What You Come Back To
So this is chapter two, in which we'll see just what Meredith has to say, and how Evelyn takes the news that she finally has a daddy. And we'll see just how far everyone moved on, relationship wise, while the Grey's were in Florida.
And beware, the funny little at sign for emails doesn't work on here, and the impending IM conversation is so much better on my laptop!
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"Alex, Ava's on the phone!" Christina called out from the nurses' station she was standing at. "She and the cookie monster want to know if you'll be home for dinner tonight!"
Alex came out of the nearest exam room to grab the phone from Christina.
"Hey honey… yeah, I don't know if I'll be home… you remember my friend Meredith? Yeah, the one that ran away… she's back… and she has a daughter… okay, I'll tell you tomorrow when I get home… love you too, bye."
Alex Karev turned around to see Christina, George and Izzie staring at him.
"What? I'm not allowed to love my wife?"
They chuckled and turned around. "Whatever you say, evil spawn…"
Karev, who had followed Addison's advice and become an OB/GYN resident, stood by the phone for a few more seconds before running off after his friends, who had already reached the end of the corridor.
"At least we don't have any problems with kids of the crack whore!' he called, making Christina turn around and wait for him.
"I know, because I'm smart enough not to have them!" she retorted with an evil grin.
Alex shook his head. This was something they went through every day, and he wouldn't change it for a moment.
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Derek snuck into his office where Meredith was hiding.
"Mere?" he asked. His office chair spun around slowly and Meredith appeared, her eyes tired, her face red and cheeks stained with tears.
"Oh, Mere," he gushed, rushing over to hug her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and let him pick her up. Derek sat down on his chair cradling the fragile woman in his lap. He rocked her gently as she cried into his shoulder.
"Shhh," he whispered, soothing her as he rocked gently on the chair.
They sat there for a few minutes while she calmed down.
"Der," she whispered into his scrub top. "I'm sorry for not telling you about Evelyn; and I'm sorry for running away. I… I thought you would be mad at me, and I couldn't handle the guilt. I know you and Addie were divorced when I left, but I still couldn't help feeling guilty…"
She burst into tears again, but instead of hugging her, Derek grabbed Meredith by the shoulders and pulled her around to face him.
"Mere, I love you in a big let you eat the last piece of cheesecake, throw you a birthday party in bed, stand outside your window with a radio on my shoulder kinda way. I'm not mad at you for running and avoiding, it's that thing you do; and the avoiding is something I can help you with, but you gave to trust me.
"Now with Evelyn, I'm so happy I have a daughter, even if you kept me from her, because she's ours. Yes, I missed all the milestones and the pregnancy and everything, but when we have more kids, I'll be able to make up for that. Mere, I want to marry you, I want you to be my wife, because I love you and you're my soul mate and now I'm rambling, but that's not the point.
"Meredith Elizabeth Grey, I love you so much it hurts sometimes… okay, it hurts most of the time, and when you were gone I was a different man. So I hope you'll accept me as I am, because I know you love me, and as Evelyn's father, I would like, with all my heart, to be a part of both of your lives."
Meredith stared at Derek, her eyes full of shock. A worried look rippled across his face.
"Meredith?" he asked, not sure where this as going.
Suddenly, she smiled and hugged him again. "Derek, I love you too, and I want you to actively be Evelyn's daddy, not just her father; so I'm saying yes to that proposal. I'm making it clear; we are not engaged from that. I want something romantic and unexpected and whatever; and you need to ask Evelyn for permission, because Richard already knows how much you love me.
"As for the more kids thing; wait until after we're married, because I'll happily let you do all the midnight feedings and changing's and everything you missed out on, but not for a while."
They sat in silence for a moment, both smiling and grinning widely at each other.
Meredith decided to break the silence. She had three and a half years of gossip to catch up on.
"So what's happening with everyone? I though Addison moved to LA?"
"Addison was fed up with the perils of private practice within six months so she packed up and moved back here. Mark stayed in Seattle, and gave up his manwhore tendencies to prove to Addie that he's worth her love. She is in the process of forgiving him and conceding to her feelings, but she won't tell anyone or admit that she loves him too."
"What about Bailey and the other residents?"
"Miranda has been promised Chief when Richard retires permanently; until then, she has taken up many of his responsibilities and knows very well how to keep the whole surgical staff in line. As for your friends, Alex and Izzie took up OB/GYN, and Alex married Ava. Christina's in cardio and George took general surgery. He and Callie are still married and have two year old twin boys. Christina is still single but the new cardio attending has his eyes on her. No one knows officially what's going on with Izzie, but the rumour mill has many ideas should you decide to listen to them."
Meredith giggled at that. "Yeah, everybody by now should know how truthful the nurses can be… NOT!"
They both sat in content in Derek's office for a further few minutes, only separating when Evelyn rose from the couch.
"Mommy?" she asked tiredly, wiping the sleep from her eyes.
Meredith reluctantly pushed herself out of Derek's comfortable embrace and walked over to her daughter. "What's up baby?"
Evelyn looked around for a minute before raising her arms in the classic 'up' motion. Obediently, Meredith placed Evelyn on her hip and walked back over to Derek.
She looked at him, then back to her mother, then looked at him for a second time. "Who dat?"
Meredith smiled. "Evelyn, honey, this is Derek. Do you remember what I told you about your daddy?"
The little girl nodded, shooting cautious glances at the man.
"Well, the reason why we came back to Seattle was because mommy needed to say hello to someone, and they wanted to meet you too."
"Daddy," Evelyn smiled and nodded.
"That's right. And do you want to know who your daddy is?"
Evelyn nodded but continued to stare at Derek. "Dewek daddy?" she asked.
Meredith smiled and hugged her. "Yes, baby, Derek is your daddy. Is that okay?"
Evelyn pondered her mother's question for a minute before smiling widely and clapping her hands above her head. "Daddy!" she squealed.
Both parents laughed.
"I think you know your answer, Der," Meredith smiled, passing Evelyn into his arms. "Meet your daughter, Evelyn Michaela…"
"Grey," he cut her off. "Yeah, I know."
Mere stopped short. "No, I was about to say Shepherd, but if you want me to leave her name as is…"
Derek smiled. "No, her name is perfect. Now there's only one other girl in my life who I want to share my name with."
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Mark continued to sit in the cafeteria and watch as the rest of the surgical staff, sans the ones with patients of their own, search for Meredith and the mini-Grey.
He sighed and sipped the bone dry macchiato one of the interns had fetched for him minutes before. A close blur of movement forced him to refocus his view to the person now sitting next to him.
"Hi, Mark."
"Hi, Addie," he greeted, a smile instantly appearing on his face. Addie Montgomery would always be the love of his life, no matter how idiotic he acted.
"You know something," she said, placing her hand in his between the chairs. "Spill."
He sighed again. "Meredith called Derek on his cell before from his office. She wanted to talk to him about the mini-Grey."
Addison smiled. "At last, that girl is finally coming to her senses and he'll change. Do you think we should go and open up the house to surprise them?"
Mark looked Addie directly in the eye. "That house has been closed since he furnished it… do you know how much dust that is?"
"With Izzie, Alex, Ava and the cookie monster living in Mere's house, do you really think there'll be enough room for three more of them in there?"
Mark replied with another sigh. "Touché; but should we surprise them now or wait until later?"
"Surprise who with what when?" Christina Yang was standing behind them, hands on her hips and an angry look on her face. "Are you gonna tell me, or will I have to beat it out of you?"
Mark stood up to face her slyly. "You don't scare me, Yang," he said simply before walking off.
Addison rose to follow him. "Try Derek's office, but I suggest you knock first."
Christina stood in their wake for a minute, thinking, before a better idea popped into her head and she ran off towards her own office, texting her friends as she ran.
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McDreamy forever is signed on (Derek.Shepherd at Beast has signed on (Christina.Yang at Beast: yo mcdreamy, haul ur ass out and bring the runner with you
McDreamy forever: yang, sorta busy right now, leave a message
Chief Resident Beast: I know you have mere and the mini-Grey with you. Quit hiding
McDreamy forever: how did you know
McSteamy has signed on (Mark.Sloan at forever: im gonna kill u mark
Satan has signed on (Addison.Forbes.Montgomery at forever: okay, who told?!?!
McSteamy: um, I didn't tell anyone…
Satan: liar! Mark told me
McDreamy forever: but how did yang find out
Chief Resident Beast: ask the she-shepherd
Satan: ex she-shepherd
McDreamy forever: ex she-shepherd
McSteamy: ex she-shepherd!
Chief Resident Beast: fine, ask Satan
McDreamy forever: Addie, who told?
Cookie Monster has signed on (Alex.Karev at Monster: yo, mcdreamy, don't you know how to share
Chief Resident Beast: Karev, aren't you supposed to be tending babies
Cookie Monster: don't you have better things to do crack whore
Chief Resident Beast: shut it evil spawn
McDreamy forever has signed out
McSteamy: oh fine then, don't say goodbye
Chief Resident Beast: mcass
Old kid, same block has signed on (guest at Beast: who the hell are you?
Cookie Monster: don't you know this is a private conversation
Satan: sgh staff only
Old kid, same block: you all know me
McSteamy: OMG… Meredith?!?!
Chief Resident Beast: not talking to you
Old kid, same block: just hear me out!!
Cookie Monster: one chance only grey
Satan: guys, lets hear her out, its only fair
McSteamy: oh mere, the dmc was lonely without you
Old kid, same block: im sorry for leaving! I thought it was for the best
Baby lover has signed on (Isobel.Stevens at kid, same block: if it makes a difference, I wish I was here…
Baby lover: that doesn't make much of a difference
Old kid, same block: Izzie! I'm sorry, okay? I didn't mean to hurt you
Cookie Monster: you didn't only hurt her
Chief Resident Beast: still not talking to you bitch
Old kid, same block: Christina, what about that time when I covered your ass because of burke and the non-wedding?
McSteamy: oohh, bitchy. I like it!
Satan: mark, grow up and shut up
Baby lover: that was a low blow, mere, even for you
Chief Resident Beast: we don't talk about that
Old kid, same block: well, we're not talking about me either. Moving was the biggest mistake of my life, but I love evelyn more than anything. I hope you can accept that.
Old kid, same block has signed out
Cookie Monster: wow… that was deep
Satan: I believe her, I think we should forgive her. Everyone makes mistakes right
McSteamy: I must admit, derek's been miserable without her
Baby lover: I miss having her here
Cookie Monster: me too. I'm gonna talk to her
Cookie Monster has signed out
McSteamy: yang, what do you think
Chief Resident Beast: I still hate her
Baby lover: we know
Satan: trust me, we know
Chief Resident Beast: but I miss my person
McSteamy: we all miss her
The Nazi has signed on (Miranda.Bailey at Nazi: what are you fools doing on this all day? Don't you have better things to do, like maybe SAVING LIVES?
Chief Resident Beast: yes, dr bailey
Chief Resident Beast has signed out
Baby lover: um… is that my pager? Bye
Baby lover has signed off
The Nazi: damned fools… well… Sloan… Montgomery… move!
McSteamy: yes dr bailey. Bye
McSteamy has signed off
Satan: talk to you later Miranda
Satan has signed off
The Nazi: oh, I bet you will
The Nazi has signed off
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Meredith walked into the daycare centre on the third floor with Evelyn in her arms.
"Hi there, can I help you?" one of the teachers asked.
"Yes; I'm Doctor Grey and this is my daughter Evelyn," Meredith said.
"Well Doctor Grey, my name is Melissa and I'm assuming you would like to place Evelyn in our care?" Melissa asked nicely, the wide smile on her face widening.
Meredith nodded. "You do have a place, don't you?" she asked as the teacher walked towards an office.
"Of course," Melissa responded, motioning for the doctor to follow her. "This centre is only for the children of SGH staff, so we have many available spots."
"Oh good," Meredith sighed. "Is there anything I have to fill out?"
Melissa nodded, pulling a folder out. "This will be your folder; if you ever need to admit other children into our care, we'll just give you some new forms, but it's only one folder per family. I just need you to fill out the admission, medication, security and profile forms for Evelyn; and you also need to register the people who will be allowed to pick her up as we can only sign her in and out from an adult who is authorised by you personally."
Meredith placed Evelyn on the floor next to where she was. "That's good," she responded while filling out the forms. "At the moment it will only be her father and I that will be able to do that, but later on, once we're settled in, I'll extend the list for my friends."
"Not a problem, just make sure that you tell us personally and you sign their name on the security form."
Meredith just nodded as Evelyn ran after a couple of other young girls who were playing with dolls in the corner.
Derek stood in the hallway at the glass window separating him from his daughter and watched her play innocently while Meredith was at the desk.
"She's gorgeous," Mark's voice came from beside him.
"Yeah," Derek replied, his eyes not moving from Evelyn. "They both are."
"You really love her don't you?"
"With all my heart," Derek answered immediately. His pager suddenly sounded. "Damn, the Chief wants to see me."
Mark laughed. "Yeah, he's probably going to ask when the wedding is."
"Not funny Mark," he laughed as he walked off towards the elevator.
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Christina Yang sat in the cafeteria, Izzie, Alex and George around her. They weren't looking at anything, but each was lost in their own thoughts.
"I can't believe she's back," Izzie said, sitting down with her tray. "After all this time, she just has the nerve to come back!"
"She does have her reasons, you know," Alex replied. "And she was scared."
"She was avoiding; that's all she ever does when something goes wrong," Christina muttered. "But if we all run off when shit happens, who's left to clean up the mess?"
"That's so true," Izzie seconded, raising the lettuce on her fork up in agreement.
"Has anyone even bothered to talk to her yet?" Alex asked, leaving his food untouched.
"Uh, NO!" the girls answered sharply.
"I, um, haven't had the chance yet," George muttered.
"Well don't you think that someone else should hear her side of the story, like maybe you, Bambi?" Alex half yelled at him.
"What have you got against George?" Izzie asked, this time with lettuce actually in her mouth.
"Nothing!" Alex tried to defend himself. "It's just, with you all hating her, I thought that maybe someone other than me could hear her side of the story and try to forgive her!"
The others sat in silence staring at Alex.
"Is that too much to ask?" he muttered, finally turning his attention to the egg and lettuce sandwich in the tray in front of him. They just sat there staring at him open-mouthed.
"What?" he asked, egg in his teeth.
"Since when have you been so buddy-buddy with the runaway?" Christina asked straight out.
"Since everyone, including you crack whore, deserves a second chance, from everyone!"
"What are you fools doing here arguing over Meredith?"
The four fellows stopped arguing and looked up to see Miranda Bailey standing over them, hands on hips with a scowl on her face.
"Excuse me?" Christina asked, her voice still full of poison. "She is not my friend."
"No," Bailey answered. "She's your damn person, and she was the one person that could actually hold you lot together."
"But…" Izzie started.
"But what, Stevens?" Bailey cut her off. "So what if she ran away because she was scared? The point is she came back!"
"That's exactly what the evil twins don't understand," Alex muttered under his breath.
"Shut up Karev. Now, you two," she pointed her finger at Izzie and Christina, "have to go find her and at least talk to her without throwing insults around. O'Malley, make up your own damn mind and stop listening to these fools."
Alex sat there with a smug grin on his face while the other three sat in shock staring at their boss.
"Well, what are you still doing here? Move!" Bailey ended up standing next to Alex as her victims scattered in different directions.
"Thanks," Alex said quietly, patting Miranda on the shoulder as he rose and left.
"I didn't do that for you."
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Ok, you guys don't know how hard that was for me to write. Next chapter shouldn't be as long, but it'll still take ages to write. Reviews put ideas in my head and make me write faster! Hint hint!