Cristina stared at a chart absently as she walked down the hall toward the nurse's station. She bumped into someone and looked up. Fear washed over her, unimaginable fear as her eyes widened and stared into the green ones she hoped to never see again.
"Cristina! Thank god! Do you know what's going on? I have no idea." His voice barely registered in her mind as she stumbled away from him, abandoning the chart in her hands. He stopped talking and looked hurt that she was so afraid of him, but he understood why. She thought he had murdered her best friend. Who wouldn't be scared of him?
She ran in the opposite direction as fast as she could, pinching herself to make sure she wasn't having the same nightmare she had almost every time she fell asleep. Finally, she reached the Chief's office and burst inside, out of breath. Richard looked up.
"Dr. Yang. I think there's something you should see." He said, barely noticing her exasperated look. "Check room 276." He smiled and looked back down at his paperwork. She caught her breath for a few moments and set off for room 276. It was probably a patient that needed a consult. She wasn't going to complain about a distraction from what she had just literally run into.
Maybe it wasn't him. Maybe I just imagined it. She thought as she reached the room and opened the door.
Cristina froze. She stood there for what felt like hours. Barely breathing. Her heart pounding in her chest. Meredith. She didn't believe it. She was crazy. This was a dream. She finally walked over to the bed to see if it was truly her friend laying asleep in front of her or if it was just her imagination. Another figure was sitting next to her, one she barely recognized. It took her a moment to realize it was Derek under the badly groomed beard and dark circles under his eyes.
A small part of her hoped this wasn't Meredith. The bruising and swelling on her face and the casts on her arm and leg suggested she had been severely injured. She didn't want her best friend to endure any more pain.
She stood at the end of the bed and reached down with both of her hands, grabbing Meredith's feet through her blanket. The surgeon jumped awake, rousing Derek as well. Cristina's brown eyes met Meredith's green ones and she knew it was her. She's alive.
They were both silent for a long time. They stared at each other, millions of different emotions flooding over them all at once. Derek watched Meredith for any sign of another breakdown.
"Cristina." She said softly, her eyes overflowing with tears. Her person looked the same way. They both had gone through the same cycle of emotions that ended in relief.
"Meredith." Cristina surprised herself. She spoke without even thinking. The part of her that had been taken when she lost Meredith was returned. She was complete again. They smiled at each other. Derek couldn't help but smile too.
XxXxX
It was hours later and Cristina had been required to go back to work. To her attending's surprise, she responded with a clear sorry, sir. And went straight back to work. She smiled the entire day and people wondered what had gotten into her before the news got around that Meredith was alive.
People flooded in and out of her room all day, telling her how glad they were that she was alive, dropping off flowers if she was sleeping, telling her that she would be in their prayers. Her friends visited most often, showing up any time they could and staying for as long as they could. Izzie, Cristina, and Alex were extremely supportive and didn't ask any questions they knew she would be uncomfortable answering.
It was a particularly slow hour, it was late and everyone was either in surgery or going home. Meredith was exhausted from all of the smiling and gift receiving and thank yous. Derek was tired as well and had climbed into the bed next to her, his arms wrapped protectively around her and his face nestled in the crook of her neck. He waited to make sure she was soundly asleep before closing his eyes himself. Before he could fall asleep, he heard shuffling in the doorway.
"Meredith?" A quiet voice asked. Derek looked up to see who it was, making sure Meredith didn't stir. His face hardened when he saw George O'Malley standing awkwardly in the door.
"What are you doing here?" He asked coldly, louder than he meant to. Meredith shifted in his grasp, which had gotten much tighter since Derek had recognized the visitor.
"Derek?" She asked softly, her eyes still closed and her face still sleepy. He kissed her temple and stroked her hair.
"Shh. Go back to sleep. It's nothing." He whispered. She shifted again to a more comfortable position and went back to sleep quickly. George stared at her, his eyes filled with guilt and sadness.
"I'm sorry. I can come back later, I just wanted to talk to her." He said, his eyes still trained on the sleeping surgeon.
"Don't bother coming back. Don't bother showing your face here ever again. You may not have killed her, but you hurt her that night, and no one here will ever want to forgive you for that." Derek spat. George looked at the ground and turned to leave the room.
"I'm glad she's alive. I wish the best for both of you." He said before finally walking out of the room, his head down and his eyes glued to the floor. Derek watched him. His eyes. Green. It couldn't have been him.
So who was it?
XxXxX
Despite Derek's warning, George came back the next morning. He found that they were both in the same position on the bed. Meredith was still asleep and Derek was still awake.
"I told you not to come back." He muttered. "I could call security if I wanted to."
"I just want to talk to her. Five minutes. Please." George begged.
"Why should I let you anywhere near her?" Derek was adamant.
"I want to tell her I'm sorry. I just want to tell her I'm sorry." He pleaded.
"It's just five minutes, Derek. I'll be okay." Meredith surprised both of them when she spoke up. She turned around to look at Derek. "I'll be fine."
"Are you sure?" He whispered. "You don't have to."
"I owe it to him." She said.
"You don't owe him anything." Derek shook his head.
"Yes, I do. He went to prison for three months for no reason because of me. George. In prison. It's just five minutes." She argued. Derek smiled slightly and cupped her cheek with his hand.
"I really love you." He sighed.
"I really love you too." She kissed him softly and then he dismounted from the bed, giving George a less than welcoming look on his way out of the room.
George stood a few feet away from her bed, afraid she might freak out if he got too close. She watched Derek leave and then turned her attention to him.
"Meredith..." He started, but she interrupted him.
"Before you start, I just want to say that I'm sorry. I'm sorry that you had to go to prison because of me. I'm sorry that I made everyone hate you. I'm sorry that I made you feel guilty for something you didn't do." She said. George shook his head.
"What did I do? I don't remember anything from that night. I found out you and Derek were engaged and I remember a lot of alcohol... then I woke up and Izzie told me you were gone. Did I... hurt you? Or your baby?" He asked. Meredith sighed sadly.
"No. Not physically, anyway. I was on my way home because I felt sick. You were in the lobby when I got there and you were seriously drunk. You... yelled at me for never giving you a chance. For never loving you back. And then you stormed off." She said.
"Meredith, I... I didn't mean any of that, I would never..." His green eyes had filled with tears. She reached out her hand and motioned for him to come closer. He stepped up to her bed and grasped his hand in hers.
"I know. I know you didn't mean it. It's okay." She said. He stared at the ground.
"Wh...what about the blood? What happened to you?" He asked, fully aware he was crossing a line into uncomfortable territory.
"I had a miscarriage. I got home, I took a nap, and I woke up feeling nauseous. I ran into the bathroom and looked behind me and saw a trail of blood. I threw up and then I passed out. When I woke up and realized it wasn't just a horrible nightmare, I changed my clothes and I ran away. I left a note telling Derek not to look for me. Then, a couple days ago, someone broke into my apartment and attacked me, and I ended up in a hospital in LA. Some intern recognized me and called Derek and then they moved me here." She explained. Tears were freely falling down George's face.
"I'm so sorry, Mer." He cried. She squeezed his hand.
"Stop apologizing. It wasn't your fault." She said.
"Sorry." He said instinctively. He shook his head and they both laughed. She stared at him for a few seconds.
"I missed you." She said. He smiled.
"I missed you too."
XxXxX
I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. So sorry I haven't posted in so long! I've been struggling a lot with trying to balance my time and haven't been able to write much. I have a lot of work that's almost finished but I just can't think of a way to end it so I can post it! I promise I will be posting as much as I can over the next few days/weeks so keep an eye out for new chapters.
Not much happened in this chapter but it's all building up to the big reveal... coming very soon. Stay tuned for the next chapter!
Kisses!
-E