He was a neurosurgeon, one of the the best. She was just starting off. He had been married with children before his wife left him before one day he received divorce papers in the mail. They had been alone ever since.
after a long day at work Derek was finally home. he transferred the kids to a private school which was farther from their house so they now went on the bus to school.
"Where are the kids?" he asked Mark as he walked through the front door, removing his coat and putting them away.
"They're upstairs doing their homework," she spoke. His face scrunched with confusion. he turned around to see his mother standing in the living room.
"Ma... when did you get here?" he asked shocked. usually he would go over to her and hug but he was tired from the day he had. every time he came home from a bad day he always found himself longing for Meredith to walk through the door, even though he knew she never would without letting him know beforehand.
"I decided to drop bye as a surprise.. I tried calling you but I didn't answer I suppose you were busy.. so I called Mark and he said he usually watched the kids while you're working late so I told him I would take his place today," she spoke.
"You were here when they got home from school?" he sighed, he kicked of his shoes and went into the living room as well.
"Yes, they were surprise but happy to see me," she smiled.
"They haven't seen you in a bit," he sighed dropping himself onto the couch, leaning back and spreading his legs.
"Yes, but you don't seem too happy to see me," she observed.
"No, it's not you.. I'm just tired... it hasn't been the best day," he ran his hand over his face and through his hair.
"that girlfriend you had when you brought the kids to New York... did it last?" she asked as she took a seat next to him.
"Yes, we're still together,"
"Really? has she met the kids yet?" she was surprised Derek's relationship had lasted so long, he had mentioned to her that Meredith was younger than he was, over ten years younger and younger women usually didn't like the sound of children getting in the way of their youthful lives.
"Yes, she likes them. Violet loves her," he smiled as he spoke about her.
"what about Madeleine and Michael?"
"Madeleine doesn't like her and Michaels fine with her.. he's not one hundred percent about her yet but he doesn't mind her being around at all... but he does get nervous when he has to be alone with her for a while," he nodded.
"when did he have to be alone with her?"
"not too long back Madeleine and I got into a big argument and when I turned my back to her she ran out the front door and it took me three hours to find her," he frowned at the memory.
"What?" she sat up shocked.
"she ended up being just fine.. I had ran out of gas and I went to the nearest gas station and when I went to pay I found her... Mark didn't answer the phone so I called Meredith to come watch Michael and Violet for a bit and she answered the phone right away.. she agreed to watching them without hesitation," he spoke.
"so you having three kids isn't a problem for her?" she asked.
"No, I told her at the beginning of our relationship, she wasn't thrilled, she was surprised but she wasn't upset.. she accepted it and wanted to go through with the relationship.. and here we are," he smiled.
"Do you think she's the one?"
"Yes.. Yes I do.. she's never complained about me having kids or working late like other girlfriends have done.. she understands working a lot because we have the same job... she's a good person," he nodded.
he went to look at the time but when he lifted up his wrist he noticed his watch was missing.
"Shit," he cursed.
"language. what is it?" his mother asked.
"My watch, it's gone... I must have left it at work," he groaned. "it'll take forever to find, it's a huge hospital," he sighed throwing his head back.
"You make good money, I'm sure you can get a new one," she patted his hand.
"No, it was Dad's watch.. they discontinued it decades ago... somebody probably found, recognized it was worth a lot and sold it by now," he groaned frustrated.
"Your father has many watches son-"
"Not that one!" he was mad, not at his mother but at himself for loosing it. he never took it off and it was never lose. it was old maybe it became undone and slipped off his wrist during work.
"I'm sorry," he apologized.
"Where is Dad anyways?" he asked.
"he's in the guest bedroom sleeping, Violet wore him out," she chuckled.
"Violet will do that to you," he nodded.
around ten minutes later they heard a knock at the front door.
"Who could that be?" his mother asked, it was getting late and closer to midnight.
"I don't know," he stood up.
he went to answer the front door, he unlocked it and opened it.
"Meredith," he said, relived and surprised.
"What are you doing here? it's late,"
"Your watch.. you left it at my place when you left this morning, you said it was your father's and it was discontinued years ago and I figured you'd be upset when you noticed it was missing," she held the watch in her hand.
"God, Mer.. thank you," he wrapped his arms around her.
"I thought I lost it at the hospital," he breathed her in. he had been longing for a hug from her all day, just to feel her, smell her, touch her, just her presence made a huge difference in his mood. he noticed she was wearing a new perfume, floral, soft, warm, comforting.. it became his new favorite scent.
"Well, I should get going. I just thought it'd be best if you knew where it was before you went to bed. I'll talk to you tomorrow," she told him as they pulled away.
"Call me before you go to bed," he told her.
"Alright," she smiled. they shared a passionate kiss before she got in her car and left.
he sighed in relief as he held the watch in his hands. he was quick to clasp it around on his left wrist where it belonged.
"So the watch isn't lost then?" his mother asked as he locked the front door and made his way back into the living room.
"No, I left it at Meredith's place this morning. I always take it off before I go to bed and I must have left it on her nightstand before leaving," he spoke.
"So this Meredith.. will we get to meet her soon?"
"she doesn't know you're in town yet so I'll have to ask her about it tomorrow,"
"Hmm, you should go to bed, you look like crap," she told him as she stood up.
"I'll put the kids to bed, alright?"
"Yes, thank you," he stood up as well. he kissed her cheek before going off into his bedroom and got ready for bed.
