Home (Grey's Anatomy Series)

Prologue: Life in L.A

(This chapter is based on the year Elena and Meredith left after Derek's death.)

After driving for what seemed like hours, I finally arrived down the streets to our new home for the next few months.

Meredith was wide awake as I parked in the driveway, Theo, Zola, and Bailey were asleep behind us while the radio played softly.

"I'll go open the door." She whispered.

Handing her the keys, I looked at the kids through the rearview mirror. Resting my head back, I couldn't help but reminisce about the last week. The burial, the dinner...it wasn't until we finally arrived in L.A that I understood why Meredith liked space. 

No one was bothering her about is she was okay, or if she was comfortable performing surgery on her patient. She could focus on her kids, on their happiness, which for a long time it was something that I needed from everything that I've been through as well.

"Come on, Zola," Meredith said, bringing me back to consciousness as she opened the back door.

"Mam?" Theo whispered.

"I'm coming." 

Unclipping my seat belt, I jumped out of the car to grab Theo from his car seat.

Holding him tightly, I closed the car door and made my way up to the two-story beach house. The light gray panels running across the perimeter of the house followed by the small garden surrounding the front room and the back of the house.

Taking a right and then another left to walk into the kitchen and what was also the living room, I took the stairs up to the two bedrooms on opposite sides of the house.

"Goodnight," I whispered to Meredith who was holding Zola's hand and Bailey in her arms.

"Goodnight."

~

Pulling the covers over my chest, Theo curled up on my left side intertwining his fingers in my hands.

"I love you, bud," I whispered, kissing the top of his head.

Watching as his body move up and down in peaceful rhythm, I turned my head straight and stared up at the ceiling.

It had only been 5 days since Derek died, and somehow my heart felt as if it wasn't there. Like my body was barely surviving on my lungs, producing the blood supply around my body. I didn't feel that same way I did when Mark died, or when Jackson had run away from April during her wedding. It was worse but didn't compare to anything I've ever felt before.

Denial followed just moments later. Deep, in whatever left of a heart I had, I kept telling myself that Derek was going to walk through the front door, walk quietly up the stairs and slip into bed with Meredith. But all I heard was the waves crashing just above my head.

"He's not coming home," I whispered to myself before softly crying myself to sleep.

THE NEXT DAY

Climbing out of bed, Theo was sitting up against the headboard reading a book.

"Good Morning." He whispered.

Turning my head, I looked at him with narrow eyes and pouty mouth until I looked around the room to see the entrance of a bathroom.

"Is Meredith up?" I asked him brushing my teeth.

"She's downstairs making breakfast, she said she would call when she was ready."

Widening my eyes, I quickly spit out the toothpaste wash out my mouth and ran downstairs.