Zoey continued to lie in her mother's arms, her body against her mother tightly as she gripped her with all of her strength. "I'm so sorry, mama… I'm so sorry." She sniffled, feeling her mother's arms rub her back slowly. Her cries slowly calmed, and she realized that they were lying on the floor, and her mother was moving nothing but her arms, with no attempt to stand up. "Are you okay, mama?" She sniffled, lifting her head from her mother's chest as she looked into her eyes. "Are you okay?"
Meredith was still a bit dazed from her fall, the pain in her head was excruciating. She had fallen hard on her head, and at this point she had absolutely no idea how she was going to stand up. She stared at her daughter's face for several moments, the terror in her eyes was real. "Zoey… mommy needs you to get up." She said softly as the little girl sniffled. Her lower lip was trembling, and Meredith knew that if she said the wrong thing, or made the wrong move, that the little girl would run. Perhaps she was more like her mother than Meredith had originally realized. She lie on the floor with two options.
The first option was that she could call Derek. She could have Zoey hand her the phone, and she would call him. He'd come rushing to the apartment, practically crashing through the door. He'd lift her into his arms, check her head to make sure she was alright, and scold Zoey for being careless. However, that entailed her telling Derek the truth. That entailed her telling Derek that her daughter pushed her from her bed in an indignant attempt to get to him. Not only would that get her young daughter in trouble with Derek, but it would show him that she couldn't do this. It would prove to that little nagging feeling in his mind, that she wasn't ready. She wanted so badly to be ready, but she knew that she wasn't, not yet. She just needed Derek to think she was ready, so that she could get to 'ready'.
Her second option was to lie on the floor as she was currently doing, and have Zoey help her up. She would get up from the floor, help the little girl to prepare for bed, and put her to bed… telling her not to repeat the incident to Derek. It wasn't exactly lying, not overtly anyway. Perhaps it was for the best, to not repeat what had happened. While Derek had every right to know what happened, he wasn't in charge of her. He loved her, he'd want to know what happened, but the only thing it would succeed in doing, would be to worry him… worry him the next time that Zoey visited, give him a reason not to allow the little girl to see her mother… not that Derek had ever kept Zoey from her. Meredith sighed. She had a decision to make.
"Mommy." Zoey sniffled. "I'm sorry."
"Sweetie?" Meredith whispered as she felt the little girl's grip lesson slightly. "Zoey, sweetheart, can you stand up for Mommy? Mommy needs your help." She said softly, feeling the little girl shift in her arms, sliding from atop her, she landed next to her and looked down at Meredith, her mother's eyes filled with tears from the pain.
"Mama, I made you cry." She whimpered as she tugged at her mother slightly. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry, mama…" She whispered as she whimpered a little more.
"It's okay… it's okay, sweetheart… you need to help me up, though baby. I can't get up all by myself." Meredith replied.
"Okay…" Zoey whispered, swallowing hard as she held her hand out for her mother's, tugging at it slightly when Meredith gripped her little hand.
"Move my chair right there… Zoey… move my chair closer to me, please…" She said as the little girl rushed to the wheelchair and pulled it closer to her mother. "Against the… wall right there." She said, pointing to the wall beside the bed, moving slightly on her back, she tried to pull herself with her arm, pull the bed toward the chair as Zoey moved it to where she had asked her to move it. Wedging it between the bed and the wall. "Good girl…" Meredith said, as Zoey watched nervously as her mother struggled to pull herself toward the chair.
"I can call DD." Zoey said as Meredith looked up at her quickly.
"No." She said sharply, a bit too sharply, she realized when the little girl jumped at her mother's raised voice. "No… I can… I can do this by myself, we don't need DD for this."
"DD said… he said though… that if you get hurt, to call him." She whispered.
"I'm not hurt." Meredith lied, watching the little girl swallow hard as she pulled herself toward the chair, grabbing hold of the metal of the frame, she pulled herself into a sitting position.
"I think we should call DD." Zoey whispered. "You look hurt, mama… you look hurt." She swallowed.
"I am fine." Meredith said, feeling the pain in her head as she tried to sit up a little more, nausea threatening to take over. "I'm fine… do not call DD…" She said in a serious tone, watching the little girl's concern heighten when she cringed, and suddenly the phone rang.
Zoey's eyes widened, and Meredith's did as well, as the phone rang again. "Do you want me to get it?" She asked.
"Get the phone and give it to me." Meredith replied, slightly out of breath. "Don't press the button on it." She instructed, as Zoey nodded her head and went for the phone. She climbed up onto the bed and grabbed it, crawling back across, she reached down and handed it to Meredith, as she looked up at the little girl. "Hello?" Meredith said into the phone line, trying desperately to sound normal despite her pain. She looked across at the little girl, watching her mother in blatant concern as a flash of fear clouded her gray eyes. "No, Derek." She breathed, her eyes never leaving her daughter. "We're both doing just fine." She said, watching her daughter take a sigh of relief, as she continued her call with Derek.
Drake was a very smart dragon… He was always willing to give people the benefit of the doubt… but when it came to the Queen, he knew that she thought she was more clever than he was.
Derek sat up a little more on the porch swing at the sound of distress in Meredith's voice. He could tell she was trying to hide it, but knew that he couldn't outright accuse her of something. "Are you sure you're alright, Meredith?" He asked softly as he listened to her labored breathing, a slight whimper.
"I'm fine, Derek… I was rushing to the phone." She said softly as she looked up at the little girl looking down on her from the bed, her back leaning awkwardly against the wheelchair. "I'm fine." She whispered. "I promise."
"You promise?" He asked again, hearing a heavy sigh on the other line, he still didn't feel right about letting it stay at that. "I miss you." He said with a sad smile, waiting for her reply, he could hear the tender smile on her lips when she replied.
He also knew that he shouldn't rush her into telling him the truth all of the time… it very often worked its way out eventually, and there was never a good reason to pry.
"I miss you." She whispered. "Do you want to talk to Zoey?" Meredith asked, glancing to the little girl as she sat expectantly on the bed.
"She's not in bed yet?" Derek asked, sounding a bit amused that the little girl who had appeared to be so tired when they had gotten to the apartment was still awake and probably talking her mother's ears off.
"Not just yet." Meredith replied. "We were getting ready for bed." She replied, happy that he appeared to have dropped the questions about whether or not she was alright.
"I don't need to talk to her… but if she wants to talk to me, that would be fine. I was calling more to tell you that Kara came by." He said softly, listening to the sad sigh on the other line.
"Oh." She whispered.
"She came by to apologize… and I apologized to her for the way I acted. I wanted to let you know that I am sorry for getting upset at the ice cream shop. I'm sorry, Meredith." He said sincerely. "I don't want you to be upset with me."
"I'm not upset with you." She replied.
"I just wanted to be sure." He smiled.
"Is she still there?" Meredith swallowed, unsure of exactly how her question sounded. She had been feeling increasingly clingy to Derek, she didn't want to appear jealous, even though there was a creeping feeling in her belly that felt like jealousy, she tried her very best to keep it at bay.
"She's still here... she says hello… " Derek assured, smiling to himself at her question. He knew that Kara made her feel territorial, and he understood it as a natural instinct, but Kara was a friend. She was a very good friend, but only a friend.
"Oh." Meredith whispered. "Tell her that I said hello." She whispered. "Is she… staying the night?" Meredith whispered.
And though the queen had never officially staked her claim on Drake, she loved him. He knew that she loved him. She knew that he loved her… but there was always something… a wall, perhaps… a fear… something invisible but strong… that always stopped them from completely committing to one another… from giving themselves completely.
"No." Derek said definitively, trying to get the point across that she could trust him, that he was there for only her. "I told her that you wanted me to stay… that I wanted to stay." Derek replied. "She said I was stupid."
"You were." Meredith replied, a smile creeping onto her lips as she tipped her head to the side, her eyes on the little girl on the bed.
"Meredith." He said, a smile on his lips as he shook his head. "You know she's been looking forward to some time alone with you."
"Yes." Meredith replied. "And we went out… exhausted her… and then you left her here, cranky and miserable... and full of sugar and ice cream."
Derek straightened up as he listened. "Did she throw a tantrum?" Derek asked, listening for Meredith's reply, he could tell that she was covering something up, and her pause only proved it further.
"She's just fine." Meredith replied.
"Meredith." Derek said sternly as he glanced to Kara and tipped his head down, avoiding eye contact. "Don't let her get control."
"Derek, I can handle it."
Perhaps the queen was too strong…
Or Drake… too weak…
"If she gets to be too much, you need to call me. You promised to call me." He replied.
"There is not a problem, Derek… I promise… just… enjoy your evening with Kara… and…"
"Meredith… don't be like that." Derek shook his head.
"Like what?"
"Dismissive… you're being dismissive…"
"If she misbehaves, Derek." Meredith said as she looked into the eyes of the little girl who lay on the bed staring back at her. "She will be punished… she knows that… we're getting ready for bed. She's alright now." Meredith replied. "She was upset when you left, but she's doing better now."
"Meredith…" Derek whispered. "I love you."
"I know you do." She replied. "I love you." She whispered. "Goodnight, Derek." She said in a sweet tone, one that never failed to make him smile.
"Goodnight, Meredith." He said softly, hanging up the phone.
But whatever was there, standing in the way of their love and admiration for one another… there was always one constant… there was that one thing that kept them inextricably linked.
Floyd.
Meredith pressed the button on the phone and looked over at the little girl as she sat up on the bed. "I wanted to talk to DD." She said in a whimpering voice as she sniffled.
"Well… little girls who push their mothers onto the ground don't get to talk to their DD's." She said in a serious tone as Zoey sniffled a little and sighed. "Do you understand what you did that made me upset?" She asked, watching the little girl nod.
"I'm sorry, mama." She swallowed as she climbed down from the bed and approached her mother. "Can I help you up?"
"Do you love me?" She asked, tilting her head as the little girl's eyes widened.
"Of course I love you, mommy!" She exclaimed as she wrapped her arms around her mother tightly, holding her with all of her strength. "Of course, I love you… I'm sorry I was a bad girl… I'm sorry… I'm sorry, mama…"
"I know…" Meredith whispered. "I know you're sorry." She whispered. "It's time to get up though…" She said softly. "It's time to get up, and… get you to bed… you're sleepy."
"I am…" She whispered into her mother's neck as Meredith tried to combat the headache that she had gotten from falling.
"Alright… up… get up… let's go…" Meredith said, as Zoey sighed and started to stand up. "No more crying… it's time for mama to get up off the floor… and for little girls to get to bed." Meredith said, as she started the long process of getting herself up off the floor.
And through the Queen's struggles… and Drake's feelings of inadequacy and fear… the two of them just needed to find that catalyst that would vault them through the darkest times, and maybe… possibly… lift them together into the light of day.