You're Like Coming Home

37.

Meredith Grey felt out of place.

That was the only thing she could think as she stood in the middle of the reception hall of the Shepherd's country club, clad in a purple cocktail dress as she clutched ginger ale in her hands. She was completely and totally out of place at Kathleen's engagement party.

The plans for Derek's eldest sister's engagement had been put on hold with the tragic death of his father as the family had taken the time they needed to grieve. But now it was June, six months after the family had lost its patriarch, and the Shepherds were moving on with life, as different as it was.

Meredith was sure that she had never seen Derek more motivated, focused, or happier than he had been since leaving the hospital. Gone was the angry, clingy Derek that had appeared as a result of his father's death, and in his place was an amazing man that was determined to make every moment of his life count to the fullest.

He hadn't been lying when he'd promised her things would be different, and it hadn't taken much time for him to convince her to trust him again. She'd thought he would try to win her over by fancy candlelit dinners and walks on the beach, but thankfully he knew that wasn't her. Surprisingly, he'd known to bring home tequila instead of roses, and take her out for steak instead of lobster. They'd had fun over the past few months, falling into an easy relationship that was even more comfortable that it had been before the accident. They were both all too well aware of how easily their lives could change in a split second, and neither wanted to waste any of their time by fighting or being weird around each other.

But now Meredith stood in the corner of the room at the country club, feeling more out of place than ever before. It wasn't Derek's family, she knew that. She was a full fledged member of the family now, and she had spent Christmas there a few months before. She was a daughter to Emma and a sister to the girls, and she knew that they weren't trying to isolate her. She'd just never had to go to a fancy party, get dressed up and talk to people she didn't know. Derek had been great at first, but he had been roped into dancing with one of his aunts, and now she felt completely alone as she stared at the room filled with Derek's family and friends.

"Hey Mer," she heard a familiar voice say and she sighed in relief as she turned to see Mark standing beside her.

"Mark," she breathed. "Thank God, I don't know anyone here. Where's Addie?"

"Ran to the ladies room," Mark shrugged. "You're looking pretty lonely over here. Shep just threw you to the wolves?"

Meredith shook her head as she nodded to the dance floor. "He got pulled into a dance with his aunt," she sighed. "So...now I'm just here looking like a lame ass loser cause I don't know anyone."

Mark laughed as he reached for her hand. "You know me," he said. "Come on, let's dance."

"Oh," Meredith said, nodding as she put her drink down on the table beside her. "Sure."

He led her onto the dance floor and they began dancing, Mark looking down at her curiously. "So Shep seems to be doing a lot better," he said.

"Yeah," Meredith sighed. "I'm really proud of him. He's done amazing getting over this. It's not something that can be easily done."

"Hmm," Mark nodded. "You know this is the first time we've been together as a family since the accident. And I thought it was going to be a lot harder than it was. But your boyfriend...man, he's doing a great job taking on the role of father of the bride, so to speak."

Meredith smiled softly as she looked at Derek, who had moved off the dance floor to speak with Kathleen. As Kathleen's only brother, he had naturally been elected to fill Michael's shoes as father of the bride and walk his oldest sister down the aisle. He had been more than eager to do so, and taken more responsibility for the wedding than he would have had he been a simple groomsmen.