Chapter 35:
February 22, 2007- Virginia Beach, Virginia

Alley looked around the living room and saw that three important people were missing: Derek, Meredith, and Anna. He heard the front door slam behind him, causing him to look over. He turned his head back to Liz who shared a concerned look with him. Alley stepped away from his grandchildren and walked outside. He walked across the driveway to the little side yard that had a bench resting against the small white fence.

Derek was sitting on the left side of the bench, with his head in his hands. His father was a little concerned, but sat down silently next to him. He knew his son well. Derek would talk, all Alley had to do was wait. Be patient and give him his space.

Derek suddenly jerked up and leaned back on the bench. He looked out at the peaceful houses and the trees blowing in the slight breeze. He loved it here. He had so many memories of growing up, not just at this house, but in this city. He had wanted to show it all to Meredith, make her apart of it, but now he just felt selfish. She hadn't been herself. She wasn't stable yet and he completely threw her out of her surroundings and made her bond with four crazy women and the rest of his family. Now this, this new news, it was mind blowing. Pregnant? Mer? His Meredith, pregnant with his child? As happy as it usually would make him, he couldn't help but be confused as to why she was so scared of telling him.

"I think she's pregnant," Derek finally forced out.

Alley sighed, "Listen to your mother. Give her reasons."

"She won't talk to me. She's upstairs with Anna, but she won't talk to me," Derek said.

"I know it's hard, son. You've just got to be there. She's probably scared out of her mind. Your mom and I were when we got pregnant with you and we had been married for two years. It's just a scary thing," Alley said, trying to comfort his son the best he could.

"I shouldn't have done this. I should have waited. Waited for her to get back on her feet before I brought her here. I thought this would help, but she's blocking me out again," Derek said.

"Just be there," Alley repeated before getting up and walking back inside. Derek didn't follow. He sighed and ran his hands through his head, looking down at the grass below him.

Anna decided to leave Meredith and give her some time alone. Meredith laid down on the bed and snuggled up to the pillow that was accented with the scent of Derek. She closed her eyes and easily drifted off to sleep.

December 1, 1995- Boston, Massachusetts

"Meredith Ellis Grey!" a woman yelled coming from the bathroom. She stomped into her daughter's room and found her daughter lying on the bed half asleep. "What the hell is this?" she asked holding up an open box.

Meredith lifted her head of her pillow and looked at her mother. She saw the box and dropped her head back on the pillow. She didn't want to deal with this right now. She knew she couldn't run away from this completely, but she just didn't want to have to fight with her mother right now. That took too much energy. Energy that she was sufficiently lacking in.

"Meredith, is there something you need to tell me?" Ellis asked angrily.

"I think you've got it pretty well," Meredith mumbled, knowing her mother had already pieced the puzzle together. What was the point of explaining it? There wasn't any. Her mother was a Doctor and even if she wasn't she could have figured it all out.

As a silence grew between them, it was shattered by the telephone. Meredith didn't move. Ellis walked across the room and looked at the caller id. She sighed angrily and answered it, "Hello?"

"She is, but sorry Ethan. She is busy right now," Ellis said as Meredith began to force her way out of bed. "No, I don't know when she'll be able to talk," Ellis said waiting for him to respond, "Why? Because honey, you knocked her up!" Ellis slammed the phone down and Meredith sighed.

"Why do you do things like that?" Meredith asked as she threw herself back on the bed.

"Me? Why do I keep doing this? Meredith! You are sixteen! What the hell were you thinking? Oh I know, you weren't. You are never thinking. You are just as stupid as your father!" Ellis screamed before running out of the room. Meredith hadn't looked at her mother. She had buried her head in her pillow and now the tears were beginning to fall.

Meredith woke up and shook the memory away from her mind. She heard laughing and talking coming from downstairs. She didn't want to deal with happiness right now so she rolled back over and went back to sleep.

"What if Ethan and I want it? His parents will help us. They'll help us raise this baby and live happily!" Meredith screamed at her mother across the couch.

"No! You aren't their child. They don't know you like I do. You can't do this. You can't be a mother. You are terminating this pregnancy. It's your fault that you got in this situation and now you have to deal with getting out. You would be a horrible mother. You can't have this child!" Ellis screamed back at her crying, yet angry daughter.

"It's not up to you! This is my baby. And Ethan, Ethan loves me. We are going to have this baby. And we are going to have a family," Meredith said, gradually getting quieter as she continued.

"Ethan doesn't love you. He wanted to get in your pants, which he obviously did. No man is going to love you. You're too easy. You're a tease. Ethan doesn't love you. As soon as you have this baby, he's going to leave you and you are going to be stuck with a child that you don't want but have to raise!" Ellis yelled back at her daughter before turning around and walking out of the house, slamming the door behind her.

Meredith fell on the couch, crying. She began to realize what her mother meant. Meredith had been Ellis' unwanted child. The one she was left to raise. Then Meredith began to think that her mother could be right. If her father left her so easily, what would stop Ethan? She had only known him for a year and have been dating him for seven months. When you are a teenager that really isn't long enough to know if you want to spend the rest of your life together. Meredith knew what she was going to have to do. Now all she had to figure out was the way to tell Ethan that he was no longer going to be a father.

After about an hour, Derek headed upstairs and into his room. Meredith was lying asleep and he laid down next to her, bringing her into his arms. She opened her eyes and felt him around her. She almost instantly began to cry silently. He felt her tense up and he pulled her closer. "It's okay, I know," he whispered into her ear as he caressed her cheek and dried her tears. She slowly calmed down.

"Derek, I'm a mess. I get drunk all the time. I can't function. If I have a baby, I'll be horrible. I'll be a horrible mother. I can't do it," Meredith said as she turned to bury her head into his chest.

Derek looked down at her trembling body, unsure of what to say. He didn't know what he could say that would fix this. Honestly, he wasn't sure what had broken it. He was so confused. He finally felt Meredith rest a little and he decided now he should say something, "Meredith? I know you. I know you will be an amazing mother. You can do it," Derek said. She looked up at him, "And, I love you."

"I love you too," Meredith whispered before burying her head back into Derek.