A/N I want to say thanks to the following readers for adding this story to story alerts, icefirewave, Manic Penguin , insomniac4liFe96 and for the reviews Brandi Rochon and pomb63.

Chapter 19

"Meredith…" Derek said has he reached out and grabbed her by the arm, as she walked by his room.

It had been a month since Meredith had been told about her parent's death, and a month since their kiss in her room. It was strange because in a way their relationship was even more strained, but at the same time they were closer than they had been before. Meredith needed someone to rely on and somehow that person was Derek. Their only disagreement was over Meredith's reluctance to tell Lexie and Molly.

"What do you want?" Meredith glared at him.

"You need to tell them Meredith…they deserve to know…" Derek answered back.

"Don't you dare tell me what I should and should not tell my sisters," Meredith almost yelled back, her fists hitting his chest, until he grabbed her arms and pushed her against the wall.

"Meredith, it has been over a month, I understand that you wanted to make sure that the girls had a good Christmas but it is time that you were honest with them," he told her, not wanting to hurt her but knowing that Meredith could long avoid the issue.

"I c…c…can't," Meredith said quietly, her eyes filling up with tears. Derek's heart broke that little bit more for her, he knew that she was struggling to come to terms with the news but he also knew that hiding it from Lexie and Molly was not doing either her or the girls any good. It was not allowing her grieve.

"Meredith…you have to accept that it has happened, that your parents are dead."

"No…" Meredith said shaking her head in defiance. In that moment Derek realised that Meredith had not accepted her parent's death.

All Meredith wanted to do was to wake up from this nightmare and find that her parents were still alive and that they were all living together in London with her parents.

"Mer…I am so sorry," Derek whispered as he apologised to her, knowing that what he was about to do would hurt her more than anything. He closed his eyes has he gave her a gentle kiss on the mouth; before opening them and looking Meredith directly in the eye "Meredith, your parents are dead."

"No…No…No…" Meredith muttered as she looked away from him. Derek held her face with his hands and made her look at him. Meredith tried to avoid eye contact with him but when she did Derek repeated it once again.

"They are dead, Meredith." he said firmly but gently.

"NO…" Meredith screamed at him. "NO…NO…NO…"

"Mer…" Derek said, has she started hitting him with her tiny ineffectual fists. "I am so sorry"

"YOU ARE LYING" Meredith screamed at him.

"You know I am not lying…Meredith…You think I like seeing you in this much pain…that I want to hurt you like this," Derek told her as he wrapped his arms around her. Meredith tried to fight him but he was too strong for her.

"Please…No…No…No," Meredith muttered as she stopped fighting Derek and let him hold her securely against his chest, as she cried, finally mourning and finally grieving for her parents.

She was alone, first her mom and then her dad and step mum A silent scream pressed against Derek's chest as Meredith lost herself in the arms of the man she loved. Yes she could admit to herself at long last that she loved him but he wasn't hers to keep, but right now she needed him. Derek just held her letting her poor out her grief. Neither of them knew how long she stayed in Derek's arms, but she felt safe and as she lifted her head, she gave him a small sad smile. Derek kissed her on the top of the head.

"Would you like me to be to be there; when you tell them?" Derek asked Meredith, gently rubbing his thumb along her bare arm.

"Thanks for the offer but no," Meredith whispered, this was something she had to do on her own. She had relied too much on Derek recently. She was even doing something that she knew was wrong and never thought that she would ever do and that was finding comfort in the arms of another woman's man but it was the only comfort she would allow herself. Meredith vowed that once she was past this she would never take was never her's to begin with ever again.

MDMDMDMDMDMDMD

Meredith watched the girls playing in the garden for a few minutes before calling them into the house. They were happy, carefree and having fun. Not like those days in London, where they always had to be aware and listen out for an air raid siren to sound or the bombs to fall. Derek was right she knew that she needed to tell them; and that she had been putting it off. Derek's little speech to her that morning had pulled her head together and she knew that she couldn't keep hiding it from them and kept thinking how she would have felt if she discovered that someone had kept that kind of secret from her.

"Lexie, Molly…" Meredith said as she called the girls.

The siblings stopped what they were doing and looked at each other for a moment, wondering what their sister could be calling them for as it wasn't yet dinner time.

"Coming," Lexie called back to Meredith. "Come on Molly" Lexie told her younger sister, pulling her up from the grass as they both ran towards her.

"Meri?" Molly asked frowning at her sister.

"Come into the house please girls," Meredith said to them and they followed her to the living room.

"What is it Meredith?" Lexie asked, as she noticed the sadness that had overtaken her sister since just before Christmas. Lexie was scared Meredith was going leave them here in the US that Meredith would go back home.

"Please… come and sit down," Meredith asked them, and watched as the girls came and sat on either side of her. Meredith closed her eyes has she took the girls hands within her own; and opened her eyes.

"Now girls I need you to both be very brave for me, I have some bad news... You know how mummy and daddy sent us to stay here with the Shepherd's so that we would be safe whilst the war was going on?" Meredith said, unconsciously squeezing the girls hand as she continued. Meredith tried to keep back the tears that were threatening to fall. "Molly, Lexie… I am so sorry but mummy and daddy were in an explosion."

"Are they alright?" Lexie asked, understanding what Meredith was telling her was silently praying that her sister had to be wrong.

"Lexie, Molly, I am sorry but they died," Meredith told them, not able to prevent the tears anymore.

"I don't believe you…" Lexie cried out, pulling her hand away from her sister.

"Lex…" Meredith said reaching out to her, but Lexie avoided her reach and ran out of the room. Meredith watched her go, wanting to go after her sister but at the same time she could feel Molly's death grip on her arm. Turning to her baby sister, Meredith wrapped her arms around her and lifted her onto her lap.

"Meri…when… can we… see mummy, daddy?" Molly asked. Meredith realised then that Molly didn't understand what was happening. Meredith had been to keep Molly away from all this, and in a strange and horrible way she was hoping that she had forgotten about their parents and therefore save the little girl from any confusion.

"Mols, we aren't going to see mummy and daddy again for a long time."

"Go…home?" she asked. Meredith shook her head.

"This is home…"

"No…" Molly said before crying, she didn't understand much but what she did understand was that she wanted her mummy and daddy.

"Molly" Meredith breathed as she gave her baby sister a hug.

"I want mummy and daddy…" Molly cried.

"I know Molly so do I sweetheart. Mummy and Daddy love you very much Molly and they wouldn't leave us if they could help it," Meredith said as she tried to comfort her baby sister and as she heard Molly's cries, Meredith's own tears finally fell.

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