They walked to the porch in sync, the only noise being their footsteps. She had been quiet the whole way-until now.

"I knew we should've brought a pie. Or a cake. Or...something"

Derek squeezed her hand, "Relax, she said not to bring anything."

Meredith scoffed, "She's going to hate me."

"She doesn't hate you! My mother likes you, you know that."

"Maybe she doesn't. Maybe she secretly hates me and says she likes me," she replied. She respected Carolyn Shepherd. She was still worried anytime she was in Seattle that she wouldn't be liked by her until Derek and Amelia had assured her she was very well liked by her.

"Meredith, she likes you. She gave me her ring to give to you. She always asks about you when I call-"

"I like your mom. I really do, I promise. She's never pressured me into being this wholesome daughter-in-law who shows up to Christmas and Thanksgiving and cooks and bakes. She's been kind. She loves the kids. She-"

Derek chuckled, "She loves you."

Meredith stopped walking and held Derek's hand a little tighter, "I'm just nervous. I've never been in her territory, she's always been to Seattle."

Derek looked towards the house and then to Meredith, "Well, technically, we're in Nancy's territory. It's her house."

He winced as he let go of her hand and continued making his way to the house.

She's gonna panic.

Meredith didn't move for a moment, "What? That's worse! She's the one that hates me!"

She caught up to him and he grabbed her hand again.

"She does not hate you."

"She called me the slutty intern!"

"She doesn't call you that anymore. And if she does I'll put a stop to it."

"I'm not even wearing the ring. Your mom is going to be pissed!"

"Meredith, she stayed with us for a month, she knows you don't wear it!"

Meredith pulled him back to a stop and pointed at him, "You're a dead man. You're a dead man walking. I am never giving you sex again!"

Derek laughed, "Yea right. You could barely keep your hands to yourself in the plane."

She had been teasing him on the plane accidentally touching him in all the wrong places until they had finally made their way to the bathroom. It was the best distraction she could think of.

"I needed a distraction! I still get scared when I'm on a plane."

"Excuses, excuses."

They walked up the final step of the porch as Derek rang the doorbell. Meredith looked at the enormous house before her. It was beautiful. Bigger than their dreamhouse.

"It's a big house."

Derek glanced from the house to his wife, "Her husband's an investor. He makes big money. They had a bigger one in Connecticut."

At that moment a short haired, slim, tall woman opened the door, "Since when do you knock?"

Nancy. The last time Meredith had seen her was in Seattle when she flew in thinking she was going to say goodbye to her brother. The time before that was when Derek had just divorced Addison and she was calling her the slutty intern. Nancy hated her then.

Derek smiled at his sister, "Since you hung a huge sign on your bedroom door saying no brothers allowed."

As the two oldest, Nancy and Derek had a bond only the eldest siblings could have. They bore the responsibility of watching out for their siblings. She could get on his nerves but at the end of the day, he knew she also wanted the best for him.

Nancy opened her arms to embrace him, "Hi, brother!"

"How are you?"

She pulled away to look at him, "I missed you! It's good to see you on this coast."

"Give it an hour or two. You'll kick me out by then," Derek teased. Meredith still wasn't used to the banter between the siblings even if she spent so much time with Amy and Derek.

Nancy turned to Meredith and smiled. She embraced her as Meredith slowly returned the hug.

"Hi Meredith. Come in, I won't bite, I promise."

Derek glanced at Meredith

See, I told you.

Shut up!

Meredith smiled back as she pulled back, "It's nice to see you."

"Likewise, I wish you'd brought the kids! I bet they're so big by now."

Wow. She's actually being nice. Or she's just trying too hard.

Meredith sighed, "We're only here until tomorrow. Ellie is still too little and Zo and Bails are still in school. Derek is just helping a friend with a case and I just tagged along to get some time together."

Nancy turned to Derek, "Oh yes! Dr. Torres! I just heard your name float around the hospital. The Great Dr. Derek Shepherd making his grand return to the Big Apple."

Derek rolled his eyes at Nancy as Meredith raised her eyebrows.

"It's just for a case, so don't even start."

Nancy worked in the same hospital as Callie and called her brother as soon as she heard he was in the building consulting on a case with the sensors he and Callie had worked on years ago. He had told her he already made plans with their mother to meet for dinner and she insisted it be at her house.

Derek bit his lip as he looked towards the hallway, "Mom here yet?"

"She's in the kitchen. Um and -" Nancy began to say.

Derek turned to Meredith as she removed her coat, "We should go say hi."

Suddenly another voice was heard from the hallway, "The Golden Child is here!

Derek froze,

"We have officially become nothing to mom!"

Kathleen.

Derek turned to Meredith.

Crap. I'm so sorry.

Great. Just great. More Shepherds.

Meredith could deal with one Shepherd aside from her husband. Maybe two. But three siblings plus the mom? She was screwed.

She wasn't Addison. And she knew his sisters loved Addison. She wasn't bright and bubbly. She wasn't chatty or knew them since she was in med school like Addison. She was dark and twisty and saw everything in grey. Totally the opposite of Derek Shepherd and his sisters.

Derek forced a grin, "Kathy!"

She walked towards him and embraced him, "I haven't seen you in years."

"Is Lizzie going to come out of a closet and yell 'surprise'?" Derek rolled his eyes before turning back to Kathleen, "You didn't even come when the rest of them were out in Seattle two years ago."

Kathleen and Derek had a more complicated relationship. She was always over analyzing her siblings and couldn't shake the psychologist out of her. Every time they were together, she'd alway come up with a new personality disorder for him.

"Well I didn't want to see you...The last memory before your accident I have of you is when I told you that you seemed happy. You smiled and said you were."

Kathleen may be critical and snarky, but when it came to seeing people in hospitals, she was overly sensitive. It's why she preferred psychology. Perhaps it was also due to seeing her father on his deathbed in a hospital.

Derek smiled, "I'm gonna choose to believe you on that."

"Lizzie is with her in-laws so she couldn't make it," Nancy interrupted.

Kathleen turned towards Meredith and leaned in to hug her, "Meredith! How are the kids? How's Amelia, she's practically your kid too at this point, right?."

Dammit here we go. She's our sister and they're still unforgiving to her.

Derek groaned as he rubbed his face, "Kathleen, don't start."

Meredith placed a hand on his shoulder as she replied, "She's doing really well, actually the kids are staying with her and my sister Maggie. They really love their Aunty Amy and love spending time with her."

Nancy turned her head, "Wow! She lets them call her Amy? She lets you call her Amy?"

Meredith gave a tight grin

Crap.

"Has she burned down the hospital or your house yet?" Kathleen questioned.

"She hasn't relapsed has she? I was surprised she went through with the wedding," added Nancy.

Both sisters began to gossip amongst each other before Derek interrupted, "Stop it. Both of you, she's fine. She's doing really well!"

Derek gave them a stern look. "You should call her more often, seeing as none of you could show up for her when she needed you," Derek said in a low voice.

Although he loved his sisters, he was rightfully still bitter none of them had shown up to Amelia's wedding. He was the only one with her that day. And even if things were interesting between her and Owen, he was there. He was her brother.

Kathleen rolled her eyes, "You always defend her, even though you're the toughest on her, you always take her side."

"That's not-"

"You have a compulsive need to step up and be her father when-"

"Kathleen!"

"Is that my son I hear?" Carolyn's voice boomed from the kitchen.

The trio turned towards the kitchen as Carolyn walked towards them. Meredith let out a breath.

God, I thought I had family issues. I need tequila.

Derek smiled, "Ma! I missed you! How are you?"

She hugged him and held onto him tightly as if he would disappear in the blink of an eye.

"He's still the favorite. That's why he's a narcissist", mumbled Kathleen as she sipped her wine and walked into the kitchen.

Meredith raised an eyebrow at the comment.

Wow. Okay.

So many Shepherds. It was definitely not what she was expecting or hoping from this trip. When Callie reached out to Derek, he immediately suggested that they go together. They could take the time off, he could go in quickly, and then he'd take her out for dinner, dessert, and tour the city. She was looking forward to having time alone with her husband without the kids. But then Carolyn called and insisted that they visit sometime soon. Meredith had suggested that they at least pay a short visit. She could handle Carolyn. She was even fond of her. What she didn't expect was the sisters taking over.

Carolyn pulled away as she noticed Meredith, "Meredith, I'm so glad you came too."

She pulled her in for a tight hug, "How are my grandchildren? Derek sent me some pictures and that little Ellis looks just like you."

"Oh, everyone says that," Meredith pulled back and smiled, "They're definitely getting bigger. They're doing really well."

"Is Derek taking them fishing yet?

Derek rolled his eyes, "Ma-"

Meredith chuckled, "Oh yes, against their will. Although Bailey really does like it. He calls it his 'man time with dad'."

The Shepherds all laughed.

Derek glanced at the ceiling. Okay, no one's pulled out anyone's hair yet. So far, so good.

He squeezed Meredith's hand and smiled before turning to Nancy, "What are we eating?"

"He would not stop crying! I mean, I'm telling you, I don't think he ever recovered from that."

Nancy laughed as she embarrassed Derek.

Derek looked up and rolled his eyes, "I was 8! Someone put my frog in the microwave! How else was I going to react?"

"It wasn't even turned on!"

Meredith couldn't help but laugh along. They'd been at the table eating for about an hour, talking about the kids, what everyone was up to, Derek's case in New York, and now they were sharing memories from their childhood. The sisters had taken it as a chance to humiliate Derek in front of his wife.

Kathleen laughed as she leaned in to ask, "Did mom ever tell you Mark was the one who put it in the microwave?"

Carolyn gawked at the revelation, "Kathleen!"

Derek's eyes widened, "I knew it! That bastard. I knew it was him."

The laughter continued but died down shortly after at the thought of Mark.

Mark and Lexie were still a sensitive topic for Derek and Meredith. They had accepted what happened, but talking about them often brought painful memories.

Meredith reached for his hand and squeezed it. He looked at her and smiled.

Carolyn carefully watched the gesture. Her son had someone who understood his pain and was there to help him through it.

Just then Derek's phone rang and Derek looked down at the ID. Dr. Callie Torres.

"Excuse me, I need to take this," he stood as he stepped out of the dining room.

As soon as he walked out, Nancy asked, "Meredith, you must have some embarrassing stories about Derek? I heard you used to call him McDreamy? Is that true?"

Carolyn chuckled.

Kathleen gasped,"No way. Derek? McDreamy? No wonder the man has an ego the size of Texas!"

Meredith laughed as she shrugged, "We had just started -um- dating when my best friend gave him his nickname. It was kind of a code-word between the two of us at the time and it just kind of stuck. He's been McDreamy since then."

Kathleen looked intrigued, "Was this before or after Addison."

"Kathleen!" Carolyn reprimanded.

Meredith chuckled nervously as she sipped her wine.

Well that was too good to be true.

Derek walked in with a nervous look that Meredith detected right away, "Everything okay?"

Derek sighed as he glanced at her, "That was Callie."

Meredith darted her eyes at him. Don't you dare, Derek Shepherd.

Derek grimaced, I'm so sorry.

"I gotta go to the hospital. Just a mild complication with our patient but I really need to go."

Nancy stood to help him, "Go, you should take my car so you can be back soon. I'll give you the keys."

She walked out of the room to bring Derek his coat and her keys.

Derek looked to Kathleen and then to Meredith, "Be nice to my wife. Please."

Meredith glared at him. You're a dead man. A very, very, dead man. Wait...no you're not.

Kathleen rolled her eyes as she lifted her glass of wine to her lips, "Relax, we're not going to eat her. If anything, we're just going to interrogate her and unlock her deepest darkest secrets."

Derek scowled as Meredith froze.

"I. Am. Kidding. I'll be nice."

Carolyn's eyes remained on Meredith. She was rubbing her ring finger with her thumb as she stared at Derek.

"Drive safe please, don't speed, and don't answer your phone. Don't even look at it until you're parked," Meredith blurted.

The sisters gaped at Meredith, surprised at her sudden burst.

She had been polite and limited in conversation throughout the evening, mostly because she was too nervous about being in a room with them.

Derek's eyes softened as he fixed the collar of his coat. He leaned down to kiss her before whispering, "I love you, I'll be back soon. I promise." He gave her another kiss for good measure before turning back to Nancy and walked towards the door.

As they made their way out, she could hear Nancy interrogate him about whether or not he still knew his way through New York.

Meredith watched him walk out the door as Carolyn interrupted her from her thoughts, "You still worry about him when he drives."

It wasn't a question. She could see it from the way Meredith became tense as soon as Nancy offered her car.

Meredith turned to look at her Carolyn then to Kathleen. They were both staring at her with concerned eyes. She felt...naked. As if suddenly her thoughts were printed on her face and they were reading them closely.

"I can't help it. Every time he walks out the door, I just…," She swallowed the lump in her throat. "It's been two years. And we've survived a shooting and plane crashes and bombs. I mean we've survived a lot! But the driving still scares me."

Carolyn put her hand over hers.

"It's normal to feel that way," Kathleen nodded. That was the shrink in her talking but Meredith could tell it came from a good place.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't be...we were having such a nice time and now I'm being-" Meredith scratched her head wishing she could just erase the last five minutes and skip straight to the end of the night. She was at her most vulnerable in front of her husband's family and she did not like the feeling.

"No you're being human. And you love him. It's okay to worry," Carolyn smiled, "I'm glad he has you."

"I think I was about six or seven there."

Meredith jumped. She hadn't heard Derek walk up the stairs. He was rolling up his sleeves and was leaning against the stair rails with his legs in front of him. She had excused herself to the restroom but stopped at the bookcase by the stairs. It was filled with family pictures of Nancy, Kathleen, Lizzie, and all the Shepherds.

She could tell Derek had been back for a while. Which meant she had been staring at these pictures for a long time.

"I didn't know you were back."

He smiled at her as he placed both his hands behind him on the rail, "I got back a while ago and they said you probably got lost coming back downstairs. You seem to be doing okay though."

Meredith laughed,"No bites from your sisters yet."

He sighed, "Sorry. I didn't think Kathleen would be here."

Meredith let out a slight chuckle as she thought back to the conversation with his family, "Oh it's okay. They've been...good."

She turned her gaze back to the pictures, "All dark haired Shepherds."

She noticed a picture of her own family. A smiling Derek was holding Bailey in his arms, although she could tell from his expression that Bailey wanted to make a run for it. Zola was sitting on the foot of the bed with an angelic expresion, and Meredith was laying with a newborn Ellis in her arms. They had just introduced Ellis to her older siblings after a very difficult delivery when Maggie took the picture. Now, it sat at the top of the shelf on a silver frame in his sister's house.

She turned towards Derek as she pointed to the picture, "Are ours the only ones with blonde hair?"

Derek smiled as he thought back to his kids, "Well, except Zola."

Meredith rolled her eyes. Zola may not be biologically theirs but sometimes she'd give her looks that reminded her so much of her husband or remind Derek of Meredith.

"I meant the ones who seem to have inherited my blonde hair."

Derek laughed, "Kathleen's kids take after their dad, so no."

She turned back to the bookcase and continued to look at her own children, "When we first started talking about kids and I had wrapped my head around the idea, I pictured kids with perfect dark hair and bright blue eyes."

Derek raised his eyebrows, "You did?"

"Oh yeah. I really wanted them to have your hair," she nodded. She could remember Derek telling her that their children would be pretty because of her.

"The first time I was pregnant I even told Cristina -you were in a mood in your office then and then everything else happened- and she and I both agreed they had to have your hair. But, then Zola came into our lives, and then Bailey was born and you said 'He looks just like you' and then Ellis was born and you said the same thing."

Derek laughed as he pictured his two youngest. Ellis was a carbon copy of her mother with her green eyes and blonde hair. Bailey also looked mostly like his mother but the older he got the more he started taking after his dad. He had blue eyes and blonde hair and his smile seemed to be like his own.

"Well I'm not complaining. We have cute kids. They're the cutest out of all of them."

Meredith hummed in response as her eyes went back to the picture in a smaller frame. A dark haired boy with blue eyes was standing next to a dark haired man with blue eyes. Both in fishing gear and the youngest with the brightest smile.

"This is your dad?"

"Mmhmm," he hummed as a response. He didn't even need to see the picture to know who she was talking about.

Meredith turned back to look at him. He was looking down at his shoes lost in thought.

"You look like him. Amelia too," she said softly.

He looked up but didn't respond. He simply smiled accepting the comment.

Meredith turned back to the other photos. He rarely talked about his dad even after all these years. She knew it was a sensitive topic just as her parents were a sensitive topic to her. He'd talk when he was ready for it.

She continued to analyze each picture landing on one with all five siblings and Carolyn. Amelia's blue eyes stood out.

"Your other sisters look like your mom."

Derek nodded, "Mom says Amy reminds her of my dad. I think that's why she and Amy seemed at odds all the time. She reminds her too much of him."

Meredith shuffled her weight and softly replied, "I get that."

He raised an eyebrow surprised at the admission, "You do?"

She didn't turn to look at him but he knew she was lost in thought, "Lexie. Maggie. They were reminders of the childhood I didn't have but they did. They grew up with a mom and dad and didn't have to deal with the daddy issues or the negligent mother," she took a deep breath.

Derek listened as her voice cracked. They always said that she was terrible with sisters and she was always confused with what it meant to be sisters.

"I couldn't even look at Amy when you had your accident. She reminded me of you and she had all these feelings I just couldn't deal with at the time. I was horrible to her. And she was mad at me because I reminded her of you and she blamed me…I understand the need to run away from it all."

As time went on and she opened herself more to Lexie and then to Maggie, she proved to be the best of sisters. She'd even taken Amelia under her wing so much that she was added to the list of people who could call her Amy. A privilege only Derek had. She was better than the other sisters Amy had combined.

"You mended it though. With all of them. And now they're your sisters."

"And now they're my sisters," Meredith sighed as she turned to look at him, "You don't talk about your dad a lot."

Derek looked back. She was right, he avoided the topic altogether especially around his kids. He and Amy would check in on each other when something reminded them of him but they would barely mention their father. It was too painful to remember the day he lost his father and had to grow up. But lately his kids were asking questions and he wasn't so sure he was ready to answer them.

"Bailey asked me about him last week when we were fishing and I...I just froze. I didn't expect him to ask."

The kids had asked Meredith if she had met their grandfather which in turn caused Meredith to suspect the topic had been brought up, "You didn't tell him anything."

"I told him the story of when he took me fly fishing for the first time."

"Your favorite story," she replied fondly. Derek would tell her baby bump at the time the same story over and over until the baby stopped kicking.

Derek's gaze seemed to be far away as he continued, "When Zola came home the first night, I stayed up all night holding her in my arms. I hadn't thought about my dad much until that day and all I could think of was just him."

Meredith made her way to stand next to him. He kept his eyes crossed and his eyes to the shelves of pictures.

He took a deep breath, "I kept thinking, if I could be a good father like him? And then when you were pregnant with Bailey, well I was even more scared. And then, everything seemed to pile up. I had left for DC, our marriage was in trouble, I hurt you, the accident, Ellis. It was chaos. At least in my mind it was."

Meredith kept her eyes on his face. This was the most he had talked about his father or even about his own fears. It was like she was peeling another layer of Derek Shepherd. He was always the overly confident, arrogant neurosurgeon that it was easy to forget all the trauma he had endured too.

He turned to her before continuing, "I had all these questions about what to do and no one there to answer them."

She stared back at him and whispered, "You never told me that."

As if her response could break something so fragile. The year following his accident had been filled with frustration and anger and ended with the joy only their newborn could bring.

He smiled as he looked into her eyes, "I didn't want you to worry even more than you already had."

Meredith let out a breath as she turned her gaze back to the pictures. She stared at the man next to the young boy again.

Suddenly she felt the urge to ask more, "What was he like?"

"My dad?"

She nodded.

Derek took a moment to think back, "He was kind. Had a bit of a temper if you pushed him enough."

"Well, that explains your temper," she chuckled.

Derek joined in before continuing, "He was busy at the store, but he made time for us. He loved to fish and would spend extra hours at the store so he could get us everything on Christmas. I remember how much he loved mom," He looked to the bottom of the stairs as he heard some laughter come from the dining area, "He was a good man. Good husband. Good dad."

He fell silent.

Meredith read his face. She could see the sadness mixed with curiosity in his eyes. He turned to look at her and smiled.

"I think he'd be proud of you," said Meredith.

He tilted his head,"You do?"

"I do," she moved to stand in front of him as she wrapped her hands behind his neck. He moved his hands around her hips as she continued, "You turned out to be a hot-shot-world-class neurosurgeon, married to an incredible-very in demand world-class surgeon."

Derek laughed.

She pecked his lips as she let a hand go through his hair, "And you have three amazing kids who adore you. You're a kind man. A good son. You're there for your sisters even when they annoy you. And you're a wonderful husband- even when you piss me off."

He laughed again at that comment. They could have their fair share of arguments and disagreements but at the end of the day, they'd always end up in each other's arms again.

Meredith pecked his lips again before looking into his eyes and continued, "And you're the best father our kids could have."

Derek nodded, grateful for the words he didn't know he wanted to hear.

Meredith smiled, "I think he would be very proud."

He reached up to kiss her as his hands roamed her back. He pulled back only when they both needed air and he moved a strand of hair away from her face.

"We should go downstairs before my sisters start searching for us."

She nodded before he gave her one last kiss and took her hand to lead her downstairs back to the dining room.

Derek walked into the kitchen with plates in his hands. Kathleen was putting away the clean wine glasses as the rest of the women were in the kitchen. Their laughter echoed as the siblings shuffled around the kitchen.

"You know she's right."

Derek turned from his spot, "Who?"

"Meredith," Kathleen replied. She turned to look at her brother.

"About what?"

She grinned as she watched him load the plates in the dishwasher, "About dad being proud of you."

Derek looked up at her, surprised at her comment, "Oh, you heard that."

Kathleen didn't take her eyes off her brother. She had sent Nancy out to Seattle all those years ago to check on him fully knowing that if she went, Derek wouldn't tell her anything. At least Nancy could read him like a book and Lizzie could annoy him enough that he'd open up eventually. She knew of the tight bond he had with Amelia because of the tragedy they both witnessed as kids. But her relationship with her brother wasn't as tight as the rest.

"You and Nancy have this compulsive need to make sure everything and everyone is fixed," she exclaimed, "Especially you. It's like everyone around you has to be perfectly okay. But bad stuff happens. Scary stuff happens, but you're alive and your wife is okay and your kids are great."

"I know." Derek exhaled as he leaned against the counter. "I'm okay."

There was an awkward silence before he spoke.

"You really should call Amy."

Kathleen rolled her eyes, "She's Houdini! She's in and out and always disappearing."

"Because you push her!" Derek sighed as he looked away, he could still picture Amy in the bathroom of Meredith's old house begging her family to come to the wedding.

"Meredith is more of a sister to her than any of you. And so is Addison. And Maggie."

Kathleen stared back.

"She's not Houdini, Kathy. Why can't you put aside the fourteen year old kid you remember and try?"

Derek walked back to the dining room to join the rest of the family.

"Hey, the car is here. Are you ready to go?"

"No, you should stay here! You haven't been here in such a long time," whined Nancy.

Derek smiled, "Next time. We got an early flight to catch and all our stuff is at the hotel."

Meredith glanced his way. Next time? What next time?

Meredith began to make her way to grab her coat as Derek turned to Carolyn, "You should really come to Seattle soon. The kids would love to see you and I think Amy would too."

"I'll do my best to visit soon. Take care of yourself and that family."

Derek smiled at his mother and embraced her, "I'll do my best, too."

Meredith turned to look at Nancy, "Thank you for having us Nancy, your home is lovely."

"Oh please, it's the least we could do," Nancy waved her hands.

She looked back to her brother and mother who were chatting away before facing Meredith again, "Hey uh, look I know we're a lot and we haven't always been kind- I haven't always been kind. We're quite the dysfunctional sort but I am glad he has you. You're good for him."

Meredith exhaled softly, "Thank you."

Kathleen made her way towards Derek, "I will try."

He grinned as he embraced her, "That's all I'm asking."

Once they were in the safety of the car Meredith chuckled, "You lied to your sisters, our plane doesn't leave until 7 tomorrow evening."

"Do you want to spend the day riding ferryboats and eating pizza or do you want to spend it getting questioned by my sisters?"

"Ferry boats and pizza. Definitely ferry boats and pizza!"

Derek opened the front door to their house.

Home sweet home.

He let Meredith walk in first who found Amy sitting by the kitchen island working on her laptop.

She smiled as soon as she noticed them, "Hey you're back!"

Meredith looked around the dark room, "Where's Maggie?"

"She went home about an hour ago. The kids are down and they were great. They really missed you guys."

Derek removed his coat and glanced at his little sister, "You should stay the night, it's pretty late."

"Spend the night? Was it that bad?" Amelia turned to look at Meredith and then to Derek.

Meredith raised her eyebrows and walked towards the hallway, "I'm gonna go check on the kids."

"I heard through the grapevine that you were amazing in that surgery," Amy studied Derek as he plopped on the couch and closed his eyes.

"We were ambushed," he grunted, "And then I left Meredith alone with the sharks."

"The sharks? Oh my gosh, you went to mom's?" Amelia couldn't help but laugh.

"Worse. Nancy's," he replied, "It wasn't bad but oh I forgot what it's like to be with her and Kathleen in the same room. Thank God Lizzie was out of town."

Amelia laughed as she heard her brother detail how they embarrassed him in front of Meredith and how annoyed he was at the end of the night.

"It wasn't all that bad. I talked to Mer about dad."

"You did?"

"Yeah."

Derek stared off to the distance thinking about what Meredith had told him.

"He'd be proud of you, you know."

Amelia stared at him.

"He'd be proud of how you pulled it together. And you didn't need me or any of us to do it. You did that all on your own. I know everyone in LA helped but it was your choice to live. He'd be proud."

They'd had closure about their sibling problems years ago, but hearing him say those words made Amy feel true closure. It made her feel she was finally on the right track.

Derek smiled and stood to walk to bed leaving Amy speechless. Meredith was right, his father would be proud of both of them.

Author's Note: I rewatched the episodes with the Shepherd sisters to try to get them down correctly and came up to the following conclusions based on what I noticed and how my brain worked as I wrote this:

1. Nancy and Derek seem pretty close in that big sister/little brother way. She wants to be protective but he won't let her and yet he still listens to her. She's obviously not Meredith's biggest fan BUT Amelia does mention that she is the most forgiving one. In my headcanon, she has forgiven Mer especially after the accident.

2. Kathleen was the most frustrating to me because of how ruthless she was towards Amelia (c'mon the comments she makes to Link behind her back?) so I had to show that here. I also think she can't help it because of her profession. She also seems younger than Nancy and Derek.

3. Amelia and Derek have both mentioned that their mom likes Meredith so again, that's here.

4. I couldn't write Lizzie although she is my second favorite Shepherd sister. She just wanted to get to know Mer the best way she could and Meredith eventually gave in. I loved that episode in season 9! Also in that season, Meredith mentioned that Kathy is a good mom which led me to believe she had already met and spent time with Meredith.

5. Although Derek was an ass to Amy, I understand the dynamic of older/younger siblings especially when you've gone through a trauma that's never really addressed. It's so complicated because you love each other, you want the best for each other, but deep down there is so much anger, resentment, frustration that it comes off the wrong way. And it's both ways. Amy was an addict and Derek had a temper. That's what infuriates me about Derek's storyline which seems so undeveloped now that I think about it! *insert loud frustrated groaning* I think that's where season 11 was headed with him too, but again...what do I know? I kind of explored that here especially with the Meredith/Derek convo bit.

6. I love complex characters who are flawed because we are all flawed. Derek is someone who sees the world in black and white because he has experienced something terrible and had no room to process it. He had to step up and that is obvious in later episodes when Carolyn addresses it to Amelia in 15x21. We get see how Meredith amazingly grew from her childhood trauma in later seasons and I would've loved to see that with Derek and Amelia too. Derek wasn't toxic (I effing hate the way that word is used nowadays). He's experienced crap that wasn't fully developed on the show! *loudly screams at laptop screen*

Anyways, Thanks for coming to my Derek TED talk!

And especially thanks for reading (especially this long note)
Let me know what you think! Was it okay? I wasn't totally sure about this one-shot.

THANKS!