Never Alone//Merder

Winning A Battle, Losing A War

Morgan and her friends smiled at the camera as Meredith snapped a couple of pictures. She then released them and the little girls ran off to play. "Now that you have pictures of the birthday girl and her friends, you can take the twins out for the day," Amy told her. "Don't worry about a thing. Everything is under control. If I have any trouble, I'll call you or Derek." Meredith wanted to respond, but Amy was firm. "Go and spend some time with your babies."

Meredith felt she had no choice but to take the twins out of the house. She said goodbye to Morgan, promising she would be back in time for cake, ice cream and presents. Amy helped her pack up the twins in the car before she told her a few last minute reminders before she climbed into the car and drove off to Lexie's house for a playdate.

She soon found out her sister's focus was on planning her son's first birthday. It was a month away and Lexie wanted to celebrate with a big party. She wanted her sister's suggestions since she had a party for Morgan's first birthday. Meredith wanted to help, but she had to give her some reminders. "That party was five years ago. I barely remember what I did for that party except her only guests were my friends and the theme was Minnie Mouse. I doubt you are planning to do that unless it's Mickey Mouse."

"Actually, it's going to be all about Elmo," Lexie replied, showing her the paper plates that she had bought. Meredith wasn't surprised to see she had already started buying party supplies. Her sister always liked to plan ahead when it came to events. "Mark wanted to go for cars and trucks, but I thought Elmo would be cuter. What do you think?"

"I'm not getting in the middle between you and Mark," Meredith warned her. Lexie gave her a pleading look. "Don't give me that look. I'm not choosing sides. I know you want my advice, but Ben's your son, not mine. You can do whatever theme you want for his birthday party."

Lexie changed the subject. "So how are you and Derek doing? I can't imagine what your family is going through with C.J. I suppose it is a blessing though. You found out now instead of years down the road."

Meredith had to agree with her. "It's something we certainly didn't expect, but we're handling it the best we can. We try to give our time equally to each child, but Derek and I only have two hands. Amy is a godsend, but the girls still want us."

"Then why is Amy hosting the sleepover instead of you?" Lexie asked confused.

"Because I didn't want my six-year-old daughter to have a sleepover," Meredith replied. "I thought she was too young and I wasn't in the mood to have my house overrun by a bunch of kindergarteners. I can handle a birthday party since her friends would be there for a couple of hours, but a sleepover means all night with them. Can you imagine how hyper those girls are going to be after Amy is done with them? I wouldn't have allowed this sleepover if Morgan didn't want one so much."

"I'm sure Morgan considers you 'the best mom ever' for letting her friends sleep over," Lexie said.

"Actually, I think it's Amy who will get the credit," Meredith replied. "She's the one who put it all together. I didn't have to do a thing."

"Really? Do you think she would be willing to plan Ben's birthday party?" Lexie asked hopefully. "I could really use a hand. I have started a list, but there are so many things I could add." Meredith raised her eyebrows in surprise. She had to see this list. Lexie pulled it out and showed it to her sister. Meredith thought she was going a little overboard, but she wasn't going to say it to her. "What about you? Are you going to have a baptism for the twins soon?"

"Baptism? Derek and I haven't even planned our second wedding yet. And I don't think we're going to since we have way too much going on. Morgan's birthday is today. We just found out C.J. has been diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome. And we're trying to get them ready for Alex's and Jo's wedding since the girls are going to be their double flower girls."