If That's What It Takes Chapter 10: No Other Option, a grey's anatomy fanfic

Derek helped Meredith through her exercises, talking to her the entire time as his lunch hour slowly grew to a close. "I'm going to have to get going, Meredith…" He said softly as he felt her hand clamp onto his slightly.

"I will bring her to you… right after school I have about three hours off before my shift starts again." He smiled at her as he noticed her eyes were staring straight into his. "Izzie is going to watch her for me tonight. Don't worry, she'll be in good hands."

Man hands.

"I will have Izzie bring her to the hospital in the morning tomorrow, before school to see me so that I can walk her to school…"

If Izzie is watching her, and you're working, who will do my exercises with me? Who will keep me company? Who is going to tell me who is sleeping with who in the hospital? Derek… what will I do with all of my free time?

"You know…" Derek said as he watched her eyes. "You get this little look in your eyes sometimes when I'm talking… and I know you want to say something to me… but this particular look… I don't know…it's a little more playful than the other looks you give me… are you making fun of me?" He whispered as he leaned on the bed, looking down at her.

'Me?'

He could see the smile in her eyes, he could sense the giggle in her body that wouldn't allow it to escape. "I bet when you start talking again… you're never going to shut up." He said with a chuckle.

'Nope.'

"That's good to know." He said with a smile. "I was thinking… and I don't know what you think of this… but Zoey… I am sure she'd like to communicate with you. And… since you've gone all military on us with your superior Morse code knowledge… maybe we could make it a little easier on her… maybe we can say like… one blink for yes… two blinks for no."

'Three for… I love you.' Her eyes communicated back to him as he smiled.

"That sounds good…" He said as he squeezed her hand.

"I may need your help with this, Meredith." He whispered as he settled back on the bed again. "Cristina has… well, let's just say that she's earned an Oscar for her performance as a mean, nasty resident… she's trying to hold back the rumor mill, and make it look like I'm anything but competent and trustworthy." He whispered. "But if we find something in those scans… we're going to have to figure out how to do an MRI legitimately… so… we may need some acting on your behalf…" He said as he watched her eyes carefully. "Are you up for the task?" He asked.

She blinked once and his eyes lit up as he watched hers light up as well. "You may not be able to talk… but I bet your wit is quicker than mine." He said, watching her blink once more. "You're laughing at me, aren't you?" He laughed. One blink.

"I really should go…" He said softly as he stood up and smiled down at the woman lying in the bed. She blinked twice and he smiled. "I'll be back later…" He said as he watched her eyes droop. "Get some rest… and Zoey will be here before you know it." He said as he kissed her cheek softly, and with a smile as he moved toward the door. "Don't worry… you're not going to miss me, are you?" He said with a small laugh as she blinked once, twice. He laughed softly as he left the room, closing it securely behind him.

Three times.

Derek walked with Kara to the school. He didn't tell her anything about Zoey being angry at him, and he didn't give her much more insight into Zoey's past. They walked pretty much in silence as Derek thought of his tasks later in the afternoon, his mind was very much full of other things, and he didn't even hear Kara talk to him when she finally said something.

"Derek?" She said softly as she touched his shoulder.

"Hm…?" He asked as he turned to look into her eyes as she tilted her head.

"You didn't answer me." She said softly as she watched him give her an apologetic look.

"Oh… Oh, I'm sorry… I'm just… I'm kind of lost in my thoughts. What were you saying?"

"I was asking if you were interested in getting something to eat after we pick up the girls… You have time before you're on call, right?"

"Yeah… but… I promised Zoey we'd do something together…" He said with a nod.

"Go see sleeping beauty?" She asked as she watched Derek's eyebrows raise slightly. "Carrie told me a little…"

"Sleeping beauty is her mother." Derek said softly. "If you must know… nosy little thing…" Derek said with a slight smirk. "She… is in a coma."

"Her mother is in a coma? How horrible…" She said as she covered her mouth and looked Derek in the eyes.

"Yes… but… what is worse… is that she doesn't know it's her mother… she thinks her grandmother was her mother… it's a long, complicated story. I told you… its for another walk to work."

"And she's in the hospital… Zoey's mother?"

"She's on the psych floor… they think it's a psychological issue… I think it's a neurological issue… See… she can communicate… just recently she's begun to communicate in small bursts… and… I think if she's tested, we will find a clot or a tumor or something… but the chief of surgery refuses to go that avenue. Her mother had requested no testing on her, unless it was to save her life… unless…otherwise, she wanted her to die of natural causes when it was her time."

"It sounds cruel." Kara whispered.

"It's very cruel…" Derek replied. "But the crueler fate would be if she died before she was able to know her daughter… I'm not giving up on her." He whispered as he swallowed hard, letting his emotions show through in his face as he gave Kara a half smile. "They both deserve more than they've been given." He whispered.

"You really love them, don't you?" Kara said as she watched Derek's eyes dart to hers.

"I hardly um… I hardly even know, Meredith." He said as he cleared his throat.

"But you know her… and you care for her, it's evident in your reaction."

"It's not…strange?" He whispered. "To be reacting this way to someone who I have only known through a strange silent connection?"

"It's not strange at all, Derek. It shows you're compassionate… that you're caring and connected to this little girl. The fact that you want her mother to be well again is a testament to your values and your feelings and love for that little girl… who frankly, I think adores you… absolutely adores you." Kara says as they reached the classroom.

Zoey and Carrie came running out of the room together with their coats and bags and they both ran to Kara. "Mama… we had a great time at school today!" She said excitedly. "Can Zoey stay over sometime?" She asked as Zoey smiled brightly.

Kara looked to Derek, who looked lost as he looked to the little girl. She didn't even look in his direction and Kara thought it was odd. "We'll talk about it another day, sweetheart… not on a school night.

"Zoey… come on, sweetheart." Derek said softly, unsure of what to say to her as her face darted in his direction, and back to Kara.

"Bye, Carrie… bye Ms. Swann." She said softly as she turned toward Derek, who looked pathetically sad as her smile dropped from her smile. She walked over to him and took his hand.

"Bye, Derek…" Kara said as Zoey tugged on Derek's hand on their way toward the exit.

"See ya, Kara… Carrie…" he sighed as he let the little girl pull him through the hallways back to the sidewalk, her mouth closed and her demeanor solemn as they walked toward the hospital together.

Derek held Zoey's hand tightly as they walked toward the hospital. Derek's questions about her day at school went unanswered as she stared straight ahead on their walk. He knew he had done something wrong by invading her privacy, but he was beginning to think that she was taking the silent treatment a little too far. He thought for a minute about telling her that they wouldn't visit Meredith until she spoke to him, but he was not sure how she would react, or if it would even be right for him to do that. He knew that Meredith was looking forward to her visit, and it would be unfair to her if he denied Zoey that visit.

Parenting was a new adventure, something that he thought that he had maybe five or six years before he experienced it. He had helped his sisters with his nieces and nephews, but they were always well behaved… at least to their fun loving Uncle who never had to bring them down from their sugar highs or up from their grumpy lows. He wished for a moment that he had talked to Kara about the situation. Her daughter was Zoey's age, and though she hadn't experienced things the way that Zoey had, Derek was sure that Carrie had a silent streak in her.

"Why don't we sit down in one of the waiting rooms for a minute and talk before we go see Meredith." He said softly as he stopped in the lobby of the hospital.

"No." She grunted as she crossed her arms across her chest and glared angrily at Derek. "I don't want to talk to you." She muttered.

"We need to talk, Zoey." Derek said softly as he reached for her hand.

"No!" she exclaimed, slapping Derek's hand as she stepped back. "Don't make me run… I will run…" She muttered.

"Don't make me take you straight home like I did yesterday." Derek challenged as he raised his eyebrows. Her jaw dropped in surprise as she thought of the day before.

"You said I could visit Sleeping beauty." She mumbled as she continued to stand there staring at Derek.

"I did… I said if you're a good girl we could visit Meredith…and right now… this behavior… not talking to me, threatening to run… that's not being a good girl. That's being a very, very bad girl." He said crouching in front of her as she continued to give him an angry glare.

"I am not a bad girl!" She shouted as people looked as they passed. Derek refused to give in to her plan of embarrassing him. He showed no break in his coolness.

"Shouting… is being a bad girl too… let's go home." He said as he stood up and reached for her hand.

"No!" She said as she pulled on his hand as he grasped it. "No… no… I'm sorry… I'll talk to you… I'm sorry…" She mumbled as he stopped and turned around.

"You promise you'll talk to me?"

"Maybe." She mumbled as she shrugged.

"Maybe is better than nothing, I guess…" He said with a sigh. "Let's go see Meredith… then we'll talk about the arrangement for tonight."

"Tonight?" Zoey whispered.

"DD has to work tonight… Izzie is going to take you to my house and watch you overnight."

"No!" She said as she grabbed Derek's arm. "No… no, you tuck me in, DD! No one else!" She said as she started to whimper and hop from foot to foot. "No… No…" She whimpered.

"We'll talk about it after we visit with Meredith… let's go…" He said with a very soft sigh as she gripped his arm and walked with him to the elevator, where they got inside and pushed the button for Meredith's floor.

They rode the elevator in silence as Zoey clung to Derek's arm. As soon as the door opened, she released his arm and went to run, as Derek grabbed hold of her hand tightly. She turned and looked at him, shaking his head lightly she sighed heavily and walked at his side.

They walked toward Meredith's room, their stride was quick and purposeful as Zoey continued to look up at Derek as he just stared straight ahead, his thoughts elsewhere as he let go of her hand to open the door, watching her run quickly into the room.

"Sleeping Beauty, Sleeping Beauty!" She said excitedly as she ran up to Meredith's bedside and climbed onto the chair, climbed onto the bed and immediately leaned over and kissed Meredith on the cheek. "I missed you so much yesterday…" She said with a little sniffle as she smiled down at Meredith and began her usual babble about how school was and about her friends and how happy she was that she was visiting. "Are you going to wake up for me, Sleeping Beauty? I miss you…" She whispered as she kissed Meredith's cheek again. She looked to Derek quickly, but turned her face toward Meredith instead. "I am mad at DD…" She whispered. "He was a bad boy."

Though she was whispering, Derek could still hear her. A six year old's whisper is not exactly a whisper, but more of a normal person's speaking tone and he could feel the hurt in his heart from her words. "He wants to leave me all alone tonight with someone else… and work here at the hospital… he wouldn't take me to see you yesterday, Sleeping Beauty… he made me cry…"

"Zoey." Derek said as he stepped forward.

"Hush, DD… go away." Zoey snapped.

Suddenly, Zoey felt a firm hand on hers, squeezing it as Meredith's eyes opened slowly. "Sleeping Beauty!" She said with a grin as she looked to Derek instinctively, though his eyes were on Meredith. She could feel Meredith's hand on hers, and her eyes were not confused or anxious, but firm and concerned. Her eyes were on Derek, not Zoey for a moment.

"What is it?" Derek whispered, sensing that there was something that she needed to say.

'Don't let her talk to you that way.'

"Meredith…I…"

'No.'

"What is she saying?" Zoey asked innocently as she looked to Derek, watching as his forehead wrinkled as he looked into Meredith's eyes, her eyes not meeting Zoey's just yet. "DD, what is she saying? She's talking to you, what is she saying?"

"She said that you're being mean to me." Derek said as he glanced to Zoey, his eyes passing back to Meredith as she blinked once.

"She did not say that." Zoey said stubbornly, the response from Meredith being another squeeze to her hand. Zoey turned her face to Meredith, who started to blink again, her eyes looking straight into the little girl's.

"What is she saying?" Zoey asked in a high voice, still looking into Meredith's eyes.

"She says that DD loves you… don't be mean. Teach him…what he needs to know. Love him."

"I do love him…" She mumbled as she squeezed Meredith's hand.

"Forgive him." Derek whispered, reading her eyes as she stared into his. "Love him." He whispered again as his voice drifted off. He swallowed hard, this eyes becoming lost in Meredith's for a moment as he watched her carefully as Zoey looked between the two of them. Suddenly, Derek was pulled from his reverie, his eyes going to Zoey as he took a deep breath. "Do you want me to teach you how to talk to Meredith?" He whispered. "So you understand what she's saying?"

Her mouth opened wide as she smiled. "Yes!" She said excitedly as he looked to Meredith. "Alright… its easy…" He said softly as he smiled at Meredith, seeing her eyes light up in excitement to talking with her little girl. He turned and sat on the bed as Zoey allowed him to lift her into his lap as he explained the rules to what they called 'Yes, No, I love you.'

Derek set the tray on the table in the cafeteria and held the little girl's hand as she pulled on it slightly, lifting herself up onto the chair, she sat down and looked up at Derek as she reached for her cheeseburger and fries on the tray. "Patience… patience…"

"No, I'm not a patients… I'm your girl." She said with a giggle as she looked up at Derek and listened to his chuckle. "I like your laugh too, DD." She said with a smile.

"Well, I love yours…" Derek replied. "And I missed it."

She sighed as she climbed onto her knees and leaned over the table as Derek pushed the plate over to her and she grabbed the cheeseburger from the plate and shoved it into her mouth, munching on it as she watched Derek give her a sideways glance as he picked up his sandwich. "You eat more like a bear, less like a small child." Derek remarked as he watched her giggle with her mouth full of cheeseburger.

"DD… I'm sorry I was mean." She said as she swallowed her bite and looked up at him. "I am sorry."

"I know you're sorry, little one." Derek said as he took another bite. "I should have been more careful."

"You shouldn't go through my stuff…" She nodded.

"Well… here…" He said as he pulled the tray closer to him. "See this?" Derek said as he counted out six French fries and put it in one pile, and then started counting out another larger pile of French fries.

"What are you doing?" She asked as she watched him, setting her cheeseburger down.

"This… is you…"

"No, that's six French fries…" She giggled.

"Okay… these french-fries are like… they… represent you." He said. "Because you're six years old." He said as Zoey nodded. "This… bigger pile of French fries… there are…"

"A MILLION!" She exclaimed.

"A million? Really? Do you really think I'm a million years old?"

"You could be, you're smart…and older than me…" She shrugged.

"I'm not a million." He rolled his eyes. "Okay… so… there are twenty six French fries." He replied.

"Twenty six?" She asked as she opened her mouth wide in surprise.

"That is not a lot… come on…" Derek replied as he sighed.

"What about the French-fries, DD? You're off topic, and I'm hungry."

"Okay, okay… so like… you are like six French fries…" Derek said as he showed her pile and I'm like twenty six… meaning… I'm older, you know? It means… I'm about twenty more French fries smarter than you, and twenty more French fries more responsible than you." He said.

"Um… You lost me."

"Okay… it means… the bigger pile gets to know more… it means… you are smaller than me, so you have to tell me things…"

"I don't get it…"

"Eat your French fries…" He said with a laugh as he shook his head.

"Look…" She said with a giggle as she reached out and grabbed a fry from the larger pile. "I'm making you younger!" She laughed as she shoved it into her mouth and giggled as Derek shook his head and laughed.

They laughed and ate their dinner together as Zoey leaned her head on Derek and told him about her day at school, when Derek looked up to see Izzie walking across the cafeteria.

"HI!" She exclaimed as she got to the table. She sat down next to Derek and leaned toward Zoey. "How are you?" She said with an overly saccharine voice.

"Fine." Zoey said as she raised her eyebrows and looked to Derek, her eyes flashing back to Izzie.

"Derek… is going to have to work tonight, sweetheart, and he asked me if I would look after you at his house…" She said with a smile.

"Oh, that sounds like so much fun…" Zoey said in an almost sarcastic tone that Derek didn't miss, but flew into one of Izzie's ear and very quickly skipped its way out the other.

"We can make cookies, or play with dollies… and then we'll tell stories and go nighty night…"

"Oh goody goody gumdrops!" Zoey said in a sarcastic giggle as she looked to Derek and noticed the amused, yet stern look on his face. She giggled and tilted her head. "You're bringing me right back here in the morning." She stated and didn't ask Izzie as she shoved another French fry in her mouth.

"Oh! Of course! It'll be so fun!" Izzie said in an overly giggly voice.

"I'm excited too…" Derek said in a fake giggle as Zoey laughed and Izzie looked at him strangely as he looked down at Zoey and then to his tray. He tilted his head and looked the little girl in the eye. "Like… twelve French fries…" Derek said with a nod.

"That's what I thought." Zoey nodded as she shoved another French fry into her mouth and smiled at Izzie as they finished their dinner.

Derek walked with Izzie and Zoey toward the car. She held his hand tightly as they walked, looking up at him with a bit of a lost look in her eyes, he leaned down and lifted her up into his arms as they walked. She wrapped her arms around his neck and held him tightly as Derek talked about how to get to his place.

"I can't believe you live all the way out there… I would think you'd want to be close to the hospital to get here in emergencies and stuff… but like… you're a ferry ride and a long drive away and all that… you should get a place closer to the hospital… I have a place… right down the road from the hospital… between where Lexie lives and… crap…" Izzie whispered.

"What?" Derek said as Izzie bit her lower lip.

"I have to go back to the house and get the mail… I was taking care of the house… until the um… police were done, and I have to go and clean and…"

"You will not under any circumstances bring this child anywhere but home… Izzie… I'm serious… home and back to the hospital, that is it…" Derek said sternly as Izzie sucked her breath in slightly. "I am absolutely serious, Izzie." Derek said, his voice even more stern as he shook his head. "My house… hospital… that is it."

"DD's house and hospital…" Zoey whispered into Derek's ear.

"Alright, alright…" Izzie rolled her eyes as she got to Derek's car and he unlocked it quickly. He reached inside and pulled her car seat carefully while still holding tightly to the little girl.

"You're going to have to loosen your grip a little, you little monkey…" Derek whispered as she squeezed him tighter. "Don't worry… I am not going to be far…" He said as he pulled the seat from his car and held it with his free hand as he held Zoey tightly with his other.

"Don't make me go, DD…" She whimpered.

"Shh…" He whispered as he bounced her as they followed Izzie to her car. They stepped up to Izzie's car and she unlocked the doors. Derek opened the back door and crouched down, pulling Zoey's arms from his neck, he set her on the ground. As he fastened the car seat into the car, she clung to his leg tightly.

"Don't leave me…" She whimpered. "Please…"

"Don't worry… you'll get home… you'll get some sleep… and Izzie will take you right here to see DD." He said as he pulled her from his leg and lifted her into the car.

"I don't want to… I want you to tuck me in…" She whined.

"How about…" He said as he pulled his calling card from his pocket and handed it to her. "If you get scared, sad, unhappy… you name it… and you want to talk to me… you call this number… it'll go right to my phone or my peeper…"

"Your peeper…" She mumbled as she took the card and put it in her pocket.

"Make sure you give Mister Derek, Floyd, and Molly a kiss goodnight…" He said softly.

"I will…" She whispered.

"Please try your best to be a good girl for Izzie…" He whispered. "She's a nice lady… she takes good care of Sleeping Beauty, doesn't she?" He asked.

"Yes…" She sighed.

"Then I think she is just the lady for the job of taking care of you…" He smiled. "Why don't you talk about Sleeping Beauty… she makes you smile, right?" Derek asked.

"Yes…" She whispered. "I can tell her the story…"

"The story?"

"Sleeping Beauty and Prince Derek…" She said solemnly as Derek kissed her cheek.

"Great idea…" He said with a smile as he ran his fingers through her hair. "You know what my job is tonight, right?"

"No…" She whispered.

"I… get to keep an eye on your Sleeping Beauty." He whispered.

"She's your Sleeping Beauty too." She replied.

"She is?"

"Yes." Zoey whispered. "I asked her if she liked you and she blinked one time during 'Yes, No, I love you.'" She said with a little smile.

"Well I guess I'm just going to have to talk to her about that, aren't I?" He said with raised eyebrows.

"I guess…" She giggled.

"You have sweet dreams, little monkey…" Derek whispered. "I'll call you before bedtime."

"Not if I call you first…" She said with a giggle as she patted her pocket.

"Hey… that number is for emergencies." He said as he leaned forward and kissed her nose. "I love you, Zoey Grey." He said softly as she smiled a sad smile.

"I love you, DD Grey…" She said as Derek's eyes widened and she giggled. "You're my DD…" She shrugged.

"You're my girl… I'll talk to you soon…"

"Bye, DD… don't forget I love you."

"I would never…" He said as Izzie started up the car. "I love you."

"Bye…" She said with one more wave before Derek closed the car door and watched Izzie drive away, as Derek watched the car disappear, the little hand of Zoey waving in the air as it disappeared out of sight.

12:00am.

Derek walked down the hallway toward Meredith's room. He had just gotten off the phone with Izzie, who claimed she hadn't seen Zoey since they walked in the house. The little girl had hung up her coat, pulled off her shoes and walked directly upstairs to his bedroom where she had closed the door. She said she checked on her now and then, finding her snuggled in Derek's bed with her three stuffed friends, the pillow in her arms as she curled her body into the bed.

He looked through the labs that George had delivered to him not ten minutes earlier and turned to lean against the wall as he looked at the results. He scratched his head as he glanced to the door, his brow furrowed as he opened the door and walked inside the room. The sound of the machines was low, and he remained quiet as he continued to look through the results.

You can try to be quiet, Shepherd, but I know its you.

He had visited Meredith a little earlier that evening, helping her with her exercises, her eyes remaining closed throughout, though he knew she was in there somewhere. He talked to her about Zoey, about his family, about the surgeries that he had been involved in that week. He talked about anything he could think of, his voice soft and tender, his touch was the same.

"I bet you're thinking that I'm late…it's 12:05am… I hope you're not sleeping." Derek whispered.

Sleep through our date? No way…

"I'm not going to be able to do this alone." Derek said softly as he moved around the bed. "I am bringing in someone to help, they should be here soon, and we'll start the tests." Derek said as he grasped her hand tightly in his own.

So secretive… It's kind of sexy.

"I hope you're not scared… we're going to find out what is going on… we're going to find it and take care of it." He whispered as he watched her eyes move slightly. "Oh… so you are awake, you little sneak…" Derek said with a soft smile as he waited, watching her eyes open. She just stared into his eyes as he watched her stare back at him, her eyes were filled with anxiety as she tried to convince herself otherwise. "You're going to do great." He whispered.

What? No flowers? I thought this was a date.

She blinked slowly as he read her eyes. It took him a moment and he laughed. "It is a date…" He laughed. Its you, me… under the soft glow of the MRI and CT scanner… the sounds of the… um… x-ray filling the night time air. I can't think of anything more romantic than that." He said with a grin.

Nerd.

"Oh… oh, that hurt… right here…" Derek said as he pounded his chest lightly. "And to think that I was going to get you out of this awful room for a little while…"

It isn't a date if we have a chaperone.

"A chaperone? What…Mark? He's harmless." Derek shrugged.

He is mean.

"Oh, he's not mean… he just doesn't think before he talks. You will like him… trust me… he's a good guy…" Derek nodded as he heard the door to the room open and close behind the curtain. He waited a moment before he said anything more, to ensure that it was Mark. He glanced to Meredith and noted that her eyes were now closed. He shook his head and glanced to the person walking through the curtain. "Good, you're here." Derek said with a half smirk.

"Yeah… I'm here, what do you need?"

"A hand." Derek said as he nodded toward Meredith.

"A hand? Why do you need a hand?" Mark asked as he watched Derek's cue as he nodded toward Meredith again. "No…" Mark said with a shake of his head. "Derek, she's not supposed to be tested."

"She fell off the bed." Derek said as he watched Mark.

Liar, Liar.

"She fell off the bed?"

"She did…" Derek said as he shrugged. "Just… rolled right off the bed… we're going to have to get her an MRI and a CT." Derek said in a serious tone.

"Derek, she can't have tests… she can't have anything done… we're not her doctors, first of all and second of all…"

"She fell off the bed, Mark. Help… me… please?"

Pants on fire…

"Derek…" He whispered.

"Mark… this is for Zoey." He said, watching Mark's eyes lift to his. "She has no one." Derek whispered. "Chances are, Lexie isn't going to be waking from that coma… and Meredith… she's alive, Mark. She's in there… and she communicates… and she wants out. If we don't do these tests, then you are condemning that little girl of the hugs and love that only her mother can provide." Derek said as he watched Mark shake his head.

Oh, the mommy defense… good one, go with it, Derek!

"It's her mommy, Mark." Derek whispered as Mark stared at him.

He took a slow, steady deep breath and turned his eyes to the door. "What if Cris finds out?"

"Cristina is a busy woman." Derek replied. "Besides… I have to clean out the MRI room tonight…Cris' orders…"

"Yeah…" Mark nodded as he looked toward the door for a moment and his eyes slowly lifted to Derek. "Wait… you mean…?

He's a quick one, Derek…

"Yes… now get that gurney in the hallway in here now." Derek said as he started to get Meredith ready for transport. When Mark was out of the room, he leaned down and kissed Meredith's forehead. "We're going to get you out of there." He whispered as he pulled her hair back carefully and kissed her temple, standing up straight as Mark walked back into the room with the gurney.

They lifted her onto the gurney and made sure anything that was supposed to be connected to her remained connected. They settled her in, and with a quick look down the hallway, they were off on their way to the MRI and CT scans. They worked quickly, slipping down the quiet hallways undetected to the elevator as they got to the room where the machine was. Derek talked to her at every step of the way as if she were communicating back to him. Mark watched his friend as he cared for the young woman, his attention completely on her as he spoke, trying to make sure she wasn't afraid.

"Derek, she can't hear you." Mark mumbled.

"Shush." Derek replied.

"She can't hear you, Derek… why do you keep talking to her."

"Mark… stop." Derek said softly as suddenly, Meredith opened her eyes.

"Shit! Her eyes just opened!" Mark exclaimed as Derek elbowed him. "Ow…" He mumbled as he rubbed his stomach.

"Stop yelling… What is it, Meredith?" Derek whispered.

Tell 'superfly' here to shut up, he is giving headache.

"She says shut up." Derek said as he looked up at Mark.

"She did not…" Mark said with a smirk as Meredith's eyes flashed to him. She blinked once and Derek laughed. "What?" Mark asked as Derek smiled.

"She said 'yes'… as in… yes, she told you to shut up."

"How do you know? How do you know what she's saying?" Mark asked as he watched Meredith watching him.

"She has beautiful eyes." Derek replied.

"She talks with her eyes?"

"She does… but it's more than that." he whispered as he glanced to Meredith. "I don't know what it is… exactly… but it's more than that… she's not just talking with her eyes… Its more complex than that." He said as he glanced to Mark and then to Meredith. "Are you ready to do this thing?" He asked, watching her blink once. Derek looked up at Mark. "Once means yes… two means no." Derek replied.

"What does three mean?" Mark asked as Derek glanced to Meredith.

"Why?" Derek asked.

"Because she just blinked three times, looking directly at you." Mark replied as he stepped back.

Derek's eyes flashed to her as he raised his eyebrows and smiled, shaking his head. "Is that true?" He asked, watching her close only one eye. He chuckled and shook his head. "I'll take that as a maybe." He said as he stepped backwards. "We're going to step out of the room, Meredith… We'll be able to see and hear you at all times." He said as he watched her blink once.

They stepped out of the room together and Mark followed Derek into the control room. "You never answered my question." Mark said as Derek ignored him and started the machine, a long silence followed as they put her through the machine.. "Derek?"

"What, Mark…?" Derek said slowly as he watched the screens as it slowly took the pictures that they needed.

"What does three blinks mean?" Mark asked.

"It means… holy…"

"Shit…" Mark whispered as they both stared at the screen, and the images that were coming up on it.

Derek and Mark stared at the scan in front of them in an eerie silence. The last words passed between them were in the distant past as Derek reached his finger out to touch the monitor, running it along the object on the screen.

"That thing is going to…" Mark started as Derek's pager sounded. Derek looked down at the pager as Derek swore. "What is it?"

"It's Zoey." He said as he looked up at the screen as Meredith continued to go through the machine.

"What's going on?"

"I have to call… it's Izzie… about Zoey…" He said as he sighed.

"Well go…"

"I can't go, she's in the fucking machine." Derek said as he looked to the screen. "I… I mean… Look at that thing…I mean… how is she… how…"

"Is she even alive? I have no idea." Mark whispered as he continued shaking his head as they watched the other images coming from the machine, as Derek stared at his pager and back up to the machine, and to his pager again. "Don't worry about it." Mark said. "I'll get her back to the room, you call Izzie and find out what's wrong with Zoey.

Suddenly, Derek's pager went off again and Derek looked down at the message. "Fuck."

"What now?"

"It's Cris… code white…"

"Code white?"

"Chief… the chief is in the building. Get her the hell out of that machine now!" Derek said as he and Mark ran toward the room frantically. "Let's go…" Derek said as the machine slowly shut down as Mark and Derek rushed to get her onto the gurney as carefully and quickly as possible. Derek could tell that Meredith was worried, her body stiffened as they pulled her to the gurney carefully. "It's alright… it's alright…" He whispered. "Your baby had a nightmare, I think…" He whispered as he watched her eyes dart to his. "She'll be alright… Chief is roaming the halls…" He said as he felt her body relax slowly. "Don't worry…"

"Don't worry?" Mark muttered. "This is our jobs on the line, and you're concerned that she's worrying?"

"She has no control over the situation, Mark…" Derek snapped as he made sure that everything was connected correctly. "Get her to her room…" Derek said as he lifted the blanket to cover Meredith. He looked out the door down the hallway and could see the chief walking briskly down toward his office. He waved to Mark to stay, and walked out into the hallway releasing a slow, deep breath. He looked down as he walked nonchalantly out of the room.

"Doctor Shepherd?" The chief said as Derek looked up at him.

"Doctor Bailey." Derek swallowed.

Mark waited for a minute as he watched Meredith looking at him. He could see the concern in her eyes as he stood there, her eyes flashed to the door, and back to Mark.

"We're waiting until Derek goes… he's going to stall the chief…" Mark said as he watched her blink. She began to blink furiously as she looked at him. "I don't know what you're saying, Meredith…" He replied.

"Meredith, relax… just relax…" He said as he watched her worry, her eyes still blinking, her breathing getting more erratic. Mark lifted his phone from his pocket and dialed Derek's house phone. "It'll be alright… it'll be alright…" He said as he touched her hand, grasping it as she blinked quickly.

"Derek!" The person on the other line exclaimed when they answered, the sound of screaming could be heard in the background.

"Jesus, Izzie… what are you doing to her?"

"You're not Derek!"

"No, It's Mark… what's going on, Iz…"

"She won't stop screaming! She had a nightmare! Derek warned me about her nightmares, and she finally woke up… but she won't stop crying! I need his help! It's killing me here!" Izzie exclaimed.

Mark looked to Meredith as she stared at him. "Nightmare… the baby had a nightmare… she'll be alright…" Mark said softly as he listened.

"Put the phone to her ear…" Mark said quickly.

"Mark! It's not going to…"

"Just do it, now!" He barked at her as he heard the screaming become louder immediately. "Zoey…" Mark said, his voice almost stern as he said her name, though there was a tinge of softness. "Zoey… Monkey… it's Mister Mark…" He said, his voice becoming softer as he imagined her screaming into her stuffed animals, maybe clinging to Izzie, maybe clinging to Derek's pillow, but her face red with frustration, tears rolling down her face. "Zoey Monkey… it's Mister Mark… talk to Mister Mark." He whispered, his heart breaking as he listened to her gasp between cries. "Baby girl…please…" He whispered, his voice whimpering as he listened to her crying. "Zoey Monkey…" He said softly as he heard her hiccup as she began to pay attention to his voice. "Zoey…" He whispered again. "Zoey girl…" He whispered, his eyes on Meredith as she watched him.

"Zoey…" Mark whispered as her screaming cries turned to a whimpering cry. "Zoey… talk to Mister Mark…"

"DD…" She moaned into the line.

"You miss DD?" He whispered.

"I want DD…" She whimpered.

"You want DD?" Mark whispered.

"Yes…Mister Mark… get me DD…" She whimpered.

"Oh, baby… DD is going to see you soon…" He whispered.

"Get me…" She sniffled. "Get me DD…please…" She whimpered.

"Baby girl… let me talk to Izzie…" He said softly.

Derek was sitting in the chief's office as she went through a couple of things, looking for a file. "Was that all you needed, chief?" Derek asked as he tried his best to not look as if he were up to anything.

"Yes… I just wanted to make sure that there weren't any issues between you and Yang. She's one of the best we have here, and I don't particularly trust the rumor mill around here."

"Nope… Doctor Yang and I are fine… you know though… we have to keep those discussions between she and I pretty heated… keeps our chemistry going… keeps things rolling, the passion and whatnot." Derek muttered as he watched the chief look at him with a sideways glance, her eyes showing the confusion.

"Whatever." She muttered. "Just don't piss her off any more… I don't need to be hearing rumors rolling around this hospital any more than I already do." She said as she watched Derek pause. "What do you want now?" She asked. "I have to get back home… I only came in for a file or two, I have tomorrow off." She grumbled.

"You have tomorrow off?" Derek asked. "Must be nice to be the chief…" He said as he took a step toward the door.

"Yes… it's nice…whatever." She muttered as Derek waved. "I'll see you next week, Doctor Shepherd."

"See you next week, Doctor Bailey." He said quickly as he turned and walked out of the door, moving quickly down the hallway, he walked into the MRI room to find it empty, the monitors all shut down and the lights off. He flipped the switch and found a note.

'Putting the vegetables back in the fridge… Izzie is bringing the tater tot. –M'

"Smart ass." Derek muttered as he crumpled the note and shoved it in his pocket as he jogged toward the stairs.

Derek walked briskly down the hallway, down the stairs to the psych floor where he walked quickly down the empty hall towards Meredith's room. He kicked into Meredith's room as Mark looked up, hooking the tubes and making sure the monitors were working properly.

WILL SOMEONE TELL ME WHAT IS GOING ON?

Meredith's eyes were wide, darting to the opening door as Derek stepped in, he immediately noticed her hand flexing slightly as he stepped inside, her eyes were wild with worry, and relaxed slightly as soon as Derek walked into the room. "Did anyone see you?" Derek asked.

"I don't think so." Mark replied. "Did you talk to Bailey?"

"I talked to her. She was just checking to make sure that things with Cristina and I were fine… she's been hearing the rumors that Cris wants her to hear." Derek replied.

"Zoey is coming… Izzie is bringing her. She had some nightmares." Mark said as Derek shook his head, a worried look across his face.

"Thank you. Thank you for calling her." Derek replied. He looked down at Meredith, whose eyes were directly on him as she blinked. He glanced to Mark and then back to Meredith as she passed along her message. "Izzie will bring her here." Derek whispered. "She'll be alright." He said softly.

"What is she saying?" Mark asked. "How do you know what she's saying? This is really freaky, and I…"

"Shut up for a second, Mark." Derek replied as Meredith blinked another message, Derek watched intently as his brow furrowed. "We haven't gotten the results from the scan, when we…" Derek watched as she blinked at him more fiercely.

You will not lie to me. You saw the scans.

"Meredith."

You will tell me what you saw. Am I dying?

"We don't know anything yet, Meredith." Derek replied as he looked to Mark. "She asked if she was dying."

"You're going to need surgery." Mark replied, Meredith's eyes flicking to his.

"Mark!" Derek exclaimed as he watched Meredith's eyes flash to him as she blinked. "She said thank you… to you." Derek mumbled.

"She should know the truth." Mark replied.

"She should… but in time."

"There isn't a lot of time." Mark exclaimed to Derek. "There isn't…Derek."

I'm dying?

"You're not dying." Derek replied, glaring at Mark. "But… there is a clot… and what probably started out as depression… is turning into something much more devastating."

I have a clot in my brain?

"Brainstem." Derek replied. "It's large enough… to where it has affected most all of your motor skills, obviously… including speech and most movement. Though… I'm worried that the fact that you have been able to communicate, is an indication of a change in the composition of the clot." Derek swallowed.

It could be bleeding?

"I don't know." Derek whispered as he glanced to Mark. "We don't know, unless we… Unless we go in." He whispered as the door opened. Meredith's eyes closed and the two men were standing above the bed as Cristina came barging inside.

"Thank God she's in here." Cristina panted when she looked from Derek to Mark and back to Meredith, she swallowed hard when she noticed the solemn looks on the two men's faces. "What? What's going on?" She whispered.

"Cristina, I need to have a word with you." Derek said in a low voice as he glanced to Meredith's closed eyes.

"Why? What? Did you… were you able to…"

"Outside the room, please." Derek replied.

"I don't under…" Cristina started as Derek grabbed her arm and pulled her out the door into the hallway. "Get your filthy mitts off me." She growled as she pulled his hands off her. "What's going on?"

"What's going on? What's going on? Cristina… she has a goddamned blood clot in her brain the size of Puget Sound… and you are asking me what's going on?"

"Blood clot." Cristina breathed.

"Yes, a blood clot… what did you think that I…"

"How long do you think she's had this blood clot?" Cristina asked, swallowing hard. "I mean… how did it look? Was there bleeding? Headaches…?"

"I haven't asked her yet, Cris." Derek whispered. "My thought, though… is that the fact that she's communicating is good in that she can tell us what's going on, but it's bad in that the composition of the clot is changing. She could be slowly bleeding out into her skull and we won't know unless we get a CT and another MRI, now that we know what we're looking for. Cristina… she may only have a day or two left…" Derek said, his voice high with worry as he swallowed again.

"Shit." Cristina muttered as she looked down the hallway. "I have to go find Bailey." She said as she turned.

"Wait… why are you looking for Bailey? I talked to Bailey, you paged me to tell me that Bailey was in the building. Why would you be looking for Bailey?" Derek started to sputter.

"Will you just cool your goddamned jets? Because Bailey is the head of the department, but she's also in charge of Neuro. If we have a blood clot, we need to get it out now."

"Get it out now? She hasn't been cleared for surgery! They don't even know that we did the tests!"

"Derek… I didn't page you to tell you the chief of surgery was in the building. I paged you to tell you the chief of staff is in the building. Doctor Webber… it's Doctor Webber that doesn't want any tests. We need to get her in for a real MRI now… right now, no fooling around or she's going to die. I'm not going to let her die."

"You were fine and dandy with her dying just an hour ago… and now you're all gung ho about letting her live?" Derek exclaimed.

"Don't make me slap you, Derek." Cristina growled. "She's my best friend, and I am not going to let her die…" She said quickly as she glanced down the hallway as Izzie rushed toward them holding Zoey in her arms. "What are they doing here?"

"She had a nightmare…" Derek said as he walked toward them. Zoey was holding Izzie tightly as Derek lifted her from her arms.

"Oh, DD…" She whimpered as he held her. "DD, DD…"

"It's alright, baby…" He whispered as he rubbed her back as Cristina watched for a second. "What are you still doing standing here? If you're going to find Bailey, find Bailey!" He whispered in a frustrated voice. "She said she had tomorrow off, you had better goddamned catch her before she leaves this building!" Derek whispered fiercely.

"Don't yell, DD…" Zoey whimpered as she rubbed his back as she popped her other thumb into her mouth. "No yelling… shh…" She whispered.

"DD is sorry, sweetheart…" Derek whispered as he glared back at Cristina as she watched on for a moment, seemingly in thought.

"Stay here with Meredith… don't move… I'll call you when we're ready for you and Mark to bring her down." Cristina said as she moved quickly down the hallway.

"Bring Meredith where?" Izzie asked as Cristina ran down the hallway quickly.

"To surgery." Derek whispered as he glanced to Izzie's surprised face. "We are saving her tonight." He swallowed as he turned and walked into the room, leaving Izzie out in the hallway for a moment.

Derek rocked the little girl in his arms as she held him tightly, her arms securely around his neck as he rubbed her back and whispered to her.

"Hey, little monkey…" Mark said softly as he walked up to Derek, she turned her head and waved with her fingers as her thumb remained in her mouth. "Poor little thing…" Mark whispered as he ran his hand through her blonde hair, her eyes closed tightly as she buried her face in Derek's neck. "What are we going to do?" Mark asked as Derek rocked her back and forth, looking down at Meredith who lay there with her eyes closed.

"We're going to go in." Derek shrugged. "There's nothing else we can do."

"What do you mean we're going in? We don't have tests, we don't have consent! How are we going to go in? It could kill her!" Mark whispered fiercely as Zoey's head popped up and her eyes went to Mark. She turned and faced Derek and then Mark again. She had a look of panic in her eyes as she slammed her face into Derek's neck and gripped him so tightly, her fingernails were pulling into his skin.

"Are you stupid?" Derek whispered angrily at Mark. "Mark Andrew Sloan… are you seriously, honestly and truly… THAT stupid?" Derek raised his voice as Zoey whimpered into his neck. "I'm sorry, sweetheart…" He whispered as Izzie walked into the room.

"Derek, these are her things…" Izzie said as she set the small backpack down on the chair in the room. "She insisted on packing this bag…" She shook her head. "She was throwing a fit because she couldn't get all of her toys inside… and finally she let me help." Izzie swallowed. "I wasn't able to get her school clothes for tomorrow."

"It's alright, Izzie. I don't think she'll be going to school tomorrow." He said softly. "She hasn't slept at all tonight, there really isn't any sense in it."

"I wanna go to school…" Zoey whispered.

"You're going to be too sleepy, little bear…" Derek whispered. "Let's see how you're feeling in the morning." Derek said softly, not wanting to upset her as he rocked her. "I need to get her into a room or something…she needs to be sleeping, not being dragged around the hospital." He said as he looked to Izzie. "I'm still on call…and… and I'm waiting for Cristina to call me…"

"I'll go find an on call room… I can take her there and lay her down… and if there are any problems, I'll page you." Izzie said softly as she nodded.

"Sounds like a good idea." Derek nodded. "Thank you, Izzie."

"It's no problem." Izzie said as she disappeared out the door as Derek rocked Zoey in his arms carefully and walked toward the bed.

He slung the little girl's legs over his arm as he cradled her even more, sitting on the edge of the bed as he looked down at Meredith. He watched the woman in the bed, her eyes closed delicately, her hair clean and surrounding her head on the pillow, the look on her face so peaceful. Derek's eyes traveled to the little girl in his arms, the same delicate eyes, the same tiny nose, her soft, sweet lips, and the same halo of beautiful blonde hair crowning her head, long and flowing and angelic even in the lights of the hospital room. Derek lifted her slightly and kissed her forehead as her nose wiggled in her sleep and she sucked her thumb a little harder for a moment before it slowed.

"You deserve the world." He whispered as he rocked her gently as she slept in his arms. Mark sat silently across the room as he kept his head down, the soft rhythm of the machines keeping him alert as he let his friend have a moment of silence with his family, saying a silent prayer of hope, as he tried to block out the fear that was slowly invading the room, threatening to choke them to death.

Derek held the tiny angel in his hands as she clung to his shirt, her thumb still planted in her mouth as she breathed easy and softly. His eyes moved to her bag, a bit of pink fur stuck from the zipper as he smiled slightly knowing what it contained. He sighed softly and rocked her as he slid from the bed and sat in the chair beside the bed and placed his foot solidly on the floor as he tilted it back about two inches, enough to make it rock just a bit. His eyes moved to Mark, who was watching him carefully. "What?" He whispered.

"Nothing." Mark shook his head as his eyes went to Meredith and then back to Derek.

"Mark?"

"I'm just…" Mark sighed as his eyes went to Zoey. "I'm trying to figure out what you got yourself into here." Mark whispered.

"What does that mean?" Derek asked him, furrowing his brow. It seemed he was half angry for Mark saying it, even though he knew he was right, but he also was on the verge of agreeing with him.

"I don't know, Derek… two weeks ago, you had…"

"Nothing, Mark. I had nothing." Derek replied.

"Now what do you have, Derek?" Mark whispered. He could see the frustration building in Derek's eyes, the anger and misunderstanding clouding his eyes right as they sit there and Mark shook his head. "Derek… I'm not trying to disrespect you or your decisions… but I want to make sure you understand the implications of all of this."

"Thank you, Mark." Derek whispered as he continued to rock the little girl.

"I mean… there are easier ways to adopt…"

"That's not funny." Derek replied.

"I'm sorry…" Mark sighed. "I just… you know me, when there is something this big… I make jokes."

"I know." Derek replied. "Which is why I haven't killed you yet." Derek said with a slight smile. "I just wish I knew what we were going to do… what is going to happen…"

"Wish we were clairvoyant?" Mark asked with a laugh.

"Just today." Derek replied. "God, I hope Bailey is in."

"Bailey? I thought we were hiding from Bailey…"

"No… Doctor Webber."

"Chief of staff, Doctor Webber?"

"Yes." Derek sighed as he glanced to Meredith. "I don't know what he has to do with this… but I'm really worried that if we do something… at least one of us involved isn't going to have a job." Derek whispered.

"But… you think the surgery would be successful?"

"If we can get the right doctor for the job." Derek said softly. "I…am scared, Mark."

"I know." Mark nodded.

"A surgery like this has all kinds of complications." He whispered. "Its very invasive… and even if we take care of the bleed, there is no guarantee that she'll wake up… or that she wont have paralysis. It's a ridiculously complicated surgery."

"You've researched it…"

"I wrote my dissertation on this type of surgery, Mark… I've read everything there is to know…" He whispered as he swallowed as the door opened and Izzie walked in.

"I found a room." She whispered as she glanced to Mark.

"I think… we'll stay here for a little bit, Izzie." Derek whispered. "Save the room though… We'll put her in there when we know something… right now I just… I just want to hold her." He said softly as Izzie nodded.

"I'll go rest." She said as she glanced to Meredith. "Do we know anything yet?"

"I'll page you when we do." Derek replied as he watched Izzie nod and watched her slip from the room.

Derek held that little girl in his arms until they fell sore from her weight, her sleeping face far too angelic to disturb, her soft breathing was drifting over the skin of his neck, as he pulled her up into him a little more. Mark had left the room after an hour, leaving Derek to the peace of the hospital room. The doors opened after about two hours, Derek's eyes lit up as Cristina stepped into the room. She looked nervous, unraveled and scared. Derek watched her eyes as they drifted to her friend.

"What's going on?" Derek asked as he sat up slightly, Zoey stirring minimally as he moved, her body settling in the cradle of his arms, his arms aching from stiffness. "Cristina, don't stand there and look at me like that if you have nothing to say."

"We saw the scans." Cristina whispered as she glanced to Meredith and back to Derek.

"Cris…"

"We saw the scans and Bailey determined that it was big enough… it was… its dangerous enough to warrant surgery." She said as she closed her eyes. "We… but we can't do it here." She said as she scratched her index finger with her thumb as she looked to the floor. "We can't do it at Seattle Grace."

"What do you mean we can't do it at Seattle Grace?" Derek shook his head. "Why is she allowed to lay here and…" Derek paused for a moment as he looked down at the sleeping girl in his arms. He stepped to the bed and very delicately placed her on the bed beside Meredith. He made sure that any tubes or wires would not be disturbed as he kissed her forehead, watching her cuddle into Meredith's body. He then turned back to Cristina, his eyes showing the frustration in them, that she knew would be wrought. He glanced to the bed and took Cristina's arm as she followed him to the other side of the room, where he turned her to face him. "Why is it that she is allowed to lay here and die, but when she needs help, you have to take her away?" Derek growled.

"It's not me, Derek." Cristina whispered. "It's a lot bigger than me…"

"Then why are you the one giving me the news, Cristina?" Derek shook his head. "This is a hospital for Christ's sake… you're supposed to be helping people, not letting them die!" He said with an angry growl.

"Derek… she's not going to die!" Cristina exclaimed. "But they have to take her to a different facility… for this surgery… for any surgery… the hospital is locked in a dispute over her medical care. We can't treat her… we're not… legally obligated to treat her. If we treat her, Derek… the estate of Ellis Grey has been ordered to issue a statement against the chief of staff. Meredith signed her power of attorney to her mother, and it was thusly transferred to Lexie. Lexie is her only living relative… and Lexie can't release it.

"Lexie is brain dead." Derek grunted.

"Lexie is still alive, Derek." Cristina replied. "We have no rights to treat her while Lexie is breathing."

"Unplug Lexie." Derek growled.

"You know we can't do that, Derek… we can't kill one to save the other… Bailey is having her transferred to an undisclosed location. They will perform the surgery and we have to hope for the best." Cristina whispered. "There's nothing more we can do."

"Why an undisclosed location? Why can't we be there? Why can't we see her after the surgery? How will we know that she has survived? What the fuck is with all of the secrecy, Cristina. That little girl's mother is hanging by a thread, and you're holding a very sharp, very unsteady ten blade against it. Do you want to be responsible for killing your best friend? Do you want to be responsible for killing that little girl's mother?" Derek growled. "You're not taking her out of this hospital!" Derek exclaimed.

"Derek… its for your career… for Mark's career… for my career."

"And my career is nothing if I have to deal with one more thing happening to that little girl!" Derek said as he rubbed his forehead with his fingertips.

"They're taking her in the morning, Derek." Cristina whispered, glancing to Meredith. "She'll be alright… they'll get the clot out… and…" Cristina rubbed her face with her hand as she tried not to cry. She watched Derek as he continued to fall apart in front of her.

"Just… fucking leave me alone." Derek muttered, turning away from Cristina. "Just leave… leave us alone." He said as he sat down in the chair and put his head in his hands as he stared at the floor.

"Derek…"

"Cristina…" Derek whispered as he looked up at her and shook his head, tears in his eyes as he tried to work everything out in his head.

"I'll… see you in the morning, I'll call someone to cover your shift for the rest of the night, and tomorrow." She whispered, as she turned and walked from the room, trying her best not to break, knowing already, that Derek was doing enough breaking for the both of them.

Derek sat in the chair beside the bed for several moments. He watched the little girl in the bed as she pressed her face into Meredith's shoulder, cuddling closer as she seemed to slip into a contented sleep. He glanced to the door, his stomach knotting at the thought of what Cristina had said, his head spinning with her words. He stood up abruptly, dialing a phone number on his cell phone, he waited. "I need you to come in here and watch her, please." Derek whispered as he swallowed hard.

"What happened?" Mark asked, his voice soft and sleepy.

"I just need you to… come in here and watch her for a little while… I don't want to bring her to an on call room, I want her to stay with Meredith for as long as possible… I have to do something." Derek said determinedly.

"What do you have to do, Derek?" Mark asked.

"I have to… research something." He said as he heard Mark moving around. "Are you coming?" He asked. "I can have Izzie watch…"

"I'm coming, hold your horses…" Mark muttered. "What happened?"

"Nothing happened… please." Derek whispered as he heard the door opening, and glanced to see Mark flip his phone closed.

"What happened?"

"Nothing happened." Derek said as he ran his fingertips through his hair and swallowed hard.

"You look like you've been crying… what's going on with you, Derek? Are you alright?"

"I'm fine… can you watch her?" Derek asked.

"I can watch her." Mark replied.

"Call me if anything happens… call me if she wakes up… call me if…"

"Shut up and go, man…" Mark said as he plopped down in the chair. "I can handle it."

"Thanks, Mark." Derek whispered, and with that, he slipped out the door and made his way quickly toward Lexie's room in the ICU.

Derek walked quickly down the hallway. He had purpose in his step, though his heart was heavy and he was beginning to feel very alone. The hallways all seemed to be a little longer, and his head was now throbbing as he tried so hard not to break apart. He couldn't understand why it was bothering him so much. He had known Meredith for nearly two weeks and he hadn't even heard her voice, listened to the way she thinks, how she feels, what she believes, but he knew her daughter.

His pace slowed slightly as he walked down the hallway toward the room, swallowing hard he thought for a split second that he may be overreacting and acting with his heart instead of his brain. It wouldn't have been the first time in his life that he had done that, and if it was the case, he knew that it wouldn't be the last. His pace quickened and he entered the room swiftly.

He remembered the last time he had entered that room, having been only hours after cleaning the blood, tears, and anguish of the brutal mistake that Lexie had made from both his body, and the body of the innocent child that he now called his own. He stared at the woman in the bed, the tubes and wires and whatnot extending from her body to various machines. These machines were keeping her alive, keeping her heart pumping, her lungs inflated, though the one machine measuring her brain activity was eerily more silent than the others. Seeing the output on that machine only managed to churn the bile in Derek's stomach, cause his teeth to grit tightly, and his fists to ball up into angry, hate filled fists.

His eyes darted to the respirator, and back to the woman in the bed. "I am all she has." He growled, his pupils dilating slightly as they deepened with his mood. "I am all she has in the world, Lexie." He whispered. "I am all she has in the world… that can hold her through the nightmares. The nightmares that you helped to create." He growled. Derek closed his eyes. He was unable to look at the woman in the bed for a moment, unable to contain his rage. He took a very slow, very deep breath as he swallowed. "You have absolutely no idea how badly I want to pull that cord out of the socket, Lexie." Derek whispered. "You have absolutely no idea how badly I want to be able to suck the life from your undeserving lungs." Derek whispered. "How badly I want you to die right this second…" He swallowed.

Derek opened his eyes and looked down at her as he moved closer to the bed. "But do you know what that would do, Lexie? Do you know what that would do?" He whispered. "If I killed you right now." He breathed as he leaned down and stared at her face. "If I killed you right now, that baby girl would have nothing." Derek whispered. "You would slip off to hell, and I would be shipped off to jail… and where would we be then, Lexie? We'd be right where we started from." He whispered. "You are so fucking lucky that I took an oath to save lives, Lexie. You are so… so fucking lucky that I love that little girl… and it kills me to know that you laying here… with probably just as much brain activity as you did when you were alive… you hold the key to that little girl's mother. It kills me." Derek whispered. "I hope you can hear me, Lexie… and I hope you know that I loathe you… and I want you to know… that I'm not the only person who never wants to see you again." He whispered.

"I hate you." He whispered. "I have never hated anyone in my life… but I hate you." He said as the hot tears rolled down his cheeks. "Congratulations, Lexie." He growled. He stood up straight and wiped his tear from his cheek. He swallowed and looked up at the monitors and glanced to the respirator. He looked back at Lexie, and turned on his heel, moving his body in a quick and steady pace out the door and down the hallway, his feet pounding into the ground as he made his way through the hallway. His mind was set, and he was determined. No one was going to be going anywhere, not if he had anything to say about it.

Before returning to the psych floor, Derek decided to do a little detective work on Meredith's case. He decided to look into her past treatments to learn as much as he could about her as possible. He found his way to the records room in the basement, and after some thorough searching, he found a large cardboard box that said "Grey" across its label, and Derek pulled it from the shelf, going through every bit of paper he could find in the box. He found one of the documents he was looking for, gripping it in his hand, he flipped the top back on the box and tossed it on one of the shelves before heading out of the room quickly.

Derek walked purposefully down the hallway toward the stairs, disappearing into the stairwell, he decided to waste no time in getting back to the room. He had tried his very best to calm down, calming his breathing and thinking positive thoughts as he weaved through the hallway back toward Meredith's room. He was trying his best to keep a brave face, his heart pounding in his chest as he opened the door to the room and stepped inside.

Mark looked up and his face looked alarmed. Derek glanced to the bed to see Zoey and Meredith still snuggled together, Derek's eyes glancing back to Mark. "What?"

"Derek, are you going to tell me what's going on?"

"What do you mean… what do you…?"

"What were you researching? Is there anything I can do to help?" Mark asked as he watched Derek stand against the door with a determined look in his eyes. Derek's jaw clenched slightly as he stared over at the bed with Zoey and Meredith sleeping peacefully.

"I just… I…"

"Derek, you're a freaking mess…what the hell is going on with you?" Mark whispered.

"Meredith." Derek whispered.

"Meredith?" Mark asked.

"Meredith, Mark… how am I going to… how is… Cristina said that they're going to take her."

"Take her?"

"Cristina said they're going to take her away… to another hospital for surgery."

"Why the fuck can't they do it here?" Mark asked, sitting up straighter, watching Derek stare at the two lying in the bed.

"I think they're waiting… I think they're going to try to wait for Lexie." Derek whispered. "I don't trust them, Mark." Derek said as he looked at him. "Lexie has power of attorney… Medical power of attorney over Meredith… she has brain activity so they're saying that she is still alive, not brain dead… if she dies… no one is over Meredith. The chain ends."

"Zoey?" Mark asked.

"No. She isn't old enough." Derek replied as he held a paper up. "If there is no one to proxy for her, no one related that can proxy for her care… then she has a do not resuscitate order. If she goes into cardiac arrest, she is dead, Mark." Derek whispered.

"She has no one?"

"No one else… there is no one else, Mark."

"Cristina?"

"They have to be related… it's in her living will." Derek replied.

"Who the hell would sign something like that?" Mark asked as he stood up and walked toward Derek. He pulled the paper from Derek's hands and started to scan through it. "This looks like it was written up with quite the detail."

"Her mother's lawyer, I think." Derek replied.

"Fucking figures." Mark said as he slammed the paper back into Derek's hand. "That woman was the goddamned devil." He grunted at Derek, who nodded in agreement. His eyes went back to the bed and back to Mark.

"What am I going to do?" He whispered to Mark, who looked almost as lost as Derek.

"Are you really falling for her?" Mark whispered as he watched Derek nod solemnly, his eyes still on Meredith. "I already know that you love her daughter." Mark said as Derek's eyes moved to his friend's. "If you love them." Mark said as he glanced to the bed. "Don't you dare let them out of your sight." He said as he took a step beside Derek toward the door. "I'll be back in the morning… call me if you need me." Mark said as Derek nodded, raising his hand to run his fingers through his hair as he watched Mark walk from the room.

He stared at the door for a moment and his eyes then turned to the woman in the bed, who was looking directly into his eyes. "Meredith." He whispered. Her eyes were saying a million things to him without even blinking. There were so many questions, so many fears. He watched her. She blinked once, twice, three times, and he swallowed hard. "Meredith." He whispered as he stepped toward her bed. He placed his hand in hers, never tearing his eyes from hers as he blinked back. One, two, three times, releasing a slow, deep breath from his lips as he felt her fingers move slightly in his hand. "I'm not going to let anything happen to you, Meredith." He whispered. "I promise… I'm never letting you out of my sight." He said as he felt her hand squeeze his slightly as a tear came to her eye and she blinked three times once again.

In a swift and delicate move, Derek rolled his leg up onto the bed and leaned back on his side into the bed, pushing the little girl closer to the middle as he wrapped his arm around Meredith and held her and Zoey in his arms. He kissed her head and sighed as he held them securely in his arms as he failed to sleep, only held them to his heart and tried his very hardest to find a way to keep Meredith in his life, and alive without losing his job or his mind. "You're not going anywhere." He whispered as he felt her breath softly sigh against him as he held her and their little girl.

Derek lay on that bed through the night until Izzie came to check on Meredith. His eyes were on Izzie as she entered the room and she noted the slight bit of fear in his eyes. "I just came in to check her vitals… and her monitors." Izzie whispered as Derek nodded. "Is she alright?"

"She's sleeping." Derek whispered, leaning over to kiss the top of Meredith's head as Izzie's brow furrowed. He watched her reaction and he kept his nose buried in Meredith's hair as he watched her. "They think they're going to take her." He said softly.

"They think…"

"They're not taking her anywhere." Derek replied as he swallowed hard. "How long have you known her, Izzie?"

"Meredith?"

"Yes."

"Since medical school." Izzie said softly. "I… started in the same program as Cristina and Meredith. I had some… family issues and ended up going into nursing. I have been at Seattle Grace since, and was hired as Meredith's personal nurse. It's challenging, sometimes… but I feel like I'm helping her, you know? I can tell when she has good days, bad days… I think that it has made us better friends. I know I make jokes about her being a good listener… but the truth is, she was always a good listener and a good friend." Izzie admitted. "She's a remarkable person."

"And you don't want anything to happen to her?" Derek asked, reassuring himself that Izzie was on his side.

"Cristina said they want to take her." Izzie whispered.

"I'm not letting them take her." Derek whispered.

"Derek, how are you going to…" Her eyes widened in surprise as Meredith's eyes opened. "She's awake." Izzie said as she stepped quickly toward the bed. "Meredith…" She whispered as she reached for her friend's hand.

Tell her that I will be fine, Derek.

"She is going to be alright, Izzie." Derek whispered.

I can always rely on your optimism.

"This surgery… that she needs, the clot… how large is it?"

"It's very large." Derek whispered, and we're not sure if there is any other issues associated with it… but moving her would be risky. Different pressures and sharp movements. They need to get this thing out now." He whispered as Izzie watched her friend with a sad frown.

"When are you going to tell Zoey the truth?" Izzie whispered.

"I don't know." Derek replied as he sat up slightly, moving so that he could see Meredith's eyes. He could see the apprehension within them, the fear. "She needs to know, Meredith."

Whether she knows or not, she still loves me.

"Mama…" Zoey whispered in her sleep, her eyes fluttered open as she lifted her head. Her eyes immediately caught Derek's. "DD?"

"Hey, baby…" He said with a gentle smile as she smiled a sleepy smile back at him. Her eyes moved up to Meredith, who caught her with her own. "Sleeping Beauty." She smiled as she tried to sit up.

Derek reached out to make sure she didn't pull any of the wires or tubes on accident, and rolled himself up and off the bed, holding Zoey in his arms. Meredith blinked at him quickly as he tried to catch her message.

Don't go far.

"We aren't going anywhere." Derek said softly as he lifted Zoey to the ground. He looked to Izzie and swallowed as she watched Meredith communicate with Derek.

"Morse code." Izzie said softly. "You have been talking with her?"

"I have." Derek nodded. "When I was a kid, we used to have these walkie talkies that had morse code communication… that's how I know it… how did she learn?" Derek asked as Zoey moved to the floor and sat beside her backpack as she unzipped it slowly.

"Her therapist taught it to her." Izzie explained. "When she started to slip into her depression, it was the only way to communicate with her. They had done dozens of tests on her to see what could possibly be wrong and they found nothing… when it was deemed psychological, her mother just decided to keep her as comfortable as possible, hoping she'd snap out of it." Izzie whispered.

"And she took her daughter…" Derek whispered. "How did she think that would help?"

"Oh my goodness! Oh my goodness! Oh my goodness!" Zoey exclaimed suddenly as she jumped up from the floor, her arms shaking as she stared at something in her hands, her eyes shooting up to Derek.

"What is it, sweetheart?"

"Sleeping beauty is my MOMMY!" She exclaimed as she shoved the picture from her hands at Derek, her eyes wide in surprise as her bottom lip stuck out and her eyes began to water.

The little girl stood there, her breathing erratic as she looked at the woman on the bed. "Um… um… um… um… DD? DD?" She whimpered.

"Hey… come here…" Derek whispered as he held his hands out to her as she climbed up into Derek's arms.

"DD… Sleeping… sleeping beauty… my… um… um…" She whimpered as tears fell down her cheeks. "I… I…" She panted as she watched Meredith's eyes.

Derek… Derek, calm her down.

"It's alright… come here… relax… deep breaths… deep breaths…" Derek whispered as the little girl practically hyperventilated as she pulled at Derek, unable to get a word out edgewise as Derek held the picture in his hands and rocked her as she stared at Meredith.

"Sleeping… Sleeping beauty… but who… who was…. I … I don't understand…" She whimpered. "DD… DD, who is she?" Zoey finally spit out as she grabbed Derek's shirt and stared into his eyes.

"Zoey…" Derek whispered as he looked up at Izzie desperately. "Zoey…" He whispered.

"Sweetheart?" Izzie said softly, suddenly as she glanced to Meredith's eyes. They were pleading with her, pleading with Derek. Izzie reached her hand out to touch Zoey's hair. "Zoey… look at Aunt Izzie for a second…" She whispered as Zoey's eyes flashed to Izzie as she continued to hold Derek's shirt. "Why do you think that sleeping beauty is your mommy?" Izzie whispered as she watched Zoey lay her head on Derek's chest, her eyes flashing to Meredith before flashing back to Izzie. "Why do you think that Meredith is your mommy? Why would you say that?" She asked. Her voice wasn't accusatory or negative, but positive and friendly, warm. "Zoey?" Izzie whispered.

Thank you, Izzie.

"I… the picture." She whispered. "The picture that DD has…I… my… the um…how can she be my mommy, DD?"

"Did someone tell you that this picture was your mommy?" Derek whispered, finally finding his voice as her desperate eyes looked into his. "Did someone say that?"

"Yes." Zoey whispered.

"And you think that the woman in the picture is Meredith here?"

Derek... she... she can't know.

"It is! It is, it has to be!" Zoey exclaimed as she knelt on Derek's leg sending a sharp pain through his leg making him wince as she gripped him tightly. "DD… it is…" She said as she turned quickly in his lap and grabbed the picture from his hand. "See, see… that's not um… my… I… oh…" She shook her hands as she tried to find the words, frustrated that she couldn't express what she wanted to say.

"You want to know who it was you were calling mommy?" Derek asked as she looked up at him.

"Yes! If she says this is my mommy in the picture… then this isn't who she is… see… this looks just like sleeping beauty… just like her! See? See, DD? See?" She said as she waved it at Derek. "It looks like her, doesn't it? Doesn't it? Doesn't it, DD?" Zoey interrogated, her excitement getting the better of her as she pointed quickly at the picture.

Derek glanced up at Meredith, whose eyes were watching them carefully. "What do you think about sleeping beauty being your mommy?" Derek asked, trying to hide the slight smirk on his face as he sensed her excitement shooting from her body like the sparks of a firework. "What would you say if you found out that it was true… that she is your mommy?"

Oh, Derek.

"I would love that!" She exclaimed as a bright grin lit up her face. "But…" She swallowed hard. "Why… why did I not know that before?" She whispered as she glanced to Derek. "Why didn't anyone tell me? DD… did you know?" She whispered.

"Not until you showed me the picture." He said with a shrug. "Looks pretty convincing to me…"

"Yes." She nodded. "Yes, pretty um… conv… yeah…" She nodded. "So… my old mommy… she was my… step… mommy?"

Derek paused, thinking of the confusing situation that the little girl had already found herself in, knowing that there would be no sense in confusing her further, he shrugged. "We'll have to figure that out… won't we?" Derek asked as he watched her nod. "You know…" Derek said as he watched Meredith continue to watch. "We've been talking to Meredith all of this time… and she's laying right here." He whispered. "Maybe we should go right to the source." He said as Zoey glanced to Meredith and then back to Derek. "Go on… ask her…" He whispered.

"One is yes… two is no… three is… I love you?" Zoey asked Derek.

"That's right." He confirmed.

"Sleeping Beauty?" Zoey swallowed hard as she held up the picture in her hands as she balanced on Derek's legs. "Is this you in the picture with baby Zoey?" She asked as she pointed at the picture and showed it to Meredith.

Yes... yes, baby... that's me...

Meredith could feel her sadness welling up, the little girl's hopeful eyes resonating into her soul as she looked so helpless. She blinked once as she felt a tear roll down her cheek. "Yes?" Zoey asked. "DD, she said yes!" Zoey exclaimed.

"Now ask her the important question…" Derek said with a half smile, though he could feel the sadness in Meredith's heart.

Oh... oh, Derek... don't do this to me...

"Sleeping Beauty… are you my real mommy?" She whispered, watching Meredith watch her. She could sense that Meredith was having some sort of internal battle. She could sense that there were some things that she would never understand. Things she wouldn't understand until Meredith was able to explain them, but for now, all she wanted was the truth. "Are you my real mommy?"

Baby...

One blink.

Zoey gasped. "Oh!" She exclaimed as she turned to Derek. "She said yes!"

"She did…" Derek whispered as he squeezed Meredith's hand in support.

"Oh my goodness! Oh my goodness!" She exclaimed as she nearly leapt to the bed.

"Watch it… watch it… careful…" Derek said as he wrestled with Zoey for a second to make sure she didn't pull anything.

Let her hug me... for the love of God let her hug me...

"I need to hug her, DD!" She exclaimed as Derek let her go as she crawled onto the bed and wrapped her arms so gently around Meredith, hugging her close, she kissed Meredith's cheek. "She got sick, DD… she got sick and she couldn't take care of me, right? That's why I wasn't here in Seattle… because my real mommy was sick…"

"That's right…" Derek nodded.

"We need to fix her." Zoey whispered as she started to whimper. "DD… DD, please fix her…" She said as Derek watched on, unsure if telling her the truth was a good idea… for Zoey, or for Meredith, but when the door opened and Cristina, Bailey and Doctor Webber walked in, he was sure that he had his answer.

Derek sat up. His attention fell upon the three people entering the room as Izzie stood up as well. "I should… I should check on my other patients." Izzie whispered as she excused herself quickly.

Chicken.

Derek touched Zoey's arm as she looked up at the strangers in the room, along with Cristina and she only clung to Meredith tighter. "Doctor Shepherd?" Cristina said softly. Her voice was solemn and sad, her demeanor was broken. "Derek…"

Just tell him. Tell him what's going on, don't hold him hostage here!

Doctor Webber was watching Meredith, her eyes were wide open and they moved with the motion of the people in the room, as if they were taking in each and every solitary inch of them. "Doctor Shepherd." Richard said as he pulled his eyes from Meredith, refusing to look into them. "I regret to inform you that Lexie Grey passed away during the night."

Oh God.

"Lexie…" Derek's breath sucked in, his eyes widened as Meredith's eyes darted to Derek. His face had turned a sickly pale, his mouth hung open slightly as he tried to form a thought, a word, a feeling or even a gesture that could express what he was thinking.

Someone say something. Someone! Derek! Derek, say something!

The room was eerily silent, the sounds of the machines were the only echoes within the walls of the hospital room as everyone struggled with what to say. Everyone but one tiny soul with the heart of a lion, and the resilience of an army of shielded men. "Aunt Crissy… please fix my mommy." Zoey's voice broke through the silence like an arrow hurtling through the air, piercing the bulls eye that was Cristina's heart as she felt a sharp pain as it slammed full force into her willpower.

"Derek, you told her." Cristina whispered as her eyes darted to Derek. She took a step forward and Derek did as well, blocking the little girl from Cristina, blocking Meredith from everyone.

"If Lexie is gone." Derek whispered. "Then I want to talk to my lawyer." He whispered.

"Your lawyer?" Richard said, hearing his voice boom and echo off the walls as he watched Derek stand strong against Cristina, his eyes flashed to Doctor Bailey, who shrugged. "Doctor Shepherd, this isn't any of your concern. This is merely protocol since you have…"

"It is my concern." Derek interrupted. Richard straightened himself as he crossed his arms over his chest. "It's my concern because Meredith is my family… and I'll be damned if you're going to let her die."

"Doctor Shepherd, Meredith's life is just as much of a concern to me as it is to you. She is the daughter of a very close friend of mine, and it has been very hard on everyone who knew Ellis Grey, knowing that…"

"Ellis Grey was the devil, and she deserved to die for what she did to her family." Derek grunted.

Just when I think that I can't like him more…

"Derek!" Cristina exclaimed.

"Doctor Shepherd." Richard said stubbornly.

"It's Derek." He replied. "I'm Derek when I'm in this room. This is not my job, this is my family." He said with a stubborn scowl, his jaw clenching in anger. "I want to speak to my lawyer about this situation…"

"Derek." Cristina said as he stood strong against the bed, his body blocking view of Meredith and Zoey. "You have to let Doctor Webber take a look at Meredith." She whispered.

"No one is touching Meredith until this surgery is agreed upon." Derek said as he glared at Cristina. "I'm sick of the mind games. I'm sick of the bureaucratic bullshit. I'm sick of the dancing around the truth and the pretending that everything is just going to miraculously become better." Derek argued. "No one touches Meredith until I talk to my lawyer and I get this straightened out." He said as he held them all hostage as they stood around the bed. Derek pulled out his cell phone as he reached his hand back and felt a tiny hand grasp his as Zoey pulled herself up as she watched each and every person in the room. Her gray eyes were inquisitive and concerned as she held Derek's hand in support, while holding Meredith's hand with her other.

"Fine then." Richard said, taking a step back. "Make your phone call." He said as he gave Derek a scowl.

Derek dialed a number and glanced to Meredith. One. Two. Three blinks. He could feel his racing heartbeat calm at her reassurance as he blinked three times back, his eyes beginning to water as Zoey tugged at him slightly, having seen the message they had passed between them, she blinked three times at them as she turned her head and watched Cristina stand in the room with the two strangers.

Derek waited as he listened on the other line, his eyes resting on the little girl staring up at him, pleading with him, praying with him, hoping with him, loving him. "Jeni." Derek sighed as he heard his sister's voice over the line.

"Baby brother…" Jeni said with a smirk in her voice as she sensed the tension over the line immediately, her smirk disappeared. "What's wrong?" She asked, hearing the pause and anxiety in his demeanor, she waited patiently for his response.

"Legal question." Derek said as he looked around the room at Richard, Bailey, and Cristina.

"Legal question?" She asked as she swallowed. "Did you get yourself into some trouble?"

"Just… I'm going to put you on speaker phone, Jeni… I need you to state your name… your firm… and then I'm going to ask you a question or two… can you help me?"

"I can." She said as she paused, shuffling some items on her desk as she stood up to close the door to her office.

Derek pushed the button on his cell phone and glanced directly at Richard. "Alright, Jeni, go."

"Jennifer Halpert with Eggert, Halpert, Raymond and Meyers." She stated. "Manhattan, New York… you had a question, Derek?" She asked as she slipped into professional mode for a moment, her voice taking on a slightly deeper tone as she expressed the seriousness of the situation.

"Jen… Keep it as simple as possible with as little lawyer speak as possible." Derek sighed. "Twenty eight year old woman… Persistent vegetative state… her living will gives responsibility of her to her parents and in their failure, her sister… what happens if they are all deceased…?" Derek whispered.

"There must be a stipulation in the will for that case, Derek. What is this about?"

"No questions… just answers, Jen." Derek replied.

"It states that she is under doctor care or the care of a rest home until her faculties give up, Doctor Shepherd. She has a DNR." Richard said with a loud growl.

"Derek?" Jeni said over the line.

"What if she has other family… family that needs her to survive?" he said as he glared at Richard. "What if she has a daughter, Jeni… that just found out she exists."

"Derek… what kind of mess have you gotten yourself into?" Jeni asked as she sighed. "How old is the daughter?"

"She's six."

"She's too young, Derek. The agent must be at least 18 years old."

"What if she can appoint someone else as agent?" Derek asked, watching Cristina's eyebrows raising.

"You said she was PVS." She stated.

"She's not in a complete PVS… her circumstances have changed, and she can communicate with her eyes."

"Derek, this is getting confusing."

"Jen… if she can be proven as competent… can she appoint a new agent."

"Derek, she communicates with her eyes?"

"She communicates with her eyes." Derek stated gruffly. "Morse code."

"Derek."

"Jeni." Derek said abruptly, his voice holding all of the pain and frustration that he had been trying so hard to hold back.

"You need to get a translator." Jeni said after a short pause. "You need to get a translator that is not bias to the case or the agent. You need to have her proven as competent, and in the instance that she cannot sign for herself, she can have someone be her proxy. The proxy cannot be related or stand to benefit in anyway. The proxy cannot be related to the agent. The proxy cannot be the agent's boss.

"I have someone." Derek said, clearing his throat.

"Are you going to explain to me what's going on, Derek?" Jen asked as she failed to hide her concern for her brother.

"Is there anything else I need to know?" Derek asked.

"I'll fax you the rules and instructions." She said without asking any other questions.

"Thank you, Jen." Derek said softly as he turned the phone off speaker. "I'll see you for Thanksgiving?" He asked, trying for that split second to shave a bit off the tension in the room.

"We should be there." Jen replied as she sighed softly. "Am I going to be getting an explanation in return for my law services?" She asked with quick snap that sent Derek's eyes to the little girl.

"We'll talk about it… please send that information as soon as possible." Derek said quickly. "Love you." He said as he flipped the phone closed and glanced to Richard. "I want her therapist, and I need Mark Sloan. He will be the proxy."

"Doctor Shepherd…" Richard said as he took a step forward, blocked by Derek once again.

"No, Doctor Webber… I need that therapist now… perhaps you need to make some room in one of your operating rooms for this surgery." Derek replied.

"There is no way she can be proven competent, Doctor Shepherd." Richard replied.

"Well then we'll just have to see, won't we?" Derek replied. "And if that therapist doesn't work out, we'll find another that will." He nodded. "I think you've messed around with her live enough, Doctor Webber. I think she's gotten the short end of the stick for far too long. She can't stick up for herself just yet… but when she snaps out of this… I can guarantee that you're going to get an earful… and you'll be lucky if she doesn't sue the hospital right out from under your feet." He growled as he shook his head.

"Doctor Shepherd." Richard said as he took a step back. "I'm going to allow you to follow through with these procedures… but don't be surprised if you don't have a job to come back to when your shift starts tomorrow." He said as he turned sharply and walked from the room, leaving Cristina and Bailey standing to stare at Derek for a moment as he tried to regain his composure.

"Why are we just standing here?" Derek asked. "We have a mother to save! Dr. Bailey, we need OR 3 ready to go… can you do this surgery?" He said as Bailey nodded. "Alright…" He said as he swallowed and watched Bailey leave, followed by Cristina, who paused a moment in the door as Derek lifted his phone to have Mark paged.

"Derek…" Cristina whispered.

"I don't want to talk about it right now… we've wasted enough time." He said as she glanced to Meredith and the little girl clinging to her.

"She can't die now." Cristina whispered as she turned to get the faxes that Jen was sending to them.

"That's not even an option, Cristina!" Derek called after her, as the door clicked shut and he dialed Mark's number.