Author: charmedbywits
Title: I've Seen Better Days
Rating: K-M
Fandom: Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice
Pairings/Characters: (Main Pairings) Addison/Sam, Meredith/Derek, Meredith/Addison (Minor Pairings, Private Practice) Charlotte/Cooper, Pete/Violet, Violet/Charlotte Amelia/Sheldon, Amelia/OC, Addison/Jake, Naomi/Gabriel (Minor Pairings, Grey's Anatomy) Callie/Arizona, Lexie/Mark, Lexie/Jackson, Mark/OC, Christina/Owen, Teddy/Henry, Teddy/OC, Jackson/April, Alex/OC
Genre: Romance, Angst, Drama, Humor and Hurt/Comfort
Summary: Meredith kidnaps Zola and runs. Who does she go to for help?
Timeline: Seasons 1 to 7 of Grey's Anatomy and Seasons 1 to 4 of Private Practice. (Possible spoilers from their current seasons in later chapter)
Disclaimer: The characters of Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice are proudly owned by Shonda Rhimes, production company ShondaLand, and broadcast station ABC. No copyright infringement is intended. The original story and ideas of this story are owned by charmedbywits. Plagiarism is theft. Please don't copy or reproduce by story without permission authorized.
Authors Note: If the idea of two women loving each other and are in a romantic relationship is against your views, please look elsewhere. I already have ten chapters written, but I won't be posting them until after the holidays since I'm going on vacation with my dear wife. And one of our rules when we go on vacation is that, we don't bring our laptops, cells, iPads, or any other technology. But on the brighter note, I have two chapters for you as a start. I'll be posting them soon. This looks like it's going to be a long story. Ten chapters written, and I've barely touched based. All mistakes are my own.
Prologue
Meredith sat in the supply closet waiting for Christina to return. Her four hours in hiding with Zola was quickly turning into five hours. Meredith looked down at her bubbling daughter, and smiled. Zola's deep, beautiful brown eyes met Meredith's own cobalt blue eyes and she felt herself falling in love all over again with her daughter. It was at that moment that she knew, returning to Janet and Derek, was not an option. She couldn't give up Zola. And she knew, despite all reassures from Janet, she wasn't going to see Zola again, and would forever lose her baby. And that wasn't an option. She didn't worry too much about Derek. Their relationship was done. There was nothing to save. He wanted her to be sorry, and the simple fact was, she wasn't and would do all over again to save Adele from what her own mother went through.
Making a quick decision, Meredith gathered Zola's bag and Zola before she left the closet and the only home she ever knew, Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital. It didn't take her long to arrive back home. She was grateful everyone was at the hospital and not home. Gently laying a sleeping Zola in the middle of her bed, Meredith began pacing in her room. The days events clashing together in her mind, the consequences of her choices play over and over again in her mind and it all brought her back to one thought: Zola. Everything she did and doing was for her beautiful daughter.
Moving to the closet, Meredith grabbed her biggest suit case and began throwing clothes and toiletries in it. Next, she grabbed a smaller suit case, filling it with supplies she needed for Zola. She moved around her room fast and efficiently. Time was at the essence, people would start sending out a search party for her.
It took her twenty minutes to load up her jeep with her bags and gathered a still sleeping Zola, placing her into her car seat. Thirty minutes later, she was pulling up into the bank. Getting Zola out, she made her way into the bank. She took a deep breath, calming her raging, frantic nerves. Another thirty minutes later, she had cleaned out all of her savings. She now held a suit case full of money in one arm and her darling daughter in her other arm.
Meredith sat in Roxy's diner, thinking about her next step. She couldn't back out now, she was too far in. Taking a bite of her Bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwich, Meredith look through her phone. Zola was content, nibbling on some cheerios in her highchair and banging her toys keys.
Meredith deleted message after message, text after text, missed call after missed call, until her phone was finally free of messages. She looked through her contacts, contemplating if she should call Christina, knowing her person, her soul-mate would always be there, but thought better of it. She couldn't bring Christina into this. Christina had her own problems and still had a career ahead of her, unlike Meredith. Suddenly her fingers stop scrolling when she came in contact with Montgomery, Addison. She thought about Addison for all of five minutes before she gathered Zola and paid the check.
In the next two hours, Meredith sold her car for more cash and bought a bus ticket to Los Angeles.