Chapter 5: She's Has to Be Okay!

During the first few months of Meredith's pregnancy, it had been hard for them to be intimate. She was either sick or tired and it just wasn't possible. Now that they have gotten past that, it seemed like Meredith was in the mood for sex often and Derek certainly wasn't going to complain.

"Mmm...Mer..." Derek moaned against her lips as she slid her hand down his body.

"What?" She moaned, climbing on top of him as they sat on the front porch.

"I'm so glad you're feeling better." He chuckled. "And I'm so glad our porch is private."

"Me too." She giggled, slipping her tongue into his mouth.

"Mmm..."

"Who knew being pregnant could be this amazing?" Meredith pulled her sweater over her head. It had been a long day and the moment she had walked in the door she changed from heels into Ugg boots before taking Cash on a walk. She had been exhausted and then she had seen Derek. The moment she saw him...she needed him.

"It's definitely a plus." Derek smiled against her lips, sliding his hands down her back to her ass.

"Uh huh..." She grinned, kissing below his neck.

"Did you have a good day?"

"It was a rather quiet day." She breathed. "You?"

"A few surgeries..."

"So you worked hard?" She moaned, his hands moving over her much firmer and larger chest.

"Hard...very hard..."

"Baby and I missed you."

"I missed you too."

"Yeah?"

"Mmhmm."

"Ooh..."

"I love you." She whispered, unbuttoning her blouse.

"I love you." He whispered, pushing down her bra straps.

"Mmm..." Meredith began to rub her body against his, stopping briefly when she felt a twinge in her stomach.

"What?"

"I...I just thought I felt something but it's alright."

"Are you sure?" He whispered, rubbing her back.

"Yeah..." Meredith breathed, pressing her head against his shoulder.

"Mer..."

"Ow..." She winced, squeezing his arm as a sharp pain seared through her stomach.

"Meredith." Derek breathed, putting his hand on her stomach.

"Derek..." She gasped, her skin starting to shine.

"This isn't just cramps."

"No..." Meredith took a deep breath.

"Okay... He whispered, helping her sit down. "I'm going to call the hospital and let them know we're coming."

'I..." Meredith took a deep breath before the pain passed. "Okay...that...it's done but..."

"That's not just cramps." He repeated.

"Something is wrong."

"Stay here."

"Where are you going?"

"To get you some water and call the doctor."

"I'll get dressed."

"Just...sit...please."

"I can't go naked." Meredith panted.

"I'll help you when I come back."

"What's happening?" She asked, knowing the answer.

"I don't know...but it's going to be okay." Derek whispered, kissing her forehead and squeezing her hand, trying not only to assure her but also himself that everything was going to be okay. She had cramps early on in the pregnancy that the doctor had told her was normal, but Derek knew that this definitely wasn't normal, and they needed to get to a doctor.

When Meredith had arrived at the emergency room, they had rushed her in immediately. She wasn't sure if it was because she was with Derek or if her condition was serious, but she knew they had moved quickly. They had hooked her up to a monitor, they still heard the baby's heartbeat, but she was having contractions. Now they were just waiting for the doctor to come in. "I hate this."

"I know." Derek sighed, sitting next to the bed in the hospital, holding her hand. He wasn't used to being on this end of things, waiting for the doctor to come back and tell them what was going on.

"How little will the baby be if I have to deliver?"

"I...I don't know."

"Damn it." Meredith breathed, a sob catching in her throat.

"They're going to take care of you." Derek whispered, running his fingers through her hair.

"What did I do wrong?" She whimpered as they heard a knock at the door.

"It's not your fault." He breathed. "Come in."

"Dr. Shepherd." An older woman walked in, holding a chart. "Meredith...I'm Dr. Leslie Stein."

"Nice to meet you." Derek sighed, shaking her hand.

"How far along are you, Meredith?"

"Twenty-three weeks." Meredith breathed.

"Okay." Dr. Stein nodded, making a note in the chart. "Well, I have good news and bad news for you."

"How's the baby?" Meredith ignored her statement.

"Stable."

"Okay." Meredith breathed.

"For now." Dr. Stein emphasized.

"For now?" Meredith breathed.

"You are in pre-term labor." The doctor explained. "We've managed to stop the contractions with medication."

"Would that explain my nausea?" Meredith asked.

"It could."

"What are we going to do? How do we keep the baby stable?"

"I'd like to keep you here for observation for at least a couple of days to make sure everything has calmed down and to give medicine to help the baby develop."

"I...okay." Meredith swallowed as Derek squeezed her hand and the doctor turned on the ultrasound machine;.

"Once you discharged, you're going to have to be on bed rest." The doctor said, putting gloves on.

"What if the baby has to be delivered?" Derek asked quietly.

"We'll talk about that if the case presents itself...my concern right now is that Meredith will be on bed rest for the remainder of the pregnancy. She failed her stress test, and her blood pressure was off the charts." Dr. Stein said as she put a cold gel on Meredith's stomach. "After we release Meredith to go home...we'll leave her on bed rest for two weeks and make a decision at the end."

"But the baby is healthy?"

"Heartbeat is strong...a little on the small side but Meredith is rather petite so that isn't alarming." She answered.

"Okay." Derek nodded.

"While I have it on the screen do you two want to know what you are expecting?" The doctor asked.

"That's up to Mer."

"I...I want to know." Meredith looked up at Derek. "You?"

"Yeah." He smiled at her.

"We want to know." Meredith nodded.

"Okay then." The doctor moved the probe over Meredith's belly a little bit more and then pointed to the picture on the screen. "It looks like you're going to have a girl."

"I was right!" Meredith gasped.

"You were..." Derek laughed, kissing Meredith softly.

"Congratulations." Dr. Stein smiled.

"She has to be okay." Meredith whispered, the nausea creeping up on her.

"Follow my directions and keep yourself relaxed and there is no reason why she shouldn't be."

"Bed rest." Meredith nodded.

"Exactly." Dr. Stein nodded. "But I need to see a dramatic drop in your blood pressure before I even allow you to go home."

"Okay." Meredith swallowed.

"Any questions?"

"No." Meredith moved her hand over her head as Dr. Stein stood up.

"In that case, I'll leave you to get home rest. If you feel any contractions at all or have any bleeding, have me paged immediately."

"Thank you." Meredith breathed, stroking her stomach with her free hand.

"Dr. Shepherd...can I speak to you for a moment?" Dr. Stein asked.

"Oh...sure." Derek breathed, kissing Meredith softly, putting his hand over her stomach before he left the room.

"Thanks." The doctor sighed, closing the door to the room. "This will be upgraded to a high-risk pregnancy...with all of the factors we're going to end up leaving her on bed rest until the end of the pregnancy but telling her right now is going to stress her out."

"Oh..." Derek sighed, running a hand through his hair.

"I'll go through more of that with the both of you later." Dr. Stein explained as she signed something on Meredith's chart. "Until then I need you to keep her calm and relaxed...the longer we keep her pregnant...the better it is for your daughter."

"I understand." He nodded. "Thank you. "

"Derek...bed rest is not unusual." Dr. Stein said quickly.

"I know...but...it's different."

"And we need to make sure that Meredith stays pregnant...which means I need you to be strong for her."

"What are the chances that the baby would survive if she had to deliver?" Derek whispered, needing to know the answer.

"Seventeen percent."

"Oh." He gasped.

"If we get her to twenty-six weeks then we have an eighty to ninety percent chance but my hope is that we can make it to term with her on bed rest."

"Okay." Derek nodded.

"It's not going to be easy." She assured him.

"We can do it."

"You can." The doctor smiled as she looked down at her pager as it beeped. "Darn it. I have to run."

"Thank you Dr. Stein."

"Page me if you need me." She said before running off towards the elevator.

"We can do this...We have to do this." Derek whispered to himself as he looked through the window of the hospital room where Meredith was lying with her eyes closed, the machines beeping to monitor her and the baby's heartbeat. This was as close as Derek wanted to get to the baby being delivered early and he was intent on making sure that she stayed pregnant as long as possible, even if it meant keeping her home in bed or in the hospital.