A/N: I'm so glad that you all are enjoying this story! I'm trying to get the updates finished as quickly as I can - just as a warning, I'll be leaving town Friday morning and will very limited internet access for a week and a half, so during that time, I won't be able to update or respond to your reviews - but I'm sure I'll have plenty written when I get back! In the meantime, I'm hoping to get two more updates up after this one before I leave.
For those of you who've been waiting for more Mer/Der moments, this is the chapter for you!
"Hello, all you doubters," Izzie laughed as she walked up to the nurses' station Monday morning, spotting Derek reviewing a chart and Mark and Alex discussing a patient. "Debbie, would you care to take a look at some pictures?"
"Pictures, Dr. Stevens?" Debbie asked in confusion.
"Meredith took them," Izzie said. "They're of Dr. Montgomery's….excuse me, it's now Dr. Nelson's…wedding reception."
"If they'll settle the bet, I'd be delighted," Debbie said, taking the envelope out of Izzie's hands. "Well, I'll be damned," she muttered as she pulled out the pictures of Addison's wedding reception and started laughing. "Looks like the men lose again, Dr. Stevens."
"Lose what?" Alex asked, snatching the pictures out of Debbie's hands. "Oh, you have got to be kidding me!"
"Oh my God," Mark laughed, grabbing one particular picture out of Alex's hand. "Derek, you have got to see this one."
Derek walked over and took a look at the image. "Is that Marlene and Jared?" he asked in shock.
"Dude, those two look pissed off," Alex said as he glanced at the picture. "Who are they?"
"Jared and Marlene Montgomery," Mark said. "Basically, the kind and queen of upper class society in Manhattan."
"Also my former in-laws," Derek said. "And if there was one thing about that marriage I was definitely not sorry to lose, it was Jared and Marlene. Those two are a pain in the neck."
"Well, they certainly don't look too happy about Addie's new marriage," Mark laughed.
"Oh, is that the one of Addison's parents?" Callie asked as she walked up behind them. "Yeah, they weren't exactly the happiest people that night. I don't they realized how much leaving Manhattan had changed Addison. Personally, I think it's a good change, but apparently they don't agree."
"Jared and Marlene aren't exactly change people," Derek laughed. "I mean, I'm not exactly a street bum, but they made it quite clear when Addison and I got married that they considered me beneath them."
"Well, if you really want priceless," Callie said, pausing as she rifled through the pictures before pulling one out and handing it to Derek. "This one's my personal favorite."
"Oh. My. God," Mark gasped as he looked over Derek's shoulder at the image of Marlene Montgomery with wedding cake smeared down the front of her powder blue Vivienne Westwood dress. "The look on Marlene's face, oh Derek, you have to save that one for Mom."
"Marlene had to have had a fit about this one," Derek laughed. "And you're right, Mom will love this…I'm pretty sure it took all her self control not to shove cake at Marlene at my wedding. Who's the kid with the plate?"
"Kevin's nephew," Callie said. "Cute kid, really funny. Fast, too, when he needs to be. I mean, that kid must have set a world record with how fast he sprinted away when Mrs. Montgomery started yelling at him."
"Well, it was lucky that someone was nearby to capture Marlene's face on film," Derek said. "I think this accident may have just made my week."
George laughed as he came up to the nurses' station. "You really think the cake thing was an accident?" he scoffed.
"Wasn't it?" Derek asked.
"No way," George laughed.
"Why would the kid do that?" Mark asked. "Marlene couldn't possibly have annoyed him that much, she thinks it's beneath her to speak to anyone without a net worth of at least seven figures."
George shrugged. "No idea," he said. "But I've seen enough klutzy behavior in my life to know the difference between a kid actually tripping and a kid pretending to trip. That kid, he was definitely aiming for the dress."
It was Thursday afternoon before Derek finally got a chance to see Meredith again. Standing outside her house, he smiled as she stepped out on the porch and gave him a kiss on the cheek.
"You ready to go?" she asked, holding out her hand to lead the way to the car.
"I'm always ready," Derek replied.
"Sure you are," Meredith laughed. "You forget I've seen you in the morning. You take longer to do your hair than Izzie."
"Hey, don't mess with the hair routine," Derek argued. "You don't want to see me without it."
"Oh, I've seen you without it," Meredith said. "In fact, I'm fairly certain I've got a picture somewhere. Might need to dig that one out for blackmail someday."
"Not funny," Derek scolded jokingly. "Although if you really wanted to blackmail someone, I'm sure you could get quite a bit of cash out of Marlene Montgomery for the negatives of that cake picture you took last weekend."
"Are you kidding me?" Meredith laughed. "No way in hell am I giving those negatives up. That was the best forty bucks I've spent in a long time, Derek."
"Forty bucks?" Derek asked incredulously. "Wait, you paid the kid to smash his cake into Marlene's dress?"
"Hey, even Addison thought it was funny," Meredith said. "And Kevin's nephew was priceless, you should have heard him. 'Gee, Mrs. Montgomery, I'm awful sorry, I didn't see you there. Are you sure you didn't move? Maybe you shouldn't have any more champagne.' I thought I was going to die laughing."
"Not that I don't also think it was hilarious, but what on earth possessed you to do that?" Derek asked.
"She was extremely annoying, Derek," Meredith protested. "I mean, it was her daughter's wedding, you'd think the least the woman could do was crack a smile. But no, she spent the evening glaring at me and telling anyone who'd listen that her daughter was marrying even further beneath her than before."
"Why was she glaring at you?" Derek asked.
"I think it had something to do with the fact that I'm dating her ex-son-in-law," Meredith said. "I don't know for sure, though, because I really wasn't interested in asking."
"So we're dating?" Derek asked hopefully. "I don't want to push…I'm just curious, wondering if we were putting a name on what we're doing."
"Yeah, we're dating," Meredith said. "Is that alright?"
"That is more than alright," Derek said. "I like dating you. More dates, I say."
"Well, I'm sure there will be plenty more dates," Meredith said as Derek smiled over at her. "We're taking steps and that starts with dating."
"You're insane, Meredith," Cristina sighed as they sat in the hospital cafeteria two days later. "You know that, right?"
"I am not insane," Meredith insisted. "In fact, I think this will be really good for me."
"Surgery, Meredith," Cristina said. "Surgery is what is good for you, not this touchy-feely crap."
"I'm not giving up surgery, Cristina," Meredith argued. "But I can't just sit around the house until Callie says I can operate again. It's going to make me crazy if I don't do something."
"No, this," Cristina said, emphasizing the word. "This idea of yours is crazy. And you are crazy for saying 'yes' to this thing."
"For the last time, I am not crazy," Meredith said.
"Who says you're crazy?" Derek asked, walking up to the table and slipping into the seat next to Meredith.
"I do," Cristina said as she quickly stood up to leave them alone. "She's insane. I don't like you McDreamy, but I might dislike you a little less if you talk her out of this."
"Do I even want to ask what that was about?" Derek laughed as Cristina walked away.
"I love Cristina, I really do," Meredith said. "She's my person, after all. But she sucks at being supportive."
"I can be supportive," Derek offered.
"Okay, but you have to promise not flip out on me like Cristina did," Meredith said.
"I cross my heart," Derek said, making an 'x' over his chest for effect.
"Fine," Meredith said, smiling slightly. "I had this interview thing yesterday morning, and I sort of got a job."
"A job?" Derek asked. "As in, something other than surgery?"
"I'm not giving up being a surgeon," Meredith said quickly. "That's not what this is about, despite what Cristina may think. It's just, the way things are progressing, it's going to be at least a few more months before I'm cleared to return to work here. And if I'm not cleared by the end of January, the board says I have to wait until the staff year resets in June. I put it off as long as could, but I'll go crazy without something to do for the next few months. There's only so many rooms in the house I can redecorate before it gets a little bit ridiculous."
"So, you got a job," Derek repeated.
"It's just a part time thing," Meredith said. "It'll be three days a week, but my hours are going to be really flexible. I can basically just pick when I want to work. The pay's not much, but I don't really need the money. And my therapist thinks this job could be a really great healing experience for me. She's almost more excited about it than I am."
"Well, I for one think it's great," Derek said.
"You do?" Meredith asked eagerly.
"I do," Derek confirmed. "And whatever it is, I'm sure you'll be great at it."
"Thanks," Meredith said. "That means a lot to me, Derek."
"So, what is the big job?" Derek asked.
"I'm going to work for the Seattle Children's Home," Meredith said. "I'll be doing a lot of different things – teaching classes for new foster parents, advising current foster families, helping the kids adjust to their new homes or readjust when they come back to the group home. Plus I'll be doing some community relations work, soliciting donors, getting volunteers involved in the programs, things like that."
"Wow," Derek said. "That sounds like some pretty amazing work."
"I think it'll be good for me," Meredith said. "I had to do a little sweet talking to get the job, because usually they want someone with a background in social work, but I convinced them to make an exception for me."
"Because of your medical background?" Derek asked.
Meredith paused for a minute before slowly shaking her head. "More because of my…well, my personal background."
Meredith hesitated slightly at the look of confusion on Derek's face, but realized it was too late to back out of telling him the truth now. If they were going to build a healthy relationship, it was time for him to know the truth of her background.
"Could we maybe go somewhere more private to talk about this?" she asked nervously.
"Sure," Derek said, his voice giving away his concern. "Why don't we go up to my office?"
"So, your personal background?" Derek asked as he shut and locked the door to his office.
Meredith sighed and sank down onto the couch, motioning for Derek to sit next to her.
"I was a foster child when I was younger," Meredith said. "That's why I was able to convince them to give me this job."
"But I thought…what about Ellis?" Derek asked. "I thought she had custody of you?"
"It's a long story," Meredith said.
"I've got time, if you want to talk about it," Derek offered. "If not, I'm always here when you're ready."
Meredith nodded and looked down at their interlaced fingers. "I was seven," she began slowly. "My mother tried to kill herself."
"Oh Meredith," Derek sighed, reaching out and grabbing her hand. "I had no idea."
"I can still remember it, everything about that afternoon," Meredith said. "A lot of what happened after that is a blur, but I can still see those few hours just like they were yesterday. I knew something was wrong when she came home early. My mother never came home early, not ever. But she did that day, and then she sent the babysitter home, which was another thing she never did. I was in the kitchen, making a sandwich, when she came in. She sat down on the floor and told me to come sit next to her. I think I thought we were going to play a game or something, until she pulled a scalpel out of her purse. She looked at me, looked me right in the eyes. She looked so empty, emptier than I'd ever seen her eyes look. As if all her hope was gone. And then she told me that whatever I did, I was not to call 911."
Meredith paused and took a deep breath as Derek squeezed her hand and kissed her gently on the forehead. "We can stop if you want," he whispered.
"No, I'm okay," Meredith assured him. "I guess you figured out by now, she slit her wrists. And I just sat there, frozen, right next to her. Just staring, watching her blood pool around my feet. She did the same thing, just stared at me, until she finally passed out. Then I climbed on the counter, grabbed the phone and called 911. They wouldn't let me come in the ambulance with her, so one of the neighbors drove me to the hospital. The nurses, they all knew me, so they let me sleep in an on call room instead of staying in the waiting room. All I could think about was how angry my mother was going to be when she woke up and found out that I had called 911. I never did find out if she was mad, though, because one of the nurses called social services after I told her I didn't have any family in Boston. I didn't see my mother again for six and half months."
"You were in for that long?" Derek asked.
"Yeah, I was," Meredith confirmed. "They sent Ellis to an inpatient psychiatric center, so there really wasn't anyone to take care of me. She was in there for about five months, but then it took another month and a half to convince the courts that she was stable enough to take custody of me. I was getting used to the thought that I'd never see her again, and all of a sudden, she was back. When I first went in, I thought she was mad at me. I thought she didn't want me anymore because I hadn't listened to her."
As Derek held her hand and they sat there in silence, Meredith finally felt herself letting go and slowly, the tears began to fall. Derek pulled her closer, holding her in his arms as she cried the tears she'd held back for all those years.
"I wish I could make it all go away, Meredith," Derek whispered as he kissed her hair.
"I know," she said sadly. "But for better or for worse, it's part of who I am. And you know what? This new job is a chance for me to make it something good. I've spent so many years trying to forget it, trying to pretend it never happened…but it's not something I can just wish away. So I might as well do something with my experience, right?"
"I am so proud of you, you know that?" Derek said. "You constantly amaze me with how strong you are."
"Thanks for listening," Meredith said.
"Anytime," Derek said. "Day or night, I'm here."
"I love you," Meredith whispered softly as she laid her head on his shoulder.
Pulling her a little bit tighter, Derek wondered if she could feel the way his heart raced at her words. "I love you too," he whispered back as he closed his eyes, holding Meredith just a little bit tighter and wishing the moment never had to end.