"She's darling, Derek," said Carolyn Shepherd softly, as she watched Chrissy sleep.

"She's wonderful, Mom. Meredith says we need to keep everything positive in here."

"Meredith seems sweet," said Carolyn, trying to find something positive to say about the woman who fled the room within two minutes of her arrival.

"Meredith is great, Mom, but right now her focus is 100% on Chrissy."

Carolyn met her son's eyes. "That's not what sent running out of the room. Are you disappointed there's no room for you right now?"

"Oh, Mom, don't play matchmaker. I was gone for a long time." Derek said wistfully.

"You're here now, and you're donating your bone marrow."

"Mom, it's not like donating a kidney. It's more like giving blood. It's no big deal, and marrow regenerates. I would do it for anyone who was a match. Meredith is the real hero here."

"You're both heroes to me."

"Thanks, Mom. Anyway, I have a lot for you to do," he said, turning the conversation away from Meredith. "I rented an apartment in the building across the street from the hospital. I figured that it would be best for us to be very close to the hospital for the next few months rather than in my trailer. The apartment will be ours on the first of the month, but it's not furnished, so I'll give you my credit card, and you can furnish it. It's three bedrooms, one for me, one for you and any other guests, and one for Chrissy if she stays over."

"Okay. You really trust me to furnish your apartment? Addison wouldn't let me buy anything in the way of home décor. Don't you remember that she insisted on giving me back the rug I got for you on my trip to India?"

"Mom, Addie and I are divorced. And I love the homey feel of your home. If you want, you can consult Meredith although I don't know if she has any interest in home décor. She lives in her mother's old house, and I don't think she's bought any furniture at all. But if she's not interested, I'm sure her friend Izzie would help. And Meredith offered for you to stay at her house, so you can stay there until the apartment is ready."

"She'll let me stay in her home?" Carolyn asked, puzzled that a girl who ran away from here would let her stay in her home.

Derek laughed. "Meredith won't be there, Mom. She stays here with Chrissy. She hasn't been home since Chrissy was first diagnosed, and she's vowed not to go home without her. But don't worry; you will have plenty of company. Meredith's home is jokingly referred to as a frat house. She has opened it up to her friends; they share in the rent. I think her friends Izzie, Alex, and George live there now."

"Any guidelines on what you want for the apartment?"

"I want it to be cozy and child-friendly. And please put a daybed with a trundle in Chrissy's room, so Meredith can stay there, too, if she wants. It is closer to the hospital than her house."

"Okay. I'll talk with Chrissy and Meredith. Chrissy might enjoy choosing her furniture and some posters."

"Maybe we should talk to Meredith first. I hadn't mentioned getting an apartment with a room for Chrissy. It's best not to spring things on Meredith."

"You're her dad, so you should get a lot of time with Chrissy."

"Mom, let's not discuss this here."

"Maybe we can have dinner with Meredith."

"That's a good idea. One of her friends could stay with Chrissy. Meredith will only leave Chrissy if a friend is with her unless I'm with her."

"What about her family?"

"Meredith's? She doesn't really have any. Her mother died some time ago. And we shouldn't talk about that here."

Carolyn nodded. It was hard to be so limited in what she could say. And Chrissy was sleeping, so it wasn't like it would affect her. But she figured she'd need to follow Derek's lead. "So what do you want to discuss?"

"I got us a car. I'll give you the keys tonight. I thought a Lexus hybrid would be something you'd enjoy driving."

"That doesn't strike me as your kind of car."

"I may get a Porsche later one, but for now a Lexus will do."

"I can give you a ride to the airport tomorrow."

"That's great."

"What do you know about Meredith's favorite foods?"

"She likes steak, pizza, grilled cheese, and strawberry ice cream."

"That's a pretty limited diet. And I want to do some real cooking for her. I'd like to make some casseroles or pasta dishes that I can bring here and reheat. There must be a microwave somewhere for staff to use."

"Yes, there's a microwave. You can talk with Meredith about what she'd like."

"And do you know what Chrissy likes?"

"Izzie made her chocolate pudding. I know she likes strawberry ice cream, like her mom. But she's having a had time keeping food down."

"So am I going to get to see the famous trailer?"

"Well, I told Meredith I wanted to stay here at the hospital tonight. We might have a chance to go before dinner and then have dinner with Meredith."

"Well, if not tonight, maybe next week-end."

"We'll have to see." Derek noticed that Chrissy was stirring. She opened her eyes, and said, "Mommy?"

"Daddy's here, sweetheart," said Derek.

"I want Mommy. My tummy hurts," she said.

"I can go get her."

"No. Stay with me. Page Mommy. She'll come," said Chrissy. Derek realized that, being a doctor's daughter, Chrissy was familiar with pagers.

"Okay." He paged Meredith, and, in less than a minute, she was there. She went straight to Chrissy, without even glancing at Derek or his mother.

"Hi sweetie," she said as she gave Chrissy a kiss on the forehead.

"My tummy hurts."

"I'm sorry it hurts. Let me see where it hurts," and Meredith quickly touched her abdomen. "I'm going to check your chart, and see what you've been eating and how your digestive system has been working, okay?"

"Okay, mommy."

Meredith glanced through the chart. "I think you're just constipated. That means the medicine makes it hard for your intestines to do their job, so you're not pooping the way you should. I'll call a nurse. You can get some special medicine to make you feel better." Meredith buzzed for a nurse, and in less than a minute an experienced nurse, Nancy Roberts, appeared. Meredith explained her concerns, and the nurse went to get some medicine.

"Mrs. Shepherd and Derek, the medicine is a suppository, so I think you might want to leave for a few minutes," Meredith said softly.

"Please call me Carolyn."

Derek told Meredith, "We have some errands to do anyway." He turned to Chrissy, "Sweetheart, I'm going to take my mom to do some errands with Grandma. I'll be back later. I'm going to stay here with you tonight."

"What about Mommy? She always stays with me?"

"If it's okay with you, it's my turn tonight. Would that be okay?"

"Okay, Daddy," Chrissy whispered.

Derek turned to Meredith and said, "Meredith, I think it would be nice if the three of us could have dinner tonight."

"Derek, Chrissy's not feeling well. I'd rather stay here."

The nurse returned. Derek said, "Maybe she'll feel better in a couple of hours. We'll stop by before we go to dinner." He gave Chrissy a kiss on the forehead and left with his mother.

Derek decided to give his mother some experience driving the new car, so he had her drive to the trailer. She walked around the trailer, both inside and out, without saying a world. Then she turned to him and said, "Addison lived here with you for months? Really?"

"Yes, we were both trying."

"Derek, if you had really been trying, you would have rented an apartment, just like you did for Chrissy. I must say I'm impressed that Addison was willing to stay here. She must have really wanted you back."

"She did," Derek said, "And I agreed to go back to NY to give our marriage a real shot. Addie and I are friends, Mom."

"I know. Nancy complained to me that Addie didn't think a DNA test was necessary. It's strange that I think I like her better now that you're divorced."

"Me, too, at least now." Derek smiled. "She's remarried, and she's pregnant. I'm happy for her."

"That's nice. I hope I get a chance to get to know Meredith."

"She's not easy to get to know, Mom, but she's worth the effort."