This oneshot idea has been floating around for a while, and now that I have started it, I am turning it into a twoshot, only because it was getting very long.
So basically, the time frame of this story is kinda messed up, only because I have bumped a few things around.
Basically, Izzie left at the beginning of season 6, like before the whole Mercy West thing, and then not long after she left, Meredith and Derek got custody of Zola. So, this is based after the shooting when Derek was on a bit of a downward spiral with his driving.
This is an AU where Meredith goes to Chicago and happens to bump into Izzie.
I am basically going to post this chapter today, and then the next part tomorrow. So, it's a little short thing between updates of my other stories.
Don't forget to review!
"Please don't go" Meredith begged as she stood in the doorway, watching Izzie pack away the last of her things.
"This is your home" Her voice broke, Izzie not being able to make eye contact as she replied.
"No it's not, not anymore. This is just a place where I worked, and I can do that anywhere" Meredith's voice caught in her throat as she turned and walked out the room, that being the last time she was ever going to see Izzie Stevens. Someone who, she had grown to love as a sister, who abandoned them.
Meredith felt her eyes blur as she packed her suitcase, hearing Derek open their bedroom door.
"So, you weren't joking when you said you were leaving?"
"I am taking a 2 week leave to stay in Chicago Derek, you act like I am divorcing you" She spat out tiredly, Derek raising his eyebrows at her.
"You seriously think you need a 2 week leave? Am I that stressing for you?"
"Derek, the therapist won't clear me for surgery because he thinks I am emotionally unstable. I am emotionally unstable because every time you are out of my eyesight I keep picturing you wrapping your car around a pole somewhere because you were driving too fast. Or your breaks give out and you fly off the edge of a cliff driving on the mountain road. I need space from the worrying, from the fear of losing you! I don't see why that's so hard to understand" She said with an exasperated sigh, zipping up the case, pushing past him as she grabbed her handbag from the side.
"You are being overdramatic- what about Zola" He shouted after her, following her down the stairs.
"Oh am I? So was I being overdramatic when I came looking for you and watched the gunman shoot you? Was I being overdramatic when I watched the gunman stand over your body which was open on an OR table, as you coded because he wanted you to die? I have every right to worry about you and be overdramatic because that normal day turned into the worst day of my life. And as for Zola, maybe while I am not here you will control your driving a little more, just so you can make sure you get home to our daughter" She couldn't control the tears as the flowed freely down her cheeks, Derek feeling his heart shatter as she expressed her feeling painfully.
"Meredith-"
"No, Derek. Right now, I can barely look at you because all I keep seeing if you hanging upside down in your in the middle of nowhere. So, I am going to Chicago and I am going to drive safely and try not to think about you going to work every day for 2 weeks. Let me do this" She begged, him wrapping his arms around her, nodding into her hair.
"Okay, but you have to promise to at least call me everyday" She laughed slightly, nodding her head.
"If you don't answer when I call I am going to have fit, you do know that right?" He sighed, nodding his head. He watched her leave the house, driving away from him.
Meredith had been gone for a week, putting her phone on speaker as she pulled out of the hotel parking lot.
"For this past week you have called at really bad times- but I am too scared to not answer you" She heard Derek express loudly, clearly showing that he was operating.
"Sorry! I thought I would call to speak to Zola but, clearly she isn't with you"
"Unless you want out daughter working with a drill on someone's brain, no she isn't with me" She laughed, heading down the road to the nearby cafe she had been using to have her breakfast at.
"How is Chicago treating you Mere?" She heard Callie asked through the receiver.
"It's fantastic! I'll make sure to bring you all back souvenirs"
"You better mean all of us" Cristina shouted, Meredith rolling her eyes.
"Would I forget about you?" They all laughed, Meredith's interrupted by a groan.
"What's wrong?"
"Traffic jam. I have to go a different route to get to the cafe I am looking for. Will you call me back when you are out of surgery so I can speak to Zola? I am going to lose reception here"
"Of course, I-" He was cut off, Meredith frowning as she continued to drive down the forest road. She looked in the rearview mirror with a concerned look when she heard a car revving behind her. It sped past her, Meredith not getting a chance to look at the driver as it went by. Everything went in slow motion as the car skidded and flipped, Meredith breaking suddenly but that never stopped the car flying into her's, sending it rolling. In the commotion, her seatbelt snapped, sending her out the windshield. She landed roughly on the floor, not being able to brace herself as the car rolled and crushed her abdomen down, leaving her trapped under the car. The world around her was blurred as she tried to push past the pain, attempting but failing miserably to keep her eyes open. She thought it was only seconds she passed out as the next time she opened her eyes, a man was standing in front of her, his age being no older than 20.
"Ma'am, can you hear me? I am going to call for help okay? Are you okay?"
Of course I am not, there is a car on top of me!
She frowned when it never left her mouth, the man running away before she could get another word in edge.
Why can't I talk?
She felt herself panicking as none of her thoughts left her mouth, wondering if it was due to shock or brain damage. Her focus was torn away from the pain as she focused on trying to talk, it seeming like forever until she heard sirens approaching her. A paramedic rushed to her, his face grim making her squirm in concern.
"Ma'am you need to stay as still as possible. One of our best resident trauma surgeons has come out and is going to take good care of you. Stay calm okay? Can you tell me your name?" Again, nothing come out as Meredith tried to get the words out.
Meredith Grey, damnit my name is Meredith Grey.
"It's okay, try and focus on talking, not on anything else" She watched him stand, running up to someone she couldn't see.
"Jane Doe, mid to late 30's" Meredith closed her eyes, trying to control her breathing. Her attention was pulled away from herself when she heard a woman gasp, trying to pry her eyes open again.
"She is not a Jane Doe, go and get my satellite phone now!" No, that voice. It can't be...
Izzie?
She managed to get her eyes open, her suspicions confirmed when a blonde was kneeling next to her, her eyes observing her body in utter shock.
"Meredith? Can you hear me?" Meredith opened her mouth but nothing come out again, Izzie placing her hand on her cheek softly.
"It's okay, you have a head injury and are also in shock. I need you to blink once for yes and twice for no, I need some details okay?" One blink.
"Okay, Can you feel this needle on your arm?" One blink.
"Okay that's really good. How about on your other arm?" One blink. The act was repeated again with her legs, Izzie sighing heavily as she put the needle to the side.
"Okay Mere that is really good. You don't seem to have any spinal injuries which is amazing. I need you to try and speak for me okay? I am going to guide you, if you can't don't panic, okay?" One blink. She sat right over her face, Meredith finding comfort in the features of her old friend.
"Spell my name for me, slowly. I-Z-Z-I-E. Try the first two letters for me" Meredith opened her mouth, trying slowly and painfully to get out the first letter.
"I-Z-Z-" She stopped, swallowing loudly, Izzie grinning, encouraging her to go on.
"Come on, you almost got it. What's after the second Z?"
"I-E"
"That's great, try and put it together for me. Come on you almost got it. Izzie" Meredith felt a tear trickle down her cheek as the situation dawned on her, everything speeding up to normal again.
"Izzie. Izzie. Izzie Stevens" Her voice was hoarse and pained but she did it. Izzie laughed happily, nodding her head.
"That's it Mere. Izzie Stevens" She grabbed her hand comfortingly, Meredith mumbled her name over and over again, just to remind herself she was talking again.
"Meredith, the search and rescue team are 30 minutes out, I need you to hang on for me okay? Just 30 minutes then we can get the car off you"
"30 minutes" She repeated, Izzie nodding, grabbing some morphine to help with Meredith's pain.
"Can you try and tell me what happened, take as long as you need"
"The traffic jam was too long, so I needed to take the different route. Some driver was speeding, and their car flipped and crashed into mine. I think my- my seatbelt snapped and threw me out the window"
"Can you remember if you landed head first, legs first?"
"Head- head first" She remembered that easily, and painfully.
"That's so good Mere, you're doing great" She tried to asses Meredith's injuries around the car, the bruising up her chest showing severe internal bleeding.
"I never- would have pegged you for trauma" Meredith mumbled, Izzie laughing, knowing that she did always have a thing for Neuro once upon a time. But, some angle named George inspired her to take a different route.
"Yeah well, a long time ago I was destined to walk around in pink scrubs so, things change" Meredith tried to laugh, a pain shooting up her chest causing her to cough violently, Izzie wiping away the small droplets of blood from her cheek.
"Am I going to die Izzie?"
"No, don't even think like that. You are going to be fine. I am not going to let you slip away"
"I let you slip away" Meredith said quietly, Izzie trying to control her emotions as she shook her head.
"No Mere, I ran away from everything that was good for me. I regret leaving you all so much" She said, Meredith feeling more tears roll down her cheek.
"I miss you"
"Not as much as I miss you. Come on, distract yourself. Why are you in Chicago?" Izzie wanted to keep her talking, not about to let her fade away from her.
"I needed a break, I had to get away"
"Is Derek giving you troubles again?" Izzie joked, Meredith smiling slightly.
"He is trying to kill himself, driving recklessly. How ironic, I take a break from him because his driving is sending me insane, and then a reckless driver comes and kills me"
"Hey, nobody has killed you, stop thinking like that. We are going to get this car off you and you are going to be fine"
"My luck hasn't been great lately Izzie" She said with a sad frown, her mind flashing back to the shooting.
"I bet that is a lie, you always complain" Izzie joked, Meredith shaking her head slightly.
"I watched derek get shot right in front of me, and then, I miscarried, and I watched him code on the table while the gunman held a gun to Cristina's head" She mumbled, Izzie's eyes going wide.
"The hospital shooting, it was at Seattle Grace?"
"You left at a great time" Meredith tried to make light of it, Izzie shaking her head in distress.
"I should have come back when I regretted it, I left in the worst possible way. I thought you hated me"
"You're like my sister, I could never hate you" Meredith managed to get out, her head starting to lull to the side slightly.
"No Meredith, come on stay awake for me, please stay awake. Tell me something, tell me anything! Please" Meredith nodded, licking her lips slightly as she looked up at Izzie, her bright eyes reminding her of Zola.
"Me and Derek adopted a little girl. She is 11 months old in 2 days" Izzie's eyes sparkled with unshed tears, giving her another reason to not kill her friend.
"You have a daughter? Tell me about her"
"Her name is Zola, she- she is from Malawi. Alex did a huge program for kids from Africa who needed medical treatment and she was an orphan. Derek fell in love with her in an instant. She is so perfect" Tears continued to roll down Meredith's cheeks at the thought of never seeing her baby ever again, the thought sickening.
"Well you are going to have to introduce me to her aren't you?"
"What if I never see her again, she will always remember me as the woman who ran because she was scared"
"No, you never ran. You are letting go, which everyone needs Mere. She know's you are her mom and you are going to be able to tell her that, I promise I am not going to let you die" Izzie said, grabbing her satellite phone to see how far away the search and rescue were.
"They are 5 minutes out Mere, then I am going to get you to Chicago Memorial and I am going to take you straight to surgery. It's all going to be okay, I promise"
"First day of Med School, don't make promises" She laughed, Izzie shaking her head. They sat in silence, Meredith breaking it when she saw the truck pulling up.
"Izzie, let me call Derek"
"No Mere, you are not saying no goodbyes today" She let out a chocked sob, Izzie grabbing her hand.
"Izzie, I don't want my last memory with my husband to be me being cut off because I was stuck in a traffic jam. Just, I need to tell him" She swallowed loudly when Izzie nodded, dialling the number for her.
"I don't sound like I am dying do I?" She joked as it rang, Izzie trying to hold back her tears when she shook her head.
"Dr Shepherd"
"Hey Derek" Meredith managed to get out, her voice seemingly cheery and happy.
"Mere? What phone are you calling me off?"
"Oh I got stuck on this forrest road, tire blew on my car. I ran to a service phone- just thought I would call and tell you in case you try and call and I don't answer" Izzie sighed heavily at how easily the lie come out, knowing she didn't want to worry him.
"Oh well I am with Zola right now if you want to speak to her quick. I have another surgery soon"
"Yeah okay!"
"Zola! Mommy is on the phone, want to say hi?"
"Hi Zola baby! How is my perfect princess?"
"Ma-ma" She laughed through the tears, Izzie feeling a tear roll down her cheek as she overheard the conversation.
"She is missing her mama" Derek expressed, Meredith taking a shaky breath to stop the sob making it's way up her chest.
"Tell her mama will be home soon! I love you Zo-Zo"
"She loves you too"
"I love you Derek, so much"
"I love you too Mere, I will call you tonight okay? Safe and sound in bed with Zola. I promise"
"Okay, I love you, bye" Izzie hung up the phone, Meredith looking up at the sky, trying to control the continuous tears flowing down her cheeks.
"Izzie, I need you to promise me something"
"No, Meredith don't you dare" Izzie shouted at her, Meredith grabbing her hand, looking her dead in the eye.
"Izzie, please-" She let out a loud breath, nodding her head.
"-Whether I make it or not, I want you to be the one to call him okay. I want you to call him, and speak to Cristina and Alex, and tell them I love them, and that, all my documents are in a box hidden under Derek's blanket in the wardrobe. I want you to promise it'll be you to tell them, not some doctor or nurse, you"
"I promise" She gave her the best hug she could well she was on the ground, Izzie having the stand back slightly while the truck was pulled up to the car, the paramedics ready with the gurney.
"Izzie"
"Yeah Mere"
"For what it was, I am really glad I got to see you before I go" She mumbled, Izzie covering her mouth with her hand to muffle her heavy breathing, nodding her head.
"Don't you dare die on me Grey! I will kill you if you die on me" Everything slowed as the car was slowly lifted, Izzie feeling a pain in her heart as Meredith let out a painful scream, the car having imbedded into her stomach, the blood pooling underneath her at a steady flow as they dragged her out.
"I need you to run to the rig and get it started, contact the hospital and get Ortho, Neuro and Cardio on standby" She shouted at some man, her and the other woman loading her onto the gurney, running her to the ambulance.
"Put pressure on this wound" She threw gauze at the woman who pilled it onto her stomach, Meredith letting out a hiss.
"You're still with us?"
"I'm still here" Meredith said quietly, her voice dropping as she paled, her blood not being stopped by the gauze.
"This isn't doing anything" The woman said, Izzie pushing her out the way, telling her to hook her up to the machines while she tried to locate the bleeder. She watched Meredith's eyes close over, pushing down on her stomach making her open them up again.
"You can sleep when you're dead" Izzie said with a smirk, Meredith letting out a gurgled laugh. They were at the hospital in 7 minutes and 30 seconds, not like Izzie was counting as she tried her hardest to keep Meredith awake. They quickly got her through MRI and X-Ray, her revealing to have a large brain bleed and multiple internal bleeds as well as a severely broken wrist and leg.
"We are taking you straight to surgery okay? You are going to be okay"
"Thank you Izzie" Izzie shook her head, putting on the mask when someone passed it to her.
"No, you can thank me when you wake up after surgery okay?" Meredith nodded, squeezing her hand before Izzie ran ahead to the scrub room, that being the last time Meredith saw her before she was put under. Izzie walked into the OR, the sight of Meredith unconscious making her stomach churn.
"How do you know her?" Dr Jones, the Neuro god of Chicago asked her as she stood at Mere's side.
"When I lived in Seattle, I was Dr Model, and nobody respected me. Meredith, she let me live in her house with her, helped me gain the respect I needed within the surgical staff. She was the sister I never had. I swear to God, we are not going to lose her today" The other doctors nodded, them all digging in to what they needed to do.
Izzie couldn't control her tears as she dialled the familiar number on a nurses stations phone, the hospital eerily empty, leaving her in silence as the phone rang.
"Dr Shepherd"
"Hi Derek"
"Izzie? Is that you Izzie?"
"Wait? Izzie? What do you mean Izzie?" She couldn't help but cringe when she heard Bailey in the background.
"Yeah Derek, it's me"
"What's going on Izzie?"
"You need to get to Chicago as soon as possible, it's Meredith"
Well, this is cruel. It's okay, the last part will be up tomorrow (hopefully)! Review, Review!