So I'm supposed to be doing research for a project right now, but instead here I am, updating xD oh well.
There's about a 2 month time jump beginning this chapter.
25 weeks pregnant
Meredith was at home with the kids while Derek was at the hospital for a few hours. It was her day off and lately she was beginning to enjoy them more and more because it gave her time to be with her first two children before the twins came.
At the moment, Meredith was sitting on the couch with Zola snuggled up next to her. She had put Bailey down for a nap in his bedroom a little while ago while she and Zola watched a Disney movie.
Zola moved closer to Meredith before she placed her tiny hand on Meredith's ever expanding stomach.
"Mama, when am I getting a sister?" Zola looked up at her mother with her eyes begging for the answer to be right now.
"You still have a few more months, Zo. Don't worry, we'll tell you when. You know, Daddy and I haven't given your sister a name yet. What do you think?"
Zola sat for a minute thinking her options over. She remembered overhearing her parents talk about names before. "Lex!" Zola said as her eyes sparkled after remembering the name her mother wanted to use.
Meredith's eyes began welling with tears. She often wonders if Zola remembered Lexie, since she was so young when the plane crash happened. "We need a first name, Lovebug. Your sister is going to have Aunt Lexie's name as her middle name." Logically, Meredith knew Zola didn't know what a middle name was, but the words just fell out of her mouth. Luckily, Zola seemed to realize the seriousness in her mother's voice that Meredith hadn't realized was there.
"I don't have anymore names. That's your job," Zola said with a laugh.
The two watched the rest of the movie in silence. When it was over, Zola asked Meredith if they could have a tea party. Meredith knew the likelihood of her being able to sit down and have a tea party with Zola would be low once the twins were there. As Zola was setting the party up, Derek had called and informed Meredith that he would be home later than expected.
As Meredith sat at the small round table with Zola, she remembered one of the last tea parties Zola forced her and Derek into a few weeks before Bailey was born. She was positive Zola was going to hate him, but it turned out to be quite the opposite—her daughter is quite the lovable person.
Unlike the last time, though, Meredith was continuously placing a hand on her bump to calm the twins. She never had Braxton Hicks with Bailey, but for the past week or so she had been experiencing small cramps here and there.
Zola caught her mother's actions and looked at her through squinted eyes. "You okay, Mama?" She had heard Derek ask Meredith the same question more than a few times in the previous weeks and decided that she would fill her daddy's role since he wasn't home.
"I'm okay, Zo. Your brother and sister are just moving around," Meredith smiled at her daughter, even if it was a small lie. She was definitely not okay with those Braxton Hicks.
Zola walked over to Meredith and squatted down next to her. She looked at Meredith's stomach and began talking. "You gots to be good for Mama, guys. It's not nice to hurt her."
Meredith softly laughed at her daughter's actions. "It's okay, Zola. They're just getting comfy in there." Meredith was trying hard not to let her daughter know that they weren't actually moving around.
Zola was about to reply, but they both heard Bailey calling out for Meredith. Meredith slowly got up and headed toward the stairs. Bailey was sitting at the top of the stairs behind the baby gate. She picked him up the best that she could and headed back downstairs.
When Meredith placed him on the floor, Bailey began walking over to Zola and before Meredith knew it, her daughter had invited Bailey to the tea party—and Bailey joined. She smiled when she saw her two children laying together. Bailey now had the crown on that Derek normally wears and Zola had a fuzzy scarf wrapped around her neck.
Seeing that her children were occupied, Meredith decided to finish the laundry she had started earlier in the day.
As Meredith folded the load that was in the dryer, she smiled as she was folding tiny baby clothes that she had kept from Bailey's infancy. She didn't know why she kept them, but she did. And she couldn't believe that she was about to have two more little babies in the house.
A year ago, she was sure she and Derek were heading down the road to divorce, but somehow they managed to turn their luck around and ended up back where they had started their lives together and were having babies in just a few short months.
Meredith sighed as she felt the Braxton Hicks again. She really was getting tired of them occurring. But she was also worried about why they were happening so often that day.
She pushed it to the side of her mind though when Zola came up and announced that she and Bailey were hungry. So she quickly put a snack together for them. That was when the pain really started.
Meredith managed to get the plates to the kids just before a wave of pain hit her. Zola looked at her mother worriedly and her eyes grew wide when she saw blood coming from her mother.
"Mommy, you're bleeding."
"I know, Zo. It's going to be okay," Meredith said slow as she was losing her breath with each pain.
"Should I call Daddy?" Zola asked after seeing her mother hunch over in pain. She hadn't ever seen her mother hurting this bad and knew it was serious when Meredith had expressed the pain she was feeling. But she never received an answer from Meredith as she had fallen to the ground. Zola decided to call 911 instead since she didn't even know Derek's number. When the operator picked up, Zola softly spoke. "My mommy fell down and she's bleeding."
The ride was bumpy and Meredith was in and out of consciousness. In her brief moments of being conscience, she saw that she was in an ambulance. She felt the straps holding her down on the gurney; she saw her daughter consoling her son as they had to witness that sight of their mother injured; she felt the pain of what she could guess was placental abruption. Silently, she said a prayer for her two unborn children to be okay.
She recognized where she was after a few moments of confusion. Back in the woods from all those years ago. Only, there wasn't a plane this time. It was just vacant woods. From the distance, she heard someone calling her name.
Meredith looked around trying to find the voice that she was hearing. She would recognized that voice anywhere.
It belonged to one of the people she had grown closest to; the woman that she didn't want in her life, but somehow loving the hell out of her after months of ignoring her.
Meredith turned and saw her sister. She was more beautiful than Meredith remembered. Lexie was scratch free, no indication of a plane crash on her body. In fact, Lexie Grey was smiling that bright and shiny smile she always had.
Meredith briefly wondered where Derek was. Or even her kids. She looked down and her stomach was still noticeably big.
Lexie had finally found her and hugged her. For the first time—aside from seeing Derek after his accident—Meredith was more than willing to hug someone other than her kids.
For a brief moment, she was happy. Lexie looked at her and smiled again.
"I knew you were going to have a baby of your own someday." She stepped away from Meredith a little before she looked at Meredith's stomach.
Meredith became conscious again, fighting off the hands that were working on her. Someone had finally gotten an oxygen mask on her face as she muttered Derek's names. She recognized the walls of Grey-Sloan Memorial and knew that they were going to take care of her, and inform Derek of whatever was going on with her. Before she knew it, she was unconscious again, fading back into darkness.
I think this was the longest chapter I ever posted for this story. PLEASE don't hate me?. I borrowed dialogue from episode 22/23 of season 11- did my best to remember because I don't watch season 11. I told you I found a way for Lexie to come back. I really have to go study for an exam I have tomorrow. I promise to update either tomorrow or Thursday (seriously, I'm keeping this promise).