Let It Go

28.

"We'll monitor you closely overnight and reevaluate things tomorrow," Meredith told her patient. The elderly woman nodded her head in understanding and closed her eyes to rest. Meredith stood in the room for a few minutes, adding a note to the patient's chart. Her pager went off.

"Harrison..." she mumbled. It wasn't 911 but it was still a page. She remembered Derek telling her Annie was going to page her later. Maybe this was it but why still didn't make sense. She left her patient's room and took the stairs to the floor above her. She came out of the stairwell at the same time Izzie stepped off of the elevator. Izzie spotted her instantly.

"Were you paged to Harrison's room by chance?" Izzie asked. "Yeah," Meredith said. "Me too," Izzie said. "Really?" Meredith asked. "Why? You aren't one of his doctors..." Izzie shrugged. "I don' know," she said, falling into step with Meredith.

"Is the wedding freak out over?" Meredith asked. "For the moment. We hired a wedding planner who swears she can pull off the wedding of my dreams in under four months. Oh, and you're a bridesmaid. You can't say no. I already gave the wedding planner your phone number so she can call you and set up dress fittings," Izzie replied. Meredith raised her eyebrow.

"Do I have to wear pink? Because if I have to wear pink, you are short a bridesmaid. And you, Izzie Stevens, are a pink person." "No, no pink. I'm getting married in the fall. Pink is more springtime wedding. These dresses are going to be chocolate. Or wine. Maybe navy... Gold... Well, one of those. I'm still thinking on that one. But no pink," Izzie answered, Meredith smiled. "Then you have a bridesmaid," she told Izzie. "Yay!" Izzie said excitedly. Meredith had a feeling she would regret saying yes to being a member of Izzie's bridal party.

"We were paged?" Meredith asked, walking into Harrison's room. She looked around. The small room was full. Derek and Mark were there. Ginny and Frank. Annie and Brian. Harrison sat in his bed, grinning from ear to ear at all the attention that he was seemingly getting.

"Hi Merif!" Harrison greeted. "Hi Harrison," Meredith replied. "You've got quite the party going on in here!" "Dat's Uncle Deek," Harrison said, pointing to Derek. "And dat's Uncle Mark. And dat's my nana and papa. And dat is my mama and daddy," Harrison finished, pointing to each person as he listed them off. "And who is dat?" he asked, pointing to Izzie.

"Harrison, this is my friend Dr. Stevens. She was your mama's doctor when she was in the hospital. She's also your baby brother's doctor," Meredith introduced. "Hi Harrison," Izzie said, smiling at the adorable six year old. "My brother gots a name now," Harrison told them. "Which is why the two of you were paged," Annie said, standing up from her seat only to settle on the edge of her son's bed.

"My brother is a genius," Annie told Meredith and Izzie. "Don't say it," she added, looking over her shoulder at Derek. Derek grinned back at her before turning his eyes to Meredith. He gave her a smile as well. She forced herself to avoid his eyes but the smile that had briefly crossed her face hadn't been lost on her - or his mother.

"Brian and I were going to name the baby Graham Tyler," Annie explained. "But after the accident, that seemed so inappropriate. Our little boy - both of them - are miracles. We wanted to name the new baby something that reflected that. We've been tossing names around for what feels like forever and Derek made a comment saying that had I had a girl, we could have named the baby after the two of you. Which is why we have come up with the perfect name and we want to share it with the two of you."

Meredith and Izzie exchanged glances, curious. "We're going to call our son "Steven Grey," Brian said proudly, reaching for his wife's hand. "Steven for Izzie, Grey for Meredith," Annie added. Meredith and Izzie looked at each other again.

"Wow!" Izzie said. "Yeah.. Wow," Meredith echoed. "You're naming him after us?" Izzie asked, motioning to herself and Meredith. "We don't... We just did what we took an oath to do..." "Yeah," Meredith agreed. "We're doctors - surgeons. Saving people, it's our thing. We don't... Naming your baby after us - that's big," Meredith stammered. "We don't deserve it," Izzie added. Meredith nodded vigorously in agreement.

"You do deserve it Dr. Stevens," Derek said, stepping forward. He turned his eyes to Meredith, locking her blue gaze with her green one. "So do you Meredith." Meredith felt a shiver run through her as Derek looked at her. Her cheeks blushed ever so slightly causing her to look away quickly. Every person in the room had noticed. Izzie even discreetly bumped her with her elbow and shot her a 'I told you so' look.

"I guess... Wow. It's an - honor," Izzie said. "An absolute honor," Meredith agreed. "I know we've said thank you a hundred times already but Meredith, Izzie, we will forever be grateful for what you two have done," Ginny said. She came forward and hugged both women followed quickly by Annie. Meredith accepted their hugs a bit awkwardly. It was foreign to her, a family that hugged and laughed and did all the family-like things she'd seen the Shepherd clan do. She had to admit that she was slightly jealous of Derek for having what she'd never known and had always secretly longed for yet had no idea how accept.

"What happened to you?" Mark whispered as Brian took his turn hugging Meredith and Izzie. "What?" "You - you're like, talking to Grey. And smiling. You're smiling," Mark accused. "I apologized - or started apologizing," Derek told him. Mark raised an eyebrow. "I'm shocked," he said. "Happy for you, but shocked." Derek chuckled quietly.

"Izzie, Meredith, we'd also like you to come to our house on the Fourth of July," Frank Shepherd said, pulling away from Meredith after hugging her and Izzie as well. "Ginny and I have a big picnic, cookout type of thing. The family comes, some friends. It's a great time and we'd love the two of you to be there. Especially since it seems like Harrison - and possibly Steven - will be home from the hospital. You two are a part of our family now, like it or not. I know it's not common for patients to invite doctors to their homes but we're not just patients and quit frankly, the two of you aren't just doctors."

"Oh, Dr. Shepherd..." "It's Frank," Frank interrupted. "Frank... I would love to but I'm on vacation next week. My fiancé and I are heading down to the Outer Banks for the week - It's become a sort of tradition for Alex and I. I'm sorry to have to miss it," Izzie said. "You gonna come though, right Merif? Cause its real fun. Papa and nana have a pool at their house. I gots to wear my floaties in it, but it's fun! And Uncle Deek brings lots and lots of sparklers and we write our names... Dat's real fun too," Harrison piped up. Derek took his opportunity.

"Of course Meredith will be there," he said, stepping out of his corner. "Right Meredith?" Meredith felt like a deer in the headlights. She had no choice. She had to say yes. All because Harrison had asked her. He was impossible to say no to. And then Derek had stepped in.... She had no choice.

"Of course I'll be there," she said with a smile that wasn't as forced as she thought it should be. Harrison let out a whoop rivaled only by the one he'd let out a few hours earlier when she'd told him he'd be going home the next day. "You gots to meet all my cousins Merif. I gots lots of 'em!" he said enthusiastically. "Hmmm...," Meredith answered, her smile this time a lot more forced as she realized she'd be spending time with Derek's family. Had Derek not been involved, it wouldn't be such a big, scary thing. It could even be fun. But Derek was involved and thanks to their dinner date followed by the fallout from the accident and then a halfway apology that had left her feeling awkward and Derek apparently feeling... talkative... It made spending the Fourth of July with the Shepherds big and scary. But she was going to do it. Because she'd told Harrison she would.