AN: You guys, I was completely overwhelmed by the response I got after I posted the first chapter; thank you so much for all the reviews, the followings and the favorites, it was great to see that I was not the only one feeling cheated by the latest episode. I originally wanted to post this yesterday, but I got sick, so here is the second chapter, some familiar faces reappear in Seattle.

Just forget the world

Carolyn Shepherd was not a soft woman. She found herself a widow with five kids to raise by the age of 39 and she had no time to dwell on the pain she was going through or the sorrow she felt towards the two men who deprived her of the love of her life. She was used to life's unfairness, but she found herself the scariest she had been in her entire life as she boarded the plane to Seattle. The plane that was going to take her to her son, to his family, to her youngest daughter. Both Derek and Meredith had suffered too much during these last years, she thought it was time for them to finally be able to enjoy each other's company and their little family. She could only pray to arrive in Seattle and find her boy still improving and on road to recovery. She couldn't fathom the idea of Meredith becoming a widow, just like she had, and their kids being orphans, much like Derek and his sisters had been, she didn't even want to begin thinking about losing her son

After she had taken the kids to daycare Meredith found herself without purpose. She could have actually kept the kids with her, since there was no way she was going to practice medicine while her husband was laying unconscious on a hospital bed, but she figured this was better for them. Giving them a sort of normalcy. They hadn't asked about their daddy yet and she hoped to have a little more time until they did. She wished he would be awake soon enough for them not to notice his absence, but she knew she was going to be hit with questions, especially from Zola, in the next couple of days. Derek had promised them both to be home soon and the concept of time was still fuzzy in the little ones' heads. She found Alex waiting for her right outside the daycare door; he was holding a blueberry muffin and he had a boyish look gracing his features, he looked almost sheepish "I took the day off, I figured you needed someone by your side" he mumbled.

She didn't know what to say, she let herself fell on a chair and looked up at him, a grateful look paired with tears in her eyes "I don't think I can make it without him" she finally confessed.

"You won't have to" he reassured her.

"You don't know that"

"You're right, I don't" he spoke after a long pause as he sat down next to her "what I do know is that Derek is getting the best care we can give him at the moment and Amelia is confident that he will wake up, we need to believe that, okay?"

She just sniffed and leaned into him "okay" she finally whispered.

"Here, I brought you your favorite kind of muffin, Jo couldn't sleep last night after we got home, so she baked"

"I'm not hungry"

"That's a lie" he contradicted her "I'm sure you didn't have dinner last night because you were going to the hospital where they had taken Derek and I know for a fact that you missed lunch yesterday"

"Okay, I actually am a little hungry" she finally admitted smelling the baked good.

"They're really good"

"So, what is it with you and women who bake when they're nervous?" she asked in between bites.

"I don't even know when or where Jo learned to bake, considering she used to live in her car as a teenager" he shrugged his shoulders, keeping an eye on her.

"It's really good" she confirmed when she was done.

"I'm glad to hear that since I brought you a couple more" he tried to smile handing her a paper bag containing three more muffins "she also gave one each to the kids"

"I'll thank her as soon as I see her"

"I'm sure she doesn't need that"

"Well, I still want to" she stubbornly replied "she's great, really good for you, I'm happy that you two found each other"

"Thanks" he scratched his head, giving her a one-armed hug.

"I'm serious, you deserve to be happy, Alex"

"So do you, Mere... it's all going to be okay"

They stayed there in companionable silence for a while; she was the one to break the silence "I called Cristina, you know?"

"I figured you would have"

"She will be here in a couple of days" she added.

"That's good, you need your person by your side"

"You're filling in for her just fine" she quietly whispered "I don't know what I would have done without you during this last year" she confessed.

"That's what friends are for" he reassured her.

"I really mean it, Alex. You're like the brother I never had"

"I'm glad to have been able to be by your side, you and I went through so much crap since we met, I don't even know how we're still able to be standing up" he mused "I guess we're both fighters... and so is Derek, he's fighting to come back to you and your kids, I'm sure of it" his tone reassuring, eyes twinkling.

"Yeah, I think so too... if I think about all the time we've wasted I just get so mad" she whispered.

"You didn't waste time" he tried to contradict her.

"Yes we did... first there was Addison, than Finn the vet, than we were together, but there was the major setback of the whole Cristina and Burke's wedding... than there was Rose, we basically wasted two whole years" she stared at Alex, those memories fresh in her mind.

"I don't see them as years wasted, Mere... all these experiences brought you closer and showed you that you two belong together, it's because all of this happened that you're here today, that you're married, have two great kids and a beautiful family. Hell, you guys even own a hospital for crying out loud!"

"You really see it this way?" she marveled.

"I do... if there is one thing working here in Seattle has taught me is that everything happens for a reason, even if we don't understand it at first"

"Maybe you're right" she finally answered, getting a bite from a chocolate muffin "but what would be the reason behind all this?" she asked.

"To make you guys even stronger I suppose... but hey, I'm no God, so I really don't know. I just know that I'll be by your side and you can count on me, all right?!"

"I do know that" she mumbled.

"Want to go see him?" he asked when she was done with the second muffin.

"Yeah" they got up "but first..." she leaned into him and gave him a long hug "thanks for being you, Alex. You've really grown into a great friend, one of my best friends really, and I'm glad my kids can call you uncle Alex"

"I'm glad too" he reassured her hugging her back.

Callie found Meredith in Derek's room, Alex looming outside "Hey Mere, how is he doing?"

"Still the same, vitals look good" her answer mechanic.

"Listen, Amelia told me that she thinks his left leg looks damaged from the crash" she said getting close to the bed.

"Go ahead and examine him, of course" Meredith moved out of her way, allowing her to shift the light blue sheet that was covering him. Just as Callie started her examination, Alex entered the room in order to give Meredith some comfort. Meanwhile Callie was examining Derek's left leg, starting the top, going down towards the knee, then all the way down until she had examined the calf and and ankle. After she was done she turned to look at Meredith and gave her a tentative smile "I should take him to get an x-ray, I'm pretty sure either his tibia or fibula are broken, if not both... I'm sorry"

"It's okay... it's not like it's your fault" she just shrugged.

"His femur and knee seem fine, but I'll get an x-ray of the entire leg, just to be on the safe side"

"Yes, thank you... do you want to take him right now?"

"Yes, I do. Amelia says it's okay to move him and she will be waiting for me in radiology in order to go and get another CT scan as well"

"All right, sounds good. I'll be here waiting for you" she took a seat, Alex right by her side.

"A broken leg is not too bad" he said when Callie left the room "my dad broke my ankle when I was eleven" he confided.

Her eyes glistening with unshed tears she tried to focus on Alex's words "I know it's not too bad, I just wish he would wake up and Callie could explain to him what is going on, instead of telling me, you know?"

"Yeah, I get it"

"I'm sorry about what happened with your dad" she added.

"Oh well, he was a douche... doesn't really matter anyway"

"It does to me, I'm sorry he made you suffer"

"Thanks, I'm just glad it's all in the past now"

"Do you wish things had gone differently?" she asked quietly.

"Yeah, maybe... I don't really know. He screw us all up so bad and I don't know if I would have really forgiven him if I had the chance"

"I understand, sometimes I wonder if my mom would have been a good grandmother and... well, it's not like I'll ever know, but I still think about it, what would she say about the life I'm living?"

"I'm sure she would be proud, you have it all Meredith. You succeeded where she could not; you have a job you're great at, but you also have a husband you love and great kids..."

"You really think that?"

"I do and so should you"

When Carolyn Shepherd arrived at Grey Sloane Memorial she went straight to the ER, hoping to find somebody who could point her to her son's room. Luckily enough she came face to face with the trauma doctor she had met the last time she was in this hospital, back when it was still called Seattle Grace.

"Mrs. Shepherd, is that you?"

"Yes... Dr. Hunt, is it?"

He just nodded "I'll take you to Derek's room" he proposed pointing towards the elevators.

"That would be very nice of you"

"If you just follow me..." he gave her a weak smile "how was the flight?"

"Long... do you have any update on him?"

"They did another CT scan and it came back clear which means that the hematoma was removed completely, they also did an x-ray to his left leg and he was put in a cast" he said, his voice remorseful.

"What did he fracture?" she asked as they arrived on the ICU floor.

"Both his tibia and fibula, Dr. Torres is confident he will make a full recovery though..." he motioned for her to follow him at the end of the all and they arrived in front of room 3607 where she could spot her only son laying on the hospital bed, his wife right beside him and some other doctors in the room.

"Meredith" she tentatively said.

"Oh Mrs. Shepherd..." she turned to look at her, letting go of Derek's hand "I'm glad you could come here on such short notice"

"Don't even mention it" she said giving her daughter-in-law a hug, which she returned albeit weakly "how is he doing?" she asked after she had released her.

"He's hanging in there... Amelia is confident he will wake up, the CT scan came back clean, the intra-cranial pressure is still slowly decreasing and his vitals look good. He had to be put in a cast, as you can see"

Carolyn took a good look at her son. He seemed peaceful, she din't know if she could consider this a good sign or not. He had some scratches all over his body, but all in all he looked as handsome as usual.

"Did you get any sleep last night?"

"Not really..."

"I bet. How about the kids? Did someone help you out with them?"

Meredith nodded, pointing at Alex "they went home with him"

"They got a full night of sleep" Alex reassured them both "they're in daycare now " he added addressing Derek's mother.

"I figured it was better for them to keep up with their usual routine"

"Of course, this was the best plan... I'd like to go see them in a little while, if that's okay with you"

"Sure, we can go together and then you can go home with them tonight, Alex has a spare bedroom you can sleep in"

"I wouldn't want to be trouble"

"You won't be trouble at all, and besides... Derek and Meredith's house is too far from the city, it just makes more sense for you to come to my house, since we won't convince her to leave the hospital until he wakes up" Alex explained matter-of-factly.

"Okay then, sounds like a plan"

The following morning Meredith met up with Carolyn and the kids in the cafeteria for breakfast.

"Mama! We had a sweepover with Nana and uncle Alex and Jo!" Zola ran towards her talking excitedly.

"You did?!"

"Yup and we had hot cocoa before bed" she confided giggling.

"How did you manage to get them to sleep if you fed them chocolate?" Meredith marveled at her mother-in-law.

"They were really excited about the sleepover actually and after we were done drinking they sort of collapsed"

"Mama up!" Bailey demanded her attention and she bent over to pick him up and hold him in her arms.

After breakfast the two women took the kids to daycare and went back to Derek's room where Meredith had spent the night.

"Any changes?" was Carolyn's question once they were out of the daycare.

"Not really, he's still stable. Amelia says it might take a while for him to wake up..."

"Okay then, we'll wait together..." Carolyn placed a hand on her shoulders.

Right around lunchtime when the two women were still hanging out in Derek's room soft footsteps could be heard as a third person joined them in the room.

"I thought you were supposed to tell him to be awake by the time I got here..." Cristina's remark caught them by surprise.

"You're already here!" Meredith was a little surprised.

"Of course I am" Cristina enveloped her in a hug.

"I thought you didn't hug..."

"Shut up, I'm still your person!"

"Thanks for being here..."

So Mama Shepherd and Cristina are in Seattle; sorry for having Derek still unconscious, but it would be much too soon if he was awake only two days after the accident. Anyway, let me know what you thought of the second chapter.