Confide in Me

Chapter 8

Derek couldn't believe he was finally getting the chance to take Maddie on holiday before she started school. Ever since Meredith had shown her the beach over a video call, his daughter had wanted nothing more than to go and see it for herself – if you excluded her sudden desire to own a pony.

Maddie had slept the whole flight over, leaving him somewhat alone with Meredith, but she had insisted there were a few last bits of work she had to complete. If it meant he'd get her to himself for the whole week of their holiday, he wasn't going to argue. At least he had managed to get some reading done.

Meredith' head lifted, and she looked out the small window. He gave her a questioning look, wondering what had caught her attention.

"We're about ten minutes from landing," she grinned at him. She closed up her laptop and grabbed her bag from the overhead storage, stowing the device away.

"Of course, you would know that from looking out of the window," he chuckled, closing his book.

He looked over to Maddie, still fast asleep in her seat beside Meredith. She clutched her favourite teddy close against her chest. He still found it amazing how as soon as Meredith had gifted the soft toy, all her others had been forgotten. The pony, named Glibert for whatever reason, was now her favourite. She was inseparable from the toy pony.

"Do we need to wake her?" Derek asked.

"We don't have to, but she might want to be awake for this," Meredith shrugged and reached a hand to run over Maddie's curls.

He couldn't escape the feeling that ran through him, making his heart swell, every time he watched the two of them interact. His daughter was adamant that Meredith was her 'best friend ever' even if their relationship evolved each day, mirroring that of a mother and daughter. He was sure that Meredith was it for him and would only welcome the change to the relationship between his daughter and his girlfriend.

"Do you want to get her, and I'll grab the bags?" He offered and stood to retrieve his carry-on bag and Maddie's backpack.

"Okay," Meredith's smile widened a fraction, and she passed her back to him. He placed all the bags on the seat beside him before he sat down again.

Meredith sat and leant over Maddie; soft whispers shared with her as her fingers brushed the girl's hair back out of her eyes. He was sure if his heart were to swell anymore it would explode. His daughter started to wake, bleary-eyed with a yawn. She clutched the pony, gravitating towards Meredith with a slight whimper.

"I'll hold you in a moment, we have to wear our seatbelts for the plane to land," Meredith explained, her voice a little louder now. She fastened Maddie's seatbelt before her own. "Can you see out of the window?"

"Oh!" Maddie gasped, sitting up so she could see more. "Are we in France?"

"Yes," Meredith nodded, and Maddie gripped on to her hand.

His daughter's gaze finally found his, and she giggled. "Hi, Daddy."

"Hi, Princess. Did you have a good sleep?"

"Yeah. Daddy, we're in France!" Maddie bounced a little in her seat, very awake now considering she had been fast asleep only moments earlier.

"That's right," Derek chuckled.

The light came on for them to fasten their seatbelts and Derek fastened his own. He didn't focus much on the conversation Meredith and Maddie were having in front of him, he was just focused on how happy his daughter looked. She'd been more down recently, coming to terms with Laura not being back in her life, and to be able to do something like this to lift Maddie's spirits meant the world to him. He was sure he hadn't thanked Meredith nearly enough.