Of Water Pow Wows and Toy Cars
So here it is... A Meredith and Nathan story... sort of....
He carefully crept through the hallway as to not disturb the massive amount of people in the house. He wasn’t entirely sure what Meredith’s plan was for him sneaking out. Was he supposed to leave before dawn as to not run into any other roommates and children? Was he supposed to go now?
Meredith had forewarned him to stay, so he was now in a pair of pajamas. So he definitely wasn’t sneaking out right this second. Water, he’d get water first.
He came to a halt in the kitchen as he saw three tiny bodies sitting at the island, quietly drinking water. Two of them turned quickly at the noise, the oldest of the three looking inquisitively at him.
“You’re Nathan right?”
Nathan really didn’t know what to say. So he just silently nodded, as the only boy of the group looked up at him smiling softly.
“Your Mommy’s friend right?”
“I am. Does your Mom know you’re all up?”
“We get water every night. I’m Zola. That’s Bailey. And she’s Ellis. But we call her Ellie”
The smallest blonde child grinned from underneath her sippy cup and Nathan couldn’t help but smirk.
“You’re sleeping over?”
“Well I…”
“My friend Sophia used to sleep over all the time. She lives in New York now but she’ll be back in the Summer.”
Nathan nodded and smiled at the girl’s willingness to talk. He watched as Bailey rolled a tiny car around the glass of water.
“That’s a cool car. Is red your favorite color?”
“No blue is. I want to drive one just like this though. So I can go really fast.” he animatedly made car noises. “Do you like cars?”
“I do like cars.”
“You’ll have to see all my other cars! I have lots of them. Next time when you’re not playing with Mommy.”
Nathan nearly faltered at the choice of the five year olds words before smiling.
“Bailey you should go up first so we don’t make a lot of noise.”
Bailey nodded as he quietly hopped of the stool, grabbing his toy car.
“Goodnight Nathan!”
“Goodnight Bailey. Nice to meet you.”
The blonde boy disappeared down the hall and back up the stairs. Nathan glanced at Zola who was sipping her water still and watching him, as Ellis was basically falling asleep at the counter. He filled up a cup of water quickly, taking a sip as the little girl continued to watch him.
“Mommy smiles a lot now.”
“She does? Well that’s good.”
“She didn’t smile a lot after my Daddy died.”
Nathan felt his heart drop a little at hearing the words. As much as Nathan always knew Meredith had kids, and knew about her and Derek’s epic love story, it was easy to forget that they too also lost someone. He leaned against the counter a little as Zola absentmindedly played with the straw.
“But now she smiles more. So that’s good.” said Zola. “But sometimes even though she’s smiling, I still miss him. I still miss Daddy. But I don’t tell her because then she won’t smile.”
"Can I tell you something?"
Zola nodded as she leaned her head in her hand. Her eyes clearly fighting to stay awake but genuinely wanting to listen.
"I lost my Dad when I was 9. So just a little bit older than you. But I didn't have any siblings, it was just me and my mom."
"Really? No brothers and sisters?"
Nathan shook his head as Zola seemed genuinely appalled at the thought of a family of just two.
"Nope. And sometimes I would get sad and miss my Dad and I wouldn't want to tell her. Because she was smiling or happy."
"So what did you do?"
"I told her anyways. Because she's my mom. And I knew she wouldn't want me to be sad by myself. And it helped both of us to talk about my Dad and remember him."
Zola nodded as she looked down, the conversation clearly starting to weigh on the little girl a bit.
"Don't ever be afraid to talk to your Mom Zola."
The little girl nodded. She pushed her drink away and looked up at him and smiled.
"Okay. Next time I'll talk to her."
They were pulled from the conversation by tiny soft snores as they both looked over to find Ellis with her head on the counter, the toddler clearly very much asleep. Both Nathan and Zola chuckled softly.
"Oops. I shouldn't have let her go to sleep."
Zola hopped off the stool and went to go over to her sister, as Nathan presumed she was going to attempt to try and move her.
"Hey Zola. Why don't you head up to bed. I can carry her up so you don't have to wake her. If that's okay with you."
The little girl nodded sleepily looking slightly relieved. She turned and moved her cup to the sink and shuffled towards the hallway.
"Good night Nathan. Thanks for talking to me. And thanks for making my Mommy smile."
He smiled as he watched her retreat up the stairs. She was a smart little girl but she really didn't know how much the weight behind those words truly meant.
Nathan moved towards the chair carefully maneuvering as he picked up the tiny toddler, her arms sleepily encircling his neck, her head hitting his shoulder.
He quietly crept back up the stairs and he halted as he came to the attic door. He would probably wake both of the kids if he attempted to put her back in bed.
He pushed open Meredith's bedroom door quietly. He walked over towards the bed and gently laid Ellis next to Meredith before looking at the chair next to the bed.
He sat the chair, grabbing the blanket beside him and covering himself before sleep consumed him.
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"Nathan."
He was abruptly woken to Meredith's voice as he blinked a few times. He opened his eyes to see Meredith standing over him in the early morning daylight, smirking at him.
"What happened last night? I woke up to Ellis in my bed and you in a chair."
Nathan smiled at the memory, stretching his arms over his head as Meredith sat down on the edge of the chair.
"I was apart of a water kitchen pow wow last night."
Meredith chuckled softly as Nathan went on to explain a bit what happened. She smiled at the small details he was sharing, Nathan not revealing the conversation he had with Zola.
"So that's how I ended up in the chair."
Meredith leaned in placing one hand on his cheek as she kissed him softly.
"You're a good guy."
"Was that a compliment? From Meredith Grey?"
"Shut up."
Nathan smiled watching as she shoved him gently. Him, grabbing her tiny wrists as she giggled in response.
"I need to shower. The kids are downstairs being fed by Maggie she's going to leave soon."
Nathan nodded clearly not catching on to anything she was hinting at.
"So I should probably be quick. Like a quick in and out shower. Maybe even shower with someone else. Be eco friendly and all."
"Are you suggesting that I shower with you? With your three children and your sister downstairs?"
"They're all distracted by their waffles. Besides it'll be quick."
"Quick? Is that a challenge?"
"Maybe."
As soon as the words left her mouth she nearly squealed as he jumped up, hoisting her into his arms as they both disappeared into the bathroom.
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Meredith and Nathan shuffled into the kitchen dressed a few minutes later. Maggie having just left and taken Zola with her to drop at school.
"Mama!"
Meredith smiled and then groaned slightly as Ellis barreled into her legs.
"Hi love bug. Are you eating your breakfast?"
Ellis nodded as Meredith ran her fingers through her brushed blonde curls before kissing her on the head and heading off to finish packing the kids up.
Nathan wasn't sure where to move or where to stand, but he was going to move towards Meredith until he suddenly felt a little body hitting his legs.
He chuckled as he knelt down so he was eye level with Ellis who was smiling as she continued to munch on a piece of waffle.
"Hi. Did you sleep well?"
Ellis nodded as she twirled a little in place, fascinated with her little sundress and how it seemed to expand.
"Pretty dress."
"It's a very pretty dress." he replied as he watched the toddler twirl, amused at how something so simple was making her whole morning.
He went to stand up, but was halted as Ellis reached out to him, indicating she wanted him to grab her and lift her up.
Nathan glanced at Meredith quickly who was watching out of the corner of her eye. She smiled a little, indicating she didn't have a problem with it.
Nathan reached out and swiftly picked up the toddler as she settled into his arms, continuing to babble about her dress.
He walked towards the counter as Meredith poured coffee into a to go thermos.
"Hi Nathan!" said Bailey as he suddenly took note of the man in the room. He held up the green car he had in his hand.
"Wow look at that! It's just like the red one."
Bailey nodded as he reached next to him and held the red one in his other hand.
"Mommy, can Nathan come back tonight and I can show him my cars? He loves cars too."
"Bailey I don't know. Nathan might be busy tonight."
Nathan watched as Bailey looked at him expectantly. The little boy was clearly thrilled at the prospect of being able to play cars with someone who wasn't his sisters.
"If it's okay with your Mom."
Bailey quickly turned to Meredith who smiled at Nathan, knowing he wasn't obligated to do this, but he was doing it because he wanted to. She nodded as Bailey shot out of his seat in excitement.
He ran to grab his backpack for preschool before walking back over to Nathan. He handed him the small red car.
"Here! So you can practice driving it for later."
Nathan nodded with a smile as Meredith took Ellis from him and encouraged everyone to leave the kitchen, as they were all about to be late.
They shuffled out of the house, Meredith going to her car and Nathan to his. She loaded her kids and then stood by the door, nodding and waving slightly indicating she'd see him in a little bit.
He waved and watched as she drove off.
He wasn't sure what was going to happen with Meredith. He wasn't sure if he was going to be in these kid’s lives.
But God, he really hoped so.
