Chapter 65:

Izzie closed her cell phone and looked her friends. George had his head in his hands, fighting the sleep that was trying to consume him and had been trying for hours now. Cristina had returned from taking Meredith home. She looked emotionless as she sat on the couch facing the wall, just emotionless. No one said anything, but Izzie had to break the silence.

"That was Alex," she said a little uncomfortably, "Aimee showed up."

George slowly lifted his head and tilted it to face Izzie. It was like her words showed hope that maybe Meredith would forgive him.

"She won't go home or go to the hospital. She just wants to stay there," Izzie said.

"The hospital? Why would she go to the hospital?" Cristina asked.

"She's pregnant," Izzie said calmly, waiting for a reaction.

Cristina was about to jump up and scold the girl for doing such a thing at her age, even though she wasn't anywhere near them, but she stopped herself. Instead she led her mind to a different train of thought, "She went to Alex? Out of all of us, Alex?"

"She's always been close to Alex. You know that. It's the sports thing," Izzie said shrugging it off.

"Why did he call you? Shouldn't he call Meredith?" Cristina asked.

"They aren't answering their phone," Izzie said quietly as George placed his head back in his hands.

Meredith woke up and noticed that Derek was no longer with her. She sat up and realized that the house was completely quiet, which seemed to be becoming a commonality. She pulled herself off her bed and up the stairs. She walked into her daughter's room and sat on the bed. She picked up the small stuffed animal that she had given to Aimee when she was a few days old.

She brought it close to her chest and it still smelt like her daughter. It brought tears to her eyes as she began to wonder if her father ever thought about her like this after he left. She couldn't imagine leaving her children and she still couldn't figure out how her father left her. She wanted to be able to forgive him, she really did, but she couldn't make herself. After letting herself cry for a few minutes, she wiped away the tears and put the stuffed animal back where she found it and walked out of the room, closing the door behind her.

She walked downstairs and into the kitchen. She opened up and top cabinet and grabbed a full bottle. She pulled it down and dragged herself back to her room where she fell on the bed. She opened the bottle and slowly drowned her sorrows in the bottle of tequila.

When you try your best but you don't succeed
When you get what you want but not what you need
When you feel so tired but you can't sleep
Stuck in reverse

And the tears come streaming down your face
When you lose something you can't replace
When you love someone but it goes to waste
Could it be worse?

Derek walked back in the house, completely covered in sweat. He wanted to get everything off of his mind and the only way he knew to do that besides surgery was running.

He went into the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water while he caught his breath again. He downed the water and grabbed another before heading into his bedroom to get a shower and see Meredith.

When he walked into his bedroom, he wasn't happy about what he saw. Meredith was passed out with an empty bottle of tequila in her grasp. Derek picked up the bottle and placed it on the nightstand before picking up Meredith. He pulled down the covers and placed her in bed. He kissed her forehead and turned out the light before heading towards the bathroom. When he pushed the door open, he stopped and looked back. He hadn't held his promise. He left her and let her fall apart again. Derek shook his head and walked into the bathroom, deciding he couldn't begin to help her until she was awake and that wouldn't happen for a while.

Lights will guide you home
And ignite your bon
And I will try to fix you

"Aimee, if you aren't going to go home then at least explain to me what happened," Alex plead.

"I just can't go back there. I can't go back to Luke and I can't go back home," she said sobbing.

"Luke? That's the guy, right?" Alex asked. She shook her head as he hugged her tightly, "When did we get so distant, kid?"

"I'm not a kid," she said smiling through her tears, "I'm going to be a mom."

"Then I'll change the question, when did you decide to grow up?" Alex asked.

"When did you?" she asked jokingly.

"Your Aunt Shannon made me," he said laughing a little, "Now tell me about this Luke guy."

Aimee's smile quickly disappeared, "He changed. He was different after we left," she said as she gently pulled her sleeve down, "but I still love him, I don't know why, but I do."

Alex looked at her confused for a moment until things started clicking. He looked down at her hand and put his hand over it to stop her. His other hand gently lifted up her sleeve, "Aimee…" he said in a disbelieving voice.

And high up above or down below
When you're too in love to let it go
But if you never try you'll never know
Just what you're worth

Derek got out of the shower and walked into his empty room. Empty being the keyword there. He pulled on a pair of sweat pants and went looking for Meredith. She wasn't anywhere downstairs or upstairs. He began to get a little worried until he happened to look out one of the windows in the living room. He headed to the back wall of the living room that was basically all windows, with French doors. He walked outside and saw Meredith lying down on one of the lounge chairs.

She was awake, but she looked like she was in a trance. She was staring off in a random direction and she wasn't moving or showing any sign that she knew he was there. Derek sighed and walked over to her. She was on the side of the chair, so Derek laid down behind her, not touching her, almost afraid of her drunken reaction. She didn't look back at him or take her attention away from the spot in the sky that she was fixated on; she just leaned back in him and took his hand. She wrapped it around her body and intertwined their fingers, resting it close to her heart.

Lights will guide you home
And ignite your bones
And I will try to fix you

Another silence had settled between the three friends. You'd think after being friends for twenty years, they'd know what to say when one of them needs to be comforted, but they didn't. All three of them were lost and confused, especially George.

George oddly enough, was the one who broke the silence. He lifted his head up, which drew both of the woman's attention and he looked at a random spot on the wall in front of him, "Did she really say that?"

Cristina gave him an apologetic look, "Yeah, she did," she said quietly. Both her and Izzie were surprised that she was the one who tried to comfort George. Granted that wasn't going to make him feel any better, it was the only thing Cristina knew to do.

"She really said she wasn't going to forgive me," George said, almost not believing his own words.

"Sorry, George," Cristina said before getting up and walking upstairs, she didn't deal with situations like these very well.

As George placed his head back in his hands, Izzie silently rubbed his back, not knowing what in the world she could say.

Tears stream down your face
when you lose something you cannot replace
Tears stream down your face
And I

Meredith and Derek walked back inside as their front door opened. A frail young girl walked in, followed by an older man. Meredith couldn't believe her eyes. The girl ran into Meredith's arms and Meredith couldn't have been happier, but she let out a million tears anyways. Derek smiled and wrapped one arm around his family and looked back up at the man, "Thanks, Alex. Really, thank you." He didn't understand why Alex had her or any of it, but right now, he didn't care. She was home.

Tears stream down your face
I promise you I will learn from my mistakes
Tears stream down your face
And I

Aimee let go of her mother after a few minutes and looked up at her father not knowing what to expect. Derek looked down at her with a face, that was impossible to read, after all, he didn't completely know what he was feeling right now. A few incredibly drawn out and painful moments passed and everyone waited for what Derek would do.

Derek's face finally softened into a small smile and he walked over to his daughter. "I missed you, honey. I'm glad you're home," he said as a tear rolled down his face. Aimee's eyes watered as Derek wrapped his arms around his young daughter.

"I missed you too Daddy, I love you."

"I love you too, honey," Derek said almost afraid to let her go.

Lights will guide you home
And ignite your bones
And I will try to fix you