Her phone screen read, "Did you tell Derek yet?", and a million scenarios were chasing his thoughts as he thought what the text could mean. Surely if Meredith had something urgent or concerning to tell him, she would, but now he wasn't so sure. The text was from her mother and the fact that he was the subject of the text meant that whatever she had to tell him would concern him also so he would ask her after her shower.
They got home just 4 nights ago and Meredith was doing well, the three of them were overjoyed to be back in their apartment and not in a hospital room which they had spent far too much time in over the last year and he sincerely hoped that that time was all they would ever spend there. The chief had given them both 4 weeks away from the hospital and with his intern exam coming up shortly, Derek was studying as much as he could away from the hospital with Mark sending him cases that he was working on throughout the day to help him, the chief had told him that whichever cases Dr. Sloan was forwarding to him would also add up on his case load so that he would have enough hours on all the specialties banked up. And as for Meredith, she was being given the opportunity to do phone consultations so that she didn't have to be in hospital but so should could be kept up to speed, she was also enjoying helping Derek study and she gave him a lot of her study cards that she had used to previous test year for her own intern exam.
"I'm thirsty da-dewek." Ellyse giggled as she ran into her parents bedroom, still calling him by his name since she found it out.
"Ellyse, you aren't supposed to call me my name, how many times do I have to tell you." he smiled.
"But you and mommy call me my name." she argued slyly, her cheeky personality was one hundred percent shining through this week and they had had quite a few meltdowns due to her behaviour.
He looked at her and smirked, her response was witty and true.
"It's not the same." he shook his head.
"Ok Dewek" she teased him.
Knowing he wasn't going to win, he chased her into the kitchen and got her some juice, apple, her favourite, just like her mom. His mind was taken away from his previous worrying as he chatted with his silly 5-year-old as they both waited for Meredith. They were going for dinner at the new Indian restaurant that wasn't too far from their apartment. Just as he heard the shower turn off he turned back to Ellyse.
"Ok baby so why don't you go and get changed so we can go for dinner and then daddy will braid your hair." he touched her shoulder as he crouched down to her level.
"Okay." she skipped down to her bedroom and Derek walked down to theirs.
He sat on the bed and waited for Meredith to come out of the bathroom and he noticed that her phone was gone from the bedside table, where it was, so she has came out and gone back in, with her phone. He felt even more curious and after a couple minutes the curiosity got the better of him so he knocked on the bathroom door.
"Meredith?" he asked, his voice straight.
"Yeah? I'll be out in a minute." she replied.
True to her word, she was.
"What's up?" she asked timidly as he just looked into her eyes, she could tell he had something to say?
"Do you have anything to tell me?" he tilted his head, a tactic he knew she couldn't avoid.
"Uhh- I don't think so?" she replied back, her eyes flickering from his eyes to his hair. Her response sounded more like a question than a statement. He studied her for a couple of moments and could tell she was getting uncomfortable and that wasn't his intention.
"Are you sure? I saw a text from your mom come through whilst you were in the shower, I wasn't trying to impose but I saw my name and now your phone has gone from the table." he questioned her gently, avoiding a confrontation.
She looked at him with shock for a moment but it was quickly concealed and she cleared her voice, "It's nothing to worry about. I'm fine, I promise but my mom mentioned a possibility to me during one of our phone calls."
"A possibility? A possibility of what?" he frowned.
"She asked if we would consider moving to Seattle." now it was her turn to study his face.
"And what did you say?" Meredith was surprised at his reaction, he didn't seem shocked.
"I told her that I would talk to you about it, I just haven't found the right time."
"This isn't the first time she's asked. Me and her had the same conversation when your epilepsy started and she came here." he told her and she sat down next to him.
"I've been thinking about it and my mom made a good point, what if I have an episode when I'm alone with Ellyse? She shouldn't have to worry about her mom, it's my job to worry about her." she told him as she looked down at her fingers.
"So what are you saying?" he tilted her head back up to look at him.
"Maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea? We'd both be closer to our families and my mom said the chief at Seattle Grace offered both of us positions in the intern and residency programme, and it's a great programme Derek. Plus, we'd be away from everything here." she muttered the end quiet but loud enough that he could hear her.
She watched him as he nodded his head and smiled at her.
"If you want to, we can. Your points are valid and I think subconsciously, they would also put me at ease knowing that Ellyse will be okay too. I'm in no way saying that I don't trust you or that you can't look after her, but you're right, she's just a kid." he kissed her forehead.
"Really? It's your choice too Derek, I don't want you to start to resent me again after a couple of years. Your friends are here, Mark, he's practically your family Derek, you'd be giving up a lot." she said leaning into him.
"Mer, you and Ellyse are my family. There's nothing I wouldn't give up if it means I get to spend everyday with the two ladies I love the most. So, if you want to go, then we'll go."
"I.. I think I do. I want to go back to Seattle." she smiled and she nodded, almost like she was admitting it to herself.
She wrapped her small arms around him and he kissed her head multiple times before reaching down to kiss her lips gently.
"We're going home." He whispered and she giggled into his side.
It was decided that they were moving back home to Seattle and Derek couldn't argue that he was disappointed because he wasn't. He was excited about the idea of being closer to his mom and he could see Meredith physically relaxed, like she had the huge burden of New York and everything that they'd be through there lifted off her shoulders. They were waiting for their food in the restaurant and they prepared to tell the news to Ellyse. Derek looked at Meredith and signalled to her that they should begin the conversation.
"So... Ells, me and daddy want to tell you something." she smiled as she held her daughters hand that rested on the table.
"Am I getting a baby sister?" she asked excitedly.
Both Meredith and Derek turned to each other in confusion as to where she got that from.
"Uh no, no Ells, no baby sisters." she replied with a nervous laugh, still glancing back to Derek.
"But Caitlin is getting one. I want one too." Ellyse told them with a frown. Caitlin was her friend from kindergarten.
"Maybe one day, but not now baby." Derek told her as she looked at him before looking back at Meredith, awaiting what she was going to say.
"Me and daddy have decided that we're going to go and live in Seattle. That's where grandma Carolyn and gg live."
"Grandma Carolyn! GG!" she clapped excitedly, so Meredith and Derek took that as a win. They began telling her all about Seattle, about the ferryboats, about the space needle, and about how that's where they grew up when they were her age and from what they could tell, Ellyse didn't seem sad about moving, she couldn't stop talking about how excited she was to meet her cousins that Derek had told her all about.
Ellyse fell asleep in the car on the way home, so they put her straight to her own bed after carefully changing her into some pyjamas and making their way to their bed.
"You know, we could give her a sister. We make pretty babies." he smirked at her.
"Oh shut it." she slapped his arm playfully as she giggled, the sparkle in her eye as she looked at him, "but, we do make pretty babies."
They both laughed and he kissed her passionately.