-1Thanks to those of you who did review! I really do appreciate it, because obviously, who wants to write something no one's reading? Just as a side note, the chapter titles are all songs from the Grey's soundtrack, not my own invention. Enjoy!

The Song Beneath the Song (Part One)

March 13, 2012

Bailey is quiet when she enters the room, chart in hand, but Meredith's eyes immediately open. "Miranda?" she asks, still dazed from the drugs that have been pumping through her system. "What are you doing here? What happened to me?"

Bailey hesitates - just for an instant, but it's noticeable - before coming closer to the hospital bed. "Meredith," she begins, then breaks off abruptly. Putting her clipboard down so her hands can clasp her patient's, she squeezes as if to infuse Meredith's frail body with some of her own strength. "There was an accident. Do you remember the ferry boat crash?"

"Of course I do." Meredith bites her lip, trying to pick the details out of her foggy brain. "It was awful. There were people everywhere, screaming and bleeding. A man came out of nowhere - well, he came out of the water - and I saved him."

"Right. Okay, that's good," Bailey nods, then falls silent again.

Meredith waits. "What does the ferry boat have to do with me? I was there, I helped, I ... I fell." She goes so still that Bailey's eyes do a quick scan of the machines to be sure everything is still functioning normally. "I fell. Oh, my God. That man ... he knocked me into the water. And a little girl saw - oh, that poor little girl. She's probably so scared. Someone should find her and tell her I'm fine."

"She's been taken care of," Bailey assures. "Is that all you can remember? Nothing else?"

She tries to picture it: the split second before she went over the edge, when her arms were pinwheeling wildly and all she could think was This is the thanks I get? One last glimpse of the little girl before losing balance. The shock of the water - ice cold and rough, like a slap in the face - and then ... nothing. Darkness.

"That's all," Meredith says, shrugging helplessly. "Why? What else is there? I'm okay, right?"

"Well, yes, physically speaking, you're fine. Everything's healed up nicely. It's just, well ..."

God knows Bailey has delivered worse news over the course of her career. She's informed parents that they'll be burying their child, husbands that their new brides aren't going to make it, teenagers who think they have their whole lives ahead of them that, no, that's not exactly true. In comparison, she's about to give Meredith fairly good news. But even though there hasn't been a death, she knows the girl has lost something just as precious.

"Meredith," she says, then takes a deep breath before continuing, "All of that happened five years ago."

XXX

There is no reason on Earth why Cristina's pager should be going off in the middle of the night on a Thursday. She's already done her on-call duty earlier in the week - a grueling 24 hour shift that had kicked her ass - and nothing short of Armageddon is getting her out of bed.

Of course, it could actually be Armageddon out there, the tiny, niggling voice in the back of her mind says. It's the same voice that made her choose medical school, that drove her to the top of her class every semester, accompanied by the same little thrill that goes up her spine every time she's faced with a challenge. The end of the world would make for some interesting surgeries, after all.

That in mind, Cristina hops out of bed, grabs her phone, and heads to the window as she dials. What are some of the signs of an apocalypse? Eclipses? UFOs hovering over the city? Locusts?

Sadly, New York looks the same as it did yesterday. With a sigh, Cristina turns her full attention to her phone call just as someone picks up on the other end. "Seattle Grace," a receptionist chirps, and she does a double take.

"Yes, this is Cristina Yang," she tells them, turning away from the window to focus. "Someone paged me?"

"Oh, Doctor Yang! Yes, the Chief wanted to be paged as soon we could get ahold of you. Hold just one moment, I'll connect you."

Cristina's mind is racing so fast, she doesn't even have time to be pissed off at being put on hold and forced to listen to the elevator music they always play. A call from Seattle Grace can only mean one of two things.

"Cristina?"

"What happened?" she asks immediately.

The voice on the other end is unsurprised by her disregard of any small talk, and knows her well enough to reciprocate with the same speed and accuracy. "She's awake."

Cristina doesn't respond, which also comes as no surprise. She simply hangs up the phone, sets her shoulders, and reaches for her suitcase.

XXX

Alex nearly knocks Izzie over in his hurry to reach her. "Whoa!" he exclaims, his hands shooting out to steady them both. "I knew you were going to come. You're supposed to be resting."

"And Meredith is supposed to have been awake these past five years," she shoots back, fast enough so that he knows she's been formulating that argument the whole drive there. "I can rest tonight."

"You can rest now, in one of the clinic beds," he says firmly, placing one hand on the small of her back to guide her there. "They're not even letting anyone in to see her right now - trust me, I checked with Bailey and everything. She's resting, too."

Izzie sighs loudly, but lets herself be led to one of the free beds. It's nice to have someone constantly clucking over her for once, nice to not be the one worrying and baking late into the night. And her feet do hurt.

"Well, how does she look, anyway? Did Bailey tell you? Did she give you any details? Oh, my God - Meredith doesn't have amnesia or anything, right? Are you just keeping me away because she won't actually know me if I visit?"

"Calm down, would you?" Alex looks concerned with the tizzy she's working herself into. "You're going to get yourself all worked up. Meredith is, in Bailey's opinion, fine. She's just ... she needs some time to process everything. I mean, five years is a big chunk of time to sleep through."

"She has missed a lot," Izzie reflects, her eyes faraway as she thinks back on how far all of them have come. It had been pretty rough for everyone when they learned of Meredith's comatose state. There'd been days when she didn't think they were ever going to recover, when they all seemed just as frozen as Meredith. "I mean, God, where will we even start? So much has happened."

"She'll pull through." He speaks confidently as he entwines their fingers, their matching wedding bands catching the light and sparkling. "She woke up, didn't she? That's the first step. And she's got all of us to help her out."

"You're right." Comforted, Izzie lets her head fall back on the pillow, the tension easing out of her shoulders. "I know you're right."

"I always am," he replies, with the same grin she fell in love with years ago, and then stands, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek. "Now please just stay put and take care of our twins. I'll have Addison drop off a baby name book so we can settle it once and for all."

"And you'll keep me updated on Meredith?" she calls out as he leaves.

"And I'll keep you updated on Meredith," he assures her, flashing one more grin over his shoulder before disappearing out the door.

Izzie trusts him. She really, truly does. The last five years have shown her that he is one of the most loyal, caring men she's ever known. But she's been waiting for this moment far too long to sit around and wait for the details to come to her. Besides, he's working, and he could easily get sidetracked and forget to bring her more news.

So she counts to ten, then gingerly shifts her extremely pregnant body out of bed and tiptoes out of the room.