Merder: Different Circumstances

Chapter Twenty Five

December 30th came around faster than Meredith could have prepared for and before she knew it, she found herself sat next to Derek on a plane heading to New York. The 6am flight meant that they would land in New York at gone 3pm, so fortunately for Meredith they would only be able to have dinner with Carolyn that night.

Ashley had her headphones in, next to the windows, and was reading some Christmas break reading her teacher had set her, as Derek sat in the middle seat and then Meredith in the aisle. The whole flight her hand was tightly clasped around his, as the thought of her impending meeting with Carolyn played through her head with different scenarios. One was the ideal one, where Carolyn respected Meredith and her relationship with her son, but every other one filled her with dread.

"Mer, I promise my mom is going to love you." Derek reassured, noticing her anxiety.

"What if your mom hates me because she just views me as the person who is keeping you away from her? What if I don't live up to the expectations she has from Addison? What if your sisters-" Meredith questioned all at once.

"Stop talking." Derek chuckled. "She's not going to hate you, because you make me happier than I've been in a long time, and she's a good enough parent to realise and accept that. As for Addison, I don't think she was ever really keen on her, she's still not forgiven her and I think the only reason she has Mark is because he's practically incapable of surviving without his surrogate mother. My sisters, well they're another hurdle, but I promise I won't leave you alone with any of them, besides Ash has talked enough about you that I think Amy will really like you."

"You're making a lot of promises, you better not break them."

"I'll try my best." Derek smiled, placing a quick kiss to her lips.

Their plane landed a few hours later and as soon as the wheels touched down, the nerves that Derek had previously calmed all came rushing back to Meredith. As the three of them walked from the plane to the terminal, Meredith was seriously considering turning around and running back on the plane, but Derek's hand on the lower of her back reassured her.

Once they had made their way through passport control and collected their bags, they headed over to the car hire companies. Even though Carolyn had insisted on picking them up from the airport, Derek decided on hiring a car, allowing them more freedom and, whilst he would never say it aloud, an escape if god forbid everything went wrong.

Meredith nerves were obvious as they drove the distance of the airport to Carolyn's house, whilst Ashley was pointing out key locations from her childhood and Derek was contributing to the nostalgia, Meredith was quiet. All of the questions from earlier and doubts she had about herself were returning to the surface.

Once they pulled into the driveway, Meredith couldn't tell if the journey had been short or long, but Carolyn was stood outside of the door, an apron around her neck and a big smile on her face.

"Grandma!" Ashley shouted as she jumped out of the car to give Carolyn a hug.

"Mer, I promise, she will love you." Derek reassured one final time when it was just the two of them in the car again.

Instead of replying, Meredith offered him a nervous smile and stepped out of the car herself, with Derek going round to her side quickly to remind her of his presence. His hand squeezed hers softly, before he went over top his mother, giving her a hug similar to the one his daughter had just gave.

"And you must be Meredith, it's lovely to meet you darling." Carolyn exclaimed, gently pushing her arm for a hand shake aside and embracing her in a hug.

"It's an honour to meet you too Mrs. Shepherd. Derek speaks highly of you."

"God, don't be calling me Mrs. Shepherd you make me feel old, Carolyn please. Now come on in, we have so much to talk about."

"Sorry, Carolyn." Meredith corrected herself. "I'll just get my bag out of the car and follow you in."

"Oh, don't be ridiculous. My son has got to be useful for something, he'll bring them in, come on in with me." Carolyn insisted, guiding Meredith into the house.

She didn't even have the time to react, let alone politely refuse so that she could remain by her fiancé's side, before she found herself sat at a table. Ashley entered the room with her bag, followed by Derek who was struggling with both his and Meredith's, and made their way upstairs.

"So Meredith, tell me about you." Carolyn said as she placed two cups of coffee onto the table.

"Well, I'm a surgeon at Seattle Grace Hospital, general surgeon that is. I met Derek in a bar and then we came across each other at work the next day and he insisted he took me out for dinner, sorry you probably really don't care about that. I have two sisters, but I'm only close to one of them and pretty much all of my close friends work at the hospital as well. There's honestly not much to say about me." Meredith rambled, hoping that either Derek or Ashley would join them soon.

As though they had heard her, the two of the came down the stairs at the same time and took the other two cups of coffee from the counter to join them at the table. The conversation sped up in pace, and Meredith no longer found herself struggling for words, nor spilling them out all at once.

An hour had passed, maybe two, before a car pulled up outside of the house and Ashley excused herself from the table. She had made arrangements to meet up with friends from before she moved, and with it being such a short visit, this was the only time she would be able to do it.

The conversation between the three adults changed dramatically once Ashley had left, but it never died down. Carolyn began to busy herself by going back to preparing dinner in the kitchen, and although Meredith wanted to offer her help, both she and Derek knew that it would be no use.

"So, I assume my son had the common curtsy to ask your father before proposing?" Carolyn asked.

Meredith froze in her seat, knowing that she would most likely have to explain both her damaged relationship with her father and the loss of her mother in a matter of minutes, both of which were topics she were hoping could be avoided. Derek gave a small, apologetic smile across the table before answering his mothers question.

"Actually, I asked Meredith's sister and friend." Derek clarified.

"You asked who?" Carolyn exclaimed, turning from the stove to face the two of them. "I would have hoped I raised you well enough to know to ask Meredith's father."

"I'm glad he asked them." Meredith quietly argued, which she received a raise of eyebrows off of Carolyn. "I don't necessarily have the best relationship with my father, he left when I was five and my mother passed away a few years ago. Lexie and Cristina were my closest 'family' before I met Derek and Ashley, I respect their approval most."

"Oh I'm so sorry, I never realised. If my idiot of a son had led with that then of course I completely understand."

Their conversation was light for the rest of the meal, with mention of their wedding on many occasions and Carolyn's insistence of helping with anything possible. When Ashley arrived home, the four of them all played a board  game, one which Derek had played throughout his childhood, before going to bed.

"You're mom's really nice." Meredith sat as Derek joined her in bed.

"See, I told you she'd love you."

"Hmm... it's your sisters I'm more worried about."

"There's no need to worry Mer." Derek said before turning to her with a grin. "And seeing as I kept my promise."

"Derek!" She shrieked quietly. "No. I told you before we got here, we're not having sex when we're staying at your moms."