Fight for your life

4

Derek raced up to Merediths room quickly, Amelia and Carolyn close behind him. "How is she?" Derek asked, out of breath as he approached her room.

"She's awake, groggy, but she's asking for you." Bailey replied, easing the neurosurgeons out of control nerves.

"Is she..." Derek trailed off. "As I said, she's drugged up and dazed, but Nelson's post op check was all good." Bailey explained.

"Can I see her?" Derek asked. "Sure. She was in a lot of pain, so we gave her some morphine, so don't be surprised if she falls asleep soon." Bailey warned.

Derek nodded and entered her room. Meredith was staring blankly at the ceiling, her eyes glazed over due to the drugs.

"Hey." Derek said softly, walking over to her bed. Meredith slowly moved her head and her lips turned up into a small smile as she looked T him.

"Hi." She replied. "How are you feeling?" Derek asked, looking over her bruised and bandaged body. "Sore 'n drugged." Meredith giggled.

"I'm sorry this happened." He said, kissing her forehead gently. "Not your fault. Are....you okay?" Meredith asked, looking at him.

"I'm fine. Just a little banged up. You got the impact." He replied. "You're still mcdreamy." Meredith laughed to herself.

"Kids?" Meredith asked, her eyes drooping closed. "They're at daycare. They're okay." He said. He wanted to touch her, to hold her, but he didn't know where.

Meredith reached out with her good arm and grabbed his hand. "You should sleep." Derek suggested. "You...you too." Meredith said, her eyes drifting shut.

"I love you." Derek whispered, to no answer as she was already asleep.

•••

Derek walked out of Merediths room, feeling as though he could finally breath. "How is she?" Carolyn asked. "She's okay, asleep now." Derek replied.

"Her neuro exam cleared out?" Amelia asked. "Yes, she's fully cognitive and okay." He said. "Good. That's good." Amelia breathed.

"Derek, you should go crash in an on call room. I'm sure Meredith will be out for a while, and you're no good to her if you're exhausted." Carolyn said in a motherly tone.

"But I-" Derek started.

"I know you just slept, but you're also still concussed and you still need to sleep." She interrupted. "She's right, Shepherd." Bailey said sternly.

"Fine. If she wakes up-"

"We'll page you. Go." Bailey said. Derek mumbled something incoherent and he trudged off to an empty on call room.

"I like you." Carolyn said to Bailey with a grin.

•••

Meredith woke up, hours later, her whole body throbbing in pain and discomfort. The last thing she remembered was screaming and yelling.

She took the minute to herself to examine her body. Her leg and arm were both heavily casted, and painful. Her head felt like a hammer being smashed into her brain.

Her ribs were burning, as was her chest. But something was off in her arm. She could feel it, but it was difficult just to move her fingers.

"You gave us all quite the scare, Grey. Again." Bailey said as she came into the room. "Sorry." Meredith mumbled, looking up to her once superior.

"You okay?" Bailey asked in an uncharacteristically tone, noticing Meredith shift in discomfort. "I'm fine." Meredith replied.

Bailey was always protective over all of her interns, like a big mama bear. But especially Meredith. Maybe it was because she knew Ellis and knew how Meredith grew up. Maybe it was because Meredith fell in love with a married attending. Whatever it was, it made Bailey very protective over her.

"Don't give any of that fine crap. You were in a serious car accident. Are you in pain?" Bailey asked. Meredith hesitated for a moment before nodding.

"You know doctors make the worst patients. You know we don't like it when patients done tell us how you actually feel, so you need to be honest with us. You're a patient now, not a doctor." Bailey chastised lightly as she worked on getting more pain medication.

"I don't want to be weak." Meredith admitted, showing Bailey a vulnerability she hadn't seen since Addison arrived.

"I don't care what Ellis Grey put into your head, Grey. You aren't weak if you ask for pain medication. You're one of the strongest people I know. Tell anyone I said rhat and I'll deny it till I'm blue in the face." Bailey said.

A tear slid down Merediths face and she looked away. "It's okay to cry, too." Bailey said softly, wiping the tear away.

"Here you go." Bailey said, pushing a light sedative. "Thank you." Meredith whispered. "You're welcome, sweetie." Bailey said, wiping another tear away as she fell back asleep.

Meredith may be a grown woman in her forties with 2 kids and a husband, but she still needed a mother sometimes. Everybody does.

•••

Derek woke up a few hours later, and Bailey told him Meredith was still asleep. "I'm gonna go see the kids." Derek decided.

He walked down to the daycare and opened the door. "Hi dr Shepherd. Zola and bailey are playing with the blocks." The teacher said with a sympathetic smile.

"Thanks." He said, walking over to them. "Daddy!" 3 year old Zola exclaimed with a smile. "Hi zo." Derek smiled, kneeling down and giving her a hug. "Hey little man." Derek said, picking up the baby.

"Did you guys have fun last night?" Derek asked. "Yeah! Auntie Callie and auntie 'Zona played wif me and Sofia." Zola exclaimed.

"Good. How about you guys sleepover uncle Alex's tonight?" Derek asked enthusiastically. "I want to see mama." Zola said. "Mamas sick right now. You can see her in a few days." Derek replied softly.

"Why?" Zola asked as Bailey began to cry. "It's okay, buddy. Mama's okay, but she needs a few days to get better. I promise you can see her then."

"Okay daddy." Zola said.

Hey guys!!! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and hope your all doing well. As always, if you have any ideas or suggestions feel free to drop them. Thanks for reading!!