The holiday season had finally come. Meredith and Derek had Thanksgiving just the two of them, and of course Doc, at Meredith's house. Instead of making a turkey that Meredith knew she would overcook, she and Derek bought fresh crab and steamed them. Meredith also cooked most of the traditional Thanksgiving side dishes, and baked a fresh pie for desert.

When Christmas came along, Meredith and Derek flew to New York to spend it with his family. Derek had to remind Meredith she agreed she'd come and meet his family, and now she was regretting it. She was nervous to meet the Shepherds; Derek's mom and dad, and don't forget four sisters and their family.

Derek's sisters and parents did offer him and Meredith to stay with them instead of in a hotel, but Derek said no because he knew Meredith probably wouldn't feel quite comfortable with that. Plus, he wants to be able to have sex with Meredith without having to feel weird knowing he's doing it in his parents' or sisters' house.

Derek pulled up to his parents' house on Christmas Eve so he and Meredith could have dinner with them. It'll be just the four of them, and tomorrow Meredith will be able to meet the rest of the family.

Meredith sat in the passenger seat not wanting to get out. "Is it too late to say I'm sick?"

"Mer, come on. There's nothing to worry about. Mom and dad will love you." Derek held his hand out and Meredith grabbed it, getting out of the car. "Just like I do."

"Okay."

Meredith held Derek's hand as they walked up to the front door. Derek rung the doorbell and they waited for it to open. Meredith's heart began to beat faster when the front door opened, revealing Derek's mother; or at least that's who Meredith is assuming it is.

Derek embraced his mother as they entered the house, and then he introduced his girlfriend to her. "Mom, this is Meredith; Meredith this is my mom, Carolyn."

By Meredith's surprise, Carolyn brought her in for a hug too. "It's so nice to finally meet the girl my son is hiding from us."

"It's nice to finally meet you too." Meredith smiled. "Derek has told me a lot."

"I'm sure he has, but very little to us about you."

While Carolyn went back into the kitchen to check on the food cooking, Derek took Meredith to meet his father, Nicolas. As they were talking, Meredith discovered that his dad had actually owned a collectors shop when he was younger. Derek then mentioned how Meredith owns a successful coffee shop in Seattle and currently working on opening a second one.

"Going into business was never my first choice." Meredith said. "I grew up with my mother pushing me towards being a surgeon just like her."

"Meredith's mother is considered one of the best surgeons in the world." Derek explained.

"Yeah, so after I graduated from high school, a friend and I went backpacking across Europe for a year. That trip opened up my eyes. I visited a lot of locally own businesses, and I thought it'd be great to own my own; be my own boss; work my own hours. That trip also made me realize how much I want to see the world and travel. So being my own boss, I would be able to do so without worrying about my job being at state."

"So why did you choose to open a coffee shop?" Nicolas asked.

"Well I, with the rest of the world, love coffee. I think the main reason I chose that, though, was because it was safe. I didn't want my business to fail and having my mother being right that I should had gone to med school where it'd be certain I'd be successful."

"Mer, has great taste in coffee too." Derek said.

Carolyn had called everyone to dinner. Meredith sat next to Derek in the dinning room, with his parents seated right across from them.

"So from what Derek has told us about you is that you grew up in Seattle?" Carolyn asked.

"Um, for the most part, yes. My mother and I did move to Boston when I was five. She had gotten a job at Boston General, but we moved back to Seattle before I started high school because she was offered to be Chief at Seattle Grace."

"What about your father?" Nicolas asked.

"Meredith's parents are divorced." Derek said.

For some reason, Meredith felt like she had to tell them the whole truth. "He left my mom when I was five and I haven't seen him since."

Derek's cellphone went off, and it was the hospital. He excused himself and went into the living room to talk, leaving Meredith alone with his parents; something she hoped would had never happened.

Derek's father decided to change the topic and mentioned Meredith's coffee shop to Carolyn. She thought it was great Meredith owned her own business and then went into when her husband owned his collector shop. Carolyn did mention something that surprised her, wondering why Derek had never mentioned it.

"I didn't know." Meredith shook her head. "Derek didn't say anything."

Carolyn had told Meredith how two men went into her husband's store trying to steal his watch, but instead shooting him when he wouldn't hand it over. All that happened while Derek and his youngest sister were behind the counter playing.

"It was both fortunate and unfortunate Derek and Amy were there." Carolyn explained. "Fortunate because they were able to call for help and save Nick, but unfortunate because they had to endure what they did."

"I just couldn't imagine."

Derek returned and everyone became quiet when he sat down, making him question what they were talking about.

"Were you talking about me?" Derek asked.

"Not really." Meredith said. "Is everything okay at the hospital?"

"Now it will be. So what were we talking about?"


The following day was Christmas and also the day where Meredith get to meet Derek's sisters. As far as she knew, Derek's parents liked her, so now she needs to impress the sisters. They drove back to Derek's parents' house. Two of his sisters were already there with their families.

"Meredith, this is my sister Lizzie and Nancy." Derek introduced.

"Mark did tell us she was young." Nancy said. "I didn't believe him."

"What else did Mark tell you?" Derek didn't even realize his sisters were even talking to him still.

"That you live in the forest in a trailer." She said. "You really hit rock bottom, didn't you?"

"Maybe you should see the land before you talk." He said. "And then you can say if I really hit rock bottom or not. I think I won personally."

"Is that an invitation?"

"No. Stop talking to Mark. He doesn't know anything." Derek took Meredith's hand and took her to a different room. "Sorry about Nancy."

"It's fine." Meredith assured him. "I'm sure she feels obligated to look after you because you're her only brother; same with your other sisters."

"She doesn't need to, and I don't need my sisters' approval on what I do." Derek kissed Meredith on her cheek. "I'm sure your wishing you were spending Christmas laying on the beach in Australia now."

"No, I'm happy I get to spend it here with you and your family."

The rest of Derek's family arrived at the house a few hours later. Derek introduced Meredith to his other two sisters; Kathleen and Amelia. From what Meredith could tell, Nancy is mainly the only sister she has to worry about. So far Nancy is not taking a liking to her younger brother dating a much younger woman. But Derek's nieces and nephews have taken a liking to Meredith. They think it's cool she owns her own business and been out of the country multiple of times.

"So how do you usually spend the holidays?" Kathleen asked.

"Traveling, actually." Meredith said.

"Meredith's mother is usually working on the holidays." Derek explained.

"Yeah, so instead of spending it alone, I travel to see how other countries celebrate. Like last Christmas, I spent it in Germany."

"So where would you had gone this year?" Lizzie asked.

"I was thinking Australia. But then I met your brother, and let me say, he let me know he was interested in me."

"So was is before or after the divorce?" Nancy asked. "Did he even tell you about his wife?"

"Ex-wife." Derek corrected.

"Yeah, he did; not immediately, but I knew before we started dating." Meredith said.

"Mark thinks you're only with her to get close to the Chief." Nancy said. "Is that true?"

"Mark doesn't know anything." Derek said. "I met Meredith at her coffee shop; started liking her before I knew she was the Chief's daughter. Stop talking to Mark to find out information about me because we're not even friends. The only time we speak is when it concerns a patient."

"God, Derek. Just forgive him already." She said. "Mark is Mark. He sleeps with every woman he sees without a care who she is."

"He slept with my wife; that's unforgivable."

"I'm sure Meredith doesn't want to hear about the wife." Amelia said, taking a sip of her beer. "You know, current girlfriend."

Both Meredith and Derek were happy when the day ended and they were able to go back to the hotel to spend the rest of the night alone. Derek's parents like Meredith, but his sisters are not impressed at all and still think Derek is going through like a midlife crisis or something along the lines because of the divorce. One reason for thinking that is because of the age difference between him and Meredith.

Meredith and Derek had Christmas sex in their hotel, and when they finished, they cuddled with each other. Meredith couldn't stop thinking about what his parents' told her the night before about how Derek saw his father get shot.

"Why didn't you tell me you watched your father get shot?" Meredith asked.

"Who told you? Kathleen?"

Meredith looked up at Derek. "Your parents, last night."

"There's something that Amy I never do; talk about it." Derek said. "We never talk about it to anyone."

"We don't have to talk about it." Meredith reached up and kissed Derek on his cheek. "But I'm sorry that happened."

So Meredith met the family, and Derek's sisters are definitely questioning why he's with a much younger woman. But they obviously don't care what they think, only what his parents thinks.

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