Derek stared at the view of Lake Union as he took a sip of his red wine as they dined at Canlis. "I hope you like the view, Mom."
"It's beautiful. You didn't have to take me to such a fancy place," said Carolyn, who was also sipping red wine.
"Mom, you deserve the best. You've been so wonderful with Chrissy and Meredith. You just showed up here in Seattle to help without even being asked, and you've been here for weeks already. You've spent countless hours with Chrissy, you've been cooking for all of us, and you did a beautiful job of furnishing my apartment."
His mom laughed. "Derek, you did give your credit card and no budget limit. And you let me buy a whole new wardrobe."
"You did a great job with the apartment, and you needed more clothes. You had only brought one small suitcase. And you were very economical. You could have gone to Nordstrom's, but you shopped at Target."
"I didn't need anything fancy for hanging out in a hospital with my sick granddaughter."
Derek's face fell as he thought of the many times that his mom had helped Chrissy when she was nauseous.
"Derek, it's fine."
"Mom, it's not fine that my daughter is fighting for her life. Every moment since I've known her, in fact, since the moment Addie first suggested Baby Grace was my daughter, I've been worried about her."
"I know. But it's fine that I shop at Target. But I'll tell you what. I promise to shop at Nordstrom's for my mother of the groom dress."
"What are you talking about?"
"I've put my money on you marrying Meredith."
"Mom," Derek said.
"I call them as I see them, and you and Meredith belong together."
"Mom, you're a true romantic."
"I am. Your Dad was my one and only."
"If only I had chosen Meredith and not Addison."
"Derek, you have to live in the present, and that means it's time for us to figure out what we want to order," said Carolyn as she studied the menu.
"You can get anything you want, Mom."
"Let's do the three course meal. I've never done a tasting menu, but I think that would be too much food."
"A three course meal it is."
"I'm going to start with potato soup, and then I'll have the filet mignon."
"Meredith likes steak."
"So do I. What do you want?"
"I'll have the Canlis salad and the sea bass."
"You're such a healthy eater." The waitress came by, and they gave their orders to her.
"You were a good teacher, Mom." Derek smiled. "I have only two days in New York this week, Monday and Tuesday, and then I'll be able to start my leave. I figure I'll just leave my office as is. That way I won't have to spend any time on it, and I can just come here."
"Do you plan on going back?"
"The formal answer is yes, as I'm taking Family and Medical Leave. But we'll have to see what happens. With Chrissy, I think we need to take it day by day."
"She's going to be fine, Derek. And, for her sake, you have to act as if you believe she'll be fine."
"I'm doing the best I can. This week we have another meeting with her doctor on Thursday. I hope we get better news this time. If she's not in remission, the doctor said that the next step would be a medical trial, basically a gamble."
"Don't worry about Thursday now. Don't trouble trouble til trouble troubles you," said Carolyn with a smile.
"Mom, that didn't make much sense when I was a kid, and I don't get it now."
"Just don't worry about the future now. Live in the moment."
"Mom, that doesn't sound like you."
"I've learned to live in the moment, Derek, and now I enjoy spending time with my grandchildren."
"Once I'm on leave, you can go home, if you want."
"I want to stay here until Chrissy is well on the way to recovery."
"What about your other grandchildren? I'm sure they miss you. And I know my sisters are missing you."
"I'm seeing a lot of all my grandchildren. They are all Skypping with Chrissy, and I participate as well. I actually learn more about them when they talk to Chrissy than when they talk to me. And Nancy, Lizzie and Kathy can ask their mother in laws to babysit for a change, or they can hire babysitters. They're all doctors, so they can afford to hire babysitters."
"Mom, it's not about money. They know you love the kids."
"But I'm needed here. And Derek, even with you living here, I can help. Meredith said the doctor wants Chrissy to gain weight. I'm a much better cook than you are."
The waiter served their appetizers. Carolyn had her first spoonful of soup. "This is divine. I'm going to enjoy every sip of this soup."
"The salad is great, too," said Derek with a smile.
"I can't remember the last time the two of us had dinner in a restaurant together, just the two of us."
"I can't remember it either. We've got to do this more often."
"We can try for once a month while I'm here in Seattle."
"That sounds great. It's going to be a long time till Chrissy is well. You might want to go home for at least a week-end once in a while."
"I think I will try to go to Janie's graduation in June."
"Janie is graduating from high school? It seems like yesterday that I went to see her in the hospital when she was born."
"Yes, she's graduating. Lizzie is thrilled that she's going to the Rhode Island School of Design. She plans to focus on her painting."
"Maybe we could commission a painting for the apartment. Or maybe one for Chrissy."
"I'm sure Chrissy would love that. Janie's been very sweet with Chrissy; she shows Chrissy her new work every week. You must have seen the sketchbook she sent Chrissy; Chrissy has been drawing every day using the markers Janie sent."
"Janie was always interested in art. She did the most beautiful sidewalk chalk drawings. I'm sorry, but I'm going to miss the graduation. I'm going to stay here with Chrissy."
"I think she has a limited number of tickets, so don't worry about it. Just make sure to send her a very nice gift when the time comes."
"I'll do that. I'll buy her a nice piece of jewelry. Maybe I'll have Chrissy pick it out from a catalog or on-line."
"I'm sure she'd enjoy that although you might want to let Chrissy choose something for herself, too."
"Good advice, Mom."
"Have you talked to Meredith about what we'll be doing when Chrissy goes home?"
"No. Meredith is superstitious. She doesn't want to talk about what happens when Chrissy goes home until the doctor says she can be discharged. My guess is that Chrissy will go home with Meredith, and the two of us will be welcome to come and visit."
"Do you think Meredith will work?"
"I don't know if she's thought about it, but I will encourage her to work at least part-time. It would probably be good for Chrissy to see her mom do some work, make her feel that life is somewhat normal. Although she usually goes to daycare in the hospital, so being stuck at home without any children will be hard for her."
"That's why Skypping with her cousins is great," said Carolyn. "And I'm happy to provide childcare. Lots of grandmas watch their grandchildren."
The waitress cleared the table and brought their main courses.
"This steak is fabulous," said Carolyn.
"My fish is wonderful. Maybe Meredith will let me take her here. I'm sure she would enjoy the food."
"It would be great if you could persuade her to go out."
"We'll see. By the way, Mark is coming out here next week-end for his engagement party, and he wants to come with his fiancée to meet Chrissy."
"I never thought I would see you and Mark together again after what happened with Addison."
"Neither did I. I was shocked when I learned he left New York. I think he really loved Addie, and he was heartbroken when she left New York for me."
"You sound like you're sorry for him."
"No, just I understand him better now. And it's so weird that he's going to be Chrissy's uncle."
"It just shows that you were always meant to be brothers. The strange thing is that you are closer to Mark than Meredith is to her sister."
"I don't think she's ever met her sister. Really, she's a half-sister. But me knowing Mark may make it easier on Meredith."
"Mark was always terrific with the kids."
"He even mentioned asking Chrissy to be a flower girl at the wedding. But, even if everything works out, it will be a long time before she could participate in a public event."
"We'll see. Now what about dessert?"
"I'm going to have the sorbet of the day."
"I'll have the chocolate fondant."
After they gave the waitress their orders, Carolyn turned to her son. "Your sisters want to visit and meet Chrissy. I think they'll be hurt if they learn that Mark has met Chrissy before them."
"Mark is only coming because he is engaged to Meredith's sister. And Meredith had invited her sister after her sister agreed to have her bone marrow tested. And I don't think a lot of visitors is a good idea when Chrissy is so sick."
"I'm sure your sisters would have agreed to be tested if they were asked."
"Really? What about Nancy?"
"Since the DNA test proved Chrissy was your daughter, she keeps asking me if there's anything she can do."
"So she would have insisted on a DNA test before being tested."
"I don't know about that. Plenty of people donate marrow to total strangers."
"Anyway, I don't want to overwhelm Meredith and Chrissy with my truckload of sisters. We'll see what the doctor says on Thursday. I'll ask about the sisters visiting."
"Okay."
The next morning, Derek went to say good-bye to Chrissy. He found both Chrissy and Meredith in bed sleeping together. He smiled, and he kissed Chrissy on her forehead. "Wake up, sleeping beauty."
Chrissy smiled. "Is mommy sleeping beauty too?"
Derek smiled. He saw Meredith smile as well although she kept her eyes closed. He figured she was humoring Chrissy. "Yes, she's also a sleeping beauty."
"Kiss her, Daddy."
He kissed Meredith on the forehead too.
"No, Daddy, you have to kiss Sleeping Beauty on the lips, like in the movie."
Derek looked at Meredith. She kept her eyes closed, so he played along and kissed her on the lips. Again, he felt a jolt even though he had only given just touched her lips for a few seconds.
Meredith opened her eyes and said, "Good morning, my prince."
"Glad to see you, Sleeping Beauty."
"My real name is Meredith."
"And mine is Derek. Good morning, Meredith."
"I'm going to go take a shower and get dressed. I'll be back in a while," said Meredith.
"That's fine. I have a new book to read to Chrissy. And I also brought a new movie as well," said Derek. He had fallen into the habit of spending several hours on Sunday alone with Chrissy before he left. He always brought a new book and a new movie.
He showed Chrissy the new book, Lily's Plastic Purple Purse, and began reading it to her.
"Can I have a purple purse?" asked Chrissy after he finished the book.
"Sure," said Derek with a smile. "I'll look for one when I'm in New York." He loved shopping for presents for Chrissy.
"Thanks, Daddy. Now can we watch a movie? I'm feeling tired."
"I'll check with the nurse. You need to eat breakfast."
"I'm not hungry."
"When the nurse brings breakfast, you should try a little bit." Derek pushed the call button to ask for the nurse. "I did bring you a new movie, Free Willy, about a killer whale."
"I love whales."
"I know you like sea creatures, my little mermaid."
"I'm not a mermaid. I have feet."
"You're beautiful, like Ariel."
"Good morning Dr. Shepherd, Chrissy, I have breakfast for Chrissy," said Olivia.
"I'm not hungry."
"You should try some food. Or at least some juice," said Olivia.
"Okay." Chrissy took two sips of juice, and then said, "I'm done."
"Try the eggs, please," said Derek.
"No, I'm not hungry. And I don't like eggs."
"How about some cereal?"
"No, I'm not hungry."
"Dr. Shepherd, we'll use the i.v. for nutrition today. It's probably the chemo affecting her appetite," said Olivia softly.
"That's fine. She can have the i.v. while we watch a movie."
Meredith arrived just before the movie was over. She sat down and watched the end of the movie with Derek and Chrissy. When the movie was over, Derek turned to Chrissy and said, "Sweetheart, I'm going to have to go now because I have to catch a plane for New York, but this is the last time I'm going to New York for a long time. I have a long vacation, and I'm going to spend it with you. I'll be back on Wednesday. I'm leaving in the morning, so I should be back in time to read you a bedtime story."
"Will you bring me a new book?"
"I'll try, but I'm going to be very busy getting ready for my vacation." Derek kissed Chrissy on her forehead. "Now, be good for mommy and try to eat."
"Okay, Daddy. Now you need to kiss mommy."
Derek kissed Meredith on the forehead.
"No, Daddy, I told you mommies and daddies kiss on the lips."
Derek looked into Meredith's eyes, which were smiling at him. "I guess I have to listen to my director," he said, and he then kissed Meredith on the lips. This time, however, he didn't settle for a peck but instead spent a couple of minutes kissing her thoroughly.
"That was a good kiss, Daddy, just like Little Mermaid."
"I'm glad you enjoyed it," said Derek. "You should be a movie director when you grow up."
"I want to be a fish doctor."
"You can be anything you want, sweetheart," said Derek.
"And fish doctors are very important," said Meredith. She picked up a stuffed dolphin from a basket of stuffed animals that was sitting in the room. "Now I think this fish needs a check up."
"Mommy, dolphins aren't fishies."
"You're right. They are mammals."
"Chrissy, I have to say good-bye to get my plane, but please give the dolphin a good check-up."
"I will, Daddy."
Derek gave her a big hug and another kiss. "I'll Skype with you tomorrow. I love you. I hope you have good days while I'm gone."
"I'll miss you daddy. My days are better when you are here."
"Well, I'll be back on Wednesday." Derek walked backwards out of the room, as he usually did on Sundays. "Remember daddy loves you."
"And I love you, Daddy. Good-bye."