Trapped in fear as history repeats

21

"Hey!" Meredith heard Addison came in when she was trying to feed Bella.

"Hi" Meredith smiled

"How is my goddaughter doing?" Addison gave her a warm smile back

"She didn't want to eat earlier with Derek but for now.. okay" Meredith said as Bella slowly drunk bits of her bottle before starting to refuse again

"Hey, Bel. You need to drink" Addison said as she joined Meredith

"I want her home, Addi" Meredith sighed

"I know, Mer.. we'll do another CT this afternoon. Her neuro exams seem to be promising so far. She reacts on sounds and light, she moves her limbs, not as much as we want but she's doing it" Addison smiled

"I'm so proud of her" Meredith said proud

"She looks so much like you, Mer!"

"Derek says that too" Meredith giggled

"What do I say?" Derek asked as he and Mark came in

"That Bel looks like Mer" Addison repeated

"She does!" Mark confirmed

"Did anyone talk to mom or dad?" Meredith asked

"Yeah, they'll come by later today" Derek said before he kissed Meredith and gave Bella a kiss on her forehead

...

"Derek!" Carolyn said as she and Christopher walked into the hospital all the way up to the NICU where they met Derek

"Hi, mom, dad!" Derek exclaimed before pulling them into a hug

"Where's our granddaughter?" Christopher asked proud

"Mer is trying to feed her again.. is it okay to wait a bit?" Derek asked

"Of course, dear. How's the feeding going?" Carolyn asked as they slowly made their way over to the window to check on Bella and Meredith

"When Mer feeds her she usually eats a bit more but still the same.. she's not eating enough.. She just came back from CT and her team will discuss what's best for her" He said quiet

"She'll be okay, no matter what! Your mother and I read a lot about BPD the past week. Addison gave us some interesting books about it. We want to make sure we know what's happening with our little girl" Christopher said

"Thanks" Derek said with a small smile "She's so small" He whispered

"I'm so excited.. first time holding her" Carolyn said as she kept looking at Bella who started to refuse the bottle again

"Want to go in now?" Derek asked

Both his parents nodded happily. The three made their way into the NICU and went to the corner Bella was in.

"Well, Bel.. Meet your grandparents" Meredith said as she handed the baby to Carolyn

After a couple of minutes, Carolyn gave the baby to Christopher who immediately started talking to Bella

"Hey, Bella. Nice to meet you" He whispered "I'm so happy to finally meet you"

Derek smiled as he took a seat next to Meredith, holding her close as they were watching their family.

They all started talking and Derek took Bella back in his arms when she started wheezing. He placed her against his chest and carefully rubbed circles on her back as Meredith whispered to Bella "Hey baby girl.. shht, deep breaths, you're fine"

"Should I call a nurse?" Christopher said, slightly panicking

"Dad, she's okay" Meredith said "This is.. normal.. She'll be fine in a couple of minutes and if not we'll give her some more oxygen" Meredith said as she grabbed her dad's hand

"I'm sorry" He apologized

"We understand, dad" Derek said as he gave him a small smile before turning his attention back to Bella

"She's beautiful, guys" Carolyn smiled

"Her last neuro exams looked good, her CT scan earlier looked promising.. I hope we can bring her home at the end of the week but she'll need to pass the carseat exam first" Derek smiled as he kept looking at his daughter who calmed down again and almost fell asleep while he held her close

"Dr and Dr Shepherd. Do you wanna bath Bella?" A nurse asked as she walked in

"Yes, please" Derek said as he smiled

"We'll go see Addison and Mark while you take care of your daughter. Maybe we can meet for dinner?" Carolyn suggested

"Sounds great, mom! Thank you!" Meredith said as the four of them stood up to say goodbye. Meredith and Derek took off to bathe their daughter while Carolyn and Christopher left the room before turning one final time to see Meredith and Derek took off with Bella. Finally having the family they begged for

...

"Hey, Bel. You were so brave" Meredith coeed as she carefully dressed Bella

"Should we try and feed her again?" Derek asked

"That would be best!" Meredith said before Derek went to the nurses and asked them for a new bottle as Meredith finished up dressing Bella before making her way to the chair next to Bella's bed

"Derek?" Meredith whispered once Bella started drinking again

"What's wrong, Mer?" Derek asked

"I think I'll stay home for a while when she gets released.. Webber said it was okay and I could keep my spot as long as I come in once a week for a shift"

"Of course, Mer. We can take turns" He smiled

"And dad asked me to explain everything.. they want to help us too and Addi and Mark too and.. Derek, we'll be fine and Bel is doing such a great job" Meredith smiled widely

"She is and we'll always be fine, Mer. We're Meredith and Derek" He said before kissing her as Bella started whimpering

"I'm sorry Bel, mommy is all yours again" He laughed

"Meredith? Derek?" Arizona's voice was heard as she entered the room

"Bella's results look good. We think she might be able to go home at the end of the week or in the beginning or next week as long as she passes the carseat test and if her weight doesn't drop again and we'll discuss a plan for her meals. For now we don't want to give her a feeding tube because spreading the amount of food seems to work for now. We'll see how that works out once you're home because you can't wake up every two hours to feed her" Arizona said "But guys, this is good news. She'll be home soon"

"Finally" Meredith sighed as she smiled

"Finally" Derek echoed 

AN // I need your help! Should I start to wrap this up or keep going or should I make a time jump and do a sequel! Please, let me know!

Stay safe!