Remember for me

Prologue

Prologue:

Meredith Grey sat across from her children, smiling as she remembered the day each and every one of them was born.

First came Zola. The day she was adopted was the day Meredith had become a Mother. It was the day her life had changed for the better. Now, thirty years later, she looked at the strong, beautiful woman her daughter had become.

Taking after her Father, Zola had decided to become a neurosurgeon and was currently in the middle of a residency. Despite the fact that Meredith and Derek made it clear there was no pressure for their children to be doctors like their parents, Zola was the first of the four Grey-Shepard to tell her loving parents that she had, in fact, chosen to follow in their footsteps.

Next, came Bailey. The day Bailey was born was the day Meredith's life nearly ended, but started to begin just the same. While a brush with death wasn't the ideal situation, Meredith always chose to believe that Bailey was made stronger because of all that happened to his Mother the day he was born. 27 years later, Meredith could still remember how small he was, how pink and delicate his features were. Derek had a special bond with his only son, growing up with four sisters, Derek sympathized with his son growing up with three sisters. "At least we stopped at Lexie" Derek would always joke whenever Bailey complained about his sisters "I grew up with four sisters, and if we had decided to have another baby, and that baby was a girl, you'd be begging to go to boarding school". Regardless of his complaining, Bailey was always protective of his sisters.

All grown up, everyone in the family still marvelled at how much Bailey resembled his Father. The same thick, dark hair and bright blue eyes. Derek had always been proud of his son, but the day Bailey revealed he wanted to be a trauma surgeon was when Derek absolutely beamed with joy. He would've been happy even if his son was a business man or a lawyer, but choosing to be a doctor filled Derek with pride. Meredith could still remember the smile that stretched across his face the day Bailey revealed his career path.

Third in the line of Grey-Shepards was Ellis Grey, better known as Ellie.

Ellie was born in December, the day Meredith and Derek decided to set up the Christmas tree. Zola dropped a glass ornament, and the crack of the glass on the hardwood floor was completely in sync with the splat of Meredith's water breaking. Derek always called Ellie 'Elf' because he claimed that Santa came early that year and left a little elf from the North Pole under their tree.

With her blonde hair and striking grey eyes, Ellie looked exactly like her Mother and Grandmother. With the same name and face, Meredith made sure Ellie was never pressured to be a doctor. She always knew what people had said about her when they found out she was Ellis Greys daughter, they expected so much of her. Meredith didn't want the same thing to happen to her daughter. But, despite Meredith reassuring her it would be okay to be a lawyer, Ellie was currently in school to be a General surgeon, like her Mother and Grandmother alike. At 24 years old, Meredith always wondered how someone so young wanted to continue the family line of general surgeons instead of get drunk and party with her friends. Regardless, Meredith thought the world of Ellie.

Lastly, three years after Ellie, came the youngest Grey-Shepard, Lexie.

Lexie was a perfect mix of Derek and Meredith. With Derek's dark hair, smile, caring personality and Meredith's gray eyes, intelligence, and laugh, she was the perfect last addition to the family.

Lexie was born on Meredith's late sisters birthday. She remembered the sorrow and pain she felt as she counted up how old her sister Lexie would've been. She thought of the wedding Lexie would never have, the children she would never raise and the life she would never have. But Dr.Lexie Grey's memory would live on in the form of Lexie Grey-Shepard, Meredith's daughter and her late-sisters niece.

Neither her Mother nor Father thought Lexie would be a doctor. She was too quiet and kindhearted to possibly be in such a stressful field. But Lexie surprised them both the day she got back from a volunteer trip to Africa.

Lexie explained how there was only OB/GYN that went on the trip, and how that one doctor was delivering another baby while a woman and her baby both bled out from complications that general doctors and volunteers couldn't treat. That was when she told her parents she too wanted to be a doctor, an OB/GYN.

Meredith and Derek looked at each other and smiled that day. "My Mother raised five doctors, and I'll be proud to tell her that we've raised four of our own" Derek told Meredith as he kissed her forehead.

Meredith smiled as she relived all of her kids birthdays, recitals, first days of school, concerts and graduations. Now, as she sat in front of all four lined up on the couch in perfect order starting with Zola and ending with Lexie, she wanted to always remember these special days.

But she couldn't.

Because Meredith Grey was diagnosed with Alzheimer's.

"Alright kids, listen up" Meredith started "you might want to remember this, because God knows I won't be able to. I'm going to tell you about how I fell in love with your father, because if it wasn't for that one day, none of us would be sitting here today"

Meredith smiled, took in a deep breath, and began to tell her children the story of how she met the love of her life.