-1"Derek?" Meredith wheezed out when she saw him peek into her room Friday morning.
"You don't sound too well." He commented as he entered her room.
"I don't feel well. I can't get up."
"Really?" He asked doubtfully.
"Well I can. I just feel yucky."
"Too yucky for a kiss." He asked.
"Mhmm." She nodded pitifully.
He reached a hand out to her forehead to check her temperature. "Warm." He muttered passing a soothing thumb over her cheek. "I can't stay home sweetie. But I was heading in early so that I could get home and start the weekend with you."
"That's okay. I'm self-sufficient."
"I know you are and that's perfect. But I want to be here when I can. It's part of being a boyfriend." He whispered making Meredith smile. "Okay I'm going to go to work. You can go to your meeting if you think you can do it. Call me if you need me."
"Bye Derek." She said softly.
A bit later she rolled out of bed and found her phone. She called her professor to reschedule their meeting. Thankfully he was okay with it and had time open Monday. After she finished talking to him she filled her nebulizer and sat down on the bed to use it.
"How is today going?" Derek asked later into the afternoon.
"Uhhhhhghhhhhhhhrrrrhhhh." She groaned.
"That good huh?" He laughed. "Need anything? I'm on my way home." She didn't answer him and a moment later the phone went dead on his end.
"Something I can eat and oj." She texted him a moment later.
He quickly stopped into a grocery store picking up some stuff she could eat. He drove home in record time.
He left the food in the kitchen and immediately walked up the steps to check on her. He slipped into bed beside her, allowing her to snuggle against his side. He ran his fingers through her hair and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. "Are you hungry." She pointed to her throat and ran her finger down its length. "You're thirsty?" He asked leaning down to kiss her throat making her smile wearily. "Okay I'm going to go down and get you something to drink." He promised hurrying downstairs, returning before she could get comfortable.
He helped her sit up to drink the juice he brought her. When she finished he put the glass on her nightstand for her. "I'm going to go start dinner." He told her giving her a sad look.
She shook her head with as much vigor as she could muster, "I wanna go." She hoarsely, causing a coughing fit. Derek sighed looking around the room quickly. He grabbed a quilt off of her reading chair and pulled the blankets off of her. Wrapping it tightly around her fevered body he scooped her gently off of the bed. He carried her to the couch.
"I want you to stay here." He said clearly. He made dinner in the kitchen, continually glancing into the den to make sure she was alright.
As she sat in the den waiting she turn on the tv. She found a mindless reality show and sat back. Blankly staring at the screen she began to think. Derek was taking care of her, not just checking in on her, but not even letting her out of his sight while he did everything he could for her. A tear slipped down her cheek and she wiped it away.
A bit later he set the food in front of them and she made room for him on the couch. She was so tired from sitting downstairs that all she could do was lean against him holding her plate on her knee as he ate. He noticed she was still warm as he wrapped an arm around her. He finished his dinner and set his plate on the coffee table. He realized she hadn't eaten and took her fork from her. He gently fed her until she has eaten what he decided was an acceptable amount. He set her plate on top of his and leaned back against the couch. She smiled at him, touching her lips and pushing her open hand forward.
"You're welcome Mer." He said comfortingly. He could feel her tiny body heaving with the effort it was taking merely to breathe. "C'mon. Upstairs with you. I think you need to use your machine." He directed.
After she finished her treatment, he brushed the hair from her eyes as she leaned back against the pillows exhaustedly. He left her room and came back a short time later carrying some things. He handed her a few pills and a glass of juice. She obligingly took the medicine and looked back up at him. He stuck a thermometer under her tongue and took a seat beside her on the bed. After a moment he removed it and checked her temperature.
"You're running a fever." He murmured concerned. "What else is hurting?"
"My throat's, my chest hurts from coughing, I'm stuffed up and my nose is leaking, my eyes are runny and itchy, I ache everywhere, my head hurts. I feel sick all over."
"My little girl, you are sick all over." He agreed. He helped her to sit up so he could listen to the rattle in her chest, the wheeze was continuous. He found a robe hanging in her closet and slid some slippers onto her feet. He walked her to the bathroom where he had a hot shower running with the door closed. He hung the robe on the back of the door, as she settled on the floor. He put a trashcan in front of her and grabbed a few washcloths. He sat on the floor with her, a leg on each side of her, one hand holding her stomach and one rubbing her back. He dipped a washcloth into the hot water of the shower and pulled her shirt up. He rubbed the cloth on her back for a moment before dipping another cloth to put on her chest.
After a while the heat started to work and she started to cough more. He pat her back trying to help her. She kept leaning back against him, worn out, before another coughing fit would strike. Once she had had enough he helped her back to her room and tucked her under the blankets while he went back to the bathroom to clean it up.
He returned with a jar of chest rub offering it her, she sighed and pulled at her robe. Derek took the hint and rubbed some on for her, trying hard to not think about where his hand was. She flashed him a coy look and he smiled screwing the top back on the jar, setting it on the nightstand. He went to his room for a moment and found some lounge pants, discarded his shirt, returning to Meredith's room. She moved over in the bed, allowing him to climb in with her.
"We don't have anything to do tomorrow. I'm going to stay with you tonight." He explained. "Your breathing sucks. We may go to the hospital tomorrow." He warned. Meredith ignored him, moving closer to him so their chests were touching. He could feel the heat resonating off her slight body as she snuggled into him. He allowed her tuck her head under his chin so he could breathe in the scent of her hair.
The next morning Meredith woke before Derek. She rolled away from him trying to keep her breathing steady as she tested out her muscles. She tried to stand up to go to the bathroom, but didn't even have the strength to do that. She laid back against the pillows breathing heavily leading to a coughing fit. She tried to say Derek's name, but found the only sound she could make was a wheeze and a cough. She fell back asleep trying to pull the blankets back over her.
An hour later Derek awoke. He hadn't gotten a lot of sleep that night, every time she would cough it would wake him. He looked over at her and pulled the blankets over her body. He felt her forehead, finding it still warm. She opened her eyes staring blankly at him for a moment.
"C'mon Mer." He said helping her sit up. "Talk to me sweetie." He asked. She shook her head. She made a fist, sticking her thumb between her middle and pointer fingers and shook her fist. "Do you need help?" He asked, knowing that was a sign for bathroom, grateful he had paid some attention over the years. She nodded. He helped her to the bathroom and shut the door walking to his own room for moment.
Meanwhile Meredith was getting pissed off. Every other time she had gotten sick she had taken care of herself and here she was needing help to the bathroom. She washed her hands and determinedly opened the bathroom door. Before Derek realized she was finished she walked to her bedroom and shut the door behind her climbing into bed to rest. That short walk had winded her and she was wheezing. And the wheezing led to coughing.
"Uhnnhhh." She grunted clearing her throat.
"Jesus Mer, you're going to hurt yourself."
"M'fine." She managed before she started coughing again. "I can do it." She signed as she was coughing. "Leave me alone. Go away and let me be. I'm an adult, not a child." She signed in a rush. Derek stared at her blankly.
"I caught child." He offered with a smile. "You're a child?" He teased knowing she probably was reminding him she wasn't one. "In that case you need lots of care and attention." He kneeled beside her bed smiling at her.
Angrily she pushed him away. She stood up and he stood too. She started pushing him towards the door, weakly shoving him along. Once she got him past the doorway she leaned against it and broke into a coughing fit.
"Meredith, you're hurting yourself. Why don't you just lay down and let me take care of you."
"Because. I can do it." She sputtered. "I always have."
Derek stood outside her room and watched her wheeze and shakily make her way around her room. She paused for a moment to glare at him standing in the doorway. "Mer are you sure you're okay?"
"Go away." She growled.
He shrugged his shoulders and glanced to her night table to make sure her phone was there. Satisfied she would be able to get a hold of him if she needed he turned and went to his room. He grabbed a key to the guest house and his cell and trotted downstairs.
When they had moved they put all of the extra things out in the guest house. Meredith had tried to straighten the things out, but hadn't been too serious about it. And they had also stuck the empty boxes in there, not thinking they would actually need to use it. He moved from room to room gathering boxes and setting them in the den. He also tried to take inventory of what was out there. They both had more than enough stuff to fill two houses. He was surprised she had all the stuff she did. She was only 22 and never lived on her own. He figured it was mostly stuff from her grandmothers, stuff from her dorm, and maybe stuff that filled her third floor apartment at Ellis' house. He looked through the kitchen and found all sorts of gadgets and silverware. He looked in a few boxes sitting on a kitchen table and found some appliances. There was a stove and a fridge in there too.
Finally he took the boxes up to the main house and started to pack up his room. He emptied his drawers and then his closet into Meredith's luggage he hauled up from the guest house. He gathered knickknacks and everything else in his room over the next few hours and slowly carried it down to the guest house leaving enough things for a few days in the main house. Once he finished that he looked in the office contemplating where he should move that down to the guest house. He decided to leave it merely taking his laptop down to the guest house. It was pointless to move everything since he didn't really have an office down in the guest house.
He considered checking on Meredith, but decided against it since he could still hear her coughing occasionally. He shook his head. She was sick and probably needed to go to the doctor, but she was being her stubborn old self. It upset him that she closed up like that. She rarely did that anymore, but something triggered that reaction. He needed to find out what it was. But for the moment he settled for transferring his possessions.
Once everything was actually in the guest house he looked in what would be his bedroom. Meredith had made up the bed and hung curtains. He checked the guest room and found that that was too ready for an occupant, except for the boxes piled on the bed filled with their things. He returned to his room and first filled the closet with the things he had left on hangers. Then he hung his shoe rack over the door and filled it with shoes. He had almost gotten through with filling the drawers when he got a weird feeling, uneasy. He checked his cell, but there were no messages. He tried calling Meredith, but he didn't get an answer. He tried to calm down, telling himself that Meredith was self-sufficient, but would call him if she needed him. But he knew she was stubborn. Too stubborn. And what made him think she would admit when she needed help. She'd never had anybody to turn to for help except him and Cristina.
Reluctantly he opened his phone and found Cristina's number. He dialed and took a breath preparing himself.
"What did you do?" Cristina asked, knowing Derek wouldn't willingly call her. He would never admit it, but they never quite got around to liking each other and he didn't like her too much. But she was Meredith's best friend and he respected that. Much like she respected that for some reason Meredith actually liked this guy.
"Nothing. She's sick and she won't let me take care of her." He said.
"And you're calling me because?"
"I just wanted to let you know that she was sick. And since she is refusing my help I'm guessing she's going to call you if she needs help." He admitted.
"Yeah. Okay. I'll keep an eye out for her calls. You just keep an eye on her. She'll start getting congested and ignore it and before you realize it she's got bronchitis or pneumonia or something else. Keep an eye on the asthma." Cristina suggested.
"Wait when should I drag her to a doctor?"
"When she starts using her machine a lot. If it doesn't clear up and she starts running a fever take her. Just listen to the congestion and if it sounds bad take her. How is she sounding?"
"Sore throat from the coughing. Rattle in her chest. Wheezy. She has a fever."
"Maybe you should start thinking about taking her in. Don't let her go out anywhere on her own. Especially with it this cold. She's probably exhausted."
"Yeah. Alright Cristina, thanks."
"No problem. Keep me posted."
He hung up with Cristina and sighed. He had left her by herself since this morning and it was now heading towards evening. He still had a few boxes to go, but decided to leave them for now and check in on Meredith. Maybe she had calmed down and would talk about it.
He sighed as he walked out of the guest house. He went straight to her room and opened her door. He found her sitting on the bed, elbows resting on her knees as she struggled to breathe with her machine. He could see her shaking form across the room, but he wasn't sure if she was cold or if the albeuterol was working.
"I'm fine." She gasped as he walked towards her.
"Mmm." Derek grunted in response.
"I can do it."
"Yes and I know you can. You've done it forever. But Mer seriously! Let go! I can take care of you too."
"I don't need to be taken care of."
"But maybe I need to do it. So shut up and let me." He responded. "I think you're on your way to the hospital." He declared. She glared at him for even bringing up the hospital. "You're going to make yourself seriously sick." She continued to puff on her nebulizer ignoring what Derek saying, knowing he was right.
He sighed and went to get her juice and something to eat. He returned with a tray and set it on a dresser. She let him turn off the machine and set it under her nightstand. Then help her lean back against the pillows. He put the tray on her lap and sat beside her.
She picked at her toast while he peeled an orange for her. "You're supposed to eat it, not pull it apart." He reminded her. "Here." He held a slice of the orange to her mouth. She took it with her hands and picked at it. Finally she ate it. The moment she swallowed he held up another.
"I don't wanna eat."
He offered her the juice and she sighed taking a sip and pushing it away.
"I want to sleep, but my throat and chest." She told him. Derek sighed sympathetically. "Can you get a xanex outta my purse?" She asked. He knew she was only supposed to take them for anxiety, but she took it to help her sleep after a couple of days of sleeplessness. He reluctantly fished the pills out of her purse and handed her one with the juice.
After she took it she handed him the juice. "Thank you." She coughed. "Can you put a new movie in the dvd player?" She asked. He picked out one of her favorite chick flicks and settled back on her bed.
"Are you going to watch this with me?"
"I don't know are you going to be all bi-polar on me?" He teased
"Stay with me until I fall asleep."
"Is that an apology?"
"You're going to keep on aren't you." She grumbled. "Can't you stop. I'm sick and I'm letting you take care of me. So you shut up."
He laughed at her taking her in his arm, hugging her close. "Fine. Let's just watch the movie." He said grabbing the remote.
She fell asleep about an hour later, but he stayed with her longer listening to her rattled breathing. He checked his watch and decided to go ahead and make some dinner.
He checked the freezer and found some frozen manicotti Meredith had made on one of her cooking sprees. He stuck the pan in the oven and found some garlic bread. He set that on the counter and went to check on Meredith. She was still asleep but her breathing was quieter. Satisfied he went back downstairs. Another hour later he took the manicotti out of the oven and set it out to cool. Then he put the garlic bread in and waited for it to cook.
He took their plates up to her room and tried to wake her up. She stirred, but didn't wake. He set the food aside and set her up on the pillows. Groggily she looked at him.
"Mer…what's wrong?" He asked putting a hand to her face, finding it warmer than ever.
"I'm hot." She coughed. He picked up the thermometer and stuck it under her tongue.
"Uh-uh babe." He murmured. "This is too high. We're going to the emergency room. Can you get dressed?" She shook her head. He went to her closet and found a pair of track pants for her. He found a thin long sleeved shirt and a R-MC sweatshirt.
"I need a shower." He shot her a quick glance. "I can do it." She assured him. He helped her to the bathroom. She had to rest for a moment because of the pounding in her head. She showered and dressed.
Derek was waiting at the door for her. He had grabbed her purse, meds, and a book for the both of them. He gathered her things and helped her to the car.
On the way there he noticed she used her inhaler, but only started wheezing more. When they go to the hospital Meredith could barely breathe. Derek scooped her up and carried her in.
By a small miracle, the ER waiting room was practically empty. Within no time Meredith was taken into the back. Derek ran back out to the car to get their things that he had forgotten in the rush to get her inside. When he returned Meredith was hooked up to an IV and had a mask over her face. He looked at her questioningly.
She reached to move the mask, but Derek bat her hand away and repositioned it. "I'm dehydrated." She explained
"Mask?"
"Treatment."
"My little girl." He murmured against the top of her head. "I know how you hate needles. I'm sorry I was gone."
"They poked me with the biggest one they had." She said tiredly. He laughed relieved that she was breathing easier.
Eventually they took Meredith to a room. Then they took her away to get a chest x-ray. Various doctors and nurses came and went, checking and poking on Meredith.
"Miss Grey?" A doctor asked, waking Meredith up. "It looks like you have bronchial-pneumonia, pretty bad case of it. How long have you let this go?"
"Not long." She answered.
"Too long." Derek interjected.
"Well with your asthma and the extent of this infection, we are going to keep you for a few days. And start you on an antibiotic through your IV along with the fluids for the dehydration. If your asthma kicks up again we'll give you another treatment, but something stronger. Any questions?"
Meredith shook her head. The doctor excused himself. Derek sighed glancing at her. "I don't understand why you let this go. You knew you were sick. Running around being a brat. Silly little princess."
"I wasn't sick until today." She protested.
"Damn it Mer. You were sick, the doctors agree. I'm going to go call Cristina."
He walked outside to call Cristina. When she answer, he explained what the doctor had said to them and told her how Meredith was acting. Cristina laughed, but agreed to come to Charlottesville to keep Meredith company. Derek hung up and checked his watch, making a note of the time so he knew when to expect Cristina.
"I'm not a brat." She told him.
"You sure do a good impression. Scoot your butt over." He told her.
"Why?"
"Because I'm tired. And I have work in the morning." He replied. She smiled and allowed him to get into the bed with her.