RECAP:
Derek and George ran into Preston and Cristina on the elevator. They'd all gotten the same page, and they were on their way to the ICU. Though none of them would say anything, they all shared the same fears. What lied before them, just past those elevator doors… they were scared for their friend, for someone who had been like a sister to them for so long. The doors slid open, and Nurse Henderson was there, waiting, tears streaming down her cheeks. Their faces fell, one by one. Only one remained high, tears welling in his eyes… "Please…" Derek whispered…
"Meredith is waiting very patiently for you to explain why she's here."
George's head snapped up, showing the tears that had been falling while his face was hidden from the others. "You mean…"
"She woke up. She's okay, her vitals are normal and steady… we just thought you guys would like to tell her everything that's happened."
Cristina lunged at the nurse, and everyone attempted to grab her, fearing she'd attack. Instead, she wrapped her arms around the frightened 26-year-old and thanked her. The three men, who'd just stepped out of the elevator, sighed in relief. Cristina's emotions lately were a roller coaster, and all attributed it to the potential tragedy that would've cost her two best friends and one niece.
Preston touched her back, and Cristina redirected the hug to him. "Come on, sweetheart, let's go see her." The group headed to her room slowly, adjusting to the idea of seeing her awake. Seeing her most certainly alive instead of hanging by a thread was certainly cause for excitement, but they hid it in their own ways. Derek reverted to neurosurgeon—stern, expressionless face, preparing to tell a patient news on their condition. George went into protective best friend mode—he didn't want her to know how bad everything was, even though as a doctor, he knew it wasn't necessarily a smart thing to withhold information. He wasn't her doctor, though, and that's how he rationalized his emotions over that. Preston tried to think about other things, like exactly why Cristina had hugged the poor, terrified nurse, who'd most certainly heard the rumors of Cristina's volatile temper and overly strict command over her interns and anyone in her OR. And Cristina was just happy to not only have her friend back, but her confidant. She'd been holding it in too long as it was, and she had thought that after everything they'd been through the past few weeks, maybe this was just a sign everything was getting better.
They entered her room, which was now completely lit, with the curtains open and looking out over the city of Seattle. She was looking outside before she felt the slight shift of the room's energy. She smiled at them--at the people she'd been waiting forever to see, it seemed. She looked at them, one by one, from Derek to George to Preston, before resting her gaze on Cristina. She held out her arms and wiggled her fingers, looking much like a lost child who'd just found its mother. Cristina burst into tears, releasing Preston's hand and falling into Meredith's embrace. "We're going to give you two a minute." George whispered, smiling, and exiting to talk to the nurse's outside.
"Meredith… I'm so happy you're awake! I've been waiting for so long to tell someone…"
"What's going on?"
Cristina sighed, and smiled, "Burke asked me to marry him yesterday. We didn't want to tell anyone until after we knew the three of you were okay. And now that you're awake, I wanted you to be the first to know."
"Oh, that's terrific! I'm so happy."
"It gets better… you're going to be an aunt…"
"OH MY GOD! Seriously? Does everyone know?"
Cristina shook her head and smiled, "I haven't even told Burke yet. You're the first to know that too. It's a good day for you, wouldn't you say?"
"It's a good day for all of us; we've been waiting for this for over 15 years…" and just saying that, she realized there was the potential for bad news. "Speaking of fifteen years… how is she? How are they?"
"Guys!" Cristina summoned the men back into the room. She couldn't tell her everything that happened. She couldn't say that without emotion, and she didn't want to scare her anymore than she already was.
They all sat down around her bed, and explained the details of the accident, the extent of her injuries and those of Grace and Izzie, and George made an attempt to distract her from that pain by filling her in on the new surgical cases. The group chimed in with their new cases. Cristina had a 19-year-old girl with a golf ball in her small intestine, who was refusing to say how it got there; Derek had a seizing 28-year-old who had no neurological reason for her epilepsy, but because other things had been ruled out, she was still in his care; and George told her about the new cases from every department since his personal cases were typical and boring.
Meredith laughed at their stories, at their attempts to lighten the mood that had plummeted after the discussion of the accident. "So, when do you think I'll be able to see them?"
The group looked at each other, knowing they would have to tell her eventually, but all not ready to break that news just yet.
