Meredith looked at the empty spot next to her, she was so lonely when she woke up and realized he wasn't there. The weekends were always for Grace and she accepted that, their relationship had started to blossom in the past month and a half. Everyone in the hospital slowly found out about their relationship. Maybe she had some kind of advantage due to Richard thinking of her as his family. Bailey had managed to keep Meredith off of Derek's service entirely which was a little unfair, but understandable. She had an interest in neuro, something about the brain really caught her attention.
She finally heard her alarm going off as she reached over and turned it off. She was grateful today was Sunday and that meant she had tomorrow off. She and Derek had plans for tonight which was the one thing keeping her going, she had turned into a giddy, teenage girl when it came to him. She still was holding out for the other shoe to drop, which she wasn't disappointed yet. Her life was never this perfect, where everything was slowly falling into place. She had the man she had dreamed about for years and he wanted her just as badly, her job was rough but she loved the thrill of surgery.
As she got ready for her shift, she couldn't help but feel like today was going to be a good day. She had a new outlook on life, where everything was slowly turning around. She grabbed her coffee on the way out, quickly making it to her car in the rain. The one thing she would change about Seattle was the rain, she was never a fan of the rain. It was very dreary, made her want to stay in bed all day after living away for 10 years in places with normal weather patterns. As she made it in to the hospital, she hurried into the locker room. George looked up and immediately came over to her.
"Have you heard the rumors?" He asked in a whisper.
"What rumors?" Meredith was clueless.
"The merger?" He asked. She had been so busy trying to keep up she didn't have time to worry about hospital gossip.
"What merger? What even is that?" She replied as she replaced her clothes with scrubs.
"They are saying that us and Mercy West was bought out by the same buyer and they are cutting down hospital staff by half," Lexie said quickly interjecting.
"That's crazy, just rumors. Derek would have told me," Meredith said.
"Yeah I thought the same thing about-" Lexie then quickly realized what she was about to say and shut her mouth quickly. She was a nervous talker, words would just spill from her mouth like vomit when she was nervous. Meredith did the same thing, she had come to realize her and Lexie weren't too different after all.
"Who?" George asked.
"Uh- nothing. Anyway everyone is talking about it," Lexie continued. No one knew about her and Mark. They had gotten pretty serious, he had even introduced her to Sofia which Derek said was very unusual. Meredith hasn't been around Grace since she saw her in the hospital, Derek said he wanted to wait to introduce her as his girlfriend.
"Don't listen to the drama. It's just rumors," Meredith said, closing her locker as she put her stethoscope around her neck and walked out to find Bailey.
"Grey, I need you in the pit for a consult," Bailey said barely looking up from her charts. She had been acting very strange lately, extra snappy to be precise.
"Yes. Dr. Bailey, anything else?" She added.
"No Grey, now go make yourself busy," she said before stepping away without another word. She started to the ER and then she was found by Cristina.
"Bailey has been acting weird," Cristina piped up. They haven't spoken much since she called her out for dating Derek and telling her it was a mistake.
"She has, been very snippy lately," Meredith agreed as the two got in the elevator.
"We don't have to do the thing, do we?" Cristina asked.
"What thing?" Meredith said cluelessly.
"You know, that weird thing where I admit I'm wrong and apologize and you forgive me. You know I was just worried," she tried to say.
"I know that. You suck at emotions Cristina but I've known you for long enough to know.
"Ok," Cristina nodded toward her.
"Ok," Meredith said with a soft smile. She knew Cristina meant well, she was built a lot like Ellis. She was career driven and if it didn't involve surgery, she didn't understand it. She turned and grabbed the chart Bailey had sent her after. She looked over the chart and was a little confused, she turned and headed toward his room. As she opened the curtains she realized what they were talking about.
"Mr. Herman?" She said as she walked into the room.
"Please, call me Shane," he said with a small smile.
"So tell me what's going on," she said as she walked toward him.
"Well, I'm pregnant," he said as he rubbed his stomach.
"Mr. Herman," she started, though she stopped because she wasn't sure what to say next.
"I know, it's impossible. That's what I thought, and my wife who is also pregnant doesn't believe me either. I've seen doctor after doctor. The pain started last night and has been completely unbearable," he said.
"So you are?" She said as she furrowed her brows.
"They said it was just sympathy weight. Than the frequent urinating began and this belly appeared," he said as he lifted his shirt.
"I can see that," she said as she started examining him. She took his blood pressure, check his abdomen and felt around his thyroid glands.
"I don't know doc, everyone thinks I'm crazy but I can feel it growing," he said. She furrowed her brows, she had a feeling that it was probably a tumor but unsure where to start.
"Ok, well we are going to run some test Shane. I'm going to get you a CT machine and a urine sample along with a few blood test," she said as she wrote down in the chart the test.
"Just help me doc, I want to be there when my wife gives birth and be able to support her," he pleaded.
"Where is your wife Mr. Herman?" She asked.
"Upstairs, she's in labor now," he said with a frown. Meredith's eyes widened, if she was going to figure this thing out she needed to do it fast.
"Alright, let me draw some blood and get the sample to the lab. See if that can be causing anything," she replied, grabbing the equipment and pulling blood from his vein.
"Will you check on my wife please?" He asked.
"Absolutely," Meredith said with a small smile before quickly making her way to the lab. She dropped off the specimen and made her way over to labor and delivery.
"Mrs. Herman?" Meredith asked the nurse at the nurses station.
"Room 207, third door on your left," the nurse replied.
"No, her status?" She asked.
"The last time we checked, she was only at a 3 and progressing really slowly," she said with a slight eye roll.
"Great, means I've got time," Meredith said with a sigh of relief.
"Time for what?" George said as he popped around the corner.
"Nothing," Meredith said, trying to not draw attention to the patient she had.
"You have something surgical!" He said under his breath.
"Maybe, I found it first," Meredith smirked.
"I'm stuck in gynie while everyone else is out doing surgeries. Come on Mer, I want in," he begged.
"He was mine first," Meredith said to him as she backed on to the elevator.
"Just tell me what it is," he begged.
"Possible tumor. I've got to get a diagnosis fast. His wife is in labor," Meredith said to George who stood next to her on the elevator.
"I can help, come on Mer," he begged.
"Talk to Bailey. She put you on the vagina squad," Meredith smirked.
"She hates me," he groaned, "at least let me see it."
"Fine. But no crazy remarks, or don't make him feel crazy," Meredith replied.
"Deal," he smiled and followed her into his room.
"Shane, this is Dr. O'Malley. He is going to assist me so we can figure out what this is," she smiled.
"Wow," George mumbled under his breath as he looked at the giant mass on the mans stomach.
"George!" She shushed quickly.
"I get it man. It's insane. My wife gets pregnant and so do I," he said with a nervous chuckle.
"Shane, you know we are going to figure this out," Meredith offered.
"I have faith," he smiled.
"George, will you take him to a CT while I go check on his labs," Meredith asked.
"Absolutely," he said happily. Meredith smirked, she turned and left the room. She immediately fell right into Derek who looked up from his chart as a smile grew from his face.
"Hey," he smiled largely at her.
"Hey yourself. What are we doing tonight?" She said softly as the pair walked slowly together toward the elevator.
"Don't know yet. I was thinking sushi?" He asked.
"Ew, no. I hate Chinese," she frowned.
"I know you hate Chinese. Sushi is Japanese," he furrowed his brows.
"Still no. I'm just ready to spend some time with you," she blushed like a school girl. She felt so giddy around him, like she was falling in love for the first time all over again every time she saw him smile at her.
"Mhm, me too," he said as he pressed the elevator door button. As the doors shut, he closed the gap between the two and pulled her into a longing kiss. She felt his lips part just enough for his tongue to flick her upper lip. She smiled against his lips as she granted access. It was too short of time as the door dinged open and the two separated quickly.
"I'll pick you up later?" He asked.
"My house at 7," she smiled and the two parted ways. She made her way to the lab and picked up his results. She read them and was immediately paged by George. She knew what he was looking at, definitely some kind of tumor and she was more than ecstatic to finally get in on something interesting that wasn't surrounded by the brain. She quickly ran to radiology where she met George in the room.
"Mer, you have to see this," he said as he pulled the scans up.
"Is that teeth?" She said as she looked closely.
"This is so weird," he furrowed his brows as the pair starred at the screen.
"What are you two fools looking at?" Bailey said as she interrupted the two.
"Look at this," Meredith said as she pointed out the tumor.
"That things massive. Is that teeth?" Bailey said as she looked closer.
"You know what this is?" Bailey asked the two.
"A gastric teratoma," they said in sync.
"Good. Book an OR so we can put this poor man out of his misery," Bailey said before turning around and walking toward the door.
"Does this mean we get to scrub in?" George chirped.
"I need all hands on deck for something this big," Bailey nodded. Meredith smiled over at George. He looked like a child in a candy store with the smile spread across his entire face.
"You tell him, I'll book an OR," Meredith said before turning and hurrying to the nurses station. She informed them what Bailey said before going back to his room. Surgery was like a drug, she was constantly trying to get her fix and when she finally did it was like a sigh of relief.
"Shane, how are you feeling?" She asked as she walked into the room. George was prepping him as he inserted the IV into his vein.
"Nervous. How's my wife?" He asked.
"She's doing great," Meredith said with a smile.
"You talked to her?" He said with a weak smile. She could tell he was upset that he couldn't be with her. He was reluctant on the surgery, he didn't want to miss the birth of his child but Meredith knew the sooner they could get this thing out of him, the sooner he'd get to see his wife.
"I talked to her nurses. They said she was a real trooper. You will be up there before you know it," Meredith offered a smile.
"Can we wait? You know until after the baby is born? I promised her I wouldn't miss it," he asked.
"Shane, the sooner we get this thing out of you the sooner you get better and are able to take care of them. I will try my best to make this as fast as I can," she offered. She wasn't the lead surgeon by no means and it would probably take hours for the resection. She couldn't help but feel a little guilty knowing he might miss the birth of his child.
"Ok," he nodded. Her and George began getting him ready for transport when he grabbed her hand.
"Can we go see her? Please?" He begged. She sighed, looking up at George.
"Just for a second. I'll try my best," she assured him. The two took him to the elevator and wheeled the gurney as close as they could.
"What is he doing up here?" One of the nurses stopped them as the almost got to his wife's door.
"He's about to go into surgery and his wife is just in there. Just let it slide," Meredith said.
"I can't let him go in there with the gurney," the nurse said shaking her head. Meredith sighed, rolling her eyes.
"Shane, stay right here," Meredith said as she walked around the bed and into his wife's room.
"Mrs, Herman?" Meredith asked.
"Yes?" She said with question in her tone.
"I have your husband outside. He really wants to see you. Have you got your epidural yet?" Meredith asked.
"No, the doctor said I have to be a 5 to get it," she said shaking her head.
"Are you up to walking?" Meredith asked cautiously. She shook her head yes as she tried to get up. Meredith immediately went to her side and helped her get out of bed. She held her for support as they walked out into the hallway. She immediately let go of Meredith and hurried to his side.
"Baby, are you ok?" He said as he quickly reached for her hand.
"We are doing great. I wish it didn't have to be like this," his wife said with tears in his eyes.
"I know. Me too, is your mom coming?" He asked.
"She is on her way. Please don't die on us," she begged.
"I won't. I might not make it in time," he said as he held tears back from his own eyes. Meredith saw the pain in each of their faces as they looked into each other's eyes. She felt her heart break a little, watching the interaction. They loved each other so much that it pained her to know he would probably not be here for the birth but she was going to do everything she could so he could be up here as soon as they could.
"We will be right here waiting on you," she said with a soft smile as she leaned in to kiss him.
"I love you," he said to her as he let a tear fall from his eyes.
"I love you too," she said as she stepped away from the gurney.
"I'll come let you know as soon as he's out," Meredith assured her as she escorted her back into her room and to the bed. She turned and walked back, a heavy weight laid on her shoulder. She and George started walking him back down to the OR floor where Bailey was waiting. They both scrubbed in as he went under anesthesia.
The surgery wasn't as quick as Meredith hoped, the tumor was massive and had grow in between his intestines which made it harder to resect. Teratoma's were tricky, Bailey talked them through the procedure as Meredith held the retractor and George stood back mesmerized by the whole thing. It took four hours to make sure they had got it all. Her and George went to go scrub out as their pagers began blaring through the room. Everyone in the OR checked their pagers.
"It's the chief?" Meredith said with a furrowed brow.
"It's true," George said in a whisper.
"Or Alex gave everyone chlamydia this time," Meredith joked.
"I think him and Izzie are exclusive now," George said as he dried his hands.
"Didn't see that one coming," Meredith said shaking her head. She found her way to the main stairwell where everyone had started gathering. She went to stand beside Derek, along with Lexie and Mark.
"Do you know what this is about?" Derek asked her. She could tell he wanted to reach out to her, but kept his distance. They mutually agreed to keep their affection displayed at a minimum.
"No, do you guys?" She asked and the three shook their heads. Richard calling a hospital meeting was highly unusual, they had one prior when the syphilis outbreak happened a few weeks ago. Alex, Izzie, a few nurses and residents all ended up contracting syphilis from one another which caused a huge problem between the staff. Richard was angry when it happened. Everyone got quiet as Richard stepped up to the top step and cleared his throat before speaking.
"I know you are all wondering why I called you here. No we don't have another outbreak of disease so we can all take a breath for that. But I do want to clear up a lot of rumors I am hearing about. The economic climate of everything is well, you guys know how it is. I wanted to be able to tell you with confidence that in the coming weeks, you will all be promised a job but I can't do that. The next few weeks are going to be rough, the rumors are halfway true. Seattle Grace will be merging with Mercy West. The board and I have a lot of tough choices to make, we are going to stand as a United front in this rough times and I want to thank each of you for what an amazing job and you are all doing. Unfortunately, we won't be able to keep everyone but I will try my best to make sure you all keep you positions but that isn't a promise. Again, I'm sorry for the delay, I should have told you sooner. That being said, I expect everyone to continue the hard work out here while I fight for you all in that board room. You all can continue your day and thank you for listening," he said as he turned and started walking toward the stairs. Everyone looked terrified, Meredith looked over at Derek. He knew what was at stake here, and with everything that could happen going forward.
"Oh my god," he said as he looked at Meredith.
"What does this mean Derek?" She said as she followed his as the crowd dissipated.
"It means I have to fight my sister for my job," he said shaking his head.
"He can't do that, you are the best. She's only a fellow," she started.
"She will eventually become an attending and she is a damn good surgeon. Listen I gotta go call her to see if she knew about this," he said before walking off without another word. She stood there, stunned. She was in just as much shock, she would now have to fight for her position against all the Mercy West interns.
"Oh god," she mumbled under her breath in a realization.
"What?" Lexie said as she came up behind her.
"Oh my god. Addison," she gulped, Derek had told her about Addison working at Mercy West but now she would soon become a Seattle Grace attending.
"Who?" Lexie asked a little confused.
"Derek's ex wife."
Author's note : hey guys, I know I'm usually on top of the chapters but lately my life has been a little hectic. I'm currently in the process of buying a house, which has taken a lot of my time up and I haven't been able to really sit down and write but soon I'll be back to regular updates. This story still has a long way to go, I'm barely scratching the surface of the plot lines I have came up with. I want to sincerely thank each and every one of you who have like, favorited, and most of all commented on the story. It brightens my day anytime I see them, and I know I don't really reply because the reply systems don't work all too well from my phone which is what I use to publish and check my emails. I do want to thank a special few that always leaves such kind words such as Patsy, who has stuck with every single one of my stories, AngelPete87 who always has such kind words to say, and all the others of you who seem to love the story. I know there aren't many Merder stories anymore especially as of late but they will always hold a special place in my heart and they will always deserve a better ending.
Also, yes the merger happened way later in the seasons but I wanted to incorporate some of the mercy west character's into the story plus some others. Thank you again to everyone and I hope you all have a wonderful day. That's the end of my Ted Talk, thanks for reading. xoxo.