Chapter 1 Be Strong

"Mer, Derek is asking for you." Cristina said.

She took a deep breath and calmed her racing mind and heart. She needed to be strong for Derek; he needed her to be strong. Cristina needed her to be strong. She had to be.

She went down towards the ICU. She could not even say it without cringing. The thought of Derek hurt, made her weep. And to make matters worse, she had to walk past the catwalk. That treacherous place where the hateful man ruined her husband's life.

Meredith felt all the blood rush out of her brain and face. She could not be strong even though she knew she had to. Against her will, she began to break down.

"No," she told herself, "you can't do this. Derek is waiting and counting on you to be strong. Cristina needs you to be strong. You don't get to break down after all that has happened. You don't get to break down."

When she calmed herself, she continued the long, agonizing walk to her husband's room. What she saw stopped her dead in her tracks.

She saw Derek, strong, full-of-life, Derek looking like a ghost. Only a shell of the true man he was. Her strong husband had taken on the form of a sick man she did not know or recognize.

"Oh my god Derek!" She said through her sobs.

She was a surgeon, she know that GSW's made people look like this. But seeing it in her Derek astounded her. But what happened next was more amazing.