Chapter Text
Raindrops pelted the windows of the cab, rolling down slowly, reflecting the city lights as they drove. Tucked safely in the backseat, Meredith Grey cradled her daughter Adrianne close, smiling softly at the sleeping five-year-old.
It had taken many sacrifices, long hours, and missed events–but now, on the cusp of Meredith’s internship, it felt like everything had finally paid off.
The taxi pulled into the driveway, and Meredith paid, gently maneuvering her daughter to carry her inside.
“Home sweet home, Juju,” she murmured, pressing a soft kiss to Adrianne’s temple, laughing lightly as her nose scrunched up in sleep.
Sighing, Meredith trudged up the dust-covered staircase with her backpack, searching for a passably clean bed. Finding one, she swept off the furniture cover, spreading out her sleeping bag and tucking her daughter in.
“Sleep tight,” she murmured, leaving the child sleeping in the bed.
The next morning, Meredith woke to forty pounds of excited child bouncing on her chest.
“Momma! Time to wake up! You promised pancakes!”
Meredith groaned, blinking sleepily. “One sec, hon. You’ll get your pancakes, hold your horses.”
The room came into focus slowly, and Meredith took it all in: boxes piled high, labeled with scribbled sharpie; the stack of rugs rolled in the corner, fuzzy with dust; her daughter’s blue eyes, sparkling with excitement as she bounced on Meredith’s ribs.
“But Momma, I want pancakes!” the five-year-old pouted.
Pulling herself into a sitting position on the couch, Meredith grinned mischievously. “Oh, you do, huh? Better watch out for the tickle monster!” she tickled the kid’s sides mercilessly, only letting up when Adrianne was laughing uncontrollably, gasping for air.
“Let’s brush our teeth, and then we’ll see about those pancakes.”
Adrianne groaned dramatically as Meredith picked her up, marching towards the bathroom.
“Momma, I’m starving! And you said I can’t eat the toothpaste!”
Meredith tapped her nose playfully, setting the girl down on a stool in front of the sink. “You’ve got to brush your teeth before breakfast–that’s the rule. Moving to Seattle doesn’t change that.”
Adrianne huffed, but acquiesced, scrubbing her teeth and spitting, wiping her hands on a towel. “All done!” She grinned up at her mom, displaying her smile.
Meredith scooped Adrianne up, balancing her on a hip as she moved to the kitchen, pulling out ingredients for pancakes.
“Blueberries!” Adrianne cheered, reaching for the carton.
“Wash them first,” Meredith reminded, helping her put the berries in a strainer and clean them.
The pancakes sizzled in the pan while Adrianne supervised–and ate plenty of blueberries. Meredith laughed as Adrianne stained her lips with berry juice. As she settled her daughter on a stool, placing fresh pancakes in front of her, watching as the stubborn girl insisted on cutting her own food, Meredith felt her heart swell. This–this was what she’d been working towards–a home, bright and sunny, filled with laughter and Adrianne’s beaming grin.
“But Momma, I don’t wanna,” Adrianne complained loudly as Meredith signed the daycare paperwork, tugging on her jeans.
“Momma’s gotta work, honey. You know that.” Meredith ruffled Adrianne’s red hair, causing her to squawk loudly.
“Stop! You’re messing it up!” She huffed, patting her hair down with the focus of someone much older than five.
Meredith laughed–apparently, this level of care about your appearance was genetic. One of her strongest memories of the night she’d shared with Adrianne’s other mom all those years ago–other than the mind-blowing sex–was how the woman had insisted on hanging up their jackets instead of letting them lie on the floor, and how she’d insisted on borrowing Meredith’s hairbrush afterwards, the thought of going out in public with messy hair anathema. Meredith could see the same streak of conscientiousness about her appearance alive in Adrianne.
“Be good for the daycare staff, okay?” Meredith asked, gathering her daughter into her arms and bouncing her gently on her hip. She ran a hand through Adrianne’s fiery waves, marveling at how much she looked like her other mom–though most of her snark came from Meredith.
Adrianne huffed dramatically, putting all her attitude into her reply. “Fine, Momma. I’ll be good.” Instead of being scary, Meredith thought Adrianne was the cutest thing in the world.
“I know you will.” Meredith kissed her softly on the forehead before placing her daughter down, gently spurring Adrianne to walk into the daycare. The attendant reached down to take the girl’s hand and guide her inside, giving Meredith a polite nod before vanishing.
Meredith lingered in the doorway, watching her daughter disappear into the brightly colored room, a familiar ache forming in her chest. She wished, selfishly, that Adrianne’s other mom was here to experience this milestone. She knew it never would’ve worked, that Adrianne’s existence would’ve ruined the other doctor’s marriage—but a small part of Meredith had always wondered what it’d be like, to raise Adrianne with her.
“Grey!”
Meredith nearly groaned when she heard her resident’s familiar clipped tone echo down the hallway. She straightened, carefully leashing her anxieties and frustrations before turning around.
“Yes, Dr. Bailey?”
Miranda Bailey huffed, shoving a chart into her chest. “Dr. Grey, last I checked, you were not on Peds or OB. Why, then, have I caught you scurrying towards that wing of the hospital on three separate occasions this morning?”
Suddenly, Meredith found her shoes very interesting. “Sorry, Dr. Bailey,” she muttered sullenly.
Bailey’s eyes narrowed, taking in the lack of charts in Meredith’s hands, the guilty shuffle of her feet. “There a patient in there you’re attached to or something? Don’t do that, Grey. Getting attached is a one-way ticket to heartbreak.”
“No, not that, it’s–” Meredith began, voice trailing off as she met Bailey’s eyes. “It’s my daughter. It’s her first day too, in the daycare, and… I just can’t help but worry about her.”
At Bailey’s sharp inhale, Meredith grimaced, shoulders rising defensively. The resident looked Meredith over as if she was an entirely different person.
“You’ve got a kid?” She asked, voice surprisingly soft.
Meredith nodded sheepishly, bracing herself for the incoming lecture about how a surgical intern–especially a single surgical intern–had no business raising a child.
Instead of the expected tirade, Bailey simply exhaled slowly. “Okay then,” she said, nodding. “Dr. Grey. Your having a child changes nothing–you cannot be hovering like this. You do your job, and trust the daycare staff to do theirs. Go be a surgeon, Grey. And don’t let me catch you near the daycare without an assignment again.”
Meredith nodded, relieved, and power-walked down the hall, thanking her lucky stars Bailey hadn’t reamed her out.
Her luck didn’t last long—not two hallways away, she ran headlong into another person.
“Oh, Dr. Grey, was it?” He caught her arms as she crashed into him, lopsided grin plastered onto his face.
She smiled reflexively, pulling out of his grasp, noting his navy scrubs–an attending. “Apologies, doctor…” she trailed off, unsure of his name.
“Shepherd. Derek Shepherd. Neuro.”
Meredith smiled politely up at him—he was quite handsome, in a rugged sort of way. If he hadn’t been her boss, she’d have gladly asked him for coffee.
“Meredith Grey, surgical intern. Nice meeting you, Dr. Shepherd.” She carefully extricated herself from his grip before speeding off down the hallway. The last thing she needed was Bailey to think she’d disobeyed direct orders.
By the end of the day, Meredith was dead on her feet. Her first shift had been exhausting, full of scut work, wrong turns, and overwhelming pressure. By the time she’d finished, all Meredith wanted to do was see her daughter. Politely declining the other interns’ invites for drinks at Joe’s, Meredith made her way back up to the daycare to pick up Adrianne, hoping her daughter’s day had been better than her own.
The elevator doors opened, revealing Dr. Shepherd. He brightened as he saw her, breaking into a flirtatious grin. “Dr. Grey, we meet again.”
A tight smile was all Meredith could manage in response, too tired from the day’s work for pleasantries. “Dr. Shepherd,” she greeted, pushing the button for her floor.
“Call me Derek,” He spoke, stepping slightly closer. “You’re done for the day, right? I was thinking we could have drinks? There’s a bar just across the street, I’ve heard it’s decent.”
Meredith tilted her head, considering. He seemed nice enough, but right now, all she wanted was Adrianne, her couch, and some dinner. “Dr. Shepherd–” He raised a brow, and she corrected herself. “Derek. Maybe some other time? It’s been a long shift, and I’m looking forward to getting some rest.”
The elevator dinged as they reached Derek’s floor. As he stepped out, he called back. “Well, you know where to find me if you ever do want that drink.”
Meredith nodded politely as the doors closed with a thud. Leaning against the elevator wall, she sighed heavily, letting the day’s stress bleed out of her posture, shoulders slumping. Almost done, she reminded herself. Tomorrow’s a day off. But responsibilities weighed heavy–Ellis Grey’s old house was still in no fit condition to live in, she’d need to spend hours deep-cleaning as soon as possible. And check that all the appliances still worked, and go grocery shopping, and ensure the furniture was still usable–the list went on.
Her gloomy mood evaporated as she caught sight of her daughter, being led out by a daycare attendant. Adrianne’s countenance brightened instantly, and she made a beeline for Meredith, crashing into her legs, rambling about her day. “...and then we built a tower, and it was taller than me! Momma, you should’ve seen it! And they had toy dinosaurs…”
Prior exhaustion forgotten, Meredith scooped up her daughter and walked out, waving goodbye to the daycare staff. She hummed and ooohed in all the right places, glad Adrianne had a good first day. No matter how hard her own day had been–this part was always worth it.
That night, as Meredith tucked Adrianne in gently, patting the blankets into place, her daughter begged for her favorite bedtime story–the story of her other mom.
“Alright, hon,” Meredith murmured, smoothing Adrianne’s hair. “Once upon a time, Momma was out celebrating something very exciting.”
“What, Momma?” Adrianne interjected, eyes bright with excitement.
“I had just found out I was going to be a doctor,” Meredith grinned. “So, I went out to celebrate. I went to a bar–”
Adrianne giggled. “A bar? Like a grown-up bar?”
“Yes, Juju,” Meredith laughed. “And, when I was there, I met someone very special–I met your other mom. We talked, and had a wonderful evening together.”
Little feet wiggled excitedly beneath the blankets, brushing against Meredith’s side. “Then what?”
Meredith smiled softly. “Well, that night turned out to be extra special. Because, not long after, I found out I was going to have you.” She reached out, brushing Adrianne’s cheek with her hand. “My little celebration surprise.”
Adrianne beamed, and Meredith’s chest tightened–her baby looked so much like her other mom, it hurt. She ran her fingers through the red strands, reminiscing. “She would love you,” Meredith whispered. “So much.”
Adrianne leaned into the touch, humming happily as Meredith scratched her scalp. “But I’ve never met her.”
Meredith sighed, staring down at her daughter–her entire world, trusting and innocent, unaware that her other mom didn’t even know she existed. “She can’t be here right now. She’s busy saving babies.”
“I understand, Momma.” Adrianne’s jaw set, and she nodded firmly. “Babies are small. They can’t protect themselves.”
A choked sob caught in Meredith’s throat, and she exhaled slowly. “Yeah. They can’t. So she’s protecting them.”
Adrianne drifted off, evidently satisfied with the answer. Meredith watched her breathing even out, deepening with sleep.
“Sleep well, Juju,” she murmured, pressing a kiss to Adrianne’s temple before slipping out of the room, heart weighing heavy.