The bittersweet between my teeth, trying to find the in-betweens
"C'mon Zo, just a few more and then we can stop," Meredith's heart broke as she tried to get Zola to eat more of the food Alex had left for her. If she ever found the people who'd hurt her, she'd probably end up killing them. Zola let Meredith feed her a few more spoonfuls, and Meredith sighed in defeat, setting the jar down on the table. She's managed to feed her just over a half of the baby food, which was better than nothing.
Meredith grabbed a wipe from next to the bed and used it to clean around Zola's mouth, with slight protest from the young girl. According to Alex she'd been awake since half six that morning, possibly earlier, so she may start to become fatigued soon. She hoped that's what this was and nothing more serious.
She looked up as she heard a knock on the door, Arizona Robbins. Zola perked you as she recognised her, "'Zona!" She exclaimed, making Meredith laugh, and Zola reached for the doctor who'd been here when she was first admitted to the hospital.
"Well hello to you too, little Miss Zola! Haven't you grown!" Arizona responded to the four-year-old as she went to embrace her.
Meredith didn't miss the red head who stood by the doorway, who she presumed to be Addison. She kept her attention on the interaction between Zola and Arizona, "She's got her own fan club, now," Meredith said, rolling her eyes with a small laugh.
"And rightly so! I just wanted to come by and say hi, and since you weren't at the meeting introduce you to Dr Montgomery-Shepherd, Meredith," Arizona explained, Addison, this is Dr Meredith Grey, head of General Surgery," she introduced them.
Meredith then turned and shook the other woman's hand as Addison stepped closer, "Nice to meet you."
"Same to you," Addison responded, none the wiser about Meredith's relationship with Derek, "and who is this?" She referenced to Zola.
"This is Zola, she's going to be staying with us for a while, aren't you, Princess?" Arizona explained.
Zola clung a little tighter to Meredith at the introduction of the stranger and went quiet, and hid her head in Meredith's shoulder, "I think it's about time for a little sleep," Meredith suggested.
Arizona nodded in agreement, "Sleep tight, Zola. I'll come see you later," she said as she rested her hand against Zola's shoulder a moment and then looked to Meredith, "We'll get Neuro in here later today to check her over, and we'll go from there."
Meredith nodded, "Thanks, Arizona," she kept hold of the child in her arms as Robbins left the room with Addison, and she released the breath she was holding once Addison was gone. During the brief interaction, Zola had fallen asleep. Meredith moved her under the blankets on the bed and reluctantly let go of her. She needed to speak to Maggie.
She grabbed her phone out of her bag and stepped outside the room, dialling Maggie's number. She picked up after a few rings, "Hey, Meredith, I'm just on my way up to see you."
"Oh, right, she's just gone to sleep, just wanted to keep you in the loop," Meredith said with a small laugh.
"It's okay, Alex called me last night and updated me this morning, are you okay?" She heard the compassion in her sister's voice.
"Yeah, I'm just so angry," she said with a sigh, "Theres not much I can do now though. I do need to go and get a shower though, and a change of clothes. I'll just put on some scrubs for now."
"Okay, I'll go home later and fetch you a bag of things in," Maggie offered.
"Thanks, Mags, that'd be great, I'm gonna go shower now before she wakes, speak soon," her sister said her goodbyes and the call ended. Meredith took one last look at Zola before heading down to the locker room to get a shower and change into some clean scrubs.
Derek didn't stick around to hear whatever Addison had to say next. He wasn't the guilty one. He wasn't the one who'd cheated. He made his way to neurology, already behind on rounds. When he got there, he caught up with the group of residents as they were rounding on his patients finding Lexie with them. He stood to one side in the room and watched as Edwards presented, his mind not completely there.
Shortly after, the residents emptied the room and he followed suit, catching up with Lexie before they went to see the next patient, "Dr Grey, are you good to continue without me for now? There's somewhere I need to be."
"Of course, Dr Shepherd," she replied with a nod, "Quick question, you don't know where I'd find Dr Meredith Grey?"
He eyed her with slight caution before responding, "She won't be available today, page Dr Bailey if you need general. Page me if there's anything you can't handle."
Lexie nodded, "Yeah, okay, thanks," she sensed a hint of protectiveness in his tone but didn't push any further.
Derek nodded and made his way back to his office. On his way down the hallway, he looked through the door into Meredith's office and had to do a double take when he saw her standing there. He knocked against the door and watched as she looked up, seeing him, and her eyes softened for a slight moment as he opened the door, closing it behind him.
"Derek I can't do this right now," she said with her arms crossed at her chest, her gaze fixed to the floor as she leant back against her desk.
He stepped closer to her, "Do what, Meredith?" He questioned, not totally sure why she seemed upset with him.
Her hand went up between them to stop him moving any closer to her, "Why didn't you tell me she was coming here?"
Realisation dawned on him. She thought he'd chosen not to tell her about Addison's arrival, "Meredith, it's not," he managed to say before she cut him off.
She turned away from him as she spoke, "No, I don't want to hear it. I don't have time for these games. I still haven't even begun to address the whole Lexie situation, and there's a sick girl here who needs me. I've done enough damage as it is," she didn't realise she was crying again until she felt his arms wrap around her and hold her close to him.
"Shh," he murdered softly against her hair as he held her, "I'm not playing any games with you, Meredith. I didn't know she was coming here, I honestly didn't," she looked up at him and he gently wiped tears of her cheeks with his thumb, "and then she was here and I wanted to tell you, but Richard was stood there. I came back to see you, but you'd already fallen asleep and I couldn't wake you," he pressed a kiss against her forehead, "Tell me, what can I do? How can I help?"
"We need to talk more, but not now, I have to get back," she glanced at the clock on the wall, unsure how long Zola would be asleep for, she looked back to Derek, "She needs a Neuro consult, can you come up around lunch? I don't want to chance Lexie being assigned to her, I need you."
Derek nodded, "Of course I can, Meredith," he pressed a soft kiss against her lips which she reciprocated, and her hands moved to tangle in his hair gently.
She pulled her lips back after a moment and he rested his forehead against hers, "I need to go," she said in a whisper.
He held her close a moment longer, "Go on, I'll see you later," he said as he released his hold on her. He watched as she headed to the door, giving him a small smile before she left him alone in her office. He needed to get those papers signed.
On her way back to Zola's room, she ran into Alex, "I thought you weren't working today, Mer?" he asked as he saw her in her scrubs.
Meredith shook her head, "No, I just ran out of spare clothes, Maggie is bringing me some things later on," she explained to him.
Alex nodded in understanding, "Okay, Mer. Just make sure you're looking after yourself. You don't need to spend every minute with her," he said. He'd seen her get hurt before. Spend every minute she could being there for Zola, just to be crushed when she'd had to go. "I've just been in and she's still sleeping," he assured her, sensing her anxiety at being away, "I'm gonna keep her on the baby food for a few days, and if all goes well, we'll get her back on solids."
Meredith nodded in understanding, "Anything from social services?"
"They called this morning for an update," he explained, "I told them she'd have to stay in for at least a week, and then they're going to try and find a new placement for her," he said with a frown.
Meredith looked up at her friend, "I think I'm ready. I can't let her go again, Alex."
"Do what's best for you, Meredith," is all he had to say, giving her a quick hug, "I'll ask Neuro to come and check her over when she's awake."
"I may have already asked Derek to come up," she told him with a small shrug.
Alex sighed and pulled back from her, "Be careful, Mer."
Derek made his way to the paediatric ward for his consult. He held a tablet in his hand, reading over Zola's chart as he walked, she'd had a shunt put in at 6-months old, followed by a hernia repair. He'd have to get scans to check everything over, make sure there was no malfunction. He lowered the tablet and looked in awe as he stood in the doorway to Zola's room.
Meredith sat on the bed, Zola in her lap, as she had a book open in front of them, reading to her in a quiet voice as Zola followed along with the pictures. He knocked gently on the open door, to get Meredith's attention. She looked up and smiled as she saw him, then looked to the girl in her arms, "Hey Zola, I want you to meet someone. This is Dr Derek."
Derek approached them both, smiling at Zola, "Hey there, Zola," he said as she looked at him inquisitively and then back up at Meredith.
"It's okay, Zo, he's a doctor, he's here to help you feel better," Meredith reassured her with a smile.
Derek sat on the bed in front of them, "Can I check your head?" He asked the girl. After a moment of hesitation, Zola moved out of Meredith's lap and moved closer to Derek.
She sat between Derek and Meredith on the bed and raised her hand to her head, "Hurts," she told him with a frown.
"Let's have a look then, shall we?" he said as he began her neuro check. Zola warmed to him quickly, interacting with him. He laughed softly as Zola wrapped her arms around his neck in a hug which he returned, and he looked to Meredith who was watching them closely, "I need to order a scan just to check, but I think there might be a slight malfunction with her shunt, it's a quick surgery."
Meredith nodded in understanding, "When can you do it?" she asked.
"We'll get the scans done this afternoon, and I can do it in the morning," he said as Zola returned to Meredith.
"Mer, book," she laughed as Zola reached for the book in her hand. She pulled Zola back into her lap, carefully, and opened the book in front of her.
Derek stood of the bed, a placed his hand on Meredith's shoulder a moment, "I'll go let Karev know," she nodded to him before continuing to read the book with Zola.
Derek left the room and met with Karev who was stood waiting for an update. He updated him and ordered the tests for Zola, then stood beside Alex as they watched Meredith with Zola.
Alex spoke first, "Meredith loves that little girl, after everything she's been through," Alex sighed and looked to Derek, "She deserves to be happy, and I swear, you'd best not ruin that for her," he warned before walking away.
Fall back in love eventually.
Young Blood - Birdy.