Ch.10

"Answer me Richard."

Richard and Derek were stunned to see Meredith standing behind them.

"You and my mother. All this time."

"Meredith, calm down," Derek said walking up to her.

"God, I feel so STUPID!" she yelled, her blood boiling. "It was you…all this time. The reason my father left all those years ago…why you still go and visit her at the nursing home."

Richard looked down at his feet.

"yes." He whispered.

Meredith bit her lip.

"My mother was a great woman and a hell of a surgeon. She had a family...a husband that would have given her the world and you destroyed that."

"Your mother was unhappy," Richard snapped back. "Your father wouldn't even acknowledge her. I made her happy."

Meredith tried to charge at him but Derek held her back.

"Are you still seeing her?" Meredith yelled. "Newsflash, Richard, she doesn't even remember anything She probably just thinks your some hospital worker, she has NO idea who you are!"

"She remembers me. What we had" He reassured himself.

Meredith stumbled, blinking rapidly.

"Mer, you need to go lie down." Derek said.

"Not now Derek…"

"Meredith." He grabbed her shoulders.

She glared back stubbornly. Finally, she turned and walked back to the elevator. She turned around once more to glance at Richard.

"Thanks a lot Dr. Webber."

She got on the elevator and went back to her room, leaving Derek and Richard alone.

"Chief," Derek said.

Richard looked at the floor.

"If you need me, I'll be in my office."

Derek watched him leave, leaving him alone.

A few hours later, Derek made it back to Meredith's room.

She was sitting on her bed, a picture of her and her mother held tightly in her hand.

"Her whole life was a lie." Meredith said not looking up.

Derek sat down next to her.

"You know, my parents were unhappy." He said. "I remember growing up and hearing them yell at each other every night. A few times, my father even walked out. But he always came back. Neither of them wanted to admit defeat, to break their vows. So instead of going their separate ways and being happy, they stayed together and were miserable."

Meredith looked at him.

"You've never told me that."

"I've never told anyone that. Meredith don't you see? Your mother might have left your father…but they both ended up happier than if they would have stayed together."

She fell back on the bed.

"I see what your saying Derek. But still…what was so bad about us? What did we do wrong that she felt like she had to leave?"

Derek curled up next to her.

"She didn't leave you Mer. She always had you."

She closed her eyes.

"So really, what you're saying is that I should be thanking Richard for making my mother happy?"

Derek shook his head.

"You don't have to thank him…just maybe consider his feelings too…whether you want to admit it or not he loves your mother. This must be hard for him, seeing her like this."

Meredith leaned over and let Derek wrap her arms around her.

"I hate it when you're right," she smiled.

Derek laughed.

"I know." He kissed the top of her head.

"I need to go check on a few patients. He released her, standing up. "Dinner later?"

"Anything but hospital food," she laughed.

"It's a deal," he said winking at her.

She waited a few minutes after she had left before getting up from the bed and slowly walking down the hall towards the elevator.

She knew she needed to apologize to Richard.

She got in, pressing the button for her mother's floor and waited. When she heard the ding, she opened her eyes, surprised to see doctors running around frantically.

She rushed out of the elevator.

Oh god.

They were rushing into her mother's room.

She ran as fast as she could, stunned to see doctors and nurses huddling over her mother's body.

"Charge to 200." She heard someone say.

She covered her mouth as her mothers body jolted from the electric current.

"What's going on?" she cried.

A nurse turned around.

"Dr. Grey."

"What is wrong with my mother?"

"Charge to 260," the doctor repeated.

The nurse walked over to her.

"Dr. Grey, you're mother is in a code blue state."

Meredith grew pale.

"Code blue? I don't understand, she was on life support…"

"We're doing everything to save her," the nurse said hurriedly. "Please wait outside until we're done."

"But that's my mother…"

"I know. And that's why you shouldn't be in here for this."

The nurse led her outside. She leaned against the cool, brick wall for support, slowly sinking to the ground.

"But I didn't get to say goodbye," she whispered.

Richard watched everything from his office. His heart broke when he saw Meredith, sobbing on the floor next to Ellis's room.

He sat down at his desk and put his face in his hands.

He choked back a sob.

"Why did I do it?

He stood up, walking over to his door. He saw the doctor walk out slowly to Meredith, to comfort her.

"Why did I pull the plug?"

He sucked in a deep breath, realizing what he had just done.

He had wanted to release her, to let the woman that he loved be in peace.

So he did what he had to do.

He killed Ellis Grey.