A/N: I'm sick this weekend (maybe not a coincidence I got sick the day after this episode... apparently this show is making me physically sick now, gotta love it) so I have nothing to do but sit in bed and eat and write. Here's... this. It basically starts at the same point as the last chapter but goes through what happens after, Meredith's reaction, etc. Some Merlex because I'm a sucker.

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Every thought and worry about Jo and Alex leaves Meredith's mind as soon as she hears the name "Gabby Rivera" from Andrew's mouth. She knows exactly what this is about and when he looks back at Catherine Fox, one of the very few people in the world who are still the boss of her, she fears the worst. She's been found out, she's been exposed. Andrew must have told Catherine everything, they're here to fire her, or worse, arrest her. She thinks back to that morning, leaving the house. Was that the last time she would ever see her kids? But then he finished his sentence and suddenly she was very confused. He lied to her? About what?

Her confusion only deepened when he explained the situation with the insurance exactly as it was as if she hadn't been a part of it. She knew Gabby didn't have insurance. She knew that she was admitted anyway. She knew that all of them wanted her to have the surgery. She narrowed her eyes at him, her mouth hanging open slightly to convey her confusion. She looked to Catherine in the hopes of finding an explanation from her, but only saw a stone cold, unamused, and frankly terrifying facial expression. What in the world was going on?

"I didn't tell anyone, and I put another name down on the paperwork." He says. Oh. Oh. No, no no. This isn't happening. Her eyes widen. She looks to Catherine incredulously. Catherine only looks at the floor. She looks back to Andrew. He's trying to comfort her with his eyes, she can see it. His face says stay calm. How can she stay calm? He's still talking but she doesn't hear him. Her eyes burn as she feels tears prick at them.

"Andrew, no." She cries, trying to keep her face stern but it's no use because the weakness is evident in her voice. The emotion in his eyes deepens, he looks more desperate, he's truly speaking to her through his eyes, to the point where she can barely understand his words. It's okay. Don't freak out, Meredith, please. Don't freak out. Yeah right. She is not letting him do this. She fights with all of her will to keep her face stern, exactly how she acts with her children. Their eyes are arguing while he stays completely calm.

She hears the word 'Police' and is dragged back to reality, out of the alternate dimension that is his eyes, into a body that is sounding just about every alarm. Her stomach is clenching and is apparently trying to flip itself over inside of her, her legs are shaky and wobbly and she thinks she might collapse, her hands are shaking and she steadies them on her hips to make it less obvious, and the tears that she had worked so hard to conceal are now prominent in her eyes, forcing her to use some of the energy she needs for things like standing and not letting her stomach turn itself inside out for holding them back because she can't cry in front of her boss, no matter the situation.

"No, Andrew do not do that!" She says, not even aware that she's speaking out loud. At this point, her mind is such a clouded, emotional mess that she has no idea if what he's saying is out loud or just in her mind, or if she's actually speaking or entirely silent. All that she has are singular words, ricocheting around her head so forcefully that she can barely hang onto them. Kids. Felony. Jail. Jail? A tear escapes her desperate efforts to hold back her emotions and trails down her face and with the mental capability that she has left she knows that she can't let him do this. There has to be another way.

She springs to action when she sees him start to turn away, her hand banging on the wall of the hyperbaric chamber. "Andrew, no! Andrew, don't!" She cries. Don't what? She doesn't quite know. Don't leave? Don't do this? Don't go to the police? That one seems reasonable enough. "Andrew, do not go to the police!" He's still turning away from her. Why is he still leaving? Is she speaking out loud? Can he hear her? "Do not!" She's quite sure that she's screaming at this point because she can hear her words echoing around the chamber and back to her ears. Maybe the chamber is soundproof? Is that why he won't turn around to look at her?

It doesn't matter, she resolves, she can't let him do this. He places his hand on the window and looks at her and suddenly she's back, lost in his eyes and the desperate message he's sending her. I'm sorry. And then he's mouthing the words to her, the words, and everything she thought she had under control tumbles like a Jenga tower falling apart all at once. She makes no attempt to stop the tears leaking from her eyes and she slams her hand against the window of the chamber screaming his name over and over.

She lost sight of him seconds ago, or maybe it's been minutes, she has no idea. Still she's banging on the window calling his name with more desperation each time. Her voice begins to break and she feels the adrenaline from her panic wearing off as the gravity of what he's doing sets in. His words come back to her. Felony, jail, police. She think's she's falling and then yes, she's definitely falling, and Alex is catching her and she can't breathe, she's sobbing and she can't form coherent thoughts, everything and nothing is happening in her mind and she thinks she may pass out.

"Look at me. Look at me. Breathe." Alex says, holding her tightly and looking down at her, his face full of worry and concern and slight sympathy. She looks up at him but she can't comprehend what he's asking her to do. What does he mean, breathe? Breathe, okay, breathe, how does she do that? What is she doing?

Her vision is getting spotty and she thinks she sees stars, she knows that's not a good thing but she doesn't have the power to stop it. She doesn't notice when Alex lets go of her or his frantic searching the chamber until he's back and she feels something slip over her head. The stars go away and she's looking into Alex's eyes. Oh. Breathe.

Her brain seems to finally work and she holds onto him tightly, breathing deeply into the oxygen mask he'd placed over her mouth and nose. He sighs in relief and relaxes, pulling her against him in a tight hug. What is he doing? They don't hug. But, if she's honest, his embrace calms her, she feels slightly better, and it makes her forget about everything for a moment. He's whispering calming things in her ear and she thinks her heart is done trying to break its way out of her chest, she's breathing normally again and the tears dripping from her eyes have slowed down, but not completely stopped.

She leans back and looks at him, knowing her eyes are probably bloodshot and puffy and she must look like a sniveling mess but not caring, and pulls the mask away from her for a moment. "Thank you." She manages to croak, wiping the remaining tears from her face. He smirks at her.

"Shut up." He chuckles and hugs her again, not as tightly but still comforting. "I'm your person." They both laugh and he helps her up, looking at her seriously. She sighs.

"Alex, What am I going to do?"

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A/N: I feel like I went really in depth into Meredith's thoughts in this one, exactly what's going on in her brain and how she's coping. I really liked the idea that she and Andrew were having an entirely different conversation just with their eyes because it kind of seems like they are in the scene, they both know things Catherine doesn't and he has to tell her things he can't say out loud, with him mouthing words to her instead of speaking. I don't know if I'll write more to this, it depends if I think of a way to extend it further. Hope you enjoyed.