Day 9
"Derek. Derek!"
"Wha…" I jerk awake to the sound of someone calling my name.
"Derek." Meredith whines. "I have to pee."
"Okay." My brain clearly isn't firing on all cylinders. The alarm clock tells me it's a little after three in the morning. "So go."
"I can't get up." Meredith says meekly. "It hurts to try." I look over at her. She's lying mostly on her back and through the dim moonlight flooding the room I can tell she's looking at me. I reach over and turn on the lamp on my side of the bed. I blink to adjust to the light but when I look over at Meredith my vision is suddenly clear and I'm wide awake.
Her eyes are red and puffy and tears tracks mar her face. She looks absolutely exhausted.
"Are you okay?" It's a stupid question, of course she's not okay, but it's the only question I can think to ask.
"Yeah, I just…it hurts." Her lower lip is wobbling a little. I sit up more and run my thumb along her cheek; wiping away some of the tears as I go.
"How long have you been awake?" And why didn't you wake me sooner?
"Not long, only ten minutes or so." I can tell she's not lying. "I just thought I could get up myself, I mean, I'd been doing it at the hospital. But there I had constant painkillers and I could control the bed." She's rambling and the slight blush tells me she's embarrassed asking for help.
"Meredith," I cut her off, "it's okay. I'll help you." I kick off the covers and stand from the bed. I move to Meredith's side and pull the covers back. She won't meet my eyes, presumably from embarrassment, so without saying anything I slide my hands under her knees and shoulders and lift her from the bed. She wraps her arms around my neck and lays her head on my shoulder as I walk her to the bathroom. I set her down gently in front of the toilet and help her pull down her pants and sit before I move to stand in the doorway with my back to her in order to give her some semblance of privacy. I can tell she's embarrassed and I know she doesn't want me to see her this way regardless. I can hear her sniffling as she pees and her grunts of pain as she stands. I turn around as she washes her hands and when she's done I pick her up and bring her back to bed.
"Thank you." She whispers as I put her down. I grab a tissue from the bedside table and hand it to her to wipe her face.
"You're welcome." I tell her like it's no big deal. I return to my side of the bed and lay down again.
"Are you comfortable?" I ask as she shifts.
"Yeah." She says quietly. She's more on her side now which allows me to roll over so my chest is to her back. I run my hand up and down her arm, shoulder to elbow.
"I love you." I whisper into the darkness. She murmurs something akin to that before her breaths even out into sleep.
Despite going to bed late and despite being awoken at three in the morning, my internal doctor clock wakes me up at 6:30. I desperately try to roll over and go back to sleep but to no avail. Instead I drag myself from the bed. Meredith is still sleeping soundly in her pile of pillows and blankets. I shut the blinds so the sunlight doesn't wake her before I gather some clothes and head across the hall. I take a while in the shower, a luxury I don't usually have, and when I check on Meredith nearly an hour later she's still sound asleep. I head downstairs and make myself some breakfast which I eat quickly. I entertain myself with a few mundane household tasks, doing the dishes, doing laundry, cleaning the counters, etc. I check on Meredith intermittently. It's nearing 9 o'clock when she starts to stir. At this point I've taken to reading a book sitting in bed beside her. Meredith shifts and reaches up to rub her eyes.
"Good morning." I smile at her. She replies with a yawn and an unintelligible grumble. I back off and let her wake up some. Meredith Grey is many things but a morning person isn't one of them.
When she is awake enough she responds with "Hey"
"How are you feeling?" I ask. She pauses as if to take stock of her body.
"Okay." She says eventually. "Better than last night at least." I brush some stray hairs away from her face and she blinks at the light that was shielded by her thick hair.
"You're due for a pill but you can't take it on an empty stomach." I say. I had set myself timers on my watch specifically for when she is due for a pill.
"Okay." She doesn't seem all that interested in eating.
"Any requests for breakfast?"
"I'm not really hungry so something small." She closes her eyes and pulls the comforter up to her chin. I have to remind myself that it's normal for post-op patients to be tired and lethargic but I still worry.
"I'll be right back." I whisper. I head downstairs and make a bagel with cream cheese. I grab a glass and fill it with orange juice before bringing it all back upstairs for Meredith. She appears to be dozing and I almost want to let her sleep. Begrudgingly, I set the glass and the plate down on her bedside table before I sit down beside her.
"Meredith."I rub her shoulder through the blankets. She opens her eyes and her gaze is bleary and annoyed. "You need to eat." I shove the plate at her. She heaves a giant sigh before she wiggles into a semi sitting position. With some help from me, she manages to sit up against the headboard. I hand her the bagel and she eats it, slowly but she finishes it. When she's done I hand her the glass of orange juice and a dose of Percocet and an antibiotic. She swallows the pills without a fight and polishes off the orange juice. She gives me the empty glass before lying down and pulling the blankets over herself. I set the glass down on the bedside table.
"Do you need anything?" I ask as I tuck her in. She shakes her head under the covers. I lean down and plant a kiss on the top of her head.
"Wait!" She calls from other the covers. "Will you lie with me? Please?"
"Of course." I say. I pull back the comforter and slide in behind her. Her back is to my chest although the only thing touching is the fabric of our shirts. I rest my forehead against the back of her head and tuck my fist under my chin. Normally I would wrap my arm around Meredith but with her incision still so fresh I don't take any chances. I feel her body relax into sleep and while I should probably get up and be productive I'm content to just lie here with her. I'm not tired so I take to memorizing every detail of the back of Meredith's head and listen to her rancorous snores.
Eventually I manage to pull myself from the warm cocoon that is our bed and I head downstairs. I manage to dig Meredith's IPod out of the black hole she calls her purse and upload new music and games for her. After some Googling, troubleshooting and swearing I manage to rent a few movies on Meredith's laptop. I intend to move the TV up to our room sometime when I can convince Mark to come over so that Meredith can watch all the crappy daytime TV her heart desires. Until then the movies and music will hold her over.
When I go to check on Meredith I find her in the process of waking up; she's still rubbing the sleep from her eyes.
"Hey" I say as I plop down on the side of the bed. "How are you?"
"Okay" She mumbles. "What time is it?" She tries turning her head towards the clock on her bedside table.
"Just after one." I save her the trouble. She looks at me wide eyed.
"I slept for like, fourteen hours." She says incredulous.
"It's the first time in a week you've been able to sleep without interruption from a nurse or doctor." I remind her. She still looks surprised but satisfied with my answer. Her stomach grumbles loudly before either of us can say anything else.
"I'd ask if you want lunch but I just got my answer." I tease. Meredith swats my arm and tries to sit up. I meet her halfway and help her ease the rest of the way up.
"I need to go to the bathroom." She grumbles as she swings her legs over the side of the bed.
"Do you want help?" I hold out my arms almost as if to support her even if she's still sitting beside me.
"No, I got it. Besides, I need to stretch my legs anyway." She uses my shoulder for leverage and hobbles over to the bathroom. It takes every bone in my body not to chase after her and make sure she's okay. I hear the toilet flush and water running in the sink. Slowly the bathroom door creaks open and Meredith emerges looking no worse for wear. She sits in the same spot she was before and leans her head onto my shoulder.
"So, lunch?" I ask. Meredith moans softly but I feel her nod against my shoulder.
"Yeah that would be good." She whispers.
"Do you want to eat up here or camp out downstairs on the couch?" I anticipate her wanting to stay in bed but her answer surprises me.
"Downstairs." She says.
"Really? It's going to be a lot more comfortable to sleep in the bed than it is on the couch." I say.
"Yeah, but my back hurts and I'm sick of being in bed. I need a change of scenery. Oh and some crappy daytime might help too." Her last comment is sarcastic but she seems genuinely enthused by the idea of getting away from bed so I figure it best not to argue with her. Instead I wrap one arm around her shoulders and slide the other one under her knees. I lift her with ease and carry her downstairs. I gently set her down on the couch and make a little nest out of the throw pillows and blankets that are all over the couch.
"What do you want for lunch?" I ask once she's all settled.
"I don't know, a sandwich maybe?" She suggests halfheartedly.
"One sandwich coming right up." I hop up and, with mock enthusiasm, I head to the kitchen. We don't have a lot of food, a byproduct of no one being home for a week, but I manage to find some non-moldy bread and some peanut butter and honey. I slap two sandwiches together and slice them in half before returning to the living room with the sandwiches and some water for both of us. Meredith's eyes are closed but her breathing is too shallow for her to be asleep. When I set the plates down on the table she opens her eyes.
"We're out of jelly so I made peanut butter and honey instead." I hand her a plate and she shifts into a more comfortable position for eating. Meredith moves her feet so I have a place to sit. Once I'm settled I pull her feet back into my lap so she's comfortable. We eat in a companionable silence. Once she's done, Meredith places her plate on the table and reaches for the remote. She flips through the channel until she finds some sort of made for TV movie that appears to satisfy her interest. She moves the pillow that was supporting her back so that she can lie down comfortably. I rub the arch of her foot with the pad of my thumb and watch the movie as well. I can't tell you what it's about, but I can probably describe the intricate arch of Meredith's foot to you.
Its two hours later before something particularly noteworthy happens. And by noteworthy I mean my phone rings. Meredith is fast asleep beside me and the TV is long forgotten. I quietly stand up and tiptoe out of the living room and into the den. I pick up the phone on the last ring without checking the caller ID.
"Hello?"
"Derek, hey, it's Lexie." She sounds nervous.
"Hi Lexie what's up?" I ask.
"Oh… not much. H-hows Meredith?" Yep, she's definitely nervous.
"She's okay. She's asleep now on the couch."
"Good, good, I was just calling to tell you that Dad…I uh…I mean Thatcher was discharged. I just brought him home." That's why she's so nervous.
"Okay. Thank you Lexie I'll pass it on to Meredith." I tell her.
"Oh…okay." Lexie says. I hear some sort of noise in the background. "I should go. Tell Meredith I say hi."
"Will do. Bye Lexie." I hear her call goodbye as I hit end call. When I turn around Meredith is standing in the doorway
"Hey," I say surprised, "did I wake you?"
"I don't think so." She says her voice still hoarse with sleep. "Who were you talking to?"
"Lexie, she wanted me to tell you Thatcher was discharged." I cross the room in one long stride so that I'm standing in front of her. I put my hands on her hips and she leans into me limply.
"That's good." She says. I don't push for anything more. "Can we go back upstairs?" I nod and pick her up. I bring her upstairs and lay her down in bed. She's due for another pill so I give her that then I lie down next to her.
"Dinner's soon. Any requests?" I ask.
"Can we order pizza?" She asks hopefully. The part of her usual self that shines through with that request makes me smile.
"Sure."
"Thank you." She smiles at me.
"I love you Meredith."
AN: Are you ready for Meredith's month of daytime hell? By the way thanks for all the feedback and I'm glad ya'll are glad that Meredith will be home. I have quite a few ideas up my sleeve. Leave a review because I love seeing them and I'll talk to you guys net week.