Izzie, Cristina, George, Alex, and I stood outside the trauma room, in the hallway, behind the second set of doors, waiting for the news on Meredith. Right outside the trauma room Mark was sitting with Derek.
George was nervously tapping his foot on the ground.
"George, stop that," Cristina barked.
"Sorry, sorry," He said, "I'm-I'm scared."
I watched as Addison came out of the room, Derek quickly approached her. I couldn't hear what they were saying but Derek pointed to the room. Addison quickly shook her head, before Derek turned around and threw his arms in the air. I got a little worried, but I knew Derek must've wanted to go in there, and Addison wouldn't let him.
Addison opened up the door and let out a sigh, "It's not good."
"Is she still cyanotic? What was her initial temp? I mean, what is taking so long?" Cristina panicked.
"Dr.Yang," Addison addressed her, "It's not looking good, they're doing everything they can. You should maybe uh, prepare yourselves."
We all looked at her a bit confused, not wanting to hear what she was telling us.
"I got to go," she said, "My Jane doe."
"I'll go with," Alex said, following behind her, "Iz keep us updated?"
"Prepare ourselves?" Cristina scoffed, as they left, "That's what we tell the patient's family before we call time of death."
"She's gonna be okay," Izzie said.
"You're not always right," George frowned, "Sometimes you're wrong."
"Unh-uh," Cristina shook her head, "I'm not doing this."
"Cristina," Izzie called after her as she walked off, "Cristina!"
"Iz, let her go," I said.
"She's gonna survive this, she's gonna survive this, she's gonna survive this," Izzie repeated.
••
meredith's pov
"Who's a good boy? Who's a good boy?" Doc shook his tail as I petted him.
"Meredith," Denny said, "Do you remember when you drown in Elliot Bay?"
"Yeah, it sucked," I said, not looking up from the dog, "Who's a good boy?"
"Meredith, Meredith," A woman called me, looked up to see her sitting on the edge of the bed, "I don't know if you remember me, I'm your mom's old scrub nurse. I died from-"
"Liver cancer," I finished her sentence.
She gave me a small nod.
"Mr.Scott," My eyes widened as it looked as if he appeared out of nowhere, "What are you all doing here? Is this-"
"It's not heaven," Brandy's grandpa said.
"We're here cause you called us here," Denny told me.
"I didn't. Did I?" I asked, not sure of what was going on or where I was.
"Tell us about the water Meredith," Denny said, not answering my question.
••
brandy's pov
I opened the door to the trauma room to see, Burke, Webber, and Bailey working on a cold, almost ghost like Meredith.
"Dixon," Bailey scolded me, "Go wait with Stevens and Yang and O'malley."
I shook my head, "Uh Cristina, she left."
Burke turned his head to me, "In the middle of her shift where did she go?"
"I don't know," I said, not taking my eyes off Meredith.
••
meredith's pov
"Doc?" I called, looking for him in the hall, "Where did he go?"
"Meredith," Denny yelled, the others following behind him, "We don't have time for this. We're running out of time."
"I drowned. That's all that happened I drowned," I said, continuing my search for Doc.
"Meredith please listen to us," Mr.Scott begged, "You have to listen."
Suddenly Mr.Scott fell over and started to shake on the floor.
"Oh my god," I said, getting on the floor and holding him on his side, "Get me a towel or a pillow or something!"
"It happens with him, you just got a ride it out baby," the nurse said.
"No I need to help him," I said, his shaking suddenly stopped but he didn't move. I checked for a pulse but found nothing, "I need to start his heart again, get me paddles!" I started to do compressions.
"There's no point," Denny sighed.
"Go. Go!" I yelled.
The nurse walked away and vanished in thin air. My eyes widened at the sight of it. I continued to do compressions until I felt my hands hit the floor, and saw he was gone.
"Are you ready to talk about this Meredith?" Denny asked, "Or do you wanna waste some more time?"
••
brandy's pov
Bailey walked out of the door, and the three of us leapt to our feet, eager for news on our friend, "Uh, I'm putting Callie in charge of you three. Callie take them anywhere other than here."
"No," I shook my head, "I'm staying I can't leave Meredith."
"Yeah we're not leaving her," Izzie said.
"You're concerned, I understand. There's been a disaster, they need your help. Now go." Bailey turned around and headed back to work on Meredith.
"Alright they need bodies down in the pit, let's go," Callie instructed us.
George followed his wife's instructions, but Izzie and I stayed put.
"Look, Bailey's right," Callie said, "Standing here and worrying about her isn't going to help anything. Meredith's strong, she's a fighter. They need us down there right now, so we're gonna go and help."
I looked over to Izzie, then walked down with George. I wasn't happy about leaving Meredith, but Callie and Bailey were right. We had a job to do.
••
meredith's pov
"So all of you disappear at will? That's how this works?" I asked.
"Meredith what happened in the water?" Denny asked me, again.
"I drowned. That's it."
"Really?" Mr.Scott asked, "Then why are we here? I know I was running short on time when I died but you, you're young and have so much ahead of you. Why are you so happy and perky to be dead?"
"I didn't drown on purpose. I fought hard. The water was cold. I'm not happy to be here," I said.
"Alright but that thing in the tub? What the hell was that," Denny asked
"It wasn't anything, It was-" I cut myself off, "You see me in the tub?"
"I do not see women in the tub. I wish I saw women-" Denny sighed, "We know things." He gestured to Mr.Scott.
"You had to have thought about it," the nurse chimed in, appearing out of nowhere, "No daughter of Ellis Grey-"
"Oh this is so not an Ellis Grey thing," I objected.
"Ah,it's a Derek thing," Denny raised his eyebrows.
"I would never."
"But you would," Mr.Scott said, "How can you be a surgeon but have so little respect for human life?"
"Look, she's either gonna get it or she's not," the nurse said.
"Get what?" I asked nervously. I turned to look at the nurse but she wasn't there, it was only Denny.
"What happened in that water?" He asked, another time.
"I swam. I fought, I already told you."
"No you didn't," He shrugged, "And you can't stay here."
"I don't want to!" I yelled at him.
"Yes you do. It's easier, but you can't. George's dad died, Izzie lost me, Brandy lost her grandpa, and when Cristina was nine, her dead bled out from a car accident, right in front of her. While they were waiting for the ambulance, and Alex-"
"Stop!" I yelled.
"They are barely breathing," he stressed, "This will break them. And none of them deserves that. Now this. This is big one. So listen. Derek. He's special. Do you know how much of miracle he is? How rare it is that someone like him exists? He's still an optimist. He still believes in magic, and true love, and soul mates. He's waiting for you, and if you don't come back from this, It will change him."
"Oh god," I sighed, and looked down. When I looked up he was gone.
I walked around for a little bit looking for him when I heard something behind me call my name, I turned around and saw him standing there.
"I was swimming, I was fighting, and then for a second, I thought, 'What's the point?' And I let go." I confessed, "Don't tell anyone.
"Okay," He said, softly, and nodded.
I looked up at him and saw him smile, and chuckling to himself.
"What?" I asked.
"Izzie," he said with a spark in his eye.
"You can see her?" I asked.
"No," He shook his head, a smile still adorning his face, "But sometimes, we'll be in exactly the same place, at exactly the same time. And...Oh, I can almost hear her voice. That's all you get. That's it. That's all you get Meredith moments with the ones you love, and then they'll move on, and you'll want them to move on."
"Is this really happening?" I asked.
"I don't know," he shook my head, "This is your afterlife not mine." He disappeared again.
I sighed, and shook my head. I looked down at the floor and saw water filling the room. It kept filing and filing up, and then I was back in the cold water, drowning again, but this time I decided to fight.
I ran out of the room and out to the main lobby, and saw the three of them sitting there, "I don't wanna be here anymore."
"We were told there wasn't a lot of time," Mr.Scott said.
"I'm out of time?" I panicked.
"Well, we're not sure, baby," the scrub nurse said.
"I can't-I-Oh," I started to cry, "I-I had intimacy issues!"
"Yeah," Denny nodded.
"Do you know how stupid that seems now?" I cried.
"Yeah," Denny nodded again.
"I need to go back," I sobbed, "It's not enough just a whiff of Derek. Or Cristina."
"Meredith," Denny said.
"I can't breathe," I sobbed, "I can't breathe."
"This will pass," Denny said.
"No it won't," I shook my head.
"Let's go Meredith," Denny said.
"What?" I asked.
Denny took my head and lead me to the hallway, "Go."
I walked down the hallway, and when I reached the end everything turned white.
••
brandy's pov
"She's okay?" I asked Bailey in disbelief.
Bailey nodded, and motioned for us to come over.
Izzie, George, and I ran down to the window, Alex not far behind. I looked in and saw Cristina at her bedside the two of them appeared to be talking.
••
"I did what you said," I heard a familiar voice behind me say, "I told Derek what I told you."
I bit my lip, before I turned around to face Mark, "Good for you," I turned back around and opened the door to my car.
"Brandy," Mark said.
I turned around and sighed, "What?"
"I'm sorry," He frowned, "If it felt like I made you feel special, well that's because I think you're special. I don't want to make anyone feel special but you. Those nurses, they're not special. No woman in that hospital is special to me but you."
"Save it Mark," I shook my head before getting in my car and leaving.
••
Sorry if this chapter was a little confusing with the back and forth between Meredith and Brandy. I just thought that was the best way to portray what was happening. Also you may have noticed I've been updating a lot. I have a lot of free time right now, and I'm really behind on this book, and just wanna get it rolling. I hope you don't mind all the updates and that you're actually enjoying them! Thanks for reading, and please vote and comment because it makes my day when you do!