Ok, so I took time out of writing a very important paper to write this instead so PLEASE REVIEW!!!! Thank you :)
Chapter Ten – Life keeps on going
One Week Later
Meredith entered Evelyn's room with a big smile on her face, followed by one of the nurses. "Are you ready to go home today?"
Evelyn, who had recovered very quickly and was looking much better each day, returned her mother's smile with one of her own and nodded her head vigorously. "Yes!"
Meredith got Evelyn ready and went through the process of getting her released from the hospital. Finally, she had her baby with her for good. No more long hospital visits. She could take her home, worry-free. Meredith had Evelyn's small hand in her own as they started to walk towards the front exit of the hospital. Evelyn eye's met Derek's, who was standing near the door waiting for them, and her hand let go of Meredith's as she took off running to her dad. Well, that's a sign of a healthy girl, Meredith thought as she watched her little girl practically sprint 20 feet before being swung up into Derek's arms. The sight of them melted her heart and put a smile on her face. By the time she reached them, Evelyn had been put back on feet, but her arms were wrapped around Derek's waist and her head rested on his side while he kept one arm around her shoulders.
"Alright, lets go!" Meredith said excitedly, motioning her hand towards the door and coming around Evelyn's other side to take up one of her hands again. The three of them walked out to Meredith's car and started to drive home. She and Derek had yet to go car shopping to replace the family van. They had been a little preoccupied with making sure the kids were healing and getting everything they needed.
They arrived home and got Evelyn settled. Meredith and Derek had spent little time at home themselves, only stopping by for fresh clothes and other necessities.
"What do you want for lunch, Pumpkin?" Meredith asked, pulling Evelyn onto her lap and kissing her cheek.
"Mac n' Cheese!" The girl exclaimed, ready to eat 'real food' again. A week's worth of hospital food had been too much for her. Meredith laughed and agreed to make Evelyn what her heart desired. She met Derek in the kitchen. He was lacing his shoes, getting ready to leave. They had agreed that Evelyn's first day back should mean she didn't have to stay at the hospital visiting her siblings, but that one of them should go back to be with Zoe and Grey while the other stayed with Evelyn. Derek had wanted to go. A part of him still felt like he needed to make up for the pain he had inadvertently caused Zoe.
"Call me if you're going to stay the night at the hospital." Meredith said before kissing him goodbye.
"I'll call no matter what so that Zoe can say goodnight to you and Evelyn." He said. Meredith buried her head in the crook of his neck and whispered 'thank you'. They held each other a little longer than normal before releasing their grasp.
"I'll go say goodbye to Evelyn." Derek said, heading into the living room where his little girl played.
"I'm going to say the winning is…. The End of the World."
"Yes!" Zoe shouted, swiping the green card from the center and adding it to her pile. Natalie let out an exasperated groan.
"No, you should have picked Ghandi!" She yelled at Theoren. "It was perfect."
Theoren just shrugged, not at all wavering. Their game of Apples to Apples always got intense since they all had strong opinions and a competitive side. Zoe smiled and held out her green cards for display. "Looks like I'm winning." She gloated.
"You know, they say the words on your green cards describe who you are." Theoren said. Zoe observed her cards and laughed.
"Well, if that's true, I'm twisted, slimy, outrageous, hostile, and peaceful."
"Sounds about right." Natalie teased.
"The last two kinda cancel each other out." Theoren said. "So you're just twisted, slimy and outrageous."
"Real nice, guys." Zoe said, pretending to be offended.
Derek walked in and found the three friends laughing and goofing off. Not wanting to interrupt, he quickly backed out before they noticed his presence. It was good to see Zoe having a little fun amidst all the worry surrounding their family. He turned and began to walk the other way.
He arrived at Greyson's room. He just stared at him for a moment, hoping with every fiber of his being that at any moment, Grey would open his eyes and be fine. But it had been a week and still no change. He sighed a little and entered, dropping himself into the chair beside Grey's motionless form. Derek rubbed his eyes and felt the weight of his pain and anxiety draining him completely. He reached for Greyson's hand.
"I'm so sorry, Bub." Derek murmured for what must have been the thousandth time. "I wish I could have done something – anything – differently so that you wouldn't be here right now. If I had seen the car coming… seen that it wasn't slowing down…"
Derek dropped his head, giving into the tears he felt forming. "I miss you, Bubba. Evelyn came home today and soon Zoe will be going home, too. But we're still waiting on you. We need you to wake up so we can be a family again."
Derek studied Greyson's face. He looked so peaceful, serene. "We are supposed to be fishing right now. You, me, and your buddy George. I was really looking forward to that. Just some good old male bonding time without your mom or sisters." He patted Greyson's hand and placed it back on the bed gently. "I don't know how many times your mom and I will have to talk to you like this, but you better believe if it helps you wake up, we'll keep coming. We're not giving up on you, Son. So don't give up on us. I love you, Bub."
"Mommy?"
Meredith turned to see Evelyn in the doorway of her bedroom. Evelyn had been watching a movie in the living room so Meredith had snuck away to read a little in bed. She patted the spot next to her and Evelyn ran in and climbed onto the bed, snuggling up to Meredith's side.
"What's up, Baby?" Meredith smoothed out Evelyn's tangled hair and then began to trace patterns on Evelyn's back. It was something that always calmed her kids down if they were having a bad dream or couldn't sleep because they were sick. Or if they were upset like Meredith could sense Evelyn was right now.
"I miss Greyson." Evelyn murmured so quietly that her mother almost didn't catch it.
"Oh, Sweetheart, I know. I miss him too."
"Is he ever going to wake up?" Evelyn asked. She really had never talked much about Greyson in the past week. She was pretty somber and quiet when they told her, but now that she was home in her parents' bed with her mom, She finally felt free to ask questions.
Meredith had several responses leap to mind. A few were ones that she would have said to patient's families in this situation. Others were honest medical conclusions. But what to say to her eight-year-old? "There's a very good chance he could wake up. Especially if he hears the voices of his family talking to him. That's why Mommy and Daddy go visit him so often."
Evelyn took this in stride. "When's Zoe coming home?"
"Next week, but she'll still be in the wheelchair and she has to go to physical therapy a lot for her leg."
"Can I push her around the house?" Evelyn asked excitedly.
"If she wants you to, sure." Meredith agreed hesitantly. Evelyn giggled and Meredith wondered if she was missing something.
"Faster! They're going to win!"
Natalie gripped the handles of the wheelchair and willed her feet to move at a quicker pace. Just a few steps ahead of them, Theoren had George in a wheelchair and was speeding down the empty hallway.
They reached the end of the hallway with the boys winning by just a step. Zoe spun and gave Natalie a high five for her efforts. "I have a better idea." Natalie said between breaths. "How about I get in the wheelchair and the brothers face off."
Theoren shot his baby brother a smug look and agreed. George had no choice but to agree or be called a wimp the rest of the day. He stood up and Natalie slid into his vacated spot. Theoren grabbed the handlebars of Zoe's chair and George took Natalie's.
"On your mark, get set, GO!" Zoe shouted. The boys took off. Theoren easily took the lead. He was an athletic boy after all. George did good keeping up the pace though. They were almost to the end of the hall that connected with another when a doctor rounded the corner and both boys quickly halted and pulled on the wheelchairs to stop them. They nearly collided with Dr. Bailey. Zoe was a mere foot away from hitting her. All four froze, eyes wide and mouths open. Dr. Bailey's eyes narrowed.
"What do you fools think you are doing down here? Are you trying to kill someone?" She smacked Theoren over the head with a file, assuming it was his idea. It was Zoe's. "Now get upstairs quickly so I don't tell your parents and don't ever let me catch you four doing this ever again."
They scurried away to the elevator and didn't exhale until the doors closed them in. "That woman scares me to death." George muttered. Normally Theoren would have pounced all over him for saying that, calling him a pansy and such, but this time Theoren was silent because to be honest, she scared him a little too.
They returned to Zoe's floor and encountered Derek as they were about to enter her room.
"There you guys are. I couldn't find you. Where did you go?"
"To the caf. I was starving." Zoe lied easily. Theoren stifled a smile.
"Oh, good. Well, Theoren and George, your dad is downstairs. His shift just ended and he's taking you two home.
"Ok, See ya, Zoe. Bye, Natalie." The brothers turned and walked away down the hall. Derek turned back to the girls.
"I ran by the video store on my way here." He handed them some new DVDs and smiled. "Knock yourselves out."
Natalie snatched the movies and scanned the titles. "Oh! I wanted to see this one in theaters but never did. Zoe, we are watching this one first!" She ran into the room to get it all set up. Derek chuckled as he and Zoe moved into the room as well.
"Thank you, Uncle Derek! You're the best!"
Derek helped Zoe into the bed and got her comfortable before taking a seat on the small couch in the room.
"Scoot." Natalie commanded Zoe. Derek rolled his eyes. Zoe made room for Natalie on the tiny hospital bed and the movie started.
Meredith's phone went off and she answered it on the second ring. "Hello?"
"Hey, Babe." Derek's voice came in clear on the other line. Meredith smiled.
"Hey. How's Zoe?"
"She's good. Natalie and the boys were here earlier. They seemed like they were having some fun. I've been suffering through chick flicks since dinner." Derek complained. Meredith laughed unsympathetically.
"Does she seem overly tired from all the activity?"
"No, I think she handled it pretty good. She's about to pass out now though, so I'll let you say goodnight to her before she does."
It was silent on the other end for a second and then Zoe's voice came through.
"Mom?"
"Hey, Honey! How are you feeling?"
"Tired…" Meredith could hear it in her voice even if Zoe wouldn't have said it.
"Yeah, I can tell. Did you have a good day?"
"Mhmm."
"I missed you today. Have a goodnight, Hon. I'll see you tomorrow."
"Ok, love you Mom."
"Love you too." Meredith waited and soon Derek was back on.
"She is exhausted." Meredith said.
"Yeah, she had a full day. I wish you could see her now. She practically fell asleep with the phone to her ear."
"Are you staying there tonight?" Meredith asked.
"Yes, I told Zoe I would. Sorry to leave you on your own tonight."
"That's ok. Evelyn took your side of the bed."
"Is she awake?" Derek asked hopefully.
"No, she went out pretty fast too."
"Well, good for her." Derek said, hoping he would be able to fall asleep as fast as the girls seemed to be.
"How's Greyson?" Meredith asked softly. Derek sighed.
"No change." He said. Of course, Meredith knew this. If there had been, if he had woken up, Derek surely would have been on the phone with her as quick as possible, telling her the great news.
"Derek?" She asked timidly.
"Yeah, Babe?"
"I've been thinking all week, ever since you were all in the hospital, that maybe….it's time for me to quit." She paused, letting Derek digest this. She realized now that she wished she had told him face-to-face so she could watch his reaction.
"Ok." He said finally, in a way that made her heart sore. She suddenly felt the need to explain herself.
"Its just that when you all were rushed into the hospital, I started to think about all the things I've missed because of my job. I missed Zoe's last soccer game ever." Meredith's voice broke on the last word and she needed a moment to collect herself. "I don't want to miss anything else with our kids."
"Mer, I understand. You don't have to explain yourself to me. I get it. You're making the right choice."
Meredith relaxed and realized just how tired she was. "I wish you were here right now so I could fall asleep in your arms." She murmured softly over the phone.
"The feeling is mutual. This couch in Zoe's room really isn't very comfortable. I don't know how I'll sleep tonight."
"I love you, Derek." Meredith whispered, realizing she couldn't stay on the phone much longer.
"Goodnight, Mer. Love you more."
"Doubt it." She said and hung up before he could challenge her words. Derek chuckled to himself and stretched out uncomfortably for what might be a very long night.
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