Liam was a bear on the plane. Derek had never been so humiliated in all of his life. No matter what he did, Liam insisted on being wild. He couldn't help but think that if Meredith was around, he wouldn't be doing it. He knew that if Meredith was around, Liam would be absolutely perfect. He knew in his heart that it wasn't true, but he held her at such a high regard. He was quickly forgetting all the problems they ever had and only remembering they love that they started with.

Derek walked through the airport with his son in his arms. They had to collect their baggage, and once again, Liam was not behaving. Derek couldn't wait to get out of the airport and away from the people that were staring. It seemed like everyone was waiting for him to do something. They were waiting for him to discipline his son, and he wasn't doing it. He was unsure of exactly what to do. This was when he needed Meredith. He needed a consult.

"Lee down!" Liam screamed as he kicked his father, thrashing in his arms. Derek felt so helpless as he looked at his son, who was definitely overpowering him. "Noooow!" Liam demanded.

That was it. Derek stopped in his tracks. Now. It was a definite now. Liam had never done that before. He had never demanded now. In fact, it was a word that he rarely used, and he was wondering just where he got it from. Ellis and Richard looked in shock. They had heard it too. Ellis was waiting for a response from Derek. He needed to respond. He needed to let Liam know that demanding was not the way to go.

"Da! Daaaa!" Liam wailed as he twisted his body. "Lee down! Now!" He shouted as he kicked Derek's side again.

"Where did he learn this?" Derek asked Ellis as he stood there in shock. He thought back to Alexis. Everything was now with her. She was always using the word. It was a simple word, and yet it could be a really bad word for a demanding little boy. Alexis was the likely candidate.

"I have no idea." Ellis said in semi shock as she looked at the boy.

"Liam. No! This is bad, Liam!" Derek said firmly, but without yelling. "We don't act this way." He explained as he walked away from Richard and Ellis, waving them to go on. "Liam!" Derek said again, noticing that the boy was not paying attention. Liam looked over at his dad and into his dark eyes. "You are being a bad boy right now. You cannot act this way. Dad is very busy and we are in a busy place right now. It is not time to play. I promise we will play when we get home. We can't play right now. You be a good boy for dad for a little while longer." Derek explained as he stoked Liam's cheek. He wasn't sure if he did it right. He was unsure of everything at this point. All his confidence as a parent was gone.

Liam looked at his dad. Derek was sure that the wheels were spinning. The little boy seemed to have comprehended what he said. Derek was grateful for that. He was grateful that his son was now quiet in his arms and looking around. He seemed content at the moment. It was at that moment when they shared respect and love for each other. It was a moment when Derek realized he could not do it alone. He needed his Meredith.

"Good boy, Liam." Derek said with a smile as he kissed him on the head. "See all the people? You have to stay in daddy's arms so you don't get hurt." Derek explained as he walked along, rubbing his head.

"Lee hur?" Liam asked Derek. Derek knew that Liam know that word, having seen his mother hurt so much. A boy should never have to see the face of his bruised and battered mom. Derek knew he would forget that he had ever seen the images, but for now, it was obviously fresh in his mind.

"No. You aren't hurt. You could be through. You could be stepped on. Or lost..." Derek explained. He loved talking to his son. He loved that he knew he was molding a person and his vocabulary all at the same time.

"Los?" Liam asked as he looked around. Derek smiled. Derek smiled because he son was that great. He was carrying the greatest gift in the world, right in his arms. Derek looked up at Ellis and Richard who had all of their bags on the cart and were waiting.

"I think we have everything. Does this look like it all?" Richard asked as he took another count.

"It is. Sans your bags. I'm not sure what you had. Ours are all there." Derek told him as he took a count. All of a sudden he felt Liam's mouth on his cheek, giving him a sloppy kiss. Right then, he found it almost impossible to hold it in. He could feel that love he shared with his son. It was amazing. It was out of nowhere. That was how Meredith had raised him. She raised a sweet boy.

"He seems good." Ellis pointed out, impressed with Derek's parenting skills. "You got to him." She added as they walked along. Derek smiled as he rubbed his son's back. They took the short walk to the car rental booth and picked up their keys. Derek was happy to be moving forward. He felt like they were accomplishing something. It felt like they were taking steps to help her.

"Okay, LP... Not long now." Derek explained as he strapped his son into the seat of the SUV. "We will be going to our new home." Liam smiled as he sat there and looked around. It wasn't fifty yards down the road as Derek looked back in the rearview mirror. His son was already asleep. It was a good feeling.

"He was tired." Richard pointed out as he looked into the back seat, seeing Liam with his head to the side. The boy looked like he had been through a war.

"He was. That's why he was getting so bad." Derek pointed out. "But this demanding stuff, it has to go. I won't have it." Derek explained. "I think he picked that up from Alexis." Derek groaned as he followed the directions to the address for their new house.

"Who is Alexis?" Ellis asked as she looked up at Derek, who was looking at her in the rearview window. Derek looked back at Ellis, forgetting that he never told her about Alexis.

"Um... Alexis was Liam's babysitter for the last few weeks." Derek said, making it simple. He didn't want her to know. There wasn't anything more, but he didn't want her to know that Alexis thought there could be more.

"I thought Liam's babysitter was Erin?" Ellis asked. It was obvious that she was going to get to the bottom of it. She was good at picking up on things, and she knew that there was a bit more, just by the way he was acting.

"Erin actually quit a while ago. I had to hire someone else. I hired my neighbor." Derek explained as he drove along. He grumbled loudly as he realized he missed his street. He huffed as he turned around in a parking lot.

"Your neighbor? You and Meredith don't have any neighbors." Ellis said quickly as she looked into his eyes. She knew that there was something going on. Even if there wasn't, she knew that it wasn't the whole story

"Um... It's not our neighbor. Alexis is my neighbor... From the apartment building. My apartment building." He added. He wasn't even going to look in the mirror. He knew that she was already judging. He couldn't help but be a little miffed. It was as if she really cared. She hadn't much cared about Meredith before, and now she was acting like she deserved mother of the year, and like she could judge him.

"Oh. I see." She said simply as she looked away. She liked Derek. Derek was someone that she trusted. And now she couldn't help but be a little mad. She wasn't even sure why she was. Maybe it was jealously. Maybe she didn't want her daughter's ex-husband around another woman. She had never been like that before, but now she was. She worried about her daughter. Meredith didn't need to recover, only to find this out. "I see..."

"What do you see?" Derek asked, feeling a little on edge. Missing the road didn't help, and he couldn't concentrate on the directions when he was thinking about her judging him. "I guess I don't understand?" He snapped quickly as he followed the road.

"I just think- Did she have any qualifications, or did you hire her because she was pretty?" Ellis said quickly. It was obvious that is was going to be a fight.

"Ellis! I think you are being a bit harsh. Maybe you could ask in a different way... There is no reason for you to be so rude." He told her as he looked back. Ellis huffed as she looked away and out the passenger backseat window.

"I hired her because I was desperate and she was available." Derek said loudly. "Your daughter needed me at the hospital. Your daughter needed me, and my son needed someone. I can't help it that I didn't have time to sit for hours and interview people. I knew her, and I thought there would be no problems with her doing the job." Derek said as he went around their new neighborhood.

"So you knew her. I see." Ellis said quickly. Derek was getting angry that she continued to say I see. It was a shot at him, and he knew it. He clenched his jaw, not wanting to fight with a woman that he would be living with. He looked down at the paper and then up at the address on the house. They were home.

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"This looks perfect." Richard pointed out, trying to stay neutral in this fight that had broken out. "This will be perfect."

"I thought so. It has three bedrooms." Derek told him as he backed the car into the driveway so that they would be able to get their things out easily.

Derek did not say a word to Ellis. He didn't think that it was necessary to counter her again. She was not going to back down. Ellis Grey never backed down. She was a fighter, and Derek knew it. He knew she was just protecting Meredith, but that didn't mean that it wasn't making him angry. He quickly opened the car door and opened up the back door to get his son. Liam was sleeping peacefully and Derek was glad. He needed a few minutes of silence, and he knew that Liam would stay asleep for his regular nap time.

"Here, I'll get it." Richard said with a smile as he grabbed the keys out of Derek's hand. Derek held Liam closely to to his chest as he waited for Richard to open the door. He didn't look over at Ellis. He didn't want to argue over something that didn't even matter. Derek drew in a breath as he walked into the clean furnished house. It really was perfect at the moment. It was so much better than a hotel. Derek walked around with satisfaction, finally laying Liam down in the crib. As he walked out, he looked up at Ellis, who was standing in the kitchen.

"I think we need to talk." Derek said quickly. They were not starting off on a bad foot.

"Yes. I think you are right." Ellis agreed as she looked into his eyes. She was miffed at him, for sure. Maybe she didn't have a lot of rights where her daughter was concerned, but she thought she had some.

"I was desperate." Derek explained as he looked into her eyes. They were a touch like her daughter's, just a little bit colder.

"Okay." Ellis replied with confusion. She didn't understand exactly why Derek would be desperate.

"Meredith was really not well. Meredith is not well. It was a bad day. It was a horrible day. I had fought with Dr. Donaldson all day. First, he was hiding from me. I would come around the corner and he would run the other way. There was no question that he was avoiding. And then when I finally did trap him, he wrote it all of. He said she had to be on the Atavan, and there was no other option. I couldn't take it. I could take being there and seeing that, but at the same time, I couldn't do anything about it." Derek explained as he grabbed a glass out of the cupboard and examined it. He knew that a housekeeper had come in. At the moment, it was good enough for him.

"I understand... But what does that have to do with sending my grandson off with an unfit babysitter?" She asked frankly as she placed her hand on her hip.

Derek felt his jugular vein begin to bulge. He felt his jaw clench. He was getting angry. Just who did she think she was. She had no rights. She was the one that let her daughter suffer through her whole childhood. She let a man almost rape her because she was jealous. Derek didn't like this. He knew in his heart that she had no right to speak this way. Not when she had done such a bad job herself.

"With all due respect, Ellis, do you really think you have the right to question my parenting?" Derek asked as he looked her in her cold eyes.

Ellis looked at Derek in shock. The man was being bold. She didn't like it. She didn't like it one bit. He was standing up to her. She was a strong woman who didn't go for a man standing up to her. She drew in breath. She may not have been the best parent, but she tried.

"Excuse me? What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Ellis asked loudly as she glared into her son's eyes. She wanted to strangle him. She may have made mistakes, but she didn't need him to remind her of them.

"Take it as you feel you need to. I don't think that I need to point out the obvious. I mean, you were not a great mother. I don't think we can argue that, now can we?" Derek asked frankly.

By the look in her eyes, he knew he had pushed her too far. It was a mixture of things. He was angry at everything and everyone. It was all too much for him. His wife was in a mental institution. His son was without a mother. His world was falling apart, and now she was fighting him.

"I did the best I could! He father was never around. He was never there. I had to do it on my own. I was a resident working over one-hundred hours a week. I tried, you cannot blame me for that!" Ellis shouted. Richard rushed in and looked at the two, who were nose to nose.

"Sometimes there are priorities..." Derek snapped as he shook his head.

"Oh yes... You would know about that, wouldn't you? You are the man that my daughter divorced because you were never around. Why weren't you around, Derek? Oh yes, because you didn't know what your priorities were. You are pathetic. You stand here and be condescending hypocrite! You are the bastard here. She loved you, and you dumped her off. I saw her pain. She just wanted you, and all you wanted was the hospital." Ellis growled as she felt Richard's hand on her arm.

"Ellis..." Richard warned as he looked at her. He could see that what she had said had affected Derek greatly.

Derek turned around to hide the tears that were streaming down his face. He was ashamed. She was right. He left his wife all alone. He abandoned her so that he could be the big man. He was more concerned about his career than his wife. Derek wiped his eyes with his hand and sniffled. He made himself sick. He was the main reason that everything had gone wrong. His stomach knotted up as he leaned on the counter.

"I think mistakes were made on both ends." Richard finally said regretfully.

"I think you're right." Ellis agreed. She knew that she was a bad mother, but for awhile, Derek had been a bad husband.

"I need to go make sure that she made it okay." Derek said as he looked at the floor and walked towards the door. "Can you watch Liam?"

"Of course." Richard agreed as he watched Derek put his hand on the doorknob. "He will be fine."

"Derek... Please... Just call- Call me and let me know that she is okay." Ellis said softly.

"I will." Derek agreed as he opened the door and walked out. How could so many have wronged Meredith? It wasn't fair.