Slipping trough my fingers

Water under the bridge

"Mommy, where's my winter jacket?" Bailey asked

"I'll go grab it" Meredith slowly stood up

"Mer.." Derek tried to stop her

"I have to go grab Bailey's jacket" She whispered

"Meredith, stay still" Derek stopped her "I know you're scared but I promise he'll be okay" Derek nodded

"I-I know" Meredith whispered

"I'll call you and give you updates" Derek whispered as he pulled her in for a hug

"Don't leave him alone" Meredith whispered

"Mer, what happened with Ellis was an accident. It won't happen again" Derek whispered

"If I had paid more attention that day.."

"Mer, stop blaming yourself, please" Derek looked her into her eyes "I should never have done it either. I blamed you while I was there too that day. I was frozen in my spot while you ran up to her and got her out of the water. You saved her, you saved her from more damage or even dying" Derek said sternly

"Still.." Meredith sighed

"No, you don't get to do this, Meredith. Ellis is in therapy, why don't we try it too?" Derek suggested

"Maybe" Meredith nodded softly

"Dad!" Zona yelled

"What's up Zozo?" Derek asked as he held Meredith tight in his embrace

"Can I come with you and Bailey?"

"Oh, daddy! Can Zozo come with us?" Bailey smiled

"Of course buddy" Derek smiled "Zozo, go get yourself ready"

"I know you will- but.. please, watch them closely" Meredith's voice cracked

"I will" Derek nodded

...

Meredith and Ellis were sitting on the couch, reading

Ellis turned around and looked sternly at her mother "Can we go see Bailey, Zola and daddy?" She signed

Meredith's eyes widened before signing back to her daughter "now?"

"Can we?" Ellis smiled softly

"Let me call daddy" Meredith signed back and got out her phone and started calling Derek. She placed her phone on speaker so she could sign what Derek said so Ellis would understand

"Mer?" Derek's phone was heard through the phone "Zo and Bails are good, how are you and Ellie?" He asked

"We're good. Ellie wants to join you" Meredith softly said

"Well I can come get her in about an hour. Bails is just setting up his bigger stuff" Derek explained

"I-I was thinking.. Maybe.. Maybe I can come with her"

"Me and the kids would love that" Derek softly replied

"Is this stupid?" Meredith blurts out

"No, I'm proud of you. Take it easy, get yourself and Ellis ready and we'll be here waiting for you two" Derek said and Meredith softly agreed. When she ended the call, she helped Ellis get dressed into some warm and waterproof clothes before she changed her own clothes

"Mommy, it's okay" Ellis signed softly and smiled when her mother smiled

"I love you, Ellie-Bell" Meredith signed and grabbed Ellis' hand as they walked out of the door and started the 15 minute walk to the pond

Meredith started walking slower as she recognised it. She hadn't been here ever since the accident

They slowly continued their walk until Ellis saw the others. She pulled at Meredith's hand to get her attention and pointed at them

"Ellie!" Bailey waved as he spotted his youngest sister

"Hey guys" Derek walked towards them and pulled them in for a hug

"Hi" Ellis waved hello to everyone

"Daddy!" Bailey screamed as his line catched a fish, making the water splash around

"Bails!" Meredith got scared for a minute

"He's okay!" Derek assured her and kept her from having a panic attack  "Ellis, wanna come help me and Bailey?" He signed and the little girl agreed quickly

Meredith stood frozen in her spot, carefully watching all four of them carefully, making sure nothing would happen

...

As time had passed by, they were all eating a sandwich in the small cabin near the pond. It was much warmer inside than outside. The fireplace kept them warm as they were sitting down on some old blankets

"Mommy doesn't like fishing" She heard Bailey giggle and was able to understand it from what he was signing as he was having a conversation with his little sister

"I don't like it either" Ellis cuddled into her mother's side after she placed her sandwich down

"That's okay Ellie" Meredith signed and wrapped her arm around her youngest daughter "I'm glad you enjoy it, Bails"

"Daddy showed us all kind of cool tricks!" He kept telling Meredith and Ellis, making sure to focus on his signing too

In the meantime Zola and Derek were talking about other things. Lately Zola had started asking more and more about neurological things. She was certainly interested in her sister's condition

"So in a few years she can have hearing aids?" Zola questioned

"We don't know how long it will take but yes, at one point she will be able to have them. She won't hear good enough and won't hear certain noises but it will make it easier for her to live" Derek explained

"I hate that this happened to her" Zola said as she looked at her sister who was giggling as Meredith was tickling her "But she's always so happy"

"She is. She has her bad moments too but you and Bailey have been amazing to her, you guys can completely understand her and she can understand you two" Derek smiled softly and pulled his oldest daughter in for a hug

Later that afternoon the family was sitting outside again. Bailey and Zola were still fishing while Ellis was clueless and sound asleep on Meredith's lap

"You doing okay?" Derek asked as he rubbed her back

"I'm okay now. But I need some help to deal with everything that has happened the past year" She whispered

"Of course. I'm proud you took that decision" Derek kissed her cheek

"I wanna start working again.. Not now but soon" Meredith softly said

"We can call Bailey tomorrow" Derek assured her "Family Time now"

"I'm glad we still have our family" Meredith sighed

"Our family will stay forever. I love you Meredith" Derek kissed her lips

"I love you too, Derek" She kissed him back

AN // I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I started a new collab and I would love it if you would check it out on Greys_Leonie_MerDer