When Carolyn returned, Chrissy was sleeping. Meredith greeted her with a smile, "Dr. Blakely came while you were gone. He says the new medicine seems to be making some progress, so he's not going to change it. So we're going to have to use I.V. nutrition when she won't eat. He had expected that Chrissy might lose some additional weight. It may be that, once she's in remission, it might take more than a month for her to get into good shape for the transplant."
"Well, it's good that the new medicine is making progress. And having more time before the transplant could be good," said Carolyn, thinking of the risks in the transplant. Sadly, she had a good friend who died shortly after a bone marrow transplant.
"You're right about that. But poisoning cancer is tough on the patients; poison for the cancer can also poison the child," said Meredith softly.
"But the doctor thinks it's working, so that's good." Carolyn thought it would be good to change the topic of conversation. She noticed that the gold envelope with the engagement party invitation remained unopened. She said to Meredith, "You might as well open the party invitation."
"You can open it if you want, Carolyn. I have no interest in going to a party while Chrissy is in hospital. And I have never met the bride. Don't you think it would be weird to meet my half-sister at her engagement party?"
Carolyn looked into Meredith's eyes, and said, "Yes, it would be weird. But it could be fun. You deserve some fun."
"Hanging out with Chrissy is fun for me. I treasure every minute with her. Anyway, Lexie seems nice; she agreed to have her bone marrow tested, and I'm happy to have her come here and meet Chrissy. But I would feel out of place at a party where I don't know anyone."
"Would it be okay if I opened the invitation?"
"Go ahead."
Carolyn opened the invitation and was shocked when she saw the name of Lexie's fiancé: Mark Sloan, M.D. Surely there must be more than one Dr. Mark Sloan? Carolyn asked herself.
"What is it?" asked Meredith, noticing the shock.
"Just seems like a very elegant party. I've heard great things about the food at the Dahlia Lounge," said Carolyn. She didn't know if Meredith knew anything about Mark.
"I've never been there. Sounds like a very nice party," she said with a rueful smile. "My father is going all out for Lexie. It seems that he cares a great deal about his other daughters."
"Maybe her fiancé's family is sponsoring the party," said Carolyn, trying to console Meredith, who was obviously jealous of her half-sister.
"I don't think so. They're not from Seattle."
"What do you know about him?" asked Carolyn, digging for information.
"Not much. I've only spoken to Lexie once. I had called Molly to ask her about doing the bone marrow tests, and she agreed and asked Lexie about it. After I learned they didn't match, I called to thank them for getting tested. They'd never met Chrissy, so I really appreciated their willingness to be tested. So I spoke to Lexie for maybe ten minutes or so. She told me her fiancé was another doctor, an attending, and she started dating him when she was an intern. I told her that was something we had in common, getting involved with attendings when we were interns. I told her I was glad it worked out so well for her." Meredith paused. She realized that she had just touched upon her relationship with Derek.
Carolyn smiled. She realized that the Grey sisters might have more in common than they knew. "Do you know where she works?"
"Yes, Mass Gen, the same hospital my mom worked at in Boston."
"And her fiancé works there, too?"
"Yes, I think so. It's a great hospital with a great program. If my mom hadn't needed me in Seattle, I would have interned there."
"Well, I'm glad you came here."
"Really?"
"Yes, that's why we have Chrissy," said Carolyn with a smile.
Meredith smiled, basking in Carolyn's approval. "That's very kind of you to say."
"I'm not being kind. I'm being honest. I never thought Addison was the right girl for Derek."
Meredith stared at Carolyn.
"I am a staunch Catholic, but I've accepted Derek's divorce, and I know it had nothing to do with you. And I love Chrissy very much. Anyway, I'm going to make some calls to my daughters and set up some Skype calls with cousins for Chrissy."
"I'm sure she would enjoy that," said Meredith.
Carolyn decided to start with Kathy. Kathy quickly agreed to have her children Skype with Chrissy. Carolyn then asked, "By the way, do you know what happened to Mark Sloan?"
"Why are you interested in Mark, Mom?"
Good question, Carolyn thought. "Derek needs a friend now, and he's forgiven Addie. Maybe he might forgive Mark, and Mark could be good for him now."
"Well, he wouldn't have Chrissy if it hadn't been for Mark," said Kathy. "Mark moved to Boston after Addie left. He wanted a new start. Mark has kept sending all the kids' birthday presents and Christmas presents. When the twins got to college, they called him. Mark's been taking them to brunch every Sunday ever since. I'm glad they know an adult in the Boston area."
"That's nice." Carolyn said. "Maybe Danny and Mike can call Chrissy this week." She figured that she could use them to get a message to Mark.
"I'll ask. They are pretty busy college students, though."
"Tell them it was my idea."
Kathy laughed. "You think they'll do something for you and not for me."
"Yes," said Carolyn with a smile.
"And the sad thing for me is that you're right."
Meredith and Carolyn quickly settled into a routine. Carolyn came to the hospital every morning and brought broth and pudding for Chrissy and some food for Meredith. They hung out together until after Chrissy's lunch, and then they had lunch together in the cafeteria while Izzie or another friend sat with Chrissy. Then Meredith would nap while Carolyn stayed with Chrissy, and then Meredith would take over while Carolyn did errands or made calls. Then after Chrissy had dinner, Carolyn would sit with her so Meredith could eat dinner with her friends. Carolyn set up a schedule with at least one Skype session with at least one cousin every day. And Derek Skyped with Chrissy every day. After Meredith's dinner, Carolyn would go to Meredith's home to cook for the next day.
On Wednesday, Carolyn noticed that Meredith seemed nervous as they sat down to lunch. "What's up, Meredith? You can ask me anything."
"I got a call this morning from Nancy."
"My daughter Nancy?" Carolyn was worried. There was no good reason for Nancy to call Meredith.
"Yes. You asked her to have her kids Skype with Chrissy, but she told me she won't tell them about Chrissy until a DNA test is done. And Derek has refused to do a DNA test."
"That's true. We don't think a DNA test is necessary."
"I know that. I appreciate that. But Nancy asked me if I would agree to a test, with you and Chrissy. That way Derek doesn't have to know."
"You don't have to do that, Meredith," said Carolyn, furious with her daughter. "Nancy is way out of line. It's not her business."
"I know. And I'll tell Derek after we get the results. But we might as well do it. I know Chrissy's Derek's daughter, but Nancy's not going to accept it until we do the test. If it were just Nancy involved, I'd say no. She's your daughter, but she admitted to me that she is being a bitch about this. I hope you don't mind the language."
"No, I agree she's being a bitch," said Carolyn, grateful that she was 3000 miles away from her daughter; otherwise, she might consider strangling her.
"But she's the mother to five of Chrissy's cousins. Chrissy enjoyed the call with Lizzie's older daughter so much yesterday. I don't want her to miss out on Nancy's kids just because their mother is a bitch. Chrissy gets so many medical tests, so the cheek swab won't be a big deal. She won't know why it's being done. We can do the test today, and we'll get the results before Derek arrives, and then Nancy's kids will be able to call Chrissy. So all you need to do is a cheek swab. Would that be okay?"
"Sure, but it's totally unnecessary." Carolyn was impressed that Meredith was willing to do this completely unnecessary test so that Chrissy could have contact with her cousins.
"I know, but I'm doing this for Chrissy. She's so excited about having so many cousins, I'd hate for her to know that she has five cousins who aren't allowed to call her."
"I'll agree," said Carolyn, "but I'm going to yell at Nancy for calling you. Derek will be furious when he finds out."
"We're not going to discuss this in front of Chrissy."
"That's for sure. So do you want me to tell Derek?"
"She's your daughter, so yes," said Meredith.
"You're wonderful, Meredith," said Carolyn. "I want you to know that I think of you as my daughter now."
"Thank you," said Meredith. She was enjoying having Carolyn's company. Her friends had been and continued to be terrific, and Susan had been sweet, but Carolyn was able to devote 100% of her attention to Meredith and Chrissy. Meredith had never before had anyone so devoted to her; her own mother had always been more devoted to her job than her daughter.