Playing Make-Believe
by HilaryHilary
Chapter One: First Day of My Life
Meredith Grey sat sullenly between her mother and her new stepfather, her arms crossed, her arms folded over her legs, staring blankly ahead of her to the back of the chair in front of her.
Like enough hadn't happened lately. Like her real father, Thatcher, leaving, her mother announcing she was going to marry the man Meredith had previously thought of as only an friend of her parents-Richard Webber, who had been a resident with her mother. Then, as if the wedding taking place and Richard moving in with them into the house still wasn't enough.
No, they had to move to New York and leave Seattle behind. Despite her opinions on the subject.
"You okay, Meredith?"
She looked up in to the dark, kind eyes of her stepfather. He really was a nice guy, she reflected. And if nothing else, he mellowed out Ellis. And stood up to her, as Thatcher had never been able to.
"Stop sulking," said Ellis, sighing slightly. She, as well, would have just happily stayed in Seattle. It was Richard's fellowship opportunity, not her own. But she at the very least had needed a change.
As did they all. She'd thought everything would get simple once she left Thatcher and he left Adele, but nothing had been simple, even after they'd married. Adele and Thatcher did still exist, after all.
"I'm not sulking," said Meredith obstinately.
"Right," said Richard, smiling slightly.
"I'm not!"
This time her voice was brighter, almost cheerful. He shook his head. This daughter of Ellis, who was tiny and blonde and wistful eyed, was completely different from her mother and a total mystery to him. As far as he could tell, she wished to remain so.
Her mother took her hand once they'd left the airplane, and the three of them collected their luggage before flagging a taxi outside and riding to the apartment that had been set aside for them by the hospital. This, if nothing else, impressed seven year old Meredith. She'd never thought of Richard as a doctor of any skill, but if this hospital wanted him badly to get him an apartment, she concluded that he had to be at least a little bit good.
Meredith was only marginally impressed by the apartment, but it did have it's redeeming qualities. Her mother had flown over the week before to get it set up, and her bedroom was almost entirely in order. She collapsed onto her bed in relief and slept, not stirring, until dinner.
A meal that, although she didn't know it yet, would end up changing her life for ever.
"Meredith? It's time to wake up."
Meredith opened her eyes reluctantly.
"I'm tired, Mommy," she said pitifully. Ellis Webber raised her eyebrows, but walked over to her daughter's bed and sat down.
"I know. But we're having company for dinner. I know we just moved here, but Richard has some people he hasn't seen in a while... The son of a friend of his, and one of his friends. They're in pre-med here in New York. He thinks you'll like them," said Ellis encouragingly.
"They're boys? Boys are..."
"What, icky?" asked Ellis with a laugh. She half heartedly attempted to make sense of her daughter's tangled blonde hair.
"I was going to say silly."
Ellis shook her head and began to carefully comb through Meredith's hair.
"Well, probably they are, but Richard wants them to meet us. Do you hear that? We're famous," she said enticingly.
Meredith swung her legs over to the edge of the bed and slid out. She glanced in disinterest at the mirror and glanced away again. Ellis smiled. She knew her daughter was pretty, and would grow up to be even prettier, but she hadn't seemed to notice yet.
"Did you get her up?"
Ellis smiled as she walked into the kitchen.
"She's changing. Sorry she was giving you a hard time today," she said. He shrugged, smiled briefly at his new wife.
"None of this was ever going to be easy. She's a good kid," he said.
"She'd be lucky to come out of this... undamaged," said Ellis with difficulty. Richard looked up from the stove top in concern.
"Don't beat yourself up about that. Do you really think she'd be better off growing up with you and Thatcher?"
Ellis shrugged, but Meredith came in before she could continue. They both smiled brightly at her. Meredith frowned in suspicion, but said nothing.
Before any of them could begin to converse, the doorbell rang and Richard buzzed them up. Ellis and Meredith followed him to the door, and Meredith's gaze fell to her feet when they finally entered.
She heard Richard embrace both of them like they were his sons, but felt awkward, like she was intruding on someone else's family. She wondered if this was how Richard felt, daily.
"Guys, this is my wife, Ellis. Ellis, these two are Mark Sloan and Derek Shepherd. And this..." Richard paused slightly. "Is Meredith."
On cue, when her name was spoken, she looked up, and immediately met the eyes of one of the men.
He smiled at her, and she found herself smiling back. He had an interesting face, he decided. He had dimples when he smiled, and deep blue eyes, and dark hair that was sort of floppy.
"Mark?" she guessed, reasoning that she had better take her chances.
"No, I'm Mark. Hey," said the other one, sticking out his hand.
Her gaze shifted to him. He was taller, lighter haired and lighter eyed. He was smiling too, but in a different way than the other one. His smile was more self assured, less friendly. She shook his hand and then turned back to the first.
"Hi. I'm Meredith Grey," she said. He smiled at her again.
"Derek Shepherd. Very pleased to meet you," he said.
She continued to stare at him for another moment, lost in his smile and his dimples.
"Come on boys," said Richard eventually. "Let's eat. I have to tell your mother's tonight that you're not sickeningly underfed and that you have us to take care of you."
The five of them sat down to eat, and by the time they were finished Meredith was friends with them both. Mark talked more, and teased her more. Derek said less, but smiled more. She knew they were best friends, and knew they couldn't possibly be more different.
She wondered why they were friends. She wondered why Richard seemed to be like their father. She wondered if Richard could be like her father, too.
After they were finished eating she walked into the new kitchen to help her mother with the dishes, but stopped in her tracks when she came across her mother and her stepfather kissing passionately. She tried to remember ever seeing her actual parents do this, and could not. She hurriedly backed out of the room, into something solid.
"Sorry," she mumbled, looking down.
"That's okay. Hard for you to watch?"
She looked up. It was Derek. He wasn't smiling. She shook her head.
"Not hard. Just kind of weird."
"I'd imagine."
He stared at her a moment longer, and Meredith realized uncomfortably that he was trying to figure out what she was feeling.
"Guys, get a room," came a voice in disgust. Meredith looked up to realize it was Mark, who winked at her conspiratorially. The three of them walked into the kitchen as Richard and Ellis broke apart in embarrassment.
"Sorry," said Richard, speaking on both of their behalf's. Mark glanced at his watch.
"No problem. But we should be going," he said. He walked toward Richard, hugged him quickly, shook hands with Ellis. He ruffled Meredith's hair on his way out. "See you around, kid."
Meredith frowned slightly, and was left with Derek and her parents.
"Bye. It was nice to meet you," she said briefly. He smiled again.
"You too. I'll be around," he promised.
And Meredith, who had never been one to trust people at face value, believed him.
Author's note: Hope you enjoyed the first chapter. It's going to move ahead in time fairly quickly, but hopefully I won't confuse you. And besides the eventual Meredith/Mark/Derek triangle I don't really know where I'm going to go with the ships, so I'm open to suggestions. Thanks!