A/N: As always, thank you for the awesome reviews.

Disclaimer: Only own Kylie Shepherd

Chapter Nine

Meredith was relieved when the plane finally landed safely on the ground. She didn't mind plane trips, but she never liked the landing. It always seemed so bumpy. Luckily, this was a smooth landing. So she had nothing to worry about. She anxiously waited until the signal came off to unbuckle their seatbelts. Finally, it did and Meredith unbuckled her seatbelt before getting under her seat to get her purse.

"I never thought I would go back here so soon," Derek said besides her as he started to gather his carryon bag from underneath his seat.

"You didn't have to come," Meredith pointed out.

"Yeah, you could have just stayed home," Lexie added as the three made their way into the aisle.

"No way. I wouldn't miss this for the world," Derek replied as they walked down the aisle and off the plane.

After walking for awhile, they finally reached the end of the terminal. They only had to look for a few minutes before finding Mark in the crowd. They walked over to him and he eagerly greeted them. "How's Addison?" Meredith asked him. She was dying to see her again.

"Addison's great. The baby's doing great. And everybody can't wait to see you," Mark replied. He then turned to Derek. "By the way, you're staying at your mom's."

Derek gave him a look. "What?"

"Sorry, but she insisted. I tried talking her out of it, but she won't budge. I guess she doesn't want you and Meredith to fight the whole time you're here," Mark replied. Derek was about to protest when Mark continued. "Oh come on. You don't want to be in that house with all those women." Meredith and Lexie gave him a look. "No offense."

"Ok, why don't we talk about this later?" Meredith asked. She really wanted to get going. So they stopped their conversation for now. Instead, they headed to the baggage claim.

A couple of hours later, they finally arrived back at the house after dropping Derek at his mother's first. Carolyn Shepherd had wanted them to stay awhile. However, Meredith and Lexie wanted to go and rest. But they promised that they would definitely visit during their trip.

Addison was on the front porch waiting for them. Meredith gave her best friend a wide smile as she climbed out. Addison walked over to her and gave her a tight squeeze. "I'm so glad you're here. A year is way too long," she said as she revealed her small baby bump.

"I know," Meredith replied. "But you know how it is."

Addison laughed as she gave Lexie a hug. "I have your rooms all ready. So you can go up and rest. I'm sure you're both tired from your flight, especially a flight with Derek along."

"Actually, they got along pretty well. They even sat next to each other on the plane," Lexie replied.

Addison looked at Meredith surprised. "Meredith Grey, you have changed. What happened to the woman who despised Derek Shepherd?"

Meredith laughed as they started walking towards the house. "I guess I gave him another chance." She didn't let Addison reply as they reached the front door. Addison then led Meredith and Lexie to the guestrooms before she left them.

An hour and a half later, Meredith emerged from the guestroom and wandered to the kitchen, where she saw Addison making lunch. "Hey, do you want something to eat? I can make you a turkey sandwich," Addison offered when she saw Meredith in the doorway.

Meredith nodded. "Yeah, that sounds great." She then looked around and listened for sound. There was none. "So where's Mark?" she asked as Meredith grabbed a chair at the kitchen table.

"He headed back to keep Derek company," Addison replied. "And Lexie is still resting. So it's just us girls." She brought their sandwiches over to the table. "So what's really going with you and Derek?"

"What do you mean?" Meredith asked.

Addison pretended to think for a moment. "The last time we talked, you mentioned how you and Derek were stuck in an elevator together. And you and Derek were going to therapy together. Is there something going on between you two that I don't know about?"

Meredith shook her head. "No, we're just friends. And Derek was the one who offered to come along to therapy. So I let him. And we have been going together ever since."

Addison was confused. "So you two are going to therapy together?"

"He's just there to give me support," Meredith replied. "And it helps him too." She then ate a bite of her sandwich as Addison gave her a confused look. "I don't know why we didn't think of doing that when we were together."

"It's because you two were too busy fighting," Addison replied. "So are you planning to go visit any of the Shepherd family before the party?"

Meredith gave her a smile. "I think they will come here before I even have a chance to think about it." Addison laughed. She had to agree.

After eating lunch, they waited until Lexie was up to go and see the sights again. Even though Meredith liked New York, it wasn't home. Seattle was home and she was glad that she had moved back there.

When dinner rolled around, the three met up with Mark and Derek at the Hard Rock Café. Then Derek and Meredith went for a walk so they could talk privately. "Have you talked to your family since you came back to Seattle?" Meredith asked curiously.

"Does Kathleen count?" Derek asked. Meredith gave him a look. "I didn't want them to hound me about you and me. Everyone else is." Meredith couldn't argue with that one. "They can't seem to understand that we're friends."

Meredith froze at the word 'friends'. Were they? She didn't know. The way that they had been acting towards each other was friendly enough. She knew it was more than just the truce that they made. She had a feeling that it was more than that. Derek knew it too. "Well, you know your family. They're just looking out for me," she teased him.

Derek laughed. "Oh really? You think so?" he asked playing along. "Are you sure that they won't side with me because you're following me this time?"

Meredith tried not to smile. "Yeah, I'm sure." There were a few moments of silence. "It's so hard during this time of year."

Derek had to agree. "I know. But we have friends and family to help us through. And we have each other."

Meredith was surprised that he had stayed that statement. But then she realized that he meant as friends. "I'm surprised that you decided to come with us. You didn't seem interested in coming last year."

"I had a business trip in Chicago last year. I couldn't say no to my boss," Derek replied. "It's not like I didn't want to be there."

Meredith knew he was right. "I know. I'm sorry."

Derek nodded understandingly. There was another silence. "Well, we better get back. Otherwise, they might think we eloped or something."

"Or worse," Meredith joked. They exchanged smiles as they turned around and started walking back to the restaurant.

The next afternoon, Meredith, Addison and Lexie were just finishing up setting the rest of the decorations when they heard the doorbell ring. "Meredith, could you get it?" Addison asked Meredith. Mark was picking up Derek and Mrs. Shepherd.

Meredith gave her a look. "Are you kidding? I'll probably get ambushed."

"I'll go since you're so worried," Lexie said and left the room. A few minutes later, Kathleen and her family came in. They greeted Meredith and Addison. The doorbell kept ringing until all of Derek's sisters and their families had arrived. Mark, Derek and Mrs. Shepherd were also in the crowd.

The crowd talked for awhile. Kathleen and Nancy were dying to know if their brother was misbehaving or not. Meredith defended him, but yet joked around about some of the stuff that they did together.

Soon, it was time to eat. They surrounded the dining room table with another small table set up for the children in the corner of the room. Wine was passed around to most of the group. Derek and Meredith stood at the head of the table. Meredith took a deep breath before speaking. "Before we eat, I would like to say a few words. We would like to thank you for coming here today, to support us through this rough time. Today would have been Kylie's eighth birthday. And we are grateful that all of you are here to celebrate her and her memory. To Kylie," Meredith said, raising her glass.

"To Kylie," the group replied, raising their glasses. They then took a sip before they sat down and started passing the food around.

"I'm surprised you didn't want to say anything," Meredith said.

Derek gave her a smile. "You said it all," he replied. "And I like to thank you for using 'we.' I heard you didn't include me in your speech last year. And again, I don't blame you."

Meredith smiled in return. "Well, she was our daughter," she replied. "It wouldn't be right if I didn't include you."

"Thanks for that," Derek said.

"You're welcome," Meredith replied before they went back to eating their dinner.