~ I do not own Grey's Anatomy, all credit goes to Shonda Rhimes ~

"I think when the world gives you more than you bargained for, you usually end up glad you got it."

That's what Richard always used to say, and it's what he says now, as he stands sheepishly next to my mother. I don't see how some lame quote is supposed to rectify the situation right now, but at least he's trying, which is a whole lot more than my mom...

TWO HOURS EARLIER

"Meredith, Maggie," The cold eyes of my mother, Ellis Grey, bore into me and my younger sister as she spoke, "Richard and I have something to tell you".

She gave him a look and he stepped forward to stand by the desk where she sat.

We had been summoned to see my mom, which was something that only ever happened when either of us had gotten in trouble. I didn't recall doing anything wrong, and neither did Maggie, so I had absolutely no idea what we were doing here.

"Your mother and I are getting married" Richard announced, trying desperately to stop a smile spreading across his face.

'MARRIED?!' I exclaimed. How could they be getting married without any notice whatsoever?

My mom looked up from the patient's chart she was reading; "Yes, we leave for New York on Saturday. You two will go to stay with Meredith's father for the summer, he lives in Europe now."

"The summer? Like, the whole summer?!" I said. Today was May 20th, so we would be away for three months... Why would they need three entire months to get married?

"Of course for the whole summer, Meredith, stop being so stupid. Take Maggie home now, she needs to have some dinner."

I glared at her as I grabbed my sister's hand and lead her out of the door. Maggie looked up at me, her brown eyes filled with tears, "Mer," she said, "Is Mom really gonna send us to stay with your Dad all summer?"

I sighed and bent down so I was the same height as her,"It's all gonna be okay, we'll still have each other."

She wrapped her little arms around my neck and clung on tight as I picked her up and carried her out through the glass doors of Seattle Grace Hospital.

Later that night, after many arguments between my Mom and Richard and Maggie and me, it was settled that we would fly to Moscow at 2:00pm on Friday May 22nd. Even though I still had to go to school tomorrow, I decided to phone my best friend, Cristina, to explain to her what was happening:

"Mer?" She asked, "Why are you phoning me at 11:30?"

"It's not that late!" I replied. I glanced at the time on my clock and saw that it was, actually, 11:30. "Or maybe it is..." I admitted.

I heard Cristina grumble through the phone, "This better be good, Meredith Grey, because I seriously need to sleep..."

I, on the other hand, didn't feel much like sleeping, so in the early hours of Thursday morning, I pulled on a hoodie over my tank top and leggings and crept downstairs as quietly as I could. When I reached the front door, after shoving on my battered old white converse sneakers, I slowly turned the key and let myself out into the chilly Seattle night. The slight wind blew my hair and the air felt different... calmer than it did in the daytime. When I looked up above my head, I saw a pitch black canvas sprinkled sparsely with shining stars. I love the night. I love that under the cover of darkness, people do things they'd never do under the harsh glare of day. Decisions feel wiser. People feel bolder. Everything feels better. I walked along the side of the road, headed toward the center of the city. I stayed out there until almost 4:30, then I made my way back to the house.

My Mom's white coat was missing from its usual place on the hooks next to the door, so I figured she had gone to the hospital. She was always there, even when she had no surgeries... I couldn't complain, though, because I love it there just as much. I often sit in the OR gallery and watch my Mom and Richard perform their surgeries; I know just as much about medicine as any intern. I have pages and pages of notes I've taken that Cristina and I use to revise, as we both share the dream of one day becoming brilliant surgeons. Before I returned to my bedroom, I peeked in Maggie's room to check that she was sleeping. As I began to open the door, I heard a little gasp from behind me and spun around to see Maggie's tear-stained face staring up at me.

"Oh, Maggie, what's wrong with you?" I asked her,

"I...I...I thought y...you were g...gone" she sobbed.

"I wasn't gone, I just went for a little walk" I explained.

She nodded, holding her Anatomy Jane doll close to her. I felt so sorry for her in that moment; she just looked so little and so alone.

"Do you want to sleep in my bed for tonight?" I asked her. I could see immediately that she wanted to, as she nodded eagerly as soon as I said it.

"Okay then, but remember not to take up too much of the bed!"

"Is your Dad nice?"

I jumped as I heard a little voice speak next to me.

"I thought you were asleep," I said.

"But I can't sleep 'til you tell me that he's gonna be nice." Maggie whined.

"I...I, um, I don't really remember what he was like..." I tried hard to think of something to say, but I couldn't seem to think of anything.

"Why not?" She asked.

"Well, he left when I was only little"

"Can you tell me the story?"

"Just go to sleep"

"Pleeeaaase"

I turned around, sick of her endless moaning. I heard her let out a small sigh, but then settle down. I couldn't help but think about my father, I mean, I must remember something about him... Cereal! He used to give me cereal in the mornings, before daycare. I found myself smiling at the distant memory; maybe he might be a good father after all. The smile faded as I thought about why I had always believed he was a bad father: He had an affair with some other woman, he left when I was two and didn't even attempt to contact me, in over 11 years I hadn't had a single letter, phone call, visit, anything. Good fathers don't do that.