How To Save A Life - Grey's Anatomy

Hello? It's me

4. And it's forever.

To this day, we have never broken these vows. Ok, maybe we've broken the 'no running' vow once or twice but that's it. After we got married, we adopted our daughter Zola, who is now 27. After that, you fell pregnant with Derek Bailey who is now 25 and then finally, we had Ellis, who is now 22. I moved to DC for a bit for a job then came back because I missed you all so much. You switched back and forth between specialities and you are board certified in both general surgery and neurosurgery. At one point, we were the neurosurgery power couple. Then we became co-chiefs of surgery at the hospital and we were the boss. Then you got a brain tumour and we became even closer as we thought it may have been cancer. You don't have cancer, you're all good now, but we thought you did. We grew older together until you began developing AD (Alzheimers Disease) symptoms. And here we are now. If you have any questions, or just want a hug, I'm here always. I love you Meredith. I love you so much. Bye.

Meredith looked over at me with tears in her eyes. She jumped into my arms and hugged me tightly. When she pulled away, she looked different. She looked a way she hadn't looked in 3 years. The way she touched my body. The way her eyes travelled over my face. The way she gripped onto me so tightly I might've suffocated. The way she cuddled her head into the crook of my neck. The way she made the hairs on my skin stand up. The way she gave me goosebumps. The way she gently nibbled on my ear. The way she whispered cute words into my ear. The way she ran her hands through my dreamy hair. The way she looked at me. She was lucid.

We stared lovingly into each others eyes, desperately longing for each other in every possible way. She ran her fingers through my hair and she gently tugged on a few strands. I caressed her cheek with my hand as she crossed her arms over my shoulders hooking her hands behind my neck. She pulled me closer, I snaked my hands around her waist and up her back. We wanted all of each other in every way possible. I wanted her physically, mentally, emotionally, verbally, all the 'ally-s'. I felt that as if I let her go, if my hands left her skin, for even only a moment, I would lose her again. I kept my hands on her body, she kept her on mine. We held each other never wanting to let one another go again. She leant her precious face into mine and hovered her lips a few centimetres away from mine. She moved her eyes from my lips to my eyes several times before she finally pressed her soft lips against mine. Our energy was electric, the hairs on your skin standing up proved it. She messed up my already messy hair as she kept running her hands through the soft strands. I moved my hands all over her back wanting to take in all of her, to feel every square inch of her body. I needed to memorise every nook and cranny, every scar and freckle, every bruise or birthmark, just in case this never happened again. Just in case, this would be the last time we would ever be Meredith and Derek. Derek and Meredith. Merder. 

- - -

''Each of you comes here today hopeful, wanting in on the game. A month ago you were in med school being taught by doctors, today you are the doctors. The seven years you spend here as a surgical resident will be the best and worst of your life. You will be pushed to the breaking point, look around you. Say hello to your competition. Eight of you will switch to an easier specialty, five of you will crack under the pressure, two of you will be asked to leave. This is your starting line, this is your arena. How well you play, that's up to you.'' Jackson Avery lead the interns into an OR, switched the lights on and psyched them out. He told them the stakes, explained the expectations and crushed their over-eager hearts. 

Zola, Sofia, Tuck, Samuel and Bailey wandered around the OR after hearing Chief Jackson's speech. Every so often, they would quickly glance up to see their parents in the OR gallery reminiscing on their first day as interns. Zola and Bailey did a double take and realised that their mother, Meredith, was in the gallery. A large smile grew on their faces, but their attention was quickly stolen again by Jackson hurrying them out the door of the OR and into the lobby. 

Meredith's POV

I had never been so proud, seeing two of my kids going through exactly what I went through. My kids were almost unrecognisable, I hadn't remembered what they looked like for over a year. They had grown up so much, yet they were still my babies. Seeing Zola and Bailey and the rest of the kids down there made me realise that their lives were only just starting, and I was going to miss it all. Tomorrow, or later today when I switch back from being lucid, I will miss the rest of their lives. Who knows when I'll be lucid again, it only ever happened once for my mother. Seeing the looks on their faces when they saw me made my stomach flutter. Knowing my presence made them instantly happy warmed my heart. Their faces when they realised that I actually recognised them will be imprinted in my brain for as long as I'm lucid. As I sat there smiling at my kids, all the surgeons in the OR gallery recited the famous welcome speech that Jackson announced, a tradition for all Chiefs when taking in new interns. Once the interns exited the OR, the attendings quickly followed out of the gallery and huddled together out in the main lobby. 

''Before I place you all into your intern groups, you will meet all of the attendings. Head of Neurosurgery is Lexie Grey-Sloan. Head of Cardio is Cristina Yang. Head of Plastic Surgery is Mark Sloan. Head of General Surgery is Jo Karev. Head of Pediatrics is Alex Karev. Head of Fetal Surgery is Arizona Robbins. Head of Ortho is Callie Torres. Head of trauma, April Kepner. Derek Shepherd, Neuro attending. Elena Sloan, Trauma attending. Stefan Gilbert, Plastics attending. Jo Karev, also an Ortho attending. Arizona Robbins, also a peds attending. If you have any questions, please ask. You may check the bulletin boards and go find your resident. Good luck.'' Each attending raised their hand when their name was called as Jackson pointed them out. Jackson walked down the stairs and to the crowd of attendings, his friends and family. 

''Jackson!'' I called out as he came closer to the group.

''Mer? What are you doing here!?'' Jackson threw his hands in surprise and shock.

''Jackson, she's lucid!'' Derek put an arm around me and squeezed me tight. He let go and Jackson pulled me into his arms. 

''Oh my god!'' He breathed as he squeezed me tighter. We were best friends, we went through the hospital ranks together. We pulled apart and just stared at each other for a second. A smile covered out faces, we were purely happy. And then I saw my kids.

I slowly dropped my hands by my side and took a deep breath. They began running over to me but it felt like it took them an eternity to reach me. I lifted my arms out and pulled them both into a close, tight hug. I closed my eyes so my tears wouldn't stain their fresh scrubs. They pulled away, I put a hand on each of their cheeks.

''Zola! Bailey!'' I cried. I let the tears fall down my cheeks, as did they. Derek joined our little circle followed by Ellis who wasn't quite finished med school yet. All five of us cried and hugged and cried some more, we didn't know what to say or do, we just cried. 

''Mom!'' Zola sobbed as she squeezed my hands in hers. 

''You're lucid!'' Bailey cried softly as he stood there dumbfounded.

''We missed you so much Mom!'' Ellis latched onto my and squeezed me tightly. I reciprocated her hug and gently played with her hair. 

''I missed you too, I can't believe how grown up you are now. Zola, Bailey, Ellis, I'm soo proud of you all. I cannot even describe how extraordinary you are. You are all extraordinary, and don't let anyone ever tell you otherwise. I love you, I love you so much!'' Derek kissed my lips and hugged me, before Zola and Ellis hooked their arms into mine, Bailey walked next to Derek, and we walked out of the lobby and out to the carpark. We were going to spend the day as a family, we were going to make the most of our time. We were going to have fun and it was going to be extraordinary. 

THE END

A/N: 

ITS OVER! please tell me how you enjoyed this story! Any feedback is greatly appreciated! I have a new story drafted called 'Chasing Cars' and it will be out within the next few weeks so keep a lookout! Don't forget to vote and comment! I love all of you guys, thank you so much for sticking with the story, it means so much to me! Thank you again!!!

- love, author xxx