Meredith is asleep in a chair next to Derek's bed. It has been a few hours since they arrived and Derek is still holding stable. After talking with Mrs. Shepherd and making sure the kids were asleep in day care, Meredith had sat down with the intentions of just watching Derek but the emotional strain of the past 24 hours had gotten to her and she closed her eyes knowing that she would need her strength during his recovery.
Meredith is woken up by the sound of the door opening. Maggie walks in holding her tablet, ready to check on Derek's vitals. She had been concerned with his heart when he first arrived but was now just doing routine checkups. It was work and intern could easily do but she wanted to be the one, especially since the patient is her brother in law and a good friend. "Sorry Mer, I didn't mean to wake you." "No it's okay. How's he doing?" Maggie smiles down at her sister, because nothing makes her happier than knowing she can give Meredith good news. "He is doing great. His heart rate and BP are both within normal limits. He hasn't arrested and there are no signs of injury to the heart." "Good, that's good" Meredith replies with a little smile. She rubs Derek's hand and looks down at him lovingly. "So I know the kids went down late last night so they will probably sleep in till 8 or 9 and I can have the day care page me when they wake up. I cleared my schedule for the day so I can take them home for you and watch them if you'd like." "Thank you Maggie that would be amazing. I think I'm just going to stay here with him today and I'll come home in time to put the kids to bed." Maggie just smiles and nods "no problem." She reaches down and gently squeezes Derek's feet, "feel better Derek."
Meredith leans back in her chair but never lets go of Derek's hand. She looks at the clock, and realizing that its 3 am decides to go back to sleep. After what seems like seconds of sleep, Meredith opens her eyes and sees a pair of piercing blue eyes starring back at her. "Hey you're awake! How are you feeling? Does anything hurt do you need more morphine?" "No I think I'm okay for now." Derek gives her a little smile so she won't keep pestering him with questions. "Where are the kids?" "Maggie offered to take them for the day." Derek doesn't say anything in response because he can tell by the look in Meredith's eyes that she has more to say. After a few moments in silence Meredith finally says "I almost said thanks Lex to her after she offered. I was just watching you sleep and the way she dropped everything to watch the kids and help us is totally something that Lexie would've done. And I almost called her Lexie." Derek squeezed Meredith's hand as she looked down at her lap trying not to cry. "Come here." Meredith climbs into bed and lays on top of Derek, resting her head on his chest again. He circles her back with his arm and rubs her back in big circles trying to comfort her. "Its okay to miss her, I miss her too. And mark. Somedays the most random thing will remind me of him and I'll feel it all over again." They just sit there, holding each other and cherishing the fact that they get to still be together. "I think they would've liked each other. Lexie would be all territorial at first but they would bond over Zola and Bailey. And over how I can't cook." Meredith said the last sentence with a small laugh, and Derek just smiled in agreement. They spent the rest of the day just sleeping in each other's arms, enjoying getting to spend so much uninterrupted time together. Around 5 o'clock Meredith got a text from Mrs. Shepherd saying her plane had just landed and that she would be taking a plane to the hospital. "Derek?" "hmm" "Did I ever mention to you at some point today that your mother decided to fly out to Seattle?" Derek's eyes shot open and he turned to stare at Meredith. "No you failed to mention that." "Well she'll be here in about 30 minutes…." "Meredith what did you do?" "Derek you almost died what was I supposed to do not tell you mother that her only son almost died?" "Yes!" "Remember when Amelia just showed up after you had been shot was so angry that you hadn't called her? It would be ten times worse if somehow your mother found out about all this and just showed up angry and pissed at me, as if she doesn't need another reason to hate me." "Mom doesn't hate you..." Meredith threw Derek a look. "I just don't want her to worry when she doesn't have to!" "I explained everything to her, it's not like I told her you were dying Derek." Derek just shook his head at Meredith and smiled. "Sometimes I just…" and leaned in and kissed her.
"Hey Mer I just wanted to let you know the kids are doing great and we had a super fun day. Zola kept asking a lot of questions about Derek so I promised her she would get to see him tomorrow. Are you still coming home to put them to bed?" "Yes I'm leaving the hospital soon I'm just waiting for Derek's mother to arrive." "Derek's mother is coming? How's Amelia?" "Well I know they don't have the easiest relationship but I don't think she's going to run and hide like a little kid…. right?" "I'm not sure, I would just let her know before she sees her mom without any warning." "Oh I see her now I gotta go!" "Hey Amelia!" Amelia picked her head up from the charts she was studying to see Meredith walking up to her. "Hey Meredith I'm sorry about earlier, it's just that this isn't the first time my brother has almost died and I guess I just freaked out a little." Meredith just stared at Amelia with a cold expression on her face while her eyes were shooting daggers at her sister-in-law. "I just wanted to let you know that your mother is coming to see Derek" Meredith said in her most Medusa like voice. "My, my mom is coming?" Amelia responded with fear in her eyes and a small tremor in her voice. "Yeah"
Derek had been resting for about 15 minutes since Meredith left him when he saw his mother walking down the hall. As soon as she saw him she rushed over to his bed and enveloped him in a tight hug. "Ma calm down I'm fine." "Derek Shepherd you were hit by a truck you are not fine." Mrs. Shepherd ran her hand through her son's hair and down the side of his face. "Aside from some broken bones, a few cuts and bruises, and a little internal bleeding I'm fine." "That's the opposite of fine in my book." The door slides open and Meredith walks in. "Meredith dear!" "Hi Mrs. Shepherd it's good to see you again. I'm sorry it has to be in a situation like this." "Oh don't worry dear I'll take any excuse to see my son and those beautiful kids of yours." Meredith gave her a tight smile while Mrs. Shepherd was beaming looking back and forth between Derek and Meredith. "Well I talked to Maggie and she's almost done giving the kids their dinner so I'm going to head home to put them to bed. Do you mind staying with Derek tonight? I'll be back in the morning and I can have the nurses bring a bed in for you." "Oh no worries dear this chair will do just fine." "Ma that chair is bad for your back." "Derek hush you need your rest. I'll be right here if you need anything tonight Meredith." Meredith gives Mrs. Shepherd a small smile and walks over to Derek's bed. She kisses him quickly on the head, says "I love you", and closes the door behind her.
When Meredith got home Maggie had just finished feeding the kids their dinner. They gave the kids a bath together and Maggie got Bailey ready for bed while Meredith helped Zola brush her teeth. They all sat on the couch together, Meredith reading the bedtime story while Maggie braided Zola's hair.
"Mommy when can I see daddy?" "Tomorrow sweetie I promise. He just needed to rest today so he can get better and come home soon." "I miss him." Meredith gives Zola a kiss on the forehead and tucks her sheets in. "I know sweetie." Meredith gets up from her position on the floor next to Zola's bed and walks away to close the door. She leaves it open just a crack so Zola can find the bathroom in the middle of the night. "Goodnight Zozo I love you." "I love you too mommy." Meredith walked into Bailey's room and gave him a kiss on the head, then headed back into the living room where Maggie was drinking some wine. "Hey I hope you don't mind I opened a new bottle." "No help yourself, that's what Derek built the huge wine fridge for." "How's he doing with his mom here?" "He likes to pretend that he doesn't want her to fly all the way out here but I know he really loves seeing her. He spent the first third of his life leaving with her or close enough to her to see her and the rest of his family all the time. I know he sometimes misses getting to see his family that often." "He has four sisters right?" "Yeah. I can't even imagine growing up in a house like that. Mine was so quiet." "Same here. I loved being an only child." Meredith looked a little sad upon hearing that and looked down at her knees. "Oh Mer I'm sorry I didn't mean to imply that..." "No it's okay" Meredith says cutting Maggie off. "When I was younger I sometimes wished that I had a sibling, thinking it might make my father come back or my mother would pay more attention to me, but I wouldn't wish that childhood on anyone. Knowing that your own parent resents you can make you a little dark and twisty inside." Meredith looks back up at Maggie with a half-smile on her face. "Well you have me now, no more dark and twisties anymore!" "Hahahaha I don't think that will ever go away" Meredith laughs as she takes a sip of her wine. "You should get some sleep you look exhausted." "You can crash in the guest room across from Amelia's room. I'll wake you up before I feed the kids." Meredith got up from the couch and put her wine glass in the sink. "Goodnight Mer." "Goodnight Maggie."
