Saved by the Shepherds

Chapter 6

Time jump - Meredith 8th grade, Derek highschool senior (sorry if the age gap doesn't make sense, I'm tired)

At school, Meredith was bullied a lot. Meredith was a small, scrawny kid for being nearly 14, and that meant that the girls liked to push her around. Often, she would go home with headaches after being pushed into lockers, or bruises after being kicked or punched.

Derek and Mark on the other hand were captains of the variety hockey team. They were the guys everyone wanted to be friends with. And not just because of their dreamy looks. Derek had grown into a fine young man, with gorgeous hair and a muscular build. Mark had grown into a fine young man as well, with curly brown hair and a gorgeous smile.

One day, Meredith came home and was surprised to see Derek and Mark on the couch. "What's up Mer!" Derek yelled from the couch with a smile. "Nothing much." Meredith mumbled in reply. She was having a really bad day. From getting a C on her math test, to getting thrown around by the girls at school, she was upset. "What's wrong with her?" Carolyn asked from the kitchen with concern. "Not sure." Mark replied. "I'll go check on her." Derek said as he stood up.

Despite their 4, almost 5 year age gap Meredith and Derek were quite close. Derek knocked on her door softly before entering and frowned when he saw her small form curled up in a ball on her bed. Derek slowly walked over and sat on the edge of the bed.

"What's wrong Mer?" Derek asked. "Nothing. Go away." Meredith mumbled. "No. What happened?" Derek asked. "Nothing. I'm fine." Meredith replied. "Meredith." Derek sighed. "It's...nothing. I got a bad grade on my math test. And then I occasionally get thrown into lockers it's no biggie." Meredith said non chalantly. "You what?" Derek yelled.

"It's not a big deal." Meredith said. "It is a big deal. How long have you been getting bullied?" Derek asked with concern. "A few months." Meredith muttered into her pillow. "Meredith." Derek said sadly. She turned and faced him on the pillow. "Is thst why you have bruises on your arms?" Derek asked. Meredith furrowed her brow. "How do you know that?" She asked.

"I can see them when you roll your sleeves up." Derek admitted. "Well..." Meredith trailed off. "I'll drive you to school tomorrow and pick you up instead of taking the bus." Derek said. "Okay." Meredith replied. "Okay, now I'm gonna teach you how to punch." Derek stated. "What? Why?" Meredith asked. "Mer, you can't let these girls push you around. You may be small but I know you can hit." Derek said with a chuckle. Meredith nodded. "So make a first, but make sure your thumb is on the outside. If it's not on the outside and you throw a punch it could break your thumb." Derek instructed.

Meredith formed her hand into a fist, thumb out and showed it to Derek. "Good. Now, when you punch, you want to make sure you throw it in a straight line so your point of impact is your knuckles. Try it on my shoulder." Derek said. Meredith hesitated for a moment before socking Derek in the shoulder. "Ow! Nice job." Derek exclaimed. "That's it?" Meredith asked. "That's it. Now, you know mom and dad don't condone fighting, but if theyre doing it to you, then you have to protect yourself." Derek said. "Okay." Meredith said with a smile.

"Thank you." Meredith said. "Anytime." Derek said with a smile. "Now come downstairs and watch the game with Mark and I." Derek said as he pulled Meredith up and led her downstairs.

After dinner that night, Derek and Mark helped Meredith with her math. Surprisingly, they were both super good at math. "So now all you did is divide the 9." Mark said. "By the square root of 121, right?" Meredith asked. "That's it kiddo." Mark said as he ruffled Merediths hair. Meredith smiled and finished her math homework. "Hey mom, I have a guest speaker coming in tomorrow. Can you fill out this form so I can participate?" Meredith asked. "Sure honey." Carolyn replied as she scribbled her signature. Meredith wasn't sure who the speaker was, but she was excited.

In the morning, Derek got into his car with Meredith and drove to the middle school. He purposely rolled down all the windows. He didn't want to admit it, but he knew that he was the most popular boy in high school and he knew that if he dropped off Meredith it would certainly help the bullies stay away. "Bye Mer. Have a good day, I'll pick you
Up after school." Derek said as she got out. "Bye Der." Meredith said as she walked into class. She could feel the eyes on her after being dropped off by the Derek Shepherd.

At school that day, the bullies stayed away from
Meredith and the guest speaker was about to come in. "And our guest speaker is...Dr Ellis Grey from Seattle Grace Hospital!" Her teacher announced. Merediths eyes snapped up and she immediately locked eyes with Ellis. Ellis' eyes widened and she immediately frowned.

Ellis tore her gaze away and she greeted the class. Meredith stood up from her chair and walked out of the class with her ohone. "Meredith!" Her teacher called. Meredith ignored her and ran to the bathroom. She got into a stall and sank down on the floor. She shakily pulled out her phone and dialed Carolyns number. "Meredith? What is it?" Carolyn asked softly, her voice oncr again laced with concern. "Can you pick me up?" Meredith asked with a shaky voice.

"What's wrong?" Carolyn asked. "Ellis is the guest speaker." Meredith cried. "Oh my. I'll come get you. Tell the nurse you have a stomach ache and I'll be right there. I'll talk to your teacher." Carolyn said softly as she hung up.

Meredith walked to the nurse. "What's wrong?" He asked. "I have a stomach ache." Meredith said. "Go lay down for a few minutes." The nurse said. She nodded and sat down on the table in the back.

Carolyn walked into the school quickly and made her way to the nurses office. Carolyn knew the effect that Ellis had on her. "Meredith?" Carolyn asked softly. "Mom." Meredith said as she stood up and quickly hugged her. Carolyn pulled the small girl against her and squeezed. "Let's get you home." Carolyn said softly.

The two were almost out of the building when they heard a voice. "Meredith." Ellis said. Meredith and Carolyn turned around and frowned. "What do you want?" Carolyn snapped. "I want to talk to my daughter." Ellis said. "I'm not your daughter." Meredith said sternly. "Yes you are." Ellis argued. "No, I'm not. If I were your daughter you wouldn't have abandoned me at a park. Go back to being a surgeon." Meredith said angrily as she turned around and walked aggressively out to the car. Carolyn smirked at Merediths outburst and walked out.

At home, Meredith ran to her room and punched her pillow over and over. Carolyn told everyone what happened and told them not to pry, but naturally Derek and Mark did. They made her get into the car and they took her to a gym. "Working out gets my anger out. Do whatever you wsnt." Mark said.

Truth was, it really did help, especially when Meredith got to punch the boxing bag.

Meredith may not have her biological mother and father, but the family she has is 100 times better than them.

Sorry, this is kinda a filler! Hope everyone's doing well.