Disclaimer: I have a disclaimer...... do you think I own it????? :)
Summary: Meredith and Derek Shepherd have the perfect life. Perfect careers, money, huge house, lots of land, supporting family, and adorable two and a half year old daughter, Emily Elizabeth Shepherd. She is the perfect combination of Meredith and Derek. She had Derek's dark, curly hair, but Meredith's emerald eyes, nose, mouth, and laugh. Emily was their world. But it only takes one day for a world to fall apart....
Last chapter was focused solely on Meredith. This chapter, starts with Mer and Mark going to the airport, Mark to Nevada, Mer to New York, but the majority of the chapter is Derek (and Mark once he gets there).... At the end I may have Mer arriving in New York or something, I am not sure, I will see when I write it :)
A/N: Derek's part begins really soon after he landed that day and then continues to when Mark shows up....
Meredith sighed as she collected her final things in her bag. She had no clue what she needed. Knowing her mother-in-law and sister-in-law's, they'd be doing god know's what. Meredith wasn't even sure how long she was planning on staying. In the back on her mind she wanted to stay until Derek got back, but Derek could take forever. He wouldn't be back until Emily was back. Plus, she couldn't impose on Carolyn too long. But she also knew that if Carolyn wanted her to stay longer then she was going to, she wouldn't have a choice.
"Mer!" Mark called, as she heard her front door open. She shivered. Remembering that day all too well.
"Up here!" she said, her voice cracking.
"Your not naked are you?" he asked.
"No," Meredith snapped as he came in.
"Good, because Derek would murder me," Mark said with a smirk.
"Thank you again, for doing this," Mer sighed as he came around the bed and wrapped an arm around her comfortingly.
"Derek and the girls, at one point were my only family...." Mark said. "Now you are, Lex is, and Em is.... I'd do anything for any of you."
"I know," Mer sighed as she reached up to hug him.
"Meredith," Meredith heard Lexie say. She peeked over her shoulder to see Lexie, Callie, and Arizona. Arizona and Callie had not been able to come over last night when everyone had come to say goodbye to Mer, some of them had to still work.
"Hey," Meredith replied weakly as she walked up to her co-workers, now her friends and family. As she hugged Callie, she swore she could hear Emily complementing her hair as she always did.
"Aunt Cal-eee your hair is soooooo pretty.... even prettier than my Mommy's!"
She moved to Arizona next. Her name was always too hard for Emily to pronounce.
"Hiiiii Aunt Zona!"
When Meredith stepped back she could see in the two woman's eyes that they were thinking the same thing as she was.
"When you come back from New York, I bet you that Derek will be home," Arizona smiled.
"I hope, because that means..." Meredith sighed.
"Exactly," Callie said confidently as Meredith moved to her suitcase. She tried to zip it shut but failed.
"Mark help," she moaned as she sat down on it. Mark shook his head and laughed.
"Goodness Grey," he smirked. "How much stuff you got in there?"
"Mark... we are talking about the woman who raised you.... Carolyn Shepherd.... if I didn't come with enough stuff, she'd buy me more stuff.... and you know she'll insist on me staying for as long as possible," Meredith pointed out.
"True," Mark shrugged. "Knowing Ma, she'd make you stay for at least a month." Meredith sighed.
"What's wrong?" Arizona asked.
"A month," she whispered. "It's been more than a month."
"Mer," Lexie sighed.
"I can't believe it's been a month since I saw my baby girl," Meredith murmured as Mark zipped the suitcase.
"And with Derek helping I bet it won't even be another month," Arizona told her.
"Yeah," she mumbled and retreated to her bathroom.
"Do you really think that New York will help?" Callie asked Lexie and Mark.
"Not a chance," Lexie shook her head. "But... she does need to see the rest of them. It can give her a distraction."
"I always thought that they were the perfect family, and now this," Arizona sighed.
"They are still the perfect family, just in three different places," Mark murmured.
"Let's pray to God that little girl is returned home soon," Arizona said as Meredith came out of the bathroom, her face now blotchy and red, it was clear she was crying.
"Ready," she said.
"Let's go," Mark said, grabbing her bags as Lexie, Callie, and Arizona helped her to the car to go to the airport.
Derek looked up from the drawer he finished putting all his clothes in. He looked around the room slowly. It wasn't at the best hotel in Nevada, he could have afforded that, but this specific hotel was only a few blocks away from the police station. It didn't matter anyway, he wasn't going to be spending much time there anyway.
"Emily where are you," he murmured as he pulled out a picture in his wallet. It was of the two of them. Meredith had snuck up from behind them when they were on the dock. Derek was fishing and Emily was sitting next to him, watching the water intently. At that moment when Mer snapped the picture, the two of them had turned towards each other, most likely in a laugh. Agitated, Derek stuffed the picture back into the wallet and turned on the TV. It was almost noon, meaning the news would be on soon. And Derek knew, that if the police were really searching as hard as they said they were, there would at least be a brief mention of the case.
Derek sat and watched as the news anchor's talked about shooting, the weather, the latest sports, and just as Derek was about to turn off the TV and call Officer White back home in Seattle, Emily's picture flashed on the screen. Jason's was there too but Derek only focused on his little girl.
"The search still continues for the two year old girl Emily Shepherd, believed to be in the Austin area. She was abducted from her home in Seattle, Washington over a month ago. She was last seen with a Jason Hartley who is wanted for rape and murder in his hometown of Atlanta, Georgia. The two are believed to be wearing disguises so be on the lookout for anything suspicious. If you have any information on Emily's whereabouts, please contact the Amber Alert or Nevada police hotline at..."
That's when Derek turned it off. He was satisfied to know that the search still continued, but it was clear they were not working hard enough. Not hard enough for him anyway, Emily was still out there with Jason instead of in his arms. It was now time to make his first in many visits to the Austin area precinct. He left his room and grabbed his keys to his rent-a-car and made his way down the street. Before he even walked in, he saw the WANTED picture of Jason and LOST picture of Emily. Gently he ran his fingers over Emily's picture, he wanted her back so much.
"Excuse me," he said, walking up to the front desk.
"Just a second," the secretary mumbled as she typed away in the computer.
"I don't have a said," Derek commanded.
"Too bad!" she snapped, still not looking up.
"I need to talk to the man in charge of the kidnapping case of Emily Shepherd," he said.
"Do you have information on her whereabout or her kidnapper," she asked, still annoying Derek for she hadn't looked up.
"No..." Derek sighed. "But I wish..."
"We all wish that little girl was safe with her family, but she isn't, and he is busy trying to make that happen so I must ask you to leave sir," she said calmly.
"Actually," Derek began. "I was hoping to hear any leads you had... or pretty much all the information on that case."
"That sir, is impossible, do I have to call security?" she hissed, now turning to the phone.
"Is it still impossible if my name is Derek Shepherd?" he questioned with a smirk. The secretary's head snapped up. "Emily's father," he confirmed.
"Mr. Shepherd... I am sorry... we um... we weren't expecting you," she said surprised.
"Of course not," Derek said nonchalantly.
"If you could take a seat in our waiting area, I will let Detective Wood and Detective Lynch know you are here," the secretary said, now completely flustered.
"That would be appreciated, thank you," Derek nodded and complied. He looked around briefly before turning on his phone. He knew what would happen in about five seconds. Once it was fully on, it began beeping every second. Missed Calls, Voice Mails, Text Messages flashed on his screen. There were over twenty of them. Several from Izzie, Lexie, and Cristina, one from Mark, Callie, Richard, Arizona, and Miranda, many from Alex and George, and an overwhelming number from his mother, Nancy, Liz, Kathy, and Meg. None from Mer.
He shook his head, turned off his phone, and then stood up. Two officers were talking towards him.
"Mr. Shepherd," the first one, a man said, extending his hand to shake his. "I am Detective Wood, this is my partner Detective Lynch... we are the heads of your daughter's case." Derek nodded and shook both of their hands in turn.
"Hello," he said curtly.
"We were not expecting you," Detective Lynch commented. "Is there any reason you are here?"
"Besides the fact that my daughter is with a murdering rapist... no," Derek said dryly.
"I'm sorry," Detective Lynch murmured.
"I've heard that enough," Derek shook it off. "I also came here because my wife and I have heard no news... heard of no leads, since the press conference over a week ago. You have told us nothing and so have the police back home... I came here to find answers."
"And I am sorry, but we can't give them to you," Detective Wood said.
"Excuse me," Derek hissed.
"I think it is in your best interest that you return home," Detective Wood told him.
"I don't think so," Derek spat.
"Mr. Hartley know's what you look like, you could put your daughter in more danger," Detective Lynch told him gently.
"And when you do find her," Derek said. "I want someone in her family to be there... she has been with a stranger for the past month and a half... she deserves to see some familiarity." He felt a rush of anger when she saw the detectives eyes soften.
"I know this is hard Mr. Shepherd," Detective Wood said.
"It's Dr. Shepherd," Derek finally hissed. "And isn't it possible. That if Emily sees me, she'd come running."
"We don't know if he is taking her out," Detective Lynch said.
"You don't know my daughter... she needs to be taken outside, or she wails... she sees me, she comes running, end of story," Derek growled. The Detectives looked at each other and then sighed.
"Would you like to come upstairs, and see our current advances Dr. Shepherd?" Detective Lynch murmured.
"Yes, very much," Derek said calmly. "Thank you." As they led him upstairs, Derek looked around. There were several phones ringing, piles of papers everywhere, and the most evident was the boards that lined the office, each for a specific open case. The one in the middle, the largest, caught Derek's attention. It wasn't just one, it was three. The first one had Emily's picture on it, the next had Jason's picture on it, and the next had a large map of Austin Nevada where they had flags on the area's they already visited. Derek was happy that the number of flags was large.
"Who do we have here?" a man said coming out of the office.
"Captain, this is Dr. Shepeherd... Emily's father," Detective Lynch said.
"Hello Dr. Shepherd," the Captain said. "I am Captain Reese. I assume you are here to see how the search for your daughter is coming along."
"Yes sir," Derek nodded.
"Well... come over here," Captain Reese said as he led his way over to the board. Derek stood in front of the boards and looked intently. He saw pictures from airports, Jason carrying Em or dragging her along. There was one he recognized from Philadelphia International, two people were circled, but it didn't even look like Emily. There was one where there was a girl with red hair, Emily in disguise, who was with a woman he never saw before. The name Gina Phillips was underneath it, and that's when he remembered the woman who indentified her in Philly. There was a picture from the airport in Seattle, Texas and one from the airport here. There was also a picture of the three of them together.
"So far, we have covered these regions," Captain Reese said waving his hand over the map. "We have been going door to door, searching intently, and so far had no luck."
"Okay," Derek breathed.
"We believe that Jason is acting as if she is his daughter," Detective Lynch continued.
"I know that for a fact," Derek murmured.
"How?" Captain Reese asked.
"He called our house a week ago, after the press conference," he sighed. "He let us talk to her for a few minutes, but he was listening in so we couldn't say anything... she just said that her new daddy..." Derek broke off shivering.
"How come we have not been told this?" Detective Wood asked.
"Because," Derek sighed. "The call could not be traced, all it told us was that it was on a prepaid cell phone, and he probably has a stash of them."
"Does he have your cell phone number?" Captain Reese asked.
"No, just the house phone," Derek shook his head. "And now only my wife is home."
"Okay," Captain Reese nodded.
"So... how can I help?" Derek said finally.
"What do you mean?" Captain Reese questioned.
"How can I help in the investigation... I did not come all this way for nothing," Derek repeated.
"Dr. Shepherd... I do not think that is the best idea," he said cautiously.
"I am not leaving Nevada until Emily is found," Derek stated.
"Well you may have to for her safety," Captain Reese said.
"Then I will where a disguise," Derek growled. "My daughter has never been away from us for more than a day... it's been a month and a half... I haven't heard her voice in over a week... I am not leaving her alone in another state and you cannot say anything to me to make me think otherwise."
"You must leave this up to us Dr. Shepherd," Captain Reese advised.
"And you have done such a great job already," Derek scrutinized. "Emily is not found yet."
"These things take time Dr. Shepherd," Captain Reese said.
"All the while he could be abusing her," Derek hissed. "While you just say 'these things take time.'"
"I understand you are upset but..." Detective Wood reasoned.
"None of you will understand how it feels to have the single most important person in your life me taken away unmercifully," Derek yelled.
"Dr. Shepherd calm down," Detective Lynch told him.
"I won't calm down until my daughter is found," Derek said simply and walked towards the door. "I'll leave my cell number with your secretary call me." Derek did that and exited the precinct without another word. He drove his car to the hotel, left it in his parking space, grabbed a picture of Emily out of his pocket, and began walking the streets of Austin.
Three days later...
Derek woke was sitting up in bed, watching TV distractedly. After parading through the streets the past three days he had found no leads to the whereabouts of Emily. The only thing he found out was that he was no longer in the shape he used to be. So that meant he was going to wait until 12 to continue his search. All he really did was show Emily's picture around to everyone, look through supermarket's, malls, drug stores, for any sign of his baby. He made so many copies of her picture and handed it out to everyone.
All of a sudden, someone knocked on his hotel door.
"Who is it?" he called.
"Room service," the voice said on the other side, for a second he recgonized the voice but shook it off.
"I didn't order anything," he said.
"Derek Shepherd! Open the damn door!" the voice now shouted. Now he knew his suspicions were correct.
"Mark," he said cooly, opening the door and letting him in.
"You, are the hardest, stubborn, ass of a man to find," Mark hissed. "I've been searching for you since I landed four hours ago!"
"Why are you here Marcus?" Derek sighed.
"One... Marcus is not my name," Mark pointed out. "And two, you can not do this alone."
"I can and I will," Derek murmured.
"You can't and you won't," Mark corrected. "Plus, your heartbroken wife is worried sick."
"That's just Meredith," Derek murmured. "By the way... how is she?"
"You'd know that she is falling apart if you bothered to call her," Mark narrowed his eyes at him.
"I was waiting to call home until I found something out about Em," Derek sighed.
"Now you have to call New York," Mark told him.
"So that's how they know," Derek muttered.
"Yes... they know... but they weren't surprised... they all know your an idiot," Mark accused.
"So I am an idiot for wanting to get my daughter away from a pyscho path?" Derek questioned harshly.
"No... you're an idiot for leaving your terrified, lonely, and broken wife alone," Mark said.
"It... it was all I could do... I.... I couldn't watch her suffer any longer.... I needed answers," Derek whispered, defeated.
"Have you found them?" Mark asked.
"Sorta..." Derek sighed. "They are trying... just not hard enough."
"For your standards... Derek, you have to leave it up to them," Mark pressed.
"Go home Mark," Derek said dryly.
"Not until you do," Mark said. "I promised Mer I'd make sure you don't do anything stupid... besides.... Jason has no clue who I am... If anyone can spot Em... I can."
"I'm her father," Derek hissed.
"I'm her godfather," Mark pointed out.
"Fine," Derek muttered.
"Thank you," Mark nodded curtly. "So... what have you found out so far..." Derek told Mark the areas he had covered and the areas he still needed to search. Austin Nevada was a bigger place then they thought.
Meredith exhaled deeply as she got out of her seat. The plane ride had been long and painful, Meredith just thinking about Emily riding in one for the first time. Really the second time, but at that point when they visited Derek's family for Emily's first Christmas, she was only three months old and wouldn't remember a thing. Meredith couldn't imagine how scared she was, or if Jason comforted her or not. The only person that should have been comforting her was herself or her husband.
With shaky legs she walked off of the plane, entering the terminal. The crowd's were enormous and Meredith could just imagine how easily it was for Emily and Jason to get swallowed up and disappear. No wonder the police had had such a hard time trying to locate them.
Meredith walked over to find her luggage slowly. She briefly wondered what Emily was wearing now. What kind of luggage were they carrying. Would it be so long before she sees her, that all her clothes that line her closet will be too small. Just as Meredith spotted her suitcase and lifted it off, she heard her mother in law.
"MEREDITH!" she exclaimed. Meredith turned around and sure enough, there was Carolyn Shepherd, arms stretched wide, ready for an embrace.
"Mom," she whispered as the two women met.
"Meredith," Carolyn repeated. "Oh honey I am so sorry." And just like that, Meredith felt a rush and realized that this was not going to help. Being surrounded by Derek's family without Derek. The family, besides Lexie, that shared Emily's blood. The thought almost made Meredith sick to her stomach, but she realized that no matter how hard it was, that she needed to be here.
Next chapter will be a mix of Mark/Derek in Nevada and Meredith with the Shepherd girls in New York.
A/N: Happy ending, I will remind you about that :)
PLEASE R&R!!!!!