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 2 chapters left in this story. I am also going over my list of story ideas to decide which I am going to write next.

Disclaimer: I only wish that I owned Grey's Anatomy, but I do own the DVD's now

Dynasty

Chapter 22

Meredith laid her head on Derek's shoulder as they waited for her prosthetist to come into the room where he was going to be fitting her for her prosthetics. It was a new way of life for all of them to get used to and it was harder to get used to then Meredith had thought it was going to be. She had given Derek the okay to have them amputate if it came to that but she never knew how difficult it would be to actually get the prosthetics.

But today was the day that she was actually going to get them so it had been a day that Derek and her had been looking forward to since Callie had taken the stitches out of her stumps allowing her to finally get fitted and for her to walk around by herself and not need Derek to carry her to the wheelchair every time that she needed to get somewhere.

Derek ran a hand through Meredith's blonde hair and asked, "Are you doing, okay?"

She nodded before saying, "Yeah, just looking forward to be able to get back to work. Don't get me wrong I have loved all of time that I have gotten to spend at home with our kids but I need to get back to work. I hate that I've had to rely on people to do everything for me."

"I know. And I know that you have loved every moment that you have spent with the kids and they have loved spending all of that time with our kids but you need to do something that doesn't involve doing homework all day or watching crappy daytime TV. The kids have loved having you home with them but last night Zola asked me when you were going to get to go back to work so you could start saving lives again."

Meredith couldn't help but laugh it was something that Zola would have said, being raised by two surgeons meant that all of their kids knew that what their parents was doing helped people go back to the people that they loved all of the time and would brag about them to all of their friends. Meredith stated, "That sounds like Zozo. You're going to be with me the whole time, right?"

"I wouldn't miss it for anything Meredith. This is a huge moment for you and I promised you from the beginning that I wasn't going to miss it."

Smiling into Derek's neck she knew that it was true he had been to every appointment and fitting with Meredith and had even been there when Callie had recommended the ankle-foot prosthesis emulator with control of plantarflexion and inversion-eversion torque for Meredith. And her suggestion had proven to be the best type of prosthetic for Meredith and Derek would never be able to thank Callie enough for helping to look out for Meredith.

The door opened and instead of Meredith's prosthetist David Hill it was Arizona. Meredith took her head off of Derek's shoulder as Arizona stated, "I heard that you were getting your prosthetics today Mer and I wanted to come down and see you. How are you doing?"

"I'm doing okay. Excited to get them to finally be able to do things by myself and have to rely on Derek and our kids to do everything for me."

Arizona smiled, "You're taking this a lot better than I was when I had to get my leg amputated. Derek, do you mind if I talk to Meredith alone for a few minutes."

Derek nodded and kissed Meredith before he said, "I'll go wait outside for David. Just call me if you need anything."

Meredith couldn't help but smile as Derek walked out of the room and Arizona took the spot where Derek had been sitting and with the same bubbly personality that she had since the beginning replied, "I don't think he has left your side for one minute since the surgery happened. Does he blame himself for what happened to you?"

"Yeah. I wish that he didn't but he thinks that if he had never escaped then the CIA wouldn't have come after us and then Castello wouldn't have been able to do all the damage that he had. But I think that Castello would have come after us one way or another he wanted revenge for his medical license being revoked. But if I had known that Derek was alive, I wouldn't have taken it so far with taking his license."

Arizona gripped Meredith's hand and stated, "You thought that you lost Derek because of Castello's mistakes as a surgeon and you wanted to make sure that nobody else had to go through what you did and I think it makes you incredibly brave Mer. I just wanted to let you know that even though you are getting your prosthetics today it is still going to be a long way for you to get back to where you were. Standing in surgery when you first get back is going to painful until you get used to being on your feet and all hours and they're will be times where your just sore. I would also use a cane for a while until you get used to putting weight on the prosthetics. Have you had any phantom limb pain yet?"

"Not yet. But Derek and I are waiting for it to happen and he has all these ideas on how he is going to help when it happens. I think a part of him still feels guilty for having to make the call to amputate my legs even though I told him that I was okay with it. Derek feels everything and wants to make everything okay and know that I don't blame him. Not that I ever could it wasn't his fault for any of this happening."

Arizona replied, "With him being a neurosurgeon I'm sure that he is going to have more ideas for what can help you than what Callie and I thought was going to help. I wish I knew if Callie went to Derek for some ideas on what could help. It might take a while for Derek to stop blaming himself for something like this happening, I know that I took my anger on losing me leg out of the wrong person. Callie just wanted to save me and I couldn't see beyond my pain to see that she was hurting from losing Mark and was throwing everything that she had into helping me. Don't push him away Mer. I better go I have a surgery soon. Good luck with getting your prosthetics Mer."

Arizona then hugged Meredith before making her way out and she saw Derek leaning against one of the walls and she could see the guilt in his eyes as easily as Meredith had pointed it out to him. She stopped near him and said, "Meredith isn't going to blame you for taking her legs when it came down to her legs or her being in pain for the rest of her life Derek. She isn't doing what I did to Callie. Talk to her if you don't believe me."

Derek nodded and watched as Arizona walked away, he took a deep breath and let what Arizona told him sink in and tried to get the guilt off of his face when Andrew DeLuca started walking towards him. It wasn't that Derek didn't like him he thought that he was a good resident and had the potential to be a great surgeon but he had to get over the crush that he had on his wife and stop following her around whenever he saw her.

"I heard that Dr. Grey was here and wanted to stop by and see how she was doing. Is she in there?"

Derek's blue eyes darkened before he stated, "I'll pass the message onto her Dr. DeLuca but you aren't going to go in there. My wife is getting her prosthetics today and doesn't need anyone going in there that is her student."

"I just wanted to see her. What's so wrong with me going in to wish her well?"

"The fact that the whole hospital knows that you have a crush on her DeLuca. I know that you were hanging around her hospital room and volunteered to work with Callie just so that you could see her when she was in the hospital from getting her legs amputated. And it stops now."

There was an anger to DeLuca's voice and eyes as he asked, "Who are you to tell me that I can't see Meredith?"

"Her husband. We've have been through hell together and I am not going to let her go through anything else. I don't trust the way that you act as if you can just play innocent and nothing is going to happen. I heard what happened with Alex last year and it sucks that it happened but he was just defending Jo because he thought you were hurting her and you were going to be willing to let it destroy his career. Stay away from my life before I go to the board and make it so that you can never work with her again."

DeLuca angrily walked away seemingly mad that Derek had brought up what had happened with Alex and the fact that he hadn't been able to see Meredith when he had gone out of his way to go an see her. Derek leaned against the wall once again trying to calm down before he went to see Meredith when he heard the familiar voice of David Hill asking, "Is everything okay?"

Derek opened his eyes and saw the concerned grey eyes of David looking at him from under his shaggy blonde hair. He knew that David must have seen DeLuca angrily leaving and wanted to make sure that he was okay so he could support Meredith as she took her first in her prosthetics.

Derek then replied, "Just one of the residents has a crush on my wife and doesn't seem to get the fact that she is married and isn't going to be with him. He follows her around like a lost puppy."

"Andrew DeLuca?"

"Yeah. How did you know that it was him?"

David let out a laugh, "The entire hospital knows that he has a crush on Meredith and there were some rumors going around that before you came back, he was going to ask her out. But then you came back into her life and the rumors stopped circulating but you could always see him watching her. Anyway, enough about that time to get your wife set up on her prosthetics so that she can come back to work, she isn't going to be able to long surgeries at first though and she will need to use a cane to get around. Do you have a cane?"

"Yeah, Meredith and I picked one out a while ago so that it would be easier for her to walk when she did get her prosthetic. Plus, my mom and sisters have all send us different canes so that Meredith would have a range of canes to chose from."

David smiled, "There is no guarantee that she is going to need it but it is a precaution that she might need it. At least you have a supportive family for the both of you. Let's go get Meredith set up and ready to walk."

As Derek walked into the room ahead of David, he couldn't help the big smile that was plastered on his face. This was the moment that he and Meredith had been waiting for since her legs had been amputated, she was going to be able to walk and wouldn't have to use a wheelchair anymore.

Kissing the side of Meredith's head Derek wasn't shocked when Meredith asked, "Is everything okay? I thought I heard raised voices."

"Just had to tell a resident where they should be. Are you ready for this?"

"More than you know."

Derek smiled as David walked over to Meredith and stated, "You ready to get started Meredith?"

Meredith nodded as David laughed before saying, "Alright then. Now I know that you have experience with amputee's but the way that yours is going to be a little different. You have both a silicone liner that is going to onto your stumps to prevent anything from rubbing or causing any damage to your legs and a suction suspension silicone sleeve that is going to go over both your prosthetic and stump to give it an even more airtight seal."

David then started to show Meredith how to put the limbs on and take care of them before he had her put them on herself. Sitting beside his wife Derek had tears in his eyes as he watched Meredith put her prosthetics on for the first time, she had put on such a brave face during this entire process and for her to finally get her prosthetics and be able to walk again felt like the end of a wrong road. Something that Derek had been so proud to see her brave through this entire time.

With Meredith standing at the bars to help her balance and Derek behind her David asked, "These have been made to fit you specifically Meredith but is anything pinching you or is it to lose? You need to tell me so that you we can fix that so you don't feel pain when you start walking."

Meredith didn't feel anything to lose on her prosthetics it felt like something that she had been waiting to be able to do for a long time. Looking at David she replied, "No they feel fine."

"Good. Derek, I want you to come near me but be ready to move fast in case Meredith needs any help."

Derek nodded and kissed the side of Meredith's face and whispered, "You are doing so good Mer, I am so proud of you. I'll be right near David and I will be right near you if you need me."

Meredith's smiled as Derek walked over to where David was and he then said, "Alright Meredith, I want you to start walking just hold onto the bars until you feel stable enough to walk without it."

Nodding Meredith put pressure down on her right leg first and then then left and started to walk in between the two bars. It felt strange at first it was like she had been walking her whole life but there was also a degree that was different because of the mechanics that were involved with it. The legs that had been made for her made it so that they responded to every move that she told them to make and Meredith couldn't help but smile because after all of the time that she had spent relying on other people was over and she could finally start to walk on her own.

She could hear Derek encouraging her with every step that she was taking and by the time that she had walked up and down the bars four times it felt like it was becoming natural to walk like that and she felt ready to let go of the bars. Taking a deep breath as though she was preparing herself for what she was about to do Meredith then let go of the bar and started walking without holding onto the bar.

When Meredith had stopped walking, she was near Derek and David and she could see the pride in Derek's eyes as he said, "I am so proud of you Mer. That was great."

Meredith couldn't help the blush that crept onto her face from the compliment that Derek had given her when David asked, "How does it feel when you are walking Meredith? It's not pinching you, not to tight, or to lose?"

"No, it feels fine and almost feels like it's natural."

David replied, "That's what our goal was to find a way for you to work without it feeling like it was too difficult for you to walk on it. You might have to build up how long you can walk on it though and I would be prepared to ice your leg when you return to work. Don't push yourself too hard."

Meredith nodded and replied, "Thank you for everything that you have done to get me walking again David."

"It was all you Meredith. Have a good day you, guys."

David then walked out of the room and Derek walked over to Meredith and the two of the kissed. When they finished Meredith leaned her forehead against Derek's and whispered, "It must be nice to not have to lean down to kiss me."

Laughing against Meredith, Derek replied, "I would do anything to be able to kiss you. Are you ready to go home?"

"Yeah, I just want to do something first and it might sound crazy but I want to see what I look like in the prosthetics."

Derek replied, "It's not crazy Mer. It's only natural that you would want to see what you look like wearing the prosthetics. Do you need any help getting to the mirror to be able to look?"

"Just stand behind me in case I need you."

Derek nodded and walked behind her as Meredith walked over to the mirror. Taking a deep breath and swallowing hard Meredith looked in the mirror at herself standing for the first time since she had her legs amputated. She was wearing shorts and a tank top because of the summer and she looked down and the legs that were now prosthetics and the feet that were encased in black Nike sneakers.

She expected to feel like her stomach had dropped out of her but instead she felt a wave a calm come over her. Despite everything that he had happened since Derek had come back into her life, she was glad that it hadn't happened to anyone that she had loved.

"Are you okay?"

Meredith nodded and replied, "I'm good Derek. Mom is going to want to see this when we get home isn't she?"

Derek's mother had come down to stay with them to give an extra hand with the kids since Meredith had lost her legs and had needed to go to doctors' appointments multiple times a week and it had been such a help to them. He then laughed, "She is going to love seeing you up and about again. I don't know who is going to cheer the loudest her or the kids."

Meredith laughed, "Let's get going then."