When Meredith had gotten the call that Derek had arrived with Ava, she had rushed to meet him in pediatrics. She felt her heart beat out of her chest and the moment she saw her sick little girl she grabbed her and held her close. As a parent who was a surgeon, she knew a million things could go wrong. Yet, they found themselves more calm as the doctor's mentioned that it was probably just a bug.
Since she had been sick for a while, they decided to take blood and do a CT. Ava had been scared but now their nauseas little girl was curled up on her father's lap, wearing a hospital gown since she had thrown up on her yellow dress from school. "Ava...when we get home we'll get you in your pajamas."
"Can we go home soon?" Ava whispered, clutching Derek's leg.
"As soon as Dr. Bryson comes back, we'll take you home Pumpkin." Derek assured her, rubbing her back.
"My tummy hurts again." Ava lifted her head as she began to gag.
"Oh...Ava..." Derek frowned.
"Here baby girl..." Meredith reached for a trashcan.
"Poor thing." He sighed, rubbing her back as she got sick.
"One of us needs to run to the store after this."
"I'll take her home. You've been cleaning up after her all week."
"Why am I sick?" Ava cried.
"You just have a bug, sweetie pie." Derek said, holding her close to him.
"Ooh Miss. Ava..." Meredith looked at her little girl's shoulder and knee. "You have some nasty bruises."
"Playing outside with her brother." Derek laughed softly.
"I thought princess's didn't have bruises Ava Sophia."
"I want to go home." Ava cried before getting sick again.
"Okay sweetie...we will in a minute."
"We need more crackers."
"I'll ask the nurse when she comes in."
"Hi guys..." The doctor knocked on the door before coming into the room with files in his hand.
"Hey." Meredith smiled as the nurse followed him in.
"I'm going to take Ava into the next room while you talk to Dr. Bryson." The nurse smiled.
"Oh...okay." Meredith looked at Derek as the nurse lifted Ava.
"We'll see you soon." Derek kissed Ava before the nurse took her from the room.
"So she needs antibiotics?" Meredith looked at the doctor, her heart rate picking up.
"I'm afraid not." Dr. Bryson sat down across from them. "I'm sorry to have to be the one to tell you this."
"I...we're doctors...we know you don't send the child out for just a virus." Meredith swallowed.
"It's okay." Derek assured her, holding Meredith's hand tightly.
"Okay...okay..."
"Ava has leukemia." The doctor told them.
"No." Derek shook his head.
"I'm sorry." Dr. Bryson crossed his arms.
"You're sorry?" Derek suddenly felt angry.
"She has Childhood Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia." He explained. "I won't insult your intelligence. You know all about the blood cells and bone marrow. Her white blood count is off the charts."
"No." Derek stood up, shaking his head. "No."
"Derek..." Meredith reached for his hand.
"Not my little girl."
"I am going to suggest some pediatric surgeons and an oncologist."Dr. Bryson replied. "And she has a lump in her stomach and neck...the neck one is so small you wouldn't have noticed."
"I'm going to get her."
"What about Dr. Arizona Robbins at New York Presbyterian?" Meredith asked quickly. Years ago they had moved away from all of their family and friends in New York for Derek to take a position in Seattle.
"She's at the top of my list." Dr. Bryson responded.
"I...Derek we should call her."
"What happens now?" Derek asked. In the back of his mind, he knew exactly what was next but the fact that it was his daughter made it all disappear.
"Well we get her doctor and then that doctor will run more tests, do a biopsy and make a decision."
"How advanced is it?"
"You won't know until her Doctor meets with her."
"Bullshit."
"Derek...he's right."
"I'm sorry Dr. Shepherd. I can't imagine how much of a shock this must be." Dr. Bryson apologized.
"I think we need to go home and talk...get Ava comfortable and then talk. I um...can you call Dr. Robbins and tell her about Ava's case?" Meredith swallowed.
"Of course." He nodded.
"And...we can take Aubrey home?"
"Yes." Dr. Bryson told them. "Have her get as much rest as possible and give me a call if you have any questions or need anything."
"Thank you Dr. Bryson." Meredith wiped at her eyes before the doctor smiled weakly and left. "Oh my God."
"I want a second opinion." Derek said immediately.
"Well he gave us a copy of her test results." Meredith sighed, holding the folder that the doctor had given her. Meredith knew doctors typically didn't do that, so she was sure it was because they were two doctors.
"I...it can't..." He sat down on the chair and broke down.
"Derek..." Meredith leaned over.
"She's our little girl."
"We need to talk but we can't...we can't tell her until we make a decision on what we're going to do." Meredith murmured.
"She's going to be okay." He looked up at his wife, his eyes red.
"He's going to call Arizona."
"I...we have to call my Mom..."
"I...can you ask her if we can stay with her and we can figure everything else out tonight."
"I just want to take her home." Derek breathed.
"Let's go in there and see her."
"We're going to be alright." He wrapped his arms around Meredith, trying to keep himself together.
"Come on." Meredith put the test results in her purse. Trying to be strong as they walked into the next room to find their daughter. The nurse looked up, nodding at them before leaving. "Hi sweetie."
"Are we going home now?" Ava asked, sitting up on the exam table, her face pale.
"Yeah...we are." Derek picked Ava up into his arms.
"Do I gotta bug?" Ava asked.
"You...kind of." Meredith whispered.
"We're going to go home and get some rest, okay?" Derek whispered, trying his hardest not to show how he was feeling.
"Kay." Ava laid her head on his shoulder
"I love you pumpkin." He breathed.
"We both love you." Meredith whispered before they left the exam room. She wasn't sure what she was thinking. All she knew was that her little girl had cancer and this wasn't something they could cuddle away. Their lives had just been changed and she had no idea how they would handle telling Ava.
What do you say in a moment like this
When you can't find the words oh to tell it like it is
Just bite your tongue and let your heart lead the way
Let's get out of here oh what do you say