NEVER LEAVING YOUR HEART ALONE

UNEXPECTED VISITOR

Anna played outside in the yard most of the day. Meredith felt comfortable with her playing alone, as long as she could see her out the window. Her only fear was the water. Anna seemed to have a fascination with it. Derek had taken her on a ferry boat ride awhile back, and she had stood on the rail, looking over. She wasn't afraid of the water at all, and that worried both Meredith and Derek. When it came time for bed, she fell right asleep from exhaustion. Meredith and Derek were half expecting her to show up in their room afraid. It never happened.

Meredith spent most of the night moving things into just the right place. Derek did do pretty well with the planning, which was a huge relief. She would have died if she came into a poorly decorated house, and wouldn't have been able to say anything because she didn't want to hurt his feelings. She had her suspicions that he had hired an interior decorator, but she wasn't going to say anything. Finally around one a.m., she made it to their bed, happy to be home.

Meredith rolled over in the empty bed. She squinted hers eyes. The sun poured in through the windows. She was definitely going to have to do something about that. She laid there, happy to be home. Home in their house. The house that they built together. She rolled over and covered her head. Then she heard the voices. Anna and Derek were awake. Most likely cooking breakfast. She decided to roll herself out of bed and check things out. It wasn't often that they got to spend time together.

She slowly walked down the stairs. She liked her new stairs, they weren't as steep as in the old house. She felt the cold wood on her bare feet. It was a warm morning, and it felt good. She rounded the corner and made her way into the kitchen. Her eyes got wide as she walked in.

"Good morning!" Addison said as she looked at Meredith.

Meredith was in shock. Not only was Addison there, but so was everyone else. Stan, Izzie, George, Alex, and Cristina. Derek gave Meredith an apologetic look. There she stood in her plaid pajama pants and a tee shirt. Her hair was a complete mess and she hadn't even brushed her teeth.

"Good morning, everyone." She said as she looked around. What to do? What to do? Leave them all, or stand here looking like an idiot.

"Wow. You look rough." Cristina said with a chuckle.

"That's how Grey always looks in the morning." Alex pointed out.

"We thought we'd stop and see the new house." George said happily. He could tell she was embarrassed. It was his feeble attempt at fixing the situation.

"All of you? At random?" Meredith asked as she looked around.

"Well, not really. We all talked about it at the hospital yesterday. And then Derek said something about breakfast." Izzie explained. "I brought your favorite...chocolate chip muffins." She said as she handed the basket to her. "They're fresh. I baked them this morning." Meredith leaned down at took a whiff. Generally that smell was wonderful. Not today. She quickly wheeled around and ran to the bathroom. Izzie looked slightly offended as she grabbed placed the basket on the counter top.

"It's not the muffins, Izzie. It's the stress." Derek said as he walked out of the room. "I forgot to tell her that you guys were coming. And she was sleeping so deep this morning...I'll be right back. Anna, you stir." Anna quickly climbed up on her stool and began stirring. She looked happy to have a job, and responsibility.

"Maybe we should go..." George said as he looked around.

Meredith sat on the floor. She couldn't believe it. Derek had obviously known they were coming. She felt like she had been sabotaged. And now she had embarrassed herself further by running out. They are all her friends, why should she care? She could hear him walking towards the bathroom. She watched at the doorknob turned. She heard the heavy wooden door open. Derek looked down at her.