A/N - In this chapter, it may be OOC for some.
February 16th, 2017 - 5:09 PM
People were running amok in the centre. Two of the world's most renowned surgeons reappeared from thin air. What was more surprising than their sudden reappearance was the fact that they were in peak physical health.
Nearly three years missing only to come back in mint condition, as if they were action figures or collectibles never taken out of the box. Any past wounds have long since healed, leaving behind scars. That was the only indication that something had in fact happened, and that it was less likely that the pair had chosen to disappear.
After looking at their files, it was clear that something had changed. Not just their physical appearance, but also their state of mind. Where one usually made jokes and quips, they remained stoic and unamused. The other didn't speak a word. Through their lack of communication, they made it clear that they were refusing to be separated.
Their odd behavior had them all wondering: What horrors have they had to face these last two years? What happened to make them change so drastically?
Receiving answers so soon didn't seem likely by the look of them. Just from a glance at the surgeons, one could see the shield that they put up. Their eyes darted around as if everything was a threat, though they let the nurses poke and prod them without hesitation. Overall, they looked...detached.
May 23rd, 2014 - 1:31 AM
Meredith stood outside of the house she just signed over to Alex. The sky was dark and she was shivering. She wanted to go inside, but her thoughts neutralized neurons, making her forget how to move thus keeping her frozen in place.
She was thinking about her argument with Derek, and she wanted to tell Cristina. But she couldn't tell Cristina because she's halfway across the world. So now all she has is Alex.
Going inside would mean accepting that Cristina is really gone and Alex is her new person. Meredith didn't want to accept that, but Alex was the only one left, so he gets to listen to all of her crap. Yay him.
She looked down and realized that she was still wearing pajama pants and her blue hoodie. Then she remembered it's one in the morning, and she doesn't give a crap what any other weirdo like her outside at this hour may think.
With a sigh, she unlocked the door and went inside to find Alex.
Sure enough, he had taken up residency in her room, no, her old room. It wasn't hers anymore. She had to remind herself of that when she opened the door and saw Jo and Alex wrapped up in each other's arms, asleep. For a brief moment, she was envious. 'Brief' and 'moment' being the key words there. She hadn't been able to sleep next to Derek since their fight two days ago. When he was laying next to her, all she could think about was their argument. So, after her second restless sleep, she left her house to go to Alex's.
Meredith was unsure what to say, but she knew she needed to talk to him. So, she - creepily - said, "You really should get your locks changed." The couple jolted awake and Jo screamed, while Alex just looked annoyed. Nonetheless, they were up.
Jo protectively pulled the covers over her torso and looked over at Alex who asked, "What are you doing here?"
"I need to talk to Alex," she answered, as if it were normal for her to come to someone's house in the middle of the night to talk.
When neither of them moved and stared at her, she spoke again, "Wilson, get out of the bed. I can't get in the bed with you in there." She held her thumb behind her toward the door.
"You can't kick me out of bed!" Jo exclaimed.
"It's my house."
"No, it's my house," Alex said, annoyed. He figured he would get this over and done with, so he could get some freaking sleep.
"Then you kick her out." Meredith didn't feel like playing this game right now.
"I'm not wearing any-"
"I don't care about your boobs, Wilson. Out." She was getting impatient.
They threw their heads on the pillow, and Jo reluctantly put on her shirt and climbed out of the bed. With the new space, Meredith crawled in next to Alex.
"I guess I'll go make us some coffee since I'm up," Jo said bitterly.
As if she expected her tone, Meredith smiled, "Coffee would be great." Jo gave a fake smile before leaving the room.
"This is not our thing now, okay? You can't just start showing up at all hours and-I mean this is not what we do," Alex was still upset having been woken up needlessly.
"I told Derek I'm not moving to DC. The children are staying here." Her voice was firm, as if Alex was actually Derek and would fight with her.
Is she being serious? Cristina had warned him that this would happen. He just didn't expect it to be so soon, and certainly not with Jo in the house. "Alright, the miracle is over," he rolled over and covered himself with his blanket. He was going to at least try to get some sleep.
"The miracle is not over." She waited a moment before adding, "We're not a miracle. Shut up."
"You can't break into my house and wake me up to talk and then tell me to shut up!"
"Okay." She paused, "So, here's what happened."
Alex sighed and looked at the ceiling. He might as well listen so she will go back to her house. Any other time of day, he would've cared, but he just wanted to sleep. He doesn't get much as is, and tomorrow - he looked at the clock - today he had a big surgery with Robbins.
"I told him I'm not going anywhere, so he gave up the job. And now he's acting like I'm supposed to pay up for this grand sacrifice he made. I never asked him to give up the job, I only told him that I'm staying here. He could've gone."
"What, and live 3,000 miles apart? Good luck with that," Alex replied.
"I'm starting to loathe going to work. It's my safe place, and he..he is ruining it." She collapsed against the wall and sighed. "At least this surgery in Portland will give me some time away from him."
"What surgery?"
"It's two surgeries at the same time, actually. The patient's hand was badly burned in a fire, so she needs Mark for skin grafts. She wouldn't take any other surgeon except for him. And they need me for the liver transplant which I was going to do anyway. She's been waiting for a match for almost a year, because of her blood type…" she looked over at Alex who dozed off. Meredith was about to slap his arm when he spoke.
"I'm awake, don't hit me." He opened his eyes and looked at her. "The surgery is exactly what you need to cool off. Can I go back to sleep now?"
She sighed, "Fine." Meredith waited a minute, making sure he was asleep before she went downstairs to find Jo leaning against a counter, staring into space.
After clearing her throat, the brunette jumped. "Sorry, Dr. Grey. I just-" she opened the cabinet to grab a coffee filter.
"No, it's okay. I'm leaving. Just...get some sleep," she was out the door before Jo could respond.
February 18th, 2017 - 6:03 AM
In just under five hours, the plane landed. Derek had used the silence to concoct every possibility of their whereabouts for the last three years, ultimately coming up short with anything solid.
The flight felt like the longest five hours of his life. He had to constantly remind himself that they were alive. That's all he was told. Nothing on their condition. Nada, zilch. Not knowing was tearing him apart on the inside.
When he stepped off the plane, he was met with the freezing winter air. It was refreshing, but only for a moment. He closed his eyes, knowing that when he opened them again, the moment would be over. It would be over and he would be headed towards the two people he missed most. He remembered how ecstatic he was when he was told they were alive, but now...he was nervous, and a little scared.
He heard one of the men clear his throat behind him and realized that he was standing on the small staircase, blocking the man's way. Alright, the moment's over. Derek finished off the last two steps and retrieved his suitcase.
There was a black Honda parked a small distance away. It looked like it was driven straight to the airport from the dealer's. Martin, the man that was walking next to Derek, led him to the car and opened one of the back doors. After he slid in, Martin took his suitcase and put it in the trunk before settling into the driver's seat.
His heart began to beat faster as the car sprang to life. The nervousness and fear vanished, and was replaced with excitement. He was going to see his wife and best friend. He was really going to see them. And this wasn't one of his many dreams, it was real.
Derek was glad that he hadn't given up hope unlike everyone else. Well, maybe Lexie also hadn't given up. Lexie. Crap. He looked at the car's clock and knew - even in a different time zone - that Lexie will have seen his note by now. He knew he should have at least called. How would he have felt if Lexie was the one home instead of him and she left nothing but a few scribbled sentences? The answer his mind came up with had him reaching for his phone.
Once it powered on, he noticed he had a missed call from Amy and one from Miranda. And ten from Lexie. Oh no. No, no, no, no, this was not good. Each of her calls had a message attached, and he reluctantly clicked the first one.
"Derek...please. Am I hallucinating or did you really pin a note to the fridge saying Mark and Meredith are alive?"
He breathed a sigh of relief, glad that she wasn't angry. That is, until he listened to the second message.
"What the hell, Derek? They're alive and all you left was a note?! Screw you."
She was in denial and now she's completely accepted it? He checked the timestamp. Denial to acceptance in two minutes. Lexie was just as confusing as Meredith.
He listened to the rest of her messages, which were her alternating between denial, anger, shock, and confusion. Derek waited a few minutes, gathering his thoughts and thinking of what to say before he would call her back. Just as he pulled up her contact, his thumb froze over the call button. Before he had time to register what he was doing, contacts were switched and the phone was ringing.
"Hello?" the other person answered.
He blinked.
"Derek? Are you there?"
His mouth was open and he knew what he wanted to say, but the words didn't come out.
"I'm going to hang up in three seconds if you don't say something."
"Yes, hi. Sorry." Instead of sounding like a normal human being, the small sentence was jumbled into something completely incoherent.
"Use your words. Properly, this time," the female on the other end kept her voice light, showing she was joking. Well, half-joking.
He took a moment to figure out what he wanted to say. There was so much, and if he said it all at once, he would let out another jumble of words. At this exact moment in time, he felt like a child.
He took his time, knowing how patient the woman on the other end was. He hadn't talked to her in months, and he was surprised his subconscious chose her out of all people to talk to.
"I'm in DC right now," he started, but before he could continue, he was cut off.
"They offered you the job again? Derek, I'm glad you're finally taking a step forward."
"No, they didn't offer me the job again. I wouldn't accept it if they did. I thought they were going to when they showed up at my doorstep, but they were there for something else."
"Derek...who's they? What's going on?" she asked, and he could practically see her raising her eyebrow through the phone.
"Martin, and.." he ended with a question mark and looked to Martin, who glanced into the rearview mirror.
"Bradley," he answered, then let his attention drift back to the road.
"Martin and Bradley."
"Okay, still a little lost. What have I missed?"
"A lot. Martin is taking me to Herald Murphy Medical Center," he took a breath, knowing that someone other than him needed to know. He wanted to keep them to himself and remain in his little bubble, but he knew he couldn't. He wasn't the only one who loved them.
"Innovative surgery?" she asked. She had her suspicions, but wouldn't bring them up in case she was wrong. What's the point of shoving another knife into his heart if she didn't have to?
"No. I'm here, because they're here. Meredith and Mark are here, and they're alive!" Derek chuckled with the end of his sentence. He hadn't said it out loud, but now that he had, he realized that he whole-heartedly believed it, even though he hadn't seen them yet.
He looked at his phone after hearing silence, thinking that it must've died. But her name was still at the top of his screen.
"Addison?"
"Yeah. I'm here," she answered after a long minute.
"What happened?"
"Henry's having a fit. I gotta go take care of this. I uh-I'm glad they're alive." After a second she added, "Truly." Then she hung up.
Before Derek had time to ponder her strange reaction, the door to his left opened. He climbed out of the car and looked around. The first thing he saw was the massive sign on the large building in front of him. He was here. The love of his life and his best friend were inside this hospital. He didn't know he could feel intimidated by a building, but he was. He gulped and looked at Martin.
"Are you all right, Dr. Shepherd?" the man asked in his baritone voice.
"Yeah, just-getting myself together." Something he hadn't been able to do for three years, what made him think he could do so now?
Martin opened the glass door and they walked inside.
May 23rd, 2014 - 5:48 AM
Meredith boarded the tiny plane to find Mark already settled in his seat.
"Hey big Grey!" he exclaimed.
"Mark," she addressed, and sat down in her seat. Perhaps a friendly chat with Sloan would bring her out of her mood.
"So, the surgery's at eight. Gotta meet with the patient, and make sure all the paperwork is done. Though, I'm sure an intern or resident has already handled it. We just swoop in, do the surgery, swoop out." He smiled.
"Okay," she answered distractedly and buckled in.
"Something wrong?" he asked. Mark knew she was 'dark and twisty', but she seemed more so today.
"Oh. Nothing. Just a thing with Derek," she attempted a smile, but it turned out more as a grimace.
"About DC?" Mark raised his eyebrow.
"Yeah," she answered while looking out the window.
"I'm sure he'll get over it. DC is full of idiots anyways. He doesn't need them rubbing off on him. Though in a way, they already have." Meredith chuckled, and Mark smiled. He seemed to have that effect on people.
The plane shook lightly as it sped up and took off. He watched as the hospital grew smaller and smaller until it became a speck in the distance. He felt a small wave of relief wash over him. The surgery meant getting away from it all. It seemed Meredith was in the same boat. She was glad to be away from Derek, and he, Lexie.
About a half hour into their flight, they felt a rumble, and then a second. They locked eyes, and they both knew that this wasn't normal. A little turbulence was fine, but this was more than, 'a little'. Mark stood up and went to the cockpit to question the pilot.
Two minutes later, he came back with a blank expression on his face.
"Mark? What is it?" Meredith asked from her seat. Her knuckles were turning white from how hard she was gripping the arms of the chair.
"It's, um…"
"Spit it out!" His hesitation was making her think things that she should not be thinking while she's in the air.
"The pilot's lost control of the plane."
"What?!" Her face contorted in confusion before she asked, "If he lost control, wouldn't we-" Wouldn't we be crashing?
He shook his head as a no. "Someone is controlling the plane, and it's not the pilot." Meredith's mind flashed back to the attacks on 9/11.
"Oh god, we're gonna die. We're gonna die on this flying death trap. The plane is going to crash, and we're going to die."
Mark could see the beginnings of a panic attack and rushed into the seat next to her. He began to console her with nothing but lies. Lies were better than nothing. Lies were better than her having a full blown freakout. Lies were better than letting himself think the same things as her.
"It's going to be okay. The plane is not going to crash. We're going to be fine."
A/N - I erased the plane crash from Season 8, but I still wanted to do something with a plane. Doesn't necessarily mean that it'll crash...or will it? Dun dun dunnn.
REVIEWS:
mandyg67 - Meredith disappeared the month he would've turned one. He was born in May 2013, she disappeared on May 23rd, 2014. So, Bailey was just barely a year old when she went missing. Definitely planning on giving you some of Derek's single parenting in future chapters. :)
Jesuslover123 - Thank you!
LiaMarieManner - Yes, Baby Ellis will definitely be in this story. Though, it may be a little while before she makes an appearance.
Alex B. Goode - Thank you!
Klaire Atanacio - Hopefully I've kept you curious!
ItsMarGrey - Now you know a little bit more than you did before.
Bamagirlforever - I'm biased, but yes, this is an awesome story.
secprincess - Thank you! I certainly hope to make it great.
deliriumintheheavens - Here's your update!
Ikizuko - 'More' is at your service!
Em - Still interesting?
Patsy - Here is your 'More!' Glad to pique your curiosity. Love to keep you wondering...
aussieKayz - Thanks for reading! Means a lot!
Thank you for all the reviews! This is definitely a record! Hopefully I've kept some of you hooked. Hope to update next Saturday. Hope everyone has a happy easter! :D