Obligatory Disclaimer: Grey's Anatomy and all associated characters belong to ShondaLand, not me.
A/N: Sorry about the wait. I'm not planning on going to school tomorrow (or technically today, I guess) so I'll try and get some writing in. I don't know how I feel about this chapter, so your thoughts on it would be greatly appreciated.
Susan's voice filled the air instantly, causing Meredith to gasp.
"Good morning Meredith! Lexie is hanging out with me today to make sure I feel okay, but I just wanted to call to confirm the dinner plans we had for tomorrow night. I don't want to schedule it and then find out you have a shift! Call me back when you get this and I hope that you have a great day."
Meredith's breath had shortened during the message and she was fighting back sobs. Holding her breath, she waited for the next message.
"Good morning, this is Dr. Angela Thomas from Mercy West calling for Dr. Montgomery, Dr. Montgomery we have a..."
She let out a sigh of relief when she realized it wasn't for her and wrote down the message to give to Addison. When that message finished, she waited with bated breath for the next one.
"It's your fault, it's your fault! You killed her, you killed my wife-" Thatcher's voice flooded her living room along with sounds of a struggle until Lexie's voice came through.
"Sorry about that Mer, he grabbed my phone from me after I dialled. Molly and I don't blame you at all, I'm actually calling to see if you're okay, you left pretty fast and we didn't get a chance to talk to you. I'm not sure if you're at home yet because you were still at the hospital when we left and you might not have been done your shift. Anyways call me when you get this so that we know you're doing okay, Mom loved you like a daughter too. Bye."
Grabbing the Kleenex and blowing her nose, she waited for the next one. This time, she heard Molly.
"Meredith Grey, it's 10pm and we called you two hours ago... I'm sorry if this is overbearing or whatever but I'm your little sister and I'm entitled to annoy you! Pick up your damn phone and call me back, okay? Love you."
She almost had to laugh at the next one.
"Merbear I swear to god... I've called, Lexie's called and you haven't answered us yet! I just got back from the hospital, I went to see if you were still there and they said that you left hours ago... Mer, it's midnight and I know you drink when you're upset so I'm having these visions of you dead in a ditch somewhere. Please call me back Merbear, please?"
The following one brought her to tears.
"So Meredith Elizabeth, it's 3am and after us calling you three times you still have not answered. We called Addison, Laura and I, because we were worried sick. Check your answering machine big sis, and call me the second you get this! If I haven't heard from you by noon then I'm coming over and you won't like it. Love you Merbear!"
The size of Molly's heart had always astonished her, now more than ever. She was willing to ignore her father to support her newfound sister in the aftermath of her mother's sudden death, against his specific wishes. She couldn't even fathom being in Molly's shoes and able to do that, and it made her glad that she had accepted her little sisters.
She debated finding Addison before returning Molly's call, but figured that she should just take the plunge before she backed out. Picking up the phone, she slowly dialled Molly's number and pressed call.
Taking a deep breath, she waited for someone to pick up. One ring, then two and three passed and just as she was preparing to leave a message a tired voice filled the line. "Hello?"
"Molly?"
"Meredith!" Molly's voice brightened considerably when she figured out who it was. "Thank god you called back, I was going crazy worrying about you."
"I'm fine Mols. How are Lexie and Laura?"
"Mer, you are not fine. Lexie is about as fine as you are except she's eating. Everything Mer, she's eating everything with absolutely no discrimination. It's... revolting. I wasn't even that bad when I was pregnant with Laura. Laura doesn't understand what's going on, she gets upset when there are people crying though."
"Do you want me to come over and help?" Meredith asked tentatively, still unsure of where she stood.
Meredith heard Molly's sigh. "You know what would be great? If you could take Laura for me so that I can concentrate on the arrangements with Lex."
"I don't know if I can do that Molly. What if I corrupt her?"
Laughter filled the line. "Mer, you'll be fine! Besides, Addison lives with you and you're a doctor, I have complete faith in you. Besides, Laura needs a calm environment and you know she loves you."
"I... alright, I guess. When do you want me to come over?"
"Could you be here in about an hour? I have to pack her a bag and get her stuff together."
"Okay, I just have to shower. Are you at your house or your parents?"
"Everyone's at my place. Thanks so much Mer!"
Meredith smiled weakly, even though she knew Molly couldn't see her. "No problem Mols, see you in a bit."
Sighing, she hung up the phone and trudged upstairs to shower and clean herself up. After going into her bathroom and locking the door, she took her hair out of its bun and stared at herself in the mirror. Her eyes were puffy and bloodshot from crying, her hair was a disaster and her face was starting to bruise where Thatcher had struck her. Getting into the shower, she spent a longer time than usual standing under the hot water, trying to get it to wash away her feelings of dirtiness and inadequacy.
After she dried herself off she grabbed a towel, wrapped it around herself and brushed her hair, getting out all the tangles and wincing as the brush got caught. After she had pulled on a pair of sweats and a Dartmouth sweater, she made her way downstairs to find her phone and purse and to let Addison know where she was going. She was surprised that Izzie was still there and baking and had to move many piles of baked goods around to locate her keys.
"Addie, Izz, I'm going across town to pick Laura up from Molly's for a bit. Do we need anything from the store?"
Izzie shook her head and gestured to the ingredients everywhere. "When I grabbed all this I restocked your fridge, you should be good for a while. I'm going to put a basket or two of goods together for you to bring for Molly, that way they'll have something to snack on easily. I'll be right back."
After Izzie had left the room, Addison turned to Meredith and smiled warmly. "I'm so proud of you Mer. Not many people would be able to go and talk with idiots that blame them."
Meredith blushed. "I'm doing it for Laura."
Meredith sat down on a stool next to Addison and Addison placed her hand on the side of her face, lightly tracing the mark Thatcher left.
"The size of your heart never ceases to amaze me."
She leaned forward and Meredith held her breath, exhaling in what she thought was relief and- was that a hint of disappointment? when the kiss landed on her cheek.
Just then Izzie came back with two baskets that she filled up and presented to Mer. "Those should keep them stocked for awhile, tell Molly to call me if she needs anything else, you can give her my cell number. If I'm not here when you come back, have a great day with Laura!"
Thanking Izzie, she hugged Addison, grabbed the baskets and rushed out the door to pick up her little sunshine.