All rights remain to the respective owner, Too Attached. I am posting the full story for the enjoyment of the viewers…Some content, characters names, and chapter names have been changed. Grammatical errors have been fixed; however I am not a professional. Please, be patient. It may be very porny, and full of suss. You have been warned. Welcome and hang on tight! Thank you! Enjoy!

Chapter 1: Twelve and Six

Derek rode down the street as fast as he could. He didn't want to be late for dinner, which he frequently was. He was almost there and glanced up and saw Meredith on the swing sitting cross legged, working something in her hands intently. He made his way into the driveway and stopped. As he walked up, she didn't even notice him. He stood in front of her and smiled.

"What did you do?"

She glanced up surprised and said, "Stupid swing! It doesn't move an inch. "I got a splinter in my finger." She held it up to show him.

Derek sat down on the swing next to her and examined her finger. "You're just making it worse picking at it. I'll get it out for you."

She frowned and said, "I can do it myself!"

Derek chuckled and said, "I'm sure you can, but it will be easier if I do it. How long ago did you do this?"

Meredith didn't say anything for a moment and finally admitted softly, "About twenty minutes."

She didn't like defeat.

Derek stood up and asked, "Where is everybody?"

Meredith shrugged and said, "At the hospital and sleeping in front of the TV."

Derek clenched his teeth a little and said, "Stay here. I'll get some tweezers."

He quickly made his way into the familiar house and went to the first-floor bathroom where he knew there was a first aid kit. As he went back to the porch he glanced into the living room and saw the sleeping person on the couch and shook his head.

Meredith was scowling at her finger and Derek sat back down and pulled some things out.

He wiped her finger with some antiseptic and gently pulled the sliver out as she looked at him with huge water filled eyes.

"Ouch! That hurts!" She successfully blinked back a tear.

Derek said gently, "I'm not done yet little one."

He dabbed a little more antiseptic on it and said, "When you kiss the boo boo, it doesn't hurt anymore." He quickly gave her finger a little kiss and she giggled.

"Um…. Derek. You can't say boo boo."

"Why not? My mom did it for all of us. It worked didn't it?"

Meredith smiled brightly at him and nodded her head yes. She giggled again and said, "You can't say boo boo. You have to say the correct name. Like cut, puncture, abrasion, bruise, whatever."

He ruffled her messy head of hair and said, "My, what a big vocabulary you have!"

She admitted without conceit, "I do."

They both glanced as Mark came to a sudden stop in the driveway.

He walked up and said, "Hello little Miss Meri. What do you have there?"

Meredith said as she showed him her finger, "I had a splinter but Derek made it all better. He took it out for me."

Mark asked disbelievingly, "And you didn't cry?"

Meredith stood up to her full height, put her hands on her hips and said, "I'm not a baby! I'm almost six Markie!"

Derek laughed as Mark frowned. Mark said, "Um Meri, remember what we said about you calling me Markie? I'm twelve now. You have to call me Mark."

Derek said under his breath, "Just barely Twelve Markie."

Mark sneered and said, "You want to go there Derbear?"

Derek stood up and said sheepishly, "No." He was the youngest of five and his older sisters called him Derbear until about a year ago when he put his foot down about it.

Mark glanced down the street and said under his breath, "Oh crap! The wicked witch at 12 o'clock."

They watched as a new, sleek, black Jaguar pulled into the driveway and watched as Mrs. Grey jumped out and hurried over to the porch.

"What did I tell you boys about parking your bikes in the driveway? I swear I'm going to run you over one day and it won't be my fault!"

Derek said sincerely, "Sorry Mrs. Grey. It won't happen again."

Mark said not so sincerely, "Yeah Mrs. Grey. We're sorry. But Derek was over here to take out a sliver for Meredith."

Ellis tapped her heel on the porch and raised an eyebrow at Meredith. "So, show me."

Meredith tentatively held up her finger for inspection.

Ellis glanced at it and scoffed, "I guess that doesn't require my special surgical skills. Thank you, Derek. Where is the nanny?"

Derek said with some distain, "I believe she is asleep on the couch…. again." Derek felt a little protective of Meredith, like his mom and sisters did.

Ellis narrowed her eyes at him as she caught his attitude. He was a nice young man from a good family across the street. She had even relied on him and his sisters and mother a few times to keep an eye on Meredith when the nannies were running a little late. She turned her glare onto Mark Sloan. Now that was a juvenile delinquent in the making if ever, she saw one. It was obvious that Mark Sloan was a bad influence on young Shepherd.

Ellis turned and started walking into the house and snapped at Meredith, "Come on Meredith! I don't have all night. You should be inside anyway. I'll probably have to go out later. And boy's, I'll tell you for the last time, it's not Mrs. Grey….it's Dr. Grey!

Meredith mouthed thanks to Derek and followed her mother as she gave them both a little wave.

Derek laughed as he caught her as she scrunched up her nose and stuck her tongue out at Mrs. Grey's back. Meredith was quiet, but feisty. He had a feeling Mrs. Grey would have her hands full when Meredith grew up.

Derek and Mark collected their bikes and made their way across the street to Derek's house and Mark said conspiratorially, "I scored us an invite to the Lancaster twin's party Friday night."

Derek said, "You're kidding me!"

"Nope."

"Well seriously why would they invite us?"

"Could it be we are big for our age and hot? Now that you're lost that afro and put on some muscle."

"Dude, don't think that fifteen-year old's are going to give you any! They are hoping for the seventeen-year olds."

" Hey. They are friends with Nancy and that doesn't hurt."

"Nancy is having a small sleepover tonight."

"Great. Look at these." He pulled out two foil wrapped condoms that he had scored from Weiss's older brother.

"Don't let my mom catch you with those. She'll have both our heads."

"Don't worry. I am saving them for when the opportunity presents itself. They will go to good use. I swear one of the twins accidently rubbed her tits against me going into algebra class yesterday."

Derek scoffed, "In your dreams." He opened the door to his warm inviting house and smelled pot roast and glanced back over at the Grey house. "Poor little kid. She doesn't know it yet, but her world is going to be rocked again."

Mark asked, "What do you mean? I thought her father walked out a while ago. What's worse than that?" Meri was just the little girl who lived across the street from his best friend. She wasn't whiney like most kids her age. She was so smart and articulate that Mark frequently forgot she was only five.

"Yeah he did. And now her mom is moving her to Boston. I overheard her telling my mom the other day she isn't going to tell her until the day of the move."

"Man that woman is a bitch!"

Derek was thinking back to the day when his mother had called social services and complained about Mrs. Grey. An ambulance had come and taken Mrs. Grey away a while ago and Meredith had been found alone in the house with no one watching her for a day and a half. Everyone had assumed she was with the nanny. At the time, no one knew the nanny had quit and that was why Mrs. Grey was home in the first place. The Shepherds had been on vacation, but another neighbor had told his mother when they returned. Somehow Mrs. Grey convinced social services it was all a misunderstanding that a five-year-old was taking care of herself for almost two days. Derek ran his fingers through his hair and told Mark, "You have no idea."

Meredith was changed into her pajamas and in her usual position after dinner. In her room, in the big chair, with a book, in front of the window. She looked longingly at the Shepherd house across the street. It was full of life. People were always coming and going. The five Shepherd kids had tons of friends and their house was the one in the neighborhood where everyone congregated. Meredith was sorry that they were all so much older then her. They were too old to be playmates with her. Derek was twelve and his sisters were fifteen, sixteen, seventeen and eighteen. She loved it when one of the nannies was running late and Mrs. Shepherd would take her to their house for a few hours. She always gave her a snack or if it was dinnertime she ate with them just like a real family. Meredith was grateful for the time over there. They were loud and laughed all the time and seemed to enjoy each other's company. Even if their dad was gone too. She didn't understand. It was so different from her house. They all treated her so nicely and she was always on her best behavior.

She saw a car pull into the driveway and sighed as she watched the night nanny come up the walk. Her mother must be going back to the hospital. Sure enough, without even a courtesy goodnight, she watched as her mother ran out of the house and screeched away in the low slung fast black car. Meredith didn't bother to wipe the lone tear away. It didn't matter. The nanny wouldn't check on her anyway. Her room was dark now and they assumed she was asleep. It was well past her bedtime. Meredith went over and dug through to the bottom of a drawer and pulled out the well-loved stuffed rabbit from its hiding place and got into bed. Her mother had thrown it away a few months ago, but she had gone through the trash and retrieved it. She hugged him tightly and thought about how different her life would be if her name was Shepherd instead of Grey and fell fast asleep.

Sixteen Years later…..Also, the timeline will loosely follow GA with a few twists and turns, as always.