Hey guys! My goal is to get this story wrapped up by the end of the weekend, because an idea hit me for a new one that I'd really like to work on. Also, I posted a chapter yesterday, but a kind reader pointed out that it wasn't showing up! I reposted it and I hope that corrected the problem, but if it didn't PLEASE let me know! Enjoy this chapter! In the coming chapters, you'll notice a bit of conflict mixed in with the usual fluff :)
Meredith groaned when her alarm went off at 5 AM. The attendings took turns leading rounds—usually in pairs-and it was her day. She was due in at 6:30. Normally, rounds would start at 6. However, now that she was getting further along in her pregnancy, she'd taken to pushing them back a bit—with the chief's approval—so she could gain some extra rest.
But this morning, leaving bed didn't seem possible.
"Derek," she groaned as the alarm continued to wail.
"I know," he mumbled back, slamming the snooze button.
Rolling over in his arms, Meredith snuggled closer, resting her head against his bare chest. Derek kissed the crown of her head, rubbing lazy circles on her back.
"You need to get moving if you're going to make it in on time," he prompted gently.
"I don't think I can," she groaned once more.
Derek chuckled, "I'm tired, too. But we have to get moving."
"I really can't Derek," she frowned, pulling closer to him and meeting his eyes for the first time that morning.
Derek had to suppress a gasp. She looked exhausted. Deep, dark circles had formed under her puffy red eyes. She looked almost frail.
"Mer," he whispered, "you're worn out. Do you feel okay?"
She nodded. He mentally kicked himself for letting her keep them up so late the night before. She was now 28 weeks and her hormones were still making her…well…horny. Round three had ended well after midnight, and that had been the second night in a row. And before that she'd spent the night on call. He could see now that it wasn't a good combination.
"No, my head hurts. And my back hurts. And I just feel…not good," she admitted.
He leaned forward and kissed her forehead, allowing his lips to linger, "No fever, that's good."
Suddenly, Meredith burst into tears.
"Oh, Mer. What's the matter?" he asked.
"I just don't feel by best, but I'm not sick. So I have to go to work anyway. But I really don't think I can make a day on my feet. And I'm mad at myself for letting this happen," she practically yelled.
"Hey, hey," he soothed, "calm down. It's okay."
"IT'S NOT OKAY," she insisted.
Derek took a deep breath. He needed to find a way to fix this and fast, "What if I go in and cover your rounds, and you stay here and sleep for a few more hours? Your first surgery isn't until 11 anyway, right?"
She nodded, "Yeah, but that's not fair. Everyone in the department is just going to bitch that I'm sending my husband in to do my job."
"Well, would you rather call in and take the day?" he asked.
"NO! I would rather not be an exhausted cow!" she stressed.
"Okay," he soothed, "let's go take a shower. One step at a time today."
Meredith nodded, attempting to wipe her tears, but it was no use.
"I'll be right back," Derek promised. He got up and went into the bathroom where he started the shower and adjusted the water to what he knew was Meredith's ideal temperature.
When he returned to the bedroom, he offered Meredith his hand. She accepted it and let him pull her up into a sitting position and then out of the bed completely.
"Do you want me to stay with you, or do you want me to make you something to eat?"
"Breakfast, please," came Meredith's quiet reply as she stepped under the warm spray of the shower. She quickly piled her hair into a bun atop her head. It was clear that she didn't have the time to wash and dry it if she hoped to make it to work on time.
"Coming right up," Derek nodded.
"Der?" she called before he could leave the room.
"What's up?" he smiled lovingly.
"Thank you," she replied.
"Anything you need, Mer."
"Mer, are you ready?" Cristina asked, entering the attendings lounge at 6:25.
Pulling on her lab coat, Meredith turned to face her best friend, "Yeah, I'm ready."
After her shower and a delicious breakfast of waffles and fruit, she was relieved to have made it in on time. Derek had offered to drive her, but she'd politely declined. He wasn't due in until several hours later, and she saw no point in dragging him out. She was still dead tired, and she felt as if she may cry again at any moment, but her head ache was less severe than it had been. It wasn't much, but it was something.
"Are you okay?" Cristina asked, giving her a once over.
Meredith sighed. Aside from the red eyes, she'd really thought she looked no worse than normal.
"Is it that obvious?" she groaned.
"The eyes give it away," Cristina shrugged.
"I'm just exhausted," Meredith admitted, following her best friend out of the room.
"Well, growing a person is exhausting," Cristina quipped.
"You're telling me," Meredith rolled her eyes.
"Regardless," her friend continued seriously, "I feel like you shouldn't be THAT tired."
"I've been up late the last couple of days," she shrugged.
"Yeah, but I know you well enough to know that's not the problem," Cristina pointed out.
"I was on call a few days ago and it was a long night. I feel like I haven't caught up since," Meredith admitted.
"Were you up all night in surgery?" Cristina inquired.
Meredith nodded her confirmation.
Cristina frowned, "SHOULD you be up all night in surgery?"
Meredith shrugged, "I suppose that would be a question for my doctor."
Before Cristina could reply, the pair reached the waiting interns and their residents.
"Okay people," Meredith began, "no mistakes this morning."
"Dr. Grey and I aren't in the mood for incompetence today," Cristina added.
"If you don't know what you're talking about, don't talk," Meredith commanded.
"Questions are okay though," Cristina shrugged.
With that, the two led the way into the first patient's room.
"Who's presenting?" Meredith asked, officially starting rounds.
Dr. Bailey raised an eyebrow as she took in her former intern sitting at the table in the attendings' lounge, picking at a salad and looking as if she could fall asleep mid-bite. She poured herself a cup of coffee before taking her own seat at the table.
"Grey," Bailey acknowledged the younger surgeon.
"Hey Dr. Bailey," Meredith responded with a weak smile.
"Are you feeling all right? You look dead on your feet," Bailey stated.
"Yeah, well I feel dead on my feet," Meredith snapped.
Bailey wasn't offended by the outburst, "All right Grey, I just wanted to check up on you."
Meredith was fighting back tears much like she had been that morning, "I'm just exhausted, Bailey."
"You were on call this week?" Bailey asked with pursed lips.
Meredith nodded, "Three days ago."
"And you still haven't recovered from that?" Bailey asked.
"I don't think so. I was in surgery all night, and I worked through the entire next day," Meredith explained.
Dr. Bailey clicked her tongue in response, "And how far along are you now?"
"28 weeks," Meredith muttered.
"I think it's time, Grey," Bailey offered.
"Time for what?" Meredith demanded.
"Time to cut back a bit," the shorter woman replied.
"What?! I have to work," Meredith exclaimed.
"Grey, I wouldn't dream of telling you to stop working. I may be a doctor, but I'm not YOUR doctor. What I'm saying is, it's time to cut back on certain things. No more call, no more rounds, no more extra hours," Bailey explained with a sympathetic smile.
"That's not even possible," Meredith muttered with a roll of her eyes.
"It is possible, Grey. You're an attending. You don't have anything to prove to these people. You do what's best for your child," Bailey argued.
"It wouldn't be fair to the other doctors," she insisted.
"It's not fair to you and your child to wear yourself out like this. I remember being in your position. I didn't take the opportunity, and look where I ended up," Bailey reminded her.
Meredith sighed in defeat. Bailey had been practically forced out of the hospital to very strict bed rest when she was pregnant with Tuck.
"I'm not saying to make a decision right now," Bailey comforted, "but I think that you should discuss it with your doctor and that head of hair you call a husband, and figure out what's best for you."
"Thank you, Dr. Bailey…I'll think about it," Meredith promised.
Bailey nodded, getting up to leave.
"If you see my head of hair, could you tell him I need to speak to him?" Meredith called after her.
"Will do, Grey," Bailey agreed.
Meredith sighed as she laid her tired body out across the couch in Derek's office. She rested her swollen feet on the arm rest opposite her head as she waited for her husband to come and meet her.
She'd spent the last hour or so going over Dr. Bailey's words. There was some merit to them. She didn't want to be looked down on for working less, but she also didn't want to overexert herself. If there was a happy medium, now was the time to find it.
"Hey," Derek smiled, as he entered his office.
"Hey," Meredith replied, offering him a smile of her own.
"Feeling a little better?" Derek asked.
"Not really," Meredith shrugged, "but it could be worse."
"I'm sorry," Derek sighed.
"It isn't your fault," she assured him.
"I just wish there was something I could do," he replied, helpless.
"Derek, you already do everything you can to make me happy and comfortable," she promised, giving his hand a squeeze.
"I'm still sorry," he shrugged.
"Well, I paged you here to talk about a solution…maybe," she explained.
Meredith lifted her feet and allowed Derek to sit before letting them back down in his lap.
"What's that?" Derek inquired.
"Well, Bailey made a suggestion today, and I'm not sure how I feel about it, but I want to discuss it with you and Dr. Welch."
"I'm all ears," Derek promised.
"I think, maybe, if it's possible, it might be time for me to start backing off a little as far as my hours go," she blurted.
"I think that's a good idea," Derek agreed.
"But I want to talk to Dr. Welch and see if she thinks it's necessary. I don't want to just do this for my own convenience, Derek," Meredith swore.
"Mer, I know you. The fact that you're even considering this makes me feel like it IS necessary. You're not one to roll over," he replied.
She sighed in relief. He understood.
"Do you want to call her right now?" he asked.
Meredith nodded, pulling her cell out of her pocket. She quickly dialed the office and asked to speak to her doctor. The nurse politely declined at first, but after Meredith explained the situation, she turned the phone over.
Meredith repeated her concerns to the doctor, being sure to highlight the headache and the physical exhaustion she was feeling. After about fifteen minutes, the two came to a consensus. Bailey was right, it was time.
"What if he says no?" Meredith inquired nervously as she and Derek approached the Chief's office at the end of their shift.
"He's not going to say no. It's medical advice, I'm pretty sure he legally can't say no," Derek assured her.
"It's not even asking for that much. It's less than what Bailey came up with," she pointed out.
"Mer, if he tries to deny you this, I'll cover for you here," he promised.
"Derek, you and I both know that wouldn't be fair. People would complain," she argued.
"So let them. I'm your husband, it's not like you're asking THEM to help out," he responded.
"But if he says yes, we ARE asking them to help out," she bit her lip nervously.
"Let's just….deal with this first. We can worry later," he told her, knocking on the office door. Patricia wasn't outside. She must've stepped away for coffee, or she'd already gone home for the day.
"Come in," the Chief called.
Derek pushed the door open, allowing Meredith to enter first.
"Meredith, Derek, what can I do for you?" the Chief asked with a smile.
"Hi Chief, we just need to speak to you about my schedule," Meredith replied nervously. Derek placed a reassuring hand on the small of her back.
"Well, have a seat, then," Dr. Webber responded.
The couple sat in the guest chairs on the opposite side of his desk.
"How are you feeling, Meredith?" he asked kindly.
"Good, sir. The baby is doing very well," she smiled, a hand falling lovingly to her swollen abdomen.
"Glad to hear it! Now what changes do you need regarding your schedule?" he inquired, folding his hands together and placing them on his desk.
"My OB seems to think it would be best if I cut back on my hours just a little Specifically, she doesn't want me spending nights on call anymore. She thinks that additional exhaustion isn't good for me or the baby as I get further along," Meredith explained.
"Understandable," Dr. Webber said with a nod.
"I know it's a lot to ask, and it's probably going to seem unfair to the other surgeons, but I just want to do what's best for my baby. I'd be willing to take an extra morning of rounds in place of nights on call, if that seems like an even trade," she finished, chewing her lip in anticipation.
"Meredith, if this is at the advice of your doctor, then I'm more than happy to oblige. We'll take you off the call rotation immediately," the Chief assured her.
"Thank you Chief," she sighed, relieved.
"As far as the extra rounds, I don't think that will be necessary. You're a well established hard worker. Anyone with complaints can take them directly to me," he promised.
"Oh, Chief, you don't have to do that," she tried.
"If anything comes up, I'd be happy to cover her nights," Derek promised as well.
"There's no need for that, Derek. This is a normal request and the hospital has a system in place to deal with these things. Neither one of you has anything to worry about," Webber explained.
"There is?" Meredith asked.
"Of course there is! Plenty of our surgical and nursing staff members have babies. This is just part of the process," he shrugged.
"Thanks a lot, Chief," Derek nodded.
"Thank you," Meredith agreed.
"It's no problem. Is there anything else I can do for you?" he asked.
"No, sir. That's all," Meredith smiled, standing up.
"Have a nice evening, then," the Chief bid them farewell.
"That was…easy," Meredith said to Derek as they left.
"I told you it would work out. Nothing to worry about," Derek replied, dropping a kiss on her head.