The title may give away about the content of the chapter, but I hope you all be surprised nonetheless. I decided to try getting into Grace's head for this. It was easier than other times, since she's my dream-like figure of how cool I could be if I just tried harder, but I'm lazy so I'll remain Irene and she'll be Grace. Tell me if you liked the change in PoVs, I just wanted to experiment a little. I guess this whole thing is a huge experiment, somehow, but you still like it ;)

Death Will Never Conquer is also a title of a Coldplay song, like an incredibly short, country-like Coldplay song, but give it a try. It will be worth it.

This is the final three-chapter goodness I had planned, then updates will probably return to their previous schedule, even though I might just pace to finish this.

Enjoy!

Chapter 12 – Death Will Never Conquer

I grew up in a hospital. I think I knew better Seattle Grace than my own high school at this point. I wasn't going to be in the latter a lot longer, after all, just a few months and then who knows.

I was sure I wanted to be a surgeon, people said I had it in my blood, but my parents never pressured me to be a mini-them.

Dad has always been a hard man to understand. He was stubborn and saw things in black or white most of the time, but he was a great father. Mom always said we have a special bond, even if I'm not sure about it. He surely had a soft spot for me, he hardly denied me something, but at the same time it seemed like he couldn't accept me growing up.

Mom was...I don't even know where to start to say how glad I was that I had a mother like her. And not just because she sneaked me in the gallery when she had cool surgeries. She cared, for everybody in a different way, but she cared. She always knew when something was wrong with me or my brothers, her friends or Dad. The relationship she has with Dad is almost unreal. They look like teenager sometimes, or newlyweds which I don't know which is worse.

Except that it's fascinating.

I have seen them in different environments, but their love was just the same. I wished I could find a love as big as theirs. They didn't even made a big deal about all the gooey eyes and the stolen touches Cristina hates -she told me to drop the Aunt title when I was eleven-.

I look up to them and all the time I feel like I'm disappointing them somehow, even if they are still there, cheering me up and making me feel like I'm the best daughter they could have. It's surreal.

It's even more surreal the fact that maybe Mom will never woke up.

I saw Dad checking her scans with shaky hands, the film rustling under his usually unwavering fingertips. I just turned around, because I couldn't bear seeing Dad like this.

Dad was a surgeon, a strong, stoic man. I heard Mom crying sometimes, when things got hard and she thought I was too little to understand, but I remember doors slamming and tears from their bedroom. But Dad never ever cried. He yelled a lot, they had had pretty heated screaming match once in a while, but he never left in tears, that was Mom's role.

After Mom's coma I have seen him smiling a real smile once, when I placed Emily in his arms for the first time. That tiny pink bundle that is my little sister.

I still couldn't believe I had a little sister and a mother in a coma without any apparent good reason.

As I entered in her room after the umpteenth pointless day at school, Mom looked like she was simply sleeping. Except for the fact that she wasn't snoring and Dad wasn't there, teasing her. After eighteen years he still made the same jokes and she still laughed.

"Hey Mom" I said, my voice breaking a little while I put the backpack at the end of her bed.

I had pretended everything was all right at school. I wanted normality, but it was hard when you didn't know that last time you talked to your mother could have been the last one. And I probably even yelled, or rose my voice, I can't even remember. It was something about a party, or a bad mark. Something clearly not important, because I couldn't recall why I was upset.

"Hey Emily" I moved closer to the cradle next to Mom's bed where Emily was sleeping, all wrapped in blankets, just like Dad had left her this morning. She was beautiful and she looked a hell of a lot like Mom.

"Grace"

I turned towards the voice to see the shell of my father standing there, faking a small smile. He hadn't shaved in a long time and, even if the beard was sexy -at least Mom said so-, it made him look even more broken. His indigo scrubs were wrinkled, his hair far from the usual perfection, his eyes dull.

He had never had dull eyes when he was around Mom. It happened when sometimes he lost a patient that he was fond of, but as soon as his eyes met Mom's, they were sparkling again.

That man wasn't Dad.

"Hey Dad" I didn't even know what to say to him. He had been my hero for a long time and now he was just crumbling right in front of me.

I moved closer to him and I hugged him. His arms went immediately around me and he crushed me in his arms, fighting tears. Mom said that sometimes we shouldn't use words with him, because he was brainless, but a hug was always welcomed.

"You know" he began, his voice filled with tears "Emily doesn't want formula" he swallowed thickly, his hold on me tightening "She wants her mother's milk" he choked at the end of the sentence and he finally cried again "She..."

"Dad" I tried to calm him but I realized I was crying too

"I don't...I can't..." he was almost hyperventilating.

"Breathe Dad"

At first, he cried harder, almost like he was overwhelmed by the memories resurfacing then, he finally calmed down and his tears subsided. As he let go of me gently, his eyes were puffy and he looked even more lost.

He went closer to Emily's cradle, picked her up and kissed softly her forehead, caressing every feature, drinking in her novelty then he whispered "I love you, baby girl" before placing a kiss on the crown of her head then laying her down again. She didn't even flinch, but her cheeks stretched in what resembled a smile, even if we both knew she couldn't really smile yet. God, I love my little sister so much already.

Dad took the two steps that separated him from Mom's bedside and he stood there for an endless time, just looking at her. He took clean bandages and carefully, lovingly, changed the old ones. Every movement seemed like a caress, his fingers working like he was in the OR and it wasn't a simple suture the one he was covering but it was an open brain. Mom was more important than any open brain at the moment.

He finished in who knows how long and Mom kept breathing regularly, like she was sleeping. Nothing was normal though. He bent over her and kissed her forehead, tenderly, almost with the same kindness he kissed Emily's tiny body, then pressed his lips to hers for a quick kiss, full of promises, full of love, full of his whole broken self. He ran his fingers through her hair, he kissed her again then whispered "I love you Meredith. I will love you forever" then he kissed the back of her hand and managed a small, barely noticeable smile.

He turned to me with tears in his eyes and waited a moment before speaking, trying to regain his composure. He was a broken man, a broken lover, a broken father.

He cleared his throat but when he said "I'm going to pick up Nathan from school" his voice was still raspy and hoarse from the tears.

"I can go, if you want to stay"

"It's...You stay Grace, I..." he shook his head, then moved towards me and kissed my cheek, the same softness he used for Emily or for Mom, just different.

"I'll stay with Mom until you're back" I said, giving him a quick hug. He looked like he was about to fall apart.

"Thank you. I'll be back with your brothers and Grandma in a couple of hours"

"Take your time Dad. And breathe" He nodded, then shuffled out of the room.

He had been like this since the day Mom went in a coma. He barely talked, he barely moved from the room, I don't even know if he had eaten something in the past twenty-four hours or if he had slept. He wasn't Dad anymore. Every little thing looked like a mountain to climb and he just couldn't do it alone. He felt guilty for neglecting Emily at first, he felt numb because Mom could never wake up again and he simply wasn't Dad anymore.

"Hi Mom" I repeated again, sounding weird even to myself. I didn't know how to talk to her so, while I made up my mind on what to tell her, I scooped up Emily. She gurgled and frowned, but she was sleeping again as soon as she was flushed to my chest. I put her back in the cradle, not wanting to disturb her any further. She was just perfect in every little thing.

I took Mom's hand in mine and I squeezed, gently, the tiny hope to feel her squeeze back never forgotten. She had surgeon hands, rough sometimes but accurate. Since she had been on leave, her hands became soft again and she used to tease Dad all the time because he still had rough hands.

"It's our first Girls Day for Emily" I said lamely, hoping that Emily could have Girls Day like I did. "I'm sorry I yelled at you, I'm sure you can't even remember why we were yelling. We don't usually get along easily, you and me" I sighed, but a small smile appeared on my lips "Aunt Cristina says we are too alike to get along. Don't tell her I called her Aunt or she'll have my head" my smile somehow widened.

I watched for a moment her even breaths and I let her heart monitor lull my thoughts. "Emily doesn't want formula, they are trying everything but she just doesn't want to..." I continued, at this point I had tears in my eyes. "She deserves to know you, Mom. I can't be her Mommy." I said forcefully, but my resolutions slowly wavering.

"Kieran is not going to school anymore and I don't know what to tell him, Nathan has not broken anything, he just stays up in his room all day, waiting. When I go to Kieran's room I usually find the two of them laying on the bed, staring at the ceiling. They miss you like crazy. And Emily here is silently telling you to wake up, because..."

I cleared my throat, unable to continue the conversation I had started but still needing to set free the burden I kept inside me in the past few days "She's beautiful Mom, you and Dad created a very beautiful little girl" I sighed, the first tear falling on our linked hands, on her creamy skin.

"God, Mom" I let out a choked breath "Dad...Mom, Dad will die if you die. I don't know if he's still alive at this point. I can't take care of him like you do, I...Dad needs you Mom, he's broken and you know how to fix him. Every time I see him, he's crying. Dad doesn't cry. I..."

I breathed, trying to calm the free-fall of tears "I can't...I don't want to graduate and not see you in the crowd. I would have accepted surgery but Mom, you...I can't be a surgeon if you are not here with us." I admitted solemnly. She was the reason I wanted to be a surgeon. Her and Dad. They had it all, and they still managed to be there for all of us. I wanted it all too.

"I don't want to be anything in my life if you are not going to wake up. I had so many special moments with you and Emily had none. She deserves all I had. And Nathan had so little time with you, you are the only one that gets him. Kieran is much more Dad's guy, I know, but he'd do anything for you" I sighed, recalling memories of Kieran and Mom, when we were younger, happier, when things were easier. I wiped away the tears with the back of my hand.

"Dad will never move on. He's not living anymore. He will never operate again if you don't wake up. The Dad I always had is in a coma with you, so please..." I stopped again, unable to continue.

I took back Mom's hand in mine and I leaned over her bed, crying with my head on our joined hands.

There was nothing we could do. She was breathing, she had fluids, she had a good heart rate, clean head scans, she was practically ready to breastfeed.

She was in a coma.

"I love you so much, Mom. I know it's been a while that I have told you that, but I do. I love you. You are the Mom everybody dreams to have. My friends are so jealous of me sometimes, because I have you as a mother." I affirmed, squeezing her hand.

When I felt a faint squeeze back, I thought I was dreaming. I tried again and this time the squeeze back was tighter. I looked up and I could see her eyelids fighting to let the light in.

"Mom?" I whispered, our hand still joined while my voice filled with wonder.

Her eyes finally opened and I was crying happy tears for the first time in days "Oh my God, Mom!" I shrieked, squeezing her hand tightly.

She looked at me and the corner of her lips moved up in a tired smile "Grace" she croaked, her voice hoarse.

"Thank God, Mom!" I giggled, gently hugging her. She carefully lifted her arm and managed to hug me back.

I looked at her for a moment longer, while she regained some more strength and her eyes seemed more like the usual green. Tired, but there. I handed her a glass of water and she sipped it calmly with a straw, every movement like a big effort, but she was there.

Her hand moved then to rest on her stomach out of an habit and she gasped. "What..." she began asking, fear filling her familiar green-gray eyes.

I cut her off before she could get too worked up "Emily is fine. You had an emergency C-section after you fainted in the OR with Dad. Do you remember anything?"

"I...Yes" she struggled "Is Emily okay?"

"She's right here Mom and she's beautiful" I replied with a smile and I could see her relax. She looked around and spotted the cradle longingly so I stood up and picked up Emily, who was still asleep, then I went back to Mom's bedside.

She had tears in her eyes as soon as I turned Emily to her. "I want to hold her" she said, her voice more clear than anytime before. I moved up her bed and she was almost in a sitting position, then I gave her Emily in her arms.

She took the baby carefully, all her gestures slow and calm, but Emily seemed to relax immediately at Mom's touch, even in her sleep.

"God, Grace" she mumbled to herself

"She's perfect, right?" I confirmed and she just stared at our new family member in wonder.

"Where's Dad?" she asked then

"Picking up the boys for a visit and Nana from the airport" I admitted "He's..." I didn't know how to describe him to her without the safe protection of a coma.

"I heard everything you said" she smiled softly, before giving me back Emily. "Put her down and give your Mom a hug" she whispered then, a small smile brightening her beaten features. I didn't waited a second before being in her arms.

"I'm going to say to the nurses to page Dad, okay?" I said when we pulled away, both our eyes filling with tears.

"I'll rest a bit more. I love you Grace" she said.

"I love you too Mom" I whispered.

I went to out to inform the nurses, who welcomed the information with a smile and happily paged Dad. They all knew her around the hospital and the news of her coma had surely traveled fast. Before I could come back inside, I saw Dad running towards me.

"What happened?" he called, breathless, his voice filled with pure terror.

"Mom is awake" I said, my face drawing up a smile.

He stared at me for a second, dumbfounded, then magically, he was the same old Dad with twinkling eyes "Mom is awake?" he asked again, for good measure

"Yes, she is" I walked closer to him and this time the hug we shared wasn't desperate, it was filled with everything. He was crying too, but finally happy tears.

"Oh my God!" my grandmother's voice reached my ear and it was dripping with fear as well. I turned to her and I noticed my brothers too. They were panicking.

"She's awake! Meredith is awake!" Dad repeated with a wonderful smile, like he had found his new favorite word. "Mom is going to be fine" he said it again to my brothers before we could all hug together.

We went in holding hands, almost afraid that the spell could be broken and Mom would just sleep forever. Nathan jogged between me and Kieran while Grandma trailed behind Dad. We gave him a few moments alone, before we could burst in.

Mom was still sleeping peacefully but this time, when Dad kissed her forehead, her eyes fluttered open and Dad burst in even more tears. She pulled him down for another kiss, both of them freely crying happy tears, then their hands folded in a tight grip while the kiss remained gentle and loving.

"Oh Derek" she whispered, almost afraid to say anything more when she pulled away.

"Meredith" he replied and somehow, they gave away all their love just calling each other. Their names became filled with everything that made them perfect.

"I held Emily" she whispered after their silence "She's perfect"

"She is" he nodded back, their lips locking for another brief kiss.

"I love you Derek" she finally uttered, but Mom had said that a thousand times with her eyes already.

"I love you too, Meredith" Dad smiled brightly "The boys and Mom want to say hi" he smirked, almost as if nothing had happened.

"We'll continue this later, then" she smirked back, despite her tiredness.

From that moment on, I realized that if I would find a love like the one my parents had, I was going to be pretty damn lucky.

AN: Well, I hope you enjoyed this!

Random Fact: I'm officially a freshman! Loving the idea, a little less the amount of work behind it, but that's life. I'll try to keep up with the updates despite the work that will surely add up, you know that already. I love all your feedback too much to give up!