Chapter 61: An Unhappy Reunion
Meredith hit the brakes, her face sour. Damn it, Derek's brand-new SUV was parked in the driveway, the lights in the house were lit up. That meant someone was inside. There was no other way, she had to take the risk. She needed her personal items and her laptop. She prayed it wasn't Derek… Nah, it couldn't be him. She could surely count on Rigsby, he would keep the perfect-haired bastard in for the night.
She smirked in satisfaction, she had seen those little cells when an arrestee fainted a while back and knew that a rabbit hole was more comfortable, or sanitary for that matter. She had argued about the detainees' conditions with Rigsby at the time but was now immensely glad that the sheriff was too lazy to remedy the situation.
She confidently walked up to the house. The asshole's sister might be problematic, but she would be no match for her. So was Meredith Grey, she used to eat little girls and boys alive for breakfast. The door was unlocked, the handle let go easily, and she entered the house. The house that had become her home. What was she going to do about it? Obviously, she needed to move to the practice for as long as Derek and his folks were in town. What then? She probably couldn't live here any longer, not when he might just turn up on her doorstep unannounced whenever he saw fit, dragging his redheaded bitch behind him.
As soon as the door closed behind her, Meredith knew instantly she had made a big mistake coming here now. She seemed to have walked right into the middle of a Shepherd meeting or something. Everyone was standing in the foyer, and everyone turned to look at her the moment she entered.
For a second, all conversation stopped as every pair of eyes stared at Meredith, who stared right back. Derek was so shocked he looked like he was waiting to catch a fish with his mouth. There was also another guy with grayish hair and slightly leery eyes, the aforementioned redheaded bitch, a brunette with face features similar to Derek's – probably the insistent sister, and a lady that must have been Derek's mother. She looked pretty decent and nice but not to be trusted either. In short, Meredith had just wadled into the enemy's camp.
"Meredith!" Derek gasped when he regained the power of speech. "You've came!"
"I've come to grab my things," she said coldly. "My laptop, my clothes, my paperwork, that's the only reason I'm here."
"Mer, just give me a minute and I'll explain this whole crazy mess," he pleaded rushing to her with the clear intention of hugging her, but she quickly outstretched her arms keeping him at a distance, not just because the only physical contact she wanted to share with him was slapping him or kicking him in the crotch. "God," she scrunched her nose, "you smell like-"
"I know what I smell like," he interrupted her dryly.
She knew that he was fighting hard not to pull that irritated face he sported when they met for the second time after she had left him at the gas station. But he apparently thought he still had a chance with her, so he kept his nerves in check. God, if they were together, they'd have amazing wild sex after the stunt she pulled. It would be as the French called it "death by orgasm…" Scratch that! She shouldn't use the words sex and Derek in the same sentence, even if it was just in her mind.
"I'm surprised Rigsby has released you so soon," Meredith snorted with discontent.
"My mother had a word with him."
"Really?" Meredith glanced briefly at the eldest woman in the room but quickly avoided her eyes. They were identical to Derek's but much shrewder and more experienced. "Well, good for you," she shrugged sidestepping him, moving towards the stairs, "I'll just take my things and be gone."
"Mer, no!" he protested reaching for her hand, but she flinched.
"Keep away from me! You might have caught lice…" she smirked seeing his suddenly pleading look. She didn't have a care in the world. "Again…"
"Again?" the sister gasped, her lips stretching in the widest grin possible.
"Hasn't he told you about his little friends? Or about the nudist episode? Or-"
"Okay, okay, if you want to share stories, you need to officially meet everyone," he said slyly, skillfully turning the tables. "My mom, Carolyn Shepherd, my sister Amelia, Mark, he's practically my brother, and Addison Montgomery, who is his girlfriend," he stressed the last word.
Before she could dish out some witty comment, she was immediately verbally attacked by the sister who elbowed her way to stand right in front of Meredith. "Oh, my god! You have no idea how long I have wanted to meet you! You're like a rockstar! You look so much different than when you practiced in New York!"
"What?" Meredith gasped in disbelief, turning to glower at Derek who was standing at the foot of the stairs like a guard dog. "You told them…?" she trailed off, but he knew instantly what she was asking about. He read the betrayal and hurt in her eyes.
"I… no, Mer, I didn't-"
Too late. Meredith's palm collided heavily with his cheek. The sound it created seemed to reverberate through the entire house.
"This is the last time you will ever betray my trust!" she said, her voice shaking. "Stay the hell away from me, I don't want to see you ever again!"
He wasn't even able to react, his face turned sideways on impact, his cheek stinging, his eyes burning. He was rooted to the spot in shock as Meredith whirled past him completely forgetting why she had even gone there in the first place.
Derek tried to get his breathing under control as he rubbed his cheek that had immediately started to color up. No one dared to say anything, or maybe everyone was just too stunned to speak up.
At long last Amelia asked in a voice that was close to a whisper, "Did I say something wrong?"
Derek sank low into the cushion seat of the porch swing. It was evident Meredith had spent a lot of time on it relaxing after work. The seat was a little more worn out in the place he remembered her usually sitting. He could also pick up the unmistakable scent of lavender which he had come to associate with her.
He had expected their reunion to be difficult but what happened between them no more than an hour ago was a plain disaster. She now believed not only that he betrayed her love but also her trust. He was not going to back down however hard Meredith would resist his attempts at untangling this insane situation. Nevertheless, he couldn't help the weariness creeping up on him. He hadn't seen her in flesh and blood for so long even though she filled his every dream and waking fantasy. He missed her to the point of developing a withdrawal. He yearned to take her into his arms, to feel her complement him, to finally feel whole again. But the faster he chased her, the further away she seemed to be.
"Derek?" His mother's gentle voice took him out of his grim reflections.
"Mom," he sighed rubbing his face vigorously as though trying to get rid of the fatigue that was threatening to overwhelm him. "Is everything okay? Do you need help with the hot water? You just need to-"
"No, everything is all right, sweetie," she assured him, patting his hand and sitting down beside him. "I was only worried I came to make sure that you're not cold out here but," she took a deep breath inhaling the fresh night air, "I forgot that even though we haven't left the country, we're in a quite different world."
"You should get some sleep," Carolyn continued when he remained silent. "You've had an intense day."
"Yeah," he chuckled. "Even by the usual Rachel standards it was intense. I got arrested after all."
Carolyn joined him in laughter. "Speaking of which, you do need that shower."
"Gee, thanks Mom," Derek rolled his eyes, pretending to be offended. He sighed when an outburst of carefree laughter reached them from upstairs, the owners of the voices being Mark and Addison.
"What is it, sweetie?" Carolyn asked gently, tapping his hand, when she noticed a sudden change in his mood.
"Nothing, I… It just… seems so easy for some," he breathed out.
"What does?"
"I don't know. Life… love."
"Is it really?" Carolyn scrunched her face and looked up. "Maybe just a different kind of difficult? Or maybe some do have more luck?"
"I'm sorry," he chuckled lightly. "I shouldn't really complain. Despite all the difficulties… Meredith is still the best thing that happened to me."
"That's very generous of you, given the way she treated you today. Okay, I'm not going to say anything," Carolyn conceded, seeing the pleading look on her son's face.
"It's not that it doesn't… annoy me," Derek said choosing a neutral word against a more fulfilling but an obscene one. "It does. But I see the bigger picture here. You know, we've always fought with each other since the day we met. We came close to making a hobby out of outsmarting each other. This time it's not about proving her wrong. It's about our life, about our future. Besides, she's not acting like that because she wants to hurt me or because she enjoys it."
"I know, you've told me she's been hurt-"
"I wish you knew everything," he sighed. "Maybe you wouldn't think so ill of her."
"I… I don't. I'm reserving my judgment until I get to know her better like you asked me to," she assured him.
"Thank you. She is a wonderful person, you'll see. She's just been through a lot. And even though she thinks I've already divulged her secrets, it doesn't give me the right to do so."
"I'm proud of you, I'm proud of the man you've become," she said warmly. "Your father would be proud of you."
Derek nodded, silently appreciating her compliment. It gave him an assuring sense of accomplishment as well as one of belonging. This was the land where his father was born, and his father, and many generations back. It was his home now too; it would be the home of his children.
"I'm going to get that shower that everyone's begging me to take," he quipped as he stood up, feeling somewhat invigorated. "I need to have some rest too, busy day tomorrow. You coming in?"
"Not just yet," she replied, squinting her eyes slightly as she spotted a familiar silhouette walking down the road. "I'm gonna sit here a couple of minutes, enjoy the fresh air and silence. It's very soothing for the nerves."
However, he had barely disappeared inside when she vacated the porch swing as well to meet the passerby.
The newcomer beat her to speak up. "Mrs. Shepherd, long time no see. Although, I'm not surprised to see you back here. I thought we'd hear from your son one of these days."
"Mrs. Fallon," Carolyn gave her a reserved nod. "I bet you're not surprised; you were the one who planted in his head the idea to move here."
"You're exaggerating my role a little," the woman gave a hearty laugh but quickly sobered up. "I'm just good at reading people. He's going to be happy here, you've got nothing to worry about."
"Are you sure you're not losing your touch?"
"Positive. It's a beautiful ring," she pointed at Carolyn's hand.
"It is, it's my engagement ring," Carolyn followed her eyes with a wistful smile.
"It belonged to your late husband's mother, I believe, and her mother-in-law before that…"
"Are you suggesting I should get ready to part with it? I don't even know that girl yet. And everything I've seen today hasn't convinced me that I want my son to spend the rest of his life with her," Carolyn announced sincerely. She felt relieved to get it off her chest, something she wouldn't dare to say in front of Derek.
"Well, your son is convinced," Mrs. Fallon shrugged off. "I don't think anything could change his mind. And you wouldn't want to do that anyway. She's a good girl."
"I hope she is," Carolyn sighed just as the sounds of an argument coming from the house reached their ears. "What now? I swear, they're worse than children."
"I'll leave you to it," Mrs. Fallon smiled and turned to walk away. "It was nice to see you again, Mrs. Shepherd."
"Likewise… Don't you think we should finally get on the first name basis?"
The woman mused about the question for a moment before finally cracking a smile. "Liz."
"Carolyn."
Meredith pushed the paperwork away from her and the patients' files scattered across the desk clumsily. She tried to keep her mind busy with work but to no avail. She couldn't concentrate and she didn't want to risk making any mistakes in her patients' histories.
She decided to call it a night. She went to take a shower in the small bathroom adjacent to her room in the loft above the practice. She had barely been here for the last few months but thankfully she kept back some spare clothes; she had been too lazy to move it all to the house. The stream of water cascading down her head wasn't as refreshing and revitalizing as usual. Her mind was restless, buzzing. She finished quickly and slipped into her old pajamas.
She buried herself in the bed and laid still. Unsurprisingly, the sleep didn't come. She was too tired even for sleep and it was the worst kind of weariness that she was experiencing – the weariness of spirit.
In the darkness she crossed the room and groped for the remote. She switched the TV on and stared at the first channel she came across. Anything to steer her thoughts away from him… It was easier to just look and not to think, not analyze every detail of what he had or hadn't done. It was easier and safer to stay angry. And even if she missed the long conversations with him, waiting for the daily call, if she simply just missed him, it was just easier to cling to the initial anger than getting hurt over and over again every time she drew false conclusions.
Again guys...trust the process! I promise!
