Chapter 24 - What's Wrong With Me?!

"What?" Addison was instantly struck with, believe it or not, a huge wave of guilt as soon as Meredith had closed her mouth.

Meredith bit her lip to stop it from trembling and she could feel the slight iron-like taste of blood when letting go to speak. "Sh-she, she... ehm, she coll- ah, collapsed." she swallowed as the tears started to fall down her cheek, but she quickly wiped them away. "She had to have an emergency surgery..."

"Meredith, I'm sorry I said what I... I didn't..."

Meredith could hear Addison speak, but she didn't pay attention. She couldn't, when all she could concentrate on was the person coming towards her in his deep blue scrubs and dark brown hair in uneaven curls. He had a tired look upon his face, and when they made eye contact, Meredit knew. He didn't have to say anything, she didn't have to ask, it was all over his face, in the deep eyes, everywhere. Something had gone wrong, something, or pretty much everything to Meredith, had gone wrong.

Skye covered her mouth, but a shrill scream slipped passed her hand and she instantly sat down again. She could feel her eyelashes clump together by tears as all sorts of things rushed through her head. Zadie's face flashed before her eyes, smiling, then not. Under the short moment no one said anything, everything from their frist school day to what she'd do without Zadie rushed through her thoughts. Skye didn't know much about medicin and hospitals, but just enough to know that if one's condition can change from okay to coma in the matter of a couple of hours, it isn't good. Really not good.

The look on Izzie's face didn't help much either.

"What do you mean?" Mark exclaimed and ran both his hands through the short and grey, but resonably thick hair. "I mean what happened? What did you find on the scan?"

Izzie took a breath and opened her mouth. "When Zadie hit her head, it caused her brain to bleed, and she was taken to surgery..." she tried to look comforting but at the moment it wasn't too easy.

Mark nodded in shock, but at the same time he looked suspiciously at Izzie who for a second looked away.

"Ehm, Alex?" he said and looked at his fellow plastic surgeon. "Would you take Skye so that she can call her parents so they know she's here, maybe get her another cup of coffee or something and then meet us upstairs?"

"Sure, of course..." Alex nodded and put and fatherly arm around Skye, leading her out from the court yard.

When they were gone Mark moved close to Izzie who looked up, a little surprised. "That was not the whole story was it? I saw it in your face..."

Izzie looked down again and she wiped away a little shiny drop from her cheek before meeting Mark's eyes again.

"You were just making it easier for Skye..." he put a hand on Izzie's arm. "How bad is it really?"

Izzie gave out a weak smile, crying. "God...! I shouldn't be reacting like this!" she said and wiped away the tears. "I haven't even known her a day...!"

"She's not hard to like..." he smiled comforting, despite the fact that inside he didn't know what to do. "Izzie? How bad?"

"It is a subdural hematoma, an acute one..." she swallowed. "We could see how it spread, on the screen. Then Zadie passed out when she was still inside the camera due to that the inter crainial pressure became to high..."

"But she's stable for now right? I mean the surgery went okay?" Mark said looking at Izzie, shook her head.

"If we would have discovered that it was a chronic one that didn't evolve as fast, she'd almost be sitting in her bed smiling now." Izzie said sadly and tilted her head. "It was- was... close a few times, I'm- m not gonna say that it wasn't. So as it is now, we don't know, it's too soon to tell. The next 72 hours is what matters. I mean it was only 15 minutes since Derek finished it up and-"

Mark jerked and looked point blank at Izzie closed her mouth and stopped her words. "What?!"

"I'm sorry I mentioned him but I thought-"

"Derek!? Derek did the surgery!?" Mark exclaimed, laudly, almost shouted. "Who cleared him to do that!? How could anyone let him operate on his own daughter?!"

"There was no one else! It was either letting him watch his daughter die or letting him do the surgery and I think the choice is quite obvious."

"I know that!" Mark sighed and closed his eyes, while shaking his head carefully. "I know..." he paused. "Is he okay?"

Izzie looked oddly at him and crossed her arms, frowning slightly.

"Okay... I know what kind of picture you have of me. I can imagine what Addison have told you about me... Cause you are friends with Addison right? And you feel bad about that because you also want to be Meredith's friend again. But after all it was Addison who made Meredith go..."

Izzie looked down. She hated that he was right. Addison had said a lot of things about Mark. That he was an idiot that couldn't be faithful for a second and that the empror penguin was more monagomus than he would ever be.

He was right on all parts. She felt bad about being friends, and having fun with Addison, when she knew, that Addison was actually, a big part of the reason behind Meredith's escape.

"And is that why your friend is standing behind the bushes over there" Mark pointed over Izzie's shoulder and turned around looking at Christina and George who stood exactly where she had left them.

Izzie looked at Mark and smiled slightly. "Yeah, amongst other things..." she nodded. "Derek's in pieces. But he pulled through the surgery like any other. He even started with saying what he always do: 'It's a beautiful day to save lives on-"

"... let's have some fun..." Mark continued, smiling. He looked at Izzie who smiled back with the dark brown eyes sparkling. Then something happened...

"Yeah..." Izzie said and looked down, feeling her cheeks redened a little but instantly felt bad because of what was happening now while someone they both cared about very much was on the edge of living or not. Izzie cleard her thraot and crossed her arms across her chest. "Ehm, Derek's was going to tell Meredith..."

"Oh no..." Mark sighed and rubbed his chin. "Meredith... God... Where is she? Do you know?"

"No or I mean, I think she's stillup by the scan..."Izzie rambled and as soon as the word left her lips Mark rushed past her to make his way up to Meredith.

When Izzie turned around she saw George stepping out from behind the bushes followed by Christina.

"We heard, Izzie... Is she going to be all right?" George asked concered, as Izzie met them half way. "Is there anything we should do?"

"She's gonna need us..." Izzie said as she started to walk faster, in mind to follow after Mark and both George and Christina did the same. "She's gonna need us, she's gonna need her friends..." she looked slightly at Christina who looked, frankly, terrified, but still kept it cool. "She's gonna need you Christina..."

Christina swallowed, biting her lip. Hearing that, she felt something inside. It was what she had wanted to hear since the day Meredith left. That she needed her. Turning to Izzie she nodded firmly. "Yeah... She is..."

"Meredith..." Derek said quietly as he stopped infront of her. She looked pale and her breathing was uneaven. "She..."

"No..." she whispered, shaking her head. Meredith didn't want to think about what could have happen: what had happened, but yet it was the only thing on her mind. "She..."

Derek saw a diamond tear roll down her cheek and he raised his hand and touched her face to wipe it off. He felt her shiver underneath his fingers, and she smiled carefully at her. "She..."

"Don't..." she cried, shaking her head. "I..."

"She pulled through..." he simply said, still with his hand on Meredith cheek. "She's alive..."

Meredith froze. She didn't know if she heard him. She wasn't sure that it wasn't just herself creating in her head what she wanted to hear. That she wasn't imagining.

"It's not really good, but it isn't really bad either... She's still here..." Derek nodded as she took away his hand from her cheek and squeesed it hard.

Meredith felt her breating becoming faster and faster and the tears started to flood down her cheeks. She could hear Derek say her name, asking her if she was alright. Meredith was alright, but everything just broke infront of her, shecouldn't help it. People may think that she should be jumping up and down of joy. Joy she felt, but she also felt exhaustion. She couldn't help the tears, they just came.

"Meredith... Calm down..." Derek took her in his arms and felt her sobbing against her chest, and as she left it the tears had made little wet spots on the dark blue fabric. "Take a deep breath... Calm down... A deep breath..."

"I can't! I can't!" Meredith cried in panic. "Crap! My daughter survived and I can't stop crying...! Crap! What is wrong with me...?"

"Calm down... Calm down..." Derek sank down on the floor with Meredith in his arms. Carefully patting her hair, her breathing settled and he kissed her on her forehead "I love you..." he whispered, but she didn't react. She was finally at peace and that was all he ever wanted for the moment.

Addison had made her departure as soon as Derek had turned up. She didn't want to see what would happen. Partly because it would hurt for her to see it, and partly because she felt so guilty about her behaviour towards Meredith. Addison was really sorry for what she said, and she did care about Zadie's condition. She just didn't want to get to know it like that; first hand. Besides, Addison had work to do, or atleat that was one of her excuses.

Rounding a corner with her eyes lowered, she crashed into a man's chest.

"I'm so sorry..." she said putting her glasses back on and pulling back her hair. "I didn' see-" stopped, looking oddly at the so familiar man, who smiled stiffly looking just as surprised as Addison felt.

"Addison..." he said he said and touched the place on his chest where her forehead had hit. "Hi..."

"Mark..."

A/N: Hope you enjoyed it... well yeah that was all i wanted to say... oh, yeah... reviews would be great:)