Reaching Forward

20

It was a bright and sunny morning, which was quite odd, considering this was Seattle. Derek was sitting at the island sipping his coffee and doing the crossword as Susan Grey entered the house with a multitude of groceries. As, she began putting various things into the cabinets, Derek commented, "Meredith, will accept a certain amount of help then she starts suffocating."

Turning around to face him, Susan looked concerned, "Oh, is this...am I suffocating?"

"Oh, no," he responded, "the groceries are just right. It's just that Meredith tends to think that she can do everything herself without anyone's help."

Continuing to put the groceries away, Susan stated, "After Ellis died, I gave her some time. But, I want to be here, help make things easier. After all, you're going to have a baby soon. You'll both need all the help you can get."

Smirking, he replied, "Good, great. Just try to keep it light, you know? Be helpful."

Almost if she knew they were talking about her, Meredith walked into the kitchen tying her sweater around her seven and one half month pregnant stomach. Turning quickly to face her, Derek grinned in a way that most people do when someone walks in on a conversation they don't want them to hear, "Morning. Want some orange juice?"

Eyeing Susan and the groceries around here, Meredith answered and then asked, "Yes. This all you?"

Shrugging, Susan rummaged through a sack, "Things to restock your fridge."

Looking at her stepmother with a look of awe and amusement, Meredith said, "You bought groceries last week."

Bringing the glass of orange juice over to Meredith, Derek teased, "You have to do it every week, if you want more."

Meredith just gave him a faux grin and turned her attentions back to Susan, "Well, thank you. It's unexpected and you didn't need to all this."

Breaking the tension, Alex walked in and questioned, "This for everybody?"

Nodding in his direction, Susan stated, "Absolutely."

"I'm going to run. I've got to talk to Richard before things get busy at the hospital." Derek said as he went over and kissed Meredith on the head and rubbed her abdomen.

As he picked up his things to leave, she asked him, "Are you going to talk to him about the..."

He cut her off, "Yeah, wish me luck."

Susan responded with an insistence in her voice, "You don't need it. Make him listen. You deserve to be Chief."

Derek just smiled as he left the house.

For the next thirty minutes, Meredith and Alex ate breakfast and made small talk with Susan until it was time for them to leave for work. It was at this time that Susan had moved on from putting up groceries to cleaning. Putting her bag over her shoulder, Meredith just stared at Susan for a second before she began, "Uh, we're heading off to work, now." She tried to hint to Susan that she was seriously making her visits too long.

As she was taking the garbage out, Susan glanced at the clock, "Oh, well, I'm almost done. I'll lock the door behind me when I leave."

Doing what she normally did in these type situations, Meredith just raised her eyebrows and gave off a fake smile before she exited her home. She definitely did not know how to handle something like this. It's not that Meredith didn't appreciate what she was doing but the whole situation was just complicated. It seemed as if Susan was trying to be the mother she never had. But, that was where the problem lay. Meredith had come to terms with having a distant, unloving mother a long time ago and especially after her mother's last lucid moment of her life. She wouldn't have admitted it to anyone but a part of her was glad that her mother was gone; it was as if this huge burden had been lifted off her shoulders. Ellis Grey's death had allowed Meredith to get a fresh outlook on life, a new start so to speak.