fragments of my life [MERDER]

TWENTY

Meredith was done; done with residency, done with her boards, done with having to share a hospital with Delaney and Whelan, but most importantly, done not having Derek in her life anymore. She was preparing herself to move back to Seattle, to let him in and tell him everything, to go back to be with her family - she could never forget what Jade and Kieran had done for her, but the three always knew that their time together would be brief, and that time was coming to an end.

Meredith realised how much had happened since she'd returned to Boston; how much she'd kept from her husband, from Derek. Her decision to pursue general and neurosurgery; Delaney and Whelan; acing her boards; Jade and Kieran; the twins. There was so much she had kept from him, and she knew that he might think of her as a villain. There was always the possibility that their relationship would fail on her arrival, pregnant with his children, having concealed that fact for almost seven months; he couldn't trust her, so he reacted, then she couldn't trust him, so she reacted, and now, there was a very real chance that the cycle may continue. She hoped Derek had changed for the better, and that they could forgive and forget and move forward, and put all of this mess behind them, and enjoy the life they had left as a family of five. Meredith, Derek, Zola, and the twins.

Meredith decided that if she was going to let Derek back in, she was going to let it be slowly. She didn't want to arrive in Seattle with him completely in the dark, and having to reveal all the intricate details of her past months in Boston while he attempted to grapple with the fact that he was about to go from a father of one to a father of three. From a single father to a husband. She didn't want to spring everything on him at once. 

Noticing that she hadn't told Derek a thing about her boards, and not wanting to really talk to him directly over fear that she'd cry and babble unintelligibly just on impact of hearing his voice, she decided to tell her husband about her newfound status as a double board certified general and neurosurgeon vicariously through the only person she could trust to do something like this - Richard.

Meredith had maintained a relationship with her old Chief, her surrogate father, the entire time she was in Boston. She was well aware that he had probably received updates on her working and personal life from Dr. Summers and Dr. Anderson, both of which were surgeons he used to work with, or had worked with previously, or knew through Ellis, so she didn't feel any immediate desire to tell him major events in her life as they happened. He would find out on his own schedule, and she hoped that he was proud of her for everything she'd completed through the adversity she had faced.

She let Richard know that now was the time to disclose to Derek the first fragment of her life; a large one - her professional, surgical career, and how it had blossomed and grown since her disappearance.

"Dr. Webber?" Meredith asked, just to make sure it really was him at the other end of the line. It was roughly 9:30 in the evening in Seattle, making it half past midnight where Meredith was, in Boston.

"Is everything all right, Meredith?"

"Yes, sir. Everything is great. I'm sure you already figured it out through your vast web of contacts, but I didn't resign a contract with Mass Gen. I hope there's still a space back for me in Seattle, if that's okay."

"Ah, Meredith. I'm so glad you're finally coming home. I thought it would be soon; so many people are going to be thrilled."

"Speaking of people..." Meredith stuttered, stumbling on her words.

"What is it that you want me to tell Derek?"

"Can you tell him about my boards? That I passed them, and I followed him into neurosurgery, and general surgery? I think he'd want to know, and when I get back, I don't want him to have to deal with everything at once."