Chapter 27: Giving Up?
Derek's Point-of-View
It was official. Delilah was going to give us a grandchild, she was due around Christmas time and I was probably more scared to death than she was. She seemed to be taking it well, emotionally she was like Meredith. She could hide anything. but I knew that on the inside the fear was eating her alive.
I was pulling off the freeway when my phone went off, I recognized the number right away as being that for the school that Dani and Ian attended, my stomach rolled a little with anxiety, what more could this day possibly hold? I know, I know…you don't say that.
"Hello?"
"Hello, is this Dr. Shepherd?"
"Yes." I answered, "This is Derek Shepherd."
"Hi Dr. Shepherd, this is Connie from Cherry Crest Elementary."
"Ok." I frowned "is there a problem?"
"Yes." She sighed into the phone, I knew it wasn't good..it was never good when they sigh into the phone "We seem to be having a problem with your son Ian. We'd prefer to just explain it to you when you get here."
"When I get there?" I scoffed "It's only 11:30, I won't be there until 3."
"Well sir, he is being suspended until the end of the week."
"You've got to be fucking kidding me."
I heard sputtering and stuttering on the other line as she wasn't aware how to react to my outburst.
"I'm sorry sir, I don't kid."
I didn't doubt that for a second. "I'll be there in twenty minutes." I promised before hanging up the phone.
"What's going on?" Delilah asked from the backseat "Is Ian ok?"
"I don't know." I sighed "But we gotta take a detour."
"Seriously, another one." Meredith shook her head in the seat next to me "I guess when one jumps off a cliff they all follow."
"Delilah didn't jump off a cliff."
She turned her head enough to look down at me "I wasn't talking about Delilah."
I felt like I suddenly weighed two tons in my seat, and turned to look out the windshield and take the exit towards Bellevue. As hard as that insinuation was a part of me felt a spark of hope…she wasn't there, she wasn't all here, but somewhere she was inside of there and maybe, just maybe I could find her.
I pulled up to the school parking zone and stopped before jumping out, instructing Delilah to be in charge while I run in and see what the hell was going on. When I got to the office, I didn't see Ian right away, he wasn't sitting in a seat of shame or bleeding anywhere so that was a little instant relief. I approached the desk and the red headed overweight secretary looked up at me.
"Ok I'm here." I said "Now, what the hell is going on?"
"He.." she said, then trailed off to a whisper "He won't take it off. He was instructed after disrupting the class to take it off, but he won't, he refuses."
"What?" I hissed "Take what off…"
She gestured with her eyes to a seat behind the desk, my eyes followed the direction and my jaw dropped a little as my son lifted his eyes to meet mine. They were the same beautiful eyes that I loved from the moment I saw him open them after the doctors placed him on his mother's chest. They were her eyes… but a foot under those eyes was a pastel pink dress, tulle and fluff and glitter included. He wore no shirt under the dress, but his khaki slacks and shoes peeked underneath the hem.
Oh. Dear. God.
I walked around the counter to kneel in front of my son and put away my expression of shock, he peeked at me through his thick eyelashes, another inheritance from his mother, his lower lip pouted out as he usually did when he knew he was in trouble.
"Ian." I said slowly "What is going on?"
"I want to wear a dress." He shrugged "What's wrong with wearing a dress? Mommy wore dresses, and Dani and Delilah."
"Yes." I nodded slowly "But they are girls."
"So?" he frowned "Why can't dresses be for boys too."
I let out a rough sigh as I gathered my thoughts to muster up an explanation.
"It's like he's hanging onto it as a security blanket." I heard over my shoulder, I clenched my jaw and nodded.
"Thank you, really Connie for your help." I muttered "But you all called me in here to deal with this so let me deal with it."
"Fine." She snubbed "I was just trying to help, I figured you needed a little help with your wife gone and all."
And that one hit below the belt.
"My wife is sitting in the car, waiting for us to get finished in here." I huffed as I stood up "If you would call my daughter to the office we'll be out of your hair."
"What, you're pulling her out of school too?"
"I've had enough of this place today."
Ten minutes later Dani was running into my arms, I cradled her in one arm on my hip and took Ian's hand in the other and we walked to the SUV still parked in the school parking zone. I turned and looked at my little ringlet haired girl and hoped that she would give me at least a little break today.
"So, anything troubling you today too Princess?"
She sniffled and let out a whimper, I frowned as I thought I'd asked her that in a soft enough voice, I looked at her as she covered her hands with her face.
"I wet my pants." She cried "I tried to make it to the bathroom but I didn't."
I sucked in a deep breath and tried not to think about the fact that her wet pants were now pressing against my pants. I tried not to think about the rest of them and their problems, and that it didn't even give me a chance to think about my problems…because Meredith was having bigger problems.
We got to the SUV and I put Dani in and lifted Ian into the truck next. Winston let out a teasing snort but stopped short when he caught wind of my sharp glare. Meredith and Delilah both just stared at him in shock before turning around and deciding not to say anything. I got in my seat and let out a deep breath I'd been holding in, I gripped the steering wheel for a long second before starting the car.
"Don't give up yet." I heard mumbled from an angel in the front seat.
I could give up, I could easily give up…in a sense, before, I had given up. But that couldn't happen anymore, aside from the fact that if I did no one else would be there to catch them, but they were my children, my wife, my family…and I loved them, even when I hated them. We are family…and somehow, we'll get through this.