chapter two - invited
As Meredith swung open the kitchen door Izzie smiled happily from behind the counter which was filled with food. There was food practically everywhere. On top of the cabinets, on the fridge (probably in it too) and on the windowsills. Everywhere it was food, in huge amounts. Though, when Meredith came to think of it, it was Izzie who stood there stirring the pots and tasting what ever it was in them. Even so, now Izzie had really gone over the edge of what is humanly possible to do.
In awe and a great deal of wondering, Meredith sat down on one of the bar stools, on her way almost knocking over a big bowl of guacamole, two cookie sheets of bread and four large baskets of brownies, cupcakes and of course muffins cause Izzie always made muffins.
"What is all this?" Meredith asked as Izzie took out a plate with perfectly lined up chicken breast from the oven. "Where is everyone?"
"Hi to you too... Ehm, they're somewhere around here I guess. Oh that's great!" Izzie said and sliced up one of the fillets, making warm air rise from it. "And this is food!"
"I can see that because it's blocking our kitchen… And where would you guess 14 people have gone?"
"16; Preston and Lewis came 10 minutes ago… And don't touch that!" Izzie said, slapping away Meredith's hand from the guacamole. "It'll go bad!"
"Well, anyways… Why are you making all this?" Izzie rolled her eyes at Meredith who took a muffin from one of the baskets. "This I am taking!"
Izzie glared at Meredith, continuing with the food. "It's nothing special: I just thought we'd have a little birthday dinner that's all… Here! Taste!" she pushed a little plastic mug and a spoon into Meredith's hand. "Does it need anything more? Salt? Pepper maybe?"
"Ehm," Meredith took a spoon of the bright red soup. "No, it's fine… I think…"
"Good!" Izzie smiled and moved on to chopping salad.
"So your definition of a little birthday dinner is this?" Meredith asked looking questioning at the blonde hoe now began pealing potatoes in rapid speed. "Iz, I know we're a lot of people but we're not this many…"
Izzie avoided Meredith's watchful eye. "Ehm, no…" she said quietly, looking down.
"Oh, you are up to something…" Meredith smiled mischievously, pointing her finger at Izzie.
"Watch that, you might get chocolate on your shirt, besides I'm not up to something. Ellen! Harrison!" Izzie shouted as the two said walked in with a bunch of bowls, mugs and spoons. "Hi!"
"Hello… Isobel…" Ellen said oddly and walked over to the zinc in mind of putting down the dishes, but Izzie stopped her.
"Watch the beans!" she shouted and pushed away Ellen ordering her to chop the rest of the salad as Harrison sat down on a chair beside Meredith.
"Do you know what your mother's up to, cause I can't figure it out…" Meredith looked at Harrison who started to laugh. "What? Did I say something funny? I didn't say something funny! Ellen?"
"You haven't told her?" Ellen rolled her eyes at Izzie. "Oh, man…"
"Told me what!?" Meredith looked from Izzie to Harrison and to Ellen who had now joined the laugh session. "What hasn't she told me!"
"You haven't told her yet!?" a new voice in the room shouted. "Izzie!"
Everyone turned their heads to the back door, recognizing George's slightly shrill voice as he looked furiously at Izzie.
"I'm sorry…" she said quietly, biting her lower lip and taking down the speed of the potatoes. "But I've done all this… I didn't have time!"
"If you haven't told her, we won't have any need for this!" George pointed at all this food. "I don't want another little-get-together-meet-the-boyfriend-thing-gone-crazy, Izzie!"
"No, you're not…" Meredith looked at her friends with pleading eyes as she hit her head on the wooden counter. "No you didn't…"
"Oh, now you made her cry!" George shook his head and smacked Harrison on the back off his, making him stop laughing. "Mer-"
"You're having a party!?" Meredith looked at George, who silenced.
"She is!" he stuttered and pointed at Izzie, sitting down by the kitchen table.
Meredith turned to Izzie who rolled her eyes in an adolescent way. "I don't want a party!"
"Well, now we are having one, so suck it up and deal… There are things in life we don't wanna do but we kinda have to in like the spirit of gratefulness towards our friends, even though we don't want to… Didn't they teach you that at Dartmouth?" Izzie walked around the kitchen island and placed a bunch of carrots in Meredith's lap. "Here! Clean!"
"Ehm, I don't think there was such a class there, no..." Meredith turned to Ellen who smiled happily, but soon stopped as she saw her mother's look. "Have you known about it all this time?"
"Kinda, or you know yeah..." Ellen bit her lip, and wave the knife innocent in the air. "Sorry..."
"Usually you can't keep your mouth shut..." Meredith muttered, starting to cut of the green on the carrots. "But you always tell me everything..."
It went quiet and Ellen looked down, but obviously her mother didn't notice as she kept on talking.
"And Mia and Kate too?"
"No, not Kate..." Ellen shook her head. "Seriosuly not her... Then the plans would have been out months ago..."
"Have you been planning this for a long time?" Meredith looked at Izzie who nodded. "Why? How many is coming?"
"Ehm..." Izzie looked down. "I'm not sure..."
Meredith rolled her eyes at Christina as she entered the kitchen smiling. "Jerk..."
"So the secret's out? The skeleton is out the closet?" she said jumping up on the counter, taking the place of a basket of bread which now occupied the floor. "Oops..."
"Christina!"
"It's out alright..." sighed George, peeling of the paper of a muffin.
"How many is coming?" Meredith looked at Izzie, who but her lip. "Izzie?!"
"Oh, kids you might wanna get out of here..." Christina laughed. "
"I don't wanna go... I wanna see this..." Harrison's eyes went wide. "Come on!"
"No, trust me, you do not wanna stick around for this cause those knives might just fly through the air soon..." Christina hurried two protesting teenagers out the room.
"Izzie!?" Meredith said loudly, marking her meaning of seriousness. "How many is coming!?"
"Ehm," Izzie murmured from down on the floor. "Ehm..."
The door flung open and Alex entered with a wide grin upon his face. "I heard something about knives flying?"
"Yeah, you wife's pretty face is soon going to look not so pretty..." Christina answered holding her eyes upon the smaller Meredith and the taller, but not so frightening Izzie.
"Cool..." Alex said and walked over to the kitchen table, getting a look of disgust from George.
"Izzie!?" Meredith repeated furiously. "How many?"
"Ehm, like..." the blonde stood up, brushing away a few strands of hair from her face. "Thirty...five...fifty...sixty... maybe... I don't know!"
"Izzie!" Meredith shook her head. "That many! I don't know that many people! I don't even want to celebrate my birthday, and you go out and get this!"
"I... I didn't... It's…" Izzie pointed at George. "He invited your dad!"
Meredith turned to George whose mouth was wide open. "George!"
He started shaking his head, stuttering a few inaudible words and looking angrily at Izzie. "She invited McDreamy!" he exclaimed, pointing at Izzie
The room went dead quiet.
"You did what?" she looked at Izzie with her eye brows raised. "You've invited Derek?"
"I did..."
"Why?" Meredith exclaimed, shaking her head. "Why did you invite him?"
"I thought it would be fun..." Izzie smiled and shrugged her shoulders. "You haven't met him in a while; a looong while, besides I haven't seen Addie for ages... Just so you know he seemed very excited when I talked to him..."
"So he has accepted?" Meredith glared at Izzie who indeed was right. She hadn't met Derek in a rather long time. At least not besides the short encounters when their work crossed paths. Being the best neurosurgeons on their separate coasts made them cross paths sometimes. When they did, it was strictly professional. They never talked about what had happened. Derek had tried a few times, but Meredith always used a sort of closed-chapter-excuse to not talk about any of it that had happened between them before prom night, during prom night or after. Meredith had never told anyone about prom-night, not even Christina. But Callie knew. When Meredith announced her pregnancy Callie asked her privately if there was any chance, that Derek could be the father. In clear words Callie asked if they used protection or not, and Meredith had answered they didn't. So she could really not be sure that Finn was the father of Ellen. The whole thing was what made Meredith not to keen on seeing Derek more than she had too. He had never met Ellen and if they would meet, maybe he'd start to wonder and ask Meredith about it. But at some point, Meredith felt a little thrill that he'd actually come, despite the fact that Finn existed.
"As far as I know the whole family is coming..."
"And that includes Addison?" Christina whined from behind Meredith's back.
"I just said- They're still married, yes, if that's what you mean..." Izzie glared at Christina who looked kind of miserable. "Addison is nice, sweet. She's friendly..."
"When hell freezes, yes, if that's what you mean... Sweet...? Friendly…? Do you think she's sweet or friendly?" Christina made a face, looking at Meredith.
"Mer…?" Alex threw a paper-ball at Meredith and she jerked.
"What?" she said, smiling vaguely at her friends. "What?"
"Okay, if you're that nervous about McDreamy coming here; just put on the black dress and you'll be all gorgeous and glossy-lipped and then he'll see you didn't need any McDreamy, cause you took McVet and along came three McBabies who are totally McSweet..." Christina smiled, waving a hand through the air.
"I don't need to prove to him that I chose right..." Meredith said, shrugging her shoulders. "I have an entire family to prove it if that's what he want... If that what he wants, then I'll show him... Besides-" she stopped, a big smile spread across her face as her friends looked oddly at her. "Maybe I don't have to suck it up and deal... I work today, tonight!"
Izzie smiled putting an arm around her friend. "Sorry to break it to you but you don't..."
Meredith jerked and looked up at Izzie who just continued to smile. "Yes I do!" she looked terrifingly at her friends. "I have a surgery schaduled at 2 p.m!"
"Not any more..." Christina smiled, slightly. "Burke gave the surgery it to Kaufmann... "
"I hate Kaufmann!" Meredith made a face. "She's german, and she drewls... Not that's it anything wrong being german, or drewling, well drewling is kinda grose, but she's Kaufmann!" she rambled, shaking her head. "She'd got one eyebrow!"
"I had to give my up a (something cool suregry) to Sawyer just to be here..." Christina sighed and glared at Meredith. "I mean Sawyer! He'll be bragging about it for all eternity..."
"Good he's not invited to the party then!" Izzie smiled and looked a Alex, who shrugged his shoulders.
"What?" he looked oddly at his wife. "Oh... Yeah, I had to give my day to Jones... So what..."
"And I had to get Seacrest to cover for me... She's good though..." George smiled. "Almost better than me, if you'd ask me..."
"Oh, god..." Christina looked in disgust at George and jumped off the counter making her way to the door. "You really are bambi... Seriosuly..." she said disappearing out the door.
"What did I say?" George looked around. "What did I do...?"
"Dude, you never say a surgeon's better than yourself, infront of other surgeons..." Alex rolled his eyes. "Dude, that's basic..."
"Okay..." George shrugged. "I'm better than her, sooo much better than her... I'm like way better than her..."
"Dude, that's the biggest overstatment of the year..." Alex laughed and gave Izzie a hug. "You need any help?"
"No, I think I can stay of this for a while, so we can go out in the sun for a while..." she said and gave Alex a light kiss on his cheek, then looked at George and Meredith. "You comming?"
"Yeah... " George joined them.
"Mer?" Izzie said stopping in the door. "You coming?"
"Yeah, just a sec..."
"If you really don't want him to come, I can call him and you know," Izzie made a face. "Uninvite him, but I'm pretty sure the tickets are already paid for and all..."
"No, it's okay..." Meredith smiled. "I mean sometime has to be first..."
"What?" Izzie looked oddly at her. "What ever that means..."
"Oh, nothing..." Meredith smiled again, to cover up her head taking over her head completely. "Let's enjoy that sun outside..."
"Great, and you should see what the kids have done back there..." Izzie ranted on as they exited the back door.