Chapter 2 – Make You Feel My Love
Owen looked up from his laptop to see Rajesh squirming in his sleep.
"No ma. Please don't leave."
Owen got up when he started thrashing around. He held onto his hands and spoke to Rajesh trying to calm him down.
"Rajesh. Come on wake up bud."
Rajesh slowly opened his eyes before he quickly got up and pushed himself against the couch and away from Owen.
"Where am I?"
Owen raised his hands in a surrender motion.
"I'm Owen Hunt. I'm the doctor from earlier today."
Rajesh slowly started to remember the events of the day while Owen kept talking.
"You're at Meredith and Derek's house."
Rajesh nodded.
"I-I want to go for a run."
Owen looked at the clock that read 4:30 AM.
"Now?"
"Yeah. I always run in the morning before school. It clears my head. Plus I need it for soccer."
Owen nodded and got both of their shoes.
"Ok. I'll come with. I know a trail here. Just let me text Derek so he knows where you are."
Rajesh nodded as he got his shoes on. He had a lot to think about, especially how to tell his family.
They both walked out of the house and started jogging up the street. Rajesh actually recognized the trail that Owen was talking about from before. About 30 minutes into their run, Rajesh started leading Owen.
"Follow me." Rajesh said while taking in a breath.
Owen followed as Rajesh started to slowly inch away from Owen. Owen had trouble keeping up with him even though he was in the army. What he didn't know was that Rajesh had gone into some kind of hallucinated state, where all he could think about was his family.
Rajesh started to sprint faster than he ever had. He kept on running as he thought about his father's burn marks across his chest. The images changed to his mother's abdomen drenched in blood from being stabbed. His brother's face suddenly popped up. The sweet, innocent, and lovely boy who Rajesh had protected from every evil in the world was suddenly changed into the image of his dead born baby sister.
Suddenly, Rajesh was falling forward on the road having tripped on a crack in the road. He rolled a few times before his back hit the car and set off the alarm.
Owen caught up to see Rajesh getting up and dusting off the dirt off his shorts and shirt that he borrowed from the hospital before leaving. Owen stopped and bent down at his knees trying to catch his breath.
"You know, you just ran 10 miles."
Rajesh smirked. "That's a cool down on most days."
"Guess you run a lot."
"What gave it away?"
Owen smiled and slapped Rajesh's shoulder.
Rajesh turned to see the sun rising from the east. He noticed that he needed to get home before Derek and Meredith worry, so Owen called a cab and they left.
When they walked in through the front door, Rajesh could smell pancakes, eggs, and bacon cooking. Owen was surprised as well, knowing that neither Derek nor Meredith could cook. He was even more surprised to find Meredith behind the stove.
"Hello boys. Breakfast is served."
Rajesh sat down and started demolishing the plate of pancakes, eggs, and bacon in front of him. In this time, Meredith realized that Rajesh hadn't eaten anything since yesterday afternoon.
Owen ended up doing the same thing and Meredith looked at him like he was crazy.
"What?" Owen asked. "Do you know how far he runs? Try keeping up with him."
Derek scoffed as he came into the kitchen and ruffled Rajesh's hair. He stood before Meredith before they both looked at Owen. Owen knew what they were silently asking and nodded as he turned to Rajesh.
"So, there are some things we need to discuss."
Rajesh stopped his breakfast immediately and put down his fork.
"Ok."
Derek started talking about the procedures.
"So your family will be in the morgue until the autopsy is done. Then we have the funeral. After that, we have to figure out a place for you to stay."
Rajesh nodded.
"Ms. Exton said that she would contact your aunt in Virginia."
Rajesh shook his head vigorously.
"Please don't let me go. They don't like me. They hated my family because they had an inter-caste marriage and fell in love. They see me as the reason why their family is broken apart and why my mother can't ever talk to her family. Please don't."
Derek nodded as the doorbell rang. He opened the door to find Ms. Exton and invited her in.
She greeted Meredith and Owen as she walked into the kitchen as sat next to Rajesh.
"Hello Rajesh. My name is Ms. Exton and I am your CPS handler." She greeted.
Rajesh nodded mindlessly.
"So I have a few things to talk about with you. First, you do have an aunt in Virginia. She has been called up and is coming in a couple of days. But Dr. Shepard has told me everything as I came in."
Rajesh looked at Derek who smiled.
"You do have a choice on where you want to live, because these people have decided to foster you for some time if that is what you wish."
Rajesh nodded.
"This is the hard part. We need to go over your parents' will."
She took out a binder with a pocket folder and handed Raj a copy of the piece of paper she had.
"You parents decided that should anything ever happen to both of them, you would get the money to take care of yourself and your brother would get some as well. However, since your bother has also passed, you are entitled to all of the money in your parents' will."
Rajesh blinked. "How much money did they have?"
Ms. Exton looked at everyone in the room before answering.
"You are entitled to all of the 7.5 million dollars in your parents' name. You are also given ownership of the house and cars. So what you want to do with them is your choice."
Rajesh gasped. Never had he known his parents had this much money. Sure he lived in a decent house with four bedrooms and three floors, but he always thought his family led a middle class family type lifestyle.
"Where did they get this money?" Rajesh asked.
"I don't know honey, but it's yours now."
Rajesh didn't know what to do. On one hand, he could take the money. On the other, he could walk away. But how is he supposed to make this decision.
"The money is put in an account at the bank for you. You will be given access when you go down and change the titles in your name."
Ms. Exton gave him the file before getting another one.
"The police are still claiming your house as a crime scene and will be cleaning up the entire place after the investigation."
Rajesh nodded. "When can my family's funeral take place?"
Ms. Exton let out a breath. "Once the autopsy is done, your family will be able to have their funeral. It should take no more than two days."
Rajesh thanked her and got up from the table. He moved to the deck in the backyard and sat down on the steps.
Moments after Ms. Exton left, Meredith stepped out and sat next to him.
"You know, my mother was a renowned doctor. She even won the Harper Avery. But that didn't stop her from getting Alzheimer's. She basically became crazy for years and died later."
Rajesh started laughing. "That's ironic. Win a Harper Avery, slowly lose your mind."
Meredith ended up laughing at that and they both couldn't stop until they had tears in their eyes.
"I need to get my assignments from school." Rajesh said.
"We'll do that. But first, we need to get to the hospital. You can hang out there until we find something for you to do while we are there for the summer."
Rajesh went upstairs to the bathroom they showed him too and showered. Meredith stayed there since he would be covered by the glass and kept an eye on him.
When he was finished, he dried himself in the shower and changed in the spare bedroom.
He decided to wear an extremely comfortable pair of black joggers, a plain white t-shirt, a grey zip up hoodie, and his brown leather jacket.
At least I still have my dad's style, he thought before putting on his grey Adidas Ultra boost shoes. Well, must thank my brother for the shoes he suggested.
He got in the car with Meredith and Derek and put his headphones in to listen to music while they drove to the hospital.
"You guys need a more fuel efficient car. This car is robbing you." Rajesh said making Derek laugh and Meredith shake her head.
They walked in and Derek and Meredith told him to go to the office and wait for them while they changed into their scrubs.
Rajesh walked up the stairs and down the hall towards Derek's office when walked into a doctor.
"Oh my gosh. I'm so sorry." Rajesh said helping her pick up the papers she dropped.
"Yeah, well tell that to my patient who is waiting for me, jackass." The lady doctor said.
Rajesh craned his neck back. "Just shut up and get to your patient Grandma."
He walked away before she could answer, not giving a damn even if she did. He walked into a group of doctors at a computer.
He saw the video while Owen was explaining it to Bailey.
"Look at that. He thinks he has an opening after Martin and…"
And then the defensive player pummels the player.
"Holy crap." Rajesh laughed. "That's when you quit."
Owen turned around to Rajesh. "Hey, how are you doing?"
Rajesh waved a hand. "Day by day. Better than that guy though. That could be his career."
"Let's hope not." Derek said from behind him, which made Rajesh jump.
"Seriously? You need to stop being so sneaky." Rajesh said.
Everyone laughed and then a woman walked in with a doctor he saw the day before.
"Hey!" Everyone greeted her.
Rajesh was just hanging back.
"What's he doing here?" The woman asked in disgust.
"This is Rajesh. He's staying with me now."
Before the woman could say anything, Mark came back. "Everything's ready."
"See you later, Grandma." Rajesh said.
The glare she gave him was absolutely hilarious. When he turned to Derek, he saw the confusion.
"Long story."
He kept walking up the stairs and to Derek's office where he found an older man already there.
"Oh. I can wait outside.' Rajesh said.
"No. No. Sit down." The man said.
"Who are you?" Rajesh asked.
"I'm Dr. Webber."
"The Dr. Richard Webber. As in the Dr. Webber that was chief." Rajesh noted.
Richard hung his head. "Yes."
"Why so down, Pops?" Rajesh asked.
"Pops?" Richard asked widening his eyes.
"One thing about me is that I make up nicknames for people. Names that best describe what the represent. You… you look like you're the father of this hospital. You nurtured it and grew it into the program we have today. So yeah, you're Pops."
Richard was astonished at this. "Thanks, Rajesh."
"Call me Raj. All my friends do."
Richard laughed. "Want a tour of the place?"
Rajesh nodded and followed him. As they were walking across the hospital, they got to know a lot about each other.
"I'm sorry about your family." Richard said.
"Don't be." Rajesh chuckled. "I'm just glad they are together. At least they get to know about the daughter they were going to have, the son that they love and treasure, and each other."
"What about you?" Richard asked.
"I know my parents loved me. But I was the odd one out. I made choices that bugged them all of the time Until a year ago, I was overweight, and every time my dad tried to convince me to lose the fat, I just nodded and ignored him. But one day, I tried asking a girl out. She laughed at me and made my life hell. So, now I'm here…in the best shape of my life, but because of humiliation, not love."
Richard nodded. "I can understand that."
"What about you, Pops? What's on your mind?"
Richard sighed. "Well, I think I might be losing my job as Chief. Only wanted that to happen when I retire."
"Would you still have a job at the hospital as a surgeon?"
"Yes."
"Then what are you waiting for Pops. Forget about the codes and-and the laws and the rules for sometime. Forget about thinking about who to schedule for surgeries and just start doing what you were born to…operate."
Richard paused and thought for a moment. "You know, you're right."
Rajesh just laughed. "Come on Pops? You're supposed to get wiser when you age."
Rajesh walked back into the house with Derek and Meredith surprised to find bags and trash around.
"Lexi and Alex are moving back in." Meredith said.
Rajesh nodded. "I can stay on the couch."
"Nonsense." Derek said. "You're stuff's ready in the attic. Come on."
After settling down, Rajesh finally got into his bed. The one thing he learnt from his father was to never show weakness in front of anyone. So when Derek said good night and closed the door, Rajesh turned the opposite side and quietly cried himself to sleep.