Lost and Insecure

Chapter 7

Derek woke up to Merediths yawn. "Good morning." He whispered. "Morning." She repeated, snuggling into his chest.

"Mer...I have to tell you sometning." He said.

"Me tell." She replied. "Mark called my mom. She's...mom doesn't like when one of her kids are hurt. And technically, you're one of her kids, so....she's coming. She's going to be here in a few hours. Mark left to pick her up." Derek rambled.

"Derek mom? Here?" Meredith asked. "Yes, my moms coming. You met her. Do you remember?" Derek questioned hopefully.

"Me remember. Mom like?"

"She did like you. That's when she gave me your engagement ring." Derek said with a grin. "Good. Mom good." Meredith replied, smiling.

"She'll be here in about an hour probably. Do you want to eat before she comes?" Derek asked. Meredith nodded.

A nurse delivered a tray of breakfast and Derek put it on the rolling table that went over her bed. "Bed." Meredith ordered.

Derek chuckled and grabbed a fork. He fed her bites and wiped her face for her.

•••

Mark walked In to the airport and waited for Carolyn to get off the plane. "Marcus Sloan!" She exclaimed as he saw him.

Mark smiled and brought his pseudo mother in for a hug. "Oh, how are you doing sweetie? I missed you." Carolyn exclaimed. "I'm...im okay." He replied.

"Now, how's Derek?" Carolyn asked. Mark sighed. "He's okay I guess. Like I said over the phone, he doesn't want to leave her and feels really guilty."

"That's what Derek does. Thank you for calling mark." Carolyn said gratefully. "My brother needs you." Mark said simply, taking her luggage and leading her to his car.

Mark drove through the busy Seattle streets while chatting to Carolyn. "How's Meredith doing?" She asked.

"I haven't seen big Grey yet but she's not speaking well. Derek can understand her most of the time, but others who don't speak Grey can't. I overheard the nurses saying she couldn't move her arms at all. Lexie saw her though." Mark explained.

"That's awful." Carolyn breathed.

A little while later, the two of them got to the hospital and got out.

"Hey Shep, look Who I found." Mark said with a smile as he saw Derek wandering the halls. "Mom." Derek gasped. "Oh, Derek." Carolyn sighed, taking in her sons ragged expression.

Carolyn took her son into a hug and squeezed him
Tightly. "Does she know I'm here?" Carolyn asked quietly as she pulled away.

"She does. She remembers you. Before you come in I got to check with her that it's okay. She's been scared when people just walk in." Derek answered.

"Okay. Let me know when she's ready." Carolyn replied, kissing dereks cheek before he ran off.

Derek entered Merediths room and saw she had a big smile on her face. "Mom here?" Meredith guessed. Derek grinned. "She is. Do you want to see her?" Meredith nodded eagerly, much to dereks surprise. "I'll get her then."

"Mom? She wants to see you." Derek said as he went back into the hall. "Oh, good." She said, standing up and walking over. "Hey, she might call you mom. I don't think she can pronounce your name." Derek warned.

"That's okay dear. She is my daughter in law after all." Carolyn smiled. "Before we go, can you tell me....where she's at?" She asked.

Derek sighed. "Her speech is all messed up. She skips a lot of words, but you can piece them together sometimes. She has significant muscle weakness in her arms, can barely move them. Her memory is somewhat intact." Derek explained.

"Okay. She recognizes me? Knows me?"

"She does." Derek confirmed.

Carolyn and Derek entered the room and smiled warmly at Meredith. "Hi Meredith." Carolyn said softly. "Mom hi." Meredith replied shyly. Derek came over and grabbed her hand.

"How are you, dear?" She asked gently. "Me...me fine." Meredith replied. "That's good. I'm glad your okay." Carolyn whispered before grabbing her hand.

Meredith tensed and held her breath. "Mom. Hands off." Derek said gently, noticing his wife's nervousness. Carolyn withdrew her hand and looked away. "Sorry, honey." Carolyn said softly.

"Okay. It okay." Meredith replied.

They chatted for a little while later, until Meredith started to get tired. "Me sleep." Meredith whispered to Derek. "You want to sleep?" Derek asked. Meredith nodded.

"Okay. Can my mom go and talk somewhere?"

Meredith nodded. "Okay. I love you. Get some sleep." Derek said, kissing her forehead. "Luh too." Meredith mumbled sleepily.

•••

"Oh my god Derek." Carolyn breathed as they got outside. "Mom...she's-she's okay." Derek replied quietly.

"She's not okay. She can barely speak. She's not the woman I met last year." Carolyn said sadly.

"Mom, I know she doesn't act like it now. She's scared around new people, she never used to be. She can't talk very well, I know. She can't move her arms,  which is not a good thing in our profession. On the outside, she isn't the girl you met last year. But I'm the inside, she's the girl I met all those years ago who I fell in love with." Derek said softly.

"She's brain damaged, yes. But she's still my wife, my Meredith. She calls me an ass when I make her eat vegetables. She rolls her eyes when I talk to her about the nurses and patients who have crushes on me. She's still Mer." He added.

"Oh, Derek." Carolyn whispered, hugging Derek again. "She can recover from this. She may not fully recover, but she'll go to therapies a lot and hopefully regain some of her speech skills and muscle strength." He said.

"I love you Derek. You remind me so much of your father." Carolyn said, grinning. "I love you too mom." Derek smiled.

Hey guys!! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and hope your all doing well. If you guys have any suggestions for future chapters feel free to drop them! Thank you all for reading!