Sister, Sister¹

Sibling Day

Ivy smiles as she pushes the twins in the baby swings. Their little giggles making her happy. Suddenly, she feels a body collide with her legs. Looking down, she sees Zola smiling up at her, "Well, hello Ms. Zola. Where's your dad and brother? Or did you run away?"

Hearing Derek's laugh, Ivy looks up, "She didn't run away. I still have a few years before she tries to do that. Oh, look at my niece and nephew."

"Yeah, they love the park. It's their absolute favorite place, and I don't usually let them run free unless Jackson is here with me," Ivy sighs, picking Zola up and hugging her.

"I see. Their energy levels pretty high lately?" Derek asks, taking Bailey out of his stroller.

"You have no idea. Once I told them we were going to the park this morning, they didn't sit still until we got here. Now, my phone is full of pictures of them having a blast on the swings," she laughs, shifting Zola to be able to show Derek her phone.

"Well, look at those two! You might want to make some room because we have a busy day ahead of us," he says, putting Bailey back in his stroller and picking the twins up.

Ivy takes a picture of Derek holding the twins, before putting the twins in their stroller, "I know, I know. You want to stay here, but uncle Derek has a plan for us. Here," she puts some of their baby treats on the tray, "Eat those while uncle Derek tells us where we're going."

Derek points at the dock where a ferry boat was pulling in. Ivy nods, "I should've guessed. Derek Shepherd can't stay away from the ferry boats."

He glares at her, "Don't make it sound like I have to ride them everyday."

"If you had your way, you would. Of that, I'm a hundred percent sure," she smiles as they walk towards the dock, "Where are we going after the ferry boat ride?"

"We're gonna get ice cream, get some lunch, and I know of a bigger park that the kids can play at while we talk," Derek tells them as they board the boat.

They find a bench on deck and sit down, before turning the strollers so the kids could see their parent and the water. Ivy lays her head back, enjoying the sun as Derek looks over the water.

"I visited mom when I was in D.C."

"Hmm. How'd that go?" Ivy asks.

"She said I was miserable. Told me to stop complaining and fix it. Then I asked about you," he says, watching her reaction.

Ivy snorts, "Let me guess, she's making it all up. I never told her she was a burden. I love all my children, including Ivy," she mocks.

Derek nods, "Yeah, that's about what happened. But she wouldn't look me in the eye. I'm sorry I didn't see it sooner. I'm sorry that it took me speaking in anger for me to finally realize that mom was horrible to you."

"I'm not necessarily pissed that it took you so long, it's more that...I don't even know. Look, for five years, all I knew was that my mother hated me. My dad was dead, the only sister who truly cared about me was a drug addict and battling her own problems and the brother that raised me was becoming a surgeon. I didn't think my problems were worth dragging you all away from your own life. Because that would have made me a burden. It was a vicious cycle, one that I fought for years to break. I'm still having trouble realizing that Jackson could never think of me as one," she sighs.

"And then your wedding."

"And then my wedding. It hurts. They were there for your first wedding, we were all there for Liz's, and Nancy's and Kathleen's, but they couldn't even pretend they cared to be there for mine. I asked them to treat me like a freaking person and they walked out."