So here I am with the second chapter! This is slightly long winded but I liked the place I ended it at.
There will most likely be one more chapter to this story as this chapter mainly filled in the parts that needed doing. I know some don't like that this is a rewrite where Derek is still dead but I just feel like Amelia and Meredith needed more closure together and this story gave me that. I hate how they argue on the show and this was kinda filling the void for me.
I hope you all enjoy and don't forget to review!
The ride back to Grey Sloan Memorial was painful. Meredith was doing her best to hold it together during Zola's numerous questions. Why can't daddy come back from the adventure? I didn't tell him goodbye mama. Amelia was watching Meredith, waiting for her to snap, waiting for the other shoe to drop but nothing seemed to be happening. She was coping too well and it was bound to come crumbling down soon. Meredith managed to calm Zola down and get her in daycare with Bailey, the woman looking at the two sympathetically as they walked away to the attending's lounge. They noticed Maggie, Callie, Owen and Alex standing around, Amelia freezing at the door.
"I can't Meredith. I can't do it" Meredith didn't even think twice before opening the door, Amelia standing in the background, unable to move.
"Hey Mere, I heard there was some bad weather over Dallas. Derek's flight was delayed wasn't it?" Maggie said with a smile, pouring her coffee, nobody looking twice at the broken woman in the door way. Webber walked in through the other door, Meredith barely catching something about a Gall bladder before blurting the words out. They were quiet and nobody heard, but she still said them.
"Derek is dead" Amelia took a step towards her, trying to reach out but she spoke again, the words silencing everyone in the room.
"Derek is dead" The words sounded foreign, everyone looking between the two women in shock. Their eyes eventually landed on Amelia, the woman looking a lot more sane than Meredith did in that moment, but she just nodded, another tear rolling down cheek.
"Derek died" She said, her throat hoarse with emotion. Nobody moved, breathed, the scene seemingly frozen. It was when Meredith suddenly plummeted to the floor they were brought to motion, Amelia jumping forward and helping her blow to the floor.
Owen left the hospital room, a crowd beginning to form at the nurses desk. Bailey and Arizona joined the group, Webber trying to calm Bailey down who had sent herself into hysterics.
"Is she okay?" Amelia asked, taking a step forward catching everyone's attention.
"She is very dehydrated and malnourished so it could be a few hours before she wakes up"
"But she is okay?" She pressed again, Owen understanding and nodding. Nobody knew what to say, their emotions getting the better of them as they looked to Amelia. She was staring holes into the door to Meredith's room, them all understanding the conflict of emotions she must be feeling right now.
"You would think that a truck was nothing compared to what he has been through" She said after a while, turning to look at everyone. They all shared the same dreaded, red faced look, showing Amelia just how much her brother was loved.
"Are you pressing charges against the hospital?" Callie asked, knowing that they had a case worth fighting for considering the important step that was missed cost them their friend's life.
"Meredith won't let me. She say's it isn't what he would have wanted which is totally right" Webber nodded along, knowing he wouldn't want a case unless the pieces weren't clear but this was basic stuff. He was hit by a truck, they examined him, they missed the CT and he was brain dead. Simple yet heartbreaking.
"I can't believe I thought his flight was delayed" Maggie whispered after a while, Amelia wrapping her arm around her shoulder.
"This was just as much as a shock to you as it was to us. It could have been anything" Alex said, Bailey looking up from the floor.
"Did they say what lead to the truck crashing?"
"He witnessed a crash on a road in the mountains and saved all 4 causalities involved. The young girl was the one who identified him as the doctor who saved them. The police said the way his car was, it was like he was stretched across the road as if he was turning around and the truck came sharp around the corner. It was inevitable, there was no way the truck or he could have avoided it" They all cringed at the description, knowing the pain he must have endured. This was anything but fair.
"She has been a mess all day" Maggie stated, Bailey nodding knowing what she meant.
"What do you mean?" Arizona asked, crossing her arms over her chest.
"She got a call from the white house because he missed his meeting and ever since that phone call she has been on edge. She was calling him every second she got and I told her that at 5pm she could panic and call the police" Bailey explained, being the only one who had spent nearly the whole day with her.
"They got me from the hospital at 5.30. Do you think she called them and that's how they connected the dots?" Amelia asked, knowing that events leading up to her seeing Derek were not connected. She knew Derek had missed his meeting but that was when he called her before he lost his signal and said he would make it to the airport and then the next she heard was when the police came to pick her up. The nurse who had his details informed them of the casualties he had saved and then they left.
"Maybe, it makes sense. But how did they get to you so fast?" Alex wondered, knowing that the drive would have been a lot longer.
"Maybe they came to her. He is a famous surgeon across the country somebody in that hospital must have recognised him. At every press meeting and interview he has he mentions Meredith and the kids so someone must have known to call her" Callie stated, nobody knowing what to say after that. Whether Meredith called or whether the police came to her, it didn't change to fact he was gone. Amelia asked Owen if she could sit in her room, him nodding, them all watching as she entered the room and sat opposite her bed, taking hold of her hand.
"Alex what are we going to do?" Arizona asked hopelessly, them all looking to Alex for some kind of answer. He knew Meredith better than anyone, but even he was at a lose.
"I don't know. I just- I don't know" They all dispersed over the next few minutes, Alex, Owen, Maggie and Bailey going to sit with Amelia and Meredith while Arizona, Callie and Richard busied themselves elsewhere until she woke up.
"She was holding it together so well for Bailey and Zola" Amelia muttered after a while, not taking her eyes off her and Meredith's hand.
"How are they?" Maggie asked, wondering if they knew the entire story or not.
"Zola is confused. Meredith told her that we were on an adventure and that derek had to stay and wasn't going to come back. All she cared about was not saying goodbye. I think Bailey is just too young to understand yet"
"I think I'm going to go and sit with them for a bit. Will you text me when she wakes up?" Maggie asked, Amelia nodding with a smile, watching as Maggie left. The silence was deafening to Amelia, but she didn't know what to say. Nobody did. It seemed like forever until Meredith woke, everyone staring at her as she started to twitch. She tried to sit up, Amelia having to hold her back down knowing her energy needed to be preserved.
"You need to take it easy. You're malnourished and dehydrated" She said, Meredith nodding and lying back again, closing her eyes.
"Can you all please stop staring at me" She muttered, smiling slightly when she opened her eyes to find them all staring at the wall or floor or her feet. She gripped Amelia's hand slightly harder when she closed her eyes again, Amelia looking up with a sad look on her face.
"Do you need anything?"
"Can I have some water?" Amelia nodded and stood, leaving the room, Owen following her.
"I'm going to go and get Maggie" Alex said, Meredith nodding leaving her and Bailey alone. Meredith opened her eyes again, Bailey staring at her feet still.
"Stop feeling guilty" She muttered, Bailey looking up at her.
"If I had called the police any sooner it wouldn't have made a difference because he was in the mountains and had no reception. You stopping me from doing anything sooner never effected the outcome" Bailey nodded, fidgeting with her hands slightly.
"I'm sorry anyway" Meredith knew to expect this now. People apologising for her lose, she had to deal with it when her mom died. People she never knew but admired her mom coming up and sending their condolences. She knew this was different though, everyone was her friend, her family. It was so different. But she would deal with it the same way she did all those years ago. She held out her hand for Bailey to take, smiling softly.
"Thank you" The routine went on for weeks. The build up to the funeral wasn't as bad but the second everyone came back to their house after the burial it was apology after apology. I am so sorry for your lose. Your husband, he was a great man. I'm going to miss him. His techniques will live on. It was like a broken record of condolences passed between Meredith and Amelia and his other sisters and his mother. They eventually died out a few days after the funeral, but the looks lived on. It was suffocating. Something had to be done.
Amelia called Alex as she ran around the house recklessly, waiting impatiently for him to answer.
"If this is another diaper call because Meredith is on call and you can't find the diaper bag I am going to kill you"
"Meredith is gone Alex" It didn't even take an hour for everyone to be gathered around the living room. Bailey, Arizona, Callie, Alex, Owen, Richard and Maggie sat around on the couches, all passing around the note Amelia had found when coming home from the hospital.
Me, Zola and Bailey are safe. Don't worry- Meredith.x
"Why would she just take off like that without any sign?" Arizona threw the question out, Alex continuously calling her phone which went to voicemail each time.
"Well she left a sign, just not a very good one" Bailey commented waving the note around. Amelia running her hand through her hair as she paced. Owen wrapped his arm around her shoulder in comfort, stopping her in her tracks.
"She told me the house was suffocating. She told me that all the strangers and the looks and the apologies were suffocating and I agreed. That's all I did. I said I know what you mean Mere and then I come home and she is gone. I should have stayed off, I should have stayed here with her but I went to work and now she is gone"
"You couldn't have stopped her. If she has been planning this for a while there was little any of us could have done. When she has something in mind she won't stop until it's done" Callie commented, everyone nodding knowing that it was true. Meredith was not one to be stopped.
"So what? We just leave her? She has 2 kids and is all alone God knows where! We can't just ignore this" Maggie exclaimed in distress, Owen nodding.
"What if we hire someone. A detective to hunt her down?" He offered, Alex shaking his head.
"And if she found out we would all be dead. Let's give her a few weeks. We will all make calls, try and see if anyone as seen her or if she has took a job somewhere else and when it reaches a month we will gather again and take it form there. Got it?" They all nodded, agreeing to leave it where it was and go from a month onwards.
6 months later
Amelia sat on Meredith's bed sadly, staring at the tumour her brother had drew on a wall in their old house then decided to cut out and stick opposite their bed in their new house. It was a shock when her phone vibrated in her pocket, Meredith's bright face lighting up the screen.
"Meredith? Where are you? Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. Everything is fine"
"Where are you Mere?"
"I'm sorry. I promised I wouldn't abandon you and I haven't. Congratulations by the way. You hit 4 years the other week. I had a countdown on my phone. I'll be back soon" She hung up before Amelia could answer again, leaving the brunette to her thoughts. She woman tossed her 4 year coin in the air, catching it again with a small smile.
"She hasn't abandoned me yet"
3 months later
It was 3 months later when Amelia's phone buzzed again, the woman jumping out of Owen's bed in shock.
"Owen wake up! It's Meredith" He sat up groggily, rubbing his eyes as she answered, putting the phone on speaker.
"Meredith?"
"Auntie Amy!"