Help is Around the Corner

Help is Around the Corner 49

Help is Around the Corner

Addison and Derek's trailer catches fire, and Meredith offers them a place to stay for a while.

The first thing that Meredith ever learned about carousels, is that they give her memories of her mother's heartbreak.

When Meredith was five years old, she was riding the carousel waiting for her mother, who had been pleading with Richard Webber to leave Adele and be with her, after she'd left her father, Thatcher, as they'd both promised each other.

This incident left her mother in tears, and since then, her mother had admitted that carousels 'give her the creeps,' and also, cryptically, that 'the carousel never stops turning... you can't get off...'

All this is what is turning through Meredith's head when they arrive at the state fair with Alex, Izzie, George, Callie, Mark, Derek, Burke, Cristina, and of course, Addison.

"Come on, who wants to ride the rollercoaster?" says Izzie excitedly, the moment they are out of the ticket gate.

"I do!" says Mark, and he looks at Derek, who looks a bit pale, but he nods, and he follows Mark.

"Do you want to ride it?" Cristina asks Burke.

"That's okay," says Burke.

"I'm umm, also going to sit this one out," says George.

"What about you?" Callie asks Meredith and Addison.

"I'm down," says Addison.

"Alright, me too," says Meredith.

The six of them make their way to the lineup, while Cristina, Burke, and George decide to go on a less intense ride to start off their day.

"Have fun," Meredith grins at Cristina.

"You too," Cristina smiles at her back.

They head for the tallest roller coaster in the entire park, and confidently take their seats once they reach the front of the line.

"Are you excited," Mark grins.

"Yeah..." says Derek, sitting next to him.

"This is going to be so much fun!" says Izzie, who is sitting next to Alex, who is also smiling.

"Yes it is!" says Addison, who kisses Meredith before they start moving, and everyone groans at them teasingly.

"You two are so codependent-" says Callie, who pops her head out from the row behind Meredith and Addison.

"That's what I've been saying-" says Alex, smirking, as the roller coaster finally begins its trajectory.

The roller coaster glides up a tall, tall hill, at a deceptively slow pace.

As the car rises, so does everybody's nerves, even though they all try to put on a brave face, until Derek starts whimpering.

"Ahh-" Derek squeezes his eyes shut, and grips the bar in front of him with a death grip.

"Shh-" says Mark, gently. "We're going to be fine."

"I can't watch!" says Derek.

"It's better if you watch-" says Mark. "Pretend you're driving really fast, it helps you feel like you're the one in control," offers Mark.

"Okay-" says Derek, Mark's advice seeming to have a calming effect on him. "That does help a lot."

"No problem," says Mark enthusiastically.