Forbidden

Chapter 134: Scared Stiff

Meredith was pleased to hear that her sister took her advice. As much as Richard was hurt over it, it only took a couple of weeks before he was over it. And two weeks after that, she was enrolled in school for graphic design, her true passion. To Meredith, everything seemed right in the world. She would still visit her mother, trying to come to terms with it all. She had a mother who didn't want her, but still in her heart, she didn't believe that. She actually believed that her mother was just so cold and callus, she herself didn't realize her true feelings. Perhaps it had been a fantasy, but it helped her deal.

Meredith took in a breath of the sweet fresh air. It filled her lungs and refreshed her soul, something they needed after the long winter they had endured. It had been full of abnormal snowfall and cold temperatures. Derek hadn't even wanted to ride on the ferryboats like he had always enjoyed. She was so fortunate to have such a wonderful husband and great children.

"Mommy, wanna lick?" Francesca asked as she held her cone. Meredith looked down at the bubble gum flavored ice cream dripping on the cone.

"No thanks, baby." Meredith said as she scrunched her nose. She looked at Quinn and Cara, who were not even offering their cotton candy and superman favors. "How is the cotton candy?" Meredith asked Cara as she went to grab it.

"No! You have your own!" Cara yelled as she swatted at her mom. Meredith turned away and shook her head. She was playing around, but Cara took everything so seriously. She would never say it, but she swore her daughter sat on a stick when she was young. In other words, she had a stick stuck up her ass. Meredith shuddered, wondering if she was that way when she was younger. She hoped not.

"Have it your way." Meredith said in a huff. She looked up at Quinn, who was offering his. "No thanks, buddy. Mommy is happy with her strawberry cheesecake flavored." She told him as she raised her hand, feeling her phone vibrate. "Busy." Meredith said, knowing it was Derek.

"Okay, busy usually means sex... Or ice cream. Since I am here, and you are there... I'm thinking ice cream?" He asked, knowing his wife was an ice cream addict.

"Yep." Meredith replied quickly. "What are you doing?"

"Coming there. I'll be there in a second." Derek said cheerfully. Meredith could hear the traffic in the background, along with the happiness in his voice. He was in a hurry for a good reason.

"What's going on?" Meredith asked with a giggle. She wasn't sure why, but she had reason to feel that she should be excited.

"You will see." He told her quickly. "See you in a few minutes." He added as he hung up the phone.

"Okay." Meredith said to herself as she sighed. Maybe Richard was giving Derek a raise. He was a good surgeon, and in her mind, he deserved more money. Richard was being cheap. Once Derek got more offers on the table, she would encourage him to move. Now that his name had been in the JAMA, she was sure that his excitement was from that. Just as she shoved her phone back in her pocket, she looked up, seeing his car pull in. "That was fast." Meredith said quickly as she shouted to him.

"I'm fast." He told her frankly as he walked up and kissed her.

"Want a bite, daddy?" Cara asked with a sickeningly sweet smile. Derek smiled and took a bite of her cone. Cara never did that to Meredith. Not ever.

"So tell me." Meredith said quickly, wondering what had Derek so excited. "Tell me what's up." She repeated, hoping he would kill off her curiosity.

"Well..." Derek started as he walked her over to the bench that Quinn and Francesca were sitting on. "Richard gave me a raise." He told her with a toothy grin. "And we have a huge case coming in. A huge case. I have been doing craniotomies forever. Finally something I can stretch my surgical muscles with. Richard is pretty excited... It's huge. I think... I think it's a career builder."