Chapter 4-Secrets

Hey guys! Thank you for reading this. I must warn you before hand ,the description of the surgery and all the medical stuff may not be accurate. I am not a medical professional and frankly, I am too lazy to do all sorts of "google research" so I just wrote something up. Thought I must warn you. Please do review! And for anyone who celebrates it, Happy Thanksgiving! :D

Addison quickly reviewed the patient history on her way to the OR. The patient was a 27 year old female, 32 weeks pregnant, who had suffered liver damage due to the accident. The baby was otherwise stable and the heartbeat was strong. The ultrasound had confirmed that the baby had suffered no injury in the accident, which was fortunate. But the surgery might prove too harmful to the baby and so Meredith had requested Addison's help. At 32 weeks, the baby was viable and if required, Addison may be required to perform an emergency c-section. She was prepared, as always. Many times before, Addison had done such surgeries and had successfully delivered the babies. But today, her concern was not only the patient, but also, her fellow surgeon.

Three hours into the surgery, the baby was stable. The patient's liver had sustained injuries for the accident, but they could be corrected with surgery and there was no requirement for the transplant. Meredith was suturing some tears, when an unexpected bleeder surfaced. The patient's organs had had acted as a tamponade for the bleeder. If not controlled the bleeder could harm both, the baby and the mother. And Meredith needed some mobility to successfully perform the surgery. Also, the baby was in distress due to the bleeding.

"Baby's stats are dropping, Dr. Grey...we need to evacuate the fetus to give the patient a chance to survive."

"Ok...Give me a minute. I'll stop the bleeding and hold it till you perform the c-section."

"Thank you Dr. Grey. Nurse hand me the scalpel..."

Hours later, Meredith came to the NICU, where Addison was sleeping on the chair, specially kept near the preemie. The baby's lungs were underdeveloped, but the surgery to correct the same had been successful and the baby was stable.

"How is the mother?"

"She's fine. The surgery was a success. We were able to repair the liver. She'll recover completely. Lucky the baby was not hurt. And Addison, you should go home too. I'll ask some resident to keep an eye on the baby."

"Actually, that's the problem. I was expected to go home after my TTTS surgery. And I haven't booked a room to stay here. So, I was planning to keep an eye on the baby tonight and leave tomorrow morning after handing over the case to the peds surgeon here. I have arranged for a private plane for tomorrow morning."

"You cannot spend the night here. And besides the preemie is doing just fine. So don't worry. I'll make a reservation for you at my hotel and have an on call resident keep an eye on the baby. You could spend the night at the hotel and then leave in the morning after the check up."

"Thanks Meredith! I really appreciate it."

"Done! There's a room available! I booked that for you. Let's go."

Meredith changed in her night clothes. The Dartmouth t-shirt, a nice comfortable pair of pant and one of Derek's old sweaters. Zola was playing with Bailey and trying to get him to cook using the toy oven. The babysitter had fed them and they had their bath.

"Mommy! you can play too. You be the guest at our hotel. We will give you really good food. I taught bailey to make the pizza!"

"Yes! That's amazing! I really like pizza...! But, I want the pepperoni one. Do you serve that?"

"Of course! Ours is a fancy restaurant! We serve everything!"

Just as Zola was serving the fake pizza slice in the fancy plastic plate there was a knock on the door. Meredith opened the door to find Addison.

"Oh...it's you! I thought you were room service. I had ordered dinner."

"Um...Meredith, I was wondering if you want to hang out. Maybe watch a movie. It was a really long day. I don't like to have dinner alone unless I have to!"

"Ya. Sure. Come on in... Zola, Bailey, this is Addison. She's...well, she's a friend of mine..."

"Hi Auntie Addison!", both the kids chirped, and Addison noticed how cute they were, and she smiled as she remembered her own kid at home, who would now be having dinner with his father.

"Hey kids! My god! Such pretty plates you have Zola!"

"We are playing hotel, will you be our guest?", Zola asked, pleased to get attention from another adult.

"Yes sure! What is on the menu today?" Addison said, joining in the play and smiling at the sweet kids. A bright young girl who was taking the lead in this small act and her parents often did in the OR and the young boy who was a reflection of Derek through and through.

"And Addie, thanks for the help today! I know that you are a visiting doctor, but it's good to have a familiar face in the OR. And I hate how all the doctors here stare at me, like I am some alien being...So, thanks!"

"Anytime!", she smiled at the younger woman, genuinely happy to have helped. Addison was happy to hear Meredith calling her Addie, another small step towards opening up...

They ordered some more food for Addison, and played with the kids till they were sleepy and went off to bed. Meredith hugged and kissed them both as she tucked them into bed.

Time had flown quickly with the children and the food that had arrived was already cold. Meredith reheated the food and they started watching some shitty romantic movie that was being aired on TV while eating.

Addison noticed how Meredith was pretending to be happy for the sake of her kids. She noticed that the little happy in the already dark and twisty Meredith was now completely gone. But this woman, this strong woman had survived.

They talked about the surgery, the new hospital, life in LA and many inconsequential topics. And as dinners often went, the conversation flowed with the food. Soon the TV was just background noise. Meredith forgot about everything for a while. Having a friend really helped. And even though the talk was random, it was helping Meredith more than any medicine could. Despite of everything, Addison was still scared to steer the topic to Derek, and Meredith's escape from Seattle...The pain in Meredith's eyes was already too hard to watch, and Addison didn't want to inflict any more of it.

"Addie, Why didn't we ever talk like this before?"

This question brought back memories of the past. And Addison giggled.

"You have asked me the same question once before, you know..."

"When?"

"Remember your Appendix surgery? You asked me the same thing when you were high on morphine...!"

"Seriously?" Meredith said, little embarrassed now. "I obviously can't remember", Meredith laughed, the crease lines near her eye more prominent. The sadness replaced the happy facade as the memories of that happy past resurfaced.

Meredith said nothing, but all the emotions were so clearly reflected on her face that Addison quickly changed the topic-

"Meredith, let's have some wine? Or tequila? That's your poison right?"

"Addison, no, I can't..."

"Come on! I insist! The kids are asleep, and we have no surgeries tomorrow, what's the harm?...Wait I'll order a bottle..."

"Addison, you don't get the point. It's not that I don't want to drink. I can't drink...I can't drink because I am pregnant...", Meredith said, her eyes watering up, tears about to spill out..

Addison stared at her. Just stared at her. If there was a God somewhere, he clearly hated Meredith Grey. Her husband had died and he has left a part of himself in her, that will be a reminder of what had happened. Addison was sure that Meredith will be happy to have the baby eventually...but right now, it was just reminder of Derek's death...