I'm so glad you are all enjoying this story so much! The reviews are complete motivation for me to keep writing, so thanks a million :)
"Mer, what is it?" Derek asked softly after he spent a few long moments rocking her gently.
Meredith shook her head. "It's nothing really," she replied. "At least, nothing new."
"You ca tell me," Derek encouraged, squeezing her hand.
"My mom and I had a great night last night," she whispered. "And we made peace. But then this morning she didn't even want me there and she threw me out of the house. So I went to Addie's and Mark was there, and suddenly…I just needed you."
Derek leaned forward to press his lips against her forehead before he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "You're okay now, Mer," he replied. "You're always welcome here."
"You most certainly are," Emma cut into the conversation. "Now that Derek's here, darling, why don't you go wash up? Derek, bring her upstairs and get her some fresh towels. And your father can help me with dinner since you have company."
"Thanks, Mom," Derek said gratefully, squeezing Meredith's hand as they headed towards the stairs. They were silent as Derek walked her into his room, and as soon as the door closed behind them, Meredith turned to Derek and buried her face in his shoulder.
"Thank you," she whispered. "For letting me stay."
"Of course you can stay," Derek whispered. "You can always come to me, Mer. Do you want to tell me what happened?"
"She just…kicked me out of the house," Meredith whispered. "And the way she looked at me was just terrible. I didn't have the energy to deal with that. So Mark and Addison took me here."
"I wish I'd been here," Derek sighed. "You shouldn't have had to deal with that alone."
"I had Addie," Meredith replied. "And your mom…she's amazing, Derek."
"I know," he said softly. "I'm glad you like her."
"I told her what happened," Meredith admitted quietly. "She told me that it's not really her anymore. And she said that last night, when my mom was being all amazing…that was probably who she really is. And that she really is proud of me."
"Oh, Mer," Derek whispered, cradling her close. "I'm sure she's proud of you. You're amazing."
She buried her face in his chest for a moment before she lifted it to look around his room. "So this is your room," she said with a soft giggle. "It looks like…Derek."
"Well, I should hope so," Derek laughed. "It is my room."
Meredith's eyes landed on the picture he had placed on the nightstand the day before. "And I'm in your room," she whispered.
"It's where you belong, Mer," he said softly. "With me."
She nodded softly. "Should we go help your mom with dinner?" she asked.
Derek tilted his head to the side and looked at her closely. "Are you sure you want to deal with my family?" he asked.
"Yeah," Meredith said. "Your mom…she's really nice. And I want to meet your dad."
"Okay," Derek said, standing from the bed and pulling her to her feet. "But first I have to do this."
Meredith was surprised when he pressed his lips against hers in a passionate kiss, but she quickly gave in and wrapped her arms tightly around his neck, her tongue battling with his for power. They engaged in the passionate kiss for several moments before she finally pulled back and smiled widely. "Wow," she said.
"I've always wanted to make out with a girl in my room," Derek smirked.
Meredith laughed as she pulled him out of the room. "Don't get your hopes up," she said as they made their way down the stairs.
When they entered the kitchen, Emma and Michael were talking quietly as they stood over the stove. Derek cleared his throat and Emma turned to face them quickly, rushing over to take Meredith into her arms. "How are you feeling, dear?" she asked.
"I'm okay," Meredith said with a smile. "Thank you for everything."
"It's what we do," Michael said with a wide smile as he pushed Emma gently to the side. "I'm Michael, and I am so glad to meet you."
"Oh," Meredith smiled as she shook his hand. "You too, Dr. Shepherd."
"Does it look like we're in a hospital?" Michael frowned. "Call me Michael. Dr. Shepherd is way too formal for my own house."
"Okay," Meredith said with a nervous smile.
"Alright, we have dinner pretty much under control," Emma said. "Derek, you can set the table please."
"But I have company," Derek practically whined, pulling Meredith close to her.
"Excuse me, Derek Christopher?" Emma asked, eyebrows raised.
"I mean, I have company that can help me set the table more quickly," Derek corrected himself, pulling Meredith into the dining room, causing her to giggle.
"You're a mama's boy," she said as he handed her a pile of plates.
"I am not," Derek frowned. "She's just scary when you say no to her."
"Hmmm, and that's why you dragged me in here," Meredith said. "Because you didn't want me to see that."
"No, I dragged you in here because I wanted to do this," Derek replied, grabbing her waist and pulling her close, kissing her passionately. Meredith responded quickly, moving her body closer to his and wrapping her arms around his neck, returning the kiss until they heard someone clearing their throat in the doorway. She pulled away and immediately felt her face heat as she saw the two teenage girls staring at her from behind Derek, who, unaware of his sisters' presence, leaned in for another kiss.
"Derek," she hissed, turning him around quickly.
"Oh," he breathed. "Um, Liz, Cait, this is Meredith. Mer, these are my two younger sisters, Elizabeth and Caitlin."
"Hi," Meredith said softly.
"Hi," the girls said unanimously. "Daddy said dinner was ready," Liz said with a smirk. "I didn't realize you were sneaking dessert first."
"Very funny," Derek rolled his eyes. "Go help with the plates."
Liz giggled as she ran into the kitchen and Caitlin smiled at Meredith as she sat down at the table. "You're a lot prettier than Derbear's last girlfriend," she said, shooting Derek a smirk.
"Derbear?" Meredith asked, raising her eyebrows at her boyfriend before she sat down across from his sister. "I think I'm going to need details. On the nickname and the old girlfriend."
Caitlin giggled. "He gives bear hugs," she said. "Just like Daddy. That's where the nickname came from."
"I see," Meredith said with a smile playing on her lips. "And the girlfriend?"
"She looked like a horse," Caitlin rolled her eyes.
"Are you talking about the candy girl?" Liz asked as she entered the room with her parents. "Thank God you dumped her, Der. She was awful."
"Now, Rose was a very nice girl," Emma said. "Certainly not as suited for Derek as Meredith, but there's no need to make fun of her."
"You've got to admit, Em, that that was not one of our son's better choices," Michael said. "I knew it from the first time she came over and tried to steal Nance's candy."
"Okay, we get it," Derek said. "Derek used to have bad taste in girls. Everyone can have a good laugh now."
Meredith laughed. "Apparently I'm out of your league, Derbear," she said.
Derek rolled his eyes. "Thanks for that," he said to Caitlin.
"Alright, that's enough," Emma said. "We want to hear more about Meredith."
"Oh," Meredith breathed. "I um…I'm not that interesting."
"Derek tells me you're studying neurology," Michael said. "That makes you pretty interesting in my opinion."
Meredith blushed slightly as she looked down at her plate. "I'm…yeah, neurology. I love it," she said. "Derek says you're a neurosurgeon."
"I am," Michael nodded. "I'd love to sit down and talk to you about it sometime. Maybe even sneak you into a surgery."
"Really?" Meredith breathed.
"Sure," Michael nodded. "Derek here used to get in trouble at the hospital all the time for sneaking into the gallery to watch me operate. I'm sure by now they'd be willing to let you sit in."
"That would be…amazing," Meredith said, looking at Derek with shining eyes. "Surgery, Der."
"I know," he laughed, draping his arm around her chair. "It's pretty cool to see."
Meredith leaned into him as his family chatted casually about their lives, updating each other and laughing together. This felt good, this is what family was supposed to be like. And as Derek held her close to him, she couldn't help but think maybe she'd finally found where she was supposed to be.