Photograph

By greyeyedgirl

Written December 27th, 2005, 8:23 PM

Author's Note: Slightly inspired by the really good song, "Photograph," by Nickelback.

A Grey's Anatomy Fanfiction

Summary: Meredith reminisces over a photograph, Meredith POV. Read, review, enjoy.

The little girl in the picture wasn't just smiling, she was glowing with her laughter. Her head was leaned against her father Thatcher's shoulder, she could remember him laughing as her hair tickled his face.

Six-year-old Meredith looked remarkably like 26-year-old Meredith. Her blondish-brown hair hung over her shoulders, her gray eyes twinkling. Her dad used to tease her about her eyes. "Grey eyes, Grey girl."

The picture had been taken almost a year after her parents' divorce. She could remember the divorce, if she tried. Her father hysterical, her mother firm, as she dragged a tearful, confused Meredith out of their sprawling house. "But Mommy, where are we going?"

"Boston."

Her father had, to her mother's fury, insisted on visitation rights. Meredith closed her eyes, as she remembered the fateful day that would come every year, about a week after school ended for the summer. Her mother would bustle her around, checking her suitcase and unpacking stuffed animals. The house would be even tenser on those days, she could see the shield in her mother's eyes as she told her stiffly to have fun as Meredith left to get on the plane to go to Seattle.

It was during her first summertime visit to her father's new house that that particular photograph had been taken. She hadn't seen her dad since Christmas, her mother had decided to work, so she had come to stay with her dad in Seattle for a week. But now it was summer, and Meredith had arrived off the long plane ride to her dad's waiting arms, yelling "Daddy!" right into his ear as he whipped her off the ground into a hug. He had grabbed her suitcase and the pink stuffed elephant ("Millie,") she had brought with her on the plane. "So where d'ya wanna go, Grey girl?"

"The ferryboats!" Meredith squealed. He had whisked her into his car and they'd driven to the harbor, where they boarded the ferry. Her father had handed her a tiny box, she'd ripped it open and grinned at him, lifting the silver locket out of it's case. "Silver's like gray, right, sweetie?" He had said, laughing. "A pretty grey present for my pretty Grey girl." She had beamed at him, as he hooked the clasp around her neck, then asked another person above the ferry to take their picture. And there it was, just over 20 years later, with a fully-grown Meredith looking down on it.

Her father looked more tired in the picture than she remembered, his brown eyes had sparkled that day but now merely crinkled into a smile. She could remember being happy when the picture was taken, but looking at the picture, she had been glowing. The wind had blown her father's light brown hair up, and his arm was draped loosely around her. The Pacific Ocean glittered in the background, only a few shades brighter than the light blue sky. It struck Meredith that the locket looked reflective, it hit her hard as she looked into a mirror that told only the truth. Pictures didn't lie, did they?

Her dad had got cancer right after she turned 13. It hadn't killed him, but it had given him a hell of a run for it. He had moved to Canada right before she turned 16, and she had stopped going to see him not long after that. For some reason, at that time everything had struck as too hard, and nothing was worth it. She'd started to drink and go to parties, and sometime after she'd turned 11 she'd began to loose herself, the bubbly little girl now lived only in a photograph. Everything had started to go wrong, and she felt herself hating her mother. A surgeon's life was a harsh one, and her mother had allowed no place in it for a little girl. Meredith had found herself not caring, as she started to mess around at school, and sarcastic comments had worked themselves into her thoughts. It had annoyed her mother, as she waited for the 'phase' to end, but Meredith had fallen deeper and deeper into herself, and had felt hapless with what she had found. The little girl who beamed and brought a stuffed elephant onto airplanes had disappeared, and only logical, protective Meredith was left. Grown-up Meredith looked down at the picture and felt tears fill her eyes, as she inspected the photograph with a surgeon's care. When had little Meredith died? When had she become who she was today? She looked down at the photograph, then looked closely at her present self. Maybe they were the same person. She knew she had some of her parents in her, she could sense twinges of her mother and father's presence, but could feel Meredith inside her as well. Meredith Grey, her father's Grey girl and her mother's burden. She looked down at the photograph and smiled at the small little girl reflected at her. Maybe that was her. Maybe there was a connection between them. Meredith felt herself drifting away as she lost herself in the little grey-eyed-girl with her father's smile stuck permanently in place. She hoped there was.

Authors note: Sorry for the awkward ending, I couldn't get it to go right. This was just drabble fic, but I hope you didn't hate it too much. Review please, but if you're critical please leave a SUGGESTION not just a mean remark. Anyway, thanks for reading! greyeyedgirl