they get through it all.

Author's Note: The final part in our trilogy (sequel to Forever and a day). The weddings, etc. Humor, drama, you know us.

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Part One
April

It was Harry Chapin who song about life being a circle. The more I think about it, he might be right. Maybe what goes around does come around. Maybe they people in your life form a circle with you. I have found that even in the darkest of days that circle remains unbroken.

Richard Webber opened the front door of his house to find Meredith on the stoop. He smiled warmly at her. She was dressed simply, in her usual jeans and t-shirt, sunglasses he was sure had been a gift from Addison. Her wedding rings sparkled on her fingers. Richard smiled warmly at her. She had been his favorite in her group of interns. Maybe he wasn't supposed to have a favorite, but she was so much like her mother. Strong and smart. Just like Ellis.

He had walked her down the aisle when she married Derek. Met her at the end of the church in that white dress Addison had flown her to New York to find. She was special to him, more than just another doctor on his payroll. When he retired in September, she would be one of the people he still knew.

"Meredith, what can I do for you?" he asked, stepping aside to let her in.

"Nothing, Chief." She told him. "I'm here to see Adele." He was confused, but he invited her anyway and led her to the massive kitchen where his wife was cooking him breakfast. He sensed this was not a conversation for him to overhear and he excused himself. Meredith waited for Adele to finish stirring something in one of her huge stainless steel pots. She finally looked up and smiled. It had taken some time to warm to Meredith. She was, after all, the daughter of the woman who almost destroyed her marriage, but eventually, she had come to love Meredith much like a child of her own. "What can I do for you, Mrs. Shepherd?" she asked, eliciting a smile from the young woman. The way that girl lit up when anyone mentioned Derek.

Meredith suddenly looked up at her, serious now, the smile gone. "I never knew my mother." She said. "She was too busy saving other people's daughters to worry about knowing her own." Adele nodded.

"I know, baby." She said.

"Richard knew my mother." Meredith continued. "As a person, not just a surgeon. To him, she was more than the hand that held the scalpel."

"Was?" Adele asked. Meredith nodded, willing away the tears that filled her eyes anyway.

"She died last night. And I wanted to ask you if you would mind, I mean, if it would bother you, if I asked Richard to deliver her eulogy. I want someone who knew my mother to be the one to talk about her life." Adele moved from behind the counter and wrapped her arms around Meredith.

"You go in there and ask him, baby." She said. Meredith pulled back and smiled at her, wiping tears from her eyes.

"Thank you." She whispered. Richard came into the kitchen through the swinging door and stopped short when he saw them hugging.

"Derek's not cheating on you, is he?" he asked dubiously. Meredith laughed shortly through her tears.

"No, of course not, chief." She said. "It's um, I need to tell you something. My mother died last night." She whispered.

Richard sat down slowly on a stool that sat next to the island and nodded. "What was it?"

Meredith shrugged. "She just… died." She said, feeling tears well up in her eyes again. "She's just gone. And no one knows yet, not even Derek. I wanted to ask you first, if you would be the one to speak at the funeral. You were the only one that ever really knew her."

Richard looked down at his hands as it all suddenly made sense. Meredith had asked Adele if she would mind if he spoke about Ellis. He nodded. "I'd be honored." He said, standing and patting her on the shoulder. She smiled and thanked him, and he told her to take the day off. "You should go to Derek." Richard said, knowing that he was where she would find her comfort. Meredith nodded and headed home.

Home was her mother's house. It was her house now, actually. Well, hers and Derek's anyway. She parked in the driveway and headed inside to find her husband standing over a coffee pot. "Mer." He said, when she came into the kitchen. "Where were you? I was worried."

She tried to steel herself against the tears, but her face crumbled and a sob racked her body. Derek's arms were around her before she could think of anything to say, so she just buried her head into his chest and cried. He stroked her hair and whispered that he loved her into her ear. When her heaving sobs had subsided enough to speak, she looked up at him. "My mom died." She whispered. He pulled her closer to him.

"Meredith, I'm so sorry." He whispered.

"It's stupid." She said. "It's not like she knew me anyway. I just always hoped that we would have more time."

He shook his head and tightened his grasp around her. "It's not stupid Meredith. You're hurting. That's never stupid." When she had composed herself, he poured them both cups of coffee and they sat at the table.

"I went to see Richard and Adele." She said. "I got the call from the nursing home and all I could think of was her funeral. And who would talk about her life. I knew I couldn't, so I went right over there and asked Richard." Derek reached across the table for her hand, which she intertwined with his gratefully.

"I'll help you do this, Meredith." He said. "You know that."

She smiled. "What haven't you helped me with? Whatever force it was that brought us back together, Derek, I'm so glad it did."

He smiled back at her and leaned over to kiss her. "Not as glad as I am."

The doorbell rang shattering the moment, and Meredith knew it was Cristina. She had called her while Derek was pouring the coffee and doing the supportive husband thing. She didn't bother to answer the door; Cristina knew enough to just come inside.

When she appeared in the kitchen doorway, she bit her lip. Meredith stood and Cristina embraced her. "Are you okay?"

Meredith nodded. "I'm okay. And I'll be fine."

Cristina bit her lip again. "I know your mom just died. And I know you have the day off to grieve and have comfort sexy with McDreamy, and this is going to come out way more narcissistic than it should, be we have an absolute wedding crisis."

Meredith smiled and motioned for Cristina to sit, glad to have something to take her mind off of her mother. Cristina only started pacing. Meredith raised an eyebrow at Derek. "Oh, it must be bad."

So there you have it. First chapter. Check out 'Keeping The Faith', 'Loud And Clear', 'It Takes A Village' and 'Fireworks'.

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