AN: We have three chapters left before I start the sequel. I'm so excited for what I have planned so far and have already written the first couple of chapters. I'm still not seeing very many reviews and want to make sure before I invest time in a sequel that I have readers. Your reviews really do mean so much and keep me motivated to update and finish stories.

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It's been two weeks since I flipped out on Derek and told him to stay away from me. Of course, he kept trying. He'd show up before he knew I had class and offer to take me, and he'd be there again after I got out of class to bug me again. I was exhausted mentally & physically and didn't know how much longer I could go on avoiding him. I didn't trust Derek. At the beginning, he sent me so many mixed signals and then he'd be great for a while. It didn't help things that I was madly in love with him and that I was just a month and a half away from having a baby with him. We hadn't even had a chance to pick out a name for her yet.

Susan called me last week wanting to throw me a baby shower. It was a sweet gesture, but I really didn't feel up for it. I knew it would mean a lot to Susan though and my little sister Lexi too, so I eventually relented. Izzie was all about it and got Susan's number to help her with planning and food. I invited Christina, Alex & George as well. Susan had the bright idea to have Derek come with me and invite Mark. She had no idea that I wasn't exactly on speaking terms with Derek right now and I didn't want her to know either. So, I would have to talk to Derek today and forgive him enough to invite him to this stupid baby shower.

Not surprisingly, Derek was waiting outside my door this morning when I went out for my Friday appointment.

"Mer, please" he said as soon as I opened the door. I took in the sight of him, he looked exhausted. His face was blotchy from what I assume was a long night crying. He was wearing the same thing he wore yesterday when he tried to talk to me. He was leaning against the door frame and looked utterly defeated.

I took a deep breath "You deserve the silent treatment you've been receiving." I stated

"I know" he replied dejectedly

"And I don't forgive you. You lied to me and made a major life decision behind my back. I cannot trust you." I told him

"Meredith-" he began

"No. I'm not done. I cannot trust you but that doesn't change the fact that we're having a baby together and we have to figure out some sort of arrangement. I can't hate you even as much as I want to hate you."

"I can't blame you for how you feel, and I don't, but I can't lose you. Meredith, I will do anything. I can't picture my life without you in it and these past two weeks have been hell without you."

"Good." I stated

"I'm not going to Columbia; I don't know what I was thinking. I wasn't even thinking. You and our daughter- that's all that matters to me."

"I'd like to believe you, but I just can't right now."

Derek sighed "What can I do?" he asked desperately

I shrugged "I don't know."

"I love you." He stated simply.

I rolled my eyes. "Susan is throwing me a baby shower tomorrow. She thinks you should come."

"What do you think?" he asked looking into my eyes with his McDreamy face

"I… I don't…. I don't know how these things work. If she thinks you should come, then...come"

"Are you sure you want me there?" he asked

"I'm not sure of anything except that I'm going to be late for my appointment if I don't leave now."

"Let me drive you."

"Derek-" I began to protest

"Meredith, you're almost 8 months pregnant. Let me take some of the burden off you." He told me sincerely.

I sighed "Fine" I relented.

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Izzie forced me out of bed the morning of the baby shower and decided it was the perfect day to give me a makeover. She added wavy curls to my long blonde hair, applied mascara and blush my cheeks and forced me to wear lip gloss. She kept insisting that I had a pregnancy glow, but I wasn't feeling it. Mostly, I was just feeling exhausted from how hard it's been to sleep lately, my boy problems and the fact that my daughter was coming in less than 2 months, and I didn't feel anywhere near prepared for her arrival. Picking out an outfit was another disaster. After trying on multiple outfits, I settled on a black form fitted maxi dress. I used to wear it all the time pre-pregnancy in the summer and liked that it was sleeveless. I used to feel like it really accentuated my curves but now it more than did the trick. There would be no mistaking who the baby shower was for. Izzie kept insisting that I looked adorable, and Christina appreciated the fact that I wasn't wearing pink or blue like most people did. After a while, I did start to feel good about how I looked, and I knew Derek would love the outfit I choose. He always liked when I wore things that accentuated my belly. Derek and Mark would be meeting us over at Thatcher and Susan's house and Christina made George drive so that she could drink as much as she wanted to. I knew this was not going to be Christina's thing – so much so that Christina brought 2 flasks in her bag just in case Susan wasn't planning to serve alcohol. The old me, would have my own flask of tequila on stand-by.

Susan had an eye for detail and had the entire house decorated with white wildflowers and pink roses. She decorated the table with fine china and had so much food, no one knew where to start. She had servers going around with mimosas and orange juice for me. She had a few pictures of me and Derek scattered around- Izzie must have gotten them for her, an area with a ton of games, and an entire table full of presents. I wasn't even sure who they were from as we were the first people here.

"Meredith, look at you!" Susan exclaimed when she saw me and came over to give me a hug. I hadn't seen them in about a month and I knew I probably looked like a whale compared to a month ago.

"Hi Susan" I said returning her hug

"You must be Meredith's friends, and which one is Izzie?" Susan asked excitedly

"That would be me! Your house is so beautiful" Izzie told her with a warm smile

"Thank you and thank you for all of your help with the planning!" Susan told her while wrapping her arm around me pulling me into the kitchen with my friends following.

"Are you hungry Meredith? When I was pregnant with Lexi, I couldn't stop eating. That's probably why I gained 70 lbs" Susan stated

"I'm a little hungry" I told her picking up a vegetable from the vegetable display she made "Speaking of Lex, where is she?" I asked.

"You know teenagers. She's been trying to find the right outfit for an hour." Susan told me

I nodded. "Maybe I could go help her." I stated.

Susan's face lit up "That would be wonderful! I'll get your friends here something to drink in the meantime."

I went upstairs to Lexi's room and knocked at the door "Hey Lexi, it's Meredith" I told her.

She opened the door and smile when she saw me "You look cute" she told me happily

"Thanks, so do you" I told her

She rolled her eyes "I have no idea what to wear."

I sat on her bed and made myself comfortable for about 10 minutes while she tried on various outfits.

"You look cozy" she stated with a laugh as I lay on her pillows.

I glared at her playfully "You have no idea what it's like to be this pregnant. I'm tired all the time" I told her

Lexi laughed "At least you're getting a cute baby out of it. I feel like I stay tired constantly."

"Every time you talk, she starts kicking me." I admitted to Lexi. Like clock work every time Lexi started saying something the baby would kick.

"Is that a good thing?" Lexi asked

"It is. I think it means that she really likes you." I told her.

I figured from that moment on that my daughter and Lexi would probably be very close. Lexi was so excited that her voice elicited that response and placed her hand on my stomach to feel her baby niece.

Lexi was giggling at how fast the baby was kicking when Susan walked in "Hi you two"

"Mom the baby loves me, she keeps kicking excitedly when she hears my voice."

I could tell that warmed Susan "I want to feel" Susan exclaimed and put her hand on my stomach

"Lexi say something" I told her. Lexi started to talk and sure enough the baby began to kick like crazy.

"That's amazing. Your niece already loves you a ton kid" Susan told Lexi who just beamed in response.

"Meredith, I was coming up here to let you know that some guests have arrived including Derek and his friend."

"Okay, someone give me a hand up" I asked. I seemed to fall into Lexi's bed and for the first-time needed help getting up.

Both Susan and Lexi gave me a hand and I used both to pull myself off the bed.

"Let's go enjoy the party, what do you say girls?" Susan asked.

Lexi and I both smiled and nodded in agreement and Lexi looked over and gave me a warm smile. I knew she was trying to say she loved me and truthfully, I loved her too.

After Derek and Mark arrived, a lot of Susan's friends started to trickle in. I made my rounds talking to all of them and would notice Derek staring at me with a smile out of the corner of my eye. Mark would talk to him, but he kept his attention on me as he drank mimosa's. I noticed my friends were staying close together with Izzie taking inventory of all the gifts arriving. She had a notebook in her hand and was taking notes. I had no idea what that was about. Alex and George seemed completely out of place but happy that there was food and Christina looked the most uncomfortable. I would see her quickly pull out the flask, take a huge gulp and then secure it back in her bag as if she was scared, she would get arrested for drinking. I laughed inwardly.

After eating cake, opening gifts, and playing baby shower games, I was getting a little worn out from human interaction. People began to leave, and Susan invited us to stay awhile longer and have dinner with them since we hadn't had the chance to catch up in a while. My friends were itching to get home and go out to one of the bars they frequent. Mark seemed interested in staying and Derek too, so the three of us decided to stay and have dinner with Susan and Thatcher too who had been hanging out in his study all evening.

Mark and Lexi seemed to hit it off despite their age difference and I could tell Lexi was completely smitten with Mark. Mark seemed a bit oblivious, but I could tell he liked Lexi as a person. If Lexi was older, I assume her, and Mark would be together. Susan seemed to pick up on this too but didn't seemed concerned in the least that Lexi and Mark were outside on her swings alone together.

"Derek, do you cook?" Susan asked

"Sometimes. I mostly just make grilled cheeses and oatmeal though."

Susan smiled "It might be a good time to learn, why don't you come help me in the kitchen and Meredith why don't you go say hello to your dad. He's in his study."

I nodded. It seemed like Susan's suggestion was less of a request and more of an order – in a nice way though.

I knocked on the door to Thatcher's study and entered once I heard him say come in.

I looked around at the dark walnut wood walls and the cases upon cases of books. My dad was sitting at his desk, with his glasses pulled down to his nose looking at me expectedly

"Hi Meredith" he stated

"Hi"

"Come in, take a seat" he told me, and I moved to the chair on the other side of his desk. It felt like a student going to talk to the principal.

"How was the party?" he asked taking his glasses completely off his face and looking at me.

"It was nice. Susan really went out of her way to make it special" I stated.

"I'm glad you enjoyed yourself."

There was a moment of silence

"Meredith… I've been meaning to talk to you."

"Okay" I stated not knowing where this conversation was going.

Thatcher sighed "It's about your mother. I will admit that I feel a little strange asking you about her considering our history but with what's going on in your life and the fact that you're in a college about to bring a baby into this world, I need to, well I wanted to ask… What I'm trying to ask you is, does your mother know about the baby? Has she been supportive?" Thatcher rambled clearly uncomfortable

"Oh" I stated caught off guard for a second "Mom knows" I said weakly. I felt tears brimming.

"Has she been supportive? Financially supportive or emotionally supportive?" Thatcher asked

I was silent for a moment "I don't know" I stated

"You don't….. you don't know" Thatcher repeated bewildered.

I felt the tears at bay but quickly blinked them back "She's um traveling right now."

"Traveling" Thatcher repeated

"She'll be gone for a while. She's taking some time to herself. Seeing Europe and all of that." I lied quickly

"That doesn't sound like the Ellis I knew" my dad stated seemingly caught up in a memory. His eyes were glazed over and he had a far-away look about him.

"People change sometimes" I told him quietly

"They do, yes" he replied seeming to come out of whatever memory he had just journeyed to. We were silent for a few moments.

Thatcher pulled out a check from his drawer "This is for you." He told me

I took it from his hands and looked it over.

"You're giving me $50,000?" I asked him with my brows furrowed.

"I owe you a lot more" he stated simply making it known he doesn't want to discuss it further.

"I can't-" I began to protest

"You can and you will." He told me firmly

I said nothing and we sat in silence for a few more moments.

"What are you naming her?" he asked me after some time.

I breathed a sigh of relief to get off the topic of my mother. "I have no idea. Derek and I haven't really had the chance to discuss names yet and there's not really anything that's been sticking out to me."

Thatcher laughed. "When your mom and I were having you, we didn't pick your name until right before you were born. We had the same problem. Nothing seemed good enough to name you. I remember I was teaching English at the University back in Seattle and I was incorporating more influential female writers. The curriculum always focused on the male writers- Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Tolstoy, and I was so adamant that if my daughter was in an English class, I would want her to have a well-rounded education with female writers, minority writers, yes some of the male writers too – but I would want her- well you to not be limited to what some outdated curriculum thought was best. So, I was making a list, Virginia Woolfe Toni Moorison, Jane Austen of course and I remembered a book I read when I was much younger, Emma by Austen and I loved that name. I tried to convince your mom to name you Emma, but she didn't think It was right. I don't know, she was probably right but I always loved that name."

"Emma" I repeated "I like that name. Why didn't you name Lexi that?" I asked

Thatcher shrugged "I don't know. I had in my mind for you."

I nodded "Well, I'm going to go check on Derek. Susan has him cooking dinner." I told him.

He smiled "Run the name by him. See what he thinks" Thatcher told me.

"I will"

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The dinner between the 6 of us was nice. It appears Lexi and Mark already formed several inside jokes and Derek, and Susan's dinner was delicious. Things with my dad felt less awkward than usual and it was nice to have some semblance of a family for once. After dinner, I rode home with Mark and Derek. They had been helpful loading up the car with all of our new gifts including a car seat, highchair, crib, blankets, toys, clothes and so many other things that I hadn't even considered buying. The business of the day seemed to creep up on me as I fell asleep early in the car ride.

I woke up to Derek smiling at me and offering to help me inside.

"Should I wait for you or are you staying over?" Mark asked Derek

Derek looked at me "He's staying over, we have a lot to talk about." I answered for him.

Derek nodded and told Mark to pick him up tomorrow so they could unload all our new baby stuff. We walked up the porch and into the house I shared with my friends. Luckily, they were all out drinking which gave Derek and I the house to ourselves. Time to put in the hard work and see where our conversations lead us.

Please Review! After this, two more chapters and then the sequel! Your reviews always motivate me to update faster