Derek continued to stare at her, thinking for a moment that his eyes must be deceiving him. He couldn't speak, he could hardly breathe.

Now who can't talk?

Meredith continued to stare at him, her eyes slightly blurry but she could make out his shape, his hair, his crystal blue eyes. Her eyes closed for a moment.

"No." Derek said, moving swiftly forward toward her as her eyes closed, frantic that her eyes opening was only a reflex, he held his breath until her eyes opened again.

Picky…I have my eyes closed for so long… and now you're being bossy when I want to rest them.

"Don't close your eyes." He whispered. "You have beautiful eyes… don't ever close them." He said, his voice breathless and soft, the sound of surprise still evident in his words.

Doctor Shepherd, if I didn't know any better, I'd think that you were flirting with me.

Derek watched her with a fascinated stare, his eyes were so bright, so wide, she was becoming lost in the deep pools of his irises, diving into the blackness as if she would never return. Her eyes darted from one eye to the other, unable to stop taking in the sight of him. She blinked, trying to clear the cloudiness from her eyes as she watched him stare into her eyes.

You're more handsome then you sound.

"You have absolutely no idea who I am." He stated, his eyes showing a bit of disappointment.

You're Just Derek.

"It's alright if you don't know who I am… I mean… I just… Meredith… can you hear me?" He whispered as he reached for the penlight on the table beside the bed. "What the hell am I talking about, you can't answer me…" He whispered as he turned the penlight on.

Oh please… don't shine that in my eyes…

He shines the flashlight in her eyes, watching as her pupils dilated slowly, the light bouncing from the reflective crystal colors of her eyes, her eyelid flicking closed. "You don't like that…"

No… I told you not to do it…

"I'm sorry…" He said softly, genuinely. "I should page Cristina… she's not going to believe this…" He whispered.

Right… right, get Cristina…she's going to help… Derek, she's not going to do anything. She's just going to say that this is a reflex. I still can't move at all. Can't you just stay with me for a little while…please?

Derek began to pull his hand from hers and realized the slight hold she had on his hand, he glanced down to his hand and watched her fingers curl around his tightly. "You don't want me to get Cristina?" He whispered.

She'll come back… she'll come back when she realizes you didn't go see your patient. Please… just stay with me. Stay with me and let me look at something. It's been far too long… don't make me beg.

"I can stay here…" He whispered, knowing that his resolve wasn't as strong as he wished it could be, he was a sucker for the beautiful woman staring up at him. "I can stay here with you…" He whispered as he looked up at the monitors. Her brain activity was soaring, her heart rate was strong. "You're really falling off the charts over here…" Derek said as he slowly released her hand, glancing at the monitors. "We should really get you some tests…"

They're not going to do any tests…

"Cristina says they won't do any tests… but this is a breakthrough… this is… remarkable." He whispered as he watched her eyes follow him around the room.

Well, I'm just a remarkable person… and very modest, I might add… Sarcasm is a lonely sport.

She could feel the excitement in his voice, the happiness in his touch as he sat down beside her again and took her hand in his. "Zoey is going to be so excited." He whispered.

My baby… Derek, go get my baby…I want to see her for more than just a moment. I want to see her smile, not just feel it.

"I have to get Zoey, Meredith… this is just… this would be selfish of me if I didn't tell her right now." He whispered as he stood up, letting her hand slip from his as she followed him with her eyes. He lifted the phone from the receiver in the room and never let her eyes leave his. "Hey, this is Doctor Shepherd… can you page Cristina Yang to room 422? It's an emergency...Thank you." He whispered as he hung the phone up and walked back toward the bed. He sat down beside Meredith again, scooping her hand into his as he smiled a sideways smile. "Hello." He whispered as he looked down at her, noting for just a moment that her eyes brightened. "It is nice to finally meet you." He swallowed as he smiled, feeling her hand move slightly in his as she attempted to hold it in hers.


Derek continued to watch her, her eyes staring brightly at his as he tried to figure out what to say. He didn't know anything about her, only her name and a few spotty references to her past, but nothing solid. He watched as she blinked, blinked again, her eyes squeezing shut, in a near rhythm as he watched her.

"What are you doing?" He whispered. "Are you trying to talk to me?"

Yes! Read my eyes…

"I don't understand."

READ MY EYES! Damn it… this stupid headache is back.

She squinted and Derek could tell that the light in the room appeared to be too bright for her, he turned down the lights slightly, letting the light from the window and the light above her bed.

Please… no… I can feel myself getting tired…

"Rest… rest for a couple of minutes… I don't want you to exhaust yourself… I know you're trying to talk to me with your eyes… I know that's what you're trying to do, but I can't understand… so don't tire yourself… don't tire yourself before you get to see her." Derek said softly.

Maybe you're right… you don't understand…

Meredith's eyes stopped blinking so rapidly, her eyes settling on his kind face as she watched him sit beside her. He reached his hand to touch her cheek, very gently turning her head to face his eyes as she continued to look into his eyes. "The light is bright… you don't want to stare directly into it." He whispered, his intention to not only shield her from its brightness, but to have the opportunity to look at her eyes. "Your eyes match hers."

Just like you thought.

"Just like I thought they would." He whispered. "I haven't told her… who you are yet." Derek whispered. "I'm kind of afraid to… just because she will have so many questions. She's precocious and has so many questions about everything, half of the time I don't know what to answer with. You both deserve to know the truth. I hope you understand that is what I think… and I think what your mother did was absolutely unfair to you." He whispered, watching closely as tears began to form in her eyes. "Oh… oh, don't cry…" He whispered as he pulled a tissue from beside the bed. He leaned over her and carefully wiped her tears.

It's okay… I can cry. You can let me cry. It's the only way that I can let you know how I'm feeling. If I didn't feel those tears, I would probably convince myself that I'm actually dead.

Derek leaned closer, his eyes directly on hers as he suddenly became entranced in her gaze. She stared up at him, her eyes still filled with soft, heartbreaking tears as he touched her cheek with his hand.

Your touch is so gentle.

"You don't have to cry, Meredith…" He whispered, moving her head slightly as he adjusted the bed, her eyes still on his. "I'm going to try everything I can to make you better." He whispered as he leaned down, becoming immediately lost in her eyes as he swallowed hard. He couldn't stop himself, the feeling in his chest was too heavy, and his heart was pounding loudly. He continued to watch her eyes as he leaned closer, and ever so slightly touched his lips to hers.

He kissed me.

Suddenly, the door flew open and Cristina came in swiftly, flipping the light switch on. "What the he-…" She paused as she realized Zoey was right there with her. "What's going on in here?" She exclaimed as Derek stood up straight, Cristina and Zoey standing there in the doorway. Zoey's mouth was wide in shock as Cristina glared at Derek as his cheeks turned bright red in embarrassment. "Doctor Shepherd?" Cristina asked.

"SLEEPING BEAUTY IS AWAKE!" Zoey exclaimed as she ran toward the chair beside the bed, noticing Meredith's eyes open.

"Derek? What is this?" Cristina whispered as she watched.

"Cris…she's awake…" Derek whispered in reply as the little girl stood over the woman, her eyes bright and wide as the little girl smiled down at her.

"DD kissed Sleeping Beauty and she woke up!" She exclaimed happily as she turned her face toward Derek, her smile beaming as she glanced to Cristina. "I told you it would work! I told you, I told you! I did!" She exclaimed happily as she reached her arms down, wrapping carefully around Meredith's neck and shoulders as Cristina and Derek stared at one another and another tear fell down Meredith's cheek.


"She's awake?" Cristina asked, her mouth slightly open as she stared at Derek.

"Her eyes are open, she's responding to light, she's responding to…"

"But she's awake… really awake?" Cristina said as she moved quickly to Meredith's side and watched as her eyes moved to Cristina.

"Why doesn't Sleeping Beauty move?" Zoey asked as she pulled from her hug with Meredith, looking her in the eyes. "DD? Why doesn't she move if she's awake…?" She asked as she looked to Derek and back to Meredith.

"She needs her rest, sweetheart…" Derek said softly as he reached for her, lifting her tiny body from the bed.

"But she's been sleeping all this time… she doesn't need rest… she needs to wake up… she's my family… isn't she?" She began to panic. "Isn't she my family, DD? Isn't she my family… why doesn't she move or talk? DD… tell her to talk to me… tell her to talk to me…" Zoey started to panic as she pulled on his shirt.

"Zoey, calm down… calm down…"

"No! No I can't calm down… calm down… no…" She started to breath deeply as she watched Meredith's eyes. "She can look at me but she's not talking to me… why isn't she talking to me?" She panted as she stared Derek in the eyes, the look of fear on her face as her lower lip stuck out and tears began to roll down her cheeks as she began to cry.

Derek looked down to Meredith as tears rolled down her cheeks and her eyes blinked rapidly. She did it harder each time she blinked, sometimes holding, sometimes it was quickly. Long blink, two short blinks, followed by another quick blink, another short long and short blink. "Oh… Meredith…" Derek whispered as he tried to wipe her tears with a tissue. "Cristina… it's like she's trying to…" Tears rolling down his cheeks as he held Zoey close.

"Communicate with us…" Cristina said softly. "Meredith… start from the beginning…"

"The beginning?" Derek asked as he held the crying little girl in his arms as he watched Cristina watch her carefully, writing something in the pad in her hand.

Cristina watched her, writing swiftly as Meredith continued to blink in a pattern, her eyes on the crying girl in Derek's arms. "Cristina… tell me what's going on." Derek begged as he watched Meredith's blinking finally stop as her eyes stayed on Cristina as tears filled her eyes.

"She said…" Cristina stood for a moment as she wrote down something on the paper. 'Derek, Zoey… no more cro.'

"No more cro?" Derek asked as he gave her a confused glance. "First of all, what does that mean… second of all… how do you know?" He asked as he watched Meredith's eyes blink once short, once long, and six short blinks.

Ass...

"Hey, watch your… eyes…" Cristina said as she gave Meredith a smirk. "It's not my fault you haven't been brushing up on your Morse code."

"Morse code?" Derek asked. "Cristina… I don't understand…explain to me what's going on."

"She doesn't want you and Zoey to be upset…" Cristina said, looking at Derek as he continued to watch Meredith.

"And she told you through Morse code?" Derek asked as he looked to Meredith, who blinked a series of letters.

"She said yes." Cristina sighed as she watched Derek continue to watch Meredith, moving closer to her. "It was how she communicated before she fell completely out of consciousness. I don't understand why she's out of it now… It appears to only be her mental faculties… physically… it would be too painful for her to move… despite the physical therapy, her muscles have still atrophied… and her muscles are all relaxed, including her vocal muscles… which explains why she can't talk…. But she is awake…" Cristina stared at Meredith for a moment and then turned back to Derek. "Besides that…Are you going to explain to me what I interrupted in here?"

"You didn't interrupt anything." Derek said swiftly as Cristina glowered at him. "You didn't interrupt anything… I was talking to her." Derek replied as he watched Meredith's eyes shoot to Cristina as she started another series of blinks.

"She claims you kissed her."

"I… I… can we take her for an MRI now? She's… she's communicating… and … and we need to know why… how… she needs tests done, Cristina!" Derek said as he bounced Zoey in his arms as her crying slowed and her eyes fell to Cristina as she listened to the adults.

"We need permission from the chief!"

"Well, get permission… this is a breakthrough!" Derek exclaimed as he turned to walk toward the door, suddenly being grabbed by Cristina. "What?"

"He's not going to do it, Derek."

"He has to do it! Her status has changed!"

Cristina looked down to Meredith as she blinked another message. "Oh, Meredith…" She whispered.

"What?" Derek asked.

"She wants you to take her hand." Cristina whispered. She watched Meredith's eyes as she looked to Derek. Derek reached forward slowly and took her hand in his. "Warm hands…" Cristina said softly, reading her eyes. "Derek, watch her eyes…"

"I'm watching." He whispered as the three of them stared at the woman lying on the bed.

"Just… Derek… good… daddy…" Cristina whispered. "Do… not… tell… my… baby… yet."

"She has been listening to us." Derek whispered.

"What is she doing?" Zoey whispered as she sniffled, wiping her eyes on her sleeve.

"She's talking to us, Zoey…" Derek said as he tried to control his emotions.

"I don't hear her…"

"She's using her eyes…" He whispered as he carefully 'read' her words.

"What is she saying now?" Zoey whispered as Meredith began to blink again.

"She says… 'Tell Zoey… I … love… her… and I … am trying… to … get better." He whispered to the little girl as she stared at the woman on the bed, her eyes wide with wonder as she listened to Derek's words.

"She loves me?" Zoey whispered.

"She does…" Derek replied. "She knows who you are… you've been talking to her for days now… and now she can finally see you."

"You have very pretty eyes, sleeping beauty…"

"She says thank you…" Derek whispered as Meredith's eyelids began to droop as she continued to watch them. "She appears to become fatigued quite quickly…" Derek whispered to Cristina as he refused to take his eyes off of Meredith.

"You would too if you had been sleeping for six years…" Cristina said as she reached forward and touched Meredith's face. "You rest, Mer… we're going to see if we can fix this… but we're here… and we're not going anywhere…"

I love you.

Her eyes blinked one more message before her eyes closed heavily, leaving them all in an awkward silence.


Later in the evening, Derek was preparing dinner as Zoey sat at the table with Mister Derek, Floyd and Molly. She was talking quietly with them as she colored on a piece of paper. "So we can color Sleeping Beauty a picture now and she can see it all pretty…" She mumbled to herself as she lifted Molly from her chair. She placed the doll in her lap as she leaned down and picked up her small pink backpack. She reached into the bag as she glanced up to Derek as he stood by the stove stirring a pot of pasta. She glanced down into the bag and then back up at Derek again.

"DD?" She said softly as she watched Derek turn his head toward her.

"Hmm?" He said as he raised his eyebrows kindly at her.

"Is Lexie going to heaven?" She asked as she closed the bag and held it tightly as Derek watched her curiously.

"Well, that's an odd question…" Derek said as he watched the little girl's fingers roll over the bag in her hands.

"I'm just wondering."

"It isn't something you need to worry about." Derek replied.

"But I do." She said softly. "What about Sleeping Beauty?" She asked with an earnest look, her eyes wide with wonder as Derek turned and placed the spoon he was stirring the pasta with on the spoon holder on the stove. "Is she going to go to heaven?"

"Listen…" Derek said softly as he stepped over to her and crouched beside her, watching as she looked over at him with extreme concern. "Sometimes people go to heaven… sometimes they live for a very… very long time… but if we sat here all the time, and worried about things like that… we'd never have the time to have fun… or enjoy our own lives… The best thing we can do right now, is not ask whether or not they are going to go to heaven… but to hope really hard… that they get better." He said softly.

"I don't want Lexie to get better." Zoey said seriously, her eyes watching Derek's reaction as the little girl's harsh words slammed into him. She had no idea how harsh those words were, how mean and full of hate they sounded. She was only speaking her mind, and Derek couldn't fault her for that. "I hope she goes to heaven."

"Now that's not a nice thing to say."

"She hurt me." Zoey swallowed. "She hurt me and she took away Molly… and she made me feel so sad. She made me feel alone. She took me from you." She whispered as she watched Derek. "I don't want her to be my family anymore. I just want you to be my family. You and Sleeping Beauty." She whispered.

"I know, gumdrop." Derek whispered as he kissed the top of her head and moved toward the stove where the pasta he had been cooking was boiling. "But you can't blame Lexie for everything… it seems to me like she didn't know what to do with a precocious little girl like you." Derek replied.

"Feed her." Zoey said as she rubbed her belly with her hand. "I'm a growing girl, DD… I need my yummy foods…"

"That you do." Derek said with a chuckle as he stepped to the sink with the pot and drained the water from the pasta. "Would you like to help set the table?"

"Yes!" She exclaimed as she placed Molly on the chair beside her. "I'll get the plates and silverware… you get that dinner on the table so we can eat, eat, eat!" She exclaimed as she ran to get the plates, the smile slowly returning to her face as she forgot for a moment what was hiding in the bag that was now hanging from the chair.

"I don't think I've ever met anyone who looks so forward to my crummy dinners…" Derek said as he mixed in some tomato sauce with the pasta and sprinkled it with cheese.

"Oh, your dinners aren't crummy, DD… they're yummy… SUPER yummy!" She exclaimed as she put the two plates on the table and skipped past Derek to get the silverware. The doorbell sounded and Zoey looked up at Derek.

"You know what that means…" Derek said with a nod.

"Extra plate for Mister Mark!" She exclaimed as Derek nodded.

"I'll go get the door… and give Mister Mark a smaller plate… he tends to eat less then…" Derek chuckled as Zoey giggled and grabbed three forks as Derek went to answer the door.


Zoey waited in the kitchen for a few minutes as she waited for Derek to return with Mark. The plates were on the table, as were the silverware, and she could hear her tummy growling as she waited. A few more moments and she heard Derek's voice raise slightly, the frustration in his voice was not something she usually heard, and she had not heard him speak to Mark that way before. She ventured toward the kitchen door and slowly opened it, poking her head around the corner as she peered down the hallway toward the front door.

"You're not welcome here." Derek's voice boomed through the house.

"Derek, don't be ridiculous. I just wanted to come by to talk to you." The woman's voice floated through the air, hitting Zoey's ears. She recognized that voice. She couldn't quite place it, but she had heard it before. Derek moved slightly to the side and she caught sight of the woman at the door.

"I didn't want to talk to you at the hospital, and I most certainly don't want to talk to you at my home. Rachel… You took yourself out of my life… we work in the same building, but I haven't seen you in months… and suddenly, you're interested in how I am and you want to talk to me as if we're old friends? I don't think so… I don't think that's a good idea." Derek replied.

"DD? Who is at the door?" Zoey asked innocently as she shuffled her feet into the room and grabbed hold of his hand.

"Daddy?" Rachel raised her eyebrows at Derek.

"Rachel… I don't have time for this… She needs her dinner and bath, and then she has to go to bed… I really, really don't have time to deal with having a conversation with you right now." Derek replied.

"She called you Daddy? Derek, I've known you for…"

"Rachel… seriously… now is not a good time. I'm sorry…" Derek replied as he lifted the little girl into his arms. "Maybe we can talk another time." He said, trying to be polite.

"Maybe not." Zoey chimed in, shrugging.

Derek's eyes passed to hers as she gave him a mischievous grin. "Rachel… please."

"I just want to talk to you, Derek… it won't take long."

"I'm so hungry, DD…" Zoey whined into Derek's chest as she held him tightly. "So, so hungry…" She whimpered.

"Derek, who… why are you…"

"We have to go." Zoey said, reaching for the door, to swing it closed.

"Alright… none of that…" Derek said as he shifted her slightly in his grip before she grabbed the door. "Go on and get the cups on the table…" He said as he lifted her to the floor. "DD will be in there in a minute."

"Okay." She sighed as she glared up at Rachel.

"Say goodbye to Miss Rachel." Derek said softly as he watched the look on her face.

"Um… no." She said defiantly as she turned and ran toward the kitchen.

"Charming little thing…" Rachel replied as she watched the kitchen door slam.

"She's been through a lot in a very short amount of time, Rachel… and I'm trying to help her work through some things… and I know that you have questions and you're just trying to be friendly… but right now, I don't have time for friendly. I'm not trying to be rude here. I just really don't have any time."

"I'm sorry for interrupting your dinner." Rachel said softly as she tilted her head. "Maybe we could talk at lunch?" She asked softly as she tilted her head.

"Sure… lunch sounds good…thank you for stopping by." Derek said, much calmer than he had been when he first opened the door to her.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Derek." Rachel said softly as she leaned forward and kissed his cheek, noting his flinch as he took a step back. She nodded and took a step backwards as Derek slowly closed the door.

He sighed deeply and swallowed as he listened to her feet walk down the steps and down the sidewalk as he walked toward the kitchen. He stepped into the kitchen, surprising Zoey as she stood on a chair at the stove with a plate filled with pasta. She started when she heard the door close, sending the plate to the floor with a crash. "Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh!" She exclaimed as tears began to flow down her cheeks.

"What on earth are you doing?" Derek asked as he approached her quickly to clean the mess, watching as she flinched, he simply lifted her quickly and looked down at the mess. "Look at this mess…" He said as he looked at the sauce and pasta all over the floor.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" She exclaimed, hiding her face as if she were going to get slapped.

"It's alright…" Derek said softly as the little girl trembled in his arms as she sobbed. "It's alright, it's alright…"

"I was hungry! I was so hungry, I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" She exclaimed as Derek set her in her chair and moved toward the mess on the floor as she cried at the table, grabbing Mister Derek in her arms as she sobbed.

"No more crying… it's fine…" Derek said as he cleaned up the mess, listening to Zoey as she cried. He lifted the other plate from the table and scooped some pasta onto it and placed the plate on the table, moving it toward her. "Hey… hey, your dinner is ready…" He said softly as he watched her lift her face up, her cheeks were bright red, her eyes filled with tears.

"You…" She sniffled. "You didn't yell…" She sniffled again.

"You didn't do anything that yelling would solve…" Derek replied. "Now hush your tears… and eat your dinner before Mister Mark really does get here and eats it all up." He said with a kind smile as she sniffled and cuddled Mister Derek, grabbed her fork and began to eat. "Good girl…" Derek said softly as he finished cleaning the mess and filled his own plate for dinner.


Zoey ate her dinner quickly, her eyes not leaving her plate as she chewed and swallowed every morsel of food on the plate. "I'm still hungry." She said as she looked up at Derek as he placed another mouthful of food in his own mouth. He tilted his head as he chewed, watching the fork in her hand wave in slow circles as she demonstrated shoveling food from his plate.

"You're still hungry?"

"Yes… so hungry…" She whispered as she sniffled.

"That hungry?"

"Hungry like a bear." She replied.

"Like a bear…?" Derek asked. "Like… a big… gnarly grizzly bear… or like Mister Derek there?" Derek asked, nodding toward the pink bear in her arms.

"Like a big grizzly bear… GrrrROWL!" She exclaimed as Derek laughed, watching her smile slightly.

"Well, let me get you a little more pasta… we don't want me to get eaten next, do we?" Derek said as he took her plate.

"Don't worry, I'm a Veggie Maryanne bear…"

"A Veggie Maryanne bear?" Derek asked as he got up and walked over toward the stove with her plate in his hand.

"Yes, I don't eat meat when I'm a bear…so I won't eat you up."

"Ah… that's a good thing…" Derek said as he scooped some pasta into her plate and watched her as she watched him. "Can… we talk about a couple of things?" Derek asked, treading lightly on the subject, though he knew that it was important to talk to her. He placed the plate in front of her and watched her tilt her head. "We should probably have a couple of rules around the house…" He said, watching as she dropped the fork in her plate and her eyes widened as she put her hands in her lap. "Hey, what's that all about?" Derek asked as she swallowed hard.

"No rules…" She whimpered.

"No rules?"

"No…" She shook her head. "No rules…"

"How about some… guidelines?"

"Guidedlimes?"

"Something like that… nothing too big of a deal… just some things that you need to understand…" Derek said softly.

"What? Was I bad? Did I do something that made you angry?" Zoey asked, her hand still refusing to touch the fork.

"You weren't bad… just listen… when someone comes to the house… like Miss Rachel did tonight… you should try your best to be polite…"

"I didn't like her." Zoey stated defiantly.

"But you should still be polite…"

"But she hurt your heart… and I don't like her… and she was making you talk mad…" Zoey explained.

"I know… I know you're trying to protect me… but I need you to act like a big girl, and be polite… because otherwise… it looks like I'm not teaching you any manners…"

"I know manners, but I don't like talking to her. She has a stuck in the air nose and she smelled funny."

Derek chuckled at the way her nose wrinkled up when she said the last part, though he put on his serious face once again. "Can you be polite for me, please?"

"I will try… but I can't make any promises." She sighed as she looked down at her plate.

"Also…" Derek said as he watched her look up at him with a curious look. "Don't climb up near the stove anymore…" Derek said as he tilted his head. "I'm not trying to be a bully… but it's dangerous and you could have fallen, or burned yourself…"

"I'm careful."

"I understand that… but you have to ask." Derek replied. "Now eat up your dinner… and we'll get ready for your bath."

"I'm not hungry anymore." Zoey muttered as she turned and grabbed Molly, gripped Mister Derek and snatched up Floyd. She slid her arm into her backpack and carried all four items out of the room, leaving Derek by himself at the table as the kitchen door slammed behind her.


Derek finished his meal in silence, glancing to the kitchen door as he waited to see if Zoey would come flitting in. He could feel his mood deteriorating with each second as he sighed. The phone rang as he stood up with his plate, he glanced over to the phone on the wall and smiled slightly as he walked over to it. "Hello?" He said softly into the line as he gave his full attention to the pause on the other side of the line. "Hello?"

"Derek?" A woman's voice came over the line as he sighed.

"Sarah?" Derek said as he listened to her panting slightly. "Are you running or something?"

"Morgan won't go to bed, she has spent the past half hour running around the table. "Randy finally grabbed her and Sammy and brought them upstairs to bed."

"And amidst all of that, you thought to call me?"

"I had intended to call you all along… it's not too late, is it?"

"Sarah… it's only seven here…"

"Oh… oh, yeah… stupid freaking time zones…" She said with a huff as she took a deep breath.

"What did you need?" Derek asked as he chuckled at his sister's flustered response.

"I was… we were all wondering… are you coming to New York for Thanksgiving?" She asked quickly as she listened for her brother's response. It was usually a pause, followed by a sigh, and then his apology.

Derek paused for a moment, listening to his sister's breathing on the other line as he took a deep breath and sighed slowly.

"It's alright if you can't make it, Derek. We'd understand… you had a tough year…"

"DD, are you coming?" Zoey asked as Derek turned sharply to see her standing in the doorway with her hands on her hips.

"Hang on a second." Derek said softly to Zoey as he tried to cover the receiver.

"Derek, who is that?" Sarah said over the line quickly, hearing the sound of a child in the background, and her brother's response.

"Sarah, can I call you back tomorrow?" Derek asked quickly as he swallowed.

"Derek?"

"I'll call you tomorrow… Tell Randy and the kids that I love them… I'll call you tomorrow, I promise…" Derek said quickly. "I love you…"

"Love… you too…" She said softly as her brother hung up the phone on her.

Derek held his hand on the phone for a minute, his heart pounding in his chest as he looked to the little girl standing in the doorway holding her toys. "I thought you were mad at me." Derek said as he watched her eyes on him.

"I changed my mind…" She shrugged. "I'm hungry…" She said as she ran over to the table and climbed onto her chair, setting Molly, Floyd and Mister Derek on the chair beside her, she grabbed her fork and started shoveling food into her mouth.