Dusk&Summer

7.

Somehow, in the last few years since she had last come out here, she had managed to forget how long the drive was. Even with the nap she had taken, it felt like they were driving forever. Which should probably a problem that should annoy her. She should probably also be annoyed that Derek had changed the music while she was sleeping. But the trees were getting thicker and that meant things.

The more trees there were, the closer they were getting. For some reason, everytime she went out here, she could hear Dr. Shepherd's voice in her head telling Sophie that. And now she was definitely hearing it, over and over again as Sophie slept next to her, still cuddled in Brian's arms. It was good her friend was sleeping, she hadn't slept at all after the break up. But she wanted Sophie to be awake, to see all of the trees.

She knew it was immature and silly but everytime she drove along this road, she could feel the childhood excitement of her first time out here again. She could remember being impatient and jumping in her chair, and Derek telling her it was okay to be excited. And Dr. Shepherd looking happy. She remembered clearly how happy Sophie's dad had looked on that trip.

It had been his last trip out there, he had died almost a year later from leukemia. After years of trying to fight it, he had died. But he had been happy on the trip. He had been so happy and had been active in most of the trip. Now, years later, she understood why it was a big deal that Dr. Shepherd had gone swimming almost every day, and why Mrs. Shepherd had stopped fighting him on it.

He had known. Meredith had discovered over the years that most people knew when their time was up. Dr. Shepherd had known that he was running out of time and had done everything to spend it with his family. She couldn't come out here without remembering the talk he had given her, about taking care of Sophie and Derek. Although taking care of Derek had proved hard as he moved away, she tried her best.

"Hmmmm," Sophie groaned as she moved slightly in Brian's arms, moving closer to his chest. "Are we there yet?"

"Pretty soon, Soph," Brian nodded.

"There's a lot of trees, Soph," Meredith grinned.

"That means we're nearly there," Sophie giggled slightly, her eyes opening but she didn't move.

"Exactly," Meredith giggled, tears springing to her eyes as she turned to look out the window. She wasn't going to cry. Six year old Meredith had cried, even fourteen year old Meredith had cried, but she wasn't going to cry. This was the summer house, they were supposed to be happy here. Crying would be stupid.

"Impatient as you were when you were little," Derek groaned from the front, but Meredith could make out the amusement in his voice.

"And you're not excited?" she challenged.

"I didn't say that."

"Then no judging about impatience."

"I'm not. I'm just waiting for the bouncing to start."

"I'm twenty years old, I don't bounce."

"Of course not," he smirked, his eyes finding hers in the rear view mirror again.

"Shut up," she giggled, slapping his shoulder. They made the turn onto the long driveway leading onto the house and she couldn't help but bounce slightly, her eyes open wide. This was just how she was when they came here. The summer house was...amazing. It was the only word Meredith could think of to describe it. Amazing. And a little sad, but she definitely wasn't going to be sad.

"Okay, kiddies, we're here," Mark called as he pulled the car up to a stop.

"No one in this car is a kiddie, Markie," Sophie rolled her eyes though she definitely didn't move.