A/N: Thank you all for the support that you have given this story I honestly never thought I would get this number of views or even favorites and followers when I started writing this story, but I did, and I am forever grateful. I'm going to try and finish this story before the year ends but I make no promises and I only have 4 chapters left in this story.
Guest chapter 1
In the beginning I thought the story was really good. But tell me what's the point of injuring Meredith so badly that her legs have to be amputated. I think that's really exaggerated. You could have come up with something better.
~I have always had that part planned from the beginning when I was only planning out this story. It is supposed to show you how far that the government was willing to go to get Derek back and that Castello was willing to go to get revenge on Meredith for taking his license. I get that it will not something that everyone is going to like but it was necessary to show how far people are willing to go.
Disclaimer: I only wish that I owned Grey's Anatomy, but I do own the DVD's now
Dynasty
Chapter 20
Callie stood in the scrub room that lead to OR3, she hadn't even started the process to start scrubbing yet because she was trying to come to terms with what she was out to do to Meredith. Sure, when she had been with George her and Meredith hadn't been on the best terms but in the past years she had bonded with Meredith and saw the person that she really was.
A part of her wanted to ignore what Derek had told her to do with amputating her legs but knew that there was nothing to be salvaged because there were only fragments of her kneecaps left and even if she tried a knee replacement, she knew the odds were that her body would reject them because of how little bone was left.
Richard was already in the OR but he wasn't going to be assisting her, he was just there to watch over Meredith so that Derek had piece of mind. DeLuca was in the scrub room with her but wasn't paying attention to her his full attention was on Meredith. It was no secret throughout the hospital that Andrew DeLuca had a crush on Meredith but she had never even shown any interest in him.
Wearing the new scrub cap that had been a gift from Arizona and Sofia for her birthday Callie started to scrub into the surgery that was going to change her friend for the rest of her life. Once she was scrubbed in Callie walked into the OR and had the surgical gown and gloves put on her.
She took a glance at Meredith's legs that had a marker line above her knee on both legs where she was going to be amputating Meredith's legs and swallowed hard. It was always different when it was someone you knew and cared about so it was hard to imagine that she was going to be taking Meredith's legs from her and even harder knowing that she had three kids who were going to wondering what had happened to their mother.
She risked a glance at her friend and hated the fact that Meredith looked so vulnerable at the moment with the ventilator tube going down here throat. Richard hadn't taken his eyes off of Meredith since they had gotten her into the OR and Callie knew that he wouldn't take his eyes off of her, it was no secret that Richard considered Meredith his daughter.
Taking one last glace at the tubes going into Meredith one of which had a blood transfusion going into her arm because of the amount of blood that she had lost at the hands of Castello and the government.
There was a sense of urgency that took over Callie in the OR after looking at her friends face and called out, "Scalpel."
The scrub nurse Danielle that was in the OR handed Callie the scrub nurse and everyone in the OR had worked with Meredith on multiple occasions were watching as Callie made the first cut to amputate Meredith's legs.
In the waiting room Derek was sitting with his kids waiting for news about Meredith to come but he also knew that no news coming before the operation was done was good news. He knew that the surgery was going to take at least two and a half hours because it was both of her legs that they were removing but he couldn't help but worry about his wife.
It was that reason that he was throwing himself into taking care of his kids and waiting with Amelia and Maggie for news about Meredith. He hadn't told his kids what their mother was having an operation for yet but knew that he had to before they went to see their mother and saw her without her legs because it would have scared them senseless to see her like that without a warning.
Seeing the worried looks on her Dads and Aunt's faces Zola asked, "Daddy?"
"Yes princess?"
"Is my Mommy going to be, okay?"
Derek looked Zola in her brown eyes and saw the concern that she had was mirrored on Ellis and Bailey's faces as they waited for news on their mother. Derek knew that Maggie and Amelia were looking at him wondering what he was going to tell them about what was going on with Meredith. He then replied, "Your Mommy is going to be fine Zozo."
"Why does she need to have surgery then?"
The last time that one of them had to have a major surgery they had been declared brain dead before being held hostage for years and Derek knew that had to affect Zola in someway as she was the oldest and was the only one who could remember what had happened. Derek replied, "Your Mommy was hurt by some bad people Zozo because they wanted me to work for them again so when I didn't rejoin them, they took your mommy to try and get me back."
"But why?"
"Because they wanted to hurt me by hurting the women I love. But your mommy is tougher than anyone I know because she didn't let them get to her the way that they were trying to. So, they physically hurt her instead."
Zola looked at her father and asked, "How?"
Derek hated the fact that his eldest was so inquisitive at times because he didn't know how he was going to tell her that they had tortured Meredith to get to him. He didn't want to ruin any ideas that Zola had of her mother being a hero because to all of his kids that's what Meredith was a hero. He thought for a few more minutes before saying, "Well the damaged your Mommy's knees Zozo and the damage was too severe for them to repair so your Mommy isn't going to have her legs anymore. You know how Sofia's Mom doesn't have one of her legs?"
"Yeah. She said that her Mommy lost it in the same accident that killed her Daddy and Aunt Lexie."
Exactly sweetie. Only this time it was because of someone hurting your Mommy so it came down to a decision and your Mommy didn't want to be in pain for the rest of her life so she told me that it the damage was too severe to have them take her legs. And that is what Aunt Callie is doing right now, she's taking the best care of your Mommy that she can."
Bailey seemed horrified at what was happening to his mother and Ellis didn't really understand since she was so young. Bailey then asked, "Will Mommy still be able to play with us?"
"Nothing would stop your Mommy from playing with you Bails. But when she first gets home from the hospital and until she recovers fully, she is going to have to take it slower than she normally does but you know that I will always be able to play with you guys while Mommy is in recovery right?"
Bailey nodded and then crawled into his Aunt Amelia's lap and started talking to her about his Mommy. Taking a deep breath Derek watched as Zola and Ellis started drawing pictures for Meredith and he couldn't help but smile despite everything that was going on.
Maggie was sitting closet to him on his right side and she put her hand on his shoulder and asked, "Are you doing, okay? It couldn't have been an easy decision to decide if Meredith would have her legs amputated."
"Yeah, it was easier because Meredith told me what she wanted done if it came down to getting her legs amputated. But I still blame myself for letting these people ever get to her. If I had insisted that she her meeting with Bailey a day that I could go with her none of this would have happened to Meredith."
"Derek, you can't blame yourself. You know that Meredith wouldn't want that."
Looking directly at Maggie Derek stated, "I wouldn't blame Meredith if she did. Her entire life is being changed today and even though she told me what she wanted me to do she could still resent me for making that decision."
Maggie was about to say something to Derek when Callie started walking towards them and Derek was on his feet. Before Callie could get close enough Derek was in front of her as he nearly ran across the room to get to her fast enough. They were still in hearing distance of Amelia and Maggie though so they could hear everything that Callie was saying.
"Meredith is going to be fine. The amputation went fine and nothing went wrong when I was doing it. I have Meredith on a painkiller and antibiotic to fight any chance that she has for getting an infection in either of her legs where she had her amputations. I have her in the Orthopedic ICU for the time being that way she can recover a little more before she is overwhelmed with a lot of people."
Derek nodded and felt the relief going through him that Meredith was going to be okay, he couldn't even voice how relieved he actually was. But he needed to see Meredith now to see for himself that she was actually going to be okay. Derek asked, "Can I see her?"
"Of course. Just give her a few hours before you bring the kids to see her it will give her time to adjust to not having her legs before her kids see her like that. She's in room 3307 and I am going to stay and monitor her myself so I know that she is good."
"Thank you, Callie."
Derek looked at his kids who seemed to be listening to what was happening to what was happening with their mother and Amelia stated, "Go we have them. I'll get them a snack and let them make cards for Meredith before you come and get them."
Derek nodded and then made his way to room 3307. Looking inside Derek say Meredith was lazily blinking her eyes as if she had just woken up and it was the best feeling knowing that Meredith was awake from the surgery that she had gotten out of. Callie most have made sure that she was doing okay before she had come to update him and Derek was grateful for it.
Walking into her room Derek saw the area where her legs had once been was empty and knew that it was going to take some time to adjust to that. Sitting on the bed in an empty spot Derek kissed the top of Meredith's head and said, "Hey."
"Hi. How bad was the damage?"
Derek replied, "It was pretty bad Mer. I had to make the decision to try a knee-replacement that would more than likely fail or have them amputate both of your legs above the knee. I followed what you told me that you wanted and they amputated both of your legs Mer. I'm so sorry that nothing more could have been done."
Meredith felt Derek take her hand in his and she stated, "You did what I wanted you to do Derek and I can't be mad at you for doing what I wanted you to do. Thank you for not making me go through months of operations that might not have worked. I'm going to have to learn how to walk again aren't I?"
"Yeah, you are Meredith. But I am going to be with you every step of the way. Whether it's prosthetic fittings or physical therapy I am always going to be there for you."
Meredith put her hand into Derek's curly hair and replied, "I know that you are going to. You've always been there for me when I really needed you to be Derek. And I love you for that."
Meredith had to fight the yawn and the fact that her eyes were slipping shut because of the drugs that she was on as Derek said, "I love you to Mer. Now the kids want to come an see you but we are going to wait a few more hours so you can rest a little longer and so the kids can get used to the idea that their Mommy is missing her legs."
Nodding Meredith asked, "Can I have some water?"
"Of course."
Derek reached over and grabbed the cup that was on the side table and poured some water into it and helped Meredith drink from it. When she had enough, he put it back on the dresser and kissed her forehead and stated, "Get some rest Mer. I'm not going to go anywhere but you need to rest."
He then got up to sit in the chair that was next to Meredith's hospital bed but Meredith grabbed onto his wrist before he could sit down. Derek looked at Meredith but before he could say anything Meredith told him, "I need to see what is left of my legs Derek. I just need to know."
"Are you sure Meredith?"
She nodded and Derek took hold of the blanket that had gone up to her waist and Derek noted that it was one of the softer blankets that the hospital used and Derek knew that it was because she worked there and because of how bad her injury had been. Derek watched as Meredith swallowed hard before he pulled the blanket down and they both got their first glimpse at what was left of Meredith's legs.
Callie had wrapped them up so they couldn't see the incision that had been made to amputate her legs but seeing her legs with just bandages on them and nothing there from above the knee made it more real than seeing nothing under the blanket. Derek couldn't help but hold Meredith close to him as she starting crying when she saw what was left of her legs. This was life changing but they were going to get through this together.
A few hours had passed since Derek had first seen Meredith when she had gotten out of surgery and Derek was now bringing their kids so see their mother. Zola was holding the drawings that Ellis and her had made while drawing with their Aunt Amelia and Bailey was carrying the small lavender plant that they had gotten for Meredith to keep in her room until she was able to go home with them.
Derek was carrying Ellis in his arms and was saying, "Okay guys remember that you have to be gentle with your Mommy and not to touch her incision sites because she is still sensitive because she only had her surgery today. So, she is still going to be sore and tired. But she wants to see you guys so much."
Bailey asked, "Is she going to look scary?"
Derek stopped and looked at Bailey and asked, "Why would you think that your Mommy is going to look scary bud?"
"She's missing her legs."
"Yes, Mommy is missing her legs but as soon as she can your Mommy is going to get prosthetics and it won't even look like she is missing her legs. But you don't have to worry about your Mommy being scary because even though she might look a little different she is still your Mom. Are you guys ready to go and see her?"
Derek stopped outside of room 3307 and saw that Meredith was sitting up as much as she possibly could before looking back at his kids and saw that they were excited to see their mother.
Opening the door to the room that Meredith was in Zola was the first one to run in and yelled, "Mommy!"
She was quickly followed by Bailey who gave the plant to Derek and ran after his sister barely missing the incisions that Meredith had as they jumped on the bed. Derek then stated, "Bailey. Zola. I told you that you have to be careful because of Mommy's incision. You could have hurt her more and caused her to have more of her legs be injured."
"Sorry Daddy."
Derek put Ellis on the bed and then put the plant on Meredith's side table and then watched as Meredith hugged all three of her kids at once before Zola said, "Mommy, we drew pictures for you to get better soon."
Zola then handed the photos to Meredith and watched with Ellis and Bailey as their mother flipped through them and stated, "Thank you. I love all of them guys. I am sure that they are going to make me able to go home sooner."
The three of them smiled and it made Derek happy to see that their kids weren't afraid of their mother without her legs. Derek smiled before he sat down in the chair next to his wife's bed and watched as Meredith interacted with their kids. He couldn't help but things were going to get better now that they were back together.