The Seventh Sense is Love

What If I Lose My Sight Again?

The day they took Ian home was bright and sunny - unusual for Seattle, but so perfect for the little Shepherd family. Meredith was still moving very cautiously and tired easily. Kathleen had driven them home and after she left - Derek insisted that Mer lie down and rest.

"All right," she agreed with a grateful sigh. "I'd like to know what happened when Dr. Livingston examined you this morning."

"Nothing out of the ordinary," Derek replied and helped her get into bed. Then he checked on Ian - who was sleeping soundly in his bassinette on Derek's side of the bed.

"What kind of answer is that?"

"There's nothing to worry about, Mer."

"Fine," she said and gave him a pointed look, "then there's no reason for you not to tell me about it."

Giving up, he grinned and got in bed with her. It felt good to be able to lie in bed together again. He was very careful not to bump her, though. "Livingston ran the usual tests, and everything came up clear. There is a small amount of scar tissue, but we knew there would be. It appears as though my optic nerve is intact and working fine."

"Was there ever a problem with it? I know the tumor was located on the optic nerve but was it ever actually not intact?"

"No."

They were looking at one another and she smiled at him now. "So, what you're saying, and perhaps having a little trouble with, is that you having the clear vision you do is a miracle?"

"Maybe."

"What do you mean, 'maybe'? Is there a medical explanation for your vastly improved, seemingly near-perfect vision?"

"Nothing conclusive but Livingston thinks my improved vision may relate to the removal of the scar tissue."

"To some degree," Meredith agreed with a nod, "but the lack of scar tissue has nothing to do with the extreme, marked improvement."

"No," Derek finally agreed, "it doesn't." He laced his fingers with hers and brought their joined hands up so he could kiss the back of her hand. Then he moved his head closer and kissed her on the lips. When they parted, Meredith had a soft smile on her face. Smiling back at her, he asked, "What?"

"Miracle," she said confidently.

"Maybe," he replied hesitantly, frowning just a little.

She mirrored his frown and stated, "Derek, there's no scientific reason for your improvement. Why are you having trouble accepting a miracle for yourself? We've both seen plenty of them in our careers."

He let go of her hand and heaved an irritated sigh. "Yes, we've both seen plenty of anomalies that we classify as miracles. How do we know the so-called miracles aren't neurological science, though? We only understand about ten percent of the brain."

To say Meredith was shocked by this turn in the conversation would be an understatement. She was even more shocked a moment later when he got up and started walking toward their bedroom door. "Derek?"

When he ignored her and just left their room, she lay there for a few stunned moments. "What the hell?" she whispered and pushed herself to her elbows. Then, as she pushed herself to sit up all the way and rotate so her feet were on the floor, she started swearing under her breath. Unfortunately, she was having a lot of pain at the moment, but she wasn't going to let her husband walk away from her in a fit of irritation that made no sense to her. "Stupid ass man," she mumbled as she was hit with another wave of pain upon standing up.

With slow, shuffling steps she made her way out to their kitchen where she found Derek. He had his back to her, grabbing things from the refrigerator. "What the hell is your problem?" she snapped.