𝘛𝘳𝘢𝘶𝘮𝘢, 𝘛𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘥𝘺 - 𝙂𝙧𝙚𝙮'𝙨 𝘼𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙤𝙢𝙮 (ON HOLD)

seventy - one - "portland general hospital" - seventy - one

"When I was 5, my mom lost me in a park. I don't remember much, except that one minute, I was riding the carousel, and the next, she was gone. I don't remember how I found her. I don't remember how I got home. All I remember is what happened next. She told me not to worry. She told me everything would be fine. Funny, isn't it? The way memory works? The things you can't quite remember, and the things you can never forget. The carousel never stops turning."
-Meredith Grey, S11E21, "How to Save a Life"

"I have to believe there's a way. There has to be a way to step off the carousel. Start again. Start fresh. There has to be a way to leave all my ghosts behind. It's a choice. It's a choice I'm making. To move forward. To move past this. I can do that. I can do that. All I have to do is begin."
-Ellis & Meredith Grey, S11E22, "She's Leaving Home"

"Every kiss before the right kiss doesn't count anyway. I've kissed a lot of women. The first time I kissed my wife, well... I mean, she wasn't my wife then. She was just this girl in a bar. And when we kissed it- it was like... I got to tell you, it was like I never kissed any other woman before. It was like the first kiss. The right kiss."

After a perfect morning with Derek, Meredith sat at work and grew increasingly concerned as the hours passed. She still hadn't received a response from Derek. She called and texted him after the White House called the hospital. He never made it on his flight. Dr. Bailey told her about his video chat with Amelia in the OR earlier.

"His cell probably died." Miranda said, "You know, how stressful and aggravating airports are. Being around all those people, watching the minutes drag by, he probably got switched to another flight. Wait until five 'o clock, then I'll let you worry about your husband. You've got work to focus on."

"Yeah." Meredith nodded, standing, "Right."

April, Callie, and Alex also comforted her. But in the back of Meredith's mind, she wondered if Anna heard from him since this morning.

~ GREY'S ANATOMY ~

"It's a beautiful day to save lives."

"What- what does that mean?"

"Oh, it's just a thing I say."

"Oh."

~ GREY'S ANATOMY ~

Anna heard her phone vibrating nonstop from inside of her backpack. She looked around at her classmates, a few of them eyeing her as the professor spoke and they jotted down notes, she reached down and unzipped her bag. She quietly pulled out her phone and set it down on her desk. Meredith's name popped up on the screen. Anna unlocked it, seeing several missed phone calls, and text messages. She scrolled through them, reading:

'I don't know if you're busy, but it's getting late and your dad never made it on his flight. I was wondering if he called you. Call me back when you can pls.'

'Amelia told me he video chatted with her during surgery. That's the last anyone's heard from him.'

'I'm taking the kids home now. Let me know if traffic is backed up. He probably got stuck somewhere and ran out of gas/had car trouble.'

She clicked on "dad" and sent a message, 'What? Forget to pack your phone charger? Great way to freak out Meredith. Where are you? I can pick you up. Call Meredith back. Or me. Sir, you better not read this and not respond.'