Meredith hated days like today. It was days like this one that put her on edge. They hadn't been able to leave the hospital with Ava and now Thanksgiving was three days away and they still hadn't been cleared to take her home. Then Alex had come in to tell them that Arizona wanted to speak to them about the next steps in Ava's treatment so while Mark was watching Cinderella with Ava, they were sitting in a cold office, waiting for Alex and Arizona to come in. "What's taking so long?"

"I don't know.' Derek sat in front of Arizona's desk, holding Meredith's hand.

"I really don't know how much longer we can entertain our five year old here."

"I don't know. She seemed pretty content watching Cinderella for the eight hundreth time."

"She should be home...we should all be home."

"We will be."

"Hunter and Zola should have us with them...and I don't want to miss Zola's first Thanksgiving but we have to make sure Ava's alright and...I'm thinking too much." Meredith breathed.

"You are." Derek whispered, kissing her cheek.

"Hmm...Waking up this morning on the couch in her hospital room...reminded me of when we used to fall asleep with her when she was just born."

"We would both wake up with our backs or our necks hurting." He laughed.

"Remember that face she would make?" Meredith giggled.

"She still does it sometimes."

"I miss having a tiny baby around...and I feel like poor Zola...I'm missing stuff."

"You know...when this is all over..."

"Hmm?"

"We could have that tiny baby." Derek whispered.

"I don't know anymore..."

"Hey guys...sorry to keep you waiting." Arizona walked into her office with Alex following her.

"Hey." Meredith sat up in her chair, looking over at her husband.

"We um...we're hoping you have some good news for us." Derek squeezed Meredith's hand.

"Well, as we mentioned this morning Ava's lungs sound the best they have in two weeks." Arizona smiled.

"And her fever is down." Alex added.

"That's right." Arizona nodded.

"That is good news." Derek smiled.

"It is...it means she's finally starting to recover from the pneumonia." Arizona replied.

"That's great."

"But then we look at other issues, like how her weight has dropped dramatically since this all started and how she's not eating enough." Arizona opened her file. "It's normal but there are things we can do to help her. It would also help us be able to move forward with her next treatment sooner than later."

"Okay..." Derek breathed.

"I would like to go ahead and give her an NG tube...that way she has some substance in her body. We've waited, but it's time for the feeding tube."

"Oh." Derek sighed, looking over at Meredith.

"It would allow Ava to get the extra food she needs. She's very weak right now and this could help her along." Alex added, handing them pamphlets about the tube that would go through their daughter's nose and down to her stomach. "We'd like to do it today or tomorrow so that we can start her chemo treatment right away."

"Mer?" Derek breathed.

"I...she can't go home?"

"Unfortunately not. I'm sorry." Arizona apologized.

"She's just not strong enough to go home right now. There'd would be too much of a risk of her contracting another infection." Alex added.

"She's more than welcome to have visitors who are not sick but she needs to wear a mask for the time being." Arizona sighed. "I am confident that she will start to feel a lot better and have more energy once we get her started on the tube. It just won't be comfortable."

"So she won't be home for Thanksgiving." Derek sighed.

"No she won't." Arizona nodded. "I'm sorry."

"Okay." Derek nodded, looking down at the floor.

"You're more than welcome to bring a smaller party for Thanksgiving to her room. She can handle a few extra people as long as we keep her in bed." Alex smiled. "Besides...everybody loves Ava on this floor."

"So...when is the tube...why...when do you want to put it in?" Meredith swallowed.

"Tomorrow morning." Arizona answered.

"Oh..." Meredith breathed.

"And then we'll begin her next round of chemo."

"And no going home in between...at all?" Derek asked.

'No. I'm sorry."

"Great." Meredith groaned.

"Once this round of chemo is over and her body can handle it, then we'll discharge her." Arizona said.

"And feeding tube will be put in tomorrow." Derek repeated what Arizona had told them.

"Bright and early." Arizona nodded, looking up at Alex. "It is a very quick procedure. She will be awake but sedated and we'll monitor her for the day. Now...she can still eat with the tube. But not things that will get caught in her tube like popcorn or granola. Softer foods are better like soup, mashed potatoes, pudding and anything easy to swallow."

"How long will she have it?"

"We will change it occasionally but as soon as she gets stronger and eats more then we'll work from there. The problem is now she has no energy, she's continuing to lose weight and her body will start to have a harder time fighting if we don't do it. I would say she'll be dealing with the tube a month at the least."

"Okay...well..." Derek breathed.

"Of course you'll have to sign for consent." Alex slid a paper forward and Meredith looked away.

"I know this is a lot." Arizona looked at Meredith sympathetically.

"We can give you guys a moment to talk." Alex stood.

"Take your time. We'll be back." Arizona smiled softly, leaving the office with Alex.

"Our life has turned into some sick joke."

"Come here." Derek stood up, pulling her up to him and hugging her.

"This is ridiculous."

"This is what our daughter needs."

"I know." Meredith breathed as her eyes watered. "But she shouldn't be this sick."

"I know." Derek whispered, holding her head in his hands. "But look how far we've already come with this."

"Derek she already has a tube in her chest...now there will be one in her nose. She has two scars on her abdomen...what next?"

"I don't know."

"Exactly."

"But whatever does happen...we have each other...and our family."

"I know." Meredith wiped at her eyes.

"And our strong...brave...amazing little girl." He smiled.

"I just want this to go away."

"I know. I do too."

"Ava throws things and she gets mad and...Ava doesn't do that so I know this bothers her more than anything."

"And the feeding tube isn't going to be any better...but the sooner she gets it...the sooner she gets the chemo and the sooner all of this goes away."

"Right..." Meredith laughed sarcastically.

"I'm going to sign this." He whispered, kissing her softly.

"Okay..."

"Okay." He pulled away from her and leaned over the desk, signing the consent form for Ava to have the feeding tube inserted.

"I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"Getting worked up." She sighed.

"Don't apologize."

"I want to get away from here. I want Ava away from this where cancer doesn't exist and...that's not possible."

"So all we can do is our best."

"Right." Meredith sat back down.

"I know this sucks."

"Understatement."

"I love you."

"I love you too." She sighed, pushing her hair from her face.

"I really love you." Derek whispered, kneeling down in front of her, cupping her face in his hands.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." He smiled, kissing her softly. "That means you get to be...freaked out and upset...and I can be strong for us."

"Not fair to you."

"It's okay."

"No...no it isn't."

"It is." Derek whispered, kissing her again. "Just lean on me..."

"Cheesy."

"I always have been and I always will be." He laughed.

"Yeah."

"Hey..."

"What?" She reached her hand to his hair.

"Why don't I go home and get Zola and Hunter?"

"Wait...what?"

"I'll go get them and bring them back for a while so you can see them."

"You would do that for me?"

"You're going to call me cheesy again...but I would do anything for you."

"That was pretty high on the cheesy scale."

"Hmm..." He laughed.

"Will you just call me before you get to the hospital room? They said Ava had to wear a mask."

"I will."

"You should take some of Ava's laundry home...bring back some more stuff. She hates hospital gowns."

"Okay."

"They're not pink."

"I'll bring everything pink that I can find." Derek smiled, standing up.

"Then I guess I'll lay down with her and explain tomorrow to her. We should tell Alex and Arizona they can come back in."

"I'll let them know."

"Okay."

"I love you, Meredith."

"I love you Derek."

"I'll be back."

"Okay..." Meredith breathed, watching as he left the room. She took a deep breath and looked around. She hated that this felt like it was getting worse and worse but that was the thing. It would get better if they could just help their child.