Beep, beep, beep!
"Your pager." Without opening her eyes Meredith nudged Addison who was still fast asleep.
Beep, beep, beep!
"Damn it! That's mine." Meredith had the feeling that she had just gone to sleep. A short glance at the clock told her that she was right. Two in the morning. What the hell had happened?
Beep, beep, beep!
Addison's eyes fluttered open and slowly the sounds around her started to make sense. She reached for the nightstand to grab her pager. 911.
"Mer, I've got a.."
"911." Meredith finished for her. "I've got one too. Come on."
Cursing both of them started to dress as fast as they could. Meredith was surprised how good she actually felt. "Are you ready?" Keys and bag in her hand she was watching Addison kneeling on the floor.
"Yes, as soon as I'll find the second sock." Reaching under the bed she pulled out a fluffy sock. "I really need to clean. Look at that. That's supposed to be white and clean. Now it looks more like a black sheep."
Meredith giggled at Addison's comparison. "Yeah, my turn anyway. Come on. We've gotta go."
Astonished at Meredith's new found energy Addison headed after her, running down the stairs and jumping into the car. Speeding through empty streets Meredith was overcome by a rush of joy. She felt just great and peaceful. Maybe it was the Adrenaline that had kicked in after the 911 call. Whatever it had caused this it was a welcome change. With a big smile she reached for Addison's hand. "How are you holding up?"
Surprised Addison looked into Meredith's laughing face. "I am fine. What the hell did you take? Are you high? I can't even keep my eyes open." A yawn escaped her mouth as if she had to underline the just said.
"Wentworth, Fisher and Grey. You go, prepare OR 3. The chief will give you the exact instructions."
"Dr. Bailey, what can I do? Where do you need me?" Overexcited Christina came flying down the corridor. Her shoes still in her hand and she was already prepared for the worst. After a moment of hesitation Dr. Bailey decided to send her after the three interns. "Help them prep the OR."
Tying her shoe laces Christina glanced up at Bailey in disbelief. "I should do what? I am surly more qualified than..."
"YANG! GO!" Dr. Bailey had more important stuff to do than discussing treatments of a 911 case with an over-eager resident. Upset and grumpy Christina went after the three interns. "How should I ever become a professional doctor?" Lucky that Dr. Bailey didn't hear her rant anymore. Going over her chart again she saw Addison and Meredith arrive. Why where they here? Who had paged them?
"Miranda. What happened?" Out of breath Addison leant against the wall right next to her, closely followed by Meredith.
"You got the 911 too?" Distracted Bailey stared down the corridor. They shouldn't be here. Startled they looked at each other. What was going on? What had happened? "Yes, we got the 911. What's wrong?"
The door right next to them flew open and Dr. Webber hurried towards them. "I...ah, chief. Three interns and Yang are already down in OR 3." Only nodding a short thanks he rushed by.
"What the hell has happened?"
"Meredith. I am sorry. You shouldn't have gotten that message and neither should you." She looked directly into Addison's eyes. "It's Derek. They just found him."
A piercing hot sensation shot through Meredith's body. "Derek? What?" She felt Addison's hand on her shoulders. He had only left their house about six hours ago. What could've possibly happened? Staring at Dr. Bailey she listened to her short explanation. Despite all the hate she had felt for him she would've never actually wanted him hurt or. No, she couldn't even finish the thought.
"He had a terrible car accident. The ambulance will be here any minute now. As far as we know he has bad head injuries and some fractures. Right now he's stable but..."
"But?" Addison couldn't believe her ears.
Beep, beep, beep!
A quick look at her pager told Bailey that the ambulance had arrived. "Stay where you are. Relatives and friends are not allowed. You know the rules." Pacing down the corridor she turned in direction of the emergency entrance.
"I can help!" Meredith whispered. Her eyes glistening with tears she slowly sat down. Addison didn't know what to say. Despite all the hate she felt for Derek she could not imagine not having him around. Slowly she walked up and down in front of Meredith who was still in shock.
"I am not family anymore. I could be down there. What if..?" Meredith stared at her pager as if this was a way to convincing it to call her to the OR too.
"Shht. No 'what ifs." Addison sat down next to her and gently laid her arm around Meredith's shoulders. "The chief is an extraordinary surgeon. Let's have some faith."
"How can you be so calm?" Annoyed Meredith pushed Addison's arm away. "I wanna help. I wanna do something. We are DOCTORS!" She almost shouted the last sentence. Feeling powerless didn't make her any calmer.
"I know. You really think that I don't want to be down there and actually be helpful?" Angry Addison got up again. She looked around her. Some night nurses were walking from room to room, chatting, drinking coffee, doing their work. Addison actually liked the more quiet nights but right now the silence nearly killed her. Looking down at Meredith, who was still staring at her pager, a smile hushed over her face. Her hair was tied up in a pony tail and the lines of worry in her face made her real. No make-up, no trying to be perfect, just being herself.
"What are you looking at?" Moody Meredith had recognized the glances of appraisal.
"Nothing. You wanna go down to the cafeteria to get some tea? I could need a strong coffee."
Nodding but still grumpy Meredith slowly got up. There was nothing to do here anyway. "Ouch." She startled. Her hand immediately went to her stomach.
"What's happened?" Addison rushed to her side, looking into Meredith's pain twisted face. "Where does it hurt?"
"Here." She pointed at her lower belly. "It's not much but it's uncomfortable."
Not thinking twice Addison grabbed her hand. "Come on. Let's have a quick look." She tried to be calm but as an OB/GYN she knew way too many things that could go wrong at this stage of pregnancy.
"But it's already over. I feel nothing. Gone." Relieved Meredith exhaled. Still rubbing her belly she walked next to Addison, whose hands were tightly squeezing hers.
"Still. As long as we are here we can make sure everything is fine."
At the same time at the emergency entrance Dr. Bailey opened the doors of the incoming ambulance. Fear in her eyes she looked at the man in front of her. This should be Dr. Shepherd? Taking a closer look she recognized his dark hair. It was smeared with blood, grass and small stones. Two fearful eyes looked at her.
"You are going to be just fine. Dr. Webber will take good care of you."
They heaved the gurney out of the ambulance and as soon as it hit the ground he got wheeled into the hospital. "OR 3!" Bailey shouted after the team. Taking a deep breath she closed the doors of the ambulance and ran after them. Every pair of hands would be needed in there.
"See? I told you. Everything is just fine." Meredith was looking at the monitor in front of her. At nearly 15 weeks the fetus already looked like a real baby. "Addison? What's the matter? You just said that everything is progressing normally."
"Nothing." Quickly Addison wiped away some tears. "You were right. Looks perfect." She reached for some paper towels and wiped away the gel.
"Addison?" Meredith slowly pulled herself in an upright position. "What's the matter?"
"I was worried and now seeing the baby and everything." Another tear escaped the corner of her eye.
"Oh, come here." Lovingly Meredith pulled her in a tight embrace. "You don't have to be that strong and confident all the time. I like the real Addison. The real one makes me smile and love and even have a baby. Not my style. Ask Der..."
At the mentioning of Derek's name, the two women fell silent. Remaining in their loving hug, both of their thoughts were wandering to him.
"Still up for some coffee?" Meredith was the first to break the embrace, looking into a pair of gorgeous green eyes. "Your eyes amaze me. One minute they seem to be blue and the next one they are green."
Laughing Addison winked. "You never know what you get. I am a big surprise package."
More cheerful and pushing away all distracting thoughts they slowly walked in direction of the cafeteria. "I wish I could drink some coffee too." Meredith sighed. She gently stroked over her belly. "But I knooooow I shouldn't."
"Oh, you could drink decaf."
"I want some real coffee. Not the one that's just trying to be one. And what are YOU staring at?" Meredith hissed at a nurse who has been staring at them.
The night-nurse was taken aback. "Ah..I..." She stuttered and blushing she turned around.
"Oi, you are in a mood."
"I just don't like people staring at us constantly. I am starting to feel like a monkey in a zoo." Smiling Addison just reached for Meredith's hand. "Ignore it. They will always stare and talk."
"I don't know." Dr. Webber scrubbed his hands under the running water. Bailey looked at him with a very concerned look. "The OP went very well."
"How long till we know if he will make it?" She leaned against the sink and studied the chief from aside. His face was not relaxed like she had seen it after many many other operations. There was something in his look that concerned her.
"His injuries are really bad. I had to put him into an artificial coma. His body wouldn't take those heavy injuries." Again he turned on the water faucet.
"Should I tell Meredith?"
The chief thought for a brief moment about the situation. She was carrying his child so she had a right to know. "Yes." He nodded. "Tell her." He pulled off his cap, put it into the pocket of his scrubs and slowly waked by Dr. Bailey.
"Meredith, here you are." Dr. Bailey quickened her moves and rushed to the two women who were cuddled up on the couch in the waiting area. Meredith's head was resting on Addison's chest. Miranda stopped right next the them. What a peaceful picture. For some seconds she let her eyes wander. Addison's arms were holding Meredith close. She didn't want to be the one to deliver the devastating news. She didn't want to be the one to make them worry even more.
"Miranda?" Addison blinked. Slowly she started to shift. A quick glance at Meredith told her that she was still fast asleep. "What happened?" She whispered.
Dr. Bailey sat down right next to them. "It's Derek. He's out of surgery. But.."
"Derek?" Meredith awoke by the sound of his name. Disheveled and still kind of blurry-eyed she looked up. She couldn't feel her left arm and the rest of her body was stiff from the unusual and not very cozy sleeping position.
"Good morning." Addison gently stroked over her head, pulling some strands of hair off her face. Quickly they parted and after some seconds both were able to listen to Bailey's status report.
"Good morning Meredith." Dr. Bailey smiled at her but that smile told her, that something was not right.
"I just came out of the OR. Dr. Webber did I real good job on Derek." She hesitated. It was so hard looking at Meredith who was clinging to her lips.
"What about him? How did it go? Is he...is he.."
"He's alive. But.."
"But?" Meredith hadn't known that she still cared that much about him. She felt Addison's hand on hers, soothingly stroking it.
"But he was injured really bad. So Dr. Webber had to put him into an artificial coma. His body would not be able to deal with all the pain and internal injuries."
Neither of them knew how to react. Meredith leant back, still staring into Bailey's dark brown eyes. He was alive.
"Can we see him?" Addison asked immediately. Meredith just nodded. She definitely wanted to see him too.
"Not today. He's at the intensive care unit and a high risk patient. But I will let you know as soon as it's okay." She was releaved that they had taken the news so well.
After Bailey had left Meredith glanced at Addison with a concerned look. "Now our problems nearly feel stupid, don't they?" She looked down her scrubs, trying to hide the tears that were already forming in her eyes. "I never wanted it to end like this. It happened because of me. He was so mad when he left."
"Meredith! Don't be stupid. We don't even know what has caused the accident."
"Derek? At the intensive car unit?" The news were spreading faster than sound waves. It was the main topic nearly everybody seemed to care and talk about. Only Lexie, who had been assisting during the entire procedure, was unusually quiet.
"Hey." Meredith placed her lunch tray next to her. "Can I?" She pointed at the empty stools.
"Hm." Lexie nodded and continued staring into her salad.
"Are you okay?"
Again she nodded. It was the first time since she had set foot in this hospital that she couldn't leave the pictures of an operation in the OR. She had never really cared about Dr. Shepherd but still, it was not the same as if some random guy had lain there. She took a quick look at Meredith, who was slowly eating her soup.
"How are you holding up?" Meredith, deep in thoughts of her own, was startled by the sudden question.
"Thanks, I am fine. And you?" She hated small talk. It was just annoying to ask and answer silly standard questions and a waste of time too.
"Fine, thanks." This was not what she wanted to hear but maybe her half-sister was not in the mood for talking. She wanted to tell her so much. About the operation and how scared she had been. But Meredith seemed to not care at all. In silence she finished lunch.
Meredith had already finished her soup and with a big yawn she leant back in her chair, her hands comfortably resting on her slightly visible belly. Lexie smiled at her warmly.
"How's the baby doing?"
"What?" Meredith had never thought about it.
"How are you feeling? Is everything alright?" Lexie really wanted to get to know her better. Maybe this was her chance. Every pregnant woman liked to talk about her baby.
"I'm fine. Why are you asking?" So far Meredith haven't had the chance to get to know Lexie and those questions started to make her feel uncomfortable. She had never really thought about the baby and how it would feel. The only importance had been her well being.
"I just wanted to know. Sorry if it bothers you that much." Lexie reached for her tray.
"No, it's okay. Please, stay. It's just, I've never really been asked that question so far." Meredith smiled at her.
"Oh. Okay. How far along are you?"
"15th week."
"Ah, I remember. The first time I felt somehow human again."
Meredith was surprised to hear that Lexie had a kid. "You have one? How old?"
"I've three." A loud laugh escaped Lexie's mouth. "They are staying with my mum while I am at work. They are two, four and a half and six."
"Wow, I didn't know." Meredith suddenly felt stupid. She had always assumed that Lexie was the small and dumb one who couldn't take care of herself.
"We never got the chance to talk."
