Chapter 13
Meredith chewed her nails nervously as she sat on the plane to New York. She had been fine after she'd asked Derek if they could go he had immediately called his mother and the airline to book tickets it ha d all happened so fast that she had barley had time to freak out. That had been yesterday. It was only now that she was on the plane she freaking out. She had been so stupid to suggest this. Derek had four sisters. Four. And "a million" nieces and nephews as Christina had so eloquently pointed out. And she was an only child with an absent mother and a father who she hadn't seen since she was five years old……..
"You're freaking out" Derek's soft voice said brining her out of her thoughts and making her jump, she hadn't even noticed he was awake
"No I'm not" she countered lamely
Derek smirked and raised an eyebrow and she sighed knowing that she'd been caught out
"It's just Addison was leggy and fabulous and a world renowned surgeon with perfect hair and the perfect life and I'm the slutty intern who slept with her married boss and then got pregnant. And I'm worried that you're family will make you realise that you deserve better and you'll leave me" she whispered tears stinging the back of her eyes.
Derek's heart broke as he saw the vulnerability in her eyes "Oh Mer" he sighed reaching over and pulling her into his arms
"First and most important I love you okay and yes there will always be a part of me that loves Addison. But I never loved her even half as much as I love you and nobody is comparing you to Addison and as for my family if they can't accept that I'm happy and that I love you and our babies" he added his hands travelling to her stomach "then that's their problem
"But they're your family Derek" she whispered
Derek nodded "They are my family but Mer so are you and nothing will ever change that"
"You're my family too" she whispered
"I'm glad" he smiled running his hands through her hair" Try and get some sleep okay"
"K love you" she murmured as her eyes fluttered shut
"Love you too Mer" he whispered softly kissing her forehead
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Meredith gasped as Derek drove up towards his family home "Derek you grew up here?"
"Yup, Mom and dad designed it before Kath was born"
"It's amazing" she smiled as they pulled up on the driveway.
Derek had barely switched off the engine when the front door flew upon and a swarm of kids ran towards the car and Derek immediately jumped out the car and scooped two of them in his arms
She paused and squeezed her eyes shut she could do this it was just one weekend and they were Derek's family how bad could they be.
Slowly she stepped out of the car and turned to watch Derek interact with his nieces and nephews a small smile playing on her lips
"He won't be getting out of that for a while" Meredith jumped at the voice and whipped around to see a tall woman with deep blue eyes similar to Derek's
"Hi you must be Meredith I'm Kathleen" she said extending her hand which Meredith took in hers "It's so nice to finally meet you"
"You too you're the shrink right?"
Kathleen smiled and nodded "Well remembered oh these are my daughters Grace and Stacey sweetie can you say hi to Meredith" Kathleen said softly to the small girl hiding behind her leg Meredith stared at the young girl and swore that her heart stopped beating in her chest oh god this isn't happening she was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she didn't notice when the young girl tugged on her trouser leg.
She smiled and crouched down so she was at eye level with her "hi sweetie" she said softly
"Are you my Uncle Derek's girlfriend?" the young girl asked in a small voice
"I am" Meredith nodded
Meredith drew in a breath as the young girl regarded her for what seemed like forever before she broke into a smile "Do you want to colour with me?"
"Sure" Meredith said surprised as the girl grabbed her hand and dragged her indoors
It was ten minutes later when Derek came in and found Meredith sitting with Grace on her lap her arms wrapped tight around her middle her cheek resting on her head.
"Hey" he said softly sitting beside her and wrapping his arm around her waist.
"Hey" she replied and he was surprised to see a tear fall down her cheek
"Hey what's the matter" he asked his brow furrowed with concern
"Nothing" she replied quickly "hormones" she sniffed quickly averting her eyes
"Mer" he prompted
"Seriously Derek I'm fine" She was interrupted by the front door opening
And Derek's other sisters and mother came into the room
"Meredith" Carol said warmly pulling her into a hug"its good too see you again. How are you feeling?"
"I'm good" she smiled relaxing into Carol's warm embrace "Tired but good"
"How far along are you?" Kathleen asked "Around twelve weeks?" Meredith replied looking up at Derek who nodded in conformation
"Prepare yourself man hormone surges and weird cravings at two thirty in the morning" Tony, Kathleen's husband piped up earning a swat from his wife "But it's totally worth it in the end of course" he added hastily
Derek smiled and kissed Meredith's temple gently "Looking forward to it" he murmured into her hair. Meredith smiled and leaned into his warmth as the conversation moved on.
It wasn't long before the front door opened and a few more kids ran through the hall "Nice to see you too" he called dryly after them
"Derek!" A woman a tall elegant looking woman exclaimed from the doorway
"Nancy! It's good to see you" Derek smiled
"You look good little brother" Nancy said as they pulled away
"Hmm I feel good" he said squeezing Meredith's hand as she moved to stand beside him
"Ah, you must be the slutty intern he cheated on Addison with"
"Nancy!" Kathleen hissed swatting her sister on the arm before turning to Meredith b] "Excuse my sister she doesn't have the best social skills"
"My social skills are just fine thank you very much unlike you insists on psychoanalysing everyone" Nancy scoffed
"Girls" Carol scolded "honestly you are acting like five year olds, now stop bickering and come and help me with dinner" she sighed ushering them into the kitchen.
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Just under an hour later all the adults sat at the dining room table enjoying Carol's dinner.
"So Derek, have you talked to Mark yet?" Nancy asked
Meredith frowned as Derek tensed next to her and she instinctively reached under the table to squeeze his leg supportively. "No" came his growled response
"He made a mistake Derek" Nancy sighed
"A mistake" Derek scoffed " Is that what you call it?"
Nancy opened her mouth to answer but her mother cut her off "We're not talking about this anymore. So Meredith, tell us about yourself"
"Yeah besides the fact that you slept with your married attending" Nancy smirked
There was a deathly silence at the table before Derek's fork clattered on the plate and he stood up with such force that his chair toppled over causing Meredith to jump beside him
"Seriously?!" He yelled incredulously "You're seriously going there! She didn't know I was her boss when we met , it was a one night stand and she showed up at Grace and discovered I was her boss and I chased her for weeks even though I knew I was married, I knew what I was doing" He pause for a moment swallowing hard trying to keep his emotions in check
"I lead her on for weeks and then Addison showed up and despite everything she still wanted me" he said choking back a sob "And you do not get to treat her like crap especially when the person who deserved to be treated like crap is me" and with that he stormed out of the out of the dining room.
Meredith swallowed and turned back to look at his bewildered family "I'm uh I'm sorry" she stammered before running out the room after Derek.
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"Derek!" she called desperately as she ran after him down Carol's back yard. She finally caught up with him as he came to a stop at a small clearing through the trees at the bottom of the yard. Meredith gasped as she looked at the magnificent view that was the New York skyline.
"Oh my God" she breathed
Derek smiled "Pretty amazing isn't it? I used to come down here when I needed and escape from the sisters" he laughed bitterly
"Derek" she whispered reaching out to grab his hand "Are you okay?"
"I am now that you're here" Meredith rolled her eyes "Cheesy Der" she smirked as he pulled her into his embrace inhaling deeply. "You love the cheesy"
"Yeah I do" she murmured into his chest
They stood in a comfortable silence