Saved by the Shepherds

Chapter 22

Meredith had been back to work for a few days now. She didn't like the 3 hour surgery limit, though. Barely any surgeries she could scrub in on was less than 3 hours, other than appendectomies.

"Grey, your scrubbing in with me on this transplant." Burke said wordlessly. "I am?" Meredith asked in surprise. "Yes. Let's go." Burke said as he began walking to the OR. Meredith struggled to keep up with him due to the restricting brace.

They scrubbed in and entered the OR. Meredith watched as Burke made the first cut. Meredith hated cardio, and not just because of Burke and what happened. She just found cardio boring, but she had to do it to get the requisite number of hours.

Derek had been back on his usual schedule and had been keeping a close eye on Meredith. Today, however, he had a large tumor to remove from a patients spinal cord. He had to be precise, or else the patient could be paralyzed. He figured Meredith would be okay on her own for a few hours. He just didn't think she'd listen to the 3 hour rule. He usually had to enforce it.

2 hours into surgery, the transplant has been going well. That is until the patient wasn't accepting the next heart. "Come on, come on. I don't want to have to put him on Ecmo." Burke said. "What about an intra aortic balloon pump? That would help the heart get more blood." Meredith suggested as she carefully watched the patients charts.

"That's right. Let's go everybody, quickly!" Burke called out. The nurses handed him the instruments  and quickly went to work.

3 hours later, Merediths patient had made it. It took a lot longer than anticipated, but the patient pulled through. Meredith was in pain though. She knew she shouldn't have exceeded her 3 hour limit, but everything was so hectic and she just couldn't bring herself to leave.

Meredith was the last to leave the OR and practically hopped out of there on one leg. Meredith got to the scrub room and quickly scrubbed. She limped out to the lobby and was met with 2 very angry faces.

"Grey." Bailey said with a scowl. "Mer." Derek said. "What?" She asked innocently. "You know what. Sit down." Bailey said sternly as she grabbed her arm and sat her down. "Why?" Derek asked. "It was very busy, there wasn't a good time." Meredith replied sheepishly. "Well, you can barely walk now, as we just saw." Bailey snickered. "I'm fine." Meredith argued.

"No, you're not." Derek said firmly. "You need to take care of yourself, Grey. You're off for the day. Shepherd, bring her home please." Bailey requested. "I will. Thanks Bailey." Derek said. "Take it easy Grey or I will restrain you to a gurney, got it?" Bailey asked seriously. Meredith nodded and watched as she walked away.

"Let's get you home." Derek said with a sigh. Meredith stood up with the helping hand of Derek. She began slowly limping down the hallway when Derek wrapped an arm around her waist. Meredith was annoyed for a moment but it did help.

Derek knew his girlfriend was strong headed, but he didn't really understand why she negated her own health. But, what's done is done, so he decided to help her out. They got to his car and he helped her in gently.

When they got home, Derek ended up carrying her up to her apartment in his arms. "Did you keep any of your leftover pain meds?" Derek asked softly as he put her down on the sofa. Meredith nodded. "They should be in the bathroom." She said as she relaxed into the pillows.

Derek quickly went and got them and brought them to her with a glass of water. "Thank you." She said before she downed the pills. Derek whipped her up a quick sandwich and handed it to her on the couch before plopping down next to her. "Mm, this is good." Meredith said with a smile. "I'm glad." Derek replied.

"Feeling any better yet?" Derek asked after a few minutes. "Mhm." Meredith mumbled. Derek chuckled, the pills clearly taking affect, making her sleepy. "I'll take the brace off and you can sleep down here. I'll make sure you won't move." Derek said. Meredith mumbled sometning that Derek took as a yes. He chuckled and gently and carefully took off the leg brace and set it down on the coffee table.

"Get some sleep." He whispered as he pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Love you." She mumbled. "I love you too." He replied softly.

A few hours later, Meredith woke up and felt a twinge in her leg. "Hey sleepyhead. Derek said with a smile. "Hi." She replied sleepily. Derek strapped on her brace again and kissed her softly. "Sorry about today." Meredith said, feeling guilty that she made him have to take her Home. "It's okay Mer, I don't mind. I just want you to take care of yourself." Derek said softly. "I know but I feel bad you had to come home early with me." She replied.

"It's okay. It was a boring day anyways." Derek said honestly. "Want to watch a movie?" Meredith asked. "Sure." Derek replied as he sat down next to her. Meredith snuggled up under his arm and rested her head on his chest. "Love you." She whispered. "Love you too." He replied.

Hey guys!! Hope you enjoyed this chapter, and if you have any suggestions for future chapters, feel free to drop them! Hope your all doing well!