Chapter 7: Complications

3 Days Later:

Derek was in surgery and his pager was going off. One of the Nurses picked it up and said that it was the chief paging about Meredith Grey.

2 Days Before:

After work Derek had offered to spend the night incase she needed him after Doc died becuse he was the only person who could calm her down as she was still having a rough time during the nights. But Meredith was still with Finn so she told him to wait at the house and that she had to do something. Meredith got in her car and drove to Finn's house. When she got there she just sat in her car thinking about what she was going to tell him. She could barely look at him without crying becuse all she saw was a dying Doc that he couldn't save. But she finally got the courage to knock on the door. Finn opened the door and he was groggy so she thought he must have been sleeping.

"Meredith... are you Ok." Realizing who was at the door.

Meredith was holding back the tears. "I... I have to end this... your... your a great guy Finn... but whenever I... whenever I see you all I think about is... is Doc." Meredith said hoping he would understand.

"Ok" Is all Finn could say. After his wife had died he had never thought of being with another person, but he was with Meredith because she... she was the light in his Darkness.

"Finn I know you don't deserve someone who might cry everytime they look at you that's why I'm doing this. You're a great guy." Meredith said while looking at her shoes.

"Meredith... look at me." Finn said in a sad tone.

Meredith looked up into his eyes and all she could think about was Doc, his eyes were like poison, she started to cry and said "I'm sorry Finn" and kissed him on the cheek and then went back to her car and drove away back to the house.

Derek opened the front door when he heard Meredith trying to unlock it. Her eyes were red and she was in a hurry. George, Izzie and Alex were all dealing with Doc in their own way, Alex moved in with his "girlfriend", and George and Izzie were on call almost every night so it was just Derek and Meredith at the house. Meredith stopped rushing around and looked at Derek, starting to cry again.

"Hey what happened... are you Ok?" Derek said taking a step toward Meredith, but meredith fell to her knees and started sobbing uncontrollably.

"Doc...He's" Meredith said trying to speak.

"Hey shh it's Ok." Derek said sitting up against the house pulling Meredith into his arms just sitting there letting her cry into his shirt.

After Meredith calmed down Derek carried Meredith upstairs into the master bedroom and laid her down on the bed.

"Ok I will be on the couch if you need me." Derek said expressionless

"Derek... don't..." Meredith started to say as she was interrupted by Derek.

"Ok" He said walking over to the other side of the bed.

Meredith and Derek wernt together yet because Meredith had just broken up with Finn, but she needed him and he knew that. Derek thought she had just gone out for a drive and that's the way Meredith wanted it to stay for now, becuse her and Finn just broke up and she needed her best friend. As he got under the covers with Meredith she would not let go of him. He loved being so close to her. He could smell the lavender in her hair and he just wanted her to be with him forever.

"I love you Meredith." Derek said before he kissed her forehead.

"I love you too." Meredith said snuggling into Derek. Well the plan of not being with Derek ended fairly quickly.

Derek then realized that she had broken up with Finn that's what she had to do, she was his now. Derek loved her so much and he had waited for her and she had wanted him.

2 Days later:

Dr. Shepherd it's the chief paging about Meredith Grey

"Ok call him and see what he wants" Derek said panicked as he had just started his first surgery for the day.

5 minutes later

"Dr. Shepherd the chief wanted to know if you knew where Meredith is." The nurse said in a calm voice.

"No I don't... why does he want to know?" Derek said panicked.

"Because she did not show up for her shift this morning."

Derek looked at the clock it was 9am he was going to be in surgery for another 7 or so hours, but he had to find Meredith.

"Page Dr. Nelson to come and take over and tell him that if he's not here in 10 minutes he will not get to see the inside of an OR for a month."

"Yes Doctor one of the nurses replied.

9 minutes later:

"You just made it Dr. Nelson. I was just about to keep you out of the OR for a month." Derek said quickly trying to hurry this along.

"Sorry Dr. Shepherd, what can I do?" He asked.

"Your taking over."

"But sir what are you doing."

"I'm going to go find Meredith Grey." Derek replied in a tone of harshness.

Derek went to Joe's, then the docks, and even the trailer before he went to her house. He wanted to believe that she would have tried to go to work and he didn't know what he would find when he got to her house.

When he got there he ran up and knocked on the door there was no answer, so he grabbed the spare key and went inside.

"Meredith!" He yelled as he ran around the downstairs looking for her. Then he ran upstairs.

"Meredith!"he shouted as he ran into her bedroom. Still no sign of her. But he was so busy looking for her he didn't hear that he shower was on until a few moments later. Their was a moment of relief that she was just in the shower but that only lasted a second.

He knocked on the bathroom door and there was no answer.

Derek opened the door to the bathroom and their Meredith was knocked out naked in the shower. Their was a cut on her head.

Derek immediately turned the water off, as he did he noticed how cold the water was, but the knob was turned all the way up. Derek thought to himself how long has the water been going.

He sat Meredith up and grabbed 3 towles from under the sink and wrapped her in them trying to warm her up. He did not know how long the cold water had been on her but she was freezing, her body was so cold that she was practically blue.

He wrapped his arms around her trying to warm her up as best he could. Then he noticed the cut on her head was still bleeding so he grabbed another towel from the cabinet and put pressure on her head. Then Meredith started to wake up.

"Derek?" She said in a confused raspy voice but relieved to see him.

"Hey I'm here." he said to make sure she knew it was him.

"What... What happened?" She said in a daze.

"I don't know I was in surgery and they told me you had not come in yet and I got worried, when I got here you were knocked out in here with the water going." Derek said hoping she would remember.

"Oh." Meredith said still a little dazed, she had also begun shivering.

"Are you Ok... Do you remember what happened?"

"Yeah I think so... I was getting in the shower as I heard George and Izzie say they were leaving in 5 minutes with or without me. So I started to hurry becuse I wanted to go with them, but then the warm air started to make me feel light headed... and then I think I fainted but I must have hit my head when I fell which knocked me out."

"How long ago were you getting in the shower?" Derek asked worried, he knew her head was Ok becuse she remembered what happened, but she was shaking really bad her skin had a blue glow to it and her body was as cold as snow.

"At 6:30 this morning why?"

"Because if you were under cold water that long your body temp."

"Is probably really low... close to oregon failure low."

"Yeah you're lucky I found you when I did." Derek said semi-relieved.

"I guess I am" Meredith's said shaking so bad that it hurt.

"I'm going to call Richard and tell him what happend, and get the rest of the day off Ok." Derek said standing up.

"Derek." Meredith said weakly still shivering. "Don't... don't... leave"

"Ok... I'm right here." He said looking down at her and then going back down on the floor to wrapp her in his arms once again, kissing her on the top of the head.

Meredith was still shivering and did not want to let go of Derek, the only place she felt safe was in his arms.

"Meredith do you want me to..." Derek started to say but hesitated, Derek wanted to get her some warm cloths but Meredith was wrapped around him so tight he didn't want to let her go. And he knew she would not let go. "Nevermind" Derek said knowing she was safe in his arms.

After 5 minutes went by of Derek holding Meredith in his arms Meredith finally was not shivering as much, but it had not stopped.

"Let's get you in some warm cloths" Drek said helping Meredith stand up.

"Derek" Meredith said on the verge of tears, her body was weak. "I can't... I can barly..."

"Ok" Derek said "Its Ok" as he picked her up and walked slowly over to the bed and sat her down.

Derek went over to her dresser and pulled out some sweatpants and her Dartmouth T-shirt. Then he helped her put them on seeing how weak she was made him worry, and he knew he would have to stay with her.

"You are Ok" Derek said as he helped her get under the covers of her big bed. "You are going to be fine, I am going to run downstairs and get the phone so I can call the chief."

"Derek..." Meredith started to say

"Hey its Ok Im just going to be gone for a second now just close your eyes and count to 5 and I will be right here when you open them Ok." When Derek's dad died when he was a kid his mom used to tell him to close his eyes for 5 seconds and you will see your dad, and that she would be right here when he got back from seeing his dad. It always helped him.

"Ok Meredith said closing her eyes."

Meredith was tired and she had had a rough morning but she just kept thinking about Derek, she loved him and she was so glad that he had found her.

Derek ran as fast as he could grabbed his cell phone from downstairs and sprinted back up the stairs, right when he stepped foot in Meredith room she opened her eyes. She had started shivering again, but her eyes they were fuller, usually there's an emptiness to her eyes, but Derek saw something in her eyes. It was him, he had saved her but what she didn't know was that she had saved him. But then Derek saw the tears on the corners or her eyes.

"Meredith... hey its Ok.. Im not leaving Ok." Derek said looking at Meredith.

He was worried because Meredith was super cold still, but also she was different she was afraid to be left alone. She had abandonment issues becuse of her mom but this was different it's like she was scared of something

"Let's get you under the covers." Derek said as he helped pull the covers up so the only thing you could see was Meredith face.

"Derek... can... you..."

"Yes... I can..."

And Derek crawled in the covers and wrapped his arms around a still shivering Meredith and just held her.

"I'm not going anywhere...I'm not leaving... I'm never leaving... I love you Meredith Grey.

Meredith was was thinking about Derek. She loved him too, and his soft voice was going to put her to sleep.

When Meredith finally fell asleep 10 minutes later Derek slowly got out of bed and went to go call the chief. As the phone was ringing Derek was thinking about Meredith.

"Hello?"

"Hi chief... Meredith Grey and I are going to need the next couple days off." After about 5 minutes of him explaining everything to Richard he hung up the phone. It took some convincing but he had managed to get Meredith and him the next 2 days off. When derek walked back into the bedroom, Meredith was sitting up with tears in her eyes clutching a pillow shivering again. When ever she was not under the covers she started shivering.

"Meredith what's wrong?"

"I... I thought... you left." She said trying to catch her breath.

"No I was just calling Richard... We got today and the next two days off."

"That's... good..." Meredith said shivering even more now.

"Hey... I told you... I'm not leaving. Now lets get back under the covers you're still freezing." Derek said getting back in bed.

George was the first one home that night Meredith and Derek were still in bed with Meredith asleep in Derek's arms. Her body wasn't as cold but she was still pretty cold, and shivering still whenever she emerged from under the blankets. George knocked on the door to Meredith bedroom.

"Come in" Derek said as quietly as he could trying not to wake Meredith.

George walked in and saw Meredith in Derek's arms.

"What happend she wasn't at work?" George said confused

"It's a long story O'Malley, right now I need you to go to the trailer, go in the far left cabinet and grab my pajama pants and T-shirt, and also 2 pairs of scrubs."

George just stood there wondering what happend, and why Derek needed all that.

"Why? Why can't you do it?"

"Because I'm going to be staying here for a while, and Meredith won't let me walk out of the room without thinking I'm leaving her." Derek said hoping George would just do it.

"I will explain more later but right now I need you to do that, can you do that O'mally?"

"Yeah.." George said as he turned around to walk out of the room.

George secretly thought Derek was a good person and that him and Meredith were good together so he liked that he was here to help Meredith.

When everyone got home, or came over since Christina and Alex don't live in the house, Meredith was still asleep in Derek's arms.

Alex, Izzie, Cristina, and George, who had brought the stuff Derek wanted, were all sitting in Meredith room.

"Ok so what happened with Meredith?" Izzie said looking at Meredith.

Derek told all of them the whole story, outside Meredith's room but still keeping an eye on her. Everyone was shocked, he ended the story by telling them what happend with the phone call to the chief, and how she had not let go of him since.

"That's why you had to get my cloths O'malley, Because she will freak out if I leave the room, he said standing in the doorway to her room looking at her sleeping.

"Hows her body temp?" Christina said breaking the silence, and not caring about the whole Derke thing.

"Um... its not great but its not horrible" Derek's said... remembering how her skin was so cold when he first found her. "I think it will be better in the morning." He said hopfull.

Meredith loved having Derek by her side throughout the night, he made her feel safe and its like he was protecting her in his sleep. Ever since Doc died Meredith had been having these nightmares about everything, or that's what she told Derek. She is really having them about Doc, and him. One night Meredith had a nightmare that scared her so much that she had to call him.

In the nightmare Derek tells her to wait for him at the house becuse he has a patient to check up on. But he never shows up and 2 hours go by and she dose not know where he is, and he told her he would be home in a half hour. So Meredith drives to the hospital, and finds that the chief is sitting in his office with his head in his hands crying. She walks in and starts talking to him but he just sits there finally he looks up.

"Chief have you seen Derek he said he had one last patient he had to check up on and then he would be home but that was and hour and a half ago?"

"Meredith Derek's in trauma room 3."

"Oh was their a bad accident and he's helping out?"

"No, he was T-boned by a semi on his way home... he died 10 minutes ago."

Then Meredith would wake up shaking thinking Derek is dead, but having him right next to her would immediately calm her down and she would just fall back to sleep, becuse she knew he was alive. She had been having that nightmare ever since Doc died, and she still hadn't told Derek. He just thought she was having a hard time with the whole Doc thing, but not that she was dreaming he was dead!" She didn't know what to do.

Thanks for all of the kind reviews I love hearing what you guys think. I hope you are liking it! I am making Meredith and Derek a little more vulnerable becuse in the show my favorite MerDer moments were always when they would comfort each other. So I'm doing a lot of that. But like always I would love reviews and suggestions. The next update probably won't be till this weekend but stay tuned more MerDer on the way! Also I don't know what to do with Mark and Addison so I would love some ideas on that or if I should continue writing about them or not. Thanks again for reading! :)