Don't Worry About Me

Chapter 5

"Oh- No I have surgery" Ellis nodded and left

Christopher sighed and made his way over to Meredith's room but he stopped at the coffee cart first and bought her a donut, her favourite

"Hi" He smiled at his wife as he walked in and then saw Meredith moving her head slightly "Hi honey. I brought you something to eat"

"Thank you" Meredith gave him a shy smile

"Let's let you sit up a tiny bit more" Carolyn helped Meredith who winced in pain as she hit a certain angle and lowered it a tiny bit more so she would be comfortable

"Is this okay for you, Meredith?" Christopher asked as he handed her the donut

"Yeah" Meredith nodded and took a tiny bite "Where's mommy?" She quietly asked

"Mommy's working honey" Christopher explained

"I bet Derek, Mark and Amy would like to see you. Do you think you wanna see them?" Carolyn asked, trying to distract the little girl

"Yeah" Meredith quietly said

"I'll go get them" Carolyn smiled and placed a kiss on Meredith's head and left

"Meredith, we found out what's wrong with you" Christopher started explaining "You have Ehler Danlos Syndrome. EDS for short, that's what's causing the pain but I promise we'll help her. Sadly we can't really get this away with meds or a cast. We'll have to help you out with all symptoms individually. We'll give you a special brace for your hips, it looks a bit like shorts but it fits high in your waist, no one will see it underneath your clothes. I promise" Christopher explained and saw her nodding her head

Meredith was playing with her fingers as she was listening to what Christopher was saying but couldn't hold herself from internally panicking what all of this would mean. She was scared what her mother would say, she was scared what everyone else would think when seeing her

"And you'd need to learn how to walk with crutches" Christooher ended

Meredith apparently hadn't heard all he said but she definitely heard his last words

"Crutches?" Her voice cracked

"It will make it a lot easier for you. I promise" Christopher held her hand and she nodded again

"Mer!" The three kids ran inside

"Hi guys" Christopher smiled as Derek ran up to his dad immediately and hugged him

"Hi" Amelia and Mark giggled and climbed up onto Meredith's bed

"Hi" Meredith quietly replied

"Are you okay?" Derek asked her

"Fine" Meredith didn't look up

"You haven't finished your donut!" Amelia pointed out

"I'm not hungry" Meredith whispered

"I think Meredith could use some cuddle time but be careful to not hurt her" Christopher helped them climb in next to her

Meredith laid her head on Amelia's shoulder and had to force back the tears

"It will be okay" Carolyn noticed this and squeezed her hand

...

Once the kids had left with Carolyn after the movie Christopher helped Meredith sit up a bit more so she could stand up for a minute

"You're doing Amazing Meredith" Christopher had a huge smile as he felt really proud of her

He let the nurse hand her the pair of crutches that soon enough would be a part of her new life

"You did very well honey, now go lay down again and I'll administer some meds so you can sleep" Christopher helped her lay down and administered some meds. He then tucked her in and made sure her stuffy was next to her. He didn't leave until Meredith was asleep. He stood up and went to find Ellis. To be honest he was so angry with her, he couldn't understand how she hadn't checked on Meredith once since she was admitted

"Ellis!" Christopher stopped her

"What's wrong? I was about to take a nap, I have another surgery in three hours" Ellis stopped

"Ellis, do you have any idea how much this diagnosis means to Meredith? This is changing her whole life!" He raised his voice but calmed himself down again. This was for Meredith "She's young and she's already needing crutches, Ellis. Tomorrow we're gonna give her a feeding tube, she might need to have a special program at school" Christopher frowned

"I'm aware but someone will have to pay those bills, her dad made the right choice" Ellis sighed

"Are you aware of what this disease can do? Your daughter can become completely bedridden!" Christopher's voice cracked

"I did my research. We can always try experimental therapies" Ellis nodded "Anything else?"

"She would like it if you'd stop by. I finished my shift, I'm going to shower and then I'll sit next to her bed, such a young girl shouldn't be alone while she's in the hospital" Christopher sighed

We hope you enjoyed! Special thanks to my co-writer _Ktje_