Never Alone//Merder

The First Cut Is The Deepest

"So what is the Shepherd family planning to do for Thanksgiving?" Meredith asked Derek one evening as they sat down to grade his students' papers. It was only a few days after Halloween. "Or is it too early to ask that?"

"I don't know. I haven't really thought about it," Derek replied. "I'm sure my mother would love us to come back for Thanksgiving, but I'm leaning towards Christmas. That is always much more fun for Katie and Christopher with their cousins."

Meredith nodded understandingly. "Yeah, I can see why with a big family like yours. Although, I'm surprised that I didn't meet more of your family while I was in New York. I would have thought that they would be around more because of Katie."

Derek knew that she had a point. "Well, they are very busy with their own lives. And they probably visited when you weren't around. Besides, I didn't think that you would want to meet my big crazy family."

Meredith gave him a confused look. "I never said that. You're putting words in my mouth, Derek Shepherd," she said. "Just because I don't have a big family like yours doesn't mean that I wouldn't mind being around them. I'm around strangers every day. I think I can handle your family."

Derek raised his eyebrows. "Well, we can certainly find out if you and Morgan join us in New York for the Christmas holidays. The city is the best at Christmastime. You should see Rockefeller Center all lit up."

"It does sound nice," Meredith admitted. "But Morgan and I always love our nice quiet Christmas at home. Besides, I've tried that last year and it didn't work. Lexie and I were planning to take Morgan to Disneyland for Christmas, but she was terrified that Santa wouldn't know where she was."

Derek nodded understandingly. "Yeah, that could be a problem." There was a short pause before he spoke again. "You know, we don't have to decide the trip right now. After all, we have Thanksgiving to get through first."

Meredith knew that he had a point. "So are you going to join us for Thanksgiving or not?"

Derek gave her a smile. "We'd love to," he replied. "Would Mark and Lexie be joining us as well?"

Meredith shook her head. "They have already made plans to spend Thanksgiving with their friends." She had been disappointed when her sister had told her the news, but Lexie had promised that they would be around for the Christmas holidays. "So it will be just the five of us. Or six if you count Prince."

"Thanks to Prince, Katie now wants a pet," Derek told her. Meredith looked at him surprised. "I told her that it probably won't happen until we find our own place. After all, this is your house, not ours."

Meredith gave him a look. "It's your house too. I told you that. So if Katie wants a pet, you can get her a pet. What kind of a pet that she wants? Because I can handle a puppy or kitten peeing on my carpets. Prince has done it often enough."

Derek looked at her amazed. "Are you sure you want to go through all that again?" he asked her.

Meredith nodded. "It's all part of the experience of taking of a pet. I'm sure the real challenge is when you move out with the kids and have to take care of them alone."

Derek knew that she had a point. "Now you're making me not want to move out," he teased her. "I don't know if I can handle taking care of my kids without you. Or a puppy."

Meredith laughed. "Well, you don't have to get Katie a puppy if you don't want to. After all, it is a huge responsibility to take care of a pet."

Derek gave her a look. "Thank you for that info, but I knew that already. I had a few pets myself when I was growing up."