Confide in Me

Chapter 2

"So, what did I miss?"

They had finished their lunch, and while Derek had gone to clean away their things, Meredith had taken up residence in the corner of the couch again, this time with Maddie in her lap. The blankets were tucked around them, and Meredith's fingers absent-mindedly combed through Maddie's tangled curls, careful to not catch any knots.

"You were gone for a whole week," Maddie leant her head back against Meredith's chest with a dramatic groan, as if it were the worst thing imaginable. "Lots happened."

"What was the most important thing to happen?" Meredith asked Maddie, contemplating the growing length of Maddie's hair, wondering if maybe it was getting a little too long. Even so, Maddie had definitely grown herself. She seemed so much older than only a week ago.

"Hmm," Maddie's face contorted into a frown as she thought hard, her hand tucked under her chin. "Daddy said I go to school soon."

"And what do you think about that?" Meredith spoke in a quiet voice, vaguely wondering what Derek was up to that was keeping him away for so long.

"No school," Maddie muttered, turning her face to hide against Meredith's chest.

"Why not? I think you'll love school," Meredith tried to encourage her.

"Daddy said, no more 'opital, no more lunch time with you and Daddy, and that means I won't see you no more!" Maddie said with a huff, her arms moving around Meredith's neck.

Meredith stopped her combing of Maddie's her, moving her arms around the girl's small body and hugging her close. "I'm not going anywhere, Maddie. You'll still see me, even if we don't have lunch together every day."

"Nuh uh," Maddie shook her head in defiance. "Always see at 'opital, and if not there no more than not see you no more!"

"Are we at the hospital now?" Meredith rose an eyebrow, pulling back slightly to meet Maddie's gaze.

"No," Maddie frowned.

"Can you see me?" She couldn't help but grin.

"Yeah," Maddie giggled, her hand covering her mouth.

"And you'll still see me if you go to school. We can have lunch together at weekends, and there'll be holidays where you'll see me more because there's no school. I think you'll love school."

"Really?" Maddie's eyebrows rose, a grin on her face.

"Yeah, you'll learn lots of new things and you'll make lots of new friends, and you'll have loads of fun."

"But you're my bestest friend, Mer," Maddie sighed, tightening her arms around Meredith's neck again.

"You're my best friend too," Meredith assured her, rubbing her back gently. "But it's okay to have more friends."

"If you say so," Maddie sighed again, clearly not convinced.

"We have all summer together before you start school anyway, we can have lots of fun before then and lots of lunches together, okay?"

"Okay!" Maddie started smiling again, nodding eagerly.

They settled down again, watching the tv, Maddie happily snuggled up against Meredith. She could feel herself starting to dose off a little, and having the warmth of Maddie against her wasn't helping that. Maddie's own breathing started to slow, and when the TV went quiet, Meredith was a little confused as to why she hadn't put the next episode on.

"Are you sleeping, Maddie?" She murmured, opening her eyes a little.

"Nuh-uh," she shook her head, but her face was buried into Meredith's chest, her eyes squeezed shut.