Chapter 5: Suffocation Keep

It all becomes mystic in the lightening of love
The full form appears on my hands and knees.
I've buried my burden deep.

"Good morning, Dr. Grey."

Meredith looked up suddenly at the voice, only to give an obviously fake smile in response. "Good morning," she added before stepping onto the elevator.

He stepped in as well and pressed for the fourth floor before letting his hand fall down beside him. He looked over at her, but she didn't dare let her gaze reach his side of the elevator. He chuckled a little and she immediately turned to glare at him involuntarily, "What?"

"You aren't very friendly, are you?" he asked, the lightness in his voice apparent.

She sighed and ran her hand through her golden hair. Apparently she had shot her chance at becoming friends with these people, other than Cristina that is. They probably are all going to think she's some stuck-up hot shot from the big apple. "It's just the morning," she said, her eyes focused on the mirroring medal before them, "And I'm tired."

He chuckled again, not amusing her at all. Apparently he was a morning person, which just so happened to be the complete opposite of Meredith. Despite her attitude, he continued the conversation, "Have any patients today?"

She gripped her purse strap tightly, trying to find something to do with her fidgeting fingers. She cleared her throat and looked up at the numbers on the wall, waiting for her floor to arrive. "Not yet," she answered, figuring that she should at least be polite while she was on the elevator. It wasn't like she had anything else to do, "Other than checking up on our patient from yesterday."

"He's doing fine," he answered as he tightened his grip on the manila folder in his hand, "Hasn't shown any signs of complications." He noticed her silence and he quickly added another note, "Although I'm sure he'd still enjoy meeting his other surgeon and having her check up on him."

"Yeah," she answered before yawning. She muttered a small apology for the yawn before looking down at the ground.

When the elevator doors opened he just looked over at her, "There's a coffee cart on this floor. Would you like to join me?"

She looked at him, startled, "I… umm…."

"I only ask since you said how tired you were," he explained, surprised that she seemed so freaked out.

She straightened her posture a little before hitting the button for the fifth floor, "It's fine. I just need to wake up."

"Whatever you say, Dr. Grey," he said with a small wink before stepping out of the elevator and heading directly to the coffee cart he'd spoken of.


"Good morning, Dr. Shepherd."

Derek placed the lid on his Styrofoam coffee cup before turning around to see Dr. Webber. "Chief," he answered.

"That was an excellent surgery yesterday," he commented as he paid for his own cup, "You and Dr. Grey worked together well."

Derek laughed a little, "Actually, Dr. Grey did most of that surgery. She's very bossy."

"Just like her mother," Richard answered with a reminiscent smile on his face.

"Her mother?" Derek asked.

"Ellis Grey."

Derek looked a little impressed, "I guess it runs in the family then," he answered. "I'll see you later, Chief," he added before heading down the hall to get his day started.


Derek headed down to the pit after being paged. He's barely had time to see a few of his patients yet. As he pushed open the doors, he saw Dr. Grey only a step ahead of him. He caught up with her, "Do you know what's going on down here?"

"They're bringing an ambulance in," she said, "I don't know anything else."

"Why'd they page both of us?" Derek asked. It'd be understandable for them to page one of them, but why did they need two neurosurgeons.

Meredith was just as confused as he, "I don't know. Maybe they're two different ambulances coming in."

"The ambulance is here. Car accident. Pretty bloody," a nurse yelled as she ran down to the ambulance bay, creating a path for Meredith and Derek.

The sirens sounded before the ambulance pulled into the bay. They waited until it came to a complete stop, but then they jumped into action. Derek pulled the doors opened and found a gurney and two paramedics. "Kid got hit by a car that was backing out of a driveway. She has a large contusion to the right of her head. She has a gash to the left; she's lost a lot of blood. Her arm looks broken. She doesn't seem to have much of a chance." Derek just nodded as he helped the gurney down. "Another ambulance is coming in with another victim. The driver that hit this kid freaked out, pulled away, and hit someone else."

"I'll wait for the next one. Grey, go ahead and take her," Derek ordered as he turned to the next ambulance that was turning in.

"Doctor, we need to get going," one of the nurses said to a stationary Meredith.

Derek pulled the other doors open and pulled out a gurney with a women on it. "Her head flew against the windshield. She wasn't wearing a seatbelt. Her steering wheel was really close so she didn't go flying through the glass. She's lucky."

Derek turned back and saw that neither Meredith nor the girl had moved. "Grey, let's go." Her eyes were fixated on the girl. She didn't flinch when he yelled at her. "Grey, come on!" The nurses looked at Derek for an answer. "Meredith!" He yelled again.

She finally broke her gaze with the child and looked at him, terror filling his eyes. He wasn't sure what to do. Their eyes locked for a moment before she pivoted on her foot and ran back into the hospital.

"Uh, page Dr. Patterson for this girl, her injuries are less extensive," Derek said before looking over at the little girl, "I'll take her." His mind went back to Meredith for a moment, trying to figure out what happened. He knows she's an experience surgeon. This was something you'd expect out of a new intern. Noticing no one was working quickly, he changed his train of thought, "Let's go, we want to save their lives here!"


As the surgical nurses prepped the OR, Derek paged Meredith for the third time. He had no idea where she went and he was really worried about her. He wasn't sure why, but he felt responsible for her and he didn't want her reputation to be ruined by this.

"Dr. Shepherd? The OR and patient are ready."

Derek nodded to the nurse who walked back in the OR. He washed his hands as he looked in the OR from the scrub room. He didn't even know this woman, so he needed to stop worrying so much about her. She could take care of herself and he had a patient anyways. He had one of the nurses page her one more time before heading into the OR.

The girl was pretty beat up. She was only seven years old and she had a broken arm and her brain was bleeding. Derek hadn't met the parents yet, but from what he's heard, they're in pieces. He can't imagine being a father, let along being a father of a daughter who is about to undergo brain surgery.

The little girl almost looked peaceful under the painless spell of anesthesia. As Derek got his gloves on, he focused his mind on the task at hand. "It's a beautiful morning to save lives. Let's do this." At the sound of his voice, one of the nurses pressed play and Derek's favorite band echoed through the OR, blocking out the rest of his thoughts.


Once again, I'm really glad you guys are liking this story! I love reading all of your comments! This didn't really go into Meredith's past, but it shows some obvious problems. I would discuss them, but I think if I do I'll end up saying too much so I'll just shut up!!