Hello!

The response for the last chapter was unbelievable! As promised, I tried to get you the next one ASAP. It would have been a little bit sooner but I didn't want to completely neglect Just a Girl in a Bar so I had to update that one first.

P.S. I wrote a one-shot called This is Forever that is a continuation of the latest Grey's episode, One Step Too Far (8x17). MerDer moments and Meredith/Cristina friendship :) Check it out!

Anyway! I hope this chapter lives up to expectations and you all enjoy it!

Enjoy!

Chapter 19

"Are you ready to go back down?"

Derek's breath tickled her face as she relaxed her forehead against his, recovering from their kiss. His arms were still clutching Meredith tightly to his body and, to be honest, she wasn't feeling too inclined to leave them.

"I suppose we have to, don't we?" she reluctantly whispered back, making no move to extract herself from the embrace.

"You have to move first," he sniggered with a teasing grin.

"You move," Meredith pouted back.

Laughing quietly at his wife, Derek slowly brought them both to their feet. He kissed her soundly one more time on her temple before taking a step back to look her over, still holding her hands between them.

Meredith's eyes were still red-rimmed and her cheeks were flushed but he was just happy the sadness had left her eyes. The redness would fade with time. Her shirt was a little wrinkled from curling up on the bed and then in his arms.

"You can go down first," she offered, staring at their joined hands. "I want to freshen up before I have to face everyone again."

"Take your time," he smiled comfortingly.

A little of the small amount of the mascara she was wearing had smudged and Derek raised his thumb to wipe it away before exiting the room.

Meredith stood where her husband left her for a moment longer after he shut the door behind him.

She really did need a moment to collect herself. She was sure that Derek wouldn't allow anything like what just happened to occur again, but she wasn't in a hurry to have to face everyone again either. It's not every day you yell at your sister-in-law in front of your husband's whole family.

Shaking herself from her internal fears, she grabbed her small bag of toiletries and headed across the hall to clean herself up before returning to the wolf den.

Derek trudged down the stairs, bypassing the dining room and heading straight for the kitchen. Carolyn was at the sink, washing dishes, while her four daughters busied themselves with other various cleaning activities.

"Oh, Derek," Carolyn exclaimed after noticing his entrance and rushing to his side. "How is Meredith? She's not too upset, is she? There is no excuse for the way Nancy behaved, but we all really don't want you two to leave early."

Derek's face darkened slightly. "Luckily Meredith is a far more forgiving person than I am. She's freshening up, but she'll be back down in a minute."

"So you're staying?" Kathleen asked hopefully from across the room.

"We're staying," he confirmed. "We'll stay until Sunday morning like we planned. But I swear if anything like that happens again," he paused and looked directly at Nancy, "there won't be a discussion. I will take Meredith, find a hotel, and you'll be lucky if I ever bring my family back here again."

"It won't," Liz spoke up. "Because Nancy is going to apologize when Meredith comes down and we're all going to have a nice visit in the living room while we enjoy each other's company." Her tone dared Nancy to say anything to the contrary. "Right, Nancy?"

"Right," was Nancy's tight response.

Derek didn't have a chance to get in a final warning before Meredith's footsteps could be heard as she descended the stairs.

Derek sent Nancy one last warning glance before turning to greet his wife with a kiss on the cheek.

"Hi," Meredith addressed the room with a hesitant smile.

"Meredith, sweetheart," Carolyn beamed. "Did you get enough to eat?"

"Oh, yes, it was very good. Thank you," Meredith smiled, grateful for the safe topic.

Across the kitchen, Amelia gave Nancy an inconspicuous kick in the shin and a not so subtle, stern glance.

"Meredith," Nancy suddenly exclaimed, prompted by Amelia's painful reminder. All eyes immediately settled on her, causing a slight blush to appear in her cheeks.

"Can I talk to you in the other room, please?" she finished in a quieter voice.

"Uhmmm…" Meredith hesitated. All things considered, she wasn't sure she wanted to venture anywhere without witnesses with this woman.

"You don't have to go anywhere, Meredith," Derek jumped in protectively, sensing her discomfort. "Whatever you want to say to Meredith, you can say in front of me."

"Calm down, Derek," Nancy said, rolling her eyes. "I just want to apologize with some privacy. She's free to share whatever she wants to when we're done."

"Would you like to go to the living room?" Meredith asked unexpectedly.

Derek turned his body to face his wife. "Mer," he whispered. "If you're not comfortable-"

"It's fine, Derek. She just wants to talk," she reasoned before turning back to Nancy. "So, the living room?"

"After you," her sister-in-law answered coolly.

With that, the women left the kitchen, leaving behind their five concerned looking family members.

For a good minute, the women merely stared at each other.

Meredith was perched on the edge of one of the overly plush armchairs and Nancy had chosen a seat the end of the couch closest to Meredith's chair.

"Do you have brothers or sisters?" Nancy blurted out suddenly, causing Meredith to jump in surprise.

"Uhh, sort of…I have a half-sister. Two actually but I've only met one of them a couple times. My parents divorced when I was five and my dad went and made a new family I didn't know existed until, like, five years ago. So, yes, I do, but I grew up an only child…If that makes sense…"

'Oh good,' she thought. 'Now I sound like a crazy person. Awesome.'

Nancy simply nodded and returned to silence.

"He's my baby brother," she spoke again. "Ever since we were little, I've always felt like it was my responsibility to take care of him; to look out for him. If he was getting picked on at school, I was always there making sure that kid never went near him again. In some ways I know I acted like his mom, which I know got on his nerves a lot," she chuckled a little at a memory Meredith wasn't privy to.

"And that only increased after we lost Dad." Her features took on a grave nature at the mention of their father. "Not that he appreciated it any more than when he was seven. If anything, it pissed him off more but I worried about him a lot. He had Mark, which was good, but he didn't make a lot of friends and, I mean come on, he joined band. He was just asking to get beaten up."

Meredith chuckled at the joke, surprised Nancy was being so open with her.

"But like I said, he had Mark to protect him from stuff like that when I left for college. Anyway, my point. He may not have always liked having me act like a second mother, but it came from a good place. And it still does. I'll never not worry about him, Meredith. And I've been even more concerned ever since he and Addison split. I'm not blind; I knew they were having problems but all marriages go though rough patches. I never expected to get a call one morning telling me my brother's moved across the country to live in the woods. I know this is the Derek you know and love, but he's almost a completely different person now."

Nancy took a moment to pause to gather her thoughts. This was getting a little off track.

"He's happy," her voice softened. "I know he's happy. I can see it as clearly as anyone else can. I'm just trying to understand this new person who looks like my brother. And..." She took a deep breath before continuing. "And I went about that the wrong way. I was out of line and I'm sorry. I know it was wrong, but with my reasoning, you were the woman who got in the way of Derek and Addison reconciling after the Mark fiasco."

"It wasn't a 'fiasco', it was adultery," Meredith jumped in, not able to hold her tongue any longer. "I know Derek and I weren't completely innocent in that situation and not to sound like a 2nd grader, but Addison and Mark started it."

"I know that. But Addison seemed so sorry and we were so close while she was with Derek. I was biased, I admit it, but I honestly thought Derek would be better off if he made up with Addi. I thought maybe they could have a second chance to get back to the way they were. I was just trying to make sure Derek was happy. Like I said, I know I was wrong. And I do apologize for the things I said tonight."

Nancy stopped to make sure she had Meredith's full attention. "I don't want to lose my brother, Meredith. I don't want to be the reason he has to choose between the rest of us and you because I know we'll lose. I hope you can accept my apology and we can start over."

Throughout her speech, Meredith was awed by the amount of emotion Nancy had revealed. There was no doubt that this family meant the world to each other and she was struck again with the realization that she was actually a part of it now.

You do a lot for the people you love. You do anything for the people you love. It was feeling Meredith was familiar with so when Nancy presented her reasoning, it was hard for her to fault Derek's sister for trying to protect her brother. It may not excuse her words or behavior entirely, but she could at least understand where it had come from.

"I think I'd like that," Meredith agreed.

In that moment, they two women had come to a mutual understanding. Perhaps they would never be best friends, but no matter what, Derek had made them family.

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