Book Three, Part Fourteen: Lets Talk

Thatcher's Point of View

I bid goodbye to my daughter with her looking at me knowingly. Still, she went on her way like the good girl she was. I sat back and waited.

I waited while that little punk and his redheaded wife ate their salads. Waited while she talked and he pretended to listen…yeah, happy marriage there.

Finally, my patience paid off and the redhead was paged. The Punk sat back and relaxed with what looked like a medical journal. Don't get too comfortable.

I walked quietly over to him, my figure shadowing over him. He noticed and looked up with a kind smile.

A smile that slowly died away into a straight line. Fear leapt into his eyes. Yeah, you better be scared.

"This seat taken?" I asked calmly.

He exhaled and straightened up.

"No. Please sit." He offered.

I sat down and just stared at him. Time had changed him. He was still a good-looking kid, probably better looking now. He had grown into his looks. His eyes had once been bright with excitement and now they were dull and trouble. He looked tired and worried. I almost felt sorry for him.

Almost.

To his credit, he didn't shift under my intense gaze. I almost respected him for that.

Almost.

He met my gaze dead on and scrutinized me as well. I almost liked him for it.

Almost.

Almost doesn't count.

I had approved of him whole heartedly when Meredith dated him. Of course, I didn't know then that he had deflowered my daughter. But what did I expect? I wasn't naïve in any way and I knew they had loved each other very deeply. So even though I had suspected, I was better off not knowing. Besides it had given me Mia and in no way would I ever regret that.

But when he had left, my daughter changed. She was no longer the happy kid I had raised. Instead, she was vulnerable and broken. Seeing her that first night, having had to call a doctor to make sure she was okay, seeing the deadness in her previously vibrant green eyes had emotionally maimed me. I was on suicide watch for months.

Then Mark had happened. Thank God for him. He had stepped up to the plate and had been there for Meredith; comforting her, wanting her, loving her.

And eventually she had loved him back. I knew it was not as strong as what she felt for Derek, but it was there. But it was a love born out of gratitude and that wasn't a good love for anyone to have.

But her heart had been given away a long time ago and she had never gotten it back. Her heart, that part of which did not belong to Mia, the part held together by patching it up and moving on, belonged to the man sitting in front of me.

"How have you been Derek?" I asked.

Judging by the look on his face, he wasn't expecting that.

"I feel like I am stumbling through my life, never getting to the place I belong." He said.

Now it was my turn to be surprised.

"Let me guess, you are close to finding it here?" I asked.

"Yes, I am." He looked me dead in the eye.

"I am guessing you are not just referring to Mia." I stated.

"Right now I am. Later on, who knows." He said.

"You are married." I reminded him, looking at his unadorned ring finger.

"I am aware of that." He said.

I looked at him sharply.

"Are you getting smart with me, Boy?" I growled. "You are lucky I didn't plant my fist into your mouth the second I saw you sitting here."

Derek sighed.

"No sir, I'm not. I am tired of everyone reminding me of that. I know I am married."

"Are you sure about that? Cause from what I hear, you are looking at my daughter like she is the second coming of Christ. Big hospital, small family. Gossip runs rampant here. She has worked hard for her reputation. She has rebuilt her life after you destroyed it. I will be damned if you come in and ruin all she had accomplished because you have regrets."

"I do regret everything. Yet, at the same time, maybe it was supposed to be like this. Maybe we were supposed to be apart and then find our way back to each other. Have you ever thought about that?" He asked with a desperate look in his eyes.

"You weren't there. So, you didn't get to see first-hand what your decision did to my daughter. I thought she was going to kill herself. She was…she had checked out. No emotional output, very little physical. She just went to school, came home, did her chores, went to bed. Every day it was the same, never changing…until Mark. He saved her…well him and Mia."

He ran a hand through his hair and looked frustrated.

"I get it. Mark is a saint." He said in a tired tone.

I thought about how Mark looked at my stepdaughter. Saint, he was not.

"He is just a normal man, who helped my daughter. He loves her. She loves him."

"But does she love him like she loved me?" He asked.

"No. But you knew that already." I said. "Doesn't change the fact that you left, and you are married. She looks like a nice enough lady."

He snorted.

"She cheated on me last year." He confessed.

"Did you care?" I asked.

"Not really."

"Yet she is here with you." I reminded him.

"I owed it to her to make it work. To try anyway."

"That's bullshit. That is a cop out. You want someone to fall back on if Meredith ultimately rejects you. That's idiotic and it teaches Mia that men don't value women. You have to set an example for her. So, if you insist on messing with my daughter, then lose the wife. Not one second before then or you will answer to me. Understood?" I said tersely.

"Why are you helping me?" He asked, astonished.

I stood up and then looked down at him.

"Because I would give anything to see that light back in her eyes."

I then turned and walked away.

Hope Meredith appreciated this in the long run.

If not, hoped Susan liked Alaska...