Sorry about the wait, hope it lives up to your usual expectations of me.

Chapter 26: Terminal Velocity

Meredith pulled the trail blazer to a stop passenger side facing Derek, she popped the latch to the back and saw Amelia start loading boxes of medical equipment and supplies inside. She and Mark stood on either side of Derek," You ready?" he nodded, Mark put an arm beneath Derek's knees and the other beneath his arm," Don't move your leg," he nodded to Meredith," stabilize it," she held his ankle as Mark picked him up,' He's lost too much weight,' his heart sank,' Don't make me regret this, Derek,' he set his friend gently in the backseat of the vehicle and heard his breath catch as his wounds were jarred," You okay?" he whispered in Derek's ear.

"Hurts," he took a few short breaths and winced as Meredith put his leg on the floorboard.

"I'll ride in the back with him, Mark would you drive?" Meredith offered him the keys.

"Sure."

"Thanks," Meredith checked to see if his leg cleared the door before closing it.

"He needs you more than anything right now," Mark gave her a quick hug and got in the driver's seat.

"Amy you wanna ride with us?" Meredith offered," We have a spot left and I need someone to help me with him."

"I'd like that, please," Amelia turned to her mom and sister," I'll see you at their house?"

"Okay, see you there," Carolyn started across the parking lot to her own vehicle.

"Do you know the way?" Amelia called after her mother.

"I have a GPS, Amy," Carolyn's voice cut like a knife.

Meredith climbed into the seat next to Derek," Scoot over here," she helped steady him as he moved into the middle of the backseat," Amy needs a spot."

"Amy?" his eyes brightened as the door opened and Amy settled in next to him.

"Derek!" she resisted the urge to throw her arms around him and bawl into his shoulder, instead she pressed her face against his and kissed his cheek," I was so worried," Mark's words echoed in her ears as she ran her fingers through his hair,' I'm so glad you're alive,' she closed her eyes and silently thanked God.

"Seatbelts," Mark turned and nodded to his passengers and smiled.

"Gotcha," Meredith handed Amelia the end of Derek's seatbelt, she carefully tucked it beneath his arm and secured it.

Derek leaned his head against the back of the seat and closed his eyes, Amelia's hand felt heavenly in his,' I'm going home...' thoughts of collapsing in his bed, on his pillows and snuggling with Meredith ran through his head, he smiled to himself as they pulled away from the curb.

"What's your pain at?" Meredith stroked his cheek.

"Five," he was honest if nothing else.

"So we gave you enough pain meds for the trip?"

"Yeah, I'm okay."

"Good," she slipped a hand around his bicep,' We'll get these back to normal,' she sat as close to him as she could get to keep him from moving in the seat from the curves and turns.

Mark drove as carefully as he could, he winced at every bump and curve. Constantly checking his rearview, he nervously navigated the streets towards their house. It still shocked him when he looked at Derek, so fragile, so pale, so...weak. Derek had always been the 'strong' one in the friendship, even remaining friends after Addison cheated on him and not taking it out on either of them. His memory flashed back to their scuffle on the catwalk at the hospital...

==FLASHBACK==

Mark ran a hand through his hair as he crossed the catwalk,' Lexie, why did it end up like...' his thoughts were interrupted as he suddenly saw Derek's fist on its way to his jaw. His body froze and couldn't react fast enough, Derek connected. His head whipped to the side and he almost hit the floor,' I guess I deserved that one,' he gingerly touched his lip and saw it was bleeding,' I'll let that one...' as he was recovering, Derek was taking another shot,' Fuck that,' instinct took over and he dodged, his forearm caught Derek's chest...

His mind jumped from the catwalk to the OR, Derek's lips blue, his eyes red beneath them from blood loss and his clothes torn to pieces. The defib paddles were still stuck to his chest, with leads and wires and an oxygen mask and...

Mark thought of the fight they'd had on the catwalk and felt like he'd been stabbed in the gut,' Derek...' he almost didn't want to touch him for lack of knowing where to start,' Please stay alive,' he'd turned it off and just operated, just told Derek it was going to be okay and that he was going to fix him.

==END FLASHBACK==

'Fix him...' the words echoed in his mind like a scratched CD on repeat.

For Derek, the ride home was usually something he enjoyed. He would cross that little bridge over the river where it narrowed and look out across it at the ferry boats and smile, remembering that he and Meredith always took a rid on them at least once a month. Today, the ride home was bittersweet, the bumps over the bridge that he'd never noticed before jarred his body and made him nauseous. He tried to hide the fact that he was no longer at a five, instead he leaned his head on Amelia's shoulder and focused on trying to to tear up,' I've been doing that a lot lately,' he mentally kicked himself. He closed his eyes,' Dammit why doesn't this pain just give me a break?' Mark hit a pothole in the road, Derek coughed and put a hand over his chest,' Feels like my chest is being ripped open,' Mark apologized and he nodded, unable to speak and barely able to breathe normally. His vision blurred and he blacked out.

"We're here," someone was patting his hand," Derek?"

"Mmkay, Mer," his words ran together a bit,' I dozed off?' his thoughts were clouded,' No,' he remembered,' I passed out,' he felt Amelia unbuckle his seatbelt.

"You okay?" Mark worked the seatbelt away from his body and slid an arm beneath his knees," I wasn't too rough was I?"

Derek shook his head," You did great, Mark."

"Good, put your arm over my shoulder," Mark ducked his head.

As Mark lifted Derek from the backseat, Derek saw something he wasn't expecting. His Porshe sat in the driveway, a clear tarp over the window Clark had bashed his head through. Blood spattered the interior, his jacket and cellphone in the passenger seat. He wanted to run, wanted to forget any of this ever happened. Searing pain shot up his leg as he was reminded of the more recent surgery, his head spun and he suddenly couldn't breathe.

"Derek?" Mark must have felt him trembling, his gaze followed Derek's to the Porshe.

"I haven't brought it to the..." Meredith stammered.

"It just..." Derek's head spun as he remembered the attack.

"Let's get you to bed, I'm sure you must be exhausted," Mark tried to turn Derek's attention away while keeping in mind that his mother and other sister were close behind them.

"Yeah..." Derek couldn't stop his head from resting on Mark's shoulder as Meredith unlocked the door. He felt like he'd black out before he even got in the door, images and memories made his mind race and his anxiety spiked. His body was still on fire as muscles he hadn't moved in days suddenly tensed as he tried to keep his balance and ground himself.

Concrete crunched beneath the tires as Carolyn and Nancy pulled up just in time to see Derek's head fall onto Mark's shoulder. Meredith and Amelia had gathered as many bags of equipment as they could carry and were following Mark into the house. It all seemed so surreal to be back at home since Clark's hitman had attacked her, images she wanted to forget forced their way into her head and made her feel almost as weak as she imagined Derek felt in his drug-induced stupor.

Mark looked over his shoulder and searched for Meredith," Upstairs?"

"Yeah, should have everything we need there," Meredith heard car doors close and Nancy's shoes click against the stone steps leading up to the door.

"I'll get the rest of the stuff, Meredith," Amelia set the duffel bag on the floor," go help Mark."

"Thanks, Amy," Meredith smiled at her and dragged the load of baggage up the stairs behind Mark.

Derek heard the familiar creak of the stairs as Mark carried him to the top of them. He was so relieved to finally be at home he didn't even care that Mark had to bring him, he felt himself being lowered and sighed deeply as he sank into the satin sheets of his own bed. Mark started to straighten his right leg, he winced and resisted at first. After a few agonizing minutes, Mark had a pillow beneath his knees and was covering him with one of his favorite blankets.

"How's that?" Mark still had an arm beneath his shoulders and was shoving pillows behind his back, he felt dizzy and his entire body was almost numb it hurt so bad but he managed a nod.

"If I don't get this hooked up I'll have to pull the old cannula and start a new central line," Meredith hung a new bag of IV fluids and connected the line to the port," How're you feeling?" she sat on the edge of the bed next to him.

"Dizzy," he admitted," anxious..."

"Okay, your mom and sisters want to see you for a few minutes; but first Mark's giving you some more Diazepam and getting you calm," she put her hand on top of his," Derek, it's good to have you home."

For the first time since the attack, he smiled for real and let himself relax. He felt a pressure in his forearm as a fresh cocktail hit his system and closed his eyes, Meredith had curled up in bed next to him and had her cheek against his hip. He leaned his head back and felt himself drifting.

"Derek, do you have everything you need?" his mother's voice intruded on his blissful moment.

"M'fine," he didn't bother to raise his head, for one he didn't know if he had the strength and for two just in case he didn't have the strength he didn't want his mother seeing that.

"You sure?"

"Mmmmhmmmm..."

"I'll need to get back to my practice, I got a phone call on the way here," Nancy stalked into the room," there's a baby in distress and my patient won't let anyone operate but me," Derek opened his eyes just enough to see Nancy," I'll come back if you need me you know," she ran her fingers through his hair," I love you, little brother," she kissed his forehead.

"Love you too," he smiled, Nancy headed out the door before anyone could see the tear escape her eye.

"I have a few more days in the hotel that I'd already paid for..." Carolyn searched for words.

"Ms. Shepherd," Mark put an arm around her shoulders," Derek needs as much rest as he can get, if you need to go back to work we'll give you daily updates on how he is and have him call you when he's feeling good."

"I just...I don't want to..."

"Mom," Derek risked fatigue and another blackout as he raised his head to meet his mother's gaze," I'm okay, really," Carolyn slid an arm beneath his neck and held him close," Go back to work."

"Okay honey," she kissed his hair and lay him back on the pillows gently," if you need me you can call anytime day or night."

"Promise," he felt so tired he was afraid he'd fall asleep mid-sentence.

"I'll be back when I can," she got up and wiped her eyes," Love you, son."

"Love you too, Mom."

"Meredith, Mark..." Carolyn motioned for them to follow.

"I'll be right back," Meredith got up and followed Mark out of the room.

"Things look okay? I mean he's not just putting on a brave face for me and..."

"We had an incident yesterday, but I think having him home will help him improve. Ms. Shepherd, I'll be honest, Derek is putting on that brave face so he won't have to worry about you worrying about him. He's no longer critical, but he's still in a lot of pain and far from recovered," Meredith decided laying it all out there would be better than trying to justify a lie.

"Thank you," she hugged Meredith," please," she released Meredith and put a hand on each of her shoulders," take good care of my son."

"I will, promise," Meredith smiled.

"It was good to see you, Mark."

"Always a pleasure, Ms. Shepherd," he gave her a big hug.

"I got the rest of the stuff..." Amelia stopped.

"Thanks, go ahead and bring it to his room," Meredith backed back into her bedroom," I've also got you and Mark somewhere to sleep if you..."

"Thanks, Mer, I know both of you need sleep," she hauled the duffel bags in the bedroom and piled them on the floor at the foot of the bed," Mark and I are here to help you out, you go spend some time with Derek," she went to his side and squeezed his hand," Feel good to be home?" he nodded drunkenly," Go on and get some sleep, Mark and I will settle in by ourselves."

Once they'd left, Meredith crawled back into bed with Derek and snuggled beneath the covers.

"Mer?"

"Yeah?"

"Ssshowrr?"

"After a nap we can get you cleaned up," Meredith stroked his cheek, he nuzzled into her touch and she saw his eyes close. Within seconds his breath slowed to soft short quiet puffs on her fingertips. She propped a pillow behind her shoulder and snuggled into the crook of his arm," Love you..." she let the darkness drag her into sleep willingly and reveled in the smell of her own sheet-set.

Derek's eyes opened lazily, he yawned and looked down at Meredith as she slept next to him,' It's like nothing's changed,' he smiled and stretched his toes, he drew a sharp breath as his leg complained,' Except for that,' he felt unbelievably stiff. Meredith had instinctively nestled into his side and had a hand on his hip, he ran his fingers through her hair and smiled,' The last few weeks have been such a blur,' he braced and tried to reposition, his chest felt like it'd burst. Bits and pieces of his stay at the hospital flashed back to him.

==FLASHBACK==

Derek was awake but sedated so heavily that his response time was so slow it scared him, he'd told his hand to move but the only thing happening was a simple twitch of his fingers. He was about to panic when he felt a hand on his, gentle and soft. Like a mother to a child, the hand stroked his and another went to his forehead," Derek..." the voice sounded a million miles away," don't move around," he willed his eyes to open and found they wouldn't," You just got out of surgery a few hours ago, we have you sedated to keep you comfortable," he tried to lick his lips and speak and found his tongue was trapped to the floor of his mouth, he choked and tried to cough it out of his mouth.

"Calm down," the hand moved to his cheek and turned his head towards the voice," there's a tube in your mouth," his lips burned and his throat tightened," we're going to take it out when you wake up," his eyes finally listened and he managed to open them enough to see Bailey sitting next to him. His vision blurred and his chest started to hurt, he turned his head and arched his back to try and shake the pain," Lay still for me," Bailey's finger touched his lips, a silky smooth lip balm nourished the cracks in them. He let the black edges of his vision take over and felt his eyes closing," I don't know if you'll remember this," her voice shook," but just in case. If you're not ready to wake up, don't, go back to sleep and rest until your body can handle this," her hand found his again and this time he squeezed back," It's okay, you won't be alone when you wake up again," she watched his body go slack and his hand dropped its grip on hers.

==END FLASHBACK==

"Derek?" Meredith stretched a bit and trailed her hand down his leg like she did to his chest every morning when they woke up for work," You awake?"

"Yeah," he tested his pain level as he leaned a bit towards her.

"Okay, ready for that shower?" she sat up slowly so she wouldn't disrupt his positioning too much.

"I think so," he kissed her forehead and took a deep breath, inhaling the sweet flowery scent of her hair.

==FLASHBACK==

Meredith stood in the foyer facing Derek, who had just walked in," You almost died today..." the words seemed to bounce off her, of course after someone explodes in front of you and tiny pieces of them get stuck in your hair and all over your scrubs after having just handled the explosive yourself...well that takes a bit out of a person.

"Yeah, I did..." he nodded and slowly turned and gripped the doorknob," You know the only thing I was thinking about was the fact I couldn't remember the last time we kissed, or the last time we were together and really happy...and that's pathetic."

He opened the door and paused," You had just gotten out of the shower, your hair smelled like some tropical flower and I was on my way to work. You stood up and kissed me, soft and quick...like it was habit and we'd be doing it for the rest of our lives, that's the last time we were..." she saw the faint smile that had formed was now drooping.

"Lavender..." he turned to look at her," my hair smelled like lavender."

==END FLASHBACK==

Meredith had gotten up and was digging in their closet, she'd thrown several things over her shoulder and was on her way to the bathroom when she just stopped and looked at him. The two exchanged a brief moment of understanding and bliss," Oh damn," she facepalmed.

"What?" he cocked his head to the side.

"I forgot to get a shower chair," she tossed their clothes on the counter," and it's time for your meds," she bent down and unzipped a duffel bag.

"So how are we...?" he pretended to still be interested in the idea of a chair so he wouldn't have to stand up, while taking in the view before him.

"You're either standing and we'll make it fast," she began putting his pills in her palm and counting them," or I grab one of the dining room chairs and..."

"A what?" he almost laughed at the idea of bringing one of their so-vintage-it-was-almost-antique chairs into the shower.

"Well there's our options," she double checked his meds and checked them off on the chart," take these."

"What are they?" his body began warming up and the aches started, painful, dull throbbing sensations in his legs and lower back and a sharp stabbing shock to his chest and shoulders. He shook his head," Nevermind," he let her put the pills on his tongue.

"While we wait for those to kick in, I've got to figure out how we're going to do this," she unhooked the IV from the pole and taped it to the back of his forearm.

"Help me," his sentence cut short by a small grunt as he sat up.

"Huh?"

"I've been in the hospital for two weeks using a bedpan, my own bathroom is sounding pretty good right now," he smirked at her.

"Oh, sorry," she unfolded the wheelchair and pushed it to the edge of the bed," Do you need help...?"

"Yeah," she saw him wince as he moved too quickly.

"Take your time," she uncovered his legs, he flexed his left foot and grabbed beneath his knee with his good arm," You're cheating," she scolded.

"If you knew...h-how bad this hurt," he groaned as he caught his breath.

"Sorry," she put a hand on his shoulder," I wanted to wait until your meds kicked in."

"My body says otherwise," his face flushed, Meredith slid a hand beneath his knee and helped it off the bed. He yelped as it bent and his toes touched the floor," Wait..." he held up a hand as Meredith prepared to help him stand," Just..." he panted.

"I'm in no hurry."

"G-get Mark," as embarrassing as it was to have his best friend pick him up, the pain was just about unbearable.

"You can do this," Meredith put two fingers beneath his chin and lifted his face to meet hers, she felt her heart break when she saw tears in his eyes.

"Mer...it...hurts..." he spaced the words between breaths.

"Okay," Meredith kissed his forehead," I'll get Mark."

Derek felt like he'd pass out while he waited for Meredith to come back with Mark,' This isn't quite how I'd imagined it,' he glanced around him, happy to be home but not so pleased with the duffel bags of medical equipment scattered around the room and the IV pole that was basically keeping him alive draining drugs into his system. He felt sick and his head drooped," Man you've got one helluva comfy couch down there, I fell asleep watching TV," Mark smiled warmly as he came into the room. He bent down next to Derek and put his arm under Derek's shoulder," This should help," he put the other arm under his knees.

"Y-yeah," Mark felt Derek's fingers dig into his shoulder as he jarred him.

"Meredith," Mark nodded to the bathroom, she pushed the rugs out of the walkway and put the toilet lid up. Once comfortable and stable, Mark and Meredith let Derek have something no one at the hospital had really let him have...privacy.

The two sat on the bed and flipped through TV channels aimlessly for some sort of background noise," Yang and Hunt are supposed to come by later on," Meredith leaned her head on Mark's arm," Thanks."

"Don't thank me," Mark put his arm around her and pulled her into him, she lay her head back on his chest and remembered when she'd felt Derek's chest for the first time like that. He'd come up behind her while she was drinking coffee in the elevator and just laid his head on her shoulder and pulled her gently into him. She sighed as she thought back on the memory and smiled," I should be thanking you for keeping him alive."

"I hope you're right."

"Hmmm?" he changed the channel," 'bout what?"

"Him being home..."

"I hope I am too, Mer."

Derek unbuttoned his shirt with his more coordinated hand and shrugged it off his shoulder,' Now for the hard part,' he reached over his other and gingerly pulled on the fabric until it fell from his body onto the floor. He leaned his head back and prepared, once he gathered courage and strength he pulled the waistband of his boxers and sweats to his knees,' Don't hurt, don't hurt, don't hurt,' he chanted in his head, dreading even the softest touch on his knee. He pulled them together and took a deep breath as he shoved the elastic over the surgery site. He gasped and his vision blurred,' Damn that's tender,' he examined the gauze that covered the site,' I should get Meredith and Mark,' he surveyed his body and remembered how bad it hurt just to try and sit up unassisted, he leaned to his good side and reached behind him,' I can at least do this,' his fingers grazed the handle and he grunted as he struggled to get a grip on it. Once his fingers found the cold metal he pulled and cradled his arm in his lap as the toilet flushed. He waited until he was sure he could speak without sounding as weak as he now felt," Meredith?"

Meredith jumped and went to the door," You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm good," he flexed his fingers and grit his teeth.

"Can I come in?"

"Yeah," he couldn't hide the strain in his voice as he tried to fight his body.

"You sure you're okay? Everything normal," Meredith's doctor side immediately switched on," no pain or constipation or..."

"Meredith!" he looked away from her and his face flushed," I'm f-fine."

"Sorry..." it was Meredith's turn to blush," so about that shower..."

"I can't shtand for..."

"You can't stand because you can't get that knee wet," Meredith interrupted him," we're wrapping cellophane around it and making this quick."

"Okay," she kissed him on the forehead.

"I see you've already done away with the clothes," she ruffled his hair playfully, he grinned at her.

"I see you haven't."

"Mark's gone to find you something to sit on so you won't have to stand up, so he'll be back," she glanced at the door.

"Yeah, Mark seeing my lasht wife naked was what ended my marriage," he smirked," I like you a bit more."

"I hope so," Meredith felt a small pang of guilt.

"Here," Mark's voice came from behind the door and ended the awkwardness that was starting to consume the bathroom," it's all I could find, I hope it's okay."

"Perfect," Meredith had cracked the door open," Thanks Mark," she pulled a plastic folding lawn chair into the bathroom.

"You two behave now," Mark called after them as he shut the bedroom door.

"We won't," Derek raised an eyebrow," at least if I have a shay in thingsh..."

Drunk Derek :) nice lil fluffy chapter for you guys, hope you like the lil flashback moment with him and Bailey. I really enjoyed writing that one :)

Author's Note: A lot of my fans have been asking about Clark...I haven't forgotten about him, I'm leading up to a HUGE climax so watch the foreshadowing in the next few chaps :)