Chapter 45:

January 12, 2026- Seattle Washington

"Mrs. Shepherd, Derek just had a small scare. He is going to recover from it just fine," Dr. Henderson told Meredith who instantly let go of the breath she'd been holding since he walked over to her.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I am."

Meredith bit her lip, thinking she didn't want to know the answer, but she decided to ask anyways, "Is it... Is it going to progress his cancer?"

"Mrs. Shepherd, Derek is doing very well. So far we haven't seen anything in his tests that show that the cancer has progressed since we originally released him. He is doing amazingly well, especially considering that he has declined chemotherapy and radiation," Dr. Henderson continued, "Honestly, he shouldn't be doing this well. I don't know why he is."

"Cristina?" Derek said sitting up in his bed. That was definitely not he person he expected to walk through that door.

Cristina looked at him and closed the door. She headed over the chair by Derek's bed. She could tell she was freaking him out. "You don't want to get rid of your stupid hair. That's it, right?"

"What?" Derek asked.

"That's why you won't do chemo or radiation," Cristina said.

"It's not the hair. I just don't want to spend my last days lying in a bed in this stupid hospital," Derek said a little aggravated.

"Look, Meredith couldn't handle looking at your tests, but I know she would want to, so I did. I've been following your case from the first chest x-ray you had here. You've refused treatment, yet your cancer isn't getting worse. For being in the fourth stage, do you understand how rare that is?" Cristina asked.

"I did go to medical school."

"Cut the crap and seriously listen to me," Cristina said. She was actually beginning to surprise Derek, but then again she was surprising herself, "Your body is finding some way to fight this. With the aid of treatment, you could pull through this. You could."

"That's rare Cristina. Rare."

"Fighting off non-small cell lung cancer in its most advanced stage is rare too, but you are doing it, aren't you?" Cristina asked.

"I guess."

"If you forgo treatment, you will probably end up being in the hospital for things like this anyways. You should do this treatment. Do it for Meredith. She deserves to have you around a little longer," Cristina said.

"I don't want treatment. Meredith and I have already made that decision."

"No, Derek," Cristina said standing up and heading to the door, "You've made that decision. Meredith just doesn't want you to feel bad, but I'm the one that she calls at three in the morning crying. She won't say these things to you because she doesn't want you feel guilty. Well, I have no problem making you feel guilty. Just do it for Meredith. She deserves for you to try."

Before Derek could respond, Cristina walked out of the room; leaving him by himself to think about the choices he's made.