Confide in Me

Chapter 24

"Okay, Maddie. I've gotta go now," Meredith said, squeezing the young girl closer to her chest for a moment longer. Her small fists were gripping onto Meredith's jacket as she shook her head, absolutely no desire to part from her mother.

"Stay, Momma," Maddie said, her voice quivering on a borderline sob.

"I've got to work, baby girl," Meredith said, her heart breaking at the beginning of Maddie's sobs. She started to rock Maddie a little. "I'll be back as soon as I can, and we'll call every morning and every night, I promise."

Meredith pressed a kiss against the top of Maddie's head when Derek approached them, lifting Maddie from Meredith's arms to comfort her himself so that Meredith wouldn't miss her flight.

"Come on, Maddie. We're going to go and have dinner with Granny. We don't want Mommy to miss her flight."

Maddie sniffled and rubbed a fist against her nose as she curled up against Derek's chest. "I love you, Mommy."

"I love you too, little bug," Meredith gave her a soft grin, wary of letting her own emotion show at having to leave them behind for two weeks.

Meredith gave Derek a quick kiss, having already said their goodbyes more explicitly that morning. "I love you," he murmured against her lips.

"I love you too," she replied, brushing her hand over Maddie's hair once more before pressing a kiss against her temple. "I'll be back before you know it."

A quick glance at the watch on her wrist told her she had to leave now or she'd miss her flight. She hated that she had to leave, but she knew it was better to leave now and get these two weeks over and done with. Then she could stay permanently. Finally.

"Bye," she said one last time, a sad smile given before she grabbed the handle of her suitcase and started towards check-in.

****

Lounging on her hotel bed, unable to get anymore sleep knowing that back in Seattle, it was around the time Maddie would be waking up, Meredith toyed with her phone between her fingers. Waiting for the call. Any minute now.

As promised, Meredith and Maddie spoke every morning and every night before bedtime. A week into her time away, and as much as Meredith loved her job, she was more than ready to get home and relax, but there was still another week to go. Everyday she looked through her calendar, trying to see if she could get away with going home earlier, but she'd promised to help these people. These children, their parents. She had to perform miracles, and show other people how to perform miracles.

Once she returned to Seattle, patients would be flying to Seattle Grace to see her rather than her travelling to them. Arrangements had been made already to allow this to happen, and only if there was no way of getting the patient to Seattle, and absolutely no one else could perform the surgery, would Meredith look to travel to them. It was going to be difficult at first, getting into a new routine, but she had hope. Derek and Maddie were her hope, her family, and they were her priority now.

It was no shock that the miscarriage had taken it's toll on her, mentally and physically, but Derek had been there for every second. Even Maddie had been helpful, just being there, without even knowing the extent of the situation. She had never felt closer to them both, and she couldn't wait until she could legally adopt Maddie. When she'd last spoken to Derek about it, they were just waiting on the court to pass the order, making Laura officially and legally not Maddie's mother, stripping her of the parental rights the woman didn't deserve - even if she'd wanted them.

And then marriage. The thought of marriage had always made Meredith feel somewhat unwell, the idea of tying herself to one person for the rest of her life. It hadn't gone well with her parents - her dad having left them both when she was just five years old. There was a brief period of time with Brian when she'd considered it, but that had quickly been taken away and she hadn't thought about it since.