[gathering] All My Bells Are Ringing

[drownondryland]

Meredith was clear, when the idea of a party came up, that she's never done anything like this before. Thrown parties, yes, but the kind with loud music and copious amounts of drinking that mostly got way bigger than she intended them to and wound up with her waking up either on the couch surrounded by everyone else's trash or in bed with someone,

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[drownondryland]

Though she isn't about to say as much to anyone, Meredith's actually kind of proud of herself. She can't imagine herself doing this a year ago and not finding it incredibly weird or worth freaking out over. It's such a normal thing, something other people do easily, that maybe she shouldn't be so pleased by it, but she is anyway and she'll take whatever she can get. She has to measure progress by inches, but at least she's moving. For that matter, she's dancing, enjoying the music. The crowd is small, but the house isn't exactly enormous either, and she's not about to have the kind of party where she stands against the wall making small talk, even if that's what other people choose to do.

[missingthekeep]

"Well, this is goin'..." Sean starts, trailing off with an odd look on his face. "It's goin'."

[drownondryland]

"Shut up," Meredith says, wagging a finger at him, then relents. "That's not very Christmassy. It's going well. I think. Isn't it?" God, she hopes it is. It's occurred to her more than once throughout the process of all this that she doesn't have the first freaking clue what these things are supposed to be like.

[missingthekeep]

"It is," Sean agrees after pausing to take a drink, and it's the truth of that which makes it so odd to him. Seems like the sort of thing that should be beyond them right now, but maybe there's hope for them yet. It bodes well for Christmas itself, at any rate.

[lexiepedia]

It isn't quite so surprising to Lexie, the idea of Meredith throwing a party. What is surprising is that she wound up invited. Maybe it shouldn't be, with their being family and on somewhat better terms these days, but even so, she didn't think that would extend this far. That it's a good thing, though, goes without saying, leaves her honestly kind of thrilled, even if, by the same token, she does her best not to show it. She's figured out that being too overeager and latching on to any good sign doesn't do her any favors where Meredith is concerned

[drownondryland]

Meredith's still not entirely sure about the whole inviting Lexie thing, because it is kind of awkward. This is a holiday that is, for some people, theoretically, about family and friends and Lexie isn't quite either and she's not exactly neither. Meredith isn't certain where she falls on the spectrum exactly or if she even wants her on it, but while she tries to piece it together, she's trying. Making an effort, however, also means making conversation, so eventually she finds her way to Lexie's side, getting herself a drink before she offers her a smile that's only slightly forced. "Uh, enjoying the party?"

[lexiepedia]

"Meredith, hey," Lexie greets with a sudden smile of her own, momentarily ignoring the question in favor of doing so. However strange she finds it that she's been invited to this, she has no intention of saying as much; she can't tell for sure, obviously, but from what she's gathered from past conversations she and Meredith have had, it doesn't seem like it would be in her best interest. The best thing to do is act naturally. "I am, yeah, this is great. I'm so glad to be here."

[drownondryland]

"I'm, uh... we're glad you could make it," Meredith says with a nod that is much firmer than her actual certainty of that fact. She knows it's the kind of thing Sean thinks she should do, but she knows, too, that that wouldn't mean much in this particular case if she wanted to keep Lexie away from her. We doesn't have much to do with this particular equation. "I know it's not that much, but what can you do around here?"

[getemtiger]

She probably wasn't doing herself any favors, Mary Jane thought, by continuing to think about the year before, but there was really no way to keep from coming back to it. She'd been miserable at this time last December - not quite as much as she would have been a week earlier, but still pretty unhappy - and wouldn't have been in the mood for any party at all. This year, things had turned around completely, the bright smile she wore more than genuine because of it. It was easy to feel festive now that she had a good reason to.

At a party this small, she was pretty sure she knew just about everyone, and having left Peter's side for the moment, she set about mingling, weaving through the small crowd in Meredith's living room.

[exweapon]

Big, oversized parties like the kinds they throw here have never been my thing, but I can appreciate this sort of thing. There's less likely to be a fight -- it's not out of the question, just not as likely -- but even that's not entirely a downside, although it pays to still keep an eye out.

We might not be likely to have any arguments escalating into a brawl, but these events have a way of getting crashed, in the more literal sense.

Let's just hope this one doesn't come to that -- there's a certain something to spending some time with good company, with little chance of anyone trying to kill us.

Must be getting maudlin in my old age.

[drownondryland]

"Hi," Meredith says, making her way over and smiling. "I'm glad you came." Generic platitude though it may be, she means it entirely. She might not exactly rank him high on her list of friends, but seeing as how Wolverine's was the only name Sean contributed to the guest list, it's a relief for her that he showed. That smile turns into a grin, her brow lifting a little. "I wasn't sure anyone would."

[exweapon]

"And miss Sean Cassidy throwing a dinner party?" I say, throwing a grin right back at her. "Darlin', you couldn't keep me away."

[drownondryland]

Meredith laughs, glancing away to find Sean before she looks back. "His idea, too," she says. "I only suggested it as a joke."

[risesagain]

Jean likes Christmas parties. She likes the colours and the lights and the tacky sweaters. There's something sweet about the whole thing, even if it makes people want to drink and cry and whole bunch of other things.

In the end, she ends up bringing a platter of Christmas cookies. They weren't necessary or asked for, but she feels a little weird showing up empty handed. Setting the plate down on the table, she straightens the non-existent wrinkles of out of her clothes and smiles as she helps herself to something to drink. It's nice to feel festive again.

[drownondryland]

Every time someone helps her out, everyone time someone even shows up, Meredith gets this weird rush of emotion, a mix of gratitude and nerves. It's the notion that this is working, that she is doing this, that people are responding to it as if it were something ordinary that gets to her. She's never thought of herself as ordinary. She isn't ordinary, doesn't want to be, but the process of the normal enthralls and bewilders her all at once and here she is.

When she sees Jean not only show up, but bring cookies that look really good (something Izzie would have made, something Meredith hasn't yet mastered, and that yet sliding into her mental narrative so naturally freaks her out so much she has to keep walking past it) - when she sees it, she heads over, grinning. "Hey," she says, "those look amazing, thank you."

[risesagain]

"Do they? I hope they taste as good as they look," Jean says with a nervous laugh and a genuine smile. She never had as much time to learn those sorts of domestic arts as she would have liked. The constant threat of the end of some kind of world made her stick to more practical things, though she always tried to pick some stuff up while she was away. Those blissful years of freedom that had been college had been fantastic for that.

"I was trying out a recipe my grandmother used to make. I know, but knowing and successfully completely are entirely different things. And a party could always used more dessert."

[drownondryland]

"Always," Meredith agrees, grinning. She certainly won't ever turn dessert away, though it's things like this that keep the holidays tinged with sadness for her, make her remember that first Christmas in Seattle. They might not have been that happy then, but they loved each other, and here she is, getting her third Christmas on the island, her second with Sean, when she only ever got the one with the family she still misses. "I know what you mean, though. I had to have Sookie help me with just about everything. I can't do any of it."