Zola was sick, so Meredith kept her home from daycare along with Ellie. Bailey however went to the hospital with Derek. It was just Meredith and the girls for the day, although she tried to keep Zola in bed. The almost six year old wanted to play with her toys and didn't understand why her mother wouldn't let her.

Finally Zola settled down for a nap, and Ellie did as well, so Meredith curled up on the couch with a book she'd been trying to read for well over a year. Things had kept creeping up and getting in the way and driving her crazy while she'd been trying to finish this damn book.

She was almost to the halfway point of the book without hearing a peep from either girl, when she heard the doorbell ring. She cringed, hoping both girls would stay asleep as she set down her book, brushing her hair back from her face and heading to the front door. Upon opening it her eyes widened.

"Cristina?" she exclaimed, surprised to see her best friend there. Or was she her former best friend? The pair hadn't talked much over the past few years since Cristina had moved to Switzerland.

"Um, hi," Cristina said, looking up at her old friend, a hint of a smile on her face. "I realized I was a terrible friend so I figured I'd come visit, or something. I went to the hospital first but Derek said you were at home." Meredith nodded.

"Yeah, Zola is sick and I kept Ellie home too," she said with a shrug, inviting Cristina inside the messy house. There were baby toys and pacifiers all over the place, along with Bailey's Thomas trains and Zola's Barbies.

"Ellie? You and McDreamy had another one?" Cristina asked as she raised a brow, plopping onto the couch as she nudged a baby toy out of the way. Meredith was busy in the fridge, grabbing the two of them bottles of water before returning to the living room.

"Mmmhmm. She was born in February, another emergency c-section. I almost died again. She was planned, sort of. I found out I was pregnant after Derek had his accident," she said, sitting in the arm chair and putting her feet on the coffee table.

"Wait, Derek was in an accident?" Cristina questioned. She really had missed a lot.

"Yeah, it was bad. He was t-boned by a semi, I kind of had to fight for him to get proper treatment but he pulled through. Clearly. It was difficult for awhile but he made it. And I'm a Neurosurgen now, with him and Amelia. Oh right, Amelia is head of Neuro, it's kind of a family thing," she giggled. It really was a thing, they were known as the three Shepherds and they were a Neuro force to be reckoned with.

"When did you have time to do a fellow in Neuro with a baby?" Cristina asked, clearly impressed. Meredith shrugged.

"I started it while Derek was recovering and I just finished it this past June. So now I'm General and Neuro," she shrugged. Cristina was in awe. Not only did her friend have three kids, but she had two fellowships in two different specialties and in both of them, she was the very top of her field. She was hardcore and badass.

There were soft cries from the baby monitor and Meredith smiled.

"I'll be right back," she said, rushing upstairs to get Ellie from her nap. Changing her diaper and changing her into a soft, pink onesie, she brought her back downstairs with a blanket, her dark curls all over the place.

"Miss Ellie, this is Aunt Cristina," she smiled, holding her youngest daughter in her arms while Cristina looked on in awe.

"Holy crap you had a female McDreamy. Like seriously. That child is definitely Derek's."

Meredith couldn't help but laugh as she hoisted Ellie up in her arms.

"Her name is Ellis Alexandra, for my mom and Lexie," she smiled, settling back down in the chair. Cristina was still dumbstruck that Meredith juggled being a mother to three and all of her responsibilities at the hospital.

"How do you manage it? Having it all?" she asked her, knowing that she had asked Ellis Grey the same question a long time ago. Meredith could only smile.

"Some days I don't. Some days the kids are with Amelia and Derek and I stay late. Sometimes I break down and cry because it's so difficult to do everything. But then some days I have a perfect balance of family and work, and those are the best days of all, because I get to be a surgeon, and I get to be a mother," she said, her eyes misting over. She was one of the lucky ones; she had it all. The family, the big, perfect house, the perfect job, the perfect husband.

"I'm not always shiny and happy, but I'm shinier and happier than I used to be," she said with a shrug of her shoulders. "Derek and I almost didn't make it, and then the accident happened and I realized I couldn't live without him. I realized if he died it would be me and the kids forever, I was done. No one could replace him," she said. Ellie was cooing in her lap and she kissed the top of her head.

"Oh and Cristina? The woman you hired as your replacement….is my sister," she laughed, shaking her head. Cristina picked up her head and looked at her.

"How? What? You have another sister?"

"My mom and Richard had a child," Meredith smirked, her brows wiggling a bit. "I was too young to remember but….my mom had a baby when we lived in Boston and gave her up for adoption. Her name is Maggie and she's five years younger than me. I actually really adore her and so do the kids," she said with a shrug, as she heard little feet upstairs and Zola running across the room.

"Auntie Tina!" she yelled, climbing into her godmothers lap. Cristina's lips spread into a huge grin.

"Zo, look how big you've gotten! And so pretty too," she smiled, holding the five year old on her lap. That was the end of gossip for now but Meredith didn't care. Cristina was back for now; she didn't know why or for how long but she had her person.

So I threw this together so I had something to give you guys :) I'm going to be in Los Angeles when Grey's comes back next week but I'm going to pay for wifi in my hotel just so I can freaking watch it! And I'll add stuff from the episode into my update like so many people have suggested! AND I loved all your suggestions!

To the anon who called me rude: this is my story and I feel that if someone is going to tell me that i'm wrong about something, it's only fair that I correct them with my correct information and research, since I am the one writing this story after all and I carefully research things I don't know before I insert them. It's not fun to have things constantly pointed out to you as wrong, when they are not /fin.