Sweet Escape 6
"Ready to head back to dinner?" Addison asks Meredith, as she continues to hold the blonde's hand.
"Ready," Meredith says as confidently as she can muster, as she leads them both back to the dinner table.
"You fixed the lights?" Alex gruffs as he inhales another plate of potatoes.
"She did," Addison says proudly, and Meredith glows at her attention.
"She is very talented," says Susan Grey supportively.
"She is," Meredith agrees, and she can feel Izzie staring at her as she's beaming, but she tries desperately to ignore it.
Izzie stares Meredith down a little bit longer, and Meredith blushes as she feels Izzie looking between her and Addison.
"Well, I don't know about you, but I'm dying to try out Izzie's dessert," Meredith stands up abruptly to change the subject, and to hopefully distract Izzie from her examination game.
"Oh, dessert is always welcome," says Thatcher Grey.
"Dude, try living here, you'll gain like 15 pounds because Izzie's baking is awesome," says Alex.
"Well, I'm glad you're eating well Meredith," says Susan. "Why don't you let me know if you need anything, I can always bring groceries by," Susan offers.
"Oh, you don't need to do that, it's okay..." Meredith says awkwardly, a bit overwhelmed at Susan's mothering after her own mother's more... Absent parenting.
"Please, allow me," Susan smiles, and Meredith eventually nods at her slowly.
"I can send you the recipe for this if you'd like," Izzie offers.
"Oh, could you send it to me too? I really liked the chicken," says Addison.
"Dibs on the leftovers," says Alex.
"Hey!" Says Meredith.
"Don't worry, I made lots," Izzie laughs.
After this, Izzie runs off to fetch the dessert, and Addison helps her fetch the dessert bowls. Meredith steps up to help, but she's ambushed by more questions from her father.
"Would you like to come over to the house sometime?" Thatcher offers. "You could spend more time with Molly Grey and the baby, and if she's home from Harvard, you could meet Lexie," he says.
"Oh, maybe..." Meredith says noncommittally because she's not sure she's ready for that quite yet.
'Harvard. Harvard!' Meredith thinks to herself. 'As if being forgotten wasn't enough in the first place.
"We'd love for you to see the baby, Laura is very sweet," Susan suggests, and Meredith can't argue with the cuteness of babies.
"You could come by when Dr. Montgomery does for a checkup," Thatcher suggests, and that pretty much sells it for Meredith, that she could get to hang out some more with Addison.
"Okay, if she doesn't mind," Meredith acquiesces.
"I don't mind at all," Addison says as they emerge with the blueberry cobbler.
"Wow," says Thatcher.
"It looks great," says Susan.
"Can I have a big piece?" Says Alex.
"We're serving you last then," says Izzie, laughing.
It's of course, another major success, with Izzie's blueberry dessert perfectly matching the whipped cream and vanilla ice cream that accompanies it.
"Well, we'd best get going," says Susan once they're finished eating. "It's getting late for us," she says, and Meredith breathes a sigh of relief.
"Have a safe ride home," says Meredith, as she walks Susan and Thatcher out to their car.
The evening is crisp and still nice out, and Meredith waves goodbye along with the others.
"Hey, the swing works now. Cool," says Alex.
"Oh nice," says Izzie.
"Did your daddy fix it?" Alex teases.
"No actually, Addison did," says Meredith proudly.
"Huh, do you think you could fix my bookshelf for me too?" Alex jokes half-seriously.
"Hey, she's not a freelance carpenter," Meredith frowns at him.
"If it's wobbly, it might just need the screws tightened a little," Addison supplies easily.
"Brr, it's cold, I'm going inside," says Izzie, as she shivers, and Alex joins her.
"Well, I had a wonderful time Meredith. Thanks for inviting me," says Addison.
"Oh, thank YOU for coming, you really saved me there," says Meredith, instinctively reaching for a hug from the redhead.
"No problem," says Addison, as she rubs Meredith's back as they stay like that for a while.
"Do you have to go right away?" Meredith whispers, as Addison pulls away from the hug.
"Not right away," says Addison, "it's only eight," she adds.
"Well... Do you want to try out the swing with me?" Meredith asks her softly.
"Sure," says Addison, as she sits down, and motions for Meredith to join her.
"I'm really glad you came," Meredith finally relaxes, as she leans over onto Addison's shoulder.
"As I said, it was fun, and I'm glad you're getting to spend some time with your family," says Addison.
"Family is hard," says Meredith.
"It is," says Addison, and as she says this, Meredith pulls back from her a little, in surprise.
"What?" Addison wanderers.
"It's just.... You talk about it as if it's easy, but you find it hard too?" Says Meredith.
"I do," says Addison. "My brother's great, and we get along mostly, but my relationship with my parents is complicated, just like yours seems to be," says Addison.
"Yeah?" Says Meredith.
"Yeah," says Addison.
"But you think it's all worth it?" Meredith asks her.
"I think so," says Addison. "It can be work but I think it is worth it," says Addison, as she tucks Meredith's head into the crook of her neck.
They sit in the swinging chair, just rocking softly for a while, as they listen to the sounds of the wind outside, and the Seattle air settles around them.
"I missed sitting and swinging this chair," says Meredith.
"Well, you'll have lots of chances for that now," says Addison, hopeful for the new beginnings.
"You know, you can stop by some other times, only if you want to of course," offers Meredith.
"Thanks, Meredith," says Addison. "I just might sometime," Addison smiles.
Addison stays for another hour or so, until it starts to get really cold, and only then does Meredith walk her to her own car for the night, with the promise from Addison that they'll visit Molly and her new baby Laura together sometime very soon.
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***** END OF CHAPTER 6
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Sweet Escape
Fanfiction"So... My daddy's here, and he wants to have me over for dinner. Or rather, my step-mother wants to have me over for dinner with him. My father. Who has a whole new life and a whole new family without me, and now they want to have me over for dinner...
