Derek coming home was the greatest thing that had ever happened to Meredith. Soon after their reunion, a couple of weeks later, Derek moved in. He had been living with Mark during his first few weeks back in Seattle as he had sold his previous house when he packed up and moved to Washington D.C. But after spending only a couple of weeks together with Meredith, they decided to move in together. They were spending all the time they could together already, so why shouldn't they just live together?
Meredith felt like she was in heaven. She had her four amazing best friends: Cristina, Izzie, George and Alex. She was finishing her second year of her pre-medical degree with all high distinctions. Most of all, she was in a happy relationship with the love of her life, Derek Shepherd. There was honestly nothing that Meredith felt she was missing in her life.
That was until her phone rang at 10:00PM, while she and Derek were playing around in bed. Derek was on top of Meredith, kissing her ears gently, then her neck and all down her chest and stomach. When her phone rang, Meredith let out a disappointed groan and pushed Derek off of her.
"Hey!" He protested, trying to crawl back on top of his girlfriend. Meredith giggled but crawled out of bed, throwing a pillow in Derek's face.
"I have to find my phone!" She giggled again as Derek groaned impatiently and rolled onto his back. Her phone had stopped ringing now, but a split second later it started again. Meredith focused on the sound until she finally found her phone under the bed. It must've fallen off as she and Derek were playing around on the bed.
"Hello?" Meredith answered, lifting her phone to her ear.
There was a pause on the other end of the line. Derek shot Meredith a puzzled look that said: who is it? Meredith shrugged. Whoever called still wasn't speaking.
"Hello?" Meredith repeated. "This is Meredith Grey."
"M-Meredith," An unfamiliar voice stammered. Their breathing was short and sharp, just like Derek's had been when he opened up to Meredith about his sister's death. "My name is Lexie…"
Meredith raised an eyebrow. She didn't know anyone called Lexie. "Yes? Can I help you, Lexie?"
"U-um," The girl stuttered. There were sniffling noises coming from her end. "I'm Lexie… Grey. Thatcher Grey is… my father. He's our father."
Meredith's breathing stopped momentarily. She hadn't heard her anyone say Thatcher's name in over ten years. Not since he had left Meredith and her mother all those years ago. Thatcher had tried to reach out to Meredith countless times, but she had felt so betrayed and abandoned. Not only had Thatcher left Meredith, but he left her with a mother who never even wanted her in the first place. It didn't surprise Meredith at all that Thatcher had a new family. She figured after he left that he would easily charm his way into another woman's heart. But why was his new daughter calling Meredith? What did she want?
"What about him?" Meredith snapped angrily. Derek sat up in the bed and shot her a concerned glance. Are you okay? He mouthed. Meredith nodded slowly. But she wasn't so sure.
"He's…" Meredith could hear Lexie's voice tremble. It sounded like she was fighting back tears. "Our dad is dead." She paused. "I'm so sorry, Meredith."
Meredith stared blankly at the wall in front of her. She had recently decorated it with photo frames. The first photo was a group shot of Meredith, Cristina, Izzie, Alex and George on their last day of their first year of University. It was taken on campus by one of the girls in their anatomy class. Izzie had her arms around Alex and George, while Meredith and Cristina stood in front of them poking their tongues out. They all looked so happy and relaxed. The next picture was a Polaroid of Meredith and Cristina. They were at the on campus bar about to do a shot of tequila. George had taken the photo saying that this was their "natural habitat". Meredith remembered laughing straight after the photo was taken. The last photo was Meredith's personal favourite. It was a photo Cristina had taken on her phone during her reunion with Derek. The quality wasn't great, but the picture spoke a thousand words. They both had their arms around each other and were just staring into each other's eyes. Derek was caressing Meredith's hair as he looked down at her as if she were the only person in the entire world. Meredith smiled to herself as she looked at the photo in silence. She forgot for a moment that she was even on the phone with Lexie.
"He's still in the hospital here in LA," Lexie said suddenly, taking a deep breath. "W-we're still deciding if we should donate his organs. We would really love it if you would come and see him. I… I know he would've wanted that."
Meredith turned away from the wall and faced Derek. He was sitting up straight now with a serious look on his face. Meredith bit her lip and looked at the ground.
"Go to California?" She whispered, her eyes glued to the floor. "I don't have the money for a plane ticket."
"We'll pay," Lexie responded quickly. "We actually have a ticket for you already. There's a flight leaving at 2AM tonight. If you want to take it, that is."
"What's going on?" Derek asked curiously, climbing out of bed. He made his way over to Meredith and raised an eyebrow at her. Meredith stared back in silence. Her head was spinning. California? Meredith knew that her father had moved away, she just never pictured him in such a sunny place like California. He loved the cold, just like Meredith did. At least… that's what she remembered. Had her father really changed that much in ten years?
"Meredith, I have to go." Lexie whispered, her voice still trembling. "I really hope you take that flight." Click. The call ended.
Derek stood before Meredith. He examined her face in an attempt to find out how she was feeling. But Meredith's face was blank. It reflected no emotion at all. Derek watched as Meredith walked back to her bed and sank into the sheets. She was completely silent. After a moment, Derek crawled back into bed with her and planted kisses all over her face. When she didn't kiss back, he stopped.
"Who was on the phone, Meredith?" He asked impatiently.
"It was my sister." Meredith replied. She said the word 'sister' bitterly.
"You have a sister?" Derek's lips were pursed. "What did she want?"
Meredith inhaled deeply and then exhaled. Her eyes fell upon the picture of her and Derek on her wall again and then she looked back up at real life Derek. The one who was lying next to her on the bed. He was so close that she could feel his breath against her face.
"She was calling to tell me that…" Meredith paused. She felt a lump building up in her throat. "My dad is dead."
Derek's mouth dropped open in disbelief and then it closed again. He quickly wrapped his arms around Meredith and pulled her into his chest.
"What can I do?" He kissed her hair.
"I'm flying to California tonight," Meredith said, resting her head against his chest. "I need you there with me." She let out a small cry. The realisation that her father was actually dead started to feel real. She shook the feeling away and closed her eyes.
"Oh Meredith…" Derek kissed her forehead and her closed eyes softly, "I'll be there."
And he meant it.
After waking up Cristina and explaining to her what was happening, Meredith and Derek packed their bags and made their way to the airport. Derek purchased his ticket there while Meredith collected the one that had already been purchased for her by her father's new family. At 2:00AM on the dot, the plane left the Seattle airport and Derek and Meredith were well on their way to California. Together.
