Chapter Three: Stand Here with Me

You always reached out to me and helped me believe
All those memories we share
I will cherish every one of them
The truth of it is there's a right way to live
And you showed me
So now you live on in the words of a song
You're a melody
You stand here with me now

Creed

…

There is an inevitable bond that forms between children whose parents are as close as the surgeons of Seattle Grace Hospital. Not only were they constantly in contact from their very earliest years, but they also understood like no one else just what it meant to be the child of parents with that particular occupation. There was an unbreakable sense of comfort in their togetherness that they still appreciated as adults.

Although Elena wouldn't have reversed her decision to go away to school, first as an undergraduate to Princeton and eventually to Johns Hopkins, she had missed her family terribly the entire time she was away. And that evening as she sat in her living room with all of them while Brennan and Lillian were busy making dinner, it was almost like nothing had changed.

Elena smiled as Hayden's wife, Corrine, took a seat beside her on the sofa. She was easily an honorary member of the club, having been one of their dearest friends since she was five years old. Everybody knew that she and Hayden were going to get married—Hayden himself had decided at only ten years old that Corrine was the love of his life—and Elena was more than happy to welcome her brother's soulmate into their family. They had gotten married only two months after their high school graduation, and even four years later, they were still just as happy as newlyweds. And Elena loved them for that.

"Okay, I'm feeling left out of the sisterly love," Aida announced as she took the liberty to sit down on Elena's other side.

Aida Grace Shepherd was an impossible mirror of her mother; Hayden had something for both of his parents, but Aida was strikingly Meredith. Evidently, although no one cared to elaborate, Meredith had been somewhat of a rebel in her earlier days; it was easy to see that her daughter was definitely upholding the family tradition. She rarely missed a party these days, and she practically had a seat reserved in the principal's office. She said what she thought and did what she wanted with no discretion and no regrets.

"So, Ellie, is it okay if I crash here tonight? Mom and Dad won't leave me alone about my history grade—it's not my fault that Mr. McLoser hates my guts already—and I feel bad for Hayden and Corrine because I'm always over at their place," she said, putting on her sweetest smile. "Please, Ellie?"

Aida was the only person who ever referred to her "Ellie," and for some reason, it completely melted her heart; she reasoned it was because one of her sister's first words was, in fact, her name. And despite all their obvious differences, Elena loved her little sister and would have done anything in the world for her. "Okay, just call Dad and Meredith and let them know," she gave in.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" she squealed, hugging Elena tightly. "I swear, you won't even know I'm here."

"You still have to follow all the rules that they have. Curfews and stuff," she told her, but Aida was already on the phone with her mother.

Just then, William walked through the door with his girl of the month. He was in his last year of law school, and he was determined to date every woman in Seattle between the ages of twenty-one and twenty-five. Elena had decided that so far, he was doing a very good job of it and often let him know that; however, he would always just grin and tease that he was just looking for someone who could compare to her.

"Good to see you made it through your first month," William laughed as he walked over to Elena and kissed her cheek. The duo had always had a particular friendship, one that arose from all the years they'd spent together throughout their childhood school years. "This is Janya," he introduced the young woman standing next to him, who smiled politely. "Janya, this is… well, everyone."

"Hey, let's play charades or something while we wait for dinner," Lillian suggested cheerfully as she and Brennan joined the others. Although she and Aida were best friends—practically inseparable, as a matter of fact—they were polar opposites. Lillian Burke was already determined to become a surgeon as her parents were; in fact, she and Elena were probably the most alike of any of the children, even twins Lydia and Sophie.

"I'll go first," Joshua, the youngest of their group at only sixteen, offered and they all obliged as was habit. Drawing a card, he studied it for a moment, laughed to himself, then opened his hands to indicate that it was the title of a book.

"Three words," Lydia said as her brother held up three fingers. "Okay, second word..."

"Close?" Aaron guessed as Joshua held his hands almost together.

"Small?" Brennan wondered, and he nodded to let him know that he was on the right track.

Finally, Elena guessed, "Little?" and Joshua touched his nose to let her know that she had guessed correctly.

He held up three fingers, to signify the third word and paused for a moment before pointing to Elena.

The others, however, had no idea what to make of it and stared at her blankly for a moment.

"Um… Elle? Elena?" Lillian said, not really expecting it to be the answer but in attempt to get the guessing started again.

"Doctor?" Corrine wondered, but Joshua shook his head.

The guessing continued for a while, but to no avail. However, suddenly a smile came over Aida's face. "Princess," she answered without hesitation, thinking of the nickname to which her father almost always addressed her sister. "It's A Little Princess."

…

Meredith had never quite realized just how big her house was until she found herself alone that evening. Ever since she had moved back to Seattle all those years ago, there had always been someone there—first George and Izzie as her roommates, and then Derek and their children. She hadn't ever really given it much thought before because it just wasn't something that crossed her mind until now. Even with Elena and Hayden grown up and married, she and Derek had still had Aida to play her music too loud or to fumble down the stairs for a midnight snack.

Lately, however, their youngest was set on her independence and was rarely home. Meredith understood that need better than most, and she respected it even though she feared that her youngest may be headed toward a very hard road. But she also knew that there were lessons that her children would have to learn on their own, that sometimes all she could do was let them spread their wings and be there to catch them if they couldn't quite make the flight.

Soon enough, Meredith's thoughts were broken by Anesthesia bursting clumsily into the kitchen and staring up at her with her playful black eyes. Anesthesia—or Annie as they had taken to calling her—was the huge, shaggy black mutt that Aida had discovered on their doorstep when she was nine. After two months of searching for the dog's owner to no avail and countless hours of begging from their youngest daughter, the dog became a permanent member of the Shepherd family. Aida had named her Anesthesia because, as she had proudly declared, it was the biggest word she could spell.

"Hey, Annie," Meredith smiled, patting the dog atop the head as had become habit. "Sorry, but Aida won't be home again tonight," she said, and she could swear that by Annie's abrupt halt in tail-wagging that she had understood perfectly.

An instant later, however, her ears perked up and she was bounding for the front door even before Meredith realized that her husband was home. Meredith found it especially amusing that just by reading Annie's behavior, she could tell who would be walking through the door. But it was particularly easy to tell when it was Aida; that was when Annie's tail wagged so much that it sent her whole body shaking.

"Hey, Anna-Banana," Derek laughed as Annie jumped up to greet him. And as his wife appeared shortly after, he couldn't help but smile.

Even after twenty-four years of marriage, she still managed to take his breath away just by walking into the room. She was, in his eyes, ageless and completely unaffected by the passing of the years. She was his perfection, and he was eternally in awe of just how lucky he was.

"I'm glad you're home. It's too quiet," she smiled, finding herself wrapped in his arms. "Aida called to say that she's going to be staying at Elle's for a while."

Derek nodded thoughtfully. Aida, his little Angel, didn't quite seem to fit her nickname these days. She was the rebel, the free spirit, the one who questioned authority and demanded explanation for everything. It was certainly more of a challenge with Aida than it had been with either Elena or Hayden, but he loved her just the same. She was, and would always be, his little Aida Grace.

"I think it's a good idea for them to spend some time together," he remarked as they went back into the kitchen to finish dinner. "She listens to Elle. Maybe she can help Aida get things figured out in a way that we can't."

"Maybe," she sighed, hoping that he was right. "I just wish that Aida would apply herself. She's such a smart girl, Derek, but she just doesn't care. If she worked hard and just couldn't quite do well, I could understand that. But she's too smart to throw her life away already."

"She'll come around," he answered, although he wasn't quite sure if he even believed himself. "One day she'll decide that enough is enough, and she'll get her act together. We've taught her right from wrong, but it's up to her now to decide. I worry about her just as much as you do, but we can't protect her from everything."

Meredith sighed and put her head on his shoulder. "But it doesn't stop me from wanting to. She's my baby, and I want to keep her safe."

"You don't have to worry tonight, at least. I'm sure Elle is going to keep her in line," he laughed. "And I know that Lily would never let her get into too much trouble."

His last remark made Meredith smile as well. She loved that her best friend's daughter and her own had also become best friends. "Thank goodness for Lily," she nodded. After a brief pause, she wondered randomly, "Derek, do you ever wish that we had had more children?"

Of course, hey had talked about the possibility of more children many times over the years, but it had ended up just being their three. However, their house had seemed to be the place where everyone always ended up, so between all of their children's friends, sometimes it seemed like they'd had about fifteen kids instead. "I don't know. If we'd had more kids, I would have been overjoyed. But Elle and Hayden and Aida—they've made my life complete, you know?"

Meredith nodded. She knew exactly what he meant because she felt the same. Just knowing that together, they had been a part of something more than themselves, was enough.