Welcome to a new Memories story. This centres around Dr Derek Shepherd. The story is losely built on a book by Danielle Steele, The promise. I have read many fabulos fanfiction stories and this is a new try by me to write something readable. Please comment.
~mcanna
Chapter 1: An Accident
"How much longer?" Meredith is fiddling with her wristwatch as she always does when she is nervous.
"Less than 30 minutes" Derek answers.
"Stop fiddling, they'll love you. All of them will. Remember that you are the love of my life and I will always be there for you."
He concentrates on the road. It is the third of July and people everywhere are in a rush for summer vacation. Derek is being a careful driver and has left some space to the car in front of them. Too many hours in the ER and OR trying to save head trauma victims do that to you. They are almost at his parents' summer house. It is just a left turn of the highway and a couple of blocks down to the beach. He stops and waits for an opening to cross the road. Suddenly they feel a heavy bump from behind that pushes them over into the incoming lane. The cars moving in the other direction has no chance to avoid them and Derek can't stop their car. They get hit on the passenger side of the car, by a car travelling seventy kilometers per hour. The car hitting them gets hit by the one behind him. Before it is over more than twelve cars are involved in the accident. Both Derek and Meredith are unconscious.
It takes the police and rescue teams more than ten minutes to arrive to the scene of the accident and to begin evaluating the rescue needed. The fire department is on their way with Jaws of Life to cut victims out of the remains. The first paramedics on the scene start to triage the victims. They find a suspected a lot of shocked people, small cuts and neck pains. The closer they get to the initial car crash the more severe the accidents they find. They make call to call in choppers, doctors and more ambulances, at least forty people are in need of hospital care.
"Over here" Derek hears when he regains consciousness again. His neck hurt. He has trouble breathing because of chest pain. His collarbone is probably broken since he can't move his arm and his legs are stuck. Paramedic tries to take his vitals.
"I need the jaws, these two are in need to get out now"
The paramedic moves around the car and Derek follows his movement around the front of the car. When he looks to his right he sees Meredith slumped in the seat. Her face is covered in blood and her car door is pushing her back into the seat, holding her there. She has trouble breathing. It sounds like her lungs are filling up with fluids.
"Help her" Derek cries out.
More rescue people arrive, a doctor, a couple of fire fighters and another paramedic. They all work fast to free Meredith. They begin with cutting out Derek who is crying and doesn't want to leave her. Right before they lift him out, he gets hold of her hand and squeezes it hard.
"I love you Meredith. We will do this together."
The paramedics have trouble securing Meredith's breathing but it is impossible to intubate her. They need to trac her. She is sitting there for closer to an hour before they can get her out and into a chopper that fly her to Boston General.
Dr Ellis Grey is not happy to get paged during surgery.
"It is the ER, Dr Grey" a nurse is checking her pager.
"Call them"
"Dr Grey, it is your daughter"
Ellis looks up from the patient on the table in front of her.
"Meredith? ... Why?"
"It is a 911"
"Tell them I will be there as soon as I finished this. I will probably be there within the hour."
Ellis is met outside the OR by Head of Trauma, her co-worker, Dr Harry Larsen.
"Ellis, your daughter has been in a car crash. She has severe head trauma and facial damages. They airvac her here and she is now in the ICU under observation."
Ellis looks at him in shock, turns around and jogs towards the ICU. At the door to Meredith's room she stops and looks at the heavy bandaged person in the bed. She looks like a child, it is impossible to recognize her. Her head is covered with bandages and she is connected to monitors with cords sticking out from all over her body. Ellis moves slowly to her side, sits down and takes her hand. She sits there looking at her daughter thinking… Doctors and nurses arrive to check on her every ten minutes. After about one hour, Ellis stands up, leans over the bed and whispers to Meredith.
"This is how it goes when you get involved with boys. I will take care of this."
She leaves the room and goes to the chief with instructions of Meredith's future treatments. A couple of minutes later the alarm in Meredith's room goes off and the crash team comes running.
Derek makes his mother call Dr Grey to find out where Meredith is and about her injuries the following day. He has been brought to a small hospital close to his parents' house. When Carolyn Shepherd returns her eyes are red. It is easy to see that she has been crying.
"Mum" Derek reaches out for her hand with his non injured arm.
"Mum… no Mum" Derek's tears starts falling when his mother slowly shakes her head.
"Oh Derek… my boy… I'm so sorry… so… so… sorry."
Derek is crying so hard that his ribcage is hurting him. He cries out in agony and the nurses come running. They need to sedate him to make sure he doesn't hurt himself anymore. His broken rib can puncture his lung. The next time he wakes up and remembers he feels like someone has ripped his heart out. The love of his life is dead and he wasn't with her. He wishes it was he who died. His only escape at the hospital is sleep.