Blaine lies sleeping on the seemingly huge bed, the medicine making him feel better and causing him to fall asleep. Meredith sits on one side of the bed, her entire intern family behind her and Derek sits on the other, Richard behind him. He looks over the bed at Meredith, but she is watching Blaine closely, worry creasing her brow.
The Chief clears his throat, causing everyone to look up at him. "Well, uh, he seems to be doing better and I think that everyone but the, uh, parents should, uh, probably leave." Everyone just stares at him. "Plus, you all have work to do," he says in a more confident voice.
The interns all stare at him for a moment before nodding and leaving the room. The Chief looks at Meredith. "If you need anything, just page me," he says before exiting the room, leaving Meredith and Derek alone.
Meredith reaches up and brushes Blaine's dark curls off of his forehead. His mouth is pouty as he breathes deeply.
"He's adorable," Derek says in a soft, quiet voice as he stares at the pair of them. They are the missing pieces. They are the reason he has been feeling so empty for the past couple of years.
"Yeah," Meredith sighs, "he reminds me so much of you." Her voice is frail, almost as if she is ready to break at any moment.
"Really?" Derek asks in a hopeful voice.
Meredith finally looks away from Blaine and up at Derek. "Yeah," she says. "He has this thing that he does when he really wants something. He smiles your smile and tilts his head to the side, just like you do and his eyes light up. His eyes light up and I find it so hard to tell him no because I want his eyes to stay bright forever." She has a huge smile on her face as she recalls the images to mind.
Derek feels his eyes begin to tear up. He can't believe how much he doesn't know. How much he has missed. "Tell me more?" he implores.
"What do you want to know?" she asks as she leans back in the chair.
"Everything," he says definitively.
Meredith smiles. That was the right answer. Derek always knew the right answer. It must be part of his charm.
"He does this thing when he kisses me. It's so entirely him, but so very much you as well. He wraps his arms around my neck and smiles at me and he giggles his cute little giggle before he just smothers my face with kisses. He smothers my face with kisses, but when he does that I feel like I can breathe better than ever. And he giggles the entire time," she can't help but giggle herself as she recalls the memory.
Derek chuckles as he wipes a few stray tears off of his face. "Tell me more. Tell me about his firsts.." he begs.
Meredith smiles leaning back into the chair. "The first time he kicked, I was in the middle of a patient's brain. I think he was trying to tell me something. We might have an up and coming doctor on our hand," she says while glancing at Blaine. "The first time he cried, I was so relieved. So relieved that he had a good pair of lungs on him. So relieved that he was ok. He may have been covered in afterbirth, but he was definitely the most beautiful sight I have ever seen. The first smile. The first smile was on a Sunday afternoon. I was down on the floor on my hands and knees playing with him. He had a rattle gripped in his tiny fist and he just looked up at me and smiles. He has the perfect smile," she sighs. She runs her hand over her face, squeezing the bridge of her nose between her thumb and forefinger. Meredith leans forward, cradling her head in her hands as her elbows rest on her knees, the many emotions of the day starting to take over.
"Are you okay?" Derek asks into the silent room.
She looks up at him, fire in her eyes. "Am I okay? Am I okay? No. No, I'm not okay. Are you happy? I'm not freaking okay. You just show up. After over two years you just show up. I am not okay. My son is sick and you are here and I'm NOT okay."
Derek stares at her for a moment, struggling to find the right words. What do you say? What do you say after 27 months? Words don't be sufficient. Words seem to be empty. So, what do you say?
"Mer," he starts, but she immediately holds up a hand stopping him.
"No," she says with venom in her voice, "you do not get to turn this around. You do not get to explain. Not today. You do not get to try to make me feel better. You didn't show up. I waited. I took a later flight, hoping, praying that you would show up, and you didn't. You didn't show up and you think that after 27 months and a son that you can just show up and say a few words and everything will be okay?? Newsflash, Derek, that is not the way it works."
"Mer," he tries again.
"No! NO!" she whispers furiously as she points at him. "You do not get to say my name like that. You do not get to say my name like you know me, because you don't. You know nothing about me. You know nothing about us," she finishes with a sigh as she finally lets out a long breath. She looks at him and sees the pained expression in his eyes. His pain hurts her. His pain hurts her but he has already hurt her so much.
"Don't worry, Derek. I'm not going to keep you away from your son. I wouldn't do that to him. He deserves a father. He deserves to have you in his life. But it is going to be on my terms. I have to be sure that you aren't going to leave him, because you can't hurt him, Derek. You can't hurt him. He is too precious and he does not deserve to be hurt. He does not deserve to feel abandoned and I will not allow him to feel that way. So, before you decide if you want to be in his life, you need to make a decision. You need to decide if you are willing to always be there for him, because I will allow nothing less. And if you break that promise, if you break that promise, he has an entire family of people that will kick your ass," she finishes as Blaine mumbles softly in his sleep. She reaches up and brushes a stray curl out of his face.
"I'm not going anywhere," Derek says in a stern voice, a lone tear trailing its way down his face.
She turns to look at him, tears running down her own face. "Prove it," she tells him in a stern voice.
Prove it. She needs for him to prove it. She needs him to show her with actions. She needs him to prove to her that he will not hurt Blaine by leaving. She can't allow for her son to hurt like that. She can't. She can't allow for her son to feel the same abandonment that she felt. She just can't. She loves her son more than anything else in the world, and she will not sit by and watch him be hurt.
Derek plans on proving it. He has never been more determined to do anything in his life. He will prove it. He will prove to Meredith that he is here. He is here for Blaine. He is here for her. He will prove to her that he loves them. He loves them both so much. He will prove to her that they can be a family. He will prove to her that happily-ever-afters don't just happen in fairytales.
