Disclaimer: If I owned Grey's Anatomy I'd own Patrick Dempsey. Which would be the coolest thing ever.
Sorry this took a bit. You know how it is with work and family and stuff with it being Easter time. Silly silly full time job. But it's here now. And this would be the duh duh duh the other chapter hinted at. And you shall see, it's not nearly as bad as you thought. Or maybe it is but not for our couple.
Enjoy!
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"What are you doing?"
I had no idea what I was doing so I didn't actually bother to look up to answer my girlfriend. I didn't know how to answer her. Kathleen had called and she had…and then I called Mark. And now I was throwing clothes into a bad and I wasn't exactly sure what I was doing. Except for I had to go, I definitely had to go. And I wasn't even sure how to say it out loud, not to Meredith. Not after everything she had been through.
I felt her tiny hand encircle my bicep, squeezing it tightly. "Der…what's going on?"
I could hear the fear in her voice. And I had to tell her. Because I knew what she was thinking and she definitely couldn't be thinking that. She should never be thinking that.
"Kathleen called."
"Your sister?" Meredith frowned.
"Yeah," I whispered, before taking a deep breath. "My mom had a heart attack."
"Oh Der…" she breathed, wrapping her arms tightly around me, letting me fall into them. I had needed this. I needed this desperately and I hadn't even known. Since I had hung up the phone I had been aching for something and I had no idea what it was. Just something, I had needed something. I hadn't for a second even thought of that something being Meredith. Not that I hadn't wanted her, I just didn't think I needed her.
I was an idiot.
"Thanks," I whispered, leaning further into her, smiling slightly as the feel and smell of her overtook me.
"How bad?" she murmured.
"I…I don't know. The hospital called Kath and just said…and she called me because I'm…I have no idea."
"Okay," she nodded slowly as she sat me down on her bed, her fingers playing gently with my curls. "So you're going back to New York?"
"Yeah, Mark and I are going to catch the next flight out," I sighed. "I called Webber and have the next week off work but I might have to take more time off depending on what…if it's…I don't know how long I'll be gone, Mer. I'll call when I can…I'll try every night…"
"Is there enough room in that bag for my stuff? Or should I grab my own?"
"What?"
"Do I need my own bag or can we share?"
"What are you…"
"I'm going with you," she shrugged, before crouching down in front of me and wiping a tear away from my cheek that I hadn't even known was there. "I want to go with you."
"You do?"
"Yeah…I mean, if you…I'm being…I'm making assumptions when you really don't need the stress and it's, it's your family and it might be…if you don't want me…."
I had thought to ask her, in the middle of making plans with Mark the thought had briefly crossed my brain that she should come with me, that it would be…nice. But she was Meredith, my beautiful dark and twisty girlfriend who was certainly less dark and twisty these days, but it was family and Meredith didn't do family. And this was going to be family, really big time family in a really bad situation. Not that kind of situation you bring an already nervous girlfriend home to meet the family in so I banished the thought, ignoring the feeling in my stomach that was telling me I needed her.
"Why do you want to come?" I breathed.
I had no idea where that question had come from when all I really wanted to do was pull her into my arms and tell her how much I loved her.
"Because…" she frowned ever so slightly, wiping another tear from my cheek. "It could be…you have no idea what you're going home to…and you…you might need something. Or you might…I don't…I couldn't stand having you call me in tears and not be able to do anything. I need to be there for you. I need to…and it's crazy and scary and I don't do family but you…I do you, in an entirely non sexual way…well in a sexual way too but the point is…the point is I want to breathe for you, Derek."
"You want to breathe for me?" I whispered, hearing my own voice shake.
"I do," Meredith breathed, running her fingers through my curls.
"If you're…" I sighed, because what I was about to say made me sound like an ass. And Meredith was being entirely perfect and I wasn't. "Mer, I can't…this could be bad. If it is…I can't deal with you freaking out. If you can't handle this…"
"Derek," she cut me off. "Let me be the strong one for once."
"Okay."
"And if I really need to freak out I'll just call Cristina or something," she shrugged, smiling slightly. "I can do this."
"I could…I want you there."
"I want to be there."
"I might…I might need you there," I murmured, looking down at my feet, and hers that were close by.
"You're not used to needing people, are you?" she asked gently.
"No," I admitted quietly.
She wrapped her arms around me again, letting me lean into her. And everything felt better. It shouldn't feel better, it had no reason to feel better, my mom was, I had no idea what kind of condition my mom was in and I was terrified and yet, I felt better. Because Meredith was holding onto me tightly and she was letting me lean on her. She was coming home with me, to let me lean on her, to be there. To be strong for me. I was in her arms when I needed to be most.
And that made everything better.
"So…packing and we can get out of here," she breathed near my ear. "I'll have to call Webber and get the week off but after the year I've had…I think I can get it. I guess I'll pack enough for a week, if I need more I can buy it there. Because it's…New York. So packing."
"Thank you," I whispered.
"Just returning the favour you've done too many times to count," she smiled gently.
"I love you." I loved her so much. My brain wasn't actually working well enough to come up with any words to tell her exactly how much I did, right in the moment. And honestly, I wasn't even sure there was words. But I loved her.
"I love you too," she whispered, her lips feathering against my wet cheek. "Come on, Der…let's pack."
I said I will hold you up, I will hold you up
Your love gives me strength enough
So have a little faith in me
So to me this is it, this is the last issue that they really have to face before the reach the happily ever after, Meredith and her lack of a family vs. Derek and his very large, clearly tight knit family. And now Meredith has to face that family. Not only does she have to face them, she has to face them during a family crisis which makes it that much harder. But she needs to be there for Derek, so that trumps all.
Next update will be up momentarily.
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