Note: In this story, Mark Sloan never came to Seattle. Nancy Shepherd came instead.

Meredith took advantage of Carolyn's presence to grab a two-hour nap in an on call room. While on her way back to Chrissy's room, she spotted an older woman who had become familiar to her in the last six weeks; she had about ten large pink and purple balloons in her hand. "Good afternoon, Susan."

"I brought a balloon bouquet for Chrissy. She said her favorite colors were pink and purple, so I thought this would be nice for her room."

"Thank you so much, Susan. You can stop and visit if you want; first stop by the nurse's station."

"I know the routine," Susan said with a smile. "I'll see you in a minute."

Meredith walked into the room and saw Chrissy sleeping and Carolyn looking at furniture brochures. "I see you're working on Derek's request."

"Yes, well, the apartment will be available on Saturday."

"You can stay at my house until you get furniture delivered. It's no problem for me. By the way, in a few minutes, my father's wife, Susan, is going to come for a brief visit."

Carolyn looked at her. Derek had mentioned nothing about a father. She figured she would see what she could learn from observing.

Chrissy stirred, and Meredith gave her a kiss. "You chose a good time to wake-up. Susan is coming and she has something for you." Then came a knock at the door, and Meredith said, "Come in."

Chrissy saw the large balloon bouquet, and smiled broadly, saying "Thank you, Susan, I love balloons. And purple and pink are my favorite colors."

"Your Mommy told me," Susan said with a smile.

"Thank you so much," said Meredith. "Susan Grey, Carolyn Shepherd. Carolyn is Chrissy's paternal grandmother."

"I was thrilled when Molly told me that Chrissy's father was a match."

"I was thrilled, too. And Derek brought his mother here to help."

"That's great," said Susan. "I've offered to help also." She was a jealous that she hadn't been asked to help with Chrissy.

"Susan has been a big help," said Meredith. "Susan usually comes on Mondays, and she brings Chrissy a gift, and she also gives the nurses flowers. My mother always told me that it's important to appreciate the nurses."

"I was a navy nurse," said Carolyn, "and appreciating the nurses is very important. And Chrissy loves the balloons."

"Susan, do you know any stories about my mommy as a little girl? Grandma has been telling me stories about Daddy."

"No, Chrissy, I didn't meet your mommy until she was a doctor. But that's a funny story. I met your mommy because she was one of Molly's doctors. I have a photo here," she said as she took a small album out of her pocketbook. "Here's Molly and her baby Laura. Your mommy was one of baby Laura's doctors."

"Is Laura my cousin?"

"Yes," said Susan immediately. "But she lives in navy base in Germany right now."

"How old is she?"

"She's four and a half."

"Could she Skype with me?"

"I'm sure she could," said Susan with a smile. She loved the idea of Laura and Chrissy become friends.

"Do you know anyone who knows stories about Mommy as a little girl?" asked Chrissy.

Carolyn noticed that Meredith looked very uncomfortable. "My husband knows some stories, I think," said Susan.

"Can he tell me the stories?" asked Chrissy, oblivious to the fact that both Susan and Meredith were very uncomfortable.

"Maybe someday," said Meredith.

"Is he my grandpa?"

"Yes," said Susan, "He is very sorry he hasn't come to see you yet."

"He can come. I want to hear stories about my mommy."

"I'll tell him that," said Susan.

"And Meredith, I have an invitation for you. We're going to have an engagement party for Lexie next month, and we'd love it if you could come." She handed Meredith a gold envelope.

"I don't think I'll be able to go," said Meredith. "Right now, I have to focus on Chrissy."

"It might be good for you to get out. I know Lexie wants to meet you. She also wants to meet Chrissy."

"She can come here and visit with Chrissy. Chrissy would like to meet her Aunt Lexie," said Meredith. "But I'm not up for parties now."

"That's fine. You have the invitation. You can change your mind last minute and come."

"Mommy, my tummy hurts now."

"Okay, let me take a look. Carolyn, Susan, maybe you should leave the room now," said Meredith as she started to examine Chrissy.

"Okay," they said simultaneously.

After they exited the room, Carolyn turned to Susan and said, "How about I buy you a cup of coffee?" She thought Susan might give her some insight into Meredith.

"That sounds great."

The two grabbed coffee and sat down in the cafeteria. Carolyn felt that an awkward silence had descended, but she wasn't quite sure what to see.

Susan looked at her and said, "I'm really glad to see that Meredith has welcomed your help. I've tried and tried, but right now all she has accepted is the Monday visits with gifts for Chrissy and the nurses."

"I didn't really give her a choice. At first, Derek just asked me to pray for her, but I knew that he would have to be professional and finish things up in NY before taking a leave, so I just got on a plane and came."

"I wish I could do more."

"I don't mean to overstep, but Chrissy wants stories about her mom. Could you persuade your husband to share some?"

"You don't know the story, do you?"

"No. Not at all. Before today, all I knew about Meredith's parents was that her mother was dead."

"That's right. Her mother died a couple of years ago. Her mother had left my husband, Thatcher, when Meredith was five. She took Meredith to Boston, and she told Thatcher to stay away, and he did."

Carolyn didn't know what to say. Susan saw she was uncomfortable. "He married me, and we had two daughters. I knew about Meredith, and I knew that he didn't want to go after her. His first wife intimidated him. I just assumed she'd be a good mother. Why would she take her with her to Boston if she didn't adore her?"

"I'm sure Meredith was an adorable child."

"Well, she's never talked about her mother to me, except for the bit about being nice to the nurses. Her mom died of Alzheimer's, and Meredith was devoted to her, as far as I can tell. She was the parent who stuck with her, and Meredith appreciated that. I know she's still mad at my husband for leaving her. He feels very uncomfortable with her, and he's not really good with sickness. So I don't know if he'd be willing to visit Chrissy. And I don't know if he even has any stories about Meredith."

Carolyn thought for a few minutes. Her heart broke for the five-year-old Meredith, abandoned by her father and for Chrissy, who wanted some stories about Meredith. "Meredith is very devoted to Chrissy. I think visiting Chrissy, or maybe even taping some stories about Meredith, as a young child for you to bring would be useful, if he wants to mend fences with Meredith. And I'm sure he must remember something, even if it's only the day he brought her home from the hospital."

"I will talk to Molly about having Laura Skype with Chrissy. I'm sure she'll agree. My daughters were both excited to learn that they have a sister. Meredith called Molly when they were looking for a bone marrow donor, and she and Lexie were both tested. Neither was a match, and Thatcher and I were too old. But now Lexie wants to meet Meredith."

"Well, Meredith said she could visit."

"She will. And her fiancé will probably want to come, too. He's a great guy."

"It's nice when your children make a good match. My son-in-laws are all terrific, and Meredith is great."

"Well, I have to go. I'll talk to Thatcher about telling Chrissy some stories about Meredith. How long will you be staying?"

"Unless one of my other kids need me, I'll be here for six months or so although I may go home on occasion."

"Maybe we can do coffee every week."

"That would be great."