Endless Summer Nights

19.

Meredith stares into his deep blue eyes for the first time in months, drowning in their depths. Breathing oxygen for the first time in what seems like forever. Time stands still as the world continues to spin madly around them. The harsh words of her mother echo in the background for a moment as all else lies forgotten.

Unfortunately, Meredith comes crashing back down to reality all too soon as the pain ripping through her body takes precedence in her mind. Her knees buckle under the intensity as she screams out yet again as the spinning world begins to crumble down around her. Strong arms grip her body as she turns her head into his chest, gripping, crying, fearing. It hurts. It hurts so much. The pain in her back and abdomen. The pain in his eyes. The pain in her heart.

Derek stands there in shock. He can't believe it. He can't believe that after all this time she is standing in front of him. Why is she standing in front of him? Why is she crying? Why is his father holding her in his arms? Click. Meredith is his dad's student. Meredith is his dad's student whose mother is Ellis Grey. Meredith Grey. That is her name.

Oh my God.

Meredith is his dad's student who is pregnant. Sixteen weeks pregnant. That is what his dad said on the phone when he called to say he was bringing her in. Sixteen weeks. Sixteen weeks ago they were together. He blinks once. Twice. He tries to keep the tears from welling up. He tries. He tries because he is going to be a father. He. Father. Him.

"Derek!" his father shouts at him.

Derek snaps his head to look into the matching eyes of his father. They are full of worry. Full of worry for his student's child. His grandchild that he doesn't even know is his. He crosses the room in four long, purposeful strides. He can smell her intoxicating scent and feels like he can breathe for the first time in months.

He looks at the trembling woman that his father is trying desperately to hold up. His trembling woman. His parents scrutinize him, noticing that something is off. He bends down so that his face is near hers.

"Meredith?" he asks, her name rolling off of his tongue like he has been saying it everyday for the past seventeen weeks. Because he has. He has been saying it everyday for the past seventeen weeks. Since that fateful day he bumped into her outside of their rooms. She graced his dreams and her name has become a prayer for him.

Meredith gasps as she turns her head slightly, her eyes peeking out from behind her desperate clutch of the maroon sweater his father is wearing. "Derek?" she gasps as she struggles to breathe through the pain.

His eyes dart down to her stomach that her free hand is clutching. She can see the journey that they make and she knows what to expect next. His eyes take in her small bump, visually verifying what he has already heard. He takes in her white knuckles as she clutches the thin material of her shirt before they travel back up to her eyes.

It is a look. He asks so much with a single look. A look filled with fear. A look filled with hope. A look filled with love. She nods her head slightly, barely perceptible, but he notices. His whole future hangs on that slight inclination. He inhales sharply as his heart sprouts wings and flutters wildly around his chest cavity.

"You are nothing but a no good whore. I should have realized you would never do anything with your life."

Ellis's voice reaches his ears and a violent rage engulfs him. A sheen of red covers his irises as he stares into Meredith's tearful green seas. He places his hands on his thighs in order to raise himself to his feet. He is not going to let Meredith, his Meredith, be talked to in that manner.

He takes a deep breath as he begins his upward movement, only to be halted by another cry of pain emanating from Meredith. He immediately forgets about the rage invoked by Ellis and turns his attention back to Meredith. She is closer to the ground as his father's grip on her is faltering. Her body is trembling, experiencing aftershocks from the numerous quakes that have ripped through her.