I'll Be Home For Christmas-

This is a fic that I wrote last Christmas. It's completed, but I figured I would post it here little by little for all of you to enjoy.

Disclaimer- I own nothing... well, except for Adam and Emma... they're mine... all mine.

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Chapter 1- Waiting is the Hardest Part

The moment the announcement came over the speaker that all flights to the east had been cancelled, Derek knew that it was over for him. His evening, that is. He glanced to the screen as the words slipped across it that the reality had hit him. He watched as everyone around him groaned and shuffled away, his eyes flashing to the seat beside him for a moment, and then to his hand where he lifted his phone to look at the numbers on the screen.

He sighed as he pushed the only number he could think of at that moment, and he lifted his phone to his ear. "Mom?" He whispered into the line as he attempted to remain quiet.

"Derek." She whispered as she listened to his voice.

"Flight was cancelled." He said with a hoarse sounding voice, his travels had been long and seemingly unending. His eyes fell on the small blue blanket beside him, and the treasure tucked within it, his tiny hands curled around his most prized possession, the small plush bear that his mother had gotten him for Christmas before he was born. Derek closed his eyes as he thought of his son's words, the ones that pierced his heart each time the little boy pressed the toy to his nose. 'Smells like mommy.' He'd say in a tiny voice that never failed to bring tears to Derek's eyes.

"Derek." His mother said into the line, finally getting his attention.

"Hm…" He whispered, pretending that he had heard her say his name the six other times.

"Derek, what are you going to do?" She asked as she listened to his pause.

"I'll tell you when I know." He said into the line, pausing one more second. "I love you, Mom." He said softly before he closed his phone, lifted his head and again stared into the Christmas tree.

"Flight 234 to Boston has been cancelled." The loudspeaker in the airport screeched as a ring of disappointment and frustration rolled through the airport. Everyone who had been waiting for the flight stood up as they made their way toward the counter to book another flight, or try to find their way out of the airport some way. The last flight of the night was cancelled. She was stuck.

Meredith sit with her bag beside her, her foot hanging over the side of it as she listened to the resonating sound of the woman from the airline clicking the microphone back into place. She swallowed hard as she tried to control her frustration and her anger at the weather. She took a slow deep breath as she stared at the big red 'Cancelled' sign flash onto the screen. Her eyes moved slowly to the seat next to her, a sea of pink fleece and yellow puppies, wrapped around the most precious package that she could have imagined.

She looked at her daughter's sleeping eyes, the way they danced beneath her eyelids, the way her tiny pink lips fastened on to the thumb that had been firmly planted in her mouth. She couldn't rush to the counter, and she wasn't about to wake her daughter, finding herself in an aggravated limbo, sitting on an uncomfortable chair in an airport in the middle of nowhere.

She looked around the terminal; the numbers of people had diminished greatly as they had already disappeared to find their alternative plans. Meredith had no alternative plans, she had no money to find a hotel, and she had no family in the area. It was the day before Christmas eve, and she sit alone staring at the Christmas tree across the terminal wishing that there was some other way.

She wanted to cry. She wanted to scream. She wanted to get home. Her eyes scanned the seats and eventually they settled on the back of a man's head as he sit directly across from her, several rows of seats away. His back was to her and all she could see was the back of his head. He, like she… had not moved an inch since the announcement. His thick dark hair was mussed, and he looked like he had been traveling a lot that day. He just sat with his back to her not moving a muscle. She wondered what his story was about.

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Meredith stared at the Christmas tree for nearly an hour, the lights twinkling in the dull airport terminal. It was nearing midnight and nearly everyone had emptied the lone hallway. There was an airline person here and there, but not really anyone other than that. She stared at the Christmas tree until a person from the staff walked behind it and pulled the plug on the brightly colored tree, sending it into a state of dull limbo, just as she had turned into. She turned her head and once again was entranced by the head of the man in front of her. His head had lolled to the side slightly, and it was obvious that he had fallen asleep in his chair. Her attention was on the back of his thickly covered head, and her eyes moved slightly to the side again as her daughter moved within her blanket.

She reached her hand over and felt the soft cover of fleece covering her little girl, her thumb having slipped from her mouth as it lie open slightly. Meredith smiled slightly at the innocent look on the child's face, the slight smile at the corners of her lips as she dreamed tender dreams of happiness and fun, her voice moving through Meredith's head as she pictured that now stationary mouth of hers moving a mile a minute in anticipation for Christmas, for Santa, for happiness and for gifts. Her eyes moved down to the large bag beneath the seat, filled with gifts for the little girl. She had traded off her suitcase of warm clothes for the safety of the gifts that she now held in her carryon bag. Clothes she could replace, gifts were a luxury.

Her attention was then caught by movement across the terminal, across the several rows, but not by the man, the seat beside the man. He saw movement in the chair as the man continued to sit silently, obviously sleeping. "Oh…" She whispered to herself as she saw a bushy head of black hair poke up in the chair beside the man. The next thing she knew, two blue eyes were peeking from the top of the chair, looking directly at her. She didn't want to get his attention, the man she assumed to be his father had obviously mistakenly fallen asleep, and the last thing she wanted to do was send him in a panic because his son is not sitting beside him when he wakes up. In her thoughts though, she watched him turn his head, glancing at his father, he tipped his head to the side as he stared at his face. He didn't tap him or try to wake him, he only watched him for a moment. His eyes then flashed to the hallway, and back to his father. "Oh…" She whispered again as she shook her head, thinking as only a mother could, that the poor thing had to go to the bathroom and didn't know what to do.

She watched helplessly as the little boy stood up, sliding from his chair he couldn't have been any more than three or four, dancing back and forth on his feet as he stood staring at his father. He was whimpering, and the longer he stood there dancing back and forth, the more desperate he seemed to be becoming. Meredith glanced to the side of her, where there was someone from the airline talking to another person from the airline, their attention completely away from them as the little boy whimpered. She could hear him saying 'Daddy' in the tiniest voice as he hopped a little more. Meredith looked to the little girl beside her and glanced back to the little boy. She didn't want to be accused of trying to kidnap the poor thing, but his agony was becoming way too much for her. So she did the only thing she could think to do.

She pulled her shoe from her foot, and glanced over at the two airline people. They moved their way down the hallway together, so enthralled in their conversation that they didn't even notice as she raised her hand. She closed her eyes and shook her head as she tried to get herself to stop, but it was too late. The shoe left her fingertips and she cringed at the sound of it hitting something across the way. She looked down and pretended to tend to her daughter as she swore at herself for her stupidity. "Idiot… stupid, stupid… stupid… stupid, idiot…" She mumbled to herself as she started to root through her purse, pretending she was looking for something, she glanced up and saw the man standing up, his hand on his head, rubbing his thick dark hair as the little boy danced around and pulled his father's hand toward the bathroom. With a quick look, his eyes flashed to Meredith as she looked back down into her purse, and when she looked back up, the man and child were gone and she stood up for a moment.

"Crap." She whispered to herself as she realized her shoe was gone too.

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Meredith closed her eyes and tried to figure out what to do. She was now alone in the terminal, her daughter sleeping soundly beside her, but she was down a shoe. She sat in her seat, wiggling her now bare toes she shook her head and rubbed her forehead for a long time, mumbling to herself as she sat in her seat sighing angrily. "I swear to God, Meredith… that has to have been the stupidest thing you have ever done in your entire life." She mumbled to herself as she swallowed, the vision of the shoe flying from her fingertips played over and over again in her mind. "Now look where you are… sitting in an airport… alone… with one shoe… idiot… stupid, stupid idiot…" She mumbled as she rubbed her hand over her face, opening them slowly, her eyes widened at the sight of her shoe being dangled in front of her face. She reached up to grab it, only to have it swung out of her reach. "Hey!" She exclaimed as she turned around, only to see the man who had once been sitting across from her smirking mischievously as he held her shoe in his hand.

"You know." He said. "In some cultures… you pull a stunt like that… and it's considered a marriage proposal." He said as he held the little boy's hand as he looked up at his father with a matching grin.

"Huh?" Meredith swallowed as she glanced to the little boy and Derek let go of his hand and grabbed his bag, rolling it around the front of the seat, he held fast to her shoe as the little boy followed his father. He wore a dark blue hoodie, his black hair sticking in all directions, his crystal blue eyes matching his father's, filled with sleepiness as the man set his suitcase to the side and smirked at the woman. "Are you going to give me my shoe back?" She asked as Derek shook his head.

"My shoe… this is my shoe…"

"Finder's keepers." The little boy nodded as he looked up at his father.

"Is this what you're trying to teach your son?" She asked with a confused glare, reaching out for her shoe.

"Oh, he's not my son…"

"I'm a monkey." The little boy said with a smirk.

"He's a monkey… he's a trained monkey named…. Um…"

"Raphael!" he exclaimed.

"That's a turtle." Derek replied.

"Oh. Um… Joe."

"He's a trained monkey named Joe… and this is my shoe." Derek smirked.

"I'm not amused, sir." She said as she reached for her shoe, only to have it pulled from her reach.

"No… I am amused…" Derek said as he watched his little boy for a moment as he leaned against Derek's leg. "See… we appreciate you waking me up to take Joe here to the bathroom."

"I reaaaally had to pee…" The little boy said with a little skip.

"He did… you would be proud… well, maybe not you… but… someone out there is holding a pee contest, and they would be proud… but anyway… and I thank you for getting my attention… because it could have been very messy…"

"Very, very messy…" The little boy shook his head as Meredith couldn't help but laugh a little.

"And you know… the shoe thing… great idea in concept…"

"Really… great idea…" The little boy nodded his head as he giggled.

"But in reality… seriously… that heel hurts…"

"That's what he says… he says it hurts." The little boy shook his head.

"Do you two always finish one another's sentences?" Meredith giggled as Derek shook his head and the little boy nodded his, Derek reached down and tapped the boy slightly and he shook his head too as he started to giggle.

"I didn't say he was a very well trained monkey…" Derek joked as Meredith giggled. "Anyway… So we were in the restroom talking… and we had to give you a name, because you know… there was this incident… that caused some pain…"

"You threw a shoe at him!" The little boy exclaimed.

"She did…" Derek nodded. "Well… I wanted to call you 'Miss hurl a shoe' and he wanted to call you 'Miss lets him pee' but… we talked for another minute and thought it'd be best if we just came over… and handed you your shoe and wished you a Merry Christmas."

"But first." The little boy giggled. "I'm Adam…" he said as he held his hand out to Meredith. Meredith looked up at Derek for a moment with a humored look as Derek shrugged.

"He's Adam." Derek nodded as Meredith reached for his hand and shook it gently.

"That's my dad… I call him daddy… big people call him Doc." He said with a smirk.

Derek went to reach his hand to Meredith as she extended her hand to shake his. Instead of his hand, however, Derek placed her shoe within her grip. She raised her eyes to his and watched a slow smile extend over his lips. "Thanks for the wakeup call." He said as he watched her nod as she took the shoe from his hand.

"I'm Meredith." She said with a soft smile to father and son as she held her shoe in her hand for a moment and watched Derek stand awkwardly for a moment.

"Well, Meredith…" Derek said as he nodded to the sleeping little girl. "And Mini-Meredith…" He said softly as his eyes softened at the sight of the sleeping girl. "We'll let you rest…" he said as he nodded toward the seats.

"Wait…" Meredith said as she reached for his hand, not thinking about what she was doing until she had his warm hand in hers. "I'm sorry…" she mumbled as she released it and looked up into his eyes as he tilted his head slightly. "Sit…" She said as she nodded toward the seat beside her, and the seat beside that. "Sit and talk… Doc…" She said as Derek smirked.

"Derek." He said with a sad smile.

"Sit and talk, Derek." She shrugged as she looked to the little boy. "Adam…" She shrugged as the little boy looked up at his father and tugged his arm.

He glanced to Meredith and smiled. "Excuse us, Ma'am." He said softly as Derek gave him a confused look for a second as he followed his son's tugging arm. He followed the little boy and crouched down as the little boy whispered to his father, his eyes flashing to Meredith as she dropped her shoe to the floor and slipped her foot into it. Derek chuckled as he laughed and shook his head, lifting his boy into his arms, he whispered back, he walked back toward Meredith.

He sat down beside her and pulled the little boy into his arms as he tipped his head onto his father's shoulder. Meredith turned her head and glanced to Derek as he smirked at her from the seat right beside her. "What did he say?" Meredith whispered.

"He said we should sit next to you." Derek said as he smirked back at her, watching a humored confusion wash over her face. "He said… that way you won't have too far to throw your shoe." Derek said as he let out a hearty laugh, as Meredith couldn't help but giggle. The first time she had laughed like that in months, and it felt good.

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Adam's head rested on Derek's shoulder as he breathed softly, his eyes remaining on the woman sitting beside them as he curled his arms beneath his chest and cuddled into Derek. "You have a very beautiful little boy." Meredith said politely, watching Adam's crystal blue eyes light up at the mention of him.

"Thank you." Derek said with a soft nod as he gave her a sly grin. "People say he looks a lot like me… I think I'll take that as a compliment myself." He said as Meredith looked away and giggled. Her eyes flashed to his as she watched the mischievous glint within them.

"I don't think that's fair… I should be able to compliment both of you at the same time, without you taking credit for Adam's intended compliment."

"He gets that he's cute." Derek nodded. "Me… I don't get that much anymore… so he generally hands off those compliments to me." He said as he listened to her soft giggle. "Your little angel there looks quite comfortable in that chair…" Derek said as he watched the little girl as she slept curled in a tight ball in the seat beside Meredith. Her cheeks were bright red, her lips a dark pink as she suckled her thumb a little harder in her dream.

"Thank you." Meredith said softly. "She's had a very long day." Meredith said as she reached her hand down and touched the little girl's golden locks, a bit of perspiration beside her ear had soaked some of the strands as Derek admired the child with Meredith. "She has a little cold…" Meredith said softly as the tiny girl shifted in her sleep a little, groaning, her thumb lifting from her mouth as she let out a forceful hollow cough, she shifted as she coughed a little harder, trying to catch her breath. She opened her eyes as she finally stopped coughing as she grimaced. Her blue-grey eyes staring up at her mother as she whimpered.

"Mama…" She whimpered softly as she coughed a little more. Meredith reached for her and lifted her from her chair, feeling the heat radiating from her body as she coughed, Meredith held her tightly against her. "Mama… I'm cold…"

"I know, sweetie…" Meredith whispered as she felt her daughter's forehead and looked into her eyes, she could see that they were watery and sad, as she noticed that the man beside her mother was watching her closely. She turned her head and pressed it into her mother, facing away from Derek.

"It sounds like a little more than a cold…" Derek said with a concerned look, he watched as Meredith moved away slightly from him as she rocked her little girl.

"It's just a little cold…" She said softly as she kissed her daughter's head and rocked her as she leaned back on the seat, watching Derek as he resisted the urge to switch into doctor mode, even though his parent mode wasn't any less nosy.

"She has a fever… I'm taking her to the doctors when I get to Boston…" She said softly as she watched Derek. She half expected him to stand up and take his son as far away from them as possible, and was quite surprised when he didn't. Instead, he furrowed his brow and repositioned his son slightly.

"May I?" He asked as he reached his hand across to her daughter, he waited for Meredith to nod, and he placed his cool fingertips on her cheek. "She is burning up pretty badly…" Derek said softly.

"I've been trying to keep her hydrated… keep her resting… until I get to Boston…" Meredith whispered. "I just… have to get to Boston." She said as she trailed off slightly as Derek moved his hand from the little girl. While moving his hand away, he paused to touch Meredith's cheek. "You're feeling warm too…" He whispered as she turned her head out of his reach, she shook her head.

"I'm fine." She said as Derek nodded. He didn't want to upset her, but he was showing that he was genuinely concerned.

"Alright…" he said as he gave her a kind smile. "I think I've invaded your personal space enough for one day." He said as she couldn't help but smile at his kindness. She thought for a moment as she realized what had happened. She had allowed this stranger to touch her child's cheek without a second thought, and for a split second, she felt panicked. She had let her guard down, and her jaw clenched with the thought. Her eyes drifted from the stranger as she cuddled her daughter tighter, hearing her groan slightly from the movement, she kissed her head. "Hey…" Derek said softly as he tried to get her attention without jarring her from her reverie. Her head turned slowly as their eyes met once more. "Are you visiting family in Boston?" He asked as he watched her stare at him blankly for a moment.

She hadn't fully recognized his question as it slipped from his lips, it took her just a second. "Huh?" She asked as she shook her head, pushing the fog from her mind as she focused on the man beside her.

"For Christmas…" He said as he finished his sentence. "Are you visiting family in Boston for Christmas?"

"Um… oh… yeah, I'm visiting my mother." Meredith said, swallowing hard as she watched him scrutinizing her answer.

He immediately felt guilty for asking her the question, rationalizing that she was probably just tired, but she was seemingly giving off a conflicting vibe of 'please talk to me', and 'leave me alone creep.' He smirked a little as he tilted his head. "We don't have to talk if you don't want to…" He said softly, watching her eyes move to his for a moment of pause.

"No…" She said as she shook her head and gave him a kind smile. "No… it's alright… I'm just… I don't… typically, I don't talk a lot about myself." She said as she felt her daughter push into her a little more. "Why don't you tell me a little about you…?" She said with a smile. "Tell me why two handsome young men are traveling across the country all alone…" She said, her smile becoming a little wider as Derek's smile slipped onto his lips.

"Ah… flattery…" He said as he listened to her giggle. "So you want to hear our story, huh?"

"I do." She said as she nodded.

"Alright…" He said with a smile as he watched her attention on him become slightly more apparent as she shifted in her seat and watched him. Adam closed his eyes against his father's chest, and Derek took a slow deep breath. "Well…" He said as he glanced toward the darkened Christmas tree across the hall. "I'm Derek Shepherd… I'm a surgeon." He said as he nodded toward Meredith, whose eyebrows raised, and she smiled a little. "I… grew up in New York… and moved to Seattle about a year ago… I married my high school sweetheart…" He said as his eyes drifted again. "We married after… um… after I got out of medical school… to make sure I finished, you know?" He said with a slight chuckle.

"What is her name?" Meredith whispered as she realized how inappropriate her question was, and that she was interrupting his story. "I'm sorry…" She said as she smiled and shook her head. "I'm bad at having stories told to me…" She giggled.

"No…" He said softly. "It's fine. Her name was Anna." He said softly. He watched her eyebrows raise again, as if she wanted to ask a question. "Yes… was…" He said with a sad chuckle. "She… was diagnosed with lung cancer… about five years ago… and she fought it… and was in remission… when she became pregnant with Adam." He said softly as he swallowed hard.

"Oh, Derek…" She said softly as she touched the stranger's arm as he told his story.

"No… it's alright…" He said through misty eyes. "I mean… it has taken a lot of therapy… but I can get through the story…" He said with a slight chuckle as Meredith could feel her own eyes misting up. "She um… she was about two months pregnant… when she found out the cancer was back… with a vengeance." He said softly. "Um… she had an option of… terminating… and undergoing treatment." He said as he swallowed hard. "But… she said… she told me that… she knew that she wouldn't be around forever… especially if the cancer kept coming back stronger than before." He whispered. "And she came to the decision… to go as long as she could… because she wanted there to be someone there for me… someone who was a part of her, and me... and um… She gave birth to Adam nearly six months later…" He whispered. "And died… a week before he was able to leave the hospital." He said as he took a deep breath.

"Oh my goodness…" Meredith said softly as she shook her head, tears rolling down her cheeks as she covered her mouth with her hand. "Oh that is just…"

"It's a miracle." Derek said softly as he rubbed his son's back and raised his hand to wipe his tear. "That's all I can say about it…he's my miracle..." He said as he shrugged, trying to remain strong. "So… it's always been him and me… traveling… me working… About a year ago I got a job out in Seattle… and I packed up and moved out there." He said as he took a deep breath and released it slowly. "So… my mom was pretty upset when I took Adam and moved clear across the country… but it's a terrific job… and Adam has a lot of friends out there… we're on our way to my sister's place in Boston for Christmas eve… and then we were going to drive over to my mom's place in the evening and stay there for Christmas morning… we do that every year… Mom hasn't seen Adam for a while, so it's a treat for her." He said as he nodded his head and smiled. He watched Meredith as she tried to keep her composure during his story, his eyes implored her as he tilted his head forward a little. "How about you… what's your story?" He asked with a polite smile as Meredith shrugged.

"Um…" Meredith said softly. "There's not much there…" She said softly. "I was married also…" She nodded her head. "Up to… about three or four months ago… living here and there… my husband was a computer programmer, so we've lived pretty much everywhere…" She said as she watched Derek's eyes while she spoke, his light blue windows letting her in completely. She paused for a second. "He… um… about four months ago, Rick was in a car accident…" She said as Derek tilted his head and listened more intently. "He um… he went into a coma… and I had to um… make the decision to pull him from life support." She said as she swallowed.

"It's a very difficult thing to do." Derek nodded as she gave him a sad smile as she nodded in agreement.

"His family wasn't very… understanding of it all… and I had to spend all of my money on his funeral expenses and bills… mortgage… Last month it all kind of came to a head… you know, it came to be too much… everything reminded me of him, so I just got out of there. I sold the house and the car, and packed up myself and Emma… and decided to go home." She shrugged.

"Tough decisions to make." Derek said softly as he nodded his head. "Going from completely independent to dependent is not an easy task." He replied.

"No…" She said softly as she shifted the little girl in her arms. She stared at the floor for a moment as she suddenly felt his hand resting delicately on her shoulder. She turned her head slowly as he gave her a supportive smile.

"I'm sorry for your loss." He said as he chewed on his lower lip slightly, his eyes sending her his sincere sympathy even clearer than his voice.

"I'm sorry for your loss…" She said as she tried her best to convey the same message to him that he had given to her. Derek read her thoughts and sympathies loud and clear as he watched her move her eyes back to the floor. She stared at the boring design in the floor for a very long time, a soft, delicate silence floating between them as he watched her shake her head just slightly, as if she were unsure of the risks she had taken by telling this stranger her situation. And he didn't know why, and he had no idea what she was thinking, but when the stranger beside him tilted her head just slightly in his direction, his arm moved to embrace her around her shoulder, and her head tipped to the side, resting on his shoulder, and before he could move an inch, she had closed her eyes against him, and drifted off.

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Meredith moved slightly in her sleep, a soft sigh escaping her lips as she moved her arms slightly. She felt cold as she pulled her daughter farther into her and pushed herself farther into the shoulder of the person against her, an arm extending around her body as she cuddled into the arm, her nose pressing into the person's chest as she suddenly realized amidst her exhausted state that she was pushing herself into a stranger. She stopped as she felt her heart begin to race, her cheeks burning in embarrassment as she tried to work through her exhausted mind a way to get out of his arms without embarrassing herself any farther.

She weighed her options. She could move casually and sit up, pretending that she had intended on cuddling the stranger beside her, which would be completely against everything she had worked so hard to build against. She could stand up and walk away, leaving him sitting confused and alone, walk away and try to avoid him in the empty airport until she could just get to Boston and get on with everything without ever seeing this man again. She could… Just as she was trying to finish her thought, she felt his hand move slightly along her arm, and felt a soft, gentle sigh move through his body. She suddenly felt very warm against him, her face burning, her toes tingling, and she realized that his arm was around her. She tried to remember when he had put his arm there, because she had obviously not pushed her way into his arms, he had done it out of his own accord, he had made that move, not her, it was him that was being… kind.

Derek could feel Meredith stiffen in his arms, his eyes flashing to the clock on the screen. It was nearly four o'clock in the morning and he had sat with one arm securely around his son, and his other around this exhausted stranger that he couldn't help but feel connected to. He could feel her fever radiating through her clothes, warming his skin, he could feel her pushing herself into him over the past four hours, his eyes remaining open, his thoughts in a million different places as he stood guard over the young woman and her child as he let them both sleep. He had felt her stiffen in his arms, and he realized that she must have woken, realizing that she was in the arms of a stranger, he figured she had no idea what to do next.

He sighed a very soft, slow sigh, moving his hand across her arm, he tried to comfort her into relaxing again, only to feel her stiffen a little more. He stopped moving his hand and swallowed hard as he stared across at the Christmas tree across the hallway. "Hey." He whispered, his voice was full of a sleepy grumble, but there was a level of kindness that made his cheeks warm. He could feel the heat of her body pressing into his, her fever was evident, but she hadn't shown signs of feeling it. She moved slightly, her lips parting as she gave a resistant groan of achiness. "Hey…" He whispered again as he rubbed her arm slightly, trying to get her to sit up. "Meredith?" He whispered, her name falling from his lips delicately like a newly fallen snow, flittering through the air with no end in sight, until it drifted into her ears and sent a chill through her fever ravaged body. "Meredith…" He whispered again as she finally lifted her head, her eyes were red and tired, the rings beneath her eyes were dark and sad, her pale complexion looked even more pale against the bright redness in her cheeks. "You look really sick…" He shook his head as he swallowed, watching as she pulled away from his arm and stared into his eyes for a moment. She looked like she was somewhere between crying her eyes out, and picking up and running away from him. "Are you alright?" He whispered as she nodded her head and bit the corner of her lip. She turned her head toward the chair beside her and then to Derek as he lifted his arm from around her.

She swallowed hard as she stared at her bags for a moment, and then glanced to the chair beside her. She lifted her head and looked at Derek, very obviously weighing her options. She pulled her daughter into a cradling position, depositing her tiny body into the chair beside her, she turned her back to Derek as she pulled the little girl's fleece blanket around her tighter, running her fingers through the little girl's golden hair as she leaned down and kissed her forehead, watching as the little girl didn't even move in her sleep, only opened her mouth a little wider so that she could breathe through it loudly, a low snore sliding from her tiny body, sounding so foreign and loud.

"Let me get her a cool cloth." Derek said as he moved slightly. He stood up as he watched Meredith tend over the little girl. Her eyes lifted to his as she looked at him desperately, but at the same time her eyes told him not to leave her. "I'll be right back…" He whispered as he repositioned his son in his arms. "Can you watch my bags?" He asked as she gave him a confused look at first, and then nodded gently at him. "I'll be right back." He whispered as he gripped Adam tightly and took a step away. He glanced to her for a moment, and stepped forward. In one quick movement, he crouched down and grabbed her shoe from her foot. She squeaked as a chill ran up her body at the surprise of his movement, and she couldn't help but let a small smirk rise on her lips as she watched him give her a faux suspicious look. "Collateral." He said with a wink as she let her mouth drop slightly, watching as he turned sharply and made his way to the men's room while holding his son in his arms.

Meredith touched her daughter's head and ran her fingers through her hair. "Oh, baby…" She whispered as the little girl moved against her mother's hand. "I am so sorry…" She whispered. "I'm so sorry that you're sick, little one… I'm so sorry…" She swallowed hard as she felt the soreness of her own throat sting, her hand raising to touch her forehead, she could feel the sweat against her skin. "When we get to Boston baby… we'll take care of you… we'll get you all better…" She whispered as a shadow appeared at her side. She looked up and before she even saw his face, he was crouched down beside her, Adam's arms wrapped around his neck as the little boy slept soundly as his father cradled his tiny body carefully with one arm, leaving his other arm free to hand Meredith the cloth.

"One cool cloth… as ordered…" He said softly as Meredith gave him a grateful smile. "Okay… not ordered…" he whispered as he looked to Meredith before he touched the little girl's forehead. She glanced to him and he gave her a worried look as she handed him the cloth. "It doesn't feel too high…" He whispered. "But you're going to have to get her to a doctor soon… you're going to need one too…" He whispered as she nodded. He took the cool, wet paper towel and very gently placed it on the little girl's forehead, and watched as she shifted in her sleep slightly. "Poor little thing…" He whispered in a tender voice as Meredith touched her little fingers as she shifted in her sleep.

"She's all I have." Meredith whispered, mostly to herself as she ran her hand down the little girl's face gently, and leaned in to kiss her softly. "I love you, baby…" She whispered as she felt Derek stand up beside her, and move away as he walked to the seats beside their bags. She could see out of the corner of her eye how gently he placed his son in the chair, watching as the little boy curled into a ball on the seat.

"Look at that… you fit perfectly…" Derek said in a funny whispering voice as Meredith giggled a little and wiped a tear from her eye as she watched him glance to her with a humored smirk. She watched as he pulled a blanket from atop his bag and covered the little boy with it, leaning down to kiss his cheek, he stood up and raised his arms above his head in a big stretch, yawning as he rubbed his eyes. He noticed after a moment, that Meredith was watching him, and he turned on his heel. "I have an idea." He said as he reached his hand to her. "Hand me your other shoe…" He said as she furrowed her brow.

"You already have one…" She said as she shook her head.

"I know, I know… hand me the other one…" He said as she shook her head. "Oh, come on… trust me." He said as he bounced on his heels a little, reminding her of a little kid who was impatient for something, she giggled.

"Fine…" She said as she pulled her other shoe off, leaving her feet clad only in stockings as he put the shoes in his back pocket and walked away. "Hey… where are you going?" She asked as she realized that her other shoe was in his other back pocket.

"I didn't want you to throw the other one at me." He teased as he walked across the hallway. She laughed and shook her head as she turned and sat down. She looked up and watched as Derek lifted the Christmas tree from across the hallway off the ground.

"Derek?" She asked as he just smirked at her, looking up and down the hallway, he walked across toward her. "Derek, what are you doing?" She asked as she looked down at Emma and then back up at Derek.

"I told you… I have an idea…" He said as he winked at her.

"You're going to get in trouble…" She said as she watched him drag the Christmas tree past her, depositing it about ten feet away, by the wall. He grabbed the cord and pulled it to an available outlet. He grinned like a little boy as he put the plug in the outlet and the lights on the tree lit up his smile ten times more than it already was.

"I'm not going to get in trouble…" He said as he grinned as he turned and looked to Meredith. "Hey… hand me that bag over there…" He said as he pointed to the large duffel bag beside the carryon.

"This one?" She asked as she pointed to it. He nodded and she lifted it from the ground, carrying it to him, she stood beside him as he took it from her, thanking her. She glanced to the kids and to the hallway, and then glanced to Derek, who was unzipping the bag as he knelt beside the tree. "What are you doing?" She asked, a slight giggle in her voice as she watched him pull something from the bag.

"We're going to have Christmas, goddamn it." he whispered as she gave him an odd look. "Gifts… I'm going to get the gifts out…" he said as he looked up at her and pulled another gift from the bag.

She gave him a strange look at first and he was about to give up and put the tree back, when suddenly her face lit up. "Seriously?" She asked.

"Seriously…" He nodded. "Do you have anything for the princess?" He asked as Meredith nodded excitedly. "Well go get it… we don't want Adam to be the only lucky kid to have an airport Christmas." He said jokingly as Meredith laughed and ran toward her bags, the achiness and feverish feeling pushed away, as her Christmas spirit began to come alive.

Meredith rushed over with her bag and Derek helped her empty the presents beneath the tree, until the underside of it was filled with wrapped packages. "We're going to get into so much trouble…" Meredith shook her head as she glanced at the children one more time, before looking to Derek. She watched as the Christmas lights glittered in his crystal blue eyes, the way even his sadness was now overtaken by a strong gust of happiness for the season, for giving, for thankfulness.

The thought of the look on his son's face when he wakes up and sees those gifts beneath the tree made all the difference in the world. All of his sadness had been swept away, his sorrow gone. The woman beside him had awakened something deep within him that he probably never would have thought of otherwise, and the worst Christmas ever, was quickly transforming into something different, something better, something bigger. He glanced to the young woman beside him as her eyes sparkled in the lights, her smile was sad, but still triumphant as she shook her head in wonderment. He smirked as he turned his head. "One more thing." He said as she gave him a confused glance. "The finishing touch." He said as he gave her a devilish grin. He reached behind him and pulled out one of her shoes from his pocket, and before she could argue, he had lifted it high above her head and placed it firmly atop the tree.

"Derek!" She exclaimed with a giggle that warmed him from head to toe.

"What?" He asked as he shrugged and laughed with her for a moment as she shook her head in faux disapproval. "I think it's perfect." He said with a laugh as he looked at her shoe atop the tree, and glanced to the children who lay sleeping soundly.

Meredith's eyes traveled to the children as well as she then turned her head to Derek and smiled. "It is…" She whispered. "It is perfect." She said as she swallowed, turning swiftly, before she could stop herself, she wrapped her arms around the stranger, and he wrapped his around her, as she buried her head in his chest and began to cry.

-------------

Derek held the crying strangers in his arms for several moments, his hands gently running circles in her back as he moved his head down to let his nose rest gently among her golden locks as she trembled in his arms. He whispered that everything was alright, that she could cry if she needed to, when suddenly she pushed her hands into his chest and stomped off toward the chair where her daughter lay sleeping. She was still crying as she reached the chair, sitting down, she continued to cry.

"Meredith?" Derek whispered as he stood by the tree for a moment longer before reaching up to grab her shoe from the top, he pulled the other shoe from his back pocket and walked to her. She sat in her chair, her face in her hands as she continued to cry, refusing to look at him. As he approached her, he knelt down before her, his eyes lifting to her slumped and trembling form as he avoided touching her lightly as he wanted to, just to soothe her. "Meredith…?" He whispered as he watched her ignore him, his eyes moved to her socked feet as she pulled herself tightly into the chair, her eyes covered by her hands.

He reached out tenderly for her foot, feeling a bit of resistance, he thought she may have the energy to kick him in the face, but after a moment she released her strength and allowed him to pull her foot lightly to him as he slipped her shoe onto it. He listened carefully, her sobs were lightening a bit as he reached for her other foot. "Meredith?" He whispered, letting her know that he was still there, that he was trying to be supportive, even if he had no idea what her story was completely. He felt connected to her in some way, and he could tell that she was hurting, he knew her pain. "Meredith…" He whispered as he touched her other foot. His hand cupped her heel lightly as she continued to cry into her hands. "Meredith… look at me for a second…" He said softly as he held her foot cradled in his hand. He watched as her eyes peeked from between her fingers and he smirked at her as he held her shoe in his hand. Her sobs had turned to hiccups, and their eyes locked for a moment. "Cinderella…" He said with a tilt of his head as he smirked and slipped her shoe onto her foot. "I'm sorry that I stole your shoe." He whispered as her hands moved down her face, and she watched the hopeful look in his eyes. "Do you want to call it even?" He asked as she swallowed hard and closed her eyes tightly for a moment. "Meredith?" He whispered.

"I…" She stammered in a high, sad voice. "I'm sorry that I… I…"

"Hey…" he said as he tilted his head and smirked. "I am just teasing…" He shook his head, knowing that she was in a delicate place with her emotions. "I shouldn't tease… but I do it… it's in my nature…" he winked as she gave him a sad smile. "Are you alright?" He whispered as she glanced to her daughter and sighed slowly.

"We're fine." She whispered as Derek shook his head.

"I didn't ask if you were fine… I mean, I'm fine… and I'm alright… but there was a time when I was fine and I wasn't alright… talk to me." He said as he sat in the chair beside her.

"I don't know you." She whispered as she rubbed the soft fleece of her daughter's blanket between her fingertips. "I don't know you, Derek. It wouldn't be appropriate for me to talk to you about this." She whispered.

Derek remained silent at her words, unsure of how to reassure her that a conversation between them could be healthy and help them through their problems and worries. He continued to kneel before her as she turned her head and stared directly into his eyes. Their eyes locked in a thought filled cloud as he swallowed hard and dared her beautiful eyes to light up. His eyes were bright and full of hope, and she wished for a moment that she could have that hope within her soul. She wanted to talk to this man. For some reason, his eyes made her want to tell him everything she had ever thought or felt in her entire life. She tried to push that thought aside, blaming it on the fact that she hadn't had anyone to talk to that wasn't her daughter for a very long time. Derek took a slow, deep breath. "May I hold your hand, then?" he whispered.

"Derek…"

"Sometimes it makes us feel better… to hold someone's hand… anyone's hand…" He said with a swallow. "You see it in the hospital all the time… patient's holding a doctor's hand, a nurse's hand… they don't know them… but it makes them feel better." He shrugged.

"Are you saying that I need a doctor, Derek?" She asked, a hint of mischief in her eyes as she watched him shake his head.

"No…" he shrugged. "But I do think that you need a friend." He said softly.

"So you want to be my friend?" She asked.

"If you didn't mind having a shoe stealing neurosurgeon single father with a tendency to make really lame jokes that half the time don't make any sense." Derek shrugged. "As a friend."

"You mean as opposed to having a neurotic, crying, whiney single mother, shoe throwing medical student with no money, no direction, and no family… as a friend?" Meredith asked.

"I don't think I could do much better than that…" Derek replied with a smirk.

"Oh, I think you could do a lot better than that…" Meredith said with a slight giggle.

"I wouldn't want to try." Derek said as he held his hand to hers. "May I hold your hand?" He whispered. "As a friend."

"As a friend?" She whispered.

"Of course." Derek said, as he reached his hand a little farther, and she met him halfway, reaching her hand to his, they met and gripped tightly to one another, as their eyes locked in a sleepy, intense stare that both were too afraid would disappear if they looked away.

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Meredith and Derek sat together on the chairs in the terminal, silent and seemingly content as there was the start of some action around them. Airport staff and some other customers were now milling about, and Derek glanced to his companion as she sit with her head crooked on his shoulder, her eyes closed in a gentle slumber. He saw movement from the other side of her and tilted his head forward to see the little girl moving around.

She sat up in the chair, her blonde locks messy and matted as she lifted herself up slightly. "Mama?" She whispered, noticing that Meredith had fallen asleep, her eyes passed to the stranger beside her mother, and she hid her face when she realized he was watching her.

"Oh…" Derek said softly to the little girl. "Don't be frightened, Emma." Derek said, remembering the little girl's name from her mother's conversation. He watched as the little girl's eyes peeked out from around her mother, cautious as she watched him. "I'm Derek…" He whispered with a gentle smile as he tried to gauge her anxiety. He could see from her eyes that she was sick, and tired. He could see fear and uncertainty within her eyes as well. She sat back suddenly, and let out a loud bark of a cough, her hands moving to her mouth as the cough seemed to push her against the seat as the hollow sound filled the airport. "Are you alright, sweetheart?" Derek said softly as she looked up at him with a pained expression, her lips smacking slightly.

"My froat hurts…" She whimpered in a sad, soft voice that nearly broke Derek's heart.

"Your throat hurts?" Derek asked as the little girl shook her head. "Do you want something to drink, sweetheart?" He asked, watching her nod her head as she glanced to her mother and back to Derek. "Here…" He said softly. "You stay right there, and I'm going to run over to that machine over there and get you some water." He said softly as he nodded toward the vending machine. He very gently moved, tipping Meredith's head slightly so that she was still sitting upright as he carefully stood up. The little girl sat cross legged in her seat as he held his finger to his lips as to indicate not to wake up Meredith.

He tiptoed slightly, watching the little girl as she let out a giggle. He smiled as he stepped across the hallway to the vending machine and pulled out his wallet. He started to put money in the machine, not paying attention to across the hallway, when suddenly he heard a little girl's voice.

"OH MY GOSH! Mommy! You have to wake up!" Emma exclaimed. Derek turned his head to see the little girl shaking her mother.

"Oh… no…" Derek said with a slight laugh to himself, only because he knew what the commotion was about. He watched as Meredith sat up straight, grabbing her daughter's arm lightly as if to keep her from disappearing. She stared into her eyes as the little girl pointed toward the tree and bounced a little, her sickness was wearing her down, but the sight of the Christmas gifts under the tree lifted her spirits tremendously.

"Mommy! Santa came! Look!" The little girl exclaimed as she pointed and hopped. "Santa came!"

Meredith's eyes moved to the tree and she acted surprised as she looked to the tree, only making the little girl hop on her heels a little more. He watched as Meredith suddenly started to look around, her eyes darting this way and that as they moved in his direction as he stood at the vending machine holding the bottle of water that he had just purchased. He lifted his hand and waved a little, as she lifted hers and waved back, her fingertips waggling slightly as she looked away, back to her daughter.

"Can we go open presents? Can we go open presents?" She asked as she hopped about and smiled.

"It looks like someone has a little more energy…" Derek's voice interrupted them slightly as the little girl went quiet and looked up at him curiously again.

He crouched down to her level and smiled. "Emma…" Meredith whispered as the little girl's eyes went to Meredith. "This is…"

"That's Derek." Emma said as she smiled slightly at him.

Meredith looked over at him with a confused expression as he handed her the bottle of water from the vending machine. "We're old friends." Derek said with a nod as the little girl smiled slightly and handed the bottle back to Derek, who twisted the cap and handed it back to her. She held it with two hands as she sipped from it. He looked up when he saw movement in the other chair, and smiled slightly. "It looks like someone else is ready for Christmas." Derek said with a smirk as he watched his son's head pop up, his dark locks messy and sticking up, his bright blue eyes darting to his father as he looked at him sleepily.

"I didn't go anywhere, bud." Derek said as the little boy gave his father a sleepy smile. "Emma…" Derek said as the little girl looked up at him. "That's Adam."

The little girl turned her head toward the little boy as he waved with a little smile. "Hi Adam." The little girl whispered as she started to cough again, her hand gripping her mother's sleeve as she tried to catch her breath.

Derek watched for a moment, as his son's eyes finally made their way to the Christmas tree, and he nearly leaped from his chair. "Awesome!" he exclaimed as he jumped to the ground. "Daddy, look!" He exclaimed.

"What?" Derek asked, feigning confusion as the little boy ran toward the tree.

"Santa came! He came to the airport, Daddy! You said he'd wait to get to grandma's house, and he came here! You were wrong, daddy! You were so wrong!" The little boy exclaimed happily as Derek looked to Meredith as she giggled.

"What are you giggling at?" Derek teased as she giggled a little more. "Oh… you're just reveling in the 'daddy being wrong' thing, I know you are…" Derek teased as she laughed a little harder. Emma sipped the water and looked at her mother, her eyes were filled with happiness, that seemed to overshadow the sickness that they all knew she was feeling. "Shall we?" He asked, reaching his hand for Meredith, who glanced to the tree and back to Derek, reaching her hand up, she took his hand softly and allowed him to pull her up, as the three of them walked toward the Christmas tree and Adam. Derek turned and released her hand, walking to their chairs, he grabbed their bags and belongings, and brought them all toward the Christmas tree, as he rushed back over to stop Adam from opening all of the gifts as he walked around the tree, shaking gifts.

Meredith watched Derek put the bags beside a closer chair, and she watched the two children grinning excitedly. "I want to open one!" Emma said happily as she moved toward her mother, taking her hand, Meredith pulled her close as she sat down on the worn carpet beside the tree, reaching for one of the gifts that she knew was Emma's.

"Alright… here is your first gift…" She said as she felt her daughter's forehead as she sat down, feeling the heat in her skin, she was happy that her daughter was moving around a little.

"Adam?" Derek said as Adam ran to Derek and sat down beside him as Derek started to sit down. "Here you go…" he said with a smile as Adam reached for the gift and the two kids tore into their gifts happily.

The children exclaimed their happiness at their gifts, laughing and talking about Santa and Christmas. The sadness and sickness was all thrown to the side, as things seemed to be looking up. They opened each gift quickly, exclaiming their excitement as Derek and Meredith talked and laughed together as well, the two children giggled together and seemed to get along very well together as they compared toys and stories of Santa Claus.

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At one point during the gift opening, Derek moved closer to Meredith, sitting beside her on the floor beside the Christmas tree, he leaned into her slightly and handed her a gift. "Here…" he said with a smile. "This one is for you."

"For me? You don't even know me…" She giggled.

"So? I must have knew I was going to meet you today… because I bought this just for you." He teased.

"You're being ridiculous…" She said shyly as she shook her head.

"Oh, just open it… you'll love it."

She shook her head and laughed, kindly taking the package from Derek's hand. She gave him a humored, disapproving look as she began to tear the wrapping from the package. She pulled the gift out and gave Derek a humored expression

"What?" He asked with a slight smile on his lips as he shrugged. He glanced to the kids as they played with the toys they had already opened, talking to one another and playing as kids can, without worries of self consciousness or fear of rejection. They eased into play naturally as Derek glanced to Meredith and smiled.

"What is it?" She asked as she tilted her head at the box.

"It's… here… see… I saw it, and I thought that you'd like something a little slinky for Christmas." He shrugged, pulling the metal spring toy from it's box.

"Slinky?" She asked as she gave him an incredulous look and shook her head. "You thought I'd like something Slinky for Christmas?" She asked as she watched his cheeks turn a bit red in embarrassment for his joke, not thinking that it may be a tad inappropriate to tell a complete stranger that. He swallowed hard and opened his mouth to respond, but before he could, she had grabbed it from his hands.

"It's cold outside…" She said with a playful giggle. "I think a slinky is more of a 'spring' item than Christmas." She said as it took Derek only a split second, but he was then laughing along with her as her cheeks turned a light pink as she laughed harder, leaning her head on his shoulder as he put his arm around her slightly in a friendly gesture. "Thank you for the gift." She said with a smile as she watched him. "Um… here…" She said as she lifted a random gift from the two or three remaining wrapped gifts and handed it to him.

"You don't know what it is, do you?" He said as she shrugged.

"Luck of the draw." She shrugged back as he laughed. Emma looked up as he turned the gift in his hands, Adam stood up and walked around behind his father as they all watched Derek glance at Meredith before slipping his finger under the wrapping. He carefully tore the wrapping and tape away from the gift, and lifted the gift in the air as he and Meredith both let out a loud laugh.

"That's a doll!" Emma exclaimed. Partly in surprise, partly in dismay as she looked to her mother. "Mommy, you gave him a doll for Christmas?"

"Haha! Daddy has a doll!" Adam laughed as he pointed at the little pink dress clad doll in Derek's hands as Derek's ears turned a deep shade of red and he started to laugh. Meredith giggled along with him as he chuckled at the gift.

"I think this is for you, sweetheart." Derek said as he handed the gift to Emma, whose smile lit up her face and she laughed.

"Thank you, Derek!" She exclaimed as she snatched up the doll and cradled it in her arms as Derek smiled.

"I think this is for you, Adam…" Meredith said with a smile as she handed the slinky to Adam, who smiled and shook his head.

"No, no… Merry Christmas to you, Meredith." He said. "You can keep the slinky. It was a gift from Daddy and me." He said with a smile as he turned around. "Besides… I got my rocket toy!" He exclaimed as he held up a little plane that had a button to drop small missiles. He grinned as he pushed the button, sending a missile falling to the ground with a 'bomb' sound, the little boy exclaiming a big explosion as Meredith glanced to the slinky and smiled.

"Thank you, Adam." Meredith said with a smile as she glanced to Derek. "Thank you, Derek." She said politely as Derek shook his head and laughed.

"It's the least I could do." He said with a laugh as he smiled.

"Excuse me…" An airport employee said as she walked to the laughing group. "You're going to have to put that tree back across the hallway… I don't know why it's over here…" She said a little confused by the goings on.

"Oh… of course, I'll put it back in a minute…" Derek nodded as he winked to Meredith who giggled. "Also… I need to make sure that our tickets are ready for this morning, are the planes able to take off this morning."

"Everything should just be about on schedule sir." She said politely. "Just put the tree back, and we'll be sure to take care of you."

"Thank you." Derek said as the airport employee walked away. Derek looked to Meredith, who giggled. "What?" He asked as she continued to giggle.

"I told you that you were going to get in trouble…" She said as Derek shook his head and laughed.

"Yeah… well… I'm going to tell them it was your idea…" He said with a chuckle as he stood up and stepped back, missing Meredith's half hearted swipe to smack his leg, as he laughed and went to move the tree back.

-------------------

Derek moved the tree across the hallway as Meredith pulled Emma's gifts from the floor and carefully placed most of them in the bag that they had been in when they were wrapped. He went to the counter to double check his reservation on the first available flight, and then turned to watch Meredith for a moment. She was crouched down picking up toys as she watched her little girl sit on the chair nearby their bags, cradling her doll in her arms as she talked sweetly to it. She glanced up to see Derek walking toward her, a smile on his face as he approached Adam. He lifted his own bag from the floor and began to pack away his son's gifts.

"Daddy, I can't believe Santa came to the airport…" He said with a smile as he helped his father put the gifts in the bag, his eyes lifting to meet Meredith's as she gave him a knowing smile.

"He must have known you have been an extra good boy this year." Derek shrugged as he ruffled his son's hair as the little boy smiled. "Are you going to keep that toy with you?"

"Yes! It's my favorite." He said with a grin as he ran over toward their bags and climbed into the chair next to Emma. The airport was starting to fill with more people, bustling to find their gates for the first flights of the morning.

Derek was lifting up another toy, placing it in the bag as he noticed two familiar shoes stepping up to him. He looked up and smiled as he stood up and came face to face with her. He zipped up the bag and watched her glance to the two children as they talked and showed one another their gifts. "Thank you for the beautiful Christmas." She said politely as she watched his eyes look into hers, sparkling.

"Thank you for a beautiful Christmas." He said back to her as he watched her cheeks turn a slight shade of pink as she gave him a soft smile. He could see that her eyes were watering, but he was unsure if it was because she was being emotional, or if it was from her cold. He glanced to the little girl as she started to cough, leaning slightly as she tried to catch her breath, he turned quickly away from Meredith and crouched down to her, watching her take a deep breath and cough again, sending a wave of air across into his face as he touched her cheek. "Here…. Sit up… sit up a little more…" Derek said in a soothing voice as the little girl sat up. He reached up and touched her throat slightly, feeling the swollen lymph nodes, he tilted his head in concern as he watched the agony in the little girl's face.

"I wanna go home…" She whined as her coughing stopped, leaning her head on her doll as she stared into Derek's eyes.

"Don't worry, baby…" Meredith said softly as she lifted the bag to the seat beside her daughter as Derek looked up at her. "We'll be in Boston really soon… and then we'll go see the doctor." She said as Derek stood up, letting Meredith crouch before her daughter. "We'll be there very soon."

"Meredith, I don't think she should be flying like this…You should take her to see a doctor first." Derek said, blurting it out before he could catch himself, unsure of what her reaction would be, he watched as her head snapped up and she glared at him, before turning her attention back to the little girl.

"We'll be in Boston, and you'll get all better, baby… and mommy can get some medicine… and it'll be alright… it'll be alright, just a couple more hours." She said softly as she touched her daughter's cheek, feeling the heat in her skin radiating, she reached her hands out and felt the little girl's arms around her neck, she lifted her from the chair and turned, holding the little girl as she sat down in the chair, dipping her nose into the little one's soft curls. "We'll be there, and it'll all be better." She whispered as she noticed Derek still had not moved from his spot, she looked up at him and caught the concerned look in his eyes. "I can take care of it." She said coldly. "Thank you."

"Meredith… I don't think she should…"

"She'll be fine." Meredith said as she glared at Derek. "She will be fine, it's a couple of hours." Meredith said as she sat up with the little girl. She glanced to the counter and stood up, still holding Emma in her arms.

"Where are you going?" Derek asked as she snapped her head in his direction.

"I'm going to make sure I'm on that first flight." She said, shifting her daughter in her arms. She grabbed her bags carefully and glanced to Derek. "Derek, it was nice to meet you…" She said shortly, glancing to Adam. "Adam… It was very nice to meet you…"

"It was nice to meet you, Meredith." He said with a grin as he waved at her. "Bye…"

"Bye." Meredith said nicely to Adam, her eyes moving to Derek as she gave him a polite smile and walked past him toward the counter, her heavy bags dragging along with her, her daughter securely in her arms.

Derek watched Meredith as she walked away, Emma's body pressed against her mother's tightly, struggling to walk to the counter, though she walked with purpose and strength. He watched as she talked to the woman at the counter, nodding and giving her a polite smile as she typed into the computer, she watched the woman give her a set of tickets as she nodded. He glanced to the chair where his son was sitting, kicking his feet as they hung off the chair, his fingers fiddling with his new toy. Derek gave his son a half smile and sat down, moving his son's blanket slightly as he settled into his chair, his eyes going back to the counter. There was no sign of Meredith, she had slipped away in the moments of him finding a seat. He sighed softly as he shook his head, his eyes moving slightly around as he sighed.

"I liked her." Adam said as his eyes never left his toy.

"Who?" Derek asked, unsure if Adam was even talking to him.

"Meredith." He said as he looked up at Derek, his blue eyes sparkling. "She smelled pretty…like a mommy." He said happily, as he looked back down to his toy, his words seeping into Derek's mind as he sighed, settling in as they waited for their flight to be called.