Seattle Prep

14

"I don't want to see him." Meredith groaned as she sat on the couch, Derek's arm around her. "I know you don't, sweetheart, but you have to. It's only a few hours and then you can come home." Carolyn replied.

"I want to stay here. It's not fair. He's a -" Meredith started.

"Language." Carolyn interrupted. "He's a butt face." Meredith corrected herself. "Mom, when Mer gets home, can I take her out to dinner?" Derek asked.

"Like on a date?" Kathleen smirked. Dereks face reddened and he looked to his mom. "Sure." Carolyn replied. Derek smiled at Meredith and kissed her head gently.

"You have to go get ready, dear. Thatcher is picking you up at noon." Carolyn said, interrupting their moment. "Fine." Meredith complained, rolling her eyes as she stood up.

•••

Thatcher was right at the doorstep at 12pm sharp. "Bye, Mer." Derek said, giving her a quick hug. "Have fun." Carolyn said, putting her arms around the young girl. "It won't be too long." She whispered.

Meredith reluctantly walked out with thatcher and got into his car. "I, uh, made plans to go to lunch. I hope you didn't eat already." Thatcher said as he began driving.

"I didn't." Meredith replied dryly.

They arrived at the restaurant and Meredith followed Thatcher in. "Meredith, I know you're not happy about this, but you're my daughter. You should live with me and the rest of my family." Thatcher said, breaking the ice.

"If you wanted me to live with you, you wouldn't have left me when I was 5. You knew how mom was, too. You knew how she treated me. So obviously you didn't care about me." Meredith replied with a scoff.

"Why are you even doing this to me? I don't want to live with you and I don't want to have a relationship with you." Meredith asked, sighing.

"I can't live with knowing that I have a daughter, a piece of me, and I'm not with her, taking care of her like I am with my other kids." He admitted.

"But I'm happy with the shepherds. Happier than I was with mom. Cant you just let me be happy?" Meredith pleaded.

"I wish I could do that, kid." Thatcher sighed. Meredith mumbled something incoherent and just looked at her drink.

"I, uh, I want you to meet my wife and my daughters at some point. They're really nice, and the girls know about this situation." Thatcher spoke up.

"I agreed to see you because it was court mandated. I don't want to meet your wife or replacement children." She said sharply.

"Okay." He said calmly, realizing he probably shouldn't push too hard.

They finished their lunch, making awkward small talk.

When they got into the car, Meredith texted Derek quickly. "Who ya texting?" Thatcher asked. "My boyfriend." Meredith replied.

"Is it that kid? The one who hugged you before we left?" Thatcher guessed. "Yeah." Meredith said honestly.

"Hmm." He hummed, looking back to the road. "I, uh, I guess I'll get you home then." Thatcher said. Meredith smiled.

They got back to the shepherd house. To Meredith's happiness, she was only gone for about an hour and half.

"See you tomorrow?" Thatcher asked. "Okay." Meredith replied absentmindedly, running up and into the house.

"Hey! How was it?" Carolyn asked, standing up and greeting her at the door. "Pointless. Glad it's over." Meredith responded.

"Where's Derek?" Meredith asked. "Upstairs. Door open." Carolyn said. Meredith blushed and ran up the stairs.

"Hi!!" Meredith grinned, walking in to his room to find him sitting on his bed. "Hey. You're back soon." Derek commented as she walked to him and jumped on to his bed.

"It was just a quick lunch." Meredith replied, looking into his blue eyes. Derek looked at her lips and then back to her eyes before leaning in and pressing his lips gently against hers.

Meredith returned the kiss and a moan slipped from her mouth. Derek was about to slip his hand under her shirt when a laugh from the doorway stoped him.

"Can you stop groping Mer for a minute? I need help on my science project and she said she would help." Amelia complained.

"I'll help. Sorry." Meredith replied with a laugh, kissing Derek once more before leaving his room and walking with Amelia.

Derek sighed as he realized the affect Meredith had on him. They had only been dating for a few months now, but they were very intimate with each other. It made him wonder when they would....do something else together.

•••

Later that night, Derek and Meredith drove to a restaurant. This was kind of their first 'official' date. Technically, their ice cream date was the first, but this was more couple-y.

"Can I please have the cheeseburger with fries?" Meredith ordered to the waitress. "I'll have a Cobb salad please." Derek said.

Once the waitress left, Derek chuckled. "You're the only girl I know who would order a cheeseburger on a date." He said with a grin.

"Oh. Should I not have?" Meredith asked, suddenly feeling self conscious. "Oh, no you definitely should have. That's what makes you, you." Derek replied with a smile.

"Good." Meredith replied, taking a sip of her drink. "I don't want to go to school tomorrow. We have a huge bio test and I'm probably gonna fail it." Meredith said.

"We can study when we go home. I took a bunch of notes last week." Derek suggested. "Let's do that." Meredith said with a nod.

"Okay." Meredith smiled, reaching over the table and grabbing his hand.

Hey guys! I hope you all enjoy this chapter and hope you are doing well. As always, if you have any suggestions for future chapters, feel free to let me know. Thanks for reading.