A/N: All my (and hopefully yours, too) favorite couples are still together in this: Merder, Calzona, Jolex, and Japril. Just because I love them all and desperately wish Shonda hadn't broken them up. My heart still hasn't recovered.
In the following two weeks, not much changed. The FBI team hadn't yet gotten a new case to work on, so they dedicated all their time and energy to helping Quinn Perkins with Merediths'.
Physically, Meredith was healing. Mentally though, she wasn't. She refused to talk to anyone, spending more time isolated than anything else. When she did speak to her friends, she begged them to discharge her. More than anything, Meredith wanted to get out of the hospital bed she'd been confined to for the past two weeks and into the comfort and safety of her own home. At the hospital, everything was uncertain, and she felt trapped. Getting to go home with be a big step going back to her old life.
After she kicked him out, Derek decided to give Meredith some space. Instead of visiting her, he threw himself into work, doing everything he could to get the strongest case possible. It served as a distraction of sorts as well.
Cristina and Alex were in similar situations. Meredith had yet to get her next psych consult, but Cristina was ten times more educated on mental health disorders now that she spent all her time when Meredith wouldn't see her reading about them.
The blade of the saw whirrs, causing Meredith to jump out of her thoughts. Callie sits next to her bed, holding the saw to cut off the plaster encasing her wrist in her hand. The ortho surgeon looks at Meredith, not moving until the blonde relaxes. When she does, Callie puts saw to cast and slowly removes it.
Cristina stands next to Meredith silently. Her face has now healed, so she can see out of both eyes. There's some bruising around her left eye, nose, and body and fresh pink scars littering her limbs, along with the cast still on her left leg that wouldn't come off for another two weeks and her broken ribs that would likely take months to heal fully.
Finally, the plaster falls into Callie's hands and she turns off the saw. She gives Meredith a smile and slips a brace onto her wrist before Meredith holds up her hand, flexing her fingers to examine her joint. Now, she can use her crutches. She also has a brace to wear around her midsection, providing support and comfort to her ribs.
The blinds to her room are open, and both Alex and Derek stand in the hallway, looking in.
"So if all goes well she'll be discharged today?" Derek asks, not breaking his gaze from the woman in the room.
"Yes. If she gets cleared by all departments, she's coming back home with Cristina and I."
"Who else lives there again?"
"Kepner used to, but she moved back in with Avery last week. Jo, my girlfriend does too."
"You'll take care of her?" Derek asks, finally looking at the surgeon, his gaze sincere.
"Of course we will. You have the address?"
"Yeah. I-I don't know how often I'll be able to come by..."
"Bullshit." Alex snorts. "You don't have anything else to worry about except for her."
"I'm always going to worry about her but I think she's made it pretty clear she doesn't want me."
"No offense dude, but you're like sex on legs. The damn hair, the eyes, the smile. When she looks at you what do you think comes to her mind?" To this, Derek is silent, not having thought about it before. "See? She doesn't trust anyone anymore. But you can't just...abandon her. She's had more than enough of that."
Alex used to hate Derek's guts. He still does a bit, but he's come to the realization that Meredith did love him, and still does. He knows she needs as many people to be there for her as possible, and since getting to know the FBI agent better, he can see how much the man cares for his best friend.
"I'll come by every day I can," Derek promises quietly, more to himself than the man standing next to him. Their conversation is cut off by three sets of footsteps coming towards them. They both look up to see Quinn, Olivia, and Jo trailing behind.
Alex stands up and meets his girlfriend halfway, greeting her with a kiss. Quinn is sucked into a paper in her hands, which Olivia is reading over her shoulder. When the two get to Derek, they stop and Olivia's attention is drawn to the hospital room in front of them.
"She's getting discharged?" She questions.
"Hopefully today."
"Speaking of today, I should be getting a call tonight about a preliminary date and getting some information on William's side of the case," Quinn interjects.
"Tonight?" Derek repeats, surprised.
"Yes. I'll let you know as soon as I know." The lawyer says, returning her attention to the papers in her hand and sitting down in the nearby chairs.
Olivia crosses her arms over her chest, leaning against the wall to watch Meredith through the window as Derek stands silently next to her, his gaze on the same person.
"Just use the crutches and limit any intense movement for the next two weeks, then I'll see you for a follow up," Callie says, smiling.
Meredith is sitting on the bed, messing around with the velcro on her brace, nodding along with Callie. The Latina signs off some papers on Meredith's chart and exits the room. Before anyone can say anything else, there's a light knock on the door and it's opened by a tall, older man in scrubs and a lab coat.
"Dr. Grey, I'm Dr. Milton from the psych department," he says, entering the room.
Meredith freezes to her spot, her eyes glued to the doctor in front of her. He's got white hair and dark brown eyes. He stops walking towards her, his gaze never leaving hers.
"No." Meredith manages, still gaping.
"Mer, he's just here to talk before you can be discharged," Cristina says, narrowing her eyes to try and figure out what's happening to her friend.
Logically, Meredith knows that it's only a doctor, but in her mind, all she can see is William. His face raids every image in her head, and suddenly she's trapped again. Trapped under him, unable to move.
"Get out! Get away from me! Go! Please, go!" She screams. Dr. Milton's face doesn't change, but he backs out of the room, shutting the door behind him. As soon as he's gone, Meredith breaks out of her flashback and falls into sobs. Cristina comes to her side, trying to comfort her, but confused as to what just happened.
"It was him, Cristina. That was him. He-he-he came after me again," Meredith cries, and the realization hits Cristina like a brick.
"Oh, oh, Meredith, it's okay, you're okay. It's safe here, you're safe, I promise you you're safe, okay? I'm here, I'm not going anywhere, you're safe," the cardio surgeon whispers soothingly, sitting next to Meredith on the bed, though not touching her.
Everyone outside of Meredith's room is now on alert, standing close to her door as Dr. Milton pulls it shut. Everyone but Olivia, who leans against the wall, studying the ground.
"What happened?" Alex snaps.
"I triggered her," Dr. Milton admits. "Not on purpose, but something about me reminded her of her abuser and it sent her into a flashback. I can't be her doctor, she needs someone she can trust," he sighs.
Olivia shakes her head, fighting off her own flashback that has begun creeping up on her. Usually she can sense the attacks a minute or two before they happen so she can ground herself and calm down, but sometimes they come so fast and with so much force she's powerless to stop them.
The first thing that Derek feels is anger towards the psychiatrist in front of him for doing this to Meredith. But Dr. Milton is already walking away, muttering something about finding a new person to do the psych consult.
Alex pushes his way into Meredith's room, while Derek moves closer to the window, watching from a distance. Jo catches sight of Olivia and slowly makes her way across the hall to the FBI agent.
"You okay?" The surgeon whispers.
"No. But I'll get past it." Olivia replies, matching her tone. Jo nods slightly, knowing the exact feeling the agent is talking about.
"Dr. Jo Wilson, you can call me Jo. I'm Alex's girlfriend, I've been covering Meredith's service."
"Special Agent Olivia Prenton."
They're still whispering, neither of them making eye contact with each other. Olivia just stares at her shoes, afraid to move or say anything else. The last thing she needs is everyone knowing her darkest secrets. Her heart is pounding in her chest, and somehow Jo seems to be able to sense it, and moves closer to Olivia, a gesture of comfort.
Alex appears at Meredith's bedside, sympathy written across his features.
"I just want to go home..." Meredith manages between sobs. "Please, please just get me out of here."
"I'm sorry Mer, not just yet. Just a few more hours, okay?" Alex soothes.
It takes another twenty minutes for her to calm down enough to think right, and by the time she does there's another doctor standing outside her door.
The doctor is dressed in regular clothes with a badge on her shirt. She's older, with blue eyes and light brown hair. Through the window, she can see Meredith finally relaxing, but decides to give her another few minutes before she enters.
Eventually, she knocks on the door, stepping back and waiting for an answer. Cristina opens it, her eyes narrowing at the doctor.
"Dr. Wyatt. I'm a psychiatrist." She introduces herself.
"Meredith doesn't need-"
"She has to talk to me to be discharged, Dr. Yang. We're just going to talk, she won't have to tell me anything she doesn't want to." Dr. Wyatt cuts Cristina off. After a minute of hesitation, Cristina opens the door, but Dr. Wyatt doesn't move. Instead she calls into the room. "Hi Dr. Grey, I'm Katharine. Can I come in?"
Meredith studies her for a moment from the bed, then nods. Only after getting permission from Meredith does Dr. Wyatt enter the room and take a seat next to Meredith's bed.
"There's a lot of people out there," Katharine observes.
"Yeah," Meredith agrees, not looking at her.
"Um, should we go?" Cristina breaks in from the door, referring to herself and Alex standing next to her. Dr. Wyatt doesn't respond, only looks at Meredith. When the blonde realizes that she wants her to make the decision, she shifts her gaze to her friends.
"Yeah," she says softly. Cristina nods and leaves the room, Alex at her heels.
"I like her better than that other guy already." Cristina quips once the door is closed. Alex laughs once, then takes a seat in the chairs down the hall. When Jo sees her boyfriend, she leaves her spot next to Olivia and sits next to Alex, immediately interlacing their hands.
Olivia is still slumped against the wall, unmoving as Derek paces in front of her. Quinn left to go back to her office, probably to work on the case more. After ten minutes, Cristina grows tired of doing nothing and gets up to head towards the nurse's station.
"Do you have the discharge papers for Meredith Grey?" She asks one of the nurses sitting there.
The brunette nurse nods, typing on the computer then shifting through a couple of file boxes before pulling out a stack of papers. She hands them to Cristina, smiling a big smile and saying, "When psych signs off, she can leave."
Cristina just nods and walks back to where she was sitting before, flipping through the papers, reading through the notes left from each department as they signed off on the discharge. Another twenty minutes pass, and everyone starts to get antsy.
Cristina loses track of how long she's been sitting there when the door finally opens back up, Dr. Wyatt stepping out. Everyone is instantly on their feet, waiting for the doctor to say something.
"I've talked to Meredith. We agreed that she'll come see me three times a week for the next six weeks, then we'll evaluate where she's at. I can make a proper diagnosis when I see her next, but I suspect post-traumatic stress disorder. I can't tell you anything else, but I gave her all my information. If you'll hand me that," She motions towards the papers in Cristina's hand, "I'll sign off on her discharge."
"Wait, that's it?" Cristina asks, handing over the stack of papers.
"Therapy works, but it takes time, Dr. Yang. I've only had one hour with her, I don't know what else you expect."
"I-I don't know, any advice for what we're supposed to do?"
"PTSD is a complex thing, I'm sure you know that. Love and support her, don't try to tell her how she should feel or what she should be doing. Typically, people with PTSD can't control their emotions and tend to push everyone away. Just be there for her. If she needs space, give it to her, but don't ever go too far. If you think she's in danger of herself, call me right away." Katharine explains, signing the papers and handing them back to Cristina, along with a small card that has her contact information on it, and walks away.
The next hour is spent getting Meredith out of her room and into the car, then driving home. Cristina rides with Meredith as Alex and Jo drive behind them. Olivia goes back to her home, and Derek decides to follow back to Meredith's house.
Upon stepping in the front door, Meredith breaths a sigh of relief, her people following her into the foyer. Jo goes to the kitchen, offering to make food. Meredith closes her eyes and just soaks in the warmth of her own house for a long minute before turning to Cristina on her crutches.
"Can you help me upstairs?"
Alex stays downstairs as Cristina nods, the two making their way up to the master bedroom, which is exactly the way Meredith left it, bed unmade, a few drawers open, books all over the nightstand.
"I need a shower," Meredith mumbles, going to the bathroom and turning on the water as hot as it goes.
"Do you need any help?"
"Maybe...can you just wait in here?"
"Sure."
Meredith gets in the shower and the next few hours pass in a blur. The blonde general surgeon stays in her bedroom, Cristina with her as Derek, Alex, and Jo watch TV downstairs. They order pizza, which Meredith finally does come down for, and they're all eating in the living room when the doorbell rings. Alex gets up and pulls it open, revealing the one and only Quinn Perkins.
The lawyer has an arm full of papers and has her phone clutched in one hand, an unreadable expression on her face.
"Ms. Perkins, come in." Alex greets, opening the door to let the woman walk into the living room where everyone is.
"Hello, I just got off the phone with some people about your case, and I thought it would be better to tell you this in person rather than over the phone," she begins, everyone in the room staring at her. The anticipation in the air is thick.
Meredith tenses, then slowly nods. "We got a date?"
"Yes, it's in two weeks...but there's something else." Quinn clears her throat, uncharacteristically nervous. "William Dunn is pleading not guilty and has the best criminal defense lawyer on the west coast."