Okay, so....I'm back! I managed to write a couple chapters while I was gone, so hopefully that makes up for the past couple weeks. I also want to let you guys know that now that summer's here, I'll be a bit busier, so I may not be able to update as frequently as I have been in the past. I'm going to try to update as much as I can, and I really hope you guys are still interested in this story! Enjoy :)
Meredith sighed as she walked into her classroom after school had ended the next week. It had been an amazing week, full of sleepovers with Derek, dinner dates and him surprising her twice by bringing her coffee in the morning when he dropped Meg off. She was slowly starting to fall even more in love with him, and she wasn't sure how she'd allowed herself to become this girl, the one who fantasized about marrying her perfect boyfriend and dreamed of a happily ever after. Her past had never allowed her to be that happy person, but she knew that Derek was changing that. She was slowly becoming stronger and more confident, the kind of person she really wanted to be, and that was because of him.
"Meg?" she frowned as she saw her usually happiest student sitting at her desk, her chin cradled in her hands as she stared at the wall with a frown on her face. "Did you miss your bus?"
"No."
"Were one of your parents supposed to pick you up?"
"No."
"What about one of your aunts or uncles?"
"No."
Meredith frowned. Meg usually was one of the happiest, and most talkative students in her class, but right now she was barely responding to what she was saying. She couldn't imagine what was wrong, and she felt her heart speed up in panic at the thought that something might be wrong with Derek. "Meg," she said softly, sitting down at the desk beside her and resting a hand on her back. "What's wrong?"
"I'm not going home," Meg sighed dejectedly. "Because my parents are the meanest people in the entire world."
Meredith smiled softly. "I'm sure that's not true," she said. "Why would you think that?"
"Because," Meg rolled her eyes. "We have to go to my stupid Grandma Scott's house for Christmas."
"Well, that sounds like fun," Meredith smiled. "Why don't you want to go to your grandma's house for Christmas?"
"Because she's not as fun as Grandpa and Grandma Shepherd," Meg explained. "And my cousin Dan is a boy. He's gross. So I'm not going home."
Meredith frowned. "Are your parents working right now?" she asked.
"Probably," Meg frowned. "Cause they're stupid and mean."
"Alright, I'm going to call your Uncle Derek and have him come pick you up," Meredith sighed. "And while we're waiting for him to get here, you and I are going to have a little chat, because I know you know the difference between right and wrong."
"Fine." Meg frowned as she buried her face in her arms as they lay crossed on the desk.
Meredith tried to ease the panic in her head at what she had just found out. If Meg was right and she wasn't going to be at the Shepherd's for Christmas, that meant that Derek could take her home. And as much as she loved him…she hadn't been planning on meeting his family any time soon.
"Hey Mer," Derek picked up the phone almost immediately, and she could hear the smile in his voice.
"You need to come here," she said without thinking.
"Is this a booty call?" Derek laughed. "Cause I love that."
"No," Meredith rolled her eyes. "You have problems. I need you to come here because your niece refuses to go home. And her parents are both working right now."
"Is she okay?" Derek asked.
"She said something about being mad that she's missing Christmas at your parents," Meredith said, hoping she sounded casual. "Apparently her parents are stupid and mean and she doesn't want to go home."
Derek sighed. "I'll come get her," he said. "I'll try and get Kath on her cell, if she's not with a patient she might be able to get over there too."
"Thanks," Meredith sighed. "I'll see you soon."
"Love you," Derek offered.
"You too," Meredith smiled as she hung up the phone. She still couldn't believe how natural it was for them to say that to each other, how easy it was for her to admit that she loved him. That was something she never thought she was able to do, but she was quickly realizing that her life without Derek had been completely lonely and she never wanted to go back to that.
"Alright Miss Scott," Meredith sighed as she sat back down next to Meg. "Now tell me again what our rules about bus time are."
"Ummm….that we have to line up quietly?" Meg suggested, a hopeful gleam in her eye.
"That's not the rule I'm talking about and I think you know that," Meredith said.
"We have to tell a teacher if we aren't going to take the bus," Meg said quietly. "And unless our parents are coming to get us, we have to get on the bus."
"Thank you," Meredith said. "Now, do you want to tell me why you're so angry at your parents?"
"Because I want to go to Mommy's house for Christmas," Meg sighed. "Grandma lets me help her bake cookies, and Grandpa takes me sledding. And Uncle Derek always sneaks me a present from Santa before I go to bed. Grandma Scott won't let me touch all the spensive stuff in her house, and my cousins are mean."
Meredith sighed as she looked around the room. "Do you remember what we said Christmas means?" she asked softly.
"It's about baby Jesus," Meg said. "And I gots to go to church and say lots of boring stuff."
"Well…yes," Meredith sighed. This wasn't how she'd thought this would go. "But what about how we're supposed to treat other people at Christmas time?"
"We're supposed to be nice to them cause it's Christmas and that's a happy time," Meg sighed.
"Right," Meredith nodded. "And you know what? I think your daddy would really like to go to his mommy's house for Christmas this year."
Meg sighed dramatically as she leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms over her chest. Before her pout could become too fully developed, her eyes lit up and she jumped out of her chair. "Uncle Derek!"
"You, young lady, are in trouble," Derek said, scooping her into his arms and looking closely at her. "Did you know that your mother was waiting for you to get off of the bus and she got very scared when you didn't get off with all the rest of the kids in your neighborhood?"
"She's stupid," Meg frowned. "Put me down."
"Megan Elizabeth Scott, do not call your mother stupid," Derek said firmly. "Say good bye to Miss Grey and then I'm taking you home."
"No!" Meg shouted. "You're stupid too, you're all stupid. I'm not going home."
Derek rolled his eyes as he turned back to the door with a struggling Meg in his arms. "I'll call you later," he sighed to Meredith as she looked at him with worried eyes. She watched as he struggled to keep his cranky niece calm in his arms, hoping that this wasn't an omen of things to come.
XXXXXX
"I'm sorry you had to deal with that," Kathleen said to Derek as she walked into her kitchen an hour later. "She's finally calmed down, but I don't understand why she's freaking out about this. We trade between our parents every year."
Derek sighed as he ran a hand through his hair. "She's never like this," he said. "I know that Chris's mom isn't anything like ours, but she's nice enough."
"You've probably talked to her a total of five times," Kathleen sighed. "Believe me, I'd rather be with you guys too, but it's not fair to Chris if we spend every single holiday with the Shepherds."
"I get it," Derek nodded. "And as much as I hate the fact that you won't be there for Christmas, I can't help but be excited that I can take Mer home with me."
Kathleen smiled softly. "You really love her," she stated.
"I do," Derek nodded. "After Thanksgiving….she's growing so much, Kath, and I keep falling in love with her all over again."
"That's so cute," Kathleen grinned. "My baby brother, completely in love."
Derek rolled his eyes, but before he could answer, his cell phone rang and he looked down at it. "It's Mer," he said. "I'll leave you to explain your precious daughter to Chris. Give me a call later this week."
"I will," Kathleen nodded, leaning forward to kiss his cheek. "Love you Derbear."
"Goodbye," Derek rolled his eyes at the use of his nickname as he moved towards the door and flipped his phone open. "Hey Mer."
"Hi," her voice greeted him. "So um…is Meg okay?"
"I think so," Derek sighed. "Or she will be. She doesn't really have a choice in the matter, so she just has to accept it."
Meredith was silent for a moment before she asked, "So she's not going to be at your parents' house for Christmas?"
"She's not," Derek smiled. He knew she was freaking out, but he didn't want to have this conversation over the phone. "You want to spend the night at my place tonight?"
"Sure," Meredith said hesitantly. "Um…I can be there in half an hour."
"I'll be waiting," Derek smiled. "See you soon, Mer."
He hung up the phone as he pulled into his apartment building, smiling as he walked up to his apartment. He couldn't believe that Meredith would be able to come home with him for Christmas. It was going to be completely perfect, even if he would miss his sister and her rambunctious daughter. But at least he would be able to give his girlfriend the best Christmas ever.
"Derek Christopher Shepherd!"
Derek cringed as he opened the door to his apartment and was met with his mother's stern voice that had always made him want to head for the hills. What he could possibly have done this time, he had no idea.
"Um….hi Mom," Derek tried, leaning forward to kiss her cheek. "Have you lost weight?"
"Don't try that with me, young man," Emma frowned, shoving him into the kitchen. "Have I taught you nothing? This kitchen is unbelievable. I came over to drop off some of your favorite Christmas cookies on my way to visit your father's store, and I couldn't help but notice how horrible this is. What in the world is wrong with you?"
"Oh," Derek frowned, trying to remember the last time he'd actually used that kitchen. Meredith's house was closer to work for her, and he couldn't even remember the last time he'd spent the night anywhere besides her bed. "It's not my mess."
"Derek, I realize that Mark is the messier of the two of you, but that only means that you should be even more aware of how clean this place should be," Emma said, pointing to a pile of dirty dishes in the sink. "Honestly, I'm surprised there isn't any mold on these."
"Mom," Derek laughed. "I've only been here to change and study in the past week. Since Thanksgiving I've been spending a lot of time at Mer's."
Emma's frown turned to a look of complete joy. "You're living with her?" she exclaimed. "Oh, Derek, I'm so happy that you're finally letting yourself act on how you feel. I just wish I could meet her."
"First of all, I'm not living with her," Derek said. "And…she's on her way over here right now."
Emma's eyes widened. "Well, that's wonderful," she said. "I'll finally be one step closer to your father in becoming your favorite parent."
Derek rolled his eyes. "I don't have a favorite parent," he said. "And thanks for telling me that Kath and Chris are going to Chris's parents this year. I appreciated that."
Emma laughed. "I figured that you would remember they trade years," she said.
"Whatever," Derek shrugged. "This means that Mer can come for Christmas."
Emma tilted her head to the side. "What about her family?" she asked.
"Mom, I've told you this," Derek sighed. "She doesn't have family. And please don't bring that up. But if you want to invite her to Christmas yourself, please feel free to do so. She probably won't believe me if I invite her."
"Hey, Der, the door was open so I just…." Meredith stumbled into the apartment, kicking her shoes off by the door and trailing off as she looked up to see Emma sitting beside Derek on the couch. "I umm….sorry."
"Don't be sorry," Derek laughed as he moved towards her and kissing her quickly before he whispered, "sorry, I didn't know she'd be here."
"She…your mom?"
"She'll love you," Derek nodded. "Just breathe." He placed a hand on her back as he turned her back towards the living room, smiling at his mother. "Mer, this is my mother, Emma Shepherd. Mom, this is Meredith."
"It's nice to meet you, Mrs. Shepherd," Meredith said as she reached her hand out. "I've heard wonderful things about you and your family."
Emma smiled as she ignored Meredith's hand and pulled her into a tight embrace. "I'm sure that anything my son has told you is completely not true," she said. "And please, call me Emma."
"Oh," Meredith nodded as she returned the hug. "Okay…Emma."
"Now, I want to hear all about you," Emma said as she pulled Meredith onto the couch beside her. "Derek, dear, go call your father and tell him that we'll be having the two of you over for dinner tonight. He can pick up some steak on the way home. You like steak, don't you, Meredith?"
Derek snorted from his place behind the couch and Meredith glared at him for a moment before she nodded "Yes, I like steak," she said.
"Mer likes everything, Mom," Derek laughed. "She's nothing like the sisters."
"Well, there's nothing wrong with having a healthy appetite," Emma said with a firm nod. "And that just makes my job easier for Christmas dinner."
"Christmas?" Meredith asked.
"Yes, from what I gather, you'll be joining us," Emma smiled. "If you'd like, of course. But I'm sure that my son my throw a temper tantrum if you refuse the invitation."
Meredith giggled as she turned to look at Derek. "I don't know," she said. "I think that would be kind of amusing."
Derek rolled his eyes as he recognized the sparkle of amusement in his mother's eyes. "Mom…" he said. "Don't."
"I don't know, Derek, I think Meredith would be very interested to hear about your tantrums when you were younger," Emma said.
"Meredith's interested," Meredith said with a nod. "What did he do?"
"Well, he went through a phase where he decided that if he didn't like what was happening around him, everything would be better if he took his clothes off," Emma said. "I'd be in the supermarket and when I told him I wouldn't buy cookies, he'd get his revenge by taking his clothes off faster than I ever knew possible, and sprinting through the store."
Meredith giggled as she looked up at a blushing Derek. "You know, I took some child psychology courses," she said. "I think you may have some problems, Der. Normal kids kick people and throw things. Only the weird ones strip in public."
"I hate you."
"You love me," Meredith giggled.
"I'm leaving now."
"Good," Meredith smiled, reaching up to bring his lips down to hers. "I'll get more embarrassing stories."
Derek groaned as he moved to sit on the armchair beside her end of the couch. "This is so not far," he said. "There's no one for me to ask about embarrassing stories of you."
"I have no embarrassing stories," Meredith nodded. "I wasn't a weird kid."
"Oh, dear, that wasn't even the beginning of it," Emma laughed. "Wait until you hear about the biology flashcards he made himself when he was seven."
Meredith giggled as she leaned closer to his mother, and even though he knew it was at his expense, he couldn't help but love the fact that Meredith fit in with this part of his life so well. He now knew that every single aspect of his life had a large place where Meredith belonged, and that was better than any other present that could be given to him this Christmas.