"Come on, Meredith. Let's get inside so you can show the new stuffies to Amelia" Carolyn helped Meredith out of the car and wanted her to try to get inside by herself but couldn't see the little girl struggling so Christopher lifted her up in his arms and carried her inside
"Hi Mr and Mrs Shepherd" The babysitter smiled as they walked inside
"Hi Lucy, how were they?" Carolyn asked as she kept an eye on Meredith who got placed down on the couch
"Hi" Amelia giggled
"Mer!" Derek ran towards her
"How are you?" Mark ran after him and jumped on the couch, causing Meredith to wince as her hips hurt
"Careful guys" Christopher softly said and stuffed Meredith up with some Pillows that supported her
"Our stuffed bears" Meredith quietly said as she clutched Puppy close to her chest
"Let me go grab them" Christopher smiled and saw his wife talking to the babysitter
"Thank you Lucy" Carolyn dismissed the girl
"Mer asked for their bears" Christopher said
"Oh- I'll bring them over" Carolyn nodded with a smile and walked over to the kids "Meredith, do you wanna give Amelia her present?"
"Yes" Meredith giggled and took the bear with purple scrubs from Carolyn and gave it to Amelia
"My favorite color!" Amelia smiled
"Yes" Meredith giggled and took her own bear, the one with pink scrubs
"They look very cute" Derek smiled
"Mer, honey. you have to nebulize first, is that okay? Carolyn asked and she nodded
"I'll go find a spot for our new bears! Maybe we can do a tea party when you're done" Amelia smiled
"We're gonna help Amelia" Mark smiled and the three of them disappeared upstairs
"Do I really have to?" Meredith asked
"Yes honey" Christopher said as he walked towards them. Meredith clutching his hand in her own
"Can you do her treatment? Then I can call Ellis to see if I can go collect Mer's stuff and clothes" Carolyn said quietly as her husband was putting everything ready
...
About an hour later Carolyn was back at the house. She sneaked in the bags she had packed at Ellis' house and called her husband over. Together they carried everything upstairs and put everything in place before they walked into their playroom
"Hi guys" They smiled as the kids were doing surgery. They were even a bit amazed by Meredith's skills on the doll
"Hi" All four of them replied
"Meredith, we have something to show you in your and Amelia's room" Christopher smiled and watched as she frowned
"Come on, Mer. Let's go see" Amelia jumped up and waited for Meredith
Mark immediately grabbed her crutches as Derek helped her stand up. She smiled at both of them and led the way towards their bedroom
"Wow" Meredith smiled "Those are mine!" She smiled as she pointed at her sheets and a few stuffed animals "Amelia, come look!" She smiled and crutched over with Puppy tucked in her armpit but then she fell
"Meredith!" Christopher tried to reach out for her as she fell but he was too late. Her crutch got stuck on one of the boxes in the room and caused her to trip. Christopher lifted her in his arms as she started crying softly
"I hate these" Meredith whimpered and threw her crutches away
"I know, munchkin" He held her to his chest
"P-Puppy" Meredith whimpered as she saw her stuffed dog got ripped open slightly
"Oh. Puppy will need surgery" Carolyn inspected "I bet you can help Christopher assist, can't you?" She asked the tiny girl
"Dunno" Meredith shrugged her shoulders
"You can, Meredith! We'll be in the gallery!" Derek laughed
"Kay" She whispered as they all got some stuff to where they were standing. Carolyn placed Puppy on the table and set a chair ready so Meredith could sit when she was ready to leave Christopher's lap
"Here dad" Mark handed him a suture kit
"Thanks Mark. Boys, do you wanna help me?" Christopher asked
"Yes" They both smiled and helped out
After a while Meredith started joining them as well and the four of them started repairing the stuffed dog
"And now a bandage" Christopher ordered and Amelia handed it to him. He wrapped it around Puppy and spoke up again "We're finished" He smiled
"Thank you" Meredith whispered as she grabbed her dog and cuddled it close to her chest, her eyes drooping
"Let's get into bed, honey. It's late and tomorrow we have to go get your braces" Carolyn lifted Meredith with a bit of difficulties and placed her in the bed, hooking her up for her tube feeding
"Kay" Meredith whispered and fell asleep
"Do I need to go to bed as well?" Amelia frowned
"No, honey. We're gonna have dinner now, is that okay?"
"Okay" The kids agreed. Amelia tucked the bear underneath the blanket and left the room
...
The next day Carolyn woke up Meredith. Despite the many hours of sleep she still felt exhausted
"Come on, baby girl. We need to go see Dr Torres to collect your braces. They'll help you walk" Carolyn brushed her hand through Meredith's hair
"Wanna sleep" She whimpered
"Come on, honey. You need to get up" Carolyn tried again
"Aww" Meredith cried out as she slowly tried to turn around
"What hurts, honey?" Carolyn frowned
"My hips" She sighed
"Okay. I'll carry you downstairs. Grab Puppy, will you?" Carolyn lifted Meredith in her arms and made her way downstairs "Christopher, can you grab her crutches? I'll help her nebulize"
"Of course" He smiled "I'll go prepare some breakfast as well"
...
Christopher lifted Meredith out of the car and handed her the crutches. Together they made their way to the hospital but both adults noticed Meredith had issues walking inside by herself
"Should we carry her?" Carolyn asked her husband
"That might be best" He sighed "Mer, do I need to carry you?"
"Please" The girl nodded her head. Carolyn grabbed her crutches
"We can stop at Dunkin before we go back home" Carolyn rubbed Meredith's back
They made their way over to Callie's office where Christopher sat Meredith down on the table, Carolyn sitting next to her, holding her hand tight
"Carolyn? I'm scared" Meredith whispered
"It's okay, honey. We're here with you" Carolyn comforted the little girl
"I wanna go home" She whimpered but froze in her spot as Callie walked in
"Hi Meredith! I'm here with your braces. Let's take a look" Callie smiled and grabbed Meredith's leg in her hands, the girl trying to pull away which caused her pain
"I'm sorry, sweetie" Callie apologized "Look at the pattern" Callie smiled
"Princesses, puppies and bears!" Meredith giggled
"Wow, Meredith! They look so cool!" Carolyn wrapped her arms around the small girl
"Thank you" Meredith smiled towards Callie
"You're welcome. Now let's try them on"
"Aww" Meredith winced as Callie put her leg inside them and strapped her in
"I'm sorry, honey. This will straighten your ankle and it will be much easier to walk" Christopher explained as he strapped in her other leg
"How does that feel, Meredith?" Callie asked
"Weird" She muttered
"Let's try standing up" Callie said as she and Christopher helped her put on her shoes
"No! Carolyn!" She panicked as Callie placed her on the ground
"Shh, I'm here" Carolyn held her waist
"Now try to step, Meredith" Callie handed the girl her crutches
"No! I'm scared" Meredith whimpered
"Shh, it's okay. I'm here" Carolyn and Christopher held her and let her try take a couple of steps
"Wow, Meredith! You did amazing" Christopher lifted her back onto the bed and noticed she started rubbing the sore spots on her skin
"Come here, honey" Carolyn cuddled the girl close to her body and checked out her legs "They look a little sore to me"
"Hmm.. Try to keep them on today" Callie inspected them "It are just red spots. Do they hurt, Meredith?" Callie asked and the girl nodded her head "Okay, if they keep hurting you should come back. It usually needs some time to get used to"
"Okay honey. Let's go home" Christopher placed her on her feet
"No!" Meredith whimpered and reached her arms out for Christopher. He picked her up again and she rested her head in the crook of his neck
"It's very important for her to get used to them" Callie frowned
"We'll let her get used to it. Just- She's been having a rough time" Carolyn explained
...
At the house the kids were running around when Carolyn, Christopher and Meredith came home. They paid the babysitter and she left
"Hey guys" Christopher walked outside, Meredith still in his arms. He had just emptied her catheter
"Dad! Mer!" They smiled
"Hi" Meredith whispered
"Do you wanna play a bit with them?" Christopher asked
"Yeah" Meredith nodded but let herself fall on her but instead of standing up
Christopher sighed, he hated that she had issues with her new braces
"Do you wanna play in the sandbox with me?" Derek asked as he held her hand in his own
"Kay" Meredith nodded and tried to push herself back on her feet, Derek helping her
Christopher watched closely as his son took care of their new daughter. He knew the two of them had a special connection
"Christopher?" He heard his wife yell
"Yeah?" He walked back inside the house
"Maybe we should look into a room downstairs for the girls.." Carolyn frowned "So she doesn't have to use the stairs"
"What about their playroom?" Christopher frowned
"Dammit" Carolyn sighed and a tear escaped her eye
"I know, it's hard" Christopher rubbed her back
"I want her to feel home" Carolyn sighed
We hope you liked! Thanks to my co-writer _Ktje_