A/N: It looks like I might stop posting this, but it's an illusion. It takes me a while, but look at Hope; I'll get it done. And this one is nowhere to be done. So many puzzle pieces still need to slide into place! I hope you'll be there for the whole ride!

Enjoy!

Chapter 14

Derek is grateful that part of David's birthday gift is a fishing expedition, so that he doesn't have to see Meredith Grey at all after their passionate kiss in his kitchen. She might be the one who ran, but he's avoiding her just as fiercely.

He and David have been blessed with a pleasantly warm summer day, and he plans on exploiting every single second of sunlight they can manage. David luckily looks pretty excited too as they walk up to the stream.

They are walking on David's favorite trail, the one that passes right through their land before leading to a small lake, hidden in the forest. It's not the best of fishing spots, but today is not about the fishes.

Derek relishes the sight of David's dark head of hair walking in front of him, exploring every tree and every plant on their way as he carries his own pole and tackle box. He's proud of him, even if it's just for being his son. He never imagined he could love someone this way, and everyday he feels like he loves David a little more.

"Oh, Daddy, a mushroom!" David exclaims, as he spots a cluster of bright yellow mushrooms peeking from the muddy earth under an oak tree.

"Those aren't edible, though. Be careful."

"They're pretty."

"They are," he agrees, watching as David crouches in front of the mushrooms and studies them.

When he seems satisfied with the exploration, David starts walking again, practically hopping towards the lake.

"Daddy, how come my mommy doesn't live with us?" David blurts out of the blue, and Derek stumbles on a tree root on the path.

"What?"

"All my friends in school have mommies, and some of their mommies don't live with them all the time, but they get to see them sometimes. How come mine never visits?"

Derek gulps, slowing his steps. "Your mommy and I...we were never really a couple like some parents are. We never married."

"Okay," he frowns, and Derek sighs.

He knows he's tackling all of this wrong, but how can he break the news to his five-year-old son that his mother never wanted him and he's the product of a drunken one-night-stand when he forgot a condom and he was lucky he got David and not an STD?

"Your mother had a lot of things she wanted to do in life. She wanted to be a nurse and help people. She wanted to go to Africa where a lot of sick kids are...she was a good woman."

"Is she dead?" David's eyes widen and he stops walking.

"No, she's not. But I haven't seen her in a long time."

"Oh, good, dead is bad." David sighs in relief, though he's still frowning. "How come she never comes back to see me?"

"Because between all of her dreams, being a mommy wasn't one of them. But she knew I wanted to be a daddy, I wanted it more than anything, so she grew you in her belly, made you grow strong and healthy inside of her, and then gave you to me, because she didn't know how to protect you and nurture you anymore."

"What's nurrur?" he frowns.

"Nurture," Derek repeats. "It's like...taking care. Helping you grow into the best man you can be. Teaching you how to be brave and kind and funny, and all the good qualities you have."

"She didn't know how to do that?"

"She didn't."

"But you did?"

Derek chuckles. "I had a lot to learn, because I never nurtured you before. I took care of your cousins when they were babies sometimes, but I never raised a son before you. It was hard. And for your mommy it was even harder, so she decided not to do it anymore."

"But Benny says that I have to keep going even if it's hard, 'cause I'll learn how to do it."

Derek smiles sadly. "Benny is right, but your mom tried a lot, yet she felt like she couldn't learn. It was way too hard for her. It's like...do you know how you feel when a stranger hugs you? She felt that way all day, every day, until you came to live with me."

David gasps. "I made my mommy feel that?" he exclaims, his eyes filling with unshed tears.

"David, no," he stops his mind firmly before it goes into overdrive. "It wasn't you. Even if you were another little boy or another little girl she would have felt the same way. Babies made her feel that way," he tries to explain, even though he can already hear the buzzer in his head telling him this is the wrong answer.

Eeeeeeek. Abort mission. Abort mission. Eeeeeek.

David stares at him for a long minute, frowning and looking concerned. "It's not my fault my mommy left, then?"

"It's not," Derek sighs, wanting, more than anything, to pull him in his arms and reassure him. He has no idea how he'll react, though.

"Is it yours, then? 'Cause some mommies aren't there because they fight with daddies lots."

"No, not that either." He sighs, it will be impossible to explain.

David keeps walking in silence, and Derek has no idea what to do or say anymore. He selfishly hopes David has no more questions.

"How was my mommy? Pretty? Nice?"

"She was both. I liked her right away," he gives him a soft smile, because he can answer this. Sort of. "She liked to dream big just like you do, David."

"Did she have a pretty laugh?"

"A pretty laugh?" he smiles, though he's puzzled by the question.

"Meredith has a pretty laugh. Was it pretty like Meredith's?"

Derek shakes his head. His son is indeed infatuated with the girl he likes too. "No. Nobody has a laugh as pretty as Meredith's. It's a close second, though," he winks, not even remembering Terry's laugh in all honesty, but feeling like a white lie won't hurt anybody at this point.

"Meredith's real pretty," David nods seriously, jumping over a root.

"She is," he sighs, as memories of her soft lips on his stir up a plethora of feelings in him.

"I should give her a present to tell her she's pretty."

"What? Why?" he chuckles, his son always surprising him. "Did Uncle Mark tell you that? Because Uncle Mark is not trustworthy when it comes to girls' problems."

"No. But girls like presents, Daddy."

"How do you know that?"

"I saw it in the movies I watch with Nana sometimes. They all like flowers and boxes of chocolate and rings! You should give Meredith a ring!"

Derek tries not to choke on his saliva as he suppresses a laugh. "David, when you give a girl a ring, it means you want to marry her. Spend the rest of your life with her. Forever."

"Oh, wow, that's pretty long. I shouldn't give Meredith a ring. She should keep being my friend only," he nods seriously, and this time Derek chuckles out loud, he can't help himself.

"You need to be kind and give a girl flowers or chocolate when you want her to like you. But Meredith...she's already all grown-up, David. I think you should save the flowers for someone else."

"Can I give flowers more than once?"

"Of course," he smiles, loving the direction this conversation has taken, even if it makes him think about Meredith. Male bonding was the reason why they are out here in the first place, and he loves being the one to teach his son about courtship.

"And the girls like it?" David looks perplexed.

"Not all girls. Other girls like other kinds of gifts. For example, if a girl likes pies, you can make her a pie. Or if she likes pictures, you could make her one. It all depends on the girl."

David seems to think long and hard about it, while they keep walking, the lake already glimmering in silence.

"This stuff is hard."

"I know, Nugget."

More silence.

"Is this why it's just you and me, Daddy?"

Derek laughs out loud at David's remark, wondering if his son already knows how lame he is at picking up women. He hopes he'll never tell anything about this conversation to Mark, or his brother will have a field day with this.

Meredith knocks at the wooden door, taking a deep breath. A smile appears automatically on her face when Richard shows up in front of her, in fuzzy slippers and with a bright smile on his face.

"Hello, honey," he smiles, pulling her into his strong arms for a quick hug, "We were wondering if you'd cancel today, too," he smirks, leading her to the kitchen.

Her mother is at the stove, wearing an apron, and Meredith knows she'll never get used to see that. Chief Grey in an apron is a sight very few people have been privy to.

"Hi, Mom," she sighs, slumping at the table, watching how Richard steals a piece of cheese and her mother immediately swats his hand, using her Chief voice on him. He only laughs.

They are such different people in their home, Meredith sometimes doubts she has lived with them for most of her life. Thatcher left her, and barely a month later, Richard was already there, teaching her how to ride a bike and bandaging her scraped knees.

He lives in her mother's shadow most of the time, but not in their house. And her mother melts when he's around. Ellis Grey turns into a pile of goo whenever he's near, and if Maggie is there too, their tough surgeon façades crumble.

"How was your day?" Richard asks her, bringing a bottle of red wine on the table.

"Busy," she replies, thinking back on the three surgeries she had performed. "I lost a patient, but I had a Russian roulette chance of the procedure working out. You?"

"Office day," he smiles. "I have a couple of patients coming in next week that might turn into interesting surgeries."

"How's Clemmings?" her mother asks, stirring something in a pot.

"Still an idiot, Mom. You need a new Head of Neuro."

"Meredith…" she sighs dramatically.

"What? I've told him I want to start a trial a million times, and it's a great trial, it has a lot of potential, and he always shuts me down."

"A trial?" Richard asks, sitting down across from her.

"I want to turn inoperable gliomas into operable ones. I've read a study about injecting live viruses to make the tumor shrink, but it still hasn't been tested on humans."

"How come you didn't come to me?" her mother snaps.

"Because I can do it on my own."

"Not as your mother," she rolls her eyes. "I'm the Chief, Meredith."

"I'll keep harassing Clemmings, Mom."

Ellis shakes her head as she samples the sauce, then she brings the pot on the table, killing the stove.

"You know, you're so stubborn sometimes. I'm not the devil. I listen to my surgeons."

Meredith sighs. "Do you know what it's like?" she snaps. "People mock me daily, mother. They tell me I'm too young, they say you brought me in because nobody wants a toddler poking in their brains, they undermine my authority all the time. I yell at my interns and they fear me, and yet nobody respects me in my department. So, sorry if I don't come crying into your office when I don't get my way with Clemmings. This is my fight, Mom."

"Meredith, I was the only woman in my year, and Richard the only black man. We know what it's like," Ellis says gently, very much unlike her. Or a her Meredith has long forgot exists.

"Sorry, I'm just… I'm sorry." Meredith shakes her head, serving the pasta, her eyes fixating on the plates she's filling before she slumps back on her chair.

"Are you okay, Meredith?" Richard asks, his eyes brimming with concern.

"I'm fine," she nods, stabbing her penne with the fork.

"Meredith, I'm not asking as your Chief of Surgery here, but is there something going on between you and Shepherd, the intern?" Her mother jabs right where it hurts and she swallows thickly. Stupid hospital gossip.

"No," she replies, only she knows she's lying. Her body warms up at the mere memory of the toe-curling kiss they have shared in his kitchen for David's birthday, or the way he makes her feel with a simple look. She's a lying liar. "Why? I've heard about the rumors, they're not true."

"Meredith we know you are not the mother of Shepherd's son. Why were you going out with him?"

"David likes me. His son. His name is David. The little boy you saw in my office."

"Oh, Meredith…" Her mother sighs, something in her eyes that looks a lot like pity.

"That's not what you think. It's not. I stitched him up when he cracked his head open and he...He doesn't make friends easily, and he likes me. He really likes me. He's a good boy, he has SPD and he needs people he can trust around him. Shepherd...he's raising him alone. They need people."

Her parents look at each other knowingly, and she avoids their gazes, focusing on her food. They don't need to know how wonderful Derek Shepherd's kisses are or what holding David makes her feel. They don't.

"We're not worried, Meredith. We just want to understand," Richard says softly.

"I'm David's friend."

"You need friends," Richard sighs. "You need people."

Meredith shakes her head, sharing a look with her mother. She's afraid the woman already knows way too much for her comfort, but she can't go back now. Unfortunately, when she wants to, Ellis Grey can read her like a book.

A/N: I know you guys want some background info on Meredith, not just Derek. I promise it's coming, you just need to be patient. I'm sprinkling hints here and there, just pick them up and let me know what you think will come out! Thank you for reading and loving this, it warms my heart to see all of your reviews and comments.