A/N: First off, thanks for the reviews. I really do appreciate them. They make me happy. lol. So here is part two, I hope you enjoy it.

Cheers.

Meredith didn't exactly know how long she had been sitting on the bathroom floor, but as the steam from the shower started to evaporate and the room cleared up, reality struck her.

As she quickly got to her feet, undressed, and stepped into the now lukewarm water of the shower, she let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding. Meredith closed her eyes and stood under the water spigot, letting it flow down her body and absorb into her hair.

She stood unmoving for a few moments, sighed deeply, and grabbed the shampoo bottle. She knew very well that she had already wasted enough time dwelling on the situation that was inevitable anyway. She had to be quick. Take her shower. Get dressed. Get ready for the day. Ready for the kids.

Closing her eyes tight, she thought to herself, I could do it. Meredith then pushed the dread of the day to the back of her mind and continued on with her shower, hoping to cleanse her mind as well as her body.

Downstairs in the kitchen, Derek sat at the center island with the morning paper in one hand and a steaming cup of coffee in the other. He had already finished his breakfast, loaded the dishwasher with the left over dishes that sat in the sink, and picked up a bit in the living room to prepare for his kin.

When he first left Meredith, he bounced down the stairs with the hugest smile on his face. She had agreed to baby-sit. Baby-sit his family. Spending their time off with children and, in a sense, play house for the day. He was so thrilled that he almost told her it would make good practice for when they have children someday. He wanted to say those words to her so desperately, but he knew better. She was scared enough as it was. Just from the look in her eyes, he could tell. He knew she gave in, but he also knew it was most definitely on the borderline of one way or the other. At the moment, though, he didn't care. He loved his family and missed them a lot. They meant a lot to him. Her giving in meant a lot to him.

Derek sipped his coffee. He let the warmth of it slide down his throat as he tried to focus his attention on the article he was reading. When he reread the same line for what felt like the hundredth time, he gave up and set the newspaper down on the island. He really couldn't focus on much of anything at the moment.

He picked up his cell phone to make sure there were no missed calls or voicemails. He would admit he was excited. A bit anxious, for Meredith, but excited. When he had called Kathy back, he had given her the OK and provided her with the directions from the hotel to the house. Kathy ended the conversation with her giving him an ETA of twenty minutes and throwing a "thanks" in there somewhere. With that, Derek had quickly hung up his phone and poured his cereal, scarfed it down within seconds, then ran around like a madman, finishing everything in under ten minutes.

Now he sat staring at his cell phone. Waiting.

After realizing only a minute had gone by since the last time he checked, he replaced the phone on the surface in front of him and tapped his fingers anxiously on top of the newspaper. Leaning back against the chair, he sighed. He then laughed at himself for acting the way he was. As he picked up his coffee cup, he noticed it was almost empty.

"Right," he laughed again.

Deciding it needed to be refilled, he got off his chair and moved to the counter. Surely that would pass a moment or two.

It was when he smelled the delicious brew in his hands that he realized Meredith had not come downstairs yet. Derek grabbed another mug from the cabinet, a white one with Hello Kitty on it, poured the coffee and added the bit of milk and sugar he knew she liked.

Derek took a sip of his own, gripped the one for Meredith in his empty hand and turned around to leave the kitchen so he could meet her upstairs with her treat.

At that moment, the doorbell rang. Derek stopped in his tracks as the startling sound made him spill a bit of the newly full mugs of coffee on the floor.

"Damn it," he muttered to himself. He placed the drinks back on the counter and grabbed the nearest towel to clean up his mess. After quickly wiping it up and putting coffee covered towel in the sink, the doorbell rang again.

Derek took a final sip from his mug and made his way out of the kitchen to answer the door.

The small clumsy event that just took place made him momentarily forget about his sister and her kids and the fact that the doorbell ringing would be an indication to their arrival.

As Derek entered the hall, his eyes looked on to see a dark haired women standing on the porch outside the glass door.

Derek picked up his pace and rushed over to answer the door. He turned the knob and swiftly opened it with a smile streaming across his face.

He sighed happily. "Kathy."

"Hey stranger," Kathy smiled in return. "Sorry, I know we're a bit early."

Derek shook his head as he outstretched an arm and pulled his sister into a tight hug. "Not a problem," he said in their embrace. "It's really good to see you."

"It has been a while, hasn't it?" she added.

With that, Derek pulled away and moved for her to come inside. "Too long."

Kathy raised her eyebrow at him as she walked over the threshold. "And whose fault is that? The one missed Thanksgiving or the one who missed Christmas? Oh wait," she chuckled sarcastically. "That was you."

"Very funny," he scoffed. "Since when has it been impossible for you to come visit me?"

He folded his arms and frowned at her, his expression changing to a serious, yet playful one.

"Dave was here six months ago. And he brought the baby. Where were you?" he raised his chin at her.

Kathy sighed in defeat. "Touché."

As the grin slowly started to return to his face, Derek pulled her into another hug.

"I've really missed you, Derek," Kathy said into her arm that was clutched around his neck. "I know this was last minute and all. I really appreciate you doing this."

Derek once again removed himself from their hug. "Kathy, I love your kids," he said more seriously. "This is as much a favor for you as it is for me."

Kathy gleamed at him happily. What had to done to deserve such a wonderful, lovable brother?

In an instant, his mien shifted. He wrinkled his brow and asked, "Where are the kids?"

At his sudden forwardness in the change of question, Kathy's eyes widened in surprise.

"Oh, um, they are in the car," she responded, nodding her head ever so slightly.

"You left them in the car?" he prodded, his manner remaining the same. "Even Leah?"

"Relax, Der. She's asleep. And she's ten feet away," she derided him.

"But. Why?"

Kathy locked her eyes to the floor, saying nothing.

Derek gazed at her, trying to figure out what she was hiding. He fixed his mind and tried to read her face. Tried to get something from her. Not bringing in the kids? Why would she do that? He shifted slightly to try to see her eyes. Try to read her eyes.

Then it hit him.

"You wanted to meet her first?"

Kathy modestly lifted her eyes, keeping her head down.

He knew he was right.

Derek shifted his weight and titled his head. "You wanted to meet her first," he repeated as a statement.

Kathy picked up her head, but looked past him. She tried to form the right words to explain to him, moving her mouth, yet nothing came out.

"It's…" she started. "It's not that I don't trust you. Or lack faith in your judgment. I just…" Kathy paused and took a deep breath, trying to regain her poise. "I have never doubted you. With anything. Ever," she paused again.

"But." Derek persisted.

Kathy sighed. "After Nancy's little visit, she just made it sound like… like you… had a hiccup. In that department. Maybe a laps of… common sense?"

"Kathy, you don't even know her any you're already judging her," he said, the anger building slightly. "And from what? The fragment of information Nancy brought home with her? The… whole five minutes she spent in the same room as Meredith?"

"Derek. Slow down." Kathy jumped in, placing her palms against his chest. "I just wanted to meet her before the kids did. I didn't want to force the whole motley crew on her at once."

Derek took a deep breath, ran his hand through his hair, and sighed. "I'm sorry," he apologized. "I didn't mean to snap at you."

Kathy sighed as well, feeling the tension and heat of the conversation lift from the room. She nodded in acceptance.

After a few moments of silence Kathy added, "I do trust you, Der. I trust your decisions."

"Thank you." He replied, and then looked away for a moment. "What exactly did Nancy say about her anyway?"

Taken back that he stayed on the topic of their sister, Kathy scratched her head in a pondering notion. She tried to recompose her thoughts and choose her wording very carefully, not wanting to throw him over the edge even more.

"Well," she cleared her throat. "Nancy had said that she was… a bit young. For you." She saw that Derek was about to disagree, but before he could, she continued. " Age doesn't matter, Derek, I know that. Nancy knows that. She's just looking to nit-pick on her."

Derek nodded, remaining silent. Kathy continued, knowing he was looking for more.

"She also mentioned that she seemed a bit cold. And dramatic," she braced herself for the next part. "And a bit slutty."

After Derek had almost just bit her head off, she expected his reaction to the new information to cause him to be even more angry. Raise his voice. Again. Instead… the most miraculous thing happened. He was smiling. Well, not exactly smiling, but it was on the verge of becoming one. She held her breath, though, assuming it was just the calm before the storm. Kathy looked into his eyes as she waited for him to blow.

But. Nothing.

He did nothing. Didn't yell. Didn't freak out on her. Didn't complain about Nancy.

Nothing.

He just stared back at his sister, the smile now becoming more evident.

"Derek?" Before she could get another word in, he spoke.

"She's not cold," he said ever so calmly. "She's kind. And caring. She cares for her friends and her patients. She is anything but cold. Dramatic, yes," he laughed to himself. "But not cold.

Kathy could not help but to smile herself. She had never seen her brother act like this over anyone. No one.

"And she is not slutty," Derek added, shaking his head. "She's just… She's Meredith."

Kathy nodded, knowing exactly what he meant. He loved her.

As if on cue, Meredith came tumbling down the stirs, not bothering to look anywhere but down, watching her step.

"Derek, have you seen-"

She stopped mid-sentence when she reached the bottom and was face to face with a new She-Shepherd.

"My pants," she finished.

Crap.

Kathy looked her up and down. Standing in front of her was this tiny blonde whose hair was untamed and wore nothing but a fitted t-shirt and a pair of boy-cut underwear. She did everything in her power to hold back the smirk that was creeping its way onto her face.

Meredith sucked in a breath. Oh. Excellent.

Then the rambling started.

"Not that I lost them. Or left them. Anywhere. Looking... for clean ones. My clean ones. Laundry ones... because the... laundry... did the pants. That are now clean. Okay... there-"

"Laundry room, Mer," Derek cut her off with the obvious answer she needed. He smiled and winked at her.

Meredith opened her mouth to say something. Closed it and grinned. "I'm. Meredith," she stated frankly.

"Okay," Kathy replied, concentrating more on the smirk she was trying to hide rather then what Meredith was actually saying.

Meredith lifted her hand in an attempt to wave, then quickly turned around and walked very briskly towards the location of her pants, silently cursing herself along the way.

"Fantastic," she said to herself when she turned the corner in the kitchen.

Derek tried to regain his composure, a look of wonder took over his features as he turned back to face his sister.

"You were saying?" Kathy inquired, the smirk breaking through.

"Okay…" Derek responded, dragging out the word in a mocking tone.

She shrugged. "I was caught off guard."

"She's not slutty," he protested, a little too quickly.

"Right," she challenged in a mocking tone of her own.

And then they laughed. Laughed about… Everything. Meredith's perfect timing. The fact that they missed each other a great deal. How much Kathy knew she already liked Meredith… and that she owed Nancy fifty bucks.

"Mommy…" a small voice came from behind them.

As their laughing subsided, Kathy turned around as Derek stepped to the side of her. They peered through the storm door to see one of the kids, her daughter, standing outside.

"Leah was crying for you," the young girl continued, acknowledging the baby she had gripped in her arms.

"Oh!" Kathy gasped as her eyes widened. She anxiously opened the door for her daughters. As they entered, she grabbed Leah, who seemed rather calm and content for supposedly had just been crying.

"Beth!" Derek happily called out to the young girl as he got down to her level and extending his arms in anticipation of an oncoming hug.

"Uncle Derek?!" Beth's jaw dropped in shock as she ran to meet his open arms.

Derek lifted Beth into the air, hugged her, and continued to hold her tightly for a few moments.

"You didn't tell them they were coming to see me?" he questioned.

Kathy shifted her weight to accommodate Leah. "I did. They just didn't believe me," she teased, grinning.

"Aunt Nancy said you'd gone mental and you live in… Seattle now," Beth said, making sure she pronounced the city correctly and ignoring the statement she made about her aunt.

"Oh really?" Derek chuckled lightly, kissed his niece on the forehead, and placed her back on the floor. He looked at Kathy, who just shrugged in return, still grinning, enjoying what she was putting her brother through.

Beth leaned her back against Derek's legs and locked her tiny hands into his. She began swaying back and forth, tugging Derek's arms as she played.

"Well, your Aunt Nancy should be expecting a very heartfelt conversation soon." He directed his statement towards Beth, but kept his eyes locked on Kathy.

His tone was flat, but she could tell he wasn't really upset. They both knew how Nancy was.

"Are we stayin' with you today, Uncle Derek?" Beth asked, leaning her head back to look up at him.

Derek nodded. "Yep."

"Yay!" she cheered in return.

Leah, who had been resting her head against her mother, shot up quickly with the brightest smile on her face and raised her arms in the air, as if she knew what was going on and not simply reacting to the familiar sound of her sister's ecstatic voice.

They all laughed.

"I guess it's unanimous, then," Derek said, grinning.

Kathy nodded in agreement. "Alright. Beth, why don't you and I go get your things and get the crew rounded up so I can get out of here."

"Kathy, I can go get them," he volunteered.

"No, it's fine," she responded. "It has been a pretty decent amount of time since I left them. Who knows what the car looks like by now. You can, however, take Leah for me." Kathy forced the baby into his arms before he had a chance to even accept.

Derek hugged Leah tightly and walked over to open the door for his sister and niece. When they headed down the walk towards their car, he turned his attention to the happy child in his arms.

"So… How've you been?" he teased.

Leah, who was chewing on one of her fingers, scrunched up her nose and smiled as she let out a small giggle at him.

"Right," he laughed. "Why don't we go check on your Aunt Meredith, huh?"

Leah just looked on, not really having a choice in the matter.

Derek turned around and headed for the kitchen. "Do me a favor?" he whispered in the baby's ear. "Don't tell her I called her that?"

Thanks so much for reading. Again, reviews are appreciated.