Chapter Text
Two Years Later
Meredith stood in the hall of her house. Their house. A house that was filled with laughter and smiles almost every day. A house that was filled with juju and hugs and tears on the bad days. A house that was currently filled with their family surrounded by Christmas decorations.
Meredith smiled fondly as she looked at the people scattered around the room. The aromas coming from the kitchen were surrounding her with warmth; the turkey in the oven, the gingerbread cookies, the eggnog. Smells that would make anyone feel loved and happy.
She could hear Izzie in the kitchen, laughing with Teddy, Arizona and Mark as they were attempting to finish the preparations for their Christmas dinner. Bailey and Callie were setting up the huge long table on the other side of the room. Lexie was on the floor with little Tuck and little Zola, Meredith's and Addison's adopted daughter, playing near the Christmas tree. Their German Shepherd, who Cristina was calling Derek just to spite them, was lounging in front of the fireplace unbothered by all the voices and the noises. Richard and Adele were sitting on the sofa enjoying their eggnog. And finally, George and Alex were arguing about God knows what in the corner.
The only person that was missing was Addison. And Cristina, who was currently working. Meredith's heart stuttered. Despite the warm environment and all the happy people surrounding her, she was still feeling hollow and sorrowful. She was missing Addison so much and there was nothing she could do about it.
Her eyes fell on the pictures on the wall and she felt her own tearful smile. The first one was a photo of their wedding day. Addison was glowing in her white dress suit with her vibrant smile and her beautiful red hair falling in waves around her shoulders. Meredith, on the other side, stood in front of her wife with the biggest smile on her face clad in a white mermaid dress, her hair elegantly styled to one side of her face. Neither of them were looking at the camera though. They were too busy staring and smiling at each other as if they didn't care about anything else in the world.
Then her eyes turned to the other photo; the other happiest day of her life. The day they adopted their daughter one year ago. The four of them were posing for the camera. Addison was holding Zola in her hands and Meredith was holding their also newly adopted puppy, the four of them stood squeezed together, Addison laughing as Meredith scrunched up her face while the puppy was licking her chin.
She hated Christmas without Addison. Christmas was her wife's favorite holiday. Hell, Meredith had never liked Christmas until Addison came along and won her over with her overexcitement for the holiday. She should be here, celebrating with their friends. Her sad pout was going to bump everyone out but could she help it, if she was missing her wife?
The sudden chill shook her away from her thoughts. Had someone left the door open? "There will be no pouting on Christmas day." A voice whispered, the warm breath tickling her ear.
Meredith whirled around and gasped at the sight of her beautiful wife in a Santa's hat. "Addison!"
"Hello, darling." She chuckled when Meredith threw herself at her. The kiss was soft and lasted a while, and not one of their guests dared to say anything. Meredith had been a menace while Addison was gone and they had all been a bit afraid to even mention it. The only one who dared to interrupt was little Zola and Bruno, the dog that always followed Zola around. The young girl tugged on Addison's pants until the woman looked down at her.
"Mommy, up!" The little girl requested and Addison didn't hesitate to pull the girl up and place her between her and Meredith.
"Hello baby girl." Addison cooed when Zola immediately snuggled against her.
"I thought you had a surgery in Boston tomorrow and you couldn't come." Meredith pointed out confused but wrapped her arms around her girls.
"I rescheduled it for early in the morning today and then caught the first flight here. I couldn't spend Christmas away from my family." Addison explained with the happiest smile on her face.
"Did you take a cab from the airport?"
"No, she didn't." Cristina said from the front door, carrying the luggage behind her. "You could have at least waited for me to park and carry your own things, you know." Cristina whined grumpily as she sat the suitcase by the staircase.
"I am sorry, Cristina." Addison said at the same time as Meredith's exclamation. "Cristina!"
"Yeah yeah. I'm here."
"I thought you were working tonight." Meredith wondered out loud.
Cristina shrugged. She removed her coat, hung it and turned back to her favorite family. "Well I obviously lied because someone had to pick up your wife from the airport and clearly I was the lucky one because for some reason she seems to like me very much. I honestly don't know why."
"You love me, Cristina. Stop denying it." Addison smirked.
"Whatever." Cristina barely acknowledged Addison's statement even if deep inside all of them knew it was true and walked towards the liquor.
Meredith and Addison looked back at each other and shared another soft kiss. Zola found the opportunity to wrap her arms around her mothers' necks and giggle. The two women pressed a kiss on each side of the girl's face making her giggle harder. Meredith took the hat from Addison and placed it on Zola's head, making her wife chuckle at the process. Bruno barked at their feet and Addison reached down to scratch him behind the ear.
The couple looked around at their friends, the people who in one way or another had become their family. Arizona had come in from the kitchen and was currently hugging Callie from behind whispering in her ear while Mark had joined Lexie and little Tuck on the floor. Izzie had come to break the argument between the boys and Cristina was nowhere to be found; most likely making googly eyes at Teddy in the kitchen. They shared a look with each other, wearing matching smiles.
"We actually made it, didn't we?"
"Yes, my love. We did."
THE END