Lexie and I were sitting in the living room with my mother actually having a decent conversation. I would have never thought Lexie being here would be going as well as it is with my mother. She never got upset once with Lexie being here. And if she is, she is doing a good job at acting like it doesn't bother her. I wonder if she'll go off on me the moment Lexie get's on the plane back to Seattle? I promised Lexie when she got here I wouldn't leave her alone with my mother. But since things are going well, I decided to excuse myself. I wasn't participating much in the conversation anyways. Lexie was asking my mom questions about her career and enjoyed hearing stories about her experience as a surgeon.

I went out to my car because I remembered I left my phone in there. As I retrieved it, I saw Derek sitting outside on the front steps of his parents' house. I walked over to see how he was doing since I haven't seen nor spoken to any of the Shepherds' since before the shooting happened.

"Hey. What are you doing out here?"

"I can't sit out here?"

"I heard about what happened to your dad. Mom told me. I'm so sorry."

Derek looked at me. "You didn't come."

"I was going to, but I didn't want to intrude."

"Intrude? Meredith, you're practically family. You wouldn't be intruding."

"I know, but-"

"But what? You should have been there. I needed you, and you didn't come."

"It's not like you called me. And what about Addison? She's your girlfriend, not me."

"Addison and I broke up."

"Oh..." I sat down beside him on the steps.

"I didn't think I had to call you to show up. I thought you would just show."

"I'm sorry. I thought it would be better if I didn't; give you guys some space. But I guess I was wrong. How is he doing?"

"He's doing well. He'll make a full recovery thanks to your mom and first responders. He got really lucky. One more inch and the bullet would have gone through his heart and killed him."

"Has the police caught who shot him?"

"Yeah, they reviewed the security footage, and got the two guys. From what dad remembers, they demanded him to hand over money, and he did. Then they demanded him to hand over his watch mom bought him, and he refused. That's when they shot him."

"Meredith!" I heard Lexie call for me. She spotted me, and came over. "Oh my god, Meredith. Your mom said she'd put in a good word for me at my top choice residency program when I go. I can't believe you say she's horrible." She looked at Derek. "Hi, I'm Lexie. You're Derek, right?"

"Yes, hi." Derek said.

"Worry about getting your BS first." I told her.

"I'm going back in. Your mom is going to show me some old surgical tapes." Before she left, she mouthed, "He's so cute."

When Lexie was finally gone I told Derek that was my sister. "I decided to take your advice to actually make amends with her and Molly. She has finally admitted that she was wrong blaming me for everything that happened between dad and I."

"I'm glad. Sounds like your mom likes her."

"My mom likes everyone who isn't me." I looked up at the sky. The sun was setting, so it was a pretty pinkish color. "Shouldn't you be in New York doing your program?"

"I should be, but here I am. When Nancy called me, I hopped on the next flight out and was here within hours. Being here for my family is more important than the stupid program."

"You're missing a lot, though."

Derek shrugged. "I'll catch up."

"Okay, well, I'm going to head back to my house... unless you need a friend?"

"A friend would actually be nice."

I hung out with Derek for two hours. When it got darker we moved inside. He was the only one at the house since his mom has been staying at the hospital with his dad. I'm sure he was getting lonely being alone here. We spent those two hours sitting in the living room watching a movie, though we didn't do much watching. The movie was mostly used as a background noise because we mainly talked.

"I should probably go home now. I have to get to the hospital by seven tomorrow, which means I'm going to have to wake up at five-thirty."

"Are you still questioning whether you want to continue in this career path?" Derek asked.

"Yes. I'm giving myself until the intern exam to decide." I stood up from the couch.

"Well, thanks for hanging out with me."

"Anytime." I smiled. "Wish your father well for me next time you see him."

As I entered the house, I saw Lexie and mom sitting in the living room indeed watching old surgical tapes. I could bet mom would have rather had Lexie as a daughter than me. I went up to my room, and climbed into my bed. Shortly later, Lexie came in, and sat on my bed with me.

"So?"

"So what?" I asked.

"Spill the beans. What happened next door? You were over there for a long time."

"Nothing. He needed a friend, and we hung out."

"I don't believe you. Something happened."

"Lexie, his dad was shot and almost died. He needed a friend."

"Didn't you say he has a girlfriend? Where is she at?" Lexie asked.

"He told me they broke up."

"Interesting. So nothing and nobody is in the way if something does happen."

"You're wrong. New York is in the way." I yawned. "I'm really tired, and have to wake up early. I'm going to sleep."

"Fine." Lexie jumped off my bed. As she walked out she said, "Goodnight."

"Goodnight." I laid down and rolled over onto my side.

Lexie isn't entirely wrong though. Essentially nothing and nobody is in the way.

Just distance.

I'm not going to try anything though. Derek is hurting and vulnerable. If he needs a friend, I'll be here for him as a friend just like the many times he was for me when we were teenagers.

LOL apologies for making you wait so long for another update! With this heatwave, I was unmotivated to write. So here it is finally! I'll try to get the next chapter up sooner. Review, follow, and favorite!