The Arrival of Meredith Grey

Reality

(Meredith POV)

"It's okay. The tube will be out soon." Someone said. I looked around and saw two blue piercing eyes staring right at me. It's the man from before.

"Meredith." I heard someone say. I moved my eyes to the doorway and saw Richard standing there. He walked over and checked my vitals in the chart. He sighed with contentment and brushed his hand over my forehead. "I'll take the tube out." He said.

He walked over to the other side of me and grabbed hold of the tube. "Cough." He instructed. I coughed and the tube flew out.

(Derek POV)

She coughed for a few minutes after the tube was out. Richard rubbed her back soothingly to try to ease her airway.

Finally, she laid back and relaxed a little. "Wha-what happened?" She croaked out. Richard noticed this and put a straw to her lips, which she accepted greatfully. "You were shot 6 times. We had to go in and stop the bleeding." I explained softly. She nodded and winced. "Your stomach muscle was severely damaged. We couldn't fix the whole thing." I added. She nodded and frowned before a lone tear fell down her cheek. Richard was quick to wipe it away.

"Is everyone else okay?" She asked after a minute. Richard nodded. "Everyone else is okay and waiting for you. Some of them actually just left for the night." Richard said. Her eyes started fluttering closed, her breathing getting more and more labored, I could tell she was fighting the sleep. "It's okay. You can sleep. We'll be here in the morning." I said quietly. She nodded and let herself drift off to sleep.

(Meredith POV)

"Grey. Get over here!" General Smith said. I ran over to one of our soldiers and assessed him. He had a big gash in the middle of his stomach. "Get me something to pack this guy now!" I yelled. One of my fellow soldiers tossed me a ton of gauze. I packed his wound as best as I could. As I was about to put more, someone yelled. "GET DOWN!" I looked around once and heard gunshots. Next thing I know is that I'm laying on the ground, struggling to breathe

"Meredith!" Derek yelled, pulling me out of my nightmare. I breathed heavily, tears streaming down my face. He put an oxygen mask around me and sat down next to me on the bed. "It's okay. It was just a dream. Your okay. Your safe." He said. I grabbed his hand tightly, instantly relaxing.

(Derek POV)

I jogged into the room and saw Meredith, tears streaming down her face. I was quick to calm her down, and was happy when she grabbed my hand and visibly relaxed.

"Derek?" She asked. "Yeah?" I replied. "What time is it?" She asked. "It's almost 7. Almost time for rounds. Why do you ask?" I replied. "Pain meds." She whispered, as if she were saying a secret. I smiled sadly as interns walked in.

"Who's presenting?" Richard asked the interns as we started rounds. "Lieutenant Grey, 28, recovering from 6 gunshot wounds and a severe stomach muscle injury." An intern said. "Basically, that means-." The intern started again. "Basically it means that I'm stuck here until my wounds heal and I'm able to stand and walk properly. I'm a surgeon, I know." Meredith cut in. I smiled at her straight forward ness. "Now can I get some pain meds please?" She asked. The intern quickly injected some meds into her IV and Meredith sighed in relief and quickly went back to sleep.

(Meredith POV)

I slowly opened my eyes and looked around, trying to ignore the dull ache in my abdomen. "Mer! Your okay!" Cristina exclaimed. I smiled. "Thank god." Izzie said as she came over and hugged me. Alex, Cristina, izzie, and George were all my closest friends in the field. "How are you guys?" I asked. "Your asking us how we feel? After you were shot multiple times?" Alex asked incredously. I smiled. "We're fine, Mer. Worried about you." George replied. "I'm fine." I replied when Derek and a few other doctors came in.

"Dr Shepherd." Cristina said. "Hi everyone. I just wanted to explain more to you about the muscle injury." Derek said as he fixed his gaze towards me. I nodded. "Okay, so I'm assuming you know that the main stomach muscle can affect all sorts of things, right? Digestion, movement, everything." He stopped and waited for me to retain this. I nodded. "So, the digestion part shouldn't be an issue, it's more of the movement I'm worried about. You see, your muscle was severely damaged, and we couldn't fully fix it, so I don't know how well your going to be able to get around without pain." He said.

Crap. This isn't what I need. "So what's the prognosis?" I asked. Derek sighed. "Your not going to go back into the field for a long time. And you'll have to go to physical therapy everyday for a long time as well. We aren't sure about times yet. We have to see your range of motion and pain level." He explained softly. I smiled sadly. "Thank you." I said quietly.

"Mer, we gotta go back to work." Cristina said sadly. I nodded. "Bye guys. Be safe. Call me." I replied. They nodded and left the room.

"MerEdith, do you have any family we could call? This is going to be a long recovery." He asked. I shook my head. "No. I have my friends. And before you say it, I know they left, but I don't have any family." I replied. "What about your mother?" A voice asked drom the door. I looked over and saw Richard and Bailey standing there.

"She's....not available." I stuttered. Richard raised an eyebrow. I can't tell him, can I? She doesn't want anyone knowing. "She's just not coming." I said. He looked skeptical, but came over with Bailey. "How do you feel? You think your ready to sit up?" He asked. "I'm drugged to be honest. But I can do it." I replied. He nodded and went on the other side of me. Derek placed his hands under my forearm, and Richard did the same. "On 3, pull yourself as much as you can using our hands as leverage. This is going to hurt." Richard said. Derek moved one hand to my back and rubbed it soothingly.

"1,2,3." He said. I latched onto their hands and pulled as hard as I could. My stomach felt like it was burning and straining. I whimpered in pain. "You got it Grey." Bailey said. I finally sat up all the way and took a breathy breath in. Derek put his hand on my back and helped me stay up.

After a few minutes, my stomach couldn't hold myself up anymore and I collapsed back down on the bed. "You did good." Richard said as he left the room. I nodded in exhaustion.

Derek turned to leave, but I stopped him and grabbed his hand. He turned around and looked at me with confusion. "Can you stay?" I asked in a small voice. Truthfully, for some reason he makes me feel safe. He smiled. "Of course." He replied. He sat down on the couch and I dozed off.