Meredith clung tightly to Derek as they stood outside the door, Addison's parents waiting while Addison and Mark stood in a similar pose on the other side of the car. After a long moment, Derek pulled back and brushed some hair behind Meredith's ears. "It's okay, Mer," he whispered. "It's only a couple days, and then we'll be back here."

Meredith nodded slightly, looking down at the ground to hide her tears. "You've ruined me, Derek Shepherd," she whispered. "Look at me, I'm crying because I'm going to be away from you for three days."

Derek laughed as he pulled her close and pressed a firm kiss to her forehead. "I'll talk to you later tonight, okay?" he said. "And we'll be back here before you know it, and then you'll be rolling your eyes and calling me an idiot."

"Okay," Meredith whispered. "I love you."

Derek squeezed her hand and gently guided her to the backseat of the car. "I love you too," he said. "I'll see you in a couple days."

Meredith slid into the backseat of the car and smiled softly at him as he closed the door behind her. Addison slid in a few moments later and smiled slightly at Meredith. They sat quietly in the backseat for a few moments before Addison asked, "How's your mom, Mer?"

Meredith shrugged. "I guess she's okay," she said. "I doubt she'll know that I'm coming home. It will be an interesting break, but I just want to get through it and see Derek again."

Addison reached over and squeezed her hand. "If things get to rough at your house, you know you can still come over to my house," she said. "I know this will be hard for you."

"Thanks, Addie," Meredith said softly. "I know it will be hard, but I'm just hoping maybe we'll be able to get to know each other a little better before things get too bad."

"I hope so too," Addison said softly.

Meredith sighed as she turned to lean against the window, watching the trees as they sped by on the road. She wasn't looking forward to being away from Derek, and was even less excited about going home. She was nervous about seeing her mother for the first time since leaving for college and knowing that pretty soon her only family in the world wouldn't even know who she was, but she was also scared that Ellis would be her same old self, judging her and telling her she wasn't good enough.

When they finally pulled into Meredith's driveway, she hugged Addison and thanked her parents before sliding out of the car and cautiously walking towards the front door. With a deep breath, she slid the key into the lock and opened the door.

"Mom?" she called, hearing Ellis rummaging around in her study.

"Meredith?" Ellis asked, appearing in the door of her study, a frown on her face. "What are you doing home?"

Meredith sighed. "It's my October break, Mom," she said gently. "I have Monday off of school, so I figured I would come home and spend some time with you. I talked to you last night, remember?"

Ellis frowned for a moment. "Well, you shouldn't have bothered," she said. "I've got a million things to do, I don't have time to baby you right now."

Meredith looked at her for a moment before she nodded. "Okay," she said softly. "I'm just going to go up to my room and settle in. If you need anything, tell me, okay? And I'll make dinner, so you don't have to worry about that."

Before she had even finished talking, Ellis was back in her study, muttering to herself as she sorted through piles of papers.

Meredith sighed as she made her way up the stairs, wondering if she should have just stayed at school. Obviously hoping that her mother had changed since contracting Alzheimer's had been a mistake.

XXXXX

When Derek pulled into his driveway, he smiled softly when he saw his parents sitting on the front porch swing, talking softly and sipping coffee. He could see himself and Meredith in their place in thirty years, and he suddenly felt a sting in his heart at the thought of missing her. It quickly faded away when Emma saw in and quickly pulled out of Michael's arms, rushing down the porch steps to embrace her son.

"Derek," she exclaimed. "Oh, it's so good to see you."

"It's good to see you too, Mom," he said with a smile as he squeezed her back tightly.

"Where's Mark?" Emma asked when she finally pulled back.

"He went to his house," Derek replied. "He wanted to get some stuff and he figured he should at least say hi to his parents."

"Derek," Michael said with a smile as he pulled his son into his arms. "Good to see you."

"You too Dad," Derek said, clapping him on the back.

"How's the wonderful world of neurology treating you?" Michael asked as the three of them made their way into the house.

"Pretty good," Derek nodded. "It's fascinating, and I really like it, so I'm pretty sure I'm going to stick with it."

"That's my boy," Michael said proudly as Emma scurried them into the kitchen and poured some hot cider for Derek.

"How's Mark's girlfriend?" she asked. "I still can't believe that someone has managed to tame him."

Derek swallowed hard, knowing that this was the moment of truth. "Addison's really good at keeping Mark in line," he said. "And…it works out well because she's best friends with…Meredith."

Emma froze over the stove and turned to look at him with a sparkle in her eyes. "Who's Meredith?" she asked, not bothering to try and suppress her smile.

"Meredith is…my girlfriend."

Before he had even finished saying the word, Emma was at his side and taking him into her arms, demanding to know more about Meredith.

"Emma, calm down," Michael said, a sparkle in his eyes as well. "It's college, he's supposed to be dating."

"Oh, but I want to know about her," Emma said.

"She's wonderful," Derek smiled. "She's from Boston, and she's on the fast track to being a neurosurgeon too. And she's just…amazing."

"Oh, Derek," Emma sighed. "I'm so happy for you."

"It sounds like you've found yourself a pretty special girl," Michael said, reaching for Emma's hand. "Take it from experience, they're not easy to get, so make sure you hang onto her."

"I will," Derek smiled. He looked around for a moment before he asked, "Where are the girls?"

"Liz is at swimming practice and Caitlin's shopping with a friend," Emma said. "They're both very excited to see you."

Derek smiled as he looked around the kitchen that hadn't changed a bit in the two months he'd been gone. "It's good to be home," he said.

"It's good to have you back," Michael said. "Maybe between the two of us we can have some say in what goes on in this house full of women."

Emma rolled her eyes and Derek laughed. "I don't think that will ever happen, Dad," he said.

"Fine," Michael said. "I'm off work tomorrow, how about we head down to the lake and do some fishing?"

"That'd be good," Derek nodded. As he opened his mouth to ask what his mother was making for dinner, the back door burst open and Caitlin ran into his arms.

"Derbear!" she squealed. "I missed you!"

Derek laughed as he tightened his arms around his thirteen year old sister. "I missed you too, Caitie," he said. "I'm glad I'm home."

"You want to come see my room?" Caitlin asked, tugging on his hand. "Since Kathleen's really moved out now, I moved into her room, and now Liz and I don't have to share!"

Derek allowed his sister to pull him to his feet. "Alright, let's go," he said. He laughed as he looked over his shoulder at his parents. "I'll be back later to help with dinner," he called.

For the next hour, Derek listened to his sister chatter away about her new room and school and friends and other dealings of thirteen year old girls. When she finally ran out of things to talk to him about, she kicked him out so she could write in her diary, and he made his way to his old bedroom, smiling at the way everything had stayed the same. Since he was the only boy, he had been the only one of his siblings to keep the same bedroom for his entire life. The bookshelves were still lined with various texts from high school, the top shelf scattered with trophies and certificates. Pens and papers were still scattered across his desk, but his bed was neatly made, and the posters of the Clash and pictures of the family were still completely intact. It was clear that his parents didn't want to change his room, even if he wouldn't be living there very much anymore.

With a soft smile, Derek pulled a picture of him and Meredith out of his backpack and placed it next to a picture of his family on his nightstand, nodding in approval. She fit, next to his family. He sighed as he collapsed onto the bed and ran a hand through his hair, wondering what she was doing at that moment. He hadn't expected to miss her as much as he did, and he briefly wondered if calling her already would seem pathetic.

"Derek!" his mother called up the stairs. "You have a phone call!"

Derek jumped off the bed, hoping that it was Meredith and he would no longer have to worry about missing her. "Thanks, Mom," he breathed as he took the phone she was holding out at the bottom of the stairs. He sank onto the steps and smiled widely as he heard Meredith's voice greet him.

Suddenly, he didn't miss being at college anymore.