Hey everyone, thanks for the reviews. This chapter is a little bit of action - hope you enjoy...
Daddy's Little Girl
A little girl a little small for her age
a little slow for the field they raced
mommas waiting at the finish line
and wipes the tear drops from her eyes
MEREDITH
Meredith entered the reception, flanked by a curious Derek and an anxious Carlos, there, patiently curled on the minty green of a plastic hospital chair, Ella waited. Seeing her mummy through the crowds of busy strangers, the little girl sprung from her uncomfortable perch, running into her mother's waiting arms.
"Mamma!" Her shrill voice floated over the general babble of the adults around her, and what seemed to becoming an increasingly familiar position, Ella found herself enveloped in her mother's embrace.
"Sweetie, what are you doing here?" Half hearing her daughter's long and very detailed explanation, Meredith suddenly became aware that they were not alone. Slowly she turned, Ella still held to her chest, and through the movement, the child caught sight of the men behind.
"Daddy!" With all the ignorance of innocence she leapt to reach for her ever loving father. She didn't see as all three adults around her winced with silent pain. Ever the patient parent, Carlos scooped the girl who called him Daddy into his arms, and as he felt that tiny precious body he realised that events were no longer in his control – he couldn't lose Ella. He just couldn't.
In one swift movement, he sprinted for the exit, toddler half slung over his shoulder, squealing with in the excitement of this new game.
She says you did just fine honey that's ok
sometimes life is just that way your gonna lose the race
from time to time but your always gonna find you can't lose me
bet your life I am here and I will always be just a wish away
DEREK
It took Derek a minute to register what was happening. One moment, Ella had been leaping below him, her tiny chocolate ringlets bouncing round that little face like a lopsided halo, and the next, Carlos was half way through the car park with his daughter still in his grasp.
He may never have raised a child. He was still trying to make himself believe he was really a father, but at that moment, a strange and unexpected fury filled him. Meredith was already running in front of him, the bruises she worked so hard to conceal on her lower arms becoming visible as clothes came askew in her haste.
Derek didn't want to believe this was really happening, but meters in front of him, Meredith suddenly let a strangled cry escape. Like the last cry of a strangled kitten the woman he loved was breaking before his eyes, and he saw Carlos had made it to the car. Engine on and Ella unfastened in the front passenger seat he was spreading towards the exit.
In a final desperate attempt to reach her baby Derek saw Meredith charge heedlessly towards the path of the vehicle. He leapt wildly forward, and at the last second, landed on top of her, sending the pair of them rolling across the tarmac and out from under the wheels of Carlos' SUV.
Where ever you go no matter how far
my love is where you are
you won't be lost if you believe you can't lose me
MEREDITH
Meredith felt her breath coming in painful bursts. Her lungs burned and the roll across the gravel had hit every bruise on her battered body, but as she let herself become aware of these physical injuries, she understood at the back of her mind – he had her baby.
She struggled to lift herself and found that Derek was still holding her quaking frame in his arms. He pulled her close, trying to calm the spasms that rippled through her, gently rocking back and forth in a helplessness so complete neither could do anything but hold onto that last little piece of reality.
Carefully, she felt him lift her, and feeling like a lost child in his arms, she let him carry her across the car park and in to her waiting colleagues. She heard Williamson suck in a sharp breath at the limited sight of her injuries. To tell the truth, most of them were old bruises, and even those that weren't didn't penetrate through the emptiness her head had become.
How did these things happen? With a listless sense of hopeless urgency she tried to tell her friends what had happened, but the words choked in her throat. Instead, she heard Derek's calm voice instructing the doctors around him, ordering that they take her inside and treat her for shock, telling them to ring the police.
"Sorry, who are you?" Ever impudent, Williamson was ready to protect his beloved chief. Meredith felt Derek's hand slip into hers.
"I'm Derek Shepherd, Ella's father."
Momma used to say girl it won't be long
when it is time to go out on your own
chase your dreams find your place in life
I know you'll do just fine
When that day finally came
there were things she needed to but could not say
so I whispered softy as I wiped the tears from mommas eyes
you can't lose me
bet your life I am here
and I will always be
just a wish away
