At The End Of The Day
POST 11X21. After Bailey's life is on the line , Meredith and the others struggle with the prospect of not being able to save him, on beautiful days, and ferryboat scrub caps, life and death and on Derek. Set 12 years after season 11.
Thank you so much for the support guys, although I wouldn't mind more reviews if you get the chance :) Also I'm sorry if some of the characters seem to be a bit off, I've watched the show for years, but the writing is a bit harder, working my best to doing them justice.
I will miss you forever McDreamy, it's been quite a ride!
Ps: I've thrown a spoiler from last night season finale! As heartbreaking and beautiful as it was, It will never fully heal my heart.
Anyways, enjoy!
I own nothing
PART III.
"How are you supposed to miss someone you barely knew? Even though you know they are a part of you, like a brain, the most powerful machine in the world determines everything you do, does being part of this stranger, means you are programmed to miss them as if it was the first time you lost them?"
Meredith stared at Amelia. She had not just said her son had a cerebral laceration. She had not. "I need to run another MRI just to be sure, but it is likely the helmet he was wearing caused a bit more damage than it was meant to when he hit the ice." Amelia explained. Meredith knew this. She was a doctor too, and her own sister in law was talking to her like, well like she was someone else. "He's been in and out of consciousness which could mean there's some bleeding, but for now... I know this wasn't meant to happen Mer, but I will do everything..."
"Why are you still here talking to me like I don't know what a laceration is? Who's running tests?" Meredith said. Amelia tried to react.
"Edwards, she's with me on the case." Amelia said simply.
"Good, get to it then, I have to get back to the kids."
"I asked Owen to take them home, there's no use on them being here except worry, so he's taking them home."
"Are you sure about this?" Owen asked Amelia as they both stared at Bailey's results.
"You don't trust me?" Amelia asked her husband in was hurt. "You sound like Meredith."
"I'm not talking about that, I know you are on point about Bailey, but I just don't want to leave. He's my nephew too." Owen said. Amelia's features softened.
"I'm asking you to take the kids home because Meredith is all I can handle right now, I know she's screaming internally, but she is not allowing me to be her child's doctor or her sister, she just sends me to do tests because I can't bring myself to tell her Bailey is..."
"Amelia..."
"What if he really does end up like Derek, Owen?" There, she'd said it. "I lost my brother and now I am about to operate on his only son, my nephew, how am I..."
"You are a superhero." Owen said after a moment, after he grabbed her shoulders gently. "It's now more than ever that you need to, to do what do you best and trust yourself, not because it's Bailey but because you can work miracles." Amelia sighed.
"Mom?" Zola came to sit next to Meredith in the doctor's lounge. Bailey had yet to be cleared for surgery and she just couldn't be sitting in a hallway, to her right, Ellis slept soundly. "I thought you might be hungry." Zola offered her a chocolate bar.
"Thanks Zo." Meredith smiled softly. "What have you been up to?"
"I was calling Marcus, told him what happened." Zola said. She and Marcus Jones had been dating for about 6 months, he was her first real boyfriend. Meredith smiled at the idea of Derek being here to freak out about Zola dating. Marcus was a good boy and Meredith honestly liked him, but Zola had changed a bit too much as she began to grow into this young woman and it was moments like this Meredith wished she wasn't alone. "He asked me if there's anything he could do, I just told him I would call him later, when we know something." Meredith smiled, taking her child's hand in hers. "I'm sorry about this morning."
"What?"
"I didn't want to come to Bailey's game and I acted like such a brat, I'm sorry." Zola admitted, her eyes slowly filling with tears. "I'm really sorry mom."
"Hey, no, we're not doing that, we are not going to loose control, not yet." Meredith said lifting her daughter's face so she was looking at her. "Bailey's gonna be fine. He has to."
"He has to." Zola repeated.
Bailey and Derek continued to talk as no time had seen to have gone by, it was funny really, how he'd played so many scenarios in his head about having these conversations with his dad over and over in his head, knowing he'd never really get the chance. "Dad?"
"Yeah?" Derek asked with a smile. "How does it feel when you die?" Derek didn't move.
"Honestly?" His father sighed. "I don't remember much..." Bailey blinked. "There's one thing though..."
"Like that thing they say about your life flashing before your eyes?" He asked. "Does that actually happen?"
"If it did, I don't have any recollection of it, what I do remember is a voice." Bailey frowned. "Your mom's'...Telling me she'd be fine..." Bailey noticed the change in Derek's voice when he talked about his wife. "Saying I had nothing to worry about because you all would be fine."
"Sh..." Ellis told Matt as both kids glanced at the empty hallway. "Let's go."
"Where do you think you're going?" A strong voice said behind them. It was Miranda Bailey. "Didn't I just see you sleeping a moment ago?" She told Ellis. "Where's your mom?"
"She's..."
"We..."
"Mind telling me where you were going?" the woman asked. "I thought your uncle was taking you kids home."
"He is." Ellis said. "But I don't want to go, I want to stay with Bailey."
"Sweetie..."
"No! It's not fair, Zola is staying and I'm not, he's my brother too." Ellis and Matt came face to face with Owen. "Please don't make me go." Owen glanced at both kids, he and Miranda sharing a knowing look. He moved to kneel in front of his child and niece. "Please."
"Dad, we have to help Bailey, we have to." Matt said, his green eyes sparkling.
"But we are Matty, me and mom. and everyone in the hospital..."
"But.. They won't even let me see him, what if he dies like daddy did and I didn't see him?" Ellis said. Owen sighed. Looking back at Miranda for support.
"Tell you what?" Owen said. "What about we go and check on Bailey, make sure everything is ready for surgery and then I'll take you to aunt Amy's office and you two can stay there while the girls are in Daycare." Matt and Ellis looked at each other. "I'll stay with you and as soon as I know anything on Bailey I'll tell you..."
"So, no going home?" Miranda glanced over at Owen, placing a hand on his shoulder as she took to leave.
"No going home." Owen said standing up and offering one hand to each child as they headed to Bailey's room. He sighed when he realized Amelia wasn't there.
"Dr. Hunt." Stephanie said with a smile. "Dr. Shepherd is..."
"They just need a moment." Owen said glancing at both kids. Ellie and Matt smiled up at Owen as he walked with them towards his nephew.
"You have to be okay Bay." Ellis said softly. She took something out of her pocket, which took Owen a moment to recognize. He hadn't seen that thing in more than ten years. But he'd heard that message a hundred times. "Dad's gonna take care of you like grandma says cause he's an angel..."
"Play it." Matt urged her. Edwards frowned. Derek's voice came on and was the only thing heard in the empty room.
"Hey it's me. I'm on the ferry. I just wanna say that I… god I wish you could see this… it's maybe the most perfect ferryboat ride I ever had in my life…" Owen felt dizzy as Derek's voice continued to be heard. There was someone else standing by the door when the message ended.
Owen and Amelia looked at each other for a moment. "I need to take Bailey up now." She told the kids.
"Is he gonna be okay Aunt Amy?" Ellis asked worriedly, clutching into Meredith's old phone for dear life Then Meredith appeared by the door too. "Mom, we...
"What..."
"Don't ask." Owen said. Meredith nodded."We need to...come on guys, we have to go." Amelia mouthed a thank you and smiled.
"I'll be right there in a minute okay?" Meredith told the children as they glanced back at Bailey.
"I'll go do the work up..." Edwards said quickly following after Owen.
Meredith and Amelia were once left alone. "I play that sometimes too." Amelia said. "Derek's message. So I don't forget his voice like I did my dad's. I'm so glad they at least have that so they don't feel like he's forgotten forever, you know?"
"I do know. That's why I kept it with me after he died, I did it for my kids. For my sanity." Her sister in law smiled sadly. "And now I'm back here in this position were..."
"Bailey's gonna be fine Meredith, this isn't like Derek's..."
"Did you know he changed his jersey?" Meredith asked. "He changed Bailey for Derek, he's trying to be more like him, and this is just a horrible foreshadowing..."
"Mom says there's still a good chance she'll get old and forget things." Bailey said. "Will she remember you?" Derek sighed. He didn't like the way this conversation had shifted because the pain was too much, the pain of not being with Meredith when she'd need him the most.
He had made a promise and broke it.
"There's also a good chance she won't." Derek said. "And I'm sure you and your sisters wouldn't let that happen, right?" They smiled at each other for a moment.
"No, just like she's never let us forget you." Bailey smiled. He took something out of his pocket. "She used to play this for us after you died. I don't remember it much from back then, but Zola does. That's why Ellie knows who you are, what you sound like and that's how mom won't forget you."
"It's a funny thing, memory, it is painful and beautiful and just extraordinary, yes, how are you meant to remember someone you barely knew? Simple. Just look around you, look at people's faces when they mention that person's name or hold onto something that used to belong to them and you'll see how the mind works. It will bring you to this place in which, what you thought you weren't even able to separate as reality or fiction, will somehow become real , a real memory of someone that still means so much to you. Even though they are long gone.
So... What did you guys think? The story isn't over yet but we're closing on the real meaning of it, so please review if you get the chance, it would really make me smile. I need to smile after that voice mail message which I included here for the propose of the story, which worked perfectly...
Thanks for reading and I will see you soon!