I really hope you like this new chapter! Please rate, review, comment, give me tips, ideas, or criticisms (sniffle sniffle). I love all feedback. Enjoy!
Derek got out of bed so fast that he pushed Meredith off of it.
He snatched his blinking pager off the bedside table, hoping it would tell him exactly what he wanted it to. He wished silently in his head as he looked at it's small screen, reading the words it showed him.
JD AWAKE, it read.
A smiled burst onto Derek's face. It read exactly what he wanted it to.
He quickly pulled on his shirt. He kissed Meredith on the forehead as she climbed back into bed begrudgingly.
"Where are you going?" She yawned, lying back down.
"Jane Doe's awake." Derek couldn't contain the smile on his face. He wasn't happy, he was elated, and he had a reason to be. She wasn't brain dead. Score one for McDreamy!
"That's great!" Meredith gave him a small smile as she laid back down to sleep. "That's great." She whispered as she fell into sleep. Meredith began to snore her little piglet snore, the one she swore that she didn't do
"I can't believe I married you." Derek laughed lightly and quietly closed the door.
He ran, no, he sprinted, down the hallway, up the stairs, all the way to Jane Doe's room. Before he knew it, he was humming the tune to a song. He couldn't remember the words or even the title to the song, but it didn't matter. He was so happy that Jane Doe woke up, he didn't even care.
Derek said hi to everyone he passed on the way there, the nurses, patients, Mark, even the pissed off janitor cleaning up vomit in the hallway.
Derek's smile stayed plastered on his face the whole way to her room, and when he got there, he saw April outside of the room. Her eyes were glued to Jane Doe. She had a smile so big, it gave Derek's a run for his money. She was tapping her feet, obviously waiting for Derek, unaware that he was already there.
"Hey April." He said slowly, breaking her out of her trance. "I got your page." April turned and faced him head on. Derek got a good look at her and he saw tears pooled in the corners of her eyes.
"She woke up." April stated simply, happiness filling her voice. "She woke up."
"I know she did. That's why I got here as soon as possible. Let's go check her out." He told her with a smile as the two walked into the room.
Jane Doe was still lying down. She had pain written all over her face. Derek understood that. Her brain was exposed, she had staples in her stomach, and had two severely broken legs. She was careful not to put any weight on her dislocated shoulder. She was staring at the blank wall, not looking at the TV or the pictures, just staring at the wall.
"Hi. I'm Dr. Shepard." Derek flashed her a large smile. "I'm going to give you a quick exam."
The girl nodded.
He walked over and shined the flashlight in her eyes.
"Alright follow the light." He told her gently. She did as she was told, following the flashlight carefully with both of her eyes. Derek turned off the light and put it back in his pocket. "That's good." He turned to April. "Her pupils are alert and responsive. She can understand what we're saying. She seems really good. But there is still one thing I'm worried about." He added quickly, making April's smile falter.
"What is it?" She asked him.
"This." He walked back over to the girl, sitting on the edge of her bed. She looked away quickly, being sure not to make eye contact. "I'm going to ask you a series of questions." The girl nodded again. April was still confused
"Alright. Do you know where you are?" The girl nodded, pointing to the Seattle Grace Sign on the nightstand. "Do you know who you are?" The girl nodded. "Do you know what happened?" She nodded once again.
"That's what I was afraid of." Derek whispered to April as he stood up, his smile replaced with a frown.
"What is it?" April asked again, still not sure of what he was talking about.
"She hasn't said one word. Notice, when I asked her questions, she just nodded, or pointed. I'm worried that she was hit in the area of her brain that her speech skills are stored. I don't know if she knows how to speak." April finally understood. She was right. She hadn't said a word. What if she was seriously injured?
Suddenly, they heard a small noise from behind them. They both turned.
"I..." Jane Doe opened her mouth and a small squeak came out.
Derek and April moved closer to her, their eyes wide. They got to the edge of her bed, urging her to say more. The girl turned away from their intense gaze. She swallowed and tried again.
"I...I...I haven't said anything be..because I haven't had to say anything." She mumbled still not looking them in the eyes.
Derek smiled and April returned it with full force. Now they really knew she was okay. I mean, aside from her exposed brain, broken legs, stapled abdomen, and dislocated shoulder, she was okay. She could see, hear, talk, and remember everything. All her problems were physical and fixable.
The two walked out of her room, and closed the door quietly. They could barely stop themselves from tackling each other out of sheer joy. Derek looked ready to kiss someone, and April wanted to kiss someone, just not Derek.
"She's okay. She's okay." Derek was reassuring himself, as if trying to believe that it wasn't a dream.
"I know." April breathed. Tears welled in her eyes again. She had felt so terrible about this girl getting hit. Now, she knew that this girl was still in her right mind. She was still alive.
"Well, well, well." They heard a voice from around the corner. Mark walked up to them, a smirk on his face. "Do you feel like God?" He laughed at his fellow 'Mc' friend. He patted Derek on the back and pulled him into a side hug.
"It feels pretty damn good." Derek shot back, hitting his friend on the back in return.
Teddy ran into their little group,. She was running at a sprint.
"Ohh, sorry." She grumbled, her face looked sad. "Didn't see you there." She looked at Derek, and saw his face full of happiness, and instantly she looked confused. "Did I miss something?" She said as she looked at the other two's smiles.
"Well, uh..." Mark started but then gestured to Derek, allowing him to tell it.
"Jane Doe is awake. She has perfect hearing, memory, speech, and sight. She's okay." Derek seemed ready to burst with this information.
Teddy's mouth was ajar.
"She's okay? Awake? Really?" Teddy seemed like she didn't believe him.
" have a look." April gestured toward the girl's room
Teddy stared in amazement at the injured girl, who was now staring at a different patch of the wall. She was fiddling with the blanket in her hands. Now Teddy looked as if she would cry. She was holding her hands together, trying to stop shaking.
"Oh my God." She whispered. "I have to tell Owen!" She announced suddenly, breaking out of her trance. She picked up her phone and began to type away.
A woman with curly brown hair walked up to them, a bag slung over her shoulder and a clipboard in her hand. She wore a pair of high heels and a pants suit. She briskly walked to . She stuck out her hand to him.
"Dr. Shepard, I'm Kendall David. I'm from human resources. I came because of your Jane Doe." She gave him a smile.
"Of course. Just so you know, she doesn't like talking." Derek told her as he led her to Jane Doe's room. He opened the door and they walked in, and Kendall sat on the side of her bed, just like Derek had. She smiled at the girl, who still refused to look anyone in the eye.
"Hi. I'm Kendall." She told the girl softly. "I'd like to talk to you."
Derek decided that the girl would probably be more open with less people in the room, so he quietly slid out of the room. He watched through the windows with Mark and April, trying to read their lips. Kendall's expression didn't change, so they couldn't get a read on her.
"I bet she was running away. That's why she was outside." Mark commented. April looked disbelieving, and Derek agreed with her. This girl had a deeper story than that. He knew it.
Teddy came back, followed by Owen, who was smiling from ear to ear.
"I told you I wasn't lying." Teddy pushed him towards the window. Owen looked in at the girl and shook his head.
"Well I'll be damned." He chuckled. "Good work guys." He shook Derek's shoulder and gave Teddy a small side hug. Derek noticed that he was careful not to look at Teddy while hugging her. Owen looked up again, and finally seemed to notice April.
"Ah. Kepner! You're awake." His smile softened as he looked at her. His eyes were full of compassion and understanding. He seemed to be saying 'Are you okay?' with his eyes. April, seeing this action, responded.
"I'm okay. Truly I am." Her voice was cheerful. "I'm just glad she's alive."
"We all are." Callie came up behind them, holding hands with Arizona. They both looked extremely exhausted, but they were smiling none the less. "Word travels fast in this hospital. Soon, everyone will know about our 'miracle' patient."
"Miracle patient?" Teddy laughed. "That's crazy." Owen started laughing to. Then Arizona, the April, and soon, they were all laughing very loudly. They were all extremely tired, so most of this was just from lack of sleep, but they didn't care. All was right with the world in this moment, and nothing else mattered.
Until Kendall came into the hallway.
"Doctors." She announced interrupting their laughs. They all caught the breath and looked at her. "I'm afraid I have some bad news." Everybody's smile immediately left their face.
"What is it?" Owen whispered, his voice racked with worry.
"Well she told me her name. Her name is Natalie. But," she trailed off.
"But what?" Mark almost yelled.
"She matches the exact description of a Natalie that was in the foster care system a few years back. But that Natalie, the Natalie she matches the description of, she's supposed to have died a year ago."