AFTERMATH
AN: So, I got back from Vanuatu just in time to see the season two final of Grey's. If I missed it no one would have heard the end of it!
Oh, and by the way, what is the deal with the alerts at the moment, I only got two reviews for chapter 9 because they are broken again. So, before you read chapter 10 please read chapter nine and review, because I need inspiration!
And I started watching my season one DVD's yesterday, and noticed that the interns are interns for seven years! Whoops! So I have just gone through and fixed them all up. They completed their seven-year internships and are now third-year residents. In the fourth year is when they can be eligible for chief resident. At the moment Miranda Bailey is an attending, though I haven't figured out what her specialty is. Maybe it's just general surgery, coz that works.
CHAPTER TEN
- Seattle Grace Hospital, Helicopter Pad, 2016 -
A bunch of residents, their interns and other hospital staff stood with their heads turned away from the incoming helicopter. A NICU incubator stood waiting for the new arrivals, ready to be taken to the fifth floor maternity wing.
"I can't believe Christina's had her baby!" Meredith yelled over the wind towards Izzie, who was standing next to her, one arm around Alex.
"Yeah, and to think I only have four months left!" she shouted back, fiddling with her engagement ring.
"Ok people," Miranda Bailey yelled. "Go and get Addison, George and the baby so they can see Christina already."
The Nazi watched as her three third years and their interns ran over to the helicopter. Alex, Izzie and Meredith helped George, Addison and the baby out of the aircraft, ready to be moved to the NICU.
"Welcome back to Seattle, O'Malley," Miranda greeted, her arms crossed across her front, her face still Nazi-ish, though her son had softened her considerably.
"Yeah, good to see you too, Miranda," he yelled, rushing towards the roof's elevator to take him and his daughter to the NICU.
- Seattle Grace Hospital, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, 2016 -
"Someone hook Carolyn up to the monitors again!"
The NICU staff immediately looked towards the incoming red-haired female and her entourage of residents, the Nazi and many unfamiliar interns.
"Doctor Sloan! Where should we put her?" a NICU intern asked.
That very intern received the dirtiest of looks from the very tired Addison Montgomery-Sloan, and therefore wasn't stupid enough to ask again.
"Is that you I hear, Addison?" another familiar voice called as the elevator doors opened again, this time revealing her husband and plastic surgeon, Mark Sloan.
"Hey, Mark," she said, instantly dropping her harsh tone to kiss her husband. "What did you get up to while I was gone?"
"Oh, nothing much," he said. "Except for the fact that Izzie had to deliver Christina's baby, prematurely I might add, and help her through a very tough labour."
Addison was surprised. "Christina had the baby?" she gasped. "But she wasn't due for another two weeks. How is Burke Junior, anyway?"
"Why don't you see for yourself?"
Everyone turned around to see Preston Burke, chief of surgery, enter the NICU with a tiny pink bundle in his arms.
"Preston!" Addison greeted, opening her arms to envelop him in a bear hug. "And is this the newest member of the Burke family?"
Preston Burke beamed, holding the little girl out to the neonatal specialist to meet and inspect. "This is Phoenix Miranda Burke, Addison, and who belongs to George?"
Addison looked around for the baby belonging to George O'Malley, both of whom were currently surrounded by hospital family and NICU staff.
"There they are," she said, pointing to the crowd. "George and Carolyn are over there."
Doctor Montgomery-Sloan watched as her friend and his daughter walked over to meet George and his daughter with a smile on her face. Luckily, her three daughters were in school and day care, all away from the hospital.
"Well, look what the cat dragged back to Seattle."
All eyes turned away from the babies to stared Derek Shepherd in the face.
- Seattle Grace Hospital, Chief of Surgery's Office, 2016 -
Preston Burke sat behind the desk he inherited the day Richard Webber retired and made him boss, fingers massaging a migraine away from his temples, staring at the bulk of the problem that had just disturbed the NICU.
Addison Montgomery-Sloan and Derek Shepherd stood, two metres apart, both with their arms crossed, facing the chief.
"Can you two please tell me why you are having a domestic in my NICU?"
Preston almost had to block his ears as the two surgeons started arguing in front of him loudly.
"Enough!"
The two arguing attending surgeons both stooped their screaming to look at Preston.
"Now, I really don't care how much you two hate each other right now, but, mainly you, Derek," the Chief took a breath. "What the hell were you thinking?"
Addison and Derek geared up to answer him in another screaming fight when the door burst open and the majority of the surgical staff entered.
Meredith, George, Alex, Izzie, Miranda and Mark positioned themselves between the feuding pair, effectively separating them from each other.
"I…"
"What…"
"How…"
"But…"
"Why…"
"Since…"
"SILENCE!"
The six newer people in the room all refrained from continuing in their yelling spree as their 'commanding officer' yelled at them.
"Thank you," Preston whispered once they had closed their mouths. "I see now everyone knows that Derek Shepherd has returned to Seattle Grace," he said.
"And I still want to know why," Addison whined, interrupting him.
Preston gave her an effective death glare, looking her into submission. "And I will tell you all in due course. But first I want an explanation of what happened in the NICU."
Addison opened her mouth to answer but was interrupted by the sudden ringing of the phone on Preston's desk.
"Burke," he answered, putting a hand up to silence the eight surgeons.
The assembling females all gathered in around each other to start gossiping quietly, as was their nature, about the surprise return.
"Why do you think he's back? Do you think he'll be staying?" Izzie asked.
"Who really cares if he's staying? He broke two hearts last time he left, so what makes you think he won't do it again?" Miranda said.
"He's been gone ten years, why does he have to come back now when we're all happy?" Addison muttered, mostly to herself.
"Arrogant bastard," Meredith simply said, giving said bastard another death glare.
"Ok, now where was I?"
The gossip circle was interrupted by the replacing of the receiver and Preston's voice cutting through their words.
"We were telling you what happened in the NICU sir," Izzie said. While they were in his office, all of them knew better than to call him Preston, but treat him with respect.
"That's right," he said, remembering the previous conversation. "So, Addie, Derek, what's going on?"
"Derek left ten years ago, just after signing the divorce papers," Addison said before Derek could even mutter a word in response. "He never contacted us, just upped and left. And now he has the audacity to come back, probably to hook back up with Meredith again."
"That's not true!"
"Derek," Burke warned, turning to Meredith, the hospital's top neurosurgeon. "Mere, what happened in that OR?"
Meredith had to take a deep breath before continuing. "Well," she said, "it all happened like this…"
And she started to retell her encounter with Derek Shepherd in the OR earlier that week.
- Seattle Grace Hospital, Chief of Surgery's Office, 2016 -
"And then I walked out of the OR, slamming the door in his face," she said.
The occupants of the room all hugged Meredith, admiring her strength during the fight; sorry for not noticing how hard this fight had impacted on her.
"My mum died," Derek whispered.
"What?"
Everyone turned to look at him, not believing what he had just said.
"My mum died. I had just received a call from my younger sister, Lillian, when I was trying to get some sleep after being on call all night. Then I walked into the locker room where everyone else was, and was surprised when I found out everyone was pregnant and just left. My mum had just been killed in a car crash; I couldn't handle any more news, so I just left. I moved back to Boston with my dad and family."
Everyone just stared at Derek, Addie and Mere slightly tearing at the revelation.
"Are you happy now?" Derek muttered. "My miserable life, has it made you happy?"
OMG this chapter was so hard for me to write.
Everyone, I'm really thankful for all the reviews that greeted me when I got home last night, over 100 emails in my inbox, and at least 80 of them were from That made me so happy!
Please, please, please review, I need to know where to take this chapter!