Derek paced Meredith's room, the same path he had been making for the last five days as she had still not woken up after the accident. He knew by day six her prognosis would slowly deteriorate and this knowledge plagued him constantly. Bailey had ordered him home at least every second day, stating he needed to shower, change and eat a good meal; when he had refused she had gotten George to drive him.

On day three two policemen were waiting to see him on his return, they had been phoning the hospital daily to get details of Meredith's condition after catching the culprit. Their arrival at the hospital pained him as he knew their presence had been to find out if the charge would be escalated from reckless driving causing injury to manslaughter. Derek had instantly felt anger rush through him as they informed him of who had done this too her, the fact that it was someone she knew well, made her situation all the more painful. He had taken responsibility for telling Izzie, Christina and George the news, George and Christina having similar reactions to Derek's where Izzie just broke down and sobbed, repeating it's just not fair, over and over.

After finding out what had happened George stopped visiting Meredith, he would sit outside her room and wait for while the girls visited her, but wouldn't go in. Burke was the one who figured it out; George blamed himself for what happened to her. Even though they told him repeatedly that there was no way he could have known what was going to happen, he still blamed himself. Eventually Derek pulled George into the room, half yelling at him to be a man and to be there for Mer, as she would be for him. Eventually George had broken down in tears, apologizing to Meredith for not coming to see her, admitting he was scared that she would not wake up and begging her to stop being so stubborn and come home, he even went as far as buying her a box of tampons and leaving them next to her bed.

Izzie had tried another approach, trying to get Meredith to smell herself awake by bringing in fresh cakes, cookies and brownies every day; leaving them next to her bed, making the room have a lovely homey smell. Although, in reality she knew this would not work, the baking kept her mind off Meredith's condition. The nurses also did not mind, knowing that the baked goods would be left in the staff room for them to enjoy after Izzie had gone home.

Burke brought Meredith gifts every day until the flowers, photos, cd's and joke books made her hospital room seem more like the downstairs gift department, than a hospital. He also supported Christina, who was having a harder time than she would freely admit, coping. He encouraged her to visit Meredith daily and would quietly listen to all her fears when she returned. Christina instead brought nothing but herself, she was there every day sitting beside her friend, occasionally she would read or take advantage of Meredith's TV, but mostly she sat in silence; knowing that Meredith would know she was there.

Derek was glad her friends came to see her, besides her roommates and Burke there was a steady flow of visitors as news of her accident swept between her peers. There always seemed to be a small group of people in the room as he passed regularly between rounds. Dr Webber had been the one to suggest that he continue working after sitting by her bed for two consecutive days, knowing the distraction of work would help him cope. The night, however, were his. After her friends had left and the hospital started to get quiet, everyone knew he would be in her room, talking to her in hushed tones. Sometimes he pleaded with her to wake up, other times he cried while most of the time he talked about stuff they had done together and plans he was making for their future.

A nurse had stolen him a comfortable recliner from the surgeons break room and by four in the morning he could be found in a restless sleep, lying back in the seat, a rug tucked around him with her hand is his. Although he missed everything about her, he missed sleeping next to her the most; the smell of her always made him feel warm and the feel of her wrapped between his arms made him feel special.

The sun was beginning to rise by the time his pacing eased; he pushed the recliner closer to his bed knowing his mind would soon give into his body and let him sleep, he slipped her hand out from under the sheets squeezing it lightly before closing his eyes. Except, tonight he was wrong- his mind was not giving in, it stayed active recalling memories of happier times with Meredith until he could not stand it anymore and resumed his pacing.

He stopped beside her and laughed at her resting form only realizing what she was wearing, his old college sweater. He grinned, remembering how she had practically lived in it through her exams. He figured that one of her housemates, probably Izzie, had put it on her while he was out of the room. Unable to resist he slid the sheet down and lifted the sweater slightly, placing his hand on her stomach; its warmth running through him in an instant. Giving into temptation he carefully slipped between the sheets and lay down next to her, replacing his hand beneath the sweater before laying his head on the edge of her pillow. Lightly he kissed her temple, whispered goodnight and fell asleep.

On rounds Bailey had spotted him sleeping peacefully beside her and had snuck in to shut the blinds, knowing this was a much needed private moment between them. She then planted an intern outside the door, instructing them that no one was to enter unless it was an emergency or they had checked with her first. Following orders the intern turned away many nurses and even more of Meredith's friends.

Inside the forbidden room Derek stirred to something nudging his cheek, he knew it was her, even before he opened his eyes. As he focused her smiling face had come into view, "Hi." He whispered before lightly kissing her lips, "welcome back."

--------------------------------

A/N

I know it looks shorter than usual, but it actually has more in it. Sorry for taking yonks to update. Please leave me a comment on what you thought.

Mwa