Meredith sat gazing at her sleeping daughter. She could hardly believe that they would be going home today. She had been so worried that this day would never come, and, yet, somehow it had arrived. And when they first arrived at the hospital, she had thought that just the two of them would be going home, returning to live with her roommates, but now Derek wanted to take Chrissy home, too, and Carolyn was going to be at home, cooking for Chrissy. She wondered what it would be like to be home with Derek and his mother. She had enjoyed spending time with Carolyn, who was much more motherly than Ellis had ever been. And she had to admit she enjoyed spending time with Derek.

She heard a knock on the door, and Izzie came into the room, carrying a large shopping bag. "Good morning, Meredith. It's a big day. I picked out several outfits for Chrissy to wear."

"Thanks, Izzie. I had completely forgotten that she had nothing to wear. It's going to be so nice to see her in something other than a hospital gown."

Hearing the voices, Chrissy stirred. She opened her eyes. "Mommy?"

"Yes, sweetie, Mommy's here. And Aunt Izzie brought you several outfits, so you can choose what you want to wear today."

"To go home?"

"Yes."

Can I see them?"

"Sure."

"I brought you a pink dress, blue jeans with a purple top, a pink sweat suit, and a Little mermaid outfit." Izzie showed each to Chrissy, who was smiling.

"Thank you, Aunt Izzie. You brought my favorites."

"You're welcome. Which one do you want to wear?"

"If you want to get dressed now, you should probably wear the sweat suit, because it is very comfortable, and there are two therapists coming to see you walk and do other exercises," advised Meredith.

"Mommy, if I do the sweat suit now, can I change before we go home?"

"Sure, you can."

"Okay."

"Mer, I'll help Chrissy get dressed. Webber said he wanted to see you."

"All right." Meredith hugged and kissed Chrissy. "You be good for Aunt Izzie."

"I'm always good, Mommy."

"I know, sweetie."

Meredith walked over to the chief's office and knocked. He told her to come in, and she sat down. She waited for him to begin.

"Bailey tells me that you want to work while Chrissy is home."

"Yes, she's going to be home and just on a maintenance dose of medication. Derek's mom is a nurse, so, if I'm not there, she'll be with a nurse, and Derek will be there a lot also. And I live with three other doctors who may be home some of the time as well. Dr. Barkley thought it might be more normal for Chrissy if she saw me going to work. And I've already been off for eight weeks, and I'm going to need to be off for six weeks whenever she has the bone marrow transplant."

"Bailey said you wanted to work reduced hours."

"I thought I could work four or five eight hour days. That way I can spend a lot of time with Chrissy. I'm not sure how things are going to work out with the transplant, so I treasure this time with her."

Webber nodded. He knew she was concerned about whether Chrissy would survive the bone marrow transplant. "I'm happy to give you unpaid leave as long as you need to care for her."

"I know, and I appreciate that. I just don't want her to know how worried I am. I thought she'd feel like I thought she was doing well if I went to work. And she's going to have Carolyn and Derek."

"How about we start with four six hour days the first week? And if you get involved in a surgery that goes later, you'll stay with the surgery, at least until eight hours. And then we'll take it from there."

"That's good for me. I really appreciate all you're doing for me."

"As doctors, we know the importance of family when someone is sick. I'd like to think I'd do the same for any employee. But I did tell your mother I'd look after you."

"If my mother were chief, I don't think she'd be as generous with leave as you are."

"That may be, but I think this is the right way to do things."

"And I agree. I'll work Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. And I look forward to starting on Monday."

"I'm sure the all the staff will be happy to see you working. Everyone in the hospital is behind you."

"I know. The support I've gotten has been incredible. What Bailey did for us was amazing. I'm so glad that Derek was a match and was willing to totally change his life to help out. And it's fabulous that his mom is so willing to help."

"I've told Derek that there's always a job at Seattle Grace for him."

"Well, he is one of the best neurosurgeons in the country."

"I'm not doing that for you. I know that's just for the hospital."

"I really appreciate everything everyone has done for us. I just hope the bone marrow transplant works."

"Dr. Barkley is among the best, and everyone is going to do whatever is humanly possible for Chrissy. And you have a lot of people praying for Chrissy."

"I know, but it is terrifying to think of how vulnerable she'll be once her bone marrow is removed."

"I know, but otherwise the leukemia will kill her. You have no choice, Meredith. It's scary, but she has a very good shot."

"I know. Thank you again. I better go. The therapists are coming this morning."

"Have a great week-end, and I'll see you again on Monday."

Later that day, Chrissy asked Meredith, "When are we going home, Mommy?"

"Do you want to chWhen Daddy is ready to go. He has a couple of surgeries, and he wants to come home with us. He will be done soon. Let me read you a story while we wait.

"Okay."

Meredith started reading Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes to Chrissy's delight.

Derek whistled as he approached Chrissy's room. He was thrilled that they'd be getting out of the hospital. He was a bit apprehensive that Meredith would get mad at him for going overboard, but he knew that Chrissy would love her gifts, and his focus now had to be on Chrissy, not Meredith. He opened the door and announced, "I think it's time to go!"

"Daddy, I'm going home!" shouted Chrissy. Derek smiled, seeing her in real clothes for the first time. She was adorable in a Little Mermaid outfit.

"I filled out all the paperwork, so all we need is a wheelchair."

"I can go and find one," volunteered Derek.

"No, Izzie said she'd bring one when it was time to go. She wants to push Chrissy. I'll text her now."

"That's fine." Derek was relieved he didn't have to immediately leave the room.

"Daddy, are you coming home with me today?"

"Yes, I am. Meredith, I can drive you both home. That way you can sit in back with Chrissy."

"Do you have a car seat?"

"Yes, I picked one up yesterday. Actually, I got two, one for my car and one for my mom's."

"The car seat industry is happy."

"Hi, guys, I hear someone's getting ready to leave the hospital," said Izzie with a smile as she entered the room with a wheelchair decorated with four pink balloons.

"I never saw a wheelchair with balloons!" exclaimed Chrissy.

"It's just for you. And let me help you into the wheelchair," said Izzie as she gathered Chrissy in her arms and put her in the wheelchair. Izzie led the way with Chrissy, with Derek and Meredith walking behind her. The nurses, doctors, and other staff greeted them, saying "Congratulations!" "Have fun at home," and "Good luck."

As the approached the door, Derek said, "I'll go get the car." Meredith, Izzie, and Chrissy waited at the entrance for him to come with the car.

"Have a good afternoon, Chrissy, I'll see you for dinner," said Izzie, as they headed out.

Derek parked the car in front of Meredith's house. Meredith took Chrissy out of the car seat, but Derek opened the door, and volunteered, "I'll carry her." He smiled as he picked up his daughter. Derek enjoyed holding his daughter; she was very light, but she was hugging him. He wished he could just keep holding on to her.

"We're home, Mommy!"

Meredith opened the door to her house. She knew that Izzie and Derek had been planning on doing some shopping and some decorating for Chrissy, but she saw that they had totally gone overboard. She saw a large "Welcome Home Chrissy" banner as well as dozens of purple and pink balloons, and a couple of huge piles of wrapped boxes in the living room.

"Mommy, it looks like Christmas!" shouted Chrissy as they walked into the living room. "Daddy, put me down."

"Okay, sweetheart," said Derek as he bent down and carefully put her down. He watched as Chrissy walked slowly and carefully over to the boxes. But her attention was captured by a large aquarium with more than a dozen brightly colored fish.

"Daddy, mommy, we got a fish tank."

"I think that was Daddy's idea."

"Daddy, thank you so much," shouted Chrissy as she flung her arms around her father, who was still bent down.

Carolyn emerged from the kitchen just in time to see her granddaughter hug her father.

"Hi Chrissy, welcome home."

"Hi Grandma, are you going to stay here?"

"No, but I'm going to come every day, if it's okay with your mommy."

"Of course, it's fine by me," assured Meredith.

Derek said, "I know you like fish, and I thought you'd enjoy having an aquarium in your home."

"I still want to go to the big aquarium."

"Some day, we'll go," said Derek.

"Chrissy, Mommy told you that you're going to have to stay at home for the next month or so so you can get better for the bone marrow transplant," said Meredith. "Now you can enjoy this beautiful aquarium in the house. And it looks like Daddy and our friends got you lots of presents even though I told them that today was not Christmas." Suddenly, Meredith thought that maybe Chrissy wouldn't be alive on Christmas, and this would be the only Christmas she would have this year, and tears started running down her cheeks.

"Why are you sad, Mommy?"

"These are happy tears. I'm so happy to that we're home."

"And you're home, too, Mommy. Did you get any presents for coming home?"

Meredith giggled. "I doubt it, Chrissy. Everyone loves giving presents to you. But it's okay. Being home with home is a big present for me."

"And Daddy's here. And Grandma's here."

"Yes, and we're going to have a little dinner party tonight. Aunt Izzie, Uncle Alex, Uncle George, and Aunt Cristina are all going to be here to celebrate your homecoming. Let's wait to open the presents until they come."

"Mommy, did you see the new TV?"

Meredith turned around and saw a new television, a thin screen that she thought must be at least 50 inches. "No, I didn't, but I'm guessing this was another one of Daddy's ideas."

"Yes. I thought we should make the living room into a real movie theater, so we can enjoy watching movies here."

"Did you get any movies?" asked Chrissy.

"Of course. They are among the wrapped presents. Maybe Mommy will let us open one today, so we can watch a movie this afternoon."

"Sure. You can open two movies, so Chrissy can have a choice."

"Am I going to be able to go outside?"

"Yes, you can go in the backyard, sweetie."

"Can we go outside now? I watched a lot of movies at the hospital."

"Sure."

Derek's eyes met his mother, and she nodded. Derek smiled, but he was a bit nervous about Meredith's reaction. She had known about the aquarium, and she had reacted well to the new T.V. Derek picked Chrissy up, knowing that a long walk might be hard for her. "Let's go outside." Meredith and Carolyn followed.

When he opened the door to the backyard, Chrissy started shouting, "Mommy, Daddy, a swing set. Hooray!"

Meredith peeked out from behind Derek and was astonished at the sight. "When did this swing set arrive."

"This morning," said Carolyn.

"This morning?"

"It's a gift from my sisters and their families, Aunt Lizzie and Uncle Tom, Aunt Kathy and Uncle Barry, and Aunt Nancy and Uncle Dan. Lizzie ordered it yesterday. I don't know how she managed to get it delivered and installed before we got home."

"I love it, Mommy. We can keep it, right?"

"Sure."

"Can I swing?"

"Yes, Chrissy," said Derek. "I told Lizzie I wanted a swing that we could use together, with you in my lap. Would that be okay with you?"

"Yes, Daddy."

Meredith felt tears run down her cheek once again as she saw Derek start swinging with Chrissy sitting in his lap. "The swing set was a wonderful gift," she murmured.

"Yes," said Carolyn. "All my daughters had swing sets for their children, so they know how much children love swing sets."

"Chrissy loved to go to the park. It's just a short walk, so I never thought we needed a swing set."

Carolyn put her arm around Meredith. "You made a good choice. A nearby neighborhood park is great. I never had a swing set for my children because there was a beautiful park two blocks away. I know it's hard to get so many gifts, but everyone wants to do something for Chrissy. You've been doing the hard work, caring for her. For my daughters, buying the swing set was just fun."

"But this swing set is pretty extravagant."

"They're all doctors, so they have plenty of money. Just accept the gifts with a smile."

"I didn't get Chrissy anything."

"You've been caring for her morning, noon, and night. She loves you. She knows you haven't had any time to get anything. And you don't want her overwhelmed."

"Derek's getting to spoil her. He got her an I-pad, a new TV, and an aquarium. Look how happy she is, swinging with her daddy."

"You'll have plenty of opportunities to swing with her. Anyway, Derek had never gotten her a present. Chrissy knows that you've been giving her presents for years. Anyway, there is no contest going on."

"I know. I just hadn't thought that she would get so much, that it would be like Christmas."

"Given what she's been through, she could have two Christmases, one now."

"I just hope she gets to celebrate Christmas."

"I'm sure she will."

"Thanks. You've been a great help. Did you get Chrissy a gift?"

"Nothing big. Just a few books and games."

"That's good."

"But maybe one day when Derek is watching Chrissy, you and I can go out and buy her a dollhouse."

"I had been thinking of getting her a big girl dollhouse for Christmas."

"You can always get more dolls and more furniture for Christmas. I had four daughters, and I know they really enjoy playing with dollhouses. I think she's excited about doing something more than watching TV and she can play quietly with a dollhouse for hours."

"Okay, we can buy a dollhouse together," Meredith, agreed. "Maybe tomorrow, when she's napping. I'm going to try and have her nap or have quiet time in the afternoon."

"That's a plan."

"I'm going to get my phone and take some pictures. I'm sure your daughters would love to see photos of Derek and Chrissy on the swing set."

"That's a great idea."

Meredith went and got her phone. She returned and took a dozen photos while Carolyn watched. It felt great to be outside with Derek, Chrissy, and Carolyn, doing something so normal, just watching a father and daughter swing on a backyard swing set.