"Mer! Wake up! It's Christmas!" Amy jumped next to Meredith's bed
"Hmm.." Meredith groaned as she was still tired
"Come on! Wake up! We need to go downstairs!" Amelia pulled the blankets away
"Hey, hey. What's going on here?" Carolyn asks as she walks into the girls' bedroom
"It's Christmas mommy! We need to go downstairs! Amelia gasped
"Why don't you go already, Mer and I will be there in a minute" Carolyn promises
"Okay!" Amelia ran out if the room so Carolyn made her way over to Meredith's bed where the blonde girl was laying down with her stuffed animal
"Hi honey, how did you sleep?" Carolyn asked and brushed some hairs out of Meredith's face
"Kay" Meredith quietly said as Carolyn put on a pair of gloves and emptied the catheter bag that was strapped to Meredith's leg
"Daddy's baking pancakes, do you wanna try some?" Carolyn tried to distract Meredith while she got the little girl ready. She was now inserthing the meds into Meredith's nebulizer to clean her airway
"Chocolate chip?" Meredith softly smiled
"Yep!" Carolyn smiled
"I can try" Meredith smiled with the mask strapped over her face
"Now take deep deep breaths, baby" Carolyn reminded Meredith as she rubbed the tiny girl's back
"Hi" They suddenly heard Derek's voice
"Hi" Meredith smiled at him
"Hi Derek, is there something?" Carolyn asked the boy with a smile
"Mom, dad's asking if you and Mer will be downstairs soon"
"Tell him we'll be there in about five minutes" Carolyn smiled at her son before strapping off the mask and kissing Meredith's head softly
Carolyn lifted Meredith up in her arms when Meredith whimpered
"I wanna take it off" Meredith quietly whispered as she referred to the brace that kept her hip and leg from moving
"After breakfast I'll give you a bath" Carolyn smiled and her heart warmed as Meredith smiled widely
"Aahh! Our girls!" Christopher walked towards them "Goodmorning, Mer. I made your favorite pancakes!" He smiled and took her in his arms
"Thanks daddy." Meredith giggled. "Did Santa come?" She asked with wide eyes
"Why don't we go see" Christopher winked and carried her into the living room where colorful presents were filling the room
"Wow!" Meredith gasped
"Okay guys. We can start with your first present" Carolyn smiled
"Do we get more than one?" Meredith gasped
"Each has gotten two presents from Santa and then we got you something small as well" Carolyn smiled
The boys chuckling as they knew the truth but enjoyed the girls' enthusiasm
"Let's start unwrapping" Christopher smiled as he held Meredith in his lap as she couldn't properly sit up
"Wow!" Meredith gasped "A Barbie set!" She smiled
"I got the brown haired one!" Amelia gasped "They look like us!"
"They do!" Meredith giggled
"Wow! They're pretty" Derek smiled as he checked them out
"So cool!" Mark grabbed Amy's to see
"What did you get?" Amelia asked Mark
"A new soccer ball!" Mark smiled
"I got a basketball!" Derek smiled
...
The kids had unwrapped all their presents and had breakfast. Amelia had been running around the house and it hurt Carolyn to see Meredith couldn't join. Instead the blonde often whimpered when she tried to reposition herself while playing with the Barbie doll
"Aww" Meredith cried and placed the doll down, instead pulling her Puppy tight to her chest as she started sobbing
"Hey monkey, it's okay" Carolyn rushed towards her
"It's not okay. It hurts and I can't play!" Meredith wanted to turn away but was physically unable to
"Maybe it's time for bath time, what do you think?" Carolyn suggested and saw Meredith nodding her head slowly. "Let's go then"
Carolyn lifted Meredith into her arms and carried her to the bathroom where they had placed cushions to change Meredith carefully before both adults were needed to get her in the tub without moving her leg
"How does that feel?" Christopher asked as they undid the brace
"Much better!" Meredith smiled
"I'm glad. Let's lift you in the tub now" He smiled
"Mommy-" Meredith anxiously whispered for Carolyn
"Nothing will happen. Daddy and I got you" Carolyn assured Meredith and they quickly saw her body relaxing, a soft smile on her face
"Careful" Christopher held Meredith as his wife cleaned her up, careful for the little girl's hip
But the girl's mood changed when they lifted her out of the tub and Carolyn wanted to strap her back into the brace
"No!" Meredith tried to push Carolyn's hands away with the little power she had
"Mer, you need to lay still honey" Carolyn tried as Christopher held her
"No! Not the brace! I hate it! It hurts!" Meredith protested
"Just for now, baby girl. Your hip and leg need to heal" Christopher tried
"No! Don't touch me!" Meredith cried
"Hey monkey. Don't cry" Carolyn stroked her hand over Meredith's cheeks in a try to keep her calm. "Let's get you back in that brace so we can check on the kids, I think Mark and Derek need their cheerleader"
Meredith didn't respond anymore neither did she try to fight them on the brace but she kept sobbing, wincing from time to time when her parents picked her up and carried her
"We'll need to get ourselves some warm clothes!" Christopher smiled "The boys are playing soccer outside and they're begging for you" He tried to cheer her up
"Mer! I'm gonna play with Markie against Derek! Do you wanna play as well?" She gasped but Meredith went completely quiet as she clutched her stuffy tight against her chest
"Mer will sit with us while we cheer" Carolyn promised
"Mer's in my team! Right Mer?" Derek smiled from his spot, glad when he saw Meredith nod slightly
"Aww!" She winced as Carolyn stuffed her up in between both adults so she'd be supported and would see the game
"Sorry" Carolyn kissed Meredith's forehead
Throughout the game Meredith had often cheered for Derek, and Amelia even if she was their opponent, but never as loud and enthusiastic as before
"Daddy, can Mer and I play with our new dolls?" Amelia asked their dad
"If Meredith feels up to it" Christopher smiled at Meredith who weakly nodded and rubbed her head with her stuffy's paw
"Mommy stay?" Meredith clutched onto Carolyn's hand
"Of course" Carolyn smiled
In the meantime Christopher was getting Meredith's tube feeding ready. Carolyn watched the two girls play but noticed Meredith was very quiet and overwhelmed by Amelia's vibrant behaviour
"Let's go shopping!" Amelia yelled and made Meredith flinch
"Aww" She winced as she felt the brace cutting into her skin again. "I hate it!" She screamed and threw her doll away
"Shh, it's okay" Carolyn brushed her fingers through Meredith's hair. "I know it's hard. Should we watch a movie?" Carolyn suggested but Meredith didn't respond anymore
"Mer, we can use our new blankets!!" Amelia smiled "I'll go get them!" She smiled
"Let's lay you down, princess" Carolyn kissed Meredith's forehead while Christopher started her tube feeding. He and Carolyn shared a worried expression, causing Christopher to go to the kitchen to call Dr Torres, he wanted to discuss if anything could make this less hard on his daughter, both physically and mentally
"Mommy! I'm back!" Amelia smiled and ran inside with the two thick blankets, almost tripping
"Careful!" Carolyn chuckled
Carolyn grabbed the pink one that had princesses all over, Amelia had the same one but in purple. Carolyn covered Meredith with it and adjusted the girl so her head would be in Carolyn's lap
"Mommy!" Amelia smiled as she situated herself next to her mom and Meredith wrapped in her blanket "I love our new blankets!" The girl smiled
"I'm glad. Mer, do you like it as well?" Carolyn asked as she held both girls' hand
"Yeah" Meredith nodded "It's very soft. And pink" She smiles slightly
"And it has princesses on top of it!" Amelia smiled
"Yeah" Meredith nodded
"I'm glad you two like them" Carolyn breathed and watched both girls carefully
Christopher checked Meredith's tube feeding before joining the girls on the couch again
"I called Callie. Before bed I'll tape the edges. She suggested coming back in if it's not working out" Christopher rubbed his wife's back and noticed Meredith was close to falling asleep "Do you think we should take her to bed?"
"Let her stay here a little longer, I don't wanna risk it to wake her up or either cause her any pain.." Carolyn sighed and held onto Meredith's hand
"Is Mer okay?" Amelia quietly spoke up
"She'll be okay, sweetheart" Carolyn kissed Amelia's head
"Promise?" Amelia's voice trembling
"I promise we'll always do everything to make her hurt as less as possible" Christopher nodded
We hope you enjoyed! Thanks to my co-writer _Ktje_