Chapter 3
2017 OBGYN Examination Room, SGMWH
"Dr Grey. Dr Shepherd. It is very nice seeing the two of you again. Is there anything I can help you with?" The OBGYN, Connie, grinned as she opened the door for Meredith and Derek.
"Um, yes. So, erm, I was not feeling very well a few weeks ago, always nauseous and exhausted and emotional. I thought it's nothing, probably just stress or food poisoning. But it continued for weeks, so I finally took a test and the stick turns blue! I think I am pregnant again, um, I, uh…" Meredith stammered because of her nervousness.
"What she means is that we will need a fetal check-up to make sure we have a healthy baby." Derek smiled warmly and finished for Meredith. Connie nodded her head and said, "Yeah! Of course! Meredith, please pull your top above your tummy and lie on the chair please."
After putting on some gloves, Connie squeezed some jelly on Meredith's belly and located the probe on her uterus.
"Okay, so here's your baby. See? This is the head and the spine is here… Give me a second to see how far along are you. Mm… It looks like 14 weeks to me. You should have taken that test earlier." Connie pressed the 'print' button on the machine, and handed the Shepherds an ultrasound photo.
"Oh, can you let us hear the baby's heartbeat? I wanted to send the audio clip to my mum." Derek grinned at Connie, who nodded and pushed another button on the machine.
"I… I know I am known for being all dark and twisty and negative, so please tell me I am not hearing a murmur." Meredith frowned and twisted her fingers nervously.
"Meredith, Derek, I am afraid it is a murmur. There is… a huge tumour on the baby's heart. Right here." Connie pointed at the screen. Meredith bended forward to look at the screen, and her tear dripped down her cheeks.
"Oh god, a tumour. Our baby is going to die."
"Hey don't… Don't say that so soon! Let's page Arizona to take a look first." Derek kissed his wife on the forehead gently and hold her hand tightly.
"I hate to say this to parents but I am so sorry, it is a tumour. The good news is, most of the time tumours in babies are benign. But the bad news is…"
"There is no such thing as a benign tumour when it grows on a heart." Derek interrupts calmly. Arizona froze and nodded.
"What options do we have here?" Meredith sniffed and tried to ask calmly, but her voice is still shaky.
"Well, the worst option is termination, but I don't think you will consider that, so let's talking about more aggressive approaches. We can do surgery, you can either wait until the baby is born to operate, but the risk will be a lot greater at that time; or you can consider fetal surgery."
"Fetal surgery? Tell me what you are going to do."
"We will open up the uterus and half deliver the baby, then I will bring in a cardio surgeon to remove the tumour. After the surgery we will put the baby back into the uterus and wait for the baby to be full term. In the past five years there are more than a hundred successful cases. I think it's worth trying." The blonde surgeon sat down beside Meredith and hold her hand.
Meredith and Derek exchanged glances for a brief second, then she took a deep breath and said, "Yes, we will do the fetal surgery."
"Okay, so I will page Cardio here for a consult first, then we will let you know the surgical plan. Because you are already 14 weeks along, we have to move faster."
"Wait! I want Cristina doing the surgery. If someone have to cut into my baby's heart, I want that person to be Cristina."
-"Mer? What happened?" Cristina came into the exam room right after Meredith put down her phone. Arizona briefly filled her in on the baby's condition. Cristina leaned towards the ultrasound machine to observe the heart carefully.
"Cristina… Is it bad? Can you operate on it?" Derek asked as he saw Cristina doesn't look confidence.
"Um? Oh yeah… Of course, I can do it." She smiled at him and squeezed Meredith's hand to comfort her. Meredith took a deep breath to relax and smiled as well.
As Cristina helped Meredith get up from the examination bed, Derek quietly step out of the room. He leaned on the wall outside the exam room and dialed a number he haven't called in a while.
"Hey, it's me, Derek. I need a favor from you, can you come to Grey Sloan and perform a surgery? Yes I know, but the patient is Meredith, I want the best for her. Thanks. I will let you know when we are going to operate."
A/N: It wouldn't be Seattle Grace if we don't have some cruel drama on Meredith right? And I really wanna write some surgical scene in my fics :) I promise I won't kill Meredith and baby Ellis(Seriously? Grey's Anatomy Fanfic WITHOUT Grey?), so don't freak out and keep on reading please :)))))
