Okay, so first of all, my apologies! This update took so much longer than I was intending. I was hoping to have it up some time last week, but real life got in the way, and this section has been particularly hard to write. Lots of staring at the blinking cursor and pulling my hair went on. But anyway, it's finally, finally written. We're getting closer to the end. There's about four or five chapters left, six at the most. So yes, it's not ending tomorrow or anything, there's still stuff to be resolved, but…the end is in sight.

Anyway, thank you so much to everyone who's reviewed. I really appreciate it. You guys make all the hair pulling and staring at the blank screen in frustration feel completely worth it. Hopefully this shows up. The site seemed to be going crazy for a few days there, but things appear to be back to normal now. But yeah, enough from me. Enjoy!

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From the safety of this moment,
I reach endlessly from here,
I reach endlessly. Endlessly.
This adds up to more than us.
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Meredith wound the long cord of her hairdryer into a tight coil, setting it absently back on the edge of the sink as she wrinkled her nose at her reflection. She ran a hand through the freshly dried waves of her hair, coiling a strand as tightly as she had the cord, before letting go and watching as the golden hairs spun, spiraled, and finally relaxed. Rolling her eyes at herself, she turned from the mirror, and shuffled out of the bathroom back to her room. She cast a dark glare at her closet, the back of her mind irritatingly aware that she was supposed to be getting dressed for her party. However, that idea was easily stifled as she sank down onto the edge of the bed. Falling back into the soft warmth of several pillows and tangled blankets, she let her eyelids flutter shut; toying with the idea of stealing a nap before the baby shower. Things felt better--less dark than the night before--but she still felt strange, felt not quite like herself, and wanted nothing more than to avoid being the center of everyone and everything for an entire evening. Stifling a yawn, Meredith rolled onto her side, and pulled a pillow close to her, breathing in the lingering comfort it offered her in the form of the familiar masculine scent that was Derek's alone. As if summoned by her thoughts of him, the door to her room creaked open, and she blinked slowly, focusing on the shape of him leaning against the doorframe. A smile danced across her face as she stared lazily, giving him no greeting beyond what was written in the warm glow of her eyes. Derek's lips lifted in response, his gaze roaming up the length of her body. She was dressed in nothing more than a tank top and an old pair of shorts, the shirt riding up high on her belly. Her bare skin seemed to glow almost pale gold in the dim filtered sunlight that lit the room, and his eyes felt hungry; both unable and unwilling to look away from her.

"You're staring at me," murmured Meredith as his gaze reached her stomach, and then rose to seek out the green of her eyes.

Derek's smile morphed into a sheepish grin. "Can't help it. You look beautiful."

"I look fat," said Meredith instinctively, frowning at him.

"You look pregnant," he countered, pausing to glance back at her stomach, his voice growing proud. "With my baby." He straightened up, closing the door with a push of his hand, and walked over to the bed. "And you look beautiful," he added again. Meredith scooted over to make room for him, rolling her eyes as she did. "Beautiful," he repeated over and over in a low murmur until she finally gave in and smiled slightly, indulgently, turning so that her face was buried against the curve of his neck.

"How's it look downstairs?" she mumbled, her voice muffled by his body. "Disaster zone yet?"

"It's--" Derek paused, the corner of his mouth twitching up into an amused smirk. "…interesting."

"Interesting?" echoed Meredith, lifting her head to look at him, and groaning when she caught sight of his expression. "Derek," she continued, her voice growing stern. "How bad is it?" His eyes darted guiltily around the room as he shrugged.

"It's pink," he admitted at last. "Okay, it's very pink." Meredith raised an eyebrow, trying to guess at whether it would be as extravagant as Izzie's rendition of Christmas. "You'll like it," continued Derek as her expression grew more and more skeptical.

"Derek," she said warningly.

"Okay…you probably won't like it," he allowed, grinning at her again as his fingers curled easily around her chin, tilting her face towards his. "But the party could still be fun."

"Right…" Meredith pouted, her lower lip jutting out. Derek traced the edge of it with his thumb, chuckling at the stubborn almost belligerent light in her eyes.

"It might be," he insisted. Meredith just cocked an eyebrow at that.

"And if it's not…?"

"I'll think of something," said Derek confidently, still grinning at her. The only reply he received was a dry amused smile--expectant and demanding--as Meredith crossed her arms over her chest, silently urging him to come up with something. "We can hide in a closet," he announced at last. "Or run away. Make a break for freedom. Whatever you want Mer."

Meredith giggled, and shook her head. "Like I can run properly right now," she said, moving her hand to her stomach to emphasize her point. Derek smirked, and pulled her closer to him.

"Closet it is then." Meredith just smiled, letting her eyes close again, her body relaxing against his. Sleep seemed to hang just a hair away from her, and she sighed happily, her breathing growing soft and even as she melted into the quiet darkness and Derek's arms. "Mer…" His voice returned to disturb the silence after several minutes--a hoarse whisper at her ears--forcing her eyelids to flutter apart.

"Mmm…?" The sound hummed past her lips, tickling his neck.

"They sent me up here to make sure you were getting ready." He spoke cautiously, as if afraid the words would flip her from her gentle drowsy mood into something sharper and more irritated. But she just shook her head--hair rustling against the pillowcase--and pressed a single slender finger to his lips.

"Shhh," she scolded, screwing her eyes shut once more. "We're sleeping now." Derek grinned, content to simply stare at her curled up in the crook of his arm, her round stomach a now familiar presence against his side. However, a glance at the clock on the bedside table filled him with a brief surge of guilt, and he nudged her again.

"Come on," he coaxed, brushing the back of his hand against her cheek. Her eyelids snapped apart at that, revealing slits of green that sparked with irritation.

"I'm napping," she muttered, reaching up and readjusting her pillow. "Don't you think that's important?" She cocked an eyebrow, grinning wickedly as she mimicked him, saying, "Sleep Mer. Rest's important for the baby."

"Yeah," he agreed, quiet laughter escaping at her imitation of him. "But you already took a nap earlier."

Meredith turned instantly cross at that--frowning and wrinkling her nose. "Only because I've been locked up here since eleven so I wouldn't see all the decorating," she said, rolling her eyes as she overemphasized the word. "I didn't want a nap then. Now I do." She closed her eyes once more in a stubborn resolute gesture, seeming angry save for the small smile that sent the corners of her mouth twitching delicately upward. "Besides," she added after a moment, reaching out for Derek's hand, and moving it to her stomach. "Your daughter won't stop kicking me. If you'd cooperate and sleep, maybe she'd catch on too."

"She's kicking you?" echoed Derek, his voice instantly gentle as he felt the reverberations of their child's tiny feet against the palm of his hand. Meredith just nodded, frowning as she was dealt a particularly hard blow. "Don't kick your mother," he said sternly, propping himself up on an elbow to look at her stomach. "It's not nice. She doesn't kick you."

"Hmmm," said Meredith, giggling as she reached up, and pulled Derek back down to her, turning so that their bodies were nestled perfectly together, his heartbeat a steady presence against her back. "So are we sleeping yet?"

"We're sleeping," he agreed, hardly able to pass over the benefits of laying in bed with his girlfriend versus hauling her downstairs to a room full of people she didn't want to deal with. Besides, if she said she was tired… He pressed his lips against the warm bare skin that lay before him, hands absently tracing patterns over her stomach as their child's kicks finally quieted. Time seemed to drift strangely; they lingered at that hazy border between sleep and waking, their breathing the only sound in the room that was at once both light and dark, reminiscent of both day and night.

Eventually though, the thought that Meredith had been carefully and unconsciously subduing from the moment she'd woken up came roaring to the forefront of her mind--sharp beside her other sleep-filled thoughts, and impossible to ignore. "Derek?" she asked, her voice a hesitant whisper against the pillowcase that nonetheless split the silence. He nodded, his chin bumping slightly against her shoulder.

"Yeah?"

Meredith bit her lip, suddenly balling the sheet up tightly in her fist. "Is your family… Are they coming today?" Her voice shook a little as she spoke despite her determination to remain nonchalant.

"I don't know," admitted Derek, a quick frown darkening his brow. "I haven't talked to them since yesterday." He sighed heavily, shifting on the bed, and reached down to unhook his phone from where it was clipped to his jeans beside his pager.

"What are you doing?" asked Meredith, an anxious note seeping into her voice as she twisted back around to find him holding his phone. Derek paused, his thumb already hovering over the keypad.

"I was gonna call, and tell them not to come." Meredith nodded slowly, but said nothing, her teeth worrying her bottom lip back and forth. Derek raised an eyebrow, trying to interpret her silence. "That's what you want, right?" he asked, his eyes searching hers, yet still eliciting no response. Meredith shifted uncomfortably, her face flushing with guilt and embarrassment as Derek's voice grew incredulous. "Did you…do you want them to come?"

"No," she said hastily, her voice a little too loud in the quiet room. "I just--" She frowned, and forced herself to look up from the pillowcase, using the memory of the night before to free her lips. "I told you I didn't want you to write your family out of your life because of me." Her words ran together a little as she stumbled to get them out as quickly as possible, yet there was a sharp edge to her tone that wasn't subdued by the stammering.

"I remember," said Derek slowly, his phone slipping from his hands to land on the mattress with a soft thud. "But that doesn't mean I have to see them again at your party." Meredith nodded and pulled away from his gaze, turning her eyes towards the bed once more. Reaching out, Derek ran his hand up the slender length of her arm to reach the hair that spilled golden over her shoulders. The strands were silken against his palm as he let the waves wrap around his fingers; holding onto her physically even as he felt her slip back into her familiar pattern of silence, her face close to impassive, but betrayed by the stormy uncertainty in her eyes. "Hey," he tried, his voice coaxing, but not quite daring to expect a reply. "Tell me what you want Mer." Meredith frowned at that--eyebrows darting quickly together and apart--before opening her mouth, and catching Derek completely off guard.

"We're not breaking up any time soon, right?"

"What…us?" spluttered Derek, his eyes dark, incredulous and a little bit alarmed. "No. Meredith, god no. Never." He propped himself up on an elbow, shaking his head emphatically.

"Never?" echoed Meredith quietly. The immediate fierce sincerity of his reply was more than she had expected; thoroughly distracting her from her thoughts. She moved her hand almost shyly to touch his cheek, both unable and unwilling to halt the smile that tugged insistently at the corners of her mouth.

"Never," he promised, finding even the possibility absurd. Meredith tore her eyes from his, quietly angry with herself for her sudden inexplicable desire to burst into tears; something messy and overly emotional. She swallowed hard, keeping the impulse at bay. "Besides," mused Derek softly, his gaze drifting down to her swollen stomach. "Think of all the other babies we still have to have." He grinned, his voice growing teasing to shake off the painful horror that hummed in the back of his mind at the thought of trying to live without Meredith in his life. "Can't work on that if we're broken up."

"Excuse me?" Meredith's head snapped back up, her voice sharp and incredulous. "More babies? You do realize that the first one is still inside me!" Her eyes were wide and shocked, all thoughts of tears forgotten.

"Bad timing?" he asked with a sheepish grin.

"You think?" snapped Meredith. "You're supposed to hold off on your crazy more babies idea until after we have this one." She paused for a moment, her expression sliding easily into a smirk. "And, you have to be the one who's pregnant next time."

Derek's grin simply broadened, passing over the impossibility of her words. "Next time?" he asked eagerly. "So there's a next time?" Meredith laughed--dismissive yet amused--before shooting him a serious look.

"I had a point," she said. "I had a point, and you made me forget it." She paused, taking a moment to backtrack through her thoughts, her expression growing more and more somber as even the echo of their laughter faded away. "Right," she breathed, her teeth back to chewing on her lip. "I just--" She halted again, this time to look at Derek, who simply gave an encouraging nod, moving so that their foreheads were a hair away from touching. "If I'm going to see your family again, I'd rather it be…" Meredith let her voice fade away to a hum of indiscriminate sound, her cheeks suddenly coloring. Looking away from him, she mumbled, "It's silly and stupid, but I'd rather everyone be…I'd rather have my, well my…"

"Your family here," he supplied, his voice free of even a trace of laughter. Meredith nodded, blinking slowly before meeting his eyes, quietly amazed to find that he didn't dismiss her equating the two very different types of families, but simply accepted it. "Okay," he continued softly, silently glad that she would have the fierce buffer of her friends with her the next time she saw his mother. "I'll call Nancy, tell her they can come for an hour or so."

"Yeah," breathed Meredith. "An hour." She could handle an hour. She had to. The only other alternative--to cower and hide and avoid meeting their eyes once more--would turn the women into a menacing shadow in the back of her mind. They would be another dark thought that, despite all of Derek's reassurances, would plague her in the middle of the night. She gripped his arm, her nails digging little half-moons into the skin, promising herself that she could meet them again without running away.

"You're okay?"

Meredith blinked, turning to focus on Derek. He was watching her warily, his phone back in his hand, yet the call still unmade. "Yeah." She nodded, eyes darting from his face to the phone and back again. "You're calling Nancy?" she asked tentatively, feeling an unexpected but definite twinge of relief at the idea.

"Yeah," agreed Derek, smiling ruefully. "The odds of me yelling on the phone are much less if I call her."

He pulled her closer, one arm holding her flush against him so that her head settled in the crook of his neck. His lips brushed against her forehead as he dialed the phone, and Meredith found herself both surprised and grateful that he wasn't moving away to make the call, but was rather holding her that much closer. She could hear the faint sound of ringing, closely followed by a women's voice.

"Hello?"

"Hey. It's me," said Derek simply, settling deeper into the thick wall of pillows.

"I know it's you. Hold on a sec…" His sister's voice faded away into a faint distant murmur--as if she were speaking to someone on the other end--but, after a few moments of indistinct noises, her voice came back. "Okay."

"What was that?"

"I was in the middle of lunch," answered Nancy airily. "Didn't want to be rude."

"Oh that's rich coming from you," he snapped, bristling as the slight weight of Meredith's body nestled against his made it impossible to forget the day before. His words were met with a long awkward pause, silent except for the sound of his sister drumming her nails nervously against her cell phone, and so he let the subject drop for the moment, simply asking, "You're having lunch with mom?"

"And Addison."

"And Addison? Seriously?"

"Yeah. She called and offered," said Nancy, nodding her head. "Something about the difficulty of finding edible food in Seattle." Derek looked down at Meredith, rolling his eyes in response to his sister. Meredith just smiled slightly, feeling too tense to manage anything else. "Umm," continued Nancy, her voice growing suddenly tentative. "How's Meredith?"

"She's fine," answered Derek, his eyes blackening as his voice hardened. "No thanks to you."

"I know," she said instantly, apologetically. "I'm sorry."

Derek's heavy frown grew curious, and he cocked his head to the side. "If I didn't know you better Nance, I'd say you were being sincere." Nancy just let out a shaky sigh, clicking her tongue against her teeth.

"I am," she admitted, her voice quiet. "Addie told me what happened."

"Oh…"

"Yeah." She paused, and when she spoke again, it was teasingly. "Actually, I'm starting to think that the one I should be mad at is you."

"What?" spluttered Derek indignantly, taken back by the sudden switch. "Why?"

"Oh please, don't try and act innocent," she said dryly. "I heard what you did; letting Meredith keep the fact that she was pregnant a secret from the entire hospital until she collapsed, and then, moments after Addison found out, sending her to save your baby." Derek moaned, chancing a cautious glance at Meredith, only to find that her green eyes were dancing with an amused light. Nancy's voice grew stern as she continued on. "I mean really, Derek. What the hell were you thinking?"

"I…ah, wasn't?"

"That sounds about right," said Nancy with a laugh. But as her laughter faded away, her voice grew solemn once more. "Look, Derek," she said frankly. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have jumped down the poor girl's throat like that, it's just…Addie." Derek remained silent, running his hand through Meredith's hair, not quite ready to forgive her so quickly. "She was one of my bridesmaids," continued Nancy, unnerved by the lack of response. "Right there with my sisters. She delivered all three of my babies. She's just-- I had to be on her side, Derek. I had to, and then…turns out she's not even on her side. Sides are over with. If anything, she's on the intern's side."

Derek sighed heavily, feeling a sudden surge of gratitude to his ex wife for the second time in two days. "I know," he allowed, his voice quiet, finally understanding where his sister's reaction had come from. "You'd like Mer, though."

"I'll try to," promised Nancy. "Addison really does, you know, and if she can…" Her voice trailed off, and Derek glanced down at Meredith to find her eyes wide with mingled surprise and disbelief. He grinned at her, brushing his lips against hers as his sister spoke again. "She makes you happy, right? Meredith makes you happy?" Derek lifted his mouth reluctantly from Meredith's, looking straight into her eyes as he spoke.

"She makes me incredibly happy."

"Good," said Nancy quickly, still finding the subject awkward thanks to the persistent memory of the day before. "I'm glad then. And…congratulations on the baby. I, uh-- I hadn't said that yet."

"No," he agreed. "You hadn't."

The siblings fell silent for a moment; Nancy scuffing the sleek leather toe of her shoe along the ground as Derek let his fingers climb slowly up and down the line of Meredith's spine, grateful that some of the tension seemed to have finally left her. They silence dwindled down into something awkward, and, when it did break, it was through both their voices speaking simultaneously.

"Derek?"

"What's mom think?"

"Umm," replied Nancy, deferring to his question. "She's still-- Well, she's not as easy to convince as me. She doesn't want to believe Addison, and so, you know her. She's barely listening."

Derek groaned, pulling Meredith closer to him at that. "I figured as much."

"Yeah, she wouldn't drop it this morning. What was it she kept saying…? Oh yeah, that you're displaying shocking moral ineptitude." Nancy let her voice lapse into a shrill imitation of their mother, serving to bring a ghost of a smile to her brother's face.

"I like the shocking moral ineptitude," he muttered dryly. "Mom should try it some time."

"Right," laughed Nancy. "Just as soon as hell freezes over." As her laughter faded away, her voice grew serious once more. "Listen, Derek. She's still set on going to that shower. Addison and I have been trying to talk her out of it all lunch, but she keeps saying that Meredith invited her, and that unless Meredith revokes the invitation…" Derek sighed heavily, frustration building within him once more in response to his mother's attitude. "Maybe you should talk to mom?" suggested Nancy tentatively.

"I will," said Derek, clearly incensed. "But I talked to Mer before I called you, and--" He twisted slightly on the bed, turning to find Meredith's eyes, silently asking her if she wanted him to go ahead. She shrugged, and gave him a small nod. "She's okay with the both of you coming," he continued.

"Are you sure?" asked Nancy incredulously.

"Yeah. We're sure."

"Okay… That's some girlfriend you've got."

"I know," said Derek simply, proudly; beyond touched that Meredith was willing to give his family another chance for his sake despite how poorly they had treated her. "Try and convince mom to behave though," he added. "I don't expect Meredith to give you guys another chance after this. Hell, I didn't expect her to give you today, but…she is. So please," he paused, his voice growing pleading and intimate. "Don't waste it Nancy." Without giving his sister a chance to reply, he pulled the phone from his ear, and ended the call, turning back to look at Meredith.

"Well…" murmured Meredith quietly. Derek let the phone drop carelessly onto the bed, freeing his hand to pull her closer to him, protective even within the seclusion of their room.

"Well," he echoed, searching the deep green wells of her eyes. "You're sure you're okay with this? Them being here?"

Meredith gave a slight shrug, betraying her true uncertainty, before resolutely nodding her head. "Yeah," she breathed, to which Derek simply raised a single questioning eyebrow. "Trying to be," she amended with a sigh. "I just--" She stuttered uncertainly, pressing her palm flat against his chest. "If I want them to leave…?" she asked at last, her voice tentative.

"They'll leave," he replied immediately, his answer firm and definite. "Just tell me, and they're gone." Derek paused, his expression growing dark as memories of the day before came flooding back. He ran his fingers through her hair, letting the strands slither from root to tip past his knuckles. "And Meredith," he continued, his voice urgent as he watched the web of golden hairs finally pass his fingers and float back towards the rumpled pillowcase. "Promise you'll tell me." Moving from her hair to her mouth, he rubbed the pad of his thumb gently over her lower lip, his eyes pleading. "Promise me you won't disappear again…that you'll tell me instead."

She smiled quietly up at him, the corners of her lips faltering as she caught sight of the deep worry that bellied his gaze. "I promise," she murmured. Lifting a hand to his cheek, her fingers pressed smooth and silken against the rough stubble of his jaw line. He nodded, seemingly relieved, and her smile returned as some of the worry within him slowly melted away. Their eyes met with eerie precision; two puzzle pieces finding their match, and locking perfectly. The silence that filled the room turned heavy and close as they stared at each other, and what little was left of worry turned to want. "Derek," she urged, her voice a low hum in her throat as her hands curled hungrily, enclosing the dark strands of his hair in her fists. He didn't reply with words, but rather lowered his mouth to hers, capturing her lips easily in a slow lazy kiss as his tongue teased her mouth open. She moaned--the sound lost within him--as their tongues jumped to life to fight and twist and stroke, filling her with the taste of him. The next sound she made was a soft shuddering sigh, but it escaped to echo through the room as he left her mouth for her throat; teeth scraping and nipping at the slender column of her neck, followed always by the soothing pressure of his tongue, and encasing her body in an exquisite shivering heat. Meredith clawed at the thin fabric of his shirt with her nails, scraping and impatient. But Derek's hands had slid under her top and beneath the waistband of her shorts, obstructing her efforts, and rendering her usually capable fingers fumbling and useless. She could do little more than arch into the palm of his hand--her breathing rasping and uneven--as her body pulsed so intensely that she swore even her very cells reverberated with want.

Finally, she managed to contort a moan into some strangled senseless version of his name that Derek seemed to recognize. He lifted his head to look at her, the usually piercing blue of his eyes gone beetle-black, and brushed his lips tenderly against the tip of her nose in acknowledgement. She tugged at the neckline of his shirt, letting out a frustrated whimper. "Too many clothes," she managed impatiently, aching to shade the layers between them.

"Too many clothes?" he echoed, cocking an eyebrow as he smirked at her in amusement.

"Yes," she hissed, bringing her hands to the hem of his t-shirt, and yanking up hard. He obliged her, raising his arms and shedding his shirt, letting it fall forgotten to the floor. Not stopping there, they peeled off every last layer of clothing that separated them, Derek's eyes never leaving her body for a second, but rather wandering over her swollen profile; warm and glowing in a way that took his breath away.

Slowly, tenderly, as if afraid she might break, he lowered Meredith back onto the bed, watching as her hair splayed out over the pillows all dark gold against pale skin. She stretched an entreating arm out to him--fingers lacing as their hands clasped--their bodies fitting together awkwardly. Her other hand ran down his back to pull him closer, her breath whispering sharply past her teeth as every heightened nerve in her body seemed to hum blissfully, the sharp craving for the feel of bare skin on skin finally satisfied. Staring hazily up at him, as if through some sort of smoky veil that left everything indistinct save for their eyes, she found herself getting lost in a sea of deep smoldering blue.

Derek's hands lingered on her stomach as they made their way down her body. Despite knowing the feel, the weight, the shape of the ever growing curve of her womb as intimately and completely as if a life thrived within him and not her, he could never cease marveling at it. It never stopped thrilling him. It was his baby laying curled inside of his Meredith. His child. His… Because of him, and, without fail, his mind went giddy at the thought. The surge of protectiveness that followed was always equally strong; gathering her closer as if to shelter her as she wrapped her legs around him, her thighs warm and bare and smooth against his body.

Meredith writhed beneath him, every inch of her stretching and shifting to find a way to hold on to more of him, of this and now, to forget the uncertainty of later. The rest of the afternoon was a vague unhappy idea that lessened with each moment, yet lingered on like a last thought teetering persistently on the tightrope stretched between sleeping and waking, threatening to follow over into dreams. Derek leaned forward and kissed her again, the pressure of his mouth harder and more insistent as she finally took him inside of her. He groaned her name--the low sound taking on its own melody--and slowly but surely blotted out every last worry with the combination of his mouth and hands and him, catching her up in a glowing web of ever rising sensations. There was nothing left but the feeling of him; of something mounting and burning, shivering and falling, yet perfectly safe, and already caught. And so, at last she let her mind go deliciously blank; everything beyond the two of them ceasing to matter.

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So, this update was a little bit shorter than the previous one, but Mer/Der needed a brief respite away from all of his family drama they've gotten caught up in, and this was it. And the two of them have gotten better since the day before. After they had their huge talk, Meredith is less overwhelmed by things, and is actually talking to Derek when he asks her what's wrong instead of simply bottling up. So, they've made progress. Not leaps and bounds because it has been under twenty-four hours, and she's still quite terrified of his family, but they're finally going in the right direction. That progress didn't just go away over night, things are still getting better for them. And yeah...his family. It's now really just an army of one, thanks to Addison. Nancy was doing the fairly typical girl thing, and going against the girl who wrecked not only her brother's marriage, but the marriage of one of her friends. While she is far from adoring Meredith, after hearing things from Addie herself, she's much less inclined to simply hate Mer blindly. And she feels guilty about how she acted the day before. Jacqueline though...she hasn't come around so easily. She's got bigger problems with the whole thing. And all that? It'll be addressed next chapter, when we'll finally get to the shower. Finally...heh. And hopefully the next update will be up much sooner than this one. Sorry again for the delay btw, and thanks for reading!