Chapter 56: I Have Breast Cancer

"Bella." Derek said as he and Meredith sat next to each other on the couch, she on the chair across them. "We have something to tell you."

"Ok." She frowned as she studied the looks of worry on her parents faces "Did someone die?"

"No." Meredith said and looked at her lap "No one's dead…. yet."

"No one is going to die!" Derek snapped and looked at her absurd that she'd said that.

"What's going on?" Bella asked.

"What we're going to tell you…well it's probably not news you're going to like." Meredith said.

"Are you pregnant?" Bella gasped "Because that would be cool, I wouldn't be mad."

"No." Meredith's face fell "No honey I'm not pregnant."

"Mom is sick." Derek mumbled, still in disbelief himself "She's sick."

"Sick." Bella scoffed, "You don't look sick. You look fine."

"It's a sickness that's inside me Bella." Meredith said as she tried to force the right words out.

"It's not something you can see, but it's there." Derek added.

"Look." Bella sighed heavily and rolled her eyes "I'm not a baby, I can take it. It's not going to make me scream and cry if I hear the truth, so just tell me what it is so I can process it already."

They both looked at her stunned and then glanced at each other. Derek grabbed Meredith's hand and cupped it in his.

"I have breast cancer Bella."

"Oh." She frowned and then smoothed out her expression "Well why didn't you say so?"

"What." Meredith giggled dryly "What do you mean. You're not upset?"

"Why would I be upset?"

"Because people die of breast cancer." Meredith shook her head "And you already lost parents."

Bella looked at Meredith for a long moment and then bolted from her seat and ran past them and up the stairs.

"Shit." Meredith muttered "Bella!"

"Bella!" Derek called out to her "Come back here!"

"I'll be there in a second!" Bella yelled back. And a few seconds later she came running down the stairs with a magazine in her hands. She stopped in front of Meredith and folded it open before placing it in Meredith's hands. "I'm not upset because I know you're not going to die."

"You do?" Meredith asked surprised.

"I read about this study on breast cancer a few weeks ago when I couldn't sleep." Bella said pointing to the page "It's some vitamin stuff they inject into the cancer and it kills it. It's a cure basically. And you're my mom. You're the strongest person I know, so yeah Mom, I know you're not going to die."

Meredith looked at Bella in disbelief just before she folded her arms around her and they hugged tightly, Meredith batted back tears and couldn't believe the strength her daughter not only had, but was giving her.

"Can I go call Chelsea and invite her over for dinner? I'm bored."

"Yeah." Meredith nodded and smiled, "Of course."

"Thanks mom."

Meredith nodded and watched Bella run back up the stairs to her room. She looked at the empty staircase for a few long minutes and then let out a sigh of peace.

"I keep forgetting." She said "We don't have the average little girl."

"No." Derek chuckled "We don't."

Meredith turned and looked at him, they stared into each other's eyes and a content smile crossed their lips.

"I couldn't have asked for two better people to help get me through this." She said, "I love you."

"Meredith." He breathed and reached out then pulled her into his arms tightly, he kissed the top of her head and cradled her head under his chin "I love you too, and Bella is right, you're not dying from this."

She smiled and closed her eyes, letting out another sigh of content and whispered…

"I know."

How well do you think Bella took the cancer news?