Confide in Me

Chapter 23

Meredith sat in a meeting with her Ellis once more. After everything that had happened in the past year, she finally yearned to settle down. And not just with anyone. She wanted to settle down with Derek and Maddie, as soon as possible.

"I'm rearranging my upcoming appointments and cancelling any that couldn't be arranged for sooner," she announced. "Give me three weeks, two to work and one to rest, and I can start."

"Are you sure about this? Do you definitely want this?" Ellis asked, brows furrowed in confusion at her daughter's change of heart.

"I'm sure. It'll mean two weeks away, but that's better than dragging it out over the next few months," Meredith shrugged. "I want to be here permanently."

"Then we can definitely get the ball rolling. I'll book in a few meetings with the board, and with Derek... I assume you want to be the one who tells him?" Ellis asked with an arched brow.

"I'll tell him after I've been away. I have something planned," Meredith found herself grinning.

"Anything you want to share?"

"I don't want to jinx it," Meredith shook her head, standing up from her chair. "I'm heading home. We'll see you Sunday?"

Ellis nodded with an odd smile on her face, but Meredith didn't think too much into it as she left the office and closed the door behind her. She was picking Maddie up from school – on time, no after school club – and she couldn't wait a moment longer to spend time with her daughter.

****

"What's going on in here?" Derek chuckled when he walked into the kitchen and dropped his jacket over the back of a chair.

"Cookies, daddy!" Maddie grinned at him, flour dusted on her cheeks. She stood on a stool behind the island counter in an apron that was slightly too gi on her, next to Meredith.

"Since when were you able to bake?" He raised an eyebrow at Meredith.

"Your mom has been teaching me," she said with a slight blush.

"And you're teaching Maddie?" He asked and kissed her cheek. His thumb brushed over the dusting of flour of her temple.

"If anything, she's teaching me," she laughed, kissing his cheek back. "How did the meeting go?"

"Well..." he started, moving to lift Maddie up into his arms, chuckling when she squealed slightly and wrapped her arms around him. "I feel like you already know, Mer."

"I... might have an inkling," she shrugged with a knowing smile, turning to put the tray of cookies in the oven.

"So, you don't know that your mom is stepping back as Chief to focus on her foundation work?" he moved to wrap his arm around her, pulling her closer with Maddie still on his hip.

"I'm sure she might've mentioned it the other day," she grinned softly, wiping flour off Maddie's cheek with her thumb. "And?"

"And apparently, I'm on the shortlist for the job, but you didn't know about that part, did you?"

"What, really?" she said with fake shock, laughing when Maddie reached to wipe at flour on her face. "You know there's things I can't tell you."

"A little heads up would've been appreciated," he chuckled, giving her a quick kiss.

"Daddy, what's pree-she-ayte?" Maddie asked with a slight frown.

"Appreciated. It's like... being thankful when someone does a nice thing," he explained, kissing her forehead.