You're Like Coming Home

30.

"There was an accident," she choked out as Mark and Addison looked at her with wide eyes. "Michael..."

"He's fine!" Derek shouted, pounding his fist against the counter. "Damn it, Meredith, why do you keep saying that? He's fine! The paramedics are just stupid and they don't know what they're doing. They think it's him, but it's not! It's not my dad! He's at work and he's going to come home and everything will be fine!"

"Derek," Meredith said firmly, taking his face in her hands. "You can't live in denial. I know this hurts, and I can't even imagine what you're going through right now. But we have to go home. Our family needs us. They need you."

"Michael," Mark breathed, gasping for Addison. "Oh God...Addie."

"It's okay," Addison whispered, wrapping her arms around him. "Mark...I'm so sorry."

"I have to go," Mark gasped. "We...Derek..."

Derek looked up to see his strong, confident best friend standing before him with tears streaming down his face, clearly distraught. "Mark," he whispered, moving to hug his best friend, his brother, tightly. "Oh God...Dad."

The two of them stood there for a long, painfully silent moment before Derek let out a loud sob and turned to reach for Meredith. "Mer," he gasped. "Mer, what am I going to do."

"Shh," Meredith whispered, leading him slowly to the couch and wrapping him in her arms, rocking him slowly. "We'll go home, Der. We'll go home, because that's where you need to be right now."

"I can't...I can't do this, Mer."

"I know," she whispered, gently stroking his hair. "I know, but you will. Whatever you need, Derek, I'll help you with. You need to go. Your sisters need you. Your mother needs you."

"Mom," Derek breathed, a new batch of sobs coming up. "Oh, God, Mom's going to be traumatized."

"Derek," Meredith said, tipping his head to look into his eyes. "You're the man of the house now. It sucks, I know it sucks, and I wish we didn't have to do this. But we do. They need us. They need you."

"We?" Derek asked, looking up at her with red rimmed eyes.

"We," Meredith nodded firmly. "It's us, Der, not you and not me. We. We're a team, and I'm going to be here for every second that you need me."

Derek leaned into her, his head resting against his chest as he breathed shakily. "I need you," he admitted. "I can't do this without you."

"You won't have to," Meredith shook her head. "I'm here, Der, for whatever you need."

Derek was silent for a moment as they lay together, the only sound being the occasional sobs from both of them. After several minutes, Derek lifted his head to look at her. "Can we...can you drive home?"

"Yeah," Meredith nodded, reaching to wipe the tears from under his eyes. "I'll go get Mark and Addie, okay?"

"I'll come," Derek nodded, his hand tightly squeezing hers as they stood. She sighed as she rested her head against his shoulder. When they reached Mark and Addison's room, they found him lying in her arms, a blank expression on his face. "Are you ready to go?" Meredith whispered quietly to Addison.

"Yeah," Addison said. "Come on, Mark." She gently helped him to his feet, and he leaned heavily on her as they walked out to the car.

The ride to New York was long and silent, the only sounds being of the soft sniffles of Meredith as she drove and the occasional sobs from Mark and Derek. Derek kept his hand tightly in Meredith's as she drove, not wanting to feel disconnected from her in any way right now. After four long hours, Meredith finally pulled into the driveway of Derek's house, unsure of whether the cars lining the street in front of the house were a good thing or a bad thing. On one hand, she was glad people were here to support the Shepherd's but on the other hand, she knew it should be a time to the family to grieve quietly, on their own.