Never Alone//Merder

Some Kind Of Miracle

"Mommy, how come we can't go on your vacation with Derek?" Morgan asked her mother for the hundredth time as she and Katie watched Meredith pack her suitcase. "We want to go to Hawaii too."

Meredith gave her daughter a gentle smile. "I know you girls do. But this is just a weekend getaway for grown-ups. Derek and I will take you two and Christopher to Hawaii for a family vacation next year."

She could see that the two girls were still disappointed. "How come we can't go this year?" Morgan asked.

"Because we are going to visit Derek's family in New York City, remember?" Meredith reminded her.

"Why can't we do both?" Katie asked. Both Derek and Meredith noticed that the more Katie was around Meredith, the more comfortable she had become in talking to her.

Meredith sighed. "Why don't we discuss it later?" she asked her. "Right now, I need to finish packing." The two girls didn't move. Meredith knew that she had to throw a suggestion out there so she could pack faster. "Why don't you two go and play with Prince? I'm sure that he would love someone to play with right now." Just then, the doorbell rang. Meredith frowned. "I wonder who that can be," she said as Morgan and Katie raced to answer the door. Meredith was right behind them.

When they arrived at the door, Meredith was surprised to see Mark. He gave a wide smile to his nieces as he embraced them in a hug. Meredith waited until he sent the girls off to play before turning back to Meredith. "Guess what? You just got another roommate. I'm moving in," he announced before he pulled his suitcase into the front hall.

"Why? What happened with Lexie?" Meredith asked him.

"I love her, but she is driving me crazy," Mark replied. He started a list of complaints as Derek came into the room. They exchanged greetings as he noticed the suitcase. "I'm moving in."

Derek looked at him confused. Meredith knew that he needed help. "He doesn't like his pregnant wife right now," she explained.

Derek nodded understandingly. "Well, you're not staying here."

Mark frowned. "What? Why not? You used to let me stay at your place all the time when we were in New York."

Derek knew that he had a point. "Yeah, but that was before you got married and got your wife pregnant. You have to stick by her and deal with her when her hormones are out of whack. You only have three months left before you become a father. You can handle that, right?"

Mark sighed. "Yeah, I guess so. But can I stay here one night at least? I just need a break from Lexie."

Derek and Meredith looked at each other before they turned back to Mark. "If you don't mind sleeping on the couch, I have no problem with it," Meredith replied. Mark gave her a wide smile. "Lexie does know that you're here, right?"

"Of course she does," Mark replied. "Where else would I go?"

Meredith didn't know how to respond to that. Instead, she followed Derek into the kitchen while Mark went to find his nieces and nephew. "How often did Mark come and knock on your door to spend the night after an argument with his girlfriend?"

Derek thought for a moment. "I don't know. I lost track once high school was over. I told him that it had to quit once Addison moved in. I didn't think that she would feel comfortable with Mark showing up all the time. And I was right." There was a short pause before he spoke again. "What about you? Did Lexie ever have to cool off at your house?"

Meredith shook her head. "We didn't really talk to each other until I moved to Seattle." She then changed the subject. "Are you sure you're ok with adjoining rooms?" she asked him. When Derek had arranged the rooms for the hotel, he made sure that he and Meredith would get adjoining rooms while they were in Hawaii.