Derek walks barely two feet behind Meredith, copying her slow pace as they enter the nursing home. She approaches the front desk, and he knows this is as far as he goes. Her mother is dying and she hasn't seen her in years. He'll be waiting for her, whenever she's ready.
Pain radiates through her body with every step, but Meredith ignores it. She's been discharged with enough pill bottles of antibiotics and pain meds to stock a small pharmacy.
"Hi, how can I help you?" The lady at the desk looks up as Meredith reaches it.
"Um, where uh...is Ellis Grey here?"
"Are you here to visit Dr. Grey?" The lady brightens, standing up.
"Yes." Merediths voice wavers.
"What's your relation?"
"I'm uh, I'm her daughter."
Confusion flickers across the woman's face. "Dr. Grey has a daughter? I've been working here for two years and no one's ever mentioned her having any children. Do you have any ID?"
Multiple emotions run through Meredith, but she maintains a calm appearance. "I don't have anything on me, no." That's the truth. Her driver's license needs to be renewed, her most prized belongings are in her safe in her storage locker. She hasn't been in the country in years. She might have a military badge in the car? "But I'm Colonel Dr. Meredith Grey of the US Marine Corps. I've been serving overseas for the past seven years, I just got back to the States. Ellis Grey is my mother. I made Cristina Yang her health proxy in my absence. I could call her if you'd like-"
"No, that won't be necessary. I apologize ma'am, I'll take you right to her."
"Thank you." Meredith swallows, following the woman through the building. "How is she?"
"She seems to think she's in her residency days most of the time, so I don't know if she'll recognize you. A lot of her motor functions have deteriorated. It's good of you to come by now that you're back. Family is always good."
Meredith muffles a scoff at the last statement. Yeah, sure. Family is always good. Tell that to the way she was raised.
"She's just in the chair over there," the woman points to a small sitting room with glass walls, a view of the pretty grass and patio outside. "Thank you for your service."
Meredith nods and smiles and the lady leaves them alone. Nerves roll, and the blonde slowly approaches the chair. The back is to her, so as soon as she steps around, she comes face to face with her mother.
Ellis is silent, gazing outside, and Meredith studies her. Seven years have really taken a toll. Ellis's face is smaller than she remembers, her body looks frail and bony. Suddenly emotional, Meredith steps closer and eases herself into the chair next to her mother.
"Hi," She starts, trying to gauge Ellis's condition. There's no response. Not even an acknowledgment that she heard her. "Mom?"
Ellis's gaze turns to Meredith blankly.
"Mommy?" She breathes.
"Meredith?" The voice is weak, but it's there. The colonel's heart bursts.
"It's me, Mom."
"Meredith, you grew up." A hint of a smile appears on the corner of her lips, eyes trained on her daughter.
"I did."
"That's a shame. It's awful being a grownup. But, the carousel never stops turning. You can't get off."
How well those words have aged. "I'm sorry I haven't visited more."
Silence.
"I-I joined the military. I'm a field surgeon for the Marines."
Ellis's eyes stay on Meredith, but she says nothing.
"I'm back now, though. I'll try to come by and visit more."
"My schedule is packed. I have back-to-back surgeries all day. There's no point in you visiting. I don't have time." Her tone changes to sharp and commanding, the tone Meredith heard her entire childhood.
Meredith's next words catch in her throat and she stares at her mother. "Um, okay. I just- the doctors say- I want...I want to talk to you more. While I can."
"Meredith, you have to go to college. You can't spend your time screwing around at the hospital I'm working in." She rolls her eyes.
"I went to college, Mom. I became a surgeon, like you. I did my residency at Hopkins."
"Those are big dreams." Ellis scoffs condescendingly. "All the more reason why you can't waste your life away here. I don't care what you do, just don't bring shame to the Grey name I've worked so hard to make respectable."
Meredith sighs. This wasn't unexpected. No matter how much she had hoped to get any emotion other than disdain thrown at her by her mom, she had expected nothing else. "I've done something good with my life, Mom. I know you can't see that, but I have. If you were still here, I mean, really here, I like to think you'd be proud."
"You have to go. I need to be scrubbing in in five minutes." Ellis doesn't even look at her. Meredith is still standing. She hadn't sat down, somewhat expecting this.
"I'll be back soon, okay? I promise."
Nothing. Meredith bites her lip as she uses the arms of the chairs to stand slowly before turning and walking away with one last glance over her shoulder at her mother. For some reason, she feels tears prick behind her eyes. She takes a deep, steadying breath and pushes her emotions away. Derek finds her as soon as she walks back into the lobby.
Five minutes. That's all she lasted. Five damn minutes.
"We need to stop by my storage locker, too. It has a few clothes and things I need now that I'm back. It's only like, five minutes from here." She says before he can even open his mouth, without faltering her steps towards the door. Derek has no choice but to agree and follow.
Twenty minutes later and a few more boxes along with a duffel bag in the trunk, the two had barely said a word to each other. Now, Derek's heading back to the hotel a few streets from the hospital Meredith is staying at.
He glances at her periodically, recognizing the pained looks that cross her face every time the car turns or bumps. The last of the drugs they gave her at the hospital will be wearing off soon, and though she has the prescription pills, they're not nearly as strong as the morphine and other narcotics they gave her when she was confined to a bed, no matter how small the dosage.
"That was a pretty fast visit to your mother after not seeing her for seven years." He prompts hesitantly.
"She kinda kicked me out." Meredith scoffs, gripping tightly to the handle on the side of the car, struggling to keep her spine and midsection supported. Derek does his best to help, driving slowly and keeping the car steady.
"How was she? If you don't mind me asking."
"I think she recognized me for a minute, but after that, I think she went back to her residency. Told me she had a packed schedule, surgeries she needed to be scrubbing in for, you know."
"Oh. I'm sorry."
Meredith manages a shrug, inhaling sharply in pain as he turns abruptly.
"Sorry." He apologizes again.
They pull into the parking lot of the hotel and Derek gets out to grab a baggage cart for her belongings, Meredith takes a moment in the car to regain her composure. How long has it been since her last pain med dosage? She shakes her head, clearing thoughts of Ellis, and slowly gets out of the car. Derek has everything on the cart by the time she does so.
"You have reservations, right?" He asks.
"Yes, Derek. Do you think one of the best hotels in Seattle takes walk-ins?"
"I-" He begins to remark back, but when she casts him a smirk, he realizes she's joking. Blushing slightly, he brings the luggage cart inside as she checks in. This hotel is big. And expensive. How the hell is she affording all this? He doesn't want to ask.
Meredith gets her key and they head up to the seventh floor out of fifteen.
"So, you have everything you need? Food? A phone?" He asks.
"Cristina promised to come by after her shift with food and shampoo and that kind of thing. I have my new fancy phone in the bag. Teddy wants to go shopping for clothes and other basic necessities but I don't think I can." Meredith admits. She's ready to collapse and sleep for days just hours after getting discharged.
"Nothing strenuous, remember? Make sure you have enough pillows to support your spine at night, you don't want to twist it. And don't bend at the waist to pick things up, you need to make sure-"
"Derek. I have fifteen hundred pages of post-op instructions that are already engraved into my mind. I can take care of my spine, I'd like to keep function in my legs just as much, if not, more than you do."
He presses his lips together. "Right. Sorry."
Meredith has a large suite. One king-size bed, a big, very nice bathroom, a desk, flat-screen on the wall, a couch, chairs, and a table. There's a mini-fridge and coffee maker by the dresser. As he takes the boxes out, she throws her few clothes into the dresser drawers. Other necessities go in the bathroom.
He grunts as he pulls out the black duffel bag. It's heavier than he was expecting. "What's in here?"
She doesn't answer, too lost in thought. "I guess I do need more clothes. This is kinda pitiful." She stares at the five shirts, four pairs of pants, a few socks and bras, and pajamas she has- that are seven or more years old. "I got rid of most of my clothes before I left for my first tour. Oh! Where are my cammies and dress blues?"
"Your what?"
"The camo battle dress uniforms? Combat uniform? And the dress one." She elaborates, trying multiple synonyms to get Derek to understand what she's talking about.
"Oh, uh, I didn't see them in any of the boxes."
"Are they in the duffel?" She gestures at the bag in his hands. He unzips it, and sure enough, it's packed with tightly folded, neat uniforms of different colors.
"The dress blues need to be hung or they'll wrinkle." She says, grabbing hangers from the closet and putting the jacket, pants, gloves, hat, and shined shoes into the closet. Derek lays out one of the cammies on the bed, which she stops and frowns at when she sees.
"Where's the other one? I have two combat uniforms from the Marines in there."
"In the bag still. But the other one's old and worn and faded. This one looks as good as new."
She stares softly at him. He doesn't know a thing about the military. "Salty cammies are a Marine's favorite. They've been washed and worn so much the dye has faded and the material softened. They're our favorites both because they're worn and it's impressive. They show how long we've served."
Derek's eyebrows raise in surprise. "Oh, I didn't know that. Here," he pulls out the older uniform and hands it to her, and she smiles.
"I've had that one," she points to the picture-perfect one on the bed, "for years. I just like this better. I get respect from my Marines partially by the way I look. Salty cammies show I've been doing this a while. Seniority."
"You...you're not in the Marines anymore, though."
"Once a Marine, always a Marine, Derek. That's the first thing you learn in basic training. My time in uniform may be over, but being a Marine never ends."
Derek nods, understanding the loyalty she feels, and he smiles. "That's uh, that's really hot, honestly."
She laughs, dropping the combat uniform on the bed and stepping closer to him. "Thank you for helping me with all this today. I know you probably just want to go home and sleep after a long shift."
"Actually, I'm great right here."
He leans in slightly, and their faces are hovering barely a few inches away from each other. Meredith feels a pull, electricity, like a magnet inside of her and decides to go for it.
She closes the remaining distance between them and pulls him into her body. Reacting instantly, Derek steadies her smaller figure with his hands around her waist and back. Her lips are warm and soft. They part slightly, allowing his tongue to slip inside. Warmth blossoms in Meredith's chest, sparks igniting in her stomach as butterflies dance in Derek's. The dizzying sensation of her smooth lips and skin make him melt under her touch.
When oxygen becomes a necessity, they pull apart, panting slightly. He lets his forehead rest on hers, both holding the other up, not yet ready to break the embrace.
After a long few moments, she steps back slightly and looks up at him, smiling. "I don't think your number is in my phone yet."
He chuckles lightly, "I can fix that."
As he enters his contact into her new phone, he can feel him staring at her.
"I know I'll see you in a week for a post-op check, then daily for physical therapy, but maybe we should get together outside of the hospital sometime."
His heart skips a beat. "Yes. I would like that a lot."
Derek gives her back the phone and steps back towards the door. "Text me. I want to do that more often." He says in reference to the kiss. It's true. One taste of Meredith has left him wanting more, a desire he doubts he'll be able to quell anytime soon.
"I will."
With one last wink, Derek closes the door and leaves the hotel while Meredith stays, standing in the middle of her room.
It's been a long time since she's been kissed or kissed someone that passionately. And she's very glad to know she hadn't been imagining the feeling she has towards her surgeon. And he feels the same way.
Why did she think it would all be over as soon as she left the hospital? This seems far from over.