(Short summary chapter 1: Zola broke her arm, as a result Meredith panicked; chapter 2: Meredith opened up about her panic attack; chapter 3: Andrew and the kids, Merlex; chapter 4: Mostly Merlex; chapter 5: Andrew told the kids a story; chapter 6: Andrew didn't feel well)
After Meredith came out of the OR
"Alex what is? I want to go home" Meredith was confused when she saw Alex waiting for her.
"Mer… I need to talk to you"
"Just say it!"
"Mer. It's Andrew… He is fine now" Alex added fast, he knew that Meredith had lost many people, he didn't want to scare her any more than he had to.
"What happened?" Her voice broke. And suddenly she was thinking about all the things that could have happened after she sent him home. What if he was in an accident? He wasn't in a good shape when she left him. She should not have left him alone.
"Meredith." Alex pulled her out of her thoughts "Mer… he is fine for now. Do you hear me?... He passed out on his way out. Carina found him in the parking lot. We don't know why yet. But for now, he is fine. I'll bring you to him okay?"
Meredith just nodded. She wasn't able to speak. She felt how tears were filling her eyes. She tried to hold them back. To calm herself down. Alex just told her that he was okay. She did not have to worry about him, but she couldn't stop. A tear started rolling down her cheek.
"Mer… we'll figure out what happened." Alex assured her as he wiped away her tears. Then he added, smiling slightly. "He is in here. He is asleep, but I think he'll be happy to see you when he wakes up…"
"Thank you"
In Andrew's room
Meredith walked over to sit on the chair next to him. Somehow it calmed her, to see him in this bed, even when he was sleeping. It assured her that he was still alive. She knew that she was overreacting. Again. But Andrew became a very important part of her live. And she didn't want to lose him. She took one of his hands and squeezed it. To show him she was there, but when she was honest, she did it mostly for herself.
She was so focused on Andrew that she didn't notice someone came into the room.
"Hi" Carina greeted Meredith then she added "I'll come back later".
"You can stay if you want to" Meredith didn't really know how to react. The two of them were not very close. After things went bad with their dad Carina went back to Italy for a few weeks, so they never really had the chance to talk. But she was Andrew's sister and they were close, so she should be here when he wakes up.
"Do you know what happened?" Carina was curious.
"Not really. He seemed a bit distracted today…" Meredith tried to keeep herself together.
"Why?"
"I don't know. I first realized that he was a bit absent when we stood up and this afternoon he told me that he didn't want to scrub in with me because he didn't feel well. So, I sent him home to get some rest"
"You are living together!?"
"Maybe" Meredith was confused by Carina's question, she felt like she was in an interrogation."He spends a lot of time at my place… I can't leave the kids alone all night" She tried to clarify her 'maybe'.
Carina raised an eyebrow walking over to the other side of Andrew's bed before she continued "So, you don't know what was going on?"
"No, I didn't have a chance to talk to him" Suddenly the tears were filling her eyes again. She felt a knot forming in her throat. She tried to keep the tears back from falling out, but Carina noticed it anyway.
"Everything alright, Meredith?" she asked. At this moment Andrew woke up.
"What happened?" he asked full of confusion and still a little sleepily.
"You passed out on your way to the car" Carina let him know, but Andrew's attention was already on Meredith.
"Hey, Mer." He noticed the tears in Meredith eyes. It broke him his heart to see her worried like this. That he was the reason. He wanted to show her that he was fine (now). He laid his hand on her shoulder pulling her closer to him. His other hand was still firmly held by Meredith. She let her head sink on his chest. In this moment she didn't care that they were at the hospital and that his sister was in the room. She needed this. She knew that it should be the other way around, she should be there for him. He shouldn't be the one worried about her, but she couldn't help herself. She loved that about him, that he was always there for her even in these moments. Finally she found the confidence to look up at him and even a slight smile appeared on her lips.
"Thank you" she whispered. Then she looked at Carina, who was on her way out, and added. "I'm sorry"
"I'll give you two a moment" she replied in a teasing way, what brought all three of them to smile. Carina left the room and closed the door behind her.
"You had me worried" Meredith started.
"I noticed" Andrew looked at her with a grin.
Meredith smiled in return. There it was again. The smile on his face, the smile she hasn't seen the whole day. The one that made her forget everything around her. The one she got lost in her thoughts. She just realized how much she missed that smile. "You look better"
"I feel better, I think I needed the sleep"
"Do you want to tell me what was going on earlier?" Meredith asked carefully.
Andrew hesitated a moment. He didn't really know where to start "To be honest, I'm not really sure. I couldn't sleep the last few days and I think today it just was too much… The dream I had tonight... It was about my dad. I've had it more often lately. I haven't heard from him since… since he left…" he paused and took a deep breath before he continued "Also... my mother's death day is today… so, I think everything at once, was just a bit too much…"
Meredith didn't immediatly find the right words to help him, she knew that even when they had similar issues with their parents, Andrew was much closer to his, than Meredith has ever been to her parents. So she decided to just be there for him. She crawled onto the bed, lying down beside him, resting her head on his chest, still holding his hand.
Andrew knew they would most likely talk about this again. But for now, he appreciated Meredith's company.
They laid there for some time with closed eyes. Just enjoying each other's company. Meredith could feel Andrew's heartbeat, the steady rhythm calmed her. Andrew listened to Meredith's breathing as he caressed her back in circles.
They would have almost fallen asleep if Carina and Alex hadn't come in again.
"Really Mer… this is still a hospital" Alex teased them.
"Shut up" Meredith returned with a smirk. Then she got up, whispering to Andrew. "I think I should…" She didn't have to finish. Andrew already nodded assuring her that it was probably better when she stood up.
Carina just observed the whole thing and couldn't hide her amusement. Finally, a smile came to her face. All the time she wasn't sure what to think about her brother dating his boss. But she could see that he was happy, and that Meredith deeply cared about him. She just wanted the best for her brother.
"Your results are back… we couldn't find anything special, but I would like to keep you here over night..." Alex began.
"I really think it was just the lack of sleep, that caused me to..." Andrew got interrupted by Alex.
"That could be the cause, but I want to be sure. And looking at the faces of your girlfriend and your sister, I think they agree with me. Besides, you're a doctor you would do the same... Take it easy the next few days…" Alex said, then he added with a grin "Doctors are really the worst patients " before he left the room.
I just noticed that this is already the seventh chapter. Originally I had planned to only write three, but I have to say that it is actually fun to write this. We'll see where this goes. :)
And, as always, I would love to hear your suggestions!
