After Christmas, Meredith, Derek, Addison, and Mark decided to head to NYC for New Years. They had friends from Yale who lived in impressive penthouses, with parents who wouldn't be home that night. They split two hotel rooms at the Waldorf Astoria, taking a few days to explore the city and have fun. It was freezing cold but Meredith didn't really mind it; she was from Boston and was used to running around, bundled up from head to toe.

During the days, the two couples would head out separately, and Meredith and Derek would find fun things to do. Her favorite thing was strolling through Central Park; they always found something different every day. New York was magical during the holidays and she loved every moment of it. She hated getting caught in Times Square but much preferred the quiet streets of Greenwich Village, in particular a tiny British tea shop called Tea and Sympathy. She loved it so much that she dragged Derek there every day for tea and scones, giggling in the warmth of the shop.

She loved everything about the city, and could see herself living there someday. Running down the sidewalks filled with people, giggling like crazy as snowflakes fell. It made her feel alive, it made her feel like she was a part of something bigger than just herself, it made her want to shout giddily that she was here, that she had arrived.

As they were walking through the park on a particularly cold day, Derek's arm wrapped around her waist to keep her warmer, she couldn't help but smile.

"I want to live here," she smiled, looking up at him. He looked down at her with a laugh, kissing her forehead that was peeking out from under her hat.

"And why's that, princess?" She giggled; ever since he'd visited her house he'd taken to calling her princess, despite the fact that she was the exact opposite.

"Because it's New York City. It's the center of like…everything. And it's so busy, I love it. Boston is so laid back and New Haven is so tiny. You're from here, you don't get it," she teased him, pressing a kiss to his lips.

"Nope, I live 45 minutes away by car, less by train, I came here all the time growing up," he laughed, holding her close. But he knew once she got an idea in her head she was going to see it through one day, and he knew one day the two of them would be living in NYC.

New Years Eve came and Derek found himself getting dressed up in a shirt and tie with dress pants. Meredith, however, seemed to be stuck in the bathroom of their hotel room getting ready. Eventually she opened the bathroom door and stalked out, and Derek's jaw dropped.

She was dressed in a silver sequined cocktail dressed that flared at the waist, with black heels. Her blonde hair was done up in a French twist, and her makeup was dark and smoky. Red lipstick adorned her lips, with diamonds in her ears, her ring on her finger, and a diamond bracelet around her wrist.

"Holy crap, Meredith," he said, unable to take his eyes off of her. She was stunning. No, she was beyond stunning. She was breathtaking. He took her by the waist and caught her up in a kiss and she smiled against his lips.

"I love you," she whispered, her fingers combing through his hair.

"I love you too," he grinned, squeezing her tight. "Come on, it's ten, we should get going," he said. She pulled on her coat and grabbed her clutch, which only included her room key, her ID, and her lipstick, before the pair took the elevator downstairs and managed to get a cab. It took forever to get to their friend's penthouse; it was nearly eleven when they did, but finally they arrived and they were thrilled. Meredith found Addison right away and Derek went off in search of drinks.

"Addie! Oh my god, it took us for freaking ever to get here, you look fabulous!" she said, latching on to her best friend. Addison had clearly had a few drinks and was a little wobbly on her heels.

"No YOU look fabulous, oh my god, where did you get that dress?" she asked her. Meredith shrugged a bit.

"BCBG, I fell in love with it the other day when we were in Soho. Derek is absolutely in love with this look, I'm considering dressing up for class everyday," she smirked, as Derek returned and handed her a very strong cranberry and vodka. She drank it greedily, wanting to be drunk by midnight. "Have you seen Ella yet? Her parents place is great," she said, although she knew her own mothers house was crazy, huge, and well-decorated. Addison shook her head

"Last I heard she was drunk and her boyfriend was holding her hair back.' Both girls made faces, remembering the tequila incident they had had a few weeks ago, and Meredith silently hoped that didn't happen to her again, despite her affinity for tequila.

"Come on Der," she grinned, the vodka having gone straight to her head as she pulled him onto the makeshift dance floor. One of her favorite songs by Walk the Moon was playing and she smiled as he twirled her around. "Dance with meee," she giggled, leaning in for another kiss. Somehow she managed to get him to dance with her for forty five minutes, and by that time they were five minutes from midnight. She could hear corks being popped all over the apartment and a champagne flute was shoved into her hand. She'd had a few more drinks by now and was giddy from the alcohol, an arm around Derek's waist.

Someone started the countdown, but she wasn't there for that. She dragged him onto one of the many baclony's that gave them a view of the ball dropping in times square and she smiled as she watched it descend. When it hit the bottom she clinked her champagne flute with his and downed what was in it, leaning in and wrapping her arms around him.

"Happy New Year, Derek," she smiled happily, her tongue slipping into his mouth as they made out on the balcony of the penthouse. It had been a hell of a year and a semester, and she wouldn't change anything in the world.

After a week in NYC, the four of them went back to the Shepherd house for the rest of break. Classes started on the 13th so they had less than two weeks left, but they made the most of their time there and had fun. It snowed more so there were more snow wars, and Carolyn tried to teach Meredith how to cook, which she learned she was actually good at.

The end of break came too fast, however, and soon the four of them were packing up Meredith's car and driving the hour back to New Haven. Dragging everything upstairs and getting into their rooms was so anticlimactic; nothing had changed over the holidays obviously, but at least for Meredith and Addison, they had new clothes to unpack and things to display on their shelves. Meredith had a package in the office and sighed, not looking forward to wading through the snow and freezing cold to retrieve it, but she did.

It was a package from her mother and she groaned, wondering what her mother had decided to get her for Christmas this year, not to mention that she had been home and she had neglected to give her anything. Once she had arrived back at her room and peeled off all her layers, she sat on her bed with the package. Inside the box three small Tiffanys boxes, her second this Christmas, and inside the first was a pair of pearl earrings with a note:

Because every young woman should own a set of pearls.

Xx

Mother

She opened the second to find a pearl necklace, and the third held a bracelet. Meredith was completely shocked; she knew it wasn't that her mother didn't care, it was that she was just so busy all of the time. The gifts touched her and she quickly tucked the boxes away in her underwear drawer with a small smile before pulling out her phone and composing a text message.

Received your package today – love the gifts. Thank you for thinking of me, I love you, mom.

Xx

Meredith Elizabeth

Meredith felt herself tearing up, and she was exhausted, so she simply got ready for bed, changing into her pajamas and brushing her teeth. She headed across the hall to say goodnight to Derek, lingering in his arms longer than usual, before heading back across the hall and climbing into bed.

Maybe Ellis had a heart for her daughter after all.

A little shorter than usual but I felt the ending with Ellis's gifts was powerful! I see myself writing them with a bit of healing, probably in time for MerDer's wedding ;)