Okay, so I made a mistake. The last chapter was really called Suffocation Keep, not the Shin. The Shin is the band that wrote that song. It's correct in the drop down menu, but I just messed up the chapter title. Anyways, sorry I didn't have this up yesterday like I meant to. Enjoy!


Chapter 6: Breakable

The heart is fragile handle with care,
Hold it it's precious.
There's treasure in there.
Beautiful,
Breakable,
Like a butterfly in an angry world,
So breakable.

Derek scrubbed out of the surgery, letting his mind drift back to Meredith. She still hadn't answered a single page. He didn't understand it, but he was going to find out. As he walked out of the scrub room, he saw Cristina down the hall. He caught up with her and stopped her, "Dr. Yang, have you seen Dr. Grey anywhere?"

"Yeah, she ran into an on-call room like three hours ago," Cristina answered before rudely walking away from Derek.

Derek checked every on-call room until he found her small figure lying in the darkness. Her body was curled tightly together, her hair spilled against the soft blue of the pillowcase. Her arms were wrapped around her, offering herself the only comfort she had. She looked miserable and alone.

The small amount of anger that Derek had held towards her for running away and leaving him like that evaporated into the air surrounding them. Her eyes were shut, but they were far from peaceful. Her delicate face seemed to be tormented by a war in her mind.

Her cell phone was lying abandoned by her lap coat on the small table in the room. Derek noticed a small blanket on the bottom shelf of the table. He grabbed it and unfolded it, laying it carefully on her. She stirred as his fingers grazed her shoulder blade. Derek was afraid she was going to wake up, but that small humanly contact seemed to soothe her. Her face relaxed a little, still showing the toll that the war was having on her body.

A small crash by the table made Derek move away from her quickly. Her cell phone was vibrating and had apparently fallen over the edge of the table. He picked it up and saw the name 'Jen' flashing across the screen. Derek looked over at her fragile body and gripped the phone tightly before walking out of the room.

He gently closed the door, careful not to make any noise. He hit the small green button on the phone before bringing it to his ear, "Hello?"

The other line was silent for a second, "Why is a man answering my sister's phone?"

"You're Meredith's sister?" Derek asked. He hoped that she could do something about the situation Meredith was in.

"Yes, Jennifer Keyes. Now who is this?"

"Derek Shepherd," he answered as he looked around, hoping no one would be listening in to this conversation for some strange reason. He looked over at the side entrance to the hospital and decided he should take this call outside, "I work with Meredith in Seattle."

"Okay, but why are you answering her phone?"

Derek stepped outside, greeted by an overcast sky. "I went to check on her in an on-call room. She was sleeping when the phone rang."

"My sister has been there for two days and you feel the need to check on her?" Jen was beginning to think that she didn't like the Shepherd fellow.

"I was worried about her," Derek said honestly, "She froze down in the ER and she hasn't been answering any of her pages. I was just worried so I thought I should check on her."

"Meredith froze?" the harsh curiosity had disappeared from her voice and was replaced with concern and doubt. "What happened?"

"That's what I was trying to find out."

"Oh, well, thanks," Jen answered, feeling a little guilty for how she had been treating this guy.

"Are you nearby? I mean, do you think you could possibly come here and help her or something?" Derek asked. He wanted to help her, but he had only just met her. How in the world was he going to do anything productive?

"I'm actually in New York." Derek sighed in frustration. Apparently he was on his own for this. "Just don't leave her alone, okay? And don't be hard on her. I know that it's bad for a surgeon to freeze, but she's been through a lot. Don't be hard on her, she doesn't deserve it."

"Okay," Derek answered. He was a little surprised by the way Jen sounded. To him, it seemed like she was scared for Meredith, but then again; he didn't blame her. He was scared for her too. "Is there anyone here in Seattle for her? I mean I'm not sure she should be alone."

"She shouldn't be alone, but everyone's here in New York. I'd come, but I have kids and job. I can't," the remorse was evident in her voice despite the horrible service.

"I should get back."

"Yeah," Jen answered, "Just take care of her."

"Okay." Derek answered before the call ended. He looked at the cell phone as he walked back into the hospital, wondering what he just signed himself up for.


Derek stepped quietly into the room, trying to avoid causing a disturbance. He placed the cell phone on the table and walked over to the bed opposite from Meredith's. He sat down on it; his face writhed as the springs squeaked. She moved a little in distress, but her body returned to motionless within moments.

Derek sighed as he lay down on the bed. He kept his eyes glued to her, almost as if she was going to disappear before his eyes. He still couldn't shake the feeling that he knew this girl from somewhere. He knew it couldn't be that he saw her at a conference or in passing in New York because he felt like he actually knew her. As in, knew who Meredith Grey really was, deep inside. He knew he was probably a little insane, but he just couldn't shake the feeling.