A/N- a couple hours after I usually upload, and a few days post-thanksgiving, but better late than never! Bit of a filler to be honest, but I wanted their first thanksgiving to be special.
Thanks to all who review, particularly those who review regularly. I'm English and we don't celebrate thanksgiving, but I'm definitely grateful to you all, and everyone who stops by to read.
Carolyn stayed a week longer with Meredith and Derek. After the scene at the hospital, she watched them gradually open up more and more to each other, and with a week to go before thanksgiving, the pair of them waved goodbye as she boarded a flight back to New York ready for the big family dinner that was held at the Shepherd household. Christmas rotated between hers and her daughters' homes, but thanksgiving remained a day that would always be spent in their childhood home, even if they weren't always there all together. Meredith had clung tightly to Derek's hand the entire time they were in the airport, but he was happy that she simply felt comfortable enough with things that she could at least go inside and wave his mother off. He'd deliberately taken that weekend off, knowing that Meredith would have to adjust to doing everything one handed, but despite the increasing ability to do some things with her healing arm, she still struggled with a lot of tasks, asking for Derek's help whenever she got stuck. Izzie had been given Saturday off as well, and by lunch time, the conversation was in full swing. Between Derek and Izzie that is. Meredith smiled as they told each other about the thanksgivings they had had growing up. She had only ever experienced thanksgiving in the hospital, her nannies taking the holiday off, and the boarding school being closed. Even at high school, the few friends she did have spent the day with their families, who made it quite plain that she wasn't welcome to join them. Her thanksgiving dinners generally came from the cafeteria, whose dry turkey and canned cranberry sauce did very little to excite the appetite. Derek and Izzie looked at her wide eyed at the revelation, immediately deciding that this year, they would both cook, and Meredith, having missed out the previous year would finally experience thanksgiving. When they got to menu design and talk of cooking times and secret recipes, Meredith began to yawn. The prospect of a really good home cooked meal was appealing, but talking about it- not so much. Even in the supermarket, she was bored. Shelves of delicious looking food, and yet everything that went in the cart was for thanksgiving. Not even her best pout and puppy dog eyes were enough to convince her fiancé that they really did need a jumbo pack of Oreos and a whole lot of peanut butter.
On Sunday, Derek had been paged into the hospital and as it drew ever closer to lunchtime, Meredith found herself alone, and hungry. She'd attempted a sandwich, but found herself unable to position the bread correctly so that she could cut into it and fill it, and her cupboards and fridge had been taken over by post-its declaring that almost everything was not to be eaten until Thursday. Meredith was stumped. Ever since Derek had gone back to work, there had always been someone to help her with lunch, they hadn't really thought about what they would do once Carolyn was gone. She decide her best option was to call Derek and see if he was ready to come home, or grab lunch at the hospital. And if not, there was an amazing sandwich shop a couple of blocks away from it so she'd stop being hungry at any rate. She pressed 1 on the speed dial, half expecting his cell to go to voicemail, but after just three rings, his tired, post-surgery voice came onto the line.
"Hey, my consult became a surgery, sorry I haven't called you. Is everything okay?"
"I was attempting lunch until I realised that I can't even do that without you, I was going to call a cab and meet you at the hospital, maybe have a lunch date?" She bit her lip and fluttered her eyelashes the way she often did when she was trying to convince him of something. She knew he couldn't see, but it had become a habit.
"Oh, I forgot everything about lunch, I can meet you in the lobby in maybe forty five minutes, I'll take you to the sandwich place. And if you're really nice to me I might upgrade you to a foot long." He was using the voice that was generally saved for their bedroom, and the thought that other people could hear him use it made Meredith blush.
"Well how could I resist that offer?" She giggled. "I'll see you soon. I love you."
"I love you too beautiful, bye." Meredith blushed as she hung up. Even with her injuries, he never once stopped calling her beautiful, and it still made her feel tingly when he said it. She dialled the number for a cab firm nearby, a former patient of Derek's who always halved the cab fare as a thank you, and before she knew it, she was in the hospital lobby waiting for her lunch date with Mcdreamy.
She waited a while, watching the minutes tick by on the clock that sat above the nurse's station. Waiting areas were awful places, there was nothing to distract from the reality that people die in a hospital every day. People get hurt, come in, and so many never come out again. Her mother hadn't and she'd come close to never leaving too. Sitting there reminded her of what an amazing man she had in Derek, to watch that and still be there for her months later. She was lucky. She had it good, and that was definitely something to be thankful for. She spotted the chief walking towards her, her brain telling her she needed to speak to him, but her thoughts of Derek distracting her from what she was going to say. He stood in front of her, and she snapped out of her daze smiling up at him.
"Meredith, Derek says he's sorry but he had to go back in on his patient, he was bleeding through the bandages. You can wait in the gallery if you'd like until he's ready to go home."
"Thanks chief," She smiled as he began to walk away, then she remembered. "Actually, chief Webber?" He turned and looked at her questioningly. "I've been meaning to ask you something for weeks, do you have a few minutes?"
"Of course, we can go to my office if you'd like." Meredith caught up to him and they quietly walked towards his office. Meredith had tiny butterflies in her stomach as he opened the door and gestured to the chair in front of his desk, positioning himself in his own. "So what can I help you with?"
"I know this is going to sound unprofessional, and I was going to ask Alex or George but it didn't feel right because I'm older than both of them and I've only known them a year and I suppose that I knew you when I was tiny and you knew my mother and you promised her, and that's great and you've been really kind and Derek likes you I mean he doesn't like anyone, well not that much anyway, except for me of course, but that's beside the point and what I meant to say and what I'm trying to say is that um." The chief frowned as he tried to follow her rambling, using the brief second that she took a breath to try and get a coherent thought out of her.
"Grey spit it out."
"Right, would you, maybe consider possibly um…" She paused gathering herself. "Would you walk me down the aisle? I get it if you don't want to I mean you're not my father but I thought that maybe possibly you might think that you could do it or would or I don't know, I know it would mean a lot to Derek and well to me too, but if you don't want t then I can just ask George or Alex, or go solo, you know all modern and stuff."
"Grey," he said sternly to stop the rambling. "I'd be honoured. Nothing would make me happier than walking Ellis Grey's daughter down the aisle to marry Derek Shepherd. Honoured."
"Really?" Meredith asked, suddenly a little choked up. "You mean it?"
"Of course I do. I've known you since you were tiny, I've watched you grow into a fine young woman, and pick a wonderful kind-hearted man who clearly adores you. I'd be happy to be a part of that, as your father or just as a friend. You deserve to be happy, and anything I can do to make that happen." He grinned at her, pride exuding from his features. Meredith didn't know what to say, so she said the first thing that popped into her head.
"Derek and Izzie are making a big dinner if you'd like to come. You can bring Adele. Izzie is in charge of inviting people, so there'll probably be a lot of us, but if you wanted you could come. I'd like it if you came."
"I'll see if Adele has plans already but if not, I'd love to come. Thank you Meredith." He smiled again as Meredith's butterflies died down, a silence falling between the two of them. They'd had their ups and downs, but they'd finally accepted each other and their pasts and that was something they were both grateful for. Meredith's phone began to vibrate, her screen alerting her to one new message. Patient coded, let's go get your foot long. xx
"It's Derek, I have to go, but I'll see you Thursday maybe?"
"Definitely, goodbye Meredith."
As she left his office, the chief leaned back in his chair. He may not have kids of his own, and Meredith may not look to him as an actual father, but walking her down the aisle and sharing thanksgiving with her was pretty close, and that was a thought that made him immensely happy.
In no time at all it had gotten to Wednesday night, and Derek and Izzie were deep in their plans for the next day. George, Alex, Cristina, Callie and Lexie had all agreed to come, as well as Mark, Dr. Webber and Adele. They had invited Bailey but she was planning on spending Thanksgiving with her parents. Everyone was working slightly different shifts to be home in time for dinner, but the chief had granted Derek and Izzie the time off to cook. Derek had put in a request for a few days off at Christmas so that he could take Meredith to New York, and the chief had granted them both a week, throwing in Thanksgiving as a bonus. It meant that once Meredith was completely healed, they'd both be working almost nonstop, but it was worth it for the prospect of a magical family Christmas, the likes of which Meredith had never seen.
Derek and Izzie were still in the kitchen three hours after dinner, and Meredith was bored. She grabbed a medical journal from the kitchen counter, having been delivered earlier that day by the postman, and announced her retreat to bed. She was out cold when Derek finally joined her, prizing the journal from her hands, before spooning her. She stirred but quickly settled into his arms. He kissed the back of her neck as he got comfortable, eventually falling asleep with his nose in her hair, never more grateful for anything else in the world.
Meredith had never been big on holidays, the previous year she had indulged Izzie by letting her host both thanksgiving and Christmas at the house, but before then, holidays weren't her thing. She had vague recollections of dinners with Thatcher, and the odd present on Christmas Eve. But after the age of five, holidays became days spent in front of festive television shows with nurses whilst her mother performed surgeries on other people's family members. The nannies had families of their own to be with, and Ellis volunteered at the hospital year after year, and until she was old enough to stay home alone, Meredith went with her. Meredith had never had a full thanksgiving dinner that didn't come pre prepared by hospital cafeteria workers, and she'd certainly never come close to cooking one herself.
Derek on the other hand lived for the holiday season, as a child, he was surrounded by extended family, and his father was able to take time away from the shop to spend at home with his wife and children. There were albums of photos of thanksgiving, his mother having noted down everything her children had ever said they were thankful for. Ranging from the day off school to the safe arrival of children. His mother always made a huge dinner, accommodating for every spouse, every grandchild, the house becoming a banquet hall, with all hands on deck. Kathleen on vegetables, Nancy on stuffing, Lizzie on puddings and Amy on sauces. Derek was in charge of the gravy, whilst his mother took charge of the turkey, and the timings, every last dish cooked exactly to time, ready for their two pm start. He loved going around saying what he was thankful for, never struggling to find something to be grateful for, until the previous year, where he was in a dead end marriage whilst hopelessly in love with the woman he betrayed. This year though he was in a happy relationship, engaged to the perfect woman who had time off, same as he did. He knew that she'd never had a big family dinner, so this year, he was going all out. He'd invited the entire hospital family, and with help from both Izzie, and a phone line to his mother, he was cooking. They were cooking. The rest of their lives had begun just a few weeks ago, and that meant that from now on, Thanksgiving was a big deal.
On Derek's days off, Meredith took the opportunity to sleep. When he was working, she liked to wait for him to come home, to wake up when he did, so she rarely got longer than a few hours, so if she could snatch eight or nine solid hours then she would, waking only when she couldn't sleep any longer. So when Derek woke her at seven am on the morning of Thanksgiving, she was less than pleased.
"Good morning beautiful," Derek greeted, a grin on his face, his Bowdoin t-shirt hugging his chest. Meredith frowned at him for disturbing her sleep. "Happy thanksgiving!"
"It's seven am, on a day off." she said grumpily, putting a pillow over her head. Derek laughed and eased the pillow out of her hands, kissing her forehead as she opened one eye and looked up at him.
"Well we have a lot to do. The turkey is all ready to go in the oven, I'm getting there with the sauces and the gravy. But the stuffing and the vegetables and all the desserts aren't quite there yet, so I need you to come help me. Please?"
"Derek, I can't cook toast. And I burnt my pizza last time I reheated it in the microwave. I don't cook, I eat, can't I just stay in bed until everyone arrives? What can I even do one handed?"
"No, its thanksgiving everyone pitches in, even you sleepyhead. I'm sure I'll think of lots you can do with your left hand. You're a surgeon you should be practically ambidextrous! And anyways, you can sleep in tomorrow!" He grabbed her hands in an attempt to get her to at least sit up
"Yeah, except Izzie wants to hit black Friday at six in the freakin morning. Holidays are supposed to be about resting, not ruining the food with my rubbish cooking skills." He raised his eyebrows, saying nothing, until she reluctantly crawled out from under the covers and into the bathroom.
"I'll see you downstairs." Derek called through the door as he heard the shower begin to run. Meredith may not be happy about the early wake up call, but if she was going to get the authentic Shepherd/Stevens thanksgiving then she had to be there for everything.
When she finally came down, much more awake thanks to her shower, her jaw dropped. Every surface had a plate of something on it, ingredients strewn everywhere. The hob hosted four bubbling saucepans, and the radio was blaring. Izzie and Derek worked around each other in a well-choreographed tango as they added different elements to their dishes. Derek was chopping celery while Izzie carved a pumpkin, seemingly for a pie, the crust warming in the oven. Meredith's stomach growled at the glorious smell that had erupted. Derek looked up to see her in the doorway, eyebrows raised in awe of the feast that was being created before her eyes.
"Hey sleepyhead," he grinned as he walked over to drop a kiss on her lips. "There's pancakes in the microwave, still warm, and when you're done, you can help with the potatoes, there's a bag and a peeler by the sink and I've put a glove there so you can hold them in your right hand even with the cast. Welcome to the bright and shiny thanksgiving." Meredith grinned at his expression, fetching the pancakes as he went back to chopping. Izzie shot a grin in her direction, clearly in her element this year after the slight overconfidence she had last year, resulting in Burke taking over the kitchen instead. Once she was finished with breakfast, she reluctantly retrieved the potatoes and the peeler and began her simple task, one that left very little chance for catastrophic mistakes. It took a while to get used to peeling with her non dominant hand, but before too long she was prepping like a pro, joining in the dance with her fiancé and her friend. She was almost shocked when the doorbell rang revealing Cristina and several bottles of quality wine.
"I come bearing booze." She said handing the carrier to Meredith while she shrugged off her coat. She took one look at the delighted expression on Meredith's face before scoffing. "Did the happy people get to you? Are you bright and shiny now? Is this what I have to expect now that you're all mcdreamied?" Meredith laughed.
"It's been fun. I didn't expect it to be, but they made me prep things, stuff I couldn't ruin, and it's actually okay. A lot of it is just cooking or waiting to be cooked. I can get some glasses and we can switch the game on until everyone's here. I am not going to be the reason we don't end up without something important because I burn it."
"Thank god, I thought I'd lost you completely." The pair walked towards the kitchen, Cristina looking almost disgustedly at the sight of the kitchen, which was much less ingredients and more yet to be cooked dishes of every variety. Meredith retrieved the glasses, giving them to Cristina when the doorbell rang once again. George stood outside, Lexie behind him, a grocery bag in her hands.
"Izzie told us not to bring food, but she said that napkins and decorations were fine." She said with a smile, hoping not to tread on Meredith's toes, as she often found herself unintentionally doing.
"Um, that's great." Meredith said ushering them in out of the cold. "She's in the kitchen with Derek if you want to give them to her. Cristina and I are watching the game. Did you come straight from the hospital?"
"Yeah," George confirmed, hanging his coat. "Alex says he may be late but he'll be here before dessert is served, if you don't mind saving him a plate." He followed Meredith to the sitting room, where Cristina had already taken over the sofa.
One by one the other guests piled in to the sitting room to watch the game, a tense, well fought match that didn't see anyone in the lead for more than five or six minutes. A collective groan came when Izzie finally announced that dinner was ready, asking them all to gather into the dining room. With a little persuasion, the three of them had managed to get enough chairs around the table, which had been extended and covered in an Izzie-embroidered tablecloth. Derek had set the table beautifully, even placing name cards at each place. Meredith knew that when they finally made solid wedding plans, this would inevitably be happening on an even bigger scale. To see how much he cared about showing her a real thanksgiving made her warm inside, never more grateful for the Emerald City bar and the incredibly dull mixer that the hospital had thrown so many months before.
Dinner was eaten in a quiet appreciation, the only sounds being the appreciative moans of each guest and the sounds of knives and forks.
"Shepherd, Stevens, you've really outdone yourselves, the food is terrific." The chief complimented, accepting the dish that Adele passed to him and piling even more food onto his plate.
"Meredith helped," Izzie smiled, laughing at the looks on people's faces when they realised that Meredith's notorious lack of cooking skills had contributed to the meal.
"I only prepped. I'm still avoiding the oven." She reassured everyone.
"That's something to be grateful for," Alex joked, before shoving another forkful of turkey into his mouth, knowing that if he was sat next to Meredith he'd be feeling the full force of her tiny ineffectual fists just then. The group continued to eat, until they were too full for anymore, with even Meredith being unable to finish. Belts were loosened, and everyone began to lean back in their chairs a little.
"So what are we all thankful for?" Izzie prompted before anyone dropped off to sleep. "I'm grateful that we were all able to get together to enjoy this day as a family. I know it's hard with work but I'm really thankful that all of you were able to show up and celebrate with us."
"I'm grateful that I didn't have to do any of the preparation, and that Grey has a dishwasher. And also for the guy who stabilized in time for me to get here before it went cold." Alex joked. Looking towards Lexie who was next to speak.
"I'm grateful that despite a pretty awful year, I'm still able to say that I have a loving family, even if the meaning of the word has changed. Meeting my sister has been pretty awesome, and Seattle Grace makes me really happy."
"I'm thankful that I've been given the opportunity to start a fresh, a second chance at my internship, new friends, a new apartment, while still having the love and support of my friends and family." George added, smiling.
"I'm grateful for Richard, obviously." Adele said "But also for the hospitality shown by Meredith and Derek and Izzie, inviting me into your home as family. It's an honour to be included in that."
"I'm grateful for my wife also." The chief smiled, the squeeze her gave her hand not going unnoticed by the group. "I'm grateful for the hospital and the staff that work there. I'm grateful too to be included as part of your dinner, whether as a boss or a family member, and the opportunity to try and make up for past mistakes in both my personal and professional life."
"I'm grateful that my team won." Mark said proudly, "And for Shepherd, I'm grateful you were able to forgive me, and for making an honest woman of Grey. I'm actually really happy that you disbanded the dirty mistresses club." Callie laughed at him before adding.
"I'm thankful that I've been able to explore myself a lot this year, as a surgeon and as a person. I'm grateful for the chance to grow and find out who I am and for all of you. Your love and support mean a lot."
"I'm grateful for coronary artery disease." Cristina said bluntly, looking towards Meredith, prompting her to speak before she caught the frowns of everyone at the table and begun speaking again. "And I'm thankful for the food and the wine. Fine, I'm really thankful to Derek for making Meredith all bright and shiny and happy or whatever." Then came Meredith's turn. She'd been thinking a lot about it, it was the first year that she was actually thankful for something in her life.
"I'm thankful for all of you, and the chance to be together, as well as the support you've shown me over the past year and a half, especially as I recover. I'm grateful for my job and the patients that make it so worthwhile. I'm thankful to my father for running away and creating my sister and forcing her to have to meet me and show me how great it is to not be an only child. I'm grateful to my mother for pushing me to be better than she was, to be extraordinary in life, not just at work. But mostly I'm grateful for Derek for loving me despite my issues and my flaws, and for promising that he'll always be by my side, holding my hand, and making me eat real food, and making me feel safe and loved and really very happy. I'm really grateful that I'm done now. This is it." She blushed a little, painfully aware of the length of her little speech and the smiles on everyone's faces. Derek was a little choked up when it came to his turn.
"I am grateful for the lives I could save, the lives I could change when at work, and a really good crop of surgeons to work with. I'm grateful for a house that isn't towable, and central heating and a loving family both in Seattle and New York. But I'm most grateful for Meredith. She rescued me from who I was, she makes me who I am. She is my soul mate, my other half. She is my everything. I'm so thankful that all of you were able to help me show her what she means to me and how serious I am about forever. I'm so thankful you said yes, and we get to spend every day showing each other just how much we love each other." Meredith blinked back tears as she leant over to kiss Derek. 7am was worth it if she got to feel this loved by everyone at her table. To have something to be grateful for. She deepened the kiss, oblivious to her guests trying to avert their eyes. They pulled away as Izzie cleared her throat. Meredith fighting her blush by biting her lip. It was silent for a second, Meredith looking at the floor. Izzie finally breaking the silence with a well-placed:
"Dessert anyone?"
A/N- Nothing like a little bit of sentimentality to end with! As ever leave me your thoughts on this chapter and the future of the fic. I'm always happy to hear what you think!