Chapter 2
Cristina saw Bailey reading a computer screen with a big smile on her face. The smile made her curious; there had been so little to smile about for the last five weeks. She walked over to Bailey and said, "How is your super-secret Operation Test the Daddy coming?"
"I think you mean the Seattle's Baby Grace Bone Marrow Drive, which is going very well. Today's the first day at Mount Sinai in New York City, and I just got an emailed report about progress so far. As of this moment, 5 p.m. New York time, more than 500 people have been tested."
"And the baby daddy, has he been tested?" Cristina asked, getting to her main concern.
"The chief of surgery volunteered to be the first one tested, at my recommendation, so we should be finding out if he's a match in the next 48 hours. But there's only a 1 out of 200 chance he will be a match, so don't get your hopes up. There's no guarantee this is going to work."
"Do you have a plan B if it doesn't work?"
"We'll continue going to hospitals around the country to get people to join the bone marrow donor bank. We'll explore medical trials and exhaust every possible approach. We will do everything possible to save Chrissy."
"I know, and I'll do whatever I can to help."
"There is one problem though. Have you spoken to Callie?"
"No. I've been here for the last 48 hours, doing one heart surgery after another."
"Well, Addison called Callie for info. She suspects that Baby Grace is Derek's daughter. If Derek is a match, my plan will have worked and Meredith will be so happy to have a donor, she'll be happy to deal with Derek. But what if he is not a match but he suspects she's his daughter?"
"I'd put $100 down on him coming either way. He always wanted a house full of kids. If he thinks he has one here, he will come no matter what. We should be prepared for him to come either way. Are you going to tell Meredith?"
"No, not now. We'll see what the result is first. I'd rather have good news to give her."
"That makes sense. Don't worry. I'll talk to Alex and Izzie. We're going to guard Meredith 24/7. She doesn't need any more stress now."
"That's for sure. Our plan will be to keep him away from Meredith, if he comes."
Walking down the hall, Addison peered into Derek's office and saw him pacing back and forth. She opened the door. "Derek, what's up?"
"It's been 48 hours since my sample was sent off. So far more than 500 people were tested the first day, and another 700 the second day, but I haven't heard the results. I'm worried."
"It's great that so many people wanted to be tested. You've done a great thing, organizing this drive. You just have to be patient. You know that testing takes time, Derek. Our patients wait for tests all the time."
"I know. But I keep thinking that I have a little girl in Seattle and her life is depending on me being a match."
"Derek, you don't know for sure it's your little girl."
"But you think it is."
"I think it could be. I would think that Callie would have told me if Meredith wasn't the mother; there are hundreds of women working at Seattle Grace, so saying it's not Meredith doesn't blow the anonymity. But maybe you're just one possible dad. As I recall, Meredith was dating the vet at the prom."
A wave of jealousy and anger swept through Derek as he recalled seeing Meredith coming down the stairs at Finn's. "But he's in Seattle. Wouldn't they have tried him first if he was a possible dad?"
"I don't know. I just don't want you to get your hopes us and then find out she's not your daughter."
"Hopes are up, Addie." He said with a smile. "I keep picturing her in my mind. I wonder if she has my hair."
"Derek, you know that if she's been on chemo for a while, she probably doesn't have any hair." Addie said, softly.
"Right. So I've been thinking . . ."
"Always dangerous," Addie said with a smile.
"So either I'm a match, or I'm not."
"Right. And if you're a match, you're taking the next plane to Seattle."
"Right. But what if I'm not a match?"
"Well, maybe she's not your daughter."
"But most of the time parents aren't matches, so not being a match doesn't mean that she's not my daughter."
"Right. Even if she's your daughter, the odds are you won't be a match."
"Right, so I've been doing some research."
"Again, dangerous," said Addie with a smile.
"Siblings have a much greater chance of being a match – one in five."
"Yes, but," and Derek interrupted her. "I know she doesn't have a sibling who's a match, but she could. There's pre-implantation genetic screening that can make sure that the sibling has the right HLA match."
Addie shook her head in amazement at this idea. "I know all about pre-implantation genetic screening and IVF. I am a neonatal surgeon and ob/gyn, remember?" Derek nodded. "There are lots of moral problems with creating babies to save another child's life."
"Addie, you know I wanted a large family."
"Yes, and I wanted one or two children, and we never got around to even trying because we agreed that we'd only have children once we saved our marriage, remember." Addie nodded wistfully, her hand stroking her belly. Now was certainly not a good time to tell her ex-husband that she was expecting. "We didn't want to bring children into the world when our marriage was broken. And now you're thinking of having a child – or maybe more since multiple births are common with IVF – with a woman you haven't seen in four years who lives 3000 miles away!"
"It does sound crazy when you say it like that." He frowned. The he said, "And I'm sure you and Jake will have your one or two children before long. You've only been married two months."
"Thanks, Derek," she said, smiling. "And Derek, you'd need almost a year for the plan to work. You'd have to get Meredith to agree, and even if everything worked perfectly the first cycle, pregnancy is 40 weeks. You don't know that whether this little girl can wait a year for a transplant."
"You're right. This plan may not work, but right now it is the best plan B I can come up with."
"I'm hoping plan A works, and you're a match. You'll find out soon."
"Not soon enough. I haven't been able to sleep since Bailey called."
"You need to sleep. You should take a sleeping pill if you can't sleep. You won't be able to donate your marrow if you're sick, so you can't let yourself get run down. Come on, I'll buy you dinner so you have a good meal. You need to eat, too. You have to stay healthy."
The phone rang. "It's from the National Marrow Donor Program," said Derek.
"Well, answer it. I'll leave."
"Don't go," he said, as he answered the phone.
