AN: I'm still having trouble keeping my computer connected to the internet long enough to respond to the amazing feedback I've been getting. Thank you so much to everyone who is supporting this fic. I just wanted to address a few comments/questions here...
The way I see it, there were no news vans or reporters in the background (that I can remember), so I am making the arbitrary (and okay, probably incorrect) decision that they kept the shooting quiet enough that it wouldn't reach the East coast before night. Three hour time difference, remember. That, and the Shepherd's don't on the TV or radio in the morning...just go with it. I wanted Meredith to have to make the call. Also, the news got to Amelia in LA. That will be explained.
The miscarriage, of course, will come up. Soon; their time. Maybe not as soon as everyone (including me) wants our time. I'm trying to update every day, and Meredith won't wait long. But she also isn't about to tell him a day or two after the shooting. He's already in pain. He's drugged. He's exhausted. And Meredith wants to protect him.
And lastly, thank you for the comments and concerns. My family member, my dad, is doing very well considering two major, life saving surgeries in the past few years. I've spent a lot of time in hospitals, and a lot of time watching the recovery process. It sucks and it's slow, but in the end, it's worth it. And it's the support of family and friends that make it possible.
Thanks for reading!
Carolyn Shepherd was tense as she followed her daughters through the Seattle Airport. She had checked her cell phone when the plane landed, but there were no new messages from her daughter-in-law. She hoped that meant everything was still okay. She prayed that meant everything was okay.
The plane ride had been long. She had spent it wedged between her daughters, praying her son would not succumb to the same fate as her husband.
"Are you okay, mom?"
She nodded. "Yes. I'm just anxious to see your brother."
Kathleen reached for her mother's hand as they followed the crowd. "Me too."
"He's going to be fine," Jenna said.
Carolyn smiled at this. Jenna was an optimist, like her brother.
The three Shepherd women reached the end of the secure area, and were half way across the crowd of waiting family members when she felt someone grasp onto her elbow. She stopped and turned, only to come face to face with her surrogate son.
"Mark," she cried, pulling him into a hug.
He hugged her back. "Derek's doing great," he whispered immediately.
"He's going to be okay?"
Mark released her and offered her a smile. "He is."
"Good. I was so scared." She said, as she watched Mark greet Jenna and Kathleen.
"How did you know we'd be here?" Jenna asked.
"Meredith. She sent me to pick you up. Do you have any bags to pick up?"
Carolyn shook her head. "We packed light."
"Okay, then lets go."
The drive to the hospital was quiet and terse. No one wanted to say anything. When they arrived, Carolyn was surprised to see several police cars parked around the hospital. She said nothing, but grew more confused as she followed Mark towards the front doors.
A security guard was standing behind the double doors, a clipboard in hand. He stepped up to stop them as they entered the hospital.
Mark pulled out his hospital ID before any words were exchanged. "Mark Sloan, head of plastic surgery. I'm escorting three guests to see Dr. Shepherd."
The guard scribbled this down on his clipboard, and then glanced back up at them. "Security policy dictates a maximum of two guests per patient. One of you will have to wait outside."
"Absolutely not," Mark cut him off.
"Sir, its policy right now."
Mark stepped forward angrily. "These are family members of the Chief of Surgery. No one is staying outside." He turned and motioned for Carolyn, Jenna and Kathleen to follow him. "You can send a real cop after us if you want, but we're all going together."
"Mark, what's going on? Was...was the shooting here?"
He glanced at her as he led them to the elevators. "You didn't know?"
"No."
He sighed and slammed his hand against the call button. "I guess it only hit the national news today."
"What the hell happened?" Kathleen asked.
"Psychopath wanted revenge for his wife dying. Took out everyone who got in his way."
"My God..."
"So, Derek wasn't the only one who..." Jenna trailed off.
Mark shook his head. "No. There's...eleven dead, last I heard. Another dozen injured."
"How does that happen? In a hospital? Where were the police?"
"Hospital policy dictated a lockdown. They sent a SWAT team in, but it took a long time to clear the hospital. People died while we waited for help."
"But they got Derek out in time."
"Not out. They got him to surgery."
"With a shooter on the loose?"
"It was his only chance. Hell, I turned a conference room into a trauma room. I had to put a chest tube in without any anaesthesia and use a coat rack as an IV pole."
"Unbelievable."
"What is taking the elevator so long?"
"Only one is running. The other is a crime scene," Mark explained. "We found a resident on there with a bullet in his chest."
"Did he...make it?"
"He did." He shook his head, "But not by much. He's at Seattle Presbyterian in the ICU. He hasn't woken up yet." He sighed heavily. "Don't tell Meredith. He's one of her friends. We haven't told her yet."
The remaining elevator finally arrived on the main floor. They herded on and waited in silence as it ascended. Carolyn felt her daughter reach to squeeze her hand. She squeezed it back. They came to a stop at the ICU floor, and Mark led them out of the elevator and down the hall. He paused as they neared a closed door.
"He...looks bad," he warned. "He's still very pale and weak. And he's hooked up to a dozen monitors. But he really is doing well. Just...don't overreact."
"Mark, we've all worked in the medical field. We know what to expect."
"I know, but it's different when it's your own family." He paused. "This isn't like when he crashed his motorcycle."
Kathleen reached for her mother's hand again. "We're okay, Mark."
He nodded and turned to open the door.
Despite Mark's warning, she still found that her breath caught in her throat and her hand came to her chest in shock. Her son, who was the spiting image of her late husband, was lying in a hospital bed. There were tubes and wires attaching him to monitors. He was pale and looked sick.
He was still, his eyes shut.
His wife, whom Carolyn had regrettably only met once, was in the chair next to his bed, bent over and asleep with her head on the bed.
"Oh, Derek..." She whispered. Tears stung her eyes. Her daughters both gasped beside her. She slowly walked up to the far side of the hospital bed and hesitated before stroking her hand across her son's forehead. He didn't stir.
"Altman was on her way in to have him sit up when I left to pick you up. He'll probably be asleep for a while."
"Altman?" Jenna questioned.
"She's our head of cardio."
"Did she operate?"
"No, uh, from what I hear Cristina Yang, one of our residents, performed the surgery."
"A resident?"
"Yeah, as I said before, it was a bad situation. She was the only one available."
"Tell me she's at least a senior resident."
"Fourth year. Just. But she's good."
Carolyn shook her head as she half listened to her daughters question Mark about the surgery. She knew they were only trying to get information, but she wished they wouldn't. Right now all she wanted was for her son to be okay. She tuned out the conversation as her eyes shifted from her son's blank face to the girl asleep at his side.
She had been pleasantly surprised the year before when she had flown to Seattle to see Derek in his new life. It wasn't that she hadn't liked Addison; she had just never thought the woman was right for her son. But Meredith was different. She didn't see things in black and white; that was obvious. And she loved him; that was even more obvious. She would support him and she would let him be him. But she would challenge him too.
And now the girl that she felt was perfectly suited for her son had almost experienced exactly what Carolyn herself had experienced thirty years ago. She didn't wish that pain and that loss on anyone.
She looked uncomfortable, folded over, her head resting on the mattress. Her left hand was clutching Derek's right hand in front of her, blocking her face from Carolyn's view.
"Why do these things happen?" She whispered. "We're good people. We don't deserve this."
Jenna stepped up beside her. "God, he looks so pale."
Kathleen stood on her other side, once again reaching for her hand. She said nothing.
No one attempted to address Carolyn's question. Probably because everyone was thinking the same thing in their heads.
"I take it that's Meredith?" Jenna said after a long moment of silence as the three Shepherd women took in the sight of the family's only surviving man.
Carolyn nodded. "That's Meredith." She shook her head. "The poor girl. No one deserves to go through this."
Mark pushed a chair up behind her. "Here; sit down."
"Thank you, Mark."
He laid a hand on her shoulder. "He's going to be fine. He's completely lucid when he's awake."
"That's good."
"How often is he awake?" Jenna asked.
"Every few hours, I think. I've only spoken to him once. I was at Seattle Pres all night. I...I didn't know until I got back this morning."
Derek shifted slightly and groaned, drawing their attentions to him. His face scrunched up in pain, and then he went still again.
Mark sighed. "I'll go get him something for the pain."
Carolyn nodded as she felt tears well in her eyes.
Mark came back a few minutes later and injected something into Derek's IV, and then excused himself. Jenna and Kathleen sat together on the couch across the room.
And they waited.
It was an hour before the silence was broken, not by Derek, but Meredith. She inhaled sharply, and then released what sounded like a sob. "No...no...no...no..." She mumbled. "Please...no..."
It shook Carolyn out of the trance she had been sitting in, but before she could begin to react, Derek shifted. His eyes fluttered open and his head rolled to the right.
"Please..." Meredith cried again, still asleep.
Derek winced, and then lifted his hand out of Meredith's, brushing it against the side of her head. "Mer..." He whispered. "Meredith," he said, a little louder. His hand landed on her shoulder, and she startled awake.
"Derek!" She gasped, sitting up, her eyes focusing on him.
He blinked. "You okay?"
Carolyn watched as the girl who had stolen her son's heart forced a brave smile to her face. "I'm fine; just a stupid dream." She was trembling, but kept the smile pasted to her face. "How are you?" Her eyes shifted, and she did a double take, her gaze falling on Carolyn. "Oh."
Derek rolled his head, following her gaze. "Mom." He blinked, and then said quickly, "I'm okay."
She shook her head at him. "Derek Christopher Shepherd, you are not okay. Don't even try and lie to me."
"I... I'll be okay." He whispered, a wheeze sounding from his lungs. "It's not...as bad...as it looks."
"I think it's exactly as bad as it looks. But you're right about one thing. You will be okay." She stood and leaned over to kiss his forehead. Jenna and Kathleen were right behind her, wanting to greet their brother.
Carolyn moved to the other side of the bed.
Meredith stood up, her eyes red rimmed and exhausted. She looked uncertain, still surprised as their presence.
"We're all going to be okay," Carolyn stated, pulling her daughter-in-law into a tight hug. "We're going to be okay."