"Wake up, sleepyhead," Meredith giggled as she leaned over Derek's body the next morning.
"Ugh," he groaned, burying his face further into the pillow and pulling her down to him. "Sleep."
"A little hungover?" she asked.
"So much alcohol," he groaned.
"Yes, you made that clear in your fight with the coffee table," she smiled. "Which you clearly lost," she frowned, running her hands over the large bruise on his forehead. "Does that hurt?"
"A little," he groaned. "Light is bad."
"I'll turn the lights off," she nodded. "And get you some ice."
"Hmmm," Derek groaned as he rolled onto his back, pulling her on top of him. "Sex."
She frowned and pushed herself off of his chest as he stood. "Brush your teeth," she ordered. "And if we don't get some ice on that bruise, it's going to get a lot worse."
"Fine," he sighed, sitting up and burying his head in his hands for a moment.
"You okay?" she frowned.
"My head is about to be split in two," he groaned.
She smiled as she leaned forward to press a gentle kiss to his forehead. "I'll get you some Tylenol," she said. "And then I have to go to work."
"Work is stupid," Derek said. "Take the day off."
"I can't," she rolled her eyes. "My students need me."
"Fine," he sighed. "No morning sex?"
"No morning sex," Meredith said sadly. "But you can blame yourself for not getting any last night since you were too drunk to have sex."
Derek frowned. "How about you just get me my medicine and go to work?" he said.
"I'm going," she smiled, walking into the kitchen. As she grabbed an ice pack out of the freezer and filled a glass with water, she smiled softly, knowing that Derek was going to milk this for everything it was worth. She really hadn't been expecting him to come home that drunk, but she hadn't minded. Drunk Derek had a tendency to be completely adorable. Even though she'd initially been annoyed that he hadn't come home and then woken her in the middle of the night, it was worth it for the entertainment he'd provided. Yesterday had been a good day, she'd finally been able to find a wedding dress that she loved, and the little show by Derek in the middle of the night had only served to make it even better.
"Alright, my alcoholic fiancé," she sighed as she walked back into the bedroom, sitting down beside him on the bed. "Drink this. And put the ice on your face, it will feel better."
Derek sighed as he swallowed the pills, then reached for the ice pack. "Thanks," he smiled.
Meredith smiled down at him, reaching out to run her fingers through his hair as he leaned back against the pillows. "Are you going to be okay?" she asked.
"Just got to sleep it off," Derek sighed. "You've got to get to work."
"I have a couple minutes," she nodded. "Derek?"
"Hmmm?"
"That wasn't…you didn't like go out and get drunk last night because you're getting cold feet about the wedding, did you?" Meredith whispered. "I mean, I think it's completely normal to get nervous, but I just want to know. Because if you don't think I'm going to be a good wife or something, I can learn. I'll learn whatever you need me to, Derek, I love you and I completely can't wait to be your wife. But I hope you're excited for that too, and if you're not, I can…"
"Mer," Derek smiled softly. "You know I love the rambling. But my head is about to explode. So I'm going to skip the McDreamy thing and just tell you to stop worrying because if it were up to me, you would blow off work today and we'd hop the next plane to Vegas so I can marry you today."
"Oh," Meredith sighed, relief filling her body. She wasn't sure why she sometimes still got completely nervous and scared that Derek might change his mind. She knew he loved her, and she loved him as well, more than anything else in the world. But every once in awhile she felt a sudden flash of fear wash over her and she had to ask him to reassure her that they were going to be married forever, no doubts or regrets. She knew that things weren't going to be completely easy for them, and they would probably have a lot of fights, but that was okay. Because they'd be married.
"I wish I could convince you of that once and for all," Derek murmured.
"I'm sorry," she sighed. "I'm trying to stop."
"It's okay," Derek nodded. "I like telling you how much I love you."
She smiled as she leaned down to kiss him. "I love you too," she said. "If you're feeling better after I get home…sex."
"I think I'll be feeling much better," Derek nodded.
"Good," Meredith smiled, kissing him one last time before she stood and grabbed her bag from the corner of the room. "I'll be back later."
"Hmm," Derek nodded, already burrowing back into her pillows.
She smiled as she looked at him for a moment before she stepped out of the room, closing the door gently behind him. Sometimes she couldn't believe how much she loved Derek Shepherd.
XXXXX
Meredith glanced at the clock later that morning, wondering why the day seemed to be going by so slowly. She loved her job, but knowing that Derek was at home waiting for her made her want to just go home and curl up in his arms.
"Okay," she said. "We're going to have to finish these math problems later, it's time for our second grade reading buddies to come in. So why don't you get your new books out so you can start reading right away."
As her students scrambled to reach into their desks for their books, she moved to open the door, smiling softly as their partner second grade class filed in. She giggled as several of her students from last year hugged her tightly around the waist before they moved to sit with their reading buddies, but when the last of the students had filed in and she noticed a certain dark haired little girl was missing, she couldn't help but worry.
She didn't think Meg Scott had missed a single day of school the year before, and she'd seen her two days before. She hadn't seemed sick then. She thought for a moment before she realized what had to have happened. Kathleen must have had her baby, meaning that Meg would have been rewarded with a day off from school in order to bond with her new baby brother. That had to be what it was.
She smiled widely as she stepped behind her desk, glancing out over the students before she reached for some spelling tests to correct. She was an aunt again, and she suddenly couldn't wait to go home.
"Hi," Miss Robinson, the teacher for the second grade class breathed as she rushed in. "Sorry I'm late, I sent them down the hall, there was a milk spill I had to clean up so my room wouldn't smell until the end of the year."
"It's okay," Meredith smiled.
"So the only student missing is Meg Scott," Miss Robinson sighed. "You just assigned her partner to another pair?"
"Yes," Meredith nodded. "Do you know why Meg's absent today?"
Miss Robinson smiled sadly. "Death in the family," she said softly. "It's so hard at this age."
"What?" Meredith asked, her head snapping up before she spun in her chair to dig her cell phone out of her bag. When she finally found it, her heart stopped beating. Thirty two missed calls. Derek, Nancy, Liz, Caitlin…her entire body trembled as she grabbed her car keys off her desk and moved towards her door. "I have to go."
"Is everything okay?"
"No," Meredith said, reaching for her coat. "Meg's my niece."
"Wasn't she in your class last year?"
"That's not the point," Meredith breathed. "I have to go. Can you just…find me a sub? Please, it's an emergency."
"Sure," Miss Robinson nodded, sensing Meredith's complete panic. "I'm sorry."
"Thanks," Meredith breathed, practically sprinting out the door as she ran to her car, listening to Derek's broken voice tell her to meet him at the hospital as soon as she could. She tried to fight back tears as she drove wrecklessly towards the hospital, ignoring red lights and honking horns as she focused on one thing: getting to Derek. He was okay, but someone wasn't. And she had a sinking feeling that it was his parents. They weren't okay. She'd been so close to finally having real parents who loved her no matter what, and now they were gone.
As soon as she pulled into the parking lot she ran into the hospital, reaching the front desk and quickly asking for Dr. Shepherd. After a long screaming match with the receptionist, telling her she knew it was his day off but he was here anyways, she heard someone say her name.
"Addison," she gasped as she turned around. "What's…Derek, is he here?"
"He's here," Addison nodded, tears filling her eyes. "They…they're here."
"Who?" Meredith whispered, pulling her friend to the side and reading her tear filled eyes. "Who is it?"
"Michael," Addison whispered, tears falling down her cheeks. "He was closing last night. They took his watch. They shot him in the head, and they took his watch."
"Oh my God," Meredith breathed. "I…where's Derek?"
"They're in a conference room," Addison breathed. "He made it through the night, but this morning…they're still here though."
"He needs me," Meredith whispered. "Derek needs me."
"Come on," Addison said, pulling her to the stairs.
The moment she stepped into the conference room filled with grieving Shepherds, Meredith felt herself trying not to suffocate. Emma was slumped in a chair, resting her head in her hands as Nancy and Caitlin flanked her, trying to comfort her quiet sobs through their own grief. Kathleen was sitting across the table, her eyes wide as she clutched Chris's hand, her free hand resting on her very swollen belly. Liz cradled Meg in her lap beside them as she leaned against Mark, the little girl's usually exuberant personality quiet as she stared at her hands with dark eyes.
And then her eyes landed on the broken figure of her boyfriend, slumped on the floor in the far corner of the room, his hands fisting in his hair as tears streamed down his cheeks.
"Derek," she breathed, moving quickly through the room to sit down beside him. "Oh, Derek."
"Mer," he gasped, turning to look at her with fear filled eyes. "Meredith."
"Come here," she whispered, pulling her into his arms so that he could lean against her chest. "Let it out, Der, it's okay."
Sobs wracked through his body as he clutched onto the fabric of her blouse, the material soaking through in a matter of seconds, but she didn't notice. All she cared about was the fact that Derek needed her, and she needed him.
She didn't know how much time had passed before she saw Addison kneel on the ground beside her. "We need to get them home," she said softly.
Meredith nodded, her fingers still moving comfortingly through Derek's hair. "I know," she whispered.
"Are you okay to drive?" Addison asked. "Chris and I can take some people, and if you can't drive I can come back to get you and Derek and a couple other people."
"No," Meredith shook her head. "I can drive. He needs to get home."
"Okay," Addison nodded, squeezing Meredith's shoulder before she moved towards Mark, whispering softly in his ear.
"Derek," Meredith breathed, shifting him slightly to look into his eyes. "We need to go home."
"Home," Derek said flatly. "I don't…"
"It's okay," she said softly. "We just need to get to the car. We'll take Meg with us. She needs her Uncle Derek now."
"Right," Derek nodded, shifting off of her and wiping his eyes with his hands. "I'm the man of the house now."
"Derek," Meredith breathed, reaching out to wipe the tears from below his eyes. "You don't have to be strong. It's okay to grieve."
"No," Derek shook his head. "We have to be strong. I have to take care of everyone."
Meredith looked at him closely for a moment before she sighed and got to her feet, reaching down to pull him up as well. "Let's go," she said.
Derek moved in front of her to reach for Liz, who was standing in front of him with Meg nestled in her arms. "Derbear," she whimpered, tears spilling down her cheeks.
"Oh, Lizzie," he breathed, pulling her and Meg tightly into his arms. "Just let it out."
Liz moved to set Meg on the ground before wrapping herself tightly into Derek's arms, sobbing quietly. Meg looked around the room with wide eyes before she turned to Meredith with wide, frightened eyes.
"Aunt Meredith," she whispered, causing Meredith to bend down and pull her into her arms. "I'm scared."
"Oh, Meg," Meredith sighed, pulling her close. "I know this is scary. And it's very sad, but you know what? Your grandpa's very very happy. He's up in heaven, and he's going to be your special guardian angel for the rest of your life."
"Will he still take me to the park on Saturdays?" Meg asked.
Meredith sighed as she pressed a kiss to the little girl's head. It was so hard to explain this to a seven year old, and she wasn't sure that she was doing this right. "He can't take you to the park," she whispered. "You won't be able to see him again. Except for a very very long time from now when you go up to heaven too."
"Mer," Derek breathed as he turned to look at her with red rimmed eyes. "I…can we go home?"
"Yeah," Meredith breathed as she leaned into him. "Let's go home."
They walked slowly to the car, Meredith cradling Meg in her arms as Derek wrapped his arms around Liz. Addison had taken Mark, Emma, and Caitlin home, and Chris was following soon with Kathleen and Nancy. This was going to be hard, Meredith knew that this was going to be completely horrible. Derek was already refusing to show any emotions, and she knew that he was going to be completely empty of any emotions at all until he was ready to break. The entire family was destroyed, and she knew that he was going to feel responsible for making sure that everyone was alright.
"Derek, let me drive," she murmured as they reached his car.
"Mer, I'm fine."
"You're not fine, Derek Christopher," she snapped in the voice she usually reserved for misbehaving students. "Give me the car keys."
Derek handed the keys over, silently sliding into the passenger seat as Liz settled Meg into the backseat. Meredith climbed into the driver seat, hating the silence in the car as they drove, a silence that was only interrupted by Liz's sniffles and Meg's soft whimpering. Meredith maneuvered the car through Seattle, glancing at Derek when she was safely on the road. He was inhaling sharply, his hands gripping the edge of his seat as he stared out at the road, an empty, lifeless expression in his eyes. Silently, she reached across the console and took his hand, squeezing gently.
"I need you."
Derek's words were so soft that she briefly wondered if she'd imagined them. But when she turned to look at him at a red light and saw the complete honesty in his eyes, she knew that he really did need her. More than ever, he needed her to be there for him, and she knew there was nowhere else she would ever want to be. She had no idea what he was feeling right now, but she had to be there for him. She had to be the strong one, even when she was used to him being the strong one. She had to take care of him.
"I'm here," she whispered, squeezing his hand softly as she pulled into his parents' driveway. Liz took a deep breath before she moved to pull a sleeping Meg into her arms, trudging into the house where Addison sat on the porch with a stock still Mark.
Meredith started to do the same, but as she turned to open her car door, she felt Derek grab her hand and she turned to look at him with wide eyes. Before she knew what was happening, she found herself wrapped in his arms, so tightly that she could barely breathe. She didn't care, though, and found herself needing the embrace just as much as he did.
"I love you," were the only words of comfort she could think of as her fiancé clung to her tightly, sobbing quietly.
Alright, I hated to do this, but I really think that Derek's father dying has made him into who he is, so it's important to write it into the story. I know some of you are probably disappointed, but I hope you'll continue reading, because I've got a lot of fun stuff planned. Thanks for the reviews :)