Happy New Year everyone! I know I haven't been updating as much, but I hope you're all still enjoying this story. I want to let you all know how much I appreciate all the reviews and readers, you guys are totally awesome! FYI, I'm going to be studying abroad this coming semester, so updates may be coming a little less often. I'm definitely planning on continuing this story and I have some really exciting stuff coming up, so I hope you'll all continue reading. Thank you so much for reading! 3

"Mer," Derek breathed, glancing quickly at his parents before he moved closer to his girlfriend. "Um, your dad stopped by this morning."

"He did?" she asked, her eyes widening. "Um...where is he? what did he say?"

"He left you a letter," Derek said softly. "He went back to Seattle, Mer."

"Oh," Meredith said, nodding quickly. "I guess that's...okay."

"Okay?" Derek repeated with a frown. "Mer, are you sure?"

"Yeah," she said with a shrug as she moved to sit next to Emma on the couch. "It's not like I really lost anything. And if anything, I've gained a dad this weekend," she added, glancing at Michael with a smile.

"Meredith," Michael said with a soft smile. "You know I mean what I said last nigh. but it's okay if you're upset about this."

"I really am okay," Meredith said with a nod. "I just want to go...home. Cane wew just leave? I really don't want to be here anymore. I can sign the house over to Mr. McCall."

Derek felt his heart skip a beat as he heard her refer to his house as home. "Sure, Mer," he nodded, squeezing her hand. "Whatever you want."

"We'll just take a little while to gather everything together and make sure we have everything," Emma said.

"Okay," Meredith nodded. She paused for a moment before she said, "Thank you so much for being here. I can't imagine what it would have been like without you here."

"You're our daughter, Meredith," Michael said wit a smile. "Of course we're here for you."

"Thanks," she said softly, trying to blink away tears.

"Come on, Mer," Derek said softly as he pulled her to her feet. "Let's go pack."

She smiled as she followed him up to her old bedroom. They packed in comfortable silence, and just as Derek zipped his suitcase, they heard the front door burst open and Mark bellow their names.

"How the hell does he know I'm here," Derek grumbled as Meredith giggled slightly.

"Mark Gregory Sloan," Emma's voice said as sternly as Derek and Meredith made their way down the stairs. "You do not walk into people's houses and yell for them."

Mark sighed. "It's just Grey," he muttered.

"Mer!" Addison exclaimed, moving from Mark's side to look at her best friend. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Meredith nodded, accepting Addison's hug. "I have a new family now. A real family."

"How would you like an apartment?" Addison asked.

"An apartment?" Derek and Meredith asked at the same time.

"Mark found a beautiful apartment right across from campus," Addison said, pullng a newspaper out of Mark's and and handing it to Derek. "We can move in this week."

"It's beautiful," Meredith breathed.

"Two bedrooms, kitchen, living room, balcony," Derek read. "There's even fireplaces in the bedrooms."

"It's eight hundred dollars a month," Mark said. "Divided by four, it's practically nothing."

"I'm in," Meredith said with a nod. "I can live there summers too."

Michael laughed as he looked at Derek's pleading expression. "You don't have to give us that look, son. We know you want to live with Meredith and your friends."

"Just make sure you come home once in awhile," Emma added.

"I will, Mom," Derek said with a laugh. "Okay, I guess I'm in too."

"And I have a house full of furniture," Meredith added. "We won't really have to buy anything."

"Well, then it's perfect," Mark nodded. "You want to go sign the lease?"

Michael laughed as he threw an arm around Emma's shoulders. "What it would be like to be young again," he said with a laugh. "I remember what it was like to sign a new lease at the drop of a hat."

"Mark will drive us back to New York tonight," Derek said. "Right, Mark?"

"Sure," he said with a shrug. "I have stuff there I need to pick up."

Meredith stepped forward to hug Emma. "Thank you so much for doing this," she said softly. "I know I've said it before, but...I'm really glad you're here."

"Of course, Meredith," Emma said with a warm smile. "I just want what's best for you."

"We should go, Em," Michael said softly as he pulled back from with own hug with Meredith.

"Goodbye, dears," Emma said as she pressed a kiss to Derek's cheek.

"Bye Mom," Derek said with a smile. When they'd left, he turned to the rest of them and said, "Let's go see our new home."

XXXXX

Two weeks later, the four of them were all moved into the new apartment. Meredith had moved a majority of the furniture from her mother's house into the cozy apartment, allowing them with very few purchases to be made to furnish the new home. Classes were about to start up again, and Derek was starting to worry about Meredith. She hadn't said a word about either one of her parents, but he knew there was something wrong with her.

Now, as he walked into their bedroom preparing to go to sleep, he heard her sobbing quietly as she lay under the sheets, and he felt his heart break.

"Mer," he breathed as he slid under the covers and pulled her into his arms. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she snapped. "Just leave me alone."

"I'm not going to leave you alone when you're crying," Derek said. "Is this about your dad?"

"I'm fine," she repeated. "Now leave me alone."

"No, I'm not going to leave you alone," Derek sighed. "Talk to me, Mer."

She sighed and pushed the covers off of her. "If you're going to keep annoying me, I'm going to the living room," she announced.

"Mer," he sighed. "Fine. If you don't want to talk, I'll go outside. I just want you to know that you can talk to me."

"I'm fine," she rolled her eyes. "Just go."

Derek sighed as he leaned forward to press a kiss to her forehead. "I love you, Mer."

"I love you too," she whispered. "I just need some space."

Derek nodded sadly as he stood and walked out into the kitchen. He began boiling some hot water and looked up when the door to Addison and Mark's bedroom opened.

"Hi Addie," he sighed.

"Hey," she said, sitting down at a barstool. "What are you doing up?"

"Mer's just having some space to herself," he said. "You want some tea?"

"Sure," Addison sighed. "Is Mer okay?"

"Yeah," Derek sighed as he handed her a mug and moved to sit on a barstool beside her. "She's really upset about her dad, but she won't admit it."

"She's never talked about him," Addison nodded. "At first I tried to help her, to let her know that she can talk to me about it. She never wanted to. Don't take it personally."

"I'm not," Derek shook his head. "I just hate seeing her like this. I wish there was something I could do to help."

"She just needs to work through it on her own," Addison said. "Derek, people like us...we were raised differently than Mer and Mark. They're loners, and it's hard for them to open up. When she's ready, she'll talk to you."

"You're right," Derek sighed. "I know you're right. I just hate seeing her like this."

"I get it," Addison nodded. "It's not easy loving people like them, is it?"

"No," Derek sighed as he moved to put his mug in the sink. "But it's definitely worth it."

Addison followed his actions and moved to hug him tightly. "Be patient with her, Derek," he said with a nod. "She'll come around."

"Thanks, Addie," he said as he hugged her back. "Night."

"Goodnight," Addison smiled.

Derek quietly edged closer to his bed, sighing in relief as he heard Meredith's soft breathing, indicating that she was asleep. He settled into bed behind her and threw an arm over her stomach, smiling as she edged closer to him and grasped for his hand in her sleep. He inhaled deeply, taking in the smell of lavender as he tried to assure himself that everything would be okay.

XXXXX

Meredith was not a neat and tidy person. If anything, that was the main difference between her and Derek, but they had somehow managed to work it out. But the only thing that drove her crazy living with Mark Sloan was the wet towels that were constantly thrown on the bathroom floor.

"Mark!" she yelled, storming out of the bathroom, his towel clenched in her hand. She shoved the door to his room open and threw the towel at him.

"What the hell?" he asked as he looked up from his desk. "What gives, Grey?"

"I'm sick of you leaving your stupid towels all over the place," Meredith snapped. "If you want to leave them all over the floor, leave them in your own room so I don't have to deal with it."

"Okay, geez," Mark said. "Calm down, it's only a towel."

"It's not only a towel," Meredith yelled. "It's the face that you aren't concerned about any of the rest of us."

"What the hell is your problem?" Mark asked. "Are you still pissed that Shep went home for Liz's swim meet?"

"It has nothing to do with Derek," Meredith said. "It's the fact that I have absolutely no control over anything that happens in my life, including keeping my own bathroom clean because of you and your stupid towels."

"Oh," Mark nodded, realization coming over his face. "This is about your dad."

Meredith rolled her eyes. "You don't know anything about my dad."

"Oh, I don't?" Mark raised his eyebrows. "You think I don't understand what it's like without a dad, and a mom who told me she hated to look at me because of how much it reminded her of him? I get more than you might think, Grey."

Meredith hesitated for a moment before she asked, "How do you deal with that? Being rejected by your parents, I mean."

"Well, I learned to love myself enough for both of my parents," Mark said with a smirk. "And eventually I had Shep's parents."

Meredith nodded slightly. "Yeah, they're great," she nodded. "It's still hard to let go though."

"Let Shep in," Mark said, patting her shoulder. "He loves you more than anyone ever will, and he wants to help."

"I will," Meredith nodded. "Thanks, Mark. And I'm sorry about the towel thing."

He shrugged. "It's okay," he said. "It's not like you're scarier than Addie when she yells at me."

Meredith laughed as she moved towards her room, hoping Derek would be home soon so she could talk to him.

Half an hour later, the door to the apartment swung open and she rushed out of her room, straight into Derek's arms.

"Umph," he grunted at her unexpected assault but wrapped his arms tightly around her regardless. "I missed you too, Mer."

"I'm sorry," she whispered into his chest. "I know I made you worry, and I'm sorry."

"Oh," Derek nodded, a sense of relief washing over him as he realized his beloved girlfriend was back. "It's okay, Mer."

She looked up at him with wide, tear filled eyes. "Are you sure?" she asked. "Because I kicked you out of bed and didn't let you in a lot…"

"Mer, I know you've got a lot going on," he said. "And you have to deal with it in your own way, I get that. But it doesn't mean I like when you're miserable."

She sighed as she took his hand and led him towards the couch. "I know you want me to tell you things," she said softly. "But it's hard for me to talk about my parents."

"I get that," Derek nodded. "And I just don't know when I should push you and when I should leave you be."

"If there was ever anything really wrong, I'd tell you that," Meredith said softly. "There are some things I need to figure out for myself, but big things I'll talk to you about."

"Okay," Derek nodded, leaning forward to kiss her. "I'm glad you're back."

She giggled as she ran a hand through his hair. "I didn't go anywhere."

"Not physically," Derek agreed. "But for a couple of weeks…you weren't you."

Meredith sighed as she snuggled into his side. "I'm back," she whispered.

"Hmm," Derek tightened his arm around her. "Liz missed you too."

"How did her meet go?" Meredith whispered. "I'm sorry I was too…me to go."

"It's okay," Derek nodded. "She won her event and relay came in second. They're sending her to the regional championships."

"That's great," Meredith said with a smile. "I'll have to call her."

"And Kath and Chris are engaged," Derek continued.

"Really?" Meredith exclaimed. "Oh I wish I had been there."

"They'll have an engagement party," Derek assured her. "They don't have a date or anything set yet."

"That's amazing," Meredith breathed. "Derek, your sister is getting married."

"I know," he frowned. "He better be good to her."

"He will be," Meredith rolled her eyes. "He loves her.

"I know," he sighed, leaning into her. Before their lips could meet, however, the front door burst open and Addison barged in.

"We need jobs," she blurted out.

"What?" Meredith and Derek asked at the same time.

"I just saw the landlord," Addison explained. "I had to write the entire rent check even though I already paid Mark for this month. I can't afford to be writing eight hundred dollar checks, so if you guys want to live here, you need to pay up when you're supposed to. In order to do that, you need jobs."

"Okay, calm down, Addie," Meredith said. "It's okay, we'll pay you."

"It's not okay!" Addison yelled, causing Mark to come into the living room. "We just jumped into all living in this apartment without thinking about how much responsibility it's going to be!"

"Whoa, Addie," Mark came up behind her and placed a hand on her shoulder, which only caused her to flinch. "Calm down!'

"I'm not going to calm down," she replied. "You all owe me two hundred dollars. And if this happens every month, I'm out of here, just so you know."

"It's okay, we'll make sure it doesn't happen again," Meredith assured her.

"Good," Addison replied, turning and walking into her room without another word, Mark following.

"What was that?" Derek asked Meredith.

"Her parents didn't want her to move in with Mark," Meredith sighed. "They probably cut all her money off."

Derek sighed. "I guess it's a really good thing my parents are okay with us living together," he said. "And I'll be able to make ends meet once my job in the bio lab starts up again.

Meredith rolled her eyes. "I can't believe you get paid to look at fish all day," she said.

"I'm not looking at them," Derek scoffed. "I'm observing how chemicals affect them."

"Whatever," Meredith replied. "At least as a tutor I actually help people."

"Oh, you think you're so much better than I am," Derek laughed, moving closer. "I think I know a way to get you to admit that's not true."

"No," Meredith giggled, scrambling to get off the couch. "Derek, don't."

"Say you're not any better than me," Derek laughed, pulling her onto his lap and tickling her slightly.

"No," she replied, struggling to get out of his grasp.

"Yes," Derek insisted, tossing her onto the couch and pinning her hands above her head with one hand, tickling her with the other. "Say it."

"I'm...I'm not better than you," Meredith gasped for breath.

"Thank you," Derek slid off of her and she giggled as she stood. "Except I am," she said quickly as she took off towards their room.

"Oh, you are so going to pay for that," Derek threatened as he chased after her, closing the door to the sound of her giggles.