Saved by the Shepherds

Chapter 9

Meredith sophomore in college (20), Derek sophomore in med school (25)

Christmas break came for the kids. Meredith, who went away to Colombia for college, was driving back home.

At college, Meredith was a party girl. Her roommate, Cristina Yang and her were bestfriends. They partied every Friday night and weekend, and studied together on school nights.

As she pulled into the driveway with Amelia after a very long flight, she braced herself for if she sees Addison and Derek. She turned her car off and grabbed her duffel bag out of the car. She opened the door to the house. "Meredith! Amelia!" Carolyns voice yelled from the kitchen as she came hurrying into the foyer. "Hi mom!" Meredith exclaimed as she put her bag down and threw her arms around Carolyn.

"I missed you guys! How's school?" Carolyn asked excitedly. "It's good. Busy." Meredith said as Carolyn ushered her into the living room where everyone else sat. "Mer! Amy!" Mark exclaimed as he stood up from the couch and brought them both in for a tight hug. "You grew up!" He said as he checked her out. Meredith slapped his arm playfully and smiled. "I did." Meredith agreed as Michael came over. Amelia greeted everyone else.

"Hi Mer!" He said as he hugged her. "Hi dad!" She exclaimed as she hugged him back.

She greeted the Shepherd sisters that visited with a big hug. Lizzie, Nancy, and Kathleen all lived with their husbands/boyfriends but came to visit, and amy was living on campus at Colombia near Meredith.

Meredith dropped her duffel bag in her old room and changed into a pair of sweats and a sweatshirt. From Columbia to Seattle, it was a 6 and a half hour plane ride.

When she got back downstairs, Derek was in the living room. "Hi Meredith." He said. "Hi Derek." She replied with a yawn. "Long flight?" Mark asked. She nodded and sat down next to him.

"Any boys at college Mer?" Lizzie asked. "Nope." Meredith said. "Different one every week." Amelia mumbled under her breath. Meredith jabbed Amelia in the ribs and she groaned. "What was that?" Michael asked. "Nothing." Meredith said quickly as she flashed a fake smile.

"How's school Mer?" Derek asked. "It's fine." Meredith replied shortly. She didn't know where their relationship stood.

"Is Addison coming?" Nancy asked with a frown. "No, but I have a question to ask you guys actually." Derek said nervously. "What is it?" Michael asked. "Would you guys help me go ring shopping? I think I'm ready." Derek asked. Everyone's jaws dropped in disbelief. "You want to marry her?" Amelia asked in disgust. Derek nodded. It hurt him that his family didn't support his relationship.

"I'll help." Mark said as no one spoke after a moment. Derek nodded sadly as he looked at Mer. "I domt know anything about rings." She said as an excuse. Truth be told, she loved rings, but she couldn't help Derek pick out another ring to propose with to another woman.

The conversation got quiet after that, and they soon moved on to a different subject. "How was your flight Mer?" Carolyn asked. "It was fine. I don't like flying." Meredith replied. "She held my hand the entire time." Amelia blurted. Meredith rolled her eyes.

"So schools going well all of you?" Michael asked. "Yes." They all replied. "What are your grades?" He asked. "All A's." Meredith replied, as did most of the others except for Amy, who had a B+.

"Guys, we should have a virtual game night every Friday night!" Carolyn exclaimed suddenly. "Mer is usually busy on Friday night." Amelia said with a smirk. "Doing what?" Carolyn asked with a raised eyebrow. "Studying. With Cristina." Meredith replied, a little too quickly. "More like partying." Mark mumbled. "You party?" Michael asked in surprise. Meredith slowly nodded. "What college student Doesnt party?" Meredith asked in defense.

It was a fair point, but Carolyn and Michael were not impressed. "Just make sure you always have a ride home." She sighed. "It's on campus. I'm fine." Meredith insisted.

Later that night,, they played a family board game of Monopoly since carolyns idea got shot down. Meredith sat next to Derek, and she was in the lead so far. "Pay up! You owe me $20 bucks!" Meredith yelled to Derek. He shook his head with a smirk. Meredith punched his arm and frowned, adorably. "Pay up!" She repeated louder. He shook his head again. "Derek Christopher Shepherd, give me your money now!" Meredith yelled as her brow furrowed.

He put his hands up in surrender and handed the money over, which she snatched out of his hand. "Thank you." She said calmly, causing an eruption of laughs to come from her change of moods.

At around 10, Meredith was the first to go upstairs. She still shared a room with Derek and Mark. After she got herself ready for bed, she curled herself up into a ball in bed, and thought about her life. She hadn't really thought about the future, but she knew deep in her heart that she wanted a family, but she had to get that somehow. Maybe she should stop partying and hooking up with random guys, she thought. But doing that helped fill the loneliness she felt. Caught up in her thoughts, Meredith quickly fell asleep.

Derek and Mark went up and hour later and got into their beds. "She still snores like a train." Mark said with a quiet laugh. "That's Mer." Derek said as he looked at her sleeping form. "You really want to marry Addison?" Mark asked quietly. "I think so. No one likes her though." Derek said. "Derek, she's not right for you. And im your brother, so i can say that. She's the opposite of you." Mark said. Derek sighed and went to sleep.

Sorry for lack of updates!!! School has me really busy and I have a ton of practices this week, so bare with me!! Anyways, I know some people feel like if Mer and Der get together it will be incest, and I really don't want that. I'm trying to make them distanced as much as possible, but I don't know. if anyone has ideas to try to help that I would appreciate it!!