Untouchable face

22.

This had truly been a terrifying experience for the Shepherd family. From the moment Carolyn had gotten the call from Mark that Derek had fallen, it had been a rollercoaster of emotions for them all. And the rollercoaster didn't seem to be stopping anytime soon.

She had never been a fan of what her son did for a living. From the second he had come home with his first construction job, she had feared they would end up here, like this. But the pay had been so much better than a grocery store or anything else so it had been impossible to pass up. And then he had fallen in love with it. Her daughters were all doctors, safe in their chosen professions. But Derek was like his father and loved working with his hands. He didn't like to be cooped up inside, so this was the perfect job for him. She had made her peace with it. Mark and Derek both loved what they did and she loved that they were working together as a family business. And they both did beautiful work but now her worst fears had come true and she could not wait to see her baby boy go home.

He was still in for a very long ride and she knew that. When he had come back from therapy today, his face had been streaked with tears and moaning in pain. It was hard to watch, and she wished she could go back in time and make him change his mind. She knew this was what he wanted but no mother liked seeing their son in this much pain. His doctor might like to talk about the fact it was good pain, pain that meant he was getting better but she clearly wasn't a mother. No pain was good pain.

Mothers wanted their children happy and carefree, neither of which described Derek right now. He just seemed so depressed and it was terrible to watch. Very few people knew how to handle a depressed Derek. He rarely was. She was happy to say that despite everything her son had lived through, she had raised her son to be happy but when he was down, he went somewhere he let very few people in. She had no idea why but it was what he did. Even Maggie, god bless the poor girl, wasn't allowed into the darkest corner of Derek's mind and Carolyn didn't know how to comfort her. Derek was too much like his father and needed someone to force him out of his moods. And so far, only Dr. Grey seemed to understand that.

She wasn't exactly sure what the doctor did to get through to Derek. She was rarely around for their talks, no one was, Derek wanted to be alone so they could talk and he always seemed to be in a better mood when she left, grasping his fishing magazines and chocolate. Carolyn had no idea what to think of the whole thing. Dr. Grey was a sweet girl and clearly a dedicated doctor, but this was above and beyond. There was no doctor in the world who sat for an hour just chatting to a patient.

She appreciated it, anything that made Derek smile right now was welcomed but Carolyn had a gut feeling there was something going on here that went beyond Dr. Grey being an excellent doctor. She just wasn't sure quite what.

"Derek?" the door opened and Dr. Grey ran in.

"I'm afraid he's sleeping," Carolyn murmured.

"Oh, Mrs. Shepherd."

"Dr. Grey," Carolyn nodded. "He worked hard in rehab today."

"Oh...is he okay?"

"I think so, just...tired."

"Oh..." Dr. Grey nodded slowly.

"I'm sure he'll be awake soon."

"I just...I can go."

"It's fine if you want to stay for a bit," Carolyn smiled. "I'm sure it's a nice break."

"It is but..."

"But what? I don't bite."

"I didn't say that," Meredith shook her head quickly.

"I know but there's no reason you can't come in," Carolyn grinned.