Two hours later, Meredith has finally fallen into a light and fitful sleep. Cristina sits by her bed, her gaze flicking between the monitors and her friend's face. The swollen bruising that coveres the left half sends shivers down Cristina's spine just looking at it.
Although the swelling is starting to go down, Meredith obviously has a huge black eye that probably won't go away for at least week. Multiple pillows are on her bed, some propping up her leg and wrist, others keeping her torso still so her ribs can heal.
Meredith Grey is a proud, strong woman. She won't admit she was hurting, no matter how obvious it seems. Cristina has known her for years and can read that woman like a book. She knows Meredith won't want anyone's pity, but the injured blonde is just racking up everyone's.
Word had spread around the hospital that Dr. Grey is back, and there are constantly so many staff members trying to come in, that Cristina had snapped and asked one of Derek's FBI agents to stand guard by the door.
So, Olivia Prenton leaned against the wall next to Meredith's door in agent mode. Her senses tuned, her eyes constantly sweeping the halls for anyone. If a nurse or doctor that isn't permitted comes near and tries to enter the room, usually all it takes is a swift move of Olivia brushing her suit jacket out of the way to reveal the two firearms holstered to her waist, and the person would back away.
The halls are quiet now, the VIP wing nearly empty. Meredith's room is the furthest from the entrance, so the nurse's station was all the way down the hall. There are windows, but all the blinds have been shut to try and give Meredith as much privacy as possible.
Internally, Olivia is dying to see her friend. Sure, they haven't known each other very long but there was an immediate click between the two. Until a scream from inside the room behind her causes Olivia to instantly respond, opening the door and drawing her Glock at the same time, so she stands in the doorway, gun raised in front of her, scanning the room for the danger.
Instead of danger though, she is greeted with a terrified woman in a hospital bed and two doctors at her side. The loud beeping of a heart monitor snaps Olivia out of her stance and she holsters her gun, taking in the scene in front of her.
"Mer, Meredith, look at me, look at me, Mer. It's okay, you're okay. You're safe here, it was just a dream, you're safe..." Cristina is desperately trying to console the woman in front of her, although it doesn't seem to be working.
Meredith is up in bed, ignoring the pain radiating from everywhere in her body, eyes darting wildly around the room. Her lungs have tightened and she can't breathe. She is back there, in the small basement that had been her home the past five days. The constricting casts on her limbs were not casts but shackles, holding her in place. The person at her side wasn't her best friend, but the very man who had done this to her.
She shrinks away from Cristina, clinging to the rail of the bed for dear life. Alex stumbles out of the sitting room, obviously looking like he had just been woken up, but he was on full alert as well. Olivia steps forward slowly. "What can I do?"
"She's having a flashback, she's not here right now, just don't move," Cristina says, trying to sound confident in her words but failing.
Meredith is still having trouble breathing, but an oxygen mask would be no help in this situation. Suddenly, she sees another person in the room with her. Then another. The cold, gray concrete walls begin to fall away and she finally recognizes her closest friends. William is gone, and she slowly finds herself back in the hospital room.
"Mer? Mer, you're okay. You're safe here." Alex's voice finally reaches her.
The tight grip on her lungs dissipates, and she stares at her hands in front of her as she tries to regain control of herself. When she looks back up, Cristina's hand is centimeters away from her, and Meredith flinches. Instantly, Cristina pulls her hand back and holds them up, not saying anything but showing Meredith she has nothing to hurt her.
"Oh god," Meredith breathes when she finally realizes what happened. "I'm so sorry..." Her voice is raspy and quiet, but right now she doesn't care that her throat is burning when she speaks.
"Don't. Don't you dare apologize," Cristina finally says, her face going from soft to hard in a split second. Her eyes are serious and they don't leave Meredith. "It's not your fault."
Meredith's mouth is suddenly very dry, and she glances around her for water, instead coming face to face with Olivia Prenton.
"H-Hi, Meredith. I, uh, I'll just go, you probably don't need-" Olivia starts, backing out the door again.
"'s okay," she whispers, loud enough though that Olivia stops. Meredith spots the water pitcher on the table next to the FBI agent. "Water?"
The agent nods, pouring a cup and slowly walking over to the bed to hand it to the blonde. Cristina shares a look with Alex, both of them thrilled that she's drinking something, it's a big step. As soon as the cold liquid hits Meredith's lips, she realizes she's parched. She drinks the cup quickly, surprisingly feeling a little better after.
"Do you want to try eating something?" Alex cuts in, offering a tray of food that would be easy for her to swallow. The smell makes Meredith's stomach roll, and she turns away from the plate. Alex sighs in defeat but doesn't push it because at least she finally has a real drink.
It takes a minute, but Meredith starts to relax in bed and Olivia returns to her post outside the door, beginning to process what she had just seen. She has seen PTSD before, hell, Olivia herself has it, but it hits her differently when it's Meredith.
Cristina has gotten together another cloth of ice and stands next to Meredith, watching as she gently presses it to her face. Cristina doesn't try reaching out and touching her, knowing she'll be sensitive to it, especially after what happened just minutes ago. Alex collapses into a seat next to her bed, also unable to take his eyes off her.
"Should we-" Alex starts.
"No." Meredith cuts him off. Alex reels back, frowning.
"You don't even know what I was going to say."
"Don't care...just a normal patient...stop hovering." She rasps. When neither doctor moves, she flicks her hand towards the sitting room and says a little stronger this time, "Go."
Cristina is exhausted and doesn't have the energy or heart to fight her, but wants nothing less than to leave Meredith's side. When a green eye catches brown, there's a light in it that hadn't been there a few minutes ago. A light that was always in Meredith's eye before.
When Cristina sees it, she glances at Alex sitting in the chair and knew he would get her if anything happened. So, with a hint of a smile on her lips, she turns and walks into the sitting room, nearly collapsing on the couch and letting sleep overtake her.
Derek stands in a conference room with his team, excluding Olivia. Everyone else is sitting down, but Derek paces. He stops instantly when the door opens and in steps a short woman with wavy black hair and a tan complexion. She's dressed in a skirt and button-up shirt, holding a briefcase and files in her hands.
"Quinn Perkins," Jake greets her with a smirk. It was no secret the two had slept together after working a couple of different cases on a couple of different occasions, even though the lawyer always denies it.
"Thank you for sending over the files, Vanessa. I've had a chance to skim over them, but not in as much detail as I'd like," Quinn starts, ignoring the blonde man completely.
"So what do you think?" Derek snaps. Quin stops spreading her files and looks at him for a moment. She crosses her arms and cocks an eyebrow.
"I think you are way too involved in this case."
"What-" Derek is about to erupt when the woman holds up a hand, stopping him.
"You want maximum sentence, right? I can get you death penalty, if you hear me out here." This causes everyone in the room to straighten, directing their attention to the woman in front of them. "From what I've read, the best decision Dunn could make is to plead guilty. But if he doesn't, I need to know what we have to use against him."
"His DNA all over the first seven bodies, and what we got off of Meredith." Maggie starts.
"Desmond, Prenton, and I caught him in the act of literally strangling my girlfriend." Derek spits.
"So we'll need your testimonies," Quinn says, not looking at anyone but instead at the files on the table in front of her. "Do we have Dr. Grey's statement?"
The room falls silent, at that Quinn looks up and studies the agents in front of her. "You all are way too involved in this case," she shakes her head slightly. "I'll take that as a no. The sooner we get it, the better."
"Medical Examiner reports?" Ryan suggests, clearing his throat. Quinn nods.
"Was the same ME on all the women?" She asks.
"Let me check," Vanessa offers, beginning to type on her already open laptop in front of her. "Yes, a Dr. Jennifer Stanley."
"There's our expert witness. Dig up what you can on her, make sure there's nothing that the defense could use to discredit her." Quinn orders. Vanessa nods and begins typing."When can I talk to Dr. Grey? I'll need her statement first then to go over her testimony."
"You're not talking to Meredith," Derek says sharply.
"Agent Shepherd," Quinn pointedly uses his professional name, "You and I both know that the sooner we-"
"Meredith can't even talk right now because she was repeatedly strangled. Give her a few damn days." Derek cuts her off, his tone leaving no room for argument. It wasn't often his team saw him like this, but it wasn't surprising either.
Quinn holds his gaze for a moment, then drops hers and sighs. "Fine. Where are her doctors? I want to speak to the paramedics and the ones here."
"I can go get Alex or Cristina," Derek offers. "One of them can probably find the paramedics...Maya and Travis, I think?"
"Good. Go get them both. In the meantime, Maggie and Ryan start going through these files with Vanessa while I get a statement from Jake. Where's Olivia by the way?"
"Guarding Meredith's room. Speaking of, one of us should switch with her." Jake responds.
"It's probably best if I do it," Maggie volunteers, standing up to check her two guns and grabbing her creds. She gives Quinn a nod a leaves the room with Derek.
The two make their way through the halls before reaching the VIP wing. They get a couple of nods from nurses and doctors as they pass, but don't waste any time. When they arrive at Meredith's room, Olivia greets them.
"Quinn's here. She wants a statement from you, I'll take over," Maggie tells the other woman. Olivia nods and Derek tries to move past her into the room, but she grabs his shoulder, stopping him.
"She just had a flashback and is finally starting to calm down. Be gentle," Olivia tells him firmly, and Derek noticies some faraway look in her eyes as she walks away. He's confused by the emotions he saw in her, but shakes it off to focus on Meredith. Derek and Maggie share a glance and the Maggie takes her post outside the door as Derek lightly knocks. It takes a minute, but eventually, Alex cracks open the door.
"What do you want?" He says softly, his voice cold.
"Um, our lawyer is here and she wants to speak with you and Cristina about Meredith," Derek tells him, confused by the hard look the surgeon is giving him.
"If you're thinking I'm gonna let you come in here and get a statement or whatever from Meredith while we're gone you're sorely mistaken."
"I- That's not what I'm doing! I told the lawyer that no one would be speaking to Meredith for a few days. Look, all we're trying to do is build a strong case, and we'll need testimonies from her doctors."
Alex hesitates in the doorway for a minute, narrowed eyes staring at Derek. Finally, he sighs. "Wait here, I'll get Yang." With that, he shuts the door in front of Derek and crosses the room.
"Derek?" Meredith questions softly from bed.
"Yeah. Mer, will you be okay for a few minutes if Cristina and I go?"
"Where?"
"Uh, there's a lawyer here who wants to talk to us, apparently."
"Talk...to me?" She asks hesitantly, afraid to know the answer.
"Not now. No one's coming in here to talk to you for a few days, I promise."
"But...eventually?"
Alex sighs and walks to her bedside, studying her good eye. "Eventually, yes. But not now. For now, you're okay here."