Hi everyone! Thanks for the reviews on the last story!
-This fic came to me after watching the episode where Meredith dreams that Derek is dying. I tried to ignore it because all thoughts of Derek dying make me utterly nauseous, but anyway, here it is. Enjoy this oneshot! Please R&R!!
Meredith Shepherd groaned as she rolled over to turn the alarm clock off. She noticed that Derek wasn't in bed. Getting up, she pulled her robe on over her naked skin and tiptoed down the hallway. She stopped in the nursery door and peeked in. What she saw warmed her heart. Derek was asleep in the rocking chair, their four month old son Ethan in his arms. They were both snuggled and slightly snoring. Meredith lifted her iPhone and snapped a picture. She then leaned over and kissed her husband. "Good Morning", she whispered. His eyes popped open. He smiled, then looked down at Ethan. "Good Morning". He got up and put Ethan in his crib. Turning around, he stretched and yawned. "Oh damn my back hurts", he said, moaning. Meredith rubbed his shoulders and back, and then gave him a hug. "Thank you for letting me sleep. Ethan woke up at what, 3?" Derek nodded. "You're welcome, you just looked so beautiful sleeping, I thought I'd take care of Ethan." He kissed her, grabbing her butt. She giggled, pulling him down the hall with her.
They checked on their still sleeping two-year-old daughter Maycie. "They both get the 'sleeping through tornadoes' thing from you." Derek said laughing. "Hey! You can sleep through my snoring!" she said. "Ha! Put it in the record that Meredith Grey Shepherd admits to monster snoring!" he said. "No one said monster", she said pouting. He laughed. "I love it when you pout." She just shook her head and kissed him. Turning for the door, she ran for the shower. He chased after her.
After dropping both kids off in the hospital daycare, Derek and Meredith rode the elevator together and began their day. Halfway through the day Derek found Meredith in the hallway and pulled her into his office. "Can I help you Chief Shepherd?" she almost purred. Derek grinned and kissed her. "Sorry Dr. Shepherd, but no time to play." he said. "I'm headed to Mercy West for a meeting on how we are all fairing after the merger ended. "Oh God their not coming back are they?" Meredith groaned. Derek laughed. "I hope not." "I'll see you later." He kissed her, she hugged him. He leaned into her. "God I love you and that damn conditioner", he laughed. "I love you too, and your hair's not too bad either". she said, laughing and kissing him. Derek started to leave when over the intercom they heard "Dr. Meredith Shepherd to OR 2". "Gotta run." she said, waving.
4 Hours Later
"Incoming trauma!" Dr. Owen Hunt yelled, grabbing Drs. Lexie Sloan and Callie Torres. Hurriedly putting on their yellow gowns, they rushed outside as the ambulance pulled up. A paramedic hopped out. "37 year old male, car accident, driver ran a red light, changed lanes. It was a head on collision. Slight head trauma, broken ribs, broken left arm, possible collapsed lung, abdomen is rigid. He's losing blood. Pulse is thready and pressure is dropping." The paramedic looked at the doctors who were all staring at the patient in shock. "Hello!?" he exclaimed. "Oh my God it's Derek!" Lexie screamed. "Shepherd, you're going to be fine, stay with us!" Owen said, pushing Lexie out of the way. She snapped out of it, but still felt like vomiting at seeing her brother-in-law this way. They ran him into the E.R. Cristina walked up and did a double take. "Oh my God." she whispered. "Go find Meredith and keep her away." Owen said, cutting Derek's shirt off. He turned to an ashen faced nurse. "3 cc's of morphine, page Bailey, Webber, and Nelson, STAT!" Owen noticed Cristina still standing there. "What do I tell her?!" she said. "Figure it out! Go!" he yelled. "Doctor, his rates are dropping." Owen looked at Derek, who's eyes were now open wide in terror. "Meredith", he whispered. "A rib has punctured a lung, get an access site ready for a drainage tube! Get me an 18 gauge needle! Grab two bags of A positive blood! Fast!" He turned back to Derek. "She's going to be okay, and so are you, just hold on, this tube is going to hurt." Tears pooled in Derek's eyes as Owen drove the needle into his chest to relieve the pressure. Owen continued to work, but was still having trouble believing he was working on his own Chief of Surgery.
Dr. Miranda Bailey and Dr. Richard Webber stood staring. "Please tell me that is not Derek Shepherd." Miranda said, shaking her head. "I wish I could. Let's get in there!" Richard said.
Derek's eyes widened in pain as Owen pushed on his stomach. "Mer", he choked out again, closing his eyes as the morphine blessedly hit him. "She'll be here soon." Owen whispered. "Transfer him to CT, now!"
Cristina stood watching Meredith laugh with a nurse. She hated the fact she was about to make her best friend's worst nightmare come true. She walked over to her and took a deep breath. "Mer, I need a consult." Meredith turned to her and walked with her to an exam room. She gave Cristina a puzzled look when she shut the door. "What's up?" she asked. "Meredith, it's Derek. He's been in an accident." Meredith's face drained of it's color. "Oh no, no! Oh my God is he ok?!" "What happened? Where is he?" "He's in the E.R. probably headed up to CT." Cristina said. "Owen said not to-" before she could finish Meredith had already flown out the door.
Meredith's mind was racing. How could this happen? Why them? Not her Derek. Seriously? Dammit! She cried, running to the E.R. She could hear Cristina on her heels. "Meredith, stop! You don't want to see him!" "To hell I don't!" Meredith burst into the E.R. and had almost made it to the trauma room that many people, including an extremely pale looking Mark Sloan, were standing outside of, when Richard stopped her. An out-of-breath Cristina finally caught up. Meredith started to panic, hyperventilating. "Not Derek!" she cried, tears streaming down her face. "Where is he?" she screamed. "CT." Mark said, his voice gravelly with unshed emotion. He walked over and put his arms around Meredith. "He's strong. You've got to be strong." "Oh shit don't say that!" Meredith exclaimed, pushing away from him. "My dream will not come true!" Mark looked at her strangely, but Cristina knew exactly what Meredith was thinking. They walked up to the CT room.
Meredith put her hand on the window of the room her husband lay in. Derek was bloody. They had him intubated and had a chest tube in. Callie was looking at his arm. "Derek!" she cried. Suddenly Owen shook his head at Miranda who was pointing to Derek's stomach. "Nooo!" Derek! Derek!" Meredith cried. Cristina put her arm around Meredith, shushing her. "Don't shush me!" Suddenly they began to wheel Derek out. Meredith ran to his side. She touched is cheek. He had cuts on his face. "Derek!" His eyes fluttered open for a second, glazed with pain. "I love you" she whispered, squeezing his hand and kissed his lips. "Headed to CT, Miranda said. We'll update you as soon as we can." Meredith nodded, letting go of Derek's hand.
Cristina sat beside Meredith, holding her hand, and not saying a word. Meredith stared into space, thinking of just this morning, how she had woken up to Derek cuddling with their son. She thought of how Maycie flew into his arms in the evenings after work, and how at night he wrapped her in his arms and made her feel on top of the world. She slipped her phone out of her pocket and pulled up the picture she had taken this morning. A single tear ran down her cheek. She laid her head on Cristina's shoulder. Cristina, looking at the picture, put her arm around Meredith. "He has to be okay, I can't live without him." Meredith whispered. Cristina nodded. "He will be."
"The friend who can be silent with us in a moment of despair or confusion, who can stay with us in an hour of grief and bereavement, who can tolerate not knowing, not curing, not healing and face with us the reality of our powerlessness, that is a friend who cares."
A few hours later Dr. Bailey pushed open the doors to the private waiting room. Scanning the room she saw Mark, with a sleeping Lexie on his shoulder, Alex, Jackson, Cristina, and finally, Meredith. Meredith was staring out at the rain falling heavily outside. "Meredith", she whispered. The small woman jumped up. "How is he? He's ok, right? Can I see him?" Miranda nodded at the barrage of questions. "He's stable. We had to go in and fix a few bleeders, and remove his spleen because it had ruptured. We repaired his rib that had punctured the lung, and his left arm was broken in three places. Callie put three pins in it, and it's now bandaged. He'll get a cast in a few days. His head trauma is just a mild concussion, the swelling in his brain went down. Oh, and he had an avulsion on his leg but we got it sewed up and bandaged." Meredith blinked at all of this information. Miranda smiled. "He's banged up Meredith, but he should be fine." At this, Meredith started to shake, and right as she collapsed Mark held his hands out and caught her. He held her as she sobbed. "I was so scared," she whispered. "I was too Meredith, I was too." They stood up and Meredith turned and hugged Cristina. "Thank you for staying with me." "You're my person." Cristina said, shrugging. "I'm glad Derek's okay." Meredith nodded, and followed Miranda to Derek's room. He was in the slightly propped up bed, tubes running out of his body. He was no longer intubated, just had simple oxygen on. IV's ran out of his neck and arms. He had stitches in his leg, and his arm was propped up. His eyes were closed. Meredith walked into the room and sat in the chair beside his bed. She grabbed his good hand, and laying her head down on the bed, fell asleep. She woke a few hours later to someone stroking her hair. She sat up quickly. Derek was staring at her quietly, rubbing his fingers through her hair. "Meredith," he whispered. She leaned over and kissed his bruised lips. "Derek, she said. You're awake." He nodded, wincing. "How do you feel?" "Like I've been run over by a semi." Meredith shook her head. "Just a head on collision with an Excursion. It won, our explorer lost." "What the hell happened Derek?" Derek closed his eyes.
"I was headed back to Seattle Grace. The traffic light turned green and I started to go. I had my cell out, about to call and let them know I was headed back and to check for any patients. The next thing I know I see this huge SUV headed straight for me. I remember screaming and covering my eyes as I slammed on the brakes." Meredith closed her eyes, tears falling. "The car behind me slammed into me, and then the excursion slammed into me. I remember my arm slamming up and hitting the window, and shoving into the stirring wheel as the airbag deployed. It hurt really bad. The next thing I remember is being here." Meredith nodded. "They brought the driver here also. He was drunk, and he's dead. Massive head trauma." Derek shook his head. "I was so scared Meredith, all I could think about was you, Maycie and Ethan. You know how they say your entire life flashes before your eyes? They're wrong. All I could think about was you three." Meredith leaned forward and gingerly hugged him, kissing him. "I can't live without you Derek Shepherd. You promised me 110 years, and since you're only 37, you've got a long way to go." Derek smiled. "You remember that?" "I'll never forget it." They looked up as Mark and Lexie walked into the room. "Damn Shepherd, you bastard, don't you ever do that again!" Mark said. "Do what?" Derek asked. "Scare the hell out of me. I'm glad you're okay man." "Me too," Derek said. Lexie smiled. "I'm glad you're okay. She rubbed the slight swell in her stomach. This baby wants to meet it's Uncle Derek." "Speaking of babies, where are mine?" Derek asked, smiling at Lexie. "Owen and Cristina have them. They took them home about an hour ago. Cristina said not to worry about them, that they would bring them to work tomorrow so you could stay the night." Meredith sighed in relief. Cristina was always one step ahead. More well-wishers dropped by for another hour or so until Derek yawned. Dr. Bailey stepped in to take Derek's vitals.
As she moved about, Derek looked up at her. "Are you mad at me Miranda?" "No." "Yes." "I've always thought of you as the brain surgeon with the damn hair. You corrupted my intern, and then turned out a brilliant neurosurgeon resident. I like you. I didn't use to, but I do now, and today you scared the living hell out of me. I don't want you to EVER show up all bloody and broken in your own E.R. ever again!" Derek laughed and then moaned. "Stop making me laugh Miranda, and I'll try not to make it in the E.R. again unless I'm working on a patient." "Speaking of, when can I work again?" he asked. Meredith rubbed her hand through his hair. "Callie said it'd be at least eight weeks." "You'll be all chief and no surgery." "Damn." "You'll be fine Shepherd." Bailey said, patting his leg and walking out of the room.
"At the end of a day like this when so many prayers are answered and so many aren't, we take our miracles where we find them. We reach across the gap and sometimes against all odds, against all logic, we touch. Against all odds it happens."
Ten Days Later--
Derek and Meredith stood together in the car lot, staring at the twisted metal that used to be their Ford Explorer. "I should have died." he said. "But you didn't, that's what matters. It's a miracle." Meredith said, closing her eyes at the sight of the mangled car. It made her nauseous to picture Derek in the driver's seat. They both shuddered, no doubt thinking the same thing. Meredith peeked in the window and saw Maycie's stuffed cat, Meowy. "I have to get Meowy", she said, reaching in. Derek nodded. "Be careful." The front of the car was completely smashed in, and the back was crunched. The SUV almost looked like an accordion that someone was trying to squeeze in. Derek shuddered and tightened his grip on Meredith's hand. She leaned back, holding Meowy. This morning Maycie had tapped on Derek's black cast on his arm, curious. Meredith listened as he explained to her that he had a big boo-boo, and that it was a really hard Bandaid. Maycie nodded, kissing her Daddy before running off to play. Later on she had caught Derek just sitting and staring at Ethan with tears in his eyes. "I thank God everyday now that I have a chance to watch my children grow up." "I thank God everyday that I have you in my life to help me raise our children. You are the love of my life, and I don't want to be without you." she said. A wind picked up in the car lot. "We're done here, this is in the past. Let's go home." Derek said. Meredith slid her hand in his, and together they went home.
Later that evening as Derek and Meredith lay in bed, reveling in the peace and quiet of their room, Meredith looked over at Derek. "I love you." she said. "I love you too." She leaned up on her arms. "You know, our marriage is a miracle." she said. "We have always been a miracle." he said. "I fell in love with you the first time I met you. We made it through everything. That to me, is a miracle." Derek said. She leaned forward and kissed him. "Meredith, Derek said, I remember that dream you used to have, where I died." Meredith's eyes widened. "You do?" He nodded. "Now you know it's just a dream." She smiled, tears in her eyes. "I thought that it was coming true. I've never been more scared. I couldn't stop shaking." Derek's blue eyes sparkled in the moonlight. "Now that we've both had near-death experiences, I'd say we're even, right?" he said. Meredith nodded, kissing him again. She leaned into him, careful of his bandaged ribs, and closed her eyes. His steady breathing put her to sleep. She slept peacefully, because she knew she was in her husband's arms, safe and sound. That's how she wanted to stay, for the rest of her life.
-Fin-
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