Here we go guys. A shy day from Christmas here a gift for you: the last part of the Shepherds. I d' like to take the chance to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy 2014.
Chapter 5 – Visiting the Shepherds – part 3
At the end, they opted for having a shower. And then bed. They were so tired. Meredith was the first who crashed on the bed. Followed by Derek. Zola was wide awake and she was playing with her stuffed lion.
They were awakened by the sound of a closing door and by voices. Familiar voices. Derek opened his eyes and saw that it was dinnertime. He turned and softly, he began to wake Meredith up.
"Meredith. It's time to wake up", he said kissing his beautiful wife's neck. Meredith moved and groaned.
"Five more minutes. Please" she said with her eyes closed.
"We can't. It's almost dinner time and if I am not mistaken, one of my sister is downstairs" he said watching for Meredith's reaction.
Reaction arrived five seconds later Derek finished speaking. Meredith opened her eyes. She was searching for the things she was familiar with. But she didn't find anything. Then, she realized she was at her mother - in – law's house for the Easter holiday.
"Come on. Let's get dressed and downstairs we go", he said getting up. Meredith was still in bed when he went to the bathroom. She got up only when Derek came back. By the time he was putting his shoes on, she was dressed and changing Zola. She took Zola in her arms and following Derek down the stairs, she went in the dining room.
The room was a large one with a large furniture with a lot of photographs on it. Baby photos, marriage and graduations photos were all in that large furniture.
"This is my grandmother's armoire", Derek whispered in Meredith's ear.
Walking in silence they reached the kitchen, where a female voice was asking why there were three more places on the grown ups' table. Children voices were mixed with the grown –ups.
"Where we would eat? On the kitchen floor?" exclaimed Derek walking into the kitchen.
The people in the kitchen turned following the direction of the voice. Liz was the last one to turn. When she saw her brother standing in front of her, she put her hand on her mouth and run in Derek's arms. The two siblings were hugging tightly. Even if she was in Seattle 5 months before, she was really happy to see him.
"Hi Liz" said Derek
"Don't get me wrong, but what are you doing here?" she said to him.
"Spending Easter with my family", he replied.
"Where is Meredith? And Zola" asked Liz looking behind her brother.
"Right here" replied Meredith. She and Zola were standing a little far from the kitchen. Meredith wanted to see the pictures and didn't want to intrude.
"Hi Liz"
"Hi Meredith! Zola! How are you?" asked Liz.
"We're fine. And you?"
"Happy and fine. Come. I want you to meet my husband and children". Liz was turning when she faced Meredith again. She saw the baby belly.
"How is my nephew or niece?"
"The baby is doing fine" replied Meredith, smiling. Carrying Zola she followed Liz in the kitchen where she was introduced to Robert, Liz's husband and to her three children who were delighted to finally meet their new cousin. They were chatting happily when the front door opened again.
"Who is the owner of that enormous SUV parked outside of your house, mom?" a familiar voice asked closing the door.
"There would be me", replied Derek. The woman dropped her bag on the floor and ran towards her brother.
"Oh Derek" said the woman.
"Hi Amy" said Derek hugging and kissing the younger woman's cheek.
"Are you really ok?" said Amelia looking her brother directly in his eyes.
"Yes. I am" replied Derek
"Good" said Amelia. "This" said the woman punching Derek on his shoulder, "is for not calling when you needed help and this" she punched her brother again " is for worrying us. All of us", she said looking him in his eyes. Tears were running down on her cheeks. She sniffed and cleaned her eyes unladylike.
"I am sorry" said Derek massaging his shoulder. He gathered Amelia in his arms again and kissed her hair while she was hugging him.
"I missed you" said Derek to Amelia.
"I missed you too" replied Amelia. They rested in this way for some seconds when Derek released his Amelia. For the first time, Derek watched his sister. She was better than she was when he was her in Seattle. She finally was his sister. The sister she was before the tragedy they shared: their father's death.
He was pulled out of his thoughts by someone who was pulling his trousers. His daughter wanted her father's attention. Derek smiled when he reached for Zola. The little girl had her little arms up for her father to pick her up. Zola put immediately her head against her father's neck. He kissed her head and put his cheek against her little head.
"Hi baby girl", he said.
"Daddy" said the little girl.
Amelia was watching the interaction between Zola and her father with fascination. Even if Zola wasn't Derek's biological daughter, the bond between them was so deep that the difference was inexistent. The little girl reached for Derek in the same ways Zola reached for him. Her thought went to her son. The son she had been able to know for few hours. Her face went dark for a few seconds. She went back smiling almost immediately but not before Derek notices the sad expression on Amelia's face. He decided to talk with her later.
"Zola, can you say hi to aunty Amelia?" he said to the little girl.
Zola looked the new stranger, but she hidden her face against her father's neck. Derek smiled stroking her little back. The scene had been witnessed by the all family gathered in the kitchen's door. There was tears running from the faces, especially from Meredith and Carolyn's faces.
"She is really beautiful. How old is she now?" asked Amelia.
"She is almost two", he said looking Zola.
"She was barely standing when I saw you in Seattle" she replied. She was happy. Finally his brother was happy and he had a family of his own.
"Yes. We got her back a few month earlier", he said. He was looking for his wife now. Meredith was with his sister and his mother. Her face was tranquil and calm; the exact opposite of yesterday.
"Meredith? Where is she", asked the woman.
"Here", replied a voice coming from the kitchen. Walking slowly she reached Derek in the living room. The two woman hugged and Amelia was surprised when she saw the baby bump. They hugged again and Amelia whispered her congratulation in Meredith's hear.
Carolyn called everyone to lunch. She said that the other two sisters, Kathleen and Nancy would arrive in the evening because of their shift they weren't able to arrive before. They shared stories about their kids, they asked Meredith about her and her family. They asked about Zola, how she became their daughter and Derek shared with them the story when she walked for the first time. The lunch was an happy event and for the first time Meredith felt her a part of a family.
After lunch the couple went for separate ways; Liz and her husband went for a last time shopping, Carolyn was in the kitchen with Amelia cleaning while Derek and Meredith were cuddling Zola on the couch. The lithe girl was out like a log. She was sleeping on her mother's chest and Meredith was resting on her husband's chest.
"How are you?" asked Derek.
"A little tired but happy. Happy that you're family accepted Zola" she said Meredith while stroking gently Zola's back. The little girl was resting with a hand on her mother's breast. The bond between Zola and Meredith was so strong, so deep; like the bond between a mother and her biological mother. Meredith kissed Zola's little head and Zola tightened her grasp on her mother's breast. She was so happy. She never allowed herself to be happy and finally here she was, with a beautiful husband, a little girl she love as she gave birth to her and a baby on the way, a healthy baby boy. The day was catching up with her. She kissed the baby girl and she was out like a light a few seconds after.
Derek didn't reply, but he kissed her head. Their peace was disrupted by the front door. Derek watched the door and saw Nancy entering. Slowly he got up without waking his wife and daughter up. He went to meet his sister and brother in law. His nephews were running towards him calling for him. He hugged all the kids, his brother in law and finally Nancy.
"Hi little brother" said the woman hugging him.
"Nancy" said Derek hugging her back.
"So", she said looking around the room", I gather that that intern is not here with you" said Nancy.
"Nancy, that intern as you called her, is here and she has a name, Meredith. And she is my wife. Be nice. It was a hard period for her," he replied with a tone that didn't allowed reply.
"You have to thanks her and Liz if we're here", he said. Nancy didn't reply but Derek could tell that she was holding back something.
He was on the verge on adding something else when Meredith came into the room with Zola walking beside her.
"We were wondering where you were", said Meredith.
Nancy saw Meredith and greeted her with a formal greeting followed by the not different greeting from Meredith. Beside Meredith, Zola was hiding behind her mother's legs. In Nancy's eyes, Meredith was the cause of Derek's divorce.
"You're pregnant" she said.
Meredith nodded, picked Zola up and said to Derek "You're mother said if you could take your grandmother's silver plate from the cupboard. It is too high for her" she said. Derek nodded.
"Nice to see you Nancy" said Meredith
"Nice to see you too" said Nancy. Meredith turned and went to the kitchen where Liz, Amelia and Carolyn were.
Derek looked Nancy. Nancy signed and said that she would try to be nice to Meredith. Derek went to take the plate her mother asked for and Nancy reached the others in the kitchen. The scene Nancy had in front of her eyes was a familiar scene, except for the fact that Meredith and Zola were a part of it. Meredith was seated at the table with Zola sitting on her legs; she was helping Zola and the other kids to decorate a branch with colourful plastic eggs. Zola was giggling with her cousins who accepted her immediately. Meredith or aunty Meredith as the kids called her was chatting with kids and with the grownups.
"So Meredith, how is Seattle?" asked Nancy taking her place beside Amelia.
"Good" said Meredith while she was putting a egg in Zola's little hand.
"You're an attending now, am I wrong?" asked Amelia.
"Yes, I am an attending in general surgery", replied Meredith.
Liz opened her mouth when a voice asked: "Where is everyone?"
"In the kitchen" replied Nancy. A tall, elegant woman entered in the room followed by four children who went hugging their grandmother and aunts. The woman looked in the room and noticed stranger faces.
"I don't want sound rude, but who are you?" she asked
"I'm Meredith and this little girl is my daughter Zola" replied Meredith while Zola went on playing with the eggs in front of her.
"She is my wife" a voice behind her replied. The woman turned and saw Derek with a silver plate in his hands.
"Derek!" Derek had the time to put the plate on the table that a pair of arms hugged him. He hugged her and kissed her on her cheeks.
"Hi Kathleen. I see you meet my wife and little girl" he said smiling towards her sister. She kissed his cheeks and hugged him again.
"How are you?" she asked with a concerned tone of voice.
"Are you asking as my sister or a psychologist?" he replied smiling.
"As your sister" she replied grinning. This is was an old joke between the two of them.
"I'm fine. We're all fine", he said. Now they were fine. But not for a long time. Lexie and Mark's deaths were a tragic blow that he and Meredith had a difficult time to ride out. Meredith and Lexie were so close that she had a difficult time to ride out her sister's death. And so was also for Derek. He and Mark had finally restored their friendship. It was hard on him too. But now they were fine. The baby and Zola helped a lot.
Kathleen hugged him again and whispered: "I was sorry to hear about Mark". Derek didn't speak but he kissed her hair.
"So why I am the last to know that you're married and have a little girl" she asked with a fake indignation.
"You forget to add that you're the last to know that Meredith is pregnant" he said with a fake seriousness.
"And I thought I was your favourite sister" she said with a fake resignation. "And let me guess. Your first choice was Amelia" she asked. Amelia crossed her arms in mock anger. Meredith was smiling. She loved to see her husband interact with his sisters. It was a thing she never had. And she would never had.
"You're wrong. It was Liz. And besides, it was not my fault. It was my wife who spilled the beans with her", he grinned towards his wife.
"Hey. I wanted to be a good sister" replied Meredith.
"And you are", said Carolyn. "Don't mind them. They like bickering when they're together. Come on, stop you two. There is a table to prepare. And you" she said towards Meredith "go and sit on the couch with the kids. We'll call you when it's ready", said a smiling Carolyn.
Quickly the table was laid and the meal was bought on the table. They took their places with Meredith seated between her husband and mother in law. They chatted and joked. Kathleen told some stories about her kids. So did Nancy and Liz. When they were towards the end of the meal, Derek decided it was time to said something.
"I am really happy to be here today, to be able to spend some time with my family. As you all know the last months were difficult for me, for Meredith. We lost a friend and a sister and we weren't physically able to take a flight. But now we're here to celebrate a new life. A new baby is on the way. We're really happy to announce that we're expecting a baby boy".
The whole table cheered their congratulations and Derek kissed his beautiful wife on her cheek. Meredith was crying, crying happy tears for the first time in few months.
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