Lost and Insecure

Chapter 13

Peter, Merediths physical therapist smiled when he saw Meredith being rolled in by her husband. "Meredith, Derek. How are you?" Peter asked with a warm smile.

"Me good." Meredith Responded. "I'm good. Yourself?" Derek asked. "Good. I'm excited to work with a new patient." Peter grinned.

"So, I don't know if I formally introduced myself, so hi. My name is Peter Hunt. I'm a physical therapist here and I specialize in cases such as this." He said, shaking dereks hand.

"So, throughout our sessions, we'll be working on getting those arms stronger and move movement." Peter explained.

"Me arm? Move?" Meredith asked. "That's right." Peter grinned. "Today we're just going to see where you're at and hey to know each other since we'll be working together for a little while." Peter said.

"Okay." Derek said.

After chatting for a little longer, Derek left the room. "So, It says here you have severe muscle weakness in your arms. Is that right?" Peter asked. Meredith nodded. "Me no arm." She replied with a nod.

"Okay. Can you try to move them for me?" Peter requested. "Kay." She said. Meredith tried her hardest to move her arm, but only was able to barely wiggle her fingers.

Meredith whimpered and frowned. "Stupid." She mumbled. "Hey. You aren't stupid, Meredith. I don't want to hear that again, okay? You are not stupid." Peter said sternly.

"But..." Meredith trailed off.

"Hey." He said, his tone softening. "You aren't stupid. You are recovering from a brain injury. You're a doctor, you remember how those affect patients, right?" Peter asked.

"Yes." Meredith whispered. "I know it's easily to get discouraged, trust me. Want to know something about me?" He offered.

Meredith nodded. "I was in a car accident about 12 years ago. I was a dumb 25 year old kid. I didn't put my seatbelt on and I got rear ended. Flew right through my windshield. I had a TBI, just like you do. See?" Peter asked, showing the prominent scar on his head that no one seemed to notice.

Merediths eyes widened. "I went through almost a year and a half of physical, cognitive, and speech therapy to get to where I am now. It wasn't easy, but look at me now. I get to help people who went though what I went through and hopefully give them some hope." He said softly.

"You...you did." Meredith whispered in awe. "I did it. I'm okay now. I'm not 100%. After a long day, the tremors start to come back or my speech gets a little sloppy, but I'm almost back to who I was before my accident." He replied.

"Me...me do too. Me do can." Meredith said with a smile.

"That's right. You can do it too." Peter grinned. Meredith nodded and looked at him. "Do start." She said confidently.

•••

For the first time in a few days, Meredith came back from therapy actually in a good mood, rather than a discouraged, unhappy mood.

"De-k hi." She said while Peter pushed her back to her room with a big smile as she surprised him by standing up  and walking into his chest.

"Hey! I know there's nothing wrong with your legs, but should you be standing up?" Derek chuckled, wrapping his arms gently around her and enveloping her small body into his.

Meredith giggled. She wanted to wrap her arms around him, but instead they hung limply at her side.

"I take it therapy was good?" Derek asked smiling as Meredith attempted to hug him. "Peter good. Good went." She responded.

"Meredith, can you sit back down now? I don't want to get in trouble." Peter said with a laugh. Meredith rolled her eyes in good old Meredith fashion, but complied and took a seat in the wheelchair.

Peter and Derek walked alongside each other as Meredith babbled from the chair about her day. Peter said his goodbyes at the door and Derek and Meredith went inside.

"Peter brain too." Meredith said.

"Peter has a brain too?" Derek guessed.

"Meredith brain. Peter too." She tried.

"Peter has the same brain you do? You mean he had a TBI too?" Derek asked. Meredith nodded and grinned, proud of herself for explaining somewhat correctly.

"That's awesome Mer. Look how well he's doing. And I know you'll be back to normal soon enough." Derek said, kissing her forehead.

Meredith tilted her head up just as Derek kissed her forehead and their lips connected. Meredith reluctantly kissed him softly as Derek cupped her cheeks with his hands.

"Are you...was that okay?" Derek asked as they both pulled away. "Me.....good." Meredith breathed, a blush spreading across her features.

"Good." Derek smiled as he brought her in to a bear hug. "Day good." Meredith said with a yawn. "Long day, too?" He asked with a knowing smile.

Meredith nodded. "Me sleep. De-derek sleep." She said slowly, making sure she got his name somewhat correct. "Okay. Hey, tomorrow do you want me to run home and grab a few things to make this place a little...homier?" Derek asked, climbing into bed next to her.

"Derek back?" Meredith asked, eyes full of fear. "Oh, yes Mer. I'll be back, don't worry. I just want to grab a few things, like blankets and stuff to make this place seem more like home. I don't need to go if you don't want me to." Derek explained.

"Derek go. Derek back." Meredith said. "I'll always come back, Mer. You don't ever have to worry about that with me." He replied softly.

"Luh Derek." Meredith mumbled sleepily as she relaxed into his embrace. "I love you too, Meredith. Go to sleep, you did good today." He whispered, stroking her hair as she fell asleep contently.

Hey guys!! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and hope your all doing well. If you guys have any suggestions for future chapters feel free to drop them! Thank you all for reading!