Disclaimer: Nope…not mine.
Derek clutched his pager as he sprinted towards his daughter's room. The knot in his stomach grew tighter as he got closer to the room. He ran past one of the new nurses flipping through charts hitting her shoulder causing the charts to go flying across the hall.
He barely registered that people were around him his eyes focused ahead of him as the door became closer.
He grabbed a hold of the door frame and looked towards Lilly's bed. It was empty but a group of white coats surrounded a white tub and he could hear small whimpers.
"What's going on?" He demanded panicked looking to see if Meredith was in the room.
"Derek," Izzie turned around and grabbed his arm.
"Her fever shot up to 103.1…. we brought the ice bath in as soon as we could," she told him.
Derek looked down at his daughter in her hospital gown, Miranda Bailey sponging her forehead with the ice water. Lilly's face was flushed her eyes fluttering. Derek fell to his knees beside her.
"Lilly Bean…look at me baby," Derek took the sponge from Bailey. Lilly erupted in coughs. Derek wanted nothing more than to hold her. This was his child, suffering and there was nothing more they could do for her. With her fever so high they needed to get it down quickly…something antibiotics couldn't do fast enough.
Derek took a quick glance around; Bailey was kneeled down on the other side of the tub Alex stood by Lilly's head, Izzie stood behind him and Christina and George stood at Lilly's feet.
"Did someone page Meredith?" Derek asked looking up at his friends as he pushed Lilliana's hair out of her face.
"No…she's still in…' George started.
"Good.." Derek paused, "don't, let her finish," he knew she was going to kill him, but there was nothing she could do right now but worry over Lilly. By the time she was out of surgery she would be done with the day and could spend all her time with Lilly…if her fever came down soon.
"It's the stress of surgery and the pneumonia," Alex mumbled aloud. Derek nodded.
"Where is the thermometer?" Derek asked shortly. Bailey handed him the small device.
Derek gently turned Lilly's head and stuck the thermometer in her left ear and waited for it to beep at him signaling it was done reading her temperature.
Once it did beep Derek looked down at the digital numbers 100.6,
"It's down. Let's give her some Tylenol and make sure her drip is on…she is dehydrated," Derek lifted Lilly out of the water. She shivered uncontrollably, walking over to the bag Meredith and brought for her he grabbed her pajamas. Taking the towel Christina handed him he dried his daughter off and changed her into her pajamas.
"Where is her drip?" He asked quietly, Lilly looked at him wearily.
Bailey handed the IV to him.
"Just a butterfly…Lils," he told her as he made the IV fly through the air before landing on her arm and softly sticking her with it.
Lilly watched him and held onto his left hand as he hooked her up to the IV.
"Ok?" He whispered rubbing her cheek softly.
"Where's mommy?" she asked.
"Working… but she is coming soon," Derek continued to rub her cheek as she closed her eyes with a small nod, her body exhausted from the stress it had been put under that afternoon.
Derek leaned against the wall outside of the OR Meredith was finishing up in. He stood once the door swung open and she quickly walked out.
"Mere," he called after her.
Meredith turned and looked at him. His hair was unusually messy and his face unshaven…he looked exhausted.
"Why did Bailey rush out of there?" she demanded of her husband. Derek stepped towards her,
"What? Oh my god….its Lilly…Derek…what's happened?" Derek watched as Meredith unraveled in a matter of seconds.
"Lilly is going to be fine…just a scare," Derek took her in his arms. He needed her right now as much as she needed him. Meredith completed him and their children…well they meant the world and when it came to them they were a team.
"A scare? What happened? Why wasn't I paged?" she pulled away and looked up into his tired eyes.
"Her fever spiked…we just had to bring it down. She is asleep right now," Derek took his wife's hand and guided her away from the OR and down the hall a ways to their daughter's room.
Meredith walked in and headed straight towards Lilly's bed and felt her forehead,
"She isn't warm at all," she whispered to Derek.
"Yeah, fever broke twenty or so minutes ago," Derek walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her.
"Where are the boys?" Meredith asked him leaning against his chest.
"Alex took them. I decided it would be best for us to stay with Lilliana for the night and it wouldn't be fair to bunk them up in the on call room," Derek told her.
Meredith nodded silently before kicking off her shoes and quietly getting up on her daughters bed and wrapping her up in her arms. Lilly stirred just for a moment before settling into her mothers embrace. Meredith kissed the top of her head and closes her eyes allowing for the complete exhaustion creeping up on her to take over.
Derek gave a small sigh of relief. If Lilly's fever stayed away and she kept up on antibiotics they would most likely be able to take her home tomorrow just in time for Thanksgiving the day after that.
Grabbing a chair he pulled it around the other side of his daughter's bed and made sure her IV was working correctly before settling into the chair with his feet propped up and falling asleep.
"Uncle Alex?" Alex stood in the Shepherd's kitchen looking through their cabinets…
Come on I know they have cereal Alex thought.
"Uncle Alex!" Kieran screamed from upstairs.
"Hold on!" Alex screamed over his shoulder.
How Meredith and Derek handled three kids he wasn't sure. The boys had woken up at the ass crack of dawn and then gotten him up. It had taken a half hour of them jumping on the bed for him to finally get up and now he stood in the kitchen trying to figure out where the hell Meredith and Derek kept the damn cereal.
Finally finding the cereal in the very last cupboard he put the box on the counter and ran up the stairs where Kieran sat still in his pajamas in his crib where Alex had taken him. He was surprised the two year old hadn't gotten out again like he had this morning.
"Let's get dressed and eat before Aunt Izzie comes over and we all get in trouble," Alex said quickly dressing the toddler and carrying him out into the hall.
"Andrew! Breakfast!" He bellowed not sure where the eldest Shepherd was.
"Uh…ok," he heard from downstairs.
Alex didn't know when Andy had gone downstairs…jogging down the stairs with Kieran bouncing on his arm; he walked into the kitchen just in time to see Andy on a chair reaching for bowls.
"No, no, no, no," Alex said grabbing Andy around the waist and swinging him onto the floor.
"Your mother would kill me if you fell and had to be put in the bed next to your sister," Alex told the boy as ruffled his unruly curls.
Putting Kieran in his high chair he poured three bowls of cereal and went to the refrigerator to get the milk. Looking into the giant fridge he didn't see any milk,
"Where's the milk?" he asked the room.
"Lilly drank the last of it a week ago," Andy replied as he got into his chair.
"Shit!" Alex exclaimed closing the door.
Kieran giggled,
"Shit!" he echoed.
"No! No!" Alex ran over to the young boy and covered his mouth.
"Don't say that," he said bending down to be eye level with the toddler. Kieran smiled,
"Shit!" he said again. Alex just looked at him…maybe this wasn't a big deal in the scheme of things but once the dust settled and their two year old was still cussing Meredith and Derek might be mad.
"Ok…so no milk…which means…" Alex grabbed the three bowls and took them over to the sink and turning on the faucet he put all three under the water filling the bowels with water.
Setting them in front of the boys, Andy looked up at him disgusted,
"Ewww," he said.
"Nah, its good I used to eat it like this all the time," Alex said leaning against the counter taking a spoon full.
Andy picked his spoon up hesitantly and took a bite shuddering. Alex shrugged his shoulders and turned towards the direction of the front door when he heard keys.
"Hello?" Izzie called walking into the kitchen.
"Aunt Izzie!" Andy exclaimed.
"Can we have muffins?"
"I still can't believe you were feeding them….cereal water," Izzie said as she and Alex stood at the kitchen sink cleaning dishes.
"There wasn't any milk," Alex defended.
"Then make them toast," Izzie countered.
"Not after I searched for that cereal for twenty minutes," Alex frowned. Izzie shook her head a small smile on her face.
Four hours later Alex sat on the Shepherds couch asleep while Izzie played connect four with Andy and Kieran watched Scooby Doo.
Alex's head raised as he heard the garage door open.
"Someone is home," Izzie told Andy as he got up and walked towards the garage door. Meredith walking in carrying the bag she had packed for Lilly followed by Derek with Lilly in his arms her face hidden in his shoulder.
"Lilly!" Andy exclaimed.
"Lilly?" Alex looked at Izzie confused.
Meredith sat her daughter's bag down and picked Andy up hugging him tightly.
Walking into the family room, Andy turned his head towards his sister.
"Are you better?" he asked. The little girl shook her head,
"Only half," she replied.
"Only half?" Izzie asked as she took Andy from Meredith and sat him down and turning back to her friend and hugging her.
"Her right lung is clear," Derek answered going up the stairs to his daughter's room to put her to bed.
"Oh," Izzie nodded and turned to Alex who was now standing.
"Well, we'll go then. I'll call you tonight," Izzie said taking her fiancé's hand.
"Oh, guys you are the best. I honestly and completely think I would be at a loss without you," Meredith hugged both and saw them to the door before returning to the family room.
"Shit!" she heard Kieran giggle.
"Daddy I want to play," Lilly told him as she sat propped against pillows and Derek measured out her medicine.
"Not until you are 110 better," he told her bringing the small plastic cup over to her bed and handing it to her. Lilly shuttered and plugged her nose like George had taught her that morning before tipping her head back and gulping down the medicine.
"Ok, all done for a couple hours," Derek told her taking the cup from her and setting it on her dresser.
Derek turned to put some dolls away in Lilly's closet when he noticed Meredith leaning against the door frame.
"Hi Mommy," Lilly said. She had been much livelier since coming home.
"Hey Miss Lilly," Meredith responded.
"Boys in bed?" Derek asked.
Meredith nodded and walked over to Lillian's bed. Taking the pillows from out behind her she laid the little girl down.
"Ok baby tomorrow is a busy day so I need you to get a goodnight sleep,"
The little girl nodded.
"Goodnight sweetheart," Derek bent down and kissed her forehead before turning and joining Meredith as the door.
Switching off the light Meredith walked into the hall. Derek took her hand.
Meredith didn't know she could love four people as much as she did, but it was an all consuming love that would never fade.
Turning around she wrapped her arms around Derek and they stood there in the middle of the dark hallway arms wrapped around each other.
"Everyone is home," Derek whispered holding her so tightly he was afraid she wouldn't be able to breathe.
Meredith nodded silently. Slowly Derek scooped her up and carried her into the room where they would be able to finally sleep in their bed together for the first time in three days.
It took me forever…I know… but I do have an excuse…..I got all my finals done and all my big papers out of the way but then my Word suddenly stopped opening up…yeah I don't know why…it doesn't open and freezes my computer…my new computer I might add…so right now I'm feeling kinda screwed. But I was able to use my brothers computer once I got home (that didn't go over well…the whole trying to convince him to use it thing) so I could finish this up. A few more chapters or so…I'm not sure when I will get the chance to write again with the holidays and all but I will update again ASAP. Thanks every one for being so patient.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!!!
Loti
