A/N: I love three day weekends...so much more time for writing! I don't have too much to say about this chapter - I hope you enjoy!
Meredith slowly took a sip of her coffee the next morning, glancing furtively at the folder sitting on the edge of the counter as she pretended to focus on the newspaper in front of her.
"You know, it's not going to kill you if you open it," Derek commented.
"Open what?" Meredith asked innocently.
"The folder you've been staring at for the last hour," Derek said, an amused smirk on his face. "The one with your aunt's address and phone number."
"I don't want to open it," Meredith protested.
"Sure you do," Derek countered. "That's why you keep staring at it. Just open it and write her a letter."
"What's the point?" Meredith asked. "What's she going to tell me that I don't already know?"
"Well, maybe why your mother left home," Derek pointed out. "Or why she changed her name. Maybe she can tell you the guy in the picture with your mother is. There are probably hundreds of things she could tell you about your mother that you don't know."
"Why do I need to know them?" Meredith asked. "I know, I feel like I do…but why? What is any of this going to tell me?"
"I'm afraid I can't answer that one for you," Derek said regretfully. "I don't know what you need to get out of this, but it's clear that you're looking for something…if I could give you the answers, I would, but I can't."
"This sucks," Meredith grumbled, setting her coffee mug down on the table with unnecessary force. "I think maybe I need to go back to therapy."
"You could always call Kathleen," Derek teased.
"Right," Meredith scoffed. "So she can tell everyone that we've only been married a month and I've already gone off the deep end? Yeah, that would be great for your reputation, Derek."
"How does everything with my sisters become an attack on me?" Derek asked with a confused laugh. "Is there some sort of sister code that you haven't let me in on?"
"Oh, I could tell you, but then I'd have to kill you," Meredith grinned, smacking Derek's hand away playfully.
"Not fair," Derek grumbled, pausing as Meredith's pager began to go off. "Do you need to go in?"
"It's Izzie," Meredith said with a smile. "We both need to be there…Callie's in labor."
"Well, it's about time," Derek said, quickly standing up to go grab their coats. "She's only, what? Two weeks overdue?"
"Haven't you learned anything as a married man?" Meredith asked. "Women are never on time, Derek."
"So it's true," Meredith said, leaning against the doorframe at the entrance to the hospital nursery, watching George standing next to a plastic crib. "Your wife went and had the baby, and you couldn't be bothered to call."
"Oh God, Mer, I'm sorry," George said, looking up to see her standing there with a serious look on her face. "It all just happened so fast…I mean, five hours ago we were at home and then her water broke and then…"
"I'm not mad, George," Meredith said, breaking out into a grin as she stepped into the nursery. "How's Callie?"
"Exhausted, but happy," George said with a smile. "She's resting right now."
"And the baby?" Meredith asked, stopping on the other side of the crib from George. "I'm assuming the pink means you have a daughter?"
"Emma," George nodded. "Emma Louise Torres-O'Malley."
"Good Lord, she's cute, George," Meredith said, looking down at the tiny baby wrapped in the pink blanket. "So, how's it feel to be a father?"
"Amazing," George said. "And overwhelming and wonderful and terrifying…what if I screw it all up?"
"You won't," Meredith assured him.
"How do you know that?" George asked.
"Because I know you and Callie," Meredith said. "Emma's going to have it all, George…she's going to be sweet and caring like you, and she's going to be strong and independent like Callie, and dedicated and loyal and smart as all get-out, just like both of you. She's going to be an amazing kid, George, and a really great woman someday…I'm sure of it."
"I hope you're right," George said, running a finger gently over his daughter's cheek as she stirred slightly.
Meredith smiled softly as she watched George interact with his daughter, feeling absolutely certain that she was right.
"Hey George?" Meredith asked hesitantly after a few moments. "Do you think I'm a good person?"
"What?" George asked, his head snapping up to look at Meredith in confusion.
"I'm serious," Meredith said. "Do you think that I'm a good person?"
"Of course I do," George assured her. "Why do you even have to ask that?"
"I don't know," Meredith sighed, shaking her head. "It's stupid."
"No, really, why?" George asked.
"It's just…I know Emma's going to be great, because you and Callie are great, and your parents were great…and I don't really know Callie's parents, but they seemed nice enough when I met them at the wedding," Meredith said. "So that's an easy one. But if I'm a good person, how did I get that way?"
"What do you mean?" George asked in confusion.
"I had a mother who couldn't have cared less about other people," Meredith said. "A woman who couldn't connect, who was never really happy, who couldn't pull herself out of her work long enough to notice the world around her. And then, on the other side of the coin, I had a father who turned his back on me every chance he got. If that's what I'm a combination of, how am I a good person?"
"Because you aren't them," George said. "You're more than just a combination of the two of them."
"So where does the rest come from?" Meredith asked.
"Um…I don't know," George admitted. "I think my mom would say it comes from God…I wasn't quite sure, but it's pretty hard not to believe it when you're looking at your own little baby."
"So it's just random?" Meredith asked.
"I don't know," George said. "Maybe you got whatever there was of your mother that was good, and whatever there was of your father that was good…and then you just sort of grew it into something more. I guess the point isn't how it happened…it's just important that it did."
"I guess," Meredith agreed half-heartedly, turning her attention back to the baby. "Okay, so did you pick godparents yet? Am I in?"
Meredith shook her head as she walked down the hall, turning around twice before forcing herself back in her original direction, silently cursing the internal debate raging in her head.
Finally, she stood in front of his door, taking a deep breath and pushing open the door.
"Meredith!" Molly exclaimed in surprise, looking up from packing a bag in the corner of the room, smiling at the sight of her sister. "We weren't expecting you today…we're just getting ready to take Dad home in a little bit."
"They're releasing me today," Thatcher said from his spot on the bed. "I'm…I'm really glad you came back, Meredith."
"I didn't come to talk," Meredith said, trying to keep a certain hardness in her voice.
"Oh?" Thatcher asked nervously.
"I just need one answer, Thatcher," Meredith said. "I need to know what you got for me. What did you trade me for?"
"Meredith, what are you talking about?" Molly asked in confusion.
"I'll bet you didn't them that little fact, did you, Thatcher?" Meredith asked angrily. "When you told my sisters about me, I'll bet you left out the part about how you traded me away."
"Dad?" Molly asked in concern. "What's going on?"
"I don't…Meredith, what are you…I didn't…" Thatcher stammered.
"You didn't what?" Meredith asked, arching her eyebrow slightly. "You didn't sign papers giving my mother sole legal and physical custody? You didn't waive any visitation rights?"
"Dad, tell her she's mistaken," Molly insisted. "You told us Ellis wouldn't let you see her…tell her what you told us…"
"You could have had joint custody," Meredith continued. "She offered joint custody. I just need to know what it was, Thatcher. Was it something about me? Was I not good enough? Or did she give you something? What was it that would make you just give up like that?"
"I don't…" Thatcher began.
"Tell her," Molly interrupted tearfully. "For God's sake, tell the truth, Dad."
"She…our divorce wasn't final," Thatcher said. "It had been eight months…I never thought it would take that long…we just…the judge wouldn't declare anything until we…until we decided about you."
"So you gave me because you were that impatient?" Meredith asked. "It was that important for you to get out of your marriage?"
"I just…it needed to be fast," Thatcher admitted. "Ellis…she wouldn't give up the fight, and by that point, she wouldn't even talk about joint custody anymore. She said…she told me that if I wanted it quickly, I'd have to drop the custody suit."
"I don't get it," Molly shook her head. "I get that you didn't want to be married anymore, but why couldn't you keep fighting? You couldn't have been that far from getting a ruling, one way or the other."
"I just…it needed to be fast," Thatcher repeated. "I never thought…when we started planning, I never thought…and she didn't know…"
"Oh God," Meredith sighed, closing her eyes briefly and shaking her head as the realization dawned on her.
"What?" Molly asked in confusion. "What am I missing?"
"Susan," Meredith said quietly, casting a guilty look at her sister, knowing there was no way to skate around the truth to protect her.
"Mom?" Molly repeated. "Oh my God, of course…she always said she met you right after the divorce…but you were still married, weren't you?"
"We were separated," Thatcher said. "I thought by the time anything happened, it would all be over. I never thought…"
"You could have had joint custody," Meredith said. "But you just had to force her hand, didn't you? You couldn't be happy with me having two parents? My mother may have been cold, and she may have been tough, but she offered you joint custody. You're the one who insisted on all-or-nothing."
"I didn't think…" Thatcher began hesitantly.
"You never thought she'd fight for me, did you?" Meredith asked incredulously, interrupting Thatcher's half-hearted explanation. "You really thought you'd just ask for sole custody and she'd walk away."
"It wasn't…no," Thatcher admitted reluctantly. "I didn't expect Ellis to fight."
"And then when you couldn't get divorced quickly enough, you cut a deal," Meredith said. "She got me, and you got your divorce."
"I never intended…" Thatcher began.
"She would have understood," Molly interrupted. "Did you really think that Mom would be cruel enough to not want you to fight for Meredith? That she would have been okay with you just handing her over like that?"
"She didn't know," Thatcher repeated.
"How could you do that?" Molly asked angrily. "How could you just walk away from her? If things had gotten bad with us, would you have just up and left us too?"
"Molly, please," Thatcher said tentatively, reaching his hand out to her.
"No," Molly shook her head, stepping away from him. "I don't…I feel like I don't even know you, Dad. I was ready to forgive you, to give you another chance, to write it all off as you grieving Mom…but this? This I can't look past, Dad. You abandoned your daughter – what kind of a parent does that?"
"Molly," Thatcher sighed, leaning back against the pillows as he watched her storm out of the room. Turning back to Meredith, he just shook his head as she stood there watching him. "Did you have to do that in front of her? I know you don't know Molly and Lexie well, but Molly's a very sensitive woman…she didn't need to hear that. Are you happy now?"
"You think anything about this situation makes me happy?" Meredith asked angrily. "I wanted you to be the good guy, Thatcher. I expected that…when I opened those divorce records, I was ready for Ellis to be a bitch, and I was ready to see you fighting, like you always said you did. I wanted you to be the good guy for once. If Molly heard something that you didn't want her to, that's your fault, not mine. I'm not the one who walked away from my child, Thatcher. That one's on you."
"Meredith, I…" Thatcher said hesitantly. "I don't know what you want me to say."
"I don't know, either," Meredith sighed. "I really just don't know, Thatcher…I thought I wanted an explanation, but there isn't one, at least not a good one. And I thought I wanted an apology, but I don't think there's anything that you could say that would make me believe an apology from you. So I guess we're through, Thatcher. Maybe that's what I came here to say."
"I suppose I deserve that," Thatcher said, a hint of sadness in his voice as he watched Meredith turn toward the door.
"And for the record," Meredith said, turning her head briefly back to glance at her father. "Despite everything you did to keep me away from your new family, I know Molly a lot better than you think I do, and she's a hell of a lot stronger than you give her credit for."