Saved by the Shepherds

Chapter 15

"What are we going to tell them?" Meredith asked nervously as her and Derek got ready to go to Carolyn and Michael's house. "We could just tell them. I'm pretty sure mom and dad already know." Derek replied as he placed his hands on her waist and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Okay." Meredith whispered with a smile. "Okay." Derek parroted as he grabbed her hand and led her out of the apartment.

Meredith was anxious. She didn't want her family to blame her for ruining dereks marriage. Derek knew she was nervous, but he didn't see any reason why she should be. He tried to calm her nerves, but it wouldn't work.

When they got there, Meredith and Derek got out of the car and went up to the front porch. As Derek began to knock, the door flung open and Carolyn smiled at the two. "Hi guys!" She exclaimed as she ushered them into the house and threw her arms around them.

"Hi mom." They both said. "Mer and Derek is here!" Carolyn called out. Their sisters and michael all came running over. They all greeted one another and was happy to see everyone.

"So how have you been? How's work? We know what happened with Addison. We're sorry Derek." Amelia said. "It's not a big deal." Derek said. "Work is good. Chief of neuro." He added. "What about you Meredith?" Amelia asked. "Internship is tiring, but it's nice. I really like neuro and my resident said I could spend more time on neuro." Mereditj replied with a smile.

"Any boyfriends?" Amelia asked with a smile. "Maybe." Meredith replied as a small blush graced her face. "Who?" She asked. Meredith looked at Carolyn and Michael before turning to Derek.  "You- oh!" Amelia exclaimed as she put two and two together. "You two are together?" Amelia asked for clarification. They both nodded nervously. "Well it's about damn time!" Amelia exclaimed after a Pause. She gave the both of them a hug.

"So how did this happen?" Nancy asked. "After Addison...did what she did, I came back to Seattle and...started working." Derek lied. He didn't think it was necessary for his family to know about the bar. "And she was my intern and I've been staying at her apartment." He added. "Are you guys...okay with this?" Derek asked hesitantly.

"Derek, we've all been waiting for this for years now now. Of course we're okay with it." Lizzie said with a smile. Derek took this as an opportunity and kissed the side of Merediths forehead, causing a blush to appear on Merediths face.

Their family smiled at them. "You guys want to get going?" Michael asked. "Where?" Derek asked. "Our family walk." Carolyn said with a smile.

After they all put their coats and shoes on, they left the house and started their walk. Derek took Merediths small hand in his and walked next to her. "Remember when we used to go on walks everyday as kids?" Derek asked. "Mhmm." Meredith replied.

"And the playground Ellis left me at. Cant forget about that one." Meredith said with a bitter chuckle as they walked past it. It still hurt Meredith to know that her biological mother just left her, but in a way she was glad she did because if she hadn't, she would've never met the shepherds.

"So Meredith, what do you want to do on your birthday?" Carolyn asked, diverting the attention away from the playground. "My birthday isn't until the 31st." Meredith replied. "It's next week dear." Carolyn noted. "What? No way!" She exclaimed. "It's the 26th." Michael said. "Oh. I didn't know that." Meredith replied. "We don't have to do anything. It's not very important." Meredith shrugged.

"Honey." Carolyn said softly. She knew Meredith never really liked her birthday, but she still liked to celebrate it to make her feel happy. "It is important. We don't have to do anything big, but it's the one time In the year you actually allow us to treat you to something nice." Carolyn said.

"I don't need anything." Meredith said. While Derek admired her selflessness, he also wanted her to celebrate her birthday so he could buy her something nice. "Mer, just something small." Derek tried. "Okay." Meredith gave in with a sigh. "The big 30." Amelia joked.

"So old." Meredith complained. "You're not old. You look like your 20." Derek said firmly as he kissed her softly. "Hmm thanks." Meredith said with a smile. As the walk went on, they all talked quietly amongst themselves. Michael and Carolyn in the back, we're admiring their fully grown children. "Can you believe Mer is turning 30?" Carolyn asked. "My little girl is growing up." Michael said.

"And our baby boy is finally with her." Carolyn said softly. "It's been long enough." Michael said with a laugh as he looked at Meredith and Derek, hand in hand, talking quietly together. "What should we do for her birthday?" She asked. "Mer wouldn't want anything big. Probably a nice dinner with whoever can come." Michael replied. Carolyn nodded and made a mental note to talk to Derek about it.

When they got back to the house, they sat at the dinner table and feasted on Carolyn a delicious meal. "Mer, you said your resident is letting you have more time on neuro?" Kathleen asked. Meredith nodded. "Why?" She asked curiously. "I've spent the required amount of hours on the other specialties, and Bailey, my resident, knows that I really like neuro, and she approached me about it." Meredith replied.

"That's awesome Mer." She said genuinely. Meredith nodded.

After they finished eating, they sat on the couch for a while and caught up before going to bed.

Carolyn and michael gave Derek the okay to sleep in the same bed as Meredith, even if they were in the same room. Even if they were grown adults, they still felt the need to ask for permission.

When they went to bed, Derek got into the twin bed, Meredith crawling in beside him. Derek wrapped an arm around her waist and held her close. "Goodnight." He whispered as he heard her soft snores.

Hey guys! Hope you enjoyed this chapter!! If you have any ideas let me know!!