Reaching Forward

10

Derek Shepherd had just gotten out of a long surgery where he had to repair a fractured skull on a patient that was in a head on collision with another car. Luckily, he wasn't on call tonight and neither was Meredith. He was ready to spend some time away from the hospital with her. As he was walking toward the locker rooms to change and go home, he felt his cell phone vibrate. Taking it off the clip that he wore on the waist of his scrubs, he instantly answered it without looking at the caller ID since he figured it was undoubtedly Meredith asking him what time he'd be home. Unfortunately, something that was supposed to be undoubted turned into chaos.

"Derek!" An older woman's voice said on the other end of the line.

Cursing himself for not checking the caller ID, Derek put on his best faux happiness act and greeted the person on the other end, "Hi, Mom."

"It's been ages since I've talked to you! You never answer your phone anymore and if I didn't send Nancy out there a couple of weeks of ago I probably wouldn't even know you were still alive!" She scolded him in a way only a mother could.

Leaning against the railing of the long walk way that stood on the second floor, Derek sighed, "I know haven't called much but I've been busy."

It was technically true. With all the surgeries then Meredith and the baby, he really didn't have that much time to call her. Of course, whenever he did see her name on his caller ID, he just happened to not hear it ring.

"I'd say. Getting divorced from Addison and sleeping with that promiscuous intern of yours."

He turned around to face the large, glass window that he stared out of so often, "What has Nancy been telling you? She's not slutty and I love her. And may I remind you that Addison was the one that cheated on me."

"I did not call her...that word, Derek. I said promiscuous." She said as a matter of fact.

"It's the same thing, Mom!" He yelled a little too loudly into the phone causing some stares from some of the by passing staff.

"Don't exclaim at your mother dear. I thought I taught you better than that. Of course, I thought I taught you better in a lot of other things too-"

"Mother!" He yelled into the phone yet again.

"I think I should come out there. I haven't seen you in ages and I think I need to see what's really going on out there for myself." Mrs. Shepherd was not satisfied with the report from Nancy that Derek was just being Derek.

"No! You are not coming out here, mother." Derek had enough drama as it is going on in his life the last thing he needed was his mother to come out her to meet Meredith and then find out he had gotten her pregnant out of wedlock. He knew he'd have to tell his mother eventually about the baby; he just didn't know when the right time was to do so. Probably never, but he knew that his mother would eventually find out anyway and get so upset that she didn't know she was having another grandchild. Maybe, he'd just send her a birth announcement.

Continuing, he once again stated that it was not a good time to come to Seattle, "I've got a really busy schedule for the next several weeks. We'll work out some other time that you can come out here, alright?"

He desperately wanted to get out of this situation so he did the only thing he could do – lie. "Mom, my pager just went off I've got to go. I'll talk to you later. Bye, I love you."

Flipping the phone shut, Derek knew he should have felt bad for lying to his mother but he figured that it'd be the last thing on her mind when he told her the truth.

After the twenty minute ride home, Derek entered the once former home of Dr. Ellis Grey to find Izzie cooking dinner and Meredith picking at the various ingredients that she had used. Walking over to Meredith, he quickly kissed her on the check and examined what was going on before him, "You're actually cooking something that's not a baked good?" He asked only half seriously.