Disclaimer: I do not own Grey's Anatomy or any of its characters used in this story. What is written here is for entertainment purposes only. I do not make any profits from it.
Cristina's phone rang. Meredith's smiling face appeared at the screen.
"Dr. Yang, Meredith Grey's on the phone," the nurse announced from behind her. Everybody in Cristina's OR knew to answer every call if it came from a Meredith Grey or an Owen Hunt. They initially thought the calls would be work related but they never were. Dr. Yang would be performing surgery while talking with her friends from the previous hospital she worked at. The topics ranged from a guy named Derek to an Evil Spawn and certain surgeries.
The nurse continued, "I've set it on speaker."
Sounds of sniffles could be heard and Cristina immediately halted. Everybody knew something was wrong.
"Meredith, what's going on?"
Sniffles again.
"Meredith!" cried Cristina, trying not to drop the tools in her hands and picking up the phone herself.
"Cris- Cristina, I- I..." stuttered Meredith, her voice breaking.
"Meredith, come out with it or I swear to God-" Even Cristina's voice shook an octave higher. She feared the worst since the worst usually happened to her best friend.
"It's Derek."
That said it all.
"What happened?" If he's lying in a ditch dead somewhere, Cristina would bring him back just to kill him again. How dare he cause such pain to-
"He's gone."
McBastard.
Cristina tried to continue working on her patient but she found herself staring at organs, no medical knowledge coming to mind. "What do you mean gone? As in dead gone or like left gone?"
"I don't know. I don't know. Oh, God." She could hear Meredith start crying again.
"Meredith!"
"He hasn't come home since yesterday! Nobody in the hospital has seen him, Owen isn't telling me anything. But he- he assures me he's alive but what if he's not! Cristina! What if he's dead what if-"
Everybody in the room sympathized with Dr. Yang's best friend. From all the phone calls they've overheard they knew all about this Derek and what the couple has been through.
"Meredith listen to me. He's not dead, okay? He's... He probably fell asleep in an on call room or he got kidnapped by the President."
Meredith elicited a chuckle. Good. Keep her thoughts optimistic.
"Look, I'm in surgery right now. but I'll cancel the others and I'm going to take the first flight out as soon as I'm done."
"Okay." Meredith sniffled.
"It's going to be alright. He's alive. He survived a shooting, a plane crash. He's still alive, Meredith. I promise." Because if he's not, if he left you and my godkids for the president I will kill him myself, swore Cristina.
...
It was 9 o'clock in the evening. The kids were in bed but not without effort. Meredith had to assure Zola her daddy was going to be there when she woke up, cooking breakfast. It felt like she was trying to convince herself more than Zola, though.
Despite all the things that shook up their marriage, not once has Derek nor herself given up. They always went home. They were always there to tuck the kids at night. They still love each other even when they hate each other.
So for Derek to not come home was weird. It wasn't like him.
Meredith remembered how before her first thought would've been how he left her, the kids, the marriage, but she's grown since then. He got her whole and healed. And then the universe ruined her all over again. Now, the fear wasn't about him leaving her for another, about him giving up on her. It was about him leaving her for good because he had died. It doesn't matter how: car crash, plane crash, freak accidents or whatever. They all had the same result: the universe stealing Derek away from her and her family.
The doorbell rang, knocking her out of her morbid musings.
She scrambled to the door praying to God it was Derek.
She opened the door revealing Cristina.
It seemed as if a part of the weight crushing her left as soon as she saw her best friend. Only a part.
"Has he called?" Cristina immediately asked, stepping inside the house and dropping her overnight bag to the floor.
"No. I've thought of every possibility of what might have happened. Kidnapped, carjacked, his car down a cliff. But then Owen says he's very much alive so probably in jail, or with the president or..." Meredith trailed off.
They both sat at the couch. Cristina holding Meredith's hand. It was enough for now.
...
The secretary knocked on Chief Hunt's door. She poked her head in, ignoring the black men in suits.
"Chief Hunt, Dr. Yang's on line 1."
Owen looked up. Cristina was the last person he'd expect to call him. Nervous and panicked relatives, nosy doctors maybe, but not Cristina.
He put the phone on speaker because the bald man across him, Garrett, wanted to monitor his calls. It irked him at how they just burst in his hospital telling him what to do, stealing his doctors. But it'd be over soon, he kept repeating to himself.
"Hey, what's up?"
"What's up? What's up?! I'm at Meredith's right now. She's freaking out."
He nearly choked on his own saliva. "You're here?"
"That's not the point right now. Where the hell is Derek freaking Shepherd? His kids not to mention the love of his life are panicking here!"
Owen's gaze traveled to the man in his room. "He's fine. He's at the hospital. Tell Meredith not to worry."
"Oh right," scoffed Cristina. "Because she'll really believe you. Where did he go, Owen? Did he tell you anything? I swear if you helped him leave her in any way-"
"What? Leave her? Is that what Meredith's thinking? No. Cristina, he's-"
Garrett had stood up sending him with a cold hard look.
"He's working. That's all I can tell you."
"Owen-"
"Look, I made a promise. I can't tell you. Tell Meredith he hasn't left her, he hasn't-"
"She thinks he's dead, Owen. She thinks he's lying dead in a ditch somewhere and you're too scared to tell her."
Owen sighed. He's been answering phone calls, comforting families, but this is the hardest one yet. He hated that he couldn't say anything. He hated that his first conversation with Cristina is about this. He hated everything that had to do with this situation.
"I'm sorry. Tell her I'm sorry. All I can reveal as of the moment is that he is very much alive." He paused listening to Cristina's breathing. It calmed him. "Look, I have to go. And I want to see you once this is all over."
He put the phone down and glared at Garrett.
The man received it with no semblance of discomfort.
"I don't like you," was all Owen said.
...
It was 2 AM. Meredith and Cristina were seated on the couch, Alex had joined them throwing popcorn in his mouth while sprawled on the other sofa.
"He could be performing a breakthrough surgery and he wants to keep it a secret from you," he said in between chewing popcorn.
"I think if there were a breakthrough surgery, interns would be gossiping about it. And we'd know," argued Cristina.
"Or he could be doing your sister," Alex countered to Meredith.
Both women shot Alex a weird disgusted look.
"He would never cheat on Meredith, okay," said Cristina. She turned to her best friend. "He may not be acting like McDreamy at the moment but he would never cheat on you."
"Because if he did, I'll kill him," Meredith muttered under her breath. Not once has she doubted Derek's fidelity. She's not going to start now.
"Or," Alex began, "he's-"
They all heard the footsteps walking towards the front porch.
"Right there outside," Alex finished.
Meredith ran, opening the door. Derek greeted her sight. Phone in his mouth, keys in one hand, bag on the other.
Tears threatened to spill out her eyes again, so she immediately threw herself at him and buried her face in the crook of his neck. She heard his things drop to the floor, his phone leaving his mouth.
Derek held her tight, breathing her in. He missed her so much.
Then Meredith remembered everything that had happened. She pulled back, hitting her husband in the chest.
"Where the hell have you been?!" She cried out, tears finally spilling down her red cheeks. "I've been waiting and waiting! You know how many people I had to call just to even have some sort of idea as to whether or not you were still alive? I own the freaking hospital and nobody will tell me anything!"
"We better go check on the kids," Alex said to Cristina, although they were sure neither Derek nor Meredith heard them leave.
Derek tried to pull Meredith into another hug and Meredith failed to push him away. She managed to hit him in the chest albeit softly.
"I was so worried! I thought- I thought you were dying somewhere or kidnapped or something like that."
Derek rubbed his hands up and down his wife's back. He should've known she'd think of the worst. She always did. Ever since the shooting she's been afraid of losing him. He's mad that the universe had rendered her so helpless.
"Yeah. Something like that," he said softly.
She looked up at him, her face red from all the crying. He hated it when she cried, especially if he was the cause of it.
"I was with the president," Derek stated. He felt Meredith's body stiffen.
Whenever Obama was mentioned in the house, he knew a storm was going to come.
Meredith quietly extracted herself from him and walked to the center of the living room.
"You were with Obama," she repeated, trying to somehow see if he'd take it back. To see if he hadn't just chosen the president over her.
Derek took one long stride and took her hands in his. "Not like that, Mer!" He said knowing what she was thinking. "He.. He was the patient."
"What?"
He led her to the couch and they both sat while he explained. "He had an aneurysm and I was the only one he trusted to save his life. His henchmen ordered us to keep it all a secret. He had a select team perform the surgery. They took away all our phones, any means of communication. We couldn't let word out that he was there. After the surgery, they kept us in a guarded room. All our movements were monitored. I couldn't contact you. I tried. Believe me I tried." The room was enveloped in silence as Derek thought of what to say next. "All Hunt was allowed to say to family members was to assure them that we were alive and well. That was it. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry I put you through all of this."
Meredith looked ahead, trying to process it all. So, it turns out the president did have Derek kidnapped. And he wasn't dead or dying or anything.
She turned to her husband. "Is he okay?"
Derek froze for a moment. That was the last thing he expected her to say.
"What? I- yeah, he's fine. He woke up. That's why I was actually able to go home." He took her hands again. "I'm sorry."
"It's okay. I understand. You were saving the president's life." She looked into his eyes and found a hint of the old Derek. The Derek who acted like her McDreamy.
"No. Not just about that. But about everything, about the fighting. I was so selfish. I thought working for him was the next best thing, but after what happened today," he cupped her face and Meredith saw the glint in his eyes growing brighter. "He doesn't care about what happens to the wife in the waiting room. Or rather, his assistants don't. But I do. I don't ever want to put you through that again. I don't want us to fight about whose career is more important because I'll always choose you, Mer. I'll always choose you and the kids."
And then Meredith felt warmth spread all over her body as she saw that the old Derek was back. His eyes shone like he was the sun again. Only this time, he shone for her.
"I- I- you'll resent me," was all she could say. Damn it. Why couldn't she just end the fight too.
"No, I wont. Because I had a taste of what it felt like working for the president and all I felt was regret. I resented myself, Meredith. My choices. But never you. I could never... I love you."
Derek brushed a finger across her tear streaked face and kissed her, chaste and quick. All their kisses lately have been hungry and hard. A punishment, done only for pleasure. The angry sex had been great but he was tired of all the anger. He kissed her again, slowly, softly and all he could taste was forgiveness and acceptance. Love.
Meredith grasped at his shirt, afraid to let him go and when they finally pulled away for air, they rested their foreheads against each other's.
"I'm sorry too," she whispered. "For being stubborn and just as selfish."
"We're going to have to make a few sacrifices but I'm willing to do that if it means I get to keep you and the kids. I mean it, Mer."
"I know you do." She rested her head on his chest as they cuddled in their dream house.
They stayed there for a few minutes until Derek finally broke the silence.
"I punched him."
"Obama?"
Derek laughed. "No. I just fixed his aneurysm. I can't ruin all that good work. No. I punched his secretary."
"Did it hurt?"
"He had to get stitches."
"Good."
"You weren't arrested, were you?"
"Hunt covered for me, said it was worry for you and the kids that made me do it. Good man Hunt," said Derek, pulling her even closer if it were possible.
"I noticed Cristina's back."
"She's not back."
"I'm glad she's here… When I wasn't."
"You're here now and that's all that matters."
It really was all that mattered.
A/N: I have nothing against Obama, by the way. I know there are a few points that don't make sense at all like whether or not doctors can contact friends and families when working with VIP people but I hope you still love it anyway! Tell me what you think!