They pulled up in front of a restaurant and climbed out of the car at the same time their parents and Derek did. They walked in and checked in with the hostess for their reservation. The hostess led them back to their table. Meredith settled in a seat in between Dennis and Nina and across from Mark. He flashed her one of his infamous smirks. Rolling her eyes, she picked up the menu that was set in front of her. This interaction didn't go unnoticed by Carol and Nina, but neither said a thing just smiled to themselves. The waitresses who were taking care of the large party came by took their order, brought their drinks, and left again.
"So, son, what did you do today?" Carol asked Mark.
He fought off a smile as he shrugged. "Nothing."
"What about you, Meredith?" Nina asked nonchalantly sipping her water.
"Just hung around after I dropped Christina at the airport."
"You're in the Bahamas and you kids just… lay around?" Jane asked.
"No, we went to beach." Derek protested gesturing him and Burke.
--
The rest of dinner went by uneventfully. Meredith tried to ignore the looks between Nina and Carol while trying to keep from showing she was actually enjoying sitting across from Mark. He would make faces or give her his adorable smile or his McSteamy smirk when nobody was paying attention. Dinner was finally over and Richard insisted on paying the bill while everyone put in a couple dollars for the tip. The air was slightly cool when they walked out.
"Um, mom, can you drive Derek, Mark, and Preston home?"
"We don't have anymore seats, why?"
"I have something I've got to do."
"Can't you take them with you?"
"We don't want to be dragged around the city." Derek interrupted.
"It'd take a few hours, but I can drop them at the house." She sighed as she pulled out the phone to text someone.
"Good." Ellis said before climbing in the back of the SUV and waited to help Dennis into his seat.
Dennis raced over to Meredith and hugged her. "Goodnight, Mer."
"Night, Dennis." She said leaning down to kiss his cheek. He turned and walked back to the car.
"Get in." She sighed annoyed. After watching her parents' car disappear, she slipped into the driver's seat. Derek was sitting next to her in the passenger seat. Starting the car, she started out of the parking lot and turned the opposite direction as her parents.
"This is the wrong way." Derek protested first.
"I know." She rolled her eyes without looking at them.
"You know? Where are we going?" Burke asked.
"We're going a different way to accommodate all of are needs. You need to get home. I need to get where I need to get." She drove past a short strip of buildings lit up with neon lights and street lights. She turned into an ice cream place and turned off the car. "Stay here." She slipped out of the car taking the keys with her knowing that they would drive off without her if they had the chance. Walking up to the window, she gave the young boy a smile. "Hi, can I get two scoops of chocolate ice cream in a waffle cone with chocolate sprinkles?"
"Sure." He replied as she turned and walked back to the car.
"This was your big emergency?" Mark said as she walked to Derek's side of the car. He looked at her oddly as she reached down to the glove box, opened it, and pulled out a manila envelope that didn't look to be too stuffed. Then, she popped the trunk, pulled out a large brown bag, and wordlessly shut it again. By the time, she walked back to the window her ice cream was ready.
"Is Marcy there?" She asked.
"Yep." The young boy turned around. "Marcy." He called back at a young blonde haired woman. Marcy looked up at Meredith and raced to the back door. Soon, she appeared in the parking lot instantly engulfing Meredith into a hug.
"Thank you so much for coming." She cried.
"Your welcome." Standing back, Marcy sniffled as Meredith opened the envelope and pulled out a wad of money. "This is two thousand, okay? It's not much, but it should suffice until I can get more."
Tears were now coming down her cheeks as she shook her head. "It's too much, Mer."
"No it's not." She promised. "These are for them." She picked up the bag and pulled out a stuffed animal. "There's something for each of them."
"This is too all too much."
"Marcy, you have to take it."
She sniffled and nodded as she hugged her close again. "You're amazing."
"I'll come by later this week."
"Oh, um, I almost forgot. They have something for you." She scurried back into the building and soon returned carrying a manila envelope and a paper plate of brownies and cookies covered with a piece of plastic wrap.
"Thank you." She hugged her again. "I'll see you later, okay?"
"Yeah."
"Tell them that I love them."
"Thank you so much, Mer. We love you, too."
She smiled and walked back to the car. She put the envelope and the plate of cookies on her lap. She held her almost gone ice cream cone in one hand as she turned on her car. Waving to Marcy, she started to make her way out of the parking lot.
"What?" She snapped. They had been staring at her as if waiting for her to talk since she got back in her car.
"You just gave the woman two thousand dollars." Burke pointed out.
"So?"
"Is she like your drug dealer?" Derek said.
She looked over at him and glared. "Does it look like I'm a druggie?" She nearly yelled.
"I wouldn't know." He shrugged.
"I don't use drugs, Asshole. What I do with my money is none of your business."
The rest of the way back home, they didn't say anything. Meredith finished her ice cream cone and drove in silence the rest of the way. She pulled up to the house, grabbed the envelope, cookies, and her bag, and got out of the car. She unlocked the door as the guys waited on the stairs. She stepped in and slammed the door before they could come in. She considered locking it, but instead she trudged into the kitchen. She heard the door open as she sat down at the bar. Pulling out a cookie out, she took a bite and opened the envelope. She pulled out the contents out and laid them across the bar. Three colorful cards covered in glitter stared back at her. They each had her name written in shaky writing on the front. There were a couple drawings of butterflies and houses in the envelope as well. Also, there was a Polaroid picture of Marcy and three children. One sat in a wheelchair slightly slumped over with a breathing apparatus up his nose. An IV hole sat beside him with one tube running into his stomach, and one into a needle in his arm. The two twin girls smiled at the camera with their blonde hair in pig tails and matching clothes. She smiled and moved the picture to the side. Standing up, she turned to get some milk from the fridge to see Mark standing there.
"Sorry about Derek and Burke." He said quietly moving from the doorway.
"I don't care about them." She sighed and walked to the fridge.
"They were out of line." She just nodded as she retrieved the milk, poured a glass, and returned it to the fridge. He wrapped his arms around her waist, but she moved out of his grasp before he could kiss her. "So I'm saying sorry for them."
She looked down at her glass. "I don't think this is going to work."
"What is going to work?"
"This." She gestured herself and him. "Being friends or kissing or whatever this is."
"What? Why not? I thought we were having fun."
"We are… We were." She sighed. "Your friends are never going to let this happen. And you're never going to turn on your friends. And I don't want you to. I don't want you to stand up for me and lose them. Even if neither of us are looking for a relationship… but whatever this is going to always come with consequences, and I'm not ready to let you lose your friends over a fling. It's not worth it. I'm always going to be six years old, and you're always going to be eight years old." She gave him one last sad glance, grabbed the plate of cookies and the milk, and walked out.
"Meredith…" He sighed as he turned to look at her, but she had already managed to leave the kitchen. Walking over to where she previously sat, he looked down what had previously been stuffed into the envelope that haphazardly lied on the counter. His eyes zoned in on the picture. Though he recognized the woman in the picture as the one from the ice cream place earlier that evening, he wasn't sure who she or the kids could be. Sighing, he tried to shrug off the wonder and the feeling of hurt that he was trying so hard to deny was there.
--
Marcy and the mystery three kids will play into the story. I didn't randomly waste a chapter or anything.