THREE

She's awake.

It's amazing how two words can produce such emotions in a person. Addie watched the number of emotions pass through Mark's face the moment she said the news.

Shock. Disbelief. Happiness. Relief.

Addie smiled by the displayed emotions on Mark's face, but was disappointed when he did nothing. She expected him to rush through the doors to witness the news she just shared with him, to know that it is real. But he didn't. He just stood there. His previous emotions replaced by longing, sadness. He just looked through the small window by the door.

Then it clicked. He can't. He can't just barge in there and suddenly act so concerned about Meredith, because Addison is the only one who knows. She is the only one who knows what Mark really feels for the woman inside the ER.

And then there's Derek. Addie sighed because Derek is a big wall that Mark needs to break before he got to Meredith. But she knows Mark. She knows how he loves Derek and he would do anything not to hurt him. Again.

She couldn't do anything right now but to be there for Mark, so she just placed her hand on his shoulder and watched through the small window the happiness and relief of the people inside the ER.

The first thing that Meredith felt was pain. So much pain. She let out a quiet groan, but couldn't say anything else. Then she heard a voice.

"Meredith. Meredith, can you hear me?"

Christina. She thought she wouldn't be able to hear her voice again. She was so caught up with the idea of giving up that she never even considered the ones she will be leaving behind if she did leave.

"Meredith. Please say something. Anything. Just please."

She heard it. The desperation in her voice. She mustered every strength in her body to be able to talk. The only word she could mutter was, "Ouch."

Christina released a relieved sob as she heard Meredith. Then she watched Meredith as she tried to open her eyes. Christina smiled for the first time that day. Her person's alive.

"Burke proposed. I know this is not the right time to say this but I want you to be the first person to know. You're the only person I wanted to tell."

And with that Meredith smiled.

Christina did not noticed the people inside the ER go outside the room. She was so focused on having, finally, the chance to talk to her person.

Derek is currently waiting outside with the rest of the interns. Bailey wanted to give Christina the time to talk to her person. She knows the bond between the two and she understands how important it is to give them just a moment alone.

Bailey looked at Derek who is currently leaning against the wall opposite the ER, eyes burning holes through the door of the ER. She walked towards him.

"You okay?"

Derek did not respond for a moment. But then, he looked Bailey and said, "She knows how to swim."

Bailey knows the gravity of the statement that Derek just said. She doesn't want to make any conclusions at the moment. She wants to give Meredith the benefit of the doubt before they accuse her of something that she may or may not have done.

Wanting to clear her mind about Derek's statement, she looked at the other people, Meredith's family, outside the ER. What she didn't expect to see is Mark. Or, to be exact, Mark's current state at that moment.

She knows that there had been a couple of interactions between Meredith and Mark in the hospital but she never thought they have been close. What confused her the most is the sadness that is dominating the mixed emotions playing in Mark's face, adding to the fact that Addison is comforting him.

Her thoughts were cut off by George who is desperate to go inside, like Alex and Izzie.

"Dr. Bailey, can we?" The question was left hanging for she already know what the interns wanted, so she nodded her head.

She'd never seen them move as fast as how they rushed to the doors of the ER. Not even when being paged for a big trauma. She let out a smile. The bond between the five of her interns are just amazing to watch.

Derek is waiting for his turn to talk to Meredith. But he is also dreading for that moment. He doesn't want to confront her right now, because it hurts. He can't look at her without picturing her lifeless in his arms. And the thought that maybe she gave up. Because she knows how to swim, how could she drown if she knows how to swim?

He knows that there are other possibilities on why she drowned but he can't help but think about the incident they had that morning. If he hadn't pulled her out of the tub—he doesn't want to think about it.

So he just stood there. Leaning against the wall opposite the ER. Waiting.

By the time the interns got out of the ER, Derek was nowhere in sight.

"Where's Dr. Shepherd?" Christina asked, a little bit confused by the fact that Derek is not outside, impatiently waiting for his turn to speak with Derek.

"He said he needed some air. He'll be back in a minute." Bailey answered, knowing Derek wouldn't be there anytime sooner.

They waited for a few minutes and still, no Derek in sight. Bailey sighed and decided to move Meredith in a regular room. But before she made the order to the nurses, Mark came up to her.

"Can I… can I see her?" Bailey did not expect that. She may have suspected something was going on between her intern and Mark, but looking at Mark's face right now, that is not just something. One can immediately identify what Mark is feeling for the girl lying on the bed inside the ER. Who would have known, that Mark Sloan, the Manwhore, fell in love. And with Meredith. She mentally chuckled.

"Of course, Dr. Sloan."

Mark gave her a smile that did not quite reach his eyes, and then headed towards the ER.