"Ms. Grey? Ms. Grey, can you hear me?"

Those were the first words that crept into Meredith's brain. The last thing she remembered, she had been in a plane crash and… she was in a plane crash! She was dying; she had seen the white light. And now someone unfamiliar was calling her name…

Meredith tried her hardest to sit up. She could barely move. She was in a hospital but it was not Seattle Grace. She was in the emergency room but none of her colleagues were congregating in their usual positions. A woman dressed in aqua-colored scrubs was shining a light into her eyes and held a thermometer in her other hand.

Who are you? Where am I? Meredith attempted to ask but her voice was gone and it felt like something was caught in her throat. She coughed loudly and then moaned; her abdomen hurt and then Meredith tried to get out of bed because she was supposed to be the doctor, not the patient…

"Shh, you're alright, sweetie. I need you to try and stay calm," the woman in aqua said. "My name is Dr. Vance. You were in a plane crash but don't worry; we're all going to take really good care of you, okay?"

Meredith realized for the first time that there was an oxygen tube stuck in her nose and several other machines connected to her chest and arms. Her hydration levels were being replenished with fluids and a heart monitor was letting everyone know that she was still alive. That is when Meredith came to the conclusion that they must have been rescued. Owen must have eventually located the crash site. They had been saved.

But how much time had gone by since Meredith had seen the white light and passed out? Why was she still alive? She was supposed to be dead. Derek was dead… Derek…

Reliving the way that Derek had left this earth was too much. It was all too much. Meredith began hyperventilating again, and sobbing silently and she knew that Dr. Vance was speaking to her from far away but Meredith was blocking out the world because she did not want to live in a world without Derek Shepherd…

"Dr. Grey," a new voice, a male voice said and Meredith floated back just long enough to see a tall African American man approaching her gurney. Meredith's vision was blurry; she thought that it might be Richard Webber.

"R-R-Richard…?" Meredith managed to whisper in an unrecognizable tone.

"No, my name is Dr. Perry and I'm the attending on your case," the man smiled. "It's an honor to meet you, Dr. Grey, although I wish it could be under better circumstances."

Suddenly feeling shy, Meredith pulled the thin blanket she had been given up to her chin. Why was it an honor for Dr. Perry to meet her? Because she was Ellis Grey's daughter? Meredith was only a resident and she was not even sure if she was a doctor, at this point. Everything was complex, confusing, and the world she had known for 34 years had forever shifted gears.

"There, there. It's alright," Dr. Perry continued and he might have stroked Meredith's hair. If he did, she could not sense it. "Dr. Grey, I cannot begin to imagine how you must be feeling right now. I know you have gone through more trauma in the last few days than most people endure in their lifetime. But we are trying to help you and we need you to answer a few questions for us. Do you think you can do that?"

Meredith knew the drill; she had completed similar intakes hundreds of times back at Seattle Grace. This felt different though. Meredith was not sure if she could talk and she was so terrified… of this hospital, of Dr. Vance and Dr. Perry, of life… she simply stared at the duo.

Dr. Perry sighed and looked at Dr. Vance. "We're going to need to get her up to CT as soon as possible. Has she spoken at all, said anything that suggests she knows her own name?"

"Nothing, sir," Dr. Vance replied. "When you were walking over, she said one word… Richard… like maybe she thought you were someone named Richard? But I'm also not sure if she can talk; her voice was gone."

Now, these doctors were getting somewhere. Perry nodded and returned his gaze to Meredith. "Dr. Grey, are you able to speak for me?"

Meredith shook her head, shortly.

"Alright, that's alright. That's perfectly fine," Perry soothed. "Just nod your head for yes or shake your head for no; do you think you can do that?"

It still hurt a lot; previously, Meredith's head had been bleeding but she thought she could move it a few times. She nodded.

"Perfect. You're doing great," Perry said. "Okay, first things first… do you know where you are, Dr. Grey?"

Meredith shook her head.

"You're at Boise Memorial Hospital. You were originally coming here to perform a surgery on a set of conjoined twins but your plane crashed. It… it appears that you've been stranded in the woods for several days. Does any of that sound familiar?" Dr. Vance asked.

Oh, yes… all of that sounded familiar. Meredith could recall sticking a knife into her sister's chest… finding Derek in a pool of his own blood… picking the bugs out of Arizona's leg… Derek giving up hope… Meredith nodded but she felt a few tears leak out of her eyes in the process.

Dr. Vance reached out and took Meredith's hand; the latter involuntarily flinched. Dr. Vance sighed. "It's okay, Dr. Grey. We're right here with you. You're safe now."

But Meredith was not safe. Derek was gone. Lexie was gone… where was Cristina? Cristina had to still be alive… Meredith was never going to be safe again…

"Dr. Grey?" Perry repeated softly. "Dr. Grey, I'm sorry to press you for so many details so soon but can you tell me if you are allergic to any medications?"

Meredith shook her head… her head hurt… Lexie was allergic to medications. Lexie was allergic to almost all opioids… but what if Lexie was dead?

"Very good, no known drug allergies. What about surgical history? And I don't mean the patients that you have operated on. Have you personally ever been the patient on the operating table?" Dr. Perry said.

It was peculiar; Meredith knew she had undergone operations and she tried to think of the names of the surgeries but everything was a blur. She just nodded.

"And do you think you could remember the names of those surgeries? Any clue could be helpful."

Perry clearly knew that Meredith was unable to talk; she was not sure why he was still asking her for explanations but she tried to rack her brains… she had been throwing-up during morning rounds. Derek and Finn were both attempting to care for her. Derek… Derek… Derek…

"I…" Meredith cleared her throat and discovered that she was able to talk if she whispered. "I had… um… my… m-my appendix out… in um… in… 2009… I think."

"Okay, great. You're doing wonderfully," Perry said. "Anything else?"

Lexie had not been a match. She was crying, begging for her father. Meredith had only done it for Lexie… Lexie… Lexie. "I… I gave um… a piece of… m-my… my liver to… my dad. That was… um… in… in 2011."

"Well, you are a very brave young woman but that was already established," Dr. Vance said. "You must love your dad a lot, huh?"

"Um, I… yeah," Meredith said. She had promised herself that she was going to treat Thatcher better, for Lexie. Still, it would be an exaggeration to say that she loved him but that did not need to be mentioned.

"Well, I'm sure your father is around here somewhere, desperate to see you, too. We'll see if we can get him in here to visit as soon as possible," Perry said. "Any other existing medical conditions I should know about?"

Meredith was feeling afraid again, like something was about to jump out of the drooping curtains and grab her. Neither Perry nor Vance seemed threatening but what if there were other people here? What if there were wolves?

Nervously, Meredith shrugged although it showed itself as more of a twitch. "I… I had a… miscarriage. It… it was… like… two years… ago."

"Oh, I'm very sorry to hear about that," Perry said and it was an awkward moment. "But on the bright side, you seem to be waking up a little. We're going to take you up for a CT scan to make sure you don't have any other internal injuries that we don't know about."

"W-W-Wait!" Meredith begged and she was surprised that the doctors heard her, given the strength of her voice but Perry stopped unlocking the gurney for transport and knelt down in front of Meredith.

"What is it, Dr. Grey? Are you feeling alright?"

Meredith's heart was racing. "M-My… my husband… and… m-my sister… I've… I've got to get… w-where's my sister and… and m-my husband?!"

"Well, I do know that all six of the plane crash victims were alive when they were initially found, although a few of them were critically injured and unconscious," Perry explained and then he nodded towards Dr. Vance. "I can take over from here, Taylor; I'll take her to CT. Why don't you go check on the other plane crash victims so that Dr. Grey can be updated?"

The resident must have agreed because Meredith did not see anymore of Dr. Vance. Instead, it was just Perry who wheeled her up to the second floor and prepped her for the routine scan. Meredith had taken patients to CT hundreds of times as well and she had even been the patient for CT scans before but that was all at Seattle Grace, before the plane crash, before running through the darkness and listening to the wolves howl… before watching Lexie give up and driving a rock into Derek's hand…

So again, Meredith felt an abrupt onslaught of anxiety upon entering the CT room. It made sense, of course, after all that she had been through but Meredith's brain was foggy and she was unsure why she was feeling so panicked which made her paranoia even worse. The CT techs had just lifted Meredith from her gurney onto the CT bed itself when she heard someone hyperventilating and then it took her another ten seconds to realize that that person was herself.

There were quick footsteps nearby; Dr. Perry was kneeling beside Meredith. "Dr. Grey, Dr. Grey… calm down, you're alright. You know that getting upset is just going to interfere with the scan results."

But Meredith did not know anything and if she did, her neurological function was not working well enough for her to obey. She just kept gasping for air and looking around frantically because she had to check on everyone to make sure they were still alive. She had to make sure that the wolves were not coming back!

"Meredith," Dr. Perry repeated and Meredith felt someone touch her bare shoulder; she flinched away. "I'm sorry, I did not mean to startle you. And trust me, I cannot imagine what you are going through at the moment but we are all here to help you in any way we can."

"M-My husband… where's… where's D-Derek and… and Lexie… where's Cristina?!" Meredith gasped.

"Dr. Vance is checking on all your loved ones right now and she will be back with the results shortly. For right now, though, we have to get this scan done to be sure that you are not bleeding internally," Dr. Perry explained. "Would you like something to help you calm down?"

Meredith guessed that she had agreed to be drugged because her vision and memory entirely blacked out after this point. When she came to, she was back on her stretcher being rolled into the ICU. Along the way, Meredith tried to listen to the subtle chatter of the nurses in the hallway; maybe one of them had something to say about Derek or Lexie but even if they were being loud enough, Meredith's senses were not at their prime so she remained out of touch and eventually dozed out again.

The next thing she knew, Meredith was awakening in a traditional hospital bed, her mouth feeling dry and her head, groggy. She moaned and looked around; the redheaded doctor from the emergency department was sitting in a chair nearby.

"Good morning, Meredith," Dr. Vance smiled when she saw that her patient was awake. "Well, good night, really; it's still pretty late but you took a nap there for a while. How are you feeling?"

Meredith did not answer the question; she just felt around on her own body. There were still multiple IV's in her arm, providing her with much-needed fluids and antibiotics. Meredith had a new breathing tube under her nose, too and some kind of bulky bandage wrapped around her head.

When she finally did manage to speak in her hoarse whisper, all Meredith cared about was one thing. "M-My family… and… and my… friends. Are they… okay? Are they… are they all… alive?"

"Do you want to know about everyone that was on the plane with you or just your husband and your sister?" Dr. Vance asked.

"Everyone…"

Dr. Vance nodded and took a deep breath. "Okay, well… your friend, Mark Sloan was the healthiest of the group. Our biggest concern was his third degree burns; we're monitoring him closely but thus far, we are confident that a few of his famous skin grafts should do the trick. He is also extremely dehydrated, exhausted, and has two fractured ribs and a fractured right ankle. He's resting in a room a few doors down receiving some blood and antibiotics and should be fine in a few days."

"That's g-good," Meredith said and she meant it. She was glad that Mark was okay.

"Yes, and then… your other friend it looks like, Arizona… is injured pretty severely. She has an open fracture to the left femur and a lot of infection. There's a possibility she might lose her leg. We expect her to make a full recovery though," Dr. Vance said and Meredith nodded.

"Then… onto your friend, Cristina Yang…" Dr. Vance continued and Meredith looked up. "Cristina is in a lot of shock. She was acting violent upon arrival at the hospital and unfortunately, we had to place her in four-point restraints. It appears that she has been awake and dehydrated for a very long time and then she has a broken collarbone and dislocated shoulder so that did not help. She does not appear to be injured severely, at least not physically… she has a grade one concussion and will make a full recovery. We've already set her collarbone properly. There's just a chance that she may have to be transferred to psych."

Meredith nodded again. "Yeah, she already... had PTSD from the… the shooting... that happened at… at our hospital um… a couple… years ago."

"I will make her doctor aware of that," Dr. Vance said and made a note.

Eternity seemed to go by as she wrote that note. Meredith wondered why she did not feel more relieved. Three other plane crash victims were almost guaranteed to survive. It was more than she would have thought 24 hours ago or even six hours ago. But then Meredith knew- this entire time, she had a good feeling that Cristina, Mark, and Arizona were alive. It was Derek and Lexie that were in critical condition.

"M-My husband and… and… m-my… sister!" Meredith pleaded when she could wait no longer.

"Your sister, Alexandra, is in critical condition, as I'm sure you were aware. Thankfully, she was the first to arrive at the hospital and we rushed her right to CT. She has been diagnosed with a variety of injuries including a grade two concussion, a nasal fracture, four fractured ribs, and a pneumothorax in her left lung. She also has the two broken tibias, a fractured pelvis… some bleeding in the left lung and around her pericardial sac… and then third degree burns on her left arm which was fractured in two places."

Meredith was feeling incredibly dizzy and she was not sure if it was on account of her injuries or the news about Lexie. "And… and she's r-really… still alive?"

"She is, mostly because of you surgeons," Dr. Vance said. "The pneumothorax would have killed her for sure if you hadn't thought to use the oxygen found on the aircraft and it looks like you helped with her hydration levels, too. That being said, I still cannot say whether or not Alexandra will survive. She's unconscious and having trouble breathing on her own. The doctors are rushing her to surgery as we speak."

The brief hope that had risen in Meredith's chest telling her that she might get to see Lexie disappeared as soon as it had come. She took a steadying breath. "Okay… um… well… you need to… to know… Lexie, she… Lexie has… allergies. She, er… she's allergic to… um… opioids… and… and amoxicillin… um… eggs… there's more… I think… "

"That's alright; we can get the rest from her emergency contact but thank you for letting me know," Dr. Vance said. "You do not happen to know which opioids Alexandra is allergic to off-hand, do you?"

"I… I think… almost… almost all of… them," Meredith said; Dr. Vance continued writing. "And… and… D-Derek?"

"Your husband, Derek was our other big concern. Our first priority was getting his fever under control; he was ranging at 105 degrees upon arrival but he is gradually improving. We're getting ready to take him to surgery for his hand because the bleeding is causing a lot of stress on his body."

"Okay but… but… he's stable? Does he have any… any other… injuries?" Meredith asked.

"He does," Dr. Vance frowned. "The major focus is still getting his vitals under control; his blood pressure and pulse are running extremely high. There are also two minor lacerations on the liver and the left lung which is causing some bleeding and problems with fluid. We're watching both of those closely and if necessary, we'll go in and fix them surgically but… at this time…"

Dr. Vance trailed off so Meredith finished for her. "At this time… you're… hoping to… avoid… major um… major surgery… cause… b-because of… his high… BP."

"Yes, that is what we are hoping," Dr. Vance admitted.

"He had… cardio… heart surgery… two years ago," Meredith said. "He was… shot in the… in the shooting… shot in the… chest… had um… I… I forgot… the name… oh, God, what… what was it called…"

Meredith was freaking-out; it was not like her to not be able to remember something this important. She knew the names of surgeries. At the very least, she knew the anatomy of the human heart… why could she not think of the operation that Cristina had completed with a gun to her head?

"It's alright, Dr. Grey," Dr. Vance interrupted and smiled weakly. "We'll be able to look all that up in your husband's medical history. Thank you for letting me know about the GSW though."

"Y-Yeah," Meredith said. "So um… um… a-any other… injuries? I… wanna know."

"Nothing else major. Your husband has a grade two concussion, like most of you, but there's no bleeding in the brain. We did a CT and confirmed that. And then there's a few fractured ribs but those will clear up in their own time, as you know," Dr. Vance said.

Meredith tried to breathe… Derek was alive. Derek was strong and as long as he had adequate surgeons and no complications, Derek was possibly going to live. She could not feel truly relieved though, not when Derek's vitals were too erratic for surgery… not when Derek could potentially stroke out at any moment. Plus, Meredith was a general surgeon and she knew that any number of issues could still arise when Derek was bleeding internally, even if the lacerations were small.

And he's in critical condition, Meredith thought to herself. Maybe this is it… maybe he's going to make it all the way back to the hospital and then die because they can't get his pulse down. Maybe the world-famous neurosurgeon is going to die of a stroke and…

"Dr. Grey, are you alright?" Dr. Vance's question interjected Meredith's newest panic attack and Meredith tried to scream but she did not have the energy or the vocal ability. It was such a stupid question though… are you alright? Of course Meredith was not alright.

"Just… just… keep me… updated," Meredith begged.

"I will keep you updated; I promise," Dr. Vance said. "Before I leave though, is there anything else you need? How are you feeling at the moment?"

That was a good question. Meredith was a doctor and she knew that Dr. Vance deserved an answer but she was not sure how she felt. Her brain was still swollen, without a doubt, and Meredith was bewildered, exhausted, and in shock. "I… I don't… know. I'm just… I'm… tired."

"I'm sure you are; it's only been about three hours since you were in the forest. It's only midnight. Feel free to get some rest, Dr. Grey. I'll come back as soon as I can with your scan results."

Meredith did not want to sleep. She wanted to talk with Derek and Cristina. She wanted to see her other friends back at Seattle Grace and learn what all she had missed. She was not even sure of the exact date… but Meredith had been fighting sleep for far too long.

As soon as Dr. Vance walked out of her room, Meredith lay her head back down on the pillow and allowed herself to drift off. Her last thought was that she was hungry but it probably was not a good idea to eat… she might need surgery.

MTBMTBMTBMTBMTBMTBMTBMTBMTBMTBMTBMTBMTBMTBMTBMTBMTBMTBMTBMTBMTBMTBMTB

Trauma was draining. Meredith had concluded this long ago, but the statement never lost its truth. Meredith was drained and it felt like only minutes after she had fallen asleep that a familiar voice was calling her name.

"I'm… sleeping," Meredith groaned but she opened her eyes and saw Dr. Perry in front of her, holding a folder that was labeled with her name. It was her chart.

"I'm sorry to wake you but from what I understand, while Dr. Vance gave you updates on all your loved ones, you still were not exactly aware of your own injuries. I wanted to talk about those with you," Dr. Perry said.

"Okay," Meredith yawned and she tried to sit up better but she was still unquestionably weak and her body was not prepared for that yet. She slumped back against the pillows.

Dr. Perry sat down next to her. "The most serious problem when it comes to your wounds, Meredith, is the loss of blood so we're going to need to do a blood transfusion. Have you had one before?"

"No but… but I've g-given blood… lots of times. I don't… have a p-problem with it," Meredith said.

"Good, good," Dr. Perry replied. He made a note in the chart. "There was a slight laceration to your spleen. As of right now, we do not anticipate that you will require surgery but we'll continue monitoring you closely these next few days. Like most of the others, you did acquire a concussion, grade two in your case. We've already disinfected your leg and wrapped it; we did that when you first got here. You will need stitches on your head but we want to wait until you're a bit more stable for that; your pulse was extremely high upon admission. For right now, you'll just have to rock the bandage."

Meredith reached up and touched her head- it was true, there was a thick surgical bandage protecting her skull. Nothing hurt that badly though which was a surprise. In the forest, from what Meredith could recall, she had been in constant, everlasting pain.

Dr. Perry looked at Meredith, thoughtfully. "You are remarkably lucky, Dr. Grey. Is there anything I can get for you? I know you have to be going through a lot emotionally. If you want, I could fetch someone from psych for you to talk with…"

"Um… um, that's okay… I have my… my own therapist… back in… in Seattle," Meredith said. "I really just… I want to see… m-my husband if… if that's okay… or, or someone… from home."

"I know you do," Dr. Perry said. "And I've gotten word that a whole group of people from Seattle are on their way over now, by bus. You'll see them soon. We had to take your husband to surgery though so you'll have to wait a while for that."

There was no point in arguing. Meredith had argued with patients plenty of times about this same subject. It never made a difference because it was not like Meredith could burst into the OR while Derek was on the table.

For now, she tried to do as she was told and relax. Meredith looked up at the television which was portraying a Seattle Mariners baseball game. She did not care enough to watch or change the channel. All Meredith wanted to do was see someone she knew because until she did, she could not be 100 percent sure that Dr. Vance was telling the truth. She could not be 100 percent sure that she was not the only one left.

Meredith always felt at home in a hospital. She had practically grown-up in one, after all… but now she was alone without the native employees in the hallway and no one to page for assistance. Meredith's phone had been destroyed in the plane crash so it was not like she could call Callie or Alex. She wondered how Zola was doing. She wondered if Derek was feeling better, if they had managed to get his blood pressure down…

She took a deep, shaky breath, the pain from her fractured ribs temporarily dulled. Meredith was not feeling as hungry as earlier but she was so thirsty. It did not sound like she was going to need surgery and she had fluids going in; after all that time in the woods, though, this did not seem like enough. When a random nurse walked by Meredith's open door, Meredith waved her hand a bit and caught the nurse's attention because she had forgotten where Dr. Vance had said her call button was located.

"Yes, Dr. Grey?"

"W-Water… p-please… is there water?" Meredith requested.

"Of course there is, honey. Here, I'll pour you a fresh cup," the nurse said and with her assistance, Meredith leaned forward and let the sensation of liquids wash down her throat for the first time in almost 72 hours. She drank swallow after swallow and when that was gone, she asked for more.

The nurse hesitated. "Well, I don't want you to get too overwhelmed; I know it's been a while since you had anything in your stomach. Let's wait a little bit and see how your body reacts."

Meredith was upset but she accepted the nurse's decision. She was so tired and she needed to get some rest. Curling down into the covers of her bed, Meredith repeated the same words in her mind: You're indoors. It's not raining. You will eventually see Zola again. That was enough for now. Meredith closed her eyes and welcomed the opportunity to go back to sleep.

But as soon as the blackness was there, so were the wolves… so was Jerry, his body being dragged away and so was blood, bursting out of Lexie's feeble chest. Meredith's eyes flew open; she was not sleeping. She could not sleep now or anytime soon… not until she was truly out of the woods.

In the meantime, she stopped the same nurse in the hallway approximately ten more times, and on each occasion, Meredith begged for water like she had not seen it in decades.

Author's Note- Okay, here we are at the end of Chapter 11! Thank you so much for all of the continued support. In case you missed the previous chapter (first of all, go read it!), the surgeons have been rescued! Now they are are Boise Memorial Hospital, on the road to recovery. Now that they are out of the woods, I am confident that this story will begin to take on more of an actual plot. I know that before, it was pretty much continued angst and suffering and I'm REALLY sorry about that, but I also felt like it was necessary to go into detail about everything that happened in the plane crash.

That being said, this is in NO way the end of this story. I am planning on continuing it all the way through what would be the Season 9 finale of GA. Yes, this might mean that we end up with like 75 chapters lol… hopefully that is okay with you guys.

Thank you again for reading! Please don't forget to leave reviews; that's how I know if you guys like what I am doing or if I need to switch things up. Plus, I mean… reviews make me very happy. It makes me happy to know that you guys enjoy my writing. Chapter 12 is probably going to be a bit shorter but it will be coming very soon! Love you all. I'll stop rambling now. Bye. Xoxo, merderpedia :)