"Ellyse please just stop and get ready." Meredith sighed.
Today was Ellyse's first day in kindergarten, she kept Meredith up all night crying because she didn't want to go. Even at the age of 5 she was extremely attached to Meredith and they couldn't seem to find a way to lessen it but both Meredith and Scott knew they had to. She had been fighting with her daughter for the last 30 minutes to get her ready but she was making no improvements.
"No mama!" She shouted back.
"Yes, it's your first day at kindergarten, you'll have so much fun." She said trying go excite her daughter.
"You come too?" She asked innocently with sad eyes and a pouty lip.
"No baby, mommy can't come with you."
Her response only made her daughter cry even more.
"We need to get you dressed so we're not late."
"Don't want to!" Ellyse cried.
"Ellyse, you need to go. Come on let's get ready and maybe we can get ice cream later." She tried to reason with her daughter.
If there was one thing that she had inherited from Meredith other than her green eyes, it was her stubbornness and the two of them together were like adding fuel to fire.
"Not going." She said before running out of her bedroom.
"Ellyse Sienna Shepherd!" Meredith shouted loudly.
"Woah, what's going on?" Scott asked in confusion.
"She won't get ready, she doesn't want to go! I told you she wouldn't go!" She pushed him away from her.
"Meredith you need to calm down." He frowned holding the top of her arms.
She was stressing herself out and usually when she was stressed, she made herself sick.
"No, I can't because I have to get her ready for kindergarten or she'll be late and she can't be late because it's her first day. Do you know what happens to kids who make a habit of being late? They become the kids who start skipping school in high school to smoke weed with their friends under the bleachers and she won't be doing that so she needs to get ready-" she rambled because he cut her off.
"Mer, listen to yourself, you need to calm down okay, I'll get her ready." He said in concern.
"You won't be able to, she doesn't want to go Scott." She teared up.
"She has to." He smiled.
"I feel like the worst mom in the world." She shook her head.
"Your a good mom Mer, she just has to adjust, she needs to do this. I promise she'll be fine."
She just nodded and Scott went to follow Ellyse who had ran into the kitchen. Meredith turned back into the room and starting making Ellyse's bed which was a complete mess from the tantrum she'd threw this morning. She sat on the bed and picked up the small photo frame that was on the bedside table, in the frame was a picture of Meredith and Ellyse when she was learning to walk, she smiled at it because putting it back down and tidying up the room.
She could hear her daughters cries from the living room as Scott tried to reason with her and after a while she heard them begin to subside.
"So, go and say sorry to mommy because you don't want her to be upset do you?" She heard Scott say.
"I made momma sad?" Ellyse whined.
"A little sweetie. You need to listen to you mom, okay?" Ellyse nodded. "Good, now go and say your sorry." He smiled.
Meredith watched as her small daughter slowly approached the bedroom door, she looked hesitant to walk in, like she was afraid of being shouted out for her behaviour. Her head hung and she slowly made her way to her mom.
"Momma, I'm sorry." She whined standing in front of her.
"I know baby, I know." She hugged her and felt her small body shake as she held her close.
"I don't want to go momma." She cried into Meredith's shoulder.
"I know baby but I promise you'll have fun and then mommy and Scott will pick you up and then we can go and get whatever ice cream you want." She giggled rubbing her back.
"Really?" She sniffled.
"Of course Ell."
"Can I wear my pink jeans?" She asked as she loosened her grip on Meredith.
"That's what I was thinking too!" Meredith smiled and soon enough Ellyse was dressed and ready to go.
When they got to the kindergarten, Meredith had spoken to the teacher and told her that her daughter was scared and nervous and if she needed to be picked up to just call her and she would. She hated to see her daughter cry but she knew that this was something she had to overcome.
"I have to go Ell so I will see you later okay?" Meredith whispered and felt her daughter hug her tighter.
"No mommy." She whimpered.
"Ell, remember the ice cream." She whispered playing with her daughters curls.
Ellyse seemed to ponder what she said and shortly after let go of Meredith.
"I love you." Meredith said kissing her head.
"I love you too momma." Ellyse said.
Meredith left and got into the car because breaking down into cries. The whole morning has been stressful and she needed to let it all out.
"Your okay." Scott whispered and rubbed her back.
Meredith nodded and rested her head on his shoulder as he kissed the side of her head.
"She'll be okay, Meredith."
"I know, I just- I hate seeing her so u-upset." She wiped her tears.
"I know, me too." He said smiling at her.
After a few moments she composed herself and wiped the mascara from underneath her eyes looking into the mirror in the car.
"I'm being silly." She laughed nervously.
"No, your a mom. Your a good mom Mer."
"Thanks." She said sweetly as he gave her a quick kiss before they started driving.
3pm came around quickly and after a day of cleaning the house, in between a few certain distractions, Meredith and Scott were leaving to pick up Ellyse.
"Do you think she'll be in a good mood? What if she's had a bad day and she hates me forever because I promised her that she's like it? What if she never speaks to me again?" Meredith breathed. She really was quite the over-thinker.
"Meredith, she's 5 years old." He laughed at her ramble.
"Still, it could happen."
"She adores you, she's not going to not speak to you or hate you, besides we're taking her for ice cream. Even if she did have a bad day, which I'm sure she hasn't, she'll love us the second we put it in front of her." He laughed as they pulled up in the parking lot.
"True." Meredith giggled hopping out of the car.
When they got inside Ellyse ran over to them with a huge smile and hugged Meredith tightly. She had clearly had a good day, the teacher gave them some paintings that she had made and a cupcake in a box that she had decorated that afternoon. She sighed her out and they left to go get ice cream.
The drive to the ice scream shop was very talkative, mainly coming from her tiny babbling daughter in the back. She was telling them all about the friends she had made and how she had put strawberry laces on her cupcake, also hesitantly telling them that she got some paint on her jeans.
"I want chocolate ice cream with looaads of sprinkles." Ellyse shouted emphasising just how much she wanted as they walked in.
"Maybe not too much." Meredith laughed.
"But can Scott make it because he gives me lots of sprinkles." She giggled covering her mouth with her hand.
"Does he now?" Meredith turned to him with raised eyebrows.
"I have no idea what she's talking about." He shook his head whilst laughing.
"Mhm." She joked.
They sat at there table and it didn't take long before Ellyse stood up and pulled Scott by his hand over to the ice cream machine. Meredith watched them as they made her ice cream, listening to the giggles coming from her daughter. She loved that they got along so well, she watched as Ellyse gave Scott a high five before skipping back to the table.
Halfway through their ice cream, Scott's phone rang. He picked the phone up and frowned at the caller ID.
"I have to take this." He told her as he stood up and went outside. A few minutes later he came back.
"Mer, I'm so sorry but I have to go. One of my clients is causing a scene at the office because I'm not there for him to speak to."
"Oh, sure. What about the car?" She asked.
"The car?" He frowned picking up his jacket.
"Yeah, we came together."
"Oh, shit." He muttered.
"Bad word Scott! Mommy Scott said a bad word." Ellyse gasped.
"I heard, tell him what he needs to do."
"You need to put money in the jar." She told him.
"Okay Ells, sorry Mer." He apologised.
"It's fine and just take the car, we'll walk back, it'll be good for us to talk about her day." She smiled.
"You sure?" He asked again.
"Yes, go. Good luck." She said.
"Okay, love you, love you Ells." He said as he kissed both their heads.
"Bye Scott!" Ellyse shouted across the shop.
And then there was two.