Chapter 50: Bratty on Her Birthday

"Mommy! Look at this!" Dawsyn grinned, sitting on the living room floor with her presents after her friends left her birthday party.

"Make up...wow." Meredith giggled; her voice slightly tired.

"Can I wear it to school on Monday?"

"Absolutely not." Meredith giggled, standing on a step stool.

"Why not?" Dawsyn groaned.

"You're twelve...not seventeen." Meredith replied.

"Not even a little bit?"

"Nope."

"The food's all put away." Derek said, returning to the living room.

"All of it?" Meredith laughed. "I think Dawsyn and her friends ate more than the adults."

"There was barely anything left when I went to get something to eat." Derek laughed.

"We didn't eat that much food Derek." Dawsyn sighed, rolling her eyes.

"I think you did." Derek laughed, patting her on the head. "Did you get some good presents?"

"I got so many things." Dawsyn gasped, holding up a Nick Jonas doll. "Look!"

"Wow...Pretty cool, Daws." Derek said, looking over at Meredith.

"The other two guys are buried in there somewhere." Meredith laughed, tossing a birthday banner to the ground.

"Can you help us get all this stuff down please?" Derek asked Dawsyn, who was looking for the other dolls.

"In a minute." Dawsyn replied, picking up her new ipod cover.

"Okay." Derek sighed, standing down below Meredith who was on the step stool. "Want me to do that?"

"No...just here." Meredith handed him some of the leftover tape.

"Well, thank you."

"Derek...can you get scissors to open this?" Dawsyn asked, struggling to get the packaging off of the new cover.

"I will if you take some of your other stuff upstairs first." Derek replied, folding up the banner that Meredith just took down.

"But I want to open this first." Dawsyn sighed.

"Just one more, Dawsyn." Derek instructed.

"Fine." The younger girl groaned.

"Dawsyn." Derek warned.

"Mommy will you get the scissors?" Dawsyn rolled her eyes, as Meredith stepped down from the stool with the help of Derek on her hand.

"I...they're in the kitchen."

"Fine." Derek sighed, picking up a few things off of the floor.

"Derek...don't break my new jewelry box!" Dawsyn shouted as she left the room.

"Did I miss something?" Derek asked, turning to face Meredith.

"Miss what?" Meredith giggled, taking a few paper cups off of the side table.

"Why is she mad at me?"

"She's not."

"She just yelled at me."

"Oh, that wasn't yelling." Meredith laughed, reaching for the trash bag.

"Okay...Then why won't she do anything I tell her to?" Derek asked, sitting down.

"She's Daws...taking instruction isn't her favorite thing to do."

"She does what you tell her."

"Hardly...she actually listens to you more."

"I doubt it...Especially because you just let her do something that I said she couldn't."

"No, I didn't."

"Yeah...You did." He chuckled, standing up and putting his arms around her waist.

"What?" She frowned.

"Nothing...never mind."

"Are you mad?"

"No."

"Hmm...okay." Meredith whispered.

"I just..."

"What?" Meredith asked, pressing a kiss against his chest.

"If we're going to do this together...we have to agree on things and...I said she couldn't open presents and until she helped clean up but you let her go...so...It's not a big deal." Derek breathed.

"Oh I...sorry." Meredith whispered.

"It's okay."

"Mommy!" Dawsyn shouted; her voice high as she ran into the living room.

"What?" Meredith looked, resting her head on Derek.

"You threw away my cake!" Dawsyn groaned. "My Piece! I wanted the star on my cake and you threw it away!"

"No it isn't!"

"Yes it is...behind the coffee pot."

"Well I didn't put it there!" Dawsyn yelled. "I didn't want it there!"

"It's in the refrigerator Dawsyn." Derek said, rubbing Meredith's back.

"I didn't want it there!"

"That's where it goes."

"Not on my birthday!" Dawsyn snapped.

"Dawsyn...stop." Meredith groaned, pulling away from Derek.

"I told you where to put it!" Dawsyn yelled.

"Well, I made a mistake!" Meredith shouted back.

"Dawsyn, take your presents upstairs." Derek demanded.

"I don't have to."

"Would you prefer I put them in the trash?"

"No, you can't do that!"

"Dawsyn...take them upstairs now!" Meredith crossed her arms. "And one more remark...no movie. We won't take you."

"You have to! It's my birthday!"

"We'll go if you take your things upstairs right now." Derek said.

"I don't want them up there." Dawsyn crossed her arms, looking just like a little Meredith. "Take them up yourself."

"Excuse me?"

"You're the one that wants them up there."

"Daws..." Meredith whispered.

"Please take them upstairs right now." Derek said, trying to remain calm.

"I'm only taking what I want to take." Dawsyn groaned, reaching for a couple of things.

"Dawsyn Elizabeth...seriously?" Meredith hissed. "Cut it out."

"No!" Dawsyn shrieked.

"Stop being a brat!"

"Upstairs. Now." Derek demanded.

"But..." Dawsyn groaned, looking at her Mom for an out.

"Go Daws...just...we'll go to the movies in a few."

"I don't want to go upstairs!"

"Just go!"

"Fine!" Dawsyn yelled, picking up a couple of her things and stomping up the stairs, her door slamming a few seconds later.

"Now that...that was yelling."

"I'm going to be the worst father." Derek sighed, sitting down on the sofa.

"Why?" Meredith frowned, kicking off her shoes before sitting down next to him.

"She doesn't listen to me...I mean I know I'm not her father but..."

"That's not just about you...Derek this has been my whole life."

"So she doesn't hate me?"

"No...that's not her hating you."

"I thought that was going to be the next thing to come out of her mouth."

"Oh, that's coming...I've heard it about a million times since she was five."

"Looking forward to it." Derek chuckled.

"She has an attitude."

"Are you sure she's not sixteen?"

"I gave birth to her, I'm sure."

"Okay." Derek laughed, kissing her cheek.

"I don't like her yelling at you." Meredith whispered.

"I don't like her yelling at you either..."

"Yeah but I'm her Mom."

"Maybe we shouldn't take her to the movies." Derek whispered.

"We have to."

"No we don't."

"We have to." Meredith repeated, lifting her head. "It's her birthday."

"I just think...She can't get her way when she acts like that Mer."

"She doesn't."

"She would be if we took her to the movies."

"But..." Meredith frowned.

"I'm not her father...It's your choice." Derek sighed.

"Yeah you...Derek I...I'm not deciding this one on my own." Meredith shook her head, as he took her hand. "We can't...I mean we...you're the one who thinks we should do it so we should...I mean together we should decide. But we should keep in mind that it's her birthday."

"What if...We take her tomorrow. We're still taking her but she's not getting away with acting like that right now."

"I work late tomorrow."

"I can take her..."

"I have to go...I...it's for her birthday and then she'll be really upset if I'm not there."

"Next weekend?"

"Mommy!" Dawsyn shouted from the top of the condo stairs.

'What?" Meredith groaned, running her hands through her hair out of frustration.

"I want a drink!"

"Then get one Daws...just...you can get it." Meredith sighed.

"I'm sorry Mer..." Derek whispered. "I'll get her a drink and then...we'll decide."

"Mommy! It's my birthday you have to get me a drink!"

"What do you want Dawsyn? Juice or water?" Derek called.

"I asked Mommy!"

"She's busy right now."

"Daws get your own drink!" Meredith shouted.

"Fine! Then I don't want one!" Dawsyn stomped away; her door slamming closed again.

"I'm going to finish cleaning up." Derek sighed, standing up. "Why don't you just...rest."

"No." Meredith reached for his hand, pulling him back to her.

"What?"

"Just don't...you're mad about this...I mean you're irritated and I get it."

"I don't want to take her somewhere and give her something she wants...after she talks to you like that."

"Then...we won't...I mean we should because she'll be mad and I'll be awful if we don't but I get it."

"If you want to take her, Mer...you should."

"Maybe just this once...and if she pulls it again, we won't let her get away with it."

"Deal." Derek whispered.

"So, we agree."

"Yeah...We agree."

"Good." Meredith smiled, scrunching her nose a little.

"Good." Derek laughed, kissing her lightly.

"Go get the movie times and I'll go get Daws."

"Okay...Be right back."

"Okay." Meredith breathed.

Derek gave Meredith another kiss before getting up and heading into the kitchen. He hated seeing Dawsyn yell at her mother like that. It didn't bother him so much that she got angry at him, but when Dawsyn yelled at Meredith, it killed him. The look on her face from seeing her daughter yell at her broke his heart and even though he didn't exactly believe she deserved to be taken out, it was her birthday and Meredith was her mother.