Disclaimer: I do not own anything.

Thank you for all of the reviews, follows, and favorites.

I don't know if I can keep the secret any longer. I'm sitting across from my grandmother and in between my aunt and step-mother. I also feel like Mrs. Shepherd knows something. Why would she just randomly ask about my lineage? It's not a normal thing to ask someone you barely know.

Alex says something to Bailey that makes him giggle. That's the other thing. Zola, Bailey, and Ellis are my siblings. What if one day they find out that I'm not just some intern that babysat them and dated their Uncle Alex? Will they hate me for not telling them?

"So, Eleanor, where are you from?" Carolyn asks breaking my train of thought.

"I'm from Maine."

"Oh, Maine is beautiful. When we would go visit Derek at Bowdoin it was always such a nice place."

"Yeah, Bowdoin's great. I did my undergrad there."

"And where did you go to medical school?"

"Harvard."

"See mom. Told ya she was great." Amelia adds.

"Yes, you did. So how did you find your way to Seattle?"

"Oh, well, I figured since I spent my whole life on the east coast, I should give the west coast a try."

The table lightly chuckles and everyone goes back to eating semi-silently, a few giggles coming from the kids.

I go back to cutting my chicken when I sense someone looking at me. I glance up to see Carolyn's eyes going back and forth between me and Amelia, almost like she knows we're related.

Amelia is paged to the hospital while Alex and I are whisked away by the kids leaving Meredith and Carolyn to clean up the kitchen. When I walk to the bathroom, I hear them talking, specifically, I hear them talking about me.

"Meredith, how much do you know about Eleanor?"

"Well, I know she's a really great intern, one of the best in this class, and she really is great in neuro. Amelia isn't making it up or singing her praises too loudly, she's a natural."

I can feel my heart swell with pride when Meredith says I'm good. I always feel great when Amelia says it but to hear Meredith say it, really makes me feel good.

"Yes, but what about her family? Do you know anything about them?"

"No, why would I?"

"I don't know. The children seem so smitten with her, as does your friend Alex, I just thought maybe that she would have said something to you."

"Carolyn, why are you so interested in her family? I mean, I don't want to be rude, but, asking her if she was somehow a Shepherd. Don't you find that a little strange?"

"Well maybe, but Meredith, there's something you need to know."

"What?"

"Years ago, when Derek was in medical school, a letter was sent to him at the house. I didn't want to open it but I felt like something was telling me to. It was from a girl he dated in college, saying that she needed to tell him something. She said she had a little girl and that the little girl was his daughter. Now, you see, Derek had just brought Addison home for the first time and I didn't think they were really right for each other but Derek was so in love with her. I knew that if I told him, Addison would run for the hills. I didn't want Derek to lose the woman he loved and gain a daughter all in one fell swoop. I also didn't think Derek would be able to handle being a father while in med school, so I never told him about the letter.

The girl who wrote the letter said that their baby's name was Eleanor. Eleanor Rhett. And that intern has the same name and she looks just like Derek. Don't you think? I mean maybe it could just be a coincidence but…"

"It's not."


Carolyn knew. My grandmother knew that her son had a daughter but never felt the need to tell him. I could have known him but his mother, my grandmother, never told him.

I also didn't know that my mom sent him a letter. I never asked if my mother knew how to contact him and she never told me she had a way to. I just can't believe that all this time, there was a letter from my mother to my father telling him of my existence but the letter was intercepted by my grandmother. My mom must have thought that all this time, Derek simply didn't care that he had a daughter. And my dad spent all of my life never even knowing that he had a daughter.

I can feel the tears welling in my eyes when I hear Alex yell my name.

I walk into the kitchen where he's dishing out ice cream for the kids while Carolyn stands with her mouth slightly agape and Meredith with small tears in her eyes.

"Ella, would you like some ice cream?"

"Um, no, I, I don't think so. Actually, I think I'm going to head home."

"Elnor, you can't leave!" Bailey whines.

"Yeah, Ella, we're going to watch a princess movie and eat ice cream. You have to stay." Zola reasons.

"Come on, Ella, you know you want to stay and watch a princess movie and have ice cream." Alex says with sparkles in his eyes.

"Okay, I'll stay."

Alex walks over with a bowl of ice cream and kisses me on the cheek. He grabs my hand, both of our free hands holding bowls of ice cream, "Let's go kids. Our movie awaits."

The kids grab their bowls and head towards the living room.

I managed to stand in the kitchen without looking at Meredith or Carolyn but I know all they did was look at me.

Once Alex gets the movie started, he comes back to the couch and sits beside me. Ellis is on his lap while Bailey sits on mine and Zola is on the other side of me. It feels good to be surrounded by people but I can't focus on the movie.

All I keep thinking about is how Carolyn did know that I was related to her. I also can't believe that Meredith just blurted out that I was related to her. I mean, we agreed to keep it a secret, but I guess if Carolyn has kept it a secret this long, then she's a fantastic secret keeper.


"What do you mean it's not?" Carolyn says as soon as the kids, Alex, and Eleanor leave.

I take a deep breath, "On her first day as an intern, she asked about Derek. She didn't know that he had died and asked Amelia when his shift was. Then we saw her staring at Amelia. I thought, maybe she just had a crush on Derek and wanted to meet him. Then I went to visit Derek's grave, she was there and told me everything. How she hoped she could meet him but wasn't sure if she wanted him to know that she was his daughter.

Of course, that's crazy because you can look at her and wonder if she's somehow related to him. She has his hair, his eyes, she smiles dreamily like he did, heck she even leans on stuff."

"There's no denying that she's his daughter."

"Except that's what you did." I look at her with a fire. "Carolyn, when you got that letter, you shouldn't have even opened it, you should've left it for Derek. But at the very least, you should've told him that he had a daughter."

"Meredith, you don't understand."

"No, all he wanted was kids. He never got the chance to meet Ellis and my heart breaks for her and Derek every day. But now, knowing he had another daughter… He would have loved her. And you know it. He would've been such a great dad to her. He missed out on never knowing a little girl that he would have seen grow into a woman. The only daughter he would have seen grow into a woman. And that is on you."

Before Carolyn can reply, Alex clears his throat and we both turn to see him and Eleanor standing there.


The kids eventually fall asleep so Alex and I carry them up to their bedrooms. When we come back down, we can hear Meredith and Carolyn fighting in the kitchen.

"...He missed out on never knowing a little girl that he would have seen grow into a woman. The only daughter he would have seen grow into a woman. And that is on you." Meredith is really letting Carolyn have it and unknown to Alex, it's over me.

Alex clears his throat alerting them of our presence. "Is everything okay in here?"

There's a long awkward pause and I know this is it. I have to tell Alex. I just hope that he understands and that he doesn't run off, never wanting to speak to me again.

"They're fighting over me." I tell him.

I am now the center of attention for everyone.

"What?" Alex asks. "Why would they be fighting over you?"

I look to Meredith who gives a quick nod.

"They're fighting over me, because…" I take a deep breath. "I'm Derek's daughter."