Jackson took Meredith directly into an exam room as they arrived at Grey-Sloan. The head ER nurse came in to start the chart, do a blood draw and take the history, then let Nathan and Alex into the room. Meredith was pretty sleepy from the meds. "You guys missed drugged Mer, now we have a sleepy girl. Nathan, will you help her remove her leggings? Or should we call a nurse?" Jackson said.

"I've got this. Can someone hand me a sheet to cover her?" Nathan said as he approached the bed, kissed Meredith, whispered in her ear and reached under her tunic for her waistband.

"I've seen her on Morphine before, it was interesting. She had quite the discussion with Addison," Alex said.

"When was that?"

"Our Intern year, when her appendix burst."

"We tried to keep her off opioids after her attack, but she wasn't able to speak so her first few days we were able to drug her with morphine," Jackson said.

"How was her pain level today?" Nathan asked.

"Mid flight she woke in extreme pain and was crying. She barely let Callie touch her leg until we got the morphine in her."

Callie changed into scrubs and met the ultrasound tech outside the exam room.

"Dr Grey, can you roll onto your front?" Callie said as she approached the bed nodding to Alex, Jackson and Nathan. "I don't need all three of you here," she added looking at Jackson and Alex. Jackson and Alex took the hint and left the room.

"The gel will be cold," the tech said as he squeezed the bottle of gel onto her calf.

"There it is, on the left calf, right calf is clear. Is there any family history of DVTs?" Callie confirmed.

"Molly. She couldn't donate her liver because of them," Meredith answered.

"Who's Molly?" Nathan asked.

"Lexie's little sister, my half-sister," Meredith added.

"Do you know anything about Molly's medical situation?" Callie asked.

"No, I only remember that was why she couldn't donate to Thatcher."

"It's near where your leg was injured when you were attacked, so it could just be due to your previous injury and stumble you had at the conference, or it could be a genetic cause. If you can get details on family history, that would be best, but we will run a couple of blood tests for markers," Callie said.

"So what is the treatment?" Nathan asked.

"First is stopping hormonal birth control, starting blood thinners, compression stockings and a modified work schedule. Let's get an IV inserted and start the heparin. I'll leave a note for pain meds."

"No more morphine. Nathan, can you remove the patch once Callie leaves," Meredith said.

"OK we will just prescribe acetaminophen and a minimum 24 hours observation. On another note, I'll pick up Bailey and Zola and bring them here after school. They'll want to see you," Callie said before leaving.

"I have surgery. Do you mind if I leave you to sleep?" Nathan said after helping Meredith put on the hospital gown, and watched the nurse insert the IV and got her resettled on the bed.

"Go do surgery, maybe bring lunch and Ellie by later?" she asked.

"Will do."

Meredith heard giggling as she woke and knew Ellis was in the room. "Hi Ellie," she said.

"Mamma! You in hospital?"

"Yes, I hurt my leg, so Callie is giving me special meds."

"Kiss it better? Daddy, up!" Meredith smiled as Ellis asked to kiss her owie. She was so glad she was reacting so well to this. The last time the kids saw her in a hospital bed her jaw was wired shut and they were all scared.

"Just let me put our lunch down, Ellie," Nathan said as he put the lunch bag on the table and turned to pick up Ellis gently placing her on the bed beside Meredith. He then leaned down for a kiss. "You look like you had a good sleep."

"That doesn't look like cafeteria food," Meredith said.

"Nope, from the deli down the street," he said.

"Thought you were in surgery?"

"I was, but Owen was on his way in and offered to pick up lunch."

"Wow! Thanks," she said eyeing the gourmet sandwiches, cut veggies, hummus and chips as he pulled them out of the bag.

"Carrots! Cucumber!" Ellie exclaimed.

"Yes, Uncle Owen got you veggies."

"Luv Veggies."

"We know you like vegetables, my bunny," Meredith said.

"Do you want the hummus, Ellie," Nathan asked.

"Please, daddy."

"I can't believe her, the other two would be fighting over the chips and we'd be arguing with them to eat their veggies first. This one we have to convince to eat things other than fruit and veggies," Meredith said laughing.

"So true. Did anyone stop by while I was out?"

"Alex, Jackson and Richard all came through. But they didn't stay long as I was so groggy."

"How was the flight back?"

"I started the day in pain and unable to cope, so Jackson suggested I take the Ativan and I fell asleep quickly. But when I woke the pain was an eight."

"That sounds painful. How does it feel now?"

"About four. I will need pain meds soon."

"I'll get the nurse to come in after lunch. Did you talk to Carina?"

"Passed her in pre-op, she said once she finished her series of surgeries she'll be in."

"Thanks," Meredith said, eating the chips and drinking some water.

"Should I take the kids home for dinner? Or order dinner here?"

"Let them visit with me and then take them home. It'll be too crazy in here trying to eat with three of them."

"Wonder if Maggie will put the kids to bed and I can come back," he said. Just as he said that they heard a knock on the door and Maggie walked in.

"Hey, we were just talking of you," Meredith said.

"Auntie Maggie!"

"Hi, Ellie. You having lunch with mom? Can I have a carrot?" Maggie asked.

"I share," Ellis replied, handing Maggie a carrot.

"Thank you. Meredith, there are easier ways to get a day off," Maggie said.

"Definitely. Are you off tonight? Can you put the kids to bed tonight? And do the morning routine as I have to stay overnight," Meredith said to her sister.

"Yes, not a problem. Nathan is it OK if I'm not home till 8? I have a late surgery," Maggie said.

"No worries. Callie is bringing the kids here, I will take them home and we'll have dinner and do homework. I'll have them bathed and in pyjamas and you can do books and bed," he said.

"Sounds like a plan. Mer, Jo asked if she could visit this afternoon. Work questions," she said.

"Not a problem. And can you send April in? I'll need to have her continue supervising General this week. I'm guessing they stayed away this morning because Jackson gave me morphine and he would have told them to let me sleep if off."

"Will do. Gotta run to surgery now."

"Thanks for everything Maggie. Do you want to swap OR start times tomorrow? I could take the early surgery as you have the kids for us."

"That would be great. Submit that to the scheduler, and I'll approve." Meredith loved listening to the two of them, it had taken quite a while for Maggie to accept Nathan as Meredith's partner, but now she was so supportive. They worked well together. Although Maggie was department head, she relied on Nathan for lots of the teaching and trauma surgeries.

"Bye, Auntie Maggie. Go save lives!" Ellis said.

"Bye, Ellie," Maggie said leaving the room.

"I need to get back to work too," Nathan said.

"Can you help me to the bathroom first?"

"Yes, no problem."

"El, can you move so Mommy can get up," Meredith said. She watched Ellis put her arms out to Nathan and he quickly picked her up and swung her around putting her onto the chair.

Meredith adjusted the bed, lowering it so she'd be able to get her feet on the floor. Nathan helped her stand and walked with her as her human crutch to get her to the bathroom and back to bed with her IV pole.

"I guess I'll need my cane from the house," she said.

"I'll have them send a walker in so you can go to the washroom by yourself and bring in your cane for tomorrow. You know the nurses won't like you using a cane, they'd prefer you use a walker for safety," he said, wrapping his arms around her waist and hugging her before he got her back in bed. "I missed you."

"I missed you too," she said kissing him.

He could feel her wince and could tell the pain was increasing in her leg, so broke the kiss and lifted her into bed. "I'll be back after work."

"Thank you, love you."

"Love you too. Ellie, say bye to mom, you need to go back to daycare."

The afternoon sped by with April and Jo stopping by for work instructions. Dr Bailey stopped by and admonished and teased her about being back in a hospital bed. Carina made it in about three and Meredith woke up as she walked in.

"Napping, Dr Grey," Dr Carina DeLuca teased.

"Just hanging around. It's boring. Sleeping off morphine and ativan."

"So I understand you have questions. Given our last appointment, I'm guessing it's about birth control and pregnancy with blood clots?"

"Yes. Callie took me off the birth control patch."

"OK. Here's my recommendations. Nothing hormonal for a minimum of six months. Use condoms with spermicides for birth control. We will monitor your blood clots and hope you don't get another."

"What about birth control in the long term?" Meredith asked.

"Estrogen is thought to be causing the increased risk of clot formations. Long term we could switch you to a progestin only birth control. I'd recommend the progestin IUD or implant. Progestin pills or injections are also an option. I know we ruled out the Copper IUD due to your metal allergies, and that would normally be my first choice for this. Callie has put you on blood thinners. There is a note here to check family history. What's that?"

"My half sister has issues with DVTs but I'm not sure of my family history on that side."

"Can you contact her?"

"I can try. Not sure where she's living. I'll have to check with Thatcher although not sure he'll give me the answer. Or maybe get Owen to go through military channels."

"OK. Who is Thatcher? It would be easier if we had the family history, but if not we will just have to watch you closely."

Meredith groaned, forgetting that not everyone knew who Thatcher was. "Thatcher is my father. I don't talk to him, and we've been estranged since I was 5. What about pregnancy issues?" she said.

"We would switch you to a blood thinner that is safer in pregnancy. I'm usually more concerned right after childbirth. The first week after we would monitor you closely. There is a 100-fold increase that week, and a 20-fold increase in the first 2 to 3 months after delivery. Pregnancy does not directly cause blood clots, but it does pose a four-fold increased risk for the development of a blood clot. Any other questions?"

"No. Thanks so much for stopping by," Meredith said.

"Not a problem. Just make sure you are using condoms especially for the next few months. I'd rather you didn't get pregnant with that blood clot already there especially without a family history," she said.

Meredith put on her headphones and listened to some medical articles and drifted off to sleep. Callie arrived with Sophia, Zola and Bailey who were excited to see her. She was so glad the kids accepted her overnight stay in the hospital so easily. She was worried that Bailey would be terrified but he climbed up and cuddled with her. Arizona stopped in to see if Callie and Sophia were ready to head home.

"Meredith, are you OK if I steal them? Do we need to take Zola and Bailey to daycare?" Arizona asked.

"Go ahead. Nathan should be here soon. So they should be fine here. We can watch TV while we wait. Thanks for picking the kids up, Callie."

"No problem. Enjoy your quiet night here," Callie said.

"Ha Ha! Nurses coming in every few hours to check on me. I'll probably get less sleep than when I'm on-call," Meredith joked.

"Night Auntie Mer, hope you feel better soon."

"Thanks Sophia. Thanks Callie."

Richard stopped by and checked how she was doing. She asked him if he knew any of Thatcher's family medical history or if he knew how to contact Molly. He said he didn't know anything, that he'd never met Thatcher's parents. He said he would check Thatcher's medical contacts and hopefully he'd get a phone number.

Nathan had changed and arrived with Ellis to pick up Zola and Bailey about 20 minutes later. They all kissed Meredith and he said he'd be back later. But her room wasn't empty for long as Amelia stopped in to say hi and to drop off a strawberry smoothie. "Sorry I wasn't in earlier. I just got out of a 10 hour tumour resection."

"Sounds better than my day," Meredith laughed.

"I'm sure. But I'm tired now," Amelia said.

"Grab your hubby and baby and head home. Have him spoil you," Meredith said.

"Wish I could. He's on til midnight tonight."

"Then grab Crystal and head home. Don't forget to eat, then cuddle and go to sleep."

"What about you?" Amelia asked.

"I had lunch with El and Nathan. Callie brought Zo and Bay here from school. Nathan just took the kids home for dinner, and he'll be back after Maggie gets home."

"That sounds good. Don't give the nurses too much of a hard time," Amelia said as she got up to leave.

Nathan arrives back with a bag of things from the house including her cane. He had stopped at the Cheesecake Factory and picked up strawberry cheesecake for dessert. They chatted about all her visits, and how she'd tried to call Thatcher but wasn't sure if he'd call back. She had also left a message on Molly's cellphone. Nathan was wearing sweatpants and a t-shirt and slipped in beside her after the 10pm nurses check and they cuddled and went off to sleep. Nathan got up early and headed into the OR for his 7AM surgery.

Meredith was thankful they skipped her on morning rounds with the interns. She wasn't surgical. She was just in for observation and was soon to be released.

Callie arrived back with her lab results and brought the ultrasound machine for another quick check. "Ok Mer. I'm going to discharge you. You need to spend the next 2 days at home with your leg up. You can come back after that but you are off surgery for at least a week. You can teach, work in the lab, do consults but you must be able to move and put your leg up for 15 minutes every hour. And you must wear the high compression stockings, not just the regular compression socks."

"Ok I'll follow the rules," Meredith agrees.

"No driving until you are pain free. Do you know how you are getting home?" Callie asks.

"No clue. I'll check the OR schedule and see who can zip me home."