AN: I'm very sorry for the delay you guys, real life got in the way. First my grandma had surgery and she was hospitalized on the other side of the city, she's finally home though. Work is also really busy at the moment, but it should quiet down, with the holidays approaching. Thanks for all the encouragement you gave me via reviews, likes and follows. Hope you're still with me, enjoy chapter 7!

Bless the broken road

Derek woke up drenched in his own sweat, his heart hammering in his chest, sadness clutching his senses. His latest recovered memory still vivid in his mind.

"Callie... Callie..." he whispered as he entered Mark's room in a rush, she roused from a restless sleep and looked at him "Go home" he suggested, trying to give her a smile.
"No, I'm all right" she reassured him shaking her head, sneaking a look at Mark's sleeping form.
"No, you're not" he said as he entered the room "you've been up for the past two nights bouncing between Arizona's room and here"
"I just need some coffee" she was being stubborn "can you... can you stay with him while I run to the cafeteria?" she asked.

"I'll stay with him all night" he tried to convince her.
"I just feel like we're losing him, Derek" Callie was finally voicing her fears, looking intently at Mark's still form "usually when I talk to him, I sense that he's there, that he's listening, but he's giving up... I'm so scared, the second I leave this hospital, I'm gonna get a phone call that he's dead"
"That's not gonna happen tonight" Derek's voice was confident.
"Promise?" Callie looked up at him, a glimmer of hope in her dark eyes.

"If he starts going south, I'll tell him to cut it out" he assuaged her nodding"he idolizes me" he added after a brief pause.
She still didn't look convinced "he'll do whatever I say" he promised her.
"Thank you" she nodded as well, finally getting up from the uncomfortable hospital chair, she patted Derek on the shoulder as she left the room.
"You heard what I told her. Don't make me look like an ass. Pull it together. A lot of people counting on you" his voice was stern as he talked with his best friend, who kept on sleeping stubbornly.

That was not the only memory he had retrieved during sleep that night, along with it he also remembered Mark's final moments and the pain Callie and him went through as they stayed with him. Not remembering the last three years of his life was atrocious, but the fact that this memory loss had also obliterated the pain of Mark and Lexie's deaths gave him a little comfort. His best friend was dead. Mark's daughter was a orphan. He found himself grateful once more that the same thing was not going to happen to his children. He missed Mark. He missed him so much it hurts. He couldn't believe that his lifetime of memories shared with Mark had ended because of a stupid plane crash. He had been friends with him ever since the second week of kindergarten, ever since Mark had stood up to Richard Tomlins for him. He couldn't accept that it was over, just like that. He was going to do his best to be there for Sofia as well. She didn't have a daddy anymore. Every little girl needed a daddy who treated her like a princess. He had learned that the hard way, when his sisters and him became orphans. He had tried to be like a dad for his little sister, but he had not completely succeeded. He knew that Zola and Bailey wouldn't mind sharing him with Sofia. He believed Callie and Arizona could appreciate that as well. He knew Mark would have wanted it. He was granted a second chance and he was not going to mess it up. With that resolution clear in his mind he closed his eyes once more and fell asleep once more.

He was awoken by Meredith's custom ring on his cell phone the following morning, it was almost 8 o' clock "hey, what's up?" he asked, still groggy.

"Sorry I'm not there yet... we have a situation at home" she mumbled, taking a look at the messy kitchen. Zola was busy coloring at the table, Amelia was making breakfast while the coffee was brewing and Bailey was wailing painfully in his grandma's arms.

"Is that Bailey I hear crying?" he asked his wife, suddenly worried.

"Yeah" her voice sounded tired and a little resentful "he has a pretty high fever caused by a case of otitis media, I think..." she let her voice trail off as she sneaked another look at her miserable boy, he was tugging his ear, as fat angry tears rolled down his face.

"That sucks" he answered "I remember having it when I was 4 or 5 and it was horrible"

"He's been crying ever since 4 a.m. this morning" she confessed, stifling a yawn "Alex is coming over to check him out, I called him half an hour ago"

"Let me know what he says"

She nodded to herself "I will and I will come by as soon as possible"

"No rush, Mere... our kids are more important than me, I'm doing okay and I'm going to be released tomorrow" he reminded her.

"Yeah, thank God" she murmured as she spotted Cristina exiting the bathroom and sitting down next to Zola, who was eying her brother suspiciously.

"Hey, take a deep breath. Wait for Alex and see what he says and then call me back" his soothing voice brought her back to reality.

"Okay" she agreed "I'm leaving the kids at home today, no need for them to go to Daycare, since they won't take Bailey anyway. Your mom is staying with them. I'll be by with Cristina as soon as possible"

"And I'll be here... it's not like I can go anywhere with a broken leg" his tone was playful.

"Did you sleep well?" she asked.

"I woke up in the middle of the night, after I retrieved another memory.."

"That's really good" she cheered up instantly.

"Well yeah, remembering per se was good, except I remembered Mark's final moments... I woke up agitated like after a nightmare" he confessed.

"Oh Derek, I'm sorry about that" her voice was soft and full of concern.

"It's okay... I was bound to remember at some point" he shrugged.

"I wish I was there to give you a hug"

"You'll be here soon enough" he answered as he heard the bell ring on the other side of the phone.

"Alex is here" she confirmed, as Cristina opened the door to the pediatric surgeon.

"Go, have him visit out boy and call me back with news as soon as he's done"

"Will do" she promised "love you" she added before hanging up.

"Love you too" he shot back before hearing the dial tone on the other side.

He placed his phone on the bedside table a grabbed the cup sitting next to it to drink a sip of water, feeling hungry, he was about to press the button to call for a nurse, when Owen entered his room.

"Hey Shep, how are you?"

"Good... hungry actually"

"Want me to go get you something?" he proposed pointing vaguely to the door.

"That would actually be great" he agreed as his stomach rumbled loudly.

"What do you feel like eating?"

"Coffee and a muffin sounds good" he fished for a 10 dollar bill in the drawer and handed it to his friend.

"Nah, breakfast is on me... I still owe you for that awesome pizza party we had the other night" he grinned.

"We should organize another one of those once I'm back home" he grinned back.

"Count me in" he agreed opening the door "I'll be right back" he added as the door closed behind him.

Meredith and Cristina arrived at the hospital around 10:30 and found Derek busy with physiotherapy. Aaron, his therapist, told them that they would be done in about 45 minutes, so the two women went to get coffee down in the cafeteria.

"You sure you don't mind me going back to Switzerland?" Cristina asked the obvious question, once they were seated at one of the table in the mostly empty cafeteria.

Meredith nodded as she sipped her tea "yeah, you've been here long enough and I'm really grateful that you came, I don't know how I would have done without you, Alex, Amelia and Carolyn... but Derek is coming home tomorrow, I don't want to keep you here" she gave her person a grateful look "we'd love for you to come back and visit in the summer though" she added.

"That would be great" Cristina smiled back.

"We've finally decided to install a pool"

"Really? You do remember that this is Seattle, right?" she snorted.

"Yeah, we do..." Meredith raised her eyebrows "which is why we want to install a pool with an enclosure" she said matter-of-factly "that way we can leave it open when the weather is nice and we can close it and enjoy it even during winter"

"Wow, you really did think this through" Cristina nodded as she drank her coffee.

"Well yeah, it was mostly Derek's idea... the kids are going to flip when we tell them" Meredith got that special smile she always wore when she thought about Zola and Bailey.

"I bet they will, I'm looking forward to the new pool" her friend agreed "I'm really happy for you, you know?" she added.

Meredith looked at her and urged her to continue "you're having it all" Cristina was quick to explain "you have the career, but you also have the husband and kids... I knew you could pull it off" Cristina gave her a rare genuine smile.

"Thanks, it means a lot coming from you" Meredith reached for her hand and gave it a squeeze "you could pull it off too, that is if you wanted to" she threw in.

"Yeah, maybe you're right... but I don't think I will ever find out" she took a sip of her coffee before continuing "if I couldn't do it with Owen I don't think I ever will..."

"The important thing id that you're satisfied with your life"

"I really am, I know I'm making a difference in many lives... I hope to come back here someday, but for now staying in Switzerland is best for me"

"Yeah, I understand that... I miss you, but I'm happy for you" Meredith gave her hand another squeeze.

"Is Owen happy with Amelia?" Cristina's question came after a brief pause.

"I don't know much about them actually... I know they got close and I think they really like each other, I think she opened up about that with Derek..."

"Mh... I think they could be good together" Cristina's voice came out quiet "I'm happy he's trying to move on with someone that could give him the future he wants"

"I just hope he won't settle for her... she's nice, you know?" Meredith felt protective of her sister in law "you would definitely get along with her great, I guess that's why we hit it off right away, she's different from Derek's other sisters..."

"I'm happy you have someone and Owen is not that kind of guy. If he started something with her it's because he's interested" Cristina was quick to respond.

"Yeah, I know..."

"I think he might really feel something for her, he would never date someone just for the sake of it"

"Yeah, you're right..." Meredith smiled at her.

"Do you think I need to tell him that I'm okay with them?" Cristina was genuinely curious.

"I don't know... maybe?!" Meredith wasn't sure either.

"I think I will talk with him face to face before I leave... I wouldn't want to come back in the summer and have them uncomfortable around me" she nodded as she sipped her coffee "they both hang around your house a lot, things could get messy..."

"You should definitely talk with him" Meredith finished her tea and when she saw that Cristina was done as well she got up to throw both cups in the trashcan.

They passed by the ER on the way back, since Cristina was looking for Owen, deciding to stop by the nursing station to ask if they knew Owen's whereabouts.

Just as Cristina was talking with a nurse, Meredith caught bits of the conversation happening right next to them between nurse Tyler and two women "... we just want to know if he's doing okay" the older one was saying.

"I understand Ma'am, but there is privacy to consider" his tone was polite, but firm.

"He saved all of us after the accident and then he was involved in an even worse accident... we just want to say thank you" the younger woman, she couldn't be older than 16, added.

"I'm really sorry, but I cannot release any information on patients..." Tyler's voice faltered as he saw the raw emotion on both women's faces.

"Can we at least leave him a note? If he's here, that is..." the young girl insisted.

"Sure, I don't see why not" Tyler bent down and looked for a pen and a notepad "here we go" he smiled as he handed both to the girl.

"How should I start this, mom?" the girl uncorked the pen and looked expectantly at her mother.

"Well, I'd start with Hi Derek, it's Winnie and Sarah..." the woman trailed off as her daughter scribbled on the piece of paper.

"I'm sorry" Meredith felt herself whisper to the two women "did you just say a man named Derek cured you after an accident?" she asked, raising her voice.

"Yes we did" Winnie answered eagerly.

"I think you might be looking for my husband" she answered quietly.

"Wow... we finally found him Winnie" her mom smiled at her.

"Is he okay?" Winnie's tone was hopeful.

"He's still hospitalized, but he should be released tomorrow" she gave them a genuine smile.

"That's really great to her" Sarah squeezed her arm "do you think we can see him really quick and say thanks? It would be really important for Winnie"

"Oh well... I can take you to his room, but I'm afraid he won't remember you. He's suffering from retrograde amnesia, he doesn't remember the last three years of his life..."

"That's horrible!" Winnie gasped.

"He started remembering something already, so he should recover completely... maybe seeing you will trigger some other memories"

"Okay, if you're sure... we don't want to intrude" Sarah smiled at the distraught woman.

"Of course not, come this way" she gestured to the elevators and the two of them followed suit "I will catch up with you later" Cristina squeezed her arm "Tyler told me he saw Owen in trauma room 3, I'll wait around and see if I can talk with him"

"Okay, I'll go back to Derek's room, we'll catch up later" Meredith smiled back at her person.

Less than five minutes later she was in her husband's room telling him that two of the people he had saved after an horrific accident were here and they wanted to say thanks.

"Wow, are you telling me that I pulled four people out of their cars after an accident and attended to them while we waited for the ambulance?" he sounded unsure and amazed by her brief account.

"That's what they told me, I'll let them in so they can tell you in person" she grinned at him "you still are my knight in shining whatever" she added before pressing a quick kiss on his lips.

"Good to know" he grinned back.

She went to let Winnie and Sarah in and looked curiously as the two women proceeded to tell the tale of the day he saved their lives and almost lost his. He listened carefully, smiling at Winnie's eagerness and enjoying Sarah's attention to details as she told him how he had explained them all about his first kiss with Meredith and how he had known she was the one, right after that kiss. When the two of them left they did so with Derek's number in their pockets and the promise to organize a stage for Winnie, since she was really interested in biology and she was thinking about becoming a doctor one day.

"I'm happy they came by" he confessed to her after they were alone.

"Yeah, me too... you saved their lives Derek, it's wonderful"

"I guess... I'm just happy my life was saved as well" he patted the spot next to him on the bed and she sat down right away.

"You really are amazing, Derek" she congratulated him.

"Thanks, Mere" he closed the distance between them with a kiss on her lips.

"I'm really glad to be coming home tomorrow" he murmured when the kiss ended.

"You and me both" she chuckled.

"Hey, my mom called. She said Bailey's temperature dropped to 100,5 degrees with the antibiotics"

"Oh, that's good news, he was in so much pain last night"

"Poor Bailey... did he get any sleep?" he asked.

"He fell asleep around 9:30 as usual, but he was up around 3 a.m. and he didn't sleep anymore after that" she explained as she stifled a yawn.

"You didn't sleep either" he pointed out.

"Not really, no..." she yawned again.

"Here, snuggle with me..." he helped her settle in his arms and inhaled her lavender scent "we have some time before lunch will be served, you can squeeze in a nap"

"That sounds heavenly" she settled her head in the crook of his neck and closed her eyes.

"I can't wait to get home and be able to do this with you in our own bed..."

"Me too" she whispered in his ear, sending shivers down his spine.

"Sweet dreams" he whispered back as he felt her breathing even out, she was exhausted and he was happy that she had the chance to do so. He hugged her close to him and closed his eyes as well.

Hope you enjoyed this chapter, it was the final one with Derek at the hospital. He retrieved other memories and got a surprising visit. Let me know what you thought, I'll be back with next chapter over the weekend.