A/N: So I have been thinking about this one for a while, and making mindmaps during maths... and now the first chapter is done, so now I really just need your opinion of it all!
For you who wonder, I will absolutey not quit This Puzzle Of Mine, just so you know...
Well, I might wanna give you a abckground on this one.
It takes place about almost 18 years after prom.
Meredith chose Finn and about nine months later their daughter was born, now 17.
Derek went back to New York with Addison, "mourning" the lost of Meredith,
Alex was there to mend Izzie after Denny died and they started a family, and now they still live in the house together with Finn and Meredith, making it pretty crowded.
George and Callie are together and they had a daughter some three moths after Meredith. They now live next door.
Christina married Burke and all.
But now to the real story. It's summer and it's Meredith's 43rd birthday and at Casa de Grey, they're throwing a party, or more likely Izzie is. Everyone is invited and by everyone, everyone is invited...
Well, maybe you understood something, maybe not... Please ask me if you have any questions, but as I post the chapter it will clear up...
So here is the first chapter of the yet to be named story...
and by the way, if you are a little confused about the time-line I can give you my version...
Well anyways...
chapter one - much ado about nothing
Meredith slowly opened her eyes to the morning sun that carefully peeked through the curtains that had the previous night been closed together. Looking at the alarm clock on the nightstand the red digits showed 9 a.m and that was nowhere near the hour of her departure from the big bed. Her first surgery wasn't until 2 p.m and until then there was nothing for her to do at Seattle Grace Hospital than to sit in her office and roll her thumbs.
Never the less; surgery or not she couldn't go back to sleep now after being waken up by the sun, so turning around in mind to find her husband lay there snoring she found the rest of the bed empty. It was odd, no husband lay there snoring. Odd being the fact that it was Saturday and Finn didn't open the clinic until 12 a.m unless there was an emergency. Even then he always woke Meredith up, just to tell her he had to leave. He was a great husband. Though she wasn't yet entitled to call him her husband as they were not married and if Meredith had something to say she would never be entitled to say it, but, even though Meredith didn't want to get married she still chose to call him husband cause she simply didn't know what else to say. Partner she thought didn't have the best ring. To say boyfriend when she introduced him or talked about him didn't sound too good she thought after more than a decade together. Her real holy-matrimony-for-better-for-worse-husband he might never become, but he was always going to be her hubby. When Meredith come to think of it, hubby didn't sound too bad.
"This is my hubby Finn..." she said to herself and started to laugh hearing how silly it sounded. Maybe it would work for Izzie to refer Alex as, even though they were married and by that she was entitled to say husband. For Alex's sake Meredith wouldn't mention the word hubby to Izzie, because if she did Alex wouldn't talk to her again.
Suddenly she heard voices that Meredith heard tried to be quite without managing so well and an awfully lot of foot steps banged up the stairs. Sitting up in horror she looked over at Finn's nightstand on which stood the high-tech thing of a clock he had gotten for Christmas last year. It showed temperature, both in-doors and out-doors, humidity thingy and all sorts of weather stuff that Meredith didn't care much about cause it always rained in Seattle whatever the clock-o-meter showed. What was also pushed into the 15 square centimeter of plastic was the date and Meredith sighed deeply when she saw the date. June 10th it read with tiny, almost un-readable letter in the right corner of the supposed to be a state of the ark thing. It was her birthday. Her 43rd birthday. Meredith never liked birthdays, at least not her own. It reminded her too much of her broken childhood, when birthdays were celebrated in the most minimal way. That her birthdays had been celebrated in the most minimal way was even an overstatement. It wasn't as she hadn't gotten presents, she had good ones even, but everything else had been missing. The cake, the candles, the party, the family, the genuinely happy faces, the father. Without all that it's no birthday. So Meredith never celebrated her birthday. When Izzie and George asked for her birthday the same year they had started their internships she told them she didn't want them to buy anything that they would just be wasting money. Not that she wouldn't be thankful if they did. She just didn't want them to. But when Finn had entered the picture Meredith gotten her first birthday gift since the day she turned 16. The years after that and until she went away for collage her mother had forgotten her birthday.
But now she had a family that liked giving her things. Her daughters had through the years given her all sorts of stuff from school. Handmade cups and necklaces was still one of their favorites to give her, even though her eldest daughter of 17, Ellen nowadays bought Meredith something instead. Mia who was 13 still made necklaces sometimes, but the 5 year-old Kate was the really big manufacturer of mugs, necklaces and paper machier animals and Meredith always used the things she was given. Not the paper machier animals though, but everything else. The very first thing she had gotten from Ellen was a necklace with all sort of colored beads and to this day she wore it or kept it in her pocket during the surgeries for good luck.
Meredith looked at the big wooden door as the footsteps wandered closer. Then it flung open and a big herd of familiar faces filled the room. Finn walked over to her and gave her a quick kiss before Kate jumped up in her mothers lap, kissing her on her cheek. The bed quickly filled with Izzie, who placed a tray with a steaming cup of coffee and various cupcakes, muffins and brownies, on Meredith nightstand, Christina and Callie together with the younger children whose fathers chose to stand by the closet after each giving Meredith a happy birthday and a hug.
"What are you all doing?" Meredith smiled as she looked around at the tired faces of her big family, who all rolled their eyes. "Seriously you didn't have to..."
"Good, then I can go?" 9 year old Frank said as Christina threw a watchful eye on her son who shrugged his shoulders. "What? Mom, Meredith said it was okay... Henry and I started watching Spiderman 5 when you guys did the breakfast thing. Mom, please?"
"Christina it's okay..." Meredith nodded towards the young boy, jumping up and down of anxiety for his mother's answer. "You came here and you don't even live here... I don't even know why my own kids are up..." she said, motioning the thump when Mia nodded off and her head hit the wooden frame of the bed.
"Okay! Go..!" Christina said and smiled after her son disappeared out the door followed by George and Callie's 10 year old son Henry. "You guys are too loose..." she said and looked from Callie to George who both shrugged.
"We? Loose?" George laughed. "We, are not the ones letting our kids eat ice cream for breakfast..."
Christina looked down, rolling her eyes at George and Callie who both laughed.
"You used to eat my cupcakes for breakfast, George..." Izzie stated as Christina smiled victoriously at him. "You gonna give aunty Meredith her birthday gift now?" The little red haired girl looked up at her mommy with big brown eyes and nodded, smiling.
"Here you have..." 5-year-old Ginny said and handed Meredith a box wrapped in yellow paper with green strings around it. "Happy birthday..."
"Awh, thank you sweetie..." Meredith smiled and pulled of the paper and strings. In the box lay a notebook with a dark emerald velvet cover and a golden pen, with McMeredith engraved on it. Meredith gave out a laugh and smiled, shaking her head. "It's very beautiful, how clever..." she pointed at the engraved McLabel. "But you shouldn't have..."
"You always say that... Every year mom..." Mia exclaimed and tiredly rubbed her face. "But no one cares so we are going to continue giving you things for your birthday, so you just might get used to it and say thanks."
Meredith nodded and kissed her daughter on her fore head and then turned to Izzie and Ginny who both smiled. "Thank you... And thank you Alex." she smiled at him too who nodded and moved towards the bed and scooped Ginny up in his arms.
"If it's okay we will depart to the kitchen to make breakfast to the adolescent teens, right honey?" he said and tickled Ginny who giggled and nodded. "Happy birthday, Mer..."
"Thanks..." When Meredith looked down in her lap there were two small boxes, one from Mia and the other one from Kate.
"Happy birthday mommy!" Kate almost shouted. "Mia's present is a-"
Mia a quickly covered her sister's mouth as the others laughed. "Katie..." she whispered. "You can't say what it is, silly..."
"Oh..." Kate said quietly and nodded mischievously. "I'm not supposed to tell, right?..."
"Yeah, every year the same, try to remember..." Mia sighed and looked at her mother as she opened one of the presents. "You like it?"
Meredith nodded as a she tried on the ring with a big, smoky-gray gem stone on it. "It fits perfectly, Mia, and my favorite color... Thank you honey..."
"Yeah, to match you're eyes!" Mia smiled as Meredith held it up to her eyes to compare. "Almost the same!"
"Very nice, Mer..." everyone agreed.
"Okay, now mine mommy!" Kate pointed at the package left in Meredith's lap. "And I will not tell you what it is..." she whispered.
"What is it?" Meredith could hear Ginny ask Kate and they started to whisper and giggle like they always did. The two little girls had always been best friends. Being born a few weeks apart had made them that. It hadn't really been their choice, more likely better timing.
Meredith smiled yet again, because it was nothing else she could do really as a bracelet revealed itself. It had gem-stones on it just like the ring, just smaller stones in different colors. In what Meredith assumed to be the middle of the bracelet a stone just like the one on the ring was. "It's very beautiful, baby..." Meredith gave her youngest daughter a hug. "Have you made this at school?"
"No, we did it here at home and Mia helped me just a teeny, wheeny bit!" Kate said proudly as she shook her head. "Daddy bought us the stones and thread and glue and... and... and the ring so Mia could put the stone on it!"
Meredith nodded and looked at the others. "Now I hope that's it..."
"No, not really..." Callie said and looked at George who handed Meredith yet another wrapped box.
"Happy 43rd Birthday Mer!" George cheered and gave Meredith yet another hug. "Hope you like it..."
"I think you really will." Callie said and smiled. "Cause you really need a new one, if you know what I'm saying..."
Meredith nodded and in the parcel was a scrub cap. She started to laugh as she tried on the pink piece of fabric. "Oh this is nice... And I sure needed a new one."
"Yeah, it looks really nice..." Callie agreed. "And the best part is that like 70 of the profits go to the National Breast Cancer Foundation, the Pink Ribbon thing you know, so it's for one more good cause, besides you throwing out that worn-out, faryish thing..."
"Thank you both." Meredith looked at George and Callie.
"So I'll go down and help Alex with the breakfast... It seems like everybody's eating here today... I mean, we haven't eaten anything at home..." George smiled and then looked at Finn who sat on the window board. "You wanna join me?"
"Yeah..." He nodded and moved over to Meredith and gave her a kiss. "I thought we go out for lunch or dinner some time soon, that's my birthday gift to you, honey..." Finn whispered in her ear. "And you might wanna wake up those adolescent teens Alex talked about..." he said as he moved out the door.
The ones who were still left in the room were Izzie, Meredith, Callie and Christina all looked around for the smaller adults who were supposed to be there too.
"I told Leena to set her alarm to 8.30!" Izzie out burst and crossed her arms over her chest.
"Oh, like your kids ever do what you tell them..." Christina muttered.
"Says who?" Izzie glared at her. "The one who hasn't bought a present for Meredith!"
"I have bought a present for Meredith!"
"Oh, and why's not Burke and Lewis here?" Izzie looked at Christina. "Might they be out buying a present for your best friend?"
Christina went quiet, but after a while she looked up. "Okay, I might let my husband and 14 year-old-son do that but you all know I hate buying birthday gifts and stuff! It's so yuck!"
"It's okay Christina..." Meredith looked at Callie who laughed a little and then back at her best friend. "I've said I don't want any presents, but those basket cases," Meredith motioned towards Izzie and Callie. "Went out and bought me stuff anyways, but you know it's the thought that count cause that's all that matters..." she smiled.
Her three friends looked oddly at her.
"What!?"
"Has she entered a second 40 year crisis?" Christina asked, looking suspiciously at Meredith.
"Probably..." Callie almost whispered, nodding.
"Has she even gotten out of her first one?" Izzie wondered, and the other ones agreed.
"Probably not..." Christina followed.
"Guys!" Meredith exclaimed as her friends started to laugh. "That is not funny!" she threw a pillow on each and every one of them. "I never had a 40-year-crisis! Right?"
"Sure you did..." Izzie and Callie gave Christina glares. "...n't..." she smiled.
"I saw that!" Meredith looked at Izzie and Callie who both smiled.
"I'll wake them up..." Callie said and started shouting. "Tessa! Ellen! Leena! Harrison! Get here now!"
"Tessa is here?" Meredith asked.
"Yeah..." Callie said as they could all hear people starting to move in the rooms around them. "Yeah, she crashed her last night I think..."
When Meredith came to think of it, Tessa crashed there almost every night, even if it wasn't much between the O'Malley-Torres house and the Grey-Dandrige-Stevens-Karev one. 4 years ago George and Callie had luckily been able to buy the house next to Meredith, Finn, Izzie and Alex. The house they bought was smaller than theirs, but surely it was hard to get, because Mrs. Flannigan who had lived there pretty much wanted Meredith and Alex dead. Fortunately for George and Callie, Mrs. Flannigan thought Finn was a doll, helping her poodle Fifi when ever she was sick and Izzie was a pretty and kind woman, who made heavenly cupcakes and muffins. Still she hated Meredith and Alex.
"They were playing all night down in the basement..." Izzie looked wondering at Meredith. "Didn't you hear? They maxed the amplifier... I couldn't sleep..."
"No, I didn't..."
"And you're son banged on those drums until midnight!" Izzie turned to Christina who shrugged her shoulders.
"I thought I heard someone open the door around 1.30..."
"And you say we are loose?" Callie crossed her arms.
"Whatever ortho..."
Meredith looked at her three friends. Through the years they had just become closer and closer friends, even though Callie was still something of an outsider. They hadn't liked her when George had met her and everyone was aware of it, Callie included. But she grew bigger on them and it certainly helped to get her in the gang as Tessa was born just a few months after Ellen. They had become like a big family, a huge one. At regular dinners or just a Saturday it was always alot of people. Then imagine Christmas, thanksgiving and birthdays; that's what could get people charged with overpopulation. Plus, Bailey and her family always joined the party on such occasions.
Meredith and the others turned their heads to the door as various greeting-phrases were heard. In the door stood four, presumed to be tired teenagers with their hair in all kinds of weird directions that normally hair doesn't go, in their 'nicest' morning clothes and on top of that the three girls had either forgotten or just given a crap about removing their mascara.
"Hi Harrison... Oh and it's the Panda-triplets!" Christina greeted and looked mischievously at the girls. She had obviously noticed the mascara.
"It's actually not that bad..." Meredith said as Ellen walked over to her side of the bed and sank down beside her mother. "A long night?"
Ellen nodded. "Yeah, I mean the song is so freaking hard, and I doubt that we'll make it till ton-" she stopped as Izzie started making lots of noices and Ellen instantly knew why. "Well, enough about that..." she said as Tessa gave Meredith an envelope.
"Happy Birthday..." all of the teens said as a wondering look spread on her face when she saw the ticket in side the envelope.
"What's this?"
"It's a ticket to the Ramones/The Clash/U2/Pink Floyd/Fleetwood Mac and slash something more tribute concert..." Meredith looked oddly at Leena when she rambled all the band names. "We know, weird combination, but..."
"... Great music and they're here in town so..." Harrison finished his twin sister's sentence.
"So that's great!" Meredith smiled. "That's great... Thank you..."
"Good..." Tessa said smiling as she took a seat beside her mother who instantly started to remove the smeared out mascara. "Cause we do know... ehm... how much... Mom!" Callie stopped. "How much you love a bit of rock..." Tessa continued as she quickly put up her jet black hair in a messy pony tail.
"Yeah I do. Thank you again..." Meredith gave her daughter a hug and continued with her friends' kids. "I'm sorry you all had to be waken up, cause it's really early... I mean I hadn't planned to get out of bed until a few hours..."
"I told you mom, I didn't have to put the alarm clock on 8.30. Like 10.00 or something would have been perfect..." Leena sighed and glared slightly at her mother
"Well, honey... Did you set the alarm clock to anything?" Izzie looked at Leena who rolled her eyes. "Didn't think so..."
"Ok, well, congrats Meredith, but now I'm starving!" Harrison exclaimed and rubbed his stomach as her made his way to the door soon followed by his sister and friends. "I heard dad talk about making some breakfast to the 'adolescent teens'..."
"You heard that!? You were awake!?" Izzie stood up following her son out through the door, but turned quickly back to Meredith, pointing at the tray on the nightstand "And you haven't touched that!"
"Yeah..." Harrison muttered, halfway down the stairs.
"Oh, it's much nicer to eat with you all down stairs..." Meredith answered as Izzie turned around yet again taking up the track of her son.
"And you didn't get out of bed!?" Izzie exclaimed, making her way down the stairs.
"About starving, I am too..." Christina said and rose as did Callie. "Besides, I think Harrison will need some help... or a ticket to Saturn..."
"And I gotta teach my daughter how to use make-up remover cause clearly can't handle that..." Callie shook her head as she and Christina both departed from the room leaving Meredith behind.
She looked around, seeing the sun still shining through the window. Tiredly she rubbed her forehead. How sweet it may have been, them all storming in and saying happy birthday, not that Meredith didn't appreciated it, she actually looked forward to a whole evening at work without much ado about her birthday, without much ado about nothing, other than brain surgery.
Little did she know…
A/N: so please tell me what you think... and i know, maybe it was a little early fro george and callie and alex and izzie to have kids but they had to to amke the story go, so please go with it... thanks and please review!