Title: Tangled Web
Author: Farrah
Disclaimer: If I owned Grey's Anatomy we wouldn't be waiting until January for new episodes
Summary: Meredith didn't deserve the cards she was being dealt, so she took matters into her own hands. She left, but the death of a loved one brought her back. But when she returns, she's not alone. Post 'Into You Like A Train' episode. Set six years in the future.
A/N: Sorry for not updating sooner. I've been really busy lately. This chapter takes place about two weeks after the last one.
I know you guys want Mer in Seattle. So do I, believe me. I just need to tie up some loose ends first. I believe that it should be done within the next two chapters. I'm trying to have it finished by Christmas. Mer coming back to SGH would be my Christmas gift to you all.
Thank you guys for sticking with me. Thanks for all the reviews. They're wonderful.
Oh, I'm sorry for the mistake I made in the last chapter. The ending in the bar was incorrect, thank you 1987 for pointing it out in your review.
Curious :- No, this is not a Mer/Mark for certain
1987 :- I'm sorry about the lack of dialogue, I tried to put it in there but I just didn't think I captured the characters correctly. But I'm working on it, I promise. After all, everyone is going to be involved when Mer comes back to Seattle.
Shalia74 :- I'm glad you liked the bonding between Mer and Ellis. As for not telling you what the pairing is, that is complicated. It's complicated because not even I am sure about what it will be in the end. I love MerDer on the show, but I also like the relationship between MerMark, its so hard.
Chapter 7:
- Meredith's House, WSH, June 4th, 2012 -
Everyone was gathered in the backyard of Mer's old home. They were celebrating Jeremy's fifth birthday. The men (Mark, Richard, Alex, Burke, Tucker, George) were hovering around the grill, 'being men' as they delightfully put it; the women (Meredith, Adele, Izzie, Christina, Miranda, Liza) were sprawled out in lawn chairs, while watching the children play. Their job was pretty simple, as there were only three children to watch. At the moment the kids were playing a game of tag. Willy was 'it' and was in the process of chasing Dani, Christina and Burke's daughter, around a tree.
"Mer, tell me why the hell we are celebrating Junior's birthday two weeks in advance?" Christina asked from her chair
The was a collective groan from every woman sitting around her. She had been asking that question nonstop since they brought up the idea about three or four days ago. Mer knew that the question Christina was posing was not the question Christina really wanted to ask. Christina wanted Mer back in Seattle, everyone knew that. Everyone also knew that Christina was not the type to show her emotions, and she would be showing them by asking Mer to stay. She would be showing to the world how much she missed her person, and how much she needed her back, and that was NOT something Christina was about to do. So instead she had been beating around the bush and tiptoeing around the subject, waiting for someone else to ask Mer to stay. Thing is, noone else was going to, they had all stopped asking about two years ago, they all came to the realization that Mer was not coming back. Everyone knew that Mer was not the type of person that could be forced into something she didn't want to do, so they gave up and let her be. They figured it was better to see her a few times a year and talk to her every week than to upset her and drive her away. But they all missed her, each and every one of them.
"Christina..." Mer sighed, already weary of this conversation
"No, I got this one" Putting her hand up, Bailey interrupted. "Yang, we have all..."
But before she could finish Christina had already started "No, no, no, don't you YANG me Miranda, this is not the hospital, first names, remember?"
"Christina just let this go" Izzie pleaded, trying to defuse the situation before it got ugly
"No, I can't let this go Izzie, you of all people should be backing me on this. Day in and day out I have to listen to you and bambie whine about how you wish Mer and JR were here, how it would be nice to have Bailey's last five interns in the hospital together again. None of you seem to have the backbone to tell her it's time for her to come back home, so I'm doing it. Now that I am, you want to tell me to let it go? Seriously!!!!!"
With that Christina stormed off into the house leaving some very stunned adults, luckily the kids were so occupied with their game that they didn't witness the outburst.
Meredith grabbed Izzie's hand and pulled her out of her chair. "Ladies, we'll be right back" she said quickly as she and Izzie left to go into the house. As they passed the grill Mer shot Alex and George a glance; by the time they were in the door, Alex and George were hot on their heels.
Burke and Tucker made their way over to the remaining women with some refreshments, while Mark and Richard manned the grill.
"Thank you guys" Liza said while taking her drink
"Your welcome" both Tuck and Preston said in unison
"So ... does that happen a lot?" asked Adele, referring to the events that recently took place
"What do you mean? Christina?" asked Preston
"No, I understand why she acted the way she did. She misses her friend. Meredith has been gone a long time and she just wants her back here in Seattle. It's evident that everyone wants Meredith back. But what I was referring to was how George and Alex followed them into the house so quickly. Does that happen often?"
"Yeah, Meredith didn't even say a word to them" Tucker added
This caused both Bailey and Burke to chuckle
"Meredith didn't need to say anything to them, that's been their thing ever since they started their internship. When something was wrong with one of them, the rest would be hovering around as if they were their bodyguards. Some kind of sixth sense I think, they would give each other a look and then, they would know. " Bailey said, answering her husband's question
"Yeah, but we don't see it happen much anymore. It seems to me that Grey was the key to all of it, like she's the glue that sticks them together. Don't get me wrong, they're all close, but when Meredith is in town, it's ... different. Yeah, they seem closer when she's back, it reminds me of their interning days." Preston said, answering Adele's question
"Hmmm, I miss those days" expressed Bailey thoughtfully
"Yeah well, maybe they'll be able to convince her to come back" Burke replied comfortingly
"I doubt Mer is going to need a whole lot of convincing" Liza pitched in before taking a sip of her drink
"Why do you say that?" asked Adele.
She knew that news of Meredith's return or the possibility of a return would make Richard happy. He loved Meredith like a daughter and he adored Jeremy, the child he had come to know as his grandson. Adele had been trying to get Richard to retire for years now, but he wouldn't. He always said something about needing to leave the hospital when it was at the top. This year his reason for not retiring was because the neurology department needed to be worked on. She knew that Derek was an amazing surgeon, but she also knew he was the only real good surgeon in neurology at the moment, nobody else in the department were even of the top 20 specialists in the country. Meredith coming back would not only make her husband happy, it might also make him realize that it's okay for him to retire. Then they would finally be able to take a vacation together and relax, without having to worry about being bothered by the hospital. She would have her husband back, and that would make her happy.
"Because Mer isn't a New York type of person. Mer had a hard time readjusting when she first transferred. In the beginning, she hated New York, it was too fast, too noisy, too clustered. Mer really only has a handful of people she considers as friends back there, and one of them includes her boyfriend. Yes, she has a life back in New York, but she isn't happy there like when she's here, she's just content. All I know is that if I had family back in Tennessee like you guys, it would only be a matter of time before I left New York and went back home."
Christina was sitting on the couch by the time the gang came inside. Izzie and Mer sat on either side of her and the boys sat in the remaining chairs. Noone said a word, they knew Christina needed time to calm down so they all made silent agreement not to say anything until Christina did.
"I know I'm nice to look at but will you all stop staring at me."
"Christina..." Mer said, trailing off, not sure what to say
"No, let me get this out. I want you back, we want you back, for crying out loud Mer, the whole hospital wants you back. Dammit Meredith just come back!!!!!! We need you here."
"Christina's right Mer, we need you back, so does Seattle Grace. The neurology department is shot to hell, the only surgeon there on the top twenty list is..." George stopped himself mid sentence. He was about to say the name that they had all agreed not to mention around Meredith. But it was too late.
"Exactly. Exactly George!!!!! That is why I can't come back, it's why I left in the first place. I'm sorry. I have a life in New York now guys. Besides, it's not just me anymore, other people are affected by my decisions." Mer said
"Your absolutely right Mer. But the thing is people have been affected by your decisions from the start. Your moving in the first place affected US!!!!!" Alex said, much to the others' disbelief
"I know, and I'm sorry, I really am. I ... I just... I can't. Mark, Jer and I are like this family I always wanted. He has been a great boyfriend to me, he's caring and sweet and supportive and everything I need in a boyfriend. Jer just started calling him daddy. He has a practice in New York, he can't just drop everything and come to live in Seattle with me. Who says he would want to anyway?"
"Oh c'mon Mer, do you see the way he looks at you? If he had to choose between New York and you, you would win every time, hands down. Besides, he's the best in his field, has been for some time now. Every hospital in Washington would be vying for him. If Chief Webber knew that the only way you would come back was if Mark came along, he would make a position for him so fast every person in the hospital would be suffering from whiplash." Izzie stated, causing everyone to laugh because they knew it was the honest to God truth
"Wouldn't that be selfish though?"
"So what!!!!!" Christina removed herself from the chair to stand in front of the fireplace. "You now, I like your little boy toy and all but if he really cares about you, which I think he does, he will not stop you from coming home."
"Hate to admit it, boy do I hate to admit this, but the crack whore is right..." Alex hung and shook his head in defeat
"It's about time that you realized, Evil Spawn, that I'm always right." Christina interrupted, a cocky smile gracing her face
"Mark cares about you Mer, almost as much as we do, which is saying something. He sees how happy you and junior are when you're here." Alex continued, trying to completely ignore Christina's last statement
"Do you see how they get when you're around?" Izzie put her hand on Meredith's shoulder to get her attention and pointed at Alex and Christina "I can't remember the last time I heard the names crack whore and evil spawn. Those two haven't bantered like that since you've been gone, and to tell the truth, I miss it. They don't even call George Bambi anymore"
"That's a GOOD thing Izz."
"We can all sit here and beat our gums talking about how we miss you and want you back, but that's not the problem, cos' we well know you really want to come back. The problem is McDouchebag," Christina crossed her arms over her chest, tired of talking about feelings, deciding to get to real reason
"McDouchebag?" Meredith giggles at the new name "I thought it was McJerk, or was it McAsshole?"
"McDouchebag, McJerk, McAsshole, McIdiot, McMarried, McPansy, McSissy, McCoward, McOverlymoosedhair, I got that one from Bailey."
"Don't forget McShithead" Alex added
"Oh and McJackass" George added to the list as well
"Seriously Mer, he's all of them. But back to what I was saying, he is the reason why you won't come back"
"Of course he is!!!!!!!! He is why I left in the first place. If it was just me, I would have been back a long time ago, but it's not, I have to think about Jeremy. If I come back now, how long before you think he figures it out huh? How long? I give it two months, tops. You know how Seattle Grace works, it runs on gossip. News will somehow get out that I have a son, knowing him, he would ask someone in daycare just how old Jer is, when he finds out, he'll start backtracking in his head and he'll figure it out. He's good at figuring stuff like that out. He'll corner me and ask me, even though he's figured it out already, he'll still ask. I won't be able to deny it, you know why? Because I can't lie!!!!" Alex moved from the corner of the room to sit beside Meredith on the couch, water already pooling in her eyes "In the end, the person who is going to be hurting the most is Jeremy, life as he knows it, will be turned upside down. I just want to protect him from that, Mark is the only father he knows, Mark's always been there. Even when we weren't together, when we were just friends, Mark was there for Jeremy. If he finds out about Jeremy, he'll want to get to know him and I'm just afraid that Jeremy isn't ready for something like that."
By the end, Meredith's head was in her hands and she was crying. Alex put his arm around her tiny frame and held her tight while Izzie soothingly rubbed her back.
"It's okay Mer, it's okay"
After she calmed down she looked at all the faces of her friends. The all looked like they were missing something, a part of them. They missed her. She was the part of them that was missing. Just then she heard the kids say 'food'. She realized that they needed to get back out there.
"I'll think about it guys. It'll be hard though." They thought she meant the decision would be hard for her but she meant keeping everything under wraps at Seattle Grace was going to be hard. She had already made her decision, she was coming home; she wasn't going to tell them that just yet though.
"We're going to help anyway we can. Don't worry about Jeremy either, I'll be damned if I let anyone hurt him." George said
"That goes for all of us Mer" Christina added
"Yeah, now come on, let's get back out there, Jer might decide to open up his presents before it's time to again" Izzie commented, successfully lightening the mood
They all made their way outside just in time to see the kids toying with Mark and Richard's head. They were playing a game of some sort. One would say they wanted hotdogs, the other a burger, then they would change their mind every second and choose something else. Richard and Mark were clearly confused as to who was having what, so the ladies came over to help.
The rest of the party went off without a hitch. It was filled with the kids playing more games, medical discussions among the adults , lots and lots of cake, Dani following Jer around and him not caring a bit. Then it was on to the presents, they covered an entire table and there were still more in the house, this only caused Meredith to give her annual lecture about how much they spoiled Jeremy. Jeremy's early fifth birthday party was, in his words, the bestest party in the whole wide ginormous world!!!
Two Days Later...
At the airport terminal Mark, Liza, Jeremy and Meredith are ready to board their flight. Liza and George are in the corner talking while everyone else (Alex, Izzie, Christina) said goodbye to Mark, Mer and Jer.
Alex pulls Mer aside while Izzie and Christina talk to Mark.
"I just wanted to let you know that whatever you decide, whether you come back or not, I'm behind you one hundred percent. You have a big decision to make, like you said, you have to think about how this would affect JR. Sure we want you back, but we also want to see you happy. I want you happy Mer, that's all I want for you. So when you make your decision, just make sure it's the one that makes you most happy."
"I will, thank's Alex"
"Anytime. Sis" he nudged her shoulder and smiled with the last word
Just then the announcement for their flight's departure was broadcasted over the PA system. Alex stepped closer to Meredith and gave her a hug.
"I love you Mer" he said, then planted a quick kiss on her forehead
"I love you too Alex, oh wait a minute, Evil Spawn"
They both laughed but were interrupted when Izzie and Christina came over.
"What the hell are you two laughing about?" this only caused Mer and Alex to laugh harder and a displeased look to come across Christina's face.
"I guess this is where we say goodbye Mer" already beginning to cry
"Oh Izz, don't cry, we'll see Mer again, soon" he said, rubbing her back soothingly while she lightly sobbed onto his shirt
Christina threw her hands up in the air as a sign of defeat, "You see what I have to go through", she asked but it sounded more like a statement. "Emotion. Raw, unadulterated emotion. She does this every time. Why can't she just bottle it up and keep it locked inside like normal people? Like us Mer. It's cruel und unusual punishment and it sickens me."
Meredith gave Christina a knowing smile "Bye Christina", turned to Izzie and gave her a hug, "Bye Izz", she opened her bag, retrieved a Kleenex from, then passed it to Izz, "Your mascara's running". "Bye Alex" she gave him a slight wave and he winked at her. Just then George came over and gave Mer a big hug.
"I'm going to miss you Mer."
"I'll miss you too George, but are you sure it's not just me you're going to miss?" she tilted her head in Liza's direction and gave him a cocky smile, which caused him to blush considerably.
The final boarding call was announced and left to go on into the passageway leading into the plane where Mark, Jeremy and Liza were all waiting."bye guys!!!", she turned around and said.
"Call us when you get there Mer!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Izzie hollered from her position
"We will, bye"
They watched her retreating form until she turned the corner, then they left to go back to work.
Review Please. Mer will be in Seattle by Christmas day (just so you know).