FRIENDSHIP
'Friendship isn't a big thing - it's a million little things.'
-- Anon.
-- Thursday –
"You did good work in there," Derek said, motioning towards the OR through the window in front of them.
Meredith rolled her eyes. "And you're biased..."
He chortled and shook his head as he scrubbed at his hands. "That may be true, but I'm also right."
She said nothing, but her cheeks reddened enough for him to know that the comment hit home. She was very talented; a natural. And he already had faith that she could one day be better than him.
Derek smirked. "Seriously," he continued as he reached for paper towel to dry his hands. "Those are some mighty fine and talented hands you've got there..."
She reached for her own paper towel, also having finished scrubbing out. "And how would you know that, Dr. Shepherd?"
"I have my ways, Dr. Grey," he retorted, not missing a beat. As wonderful as their relationship had been when he had proposed, it had increased ten-fold in the last month. Being engaged had solidified their commitment to each other, and what had resulted was this; them happy, playful, completely at ease. There were no longer any hesitations, no longer any lingering thoughts, no longer any fears. The insecure, vulnerable look that pulled at his heart strings with every appearance had vanished. He hadn't seen it since he had placed the ring on her finger.
She laughed. "What kind of ways?" She prompted, her eyes sparkling.
He glanced through the window to guarantee the OR had been completely vacated and they were not being watched. "Well," he began as his eyes shifted back to her face, "there was that thing you did last night with your hands..." He raised an eyebrow.
She laughed again, stepping forward, reaching to intertwine their fingers. "Well, Dr. Shepherd, you were pretty good with your hands last night, too."
"Thank-you for the compliment, Dr. Grey. It means a lot coming from you."
It was her turn to raise an eyebrow. "Well, they better not be coming from anyone else."
Derek laughed, dropping her hands to reach for her waist, his fingers finding purchase along her hip bones. He pulled close to her and planted several short, soft kisses on her lips. He'd wanted to do that for his entire surgery. "Trust me, Mer, your opinion is the only one I want."
She smiled warmly at his words and sighed, leaning her forehead against his for several seconds. "Okay," she said when she pulled away, before planting a lingering kiss on his lips. "We need to go talk to the family."
He nodded. "We do."
She giggled. "You're not moving..."
"Neither are you," he countered.
She sighed and offered him another smile as she pulled away from him. "Fine, I'll be the strong one today."
"Good, cause I don't think I have the strength today. You're too irresistible."
She shook her head. "Now I really know you're biased, Derek. I've been on for thirty hours and just got out of an eight hour surgery."
"You're always irresistible to me," he said quickly. "And you're always beautiful."
The tiny smile that fluttered to her lips made his heart swell.
"Let's go tell the family the good news, and then I can finally take you home..."
She rolled her eyes, but her lips failed to drop out of their happy smile. "Okay," she agreed easily, her hand reaching into the breast pocket of her scrub top for the small package of purple fabric. She unzipped it and pulled out her engagement ring. After a week, she had found that hanging it on her necklace during surgery was too much effort to be constantly removing the chain. And Addison had used a large safety pin, so she wanted to stay away from that. He had found the small bag she was using now.
Derek smiled at the realization that two rings would be kept in that bag during surgery in the near future. They had discussed getting married that summer, and were going to the same jeweller where he had picked out the engagement ring to look for wedding rings the following day. He reached for the small ring before she could replace it on her finger.
Meredith looked up, questioning his motives, but he smiled and reached for her left hand, before tenderly sliding the ring back up her finger. The jolts of electricity that had been there the first time he had done it were still there, only moderately decreased in voltage.
"There," he said quietly. "Right back where it belongs."
"Yeah." She closed her fingers around his. "Right where is belongs..."
000
Derek awoke with a start to a rumbling in the hall as a herd of giggling children tumbled by the door on their way up from the back hallway. He shifted and sighed, his ears picking up the pitter-patter of fat rain drops falling on the roof above his room. A second, smaller, herd of children hurried past, giggling and shushing each other. They were obviously stuck amusing themselves indoors due to the weather. And even though the house was very large, fourteen children stuck inside took up a lot of space.
He yawned and rolled over, seeking out the warm body next to him.
Meredith mumbled something incoherent as he snaked a hand across her stomach and pulled himself closer to her, resting his head on the pillow beside her, his chin resting above her shoulder. Still mostly unconscious, she snuggled closer to him before settling again, her breathing returning to regular deep, even breaths.
He smiled and pressed his lips against the side of her head, inhaling the wonderful scent wafting from her hair. "I love you," he whispered into her hair.
Meredith shifted and mumbled again, her hand finding the one he had draped across her, and her fingers closed around his.
Derek chuckled. Other than when she was awoken by the sound of a hospital pager, she wasn't quick to wake. He squeezed her hand and sighed happily at the feeling of her even breaths filling her chest every few seconds. It had been over a year since her drowning incident, and the memory hardly crossed his mind anymore, but it definitely had the previous day. The moment Mark and Phil had begun dragging him towards the dock, Derek had known exactly what was about to happen. And he had struggled to get free; not to avoid getting wet, but to avoid Meredith ending up in the water. He had surfaced just in time to see his sisters swing her off the end of the dock and he had begun swimming for her on instinct, overwhelmed by the need to save her; overwhelmed by the fear that she wouldn't be able to surface on her own.
But she had. He had found her treading water beside his sister, none the worse for wear. And overall, he was glad for what had happened. It had been a year, and they were both past it, but he hadn't even realised they had avoided the water in that time. There would be no more avoiding now. By the time they had finally called a family-wide truce, she had been in the pond more times that he could count. And she had come up on her own every time.
She was okay; still breathing beside him, right where he needed her to be. Right where she would always be. His heart soared with the thought. Two days. In two days she would be his wife. Derek couldn't wait.
He pressed his lips against the side of her head. "Mer..." He mumbled. "Time to wake up..."
Her breathing shallowed and she shook her head.
He laughed. "Meredith..."
"No..." She grumbled.
"Yes," he countered with a smirk.
She groaned. "Why?"
"Because it's morning."
"Hmpfff."
He chuckled. "Guess what?"
"What?" She asked quietly, her eyes still closed.
He leaned in close, his lips just touching her ear. "We're getting married in two days..."
Despite the early hour and the fact that she had just woken up, a smile appeared on her lips. "We are, huh?"
"Yeah," he breathed into her.
She shifted and rolled over to face him, her green eyes boring a hole into his. "I can't wait... Or, at least I think I can't wait."
He raised an eyebrow. "You think you can't wait?"
She laughed freely. "I didn't mean it to sound like that," she reassured him quickly. "I just meant...I can't wait to get married, but...I don't know, people who are getting married always seem to go on and on about things they're going to have to give up, or they go on and on about losing their single status and stuff. And I...I'm not feeling any of that, and I'm wondering if it's because we've put the wedding together so quickly or if I'm just...the exception to the rule or whatever. Because, seriously, I'm not feeling it. Is that weird? Am I supposed to be feeling it? Am I supposed to be all 'I won't be single anymore' and 'I'll never get to meet anyone new again' and 'I'll never have any firsts again' and 'I'll never get to have sex with anyone else'? Am I supposed to be freaking out? Because, seriously, it is me, we're talking about. Me, Derek. I feel like I should be freaking out or something. Cause I'm not the person who gets married without freaking out. Do you think it's weird, that I haven't freaked out yet? Are you freaking out? Am I-"
"Meredith." Derek cut her off. "Seriously, it's way too early to be doing the rambling, hundred questions at once thing."
She giggled. "Sorry."
"Let's start at the beginning. You're not freaking out, but you think you should be?" He asked for clarification.
She shrugged. "Should I be? Are you?"
"No and no."
She smiled. "Really? Cause I thought it was normal."
He thought back. "I guess I was freaking out before I married Addy, but we obviously weren't right for each other, so maybe that was why." He offered her a wry smile. "Too bad I didn't meet you first..."
She snorted. "Derek, if you had met me before you met Addison, I would have been in high school, like the beginning of high school."
He bit back a laugh. "Yeah, I guess that wouldn't have gone well. Would have been a little bit controversial..."
She nodded. "And a lot illegal..."
This time he did laugh. "Okay, moving on... I'm not freaking out about anything this time. There isn't a doubt in my mind that this is exactly where I want to be."
"Me too," she responded. "It's weird, because even a year ago we were in a bad place. Remember? We stopped talking, not that we talked all that much to begin with, and things got pretty bad. And if some had told me then that a year later we would be two days away from our wedding and I would be across the country with your family feeling completely at home...well," she shrugged, "I probably would have had them admitted to psych."
Derek laughed at her bluntness. "Yeah, things weren't so good. But we figured it out. And we're here now."
"We are," she said with a smile, weaving her fingers through his.
"But we did put this wedding together awfully fast," Derek ventured. "Is there anything you're regretting?"
"No, I don't think so." She shook her head.
"You can tell me if there is..."
She laughed. "Seriously, Derek, there's nothing. And I think the fact that there's nothing is freaking me out more than anything else could. I mean, come on, I'm not the person everyone expects to get all the way to, and down, the aisle without any problems or freak outs, right?"
He hesitated, unsure of what she was expecting from him. If he disagreed, he would be lying. However, if he agreed, he could be called an ass. In the end, the decision was made for him.
She scoffed and shook her head. "Seriously, Derek, that was practically rhetorical."
"Sorry." He offered a wry smile. "You do have a history," he acknowledged.
"I do," she agreed. "But I do like to think I have a much different future."
"We can have any kind of future you want."
She rolled her eyes and leaned close for a quick kiss. "You're being a sap."
He laughed when she pulled away. "Maybe so, but I'm your sap. You're stuck with me."
"I'm okay with that," she said lightly.
"Good." It was his turn to kiss her. He pulled back and regarded her for several moments. "Are you feeling apprehensive about any of the things you said? Not being single? Not being able to meet new people?"
She shook her head. "Nope. I'm actually very much looking forward to not being single anymore; not that I've exactly been single in over a year..."
"What about no more firsts?" He raised an eyebrow. "Or not having sex with anyone else?"
She gazed into his eyes for several seconds before offering him a small smile. "Honestly, Derek, that's a relief more than anything. I mean, I know I have a history...and a reputation..." she avoided his eyes. "And I get that people expect me to miss it. But the whole bar scene and everything, I..." She cautiously met his eyes again and he offered a supportive smile. This wasn't a topic their conversations had ever ventured into. He had a feeling she wanted to forget her past, and he didn't exactly want to hear the stories. But it was a part of her; it was part of what had made her who she was today. Everything she had ever done was a part of who she was now. There was nothing he wouldn't listen to or discuss with her. She took a breath and continued. "I kind of feel like I did what I had to, you know? It was the only way I knew to be close to other people. I never understood the whole other side of things..." She smiled at him. "That is, until you forced yourself into my life."
"Forced myself?"
She nodded. "Absolutely. I thought I was doing fine, and then along came you, all high and mighty and dreamy. And here we are, two years later, about to get married."
"And here we are," he agreed. "So, the whole sex thing isn't an issue?"
"It was the only way I knew to be close to anyone," she admitted quietly. "But you've proved otherwise." She smirked. "And don't get me wrong. Sex with you is..." she shook her head, "amazing doesn't even begin to describe it. But there's so much more that I'd never known before. I don't ever want to go back to..." She trailed off and offered him a gentle smile. "Only having sex with you for the rest of my life is something to look forward to, not something to freak out about." She paused. "I always knew something was missing, but I never understood what it was until you. It feels different...when I'm with you, Derek. Even just the sex is different. So familiar, so...intimate. I never knew it could feel that way. And I never want to go back to it feeling cold and forced."
He felt his heart constrict and go out to her at her quiet words, once again proving just how badly her parents had done; that her daughter had been forced to use one night stands as her only way of feeling connected to the world around her. "I'm glad you know otherwise now, Mer," he told her. "And sex with you is more than amazing, too," he added.
She laughed and her lips settled into a mischievous grin. She shifted and pushed him onto his back before rolling over him. "Why don't we sample a little bit of that amazing-ness?"
"I like the way you think," he responded easily, his hands finding her hips as her lips met his. She buried her hands in his hair and deepened the kiss. Derek groaned and rolled them over, his hands travelling up her sides.
Meredith was just beginning to pull at the hem of his thin shirt when the door to their room swung open. He started and rolled away abruptly.
Two giggling forms made their way into the room. Megan and Haley.
Derek shuddered as he tried to force his breathing back to normal. Meredith was wide-eyed beside him, clutching the sheets up to her chin, regardless of the fact that she was decked out in a full set of pajamas. Derek couldn't help but send a silent prayer to the powers-that-be that they had re-dressed last night.
"What are you girls doing?" He asked as they came closer.
"We're playin' hide and seek," Megan answered.
"We need a good place to hide," Haley added. "'Cause Tina's seekin' and she's real good."
"Girls," he chastised gently, not wanting to do anything to risk his top position in the uncle category, but needing them to not ever do this again. "What's the rule about coming into closed bedrooms in the morning?"
Both of his nieces looked down.
"Not to do it," Haley finally stated.
Derek smiled. "Exactly."
"We're really sorry, Uncle Derek," Megan said quickly. "Did we wake you and Aunt Meri-deth up?"
Derek glanced beside him, where Meredith was still plastered against the pillows, eyes still wide, fingers still clutched to the covers. "Yes," he told them, wanting to cover for Meredith's stunned expression. Both girls were six, and too young to have any understanding of what they had almost walked in on, but he didn't need to make them suspicious. And he definitely didn't need them to say anything that would come off suspicious to any of the adults. And he really didn't need Meredith putting up a sex ban again.
"We're real sorry," Haley apologized.
"It's okay," Derek assured. "We're not upset." He looked to Meredith to back him up, but she was still silent, her eyes only now beginning to return to their normal size. "We're not upset at all," he repeated, "Right, Aunt Meredith?"
She startled from her trance and nodded. "Right," she agreed, although her voice was uncharacteristically high and waver-y. "Not upset at all. Not a problem at all. Not-"
Derek shifted his foot and kicked her discreetly in the leg, cutting her off before she began to ramble, because one, that would look suspicious, and two, he knew from experience that if you let her ramble long enough, she would eventually state exactly what she was trying to avoid saying.
"We'll go hide somewhere else," Megan said. She and Haley turned and left the room, closing the door behind them.
"Oh my god," Meredith groaned as soon as the door was closed. "Oh my god," she repeated. "Your nieces walked in on us...on us..."
"They didn't walk in on anything," he assured. "They think we were asleep."
She shook her head. "But...no...we weren't asleep...we were about to...oh my god...what if they had walked in a few minutes later? What if they had seen...? Oh my god."
Derek couldn't help laughing at her reaction.
"Shut up!" She hissed. "This is not funny."
"It's a little funny. Look, it happens. But Mer, they're six years old. They didn't see anything. They don't know anything."
"What if they say something to their parents? And...crap, my friends are here too. I'll never hear the end of it."
"Meredith, relax, and listen for just a second. They didn't see anything. They don't know anything. And if they say anything to their parents it's that they came in and woke us up. And if anyone says anything, we just agree, okay? Say that we were asleep and they woke us up."
Her breathing calmed. "Okay. I can do that. Okay."
He narrowed his eyes. "And that means, you need to give a short, nonchalant agreement if they ask you. No rambling, because that's suspicious."
Meredith rolled her eyes. "I can speak normally, Derek."
He snorted. "There are times when I'd have to disagree."
There was a moment of silence between them as she bit back a laugh and attempted to keep a harsh expression. Then her resolve cracked and her lips curled up into a smile. "Fine. Sometimes I have trouble expressing myself in the same number of words someone else could. But that's really only when I don't have any warning. I'll be fine."
He smiled and pressed his lips against hers. "Good." He shifted closer, so that he was hovering half over her. "Now, where were we..." He dipped his lips down to her neck.
She shook her head and pushed at his chest. "Not a chance."
He rolled his eyes. "I'll lock the door."
"Not a chance," she repeated. "They know we're awake now. We have to go downstairs."
"No we don't..." He tried to return to her neck, but she was still holding him away.
"Yes. Yes, we do. Or they'll know."
He met her eyes and bit back a laugh. "They'll know what, that we're two grown adults who are getting married in two days and have had sex before?"
She glared at him. "See? This is exactly why I vowed not to have sex in this house."
"Oh, come on, we're not going back to that."
"No more sex," she stated. "Especially not right now."
"Mer, you're being a touch irrational."
"I'm allowed to be irrational," she countered. "Look at what just about happened."
"But it didn't happen."
"But it almost happened."
"But it-" Derek cut himself off, knowing this route of arguing was futile with her. He would never win. "Fine, we need to be more careful. How about joining me in the shower?" He raised an eyebrow, but was disheartened by her reaction.
"No. Derek, I told you, we have to get downstairs, or they'll get suspicious."
"So we tell them we showered before coming down. We've already done that most days this week. It's not unusual."
She shook her head. "Not today."
"Mer, come on, you're leaving me in a compromising position here..." He begged.
He could see her biting back a laugh. "It's not my problem; you started it."
He gaped at her. "Excuse me, but it was very much you who started it."
She hesitated. "But..."
He smirked and slid his hand up under the thin fabric of the tee she had, once again, stolen from him. "Come on, remember all the amazing-ness we were going to have..."
"Derek..." She said weakly, and he smirked, knowing he had her.
"Meredith..." He said, in much the same way. He tilted his head, giving her their look.
Her expression melted, even as she scolded him. "Don't go doing that..."
He shifted his hand higher, smirking when she leaned into the pressure, subtly directing his movements.
"Fine," she conceded, "but we have to turn the shower off half way through in case anyone is listening to the water. And you have to wait afterwards so that it doesn't look like we're coming down at the same time."
He laughed at her requests, but would take what he could get. He reached for her hand. "Deal."
000
True to his word, Derek stuck around in their room for an extra ten minutes, leaving Meredith to head down to breakfast alone. As soon as her toes touched the main floor from the stairs, she could hear Izzy's excited tone chatting away in the living room.
The scene that awaited her was of no great surprise. Izzy was sitting cross-legged on the short end of the L-shaped couch. George was beside her, tucked into the corner of the couch, looking as if he could use another few hours of sleep. Cristina was nursing a cup of coffee on the short couch along the front wall, which had been pulled up from the front of the living room and left for the week to allow the whole family to sit together. Kathleen and Natalie were sharing the love seat. Their husbands, Simon and Phil, were sitting across from them on the single chairs, occasionally sending Izzy curious glances. And Carol was seated on the long end of the couch.
Meredith said a quick good morning before bypassing the living room for the kitchen, and quickly returned with her own steaming mug of coffee. She collapsed next to her best friend with a yawn.
"You're all up early," she commented.
Izzy shrugged. "I came up to get some water, and I bumped into Natalie in the kitchen, and we got to talking. I guess with five kids, you get up early a lot."
Meredith shifted her eyes between Izzy and Natalie. "How long have you been talking?"
"An hour or two," Natalie answered with a shrug.
"About...?"
Her future sister-in-law smirked. "What's our one common topic of conversation?"
"Oh, god," Meredith groaned, glaring at Izzy. "What have you told them now?" The previous night by the fire had been more than enough.
Izzy laughed. "Nothing that concerns you."
"Nothing that concerns me? How can that be if it's all about me?"
Cristina even laughed at this. "Seriously, Mer, that was the only thing that got me up this early." George nodded his agreement and Meredith groaned.
"Seriously, I didn't think this through enough before we ended up with both families in one house..."
Carol laughed. "Family is a joy, dear."
Meredith raised an eyebrow. "How is having all of my many embarrassing secrets from the past two years being passed between families a joy?"
Carol smirked. "It's a joy to us."
Meredith made a strangled sound as she buried her face in her free hand, ignoring the laughter and snarky comments from the rest of the room.
"Where's Derek?" Natalie asked when Meredith finally pulled her hand away.
"Uh, he just got out of the shower when I came down. He's probably still doing his hair..." She tried to sound nonchalant.
Kathleen laughed. "Sounds like my brother." She shook her head. "Megan and Haley came down looking guilty a few minutes ago. Sorry if they woke you up."
Meredith felt her throat go dry, but she forced a neutral expression to her face and shrugged. "It's fine. We had to get up anyway." The majority of the room accepted her answer. Her best friend, however, could read her almost as well as Derek.
Cristina met her eyes, and Meredith just knew that she had been caught. She sent a pleading look to Cristina, who rolled her eyes and discreetly nodded her head. Meredith sighed in relief. Other than the rampant story telling, Cristina was proving to be a good maid of honour.
There were footsteps in the back hallway and Derek appeared in the doorway, his hair still damp but perfectly styled. He was dressed casually; jeans and an old NYU tee. She felt her heart skip a beat at his entrance. She had seen him in suits. She had seen him in more upscale casual. She had seen him in scrubs. She had seen him in nothing at all. But there was something about the casual, lounging, mussed, just out of bed look that made her heart race and her throat go dry and so many other familiar sensations peak.
His gaze passed over the occupants of the room, offering a casual greeting, and then landed on her. And for a moment, she was lost in his deep blue eyes. Time stopped. All movement and life and conversation around her stopped. All she saw was him. His smile and his hair and the sea of blue that was his eyes. A now familiar and welcome feeling of belonging swept over her. She was going to marry this man.
In two days she would be his wife.
She swallowed hard. He approached her and the trance was broken. Her peripheral vision came back. Life around her seemed to start up again. She moved closer to the middle of the small couch and he collapsed beside her, wrapping an arm around her waist.
His free hand snaked out to steal her coffee, but she did nothing to stop him. His close proximity was reeking havoc on her limbic system. She had no idea why she was suddenly so affected by his mere presence. He took two sips from the mug before returning it to her almost-shaking hand. She needed to get her emotions under control.
"So," he began, "what embarrassing stories are we telling now?" His arm tightened around her, as if to reassure that he was only joking.
"Not that again," she retorted. "I think me coming down was the only thing that stopped them this morning."
He laughed, low and hearty. Her heart soared and her sensory neurons fired. "I supposed we could give you a bit of a break..."
She rolled her eyes. "Thanks for the thoughtfulness."
"You're welcome," he responded immediately, not missing a beat. "What time are you girls leaving?"
Meredith glanced at the clock on the wall. "I guess in about an hour." She, Cristina and Izzy were going to the bridal shop Natalie had suggested at the beginning of the week to have their dresses fitted again, just in case any alterations needed to take place. Carol and Natalie were going along as a second and third opinion.
"Sounds good." He nodded his head.
"I'm so excited," Izzy spoke up from across the room. "I love trying on dresses and getting fitted..." Her knees bounced as she sat up, anticipation screaming from every pore on her body. "I love weddings."
"We get it," Cristina said, her voice dry. "We've only heard it a few thousand times in the past twenty-four hours."
Izzy expertly ignored her roommate. "I hope there are no problems with the dresses. I'm sure everything will fit just fine. I mean, I'm pretty sure I'm still the same size, and you don't look like you've changed..."
Meredith had to shake her head at Izzy's exuberance. "I'm sure it'll be fine too, Iz."
She clapped a hand down onto the cushion next to her. "Isn't this just so exciting? I mean, two years ago, who would have thought?"
Kathleen sat forward with sudden interest. "So, you guys were there from the beginning of this, huh?"
Meredith groaned when Izzy nodded. "Yup." She tilted her head towards George. "We were the first to know; caught Derek leaving one morning before work."
"Okay, we don't need to hear the story," Meredith attempted, all the while knowing her appeal to be a waste of time. The Shepherds were obviously interested.
"Oh, I think we do," Cristina piped up.
Meredith shook her head at her best friend. "Why?" She asked, incredulous.
Cristina shrugged. "It's entertaining."
"Anyway," Izzy continued. "George and I caught him leaving, tried to get Mer to fuss up, because we had known someone had been there, just not who until he came down the stairs..."
Meredith wanted to close her eyes and crawl under a rock. Even Derek's cheeks were red beside her.
"...And Izzy ended up in a yelling match with Meredith in the locker room later that day," Cristina added. "Which was perfect for me, because I got in on the hemispherectomy."
Meredith didn't even have a chance to comment on the fact that Cristina had, of course, remembered the surgery of the day in question.
"Why a yelling match?" Kathleen prompted.
"Well, it didn't look good at the time; an intern and an attending." Izzy shrugged. "Of course, it became very clear that night that it wasn't about getting ahead at work." She tilted her head and met Meredith's eyes, her voice changing. "Because little Meredith was falling for her McDreamy."
Meredith rolled her eyes, doing her best to avoid eye contact with anyone in the room. She knew her face was red and her entire body was hot with embarrassment. "Seriously, Iz..."
"What? It's true. It's what we talked about."
Oh, my God. You're falling for him.
Damn it. You poor girl.
You're all mushy and warm and...full of secret feelings.
"Whatever," Meredith muttered, knowing she was caught.
"Okay, back up a second," Simon said, his attention landing solely on Izzy. "What did you just call Derek?"
Meredith felt Derek tense as Izzy shrugged and answered with a simple, "McDreamy. It's his nickname at the hospital."
Simon, Phil and Kathleen turned towards Derek with barely concealed laughter.
"Oh my god, I can't believe we forgot to mention that," Natalie exclaimed. "They told us that when we flew out to Seattle last summer." She laughed. "Apparently they all call him doctor McDreamy."
Kathleen and Phil were laughing freely. Simon was trying to hold back, his fist slamming onto the arm of his chair. "Knowing that is worth all the crap you and Mark threw at me the first few times I was here."
Meredith laughed, knowing Derek and Mark had put Simon through the ringer when Kathleen had first brought him home. He had been the first brother-in-law. "Mark has one too," she piped up, relieved that the focus was, at least momentarily, off of her.
"That's right," Kathleen exclaimed. "Doctor McSteamy."
The laughter in the room doubled.
"Who came up with them?" Phil asked.
"Meredith," George answered.
"Hey!" She said quickly. "I did not. Cristina started it."
Cristina rolled her eyes. "No one in that hospital has any appreciation for sarcasm. It was meant to be satirical, not literal."
"So, he isn't really doctor McDreamy in Seattle?" Natalie asked with a laugh.
"He definitely wasn't when he was hiding the fact that he was married."
The light mood of the room fell heavily. Silence reigned. The faint ticking of the wall clock, which had fallen into the background before, now stood out ominously. Tick. Tick. Tick.
Meredith swallowed. "Cristina," she said lightly, careful of her best friend's protective streak. Over the past year, Cristina had come a huge way in accepting Derek as a permanent part of her life. But his history and her experience with Burke left a tiny amount of room for doubt, which would flare up when she was cornered. "That doesn't matter now."
Cristina shrugged. "I'm just making sure it's out there. I'm on your side, and I just need to make sure everyone knows that truth, that-"
"They know the truth," Derek cut in before Meredith could. "They know I lied."
"Good," Cristina nodded. "Because you may be McDreamy now, but you weren't when we had to pick up the pieces when you didn't show up at Joe's."
Meredith closed her eyes, not wanting to be pulled from her happy pre-wedding bubble and back to that horrible, heart-breaking night. She opened her eyes and glanced around the room. Derek's family seemed uncertain. They knew the truth, but not necessarily the situation Cristina was referring to. Izzy and George looked a touch uncomfortable, but were looking to her with support. Meredith couldn't help but smile. They had been there for her. They had been on her side.
"And that's something I regret every day," Derek was saying. "Every day." His grip around her tightened.
Meredith took a deep breath. "Okay," she said lightly, trying to diffuse the situation. "It doesn't matter anymore," she repeated, shooting her best friend a pleading glance. "There are no sides anymore."
Cristina regarded her for a long moment before nodding and turning to face Izzy. "And you're wrong, Tinkerbell, you weren't the first to know about them." All tension was gone from her voice, as she fell back into the light-hearted banter from before. "I was."
Izzy shook her head. "How could you possibly? I lived with her."
Cristina scoffed. "You're misjudging my power. I knew from day one, literally. Got Mer to fess up when we were researching Katie Brice in the library on our first shift."
Izzy scoffed but didn't verbally argue. She knew enough to respect that Cristina was telling the truth. "Whatever."
"What about your other friend, Alex, when did he find out?"
Meredith exchanged a glance with Izzy and Cristina and shrugged. "I don't know."
"We didn't really talk to him back then," Cristina added.
"He was kind of an ass," Izzy said. "Well, he's still an ass, but he grew on us."
George spoke up. "I don't know how Alex found out, but I do know how Dr. Bailey found out..."
Meredith looked to him in horror, shocked at the smirk on his face. He had obviously been waiting to bring this up.
"Oh, yes, when she-"
"Veto!" Meredith yelled quickly, cutting Cristina off.
"Oh, come on, Mer," Izzy tried.
"No. I get to veto anything I want. I choose this."
"But we want to know," Phil prompted.
"Never going to happen," Meredith countered.
"It doesn't matter," Cristina said. "Bailey's coming this weekend. Just ask her when she gets here. Meredith can't veto Bailey."
"No one can veto Bailey," Izzy added.
"She wouldn't say anything," Meredith said, wishing she could sound more confident than she felt.
"I can get her to talk," George piped up. "She likes me. I saved her baby."
"Yeah, well, Derek saved her husband."
Derek shifted beside her at her words. "Sorry, Mer, but baby trumps husband."
She turned to Derek with a questioning look. "What?"
He sighed and repeated his statement. "In Bailey's eyes, baby trumps husband. Trust me, I've been there before with her."
Meredith shook her head. This was going to be a long two days. She grumbled. "Why is it so entertaining to pick on me?"
George shrugged. "It's not our fault you give us a lot of ammo."
She glared at him. "I have stories about all of you, you know..."
"Yeah, but anything you know, we all know already," Cristina said, motioning to herself, Izzy and George. "And we don't care about anything you tell them." She motioned to the Shepherds. "Because we won't have to deal with them at every holiday for the rest of our lives."
Meredith turned her glare to Cristina. She felt Derek laughing beside her and jabbed him with her elbow. "Can we please talk about something else, at least for a little while, so I can pretend I have supportive friends?"
Everyone laughed at the sarcasm in her tone. But true to her request, they did put in a valid effort.
"Izzy," Simon called, earning the blonde's attention. "Did you ever live in New York?"
She shook her head, confused. "Nope. This is my first time here. Why?"
"You just look very familiar," Simon stated.
Phil nodded his agreement. "We both feel like we've seen you somewhere before."
Meredith watched as Izzy's cheeks blushed just a bit as she shook her head and reiterated that she had never met them, and no, she had no idea how they would know her. Meredith gasped quietly as she realized where they knew her from.
Izzy looked over to her, pleading for her not to say anything. Meredith narrowed her eyes, briefly flirting with the idea of using this to get back at her former roommate for all the story telling, but in the end she rolled her eyes and stayed silent.
"I'm sorry, it's just...I really do think I've seen you somewhere before...and I can't quite put my finger on it..." Phil said with a shrug. "I'm sure it will come to me."
"No it won't," Derek said smoothly, coming to both Izzy and his brothers-in-law aid. Izzy would be embarrassed. Simon and Phil would have to answer to their wives. "She probably just looks like someone you know."
"Who?"
"I don't know," Derek said tersely. "I'm just saying...you don't know her."
Izzy shot an appreciative glance to Derek and he offered her a nod.
Simon and Phil looked confused, but were catching on to something. They remained silent.
"So," George piped up, coming to Izzy's aid in an attempt to change the subject. And he, of course, went for something tried and true. "Have you heard the story where Meredith spent an entire day carrying around a penis?"
000
"So, your friend seems a little untrusting," Carol prompted gently as she steered the car along the roads towards the bridal shop. They had opted to take two cars into town, and Carol had requested to take the opportunity to be alone with her soon to be daughter-in-law.
Meredith sighed, not uneasy with the topic, but wanting to make sure and properly justify Cristina's reaction. "Yeah, she's...untrusting," she agreed. "She's the friend whose fiancé broke up with her at the altar."
"But why is she taking that out on Derek?"
Meredith smiled at the protective tone in the older woman's voice. She didn't like anyone looking at her son in an unfavourable light. "It's not that she doesn't like him. It's just... Cristina and I aren't the same, but we're very similar. And we were both interns to fall in love with Attendings. And it was just as valid for Cristina as it is for me and Derek. But...Burke wasn't like Derek. He was pushy and demanding. And she's really independent, but she gave in to him because she loved him. He got her to say she'd marry him and then he scheduled the wedding for the day after our intern exam, which was less than a year after they first met even. And that's fast for a normal person. Cristina was always more hesitant to trust or let anyone in. But she said yes, and she put up with the short engagement. And she put up with the demands for her to pick a dress, pick a cake, pick a song, and all that."
"So, what happened, if he was getting what he wanted?"
"Well, he agreed to a wedding in town hall. All Cristina wanted was me and Derek there as witnesses. And he agreed. But then he invited both of their mothers out and let them book a huge church and invite close to two hundred people and force her into wearing a white dress and three bridesmaids and all that. And Cristina... I mean, we had the test, she was there for me after Susan died...she was distracted, but she did what she could. We spent hours at the dress shop with their mothers. But she just didn't care about the small things; like which type of cake. And in the end, once we got her all the way up the aisle, he said he couldn't go through with it." She sighed. "He basically told her that he didn't love her, that he loved the idea of who she could be... and then he left; packed up his stuff and was gone before we got to their apartment. And we never saw him again."
Carol clicked her tongue. "That poor girl."
"Yeah," Meredith agreed. "I mean she's really strong, but it really hit her hard. She didn't deserve that. And now...like I said, we're very similar, so she still sees her mistakes in me, even if they aren't really there. She's accepted that Derek isn't going to leave me again, but that doesn't mean she hasn't questioned every step we've taken, just to make sure I'm not being pressured. And I guess the quick wedding is bringing back memories. It has almost been a year since her almost-wedding."
"He's not pushing you, right?" Carol asked softly.
Meredith smiled and shook her head. "No. He's been...amazing. I know I'm not the easiest person to be in a relationship with. I came complete with a mass of trust issues, commitment issues, abandonment issues, insecurities... You name it, I had it. But once we figured out how to talk, we seemed to settle in well. He gave me time, as long as he knew we were moving in the right direction."
"Good," Carol answered smoothly. "He sounds just like his father."
Meredith smiled. "It would make him happy to hear that. He..." she hesitated before continuing. "He thinks about Sam a lot."
Carol took a breath. "I do too, dear. And I know he'd be so proud of you two. And somewhere, somehow, he knows about your wedding and he's smiling."
"I don't doubt it," Meredith responded honestly. If she had learned anything from her drowning experience, it was to believe in more than what met the eye.
Carol hesitated. "Can I ask what happened exactly? Cristina said something about picking up the pieces at Joe's?"
Meredith sighed. "That was the night Derek chose Addison," she said quietly, her heart thumping against her chest wall with every beat. It wasn't a memory she liked to look back on. "When she showed up I barely spoke to Derek for a week. And then he told me he had divorce papers and he just needed to read them over and sign..." She shrugged. "And then he hesitated and I pulled away again..." She trailed off, having always wondered if things would have been different if she had given him the support and understanding he had asked for right away. "Anyway, I avoided for a while before I kind of realized that he wanted me to fight..."
"And..." Carol prompted after several moments of silence.
Meredith offered her a sad smile when she glanced away from the road for a moment. "I told him how I felt about him, how much I loved him, which was my first time saying that by the way, but I... I guess it was too little too late. I told him to meet me at Joe's- which is the bar across the street, and the owner, Joe, is coming this weekend- if he decided to sign the papers." She shrugged. "He didn't show up."
Carol clicked her tongue. "Oh, Meredith. I'm sorry. That must have been awful for you."
"It was," she replied honestly. "But seriously, it's water under the thing, or whatever, now. Derek and I are past it. Cristina just...needs a little time to adjust. I know it doesn't look like it, but she really is a good friend. She's always been there for me."
"I believe you. You seem to have a good group of friends. Very diverse, but closely knit."
Meredith laughed. "Yeah...Izzy is like a freak of nature. She didn't have much of a childhood either, but she's so freaking excited about everything. And she and Cristina fight like there's no tomorrow, and yet they survive living in the same house. And George had a hard year last year, and is repeating his internship because of it, but he hasn't let that get him down. And Alex keeps to himself a lot, and I'm pretty sure he had a crappier childhood than I did, but he's still here. And he's surprisingly protective." She paused for a moment. "And it took a while, but they've all re-accepted Derek in my life."
"It's good to have a supportive family unit." Carol shook her head. "I hate seeing first hand what happens when that falls apart."
Meredith furrowed her brow. "I'm sorry, I think you're losing me."
Carol shot her a small smile. "Spencer barely has anything to do with his parents, did you know that?"
"Uh, I think Derek mentioned that they don't spend holidays together and stuff..."
"That poor boy...when Anna met him..." Carol shook her head. "He kind of reminds me of you last Thanksgiving. Drew the short straw and got stuck with a crummy family; didn't know how to interact with us." She shot Meredith another sad smile. "But he didn't have friends like you did."
"I don't know what I would have done without them," Meredith said honestly. "I was raised to be independent; not to rely on anyone. Not to go to anyone for help or support. It meant I was weak. But...I've learned that's not true. It was hard, but having people around and learning to go to them for help..." Meredith inhaled sharply, surprised to find tears stinging the backs of her eyes. "It wasn't something I ever expected to have in my life. But with all the crap that's happened...I can't even imagine how I would have survived without them. Derek, Cristina, Izzy, George and Alex are my family. They're the only people I've ever had who wanted to be there for me."
Carol reached a supportive hand out to land on Meredith's knee. "I know, dear. But keep in mind that you have a whole other family now. We don't want to replace yours, but we're here too. We're here with all the love and support you could ever imagine."
Meredith nodded, wrapping her hand around the one resting on her knee. "Thank-you," she said softy, blinking back tears. "You have no idea how it feels to hear that."
Carol pulled the car into the parking lot and found a space. She turned off the engine and turned to Meredith, her expression concerned, yet determined. She tilted her head and looked so much like her son in that moment that Meredith smiled. "Meredith, what happened to you?"
Meredith blinked. "I'm sorry?"
"I know something happened a few months ago, something big enough for you and Derek to delay the original wedding. And you've changed; not a lot, but there's something different. And you and Derek had changed. You're closer; stronger. But there's something else there. And there's something else there with you. Something small that I can't quite put my finger on..."
Meredith bit down on her lower lip for several seconds before her eyes welled and she shook her head. "I can't," she whispered. "I just can't right now."
Carol nodded. "Okay, dear. You don't have to. Just know I'm here; for anything."
Her throat tightened and she nodded, unable to form any words.
"I'm sorry to upset you." Carol reached across the center consol of the car and pulled Meredith into a tight hug. "I'm sorry, dear," she repeated.
"It's okay," Meredith managed as she clutched onto the older woman.
Carol pulled back enough to meet Meredith's gaze, her familiar blue eyes calming her. "Enough of this depressing talk. This is a happy occasion." She offered a smile. "You're marrying my son and I couldn't be more pleased. So, let's think of that, okay?"
Meredith nodded, offering a brave smile.
"Good. Now, let's go in. I'm excited to seeing you in your dress. And I'm looking forward to hearing your friend complain about her dress..."
Meredith surprised herself with a small laugh. Carol certainly had Cristina pegged.
000
Meredith stared at her reflection. And her reflection stared right back. She moved her right arm, and the corresponding arm in the mirror moved accordingly. It really was her in the mirror in the full length white dress. It had been months since she had tried it on, and she had forgotten the excitement she had felt when she had first tried it on in the dress store with Izzy and Cristina and felt a shock move through her body. She had known this was the dress she was going to get married in.
It was only the eighth dress she tried on. Izzy had amassed a number of preliminary choices, more than half of which were still hanging beside the dressing room. But Meredith had refused to try any more. This was the one. She felt comfortable in it, like it was made for her. It felt...right. And it had only required a few small alterations to fir her like a glove.
Still staring at her reflection, she turned halfway to the right, and then halfway to the left, watching as the material shimmered back and forth. The colour was not quite a pristine white, just a touch of an off-white. The back of the dress touched the ground behind her, but the front lifted an inch or two to prevent her from tripping over the fabric. Because one thing Meredith did not need to happen on her wedding day was to fall on her face while walking down the aisle.
She lifted the skirt of the dress momentarily to smile at the matching slightly off-white shoes, thankful she and Kathleen had the same sized feet. They were her something borrowed.
The dress was her something new. And she had purchased a dark blue garter belt when she had been in the store earlier that week to pick out the flower girl dresses. It was Derek's favourite color; she hoped he'd be adequately surprised Saturday night. The only thing she was missing was a something old, although Mark had jokingly told her Derek should count for that.
After one last turn before the mirror, she stepped out from behind the curtain to face Carol, Natalie and Ruth, the owner of the shop.
"Oh, Meredith, you look gorgeous." Carol exclaimed. "That's a beautiful dress."
"It really is, Mer," Natalie echoed.
"Thanks," Meredith said quietly, suddenly embarrassed at being the sole focus of attention.
There was a grumbling as Cristina staggered out of her change room before catching herself against Meredith. "Freaking carpet," she mumbled, having caught the heel of her shoe in a slit. "And freaking dress," she continued. "I had kind of hoped the thing would have magically shrunk or something so I wouldn't have to wear it..."
Meredith rolled her eyes, but Izzy beat her to the punch as she stepped out of the other change room, not a hint of anything but poise and balance on her purple heels. "Nobody cares about your ranting," she stated. "Mer let us pick out the dresses. You should feel happy about that. I had to be a bridesmaid twice during med school and didn't get a choice either time. And let me tell you, both of those dresses were ug-ly." She drew out both syllables.
Meredith laughed .
"Now, I need someone to do me up," Izzy demanded, looking to Cristina, who rolled her eyes, but did as she was requested. Izzy had helped Meredith and Cristina into their dresses before she had moved on to her own.
"Come on up to the platform here, Meredith," Ruth said. "We'll get you done first."
Meredith did as she was told, leaving her bickering friends behind as she stood on the low platform before the set of three, floor length vanity mirrors. Now there were three identical brides staring back at her, all looking so much like her. And yet, it was still hard for her to believe it really was her in the mirror. She really was about to get married. Two days. She was getting married in two days.
In two days she and Derek were getting married.
No matter how many times her mind rolled over the words, and no matter how many combinations she used, it still seemed unreal. The excitement she had felt while planning for the original wedding so many months ago came back in full, causing her heart to pound against her chest. Two days.
Ruth expertly ran her hands along the back of the dress, pulling at it and tucking a finger under the very top, testing the tightness. "Does it feel comfortable?"
Meredith nodded. "It feels fine."
"Not too big anywhere, like it could slide off?"
Again, Meredith shook her head.
"And not too tight? You're very petite, so it's hard for me to tell..."
"Nope. It's not too tight anywhere."
"Good. Then I'd give you a full approval. Good thing, too, I hate making changes on the bride's dress so close to the wedding. You only get one chance, and if something still isn't working, you're out of time."
Meredith turned to smile at the friendly woman. "Well, thanks for letting us come in to do this. It really means a lot at such a last minute, especially when we didn't even get the dresses from you."
"Not a problem," Ruth said with a wave of her hand. "I've had plenty of business from this family over the years. And Natalie here tells me you're from Seattle?"
Meredith nodded. "Yeah, we got everything out there."
"Well, you look very beautiful, dear. I'm certain your future husband will be very happy."
She didn't even know why tears were collecting in her eyes as she was blinking them away. "Thanks." She had never expected to be an emotional bride, but she had found herself blinking back tears so many times over the past few days. It made her wonder if she would be able to get through the ceremony on Saturday.
Ruth nodded and turned. "Okay, let's have bridesmaid number one."
Cristina grumbled, but stepped willingly onto the small platform, eager for her part to be over with.
Izzy stepped up to stand beside Meredith as they watched Ruth go through the same routine with Cristina as she had just done with Meredith, testing the tension in the dark purple material. "I'm so excited for you," Izzy stated, playfully bumping Meredith's shoulder.
"Me too," Meredith responded, shaking her head as she caught sight of herself and Izzy in the background of the mirrors. "I just...I'm having trouble believing it right now. I guess it feels too real."
Izzy turned to her, worry creasing her brow. "Too real in a bad way?"
Meredith quickly reassured her by shaking her head. "No. Just too real in a...real way. We've done so much planning this week, but being here, actually in the dress and everything...it suddenly feels really real."
"I think you've lost me."
"Don't worry, Iz, I think I've lost myself this time."
"But you're happy, right?"
"I think I can honestly say I've never been more happy."
"So, we're not going to have to drag your ass down the aisle?"
Meredith laughed and shook her head.
"Don't worry, Iz," Cristina called from the platform, having heard their conversation. "I'm already working on the get-down-the-aisle-pep-talk speech thing."
Meredith scoffed. "So not necessary."
Cristina shrugged. "Hey, you don't know. You think you'll be fine and you get there and then you just freak out. And your speech was strangely effective; it got me down the aisle, even if that didn't get me anything in the end."
"So, you're just going to repeat Meredith's stop whining speech?" Izzy asked, incredulous. "It wasn't even effective."
"It got her down the aisle," Meredith said, standing up for her choice of words and method of handling her best friend.
"No, I'm pretty sure Derek coming to our aid with a pen right after your speech was what got her to calm down."
Carol and Natalie exchanged glances. "You ladies sure seem to have had an eventful past together." Carol comment lightly, laughter playing in her eyes as she and her daughter struggled to keep up with the conversation.
"Well, at Cristina's...supposed-to-be wedding, she freaked out right before she was supposed to walk down the aisle because she had written her vows on her hands and then scrubbed them off in surgery that morning," Izzy explained. "And she just realized when the music started to play."
Cristina scoffed. "Vows are stupid anyway."
Izzy rolled her eyes and continued. "Anyway, she was freaking out, Meredith yelled at her to get her to calm down; told her to stop whining. And then Derek came down to investigate, he was the best man in case you didn't know that, and he gave us a pen so we could write it back down."
"You told your best friend, who was about to get married and freaking, to stop whining?" Natalie asked with a laugh.
Meredith laughed as well. "Yeah. I didn't know what else to say. And I still say it would have worked, even if Derek hadn't shown up with the freaking pen." She turned to her best friend for support.
"Whatever," Cristina mumbled. "Weddings are stupid...no offence," she said with a shrug as she motioned toward their state of dress. "And vows are stupid."
Carol and Natalie looked uncomfortable at Cristina's strong words, but Izzy laughed and rolled her eyes, turning to the two Shepherd women. "You just have to learn to ignore her."
"Hey," Cristina said quickly. "I'm Cristina; I don't get ignored."
"Well, you do when you're being a bitch," Izzy countered.
"I am not-"
"You are. Yeah, Mer and I know you don't mean any harm, but seriously, Derek's family is here. You're going to be the maid on honour in two days. Pull your head out of your ass."
Cristina rolled her eyes. "I said no offence."
Meredith wandered closer to Carol and Natalie, leaving her friends to argue. "You really do just learn to ignore the both of them some times," she said lightly. "Even Cristina has been very helpful with the planning and everything. She just likes to rant."
"I can hear you," Cristina called as she stepped off the platform and joined them.
"I'm sure you can," Meredith countered.
Her best friend smirked. "So, speaking of vows, have you written yours yet?"
Meredith shrugged. "Not completely. But I'm actually working on mine."
"Hey, I worked on mine."
"Ha," Izzy called as she took her place in front of the mirrors. "You tried to get us to write them for you. Hell, you even tried to make it a game... You told us whoever wrote the best ones would get a prize, but you didn't even have a prize."
"Well, maybe I would have if any of you people had written anything down."
"The point of vows is to speak from the heart, not from the friend who can write the most poetic love speech." Izzy turned to Carol and Natalie. "She even tried flipping through channels on the television every hour looking for romantic comedies to steal from."
Meredith laughed at the memory. "Yeah, she did do that."
"And then we dressed Meredith up in toilet paper."
"But she wouldn't let us set her on fire," Cristina added.
Meredith rolled her eyes. "I wonder why that was..." She said sarcastically.
"Hey, you were my maid of honour. Weren't you supposed to put yourself out there for me?"
"Says my maid of honour who hasn't stopped complaining about wearing a dress."
Cristina huffed, but stayed silent, knowing Meredith had her.
"Why did they dress you up in toilet paper?" Natalie asked.
Meredith rolled her eyes. "It was a game Izzy came up with. We were supposed to take turns but that never happened. So I was the only guinea pig where they made me a toilet paper wedding dress."
"Ahh, we did that at Nancy's wedding shower, but with paper towel," Natalie said with a laugh. "Didn't work out very well."
"No, it didn't," Meredith said.
"I would have pictures to show you," Izzy said quickly. "But, hmm," she made a point of clearing her throat, "someone stole my camera..."
"Are you seriously still on about that?" Meredith asked. "It was a year ago. Let it go."
"And they didn't steal your camera, just the card," Cristina reminded.
"Whatever. They still stole from me."
Meredith rolled her eyes. Cristina had fallen asleep in Meredith's bed after her bachelor-ette party had ended, leaving Meredith and Derek the couch, Meredith still in the make shift dress. They had awoken to Izzy taking pictures of them the following morning and had managed to get their hands on the photo card. A feat Izzy hadn't realized until it had been pointed out to her more than two weeks later.
"So..." Natalie said, stepping in to change the subject. "How far are you getting on your vows?"
"I think I'm okay," Meredith said cautiously. "I mean, I'm not entirely sure of what I'm supposed to say, but I have a good idea, I think."
Carol laughed. "How many drafts have you done?"
"Drafts?" She stumbled over the word. "Oh, well, none... I haven't written anything down yet, but I am working on it in my head."
"You haven't even started writing yet?" Izzy chastised as she clicked her tongue. "Mer..."
"What? I'm not worried yet."
"What are you going to say?" Cristina prompted. "You'll always be my McDreamy..."
Meredith rolled her eyes. She was about to retort when a familiar ring tone began playing down the hall from the change rooms. "Oh, that's mine," she said quickly, and turned to head for the purse before she missed the call. She stepped into her change room and pulled her cell out of her purse at the last moment.
"Hello?" She said breathlessly, not having had time to read the call display.
"Hey, I caught you," Derek's voice filtered through the phone line.
"Hey, it's you," she said lightly.
"How's the dress fitting going?"
"Still fits fine. And Cristina's is fine. And Izzy is just getting checked now."
"Good." He paused. "So, you're in it right now?"
She smiled. "I am."
"Hmm..." He mumbled. "I'm sure you look beautiful."
"I hope so."
"I know so," he countered. "And don't get me wrong, I'm looking forward to seeing you in it, but I'm also looking forward to helping you out of it..."
Meredith shook her head at his antics. "Did you seriously call me just to say that?"
He laughed. "What's wrong with saying that? Isn't the point of the clean, white wedding dress that I get to take it off of you?"
Meredith blinked, feeling a familiar flush creep up on her. "Derek...shut up. You can't make wearing the dress dirty if I have to wear all day on Saturday."
He laughed again. "Okay, I'll stop, but just because I love you as much as I do..."
She rolled her eyes. "Seriously, Derek, what's with the call? You know your mother and sisters don't like it and can steal my phone at any time..."
He chuckled. "Right. I'd better get to the point. I need to run something by you."
"Okay..."
"I think I've made a decision about Richard."
"That's good, Derek," Meredith stated, looking up as footsteps fell outside her dressing room. Natalie stood in the doorway, hand on her hip.
"That better be another Derek you're talking to..."
Meredith laughed. "I'll just be a minute," she told her soon to be sister-in-law. "It's important, wedding related. I promise."
Natalie narrowed her eyes for a moment before nodding. "Okay. But just a minute."
"Thanks," Meredith said dryly before turning her attention back to Derek. "Sorry about that."
"It's okay. She's my sister; I should have known better..."
"True," she agreed with a giggle. "So, what did you decide?"
Derek sighed. "Richard's a bastard. He was way out of line. He gets far too involved personally. He lets his emotions cloud his judgement. He overreacts. And he seems to think he has a right to a say in your life."
"But..." Meredith continued, hearing it in his tone.
"But," Derek continued, "he's a good man. And he means well, I know he does. And he was acting in your best interest and I can't argue with that. And he was an important mentor to me when I was an intern. And...and most of all, he's the reason I came to Seattle and met you. And I can't turn my back on that fact."
"I'm proud of you, Derek."
"Thanks."
"Have you called him yet?"
"No, I wanted to check with you first."
She smiled. "You know it's not a problem with me, now quit trying to put it off and call him."
He grumbled on the other end of the line. "You know me too well."
She laughed. "That's the point of the whole relationship thing, right?"
She could almost hear him smiling. "Right." He sighed. "Okay, I'll let you go before your phone gets stolen again. And I'll see you in a bit?"
"Yup. I love you, Derek."
"I love you too, so much."
"I love you more," she said quickly before hanging up her phone.
Meredith danced out of the dressing room in triumph at having gotten in the last word this time. He had gotten it too many times lately. Her cell rang in her hand and she flipped it open again.
"Hello?"
"I love you more," Derek's voice filtered through the phone before he hung up again.
"Damn it!" She chastised herself, knowing there was no point in calling him back. He wouldn't answer now.
Natalie gave her an odd look. "What's up?"
She grumbled. "Your brother is a pain in the ass."
000
Derek smirked as he ended the very short second call with Meredith. Two could play at that game, and right now, he was wining. She was bound and determined to beat him, but he wasn't about to make it easy for her. His smirk grew when she didn't attempt to call him back.
He had won this round.
After a moment of hesitation, he scrolled through his phone list for Richard's office number and hit send.
"Chief Webber's office, how can I help you?"
"Hi Patricia, it's Derek. Is Richard free?"
"I believe so, let me just check..." He was put on hold for a moment before Richard's secretary came back onto the line. "He's free Dr. Shepherd, I'll put you through."
"Thanks, Patricia."
"Oh, and Dr. Shepherd?"
"Yeah?"
"I just wanted to offer a pre-emptive congratulation. Richard told me you and Dr. Grey were finally going to get married this weekend."
Derek laughed. "Finally, huh?"
"That's how the nurses see it."
"Is it hospital wide gossip already?"
"No, actually, I'm the only one who knows. I had to help Richard book the time off for your friends. He's been very good about keeping things quiet for once. You'd be proud of him."
"That's good to hear."
"Anyway, congratulations Dr. Shepherd. And pass that on to Dr. Grey as well."
"Thanks."
"I'll put you through now."
There was a pause and then the phone rang twice before Richard picked it up.
"Derek." He greeted.
"Richard."
"Did everyone arrive okay yesterday?"
"Yeah, thanks, the first batch arrived last night. And we're expecting Bailey, Lexie and Joe tomorrow evening."
"That's good to hear."
"Yeah..." Derek trailed off.
"Was there something else you needed?"
Derek took a breath. "Yeah, actually, I... Look, Richard, you hurt me. I love that woman more than anything else in the world. And I would never lay a finger on her like that. Not in a million years. She means the world to me. And that you could think I could do something like that to her..." He trailed off and shook his head. "I had a lot of respect for you. You made an impression on me when I was an intern. And I was pissed that you could think I would ever hurt her."
"Derek, I am so very sorry for what I did."
"I know," he said honestly, for the first time accepting Richard's apology. "And I want to forgive you for that."
"You...you want to forgive me?"
"I know you care about her. I know you have a history with her mother. And yes, you do need to learn to back off a bit and treat her as any other resident, but I know you mean well. And she knows you mean well. And...if it wasn't for you calling when you did I would never have come to Seattle and I would never have met her."
"What are you saying, Derek?"
"I'm saying that I...we," he corrected quickly. "We want to invite you to the wedding. I know it's very last minute, and I'm sorry it took me this long to make a decision, but we would both like for you to be here on Saturday.
"Derek, I...thank-you. It would mean more than I can describe for me to be there."
"Well, it's important to us that you're there, regardless of recent circumstances."
"I am sorry for what happened," he repeated.
"I know, and I'm working on letting that go."
Richard sighed on the other end of the phone. "Do you need me to do anything? Or bring anything?"
"Nope. I think we'll be fine handling everything. Just bring yourself, and Adele of course. I'll e-mail you with the address and time and everything."
"Thank-you, Derek."
"You're welcome." Derek hung up his phone and sighed, smiling at the weight that lifted off his shoulders. He had made the right decision.
AN: I suck, I know, and I'm sorry. I never meant for an update to take this long, but this chapter and the next combined have been seriously kicking my ass. Things have been shifted and rewritten and cut and added...lol. The next chapter is already over 7000 words and I haven't gotten to the stuff I had planned for it yet... The good news is that the next chapter should be along shortly. I also posted another oneshot this week, called Happenings, for any one who wants to check it out. Thanks for reading!