Meredith lay in bed, flipping through the TV channels with a restlessness that could only be caused by being kept in bed, by bodily force if necessary, for several days. She glanced down at the bedside table where a crossword puzzle sat while Derek brushed her teeth. She thought idly to herself if she could make it out the door before Derek noticed, but decided against it. She didn't want to risk another chewing out by him just for an opportunity to stretch her legs and grab one of Izzie's muffins. Apparently getting hypothermia and nearly dying caused people to get a little testy, she thought, as she recalled the first time Derek woke up in her bed since the incident (she chuckled a little as she thought how silly "the incident" seemed for her near-death experience) and found himself alone. He called her name, with just a tinge of panic in his tone and found her sitting on the edge of the bathtub with a toothbrush hanging out the side of her mouth. It was completely innocent but he couldn't prevent the look of anger that crossed his face briefly. When she glanced at him quizzically, all he said was, "I came too close to losing you once …" and let that trail off as he padded back to bed.
She heard the tap briefly turn on and off quickly, signaling Derek's re-entrance back into her room. She smiled up as him as he entered the room. He smiled back when he saw her and walked over to the bed, leaning down to give her a brief kiss. His hand gently cupped her cheek as he leaned his forehead into hers.
"I've got to head into work, but I think I heard that Cristina was going to come over and keep you company," Derek said.
"Cristina?" Meredith said. I haven't seen her for days, she thought to herself.
"Yeah. She should be over soon," he said, as he gave her one last kiss and stood up to leave. "Call me if you need anything and don't get out of bed. You need to rest."
Meredith watched him leave and settled herself more comfortably down into the bed. It seemed to her that time could not move anymore slowly than it was now. She was a surgeon and surgeons do not stay in bed all day. She needed to get up and move, she needed to perform surgeries. Hell, she'll even take a couple of gaping wounds that needed to be stitched up, she wasn't asking for much. But Derek seemed to be able to sense whenever she moved around her room, even when no one was around. She was almost certain that he had cameras in the room. She shook that thought off and turned back to her TV.
She felt like she had spent hours flipping through the channels. All the happy, excited people on The Price is Right made her just a little bit disgusted and she turned the channel. Same with the dancing on the Ellen DeGeneres Show and she again turned the channel. Rerun of Cheers? Nope. The View? Absolutely not. The Jerry Springer Show? Now this was something she could watch; a bunch of crazy people with fucked up lives was just what the doctor ordered, she thought with a little chuckle. She barely made it ten minutes into the program before a knock sounded on the door.
"Come in," Meredith called.
Cristina peeked her head around the door, pausing for a moment before she fully entered the room and closed the door behind her.
"You've finally come to see me," Meredith said with a grin.
"Yeah, well, don't get all bent out of shape. I was busy. Burke had this surgery and …" Cristina was cut off.
"If you even mention a surgery, I will kill you. If I can't work right now, I don't want to hear about all the cool stuff I'm missing out on."
"Izzie and Alex got the best surgeries anyway. I've been in the pit for most of the time," Cristina said as she sat on the edge of the bed.
Meredith glanced over at her as Cristina kept her eyes glued to the TV and two bald guys throwing chairs at each other, seeming to fight over a morbidly obese female wearing a sparkly blue bikini. At least, they assumed she was female, the chest seemed to be a surgical job and the thick hair above the lip seemed to be a dead giveaway. But Cristina wouldn't meet Meredith's gaze and Meredith knew better than to ask. Before Meredith was allowed to leave the hospital, George had told her that Cristina was assigned to the pit until further notice. When she had asked why, George had stuttered through an explanation of Cristina bursting into the trauma room that had held Meredith and essentially taking over when her superior's had wanted to give up. Even though Cristina had essentially saved her life, her actions towards her superior's ended up with her being assigned to the pit until further notice. Meredith just sighed and turned back to the television. Cristina would tell her when she was ready.
"Thank you," Meredith whispered.
Cristina glanced over at her. "Did that guy just admit to having an affair with a midget?"
"Yeah, I think he did," Meredith replied.
Meredith knew Cristina. She knew that heavy, emotional topics were to be avoided like a plague, unless there was sufficient opportunity for mocking the key players involved. She was just glad that her person was here finally, to keep her company while she remained on bed rest.
The two friends stayed there, sitting side by side while the first Jerry Springer show finished and another one started up. Cristina adjusted the pillow she was leaning against and chewed her lip. She surreptitiously glanced at Meredith who was reclining against a pillow. Cristina thought she still looked too tired and too grey. She knew she was getting her health back but it was slow going. She leaned back against her own pillow.
"Thank you," Cristina whispered.
Meredith blinked once and looked over at her, clearly confused. "For what?"
"For not disappearing," she replied, slowly and quietly.
Meredith looked at Cristina who kept her gaze on the television. She smiled, softly, and leaned her head on Cristina's shoulder.
"Thank you for saving me," Meredith said.
Cristina said nothing in reply, just rested her head on top of Meredith's.