Unexpected Connections

Daddy Derek

Knowing what you want to do with your life is one of the most difficult things you ever have to decide. The adults around you, influence you. Your daily activities influence you. The media influences you. Everything you're exposed to makes an impact on your life, present and future.

That's why Queen Anne Elementary school had 'bring your dad to school' day. The fathers, or father figures are brought in to share a normal day in their line of work or a brief overview of what the job entails. This gives the kids an early start on thinking about where they want to be in ten years, it allows them time to try stuff out and get a feel for what they'd like to do in the future, hoping to make the decision of how to further their education just a little bit easier.

Sometimes, we go into a certain field for a reason. Say you're a doctor now. You might not just be in it for the money and fame. Maybe you became a doctor because when you were nine, you and your dad were in a car crash and you watched your dad bleed out before help could arrive. You attempted to close his chest with your hands, to try to stop the bleeding. You felt your dad's last heart beat in your own hands. That traumatic event prompted you to want to be a doctor, to prevent other people from having to feel their father's last heart beat with their own bare hands.

Some people's reasons may not be as tragic as that. Maybe they just have a true passion for that particular job. Maybe they want to do good in the world and being in the position they're in allows them to give their part to society. Sometimes, people don't know why they went into a certain field, sometimes it takes a while for them to figure it out. Sometimes, it just feels right.

Derek's story is personal, emotional, heartwarming yet heartbreaking. A traumatic thing happened to him and he became a contractor for unselfish reasons. While his past is sad, his story is heroic.

Derek is the kind of person who would rather be an hour early than five minutes late. That's why this Friday morning, he arrived half an hour before class started. His motives were not only that of a timely man and a previously good student, but of a man with a crush on the teacher.

Hoping to get a few words in with before the class started, Derek figured the best way to start a conversation was with a cup of coffee. On his way over to the school, he stopped at a smaller coffee shop, well known and well loved in the greater Seattle area; Mercury's. He ordered two coffees, one being a mocha cappuccino. Hoping Meredith would like the drink, he walked into her classroom, determined to get a date with the lady.

When Derek entered the classroom, he let out a quiet chuckle at the sight before him. Meredith Grey had her head resting on her desk and was letting out the smallest of snores. Derek walked up to her desk and placed the coffee tray on the corner, trying not to disturb her...for the moment.

"Not a morning person, huh?"

The sweet, masculine voice jarred Meredith from her light slumber. She jerked up and took a moment to gather herself together. Smoothing her hair down and adjusting her shirt, she wiped some saliva that had been dripping from her mouth. Meredith looked into the eyes of the person who owned the voice that awoke her, "what? Derek. Wha- What are you doing here?"

"Did you know you snore?" he was met with a sleepy and confused face. "I find it endearing, actually." He brought the cup of coffee to his lips and took a sip.

To say the least, Meredith was not expecting Derek this early. She had a plan. She was going to get to school early and then spend some time with Izzie perfecting her outfit and makeup. That plan obviously fell through when she received a text message from Izzie saying she was stuck in traffic. Again, Meredith had lost sleep from thinking about Derek and his hands. Meredith proceeded to fall into a tiny cat nap in response to the news from her friend. She usually didn't act this way about boys but she just couldn't help herself when the thought of seeing Derek again was so close to becoming reality.