Author's Note:

So, here's chapter 14!

I hope you all didn't wait too long! School wasn't that busy this week but I need to give bad news unfortunately because next week will be very busy! I have an excursion to The Hague to dive into the world of politicians and I have to work a lot on my PWS about 9/11. So I don't think I will get another chapter up for 3 weeks at least. But… I will do my very best and maybe I can get it up faster if the teachers are nice to us :p

So, I hope you will enjoy reading this chapter and let me know what you thought of it! Because REVIEWS always make me happy and gets a chapter up faster!

Warm regards,

Isabel

Disclaimer: I do not own Grey's Anatomy or its characters. I'm just borrowing them for my own fun.

Chapter 14: One big family

Owen looked into Derek's room one more time, and seeing that nothing had changed over the minutes he was there he decided that rest was what he would most need at the moment so he turned away and walked towards the cafeteria to grab a sandwich before lying down in an on-call room to try and get some sleep after the most terrible day he had experienced in years.

''Karev, Avery! I need you two in the ambulance bay right now!'' Richard shouted above the noise in the ER hall and they both got running towards him immediately.

''Is it Meredith sir?'' asked, after hearing the full story from Cristina of what had happened the day before when he was out of town for a friend's wedding party.

''Yes, she will be brought in along with who has found ''

The three of them quickly got dressed in full PPE and made their way into the ambulance bay. The sirens were blaring and the sound got louder any second, signaling that the ambulance was near its destination. When the ambulance stopped, got out rather quickly, almost tripping in the process.

''Meredith Grey, 28 years old female, possible broken shin and some cuts and bruises. Vitals are looking good'' Mark shouted and pulled the stretcher out of the back of the ambulance.

Richard immediately jumped into action and practically run over to the stretcher to see if she was alright. But what he saw, broke his heart and he let out a gasp. She was covered in dirt from head to toe and there were some angry looking cuts on her prone body.

''She's asleep now'' Mark told Richard. ''It's been a very long day for her and I just told her what Derek's condition is and almost right after, she fell asleep. So I don't wanna wake her sir. And nothing has changed in the way over here I just put a splint on her leg and hung a bag of saline''

But Richard eyes were still casting down on Meredith's body and no information came through whatsoever.

''Chief?'' Mark started, a bit confused as to why Richard was still looking at Meredith like she had grown 3 heads. ''Did you hear what I just said?''

Richard shot up immediately and looked confused at Mark. ''Uh.. What? Sorry , what did you say? We… We should get her inside, now'' And Richard pulled the stretcher inside along with Dr. Karev and who were in full doctor mode by now.

''We need thermal blankets!'' Richard shouted. ''And set up an I.V im-!''

''Chief!'' Mark interfered. ''I already set up an I.V and hung a bag of saline along with a splint for Meredith's leg. What we need now is getting her up for a Head-CT and check for internal bleeding''

''Okay! Let's get her up to CT now!'' Richard ordered, and within seconds Meredith was wheeled out of the trauma room.

''How's Meredith?'' Owen asked as he saw Meredith being wheeled out of the Trauma Room.

''It seems like she sustained no serious injuries but we don't know for sure until we get the scans done'' Richard answered in a quick response and looked down at his shoes in an attempt to block out the pain he was feeling in full force.

''She will be okay, Chief, she's a fighter just like Shepherd'' He said and gave Richard a pat on his shoulder as a supportive gesture. Though he knew that the pain would not go away with just a simple gesture like a pat on the shoulder. And most people would say: 'Time heals' but that's different for each human being. We all react differently on bad things happening in our lives. And somehow, we all need to deal with them in order to go on with our lives. Yeah.. life is that cruel.

30 minutes has passed since Meredith was wheeled out to get some scans done and Richard was getting quite impatient.

''They should be done by now, shouldn't' they?'' He asked impatiently.

''Chief, there may have been a delay. That's not unusual this time of the year'' Owen said, trying to reassure the Chief that nothing bad has happened with Meredith.

''But what if sh-'' But Richard got distracted when he saw the bed with Meredith on it coming towards him and he instantly took a run to see if something has changed or bad has happened.

''Is she okay?'' He asked to Mark who was staring directly into his eyes.

''She is, chief. The scans showed no major head injury, just a mild concussion and no internal bleeding has been detected. But there is a small fracture in her left shine, but it's only hair lined. So we just need to put that in a cast and some steri-strips to close the small wound on her shin''

Richard breathed a sigh of relief and a huge amount of pressure fell of his shoulders when Mark uttered those words. ''Has she been awake yet?'' He asked curiously and a bit hesitant because he knew from experience that even if the patients scans were clear, some just wouldn't wake up for no particular reason.

''Yes, she's been awake for about a minute when we got her out of the scanner. And she showed no signs of confusion or anything that should indicate a head injury'' Mark said with a bright smile plastered on his face.

''Good.. good'' Richard said relieved.

''Yeah..'' Mark replied. ''We're just gonna wheel her into her room now and we already paged to take a second look and put her left leg in a cast''

Richard nodded and then they wheeled her out of the hallway and into her room…

When Meredith was settled, Mark got the time to think. And the first thing that came on his mind was his brother. So he excused himself and got out of the room, but when he did, he bumped into Owen.

''Oh!.. so sorry , you alright?'' He asked and put his left hand instantly on Owen's shoulder, should he not be so steady on his feet.

''I'm alright , thank you'' He said and he steadied himself.

''Oh!'' Mark said, suddenly something coming up in his whirlwind of a mind again. ''Do you know what Derek's room is?''

''Yes, he's in room 882 on the CICU floor, but I should warn you. He's not looking too good'' He said with a sad expression that said everything.

'Of course he's not looking too good!' He thought. 'How the hell can you look good when you're in such bad shape as Derek' But this was not the time to argue. Keeping your head cool is essential in such situations. So he just nodded and said: ''Thank you'' And then he fled away, in desperate need to see his brother….

It was eerily quiet when he walked through the corridor of the CICU ward, in search of his brother. He passed some nurses who were staring at him and giggling loudly. And normally he would react, normally he would smile back and say something that made the nurses melt and then, he could fulfill his duty as a manwhore. But now.. he was nothing like that. Now, he was the man that acted like a brother, who worried for him and would reverse roles if it was possible. But it wasn't, and he stared at the ground, not daring to look up and meet a pair of eyes that would say sympathy. Because he wasn't in the mood for sympathy glares and sorry's. Not know… know he needed to be strong, for his brother and for himself.

When he got to Derek's room and stared through the glass door, he couldn't do much more than to gasp and stare. His mouth hanging open widely. He couldn't believe his eyes. His brother… so… so vulnerable and pale and… he… He choked up, and suddenly felt a warm hand pressing on his shoulder. He turned around and was met with Richard.

''Chief…'' Mark said, almost whispering. And although he didn't like to expose his other side, he knew that there was no room for shame or uneasiness. He could let his emotions out without some cruel aftermath, because everybody understood. Everybody knew what was going on and so it wasn't a shame if he let his emotions out.

''Don't'' Richard said. Knowing exactly what he wanted to say. Because unfortunately, he had experienced some himself and he knew that almost all of them took the blame for their loved ones getting hurt and Mark was a not an exception.

''But-''

''No!'' Richard said fiercely. ''You don't get the blame for this. You couldn't do a thing about it. It was just bad luck and I know that doesn't rake the guilt or pain away but you can't blame yourself, do you hear me? There's no possible way you could have prevent this from happening''

Mark looked down at the ground again, he just needed to not think. He needed to be alone. But deep down inside, he welcomed Richard's comfort so he just let his body take control. ''I know, but he looks so bad Chief, he looks so bad and I can't… I just can't'' Suddenly, out of the blue, a lone tear escaped his eyelids and landed on his shoe. At that moment, he wanted to run, to hide, and just forget this ever happened. But he knew there was no possible way he could get out of here without being seen, so he chose to stay right here, where the damage would be minimal.

''Mark'' Richard spoke, debating in his head if he should name him by his first name or to just go with his surname. He opted for the first. ''It's okay. I know it's scary to see Derek so vulnerable. But I strongly believe he will pull through and I need you to believe that too''

Mark looked up, meeting Richard's eyes and there he saw nothing other than sincere sympathy. And for the first time since forever he felt relief. Relief like he had never felt before and he believed the Chief that his brother would be okay eventually ,although he knew a tough recovery would be inevitable. But Derek was strong and he was going to make it, and a few bumps on the road would not stop him with Meredith by his side.

Suddenly he remembered he needed to check on Meredith. ''Oh Chief, I need to go, I need to check on Meredith again. Uh.. can you tell me if anything changes..?''

Richard nodded and said: ''Of course, go check on Meredith, I will tell you when something changes right away''

''Thank you Chief'' He said and then walked away towards the elevator that would lead him towards Meredith's floor.

When he saw Mark taking the elevator he turned around and started to walk away but he got met with 2 pair of eyes staring at him intensively.

Alex and Lexie were standing in front of the nurses' station, both looking sad with tears glistering in Lexie's eyes. She opened her mouth to say something but nothing came out.

Then all of a sudden, Alex spoke up: ''How is he doing?'' He asked, and you could sense there was a lot of baggage behind his voice. The way he spoke was just foreign to her and being completely silent for almost the entire day it surprised Lexie and she stared at him with compassion. She knew that Alex was a friend of Meredith's and that he can show his sentimental side sometimes. But just not very often, so she was genuinely surprised by his action.

''He's struggling… but holding on'' Richard said.

Alex and Lexie just nodded and then Richard spoke up again. ''Excuse me, I need to go now'' And within a second he took off. Walking towards the same elevator Mark had disappeared in just minutes ago.

He just needed to get out of this place in order to clear his head and make rational decisions if needed. He just… he just needed to be able to feel real again…